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Ektris

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Blog Entries posted by Ektris

  1. Ektris

    The Force Awakens

    By Ektris,

    Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a beautiful movie.
     
    I just got back from it, so I still need to digest a lot. There's so much I want to talk about already, but I want to keep this short by saying it's great, it's a wonderful addition to this franchise, and you need to go see it as soon as you can.
     
    Also I may have cried. Just... twice. Maybe thrice. Definitely during the opening crawl, so that was a great start (heh).
     
    ~|ET|~
  2. Ektris
    This title I may not have started this year (I actually started it when I got my WiiU in July of 2014... and then promptly forgot about it), but I played the bulk of and finished the game during it.
     
    The Wind Waker is only my third time experiencing the Legend of Zelda series. To say it was different from the others I've played would be quite the understatement.
     
    As far as gameplay is concerned, no it wasn't all that unfamiliar. Besides navigation, which honestly became quite laborious. I think it's one of the reasons I stopped playing it for so long; I had just gotten disinterested in sailing around what seemed to be a fairly empty sea. I did get used to it and found some fun in it upon revisiting. Man, that fetch quest at the end where you have to just sail to random places was just not that great though.
     
    What makes Wind Waker stand out is of course its art style. I rather liked it. Definitely different, but not in a bad way. This was a brighter world than the last Zelda title I played, and there was just something about the character designs I found endearing.
     
    Also, Tetra was pretty cool.
     
    I do want to delve into this series more, and this HD remake made that pretty easy. So if you're like me, have a WiiU and haven't played this before, it's totally worth it (even if I did get it for free heh).
     
    ~|ET|~
  3. Ektris
    I must admit that this isn't quite what I had in mind when I joined the chorus requesting that the Assassin's Creed franchise go east. Nonetheless, they did listen, and so I felt compelled to give Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China a try.
     
    I'm not sure that I've played a game quite like this before, and maybe that's why I found it more than a little challenging at times. It has a heavy reliance on stealth and combat is not something you (or at least I) excel at, which means it was quite the turnaround from where the series has been going in the main series. It took me a while to get used to, and by the end I still don't feel as if I was any good at the combat. The necessity to be as stealthy as possible really makes you have to think about your actions before executing them, which I did generally like. I just messed up quite a lot haha.
     
    My problem with the story is... was there one? I feel like we got more characterization and story out of Embers for Shau than here. It was just brief moments of dialogue in-between levels about getting revenge on those who destroyed the Brotherhood in China, which you do... Yay I guess.
     
    Overall this was a neat game, but not one I think I'd recommend for casual fans. It was pretty difficult and just didn't feel important to play at all. I'll still probably be getting the India and Russia variations when they come out though, being the completionist that I am.
     
    Still debating on how much more I want to cover in this series. There doesn't seem to have been much interest in it, which is pretty disappointing. There's really only one more game that I absolutely want to discuss (not just talk in a soapbox..), but there's still a few titles that I finished this year that I could write about.
     
    ~|ET|~
  4. Ektris
    Only a handful of games on my list I want to talk about. I decided the last point-and-click will be the last game I talk about, because I want to go out on a really high note. So next up, the latest installment in another franchise I've been into for years.
     
    Halo 5: Guardians has me back into Halo in a big way. Halo 4 I beat, played a small amount of multiplayer, and promptly just moved on from. The Master Chief Collection got me hooked for a while just from sheer amount of content (hmm.. maybe I'll pad this series out by talking about that..), but that became tiring. Halo 5 is fun in a way I've not felt since Halo: Reach although I don't think I'll go as insane for it as I did that game. Because that was a bit too obsessive haha.
     
    Multiplayer's been refreshing becaues of Warzone. It has snippets of Firefight, my favorite gametype ever, mixed in with a revamped Invasion and your classic Slayer. It's different for Halo and that's probably why I'm liking it so much. Most of the classic playlists are still there of course, with a few more casual ones I'd like to see return, which help when I start to get a bit tired of Warzone. With how long those matches take, a short burst of a different objective can help. Character customizations and REQs are just insane though. I'm probably never going to change my armor away from Helioskrill though because it's as close to playing as an Elite I'll get haha.
     
    I think the campaign was an improvement over 4, though that's not saying much. There were a few things I really didn't like. The very first non-combat level was unexpected and a nice change of pace. Walking around a colony camp casually was neat. Then we went to Sanghelios... Also cool to see that world finally. But they had non-combat levels twice there in the exact same space only one level removed. And that was actually enough to make me not like them as much. It came off then like they just wanted to pad the level count, and I just wanted to see a different type of environment if we were to get more. My much, much bigger problem is just how many of the levels had us play as Master Chief: three out of fifteen. I had no problem with playing as Locke (rather liked jumping between Chief and Arbiter when I played Halo 2 for the first time earlier this year) and welcomed new characters, but man... It felt like we barely saw any of Blue Team's journey and the split was too heavily in Fireteam Osiris' favor. I just wanted to play as John more. The advertising campaign going into this game was about their conflict and discovering the truth, but the game ended up being too one-sided in my opinion.
     
    Anyways, it was a rather standard Halo game for gameplay for the most part. Spartan charging and ground pounding were fun ways to find alternate routes, as well as being a blast to do in multiplayer. And... and... oh yeahhh! Your teams! Playing my solo legendary run (which I always do first because I'm crazy), I found them indespensible. Being able to get revived instead of just constantly restarting - though I still did wipe plenty often - is so helpful.
     
