I’ve debating getting a new Gamer tag. I’m daunted by the prospect because it would mean starting at zero. There was a good article in Game Informer a few months back where the editor-in-chief talked about starting over his gamertag. I don’t remember why he did it, but he said it was freeing to shed the obligations that it seemed to impose on him. The concept souinds a bit overdramatic, but your gamerscore does recognize your achievements, be they worthwhile or not, and it is a record of the time you have spent doing things you enjoy. The one I use now is really my spouse’s gamertag that I took over. I’ve built up nearly 10,000 gamerscore and I kinda hate starting at zero all over again.

I do other things with my free time besides gaming. Things like watching tons of television. I watch 30 Rock, The Office, Big Bang Theory, and most disappointing, Outsourced. Even the movie wasn’t that great. I really thought the movie would be good. I know some people who legitimately like it, but it just feels too forced to me. “Oh, I am from America, and this is not America, how weird!” seems to be the plot of every episode. I wish they would focus more on developing the characters than this endless list of ways India is different than America. Though, I guess its a brand new ethnicity to NBC and that’s a good thing to support. I like DIY network and aside from that, I just watch old stuff on Netflix that I should have watched when it was on.

Arrested Development is probably the best show I watched too late. Unfortunately, it is hard to explain to people. (Like trying to explain the game “Sneak King” to someone. “You’re the burger king mascot, and you are sneaking around in the dark, and you deliver burgers. Burger King made the game… It’s not a good game to buy… You’re like a guy dressed up like a king, with a big creepy mask… you know, there was this commercial…. just, it’s not good. it’s bad.”)

Lately I’ve been getting YouTube links for quotes from my favorite shows, just for kicks and general web posting, such as:

or these from the office, which seem very useful:

 and this

I like watching seasons in their entirety, including miscellaneous reality shows, so I’ve seen season one of hoarders and undercover boss thanks to Netflix. “Hoarders” I watched while I went though junk in my walk-in storage. It was great motivation to throw things away.

Undercover Boss was kinda fun, it was just feel good TV. Hard working people getting recognized and promoted is nice to see, even if its just for entertainment. I hope that the general public continues to be entertained by stories of life improvement, so that Extreme Home Makeover can keep giving away houses, HGTV can keep remodeling rooms in peoples homes for free. etc. I think it’s one of the more responsible things that can be done with advertising dollars.

Gaming machines are doing more than just gaming these days, and I for one could not be happier. I always found a way to legitimize my console purchases, however thin those excuses were. Because at the end of the day, you were buying a device that would only play exclusive and likely expensive content. But no more!

I have but one word to offer, a word that kicks down the door for multi-fuction systems when others merely knocked. That word is Netflix.

There are other services, yes, but none of them seemed as worthwhile or gave me the “I want to go to there” feeling like Netflix available for the system I already owned. I had a 360 and was going to pay for live anyway. Now Netflix is actually getting a robust list of watch instantly titles. Hooking my laptop up to my TV could only last so long, right? But then, when the Wii and PS3 got it too, and I still didn’t have to pay an additional fee? Then I started thinking: Could just buy a couple used Wiis and cancel cable all together? Its a great time to be alive, and for only $8 a month.

On a related note, the capacity of phones to now have apps, though 90% are truly useless, really makes the present a great time for the synthesis of device and content. I suppose you have to give a nod to the actual network and service making this all possible, including Netflix. I guess that is the real hero in this story, but all the bandwidth in the world is useless if you don’t do something exciting and seemingly useful with it.

Do you feel that I am rambling on uselessly? I am. I’m just trying to say, I like Netflix on my consoles, and I’m excited about it. I’m not nearly as excited about that as Facebook. I’m sort of disappointed in Facebook. Maybe I’m getting old.

I remembered I have a blog that I rarely write in. I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions, but it is a good time to think about the future. I’d like to write more, play guitar more, actually learn Japanese, and get one step closer to a fulfilling career. I imagine that very few of those things will happen… but every day is a new opportunity. We’ll see how it goes.

