Well, with the world shut in and working from home (if you have to still go out to go to work, we salute you), maybe people will have more time to listen to podcasts. If so you’re in luck, because we have a MASSIVE episode of Nerds Without Pants lined up for you, including the triumphant return of Video Game Cage Match!
Hey, folks! Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants. This week, we get all corporate on your asses as we talk about our favorite (?) businesses in video games. We’ve also got a game to give away this week, and lots of fun stuff to talk about in Consumption Junction, so strap in for a fun ride!
I've been playing FFXIV lately, and really enjoying it again. To catch y'all up, I started a new account on PS4 since PS3 ver. isn't supported anymore and I didn't transfer info over in time. It's been a while since I played it, so I needed to play from beginning to see changes anyway. I'm around lvl 40 and nearing the dead end that is the vertical level grind to end game before Expansions, which I haven't purchased yet. I'm spending my free month, with 1 subsc. month to grind endgame for ARR. I leveled up to 30 very quickly, but 30-50 is a really slow grind. Just logging in to do random dungeons for fast XP before pushing story. I've seen it all before.
Christ on a bicycle its been a good year for games. I've been thinking of what i was going to put on my top 10 games of the year list and this is the not narrowed down list. This is the list of every game that I like and think people should play. There are a lot. Over thirty, and I have the feeling I've forgotten something important.
Fuck it though, I like doing these, even if it's only for myself and like one other person. I know I have somewhat eccentric tastes and they won't appeal to everyone so that's somewhat okay.
Yeah, so here I am, probably biting off WAY more than I can chew right now. Considering that my last blog post was October os 2014, and I haven't written a review in so long that I can't even remember what game it was for. I should probably check that. Be right back.
Last night I found myself in charge of the 5/6th grade building at the school campus where I work after 2-3 months of the lackluster care of a former employee. I wasn't surprised when she put in her two weeks notice although I was surprised that she saw it to the end; in the past, some employees would put in their notice and leave whenever they wanted to. My boss had me check up on the building after she had finished and for those last 2 weeks, there was always unfinished work. Usually she would stay long enough to empty trash, vacuum rugs/carpet and sweep, then it became two of those, then one of those nearer to the end. I was getting overtime hours making sure her building was up to snuff for the next day but it was such a hassle that I wondered why she didn't just outright quit. Does she actually want to my employer as a reference? That won't work out well.
I was going to play more old school stuff today, but I had several errands that messed with my schedule and, when I got to my friend's place, we got talking about Diablo 3 and next thing I knew, I was playing it and couldn't stop.
The shitty weather reared its unyielding, indifferent head again and pelted my area with more snow and some ice yesterday. No work yesterday or today but the sun is out, in its in the mid-30s and some of this shit is starting to melt away so I predict I'll be back at work tomorrow. Which is fine. I just didn't want to have to travel or work in this mess while it was happening.
Retro weekend lasted about an hour. I tried to play Metroid, and I tried to play Mega Man. I downloaded them on my Wii from Virtual Console, used my classic controler, and just couldn't handle those crazy platform jumps - drove me absolutely nuts. I didn't even got past the very first screen in Mega Man. But, you know, I'm glad I got these games and experienced them, even if it was for only one screen. I loved the presentation of both and even admired the controls, which were obviously carefully worked out. These types of games are just not cup of tea, sad to say.
The first month of the new year certainly has been interesting. Some big changes are on the rise next month so if I fade in and out just know I'll miss you all and I'll be on whenever I can. I'll also try to comment on as many blogs as possible but for the most part I'll be lurking in the shadows when I can. I doubt I'll participate in BAD because of this but I'll make an effort to blog as much as I can when I can be here. whow knows things could work in reverse and I be on here all the time. Figured I'd give a heads up to that so worse case ya know. I beat a few games this month, non are really big achievements but still glad can say there finished
Wherein I catalog and share the games that are catching my attention and piquing my interest in year 15 of the second millenium
@asrealasitgets Top 10 List of 2014.
10. Endless Legend (PC)
One of the many games that weren’t on my radar this year but then captivated me after playing it was Endless Legend, the Civ style, Empire building/management simulator set on an alien planet. I was particularly drawn in by the beautiful visuals and the many options for starting races-- they all seem so unique with their own lore, histories and motivations for colonization. The planet you inhabit can be particularly hostile, complete with seasonal weather cycles that look really amazing. The whole game map seems impassible when it’s covered in snow during the winter, there even seems to be less light as well just to make things more visually interesting. I don’t normally play these types of games and I had to visit several forums and wiki pages to figure out all the nuances in order to make a dent on my progress in the game. There is a very handy tutorial in the beginning that does a good job of leading you in to the game, but it honestly requires a bit more research than that which I didn’t mind doing. The game is just very beautiful. If a game in this genre managed to pull me away from MMOs and backlogs then it deserves a mention on my top ten of 2014!
By now you have probably opened all of your presents and are wondering what else to do with your day. Since you can’t go to the theater to watch The Interview (topical!), why not kick back with some eggnog and listen to the Nerds Without Pants have an exhaustive discussion about some of our favorite music from the seventh console generation? And yes, I realize that I blundered when I brought up BioShock Infinite. We were almost 4 hours into recording, so cut me some slack! Happy Festivus! EDIT: You can thank Angelo for pushing to get this episode out early for you Christmas Eve travelers. Enjoy!
Hey everyone in Pixlbitville! I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day. Of course this is going to be my post for my Black Friday experience. Here it goes, first off I went to Target. Gotta go to my favorite store. The parking lot was packed! My cousin and I went to go buy some last minute pies from the store and I decided to check on Target before they opened at 6pm. There was about three to five people in line 2 hours before the store opened. Wasn't too bad. So we went back home and had some of the holiday food. I waited for a couple hours after Target had opened because I still had family coming over.
Recently, I came out of “review retirement” to give a glowing report of the PlayStation 4 version of Diablo 3. In that review I talked about how the game really pulled me in this second time around and wouldn’t let go. It’s a fantastic console port and I have no qualms about double dipping on it. If anything, I got more enjoyment out of Diablo 3 on PS4 than I did on the PC, but a lot of that had to do with it being the right game at the right time. While the review platform wasn’t the appropriate place for it, I need to explain just why the act of obliterating hordes of demonic foes for a hundred hours was so cathartic for me. In light of the recent gaming culture landscape I think it’s important to remember how great video games can be, and in rare circumstances even healing.
When Diablo 3 came out for the PC in 2011, I don’t think I really understood what it was. Don’t get me wrong: I loved it. It was the first game I awarded five stars to at PixlBit and it went on to become my game of the year. With all of that said, I treated it like every other one of my games: I played it, enjoyed it, and moved on to the next thing. It wasn’t until I plunged back in with the PlayStation 4 “Ultimate Evil” edition that I finally let Diablo get its claws into me, and now I’m trapped.
Two weeks ago, the school where I work conducted their "Black & Gold" (school colors) basketball game night to kick off the new season. It was basically all the varisty teams playing scrimmage but it was also an opportunity for a bake sale and God knows what else. Honestly, I stayed the hell out of that building unless someone reported a mess that needed to be cleaned up.