What the hell is echoshift? I’ll soon find out.
Category: Whatever, etc.
For everything else.
Dear Esteban- “Punching an existential hole”
I just finished Dear Esteban. Which means I walked to the end of the level. Having never played Dear Esther, I’m guessing I missed the point (a little). Most of the lines are random for the sake of being random, which in the best and worst case sounds like a space ghost episode. But the lines related to 21st century 20-something life, are endearing, and make it worth it. Anyone who has ever tried to make small talk with the girl behind the bar will relate to these rants. It’s something we all learn the hard way with bartenders- don’t bother.
http://bmo.fuckthisjam.com/submissions/89-dear-esteban
Chrono Trigger on the PSX…
I have heard of JPod before. I realize it when the main character writes a bio about himself and says his favorite game is Chrono Trigger for the “Sony Playsation”. And I instantly think to myself, who the hell picks the Playstation version of Chrono Trigger? The main character is 30 in 2006, at that age there is no way your first experience with the game isn’t on the Super Ninentdo. And then I remember, I’ve heard this somewhere… this same critique of this same passage. At some point in my life I read an article pointing out the exact same ridiculous point.
He just can’t leave the poor game alone though. Later in the book when they are collecting drug money, he enters a house and a biker gang member is playing Chrono Trigger on “Sony Playsation”.
All I can think is, “No he’s not. That scenario has never existed in the history of the world.”
A Brisk Six Years Late – JPod
So this post is about a novel, that’s about videogames. But as I’ve been reading it I realize, not really.
Novels and videogames are perhaps two of my favorite things in the world. But I’ve kept them in separate universes. They felt like different parts of my psyche, and ones that I shouldn’t mingle. But I chose this book randomly. It sat alone, facing outward, on a stand at the library, lego figures and a catchy name- “JPod” on the front. I didn’t put it back when the slip cover told me it was about videogames.
Douglas Coupland must be somewhat famous. The first real line inserts him into the novel in way that would imply he is well-known. It came out around the same time as Brett Easton Ellis’s Lunar Park, so they both seemed to have grown the idea organically and independent of each other, but his insertion in the story doesn’t seem to be a metaphor. It’s like a form of name dropping, but for yourself. Still the name rings no bells with me.
All this being said, the first two and a half ramblings pages (followed by “$”s and “Ramen Noodles” printed over and over) that serve as a prelude before the book begins, are amazing. Perhaps the coolest thing I have read in years. But does two pages mean a lot? Yeah, I guess it kind of does, as it’s a bright spot that you can hold onto. The rest of the book remains decidedly uncertain for me.
How to enjoy yourself playing Borderlands 2
I never played the first Borderlands. I’m not sure if that’s a regret or not. But unintentionally I started playing the second. My brother and I were home, he bought a new PS3 on a whim and we lost about a day and half to the thing before I had to leave. The experience was more enjoyable than I would have guessed. It was beautiful, twisted, and even if at it’s core it’s not all that complicated, it was unadulterated fun.
When I made it home I bought a copy of Borderlands 2 for myself. I started a few new games, tested out the different characters, and even though I was playing alone really liked it. But then I played it the other night, and I realized I wasn’t having that great of a time. What had changed? The most obvious thing was the lack of coop. But it wasn’t even that.
I had started playing the game all wrong. Borderlands isn’t an MMO, but I began treating it like one. I did online research trophies, I looked up where vault symbols were before even clearing areas. I tried to get everything, maximize my “efficiency” in gameplay. And when you do that with Borderlands, it starts to come apart at the seams. The enjoyment of the game comes from exploring the crazy beautiful world and the psychotic characters. If you’re completionist, it could be a big problem, because it’s a long grind.
So I shut my computer, closed the iPhone browser, stopped looking at the trophies and “badass” ranks (cool concept, stupid name), and just played the game again. If I’m waiting on my brother I will still go back and clear out areas we’ve already gone through, but it’s only a nice side distraction, not the main show.
Puzzle Quest, Round 2
I don’t remember a thing about the first Puzzle Quest. I remember where I played it, a coach in Prague while adjusting to jet lag. And I remember I played it a lot, but I’m not sure if I actually enjoyed it. I think it gave me headaches, but it could have been the situation I was in.
I read that Puzzle Quest takes place in the same world as the Warlords games. I don’t remember much of that either, but I think I liked it.
Regardless of how I felt about the first one, I’m leaving for ten days, can’t find my pile of DS backlog games or my PSP, and the selection at Gamestop was minimal unless I wanted just the cartridge (who tosses cases?). So Puzzle Quest 2 it is.
I take a Dramamine, get on the bus to the airport, and start up the game…
How far does $60 of used games take you?
As you might recall I returned Dragon’s Dogma and walked away with four somewhat interesting used games. Of the four I tried Killzone 2 first, as the dystopian covers with the fluorescent gas masks always caught my eye. A few hours in and I can say those covers are pretty misleading. Maybe having played Spec Ops: The Line so recently has made me jaded, but no one would want to stay for the story. The big bright-spot is the graphics. Three years old and it still looks amazing. They’ve made a world (the literal Helghast planetary environment, not the story, characters, etc) that could support something amazing.
Insert Credit Podcast, An Update
So the Insert Credit Podcast has gotten significantly better. It was funny before, but I think the addition of a fourth person to every show has made it much more fluid. The last one has a hilarious comment about a trash-bag and a fan.
http://insertcredit.com/2012/08/31/the-insert-credit-podcast-episode-eight-al-pacinos-vegas-adventure/
A break to play Spec Ops: The Line
Shit, I already wrote this post once and somehow I deleted it.
Anyway, to keep it short. I wanted to play through the second ending on Dark Souls before the Prepare to Die edition released to consoles. I’m not normally a completionist, but I like this game enough that it seems worth it to see everything that it has to offer. But for the past views weeks a small fire has been building around Spec Ops: The Line. Apparently the initial sales were terrible, and I don’t know if that’s improved since then, but the game seems to have a small but vocal following. And so I decided that instead of waiting, like I usually do, I would take a break from Dark Souls and play it now to see if I felt the same way. I want to know if there is something in this game that could give it longevity beyond the higher budget, and better reviewed media that so quickly came and went.
Shiren the Wanderer
Finished Shiren last night, or technically it’s called Mystery Dungeon. Neither are strong names, but Mystery Dungeon is especially bad for being bland and mostly inaccurate. I was dead for most of the morning because it’s an easy game to bleed away your night.
I said it before, but it really is a charming game. Early on you’re crushing everything in every level. By the end you’re scrabbling past foes because you know you only need to make it to the next staircase, xp be damned. It forces you to change play mechanics on the fly, and utilize every item. And then once it’s over, the whole game celebrates, a bar wench makes as blunt of a pass as an E rated game will let them get away with, and half a dozen more story-driven continuations, each with it’s own play twist, open up.
