My Eyes Hurt So Much

I have been gone for so long.

I lost interest in keeping up this blog.  I had said fuck it and walked away from it.

I was unable to be creative enough to maintain it even weekly, biweekly, monthly.  You name it.

So I walked away and said let it sit on the decaying fields of the internet to one day be seen by someone who could give more than I could.

Then I had a kid 2.5 months ago and I really forgot about this thing.  I moved my bookmarks on chrome so I would have to go hunting to find my Blogger icon.  I was through with things.


Then I was sitting here tonight and thought maybe I should toss a post up.  Maybe I could talk about something short and sweet.  See what the response would be from it.  I am pretty sure this blog has been a nest egg for bots on blogger more than human beings.

I am ok with feeding my future overlords.



I finally got a new desk for my computer.  A nice large, L shape desk.  My computer area is going to look so nice.  Hell I will finally be able to get my third monitor up and going again.

Its this thing

Its a nice desk that will have a lot of room and allow me to actually get work done at home.


And I see that I could have gotten a better deal on it from another store.  Almost $40 better.


Damnit

Things That Have Occurred

Damn you!!

You disappeared on us again!!!

That is true.  I did fall off the map but my life has been crazy hectic as of late.

We were preparing for the baby and everything.  I was working extra shifts plus my soccer teams were kicking ass so I was travelling a lot.  Then suddenly the landlord came and said he needed the place back.

BLAH

So we found a new place, applied and got it, packed and moved (luckily with help from friends since the wife is preggo) all within the last 2 weeks.  The move took about 3 days.  All while I was still working my two jobs and the wife is departing for her baby shower this weekend.

So things have been crazy but I will have more posts up soon.  

Its That Time For a Weekend Update (Not SNL Style)

Going to try this out and see how it works:

Currently Playing:
Star Ocean: First Departure - PSP
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - PS3
Final Fantasy XIV: ARR - PC

I think for each Sunday post that I do I will start of with these "stats" to give just a gist of what I have played this week.  There are plenty of other games that I am currently playing, however these are just the ones I have touched this week.  Maybe even to make it "SPARKLE" we can do this:

Currently Playing:

Star Ocean: First Departure - PSP




                  Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - PS3

Final Fantasy XIV: ARR - PC

I think that adds a lot of color to the blog?  Pictures are fun!!  Some concerns that I have had is the fact that I don't put too many pictures or images in my posts, but this is usually due to me not having screenshots available for the games.  That or sheer laziness.

I think I will also start working an extra post in here or there on top of my Sunday updates.  I am debating if I should do my Sunday posts where I talk about my take on issues with games or my random thoughts (somewhat philosophical) while giving an overview of my progress through the week.  This would allow me to talk about individual games I am playing during the week when I have thoughts about them.  If it is something that I can hold myself to then I think it will work out perfectly.  My game coverages are going to decrease after tomorrow since my teams only have State Playoffs left and those are once/twice a week starting in May.  We probably won't even go that far and then I will have a lot more time to concentrate on thinking.  

This post will be different though and we will start things up next week.  Today I just wanted to let you all know of these changes since I announced stuff last week.  Changes are a comin.  Let everyone know!!

Times They Are A Changing

So my friend over at Random Nerdom changed their blog up with a new site to host, new template, and new entries!!!!  I wish them a lot of luck and I will definitely be following them.  I urge you all to do so as well.

This new change has me thinking about things as well with my life and new directions.

To announce, the wife and I are having a child!!!!

YAY

And we are having a boy!!!!

YAY

So there are changes coming.  Around August 27th.  Woooo!!!

If I go silent for awhile around then then thats most likely why.

So I am planning on changing the feel of my mission statement for this blog.  First I need to identify one before changing it I guess.  I have used this medium as my journey through my past games as only a means to talk about that experience.  I will be honest and say I just wanted to get through things so I would not feel guilty when I bought new games.  I thought this would be the best way to keep track of things on the internet and it was some cutting edge idea.  Then I found the Backloggery and thats when I realized it wasn't such a brand new thought.  So I started to slack on writing.

Then I saw that some ads had brought me a very small amount of money and I realized that maybe I could try and make some extra cash with this blog.  People do it all the time so why can't I??  Well these people are very dedicated to this and may not be working 2 other jobs and balancing family life.  So I started to slack again.

Then my wife and the We$$ suggested I should keep a journal and track my experience as I found out I was having a kid and each day passing.  I tried to do that but it didn't stick either because there were days when the mundane would happen and I didn't feel like having to write about that.

