(Daedalus)

What am I thinking? I am going to miss eating normally.

 

I had two teeth pulled earlier today (as well as four teeth filled), that means no normal solids for a few days. Once the stitched up holes clot and scab up, then I can eat squishy things, like Slimfast, yogurt, ice cream and milkshakes, and applesauce. Eventually I can eat ramen after that!

 

Anyone know about the employee hours and shifts of Jack in the Box (US west coast food chain)? I got a plan that involves that, milkshakes, and a desert flower whose eyes makes the deep blue jealous.

I do not envy those suffering from tooth-related maladies or recent dental work. Other than braces, I've never had anything serious done to my teeth, which is good, because I thought having to limit myself to soft foods was bad enough; I doubt I would fare well if I had to subsist on liquids for a couple days. (My dad once survived such a period by eating, among other things, a bean and rice "milkshake" that, according to my mother, smelled as revolting as it looked; my dad, however, thought it was delicious.)

 

As for Jack in the Box: I don't know? I mean, I have never worked there, so my only knowledge of employee shifts and such is based on observation. We used to frequent Jack in the Box because there is one within walking distance of my house. It has been a while since I've been there, but I do remember a marked decrease in service efficiency between 4:00 and 5:00 PM. Whether that was due to understaffing because of a shift change or poor management or anything else, I cannot say for sure.

 

Short answer: I haven't the foggiest.

 

I am curious about this desert flower you speak of. Is this a literal desert flower or are you waxing metaphorical?

Brother's birthday.

I'd like to echo Sil's side note for a similar reason: it's good to see you back Lorax. Though City in the Dark was actually the second RPG I joined, I remember it much more fondly than the first. In fact, I dare say it inspired me to join the BZPRPG and a couple other RPGs.

 

I'm working on a profile at the moment, though I'm not sure if I'll actually use it. At the very least, I may post it for approval just to see if you guys will allow it; I don't know if it will really fit this RPG. If I do play, I cannot guarantee consistency, though I will certainly make the effort.

Grossly incandescent.

I had a dream where I was in some modern metropolis and walked into some restaurant that boasted about being the best 'Japanese pizza place' in the world. I went in there being the only white guy (I was also a giant among them for some reason, being like over 7 feet tall or some stuff, and I don't remember exactly, but I was watching a couple dance. I asked someone for a dance, she agreed, so I had to switch to more appropriate clothing (putting on a bowtie for some reason, me of all people ). By the time I got dressed my moment had passed, and the place wasn't allowing dances anymore. I asked if I could still dance, a waiter said there would a 300 dollar waiting fee, so I said 'forget it' frustratingly. I sat down at a table with the short girl I asked to dance with me, the moment i sat down I was back into a t-shirt and shorts (or was it jeans? maybe both, dreams are weird). It was a small arse table with wooden interwoven blinds beside us, the long legs of my tall self just jutting out of the side (must have been a short table too). I was given a complimentary plate with three huge slices of delicious yummy pizza, the one i kept staring at had alfredo cheese sauce instead of tomato sauce, and had tomatoes, chicken and bacon on it with buttered crust, I am craving right now as I describe it. Mmm mm mm... Anyway, when the food arrived the woman at the table began to fade away over the course of minutes, and i was suddenly back into my suit and bow tie. I was getting undressed (stupid buttons and tie know were giving me great annoyance), and I was doing this there were people, that walked by, and were taking my pizza slices a slice at a time! The devils! With the suit off I was back in a t-shirt and shorts/pants/idk but all my delicious mouth watering pizza was gone! I was angry and rightfully so! I asked for more, but the waiter did not believe that my food was stolen and gave but a posh scoff. I eyed this buffet like area, where not only pizzas were there waiting for jsut anyone to pick up but also other things, like fried chicken, and delectable bread sticks. I suddenly teleported in a motion of waving hot air and at at a table that was part of the buffet median. Now, I have not paid for any food, but was hungry. It called out to me. So i peeked out of the corners of my eyes a few time and would quickly eat a few breadsticks with due haste one at a time. I felt paranoid. Then, even though I don't really eat fried chicken in real life, the fried skin called out to me, it looked riddled with tasty spices, so I started to pick at it while having my fingers avoid the hot metal tray(s). I was able to pierce the skin and ripped off a sizeable part and placed it into my mouth, but when that happened the room grew dark with only a spot light on me, and i could feel the glares of everyone on me there as i chewed the fried chicken skin, and the dream ended as I was peeling off the meat with a single hand.

