Shit's still outta-control insane busy, but I feel like talking at someone about games, so here's some quick hits.
Looks like Bethesda's starting up the hype train by teasing some E3 announcements. PC Gamer has a good take on it. Obviously, there are two unknown properties that will be discussed, but I also think that the bigger surprises might come from games that are already shown there. I also think it's maybe time to retire Skyrim. The Morrowind expac will have just dropped, so another big-ass ESO announcement would be nice. I'm tired of them milking Skyrim. As for Fallout ... go big or go home. Gimme New Vegas 2 from Obsidian. A single-player expac for Doom would be awesome. Dishonored is on there, so something substantial in that area would be cool. No more trials, please. Gimme a proper expansion. And it looks like there be Prey post-release content? Wow.
As for the new stuff ... I'd love to see a new IP, obviously. I'd love to see another Rage game. Yeah, I'm that guy.
Dirt 4 has a trailer. Unfortunately, it looks like they're going arcade-style again, after the excellent Dirt Rally. This seems an odd choice.
On the plus side, FFXIV has dropped a pretty new trailer for Stormblood.
I also think I'm gonna ramp up my presence here. I'm getting pretty frustrated with existing so-called 'gamers' and gaming communities, so I'm giving thought to starting my own. I'm just tired of the hate, hyperbole, and discrimination. I try to learn from those that are different, but I know a lotta people that react in the opposite way.
I'm not really sure what I'm gonna do. I just wanna start a community that's more inclusive. I firmly believe that most gaming enthusiasts aren't what 'gamers' portray themselves as. I think most are normal, well-adjusted adults. Not the alt-right GamerGate Nazi fucks that are most commonly out in front.
Regardless, I'm also really fucking tired and I've had people all up in my face nonstop for weeks. I'm a private person that values his alone time greatly, and I rarely get it, especially lately. That's just how this time of year is for me. Holy cow, though, dude ... I am exhausted, both in terms of lack of sleep, but also in terms of face time with other humans.
Whatcha Playin'?
I'm still double-fisting Mass Effect: Andromeda and Torment: Tides of Numenera, with a side of The Elder Scrolls Online. I finished the ESO main campaign this weekend, and that was pretty rad. I haven't had much gaming time lately, but after I do some travel next week, I should be able to finally have some personal time again, around mid-May.
My goal is to finish MEA and TToN before E3. I think that's feasible.
I'm also trying to do a Dawn of War 3 mission whenever I can. I love that series. I'm not totally sold on the new one yet, mainly because I LOVED the cover system in DoW2, which has been replaced with something ... else, and I don't love it ... yet.
We've also got Prey coming next week, though I'll be traveling at the time. I'm still going to try and get it going then, but I'll likely have to wait until mid-May before I can really dig in.
Zzz
Anyway, I'm tired as fuck and tired of people as fuck. I'm tired of humans. I'm tired of being tired. I used to love spring time. I think next year, I'm going to just force everyone to fuck off in April. I dunno.
Good night.
-Blaine
Showing posts with label obsidian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obsidian. Show all posts
20170430
20170126
Some Cool Things On My Radar
I just wanna pass along a few cool things this morning.
First, Squenix announced some partnership with Marvel about which there are no details, and thus I am not hyped at all, but some people I respect are, so there's that. It has to do with the Avengers.
Second, there's an awesome Kickstarter going that I've backed. Apocalypse Now. A first-person survival horror RPG. No shit. It's Francis Ford Coppola + a bunch of devs from CDPR, Obsidian, and other awesome studios. Seriously, give it a look. It's worth your time.
Third, BioWare is dropping another Mass Effect trailer today. I'll post it later. Keep an eye on their Twitter or the Mass Effect YouTube channel.
Last, the thing about which I am the most hyped, is the pending reveal of Pillars of Eternity 2 at noon (central) today. It'll be on their main site.
Anyway, I'll post some stuff later today once details and awesomeness solidifies.
Word.
-Blaine
First, Squenix announced some partnership with Marvel about which there are no details, and thus I am not hyped at all, but some people I respect are, so there's that. It has to do with the Avengers.
Big News: @SquareEnix and @Marvel announce a multi-game partnership leading with The Avengers project. #Reassemble pic.twitter.com/DS87Iuzk7G— Square Enix (@SquareEnix) January 26, 2017
Second, there's an awesome Kickstarter going that I've backed. Apocalypse Now. A first-person survival horror RPG. No shit. It's Francis Ford Coppola + a bunch of devs from CDPR, Obsidian, and other awesome studios. Seriously, give it a look. It's worth your time.
Third, BioWare is dropping another Mass Effect trailer today. I'll post it later. Keep an eye on their Twitter or the Mass Effect YouTube channel.