This all led me to my new vision for this here blog.  It is still going to be "Getting Through the Games", however I am going to get through them because I want to enjoy video games before the baby comes and things will be cut down in terms of my playtime and what I can play.  I am going to try my best to not do game reviews, however I can't guarantee that.  I like talking about what I enjoy with games and that element to each particular one that makes me love/loathe it.  To add to this though I will talk about how I am going to be gaming while preparing to become a father, and then eventually being a father.  I know that there are probably lots of blogs about those concepts, however different points of view and advice don't always hurt.

I am looking at changing the template to the site (you may have noticed something new) until something sticks.  I am also looking at moving it from Blogger to a different hosting site.  That decision will relate to traffic and revenue brought in. 

I am going to make this endeavor easier to read and enjoy but that will take time and I ask please for your patience and support.  Things will get better from here!

Hesitation

I think I am hesitating to play one game in my collection the most out of any of the others.  I have made a lot of headway in my handheld collections on the 3DS and the PSP.  With my PSP I only have 4 games that I need to finish, and I am currently playing one of them now, Star Ocean: First Departure.  When I was trying to figure out which would be next on my PSP from the list I went with Star Ocean because I was timid to play the one game.

Final Fantasy VI.

I think I am worried that a game that I hold as my personal favorite in the entire series won't be as great as I think it is.  I love FFVIII.  I love FFIX and FFVII (thats right, in that order).  But I consider Final Fantasy VI to be the one that hits me right in the heart.

Its the one I first played and stuck with me when I was young.  I rented it over and over again for the SNES (it was FFIII then), just like I did with Mega Man X2.  I did not get that far into it when I was young.  

I tried again when I bought the game as part of the FFV and FFVI collection (Final Fantasy Anthology), yet still I ended up only getting to the same point (which I believe was after the opera house).

I then picked up FFVI on GBA and went farther than I ever had.  I made it maybe 2/3rds of the way through the game, but then put it down.  Not for a specific reason but something in me just wanted to put the game down then and there.  I had the guide and knew exactly what was going on and what I needed to do, yet I just could not commit to it.  I ended up most likely playing Pokemon or something which distracted me more than anything.

Recently after getting a gift card for the Playstation Network I picked up FFVI on the cheap during a sale so I could play on the PS3/PSP.  I have it sitting on my XMB on the PSP right now but I have yet to start it.  I have my guide all ready to go and play it from the beginning, but I just can't push the button.

I am not afraid to play the game from the beginning.  I can't wait for that.  I can't wait for the level grinding and the exploration of such a superb game made almost 20 years ago that it still is listed in the annuals as one of the greatest RPGs and Games of all time.

I am just afraid to live this adventure and not be able to spend the time with Terra, Locke, and company again like the first time.  Its exciting knowing how the book begins and how it goes through the middle, but if you never get to the end you can still revisit things with that same sense of newness each time with the addition of a page here and there.  I don't think I want that to end.  

However we all have to grow up sometime and not be afraid of that which does not hurt us.  So I promise that once I get through Star Ocean: First Departure I will get my life ready to accomplish a feat 20 years in the making.

Frequent Rental Completed, YAY Mega Man X2

Back in the day when Blockbuster and Movie Gallery stores were everywhere and it was normal to go rent a movie or game for the night or weekend.  Back in the good ole days where it felt almost like a rite of passage to get a rental ID as much as a driver's license.  And when you would rush back to return something so you didn't get the fee, however would forget to rewind the movie (for those youngsters out there, google VHS tapes).

Those were the days of my youth, and I would spend a lot of time and money on renting video games from rental stores.  I may not have had the money to buy the game, but I could easily rent the game over and over again.  My biggest concern though was someone renting the game when I wanted to get it, or if someone saved over my file.

This trip down memory lane has lead me to a game I frequently rented titled:

MEGA MAN X2

I had grown up playing the old school Mega Man games.  There difficulty coupled with this new idea of gaining a bosses ability and being able to use it in battle was exciting.  It was like a weird game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors".  The thing is after awhile with the original series things started to get a little stagnant.  It was always you against Dr. Wily.  You had your weird friend but enemy ProtoMan (which my friend Chris and I used to play Mega Man and Proto Man all the time in the front yard as kids.  I was always Proto Man which is cool since he has shades and a kick as whistle intro).