 

 

...i guess it is about my curious fascination with east asian cultures (though it tends to be chinese and mongolian, why japanese in the dream I have no clue), and I often make myself go to bed hungry so I guess I got hungry in the middle of the night. Oh, and that pizza i described in detail, i have been craving so that too. Why fried chicken though???

 

This is amazing, especially the fact that you only took part of the skin off the fried chicken. That totally sounds like something I would do. I mean, not at a buffet or anything, but off one of my siblings' plates? Most definitely.

 

I had a dream last night in which I was helping a church friend check out a customized Jeep that he wanted to buy. The whole thing was kind of weird: the body of the car was large and modular, there was no firewall between the cab and the engine compartment, and, in fact, the engine was weirdly spread out, with parts of it in the area where the passenger seat should be. The motor and all its connected components were sparkling as if they had just been cleaned. The guy who owned the Jeep was kind of fishy and wouldn't really answer any of the questions I asked. I work at a smog inspection station in real life and apparently did in the dream, too, because most of my questions were related to smog inspections (here in California, for those who don't know, a vehicle must pass a smog inspection before the title can be transferred into another name, and it is generally the seller's responsibility to have the inspection done). I didn't feel good about the situation, and the more I asked about the vehicle, the more suspicious I got. My friend was really looking forward to buying the Jeep, but he could tell from my demeanor that I didn't think he should buy it. I woke up before I could find out if he did buy it.

 

So, nothing exciting, but strangely vivid.

Unfinished origami.

 

Which makes me think of Heavy Rain, and that's weird because I've never played it.

Has anyone ever had sleep paralysis? It's a pretty scary experience that occurred to me a few months back.

 

From what I could recall, I remembered myself waking up in the middle of the night, but my body was oddly rigid and stuck in an attention pose. Oddly enough, I could blink and I kept my eyes closed. Who knows what I could've hallucinated something from the depths of my imagination that would've stained my conscience? A few seconds passed by before my body began to relaxed.

 

Sleep paralysis is something I would never want to experience in my life again. I was lucky enough that I could move my eyelids, but there's no telling if I could the next time I get hit with the phenomenon.

 

I've experienced it twice. The first time was the more frightening of the two because I started to panic, unaware as I was what was happening. When movement proved impossible, I just reverted to the childlike belief that if I closed my eyes* my problem would go away. It didn't, but it helped me relax long enough to recall my brother telling me about a similar experience he had. I remembered him calling it sleep paralysis and saying that it passed after a few moments. By the time I reopened my eyes, I was able to move again.

 

The second time was still frightening, but, oddly enough, I knew it was going to happen as soon as I opened my eyes. I still tried to move, and I still felt that brief flush of panic, but I was able to just close my eyes, clear my brain of any attempt to try to move, and wait. When I finally tried to move, there was a disconcerting delay in response time, but I was able to move again and I made sure all my limbs were working before I relaxed and resumed my slumber.

 

I don't recall whether either experience came at the end of a dream.

 

*I'm no expert on sleep paralysis, but I just want to point out that I was able to open and close my eyes without problems both times it happened to me. I don't know if that is true of everybody, though.

I finished two Father Gilbert mysteries a couple weeks back, both by Paul McCusker, who also wrote the original Father Gilbert audio dramas back in the mid-2000s. They were better than I expected, especially the first book, and I was especially impressed by how well he handled many of the mature themes in both novels. He had handled similarly mature themes in the audio dramas just as well, but he seemed to feel a little more liberty in exploring them in print. It is rare, in my experience, for a Christian author to so candidly speak of sexual temptations and vices in fiction.

 

I also recently reread Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton. As far as thrills, excitement, and simple explanations of fairly complex scientific stuff are concerned, Crichton is quite skilled; as far as plot and characters go, however--not quite so skilled. I wouldn't consider any of his characters three-dimensional, and The Lost World's plot is kind of a mess. I mean, it's not terrible, but he had to do a lot of stretching to even set the events up, and by the end of the novel I wasn't even sure what the point had been. If it was purely to entertain, he succeeded, but his many Malcolm musings and pontificating would suggest otherwise. And speaking of Malcolm, I get the feeling that aside from being direct and philosophical, Crichton didn't really know what to do with him. Sure, the stuff he says is kind of interesting, but he ends up getting a leg injured in both novels and spends at least half of them lying down in a morphine haze. Also, I must say that I found Crichton's use of commas infuriating. He often used them in places they should not have been used, and it can't even be argued that he used them for effect; most of the time, they just destroyed the momentum of sentence, which was especially problematic in the more action-packed bits. Of course, that could have been his editor's fault, in which case Crichton's off the hook.

