As nothing continues to happen in my life, aside from the odd visit to the hospital (you know, from my ongoing health issues), I've been CONTINUING to play video games! And now I'll end this meaningless preamble and actually get to the point.

I've had Spelunky on the mind for quite a while now. In retrospect, I find it a little odd that Patrick happened to start his Spelunky videos a week before the game was $3.75 on PSN, but I'm smart enough to know that Patrick wasn't paid off. (Or am I?) Anyway, between all of Patrick's videos, and actually playing the game myself, it's been on my mind more than most "small" games like this do (especially given everything else on my mind these days).

There's a lot going on in Spelunky. All the hidden little secrets, all the alternate ways to complete the game (well, there's like two, but still), all the hidden items, the way the sacrificing system works. It's kinda crazy. And I love it! I hesitate to compare it to Dark Souls, because I think there are more differences than similarities between the two, but there is an almost Dark Soulsian quality to the obtuseness of some of these things. Like using the key to get the eye to help you get to the black market, where you get the ankh, which you need to...Well, trust me, it's complex. And if you've been keeping up with Spelunkin' with Scoops, you already know all this.

Oh yeah, there's also the game part of Spelunky, which is fast and furious (RIP Paul Walker), and a ton of fun. I do think that the randomly generated nature of the level design can result in some crappy levels, but for the most part that's fine. I do, however, think it might be cool if there were a series of handmade levels using the stuff in this game, because the mechanics are so tight that levels made by a person could be fantastic. I'd go so far as to say better than what the game generates on its own, but obviously those don't exist (but wouldn't user created levels in Spelunky II be amazing?).

It's hard. Not so hard that I feel my spirit being crushed, like something like Ninja Gaiden II, but still hard enough that there are times where I feel like I have to stop playing for the day after doing something horrendously stupid. Okay, so maybe it does crush my spirit every once in a while, but not too often. I've gotten better at the game, but I hesitate to call myself good, when the farthest I've ever gotten is the ice caves. But I'm improving, both in terms of my tactics of how I tackle scenarios, and in my reflexes. I've found that a lot of my deaths have come from simple not reacting quickly enough, but I think I've gotten better at that. I think.

I do wish I had more people to compete against on the Daily Challenge, but I also don't want to clog my friends list just for this one game. I'm fine beating Chabbs almost every day, and having no one else on the leaderboard.

Oh, and pugs rule. Pug damsels for life.

I don't know when this screenshot is from, as the interface is different. Hm. This reminds me though, I really wish this was a PS4 game. If it was, I could take my own screenshots and videos, which would be cool. Shut up, PC Master Race Jerks, I know. Be quiet.

Also on sale for $3.75 the other week on PSN, was Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. I almost bought this game last year, but while playing the demo I got a little disgusted at some of the profanity strewn things Rex Power Colt was spouting after killing enemies (something about c*ckf*cking, I think, which I thought was probably offensive), and I didn't. But then I bought it this year, and while I still found those few lines disgust worthy, I ended up enjoying the game a lot.

Game play wise, it's Far Cry 3, but crazier. You know, giant lizards that shoot lasers out of their eyes, four barreled shotgun that shoots fire shot, and VHS tapes as collectibles. Otherwise it is literally Far Cry 3, which makes sense, given that Far Cry 3 is in the title of the game. And I am totally fine with that, given that I liked Far Cry 3 a whole lot. But much like the original Far Cry 3, it's not without fault, and the fault lies mostly in non-game play stuff.

I really like the style of this game. I really like what it's trying to do, but I also think it betrays itself by letting in stuff that doesn't jive. The game is trying to have the feel of a bad 1980s direct to video movie. For the most part, it nails it. But every once in a while it betrays itself with things like having Colt throw D20s (twenty sided dice) instead of rocks. Rex Power Colt doesn't play D&D, would never play D&D, and would likely insult anyone who did. So why does he throw D20s? I dunno. Someone, somewhere, thought that would be funny, and others agreed. Personally, I think it would have been funnier if he threw cyber-rocks, or 8-Track tapes. How funny would it be if, in this game, 8-Track tapes were so prevalent that they were as throw-away as rocks? Funnier than throwing a D20 and having an in-game AI call Colt a "nerd."

