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The Corner of Randomness: Winding Down the Year

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This will most likely be my last post for 2017 as I’ll be on the road to see family and friends for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I have no intention of bringing a computer with me as I’m traveling fairly light. Though, I will have to pack my PS4 so I can game it up with my brother in Wisconsin.

I don’t have much to say on the gaming front as I haven’t really been playing anything lately. I’ve been pretty well occupied with fixing up the house to get it ready for sale, traveling to and from Wisconsin, and dealing with a cold. Never a dull moment here.

I did manage to catch the last day of the Capcom Cup. It was cool to see someone climb through the loser bracket to win the event. I am still watching various randomizer events, mainly when I crawl into bed for the night. What caught me by surprise was that during one of the streams they mentioned that most of the various randomizer/speed gaming stuff would come to a halt for a bit as people were getting ready for AGDQ 2018. Wow, that really snuck up on me, but boy am I stoked for a week of games getting crushed in stupid short amounts of time.

So that’s about it from me. If I don’t manage to get another article out, I hope everyone enjoys the last bit of 2017. Hopefully Santa can treat ya well, but if not, enjoy time with family and friends. Maybe, even keep off your phone/tablet and just enjoy some time being disconnected from the craziness that is the world.

The Corner of Randomness: Wish List

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Well, the end of the year is quickly approaching. Before you know it, we’ll be welcoming in 2018 and wondering where the heck December disappeared to. Holiday parties, family travels, oh so much baking and eating, gift exchanges, and mad amounts of stress will come and go as 2017 crawls to an end. Oh, and if you live in a snowy region, let’s not forget the impending snow storms, bitter cold temps, and the begging of spring to return.

As with many people, I’m starting to make my wish list. Not that I think I’ll get anything off of it as it’s been a rough financial year for my wife and I, but it’s always nice to dream. I start my list with a Nintendo Switch. There are finally three games that I’d like to play, and that is the point at which I consider a console worth investing in. With Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Skyrim, and DOOM all making their way to the Switch, it’s hard to not crave one. Sure, I’ve played most of these games already, but having seen the Switch in action from friends who travel, it just makes sense for me to want one with all the traveling I do.

Next on my list of wishes is the PSVR. I visited Blake some time ago…like before he moved out of the state, and I got to try out his PSVR. While the headset screens weren’t as nice as the HTC Vive, the overall setup was just easier to deal with. I really want to see what Dirt Rally, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, and EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone would be like in virtual reality.

Those are really the biggest items on my wish list. My 3DS is doing just fine, and there really isn’t a solid need to upgrade to a New 3DS outside of the SNES emulator. I don’t own a 4K TV or monitor, so snagging a PS4 Pro or new Xbox isn’t really necessary either, outside of their improved hardware. I can’t believe I just said I don’t need to upgrade some of my systems. Man, I must be getting lame.

The Corner of Randomness: Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds

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Last night I was surfing through Twitch.TV trying to find something to listen to while I edited photos. I happened to notice that Horizon: Zero Dawn was currently trending. Out of curiosity, I jumped into one of the channels and realized they were playing the newly released DLC The Frozen Wilds.

I basically forgot that this DLC was coming out. Heck, it’s been a few months since I completed Horizon: Zero Dawn. It’s a great game, but after I beat it, I haven’t really had a desire to play through it again. Which brings me to the DLC. Is it really too late for this to sell all that well? As Ross would say: “Old game is old.” I realize it’s not that old, but still. Most of people have already completed the game and moved on.

This of course opens up the debate of when is the right time to release DLC. Developers get so much flack for releasing DLC so soon after a game hits the market. Yet, as is the case with The Frozen Wilds, waiting too long is also a bad thing as gamers have short attention spans and will move on from a game within days of completing it. So there has to be a sweet spot for releasing DLC, but what is it?

While I’m sure that once I stop travelling so much I’ll look into getting this DLC as I truly did enjoy the game. Yet, it’s not high on my priority list now. I beat the game. I’ve forgotten the controls. I’m busy playing Metroid: Samus Returns. Why couldn’t this DLC have released sooner?

