Kick Some Divine Ass

Guess what? I finished God of War III!!! I finally, finally, finally finished it! And in the end, it only took me about four five-hour-long sessions of gaming. In other words, I could have finished it a long time ago. Well, a long time... It was released in March or April, right? So it has only been something like five months. Still, I finished it, and actually, I'm kind of proud of that. Silly? Maybe. Do I care? No!

So, what was it like then? Well, I guess there's really only one word that accurately describes it, and that word is 'epic'. I know, it's a frequently (ab)used word when it comes to gaming, but in this case, it really is the only fitting one. Epic in scale, epic in story and, well, just epic!
Seriously though, God of War III really is a fantastic game. Why can't all games be like this? Of the same quality, I mean? I suppose I sort of know why, it's just, you know, why don't all game developers put in the same amount of love and energy into their products? Because that much is evident: the people responsible for GoWIII really do love what they do. And if the game itself hadn't already convinced me of that, the extras have. And there are lots of those! Extras, I mean. Lots of making-of features, artwork, interviews... Very, very nice indeed. To put that in perspective: I finished the game at about 00:30 hrs. I was done watching all the extras at about 04:00 hrs!

After that, I tried some of the trials that also unlocked after finishing the game. And, I actually succeeded in completing some of them! There were also a few however, that were just stupidly hard. By my standards, I might add. For example, there was one where I needed to get stoned. Ha, well, that should've been easy for me then, right? Haha? Okay, I'm sorry.
That is however, exactly what it said! Get Stoned! The challenge was to let some Medusa-like enemies turn you to stone 5 times, without dying. Very, very tricky! Because obviously, the medusas weren't the only enemies around in that level. After getting stoned once, the game added some flying enemies that had a dive-bombing move, as it were. Staying on the ground meant having one or more of them crashing down on my head and shattering me. Jumping in the air to get rid of them caused me to get stoned mid-air, which ended with me in pieces, again. I tried this trial a couple of times, and then I gave up. A challenge is nice, but this was too much. Again, I might add, by my standards. Too bad though; it could have added some nice Trophies. Although, when it comes to that, I'm actually quite pleased! There were a few that I didn't expect to get, but I did!
Anyway, I am now done with GoWIII, and I'm happy I put in the effort. It was definitely worth it, all the way through.

So! What's next? There are other games I haven't yet finished, while I bloody well should have. Like Fallout 3, for example. Just a random example out of the many I could probably come up with? Actually, no. On Twitter today, someone said that he wanted to play that game again, in preparation for Fallout New Vegas, which I believe is to be released somewhere near the end of this year. And well, he's right! I should play that game again! Not having finished Fallout 3 is just as shameful as not having finished GoWIII, in my opinion.
You know, some games are just... special. Some games stand high above all others, in terms of sheer quality. And Fallout 3 is definitely one of those. What makes it even more special I think, is the fact that I could tell long stories about it, you know? Stories about the things that have happened to me, in that game. Which, mind you, doesn't make it better than GoWIII! I mean, as truly wonderful as that is, it doesn't lend itself too well to storytelling. Of course there's a story in there, and it's a good one as well, it really is. But, the story of GoWIII is, well, just that: the story of GoWIII. The story, as told by the developers, which doesn't really leave any room for your own interpretation on what's going on.

Fallout 3 has a main storyline as well, obviously. Although I must admit that I've sort of forgotten what it was about, really. I mean, it was about living in the Vault, exiting it and then about finding your father. I think. Outside of that however, I really felt like playing Fallout 3 was like writing your own story, you know? You decide what to do at any given point, as opposed to having the game basically making the decisions for you.

EDIT
Okay! So, I wrote all of the above about 3 weeks ago, maybe longer. I was going to write more, but I'm just going to publish this post as it is now, and start with a new one straight away.

My Vision's Kinda Blurry!

