|
|
Saturday, May 17th, 2008
| |
11:26 pm
|
So I got game tonight, which makes me happy. We're still playing right now. It wasn't exactly an active session, but we did some shopping, and I obtained an intact displacer beast hide, which I will be using in item creation sooner or later.
I'm very tired, and I have to be up early to do shopping and such. And I probably won't get game tomorrow, on account of at least two players being at ACen.
Oh well.
current mood:  tired
current music: nada
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Friday, May 16th, 2008
| |
8:22 pm - Bustin', Book 1 of Paranormal Pest Pursuers, by Minda Webber
|
I've been hinting at this for two weeks, and I finished it on Wednesday night, so I might as well get this over with. I tried for a little while to take notes, but eventually, noting all the stupid got too painful to bother with. It's not even a stupid so horrifically awful that you have to laugh at it. No, this is worse. Far, FAR worse.
( Cut for length. )
In conclusion: Another shitty entry in a genre that gets shittier by the minute. Every time I read another entry in this genre, I feel Sturgeon's Law more keenly.
current mood:  annoyed
current music: Nada
|
|
(6 comments | comment on this)
|
| Thursday, May 15th, 2008
| |
10:07 am
|
I am posting in the hopes that nothing else will go wrong today.
I woke up this morning, and it was an average morning. then I went outside and hopped in my truck, and something seemed... off kilter.
So I got out of my truck and walked around for a visual, and my rear passenger tire was very, very flat. Now, I park on gravel and don't have a jack, so the first thing I do is call my mom to see if she's still got an air compressor. This isn't evil of me, because she works night shifts and when I'm leaving for work, she's just got off work and got home, and is unwinding. Okay, so it's not VERY evil of me.
She doesn't have one anymore, so I call a service truck in, and he tries to air it up, in case it's a slow leak. No go. So off it comes, replaced with my donut spare (which is larger than the tires of most modern cars). This accomplished, I head to the only tire repair company I trust anymore, which is all the way out in the hinterlands of Council Bluffs, near Lewis Central Middle/High school.
I get out there, and I get some good news. They're not busy this morning, I pull in, and they get to work immediately. More good news, they've got an appropriate and decent looking used tire in stock. Bad news, my lugs are pretty well stripped, and it takes a bit of work to get them off, but good news, they've got some replacements. When all's said and done, the damage is only 33bux. I say holy shit, pay it off, and leave, knowing for certain that I'm coming back next time I need tire work.
I get out of there, and I look up the road, and I start cursing, because there's a fucking immense coal train crossing the only route out of there.
So I park Deathless, shut her down, and break out the DS.
Half an hour later, the coal train has finished its crossing, and I get to go off to work.
I am now at work, approximately three hours after my normal arrival time, hoping against hope that this is the only thing that goes horribly wrong today.
current mood: tired
current music: Nada
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
| |
8:21 pm
|
Holy crap, I want Joshua and Sho both very, VERY dead. Game is off for the night, as I have a full set of shutdown pins to evolve and a book I want to finish. I don't want to finish the book because I want to see the end, but because I want to be done with the damned thing. I picked up the book because it had a good series name, and was plunged into a horror the likes of which I have never, ever seen before. In its own unique way it's just as bad as Mage, and that makes me sad.
current mood: tired
current music: Nada
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
| |
9:39 pm
|
Evolution of pins via shutdown and mingle PP is somewhat annoying. I ruined two Ice Blow pins by leveling them up wrong, AND took my Happy Beam down the wrong path. This displeases me somewhat, but not enough to dislike the game.
I am now running Shackled City, and for once, I have a full crew. The first time in months. They're doing quite well in the second half of the second Shackled City adventure, they're about two thirds of the way through, and advancing quickly. They are also making effective use of teamwork. This pleases me.
In conclusion: A female vampire has been turned to stone mid-orgasm. How many puns can YOU make about the situation?
current mood: tired
current music: Nada
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Monday, May 12th, 2008
| |
6:31 pm
|
Last Thursday's lunch was mostly delicious, and I got to try a dessert which I have never before tried. It was, for the record, delicious, and worth every penny.
I continue to plug away at this gawdawful book in between kicking some ass in The World Ends With You. I am currently evolving some of my pins. I am, however, not likely to get mingle PP out of anything but taking on people in TPS or letting the DS sit there and accumulate alien visits. Omaha sucks.
In conclusion: I'm very tired, unfortunately, and I think I'm going to go rest for a while.
current mood: tired
current music: Nada
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, May 11th, 2008
| |
10:38 pm
|
|
I am abusing the hell out of Mingle mode. Apparently, if you get NO signals at all, the game takes pity on you and sends you some aliens. In about 8 hours of Mingle, I have met 6 aliens.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
7:41 pm - Today's moment of... of... something.
|
|
Imagine if Piers Anthony and Laurell K. Hamilton had a child, and they raised it on a steady diet of nothing but Humphrey Bogart movies and mindless patriotism.