    It's hard to explain really. Halo 5: Guardians just feels fun again. I'm also even interested in where the story's going to go from here, which I wasn't at all after the last game. So from my point of view, 343 also made up big time.
     
    ~|ET|~
  5. Ektris
    It should come as no surprise to anybody that knows me that I got this game. I've been a diehard fan since the very first one, so of course I was going to.
     
    Assasin's Creed Syndicate had it rough, having to follow last year's Assasin's Creed Unity. Which I fully acknowledge had many faults and rather deserved its criticisms. (Even if I did not experience the technical glitches many did - in fact I think I experienced more in Syndicate, having fallen through the world a few times.) Which is quite a shame, as by most accounts Syndicate was a very good game.
     
    This iteration of the franchise introduced quite a few new mechanics that felt refreshing and were just really fun to use. I loved racing through the streets of London on a carriage and loved even more zipping across its skyline with the grappling hook. It made traversing the map, in all directions, fun and a lot easier than before. After as many games as there have been, there really weren't good ways to make scaling a building with your hands interesting anymore.. this addressed that rather nicely I believe. Add to that moving cranes and other industrial era scenery, and it did feel different enough.
     
    Combat changed yet again, and I wasn't too crazy about it at first. While the customization that Unity introduced for armor and weapons was still around, albeit slimmed down a bit, actual combat actions seemed slimmed too far. At least it felt harder than it has been, but counter attacks still solve most everything. But I really just missed being able to run through the streets extending my hidden blade repeatedly and all the other fun flourishes drawing weapons randomly did. Ubisoft really dropped the ball in not letting us use the cane sword as a freaking cane! Seriously, why couldn't we do that?!
     
    Story is where I think Assasin's Creed Syndicate was the weakest. Jacob and Evie were great characters, and just having a main game in the series feature rather prominently a female character was fantastic. I used her quite a lot for side missions because of her enhanced stealth abilities. But what they were fighting for didn't seem to matter much. There were elements there, like what their father did to be so well respected or why Henry was the only operative in London and who were the others that the Fryes left at the beginning, that framed the game that were honestly a lot more interesting to me. "Let's just go find a piece of Eden" sums up the plot too well. At least some of the Templars they made were interesting, and I did really enjoy meeting and working with actual historical figures. Dickens was pretty funny and I just rather liked Bell. Finally, although not as much as what I would have liked, Ubisoft did pull through with improving the modern day story relative to Unity. There still needs to be a whole lot more of it for me.
     
    Overall, I think Ubisoft improved tremendously with this year's Assasin's Creed game. It was a good game again. It may not make up for their previous missteps for some and I understand that. For me, the shameless fanboy, it was enough heh.
     
    ~|ET|~
  6. Ektris
    I wanted to take a break from episode point-and-clicks to get the stink of Game of Thrones out of my mind before talking about the last one I played this year. So let's go to another Games With Gold title.
     
    Rayman is a twenty year old series and this is only the second game I played in it. There was this GBC title I had that I can't even remember the title of, but I know I was never very good at it and thus never had interest in trying it out again.
     
    Then a few years ago I saw some friends in college playing Rayman Origins and thought it looked really fun and the owner insisted it was. Only played a level a few times myself, so didn't get much of an impression though. When Rayman Legends was put up for free for Xbox Gold members, I figured it was finally time I tried it out again. Plus I hadn't played a platformer in a while.
     
    My friend was right - it was really fun. Some of the later levels were a little challenging, as was collecting every single Teensie (better believe I did though). It was a colorful platformer with some pretty wacky characters to spice things up. My favorite levels were by far the music ones. Those were really creative and tons of fun to replay.
     
    That's about all I have to say on this title. Rayman Legends is pretty straithfroward as far as platformers go, but it was a fun one. If you like them, give it a shot.
     
    ~|ET|~
  7. Ektris
    This year marked the first time I played an episodic game that wasn't yet complete. Two, in fact. I didn't start either when they first released, but still got to experience the wait for about half of the episodes to release. Telltale's Game of Thrones left me wanting to never do that again ever.
     
    I understood going into this that it would take time to complete this game. That was fine. From the titles I had already completed, I knew they were relatively quick games anyways so was okay with a bit of fun spread out through the year as a taste of a different style of game inbetween all the others I play. But man, Telltale's inability to maintaint a consistent release schedule compared to, say, Dontnod, was really aggravating. Especially with just how short the Game of Thrones episodes felt when isolated. Unless it's a title I'm really interested in, I'll probably just wait for seasons to complete in the future.
     
    Which puts me in a bit of a predicament. This past year I finally really got into A Song of Ice and Fire. I'm caught up on the show and have read the first few books. So this side story game seemed perfect given how much I was enjoying the other content. It also means I'll probably ineveitibly still get Game of Thrones season 2, as I want to finish what I started. As this game left nothing finished.
     
    No choices mattered here. That's the impressiong many share and I will strongly echo. No matter who you are playing as (character diversity here was a nice thing I'll admit), you all fail. Miserably. Some might try to argue that "that's just how Game of Thrones is," but I disagree. Even if it's not who you're rooting for, some character does succeed. And with how many we got to control here - plus just it being a game, not a book or a television show - the fact that not one makes it out with their head held high is a little unbelievable and simply not much fun.
     