Okay then, yet another blog! I know, that opening line is starting to get a bit old. It's just that I'm sort of surprised myself, you know? I mean, for almost six months this thing was as dead as a really dead thing, and then, suddenly, three blogs in less than a week! Yes, I'm kind of erratic like that. Also, I started writing this particular entry with no specific subject in mind, so expect it to go anywhere at any given point. I mean, it'll probably be about games again, but which ones and in what context, I don't know. Let's get cracking and find out then, shall we?

So... indeed, which games to write about? Hmm... Well, how about a little Blur? I don't think I can say enough about that to fill this entry with, but it's a start, and I'm sure I'll think of other stuff when I'm done. I don't know whether being honest about all this is a good thing, but whatever.
Blur! Right! Well, I suppose I could fill an entire paragraph explaining all the ins and outs of this game, and maybe I still will. It is, however, easiest to call it what it is and be done with that part. Put simply, and accurately as well: Blur is Mario Kart with nice graphics, real cars and meatier weapons. Really, that's what it is. What makes it kind of special though, is that unlike most Mario Kart 'clones', this one is actually really good! It's quite hard as well, but I suppose that's a good thing, right? It's good to have a meaty challenge; it makes finally beating it all the sweeter. And I really have had a few of those moments already. You know, moments where you retried a race for about ten times already, then finally beat it and proceed to squee like a little girl. In a very manly, non-gay way, of course. Yes. But, that's what can happen when playing the singleplayer career mode! It gets better though, much better.

Like almost any game these days, Blur has a multiplayer mode, which is actually quite similar in structure to Modern Warfare 2. No, really, it is! Like in MW2, you gain levels as you play, you unlock new things to enhance your car with and, um... Well, that's it actually. At least, that's it for as far as I can remember, right now. At any rate, it kind of has the same addictive quality that MW2 has. Just one more race, you know? Although I must admit that it hasn't managed to fully grab me, yet. Yesterday, I played MW2 again, so yeah, go figure. As you might be able to surmise from these blogs, I still have the same 'problem': too many games, too little time.
Which is a bit of a shame in this case, because besides the regular multiplayer stuff, Blur has another little feature that's very, very nice. When you finish an event, whatever it is, you can turn it into a Challenge which you can send to a friend! Say, for example, that you feel you've set a record-breaking time in a checkpoint race. Just turn it into a challenge saying: I bet you can't do better than this! Because you suck and like spotty monkeyballs!
Yeah, you can sort of edit the challenges you send out, so you can actually put that in there. Great stuff! Anyway, I think this is a really great feature. I'm sorry to say I'm not that good yet, however. Meaning that a friend of mine did send me a number of challenges, but I only managed to beat one, so far. I beat it good though, real good. But still, just the one. And, once beaten, you can then re-send that challenge, saying: Yes, I do like spotty monkeyballs, actually. And I've beaten your pitiful challenge, as well. Now, beat this new time!
So far, in this particular case, that hasn't happened yet. Hehehehe...

And well, all of this is then combined with a really nice, arcadey driving model. Like Mario Kart, you know? Not the same, but close. You can't jump, for example. But then, that would be silly. Real cars can't jump, after all. They can have blue, glowing forcefields around them, they can shoot meteors from both ends and they can crash into a wall at 100 mph and drive on without too much trouble, but they can't jump like in Mario Kart. That would be unrealistic and then I wouldn't like it as much as I do now.
Seriously though, the driving model really is nice. Just the way I like it, actually. Sod realistic racing games, sod them all to hell. I mean, Gran Turismo 5 will be released in November or something? Very nice, and I'm certain other people will enjoy playing it, but I absolutely won't. I'm not interested, and I'm not getting it. I'm a Burnout man, so to speak. Or the older Need for Speed games, for that matter. I say older, because they lost me after Most Wanted. You see, after that, they thought it might be a good idea to use a more realistic driving model. Yeah. Some people think sticking giant meathooks in your back might be a good idea, but then I don't necessarily agree with that either. But, the future looks bright! Also somewhere in November, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit will be released, and it's made by Burnout creators Criterion! Oh, it will be so, so good!
Is it November yet?