 

I am currently reading Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day. It is a non-fiction account of the events just before and during the invasion of Normandy in World War II, though it focuses more on the stories of the men involved (on both sides). I've read it before, and it is still an interesting read for those with an interest in World War II history.

We've been going through the Mass Effect trilogy with my wife (her playthrough) and recently began the third instalment. I (and now, we) fall into that group of "heretics with no taste" that actually like ME3 and even consider it to be the best of the trilogy. I mean, yes, it's less of an RPG than ME was, but more than ME2, and it has the best

• Side quests
• DLC
• Citadel
• Normandy
• Banter
• Overall gameplay
• Character interaction
• Handling of the moral choice system (I.E. more complex than literally mother teresa or literally hitler)
• Best variety and distribution of enemy types
• Best armour and weapon selection/customization
• Best music

And so on. Plus the ending isn't so bad with the EC so that ceases to be an issue as well.

 

Anyway, we're having a blast with the game.

 

A fellow heretic! I've never encountered one before; I don't feel so lonely anymore.

 

I'm joking, of course, but it is nice to see that I'm not the only one who likes ME3 the most.

 

As for me, I'm currently playing Dishonored. This is my second time through, and I'm going for high chaos and no magic/enhancements. It has thus far proved more difficult than my first playthrough, though I suspect that is more due to the high chaos than the magical abstinence; apparently, in addition to increasing the number of rats and Weepers one encounters, high chaos also increases the number of guards. That proved especially problematic on the third floor of the Golden Cat, though it didn't help that for some reason, two guards would suddenly spawn about halfway up the stairs to the third floor.

 

I'm beginning to wonder if I'll finish it right now, however; I just purchased Metal Gear Solid V: Definitive Edition, and I just downloaded Ground Zeroes. I've wanted to play these games the past couple weeks, and I may not be able to wait until I finish Dishonored.

When Heaven Weeps by Ted Dekker. I feel it necessary to state right from the beginning of his brief review that I have a sort of love/hate relationship with this novel, which is one of Dekker's earliest published novels, if only because it features most of the best and worst aspects of many of his later books. It reminds me of everything I love and everything I hate about some aspects of his novels, and that, in the end, leaves me feeling a strong desire to read every other Dekker book I own while also leaving me apprehensive about the prospect of reading through so many of the same elements, some of which are treated with so much enthusiasm as to be nearly bombastic, and thus mentally grating (if not draining). Regardless, I enjoyed the book from cover to cover, and while I will let it sit for a few years before picking it up again (which I discovered was necessary to enjoy and appreciate it), I will never be tempted to include it among my Dekker favorites, even if the message is one of his better ones.

 

And this is due largely to the fact that, unlike many of his later books, When Heaven Weeps (which is a fantastic title, in my opinion) is unashamedly Christian. While his later novels more often than not stick to themes and elements that can be interpreted in a Christian sense or a non-Christian sense (which, I should clarify, I do not disapprove of), When Heaven Weeps makes it clear within the first few pages what the book is going to deal with, and it holds true to that theme until the last page: When Heaven Weeps is, first and foremost, a novel about God's love.

 

To avoid breaking BZPower rules I will leave the details out, but a basic idea can be found in the story of Hosea and Gomer, which Dekker directly references. It is a fascinating and occasionally heartbreaking (I seriously teared up a few times during the first fifty or so pages) exploration of unconditional and unrequited love, most often in extreme and inexplicable circumstances--not just the giving of such love, but the sad, disturbing, and very real difficulty of accepting that love. All of this is portrayed like Hosea's love for Gomer, but with an increased human element that brings the message more closely home than Hosea and Gomer's might. Dekker also avoids using the Biblical story as a crutch; the inspiration is obvious and acknowledged, but Dekker takes it in a slightly different direction by using it not as a rebuke and warning but as an expression of Divine joy and pain. He also plays with other themes that naturally stem from the characters and plot--forgiveness and the acceptance of forgiveness, repentance, the struggle against addiction, even public image and the politicking involved with individuals in the public eye--but love is always front and center.

