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Gaming Diary: Mass Effect Andromeda Week

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Last week, I was buried face down in reviewing Mass Effect Andromeda for PlayStation Lifestyle. Being the huge Mass Effect fan that I am, I was overjoyed to get my hands on this big title and be responsible for reviewing it. My expectations were rather high as a fan, and I know I wasn’t alone. I did constantly tell myself that this is a new chapter in this universe, and it could be a slow start and a bit rough. I wasn’t prepared for the technical mess that it was, and really, I could have overlooked it if the plot wasn’t so cliche, the writing wasn’t cheesy and lazy, and the pacing wasn’t so bad.

That’s all I’m really going to say about it here, but you can read my full review on PSLS.

The week I was reviewing it happened to be Spring Break, and my kids were gone all week with my in-laws. They offered to take them on a road trip all week, the dear hearts. The review code came down the day before the kids left, which made it perfect timing. Now I had all week to play this game to my heart’s content. I didn’t have to worry about picking them up from school, taking them to after-school activities, getting homework done, cooking dinner, any of the normal parenting stuff. The husband even said he would take care of dinner so I wouldn’t have to stress about it. I still had other work to do, since I own a couple of businesses that have clients, and I couldn’t ignore them for a video game.

By Thursday of the week, I realized I had barely slept all week long. Laundry didn’t get done. The house was a wreck. I lost two pounds because I wasn’t eating much. I had barely seen my husband all week long. Then the big truth dawned on me: the only reason why I had been able to get as much done in this review as I had was because the kids were gone and I was neglecting everything else. That sealed it for me. I finished my review, handed it in, and after it went live, I wrote my letter of resignation.

it is time

I’m not just leaving PSLS; I’m done with games writing, period. I’ve been part of this industry for 13 years, and I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. I’ve met my closest friends through gaming, including two of the writers here! But I don’t have the time I once had to devote to games. I’m trying to build two businesses, and I can’t work those properly if I’m always spending 50 hours a week on reviewing a game for very little pay.

It’s just time for me to close this chapter in my life and take the next steps forward.

What does this mean for Strategy Guide Reviews? Not a damn thing. We will plunder on, because this was always my little pet project I developed out of the love of strategy guides. I’ll actually have more time to devote to guides now! Maybe I can even play Breath of the Wild! That just sounds like crazy talk to me, but it’s my kind of crazy.

The Corner of Randomness: I Kind of Want a Switch

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Sometimes, Twitch.TV is a terrible thing to be addicted to. Thanks to various streamers enjoying the bejeezus out of the new Zelda game, I am seriously starting to want a Nintendo Switch. Even worse, I know I can get the game on the Wii U, but new console hotness is addicting.

What also doesn’t help is that I’m starting to see more friends snagging a Switch and then boasting how much they are enjoying it. That whole taking it with you and being able to play your games wherever you want is just so friggin’ appealing. Heck, even Penny Arcade totally made me want one with their recent comic of them playing the Switch while on a plane.

Yeah, I know. I already have a Vita and a 3DS. I don’t really NEED a Switch to get my portable gaming on. But….but…ZELDA! Okay, maybe a $400 Zelda box isn’t the smartest investment under my current financial situation. Yet I really don’t care.

I do believe I will be able to hold out a bit longer. Like, maybe kinda sorta, until Nintendo gets their act in gear and puts some virtual consoles in place. I am also curious what this paid online service is going to bring with it. Hopefully with a bit more time, the Switch will become a much more robust gaming device.

Some days it is hard to be a gamer. The Nintendo Switch intrigues me. From the friends I’ve talked to, they love it, but it does have some caveats to consider. I’m starting to crack. MUST GET THE PRECIOUS!

Gaming Diary: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop the Ys

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It was nearly right after the credits finished rolling on Ys Chronicles I that I started up a new game with Ys Chronicles II. It’s been a difficult game to put down, even with Breath of the Wild in the house and a certain, rather important review for PSLS. It’s such an old school JRPG that there’s so little hand holding, and the puzzles are slightly more difficult to discern than in the first game. I’ve had a tab open on my phone or tablet for the GameFAQ of Chronicles II, something I rarely looked at with the previous one. After I ran around one area for nearly an hour, trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do next, the online walkthrough has been my bestest friend.