But, like I said, somehow Blur hasn't managed to fully grab me yet. I really enjoy playing it everytime that I do, but somehow I end up playing other games instead, more often than not. Indeed, like MW2. Or, Crackdown 2! I really haven't played that too much lately, but that just might change, this very morning. Mind you, I'm saying it might. Because I might also do something else, entirely. Indeed, there are plenty of games left in my collection that need finishing. God of War 3 anyone? Yeah, that certainly is one game I really should've finished by now. I'm sort of ashamed for not having done so yet. I mean, such a great game, with plenty of stuff left to do, and I keep on playing mindless shooters. Or racers, for that matter.
Ah! But Blur isn't completely mindless! There's one thing I haven't yet touched on at all, which is the way the weapons system works! You see, at any given time, you can carry three different weapons. That in itself isn't all that special. The trick however is that you can manually switch between these three weapons, picking the one that best suits your current situation. And really, this gives it a tactical touch that I don't think any other racing game has. It might seem like a small change from having three items that can only be used in the order you get them, which I believe is how it was in Mario Kart, but it really is quite big. It really adds a new, fresh layer to the fairly crusty genre of karting games. I mean, let's face it, even the mighty Mario Kart hasn't changed all that much since the very first one. I'll even go one further by saying Blur might very well be the new standard in karting games, indeed shoving Mario Kart off of its throne. A bold statement maybe, but well, there it is.
And indeed, there it is, because I think this is what I'll end this entry with. It was pretty much all about Blur after all, but hey, that's what you get for not planning ahead, I suppose.
All that's left for me to say then is, stay safe and game on!

This Time, It's War!

Well! Guess what? My Gladiatus points are all gone, and I've read all the tweets that appeared in my Twitter stream since yesterday. So, time for another blog, right? I should think so, yes. For starters, this one will be about Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. After that, who knows? I don't, that's for certain. What can be said about MW2 however, that hasn't been said a million times before by a million other people? Well, how about my personal opinion on certain aspects of the game? An opinion that most MW2 players probably don't agree with and even think is silly or downright stupid? Yup, that might be interesting. Let's go then.

Today, on Twitter, a friend of mine linked a Dutch article about how the killstreak rewards have ruined MW2's multiplayer. Without rehashing the whole thing here, the point of it was that, apparently, it's way too easy getting a shitload of kills using them, and that it doesn't take any skill once you know how. Which, obviously, ruins the balance of the game, giving an unfair advantage to those that play that way.
Well, I suppose that's true, in a way. At least, it is for those that are actualy bothered by this. I'm not saying they're wrong though; it is, after all, their opinion. I have a different one, like I said. Before I elaborate on that however, there's one thing I need to get out of the way first. It might be shocking to read, but here it goes anyway. Just give me a moment here...
Okay, I'm ready. Here it goes. Deep breath...
I suck at MW2! Hard! I'm really, really bad at it! There, I've said it, and instantly feel better about myself and the world in general. Yes. Okay, on to my actual opinions then, shall we? Lovely.

A killstreak reward, as the term implies, is something you get after a number of kills in a row. Obvious as fuck that is, I know, but hey, maybe someone completely unfamiliar with MW2 is reading this as well. You never know, such a person might actually exist.
It starts at three kills, which rewards you with a UAV. I have no idea what that stands for, but basically it's a small spyplane that shows you where people are on the map. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle? Could that be it? Certainly sounds more plausible than say, Unpleasant Anal Visitation. Although that could certainly keep someone else from killing you, I'd imagine.
Anyway! It gets more powerful from there; the more kills you make in a row, the better the reward. The ultimate one being a nuclear weapon, which you get at 25 kills. This kills everyone on the map instantly, ending the match. Yeah.
Like I said though, I suck at the game. Three kills in a row? On a good day, yes, I can manage that. Usually, I can't. What I mean to say by that, is that whether killstreak rewards are a good thing or not, it's kind of a moot point for me. I only really get to experience them at the receiving end, which has me dying horribly, as a result. But! I do like the fact that they're in the game! You see, eventhough I'm not good enough to get to the really interesting ones, it's still exciting to get near them and maybe even get them. It's quite, well, for lack of a better word, rewarding to get them, you know? A confirmation of getting the required amount of kills, in the form of more possible kills! To me, this is a great incentive, eventhough I rarely get to enjoy it.

