You know, I'm feeling like the kid who always gets picked last for dodgeball here, and it's rather stupid. I, like pretty much everyone else on the planet with an xbox 360 and $60 to spare ($40 really if you buy from Walmart), picked up my copy of Halo Reach on Launch day.
I've currently spent more time in the multiplayer than the campaign. What? Seriously, I'm enjoying Halo's multiplayer. That's NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. There's something different about this one, and now the admiration I've always had for Bungie's stat tracking and how they keep things interesting for their community is actually grafted on to a game I have been having fun playing online.
Except that I'm the last kid picked for dodgeball. All of my friends are in full parties or in coop games with other people. Except for some limited time with Bishop, I've been playing solo (extended an offer to Xylo, who passed). I tried to join my brother for some Halo antics tonight. The kid should have been elated. When was the last time I VOLUNTEERED to play Halo? I'll give the audience a hint: I've never been to one to extend invitations or ask if I could join a game of Halo. Pretty positive tonight was the first time.
"Am I cool enough to join this party?" I asked jokingly.
"I don't know," My brother says, "I'll put it to a vote."
There's a moment of silence, then someone says "Nope, I don't think so." Silence. No confirming or denying response from the bro.
"Well fine then." I leave the party, figuring it's a joke and my brother would invite me back in and we'd game. There was no invite. There wasn't a message suggesting when would be a good time. Hell, he was even cooping with someone else last night, no invite or word of explanation. What the hell? I've been intentionally holding off on the campaign because I thought we were cooping it. That's what we've done for every single other Halo game (except Halo Wars... that one I just did with DarkTharen since I don't think my bro was ready or interested in diving back into it).
Am I being a drama queen and blowing things out of proportion? Probably. I mean, Halo Reach has only been out for just TWO DAYS. Still, playing solo with a bunch of silent idiots, or loudmouth assholes, just doesn't stay fun for very long. I'm sure I'm getting all male-PMS-y about it, but that rejection to join pissed me off.
If I can find a posse of people who want to play online and have fun, where we actually chat and play like a team, I'll be logging a good amount of hours into Reach. If not, I'll probably say f*** it as soon as I've squeezed the gamerscore out of it and go back to Starcraft II. Maybe sooner. I've enjoyed the game so far, but not nearly enough to spend time shopping Bungie's forums for people that I'd enjoy playing with.
So, who's in for some REACH?
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
An Interesting Statistic
I was randomly thinking about the videogames I've played, and wondered which game I've spend more time in than any other. Perhaps I was curious since Raptr is now logging all my game time. It didn't take me long to realize that Everquest II is hands down the game I've logged more hours in than any other.
Yes, there was a stint back in my college days, mostly before I had a 360, where I was an EverCrack "addict." While I no longer play, Sony Online Entertainemnt keeps that data saved, no matter how long you're gone, so you can return to that character should you ever come back. (It's been over 3 years, I don't see that happening) So, I was able to look up my main character to see his play stats (would have added in my alts too, but I can't remember any of them).
Between October 6th of 2005 (3-4 months after I graduated high school) and February 1, 2007 (my sophomore year of college), I racked up 34 days, 4 hours, and 55 minutes on my main character. Doing the math, that averages out to about 48 hours a month of EverCrack, or 1.6 hours a day. Damn that's a lot of playtime. Of course, any WoW player will probably look at that and go "pfft, that's nothing!"
I enjoyed my time in EQ2 and met some good people there, but the game was far too group-centric at the higher levels, and when it got to the point that you needed 6 people and 4+ hours to feel like you'd accomplished anything, I knew it was time to walk away.
At the end of this month, I'll be picking up Final Fantasy 14, which has me intrigued with its much more solo-friendly and casual-OK game style. I want to play an MMO where I can quest and progress on my own, but have a lot of other people around to game with when the mood strikes me. I don't want to feel obligated to party up to play 90% of the game (which is EQ2 after level 40), and I think this is the game to do that. No worries folks, I have too much going on to let it consume all my time, and I'll still be gaming on the Xbox and padding my Gamerscore.
Yes, there was a stint back in my college days, mostly before I had a 360, where I was an EverCrack "addict." While I no longer play, Sony Online Entertainemnt keeps that data saved, no matter how long you're gone, so you can return to that character should you ever come back. (It's been over 3 years, I don't see that happening) So, I was able to look up my main character to see his play stats (would have added in my alts too, but I can't remember any of them).
