Here There be Gods

So yeah, new legacy time!!

50+ images after the jump

Oh Silly Me

Yeah, I need to post here more often. Gaming in my life never ends. Every Sunday I game, every night I jump on to the 360 to game with friends, and I dink around on the PC with what games I have there. Right now I'm being a dork with Sims 2 again. Trying my hand at a Legacy once more. This time I'll stick it through for a few generations. I made a town, created a population, and now I've made the family I want. I know I'll be mucking around with the rules since there are 3 children that are already born(2 teens and a child) and one of them is bound to be the heir, but mama sim wants more so who knows.  I think I'll be posting the pictures here since I found that I can do page breaks. If it doesn't work like livejournal's stuff then I might back out on the whole thing.

Ah well. Happy gaming!

Keep moving: The next step in today's Console War

Console Wars have been around since the beginning, originally around the Atari and the Intellivision. With each new generation of consoles comes some new technology, gimmicks, and controls to entice the public into picking the 'right' one. While there will never be true winner in these wars, as long as consoles are released there will always be some head-to-head battles and neck and neck races.


Read more....

Cavemen, Spartans, and Droopy Knife Ears

Gaming over the week has been interesting.  In Delta Green our group has been separated, though by accident. Grendal's character had jumped through a portal to get a better look at this sandstorm place and the portal just closed behind him.  This left three Delta Green agents, a 17 year old government employed trainee(who I spilled the beans to about DG), a scuba instructor named LeAnn, a ship captain named David Jones(he hates pirate jokes), and a crazy seaman named Raymes in the time of the cavemen.  We made do for about 3 weeks, trying to better the cave society while learning how to open a portal.  My character wasn't too happy that he didn't grasp it while his DG companion, a crazy bio-warfare guy, figured it out and got all high and mighty.  That session ended with out group jumping through another portal and not knowing what happened to Grendal's character. He and the GM had been passing notes back and forth, so who knows what went on there.

Reach was blah last week. Gigs brought his female companion with him, which was fine.  She isn't a gamer, which was fine as well, until she started bashing the game after a moment of watch us play.  She was surprised at how 'serious' we were taking it and our language(I curse like a sailor).  She brought our mood down and Gigs hadn't been feeling well to begin with.  We tried to remedy that by watching some Futurama during dinner. It did help but not much.  One of our gaming companions didn't pop up online until we were packing up, which sucked.  We couldn't play with him mainly because it was the end of the night and Grendal and I were helping Renny clean up due to a mouse being spotted in the apartment. :p  Here's to hoping this Friday's gaming session is better.  That and we'll have some more D&D!

Now, I'm a Dragon Age fan. I've modded the hell out of the game, even went as far as creating some better pre-made faces for the Dwarves so they didn't look so freakin' weird. I'm interested in the second game. At first I was annoyed with the inability to create your own character but I found Hawke to be Awesome(note the capital 'a'). Then I got annoyed that he was given a female form to satisfy the complaints of, more than likely, a mass of women wanting to play a female lead. Don't get me wrong, I usually play females when I get the chance and I'm happy with female leads but it irritates me when the female is added as an after-thought.  Now, I haven't kept up with the info on the game so I may be wrong; they may have planned a female Hawke from the get go.

Back on track. I've heard news about a Dragon Age web-series featuring Felicia Day.  I know who she is but was never interested in The Guild and never got into the whole Dr. Horrible Sing-A-Long blog she was part of.  After hearing about the new web-series I checked out some of The Guild and it doesn't seem to be my cup of tea. Its never sat well with me when I hear about those who write, direct, and then star in their own production(movie wise).  I know that when it comes to web-series its hard not to do so, but with this DA stuff being 'big' it somewhat irritated me that the script is done by the star.  In my head it borderlines acting out a fanfic.  I do hope this does well, don't get me wrong, but as a gamer I'm weary of it, as other gamers appear to be.

While I hear Felicia Day is an actual gamer, it feels like she's treading around Oliva Munn territory.  Meaning, she knows stuff about video games, and she's a chick, so she is the hottest thing in the world.