Thats where the X series was a great breath of fresh air.  I have completed X before, but X2 as always the game from my past that struck me the most.  I most have spent about a hundred dollars on renting it between GA and Massachusetts (where my father and mother lived respectively).  Because it was different places I had to get a different cartridge when I was at one house or the other.  I loved my SNES and how easy it was to travel with it.  However paper is usually pretty easy to travel with too but I would always lose the page that would have the number code on it you would get from Mega Man.

Thats right kids.  Back then MegaMan didn't let you save the game.  You would get a 12 digit code that you could input to continue your game.  It was nice and all, however it would be a pain when you could have many codes on one piece of paper.

Back to the matter at hand.  Its hard to really go too much into the detail of the X series storyline.  It is not as founded and established I feel as the original series.  Thats ok though because it is a rebirth.  Its great being able slide and climb walls.  Its great to be able charge up your blaster.  And the upgrade system rocks.

The big draw with the X series is the upgrades that MegaMan X can get.  Dr. Light made X but sealed him away long ago.  He also made capsules that when X walked up to would upgrade his abilities.  In X2 the ability to slide in the air, decreased damage, charge any weapon, and the "find the secret" helmet are pretty damn cool.  These are what made me as a young child gravitate to this game because I found something from when I was really young but didn't understand it that much upgraded.  It wasn't completely brand new in every way, just updated for more modern times.  Thats what I loved.

So go and play Mega Man X2 if you can.  Its worth it.  Trust me.  The whole X series is great.

In fact, before I finished this entry I also completed X3.  Great game too, however doesn't hold as close a spot in my heart as X2.  It is nice being able to play as Zero and getting more into that backstory.

Maybe I should do a Mega Man X series playthrough.  Might be fun on Twitch.

Updates On Handheld Gaming

So earlier in the lifetime of this blog I wrote a post about handheld gaming and how I believed that the mobile platform would not be taking over things.

You can find it here.

I am glad to see that some gaming website are starting to agree with me as time has gone on.

The mobile phone platform for gaming is a model that wouldn't work for serious games.  Companies have tried, and will keep trying.  However the phone seems to be a place for the Candy Crush and Angry Bird games still.  Games that you can just do repetition over and over again (there is some strategy involved but there is nothing extremely story driven) to pass the time seem to do best on mobile phones.

Its a world of micro-transactions and linking up with your social network so you can get more lives or get through levels quicker.

I admit there are RPG games, action games, platformers and the like no the app stores.  Heck SE has remade many Final Fantasy games for the mobile platform.  Yet selling games for $15 can be a deterrent.  I don't want to spend that on something that I confines me only to a small screen that will smudge up constantly and get interrupted because of phone calls or texts coming on the screen (I have it set like that because I use my phone a lot for work).  When most other mobile games are 5.99 at the most, something in the $15 range is crazy.

Yet we were predicting almost 2 years ago that handhelds would be swept away by mobile phones and their game playing capability.  Watching the ads and all the reviews it seems smartphones are more concerned about their display and the pictures they take then gaming.  Yes, they sometimes show in their ads gaming, but that isn't pushed very hard.  It is still mostly cameras and speed.

With the 3DS the most popular handheld right now, and selling like hotcakes, I believe that handheld gaming is here to stay.  What Sony is doing with the Playstation Vita and the Playstation 4 in terms of remote play of any PS4 game on the Vita virtually anywhere is the future.  If the internet infrastructure of America upholds (not too hampered by crazy corporate America, but you never know), and is improved on I see this becoming the new type of handheld gaming.  The ability to start a game anywhere and play it anywhere almost seamlessly.

I think I will check back in on this in about 6 months and see how we are doing.

My Thoughts On Genre

So to start things off, I have been playing lots of Pokemon Y and Ni No Kuni.  Tossed some Diablo in there (wow, thats been a while since I got that going) and things have been good.  I think that Pokemon has seen the largest gains out of the three.  The game has gotten a little better, but there is still that same ole same ole rut that Pokemon games seems to have.  Got my 7th badge and now going into villainous organization's lair.

The only thing that is challenging is just trying to get the right load out for my party.  Got my grass starter, got my Pidgeot, got Charizard, Lapras, and a nice steel/dragon.  Pikachu was helping me out but he is almost worthless now.  I need a new damn electric pokemon.  Maybe also will change out for a psychic or fairy.  Or maybe psychic/fairy (if there is one).

 With all of these different games I have been playing, my best bud We$$ sent me a message earlier asking if The Sims could be considered a RPG.  This got me thinking about the current state of video games with genres and the ever increasing blurring of the lines.