Many people, magazines, and television shows take time to review the year in December and January. I thought that I would like to have a year in review for 2011. Because my memory is horrible, the only way to do that is to start documenting this year now.

As far as gaming, I am playing Kingdom Hearts, Fable III and Picross 3D. One of my favorite gaming moments of late last year was playing through the auoran caves in Fable III. I thought voices of the “darkness incarnate” and the uneasyness of your companion was captivating. My husband is currently playing the same part of the game, and he said it seemed non-sequitor, but I strongly disagree since the story hangs on it rather heavily. He has been playing the game sort of sim-style, running around buying houses, doing jobs and whatnot so I think he has lost the actual pace of the story.That is a post for later I guess. Maybe I have some lingering fear of darkness, or maybe the shadowy creatures reminded me of Kingdom Hearts. I don’t like playing creepy games, but when they take your control away I find it both annoying and captivating. In Uncharted it was mostly annoying though….

I have yet to purchase a game in 2011, and the first will be Little Big Planet 2 and Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. Let me just say now that I know it’s bad, I know it was a cell phone game and I know that it has gotten horrible ratings. I can only hope that the money they get from me every time I buy one of their crappy KH games (I’m looking at you Chain of Memories) is going a Kingdom Hearts 3 fund. Though, I do feel that Birth by sleep is a respectable addition to the Kingdom Hearts cannon. 

I don’t think I’ll care much for Little Big Planet 2. I like ModNation Racers much more than LBP in the “play, create, share” genre, but it’s good to see another company besides Nintendo making high quality, upbeat games. But, I did want the bookends, and just in case, I thought I should have all those download costumes, too.

As I mentioned earlier, I got my husband to willingly play Fable III. Its a big victory for me, the major gamer of the household. Though, I can’t take much credit because I think he only wanted to play after he served and messenger between one of his friends and myself. We were sharing Fable III experiences and using him as a intermediate. I think he just wanted to see what all the fuss is about. Since he was a philosophy major, I thought that he would like these highly hypothetical worlds, morals, and choices. He even enjoys science fiction, which is what many games are. Right now, the story is sort of escaping him, because he already knows what will happen and is more interested in making a fortune.

One strange thing in watching someone else play a game you’ve played is seeing how they perceive it differently and make different little choices. When it’s someone you are very close to, like a spouse, it’s sort of enlightening. You can see how you view an objective situation differently.  I often want to get straight to the point, not talk a bunch of fluff and skip to the action. He browses around more and takes indirect routes. As we (hopefully) play more of the same games, I think it could help us to understand each other in the real world.

I think some of the best video game journalism lies in personal accounts of how games impact the writer and what they perceive the roles of games to be. I have done much more casual gaming in the last year, and it has changed my opinion on the non-committal gamer. But, I think casual games for phones are much better with the success of the app store and android market. I still can’t feel justified in paying more than a dollar for one, because…. I still don’t think it’s a real game. I think real games are console games and PC games, but phone games are mostly time-wasters and line-waiters. It’s been fun to play games while at the bank, or the grocery and I think that it has helped general impatience in retail, but it’s rarely something I will carve out time at home to play.

Well, those are my new year new thoughts. I might expand some in later posts where appropriate.

I have seen this original commercial and heard the dramatic drumming and optimistic “aaaaaahhhhh”s before. It plays at work both on the 360 interactive and on our TV…. I think 100 times would be a fair estimate. I’ve always felt that there was something a little odd about it, something a bit over the top and unbelievable. Especially at the end when we see all the smiling faces, in slow motion, with that “dawn of creation” type music. and this parody absolutely nails it for me. I’m heading to sarcasticgamer to see if we share views on more than just Kinect.

Just updating with some pros and cons today.