 

Unfortunately, this brings me to the enthusiasm I mentioned earlier. I mean, I get the point Dekker's trying to make about God's love, but the problem is that I would grasp that even without the near-melodrama he tiptoes near. In trying to express enthusiastic love, he often crosses the line to a degree of sappiness one might expect from a romance (and not necessarily a good one), a problem found in many of his novels that feature romance (to be expected from Obsessed, I suppose, but not necessary in some of his other works). I might not find this nearly as infuriating if it weren't for the fact that he expresses a surprisingly effective subtlety in almost every other aspect of his writing. He possesses a particular knack for expressing violence, foul language, deprivation, and despicable acts in ways that make it clear what's happening without going into much, if any, detail, and if he does go into detail (usually with violence), he does so with purpose and consciousness and never goes farther than a respectful nod at the boundary between what most would consider acceptable and what most would also consider controversial (granted, the same can't be said for some of his later novels, but that's another topic). It's a delicate balance that Dekker manages, and I often found myself wishing that his approach to love and romance was equally nuanced.

 

The plot here is not one of Dekker's better plots, but then I doubt it was intended to be. It largely serves the central theme of love, and while it occasionally teeters on the edge of believability--the event that begins to finalize the protagonist's "fall from grace," as it were, in addition to having a surprising lack of impact on the reader, is an almost ridiculously extreme and implausibly convenient move by one of the novel's antagonists--it ultimately doesn't matter, because it gets the characters where they need to be to finish the main story, which is, as I'm sure you've guessed, one of love.

 

I guess the question basically comes down to this: Did I enjoy it? And the answer is yes, despite my apprehensions and quibbles, and I certainly enjoyed it far more than I expected to. It also made me consider some personal stuff, especially in light of some other stuff that has happened in my life recently. Not to go into detail, but I was meant to read that when I did, and if I never read it again, I can at least look back on it and remember how it helped me at a certain point in my life. If I can ever achieve something similar with my own writing--even if for only one person--I will be content.

River of Death by Alistair MacLean. I've read two other books by MacLean (The Guns of Navarone and Force 10 from Navarone) and enjoyed both; neither was deep, but as far as pure entertainment goes, I would consider them to be among the best of their type. I expected pure fun and twists from River of Death, but I was thoroughly disappointed to get none of the former and too much of the latter. The plot was convoluted and disjointed, the characters thin and inconsistent, and the few moments of action were boringly written and lacked any impact whatsoever (one particular scene, written from the point of view of characters inside a crashing helicopter, was so emotionless and dull that it could have passed for a helicopter being landed in a light wind for all the excitement that came through). Worst of all, the "major twists" that MacLean reserved for the last twenty or so pages were spoiled in the two-paragraph summary on the back cover of the book. I would stop short of calling it a terrible book, but it was certainly a disappointment and earns its place among MacLean's weakest novels.

 

Thankfully, Seawitch has proved worthy of Alistair MacLean's name, and while I don't think it better than the two World War II novels previously mentioned, I have found it to be enjoyable thus far. Like the Navarone novels, it relies a little too much on characters who are conveniently perfect at something (usually not mentioned until the plot reveals a situation in which that skill needs to be used) and there are a few too many "Such-and-such terrible thing could possibly happen and most likely should have happened when this took place, but thank goodness it didn't happen because that would have provided a complication that the author didn't feel like working out/didn't know how to work out" moments, but MacLean's consistency in this regard makes for a fun, light read that requires little in the way of thinking to enjoy. I doubt I will be enlightened about or more aware of some human condition by the time I am finished with Seawitch, but I will be content in being able to say that I enjoyed every page.

Last game I played was Crusader Kings 2.

