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Monday Gaming Diary: Took the wiki way out

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Assassin's Creed Revlations - Ezio Auditore da Firenze

After completing Transformers: Fall of Cybertron last week, I really wanted to play something else other than a shooter. I know I’m the shooter expert over at Gaming Angels, but sometimes even I want to play something else, like a RPG or a puzzle game. Playing lots of Professor Layton and the Last Specter has alleviated it some, but my stack of shame has made me feel guilty about not playing something from it. Assassin’s Creed III releases in just six weeks; I need to finish Assassin’s Creed Revelations, so that was the pick of the week.

I played ACR when it originally released for about an hour or so and I got bored almost instantly. I thought Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood ended Ezio Auditore’s story perfectly, so I was never that excited about ACR when they announced Ezio would take the lead once more. My boredom didn’t stem from the gameplay so much as I had zero interest in playing as Ezio once again. Also, the weirdness with Desmond and Subject 16 and the brushing of Lucy’s death under the rug was so off-putting. Nothing grabbed me like the other games and made me want to sit and play for hours.

Sad to say, ignoring the game for nearly a year didn’t help my enthusiasm any. I started over, and within 30 minutes, I hung my head in sadness. I had zero interest in playing this game. I’m done with Ezio, I don’t care why he’s in Istanbul tracking down what Altair was researching, and I really don’t care about Subject 16 and Desmond in an alternate universe in the Animus. I always liked the weird sci-fi overtones with Desmond and what he was doing for the Assassins’ cause in present day, but this was too much. I ejected the disc, shelved the box, and read the summary on the Assassin’s Creed wiki.

If you know me at all, you know that’s something I never do. I’m a huge believer in playing/reading/watching things in order and experiencing the story myself instead of reading a version of Cliff’s Notes. It’s why I ignored friends’ suggestions of skipping the first Mass Effect game and why I’ve put myself through the torture of every Kingdom Hearts game, no matter how terrible they are. At first I felt guilty about “cheating” my way through the series like this, but after reading the summary and nearly dozing off while reading the summary, I’m so glad I’m skipping ACR. Yes, there are some story elements that progress the overall plotline, but as a whole, it doesn’t sound like I’m missing much.

So did I solve my need for playing a non-shooter? Not really. I’ve gone back to Halo: Reach, and I’m almost finished with that game, which will will be followed by Halo 3: ODST and then Bulletstorm, because I feel the need to finish what I’ve started. Dishonored may come at just the right time and save me from this infinite loop I’ve put myself in.

Monday Gaming Diary: More Than Meets the Eye

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Grimlock in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

How fun is it to play as Grimlock? VERY.

Yes, yes, as my corny title suggests, I played a LOT of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron last week, and I actually finished it in less than a week! If I hadn’t gone out of town during the week before Labor Day, I could have had that sucker done by Labor Day weekend! Ah well, them’s the breaks. The important thing is that it is done, the strategy guide review will be up very, VERY soon, and I can get back to my pursuit of finishing the following games before October 9th:

  • Halo 3: ODST
  • Halo: Reach
  • Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Feel free to laugh at me for having such lofty goals; I know I deserve it. I can’t promise that they all will be done, but I can PROMISE you that the Halogames most definitely will be, as I am in the middle of researching lore problems between the games and the books. I’ve been reading the Halo books since about July. I finishedGhosts of Onyx a couple of weeks ago, and on a whim, decided to fire upHalo: Reacharound that same time frame. Within the first or second mission of that game, I stumbled into a huge clash between this game and that particular book. If you accept it all as canon, it doesn’t make sense. But before I confirm this, I must finishHalo: Reach first, and due to suggestions on the Internet, must read a copy of Dr. Halsey’s journal that came with the Collector’s Edition ofHalo: Reach. Thankfully, I have a fantastic Halo fanboy friend who is willing to loan me his copy, since all of the scans and summaries I found online are sub-par at best. I have to admit, I feel like I’m becoming one of those super nerds that has to point out every plot-hole and mistaken reference in comics, like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, just without becoming a man and gaining 400 pounds.

Also, just before the Labor Day vacation, I got my hands on a 3DS XL. After scoffing its existence since its announcement, I have to admit that I caved to its brilliance. This is what Nintendo should have released in the beginning, although we all know that Nintendo never releases final products at launch. How could I not have learned this lesson from the DS Phat? Consequently, I traded in my 3DS and picked up a 3DS XL (don’t worry…I was able to transfer all of my data). While I was hanging out in GameStop, I finally picked up the most recent Professor Laytontitle, Professor Layton and the Last Specter. I’ve always loved these games, and I meant to pick it up when it released, but obviously, that never happened. Each game seems to jump the shark more than the last, but it’s always entertaining to see how it comes together in the end. Besides, I love the puzzles! Considering how much failure I’ve had with the Vita as of late–most recent game to bite the dust was Uncharted: Golden Abyss–it’s nice to find something I like to play on the handhelds.

So what aboutKingdom Hearts 3DS? I can’t say what my issue is there, except that it’s difficult to really play that gameasa handheld game. WithProfessor Layton, at least I can easily close it and put it down at the drop of a hat and pick it up with no problems. With KH3DS, it’s not so easy. I have to remember what I was doing, how I was doing it, remember what buttons do what, etc. As much as I love KH games, this one is most likely going to sit until I have nothing huge pending on the main consoles.

And that, boys and girls, is why this series needs to come out on a console already. It’s ridiculous.

Before I go on that rant, I better end this diary entry now.  Hope everyone has a great week!