The sequel has significantly improved, and not just with the puzzles. You still attack by ramming Adol’s body into creatures (which is still dumb, by the way), but the addition of magic adds a new fun twist. Most of the bosses require magic in order to defeat them, which kind of takes down a lot of the novelty of using magic and the potential creativity between magical and physical attacks. It almost feels like it’s presented like a new console that has new gimmicks. Take the Vita’s game launch, for instance. Most of their first-party games overused the new features of the Vita, such as the touch screen, back touchpad, camera, and tilt controls, to the point of rendering games unenjoyable. I’m looking at you, Uncharted: Golden Abyss. In Chronicles II, now that we have magic, let’s require it for all the bosses!

At least not all of the magic is attack-based, allowing some creativity. I particularly enjoy turning into a Roo and talking with the demons. They have some of the best dialogue in the entire game.

Ys Chronicles II

Pardon the photo…apparently you can’t take screenshots of PSP games on the Vita.

But yes, I have sampled a bit of Breath of the Wild, and I haven’t gotten much further than I did in the demo I played at E3 last year. The world is huge, gorgeous, and I’m so glad I have a strategy guide as a security blanket.

The Corner of Randomness: HackerFight VI

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Ahhh, it’s that glorious time of year again. That time of year when players come out of their homes for the first time in months, because it is almost actually warm. The sounds of fight sticks start filling the air. The smells of gamers packed into small and overheated hotel conference rooms penetrates your nasal passages. The cheers of the upsets, and the tears of the masters falling can be heard far and wide. Yes, the fighting game season is kicking into high gear.

This weekend marks the start of the CPT (Capcom Pro Tour) with Final Round 20. Sure, the CPT isn’t the end-all-be-all of the FGC (Fighting Game Community), but it is a pretty big force behind making fighting games a bigger deal when it comes to e-sports. This is but one part of the machine that is the FGC as players are also ramping up for the madness that is EVO. Craziness.

Yet, last weekend I watched a tournament I had not heard of before. It was called HackerFight VI and it was hosted by Facebook. Yeah, that Facebook. Sadly no, Zuckerberg didn’t make an appearance as some sort of special guest or anything like that. However, ninety teams consisting of three players each did make an appearance.

What really got me about this tournament wasn’t so much that it was hosted by Facebook, it was the fact that this was a tech industry invitational. Teams from companies such as Sony, Oracle, Google, Blizzard, NVIDIA, Apple, Cisco, and so many others all sent teams to participate in this tournament. I don’t know why, but it just blew me away to see players representing Tesla make it into the Top 16. It was quite the enjoyable time.

The other part that made this so enjoyable was the commentators. Because this is not an official tournament for any game or company, there is nothing really holding people back. The commentators were able to joke around freely. This made for some great conversations. I’m pretty sure the free beer also helped with that.

HackerFight VI caught me by complete surprise. I’m glad I stumbled upon it on Twitch.TV as it was a blast to watch. It also has me ready for the FGC season to get into full swing. With Final Round 20 this weekend, I am ready to be a bum and sit at my computer and take in all the action!

Gaming Diary: Going Old School with Ys

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Ys Chronicles I

My first Ys title was Ys Seven, and I absolutely adored that game. I jumped on Ys: Memories of Celceta when it released for the Vita, and I loved it all the same. Since then I’ve been picking up Ys titles when I see them pop up on the PlayStation Store. I have Ys Chronicles I & II as well as Ys: Oath in Felghana, and I haven’t touched either of them. Thanks to Ys Origins rekindling that love for this franchise, I started Ys Chronicles I this weekend.

That’s really fun to play after playing Ys Origins, especially since everything you had in Origins comes into play in Chronicles I. It’s a little frustrating as well, because I already know what everything does, so I forget to go and talk to people to learn about the item. I wonder how much more Ys Origins would have meant to me if I had played this game first, but I kind of think each are interchangeable. Chronicles I now means more to me than it would have without Origins.

Chronicles I definitely knocks Origins out of the water, because, I’m sorry to say, Origins is boring due to always staying in Darm Tower. At least in Chronicles I, there’s so much open world to explore and other dungeons before you have to go into the Tower. I just need some variety in my action-RPGs.

On the flip side, the controls for Origins are ten times better. I hate having zero control over Adol’s attacks. You attack by literally running into things. Yes that’s annoying. I’m fine with no special attacks, but can I at least control how the attacks go instead of running Adol into something over and over like a toddler who doesn’t understand personal space?

I hope they changed that in Ys Chronicles II because it got old in a hurry. I hope I finish the game tonight, because The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild strategy guide will be here tomorrow!

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