 

Started a campaign a week or two ago as a custom character Iaredios Paerkenon, Count of Barion in the Roman Empire at the time of 1066 AD. In my game, the Roman Empire did not lose the Battle of Manzikert to the Great Seljuk Empire in Alp Arslan's invasion into the empire. With that, the Roman Empire did not have a massive lost of land reduced to only Greece as what historically happened because of the Battle of Manzikert, which led to mass corruption, civil wars, and near-total collapse before the rise of Alexios Komnenos as recorded in The Alexiad. With that out of the way, civil wars ravaged the land and imperial decadence was getting to a point lethal point, the corruption about to make the Roman Empire collapse under its own weight. Iaredios married a distant relative to the then-emperor Manuel Komnenos (completely different then the historical one) and expanded his realm by a county and becoming a doux (duke), Doux of Apoulia. The two had a child named Isaakios, Isaakios Paerkenon. He grew up to inherit the title of Doux of Apoulia, and seeing the Roman Empire about to collapse isaakios worked for years to make a faction to support his overthrow of the Roman Empire, using a claim for the throne he inherited from his royal mother. When having gained enough followers, he launched his own civil war against the emperor Isaakios II Komnenos, the war for the fate of Rhomania (as the empire was oft called) being decided by this war. It was long, but the War of Two Isaak's was won by by Isaakios Paerkenon.

 

Upon usurping the throne, Isaakios was faced with emptying the entire Roman Empire of it's currency and prestige in order to do massive reforms to combat rampant corruption and anarchy, lest the Roman Empire be dissolved after a thousand years of existence and the Themes and other realms be left to themselves. It was done, but such economic drain and prestige loss did not sit well with the vassals, and so a series of civil wars and peasant revolts erupted, but Isaakios went out personally and won each conflict, the highest amount of wars at a single time was 5. The Empire began to recover from the crisis, and the treasury and respect were slowly refilled and regained, respectively. But an old enemy, Alp Arslan of the Great Seljuk Empire, invaded again. So great was the war that it drained the empire's population, but thankfully the combat was restricted to Armenia and Roman Syria (the coast). In the end, as the Roman Army was on the doorstep to the Seljuk capital of Isfahan, peace was made and a great Roman Triumph, the first held since the time of Roman Emperor Basilaeos II Porphyrogennetos Makedon 'the Bulgar Slayer' a hundred years prior. This was a signal to the world that Rhomania had returned to a state of great power, and it's power was to only rise from there-on out. On his deathbed Isaakios Paerkenon was give the nickname of Isaakios the Old and was succeeded by his son Methodios Paerkenon, the first Porphyrogennetos or Purple-Born in the Paerkenon dynasty, legitimizing the dynasty to the Imperial Throne indefinitely*.

 

*To be Porphyrogennetos / purple born, a child must be born in the porphyry (royal purple rock) chamber in Konstantinopolis. It has a special small bed of great comfort in the middle that is only used for birth-delivery and has stained glass windows that fit well with the sparkling porphyry that the chamber is made entirely out of. To be born in there is considered a holy right to the imperial throne, and your proof is a royal purple baby blanket that is only made specifically for that chamber and can be found no where else. To loose such a blanket is thought to mean that you lost your right to rule from God.

Just thought you should know that I love reading these posts. They certainly make the game sound more interesting than it looks.

 

Which kind of reminds me: I put Tomb Raider: Underworld on hold. I made a stab at Mount & Blade, but it was a bit more involved than I was expecting and the prospect of eventually commanding a small army was a bit daunting. Still, I like the idea and I can imagine that investing some time into it will make a great experience, so I definitely have plans to play it in he future.

 

I decided to finally download and play XCOM: Enemy Unknown, so I'm waiting for that to finish. I've heard good things about this game and I'm excited to try it out.

Finished Tomb Raider: Anniversary yesterday, and overall, I think I preferred Legend. It balanced everything a bit better than Anniversary and had far fewer frustrating platforming sections (climbing the tower in Atlantis was one of the most frustrating gaming experiences I can remember), and it certainly had fewer bugs and camera problems. I still enjoyed it, but I was glad it was over, which, now that I think about it, probably isn't good for a game that only takes about 12 hours to complete.

 

I started Underworld today. It looks better and I like the new animations, but the camera ranges from so-so to awful and the combat is worse than the combat in the previous games. Honestly, I'm not sure I'm going to finish it at this time. It's not bad or anything, but the little annoying things are being exacerbated by fatigue with the series. I think I may put it on hold for a while and come back to it later.

Still making my way through Morrowind at this point, and trying my best to avoid chronic restarting with a new character - not at last because I'm actually quite fond of my Dunmer battlemage.

Also gave Daggerfall a try over the summer, but got stuck at the first dungeon, so there's that. This will need a lot more time to get used to... (same goes for Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny, which is also a super-old game, but one where I finally learned enough about the game to make some significant progress.)

