If you can see this post, that means it is May 20th (or later) and I can finally talk about Plants vs Zombies Adventures on Facebook because the closed beta is over!!

I snuck into the beta early on from one of those “the first 200 people to click a link at 6pm Pacific” posts from the fan page and, as of writing this (on May 14th), I am the number one zombie bopper on the leaderboard. Which may just be further proof that I am addicted to Plants vs Zombies in any way/shape/form PopCap gives it to me, but I am definitely OK with that. 

First things first, your Town. At first your town will consist of only one lot featuring your house, a path and some planter boxes. In order to defend your home you will need to collect coins from your home in order to purchase seeds for the planter boxes. Starting with the familiar Peashooter and Sunflower, you plant and grow what plants you need up to an inventory max of 15. Since Peashooters and Sunflowers are the most used and cheapest plants, these take 1 and 2 minutes respectfully to grow. Once grown, you collect them (gaining varied XP for each plant) and you are ready to head into battle.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: My current Planter Box seeds

You’ve probably noticed from my screencaps that there are some new plants. While I have barely scratched the surface, I have discovered four. First off, there is the Aspearagus, a wide range attacker who does low damage and has a 10 minute grow time. Then there is the Beet,  a tough punching bag sort of a guy with a very small attack range but two hits is all it takes to take out a standard zombie. He is a grow-able plant who takes a long time to mature. The other two new plants I found are considered VIP plants. You can bring one of these types into battle with you and are given 5 freebies when you unlock them. Once you run out, you can purchase more with the game’s paid gem currency. Beeshooters are like Peashooters but yellow and black and shoot bees stinger first. The other is the Power Flower, which drops not one but three sun at a time. Super handy in battles where you find yourself frequently using Cherry Bombs.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Defend your Town

Zombies will attack your house and when that is about to happen the game gives you a 30 second countdown in which you can plant along your pathways to defend your buildings. Just like the original game, you will lose if a zombie makes it to the building (or buildings if you have multiple and branching paths). Choose your plants and their locations wisely; each plant has a different area of effect so try not to plant two Peashooters right next to one another if you see a part of your pathway will be undefended.

As you complete quests for Crazy Dave and the other townspeople you will open up more lots, some of which generate battle boosts like lawnmowers, zappers and gardening gloves. This typically happens once you’ve completed one of the leveled maps and collect an item at the last level of each.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Park N Perish – Map 4

So let’s talk about those maps. Right now, I am on the fourth map and stuck in a rut since I really need some tougher plants which are currently growing and another reason why I have time to write about the game. Each map has several levels to take on, the amount increasing as you progress through each. At the start of a level, you can chose which plants to take into battle with you. And while you can carry 15 of each in your inventory, only 5 of each comes into the fight with you.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Choose your Plants

And once you’ve selected your plants, any boosts you have available will pop up for you to bring along if you’d like. Lawnmowers are automatic, but gloves and zappers must be selected if you want them and you can only bring one type with you. As you can see, another pot can be purchased for 3000 Zombucks, increasing the amount of plants you can bring along. Not sure what the maximum will be at this point.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Choose your Boost

Now that you’ve picked your plants and boosts, it’s time to plant! In the beginning, these levels are very easy: one path leading to your RV to defend. As time goes on, two or three paths that may or may not intersect, all needing to be protected. Oh my God, how I love, love, LOVE tower defense games! =)

PopCap has made a few great improvements with PvZ Adventures, including the ability to boost your plants and freeze zombies for a few seconds in battle. For the low, low price of 25 Sun, you can click on a zombie to freeze it for a few moments so your plants can go to town on it; or you can spend that Sun on a plant and give it a perk up in battle. For the Peashooter and Aspearagus, it increases range on the field. Wallnuts become Tallnuts, Beets grow larger, and Flowers can stun any zombies in their range.

And since you can only bring five of each plant into battle, it would suck if eaten plants were removed them from the field altogether. For only 25 Sun, you can revive any plants that have fallen in battle as soon as their Recovery meter has filled. If you can’t quite click on the plant because zombies are surrounding it, I’ve found clicking on the exclamation point over its head can also bring it back.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Park N Perish Level 6

Now for the social aspect of the game. Like every other Facebook game, the first thing you can do is send your friends a gift. As of right now, gifts are plants, randomly chosen by the game so you don’t really know which you’ve sent along and added to their inventory when they accept. Next, you can visit your friends’ towns and send some zombies to attack one of their buildings. When you send zombies to attack your neighbours, you must first select from the types you have unlocked and spend the designated Zombucks to do so. Once you’ve decided on a target building, a tombstone pops up and you watch the zombies you’ve unleashed do some damage. Unless your friends have set up their defense well, in which case you could have just wasted a bunch of Zombucks.