    I suppose Gared didn't really fail, but the loss of his friends along the way sucked. Plus given what you see with Rodrick/Asher, he's too late anyway. Even if his enthralled forces can remove the Whitehills in the next season, you're not saving much. The Wall and the north are my favorite parts about the series, so I did like playing Gared the most. I just felt disappointed by the end because of everything happening he doesn't know about.
     
    Asher or Rodrick... I played them very differently so that was nice while it lasted, to see and live these very different lives. Asher is the surviving heir in my game for what it's worth.
     
    Ugh, then Mira... I thought it'd be cool to see some politics at first, but ultimately no matter how you played the game, Telltale decided in the end that nope, she was actually horrible at it all along and the rest of her life is either going to be horrible or... she's... dead?? Wow. Huh. So basically she won't be a playable character next season or they'll kill her somehow anyway to make the storytelling easier. Because there's no real choices, everything gets funneled to the same ending with just minor events along the way changed.
     
    That's how this game felt. Like nothing mattered. You were leading to... nothing. Literally! As the season didn't tell a full story. That's my biggest gripe here. At least with The Walking Dead, each season so far felt like it did a good job telling a whole story while still leaving an open road for the future. Here, too much was left unresolved
     
    Oh and the art... Plus the game engine... Ugh. They wanted this game to look like an oil painting. I do not feel like they succeeded. The backgrounds early on (before I learned what their intent was) had me thinking the game was just being glitchy and not rendering things properly as everything has this blur to it that's incredibly distracting. I also finally felt Telltale's engine woes where critical scenes would load slowly or stutter, making me miss quick time events.
     
    Game of Thrones is the first game that I'm not going to recommend. Not unless you're a diehard fan of the franchise and are interested in side stories at all. It was frustrating seeing your machinations not matter and annoying to realize going into the final episode that there would be no resolve just so they could push a second season. By the end, I just wasn't enjoying it as much and only going through the motions.
     
    ~|ET|~
  8. Ektris
    This was the very first new game that I played this year. It's also the game that I can say hooked me on the Telltale episodic formula, for better or for worse (...more on that in a later installment).
     
    I mentioned last time my nostalgia for classic fairy tales helping me enjoy the art of Child of Light. This game obviously fueled that fire into an inferno in a different way.
     
    For those of you who may not have heard of the game before, The Wolf Among Us is a prequel story to the comic book Fables. I really need to read that now that it's finished. Anyway, it's about, well, fables. All those classic characters and their secret immortal lives among us.
     
    For a good point-and-click game, I feel you really need a solid story to make a successful game. I have some good news then! The story of The Wolf Among Us is definitively what hooked me.
     
    Bigby was a fun character to play and I really got invested in his investigation and struggles. I tried to play a very neutral Bigby that didn't want to give in to his true self. I cared about all the other characters and their losses. I remember feeling particularly bad about sending the Toads to the Farm, even though I knew it was my job and it was needed to keep everyone safe.
     
    This is also incidentally my favorite art style used in the Telltale titles I've played. It's appropriately evocative of a comic book while conveying the darker, grittier world you're experiencing.
     
    Since it's been almost a year, I can't recall any performance issues I experienced playing this game, although will acknowledge that that's kind of a known issue with Telltale's games (and a preview of my opinions for the aforementioned next entry). So just be aware of that, and sorry if you do have any problems.
     
    Overall, I simply recall really liking The Wolf Among Us as I played it. It was fun and I'd definitely recommend it (note it does have some pretty mature content though). Shame there's no second season on the horizon.
     
    ~|ET|~
  9. Ektris
    This is it. This is actually the game that I've been wanting to talk about since I played it months ago, so why not just start with it?
     
    Many friends whom I've gamed with before have probably heard of my disinterest for turn-based RPGs. There's no particular reason for it either. I've not even played a whole lot of them (particularly the heavy hitters like Final Fantasy), excluding Pokemon if one wants to count it. I'm just always saying I don't like them. Maybe it's the pacing or the grinding, but whenever I hear of or talk about one there's usually the voice in my head saying I probably wouldn't like it that much. It's generally an irrational disdain, but meh, people like what they like and don't like what they don't like for entertainment. Don't always have to justify it. With that in mind, I don't really remember why I gave Child of Light a look. Easy Achievements and being free at the time most likely.
     
    I sure am glad I did.
     
    I absolutely loved this game! The art style was wonderful, exploring the world was fun but not too difficult, and combat not as much of a bore as I feared.
     
    Let's talk about that last one first. It's all time-based which kept battles generally faster paced. I think that helped. Skill trees took time to iron out (meaning except for Aurora I stuck with the comanions I got later in the game once I got them because I knew what I was doing at that point and might have made mistakes earlier one leaving some weaker), but everyone had a clear role in the party that made strategizing easier. I really, really liked the mechanics Igniculus introduced and used him extensively. You probably have to. The timing and using him did mean you had to constantly be watching all characters and enemies to make sure you succeed, which personally helped in keeping me interested.
     
    The story is not anything earthshatteringly deep or complex. It's simple, but that doesn't hurt the game. I'd say it benefits from it, by making it easy to get attached to and root for the members of your party as they struggle against the clearly evil hold your stepmother has over the world. There were definitely some touching moments thrown in there with Aurora's family, and conversely Norah's betrayel definitely stung. I hadn't been expecting that at all, so really felt the hurt.
     
