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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Game Room: Now a Spill-Free Zone

I am so clumsy with my drinking water inside the Game Room. It seems like without fail, I would spill water all over the place at least once a week. Well, I have had it. Starting earlier this week, I have decided to not allow open containers of water in the room anymore. With the new rule implemented, my clumsiness hasn't stopped - I still managed to knock down these cups with lids on them but at least the catastrophic wetness no longer proceeded them. I suppose it's just common sense to be more careful with food and drinks in the Game Room but I always thought that I was mindful enough to ensure that none of my gaming stuff are in any serious jeopardy. The worst accident that ever occurred involving fluids? That was when I unintentionally kicked a glass full of water - yes, I normally place them on the floor next to my gaming chair and forgot that I put them there when it was time to move - and it spattered all over my Wii U Gamepad. It was scary. Why did it take so long for me to learn my lesson? Oh well, at least I am taking action now before anything got damaged.

Yes, I have actually spilled that entire jug in my Game Room before...

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

LoL: New Champions Secured

On 01/20/2014, I unlocked the final champion I needed to complete my League of Legends roster. So the question here is this: How much Influence Points - the currency you earn from merely playing the game that you can use to unlock a champion - can an avid player earn in between the releases of a new champion when that player doesn't spend any of it on anything else in the game? With the latest champion, Vel'Koz, being released just around the corner, the IP accumulation should look something like this:

That is a lot of of IP to spend.

Yeah, I am at at 14,468 IP at the moment and I certainly will always have enough of it to spend on any new champion as soon as they arrive. But I am going to approach this the smart way: New champions will cost a slightly higher amount of IP during the release week so I will have them unlocked on the second week. The most expensive regularly priced champion is 6300 IP: I could even unlock two new champions if they were to be released simultaneously. Life is good in Runeterra!

Monday, February 24, 2014

January 2014 Gaming Analysis

The results shown below are of course based on the combined data from the Daily Game Log which should provide a clear indication of a game's usage frequency. Bear in mind that even if a game is played twice or more during a particular day, it would still register as 1 in the Day Count column below. In a sense, "merits" are given based on how often a particular game can make me play it again throughout the entire period of the  month on a daily basis. A game that makes a gamer play it over and over again or at least spend a lot of time with it... Isn't that what we mostly want from a great game? I don't think it's really fair to count all the way down to the number of hours played since some games only require a short amount of time to properly serve their purposes.

OVERALL BREAKDOWN:


Total Games Played: 37


This Month's Inductees:


Total Inductions: 22

Games Played 02/172014 - 02/23/2014

- 02/17/2014 -
Shadow Hearts: From the New World - PlayStation 2
SteamWorld Dig - PC

- 02/18/2014 -
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gud and Böse - PlayStation 2

- 02/19/2014 -
Ikaruga - PC
League of Legends - PC

- 02/20/2014 -
Age of Zombies Anniversary - iPad
Blazing Star - iPad
Bug Princess - iPad
Electronic Super Joy - PC
Game Book Adventures 7: Temple of the Spider God - iPad
Ikaruga - PC
Jetpack Joyride - iPad
League of Legends - PC
Phoenix HD - iPad
Punch Quest - iPad
Super Crossfire HD - iPad
Swordigo - iPad
Temple Run 2 - iPad

- 02/21/2014 -
Bug Princess - iPad
DariusBurst: Second Prologue - iPad
Ikaruga - PC
League of Legends - PC
Phoenix HD - iPad

- 02/22/2014 -
Ikaruga - PC
League of Legends - PC
Plasma Sky - iPad

- 02/23/2014 -
Ikaruga - PC
League of Legends - PC
Wizardry 8 - PC


Screenshot of the Week:

Oh how I long for the glorious return of the shmup era.
Blazing Star (iPad)

Saturday, February 22, 2014

The Quest for That Ikaruga Feeling Never Ends

As you may know, I have been playing a lot of Ikaruga on my Personal Computer. I have been experimenting a lot on the Ikaruga-inspired desktop wallpaper as well and after not feeling satisfied with just alternating between the game's various title screens, I have decided to combine them into a collage. I think this is it, I am not going to change it up any more. With the mesmerizing portrayal of Kagari and Ginkei in the middle and those snippets of other images surrounding them, I believe that I have found exactly what I am looking for.