Now, when I play MW2, there are really only two modes for me: Free for All and Team Deathmatch. I really don't like any of the other game modes available. All I want is to go online and shoot as many people as I can. I don't want to be worrying about bombs or flags or locations or whatever. I just want to kill people, that's all. Seriously, that, is all I want. Why repeat that? Well, because most players also want to win the match they're playing. I won't say that I'd mind if I won, it's just not the reason for me to play the game. I play MW2 because I have fun doing so. I know I can't win, and I'm fine with that. Apparently, this is something a lot of people have trouble with. Many times they said: but, if you're not playing to win, why bother? Some even say: if I'm on a losing streak, I'll stop playing, because if I don't win, the game isn't any fun. Well, I don't understand that, I really don't.
What is it then, that makes the game fun for me? Well, I simply like the game itself, for starters. You know, running around the map, shooting people, that in itself is fun for me. But there's something else. You see, MW2 has leveling! Lots of it! Experience points to earn, new stuff to unlock! Well, I mean, what more reason could you need for playing than that? It's certainly what drives me on, I can tell you. Not only do you level up your character, you also level up whichever weapon you're using, in multiple ways. The number of regular kills you make, the number of kills made using specific setups, and much more. Very, very addictive, that is. Many times it was like, okay, time to go to sleep. One last look at my stats, and I'll call it a night and- ooh! Only 20 more kills and my weapon levels up! Hmm, alright, one more match then. Just one. Yeah, and then I feel like crap again when I'm at work, once again finding out that those four or five hours of sleep didn't really do the trick. Because obviously, once those twenty kills are in the bag, something else is bound to only be one match away. Just one more...

And then, one last thing. Well, actually, a few more last things. Things people really get upset about. Not just in MW2, but in multiplayer fps games in general. Things people get so upset about, they've invented names for them. Names that almost every gamer knows. Let's see, what have we got? First and foremost, I guess, is the act of camping. Very, very not done, apparently. Why not though? Really, why not? Even when you pick a sniper rifle as your weapon, camping is very much frowned upon. Well, I don't know but, isn't a sniper supposed to camp? Apart from that, what's wrong with finding a good vantage point from which to take out your enemies? Which, last time I checked, is sort of the aim of the game? This camping, by the way, directly ties in to the whole killstreak thing. Apparently, the overpowered rewards encourage camping. And since camping is bad, so are the rewards. Apparently.
Another popular term then: noobtubing. Or, the act of using a grenade launcher or something similar to make kills. Again, better be prepared for the amount of angry people you'll be facing. Again though, I ask: what's wrong with using an RPG? It's a weapon in the game, it does what you want it to do, and it does it well! One well-aimed shell is usually all you need to make a kill. Well, that's a good thing then, right? Since, again, this is what you're supposed to be doing? Wrong, apparently. Apparently, using it instantly gives people the right to call you a fag, or worse.
And well, there are a few other things I could mention, but I'm sort of pressed for time, here. Suffice it to say that all these things really have one thing in common: people feel they give you an unfair advantage, or that it doesn't require any skill to use them, making you a noob. Things put in the game by the developer, so that the players can use them. Indeed, just like the killstreak rewards. I just don't get it, and I don't think I ever will.
The good thing is, I don't ever have to! I'll just keep on playing the way I like to, slowly moving towards the level cap of 70, having fun all the way. And if that makes me a game-ruining gay noob, well, so be it.
And now, my time is really up. Stay safe, and game on, noob or not!

The Death of a Gladiator

A new blog entry! What?? Can it be? Is it true? Why yes, yes it is. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong, I'm not sick, my dog didn't die. What then? What could have happened that finally, finally made return here to do my thing? Well... actually, the reason is kind of sad, in a way.