The last thing I’ve come across that requires your friends is opening up new maps. So far the game has asked for three friends to help unlock the next area, but you can skip that if you have enough Zombucks. Once you’ve cleared a map, simply click on the police cruiser to ask for help or purchase a ride along.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Plantagon Lot

So you’ve cleared the first map, The Boonies, and can now open up a new lot. A new lot comes with an important building, such as the Plantagon in the image above which provides Lawnmowers. This is another instance which uses those Zombucks up there beside your coin tally. Clearing zombie debris from the lot costs Zombucks, but in doing so you can open up spaces for new buildings. Buildings and lawn beautification baubles will cost Zombucks, but those buildings will in turn give you money and experience. Such is the circle of lawn defense.

And now you can see the hows and whys of which I find myself completely in love with this game. And why I wish my plants would grow faster. Why do Beets and Cherry Bombs have to take so damn long??!?!?! (Yes, I know it’s because they are powerful, but I am impatient!)

Here are some more screens I took of the game, mostly showing other Lots in town that I have purchased, the next Lot I can unlock (the Post Office), and the other level maps I have completed. Remember, these were all taken by myself during the closed beta on Facebook so some things may end up differently once the game launches on May 20th.

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: The Boonies – Map 1

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Dire Spires – Map 2

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Cadaver Cavern – Map 3

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: The Workshop Lot

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: The Car Lot

Plants vs Zombies Adventures: Post Office Lot (Locked)

On November 2nd, 2013, I am once again participating in Extra Life, an epic 25 hour gaming marathon to raise money for Children’s Hospital of Atlanta. This will be my fourth year taking part in the event, playing as a giant Thank You to CHOA for taking care of my husband Matt while he was being treated for leukemia when he was younger. I am eternally indebted to them for everything they did and making it so Matt would end up part of my life.

As always, donations made by clicking on my counter below are tax deductible and you will be automatically emailed a receipt from Extra Life. All donations no matter the size are much appreciated and will go towards helping the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta provide important services to the kids and families using their facilities.

Games I am hoping to play as part of my marathon this year are:

• Beyond: Two Souls
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
• Puppeteer
• (and more to add, I’m sure)

I’ll try to be better about updating this post this year since I know I was pretty lax about it in the past. Fingers crossed for some big news coming soon! =)

http://www.extra-life.org/participant/yukino

Last week I discovered that Good Smile Company had released a set of Nendoroid figures based on the “Tales of” video game series. And because I am addicted to both, there was no way in hell I was not going to have these in my collection.

What I thought was a for sure 6 piece set ended up arriving as a retailer pack of 8 blind box figures, meaning I had to open every one and pray with my fingers crossed that I opened a complete set. Which I did!! I was even lucky enough to acquire the “secret” figure of Leon Magnus from Tales of Destiny (furthest left in the picture).

Beside Leon are: Yuri & Estelle from Tales of Vesperia, Asbel & Sofi from Tales of Graces, and finally Jude & Milla from Tales of Xillia.

There was a bit of a mishap when I was snapping Leon onto his base as his sword snapped off from his hand and this will be remedied with model glue this weekend. Thankfully the other figures with swords had theirs come separately so there were no more broken pieces. The only other issue I had was with Sofi’s pigtails. I had to twist the plugs in which took a few attempts as simply pushing them in was a complete failure.

Overall, extremely happy with these guys and now Haruhi, Yuki and Asahina (Haruhi Suzumiya Summer Collection Nendoroids) have company.

]]> http://yuki-pedia.com/japanophile/nendoroid-madness-tales-of-series-collection/feed 0 http://yuki-pedia.com/writer/how-i-lost-an-entire-day-also-known-as-game-dev-tycoon-candy-box http://yuki-pedia.com/writer/how-i-lost-an-entire-day-also-known-as-game-dev-tycoon-candy-box#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 21:17:13 +0000 Yukino http://yuki-pedia.com/?p=3548

Game Dev Tycoon Office Level 1

Addictive time suck that I just can’t get enough of! ~Annette

Seriously, I am Game Dev Tycoon as I write this and had major jitters all weekend (well, mostly Sunday and Monday) as I hadn’t been able to play. I’ve just started my 4th studio (Irrational Games) and finished my first game (Medal of Honour, yes with a U). The only thing more addicting than this game are those Waffeletten cookies I bought at the grocery store last week.