I was thinking of adding some screenshots from the game in there too. So maybe this isn't over yet.

Friday, February 21, 2014

iCade Core: The iPad Arcade

My ION iCade Core arrived yesterday and I was quite excited to use it with the compatible games on my iPad 2. I am not an arcade stick connoisseur but I do like the idea of playing my iOS games without touch controls. I didn't mind using the long, thick stick that you have to grip with your entire hand and the large buttons that takes efforts to press when I visited the arcades in my youth but I have always preferred the small, more manageable solutions offered by the home platforms. I even like using just a D-Pad for fighting games though I have always dislike the trend of leaving only 4 buttons on the controller's face versus six. I sure wished that most iOS are compatible with the stick but for $20, it's a fun little diversion and of course, a nice place for me to rest my iPad. Using the iCade Core while playing iOS games on my large display also works pretty well and I didn't experience any kind of lag. I don't have a Bluetooth receiver on my Personal Computer so I can't determine whether or not this arcade stick can be used for my PC games. I got two new games for the iOS yesterday just so that I can play them with the iCade Core and I hope there will be more to come!

Tapping on those large buttons is such a workout! My poor fingers.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Facing the Facts: Gamer Friend Is Gamer Lover

I don't need a close gaming friend. No, for me to say I do is a lie. A close gaming friend doesn't fit my current life situation. Having a close gaming friend means that I have to allow him or her to come into the Game Room. I just cannot imagine having a mere friend be in this special room with me and just sharing a portion of what I have by doing the actual gaming somewhere else seems to be counter-productive to what I wanted to accomplish in the first place. I don't think finding someone who has access to the same amount of video gaming stuff as much as I do while enjoying each other's personality is even remotely possible. I am getting older, I don't have the luxury of time to get to know someone at a deeper level to feel comfortable enough with them to enjoy being together with that person as we cherish our gaming hobby. I don't know how much longer I get to live. I am not a social person to begin with to be fully accommodating to a close gaming friend. The only person I can feel social with for the most part would be my spouse. Apparently, gaming acquaintances are not enough for me. These are the people I meet on the Internet, people that I would never even meet face to face in my lifetime. People who don't give a flying fuck about me, who would use me only when it's convenient for them. What I have been looking for all this time was a lover who is also a gamer. A gamer lover. Well, that's too late right now isn't it? I am already in a relationship that I am happy with. So to pursue this itch, this desire I have to combat my gaming loneliness, it involves breaking up a marriage, severing a friendship, destroying a love that has been built and maintained over the majority of my adult life. No, that just can't happen. I just can't have this person I am looking for to satiate my recent gaming troubles. Let's kill that goal right here, right now. I don't need a close friend who games. I want a lover who does. Sometimes in life, you just can't have everything you want.

I have better things to obsess about. Like making sense of my weird new dual screen setup.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Ikaruga Fever

The recent Steam release of Ikaruga by Treasure features some impressive looking title menu when you start the game. There are a total of 6 of these interchangeable main screens and of course, they are too gorgeous not to turn into my desktop backgrounds. I have even compiled these screenshots and posted them on the game's forum, ready for you to download them for your own personal beautification project. In other related news, I found it hard to play anything else other than Ikaruga since yesterday! I really love this game.

These images should have been bundled as a separate bonus content.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Ikaruga: Retraining Regiment

Now that it's so easy to boot up Ikaruga again to be enjoyed at my whim thanks to its release on the Personal Computer via Steam, well, it looks like the only real way to savor this game is... to commit to it with an intense daily training regiment? I had this conversation many years ago with an acquaintance on the X-Box 360 who was an avid shoot-'em-up fan himself. We both agreed that when it comes to shmup, one just doesn't retain one's mastery over a game in that genre so easily when one doesn't revisit it often enough. It's very shocking how horrible I am with this game now that I am playing it again after removing myself from it for such a long time. My brain could recall the little pieces of my strategy as I was playing and sometimes things made sense but for the most part, it's like I am learning to play it all over again. When I was pretty good with Ikaruga back then, I pretty much played the game almost every day and that commitment yielded serious results. I remember that I could always, and I mean without fail, manage to get to the last stage without continuing - surviving the last section was still very tricky for me - but now, the best I could do is hit the third chapter. This is pretty cool however if I look at the situation as a replay value booster. I will have to play this game for many hours to be able to fully taste its deliciousness again.