    The art is probably what won me over most in Child of Light. The entier game genuinely felt like I was reading an older classic fairy tale. I think it's great. There's a definite whimisical flair to everything, with enough twist to the darkness to make a clear divide from the light. It made me feel nostalgic for those old stories, so kudos there Ubisoft.
     
    Child of Light is a short, inexpensive, and incredibly fun game. I liked it a lot more than expected going into it. Of all the games I played this year, even amongst the AAA titles, it really stands out as one of my favorites.
     
    ~|ET|~
  10. Ektris
    With no new Pokemon game this year (that I picked up), my blog was rather lacking in any gaming action. Sure, I picked up a good number, but I never really talked about them. All year long I kept wanting to write out more of my thoughts on various titles yet never got around to it.
     
    Luckily I kept a spreadsheet of all the games I played and beat this year to pick from! Because I'm a nerd like that. Just first need to double check that I didn't end up making entries for some that I forgot about haha.
     
    So we'll have a few Halos and Assassin's Creeds of course, but also really got into episodic games this year and dipped into a few things via Games with Gold I might not have otherwise considered. One in particular I keep thinking about whenever I want to write about a game. Plus it'll get me active here again, so that'll be cool. I plan to write the first entry some time this week.
     
    Until then-
     
    ~|ET|~
  11. Ektris
    Nintendo Amiibo Mii Gunner
    Nintendo Amiibo Mii Brawler
    Nintendo Amiibo Mii Swordfighter
    Nintendo Amiibo Mewtwo
    Nintendo Amiibo Falco
    Nendoroid N (with Reshiram)
    One year later and the Smash Amiibo roster is complete! ...Before post-release announced DLC. Very satisfied to have them all together, even if the journey is not quite done yet. The Miis are admittedly the weakest of the entire line in my opinion, but that's not really unexpected since there's not much to them. The imposing pose for Mewtwo and detail on Falco are both top notch though.
     
    N and Reshiram came in as a surprise release this month (10 days before the Japanese release even). N's cool. Love his character, so I had to get him. That Reshiram really steals the show just like Garchomp before it. It was a bit of a pain to put together because the pegs on the legs are actually bigger than the holes in the body. But he looks so great.
     
    ~|ET|~
  12. Ektris
    McFarlane Assassin's Creed Syndicate Hidden Blade
    McFarlane Assassin's Creed Shay Cormac
    Samsung Galaxy S5
    Assassin's Creed Syndicate Collector's Edition
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Sigurd Cherry Energy Arms
    S.H. Figuarts War Machine Mark 2
    S.H. Figuarts Super Mario Playset D
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Kiva-la
    Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition
    Remember that thing I mentioned last month about maybe finding a better way to take pictures of my hauls? Turns out none of that matters because of a leaky water bottle that ruined my old phone. Replaced it with an S5 because sim card and removable battery. I still don't like how big it is (small hands...) but otherwise fine with it.
     
    Picked up Shay for completionist's sake and because I do like the character, but man McFarlane figures just aren't great. Plus this one has some really shoddy paint work on his head, but I don't care enough to replace him. Meh.
     
    Syndicate came in next and I've been loving it. So very few glitches and I'm about halfway done with the game. Just a lot of fun zipping around all over the place. Haven't cared much for the story, which is a shame. And while the developers didn't lie about there being more for the modern day compared to Unity, it's still so terribly disappointing and lacking. Also, cool statue and map yay!
     
    Figuarts all came in today, so no major thoughts on them yet. Play set is... the weakest of course but the number of different enemies is still cool. Kiva-la is pretty and I love how they designed her hip and shoulder armor to accommodate the articulation. War Machine is super solid and have no complaints. Sigurd was a suit design I always liked (shame the character didn't last long) so I'm actually really happy to have him, more so than the last couple Gaim releases.
     
    And then Halo came in today also. Played some matchmaking with a few friends right away and it's a blast. Not looking forward to building that Guardian metal model, though. I can see myself screwing it up a lot ugh..
     
    ~|ET|~
  13. Ektris
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Agito Ground Form (Shinkocchou Seihou Version)
    S.H. Figuarts Iron Man Mark 45
    S.H. Figuarts Luke Skywalker (Episode VI)
    Figma Lucina
    BIONICLE Protector of Fire
    BIONICLE Skull Basher
    Star Wars: Tarkin
    Star Wars: Honor Among Thieves
    Star Wars: Razor's Edge
    Nintendo Amiibo Bowser Jr.
    Nintendo Amiibo Zero Suit Samus
    Nintendo Amiibo Ganondorf
    Nintendo Amiibo Olimar
    Nintendo Amiibo Dr. Mario
    LEGO Ideas The Big Bang Theory
    Nintendo Amiibo Duck Hunt
    Nintendo Amiibo Mr. Game & Watch
    Nintendo Amiibo R.O.B. (NES)
    S.H. Figuarts Thor
    S.H. Figuarts Darth Maul
    Tried something new with the big group shot this month. Think it came out a lot better.
     
    The last big Smash Amiibo drop has come and gone. (And the last big one I'll likely be into at all assuming they don't do non-card Pokémon... Nintendo, please don't do non-card Pokémon!) A bit of a frustrating one since I was worried about missing so many pre-orders, but I got everything in the end without much fuss. And the only one I didn't get at MSRP was Bowser Jr. because I didn't feel like trying to go to Toys R Us first thing in the morning. Overall I think this was a really solid wave. Cool stuff like R.O.B. and beautifully detailed ones like Ganondorf made it great.
     