Pros:
-Depth of menu options. Some things are listed in a couple different places when appropriate.
-Nice checklist notebook that lets you see what you are missing. It would be nice if they showed you where or how to get the item, something that could be turned on and off.
-Command board that allows you to level up
-Multiplayer! I haven’t used it yet, there are some shotlocks that are only available though multiplayer
-Expanding the possibilities and storyline of Kingdom Hearts, and so far, not making it worse.
-Extensive command list
-The keyblade graveyard. Something that seemed so rare in the first game, and there are thousands upon thousands of them just abandoned. I would hope that the keyblade wars could get a full game on a console like ps3 or 360, with multiplayer and single player campaigns. Though we know roughly how that would end, I’m sure there is still a story to be told there, and maybe some heavy foreshadowing that connects to the games they have made and maybe more games to come.

Cons:
-Any special states like spellweaver and d-links are lost in menu and transitioning between areas. Areas are necessarily big enough to make this seem a little unfair.
-Command boards: there are a lot of them and in essence have no real connection to the rest of the game. Suddenly, it’s Mario Party. And Cinderella beat the crap out of me.
-Command list could be shortened to dedicate more resources to other parts of the game.
-Some areas feel unnecessary, like the town near Thebes @ Olympus.
-A big clunky game that lags and grinds (but it looks so pretty doing it.)

SPOILERS!

Birth by Sleep is exciting and engaging to play. Being the chronological first game of the series, there is a lot to be expected from the story. Why are there keyblades? How are the wielders exactly picked? Did there used to be more, or less keyblade wielders. I think we all remember how exciting it was when Mickey showed up with a keyblade.

Little Sora and little Riku were in the opening of the game, we see them gazing at a falling star that is seemingly Ventus. And, Ventus’s clothing looks something like a mix of Sora and Roxas’s. Unfortunately, I have discovered no more information on that path. We also see all three of the characters at the crossroads that Sora later reaches. Again, nothing on that note. However, one of my favorite moments from KHI, when Kairi’s grandmother tells the story about light, is retold in this game. We even get to see little princess Kairi, whom we help protect with Mickey. The grandmothers story is more accurate than one may have thought. The people fighting over the light were keyblade wielders, according to Xemnas’ account.

I’ve enjoyed going to older Disney movies like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, and even seeing a younger Hercules. There’s been a character from every world to d-link with, and though rarely used I think snow white may be my favorite. Her d-link powers are named after the dwarves. 

I’m a little concerned about playing through this twice more, and wondering how much will really be added to the story each time. Aqua is trailing the other two, so I think I’m glad that I picked her first. I don’t know much about the story, and neither does she. Always trying to track them down keeps this first segment exciting, and I am interested to learn why they went the places they did, and to hear these stories first hand to see what really happened. Also, with all these early details revealed, I’m excited to play the original game next to see how everything matches up.

I have played through Land of Departure, Dwarf Woodlands, Castle of Dreams, Enchanted Dominion, Radiant Garden, Disney Town, Olympus Coliseum, And Deep Space with my first Character, Aqua. I’m currently level 22 with 63hp. I’ve been a little obsessed with melding, so I’m constantly leveling commands. It’s great when I’m wandering around, but when it comes time to take on a boss I often die before I remember I need to change my deck. As a Kingdom Hearts fan, I was a little nervous at the talk of decks. It’s a good way to blend the horrible system from Chain of Memories with the action of the original Kingdom Hearts.

There are certainly a lot of ways to attack. I’m trying to keep everything evenly leveled. I only have one of two hearts for most of the d-links, though. I was trying to conserve commands at first, which really slowed things down. I think it’s best to go full tilt with the commands, then use attacks when they are recharging. I have five of the special modes, Diamond Dust, Firestorm, Thundercharge, Spellweaver and Bladestorm. Despite each being good for different enemies, I like Bladestorm the best. The reach is unparalleled, and especially for a mage-type character. The potions sort of seem useless, but they be more beneficial for the other characters.