My love affair with sim games is well known; Roller Coaster Tycoon is still one of my favourite sim games of all time. And up until a month or so ago I couldn’t go a day without playing Sims Social and SimCity Social on Facebook, may they rest in peace. So I must really thank my husband for indulging me with a sim that combines my love of sim games with my love of games in general.

Game Dev Tycoon starts you off in a dingy garage (most likely your own, maybe a neighbour’s), allowing you to grow into a game dev giant a la EA or Activision depending on the success of your software. As you move up in the industry you can hire staff, train your team to increase their usefulness around the office and create your own R&D department. You also have several research options available to you in between development cycles provided you have enough Research points; there are new topics to discover or engine options like full motion videos and voice overs to unlock which help you design more powerful engines to help you with your plans for complete domination.

Game Dev Tycoon – Office Level 2

Successfully pairing topics and genres creates point combos awarded once you publish your game and set it free upon the world. But just as in the real world, sometimes what we think are epic masterpieces will flop, profits won’t be there and we’ll be forced to pick up silly contract work to make ends meet. One of the things I like to do is create something like Final Fantasy titled the same and see just how close the review scores I receive from the fake gaming magazines comes close to what the real game ended up with. So far I think the closest I’ve ever seen was the average 8.25 score I got for my Gears of War knock-off “Dudes of War”.

I dabbled in developing games for the Gameling (Gameboy) and Playsystem 1 & 2 (PlayStation), avoided most other platforms, but found the majority of my success making PC games. Always chasing that still elusive perfect 10s goal.

But Game Dev Tycoon wasn’t the only game behind Friday. There was this other game I had seen friends talking about on Facebook and Twitter called Candy Box. An ASCII art game where you collect and trade disgusting amounts of candy just as soon as you discover you aren’t supposed to eat it all. After throwing 100 candies on the ground and ingesting another couple thousand or so, I realized that I could get lollipops and in turn plant those to grow more.

After leaving the game running in a tab for a while as I worked in my little game studio, I came back to find a merchant offering to sell me a sword. Oh! That meant there was more to this than I first believed. Always a good sign. Next came the Quest tab and I bravely took up my sword to take on what dangers awaited in the forest and beyond. Which reminds me that I am currently stuck trying to slay a dragon in the castle and could really use an increase in HP…..

And back… because I died trying to slay the dragon again. I need to brew more invulnerability potions in the cauldron I found a quest or two back. Mostly because the sorceress in the hut doesn’t seem to have any buffs for the armour I found and my level 5 flaming sword still is no match for the beast. Also, is it just me or does the merchant look like the Fourth Doctor to you, too?

Please tell me you see it and that I am not crazy.

Is it any wonder I lost my whole Friday? I mean, they pulled me in so hard I didn’t even touch Soul Hackers or Skyrim. SKYRIM! Really. I think that kinda sorta means something.

If you are interested in either, you can visit Greenheart Games’ website to buy Game Dev Tycoon for yourself at the completely reasonable price of $7.99 or open a new tab and check out Candy Box!

Status: 1 playthrough complete
Playtime: 32 hours
Luigi’s Found: 3 of 5

When I finally got my 3DS XL (Valentine’s Day gift from my husband this year) I knew there was no way in hell I was not going to get Paper Mario: Sticker Star. I had a love affair with the first two games, skipped the Wii version because, well, it’s the Wii and ours kind of just collects dust. But then I saw Best Buy had a one day sale on the game, dropping it down to $20. It was like the gaming gods smacked me in the face and I was OK with that.

Sticker Star was mostly what I expected it to be: the familiar Mario RPG formula I had grown to love. In typical Boswer fashion, the Sticker Festival goes horribly wrong, Princess Peach does that thing she does where she gets kidnapped, and the powerful Royal Stickers, sparkly crowns with immense powers, manage to fall into the hands of Bowser and some of his minions. However, this time around if I wanted to survive my encounters with goombas, bob-ombs, and Bowser’s other minions I’d need to rely on whatever stickers I could peel off the walls and trees or purchased from various stores around the map. These were mostly used in battles, but sometimes stickers were helpful in solving puzzles, even if just to unlock a ? Box for a few coins. All kept safe and sound (mostly) in a fancy schmancy sticker book provided by Kersti, my sticker companion.

