ikabubu

Discover some new music. Last.fm seems to do me a good job of suggesting similar artists.

Try out some o' them indie games. Browse some old Worth Readings.

Sign up for Netflix or something. At least try a month, I keep it around for Futurama, IT Crowd, and Breaking Bad.

Revisit some of your old games, if you got 'em. Go on a trip down memory lane. Vagrant Story for me.

Try something different. Maybe see if you can cook something with what you've got. Pick up a paper and pencil, see if you can improve your drawing skills.

Take a nap once in a while. Cash-in on some of that sleep debt. Why not?

Plan what you're gonna do when you get back out. Seriously, this can be fun. "I'M FREE BITCHESSSS!!!" Maybe some lasagna is in order. Or maybe you should just make some time to sit on a park bench, in quiet dusk, slowly gazing at your surroundings. Arrange a meet up with your local homies who were locked up too, maybe?

Dig up one of those things that you meant to get around to, but you haven't. Like that book, move, game that you bought, because you thought it sounded really cool at the time but forgot because of life's distractions. We've all got some of those, right?

If you're a guy, see how far your beard can grow.

Get some cleaning done. Word.

Wouldn't suggest drinking. There're probably better ways to savor your time off.

Do something ridiculous in the privacy of your own home. Like wearing a clean pair of underpants on my head while I went along with my business.

Improve your words-per-minute. There are a TON of typing tests out there on the internets. Might I suggest Z-Type?

That's about all the not-so-directly-related-to-games activities I could muster for now. Hope you manage to enjoy your extended weekend, even if it is going to take some effort.

@morbid_coffee: I'm with you. I really wanted to believe in ACV, I really did. I wanted a multiplayer game that I could dedicate myself to. It's just too bad that the original ACV lacked some transparency about its online features, especially explaining the importance of good "clans" or even just starting one with your friends. There were so many people just making up their own one-person squads just to play the single-player. Maybe they should split the progression between single-player and multi-player (maybe not require a squad for single player, and probably split the parts unlock between the two modes.)

Also, I thought playing Operator was really cool, except that it was never tutorialized nor put in as an elective that you could actively choose when going on a mission. I just remember going in with my feet wet, and fumbling the controls.

Ultimately, my biggest problem was incentivizing why I'm even playing the online. It all seemed to boil down to just status-symbols of owning territories and nothing more tangible like... say... unlocking the next tier of parts when your squad reaches a certain level. That alone could very well push people to grouping up. I eventually just ended up playing Random Matchmaking and testing out different load-outs for funsies.

I don't want to be a cynic, because I don't want to kill this thing I love. Let's just hope that From Soft listened, more than just merging servers.

So, as those who have played this game know, you obtain several swords in the game aside from the three unique boss weapons. Most of their signature traits are known and given, but I don't have a clear grasp which is necessarily more powerful or what, if any, trade-off is present.

For example:

The Stun Blade's specialty is the chance to stun enemies, but is it actually weaker than the standard HF Blade?

The Armor Breaker says that it has a chance to break armor, but is that different or less powerful than the Fox Blade (DLC)? Or does the Fox Blade just completely render the Armor Breaker obsolete?

The HF Machete strikes faster than any of the others, but is that off-set by weaker attack power per strike?

I've heard mumblings that the Longsword and Muramasa both have the same attack power at max upgrade. But is the Armor Breaker weaker than either one at max upgrade?

I haven't obtained all of the HF Swords yet, but I just can't get a clear understanding of where the swords are in terms of each one's overall unique value (attack power + unique ability). Maybe it'll all come to me once I unlock them all, but my curiosity is bugging me now.

I remember some original screenshots from print magazines way back then. It didn't have that "Guyver"-esque character design (that I've come to really love, and love their persistence on reusing it for Dark Sector and Warframe.)

Now I just want better Guyver knock-offs for them to show off to tease this new generation.

@drakesfortune: I agree with what you said. Videogames don't kill people the same way that a gun or a car doesn't kill a person by itself. I'm not a US citizen, and I wouldn't claim any usual familiarity with the political landscape. However, it seems that either side likes to blame videogames as an easy patsy for violence in the media regardless of whether they support the first amendment or not. I've also wondered about the relevancy of the first amendment in context when it was first drafted then, as opposed to its context now. It's true, being a foreigner is weird.

I deal with it very simply. If you know that you're better than the petulant comments, don't participate. Don't even bother counter-arguing or reading, because it's not worth the energy. Also, it's the internet. You'll never win; even if win the argument, you still lose.

You can take solace in the fact that there are people out there who will form their own minds-up about the game regardless of internet bickering (or even review), and that know better than to squabble over opinions. For God's sakes, it's videogames! Entertainment, subjectivity. I understand that people can be passionate about something. I think a lot of people don't know how to: agree-to-disagree, give something a real run before making an opinion (let alone an educated one), and knowing that this is a business and advertising sure knows how to cock it up, huh?

Well, this is coincidentally timely. I just bust out my PS2 yesterday, because I had a huge nostalgia itch.

Took a stroll down my PS1 and PS2 library. A time when Japanese games dominated my collection, and, perhaps, when I was a little more naïve.

Popped in ZOE 2, We Love Katamari, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. I also dusted-off some old PS1 memory cards (remember those things?) and put in Megaman X5, Wipeout 3, Strider 2, Megaman Legends 2, and, of course (to remind myself of my favorite game of all time,) Vagrant Story.

I worked the retail end for the midnight launch of the WiiU. I could describe the event as "underwhelming". Granted, we're not the biggest retailer in town, but we're the only store that sells electronics in the immediate neighborhood. We had 6 people in line since 7PM. By the time we reopened to let them in, we had about 10. A few came afterwards, rounding the number to about 12.

We sold out of the Black Deluxe, as expected. But we still had a LOT of the White Standards; about 8 to 10 units. Granted, most knowledgeable people interested in the WiiU would probably go for the Black, but it still strikes me that the demand wasn't a little bit more rabid for the new hardware.

I suppose that says a lot, doesn't it?

I never really got a good sense of the exact scope of Autolog 2.0 when it comes to cross-platform syncing. That's why I'd like to ask you guys if you can clarify a few things based on experience or based on what you've heard.

1) I've heard that your friends are imported across PS3 to PSVita, but does it work even across X360? I imagine it should, with Origin just attaching "personas" and not actually log-ins.

2) Do friends's records (i.e. Speed Cameras, Billboard Jumps) get carried across platforms?

I bought the game for the PS3 originally, and I'm having a lot of fun with just random strangers and filling up my Autolog with GB Duders. However, all the actual friends I've convinced to pick up Most Wanted only have a 360.

@Hizang: Even if people have put the game down, I find that filling your Autolog with people's scores to compete against surprisingly perked up the single-player enough for me to play it for chunks at a time.