Last, the thing about which I am the most hyped, is the pending reveal of Pillars of Eternity 2 at noon (central) today. It'll be on their main site.
Anyway, I'll post some stuff later today once details and awesomeness solidifies.
Word.
-Blaine
20160727
my dirty secret
I take a lot of shit for gaming primarily on PC. Yeah, I'll tease some of my friends about gaming primarily on a console, but I usually reserve it for when they complain about something silly.
Occasionally, though, they get really pissed. No matter how much I reinforce that my preferences are not condemnations, friends (and not friends) will still perceive my stances as a slight. If I say, 'my kids liked the WiiU,' I'm not saying you are a child if you like it. I don't really enjoy anything on the console (aside from Mario Maker, which I'd fucking love to see on PC), but that doesn't mean other people don't. It's all good, man.
And genres. Holy shit. I love RPGs. I don't have a huge amount of gaming time, so I like to settle into a main RPG and a handful of MMOs, and just kinda ride that for weeks or months. I find value in occasionally deviating out of my comfort zone, but again, it seems to bug people, or they take it personally that my tastes skew toward deep roleplaying games.
Frankly, I find great value in diversity. I think having multiple genres is a great thing, because gaming shouldn't be all one way. The best thing about it is that it can be anything to anyone. Whether you wanna flick your finger across your phone for some period of time, or hone your reflexes in a super-deep fighting game, or live out your sports dream in a sports game, or bury yourself in story and math in an RPG, it's all there. AND the best is when genres colllide, and new ideas are born.
Honestly, it's started to get so bad that I've been pulling back from the gaming world in general. Years ago, I started to disassociate myself with the term 'gamer,' because a) I didn't like what the community was becoming (or maybe I was growing out of it), and b) I don't like belonging to things anyway. I don't like labeling myself at all, because I feel like it constrains identity and ideas.
I like what I like. I've been playing RPGs since the day Final Fantasy first came out on the NES, and I've been at it since. I outgrew most of the other genres. I'm glad you like 2D platformers and FIFA and the latest PSN sale and Mario and Rocket League and on and on. For real, follow your bliss, but try and let me do the same. A world full of happier people is a good thing. We all face enough trials without tearing each other down over something as silly as gaming genres and plastic fucking boxes.
Moving on ...
I actually didn't come here to whine about people being mean to me. I actually came because I have a problem that's been brewing for years.
Back in the 90s, and early 2000s, I was poor. I was working shit jobs, and then finally went to college, but didn't start really earning until the last five years or so, at which point, I did the natural thing, and started migrating to PC.
Before that, though, I was purely a console gamer. I missed out on all the amazing cRPGs of the era, and in fact, didn't get really converted until Dragon Age: Origins. That was my first balls-out PC RPG, and yeah, I know it was multi-plat. I'd played KotOR and Jade Empire on Xbox prior to that, so I wasn't a total BioWare noob, but I never played Baldur's Gate, or any of the Black Isle games, or any of the Piranha Bytes games, or any of the Troika games, and on and on. I've occasionally gone back and played footsie with one of them, but I always abandon them to play the new shiny.
Or in the case of Icewind Dale, it's just too fucking hard. Or I don't understand what I'm doing.
To that end, though, I've been toying with the idea of slashing this year's purchase list, and starting to play through the following:
Divine Divinity
Fallout
Gothic
Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights
Of course, I'm now focusing on Wasteland 2 and replaying DXHR. We'll see what happens. I've got Final Fantasy XV in the next couple months, DXMD next month, and Dishonored 2 in November. I'm guessing Deus Ex and Dishonored will both be pretty short, so maybe this fall and winter, I can finally rip through the classics.
And, naturally, I've loaded them with mods to modernize their look and feel.
Where do you think I should start? Any favorites, or other recommendations?
Alright, back to work. Thanks for reading.
Oh, and I'm going to append this post with some of my latest streaming fun.
-Blaine
Occasionally, though, they get really pissed. No matter how much I reinforce that my preferences are not condemnations, friends (and not friends) will still perceive my stances as a slight. If I say, 'my kids liked the WiiU,' I'm not saying you are a child if you like it. I don't really enjoy anything on the console (aside from Mario Maker, which I'd fucking love to see on PC), but that doesn't mean other people don't. It's all good, man.
And genres. Holy shit. I love RPGs. I don't have a huge amount of gaming time, so I like to settle into a main RPG and a handful of MMOs, and just kinda ride that for weeks or months. I find value in occasionally deviating out of my comfort zone, but again, it seems to bug people, or they take it personally that my tastes skew toward deep roleplaying games.
