Weekend Action - 2019/2/8

Happy Friday! Whatcha playin' this weekend?

It was a decent week, but I'm always glad for the weekend. And I'm playing some awesome stuff!

First up, The Division 2 beta is live right now! I played a little bit last night, but I'll be playing through the entirety a little today and a bunch on Saturday with my oldest son.

And it's interesting having played Anthem the past two weeks and now playing The Division 2 beta. It's hard not to compare them in this circumstance, even if I think that the similarities are superficial.

Without really getting into the idiocy of 'OMG which is better LOL,' I'll say that I really enjoy both.

The gunplay is pretty different in the two, but I really like both. Anthem feels like Mass Effect, which is great, and The Division 2 feels much more real and grounded, which I also appreciate.

The traversal in both is fun, and totally different. Anthem has the flying and floating and zipping around, which is fantastic, while I really like the cover-to-cover movement of The Division 2, too. Totally different, but each feels great in the game's context.

Also, the environments in both look and sound amazing.

Really, they scratch different itches for me, and I'm glad I'll be able to bounce between the two for a while (once they come out.)

Tonight, as usual, I'm streaming The Witcher trilogy at 7PMc on Twitch. We're eyeballs-deep in Velen in The Witcher 3, and having an absolute blast. The in-game action is wild, and the chat is a great place to shoot the shit and relax. Get yourself a six-pack or make yourself a stiff drink and come hang out. It's a great way to kick off the weekend.

If you want to get caught up on The Witcher or any game series that I've streamed, check out my YouTube channel!



Otherwise, I plan to try and tackle more Resident Evil 2 and get some more quality MMO time.

I finally got a pro-tip from my boss at work to get me un-stuck in RE2 (I haven't been able to figure out how to get back to the goddam fucking parking garage), so I'll probably start on that post-stream tonight. I'm loving RE2 so far.

MMO-wise, I'll probably focus on playing through the rest of the Summerset campaign. I hate the Altmer, but this is a great expansion.

So, how about you? What are you playing this weekend?

-Blaine

What's New?

I stayed pretty quiet on this platform last year. All my energy was going into a) keeping up with a busy life and b) streaming. And finding good porter beers.

I've decided that I want a more robust presence online, so I'll be posting here more frequently than I did last year (which isn't saying much, I know.) I don't know how often I'll post here, but I want to post more, and have them be kind of brief.

That brevity may be a challenge for me! We'll see!

So, to bring you up to speed ...

• PAX South 2019 was amazing
• I'm streaming KOTOR games on Tuesday and The Witcher trilogy on Friday
• Thursday nights are all about Star Trek right now (Discovery + The Orville), and that's totally awesome
• I've been on anxiety meds for about a year now, and they've helped tremendously; the bipolar thing is still a bit of an internal wrestling match
• the Resident Evil 2 remake is fantastic
• I'm on Instagram now!
• I've still got an amazing job, an amazing wife, two amazing kids, and an amazing Collie

Some of the things that I want to talk about in the coming weeks are the Anthem demo, the Division 2 beta, my Star Trek night, Resident Evil 2, my streams, and whatever other crazy shit comes into my head.

So, I'm streaming twice a week, and I'll be posting here at least a few times a week. 

If something in life has gone terribly wrong for you, and you want to keep up with what I'm doing, you can follow me at my Facebook page, my Twitter, and my Instagram.

If you want to keep up with my video work, I stream on Twitch, and then upload those videos to YouTube.

Thanks, and I hope to see you in chat during my streams and in the comments here!

-Blaine

I Love Torment (but it's not what you think, sicko)

I tend to stay away from backer betas.

If I back a game, it's because it's filling a need that I don't see being filled by publishers, or it's a need that I want filled without publisher intervention. I don't want it to have mass appeal. I want it to be very specific in its audience.

Pillars of Eternity is a fantastic example of this. It was the game that first got me excited about the possibilities of Kickstarter, and it absolutely fulfilled its promise, and then some. It's one of the best games I've ever played. It was part of this magical time in which Dragon Age: Inquisition, Pillars, and then Witcher 3 all released in short succession, and I got to play my two favorite series, and a new favorite in the middle, all one after another.

Anyway, I'm really getting off-topic. Sorry, but it was a very magical time.

So, yeah, I backed the hell out of Pillars, and kept adding to my 'backing,' so that I'd get more and more stuff. Including the beta.

What's funny, though, is that I did play a little of the beta, but I put it down rather quickly. I didn't want it spoiled. I wanted my entry into that world to be one that was new, and fresh, and utterly magical.

And it worked out. I held off on playing much of the beta, which was a vertical slice that was early in the game, but not at the beginning. It filled in some lore, but then, like I said, I backed off pretty quickly, and saved myself for release night. When I got the game, it was magical, and many months later, we were both left panting.

And, then along came Torment: Tides of Numenera.

I fucked up. I played a bit of the first beta release, but did the same thing I did with Pillars. I got a bit of lore, and then set it down.

Well, they updated it. A lot. I got kinda curious last night, and ... I made a mistake. I fell in love. This game is utterly incredible. I need to stop. The beta is so good, and so complete, and beautiful, and exactly the kind of game I so badly need ... but the finished product is in 2017. If I keep going, it's only going to hurt both of us. We have to stop. It's what's best for both of us.

But, I played more today. And it was so good. I'm worried. I'm worried that I can't stop.

That's it. I'm exhausted. I'm going to get in bed, and ... read one of the novellas that's part of the mega-backer package that I put down for. I need more Numenera.

-Blaine