Ah, yes. Realms of Arkania. I tried to play that on several different occasions, each time spending an hour or two reading through the manual before even starting the game itself, and I never made it very far. On my last attempt, I got as far as leaving the starting town, but en route I got attacked while sleeping, and after spending about twenty minutes trying to make heads or tails of the combat, I gave up. I still hope to return to the game and make a more serious attempt, but for now it and its sequel must be content to sit in my backlog.

 

I myself am playing through Tomb Raider: Anniversary. It focuses much more on platforming and puzzle-solving than Legend, which mixed all that with more combat, but since the combat isn't and never was a strong point for the series, the game doesn't suffer for it. Plotwise it's much more barebones; the cutscenes between missions are pretty much the extent of the story. Again, not really to the game's detriment, but a little more story wouldn't hurt.

 

I have shifted most of my attention to Dead Space. This will be the third time I have played it, but the first time on PC. I immediately discovered why so many people complained about the poor mouse controls in the PC port, but after a little fiddling, I was able to make the controls bearable in game, though the mouse cursor in the menu screens is still annoyingly floaty (thank goodness for arrow keys). It's been years since I've played it, and it is quite fun. It's less difficult and much less scary than I remember, which is odd considering my fairly poor tolerance for horror games. Maybe I'm just too familiar with the game and its horror tricks, but so far I've only experienced one moment of pulse-quickening fear: I turned from one corridor into another shorter corridor that led to a door. Light from the corridor behind me (the one I had just left) illuminated the door in front of me. As I neared the door, the fleshy thumping of running necromorph coincided with a shadow sweeping across the door. It was a good moment that made me shiver and spin Isaac Clarke around, but of course, nothing waited behind me, and a return to the corridor revealed no necromorph. So it isn't scaring me like it used to, but it might just have a few moments to come.

 

Have you played the others in the series? It progressively moves away from horror to action, but the staples of the franchise remain and they're pretty enjoyable. I'll be the first to admit Dead Space 3 is a very bad horror game, but as just *a game* it is absolutely fantastic. Great gameplay, interesting level design, a very fun crafting system, interesting story and setting (I kind of had "soviet military base on a frozen alien planet vibes) and great music. While it's the least horror-y of the three (I mean, it has co-op. Nothing is scary when you're playing together with someone), but probably the best polished. Overall, I think 2 is the best since I've always liked the "high tech clean" sci-fi settings over the "low-but-high-tech grimy gritty" sci-fi settings, and as opposed to the Ishimura in the first game, the Sprawl in 2 actually looks like a decent place to live when there isn't a mutagenic zombie outbreak going on.

 

 

 

I have, and I intend to play the other two after I finish the first. Dead Space 2 is definitely my favorite, because I feel like it got everything just right: the right amount of horror and action elements, tighter gameplay, better story and characters, and a voiced Isaac Clarke (and I think Gunner Wright did a fantastic job, unlike (apparently) many other gamers). It also had the most memorable moments in the series (especially all the "Cross my heart, hope to die..." stuff). That said, I quite enjoyed the third game, too. Like you, I enjoyed many of the elements it added, crafting included, and I remember enjoying the voice acting. I wish the other guy (Carter, I think? It's been a while so I can't remember his name) played a larger role outside the co-op, though, and I wish the co-op missions were playable in singleplayer.

Made a brief trip into the Dark Zone in Tom Clancy's The Division. It... wasn't quite what I had expected. In fact, I had a blast. I went solo, and it was quite tense (and surprisingly not annoying) fighting Veteran and Elite enemies exclusively. I extracted some equipment with few problems (I don't know if this is always the case, but defending the extraction zone was made easy by the Rikers and Cleaners being more interested in fighting each other). My second attempt to extract some equipment didn't go as well. Everything went fine until the helicopter arrived. The Rikers and Cleaners were going at it, and I was taking out the few stragglers that came after me, when I started started getting peppered from behind. By the time I was able to turn around to see my adversary, I was dead, killed by another PC who promptly took my dropped loot and hooked it up to the helicopter. Still, it was good fun, and I may occasionally come back to the game just to do some stuff in the Dark Zone.