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
| |
3:49 pm
|
|
I have obtained Mingle mode. I have mingled for approximately eight hours so far. I have had 3 encounters, all of which were aliens. Two of them were myself in 20 years, and one time I ran into the doorframe of life.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, May 10th, 2008
| |
7:16 pm - NOOOOOOOOO!
|
|
| Friday, May 9th, 2008
| |
10:32 pm
|
The World Ends With You kicks my ass. Hard. I'm at the end of the second mission, and the boss is just destroying me seven ways from Sunday.
The D&D 4e playtester list has been officially posted, and those MAGE members who still watch this journal might find a name or two they recognize on there. Same goes for the Sandwich people who are watching.
I drugged myself to the gills last night, and as a result, I slept like a log, and felt like I was still asleep for most of today. I came home, played a bit of TWEWY, and then went and took a three hour nap. I almost feel alive again.
In conclusion: This weekend needs to be restful. VERY restful.
Edit: I did a bit of leveling up, and switching my pins around a bit. I swapped out lightning, so I'm running punchy-flaming-shooty combo, and that works a hell of a lot better for me, and I leveled up like fucking crazy for a bit, then went and raped the boss. Neku is a colossal dick.
current mood: tired
current music: Nada
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Thursday, May 8th, 2008
| |
6:02 pm
|
The World Ends With You is seriously going to kick my ass.
Or turn me into a stylus wizard.
I'm hardly into the damn game and I've already jacked the DS into my main speakers so I can hear the music better.
I haven't even touched the system, just the prologue/tutorial.
This will end badly. I know it.
In conclusion: Imagine that 4chan wrote an urban fantasy novel, only instead of internet memes, it was puns and 20th century pop culture.
current mood: tired
current music: Nada
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
| |
7:01 pm
|
It looks as though The World Ends With You has arrived. I'll be picking it up tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon. It hardly matters which, since I won't have time to play it at work, since tomorrow is lunch day.
My "economic stimulus" refund is supposed to already have been deposited in my account, almost a week ago. It has yet to appear.
In conclusion: At least I'm busy at work, even if it's a frustrating sort of busy.
current mood: tired
current music: Nada
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
| |
10:05 pm
|
I got my concentration back today at work, and managed to do some useful work. But there's so much of it ahead of me. My fingers are going to revolt from all the typing. Why did I become a software engineer again?
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) schneeble was able to play Shackled City again. The new guy in the party, a shifter druid, shredded the hell out of an FOE in the third round of combat. It was bloody, he did so much damage that he would have taken her down from full HP.
And now, my leg needs rest, so I am going to bed.
In conclusion: Mephreyu needs to die horribly.
current mood: exhausted
current music: nada
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Monday, May 5th, 2008
| |
6:08 pm
|
|
Today has been... well, it's not a bad day, because nothing really went horribly wrong. But it's been so far from a good day that I just want to curl up in bed and stop thinking.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, May 4th, 2008
| |
5:36 pm - Rondo of Swords
|
I'm going to make my recommendation right up front, here, and then justify it to you. If you enjoy strategy games at all, at ALL, you owe it to yourself to grab this game before it goes out of print and rises in price. And this is one of the Atlus titles that IS going to rise in price. If you have ever enjoyed a Shining Force or Fire Emblem or Ogre Battle game, do not stop at anything to obtain this game. If you fail to get this game, you should regret it for the rest of your life. If you like tactics games? You should ALSO get this game.
Okay, back cover text summary. The kingdom of Bretwalde has been overrun by its enemies. The prince is dead, and you, his mysterious stunt double, are charged by the dying prince to take the holy sword, find a way to uncurse it, and take back the kingdom.
Fairly standard plot. The game mechanics are really what set this game apart. This is not a game of move and shoot (well, except for the archers) or knights walking up to each other and running around behind each other in order to get a better hit percentage. This is a game of samurai ninja runpast asskicking. Movement is king. You can attack as many enemies in one action as your pathfinding skills will let you fit into the character's movement, provided your luck holds and skills don't intervene.
To attack, you draw out your character's path (use of stylus is optional for this) on the map, crossing over as many enemies and ending in whatever open square you can reach. The game then jumps into a runpast cutscene, in which the character runs past each other character along the path. Allies can have skills that boost you, enemies get attacked, and if your luck holds, you won't be counterattacked. If you're NOT lucky, one of the enemies in the path of your charge will have ZOC, the skill that will stop your charge dead in your tracks, and bounce you to a nearby open square. If you're even less lucky, one of the enemies will successfully counterattack, and while he'll still take damage, he'll hit you back, AND your charge will stop, AND you'll be bounced to a square you probably didn't want to be in.