Frankly, I find great value in diversity. I think having multiple genres is a great thing, because gaming shouldn't be all one way. The best thing about it is that it can be anything to anyone. Whether you wanna flick your finger across your phone for some period of time, or hone your reflexes in a super-deep fighting game, or live out your sports dream in a sports game, or bury yourself in story and math in an RPG, it's all there. AND the best is when genres colllide, and new ideas are born.
Honestly, it's started to get so bad that I've been pulling back from the gaming world in general. Years ago, I started to disassociate myself with the term 'gamer,' because a) I didn't like what the community was becoming (or maybe I was growing out of it), and b) I don't like belonging to things anyway. I don't like labeling myself at all, because I feel like it constrains identity and ideas.
I like what I like. I've been playing RPGs since the day Final Fantasy first came out on the NES, and I've been at it since. I outgrew most of the other genres. I'm glad you like 2D platformers and FIFA and the latest PSN sale and Mario and Rocket League and on and on. For real, follow your bliss, but try and let me do the same. A world full of happier people is a good thing. We all face enough trials without tearing each other down over something as silly as gaming genres and plastic fucking boxes.
Moving on ...
I actually didn't come here to whine about people being mean to me. I actually came because I have a problem that's been brewing for years.
Back in the 90s, and early 2000s, I was poor. I was working shit jobs, and then finally went to college, but didn't start really earning until the last five years or so, at which point, I did the natural thing, and started migrating to PC.
Before that, though, I was purely a console gamer. I missed out on all the amazing cRPGs of the era, and in fact, didn't get really converted until Dragon Age: Origins. That was my first balls-out PC RPG, and yeah, I know it was multi-plat. I'd played KotOR and Jade Empire on Xbox prior to that, so I wasn't a total BioWare noob, but I never played Baldur's Gate, or any of the Black Isle games, or any of the Piranha Bytes games, or any of the Troika games, and on and on. I've occasionally gone back and played footsie with one of them, but I always abandon them to play the new shiny.
Or in the case of Icewind Dale, it's just too fucking hard. Or I don't understand what I'm doing.
To that end, though, I've been toying with the idea of slashing this year's purchase list, and starting to play through the following:
Divine Divinity
Fallout
Gothic
Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights
Of course, I'm now focusing on Wasteland 2 and replaying DXHR. We'll see what happens. I've got Final Fantasy XV in the next couple months, DXMD next month, and Dishonored 2 in November. I'm guessing Deus Ex and Dishonored will both be pretty short, so maybe this fall and winter, I can finally rip through the classics.
And, naturally, I've loaded them with mods to modernize their look and feel.
Where do you think I should start? Any favorites, or other recommendations?
Alright, back to work. Thanks for reading.
Oh, and I'm going to append this post with some of my latest streaming fun.
-Blaine
20160726
time moves faster
It occurred to me that summer is winding down. Wow, that was fast.
My birthday, which was last week, always signals to me that it's time to hurry up and enjoy what's left of the scalding heat and beautiful sunshine.
To that end, my wife, oldest son, and I are going to Vegas next week for the Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention. More on that later.
I enjoyed a nice, quiet bachelor weekend with my oldest boy this past weekend, while my wife and youngest went to visit her sister and parents, since it had been a few hours since we last did that. :P
Many great trailers were beaming out of Comic-Con, but we actually mostly just gamed, ate, and went and saw the latest generic summer action film that was branded with 'Star Trek.' It was actually an enjoyable film, and I appreciated that it at least attempted to connect with the last sliver of canon that this trilogy didn't delete. Really, I appreciated that, and I wish they'd kill this splinter of the series, restore the canon, apologize, and get back to making real television/internet Star Trek.
Which they sorta are. The generic summer action film series is continuing, but a teaser was shown for Star Trek: Discovery at Comic-Con and I hope, so deeply, that they do a big reveal at the convention next week.
Take a look:
What's interesting is that some of the press materials and official language I've seen surrounding this new series hammer home two key points:
1. this has nothing to do with the current Paramount films nonsense
2. the name 'Discovery' ties into everything they're trying to do with this show
Both of these points send my heart soaring. Star Trek isn't about blowing shit up and LOLing at a science fiction film featuring an overrated Beastie Boys track. It's about bringing the best of humanity out by being part of a larger galactic community and expanding our knowledge and seeing what's out there. The spirit of adventure, coupled with empathy and the need to better oneself, is what drives this franchise, and it's why I love it so dearly. I love Star Wars and Star Trek equally, and they balance me.
Anyway, I get way too worked up about this shit. It's been too long since we've had real Star Trek, even though I understand why the franchise needed to go away for a while.
Along these lines, I was thinking the other day about how 2005 was such a dramatic year of changes for me. It's kinda shocking to look back upon, actually.