Top Screen: Mario using a Line Jump Boot to hit multiple enemies in a turn
Bottom Screen: Available stickers collected in the Sticker Book

Sticker breakdown: first, you’ve got your basic battle stickers, stuff like boots for stomping, hammers for whacking, red mushrooms for healing, with shiny ones being stronger versions of the basics and variations that allow you to jump on a spiky monster without jabbing your foot. Then you’ve got special Thing Stickers, like fans and refrigerators that can be used in battle to cause major cold damage or on a world map to really cool something down. Those stickers range in size and take up a lot of space in your sticker book, so while it’s always great to have them at the ready, too many of them in your book means less room for the smaller but still important ones you’ll need. Stickers are a one time use, so once they’ve been used you’ll want to collect and buy replacements.

Another type of sticker you can buy are Door Stickers. These can only be found at one shop and, once placed in the appropriate spaces, open up hidden areas where you can find more Thing Stickers, loads of coins, or secret passages. I think I still have one or two of these left to find because my Sticker Museum in Decalburg is not at 100% unlocked.

This is one slick level, as the icy ground causes Mario to slip around, sometimes smack into an enemy giving them the edge in battle

This is just one of those fun, upbeat games that doesn’t require a ton of previous knowledge or drown you with story; it’s the basic rules of pretty much everything Super Mario with turn based battles tossed in to offer that RPG element, a refreshing change from the regular run through to the end of the level deal. Sometimes fun, lighthearted games are the best thing in the world, especially when you’ve just invested 40+ hours into something super heavy with story and emotion.

Status: 2 playthroughs complete (once on Normal, second Easy), currently attempting 1999 Mode
Achievements: 43 of 50
Gamerscore: 730/1000
DLC Purchased: Season Pass (no content out just yet)

Seriously, there are going to be spoilers in this post. Do not read this if you haven’t finished the game!!

I love Ken Levine.

As an aspiring writer, I wish that I had the chance to shadow him during his creative process if only for a couple of weeks, because both games I have played of his have kept me on the edge of my seat and putting the final pieces together for days afterwards. His plot twists, his characters, his stunning locales….. If he taught a master class, I’d sell my kidneys to attend. But he does not, so I instead shall fangirl out about Bioshock Infinite in the space provided below. 

Some people say Bioshock Infinite is too flawed to be called Game of the Year; the combat hasn’t changed too much from the first game, Vigors are pretty much the same thing as Plasmids, they wish the splicers were back, etc. It is those people who I think want Infinite as an FPS to be like all other FPS games; they want another Call of Duty clone because we live in a gaming world now where Call of Duty fanatics think that is the only way an FPS should be. As someone who is not a hardcore FPS gamer and is selective in the ones I do play, this is not what I want. What I wanted was exactly what Irrational gave me – a compelling story, full of twists and turns that made me think long after I watched the post-credits scene and aided in its telling by a basic enough combat system that did not get in the way.

Booker DeWitt’s journey to the city in the sky to rescue Elizabeth is no walk in the park. This floating city is under the control of Father Comstock, a prophet who preaches racial purity and the superiority of the white man, bringing Irish and African Americans to work the dirty jobs. Comstock has warned his flock that a man will come to take his daughter from him, and soon after Booker arrives he discovers that he is that man, the False Shepard.

Along the way we discover Elizabeth’s ability to create tears in the fabric of the universe. These tears show us glimpses of other places, including alternate versions of Columbia. At first, Booker gets Elizabeth to open these tears to bring in items from Other Columbia to aid in battle: mounted hooks, ammunition piles, health kits, motorized Patriots or mosquitoes for air support. But as the story progresses, Elizabeth and Booker must cross into the tears themselves if they hope to make it out of the city, and mucking about with alternate dimensions is never really a good thing for anyone.

The Lutece “Twins”

Now, I was never into physics in school. When the choice came to Bio, Physics or Chem 10/20/30, I went with Biology; less of a headache for me. But listening to the voxophone recordings of the Lutece “twins” and watching them interact with Booker or one another over the course of the story intrigued me. Here they were, two versions of the same person from different dimensions who found each other by mucking about with physics and loved one another like siblings so much that they found a way to be together in every dimension. Granted that love ended up leading to Comstock getting a hold of Elizabeth, stealing her from her rightful place in the multiverse and giving her the ability to create the aforementioned tears, but still.