I think I will spend some time backtracking to collect things I may have missed. I haven’t visited the Mirage Arena either. I like the collection pages to keep track of what I need, but the sticker book…. the sticker book I could do without. Hopefully there will be a nice prize when it is completed.

Day One:
I started Birth By Sleep last night, on Critical difficulty, which may have been a mistake. The game has an install feature, which I have never seen before on PSP. (I would have loved an install feature on Midnight Club LA.) There were three choices for how much to install to the memory card, the biggest being around 600mb. The load times have been very short, but I don’t know how long they would be without it either. I tried not to look up to much information about the game before I started playing, even though it has been out in Japan for quite a while. I watched the opening cut scene for the first time, and it was remarkable. I was surprised to see how smooth and detailed the images were. I have never seen any cut scenes like in on a PSP before. The quality also made me yearn for a Kingdom Hearts game on a current console.

I chose to play the first segment of the game as Aqua, because she was the character I was least interested in. I’m not much of a mage, but I figured this would keep me excited to play the other characters. I think it has been a little to my disadvantage. I might have liked a player with stronger attacks in the beginning so it would be easier to learn the basics of the game. However, not being able to breeze thorough will likely help me dominate with Terra and Ventus later.

Because I did not respect the difficulty of critical mode, I have already died about 15 times. Yep. 15. I really like to just run headstrong into the game, and was defeated by some measly little Heartless (or Unversed, I guess).

I like the D-link ability, especially because I can briefly embody fighting styles more comfortable for me. Since I don’t have a cure spell, d-linking is a great way to heal mid fight. I also like that the spells, or commands, are time based. I don’t fully understand how the spell caster and thunderbolt specials are triggered, but I like having enriched powers.

I have a lot of meaningless leveling up to do in order to stay somewhat matched with enemies, which is a little disappointing. I’m sure this would not be the case on easy mode, and I’m not to upset. I thought about restarting, but I’m enjoying the game so much that I don’t mind. The menus and options are a little complex, but I think that is something I will appreciate as I continue the game.

In the attempt to collect all my digital identities, I came across this blog again. I thought I would just delete it, but I read the last post and felt I should keep it going. I’m still at Gamestop, but in a different store much closer to home. I still want a different job, but still can’t decide exactly what I should do. So in a lot of ways, I’m in the exact same place. That doesn’t mean nothing has changed. I’m married and have a house now. The home is more of a responsibility than I could have imagined, and like many people will say a marriage is more of a change than you can imagine, not due to lack of preparation but somethings you just don’t see coming, or even if you did see them your spouse didn’t. But all that said, I am trying to organize my life so I can more cohesively move forward, and this blog is one of the more delightful discoveries.

I didn’t realize how many little accounts I have floating out in the web. I’m trying to create one profile for everything, I only wish there was one site that you could use to access everything. Sort of like Mint.com does for your finances, one site that you could enter all your accounts into so you could log into that one site and see all of your other accounts. I’m sure that is a lot easier said than done, especially given the growing complexity of sites like facebook. My phone features Motoblur, which sort of does this digital simplifying. It can manage most email accounts, as well as Myspace, Facebook, Google, last.fm, Twitter, Picasa, Photobucket and corporate sync, whatever that is. I found this page through Picasa, which apparently saved the photos I posted. I always feel a little uneasy about companies constantly merging and absorbing each other, only because we won’t have many choices as it continues, but it’s sort of nice in this case. Maybe the solution to these digital identities is that soon enough, there will only be a few separate companies with multiple affiliates so it won’t be difficult to manage at all.

Another nice thing about Motoblur is that you can easily view the location of your phone online. It won’t help you find it in your house, but if you left it in a store or in someone’s car, you could get a good idea of where it was. It’s a feature you can turn off too if you don’t like the possible invasion of privacy. I guess with gps on many phones now, this feature is maybe more available than I realize.

Anyways, hopefully I will keep writing updates here, and set myself back on the tracks I laid nearly two years ago.