I used to move around pretty good inside that deadly circle but now it feels claustrophobic!

Ikaruga: Finally on Steam!

The Personal Computer gaming experience is finally complete with the arrival of Ikaruga by Treasure on Steam this morning. I was actually quite hungry from driving around town for the spouse's appointments but for a brief amount of time, my excitement for this game had made me forget my bodily needs. As you may know, Ikaruga is certainly one of my Top 10 Greatest Games of All Time and it looks like this release is the definitive version of the game with the re-imagined screen layout, an updated menu presentations, and noticeably cleaner visuals. I am disappointed however that a digital manual is not included. The only reason why that is important is because the game's storyline needs to be appreciated on top of the incredible gameplay. Those who don't know what Ikaruga is all about should definitely seek out the lore but at least the seemingly nonsensical texts that accompany each chapter are still there. Also missing is the online play that is available on the X-Box 360 version but since online play for this game is ridiculously broken because of lag, it's really meant to be played locally. I know that playing with another person in this game changes the whole gameplay dynamic and strategic approach, I am still hoping that one day I will find someone whom I can sit down and play this game with. No worries though, the game does feature online leaderboards, something that will keep me playing the game over and over again. I, of course, immediately got the game to show my undying support for Treasure. I certainly hope that they will release more games, new and old, on Steam. Start working on that Steam version of Radiant Silvergun please!

$9.99 is nothing compared to what this gesture means to PC gaming. Get it now!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Games Played 02/10/2014 - 02/16/2014

- 02/10/2014 -

- 02/11/2014 -
ALLTYNEX Second - PC
League of Legends - PC

- 02/12/2014 -
League of Legends - PC
Risk of Rain - PC
Smart As... - Vita

- 02/13/2014 -
Audiosurf - PC
League of Legends - PC
Lightning Fighter 2 - iPad

- 02/14/2014 -
Bug Princess - iPad
Gun Bros 2 - iPad
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F - PlayStation 3
League of Legends - PC
Lightning Fighter 2 - iPad
StarFire HD Lite - iPad

- 02/15/2014 -
Deathsmiles - X-Box 360
Dota 2 - PC
Girls Like Robots - PC
League of Legends - PC
Raiden IV - X-Box 360
Raiden Legacy - PC
Wild Arms 4 - PlayStation 2
World Heroes Anthology - PlayStation 2

- 02/16/2014 -
Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 - X-Box
Dota 2 - PC
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - X-Box
Fatal Fury Battle Archive: Volume 1 - PlayStation 2
League of Legends - PC
Shadow Hearts: From the New World - PlayStation 2


Screenshot of the Week:

Best projectile special attack ever?
World Heroes Anthology (PlayStation 2)

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Sentimental Sunday: Gaming & RC Cars

I have this old remote control car that has been in my possession for a while and I am sure that you have seen it in some of the photographs I have taken over the years - at least some parts of it, specifically, the remote controller for it. If you ever wondered about the reason for me owning an RC car, well, today is your lucky day because I am ready to reveal that dirty little secret to you.

The sticker on top says "Hot Rocker". Feel free to use your imagination.

As you can see, this is not a part of those special edition gaming blunders, I mean, bundles though its origin is definitely gaming related. You see, when I first dated the spouse, apparently my obsession with gaming - though it was something that I immediately shared with everyone I dated because, you know, I didn't want anyone to be surprised by it - was not that clear cut of a hobby for some reason. This RC car was a gift I received back then by the spouse who thought that it was something that I would appreciate because I was a gamer. I did appreciate the gift because well, it was from someone whom I thought was very special even back then but yeah, it's not related to gaming whatsoever. Still, even to this day, I always make sure that the RC car is displayed out in the open for me to see, something to remind me of how lucky I am to have met the love of my life. It's definitely an object that I revisit often, even more so these days. Gaming isn't everything in my life, especially when it leads to hurt. Every time I step away from gaming, suddenly my life isn't all that lonely anymore.