About two hours before I got to the scene with Comstock and the Luteces with the baby in the alley I’d put it together that Elizabeth was Booker’s daughter. After all, I had been paying attention to all the voxophones I’d been hunting down. How Comstock’s proximity and continued use of the Luteces’ machine had rendered him sterile, Lady Comstock’s suspicions about the baby she supposedly gave birth to being alive, Booker’s refusal to tell Elizabeth who the Anna was that he was muttering about on the beach.

But they did get me when Elizabeth took Booker to the baptism scene in the river. That scene still has me thinking about choices and how each branch off of each choice Booker made/makes as Booker or Comstock created that vast sea of lighthouses. And somewhere out there each of us has our own sea of lighthouses representing our choices and their ripples upon ripples.

And the fact that weeks after I finished the game for the first time this still sticks with me I consider a major win for Irrational.

Because no matter how much fun I had laying vigor traps, combo-ing attack moves, taking on waves of hostiles, or trying to tiptoe past those pesky Boys of Silence, at the end of the day, I want a story that puts a smile on my face long after I’ve watched the credits.

(Also, the music in Bioshock Infinite is awesome! Old-timey versions of stuff like Tainted Love!?!?! I catch myself singing it in my head a lot lately.)

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything in regards to my efforts to stitch a bunch of awesome things to decorate with, but today I can finally say I have finished my largest project to date! The Yoshi Butcher Chart that I started on a ways back last year had the final back stitches done last night while playing catch up with The Walking Dead (I am still 4 episodes behind).

I found this pattern on SpriteStitches and knew I had to make it. Unfortunately, neither Michael’s nor JoAnn carried black 14 count Aida large enough for the canvas so I went with an oatmeal colour instead. This meant I needed to add black backstitching around the preparations, but I think it still turned out pretty awesome. Now I just need to figure out how I am going to get it ready for the wall. Maybe a frame, maybe a scroll look…. Decisions, decisions!

Many thanks to Siva on SpriteStitches for sharing the pattern.

When Metal Gear Solid V was officially announced last week at GDC (fully acknowledging that the Phantom Pain previews from earlier were indeed MGS related), it was revealed that they would not be asking David Hayter to resume his role as Snake. They wanted to go in a new direction with the gruff old bastard that I’ve been in love with since I first witnessed the MGS2 trailer and fell hard for the series.

Kojima partially lost me with his insistence on bringing Raiden back time and time again. I hate Raiden. I don’t have Metal Gear Rising: Revengence because I hate Raiden. Raiden was the worst part of MGS2. I wish Raiden would die in a horrible accident that erased all trace of his DNA and could never be brought back ever. That would make me happy.

I am so torn on MGSV now. I want to play it (and yes, I know MGS4 is still in my backlog) but without Hayter it just won’t be the same.

I think it’s time for Kojima to move on once MGSV comes out. It’s been a good run, but all good things should come to an end before they ruin themselves by dragging on and holding out hope that maybe the next reboot will fix it all. It won’t. Unless you make Metal Gear Yotsuba a real thing. That would be the only Metal Gear game I would want to happen post-V.

RIP, my Snake. =(

Below is the Twitlonger post David Hayter shared on Twitter today.

METAL GEAR V

By David Hayter

So,

Here’s a recap of events:

I have been up in Toronto, for the past eight months, directing my first film, (WOLVES — 2013, TF1/COPPERHEART). On the December break, I came home to Los Angeles for the holidays. I heard then, that recording sessions for MG:V were being put together.

But I didn’t hear anything about whether I’d be needed or not.

So, I got in touch with someone involved in the production. We got together for lunch, and he told me that they “wouldn’t be needing me” on this game. No reason, or explanation was given beyond that.

And that was it.

I drove home through Laurel Canyon, bummed, and thinking about Snake.

To be clear, I love being a part of the world of Metal Gear. I admire its technological innovations, the gameplay, the political message of it all. But primarily, I love the fans of these games. Two grown men burst into tears upon meeting me at the Vancouver Fan Expo last year.

Now that… Is a rare and excellent role. You know you’re making an impact.

And I love doing it.

In 1998, I tried to do come up with a voice which epitomized the kind of worn, put-upon, genetically-engineered clone-soldier that I saw Snake to be. Over time, as the games became more stunning and visually sophisticated, I tried to transition that initial voice into the increasingly real environments in which Snake found himself. My level of success is up to you, but any perceived deficiencies were not for lack of hard work. I have dedicated a huge amount of time and effort into creating a compelling character, capable of expressing the myriad emotional, physical and psychological hurdles that Snake has to face.