Blarg.  Oh! The whole droopy knife ear bit is because of the complaints on Felicia's choice of ears. People are wondering if she snagged 'em from Link. XD

The Couple that Plays Together

One thing that bothers me is listening to my own gender talk about their counterparts.  Why?  Most of the time its about how their men are good-for-nothings, won't listen to what they say, and blah blah blah.  I hear so many women putting down their men, but it's a crime against humanity if the guy says anything like that.  :\  With all the shit talking I hear I'm surprised so many couples are still running around as couples.

Grendal and I have been dating for over 6 years now, pretty much married without the paper work and what not.  We're both avid gamers.  We both were gamers to some degree before meeting each other.  He's been playing games since the Zelda days.  Me?  I played some Mario Brothers 1-3, Tetris, and LOOM.  Then I kinda got away from it.  We didn't have a SNES in the house and I really didn't mind missing out, though i did love arcades.  It wasn't until  Mortal Kombat 2 and then a bit of Street Fighter Alpha 2 that I was back into gaming a little bit.  High School rolled around and with the release of Kingdom Hearts, and watching a boyfriend play it, I was back into games with a force.  Survival Horror and some deep RPGS(Shin Megami series) mainly, but I eventually got into the Halo series.

Anywho, I think the fact that Grendal I both love video and table top games, and play them together, our relationship is rather strong.  We know the nuances about each other and there is pretty much nothing the other doesn't know about.  Hell, we met over gaming.  I just broke up with a guy and went to a Halo LAN that happened every Saturday.  He and I hit it off and became fast friends, which obviously turned into something more.

I do think its hard when one person in the relationship is really into video games and the other is not.  You usually see it with the men but it happens with the women these days too.  The gamer's attention is on their games and the ones they wish to acquire.  Not to mention their fellow gamers and the lingo and stories they share that the other may not understand.

Okay, I'm pretty much rambling at this point.  I've been a little under the weather but I've had this topic in my head for a while.  I know that gaming isn't for everyone and forcing a non-gamer to game isn't a bright idea.  If both are gamers, awesome, but don't badger the other if they're not.  It just makes them cranky.

And learn which games not to play together.  Grendal and I have one rule: we are barred from playing fighting games against each other.  I have one hell of a temper. XD

She...No I Mean He!

Tuesday was game release day, meaning that I had to get my happy little butt out to get my late Yule present: LittleBigPlanet 2!  Grendal and I got the Collector's Edition which means we have a crap-ton of new costumes, neat little book/game ends, and our own little Sackboy plushie! :D  He's sitting on our entertainment center 'using' our ODST XBox controller. Yeah, I'm a dork but I love it.  The game is great, by the way.  Not much different then the original but there are now cutscenes and some new abilities for your Sackthing (no longer Sackboy because some ladies probably got upset).  Grendal and I played together for a bit.  When we got the ability to lift and toss things Grendal began to through my Sackgirl around.  It was irritating but fun in the end.  I'm happy with my little character's outfit because we unlocked cat eye glasses, so now she looks rather retro. :P

Along the way Grendal reserved Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.  We're both fans of the Elder Scrolls series and when this one was announced and the fact that Dragons are returning to the world, made us both happy.  He's getting antsy and is thinking about hopping back into Oblivion until Skyrim's release.  One thing we're both excited about in reference to that game is the modding community.  Neither of us mod, though I did try my hands at some simple Sims 2 clothing and Dwarven face defaults for Dragon Age, but have modded Oblivion to the point where its almost a new game.  We have new races(there is an Aquatic Elven race that I LOVE~), new hair, eye colors, weapons, armor, monsters, and so much more!  Hell, Grendal even found one that modifies the night sky!  There is nothing better then running through the country side and looking up only to see the Death Star looming in the sky!  Needless to say, we're keeping our fingers crossed that the mods for Skyrim are gonna kick even more ass.

