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Monday Gaming Diary: Oh yeah, Bravely Default is fun!

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2014-01-07-Bravely-Default

I’ve all but given up trying to play console games on weekends. Unless I’m reviewing something, I just can’t get my butt upstairs to play, even at night. I’m too worn out from all of my kid’s social activities (yes, they ain’t mine) to stay up very late (or so I feel), and on Sunday night, I’m usually writing for another outlet until quite late so I don’t have to write as much there during the week. One would think this would open up time for my handhelds, but until this past weekend, I kind of forgot I had games to play on them.

My eldest son now has his own 3DS, thanks to my silly self buying the A Link Between Worlds-themed 3DS XL last year. I traded my 3DS XL with another friend who had a regular 3DS, and gave that one to the kiddo. Of course he doesn’t have any games for it yet (his birthday is right around the corner), but I was nice enough to let him borrow my copy of LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. When we weren’t at a teeball game or at a birthday party, he sat on the couch and quietly played with his new 3DS. As I watched the baby crawl around on the floor and entertain himself quite well, I pulled out my 3DS and started up Bravely Default for the first time in months.

Holy cow I forgot how delightful that little RPG was. When the kids went to bed, I instantly took it out, saying I would only play for an hour as I had to get up early the next morning for church. The next thing I knew, it was nearly 1:30 in the morning, and the husband was demanding to know why in the world I was still up.

Any chance I had on Sunday to sneak in a few battles, I did so. It’s the perfect little game to try to spend a few minutes grinding or rebuilding Norende. I kind of hope I’m not done with it before E3 so I have something to entertain me while waiting in lines in addition to Street Passing the hell out of everyone.

I haven’t given up on Bound by Flame at all either. I’m still enjoying that and stressing out about every decision I make. I’m not sure I’ve played a game that seems to have so many pivotal decisions, and that includes Mass Effect. At least with Mass Effect, those choices were pretty obvious as Paragon or Renegade. With BbF, I have no clue if what I’m deciding is best for the world or even the character. Not sure if I will play again to change my choices at this point, but that’s only because I’m too busy to plan additional playthroughs. If I can’t find time to finish two of my Mass Effect 3 playthroughs, BbF isn’t going to get time either.

Monday Gaming Diary: Who Said Nothing Good is Releasing in May?

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kitten-in-peril-from-xbox-360-controllerMay may be my absolute craziest time of year for reviews, and I don’t have any strategy guides to review! Not sure what is up with that (I’m looking at you, strategy guide publishing companies) but I hope to get some more announcements when I harass them all at E3 this year. I will make super special time to bug everyone about summer and fall releases. I love them way too much to not do so.

But in the meantime, I’m up to my eyeballs in games to review. Last week I was up to my eyeballs in RPGs. Next week it will be randomness. At least I have this week off to, uh, sleep? Or something like that.

Last week I reviewed Child of Light and Bound by Flame, both of which I liked for very different reasons. CoL is one that I can easily recommend to many, many people who love RPGs, while BbF comes with several disclaimers. I really liked it, but you should be aware that…etc.

Even though I liked both games, I really don’t want to review back-to-back RPGs ever again. That was way too much in such a short period of time, and I’m too old to handle so little sleep these days. Today I’m going on 3 hours sleep thanks to a teething baby, and I’m already daydreaming of that special nap time I hope to take but probably won’t get to.

Next week it’s Nazi killing (hooray!) and another strange RPG from SuperGiantGames, Transistor. At least both should be fairly short. Shooters typically are, and if Transistor is like Bastion, it should only take 6-10 hours to complete. That’s a perfect way to swing back into reviewing a strategy guide for a massively large open world, right? Just before E3?

I suppose I’m never sleeping again.

Monday Gaming Diary: Ever heard of Gaems?

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GaemsI hadn’t heard of Gaems until I started writing for The Daily Crate. When I got my first LootCrate package, a coupon for a Gaems Personal Gaming Environment was inside. Being the primo investigator I am (go on ahead and LOL), I looked up what a friggin’ Gaems was.

OH. MY. GOD.

I need one of these. I need one yesterday.

