whatcha playin'? 2016/07/28

Maybe I'll start doing this every Thursday lunch. We'll see. I always like talking to people about what they're playing and why. I guess I originally got the idea from gaming podcasts, mainly 1UP Yours and CGW Radio. By the way, those were amazing podcasts when the mainstays of 1UP were still around (Jeff Green, Shawn Elliot, Mark McDonald, Shane Bettenhausen, Luke Smith, Garnett Lee, John Davison, etc.) Such great memories. And we can't forget about the 1UP Show. Changing subject, getting sad!

Anyway, this will be my last weekend in St. Louis for a couple weeks, since I'm traveling again next week. We're going to Vegas for the Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention. Also, I'll be soliciting advice for that this weekend, but feel free to leave any in the comments right now, in regards to what to expect, and how to go about making sure I get to all the panels I wanna see.

Anyway, the weekend is nearly upon us. Whatcha playin' this weekend?

I'm eyeballing lotsa Wasteland 2. I think I've said it before, but I have a terrible habit of not really giving my full attention to games that aren't in my core series, and this was a victim. ADD like a muthafucka. Now that I'm making myself focus when I play it, I'm really enjoying the hell out of it. And this game features some REALLY tough decisions. I love it, and as a big fan of Fallout, I really appreciate both the similarities and stark differences.

Guild Wars 2's Living World Season 3 has kicked off, and I am nowhere near ready. I'm still pushing through Living World Season 2, and I still have Heart of Thorns waiting, sooo ... I'm gonna continue catching up. I adore this game, but I took like two years off from it to play other MMOs.

I'm going to do another episode of my Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Director's Cut: Lotsa Colons series this weekend. In this series, I'm replaying DXHR (but the Director's Cut for the first time) to get myself refreshed for Mankind Divided. It's a fun series, and it's been cool to compare and contrast the game with other games that have more recently come out.



I'm also excited to get back to SWTOR. I've recently switched to a new guild, after dealing with a dying one all here, and holy shit, having an active guild makes a huge difference. Also, the Dark vs Light event is awesome. I might stream more of it, though the fact that I can't monetize the SWTOR videos is annoying. Anyway, I love this game so damn much, and I'm so glad that they got it back on track after a couple years of slumming it with dumb stuff like macrobinocular missions and starfighter and other nonsense. Knights of the Fallen Empire, eventually, became awesome, and if they carry that into Knights of the Eternal Throne, that will be awesome.

I still want a proper expansion, though.

Also, if you wanna try SWTOR, hit up my referral link, please.

Last, I wanna continue more of Fallout 4: Vault-Tec Workshop. I had a good time with it earlier this week, even though that type of DLC usually isn't my kinda thing. I'm more stoked for the Nuka World expac that's coming, which will be the final release for Fallout 4. I just prefer more story-driven material than the 'more shit to do' DLC. However, the Vault-Tec stuff is pretty rad.

And I think that's it, for now. I really should poke at I Am Setsuna more, but, the more I think about it, the more it didn't make a great first impression. We'll see, though. Maybe I was just in a bad mood at the time.

So, what about you? Whatcha playin' this weekend?

-Blaine

Killing Time

Few things are as likely to flip me out as my work computer rebooting while I'm coding, especially when it's updates forced by group policy. Time that shit so it's off-hours, moron. GAH. Anyway, I'm being forced to take a few minutes, so I thought I'd throw something up here real quick.

Star Wars Celebration was this past weekend, and it was very cool. I always really enjoy the panels, and the Thrawn announcement had me spasming in my chair.

I finished Blood and Wine (the final expac from the final Witcher game), and it was a really emotional experience. Geralt, the main character, and I have been adventuring together in both games and novels for about a decade now, and it was tough knowing that was our final new adventure together, at least with a mouse and keyboard. It was a beautiful experience, except a horrendously difficult final boss battle. Seriously, the shit was on the level of the final boss in the original Ninja Gaiden (NES), which was fun when I was 10, but not fun as I approach 40.

Regardless, it was both beautiful and heartbreaking, and I am truly grateful to CDPR for the amazing and excellent trilogy. Playing through the trilogy was an experience that brought me a lot of joy and reshaped what I thought games could be.

I'm also enjoying the new SWTOR event, Dark vs Light. It's kinda like Diablo 3 Seasons. You roll a new toon for the event, blast through content, and your Light vs Dark decisions add up and contribute to an overall score game-wide. And leveling is insane now. I finished the first planet at double the level you're supposed to be.

It's also cool seeing the OG content again, AND general chat was the least toxic I've ever seen it. It's a lot of fun.

Also, SWTOR got a cool new expac announced at Celebration, Knights of the Eternal Throne. I can't wait to check it out later this year. If the last few episodes of Knights of the Fallen Empire are an indication of quality, KotET is gonna be great.

Last, I Am Setsuna hits today, which has me spazzing completely. It looks to be a blatant throwback to Chrono Trigger, and it's from Squenix's Tokyo RPG Factory. It unlocks in a couple hours, and I plan to stream it tonight.

And that's it for now. I'll probably be back for a bit at lunch. I want to discuss boss battles in the modern era.

-Blaine