Between October 6th of 2005 (3-4 months after I graduated high school) and February 1, 2007 (my sophomore year of college), I racked up 34 days, 4 hours, and 55 minutes on my main character. Doing the math, that averages out to about 48 hours a month of EverCrack, or 1.6 hours a day. Damn that's a lot of playtime. Of course, any WoW player will probably look at that and go "pfft, that's nothing!"
I enjoyed my time in EQ2 and met some good people there, but the game was far too group-centric at the higher levels, and when it got to the point that you needed 6 people and 4+ hours to feel like you'd accomplished anything, I knew it was time to walk away.
At the end of this month, I'll be picking up Final Fantasy 14, which has me intrigued with its much more solo-friendly and casual-OK game style. I want to play an MMO where I can quest and progress on my own, but have a lot of other people around to game with when the mood strikes me. I don't want to feel obligated to party up to play 90% of the game (which is EQ2 after level 40), and I think this is the game to do that. No worries folks, I have too much going on to let it consume all my time, and I'll still be gaming on the Xbox and padding my Gamerscore.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Birthday Time!
Yes, it's September 12, my birthday. I don't make this statement in a bid for attention, I've just been thinking on the topic a bit lately. Really, this is the least interesting birthday I can recall ever having (granted, I'm only 5 minutes into it at this point), but it's arrived with no fanfare. I have no social plans. I'll probably spend my day leisurely cleaning up my apartment from the mess vacation packing created, watch some NFL football, go see Resident Evil: Afterlife, and play a shit-ton of Starcraft 2. Oh, I do need to finish my Hydrophobia preview, so there will be a small amount of "work" in my day, but I intend to relax and enjoy the fact that I don't have to work. I guess that ain't so bad, right?
x360a's GSL Season 9 has started, and I'm on the perfect team, i.e. the one that couldn't care less about posting big scores or winning. If I drop 5k over the course of the competition I'd be amazed. I'm just in it for the chance to party chat and hang out with a few new folks, and hopefully expand my gamer clique a little bit. My opening "salvo" of achievement points will come from Aliens vs Predator and Beyonetta, which I have from Gamefly. There may also be some Bioshock achievements in there and a sprinkling of other stuff (plus Halo Reach on Tues.) if I can tear myself away from Starcraft long enough to score anything. Seriously, Starcraft 2 kicks ass. Easily worth every penny of my $60, and I'm likely to long hundreds of hours in this bad-boy before all is said and done.
I need games with such vast replayability, as I'm making an announcement: Until further notice, I am not buying ANY new retail games.* (DLC and XBLA titles do not apply. The other exception is Final Fantasy XIV which was pre-planned, and marks the cutoff). Within the last month, I've purchased a camcorder, new laptop, and $140 worth of new PC games. My "fun money" is tapped out for a while, and I'm limiting my entertainment budget to Netflix (3 discs + Bluray), Gamefly (2 games) and FFXIV's $13 a month subscription fee. When you think about it, that's still a hell of a lot of entertainment for about the price of ONE new retail game every month. I may be slimming down my budget (to pay off said big purchases and start saving up cash again) but I don't feel like I'm really giving up anything in this arrangement. I still have a steady pipeline of fresh games and movies.
If there's any other Starcraft 2 players who read this blog, search my character, conveniently named ThrawnOmega. I'd love to have some people to play with online.
x360a's GSL Season 9 has started, and I'm on the perfect team, i.e. the one that couldn't care less about posting big scores or winning. If I drop 5k over the course of the competition I'd be amazed. I'm just in it for the chance to party chat and hang out with a few new folks, and hopefully expand my gamer clique a little bit. My opening "salvo" of achievement points will come from Aliens vs Predator and Beyonetta, which I have from Gamefly. There may also be some Bioshock achievements in there and a sprinkling of other stuff (plus Halo Reach on Tues.) if I can tear myself away from Starcraft long enough to score anything. Seriously, Starcraft 2 kicks ass. Easily worth every penny of my $60, and I'm likely to long hundreds of hours in this bad-boy before all is said and done.