Anyway, now it’s been fifteen years, nine games, and an enormous blast to undertake.

If it were my choice, I would do this role forever. To hear anyone else’s voice coming from Snake’s battered throat, makes me a little ill, to be honest.

But the truth is — it’s not my choice. Any and all casting decisions are the sole purview of Hideo Kojima, and Konami itself. And that’s fair.

And I’ll get by. I am not lacking for employment on any level.

But I didn’t want anybody to think that I was intentionally abandoning them.

And know that I will miss this job, and this character, very much.

My best wishes to you all,

David Hayter

April 1, 2013  http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rjhhf9

For people with no clue what this book is about, let me fill you in. Set in a future where jobs are harder to come by than they are now and where corporations truly do run the world, a mega billionaire video game programmer responsible for building the online universe known as OASIS passes away and leaves his entire fortune to whomever makes his/her way through his challenges first and finds his Easter egg.

Five years after the contest begins, Wade Watts, a welfare orphan living at the top of a mobile home tower (called Stacks), finds the first key and becomes the first person to get his name on the Scoreboard. Everyone has a renewed interest in the contest, including the IOI, a corporation that wants full control of OASIS and can only achieve it by winning the game.

Ready Player One appealed to me on two very important levels: first off, the fact that I am a gamer. While I’ve never been into MMOs and have always preferred single player games, I understood the world of OASIS and how it transformed into something more than what it started as. In a future as bleak as the one Cline delivers in this book, I too would seek some type of refuge in a virtual world of any and all worlds. A planet completely covered in 80s and 90s arcades? I think I’d be spending all of my virtual quarters there.

Secondly, the 80s. I was born in 1980; I watched Family Ties, Back to the Future, had an Atari 2600. While I wasn’t a teen during that time, as was the billionaire Halliday that made this time period so important to the hunters in OASIS, the good childhood memories I have come from all of the same places. Spending hours playing Q-bert, Galaga, and my all-time favourite 2600 game Dark Chambers. Sneaking off to the arcade in the mall and playing Pac-Man until my mom found me.

Wade’s adventure, both as his avatar Parzival and IRL (in real life), as he deals with the IOI threat, his new-found fame and friends had me reading this a lot faster than I had wanted to. But as I neared the end of the book, I gave up on pacing myself and plowed right through the final boss with him. Needless to say I was pleased with the results, satisfied with how Cline chose to end the tale. I am intrigued as to how a movie adaptation will differ from what I had the immense pleasure of reading, but I know I will make sure that if/when that happens I see for myself.

I highly recommend that if you are like me and enjoy a fantastic road trip through your youth or just love games that you give Ready Player One a read. My only complaint would be that I much prefer the cover art of the Spanish edition. While a picture of the Stacks is nice and doesn’t scream “GAMER” at non-gamer bibliophiles, I’d much rather have a copy bespeckled with Space Invaders. Right?

Pick up a copy of Ready Player One from Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Last night, I joined some of my oldest gamer friends in recording an episode of their podcast. There is a running joke that they will never hit Episode 200 because they keep calling current non-The Stuff podcasts “filler”. I assume this is because the main four hosts haven’t been able to sit down an record together in a long while. Regardless, it was great to sit down and chat with them again, as it has been far too long since I’d last done a podcast with them.

The big reason why I jumped in on this particular episode was Ni no Kuni, a game Junior (RPGmaniac05) & I have both been playing and something Christian (gamer812) has added to his backlog. Junior and I have some differing opinions but we do manage to agree on one or two things. I even helped the kid out when he tried to tell me he did something I clearly knew he did not after listening to his complaints about the game.

While we were on the call for about three hours, there was a good 30 minutes or so of us trying to nail down a topic for part two of the broadcast. People are still pretty wound up about violence and video games so we attempted to stay as far away from that as possible. (Junior did however display some rage over Square-Enix, mostly due to my goading, so there is that. But he’s harmless, so his threats are pretty empty.) Eventually Chris (TKKNMSTR) brought up a topic that’s been on my mind a lot lately: games that have overstayed their welcome, franchises we’d like to see come back from Limbo, or like to see live on.

If you care to take a listen, head on over to the Aimless Podcasts: Aimless Filler Vol. 17 page to check it out. You can also find it on iTunes.