There's other things in the game that betray that sense of style too, like references to modern internet things, and other dumb stuff. But then again, the game has this:

I can forgive a lot of things when a game has something like this in it. It's a fun game, and I hope there's a sequel in the works. I just hope they stick to the 80s thing a bit more (or do a 90s thing). No dumb internet jokes, no D20s. More 8-Tracks.

And then, I did it. I finally went and played... Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

I didn't like it.

I didn't like the controls, I didn't like the puzzles in the game (which I feel like varied from poorly designed to boring), and I didn't even like most of the art design. About the only positive thing I have to say about the game is that I think the water looked nice. And it was short. I don't know that I would have been able to put up with much more of it.

I feel like I should have something more profound to say about this game. I mean, I didn't just find it boring. I actively disliked my time with this game. It's things like making up a gobbledy-gook fake language, and not subtitling it. I don't know why, I just didn't like it. There's just something about the...I'm having trouble thinking of the right word. Style? No, essence? Hm...Well, I couldn't think of it, but there's a word that means what I'm thinking, I'm sure of it. Anyway, there's something about the game that just felt kind of... I couldn't think of the right word, but then a synonym search for "pretentious" (which also isn't the right word) came up with "highfaluting," which is also the wrong word, but I'll go with that.

A lot of it comes from everything that (many) people have said about the game since its release. Mostly Brad Shoemaker. I just don't get what people liked about this game. Is it (spoiler) that the brother died? I don't get it. I don't see what people think makes this game special.

Whatever, I'm not the type to appreciate something like this. Oh, and I made this list. You should read it.

I do think that water looks really nice.

Oh, and I've started playing the Devil May Cry reboot on Son of Sparda. That game's quite a bit harder on that, but also really fun. I've been dying a lot more, but I like the challenge. That's a really, really great game, and I love that the developers went through the game and made different enemy encounters for this difficulty level. That must have been a lot of extra play testing to make sure these encounters were also fun and everything. That's dedication.

But that's been it for my video game playing. What else have I been doing? I'm on a bit of a short break on working on Space Cops 5000, but I think I need to get back to that tomorrow-ish. I think, unless my test readers actually finish it and have some serious issues, I've gotten it to the point where all I need to do is fix typos. I also feel like I've said that several times before, so who knows. I NEED to finish this, because I really want to get going on my next book. I've got so many ideas floating around my head for that, but I can't start working on that before finishing Space Cops.

Oh, and I've been going to the hospital a lot. All for just talking with doctors, doing tests, that kind of stuff. I had a colonoscopy last week. The conclusion seemed to be that I have Crohn's disease, which is bad, but not really that bad, but the doctors are still looking at some biopsies they took during the procedure, so who knows. I'm feeling mostly fine though (some minor pain now and then), so I'm getting along. As always, I'll keep you guys updated.

Oh, and in case anyone asks, the colonoscopy itself wasn't bad at all, they had me pumped full of sedatives and painkillers, so I didn't feel a thing. I wasn't as loopy as the nurses made it sound like I would be, which almost ruined my plan of watching Face/Off (for the first time) while loopy after I got home, but I watched it anyway, and man, that is a great, dumb movie. Also, I think the first John Woo movie I've ever seen. I'd say, as an experience, that I enjoyed it more than John Woo Presents Stranglehold.

The day before the colonoscopy? Well, THAT was not fun. But I'll let you discover that for yourself, if you ever need one. But if you do, don't start that day by playing Brothers. Do something fun, instead.

It's time. We need the Year of Waluigi. He is the saviour of Nintendo; the chosen one. Trust me.