I need games with such vast replayability, as I'm making an announcement: Until further notice, I am not buying ANY new retail games.* (DLC and XBLA titles do not apply. The other exception is Final Fantasy XIV which was pre-planned, and marks the cutoff). Within the last month, I've purchased a camcorder, new laptop, and $140 worth of new PC games. My "fun money" is tapped out for a while, and I'm limiting my entertainment budget to Netflix (3 discs + Bluray), Gamefly (2 games) and FFXIV's $13 a month subscription fee. When you think about it, that's still a hell of a lot of entertainment for about the price of ONE new retail game every month. I may be slimming down my budget (to pay off said big purchases and start saving up cash again) but I don't feel like I'm really giving up anything in this arrangement. I still have a steady pipeline of fresh games and movies.
If there's any other Starcraft 2 players who read this blog, search my character, conveniently named ThrawnOmega. I'd love to have some people to play with online.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
To My Brother
This post is in response to his comment. How much did that computer cost? I got my model for under $850. I didn't want to break the bank, but I'm thinking my weaker processor will limit how long I'm able to use this computer as a modern gaming platform.
I have an i5 processor at 2.4 GHz, 4GB ram, 64-bit operating system, 500GB harddrive, NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics card, 1080p LED backlight screen. It will run Starcraft 2 no worries, and can handle Final Fantasy 14 (though not at highest settings). I'll have to wait and see how it handles FireFall next year.
As to convincing you to get Starcraft 2 or Dawn of War 2, it boils down to how much you like RTS games on the PC, where the controls aren't an issue. STarcraft 2 has a long, 29 mission campaign, in-game achievements, and robust multiplayer and social networking obtions, making it totally worth the $60. Just try not to think of all the beatings I dealt you in Starcraft 64 when you make that purchase. You'll be happy to know that when you cry uncle from losing on multiplayer, there's plenty of coop action to be had, so we could play that way.
Dawn of War 2 I have barely played yet, so I can't offer a compelling argument there. You can find the base game and expansion for $40 or less.
I have an i5 processor at 2.4 GHz, 4GB ram, 64-bit operating system, 500GB harddrive, NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics card, 1080p LED backlight screen. It will run Starcraft 2 no worries, and can handle Final Fantasy 14 (though not at highest settings). I'll have to wait and see how it handles FireFall next year.
As to convincing you to get Starcraft 2 or Dawn of War 2, it boils down to how much you like RTS games on the PC, where the controls aren't an issue. STarcraft 2 has a long, 29 mission campaign, in-game achievements, and robust multiplayer and social networking obtions, making it totally worth the $60. Just try not to think of all the beatings I dealt you in Starcraft 64 when you make that purchase. You'll be happy to know that when you cry uncle from losing on multiplayer, there's plenty of coop action to be had, so we could play that way.
Dawn of War 2 I have barely played yet, so I can't offer a compelling argument there. You can find the base game and expansion for $40 or less.
Thrawn's Desertion
First off, let me apologize that getting up the Youtube videos of PAX items is taking Sooooo long. I keep forgetting I need to chop the important ones into less than 15 minute pieces, and I have not yet figured out how to do it yet on my brand new laptop. Right now, the most realistic timeline is sometime between Sunday and Tuesday of next week. Sorry for the delay. Over the next few days I'll be hanging out with my friend Stefan, and I have some writing left to do for x360a, so those items take priority over wrangling with Youtube.
My first PAX preview, for Portal 2's coop, is done and will be posted after it's been reviewed and any necessary revisions have been made. Tomorrow I aim to finish Comic Jumper before heading off to Wisconsin. Stefan is on notice though that we'll have to take some breaks in our chilling so I can spend some time writing features. Since he has nursing liscensing exams to study for, it'll just be like the old college days when we both had homework.
I finally bit the bullet and purchased a new computer, and this is the first post to come from it. This computer is about 100,000x faster than by dying Gateway. I got 5 years out of that machine, so it had a good life, but it's performance was beyond slow, and I don't think any amount of tinkering would fix it. Plus, I really wanted a rig that could run Starcraft 2 and Final Fantasy XIV anyway, so I'm trading up. I still need to extract valuable data from the old computer, so it's not gone yet.
While typing up the Portal feature, I was installing the initial complement of games for my new PC, and updating Raptr with my new accounts. For some reason though, my PC hours are coming up as raptrguest6553209 for the profile, and not ThrawnOmega. Is there any way to fix this?
