Day 7: Favorite Game Couple

Favorite game couple award goes to... Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher! Just in time for the Uncharted 3 hype!

Adorable adorable adorable

In a blog post I wrote in 1UP about the type of videogame women you could take home to mom, I mused about how Elena Fisher is one of the best female game characters ever. Rarely does a leading woman get my approval (especially in videogames). She's not overtly aggressive and doesn't seem to be trying too hard to be tough.

Her strong morals do not grate my nerves like how some characters do. She provides a strong, compassionate aura that complements Nathan Drake's cool, wing-it attitude.

To further demonstrate why I find these two completely adorable together here's Uncharted 2's perfect, wonderful ending:



Enjoy!

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Geeks are Made of This

I remember a time when people wrinkled their nose at me and go, "Nicole, get a life."

Years ago, my obsession with video games and graphic novels were not deemed sexy. They were, if anything, "weird things" I occupied myself with. People did not understand that I have to reach job level 50, that I have to be able to wear that +6 Immune Muffler and that I have to get that Kyrie Eleison to level 10. And that I was willing to use up all my allowance just to do it.

Years ago, I couldn't find anyone who actually read V for Vendetta or any story from The Sandman. (or maybe I just don't get out and talk to new people)

Years ago, whenever I even try to start talking about games, people will give me this look like I have some sort of disease. Or like I'm talking about some ancient ritual that can shrink someone's penis.

guess which one is the geek

But all that happened a long time ago. Right now, we are in that magical era wherein being a geek is deemed attractive, if not outrightly sexy, especially if said geek is a girl. Every chick who can properly hold a controller is now branded on the forehead and shamelessly marketed to reel in customers. Heck, some girls even fake it for fame and fortune.

I think, the whole virtue (dear lawd, virtue haha) of being a geek is in the passion you put into your geekery of choice. In the same way that a person who has read just a couple of books can be called a casual reader but not a bookworm, if you have never played a roleplaying game more than once just to see alternate endings or to perfect your save file, then you probably should stop prancing around gushing about how much of an RPG geek you are.

very very serious!

Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that being a geek is celebrated now. More support for the industry, more games for you and me! I guess I just want these new breed of geeks to dig a little deeper. If you're going to call yourself a geek at least explore the franchise, read other sources, play more games! Do all these things because you enjoy it, because you're having fun, because it IS fun!

And if you're truly enjoying yourself, passion naturally flows. That is how a geek is made. When you find something that you enjoy, you would want to know everything about that particular thing. You would want to find books, action figures, magazine articles, forum discussions, everything that can be said about it, you would want them all.

Passion, dear friends. It's more about how much, rather than what.

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Day 6: Most Annoying Character

I am tempted to just put in here a whole game because I think 99% of the characters in this game are annoying as shit but, okay, just one.

I'll have to say... Hope. From Final Fantasy XIII.

I spent 25 hours in the game trying not to throw my damn controller at my TV every time Hope comes on. Now before fanboys try to burn me to the ground and defend the little shit, yes I know he's depressed, his mum died, his dad doesn't love him and everyone's out to get him, yes I get it.

What I don't like about Hope is how he deals with it. His self-entitlement gets seriously annoying when you have to put up with it for hours.

In his defense though, I heard he gets better further into the game. That he finally mans up in the end. Well, too bad the game can't hold my attention for more than an hour without lulling me to sleep for me to see that happen. But that is something best saved for another discussion.

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Wizards think I'm a White

... and I think they're right.
So I've been spending the past few days playing Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers. Heh, only an institution as epic as MtG can get away with a title as long as that.

Let it be known that I've played only a little MtG in the past. I'm still confused about timing my casting. Creature abilities baffle me and stacking makes my head hurt.

Through my friends, I learned how to play the game but I didn't get to learn how to play the cards. It's an entirely different thing.

Thank you for the game, PS3 Welcome Back program lol
With Duels of the Planeswalkers (PS3), I expected to get my ass handed to me by the AI opponent. I was confident in my lack of skill and that my MMO upbringing of hack n' slash formula will never let me win in a complicated game like this.

So... what shit do I keep hitting 'til I win?
After losing a few times I got the hang of it. I started winning. But it wasn't until I started playing White that I completely felt at home. It's not because I started winning a lot, I won a lot of games while using other colors as well. It's just that with White, everything seemed to make sense to me.

I love buffing. I love seeing how my cards help each other out. Stuff like Serra's Embrace, Glorious Anthem, Angelic Blessing... I enjoyed using cards like those. Sure other cards in other colors have a virtually similar effect but there's nothing like reading how your spell is making someone fly and strike with erm, vigilance.

Can you imagine a battlefield where your soldiers are literally flown high by freakin' ANGELS? Dude. Imagine it. Hymns and an angelic choir wrapping the whole battlefield with magnificence and grace. AWESOME SHIT, RIGHT?

Although... heaven forbid (hehe) that I take up MtG as a hobby. My poor wallet can't take Dungeons and Dragons, comic books AND Magic the Gathering all at the same time.


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Take the Wizards "What Color Are You" quiz too, if you want.

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Time Sink

Things that are happening in my life right now that prevents me from gaming and updating this blog:

James McAvoy - truth be told, it wasn't X-Men First Class that made me want to dig up James McAvoy movies and obsess about him. But because the McAvoy-Fassbender love ship is sailing full speed on tumblr, James McAvoy appreciation photos flooded my dash. I saw Becoming Jane screencaps. I watched the film. I lost my soul.

I'm a sucker for anything that is set during The Regency Era. The binding social customs that inhibit such powerful emotions (like a straitjacket to a madman) have always excited me. James McAvoy in Becoming Jane broke me.

Embarrassing Fact: I've spent one whole Saturday watching James McAvoy movies. ONE. WHOLE. SATURDAY. From 9 in the morning to 12 midnight.

1001 Nights of Snowfall - I've read a few Fables books but this is the only one that I bought. And such a good buy it was. Turns out this book is a prologue of sorts to the lives of the characters of Fabletown. Very good read. The Frog Prince takes the Saddest Story Ever cake. It depressed me for days.

It was such a good read that I thought of collecting all the Fables books. Yep. Money burnination. Jeezas. And I haven't even began collecting Hellblazer yet. Hohboy.

Work - The past few weeks I've been working overtime in my day job and working nights in freelance. I don't think I've stopped to catch my breath yet. The only little free time I get, I spend with friends and squishing my geeky boyfriend's face to keep me sane.

Things might get even worse though. But if everything takes off nicely, you would have a deep, complex, free RPG to play. On Facebook. I may write more about it. I haven't really talked about what I do for a living, no? Haha.

In gaming news, I've finished L.A. Noire. This seems like soooo long ago. But I did. I'll write my final thoughts about it in another post. But... this has to be said: Kelso's ending speech = HOT. DAMN.

That is all.

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