Movement is king. The highest naturally occurring movement rate is 8, which is mostly found on horsemen, but also on a beastwoman and the most powerful mage in the game, Cotton, who is a reference to a game by the developer of this title, Cotton 100%. There are two other characters borrowed from another game, that being Izuna and Shino, of Izuna: Legend of Unemployed Ninja. while Shino isn't anything special, aside from being one of exactly two archer-types you can have in the party, Izuna and Cotton are both immensely powerful, though not game-breakingly so.
There are some small problems with the game. While you can skip out of the runpast cutscene at any time, there appears to be no way to turn them off entirely, and they take so long, especially when you engineer a really good string of attacks, that you're going to want to skip out of most of them. The cutscenes also don't cut out allies that don't have benefits for you to get, which can add an extra couple seconds to an attack run.
The skill system also does an extremely bad job of indicating which skills are automatic and which skills have to be activated. The skill descriptions are terse and not very helpful in many cases. There's also a mechanical problem in that many of the skills say they last one round, but take a round to activate, which makes them... significantly less useful, far less useful, in general, than just attacking more.
There are a lot more good points than bad ones, though. For one, there's exactly one enemy in the entire game that breaks the rules, and that's the final boss. If you recruit one of the bigbad's generals, that general comes over to your side exactly as badass as he was when he was kicking your ass. This is a pretty large tick in favor of the game. There is no adjustment to be made to account for the villain factor. You can look at your stats, look at the enemy's stats, and know intuitively how badly you're going to mangle them.
The plot is actually pretty good, and there are at least four endings. More importantly, though, is that when you get to the first branch? The good path out of it isn't obvious. When you get to the second branch? Not only is the branch point not obvious, but recognizing it requires a walkthrough or for you to remember both your quest and what you were told at the first branch, and there is NO reminder. The game will mercilessly shunt you to a BAD END if you fuck up either of the choices, though neither of the bad ends is instant.
There are limit breaks in the game, and they vary intensely in usefulness, without rhyme or reason. Sometimes an otherwise good character will be saddled with a worthless limit break, while sometimes an amazing character will have an even more amazing limit break, such as is the case with Cotton. One of Cotton's main problems is that she burns through MP at a phenomenal rate. When you first get her, she's lucky to be able to cast two spells in a row. But her limit break eats her turn to almost totally refill her HP and MP. The limit breaks in general could have used a lot more balancing.
And as a final note, just for the hell of it... Clerics in this game only get a single attack spell, and only at very high level. This is because this attack spell is a holy orbital death laser. I'm not even exaggerating, here. It goes in a straight line from the cleric out to an absurd range, and the graphic for it is a laser shooting down out of the sky, strafing along the path, doing an immense amount of damage.
In conclusion: HOLY ORBITAL LASERS, BATMAN. GET THIS FUCKING GAME, NAO.
current mood:  satisfied
current music: Bubblegum Crisis - Touchdown
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
| |
4:53 pm
|
|
Edit: Spell has been found. It's Extended Charge, from one of the Book of Eldritch Might releases.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
| |
7:34 pm
|
|
As a side note, I just had a wonderful dinner at a place I just discovered courtesy an ad in my mailbox. I will be patronizing them in the future, rather than Valentino's, when I desire a meal delivered to me.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
7:06 pm
|
|
I'm not going to be reviewing Rondo of Swords today, on account of me being stuck on a fiendishly annoying level.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
8:00 am
|
I've been awake since six thirty this morning. This does not please me.
The weather is fluctuating on a daily basis between iced tea and hot tea weather. This does not please me.
My hard copy of Small Favor has still not emerged from the bowels of the US Postal Service. This does not please me.
I was, in fact, forced to restart my Icewind Dale 2 campaign, having discovered a battle that I cannot pass. This does not please me.
I have discovered that there is a small local pizza joint that delivers pizza, salad, pasta, and, of all things, baked potatoes. This may or may not please me, depending on the quality.
Rondo of Swords has been unrelentingly good, aside from one minor peeve. This pleases me.
I have a new book to read, a gift from lirazel. I am midway through a book right now, but a read and review shall ensue shortly. This pleases me. Thank you, Lira.
My new playthrough of Icewind Dale 2 has a two person party. Those two people are Lone Wolf and Banedon. This pleases me.
I haven't gamed all week, due in part to my leg requiring time spent not upright. This does not please me.
In conclusion: I am hoping for game tonight, but I don't know if I will get it. Ditto tomorrow.
current mood: exhausted
current music: Nada
|
|
(6 comments | comment on this)
|
|
|
|
|
outraged