I now have the following games for my PC:
Starcraft 2: I LOVED the original, despite constantly losing online. The sequal has some amazing social options, looks to have a robust multiplayer (haven't tried it yet), and has about a billion achievements. Sure, they won't pad my gamertag, but achievements are achievements. I'll eventually go for them, but for now I'm just starting to enjoy the campaign, as I'm a fan of Starcraft's story.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (Gold Edition): I got the game with its expansion, for a potential 2,000 achievement points that WILL show on my gamercard. I'm going to dig into the RTS genre more as I enjoy them, but not on consoles (exception Halo Wars).
Sins of a Solar Empire: I hear great things about this RTS and its epic scale. It's a steal at $20.
Quantum of Solace: I got this as PAX swag, and it's 1000 achievement points, and can stack with the 360 version. So, if people need to do the MP for the PC version, I'm an eligible candidate.
Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Edition: Got a code to download this game for FREE as more PAX swag. Haven't tried it yet. It's another RTS.
Deus Ex & Deus Ex: Invisible War: I downloaded these two titles off of Steam for a total of $20. The first is perhaps my favorite game ever and I've never yet had the chance to play the second. Despite not getting achievements for them (yes I'm actually gaming without any regard for getting gamerscore!), I hope to have both completed before Human Revolution releases. Deus Ex is pretty fugly by modern standards, but the gameplay is as solid as ever.
Vampire: The Mascarade: Bloodlines: I loved this vampire-themed RPG, and have played it several times, though never quite got to the end. It always chugged alon on my older computers, but now I have a rig that can run it easily. This time I should get to see how it ends. GREAT storytelling, and how quests and the story turned out depend on the choices you make. Looking forward to diving back into this one as well.
SO, I forsee a lot of PC gaming in the near future. Of course, I won't be completely abandoning my 360. I just rejoined Gamefly in an effort to reduce my game spending in the long-term (by renting instead of buying as much), so I'll have games to play from them, plus there's arcade games like Comic Jumper and Hydrophobia to look forward to. Oh, and that Halo game that's coming next week...
Over the next month, it'll be interesting to see how my gaming trends change, add in the fact that I'm going to get more forceful (as in trying a lot harder, not being a pushy douche) in my efforts to break into the game industry, and I have no idea how my gaming time is going to be effected. Expect to watch my completion percentage drop even further into the toilet (not that I care very much) as I just jump from game to game, playing whatever strikes my fancy at the time.
In other words, I'm about to turn into Silva...
My first PAX preview, for Portal 2's coop, is done and will be posted after it's been reviewed and any necessary revisions have been made. Tomorrow I aim to finish Comic Jumper before heading off to Wisconsin. Stefan is on notice though that we'll have to take some breaks in our chilling so I can spend some time writing features. Since he has nursing liscensing exams to study for, it'll just be like the old college days when we both had homework.
I finally bit the bullet and purchased a new computer, and this is the first post to come from it. This computer is about 100,000x faster than by dying Gateway. I got 5 years out of that machine, so it had a good life, but it's performance was beyond slow, and I don't think any amount of tinkering would fix it. Plus, I really wanted a rig that could run Starcraft 2 and Final Fantasy XIV anyway, so I'm trading up. I still need to extract valuable data from the old computer, so it's not gone yet.
While typing up the Portal feature, I was installing the initial complement of games for my new PC, and updating Raptr with my new accounts. For some reason though, my PC hours are coming up as raptrguest6553209 for the profile, and not ThrawnOmega. Is there any way to fix this?
I now have the following games for my PC:
Starcraft 2: I LOVED the original, despite constantly losing online. The sequal has some amazing social options, looks to have a robust multiplayer (haven't tried it yet), and has about a billion achievements. Sure, they won't pad my gamertag, but achievements are achievements. I'll eventually go for them, but for now I'm just starting to enjoy the campaign, as I'm a fan of Starcraft's story.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (Gold Edition): I got the game with its expansion, for a potential 2,000 achievement points that WILL show on my gamercard. I'm going to dig into the RTS genre more as I enjoy them, but not on consoles (exception Halo Wars).
Sins of a Solar Empire: I hear great things about this RTS and its epic scale. It's a steal at $20.
Quantum of Solace: I got this as PAX swag, and it's 1000 achievement points, and can stack with the 360 version. So, if people need to do the MP for the PC version, I'm an eligible candidate.
Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Edition: Got a code to download this game for FREE as more PAX swag. Haven't tried it yet. It's another RTS.