 

I have shifted most of my attention to Dead Space. This will be the third time I have played it, but the first time on PC. I immediately discovered why so many people complained about the poor mouse controls in the PC port, but after a little fiddling, I was able to make the controls bearable in game, though the mouse cursor in the menu screens is still annoyingly floaty (thank goodness for arrow keys). It's been years since I've played it, and it is quite fun. It's less difficult and much less scary than I remember, which is odd considering my fairly poor tolerance for horror games. Maybe I'm just too familiar with the game and its horror tricks, but so far I've only experienced one moment of pulse-quickening fear: I turned from one corridor into another shorter corridor that led to a door. Light from the corridor behind me (the one I had just left) illuminated the door in front of me. As I neared the door, the fleshy thumping of running necromorph coincided with a shadow sweeping across the door. It was a good moment that made me shiver and spin Isaac Clarke around, but of course, nothing waited behind me, and a return to the corridor revealed no necromorph. So it isn't scaring me like it used to, but it might just have a few moments to come.

As I'm currently chewing through my backlog, Darksiders 2 was on the menu most recently. I really liked the first one, and when I jumped into the second and realised they added even more RPG elements, I was like "aww yisss". The game world is awing, the gameplay tight and solid and the combat is sufficiently challenging. I'm kicking myself for not buying the DLC back in the day. I have the non-Deathinitive edition with only 2 of the DLC, and they can't be bought separately, however getting the Deathinitive would mean starting over, which is something I simply don't have the time for, plus everyone says it is poorly optimized, and I've already hacked my version to bits getting it working. Oh well.

 

Oddly enough, the additional RPG mechanics are a major reason I didn't care for the second game--not because I dislike RPGs, because I do, but because if memory serves, the main change was the introduction of loot. I'm not a fan of excessive loot, and that, combined with my inability to get the hang of the combat, led to me quitting the game long before I was finished (though I would have soldiered on if, at the time I lost interest, I didn't have much left to play). That said, I fully intend to one day replay the game to its conclusion. What quibbles I had with the game were, I think, exacerbated by the fact that I went straight from the first game to the second, and I was fatigued with the formula. I also really wanted to play some other game, which is actually funny because though I cannot remember the other game I wanted to play, I do remember not enjoying it as much as I had hoped.

 

Anyway, I'm glad you are enjoying it.

 

P.S. XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within is also in my backlog, though who knows when I'll actually get around to playing it. It is, I can attest, difficult to clear a backlog when you just keep buying more games.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. My brother purchased this a while back to see what all the fuss was about and he greatly enjoyed it. Seeing as it has been a while since I have read a book, I decided to heed his recommendation and read it. It's been good so far, and for the most part, the author does a great job of blending the biographical style with a more traditional novel style. I say "most part" because the introduction goes to significant lengths to inform the reader that the book is essentially a biography of Abraham Lincoln the vampire hunter and frequently reinforces this with entries from his vampire hunting journals, yet he occasionally switches to a more novel-like narration--it's a little difficult to explain what I mean. It's not jarring (as I said, he does a good job of it), but I've found myself wishing he would have stuck to one or the other. That said, I don't think he would be able to tell the story well enough if he did, and the unique approach is refreshing. I certainly look forward to reading further.

I bought The Division for PC last week with birthday money, and I've been playing it ever since (after having to wait a bit because of a large update I had to download before I could start). I knew very little about the game; in fact, all I really knew was that a lot of people complained about it being bullet-spongy, which was a bit off-putting for me until I read the blurb on the back of the game's box that identified it as a military RPG. Now that I've played, that seems the best description, and I'm loving it. I've kept to solo play so far, but the game hasn't suffered for it. I'm not sure if I'll dip into multiplayer; I don't care for co-op with strangers and I'm not obsessed enough with loot collection to try the Dark Zone. Besides, with my lackluster Internet connection, I doubt I could play when someone else in my house is using the Internet, which is all the time.

 

I also purchased New Super Mario Bros 2 for my 2DS. I've only played a few stages, but it was pretty much what I expected: nothing mind-blowing, but good, simple fun. Definitely a better way to pass the time than endless replays of Mario Kart 7 and the handful of demos I have.

I've put Dark Souls II on a temporary hiatus. I still have to finish all the DLC and the final boss(es), but at fifty hours, I've started itching for a change of pace. I don't want to get tired of the game, so I think it's best I leave it alone for now. To take its place, I downloaded a recent purchase, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. I'd heard great things about the series and thought I'd give it a try. It was... okay. I have to be in the mood for some older games, and I just wasn't feeling it this time. The controls were awkward and I didn't find the gameplay or story immediately engaging enough to justify fighting said controls for however many hours it would take me to finish the game. I moved on to another game I purchased not too long ago: Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut. I knew going in that this was a strange game, and in the hour or so I played, it hasn't disappointed. It's bizarre, creepy, and strangely captivating. I'm interested in this one, and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Destiny. Iron Banner sucks but I've still managed to get to rank 5 with Saladin on my Hunter and my Titan. Now I just gotta do it on my Warlock.

