Last Saints

I want to start by linking this: The Last of Us Gameplay Demo
After watching this, I was elated for still being a PS3 owner. If there is any company that makes worth having a PS3, it's Naughty Dog. Mind you, this is the company that worked on the Crash Bandicoot games, titles that were a major part of growing up as a gamer; fun games. Naughty Dog then went on to make one of the best Action/Adventure series in video game history, Uncharted. So, when I get linked to a over seven minute game play demo for their newest title, I watch. It looks a bit like Man Hunt, but if Man Hunt had substance and grit, not just hyper-violence (though I do enjoy that about Rockstar). And while it's too early to say, I am leaning towards getting the game, a serious, dark, and unforgiving story can really leave an impact... Especially a shotgun to a dude's face.

On the other side of the story telling coin, and another tie into Rockstar, we have Saint's Row: The Third. This game reminds me of GTA3 and Vice City on so many levels, but obviously more up to date and with more features. The over-the-top, outlandish gameplay and story line had me smiling for beginning to end, minus that one time I got a hummer stuck on a roadblock and couldn't exit the vehicle due to the mission t fix it. Stories that do not take themselves seriously can turn out to be these gems if executed properly. There was really never a dull moment playing SR3, be it running around a wrestling arena massacring luchadores with a chainsaw, all to the tune of "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito, or helping mayor Burt Reynolds deal with a zombie break out. After diving into Diablo III Inferno, I needed the break...this game is perfect for anyone looking to let off steam.

I have not even started Round 5, but I will rack my brain for ideas, though I think I have one. The results are here with a labyrinth being the tie breaker. I am not sure how literal I will go with a labyrinth, but I find just having a character make left turns all day is more suited for a racing setting. I will probably end up sticking with complex rooms with puzzles and challenges. I could just copy this, but I won't.

Watch Dogs of Thrones

It's been some time since I posted a story. I got swept up in Diablo III and taking care of some important life things, but I have been writing, that I can assure you. Round 4's story has been a sweet ride so far and I just need to write one final scene between our lovely assassin and a powerful figure. I feel like any of these stories could easily be turned into a series, and that is part of my aim, to prove that I can create new universes on the fly...so to speak. Unfortunately I tend to encounter a problem where my mind powers through the concept and explodes into a vivid story line, basically leaving me with short story that desires to be more...and I want to write more with it. Who knows, maybe I will take some of the best and make more of them, because I know I am capable.

I was linked to a fantastically intriguing demo for an Ubisoft called Watch Dogs. The premise is strong and really thought provoking. I don't want to spoil it because it is that cool. Check it out!

Game of Thrones just completed its second season; it ended dark, but like the books, it makes the viewer thirst for more. Anyone who has not read the books or watched the show is missing out. You don't need to love fantasy to enjoy Game of Thrones, but any fantasy lover has no excuse for neither reading nor watching. The changes that were made to fit the television format have been most acceptable; nothing really made me repulsed. If season three follows Storm of Swords, the third book, as well as they followed Clash of Kings for season two, viewers are going to be blown away...

Expect Round 4 story soonish!

Diablo III and 1,000 Ways to Kill Haedrig's Wife

I cleared Diablo III on Hell and took a few minutes to see how difficult Inferno really is. Now that I have done that, I hope it will sate me enough so I can focus on story four this weekend. As much as I like the game, I felt like something was missing and although I did one playthrough of Diablo II, there were things that stuck out to me that were clearly missing from Diablo II. This video made me realize what is was I was thinking about. It still doesn't explain how Deckard Cain carried so many fucking satchels and managed to lose every last one.

I will be taking Saturday to hang out with a friend and go to Fanime in San Jose; should be interesting since I have never gone before. I will mock cosplayers quietly to myself and friends if they are hilariously awful; Sailor Moon does not weigh 235 lbs and smell like boiled hot dogs. I will praise good cosplay though...

I don't actually have 1,000 ways to kill Haedrig's wife, but here's a few:
Pummeled with jars of spiders
Crushed with a corpse
Frost
Fire
Exploding armor
Zombie dogs
Cleaved
Run over by a zombie

More Diablo III

I just beat the game on Nightmare last night and ready to start Hell. My second play through as a wizard was actually more fun that the first, because while in Normal I was able to build my character to do tons of damage and try out different builds around that idea, I died only a handful of times. In Nightmare I had to adjust and make my wizard more survivable, but it proved to be more challenging and rewarding; it is rare that a game's second play through is more fun than the first. At the end of Nightmare, it started to get fairly easy and I can see why people in higher modes dread making a new character and powering through all the difficulties to get to Hell and above.

On Sunday's I usually post my last finished short story, but I decided to take a week break to relax and prevent a burn out. I will take breaks whenever I feel like I need to cultivate ideas or feel like my work will be too forced. This means that Round #4 story will be delayed probably until this Sunday, and that the results of Round #5 will be posted next week.  I am going to attempt to distance myself from Diablo III in order to get your story delivered. The upside to my recent binge is that like most new exposures to new art and entertainment, my head is swimming with ideas for fantasy settings. I can't decide what my best genre is as I feel comfortable writing modern, fantasy, and science fiction.

Season 2 Episode 8 of Game of Thrones reminded me of why the books are so awesome. I nearly forgot what happens at the end of Clash of Kings, but remembered vividly once I got about ten minutes into the episode. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I'll keep my fanboy level at a 2. I just hope it does my imagination while I was reading it justice, but so far, the show has done a solid job...

Currently I am working on something with a fellow creative mind. I can't say much, but it will be freaking sweet when it is finished. More to come...