Deus Ex & Deus Ex: Invisible War: I downloaded these two titles off of Steam for a total of $20. The first is perhaps my favorite game ever and I've never yet had the chance to play the second. Despite not getting achievements for them (yes I'm actually gaming without any regard for getting gamerscore!), I hope to have both completed before Human Revolution releases. Deus Ex is pretty fugly by modern standards, but the gameplay is as solid as ever.
Vampire: The Mascarade: Bloodlines: I loved this vampire-themed RPG, and have played it several times, though never quite got to the end. It always chugged alon on my older computers, but now I have a rig that can run it easily. This time I should get to see how it ends. GREAT storytelling, and how quests and the story turned out depend on the choices you make. Looking forward to diving back into this one as well.
SO, I forsee a lot of PC gaming in the near future. Of course, I won't be completely abandoning my 360. I just rejoined Gamefly in an effort to reduce my game spending in the long-term (by renting instead of buying as much), so I'll have games to play from them, plus there's arcade games like Comic Jumper and Hydrophobia to look forward to. Oh, and that Halo game that's coming next week...
Over the next month, it'll be interesting to see how my gaming trends change, add in the fact that I'm going to get more forceful (as in trying a lot harder, not being a pushy douche) in my efforts to break into the game industry, and I have no idea how my gaming time is going to be effected. Expect to watch my completion percentage drop even further into the toilet (not that I care very much) as I just jump from game to game, playing whatever strikes my fancy at the time.
In other words, I'm about to turn into Silva...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
PAX Prep List
I may work two more days before I go on vacation, but I'm mentally preparing for PAX, and I thought I'd drop a post to let you all know what plans I'm making, so you can know what to expect from this blog and yours truly over the next two weeks. A more detailed PAX itinerary will be put up once I know the full picture. This may be a benefit to others attending PAX as well to help organize your thinking. So, I'll break this post into two parts; prep work and The Event.
PAX Preperation:
1. Let's start with the most banal... I need to pay my rent. Not paying and then going on vacation would kind of tick off the landlord.
2. I need to review and have prepped the resume I wish to put forward if I was to apply for a game industry job, and be armed with copies of it, plus writing samples, in case an appropriate opportunity knocks to pass those along.
3. Get all PAX, Hotel, and Plane paperwork together in one spot so it's easy to find when I need it for travel.
4. IMPORTANT! Do my homework on any individuals I will be interviewing (yes, I'm doing actual interviews!) and get some familiarity with the games they're working on. With that knowledge, develop some intelligent questions to ask them.
5. Pack up...
PAX Packing List:
1. Clothes and necessities (duh). Included in this is some business attire to go with the nerd clothes. I'll be casual on Thursday for the x360a meet and greet, but if I'm sitting down to interview someone in the industry, I want to be dressed like someone professional and worth taking seriously.
2. Entertainment for down time, travel time: Book, iPod Touch, Computer, Nintendo DS
3. Media Capturing technology: Camera, camcorder, rechargable batteries, and a bunch of SD cards.
Now, when the prep work is completed, here's what you can expect from me during the eventself!
THE EVENT
X360A Meet and Greet - Are you going to PAX? Are you participating in the x360a meet and greet? If so, I'll meet you there! I'm looking forward to meeting the people behind the gamertags I hear so much about. It'll be good to talk achievements with other gamers who actually care about them, and get to know fellow gamers beyond just the gaming.
PAX Panels - I previously posted my list, and I'll be attending those that will work around my appointments (except for a small few I told Webb were non-negotiable... there were only four of those over the three days, one of which was Warren Specter's keynote address). If filming is allowed, I may be filming some of the panels I attend. If I can film, what panels I film will be posted to YouTube.
INTERVIEWS and/or APPOINTMENTS - I don't know who or how many yet, but there'll be a few. The content of those interviews will be posted to x360a after the convention. I'd like to record my interviews if the people I interview are OK with that. For one reason, it allows for a more natural discussion on my end, as I can focus on what they're saying and ask good questions, without having to furiously scribble notes. Then I can review the tape afterword to write up everything accurately for a feature. Or, if the video looks good, it could used as a feature in its own right. If I have any hands-on time with a game, I'll be taking notes as I go.
DAILY VIDEO PODCASTS* - Time and sanity permitting, rather than take the time to crank out a compotent blog post, I will be pointing a camera at my face, pressing record, and talking all about what happened on that day. If Xylo and Silva are interested, they are welcome to participate too. Think of them as mini Hand of Thrawn video shows. These videos will then be loaded to YouTube, though not necessarily the day they are shot. (May do shows Thursday - Sunday, and then upload them one per day after I return to Minnesota).
