Diary of a Returning Gamer #2

Every since I went back into my gaming schedule, I've noticed a few things different than how I used to game. Even though I never really abandoned gaming, it's been a while.

The high point of my constant gaming was during high school. During that time, I was pulling B+/A- minus averages in school for my honors classes, all the while playing role playing games and the like. For most of the Final Fantasy games, I easily surpassed over 100 hours. Final Fantasy 7, 8 , 10, 10-2, where 100+ hours spent on each. Final Fantasy 8 was less than 40 hours shy of the 200 hour mark. The last RPG I fully played was Final Fantasy 12. I didn't get everything, but I played it during college.

• Right now, I have no set schedule for gaming. Back then I would start playing after I finish my homework and reading or vice versa. Maybe it's because I'm in the workforce and I can do pretty much what I want. I could play for 8 hour straight on weekends and I'll probably end up completing that game
• Another thing: the achievement system and trophy system has made a huge impact on how people game. Heck, even I used to play like that in high school. If I haven't collected or accomplished everything a game has to offer, it's not complete and I don't move on to the next un-played game until then.
• I had my trusty PSM (Playstation Magazine) with their game reviews, previews, mini strategy guides, codes, etc. I have two boxes containing 5-6 years worth of PSM. The Official Playstation Magazine (OPM) tanked. PSM was the only Playstation dedicated magazine left in the market. Sony caved and bought the magazine and it became the new official magazine called "Playstation: the Official Magazine." I stopped subscribing in the midway through my college years. I had the internet to give me hints for games.
• I used to buy strategy guides for most of my big games... mainly role playing games. The last strategy guide I bought was the Fallout 3 strategy guide. However, I bought it just for the novelty of having it. I get all my hints online when I really need it. Having a strategy guide is best when you want to complete everything in a game. Right now, I'm not as obsessive-compulsive about that. The last time I did that was for Final Fantasy 12. I flaked out after almost a year and used gameshark to maximize all the stats to beat the tough bosses. Even then, there's a boss in the game with 50 million HP. The cool thing about this boss battle is that you can enter and exit the arena anytime you want. Any damage done to the boss is kept until you return. I didn't bother with this... I went ahead and completed the game only to be greeted by a lackluster ending sequence. The last great Final Fantasy with a Fantastic ending was Final Fantasy 10-2. They just don't make them like they used to.

That's pretty much what I could think of right now. Until then.

I'm done.

The Road to Dante's Inferno

Ain't No Sunshine trailer

I recently completed the Electronic Art's Dante's Inferno. It's based on the first part of Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy." The game plays just like God of War, except you're playing a crusader in the middle ages who fights his way into the nine circles of hell to save his beloved wife. You fight bosses based on the seven deadly sins.

Diary of a Returning Gamer #1

The last time I played lots of great games was back in 2008: Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3, Soul Calibur 4, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Maplestory (addicting as heck), etc.

Then around March-May 2009, my gaming just started to decline and I stopped playing most of my games. Pretty much abandoned them. I played Farmville and Mafia Wars on Facebook, but I don't really consider them full games. They're more like side-quests or a very long mini-games. It's ironic that my co-worker, the person that I got hooked on Fallout 3 is now the one pestering me if I completed Fallout 3 or any other game for that matter. From May 2009 to January 2010, the PS3, Wii, and DS Lite are collecting dust. We would play Rock Band once in a while when my sister comes to visit the house.

Final Fantasy Parodies

I'm not afraid to admit that the first Final Fantasy game I ever played was Final Fantasy VII. If it wasn't for that game, I wouldn't have known about Role-Playing games (RPG). After that, I got to play Parasite Eve, Suikoden Series, Threads of Fate, Shadow Hearts Series, Granstream Saga, and many more RPG games. I even started playing the previous Final Fantasy installments (FF, FFIV [FFII in US], FFV, FFVI [FFIII in US]) and the later ones (FFVIII, FFIX, FFX, FFX-2, FFXII). I was so mad Square Enix, Squeenix, took Final Fantasy XI instead of just calling it Final Fantasy Online. They ruined my goal of playing and completing all the numbered Final Fantasy games.

Anyway, if you're a Final Fantasy fan, I'm giving you fan service right now... no, I'm not showing you my underwear. However, you'll definitely enjoy all these Final Fantasy inspired videos/flash animations I found throughout the years. Be sure to bookmark this post... you'll definitely spend a good portion of your free time watching these videos.

Brutal Legend ROCKS!!!

So the closest Toys 'R' Us store is closing in my area (It's literally within walking distance... less than a mile). Each Thursday they're giving discounts to all items. I almost bought an electric guitar for $96. I ended up buying 3 PS3 games: Brutal Legend, Dante's Inferno, and Nier. The first game I'm playing is Brutal Legend.

I have a soft spot for original games and this game just screams of it. If you liked Beyond Good & Evil and Kya: Dark Lineage or pretty much any action-adventure game... then you'll love Brutal Legends.

First Trailer

Mini-Spoiler Alert:

Dino Megazord + Dragonzord + Titanus = Ultrazord

The Dino Megazord and Dragonzord

Power Rangers was the awesomeness. I know it's not a word, but it really was "teh awesomeness." What's also awesome about the show are the paraphernalia that came with it. Out comes Christmas time or your birthday and all the girls and boys wanted to have the costumes, the masks, the toys and many other Power Ranger related stuff.

I really wanted the toys that came with it. I think I got the red ranger and my sister got the pink ranger. I was just happy my mom bought me the red ranger and the pink ranger for my sister. I also wanted to have all 5 Dinozords that came with it (Mastodon, Pterodactyl, Triceratops, Sabre-Toothed Tiger, Tyrannosaurus), but these were really expensive. I knew my mom couldn't afford it then. I remember when she would take us shopping at the mall and I would always stop by the toys section and look at all the Power Ranger toys in glass boxes on the shelf just above my 9-10 year old body's reach.

Evangeline (2002)

I just went through my archived documents in high school and I found this story I wrote for a contest. I don't remember making this story until now. I don't even remember if I submitted my story to the contest at all. I read through it and I realized that I had a really good imagination. I was an awesome writer. I was clearly influenced by fantasy stories, anime and role-playing games. The things I wrote have are pretty advanced and going through "Evangeline" made me realize that Hollywood and the Anime/Manga industry has been ripping me off (Just kidding). College definitely changed me. I'm going through my old stuff right now and I'm just surprised by everything that I've written. Maybe I should start writing again. Anyway, here's the story I wrote when I was 18.