    Force Friday was a big highlight this month for many, but for me it was a rather mellow day. I was all set and ready to go out hunting for new Black Series figures and hoping I found something without participating in the initial morning rush, but then the day before Bandai revealed they were doing a Figuart of Kylo Ren available for pre-order that very night, so I no longer wanted anything form Hasbro haha. I did go and get some books just to see displays, but that was about it. I'm still fleshing out my Legends content, now with the last written books for it, but have also ventured into new canon. I kind of like that they paperbacks aren't in trade paperback size. It helps distinguish the divide on the shelf heh. Don't know when I'll get around to reading any of these though, I've been so bad at reading...
     
    Luke and Iron Man are two amazing Figuarts. I'm so glad I never bothered with the Hasbro Episode VI Luke because this one is perfect. Maul and Thor I only just opened moments before taking this picture, so haven't done anything at all with them, but they don't seem too bad. Except Thor's face, ugh. Lucina's nice to finally have, buuut... I don't know. I like her, but something just feels weird when I'm handling her.
     
    Fiiiinally back on the BIONICLE train. Still holding out hoping that the gold Skull Grinder mask pack makes its way stateside similarly to the transparent orange Mask of Fire, so I have something to order and get it from. But we've not heard a single thing about it, which is disheartening. Anywho, Skull Basher is a really cool set.
     
    Not pictured is the Ideas The Big Bang Theory set, half because it's on my mantle and I didn't feel like taking it down and half because it's technically my fiancée's. I got it for her as a birthday present and we built it during the season premiere, coincidentally the same day (thank goodness because that was a horrible episode, gave me something to get distracted with). I say "we" but it was mostly her. And she had a lot of fun! Which in turn made me really happy to see and be able to share my hobby.
     
    ~|ET|~
  14. Ektris
    Transformers Combiner Wars Devastator
    S.H. Figuarts 1-Up Mushroom
    Star Wars Black Series First Order Stormtrooper
    Nendoroid Cynthia w/Garchomp
    Sort of a light month, with some heavy hitters (mostly because of RTX, kept myself from going out and buying new BIONICLE again... Which reminds me, I never posted an entry with my pictures. Mostly because it seemed they weren't getting much attention...)
     
    First of all, I bought a 1-Up Mushroom. I hate that I had to, but it was probably the best deal I'll get on one, so whatever. Really do love the amount of accessories we have in the Super Mario sub-line. Really spices up the display.
     
    The Force Awakens is probably really going to hook me back into the Black Series line. The Stormtrooper's pretty nice, albeit does have some articulation issues. Really want that Kylo Ren, so you bet I'll be going out on Force Friday this week to try for one. Not going to a midnight release, though. I'm not that crazy. This trooper in particular is the SDCC one, and wow do I absolutely hate that part of it. For what was supposed to be the even-more-collector-oriented-than-the-already-collector-line-it's-from figure, Hasbro did an absolutely HORRIBLE job at the packaging. For starters, the figure is exposed in an open box. Only a very loose slip cover protects it. It wasn't inside of anything, really. Plus to remove it you have to cut those ties you see on clothing tags. No way he's going back into there now... It's just bad. The artbook was nice at least.
     
    Cynthia has laid to rest any lingering fear I had about not getting domestic releases of the Pokémon Nendoroids, seeing as they're exclusive in Japan and can't be ordered without middlemen. I wasn't all into her, but she's still nice. Garchomp is totally where it's at for me. He is huge and I love it. Pretty decent articulation on him as well. Bring on N!
     
    ~|ET|~
  15. Ektris

    RTX: Day Three

    By Ektris,

    It's over! I can finally sleep!
     
    But I had an absolute blast for the most part!
     
    Started off today yet again super early. I tried getting my friends there in time for the RT Podcast, but because so many attendees just IGNORANTLY REFUSED TO ACCEPT THAT LINE RULES EXISTED THIS YEAR and made their own lines all the time, it was full even before the official "start" of the lining up period. >_<
     
    Meanwhile I sat and waited for my autograph session. Geoff and Ryan are two awesome guys. Got to chat a little bit with them, had my Let's Play Live t-shirt and RTX 2015 badge signed by them, and some pictures. I need to sort through all of my pictures in the coming week and upload them somewhere... Probably Facebook first.
     
    From there we went to line up for the Achievement Hunter panel. Got there three hours early (the actual start this time), got in one of the first groups, and had great seats. But that wait absolutely sucked... And the panel was a little lackluster and predictably annoying Q&A was predictable. But at least I can say I went to one and probably not try bothering to attend in any future RTXs...
     
    Then we just walked the show floor more. Managed to run into Burnie before his line got huge, which was cool. So that was one more signature for the badge. Then played Butt Sniffing Pugs and Behemoth's next game... whose name I unfortunately can't recall.
     
    Overall I really enjoyed my first RTX. It was incredibly panel heavy and I somewhat regret that, although there really wasn't a whole lot to do on the show floor anyway. Center stage didn't seem that active either unfortunately. There were some negatives I don't really need to get into, but overall it was great.
     
    ~|ET|~
  16. Ektris

    RTX: Day Two

    By Ektris,

    So today was indeed pretty long. Started off completely exhausted, it didn't ware off until afternoon, and I am again now.
     