WIN SWAG? Depending on what (if any) goodies I'm able to pick up or purchase at PAX, I may have some items to give away to my loyal blog and Twitter followers. We'll all just have to wait and see on this one.
I can't wait! Next weekend will be incredible!
PAX Preperation:
1. Let's start with the most banal... I need to pay my rent. Not paying and then going on vacation would kind of tick off the landlord.
2. I need to review and have prepped the resume I wish to put forward if I was to apply for a game industry job, and be armed with copies of it, plus writing samples, in case an appropriate opportunity knocks to pass those along.
3. Get all PAX, Hotel, and Plane paperwork together in one spot so it's easy to find when I need it for travel.
4. IMPORTANT! Do my homework on any individuals I will be interviewing (yes, I'm doing actual interviews!) and get some familiarity with the games they're working on. With that knowledge, develop some intelligent questions to ask them.
5. Pack up...
PAX Packing List:
1. Clothes and necessities (duh). Included in this is some business attire to go with the nerd clothes. I'll be casual on Thursday for the x360a meet and greet, but if I'm sitting down to interview someone in the industry, I want to be dressed like someone professional and worth taking seriously.
2. Entertainment for down time, travel time: Book, iPod Touch, Computer, Nintendo DS
3. Media Capturing technology: Camera, camcorder, rechargable batteries, and a bunch of SD cards.
Now, when the prep work is completed, here's what you can expect from me during the eventself!
THE EVENT
X360A Meet and Greet - Are you going to PAX? Are you participating in the x360a meet and greet? If so, I'll meet you there! I'm looking forward to meeting the people behind the gamertags I hear so much about. It'll be good to talk achievements with other gamers who actually care about them, and get to know fellow gamers beyond just the gaming.
PAX Panels - I previously posted my list, and I'll be attending those that will work around my appointments (except for a small few I told Webb were non-negotiable... there were only four of those over the three days, one of which was Warren Specter's keynote address). If filming is allowed, I may be filming some of the panels I attend. If I can film, what panels I film will be posted to YouTube.
INTERVIEWS and/or APPOINTMENTS - I don't know who or how many yet, but there'll be a few. The content of those interviews will be posted to x360a after the convention. I'd like to record my interviews if the people I interview are OK with that. For one reason, it allows for a more natural discussion on my end, as I can focus on what they're saying and ask good questions, without having to furiously scribble notes. Then I can review the tape afterword to write up everything accurately for a feature. Or, if the video looks good, it could used as a feature in its own right. If I have any hands-on time with a game, I'll be taking notes as I go.
DAILY VIDEO PODCASTS* - Time and sanity permitting, rather than take the time to crank out a compotent blog post, I will be pointing a camera at my face, pressing record, and talking all about what happened on that day. If Xylo and Silva are interested, they are welcome to participate too. Think of them as mini Hand of Thrawn video shows. These videos will then be loaded to YouTube, though not necessarily the day they are shot. (May do shows Thursday - Sunday, and then upload them one per day after I return to Minnesota).
WIN SWAG? Depending on what (if any) goodies I'm able to pick up or purchase at PAX, I may have some items to give away to my loyal blog and Twitter followers. We'll all just have to wait and see on this one.
I can't wait! Next weekend will be incredible!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Would You be my Rival? / An Afternoon in the Dying West
Would You be my Rival?
I came to the realization last night that I'm starving for achievement rivals. You know, the people you engage in friendly trash talking with, and regular banter about who has more points in what games. Bishop and Silva would be perfect if my score was closer to theirs, but they're both 30-40k ahead of me... so that won't be a friendly "rivalry" any time soon. MR BLACKMAGIC on my friends list has potential, as he's one of the few people in the state of Minnesota with a higher gamerscore, but again, 30k difference, and we almost never talk. Ducky x360a used to be a great one. Back when we did our first GSL, our gamerscores were both 20-25k. We stayed close for a long time, then I opened up a 42k+ lead on him. He needs to kick as in x360a's GSL to make things remotely interesting again. Derek or Buck? I passed them a while back, and neither is on much.
Xylofreak03 is my Obi-Wan Kenobi... my only hope for a good rivalry. We trash talk periodically. He vows to catch my gamerscore. I tell him to keep dreaming. He's only 8k behind me. So, I do have one friend who is legitimately interesting to track from a "rivalry" standpoint. I could use a few others.
