What's New? 7/26/11

So I figured I'd start standardizing blog titles as a lot of blogs share common themes.  I think I'll name my more normal blog updates What's New? followed by the date.  Anyways lets get right on into it.



Gaming Progress



Metroid Prime 2

I've been playing through the Metroid series, it's my first time really beating any of the (console) games, and I have to say, I'm really liking it.  Just finished Metroid Prime 2, which was much tougher and darker then Prime 1 and though I did hit a few frustrating points, I really liked it.  The Light and Dark shifting was a nice spin for the series and kind of reminded me of Twilight Princess.  I'm looking forward to the third one in the series and honestly I'm also looking forward to Other M too.  Going to get started on Prime 3 tomm.


Zenonia

Zenonia has been pretty fun but also kind of repetitive as the game reminds me of a MMO.  You pick up a quest, go out kill or collect, return, level up, spend talent points.  Not that the system doesn't work but it's something that has been used a whole lot.  Also the story is much lighter then I had initially hoped.  It's still there but it's not really deep, then again for a downloadable game it's still really good.  Maybe it's just because I get distracted too easily with side tasks or the fact I'm wanting a deep RPG experience.  Either way the game is still good and I'll be playing more of it!



What I've been watching!



Boondock Saints

Finally saw this movie, it took me forever and a day to actually get around to watching it.  I have to say, I liked it a lot more then I thought I would.  The story is about 2 Irish brothers who go all vigilante and start taking down the mobs.  It had tons of action, a decent story, and was really funny.  Definitely worth a watch.  Can't believe it took me as long as it did to watch this one but I'm really glad I did.  William Dafoe had me rolling throughout the movie.


Stargate SG1

A series that I started watching at night once I got netflix because I've never seen it and I needed something to watch at night.  It actually turned out to be much better then I thought it would be.  I'm mid way through the series and still watching.  A little about it, basically the Stargate is a portal to other worlds that causes wormholes across the galaxy to other planets.  What I found out about the show after I've been watching it for some time is it's actually based off a Mayan legend.  Not an amazing show, definitely dated but interesting and good enough that I'll be seeing it through.



What I'm in the mood for



I've played a lot of different games and own a lot of different games, on several systems and of many genres however I haven't played a good tactical/strategy RPG in a long long time.  The last one I've played was on the GBA which was Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced... which was stolen... story for another time though.  Anyways I've seen a lot of games and a lot of series's and I've been thinking about getting some, probably a few on each system as they're pretty cheap.  Over time of course.

Here's what I'm looking at:

  - Phantom Brave: We Meet Again (Wii)
  - Fire Emblem - series (Wii, GC, DS)
  - Advanced Wars (DS games)
  - Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)
  - Tom Clancy - Shadow Wars (3DS)
  - Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
  - Disgaea - series (PS2, PS3)
  - Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgement (360)
  - Spectral Force 3 (360)
  - Ogre Battle - series (VC)


I'm a huge fan of the style of tactical RPG's and slower paced RPG's that make you think in general.  This is a list of what I've seen so far but I'm always open for recommendations of course!  Hopefully I can catch some good sales on these games.

Mid Summer Gaming

Been a while since I did a blog update and figured I'd take a break from the gaming and netflix watching and post, so lets get right into it.


Netflix 3DS


Yes!  It's finally here!  Not that its an ultra ground breaking or new thing seeing as netflix is on just about everything however it's finally come to 3DS and let me tell you, the quality is great.  The quality is much better then Wii and is on par with 360's and PS3's.  Also the news is soon Netflix will have 3D movies for 3DS which should be nice.

Yesterday it I was using it just about all day, as I didn't get much sleep the night before and it was really hot so I didn't wanna turn on my tv or computer.  Was very convenient to use my 3DS for movie watching.  A very nice and welcomed edition.


New Games


Everybody who knows me knows I'm kind of a cheap person.  I don't go out to eat, I don't go spend money at the movies, I don't go clothes shopping a lot, I don't go driving around aimlessly looking for things to do, I don't like spending money.  A lot of times I don't buy games when they first release do to not wanting to spend 50+ bucks on games that I'll hardly get 10 hours out of.  Unless I know it's a really high quality game with a ton of content, I normally don't get it when it releases however I still do strive to get stuff new... off of amazon for super cheap lol.  With that said I got a lot this month that I've had my eye on for quite some time.

Lost Planet 2 (360).  Finally got this game.  This series is one of the games I actually originally got my 360 for but I never got around to getting them.  I hear this one is almost like Monster Hunter with strong multiplayer aspects to it.  Going to have to get on this one soon.

Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii).  I've heard very mixed stuff on this game.  On one end I heard the voice acting myself and really didn't like it and heard others complaining about it but the people I talk to that have actually played the game loved the game.  I figured if I played through Eternal Sonata (which I hated the story) I can do this one.  Besides I love RPG's, this is the genre that really got me into gaming.

Fragile Dreams (Wii).  Ever since I first saw this game, I wanted it.  Can't believe it has taken me so long to get this game.  It looks quite unique and looks to blend RPG elements with survival and mystery.  I'll definitely have to check this one out fully.