On the table top gaming front Grendal is going to be starting a D&D campaign tomorrow for our small Friday Geek night.  He's going to DM while I and our two friends, Gigs and Renny, will be the players.  Grendal doesn't think he's all that great as a DM but I disagree.  Oddly enough if we could fuse into one Super DM that would be awesome.  He tells me I come up with incredible stories and I go on about is ability to actually DM.  If he could take my stories and run with them, we'd be set!

With the beginning of a new campaign it means character creation, one of my favorite it parts.  Out of our usual group of six gamers, DM included, only half of us come up with dynamic characters.  Those three are Grendal, our friend Cantropos, and myself.  I don't know what we do but it seems that we bring our characters to life rather well.  Renny is getting there but its still missing that certain something and then Gigs and Dame, Cantropos' other half, play rehashes of old characters.  Gigs may be steering away from his thief mold, though, but its hard to tell.

Out of all the characters I've made and played, there are only two that I've played to completion and enjoyed.  When I mean completion I don't mean until the game ends, just to the point where I don't think there is any more room for development.  They have been created and there is no doubt in my mind what said character would do in certain situations.  True, there is some wiggle room, but they're set.  We have Kanaloa, my Half Aquatic Elf Ranger who is missing an eye.  She is a crack shot with her gun and is a damn fine Bounty Hunter!  Then there is Xyrygosa, my Half Dwarf/Half Fire Elf  Berserker Barbarian.  She was part of the city's army and a proud dwarf.  She was the party's muscle and, in the end, married a man who was essentially a living gem (made her dwarven side happy).

Now I have created a new a character in my head.  His name is Ruslan, which means Lion Like.  He is a 40 year old Swashbuckler and Horseman, of Northern descent(don't know if it will have any effect in game, but his people are from the cold north!).  Ruslan lost his left arm in the line of duty, as a knight/warrior/whatever, around the age of 20.  He could no longer perform in the field so he became an arms instructor, thus he can use his right arm without detriment.  Unfortunately (not really) he has to have a mount with him when ever he travels because he is unable to carry his gear with ease.  Ruslan lost his wife 10 years prior and raised his daughter alone.  His daughter is now married and starting a life of her own, leaving Ruslan to himself.  Sadly he doesn't have much going for him.  He never sought another wife.  He just focuses on his work and tends to his horse.  I suppose he longs for the old days.

Wow.  That made me sad.  I know I'm going to love playing him, though.  He'll be the first manly man I've attempted to play and also the first man who isn't evil and trying to manipulate EVERYONE.  Plus I enjoy playing guys. :D  Don't know why.  It also makes me laugh when the other players refer to my character and say 'she' because I'm a chick and, well, I guess they didn't get in their head my character is male.

Here's to hoping this campaign kicks ass!

I am What I am

I am a gamer, through and through.  There is no way around that.  I remember playing Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt on my father's Nintendo and even some games on the Intellivison 2.  Then there were the computer games.  The Secret of Monkey Island and LOOM were my favorites, as was an early X-Wing game where my dad had endless cheats hidden away and that I always used.  I loved going after the Star Destroyers and would grow very irritable if I got caught was was interrogated by Darth Vader.

My first love was Mortal Kombat, though, and I remember getting so excited about the 3rd installment.  My friends and I would go to the shop near school and look through the gaming magazines to see new screen shots.  Those were exciting times.

I still play my video games and the rare board or card game.  Hell, every Friday afternoon Grendal(my boyfriend) and I go to a friend's apartment to play video games for nearly 8 hours, meeting up with our friends over XBox LIVE and living it up in our geeky ways.

What stands out is the table top games.  These games let my flex my imagination and do what I do best: create.  I do remember being interested in Dungeons and Dragons before ever playing it but no one I knew played.  I met Grendal and through Grendal I was introduced to the wonders of D&D.  We've been playing together for about 6 years.  I've played a wide range of men and women alike, from Yakfolk to to my exotic Half Elves(one was Half Aquatic and another was Half Dwarven).  D&D, for me, melds the world of writing and acting, to an extent.  I don't just sit there and read off what I would do.  No, I think about what my Half Aquatic Elf would do in such a situation.  She would go after that bounty and bring him in!

This blog is about my gaming, both video and table top.  Enjoy.