You see, for about two years now, I've been playing this free, browser-based game called Gladiatus. Which, truth be told, is a stupid game. It really is. Let's see... How can I explain what it's about, without getting into too many uninteresting details? Well, let's just say it's like World of Warcraft, in a way. In a really, really far-fetched way. Um... No. No, I'm not going to get far with this analogy. Let me put it like this then: there are two things about Gladiatus that made me stick with it for as long as I have. First, I'm in a guild with about 15 other people. The fun you have together, talking about stuff, being part of a group... It's all good. Or rather, it used to be. Lately, my guild has been falling apart at an alarming rate. Indeed, my guild, as I am its Ruler. I am a Ruler, therefore I rule. Yes. The Ruler of a dying guild...
And well, the second reason for me playing Gladiatus is the leveling. As simple as it is, the game is very much an rpg. You know, equipment like weapons and armour, earning experience points, leveling up, all the usual stuff. And, as any gamer knows, that alone can be enough to make you want to play on. The simple act of making progress can be very addictive.

But, like I said, my guild is dying. Is that my fault? I don't really know. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Honestly, I don't really care which it is. Not any more. I used to, but too much has happened. Or rather, too little! We used to have 33 members, all actively participating. Then, one by one, people started leaving for various reasons, and the ones that remained stopped talking to eachother. I say talking, but it's basically just text-chatting. There's no Skype or whatever. There's simply a tab called Guild Messages, and people can text-chat there.
And, in the guild's golden days, we did! Everyone was talking and it really was a lot of fun. Especially when things started getting silly. Yeah, just like in WoW, actually.
Anyway, those days are over. Like I said, there's 15 people left now, and only about 5 of them are still talking. The rest just plays along quietly, being nothing more than a name in the list of members. I've really tried getting these people to actively participate in the guild again, I really have. Apparently though, they're no longer interested. Well, so be it. About a month or two ago, this upset me quite a bit. No longer, though. Now, I've just accepted the fact that the guild is basically dead. I have also, however, promised myself I'd play on until I reach level 100. And, I'm really close to that now. I'm at level 99, with only 28% left to go, and I'm expecting to reach 100 in about a week or two. When that happens, I'll quit.
And about time, too! For two years I have played this 'game', and well, enough is enough, I suppose. And indeed, the fact that the guild is dying, or dead already, well, it just isn't fun anymore, you know? It's a shame, it really is.

At the same time though, it isn't! You see, eventhough Gladiatus really is a silly game, stupid even, I have played it a lot! So much so in fact, that I didn't do anything else. Well, apart from being on Twitter and checking out all kinds of stuff on teh internets, that is. Yeah, a man needs to find something to do, when he's at work, right? Have I said that yet? I only play Gladiatus when I'm at work. Just as I'm writing this here entry, at work. Really, there isn't much else to do here, and they're okay with it, so...
Anyway, my point is that there are other things I want to be doing, instead. I want to be drawing again! I want to be writing, like I am now! You know, I want to do creative stuff again, instead of mindlessly clicking away the hours. Such a waste of time, really. It sounds bad, and it is as well, now that I think about it, but me playing Gladiatus really has been the one and only reason for me not writing blogs for all this time. What has it been? Almost six months since the last entry, that's what! Shame on me, really.

What about now though? How did I find the time to be writing now, since I haven't yet stopped playing Gladiatus? Simple, in the game, you have a certain amount of points to spend on doing quests, and I'm all out. So there I was, panicking slightly, trying to think of something to do for the rest of the evening. Again, shame on me. And then I thought to myself, hey, don't I still have this little thing called a blog? Indeed, and the rest, as they say, is history.
And so here I am, once again. Now, I'm not making any promises, but chances are I'll be doing this more regularly, from now on. Mind you, I'm still going to be playing the game for at least another week or two, but since the end is nigh...
As for this entry? Well, I'm afraid the end of that is right about now. I'm thinking about other stuff I could write about, real games I've played for example, but I think this entry has gone on for long enough. At least now you know what's been going on, and why.
For now, all that remains is for me to say: stay safe, and game on! And, yeah, I just did.

Oh, and I don't actually own a dog.