In 2005, I got married, the final new Star Trek aired, the final Star Wars film came out, my first child was born, and the Busch Stadium in which I'd basically grown up was knocked down. All in the span of like 10-11 months. It was a year of endings and beginnings.
Except it wasn't. It was a year of beginnings. Star Wars was passed into more caring hands. A new, frankly better, Busch Stadium (and though I don't allow myself to feel nostalgia, I feel nostalgic about that old park) was built. Star Trek went away for a while, and the generic summer action series that was technically branded as Star Trek probably helped revitalize interest in the franchise (actually, I think the resurgence of Star Wars had more to do with that, but that's a different argument), and now it looks like the real Star Trek is coming back, And I hope it ignores the generic summer action films that were technically branded as Star Trek.
But I digress.
Let's wrap this up.
Real quick - I randomly started playing Wasteland 2 again the other day. I don't know why I stopped. Actually, I do. I have a terrible habit of not really investing fully in games when I play them. I let my mind wander, I try to multitask, and really, all I end up doing is not getting the full experience. I played more Wasteland 2 with my attention totally dialed in, and it's a fucking great game. It's really my kinda game. Lotsa story, lotsa strategy, lotsa math, and a fucking fantastic world. You need not have played the first game. I gotta say that inXile is easily on the level of Obsidian and BioWare (which makes a lotta sense once you start looking at developer family trees.)
I'll talk more gaming soon. And I got more to say about Comic-Con.
-Blaine
My birthday, which was last week, always signals to me that it's time to hurry up and enjoy what's left of the scalding heat and beautiful sunshine.
To that end, my wife, oldest son, and I are going to Vegas next week for the Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention. More on that later.
I enjoyed a nice, quiet bachelor weekend with my oldest boy this past weekend, while my wife and youngest went to visit her sister and parents, since it had been a few hours since we last did that. :P
Many great trailers were beaming out of Comic-Con, but we actually mostly just gamed, ate, and went and saw the latest generic summer action film that was branded with 'Star Trek.' It was actually an enjoyable film, and I appreciated that it at least attempted to connect with the last sliver of canon that this trilogy didn't delete. Really, I appreciated that, and I wish they'd kill this splinter of the series, restore the canon, apologize, and get back to making real television/internet Star Trek.
Which they sorta are. The generic summer action film series is continuing, but a teaser was shown for Star Trek: Discovery at Comic-Con and I hope, so deeply, that they do a big reveal at the convention next week.
Take a look:
What's interesting is that some of the press materials and official language I've seen surrounding this new series hammer home two key points:
1. this has nothing to do with the current Paramount films nonsense
2. the name 'Discovery' ties into everything they're trying to do with this show
Both of these points send my heart soaring. Star Trek isn't about blowing shit up and LOLing at a science fiction film featuring an overrated Beastie Boys track. It's about bringing the best of humanity out by being part of a larger galactic community and expanding our knowledge and seeing what's out there. The spirit of adventure, coupled with empathy and the need to better oneself, is what drives this franchise, and it's why I love it so dearly. I love Star Wars and Star Trek equally, and they balance me.
Anyway, I get way too worked up about this shit. It's been too long since we've had real Star Trek, even though I understand why the franchise needed to go away for a while.
Along these lines, I was thinking the other day about how 2005 was such a dramatic year of changes for me. It's kinda shocking to look back upon, actually.
In 2005, I got married, the final new Star Trek aired, the final Star Wars film came out, my first child was born, and the Busch Stadium in which I'd basically grown up was knocked down. All in the span of like 10-11 months. It was a year of endings and beginnings.
Except it wasn't. It was a year of beginnings. Star Wars was passed into more caring hands. A new, frankly better, Busch Stadium (and though I don't allow myself to feel nostalgia, I feel nostalgic about that old park) was built. Star Trek went away for a while, and the generic summer action series that was technically branded as Star Trek probably helped revitalize interest in the franchise (actually, I think the resurgence of Star Wars had more to do with that, but that's a different argument), and now it looks like the real Star Trek is coming back, And I hope it ignores the generic summer action films that were technically branded as Star Trek.
But I digress.
Let's wrap this up.
Real quick - I randomly started playing Wasteland 2 again the other day. I don't know why I stopped. Actually, I do. I have a terrible habit of not really investing fully in games when I play them. I let my mind wander, I try to multitask, and really, all I end up doing is not getting the full experience. I played more Wasteland 2 with my attention totally dialed in, and it's a fucking great game. It's really my kinda game. Lotsa story, lotsa strategy, lotsa math, and a fucking fantastic world. You need not have played the first game. I gotta say that inXile is easily on the level of Obsidian and BioWare (which makes a lotta sense once you start looking at developer family trees.)
I'll talk more gaming soon. And I got more to say about Comic-Con.
-Blaine
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