    Brief summary... Started with Red vs. Blue panel. Very funny PSA and we saw Episode 17 early. 18 was ultra hyped so can't wait for that.
     
    Went around the show floor more. Bought some shirts in the RT store and some dice. Been getting into D&D, via Skype with friends though, and kinda need my own dice.
     
    Attended the Ten Little Roosters panel. Really cool behind the scenes info out of that. Plus the Eleven Little Roosters announcement! Looks to be really funny. Also managed to get into Murder at the RTX today, but issues with the app prevented us from easily making progress (it literally wouldn't register any of the clues on my friend's iPhone so we had to resort to the QR scanner method and... kinda lost interest fast). But I like the idea behind it still.
     
    Finished the day with Meet the Lazer Team. A lot of clips were shown during that. Plus more cool behind the scenes talk from the main cast. Surprised it didn't fill up right away (there were so many after hours events at the same time tonight though), so we got in when we didn't expect to be able to because Murder had delayed us from lining up. But that was very cool!
     
    ~|ET|~
  17. Ektris

    RTX: Day One

    By Ektris,

    Had a fairly enjoyable first day I think.
     
    Started off with Funhaus (after getting there pretty darn early and waiting around a lot). That panel was absolutely hilarious. Every bit. The opening PowerPoint, the fan comments, Quiplash.. Glad one of my friends pushed to go there. Although I still would've liked to see the RWBY one going on at the same time. I think I'm mostly caught up on what was said there though.
     
    Didn't spend much time on the show floor today. Just too many panels we wanted. Walked around it though and will be revisiting tomorrow, likely buying merch too.
     
    Tried to start Murder at the RTX, but right as we got the front the app sent out an alert letting us know that lines for the room On The Spot was in were starting 2 hours before the panel instead of 1... For some reason. Just that room. So we left.
     
    But I loved On The Spot! It was the #1 thing I wanted to see (it's the only Rooster Teeth content I've gotten my fiancée into so far. We both enjoy watching it together and she made sure to catch the stream of it this week too).
     
    Then we went to Master Pancake's show. Wasn't too into the movie they were doing, Terminator 2, but it still had some good moments.
     
    Now for tomorrow... And what looks to be a very long day.
     
    ~|ET|~
  18. Ektris

    RTX Time!

    By Ektris,

    Wow, it's here already! Almost don't even feel ready.. And I'm absolutely exhausted tonight.
     
    Picked up two friends at the airport today and then we went and got our badges. I'm really excited to attend, but at the same time worried about how much I'll enjoy it. And nervous. Never went to anything this big (well... sporting events I guess). It almost seems overwhelming being split between three locations to boot.
     
    But I desperately need this vacation. So I'm staying optimistic it'll be great.
     
    Plus, I got in the autograph session I wanted! (Which... Not a fan of how they did it, but I understand the reasoning.) I'll be seeing Geoff and Ryan on Sunday. Hoping to get my Let's Play Live t-shirt signed by them.
     
    ~|ET|~
  19. Ektris
    Nintendo Amiibo Black Pit
    BIONICLE 7117 Gresh
    BIONICLE 7135 Takanuva
    BIONICLE 7136 Skrall
    Transformers Combiner Wars Blades
    Transformers Combiner Wars First Aid
    Transformers Combiner Wars Rook
    Transformers Combiner Wars Streetwise
    BIONICLE SDCC Transparent Neon Green Skull Scorpio Mask
    Nintendo Amiibo Palutena
    S.H. Figuarts Yoshi
    S.H. Figuarts Captain America
    S.H. Figuarts Hulk
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Marika Peach Energy Arms
    Yayyy, I finished the Stars! ...In spite of how not great they are! But I don't have to worry about them anymore, so maybe will move on to finishing 2015 now. Especially with the second wave releasing and having acquired that SDCC mask. Which is very pretty and I'm not pleased with how much I spent for it. Which I can't say for...
     
    Ugh, Amiibo. I jumped the gun when it was announced that Dark Pit would be a Best Buy exclusive and bought a Japanese Black Pit that day. Unfortunately I did so after the prices had risen a little bit, thinking they probably wouldn't drop back. I was wrong. So I do definitely really regret what I spent. On the brighter side, I got a Palutena from Amazon despite her exclusivity! She was pretty easy to get even though I didn't think she would be at all. So not bad there. And she looks great.
     
    I also finished Defensor. Since two of these are just remolds and one just a repaint, they Protectobot limbs aren't that exciting.. Except Rook. Rook is all sorts of awesome. Even if he gets swapped out for a Groove should Hasbro release him, I won't be mad I have him.
     
    Then there's the Figuarts. Oh Bandai and Bluefin... Yoshi's domestic release finally, finally happened. And Bluefin, in my opinion, really did something I don't like with it. A lot of the Japanese retailers gave out a 1-Up Mushroom and effect parts with Yoshi. Bluefin decided to give those away at SDCC instead. Maybe they didn't have enough so they thought it was the best way to handle it, but I do wish I had gotten one or that they would have at least communicated to us that we wouldn't. Because two months of silence on Yoshi until he magically shipped was more than enough time for the info of the mushroom's existence to spread and thus expect to receive one as well. :/ Anywho... Next wave of Marvel stuff hit as well. Cap impressed me a lot solely just for being able to put his shield on his back, unlike the Figma. Love his look. And Hulk is magnificent! He's so hefty and wonderfully poseable. Finally Marika is the next step in finishing Gaim. Finally Gaim's only female Rider is here, with some much needed color diversity.
     