The Corner of Randomness: Extra Life 2017 Recap

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I get that the official Extra Life date is November 04, 2017. Yet Keri, Blake, Ross, and I participated early. We did this because it worked well with all of our crazy schedules. With kids, work, and travel plans, we picked a weekend that worked for us. We also changed up how we would handle the 24 hours of gaming by breaking it into two days. I do believe I enjoyed this setup more than trying to fight through a solid day of gaming.

My Extra Life began a bit earlier. I started on Monday by pulling a steak out to age it for grilling. I also started the house cleaning process. Cuz ya know…gotta have a clean place for friends to crash.

Keri would arrive on Thursday. Blake would arrive at a ridiculously early time of 2AM on Friday. Ross arrived after work on Friday. Friday night was party time. I grilled steak, cream cheese stuffed mushrooms, and some shrimp. This was complemented with Keri making some mac-and-cheese as well as an avocado pie. It was such a great way to kick this whole Extra Life event off.

Saturday morning rolls in and it’s time to game. I began with some Warframe, cuz I’m an addict like that. Yet, my attention span was only so strong. Over the course of the day I’d add DOOM, Metro 2033, Everspace, and Rogue Galaxy to my play list. However, I think the most memorable part of the day was when Blake and I watched Ross play Rocket League. The jokes flowed like a river during this game. I honestly have not laughed that much in a long time.

Sunday was a bit more chill when it comes to games. I would once again play more Warframe. Imagine that. I gave ICEY a try and found that the game was pretty enjoyable. We watched as Ross and Blake tried to feed each other pudding while they were both blindfolded. Yeah, you can imagine how well that worked! Keri, Blake, and I would bring Extra Life to a close by playing The Division. Keri had not finished the game yet, so we grouped up, killed bad guys, and managed to get this game out of Stack of Shame territory. I’d say that is a successful way to bring the weekend to a close.

Monday inevitably arrived. It was a sad and solemn day. I really didn’t want my friends to leave. When Ross had to leave on Sunday evening, you could certainly fell the energy drop. Keri went to the airport after lunch. Blake would hit the road after dinner. The house was quiet. Oh so quiet.

If you managed to catch the Twitch.TV streams, I hope you enjoyed them. I do believe Ross is planning to do a bit more for Extra Life on the November 4 date. I also believe Blake might try to do something to try and hit is goal as well. To all that were able to donate, and to those that made things interesting by requesting some crazy games get streamed, we appreciate the support! You all helped make this a successful, enjoyable, and highly memorable event!

The Corner of Randomness: Time To Get Busy

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I’m not going to be around much for the next month or so. It’s not because I’m bored or need to step away from blabbering on about this or that every week. Nope. It’s because my calendar seems to have gotten out of control before I could stop the wildfire of tasks, trips, and visits. In fact, if it had not been for my mother-in-law taking their dog out at 5AM, I wouldn’t be up to write this before I had to get outside to finish some sidewalk work.

Between now and November I have my in-laws here for another week. Then I have a 4×4 event to take photos of. Right after that I head to Colorado to chase fall colors in the Rockies. I get home and almost immediately take off again to go see my brother in Michigan for a hunting trip. Then it’s off to Wisconsin to teach a photography class. I think after all that, I get a weekend home. How did I let this madness all happen?

On the bright side, all this travel means I’ll get some lovely time with my 3DS. In fact, I’m really looking forward to some of this travel as it means I’ll get some time to play the new Metroid: Samus Returns game that is now out for the 3DS. Also, I’d be so full of crap if I didn’t admit I REALLY want the Metroid-themed New Nintendo 3DS. Damn it Nintendo, why did you have to make that when I didn’t have the coin for it?

Anyway, I’m gonna wrap this up so I can finish my coffee, throw on some work clothes, and brace for another day of mosquito bites, sweat, and manual labor. But first, coffee. Lots of friggin coffee!

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