Friday, February 14, 2014

iOS Gaming: Big Screen Venture

I was browsing through my Game Boy Advance library tonight when I stumbled into the Digital AV Adaptor for my iPad 2. I probably had this thing not too long after I first acquired my iPad: I believe the spouse actually picked it up but never used it and I just went ahead and stored it away, coincidentally alongside my GBA games. So for the first time ever, I decided to check out how my iPad games fare on my big screen display. I wasn't that enthusiastic about trying it because I figured it would be hard to look at the big screen when these games are touch based but surprisingly, they didn't play so badly. I tested out my iOS shoot-'em-ups and they were a lot more fun on the big screen for sure.

Works great when you don't have to touch specific areas of the screen.

I can definitely see the visual advantage of playing some of these iOS games on the big screen, not to mention the improved audio as well. I could even stream my gameplay on my Twitch channel if I wanted to. This has definitely reawakened my interest in iPad gaming and I am ready to even invest on a long HDMI cable so that I can be seated appropriately on my gaming chair. Not only that, I am also going to move ahead with the acquisition of the Ion iCade Core Arcade Game Controller, especially since it's so very cheap right now at 80% off! Hopefully, this will all work out for me when that controller arrives.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Steam: Love Can Wait

You can probably tell from the previous post that I am still bitter about a lot of things and that I am still in the healing process of my psychological trauma. Well at least Steam made me feel a lot better today with their super manly, let love be damned weekend sales promotion:

This really makes me want to spend but... Only 50% off?

Now don't get it all twisted. I do love my spouse but when it comes to the gaming part of my life, something that is for the most part very separate from that, there is a lot of loneliness and depression to be found. I am getting better I believe but the whole League of Legends Valentine's Day cards thing did bring me down a notch... It's as if Valve knew that there are plenty of people out there who need a gaming fix that is not anywhere associated with sappy gooey love to celebrate tomorrow's smooch fest. Well, they could still do the whole love thing tomorrow but I have faith in you to keep the war theme going Steam!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Gaming Couples' Valentine

When I logged in to the League of Legends client tonight on the Personal Computer, I saw a really cute link to some free printable Valentine's Day cards featuring three hot champions from the game. I personally would have been very happy and definitely excited if I got one of these cards from the spouse. Then it hit me. Gaming couples must have a lot of fun celebrating not only their daily gaming with each other but other events as well where they could infuse gaming references into every single thing that they do. If you are one of these gaming duos, consider yourself very lucky. Maybe luck didn't have anything to do with it. You are probably just good at playing the game.

I didn't fancy the past Valentine's Day skins but this one, I may have to get it....

Dark Souls II: The Power of Hype

I liked Dark Souls on the PlayStation 3. I loved it and played it even more on the Personal Computer, despite needing to use a mod to improve its graphics. From Software has always been making weird games with highly complex and challenging mechanics but by some odd chance, the Demon's Souls series got really, really popular. Popular enough that the Collector's Edition for Dark Souls II that will be available for the console versions is priced at $119.99. Yes, you got it right. One hundred and twenty freaking dollars.

Worth the price? You got to be insane if you said yes.

You can check out the picture above to see what you get with the Collector's Edition: Display box? Cloth map? Art book? A cheap figurine? These things should cost you nothing more than the overpriced $59.99 that they would like to charge for the game in the first place. Seriously, are there really crazy people out there who would pay $120 for these things? Yes, unfortunately. Why did I even bother asking that question? And why is the PC download cost $49.99? You know it's a direct console port so $39.99 would have been a fair price for this game. I will give it to Namco Bandai though, they sure know how to milk something and turn it into a highly profitable venture. It does seem like every time they do it, they keep increasing the price higher and higher. I am sure soon we will see a Collector's Edition priced at beyond the $200 range from them because well, people keep buying these extravagantly priced things.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Random Game Room Moment

Don't you just hate the look of an empty shelf?