 

​I got Overwatch and D.va's pretty great.

 

 

Still playing Dark Souls II, but since I share my computer with my brother, I occasionally have to find another means to entertain myself. To that end, I usually get out my 2DS. Today I downloaded a demo for Super Smash Bros. I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm... honestly not sure what was going on most of the time. I know I was jumping around and attacking, but I couldn't seem to figure out why I did some attacks sometimes but not all the time. And the sheer chaos. I guess I was expecting a fighting game more like a Soul Calibur game or Street Fighter, and it most certainly wasn't. Anyway, I know I won't ever buy it.

Or maybe you could learn the controls and basics so you can actually enjoy it instead of pulling a Funhaus and not liking a game because you didn't understand how to play it. I used to feel the exact same way with Brawl until I got better with it and Melee, and later Smash 4.

I could, yeah, but then what could I complain about?* Nah, truth is, I'm just not very good at fighting games, nor do I care for them very much. I could learn it if I tried, I'm just... not interested in trying. I don't play games on my 2DS enough to get the most out of it.

 

*This is me attempting to be funny; I'm not being serious here.

Still playing Dark Souls II, but since I share my computer with my brother, I occasionally have to find another means to entertain myself. To that end, I usually get out my 2DS. Today I downloaded a demo for Super Smash Bros. I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm... honestly not sure what was going on most of the time. I know I was jumping around and attacking, but I couldn't seem to figure out why I did some attacks sometimes but not all the time. And the sheer chaos. I guess I was expecting a fighting game more like a Soul Calibur game or Street Fighter, and it most certainly wasn't. Anyway, I know I won't ever buy it.

Dark Souls

I killed three black knights

two dragons

a chaos witch

I stopped the rock

But I just can't get past Sen's Fortress

Ah, yes. Sen's Fortress. It's not so bad once you get to know it, but the first playthrough is awful (though not as bad as Blighttown was for me the first time through). Is this your first time playing Dark Souls? If so, take comfort in the fact that it gets slightly less difficult once you get on top of the fortress. Also, avoid going down to the bottom floor where all the water is; you might want to save that for later, and you'll definitely want the Rusted Iron Ring (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called, anyway) when you go down there.

 

As for me, I'm still playing Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin. For all the frustration I experience, I'm addicted to it and having a blast. I got through the Lost Bastille, Belfry Luna (which I discovered was entirely optional only later*), Sinner's Rise, Huntsman's Copse, Harvest Valley, and Earthen Keep. I'm now in the Iron Keep, and I believe I am on my way to the next Lost Soul (or whatever they are called).

 

*Fun fact: In the base game, this section was optional but only in the sense that it was technically possible to finish the game without going there. However, if you didn't go there, it would make a nearby necessary boss fight twice as hard. This meant that to make that boss fight manageable, it was necessary to brave the Belfry Luna (which happens to have a covenant whose members' sole purpose is to invade other players in this area) and its Gargoyle Statue boss, which is actually five or six gargoyles, to gain access to a key that made the other, necessary boss fight manageable. However, with the SotFS update, that key is located elsewhere and you don't need to fight the gargoyles to get it.

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin (I love that subtitle, for some reason). I'm enjoying it, for the most part. It's a little more frustrating than the first game, mostly due to some of the mechanic changes (one of the most significant being the way weapons degrade) and the greater number of instances in which multiple enemies must be fought at once, something that neither game is well suited to. It's not all bad, though; the sense of accomplishment brought by conquering a location and its boss is just as great (I hate the Ruin Sentinels, though; multiple enemies are bad, but multiple boss enemies are worse) and the power stance mechanic is cool and useful.

Finished Metro: Last Light Redux. I must say, I enjoyed it far more than 2033, and considering how much I enjoyed that one, that's saying something. It was put together so much better; everything was just tighter. I enjoyed the plot much more, and there were several moments that were just brilliant (the pre-war plane scene was absolutely terrifying; definitely one of the most impacting scenes I've ever experienced in a game). Overall, it was a fantastic game, and I will definitely replay it in the future.