Sunday's usually a "day of rest". And I'm here to let you know that Monday will be a Day of Gaming. Feel free to join me.
You see, at the first of the year I changed my work schedule around. I have to work an extra 52 minutes every day so I can get every other Monday off. I really can't stand the longer hours but having that day off to sit at home and play games without having to dip into my vacation time seemed worth it. Unfortunately so far this year I haven't really had the opportunity to take full advantage of playing video games on that day off.
We had weeks where we were back on the shorter schedule due to a holiday or a big work function. But the Mondays I did have off seemed to be commandeered by other things. I had errands to run, doctors appointments, family obligations. You name it and it was something I had to do on my extra day off. Well no more.
This Monday I have nothing planned except sleeping in and playing video games. It will be nice to sit and play BioShock or Lost Odyssey for an extended period of time without feeling guilty because I'm not responding to the game invites my friends keep sending. Don't get me wrong, I like knowing someone out there wants to play with me it's just sometimes I want to play something by myself. No offense.
Maybe I'll focus on Enchanted Arms and Lost Planet and make up my mind whether I'm going to keep them or trade them in for something else. I don't know what that something would be since I'm very content with the games and systems I have now. Oh sure, there's other games and systems I'd like to have but nothing so great that it says "if the world ended tomorrow you'll regret not owning me" type of thing.
So if you see me on in the middle of the day on Monday no, I haven't lost my job or quit (although that idea sounds attractive) or have gravely injured myself so I can't work. I'm just relaxing, playing around and having fun. Feel free to join me in the debauchery (maybe I should play Armed & Dangerous or Bard's Tale).
I hereby declare this Monday a Day of Gaming. Besides, if this Monday doesn't pan out I'm taking the next Monday off (vacation time) to make up for it. Maybe every Monday should be a Day of Gaming. And if we can make it a national holiday we'd never have to work another Monday again. Now that's a campaign promise I can vote for.
Showing posts with label Lost Planet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost Planet. Show all posts
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Out with the old, in with the new
So I took GRAW back last night and used it as a trade in to get The Orange Box and Eternal Sonata. That $3 really went far don't you think? I'm still going to give Lost Planet and Enchanted Arms another shot but I need to decide before the end of the weekend. Game Stop is having a special that you get an extra $10 trade in credit when you bring in 2 games.
There are a few other games I would like to get but I'm trying to be more selective in order to save money. And the more games I get the less time I have to play them. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense. But think about it. If you had only 10 hours to play games in a week and you owned only 10 games you could very well play each game for an hour every week. You might not get very far in all of them but at least you'd get to play them all. But if you had 10 hours to play each week but you owned 100 games some of those games aren't going to get played very much . . . if at all. And since there are always new games coming out those 10 games become 100 rather quickly. At least in my case.
There are a few other games I would like to get but I'm trying to be more selective in order to save money. And the more games I get the less time I have to play them. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense. But think about it. If you had only 10 hours to play games in a week and you owned only 10 games you could very well play each game for an hour every week. You might not get very far in all of them but at least you'd get to play them all. But if you had 10 hours to play each week but you owned 100 games some of those games aren't going to get played very much . . . if at all. And since there are always new games coming out those 10 games become 100 rather quickly. At least in my case.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Second chances
So I found the case for GRAW and I have initial plans to take it back today and get something else. But while looking for that case I also found the cases for Enchanted Arms and Lost Planet. Those are two other games where I haven't gotten very far (if anywhere) in them so I might want to give them a second look to see if it will be worth it to keep them.
I've started Enchanted Arms several times but I've just never been in the mood to sit through all that dialogue and crap at the beginning of the game before you get into it. My brother dain borrowed it and at least go to the battle tutorial before he quit. Maybe someday I'll set aside an hour or two and see if I can get the game started and get involved in it.
With Lost Planet I've only put the disk in my machine just to see if it would load up. Every time I get the desire to play the game someone tells me how hard it is and how screwy the controls are. Those are not encouraging words if someone is deciding to play the game. This is another game that might require a couple hours of commitment before I make a decision on whether to keep it or not.
Another game that is currently getting a second chance (more like a first since I haven't played it before) is Tomb Raider: Legend. I've watched my brother play this game many times and I have one of the previous Tomb Raider games for the PlayStation. This last Monday I finally figured out I should probably put the game in and see what's it's like for myself. I got stuck in the first level but not enough to discourage me and make me want to never see the game again. But just enough to make me want to put in something less aggravating.
Maybe this need to par down on my games comes from the guilt of owning games I haven't played or the fact that I don't have any more room in my game binder for the latest games I bought. The fact that Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are both 4 disks each doesn't help. Not to mention all those Final Fantasy multi-disk games. Oh well. The straps are starting to rip so I'm going to have to buy a new case soon anyway. But it wouldn't hurt to clean out the dead games in order to have more money for new ones. Right?
I've started Enchanted Arms several times but I've just never been in the mood to sit through all that dialogue and crap at the beginning of the game before you get into it. My brother dain borrowed it and at least go to the battle tutorial before he quit. Maybe someday I'll set aside an hour or two and see if I can get the game started and get involved in it.
With Lost Planet I've only put the disk in my machine just to see if it would load up. Every time I get the desire to play the game someone tells me how hard it is and how screwy the controls are. Those are not encouraging words if someone is deciding to play the game. This is another game that might require a couple hours of commitment before I make a decision on whether to keep it or not.