I’d love to take my PlayStation 3 with me on my beach trip with the whole family. And for the Extra Life marathon…since I’m going to go to Iowa for the event, I’d love to take my own PS3 with me so I don’t have to use one of their machines. Oh my God, when I have to travel for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I am set. I won’t have to mess with anyone’s TV. I won’t have to disturb anyone’s TV-viewing. I can go off with my brother-in-law (on either side) and any kids and play games. Holy crap I must save up my money and buy one.

Before I can get too excited, however, I see a problem. A rather severe problem.

I have the original PlayStation 3, the “phat”one, if you will. A Gaems only covers the Slim version, because the phat one will crack the screen when you close the case.

WAAAAAAH!

I have some Xbox 360 games in my backlog, but not like my PS3, which still has games releasing for it. I don’t have many PS4 games, of course, and I think my Xbox One is currently just my TV viewing machine that I occasionally play Peggle 2 on.

I’ve searched for something similar for my PS3, but I’ve found nothing. I’ve found carrying cases, but I like the idea of using this whole system to play games on.

I tweeted my laments, and Gaems reached out, 1) explaining why their current cases won’t work for the PS3 and 2) teasing that maybe something is in the works for my poor fat system. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be cool if they thought of the older systems. Think of the fat kids, please! They need love too!

The day one gets announced, and I mean the nanosecond, I’m all over a preorder.

So naturally, that will happen after I finish all of my PS3 games.

Monday Gaming Diary: I have a literal paper trail from the Paper Trail DLC

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infamous-papertrail

Paper Trail is the free DLC for inFAMOUS Second Son, and it was released in episodic format over 6 weeks. Each episode was a collection of about four missions for Delsin to complete to help solve a murder mystery involving the DUP. What started off as what seemed to be a somewhat simple murder mystery spiraled into a crazy backstory behind Augustine, the DUP, and well, the future for the inFAMOUS series.

Holy crap it was amazing.

What was more amazing than the story was the gameplay. The DLC required you to use either a computer or a tablet to log all of your evidence and for your sleuthing. You had to hack the DUP intranet, a forum for the Lifeline protesters, watch videos, and unfold and decipher many, many messages in origami doves.

But some of the sleuthing required paper puzzles with numbers, symbols, mazes, you name it. For most of the puzzles, I had to print off some of the photos to fold up, connect the dots, or use as a grille cipher. When I was done with the printouts, I used them to jot down copious notes I needed to solve other puzzles and ciphers. I have a nice stack of paper on my desk full of drawings and seemingly random numbers. I don’t think I’ve ever used so much paper to help solve puzzles in a Professor Layton game.

Using so much paper also makes me giggle at a bit of the double meaning behind Paper Trail.

And I really want to fold a bunch of origami doves to dangle around my office. Because I don’t have enough random crap flitting around here.

That reminds me…where IS my origami swan from Heavy Rain? Just realized I haven’t seen that since the move…

Monday Gaming Diary: Still Avoiding Finishing Lightning Returns

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legobilboI have a week off before my next video game review for work. That nagging voice in my head says I should probably get back to Lightning Returns and attempt to finish it, but the devil on my shoulder (or perhaps it really is an angel) points out that I should get LEGO The Hobbit to 100% since I’ve already started it. And I just can’t argue with that shoulder entity. She is quite wise.

I finished my evil playthrough of inFAMOUS Second Son last week as well, which was depressing as hell I have to say, and my gaze immediately went to my copy of Lightning Returns on my desk. “Come on, you know you have to see just how awful this game is in the end,” the shoulder demon whispers. “You have to say you know how it goes, so you can have educated hate. You went and bought the Collector’s Edition because you’re an idiot, so get your money’s worth out of this game.”

Then my angel appears and says, “But don’t you want to finish what you start from now on? Don’t you dare abandon LEGO The Hobbit. And while you’re at it, shouldn’t you complete the Paper Trail DLC that was FREE for inFAMOUS Second Son? See, you can’t say you’re really finished with that game, even though you’ve played both Good and Evil.”

They both make such excellent points. I really should complete LEGO The Hobbit to 100% and the Paper Trail DLC for Second Son while I can, as I have four games to review in the next few months. Or wait, I think that’s five. Then July should be completely barren for Lightning to take over. I’ll make myself miserable for my birthday month. That sounds like a good plan.

This may sound ridiculous, but the thought of not playing it through when I spent that much money on it drives me more insane than the thought of playing a game I don’t find fun. I never said I was rational, logical person.

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