Monday Gaming Diary: Getting Reacquainted with Handhelds

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Kingdom Hearts 3DS

I admit that I am a complete gadget junkie. As such, sometimes my new-found gadgets gather dust after their newness and initial excitement wears off. My 3DS and Vita are two such gadgets. Both have sat unplayed since SDCC, and I can’t really say that I played with my 3DS as much as I used it for Street Passing so I could complete two puzzles I couldn’t finish at E3.

This weekend, however, I was a little determined to make up with both of them. My husband had drill weekend, so he was gone starting Friday night and therefore, it’s up to me to parent the kiddo at night. It’s very, VERY hard to play my console video games and do this. I mostly play things he can’t watch, and since I’m trying to be quiet as he goes to sleep, I wear a headset, which means I can’t hear him get out of bed or call for me that easily (my headset is awesome, for the record). So the best course of action lies in the handhelds. Not to mention, if I get called away from playing, it’s so much easier to stop my handheld than it is a console game.

First up, I decided it was time to make up with Kingdom Hearts 3DS. I was initially really turned off by the game due to the fact it is, in essence, a timed game, but the fact that it’s a handheld game wasn’t that appealing to me either. If I play a game, I’d really rather it be a console game for a number of reasons. Again, I admit that I have no idea why I bought these handhelds other than the fact I am a gadget junkie. But anyway, I played KH3DS for a few hours and rekindled my love for the series. The timed portions aren’t as bad as they initially seemed, and I really like how tied the game is to Birth by Sleep, so yay, I’m glad I’m no longer mad at it.

Had to dust off the Vita a little too. After giving up on the Vita version of LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 (seriously, DO NOT BUY), my Vita has been off for weeks, for some of the same reasons why my 3DS has been turned off. But I have a stack of Vita cartridges that I haven’t cracked open or finished playing. I couldn’t bring myself to play more of Resistance: Burning Skies, so I tried Dungeon Hunter: Alliance. It’s a little action-RPG that follows the typical formula of a Western RPG and has none of the spark. I can see why it got poor scores across gaming sites, but it’s so mindless that it’s something I can play while Gabe occupies himself with coloring books, puzzles, or his iPad. KH3DS is anything but mindless, so I can’t really play that around him. This fits the bill perfectly.

That said, I can’t recommend anyone buy it, and I doubt I’ll pick it up again.

I’m going to Houston next week, and the handhelds will be making the trip with me. I have 4-5 hour road trip each way plus nothing to do at night at my parents’ house. Hopefully I can make a bit more of a dent in my Vita games and KH3DS during that time.

Monday Gaming Diary: Murder holes! Comedy gold!

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This past week I’ve had a bit of a personal tragedy, so all plans for everything pretty much went out the window like all my hopes for the Wii U. I needed a pick-me-up, something that was over-the-top and wasn’t serious in the slightest. With all of the serious games I’ve had to play as of late *coughcoughSpecOpsTheLineWitcher2SyndicatePrototype2etccoughcough*, I really wanted something silly.

Sorry, Kingdom Hearts 3DS…you take yourself seriously enough, despite the ridiculous pastels and fluffy creatures.

If you’ve looked at my stack of shame as of late, you probably know exactly which game I picked: Bulletstorm.

I’ve heard from my EvilCast cohorts more than once how insane the game is in both gameplay and in dialogue, but nothing could have fully prepared me for this game. I feel like I should replay with a journal next to me so I can write down every ridiculous thing that is said in the game. Then again, if I do that, I may end up writing down the entire script of the game. And then I’ll have to hide it so Gabe doesn’t find a book in my handwriting with the word “dick” scribbled all over the place. At least there are YouTube videos for that.

I also tried to play some more Halo 3: ODST, as, well, I have to get that and Halo: Reach done before November 4th, but I just couldn’t get into it this time. It’s too serious, and ugh, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss Master Chief. These non-Spartans grunt and gasp way too much during a firefight. It’s horribly distracting and annoying. Plus, I feel that all I’m doing is wandering around trying to find health packs, and whilst doing so, stumbling into ambushes. I’m somehow not dying, which I’m going to attribute to the Covenant’s odd inability to chase me into buildings. It’s definitely not from my skill.

However, it was pretty futile to start Bulletstorm now as I’m about to have to really shelve it for a little while. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron releases this week, and at least it’s also not too serious! I doubt there will be dick jokes in it, though. If there were, that would rock on so many levels.

Monday Gaming Diary: My Break from Gaming

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I’m so tired. I’ve gone balls-to-the-wall ever since San Diego Comic-Con, and looking back on it, I’m not sure why I thought I could handle traveling so much and working, and and and and…you get the idea. So last week, I took a complete break from gaming (unless you count iOS games as gaming, which I don’t).

I can’t lie; it was nice. I actually went to bed early and got some decent sleep, and I’ve felt myself completely unwind from the stress-coaster I’ve been on since mid-July. So when I went to my Dishonored appointment on Friday morning at QuakeCon, I felt eager to play a game again. Every now and then, we all need a break from things, especially when our hobbies become more like jobs than they are hobbies. Since this is my first week in about three to have zero traveling and zero conventions to attend, I’m going to get right back into my normal routine. For starters, I need to finish this Spec Ops: The Line strategy guide review that I’ve been sitting on since before SDCC. I had all the intentions in the world to write it up while I was in San Diego. Considering that was almost a month ago, well, yeah. I have nothing.

Oh and before you question my status on Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, I haven’t had a chance to work on that as I’m still waiting for the guide to arrive. I’ve used that fact to delay even turning on the game so I could enjoy my break for the full week. That’s how you turn lemons into lemonade–by, uh, procrastination.

If you want to know how much I loved Dishonored, you’ll have to read my write-up at GamingAngels.

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