    ~|ET|~
  20. Ektris
    Transformers Combiner Wars Hot Spot
    Nintendo Amiibo Jigglypuff
    Nintendo Amiibo Ness
    Nintendo Amiibo Greninja
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Raia
    S.H. Figuarts Mashin Chaser (w/first run bonus Midnight Shadow tire)
    Transformers Combiner Wars Groove
    Transformers Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus
    S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Kuuga
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach (w/first run bonus Funky Spike tire)
    Figma Solid Snake MGS2 ver.
    Meh. I don't really feel like talking much. And last month I had wanted to rant so much about the Drive SHFs and their first run bonuses... I even got two in this month when I only expected one to reinforce the point! So let's get started anyways. But basically, all accessories that Drive could have are coming as first run bonuses or packaged in with other figures and he got none himself. Even the bikes have the effect parts to go with the tires I got this month. So to complete the Midnight Shadow look, I also need to get Mashin Chaser's bike. Same with Funky Spike and Mach. It's annoying and I really, really don't like that Bandai did it that way (especially if you didn't get preorders, because now you have to rely on secondhand sellers and there is no guarantee whatsoever you'll get these accessories with them), but not much you can really do so meh...
     
    Raia's nice. First Ryuki Figuart because Amazon had a random sale on some for around $7. It was cool. Snake's also nice. Not sure why I got him besides "he was in Smash once!"... Actually, no, that's it. So I don't really have any attachment to him. He at least looks pretty great. Same with Kuuga, but I at least started his show and like the alternate one in Decade heh. Ryugen brings me one step closer to finishing the Gaim cast (and I have three more preordered and one older release I still really want... plus want them to release Lord Baron). Despite not caring for its use in the show, the Yomi suit is pretty cool with its tattered loincloth and the Overlord weapons it comes with are awesome.
     
    Oh yeah, stragglers from Smash Amiibo wave 4 came in. Actually forgot about them really before I went back through the list haha.
     
    Hot Spot is one great Voyager, even ignoring that it's part of a combiner. Just a great figure. Not actually that mad I'll be getting the mold again as Onslaught because it's just really good. Groove I got because I don't expect to get the Deluxe Groove TakaraTomy made released stateside by Hasbro, but even if it does I like what it adds to Defensor's chest so will probably use two of him. And Ultra Magnus... Oh Ultra Magnus. I really want to love you, but you can't hold your weapons at all, as a hammer or split as guns. It's very annoying. Yet you look fantastic in both modes and you come with a Minimus Ambus! So I'll say even just the latter far outweighs any cons and yeah I totally love ya.
     
    Still no BIONICLE... just been lazy getting the '15 sets. I was so excited for the Toa and got the Protectors I really wanted and haven't gotten any more for no reason. Skull sets might fix that desire maybe? I had also been working on a deal to get the rest of the Stars, but that stalled for now.
     
    ~|ET|~
  21. Ektris
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed w/first run bonus Max Flare tire
    S.H. Figuarts Iron Man Mark 43
    S.H. Figuarts Stormtrooper
    S.H. Figuarts Darth Vader w/first run bonus Episode VI display stand
    Star Wars Black Series Bossk
    Nintendo Amiibo Captain Falcon
    Nintendo Amiibo Villager
    Transformers Combiner Wars Brake-neck
    Transformers Combiner Wars Quickslinger
    Nintendo Amiibo Pit
    Nintendo Amiibo Charizard
    Nintendo Amiibo Wario
    Nintendo Amiibo Pac-Man
    Nintendo Amiibo Robin
    Nintendo Amiibo Lucina
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gridon Donguri Arms
    Tamashii items that were late last month arrived literally the first day of this month haha. And they were all I got until literally the last day, when a Gridon from Mandarake showed up this afternoon. Which I'm glad to finally have. Just need to get lucky with a Kurokage at a decent price and I'll be caught up with what I want from Gaim, with still plenty more releasing in the future though. But Drive's already started showing up too, and he's... okay. Incredibly barebones package because literally anything he could have as an accessory is being thrown in with other stuff, but we'll save that rant for next month when it becomes relevant to who'll be showing up then. Also, finally have an Iron Man armor SHF. I really should've gotten in on these sooner because it looks so great. Just wish stands came standard with all of them, because there's so much I'd like to do that requires one.
     
    Bossk is one of few recent Black Series releases I've actually wanted and he's a pretty fun addition. Just had too much fun playing with him talking thanks to his moveable jaw lol. The SHF Stormtrooper is precisely what I expected and in my opinion is better than the Black Series offering, which I have some comparison pics of I should have posted here too. Oops. He presents something interesting for SHFs, alongside Drive, with redesigned boxes. They're making smaller ones for figures that have few accessories and I really, really appreciate that space-wise. Finally, the big man himself - Darth Vader. This figure is phenomenal. There isn't a single thing I don't like about him. So glad I held out for him instead of springing for the BS one. He's just perfect.
     
    The real big guy is that stand he's on, though. Dear lord that stand. Pictures did not convey how big it would be, nor how simply ginormous the box would be for it. Too bad I don't have anywhere to display it..
     
    Congratulations, Hasbro! You found a way to make me buy repaints! >_< Combiners, ugh... I still like Alpha Bravo and Offroad, but it just felt so good completing the "proper" teams I couldn't resist.
     
