Three weeks without this. How will I cope?!I feel really stupid right now. Not in a self-pitying kind of way, more just a throw-away "how could you be so daft?" brand of stupidity. Yesterday, I returned home from my first term at University. It was an awkward journey home to say the least - as neither of my parents drive, I couldn't be picked up from the Uni and had to make my way home via taxi and lorry. Because of these... unique travel arrangements, I was severely limited in what I could and couldn't bring home with me. After forcing all my clothes into my suitcase, packing away my laptop and grabbing all the essentials (my phone and charger, my MP3 player, my darts, etc.) I didn't think to bag up anything else. As a result of this tragic turn of events, I am now at home while my Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP and DS (and by association, all the respective games) are gathering dust in my University accommodation. Putting it simply, I have nothing to play, and even if I did, I'd have nothing to play it on. It's actually pretty annoying, because I haven't played much since I've been at Uni and I thought the Christmas break would be the perfect time to squeeze in some intensive gaming. I was really starting to get into Saints Row and I was also hoping to play through Crisis Core over the Christmas holiday. But oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now. I'll just have to wait until I go back to Essex before I can resume my rampages through Stilwater.
That's not the only reason I'm feeling stupid, mind. The other factor in my stupidity is female. I'm not going to go into explicit details about the situation (I hate girl help threads on gaming sites as much as the next guy, so I don't intend to start one). There's a girl in my flat who I spend the best part of every weekend with and we get on with really well. Over the last eleven weeks she's pretty much become my best friend, and the thought of not seeing her for three weeks is getting to me. As a consequence, the fact that I'm letting it get to me is making me feel more stupid. But yeah. I'm missing her company. Quite a lot...
ARG! Stop it, DanK! Start talking about games again!!!
So, in the absence of my 360, PS2, PSP and DS, I've been looking for an alternative means of satisfying the gamer-monkey on my back. Here are some potential solutions:
There's an original Xbox gathering dust in the loft (attic, for you readers who don't speak Crazy-British-Talk). I've got a few Xbox games sitting on a shelf in my room that I've never given a proper chance. Stranger's Wrath is one such game. Conker: Live and Reloaded is another.
...Or should I give this a chance?Shall I put Steam to good use...Similarly, there's a GameCube boxed up in my room along with some games. I could find my Legend Of Zelda Collectors Disc and finally give Majora's Mask the attention I've been meaning to give it for so long. Or I could play through Twilight Princess again, considering I feel like I kinda rushed through on my first playthrough.
This one's more of a long shot - I could try and persuade my sister to let me use her PS2, and play through some of the games I decided not to take to Uni. Assuming she's willing to loan me her console, I could tackle one of the last-gen PrinceofPersia games, or perhaps get stuck into Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow.
I could make use of my Steam account and actually bother to play some of the games I've bought. I have both Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus, as well as the original Half-Life and Audiosurf. They could easily tide me over until the new year.
I'm still undecided on the actual course of action. It'll most likely end up being a combination of all four, I should imagine.
What a great view...One thing I did manage to do before I left Uni was finish Tomb Raider: Underworld. I deliberately took my time with it, after consciously rushing through both Legend and Anniversary when I first played them, and I'm really glad I wasn't tempted into powering through Underworld. It took me three weeks of careful, explorative playing to work my way from the opening sequence to the closing credits, and I really enjoyed getting intimate with the enormous and varied environments. Like I said in my last blog, the game looks amazing, and being able to admire every detail of the gameworld while tackling the large-scale puzzles was definitely the highlight. It was a little harder than Legend and Anniversary, although by no means excessively taxing. The combat is a slight improvement on the last two games, although it still feels pretty bare compared to the exploration aspects of gameplay. My biggest issue with the game (and this applies to Legend, too) is the way it takes a brilliant plot setup with so much potential and manages to squander it all. The whole concept of Norse mythology tying into other cultures is a brilliant one, but it feels wasted because Underworld doesn't deliver its story very well. To top it all off, the ending is predictably anti-climactic and unsatisfying. One might even call it 'stupid'. It's a real shame, because the story doesn't feel like it's given the attention it obviously deserves. On the whole, though, I thoroughly enjoyed Underworld, and it makes a fitting end to the Legend/Anniversary/Underworld trilogy.
I wants to shoots heads...I've also realised something over the last week or so - I really, really, really want to play Fallout 3. One of my flatmates at Uni has it on PC, and it looks frickin' awesome. Just watching him play it gave me the impression that it's the kind of game I'd really enjoy. I've added it to my Christmas list and pointed out to my mother that it's only £27.99 in HMV right now ("It's a steal! I'll bet you won't find an offer like that anywhere else!"). Of course, even if I do get it for Christmas, I won't be able to play it without a 360, so it would have to wait until I return to Uni. Perhaps I should have bought it instead of Underworld three weeks ago. Another potential piece of stupidity to consider...
Well, that's it for this blog. As always, thanks for reading. I'll see you around.