Monday, February 10, 2014

Games Played 02/03/2014 - 02/09/2014

- 02/03/2014 -
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - PlayStation 3

- 02/04/2014 -
Baten Kaitos: Origins - GameCube

- 02/05/2014 -
Audiosurf - PC

- 02/06/2014 -
Audiosurf - PC
Jets'n'Guns Gold - PC
League of Legends - PC
Oniken - PC

- 02/07/2014 -
Audiosurf - PC
Baten Kaitos: Origins - GameCube
League of Legends - PC

- 02/08/2014 -
Audiosurf - PC
League of Legends - PC
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - PlayStation 3
Smart As... - Vita

- 02/09/2014 -
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - PC
League of Legends - PC


Screenshot of the Week:

This is why I try not to use fast travels.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Personal Computer)

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Random Yoshi Moment

So relaxed. Let's switch places sometimes.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

EA Origin: Can't Wait Anymore

Electronic Arts released a new patch for their Origin client yesterday and you guessed it, they still haven't fixed the problem with the client not tracking gameplay time of non-Origin games. I have contacted them twice, maybe three times, about this and yet, they are still not willing to fix the problem? It's not like I am begging them for a new feature but this is something that was already there to begin with that got broken somewhere along the line. So I have had it with Origin. The gameplay time tracker for non-Origin game was the one shining feature that Origin had over Steam but it is apparent now that EA just doesn't care. I have decided to move all those non-Origin games back into Steam. It's too late now, EA. I will only use your client for native Origin games. You lose.


Welcome back to Steam, League of Legends.

Update Note: 9:30am - And oh, I will also launch Origin from Steam again because... That is something you surely deserve.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Combating Depression with Redecoration

The spouse, who has been in my life for 15+ years, knows that I like to move things around in my Game Room every so often. I never pondered about it before but I always have a Game Room setup in my life with my then-significant other since the beginning of our relationship. Well, there was a period of a couple of months when all my gaming materials were packed away because we were in a state of transition, searching for our very own place. I had just completed my undergraduate studies and was in the process of looking for a job. I remember playing Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete on the PlayStation One during that aforementioned period and I didn't get back to my other gaming platforms until we found our apartment. I am trailing off quite a bit here so let's get back to the main story. Redecorating my Game Room is a personal and soothing process. It's the one thing that I know I have control over, a constant element in this ever fluctuating, unpredictable life that I, and perhaps you, live in. Thus, on top of the obsessive Audiosurf sessions, I am also redecorating my Game Room to help manage my current problem with depression. I am not doing anything major though because I don't feel that adventurous, but the room will look better I believe once I am done. At least, that is what I planned on accomplishing.

A change driven not by choice but by necessity.

It's all about evaluating spatial efficiency here and I have already found several problem areas that needed to be addressed: like that GameCube media tower of mine that shouldn't be placed in front of a window because it's blocking the only source of sunlight coming in. I did pick up a new media organizer last night to occupy the one last bit of empty space I have in the room. It's really there to address the small amount of physical games that I am sure I will still be forced to bring in since only Personal Computer gaming has long embraced the digital distribution bliss. I am sure that I will have the Game Room fully functional again by sometime this evening. I do know that I wouldn't be able to game until the place looks somewhat ready. Besides, I desperately need that unmistakable feeling of euphoria that will certainly accompany the project's completion as well.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Combating Depression with Audiosurf

I am probably clinically depressed. Yeah, that doesn't sound so good but I know that the situation is escalating and it needed to be addressed. The spouse wholeheartedly recommends that I see the shrink but I just have a feeling that if I actually go, I would probably be prescribed with some anti-depressants. Because what else can the shrink do? Hang out with me while I am gaming and pretend to understand the reason behind me crying during the evolutionary bits in the last stage of Rez? Well, maybe the latter and it would not even be pretend but at this point, I just don't think that seeking psychological help is going to alleviate the situation. My solution? Well, let's combat a gaming related problem with gaming? Sounds so bloody meta right? So much so that it just had to work!