I remember when I was growing up (hopefully this doesn't sound like an old man on the porch kind of thing) genres for games were pretty split.  Action and Adventure kind of went hand and hand, but something was a Fighting, something was FPS, this was RPG (didn't really have this fancy JRPG and WRPG war really going on (I am pro JRPG)).  Some games you might scratch your head on but not often (what is Zelda?).

Nowadays we have games that combine elements to attract more consumers to the goods.  Am I upset about this?

Not really.  Business is business. Making money is essential not just for the stimulation of video games, and really for any type of product out there (capitalism can be a good thing).  It is also important to support the creators of the product.  People do need to eat.  And buy things.  And pay taxes.  

Screw taxes.

I am excited and happy with some combinations.  Ideas like a FPS mixed with a RPG sounds interesting (haven't really found one that seems actually good).  There are more than just this example but I don't have any other ideas right now.

What does piss me off is the mislabeling of games into a genre because of one single element in them.

The Sims might seem like a RPG because you do have a "role" of a sort that you can play your character literally however you wish.  However there is a problem when you compare it with Dungeon's & Dragons which is what I consider the pinnacle RPG.  Its the foundation of what you base a genre that I have such high regard for.

The D&D test that I use is like this (by all means this is not official and is just my opinion):
1. The game must have a character(s) in which you take control of
2. Character(s) from 1 must be able to be customizable almost 100% without there being a problem to playing and completing the game.  I use Cloud from FFVII as an example.  You can play him as a PLD type, a WHM type, an attacker, whatever.  None of this will affect the game nor will it punish you for doing so.
3. With 1 and 2 in play, the character(s) must follow an overall storyline that is present in the game.  Regular life is not an acceptable storyline.

There are many different games that fit these 3, and there are a lot more than fit some but not all.

In the end all genres are unique to themselves and one is not better than the other.  A First Person Shooter is not better than a Strategy game.  Some people just like the former and others like the latter.  Hell, some might like them both.

Play what you want.  Accept crossover.  Don't accept crap that fails to respect the artform.

The Game Is On

So the second post of the reincarnation of the blog.  I guess this is a defining moment.  Who knows.

Please mind the fact that this entry might be a little short to the point and off.  I have been reformatting my wife's old net book to use as an auxiliary device.  The keyboard however is much smaller than I am used to so things are a little weird using it.  I shall conquer this!!

Things have been good this week with my advancing through the drudge that is my backlog.  I haven't beaten anything this week, just playing.  Lets go through things:

Pokemon Y:

I keep getting suckered back into the Pokemon series.  I loved Red.  I loved Silver and Gold and Yellow and Emerald.  I think they were great games because I was young and I could memorize all the damn Pokemon in the game and feel really cool.  Things weren't overly complicated.  That was the key.  Now though things are just crazy.

The story is similar as all the others.  If you have played one Pokemon game you have played them all.  8 gyms, 8 badges.  Elite 4.  Legendary Pokemon.  Some evil team trying to take over things/the world.  They add the element of a new region for each game and that helps to somewhat change things up if not just a bit.

I will say that "Y" is better than Diamond/Platinum (the last Pokemon games I played).  Mega Evolution is kind of fun during battles to get that instant boost of kickassness.  I like how the boring flow of the game from town to town is broken up at times with random little excursions.  And as always, the collecting of Pokemon is always entertaining.

I think that my problem with the game besides the sheer massive amount of Pokemon is all the little ways that you can level up your Pokemon so that you can battle against people online.  I haven't used the online element that much on here and I don't see myself becoming a huge collector and battler on it.  I will say that if you cut away all of that "fluff" that the game does do pretty well.

I find myself done with the power plant and back getting ready to take on the electric trainer's gym (can't remember the gym right now since I don't have my 3DS near me).  Besides having 5 badges, I have spent a lot of time just leveling different types of Pokemon to round out my team.  The problem though is that where I am I have't found a good spot to just level.  Its quite a pain in the ass.  I might just push through and beat this game this upcoming week.  Gotta a nice little trip for work I am doing, so lots of play time.  

It just blows my mind how many Pokemon I have seen/caught so far.  I think its when I look at this that I begin to realize the crazy amount in the game.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch:

I first heard of Ni No Kuni while listening to the Official Playstation Blogcast podcast.  At first I wasn't too impressed with what they were saying about things.  Just wasn't drawing me into the game.  They made the comments that it was a great JRPG that was very different from others and it had a great sense of humor and story to it.  I just didn't pay too much attention to things.