    Made a huge dent in Amiibo this month. So huge, in fact, that I've completed waves 1 through 4 of Smash Amiibo! Only 5/8 of wave 4 made it in before today, but the three exclusives are on their way (Greninja from overseas though so he'll be taking a while). All of them are pretty darn good looking. I'm especially glad to finally have a Villager because I do enjoy playing him in Smash; shame there's noticeable missing paint on his bangs.
     
    ~|ET|~
  22. Ektris
    Transformers Combiner Wars Air Raid
    Transformers Combiner Wars Breakdown
    Transformers Combiner Wars Dead End
    Transformers Combiner Wars Offroad
    Star Wars Black Series Chewbacca
    8549 Tarakava
    8584 Hewkii
    8548 Nui-Jaga
    Black Akaku
    Black Hau
    Blue Akaku
    Brown Miru
    Brown Pakari
    Green Kakama
    Green Pakari
    Red Akaku
    White Hau
    Blue Krana Vu
    Orange Krana Vu
    Orange Krana Yo
    S.H. Figuarts Alphamon
    The last of my HTS preorders came in, so I'm done with Transformers for a little bit. Is what I would say if wave 3 weren't already popping up somehow. I don't expect them to hit the US for at least another month though, so no big deal there. But hey, I have completed Superion and Menasor! Those two are awesome. Hasbro has seriously hit it out of the park strong with Combiner Wars. Maybe I'll take some pictures of them separately.
     
    RAHI! MASKS! What is this, 2001?! Oh man, building the Rahi was an absolute blast! This wasn't my first experience with the Nui-Jaga; I had a friend with them as a kid. But it was with the Tarakava. I also took the time to build the Kahu and Tarakava-Nui just for fun. The strangeness of the latter truly cannot be appreciated until you make it yourself. The Tarakava themselves are just weird lol. It was just fun. To top it off, Hewkii completes 2003, and I added a load of masks to the collection. One day...
     
    In our random bits category, Alphamon has arrived finally, plus I got my hands on a Chewbacca from HTS at long, long last. Chewbacca's a solid release for the Black Series. So much of the latest waves have just not interested me, so I've come to realize I'm not actually too upset that stores have legitimately just stopped putting out new stock of them. But Chewie I needed, for sure. And Alphamon is a real beauty. I'd probably still rate Imperialdramon above him, but in terms of the Digimon releases he is easily one of the best.
     
    Missing is this month's AmiAmi order (complete with awesome SHF Star Wars!) due to shenanigans. While the order was originally meant to include two Figmas, those got delayed until June. And I'm actually quite thankful for that because the order was incredibly expensive with them. As it is, it still was, because the first run bonus with Vader is huge and brought shipping up to around $35-$40... You'll see. But that's still in transit because AmiAmi didn't update anyone's orders like usual and I had to reach out to them to ask for it to be done, because the delayed items held up the rest from shipping even though they were in stock. Still took them more time to ship out then it should have even after they fixed my orders.. So they're in transit now, but should have arrived already if not for the aforementioned shenanigans and unintentional delays in shipping.
     
    ~|ET|~
  24. Ektris
    Nintendo Amiibo King Dedede
    S.H. Figuarts Shadow Moon (renewal version)
    Transformers Generations Tailgate & Groundbuster
    Transformers Generations Sky-Byte
    Transformers Combiner Wars Megatron
    Transformers Combiner Wars Motormaster
    Transformers Combiner Wars Powerglide
    BIONICLE Kopaka - Master of Ice
    BIONICLE Hero Pack
    S.H. Figuarts Sasuke Uchiha
    Transformers Combiner Wars Blackjack
    Transformers Generations Scoop w/Holepunch & Caliburst
    Figma Sinon
    No, really, I can!
     
    So HasbroToyShop had a discount code for most of March that gave 20% off and free shipping. ...And they put up wave 2 of Combiner Wars all on the same day for preorder! (Which means I also have all of the limbs coming and they should be here later this week actually.) So jumping on them now was totally the smarter thing to do than space them out and hope I find them at retail. And I may have used the chance to get things I passed on before just because of the discount... Oh well. Wanna know the funny part? They listed all of the wave 2 stuff in intervals during that day. Like a half hour apart. So I placed 4 orders that day. 3 of them shipped at the same time. All 3 of those orders were shipped in separate boxes. Anywho, they're all awesome.
     
    Shadow Moon was kind of an impulse since I've not even watched Black, but he looks cool so no complaints here. Sasuke was another trial of patience due to port shenanigans (and is also why Alphamon isn't here... because they're all lost in limbo somewhere still...). Besides my utter hatred of his face options, he's a good figure. Sinon I just picked up an hour ago so I have no thoughts on her yet lol, but I'm glad to finally have her.
     
    Kopaka completes my 2015 Toa! He's a lot cooler than I was thinking, although his shield is still a real pain to work with. And I got him for the Hero Pack... Which I'm afraid to open. :| Convince me otherwise!
     
    ~|ET|~
  25. Ektris

    RTX Bound

    By Ektris,

    Bought a weekend pass (with a 20% discount as a perk for going to Let's Play Live) this afternoon! I can't wait for August!
     
    Plus some friends from school will be coming down for it. I'm almost looking forward to seeing them more, honestly.
     
    ~|ET|~
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