Zenonia (DSiWare).  Pretty well rated action RPG ported from the Iphone.  Been playing it quite a bit, it's really fun.  Story isn't amazing but it's still pretty good especially for a handheld game.  Good purchase, well worth the money.

Castle Conqueror (DSiWare).  Very very simple but very tough strategy game.  It requires grinding in order to actually get further in the game.

Soul of Darkness (DSiWare).  Castlevania-esc game.  It had really good ratings and I've been looking at this one.  Well worth the price.

Dragon Quest Wars (DSiWare).  One of the few online games but also a grid based strategy RPG.  Once again, this is another one that got a lot of good ratings, still have yet to check it out though I'm getting there.

Dark Void Zero (DSiWare).  I still remember hearing about this one a while back and how the joke about it was they were trying to market it as a game that was going to be made a long time ago but wasn't or something.  Anyways I needed a good side scrolling shooter on my 3DS to play, this will fill those needs.

Pop+ Solo (DSiWare).  Interesting gameplay type, its basically a puzzle game where you pop bubbles.  Very simple but has a very unique charm.  There's one on the Wii I've been looking at as well.  May get that and other Wiiware games next month, dunno though.

Glory Days Tactical Defense (DSiWare).  One of many Tower Defense games on DSiWare however it was 2 bucks so can't complain!

The Lost Town The Dust (DSiWare).  Brand new game that looked really awesome.  Still have to sit down and play it but when I see an Action RPG that's getting decent ratings, I'm very likely to get it lol.

Yes I know lots of DSiWare games.  This will keep me busy on my 3DS in the long term.  Love some downloadable games.  Hopefully we'll see more 3DSWare downloadable games soon.


What I've Been Playing


Monster Hunter Tri.  I've finally fought the "final boss" offline Ceadeus and got into the higher end stuff online after beating Alatreon.  Still have a lot to do on it though but seeing as I hit that bar I think I'll be taking a break from it.  Great game but it can easily suck away thousands of hours of your life.

Castle Conqueror.  Played it beat it, personal opinion here is its a decent game if you're into strategy games but it's way too tough for the simplicity of it.  I actually had to do a lot of grinding in order to progress.  Hard to recommend it because of this.  Very simple with not a lot of meat but tough meat that made me have to chew too much.... not the tender steak I was hoping it was.

Metroid Prime Trilogy.  Still haven't beaten the Metroid series, I got distracted with Monster Hunter Tri but I'll be putting some serious time into this one.  Near the end of MP1 collecting artifacts.  Very good game, highly recommend the trilogy to anybody who hasn't played it.

Zenonia.  If you have a DSi or 3DS and you like RPG's I'd highly recommend getting this game.  The story isn't the most amazing thing but I got some chuckles from it and the game actually has quite a bit there.  About 6 hours in and its very fun.  It has a distinctive feel like it's come from the Iphone with movement controls that kind of lead you however it's still a really good RPG, I'd highly recommend checking it out.

I also have White Knight Chronicles in my backloggery now playing, I'll eventually be playing it again but I do wanna finish up the Metroid Prime series before I really play it again.


Conclusion


I have a bad habit of getting way too many games at once especially when I find them cheap.  I'll start really knocking away at more of them and take breaks from online time sinks like online RPG's however I can't really resist the netflix.  Maybe I can multi task?

Gaming and Blogging update.

I noticed the other night that it's going to require a bit of editing for me to post stuff from my gametrailers blog over here as this blog and that one use 2 different languages.  Not a hard thing but it'll take a bit of time, just need to break away from the games for a bit.

Speaking of games, I'm currently playing Monster Hunter Tri or rather farming on it and surfing the net.  I'm getting ready to actually play a game but can't decide if I want to play a console game and stream it or if I just want to play a handheld game.  I kind of feel most my single player games or games that I'm alone doing a specific thing should be streamed though, to be honest, I don't stream games regularly to have a substantial number of viewers watching.  I still feel the need to only play games when I can stream.

I have a lot of games that need to be beaten.  Actually just about my entire library needs to be beaten, I hardly touch a lot of games do to online multiplayer games (more specifically online RPG's).  I still need to beat Monster Hunters single player.  I'm almost there, just a few more quests and it's done.  Also need to finish up the Metroid series, beat the first 2 (off the virtual console) not too long ago and put 8 hours on Metroid Prime 1 (have trilogy for Wii) but haven't went back.  Also started up White Knight Chronicles on PS3 and need to go back to it, need to finish GTAIV: Ballad of Gay Tony on 360 and recently purchased Zenonia on DSiware (got for my 3DS) and have been die'n to play it.  I'll probably just end up playing Monster Hunter but need to get focused.

I need to figure out a way to make a sig to put my backloggery in.  Hopefully when I get stuff going on this blog I can link it to my backloggery as well.

First Post

So lets try this again with a username and password I remember.  Made a previous blog that I forgot the info for - it was also on blogspot which appears to no longer exist.  Anyways I'm K aka Kristian aka kdog254 aka jotaroxtreme.  I'm an artist, writer, aspiring game designer and hardcore gamer.  Love and play just about everything.  Been blogging at gametrailers for some time and intend to start my own personal blog where I can post stuff that I do at GT but also post short stories, art, and more personal things.  Now just to stop the lazy bone and keep at it with updates!