Gaming Rant

I am such a slug. Give me a few days off, and have I done anything constructive? No, of course not. Just played video games forever. Finished Justice League and it's still like a honeymoon. Love it.

We also bought Neverwinter Nights 2 and I cannot claim to be completely happy with it. F has played a lot more than I. The original was an Atari/Bioware effort. Bioware has been replaced by Obsidian and maybe there were TMed things that had to be changed, but, well, it feels a bit dumbed down. I think it's all little things. For example, I loved the radial menu in 1 once I got used to it. Now it's all drop down menues and I'm not finding them (or the use of the Shift key in conjunction) very intuitive. Another thing is that most objects are just part of the scenery. In 1, most chest and barrels were openable (even if nothing was inside). Also, in 1, most houses/buildings could be entered. Even if there was nothing important or even any loot inside, you got the feeling of depth. In 2, most buildings are just background and you can't access them. The game itself is pretty, but I simply don't care all that much about the look. I still play my old console games, so all I want is playability and a personal connection with the game. Also, I hate the jarring break in the story that is the World Map. Oh, and back to pretty, we had to buy a new video card to run the game, and I don't think it's been a year since we bought the last one and it was pretty good. Supposedly our old one should have worked...but, you can tell how that turned out.

Speaking of gaming, while I'm on a tear. What is the deal with people who buy more than one PS3 (or other console) and sell them for massive profit? They are jerks because folks who just want to play and don't want to wait in line now can't get a system (unless they pay $2000 on Ebay...that is about the going rate today). And on to the demand part of the economic equation...who are these idiots paying $2000 for a PS3? Is it that important to your life? There are barely any games out yet and they are paying a buttload for the 1st edition with all the kinks and bugs, etc. And, they are partly responsible for said folks above who can't get one. Finally, those jerks at Sony: I understand the desire for hype and driving up demand (remember Cabbage Patch Dolls...worked for them), but now they are creating a climate where jerks get rich (with no profit to Sony, I might point out) and said folks get nothing (except, maybe a Wii). I want you to know that I am not one of said folks. I am happy with my PS2 for now and, besides, I want a Nintendo.

Phew. I think I'll separate the rest of today's stuff into another post...

Stuck at Work

Here I am on a long split shift at work. By that I mean I had a tour shift that started at 8:15 and lasted til almost 1:00. Now I am off the clock and fiddling around until my next shift from 6:00 to 9:45. When you are a bit down the totem pole, you get stuck with the splits. I had a pretty rough tour this morning, too, so I need a break. However, today is my Friday, so I will have some relaxation time.

Stumpy (really, this is not his name...) ate like mad last night and is really reacting positively to feeding time. I have figured out that the way to disturb him the least with other duties is to wait until about an hour before I turn off the basking light. By this time he is usually on the log and will stay there for the night. I can just remove the log and he will stay right on top of it while I clean and remove any crickets that got away from him during feeding time. And I have seen no more weird and/or disturbing behavior.

Let's see, what else. I have been playing more FFXII. Still not totally thrilled, but I have been enjoying some of the street characters and the bestiary. Hilarious. Plus, I actually am kind of taken with the licensing system. F and I have also been playing Justice League Heroes and LOVE it! I hope the Marvel game is just as good. You just cannot beat playing Superman or Wonder Woman. Pick up a car, fly with it, and then beat down some robots! Awesome!

I also get out of the house once a week (aside from work, which doesn't count) to do some role playing. A female friend from work got me into this group last year. Now she has moved so I am the only girl there. Anyway, we alternate games. We were playing D&D (Eberron) but we have been taking a break from that for a while now. So, we are playing Star Wars (d20) and a game called Found! The latter uses the Unknown Armies system and is loosely based on Lost. Well, as long as a story where something really messed up happens to a group of people and they are trying to figure out what's going on and there are weird coincidences, etc., and there are flashbacks that help flesh out the characters is like Lost, then it is.

Well, I've blown, what, 30 minutes? Yay me. You watch, I'll be back in an hour...

I am Medusa

I ended up going to the party. I made tights that were awesome. I didn't end up with finished make-up and my hair/snakes weren't quite right, but it was good enough. And I made it through without dying.

On another note, I bought FFXII on Tuesday and have played about 2 hours now. Am enjoying it somewhat. But I'm not so fond of the combat system or the leveling system so far. Probably, I will get used to them and be able to enjoy the game more. We'll see.