Audiosurfing the depression away...

Believe it or not, the number of activity that I would normally go to when I am feeling sad is not video gaming. As a matter of fact, when I am feeling blue, it takes away my desire to play video games because I know that I won't be able to commit to playing them - thus the situation at hand. When I am sad, I would actually listen to music. Not cheery music of course, listening to those when I am sad can lead to vomiting. Not that I have a lot of uplifting music within my reach to begin with. To just marinate myself in that whole damp and sticky atmosphere of darkness from these sorrowful and depressing songs, I usually found myself walking away confident that everything will be okay. There is just something about embodying a bit of self-pity - which of course, not something that I would recommend anyone to participate in casually - that would eventually make me realize how repulsive that place can be and I would always reach that inevitable conclusion during the aforementioned musical binge session. I have decided to use the ultimate music game, Audiosurf, to facilitate my current music therapy sessions and surprisingly, it's a rather potent concoction. I have done this before in the past but never this extensively. As you may know, Audiosurf lets you experience your music in a deeper sense where you can actually see and feel the music. So the effectiveness of just listening to the music to calm my nerves is actually doubled and maybe even tripled when Audiosurf is added into the equation. So I have been playing a lot of Audiosurf lately to let myself be drown by the wonderment of it all. So is this remedy working? Somewhat. I do feel a bit better after every session though that brooding, lingering loneliness is still somewhat there, following my every step. It may take a while for a complete recovery so I just have to keep at it for now.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Random Game Room Moment

The evil cube is back! It's purple and ready to claim my gameplay time.

Steam Music? Oh No...

Steam is the absolute best place to game, there is no doubt about that. There is absolutely nothing anymore that the console world could offer that would take that away from Valve, ever. Nintendo should definitely start to work on that eventual transition to Steam sooner so that they can start making some real money. Still, not every single feature that Steam pushes out is going to be incredible. The Big Picture mode is highly misleading - since you can always just play your Personal Computer games on the big screen without it - and this new "Steam Music" that was introduced today is also another misguided feature.

I suppose developers should stop paying composers to make music for their games.

I don't understand why many people rather listen to an outside sound source while playing video games. Even when a game soundtrack is lacking or bad, I always want to stay true to a game's original design. A majority of broadcasters on twitch play popular music in the background and whenever I come across those channels, I normally switch to something else because it's quite annoying to me. You can pretty much open a media player or website of your choice and let your custom song list play in the background right now without Steam Music so this is going to be all about a slicker implementation of that within the confines of the Steam client itself. I won't be using it and unlike the Family Sharing feature, missing out on the usage of this one doesn't bother me one bit.

Games Played 01/27/2014 - 02/02/2014

- 01/27/2014 -
League of Legends - PC

- 01/28/2014 -
Border Down - Dreamcast
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - PlayStation 2

- 01/29/2014 -
League of Legends - PC
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Demo - PlayStation 3
Sparkle 2 Evo - PC

- 01/30/2014 -
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - PC
League of Legends - PC

- 01/31/2014 -
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - PC
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - PC
Legend of Grimrock - PC

- 02/01/2014 -
Audiosurf - PC
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - PC
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F - PlayStation 3
League of Legends - PC

- 02/02/2014 -
Audiosurf - PC
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - PC
Long Live the Queen - PC
Shadowrun Returns - PC


Screenshot of the Week:

Weep now dragons of Skyrim for Alexander the Conjurer is back!
The Elder Scrolls V (Personal Computer)

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Cheer Me Up, Video Games

I am trying my hardest to get out of the funk that I am currently in but nothing seems to be working. It's hard to even boot up a game these days and when that actually happens, I don't enjoy them as I used to. At the risk of sounding seemingly ungrateful, apparently having access to these many video games at my fingertips didn't secure a steady level of happiness in my gaming life. What is going on with me? Maybe I need to see a shrink but I am just hoping that this thing will run its course soon, without taking too much away from me. I can at least say one thing though, DanceMasters on the X-Box 360 did make me smile:

Was I just oblivious in the past? Has the ignorance been washed away?