Then after a couple of months I saw that there was a demo for it and I decided "Why the hell not.  Lets give this a try".  Downloaded, explored the forest, defeated the monster, and still was not too horribly impressed by things.  Sometimes demos hit me really well but sometimes they don't.

After even more time had passed I was looking for a good game for my birthday and I just thought that maybe I would toss it on a list and if I got it I would try it out.  Maybe a new RPG to my routine would spice things up.

Damn.  I am really happy that I got the game and have been playing it.

Ni No Kuni is a title that seems to get a lot of things right, with some things wrong (more things right though).  The animation and drawing is amazing, but nothing less can be expected from Studio Ghibli.  The voice acting is perfect.  Using British actors was the perfect choice.  American voice actors I think wouldn't have been able to tell the story as well because there ain't anything special about our voices.  Please don't get me started on what the hell a Boston accent is from.

The story though takes the cake.  There are typical J/RPG elements with magic and rescuing and exploring.  There is a world to save.  There is leveling to do and friends to make along Oliver's journey.  You even have a quirky Lord High Lord of the fairies that helps you out.  What takes the cake is the reason behind the journey.

MILD SPOILER AHEAD.  INTRO SPOILER!!!!



All good adventures have a starting point.  A reason for you to cross that mountain and see what is on the other side.  Without this you are just on a stroll with no purpose.  Oliver doesn't start his adventure because he wants to free the world from tyranny.  He doesn't want to save crystals.

He wants to save his mum.  His mother dies and he discovers that by going on this journey he will be able to bring her back.

BAM!!  Thats it!!  Saving the world is secondary to his mother.  Through the journey he keeps saying that he needs to accomplish what he set out to do.  This is something that will pull at anyone that loves their mother.  I would have done anything for my mother when I was young, and heck I still would now.  That is the beauty of this.  I plan on playing this game when I have kids and have it as an interactive story.  There is nothing offensive in it (except for fantasy violence) and its something that they will really enjoy.

Yes its a game that still requires 40-50 hours to play through, and the familiar system is daunting and confusing.  Sometimes the combat system is off as well.  The thing is that that doesn't really matter.  I want more when I play it.  I want to hold Oliver's hand and get him to the end and see what happens.  I want him to save his mother because its not just his mother.  Its mine as well.  Its your's.

I strongly recommend that people pick this title up and give it a try.  It may be a little slow at the beginning but keep with it.  Its worth it I promise.  I find myself currently in Hamelin and you will laugh when you get there.

I only suggest that you think like a child when you play.  Relax and let yourself be young.

The ReIntroduction

(tap tap)

You all there??

Hello??

Can you hear me??



I know I have been gone for awhile but its ok.

Things have been busy as always at work.  Working a Full Time job and then a Part Time job as well is tiring.  I also spend a lot of time with my wife and the dog because I love them.  Add to that playing games when I can and it can feel like I have to choose between sleep and blogging.

Most sane people will choose sleep.  Sleep is an amazing thing.  It is the creme on top of the dessert that is daily life.  The ability to shut one's eyes, dream and relax, and then wake up hopefully refreshed is an amazing thing.

Have I told you how much I love sleep??

It truly is a magnificent thing.

Back to the point though.  I have been really busy just trying to get mine and my family life in order.  Gotta make sure that the bills will get paid.  I love my job and working as an Athletic Trainer, however I have yet to find a way to play games and make money from that.  Once I do I will let you know.

Also, if you know how to do this, please let me know!!



I plan on getting back into blogging though because it will help me express my thoughts on games.  Reading the blog Random Nerdom has definitely helped to rekindle my writing talents, or lack there of.  I suggest you take a look at it.  It is written by a wife and husband who actually have writing background unlike me.  They explore more things than just video games, and currently Stephanie is doing a 30 day blog writing challenge that is very personal and worth it.  I have read everyday so far.


In terms of this blog I have already gone ahead and changed the format of the page.  Makes it flow better that way.  I think I will remove The List and other pages.  I keep forgetting to update The List, and when I get to it I am so far behind it gets very confusing.  I have another method that I will use to track things that correlates with The Backloggery website.

For now I am going to work on weekly posts, doing a summery of the week.  As the weeks go by and work changes I can easily increase to twice a week.  I won't be going back to talk about the games that I played while I was gone.  Doing that might cause me to just putter out and go away and I don't want that to occur.

So please tell your friends to come back to the site!!  The fun is on!