Do you have a gamerscore in the universe of 140,000? (Not many do, let's just be honest with ourselves) If not, do you think you have a realistic shot at catching me? Want to see who can hit a milestone first? Who can be better than who at a specific game or genre? I'm receptive to "rivalry" ideas. It's been too long since I've had 3-4 people whose cards I routinely checked. Existing friends of mine are free to tell me how we are in fact "rivals." Hope to hear back from you and get the smack talk rolling!
An Afternoon in the Dying West
I've been pogo-sticking through my collection of games lately, playing whatever I feel like playing more than sticking to a set few. The two games that have benefitted from this approach to gaming, Record of Agarest War and Read Dead Redemption, are both games that are challenging and time consuming to complete, but would make impressive completions on my card. In Red Dead, I have about 27 hours total playtime, so I will be updating Raptr with that game once Dragon Age is finally correct.
My personal play style for Red Dead has been to focus on the story first, and handle all the activities second. While I have allowed myself to get distracted from time to time with the stranger missions, it's mostly been off on one mission after another. I've loved it overall, but I think I agree with the reviews I've read that say the Mexican civil war aspect of the story drags on too long and isn't as interesting as it could be. John Marston allows himself to be errand boy for far too long before a nugget of information for his primary quest shows up.
Yesterday was a productive day in Red Dead, with over a dozen story missions completed. After looking at the achievement guide again on x360a, I'm feeling the glimmer of hope that I may actually complete this game, but I have some questions:
Who wants to help boost 3 straight FFA wins?
Who wants in on some Advanced Co-Op missions?
Who else is getting the Legends and Killers DLC?
How will I manage the 8-player posse?
I came to the realization last night that I'm starving for achievement rivals. You know, the people you engage in friendly trash talking with, and regular banter about who has more points in what games. Bishop and Silva would be perfect if my score was closer to theirs, but they're both 30-40k ahead of me... so that won't be a friendly "rivalry" any time soon. MR BLACKMAGIC on my friends list has potential, as he's one of the few people in the state of Minnesota with a higher gamerscore, but again, 30k difference, and we almost never talk. Ducky x360a used to be a great one. Back when we did our first GSL, our gamerscores were both 20-25k. We stayed close for a long time, then I opened up a 42k+ lead on him. He needs to kick as in x360a's GSL to make things remotely interesting again. Derek or Buck? I passed them a while back, and neither is on much.
Xylofreak03 is my Obi-Wan Kenobi... my only hope for a good rivalry. We trash talk periodically. He vows to catch my gamerscore. I tell him to keep dreaming. He's only 8k behind me. So, I do have one friend who is legitimately interesting to track from a "rivalry" standpoint. I could use a few others.
Do you have a gamerscore in the universe of 140,000? (Not many do, let's just be honest with ourselves) If not, do you think you have a realistic shot at catching me? Want to see who can hit a milestone first? Who can be better than who at a specific game or genre? I'm receptive to "rivalry" ideas. It's been too long since I've had 3-4 people whose cards I routinely checked. Existing friends of mine are free to tell me how we are in fact "rivals." Hope to hear back from you and get the smack talk rolling!
An Afternoon in the Dying West
I've been pogo-sticking through my collection of games lately, playing whatever I feel like playing more than sticking to a set few. The two games that have benefitted from this approach to gaming, Record of Agarest War and Read Dead Redemption, are both games that are challenging and time consuming to complete, but would make impressive completions on my card. In Red Dead, I have about 27 hours total playtime, so I will be updating Raptr with that game once Dragon Age is finally correct.
My personal play style for Red Dead has been to focus on the story first, and handle all the activities second. While I have allowed myself to get distracted from time to time with the stranger missions, it's mostly been off on one mission after another. I've loved it overall, but I think I agree with the reviews I've read that say the Mexican civil war aspect of the story drags on too long and isn't as interesting as it could be. John Marston allows himself to be errand boy for far too long before a nugget of information for his primary quest shows up.
Yesterday was a productive day in Red Dead, with over a dozen story missions completed. After looking at the achievement guide again on x360a, I'm feeling the glimmer of hope that I may actually complete this game, but I have some questions:
Who wants to help boost 3 straight FFA wins?
Who wants in on some Advanced Co-Op missions?
Who else is getting the Legends and Killers DLC?
How will I manage the 8-player posse?
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