Three weeks without this. How will I cope?!I feel really stupid right now. Not in a self-pitying kind of way, more just a throw-away "how could you be so daft?" brand of stupidity. Yesterday, I returned home from my first term at University. It was an awkward journey home to say the least - as neither of my parents drive, I couldn't be picked up from the Uni and had to make my way home via taxi and lorry. Because of these... unique travel arrangements, I was severely limited in what I could and couldn't bring home with me. After forcing all my clothes into my suitcase, packing away my laptop and grabbing all the essentials (my phone and charger, my MP3 player, my darts, etc.) I didn't think to bag up anything else. As a result of this tragic turn of events, I am now at home while my Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP and DS (and by association, all the respective games) are gathering dust in my University accommodation. Putting it simply, I have nothing to play, and even if I did, I'd have nothing to play it on. It's actually pretty annoying, because I haven't played much since I've been at Uni and I thought the Christmas break would be the perfect time to squeeze in some intensive gaming. I was really starting to get into Saints Row and I was also hoping to play through Crisis Core over the Christmas holiday. But oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now. I'll just have to wait until I go back to Essex before I can resume my rampages through Stilwater.
That's not the only reason I'm feeling stupid, mind. The other factor in my stupidity is female. I'm not going to go into explicit details about the situation (I hate girl help threads on gaming sites as much as the next guy, so I don't intend to start one). There's a girl in my flat who I spend the best part of every weekend with and we get on with really well. Over the last eleven weeks she's pretty much become my best friend, and the thought of not seeing her for three weeks is getting to me. As a consequence, the fact that I'm letting it get to me is making me feel more stupid. But yeah. I'm missing her company. Quite a lot...
ARG! Stop it, DanK! Start talking about games again!!!
So, in the absence of my 360, PS2, PSP and DS, I've been looking for an alternative means of satisfying the gamer-monkey on my back. Here are some potential solutions:
There's an original Xbox gathering dust in the loft (attic, for you readers who don't speak Crazy-British-Talk). I've got a few Xbox games sitting on a shelf in my room that I've never given a proper chance. Stranger's Wrath is one such game. Conker: Live and Reloaded is another.
...Or should I give this a chance?Shall I put Steam to good use...Similarly, there's a GameCube boxed up in my room along with some games. I could find my Legend Of Zelda Collectors Disc and finally give Majora's Mask the attention I've been meaning to give it for so long. Or I could play through Twilight Princess again, considering I feel like I kinda rushed through on my first playthrough.
This one's more of a long shot - I could try and persuade my sister to let me use her PS2, and play through some of the games I decided not to take to Uni. Assuming she's willing to loan me her console, I could tackle one of the last-gen PrinceofPersia games, or perhaps get stuck into Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow.
I could make use of my Steam account and actually bother to play some of the games I've bought. I have both Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus, as well as the original Half-Life and Audiosurf. They could easily tide me over until the new year.
I'm still undecided on the actual course of action. It'll most likely end up being a combination of all four, I should imagine.
What a great view...One thing I did manage to do before I left Uni was finish Tomb Raider: Underworld. I deliberately took my time with it, after consciously rushing through both Legend and Anniversary when I first played them, and I'm really glad I wasn't tempted into powering through Underworld. It took me three weeks of careful, explorative playing to work my way from the opening sequence to the closing credits, and I really enjoyed getting intimate with the enormous and varied environments. Like I said in my last blog, the game looks amazing, and being able to admire every detail of the gameworld while tackling the large-scale puzzles was definitely the highlight. It was a little harder than Legend and Anniversary, although by no means excessively taxing. The combat is a slight improvement on the last two games, although it still feels pretty bare compared to the exploration aspects of gameplay. My biggest issue with the game (and this applies to Legend, too) is the way it takes a brilliant plot setup with so much potential and manages to squander it all. The whole concept of Norse mythology tying into other cultures is a brilliant one, but it feels wasted because Underworld doesn't deliver its story very well. To top it all off, the ending is predictably anti-climactic and unsatisfying. One might even call it 'stupid'. It's a real shame, because the story doesn't feel like it's given the attention it obviously deserves. On the whole, though, I thoroughly enjoyed Underworld, and it makes a fitting end to the Legend/Anniversary/Underworld trilogy.
I wants to shoots heads...I've also realised something over the last week or so - I really, really, really want to play Fallout 3. One of my flatmates at Uni has it on PC, and it looks frickin' awesome. Just watching him play it gave me the impression that it's the kind of game I'd really enjoy. I've added it to my Christmas list and pointed out to my mother that it's only £27.99 in HMV right now ("It's a steal! I'll bet you won't find an offer like that anywhere else!"). Of course, even if I do get it for Christmas, I won't be able to play it without a 360, so it would have to wait until I return to Uni. Perhaps I should have bought it instead of Underworld three weeks ago. Another potential piece of stupidity to consider...
Well, that's it for this blog. As always, thanks for reading. I'll see you around.
Every time I am without a major console, I always bust out the Gamecube. Something about Smash Brothers that always appeases me for however long I need.
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