Another game that is currently getting a second chance (more like a first since I haven't played it before) is Tomb Raider: Legend. I've watched my brother play this game many times and I have one of the previous Tomb Raider games for the PlayStation. This last Monday I finally figured out I should probably put the game in and see what's it's like for myself. I got stuck in the first level but not enough to discourage me and make me want to never see the game again. But just enough to make me want to put in something less aggravating.
Maybe this need to par down on my games comes from the guilt of owning games I haven't played or the fact that I don't have any more room in my game binder for the latest games I bought. The fact that Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are both 4 disks each doesn't help. Not to mention all those Final Fantasy multi-disk games. Oh well. The straps are starting to rip so I'm going to have to buy a new case soon anyway. But it wouldn't hurt to clean out the dead games in order to have more money for new ones. Right?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Great online games should never die
Don't you just love it when you find a really great game? A game that sucks you in the minute you start playing. And one that will do that all over again even if you haven't played it in months.
I've wanted to play Gears of War again for a long time but I've been having too much fun (even though I suck) playing Call of Duty 4 with my friends. Last night a couple of them were playing Gears so I put the disk in. It took awhile for me to get use to the controlls again. But after I figured out that I needed to hold A down to run instead of the left stick all the old memories came back and it felt good.
There was something comforting about shooting locus hordes and watching their bodies contort themselves in death that just felt good. I remember coming from large teams in Star Wars Battlefront to having only 4 people on a side and thinking that was ridiculous. Last night it seemed right. Four people were plenty enough for me, thank you very much. Matches were short and sweet (or should I say bloody). And it just felt right.
But before I jumped into the match with my friends I did a search for ranked and player matches. I was disappointed in how many matches were available. Only 2 ranked matches showed on my list. And only about 8 player matches. I'd like to think that was because there were already hundreds of other matches being played that were full. But considering how long this game has been out I doubt that. And that makes me sad.
For games that have great online multiplayer game play there should always be lots of matches to choose from. We shouldn't let those games die or be transported to online purgatory. You know, the place where someone hosts a match but nobody joins them. Something needs to be done to save these games and their online lives from becoming extinct. Games like Star Wars Battlefront I and II, Gears of War, Halo 2, Counter Strike, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Burnout Revenge, Chromehounds, Call of Duty 2 & 3, G.R.A.W 1 & 2, Lost Planet, Rainbow 6: Vegas, I could on for awhile, but I think you get the picture.
Every time a new game comes out we set aside the old game and don't play it. Most people probably sell it back in order to afford the new game. But "newest and latest" doesn't always mean better. And even if it did, that doesn't lessen the enjoyment you got out of that "old" game or that you still can't enjoy it again if you played it. It's the game play that matters, not "realistic graphics" or "seamless scene loadings" or "largest weapon selections than any other game out there". If we don't enjoy playing a game, we won't. Funny how that works, isn't it?
So don't give up on older games. You liked them for their game play once so you can still play them for that reason again no matter how "old" and "dated" they may look or feel. If you did sell back your copy of those games you can always pick it back up used. Video games should be played and enjoyed for many years, not just the few months they're the latest thing out there before the next new game come out. And it is okay to buy the latest great game like Rainbow 6: Vegas 2 that's coming out next month, but don't forget to show some lovin' to the older games as well. No one likes to be stuck in purgatory trying to find a match.
I've wanted to play Gears of War again for a long time but I've been having too much fun (even though I suck) playing Call of Duty 4 with my friends. Last night a couple of them were playing Gears so I put the disk in. It took awhile for me to get use to the controlls again. But after I figured out that I needed to hold A down to run instead of the left stick all the old memories came back and it felt good.
There was something comforting about shooting locus hordes and watching their bodies contort themselves in death that just felt good. I remember coming from large teams in Star Wars Battlefront to having only 4 people on a side and thinking that was ridiculous. Last night it seemed right. Four people were plenty enough for me, thank you very much. Matches were short and sweet (or should I say bloody). And it just felt right.
But before I jumped into the match with my friends I did a search for ranked and player matches. I was disappointed in how many matches were available. Only 2 ranked matches showed on my list. And only about 8 player matches. I'd like to think that was because there were already hundreds of other matches being played that were full. But considering how long this game has been out I doubt that. And that makes me sad.
For games that have great online multiplayer game play there should always be lots of matches to choose from. We shouldn't let those games die or be transported to online purgatory. You know, the place where someone hosts a match but nobody joins them. Something needs to be done to save these games and their online lives from becoming extinct. Games like Star Wars Battlefront I and II, Gears of War, Halo 2, Counter Strike, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Burnout Revenge, Chromehounds, Call of Duty 2 & 3, G.R.A.W 1 & 2, Lost Planet, Rainbow 6: Vegas, I could on for awhile, but I think you get the picture.
Every time a new game comes out we set aside the old game and don't play it. Most people probably sell it back in order to afford the new game. But "newest and latest" doesn't always mean better. And even if it did, that doesn't lessen the enjoyment you got out of that "old" game or that you still can't enjoy it again if you played it. It's the game play that matters, not "realistic graphics" or "seamless scene loadings" or "largest weapon selections than any other game out there". If we don't enjoy playing a game, we won't. Funny how that works, isn't it?
So don't give up on older games. You liked them for their game play once so you can still play them for that reason again no matter how "old" and "dated" they may look or feel. If you did sell back your copy of those games you can always pick it back up used. Video games should be played and enjoyed for many years, not just the few months they're the latest thing out there before the next new game come out. And it is okay to buy the latest great game like Rainbow 6: Vegas 2 that's coming out next month, but don't forget to show some lovin' to the older games as well. No one likes to be stuck in purgatory trying to find a match.
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