Monday, July 31, 2017

Ima Fire Tiger wants you to know that Sweet Business was his favorite gun from the Destiny 2 beta

I’M A FIRE TIGER AND WHEN I PLAY FIRST-PERSON SHOOTERS I ONLY USE GUNS THAT ARE AS BOLD AND AGGRESSIVE AS I AM. LORD SHAXX MUST HAVE KNOWN THAT I’M A FIRE TIGER BECAUSE WHEN I PLAYED THE DESTINY 2 BETA I CHOSE THE TITAN CLASS AND HE GAVE ME A BOMBASTIC TOOL OF ALIEN MURDER CALLED SWEET BUSINESS. THIS BAD BOY HAS TEN SPINNING BARRELS THAT DELIVER A STREAM OF DEATH TO ANYTHING STUPID ENOUGH TO FALL IN ITS SIGHTS. SWEET BUSINESS IS ALSO AN EXOTIC GUN, AND ANYONE WHO PLAYS DESTINY KNOWS THAT EXOTICS ARE THE BEST CLASS OF WEAPON, JUST LIKE FIRE TIGERS ARE THE BEST TYPE OF PEOPLE. THE ONLY BIG PROBLEM WITH SWEET BUSINESS IS THAT IT HAS A VORACIOUS APPETITE FOR CONSUMING AMMUNITION AND IT’S THE ONLY GUN THAT I REGULARLY RAN OUT OF BULLETS FOR, BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY A GOOD THING BECAUSE IT MEANS I DIDN’T HOLD ANYTHING BACK. FIRE TIGERS DON’T LET BULLETS GO TO WASTE, AND I’M A FIRE TIGER SO YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT I EXHAUSTED EVERY MAGAZINE I PUT INTO THAT GUN. SWEET BUSINESS WAS MY FAVORITE GUN IN THE DESTINY 2 BETA AND WHEN DESTINY 2 LAUNCHES YOU’RE GOING TO SEE ME RUNNING AROUND WITH IT, MOWING DOWN ALIENS AND SCREAMING “I’M A FIRE TIGER, BABY!”

Friday, July 28, 2017

Destiny 2 Beta Recap

This past weekend the Destiny 2 public beta was available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. I unfortunately had to work that weekend, so I didn’t get in anywhere near as much time with the beta as I would have liked, but I did play enough to give a basic report on it and some thoughts on my experience. Enjoy.


Thursday, July 27, 2017

Writing Project - July 2017 Update

“Don’t let your preparation for writing get in the way of actually writing.” That’s what my friend Ben told me when we met and discussed this little project of mine. Since then I’ve been trying to take that message to heart. I’ve written a fair amount of notes over the preceding years about various things in my story, but now I really need to focus on simply writing it. What little time I have for writing is now dedicated to doing just that. Even if it’s only adding a few sentences per session, I writing whatever I can and keep adding to the plot. Just like my planning for Asia, I’m taking this writing project one small baby step at a time.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

In the Red

An extremely uncommon thing will happen this month. During a month where I have a source of income, I will finish the month having spent more money than I take in. I honestly can’t remember the last time this ever happened, and it legitimately might be a first for me. Generally speaking, I live a fairly frugal lifestyle and never spend more money than I make (except of course for when I’m unemployed) but with many notable expenses all happening in the same month I unfortunately will finish July in the red. Among other things, this month I paid for my rail pass for Japan, a pair of flights within Asia, a new camera and other things to go with it, the first few accommodations in Japan, a pocket wifi rental, some new travel clothes, and I had multiple dental bills. Thanks to the money I have saved up from many months of spending far less than what I earn I am in no financial danger from all the expenses this month, but it still hurts a bit to see that my net revenue for this month is negative. Depending on how things turn out there’s a chance that I might be in the red again for the month of August, but with so many major expenses already knocked out I’m not particularly concerned about any long-term negative trends. Soon enough, I’ll be back in the black.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Sugar Taxes

I have a huge sweet tooth, so as you can imagine I don’t like additional taxes on my favorite vice. At the same time, I can’t deny that sugar taxes work, at least for me. When I see a container of sweet tea that would normally cost about $2.75 but with the added sugar tax now costs about $4.25, it makes me hesitate, and more often than not I end up deciding not to buy the product. Curse you sugar taxes and your side-effect of making my diet slightly healthier!

Monday, July 24, 2017

Asia 2017: One thing at a time

In my preparations for traveling to Asia I’m relearning an old lesson that I learned before each of my trips to Europe, and somehow forgot after both of them. There are tons of things I need to think over and make decisions on, to the point that I’ve had nights where it feels like I’m trying to run in a hundred different directions at once. Working like this is extremely taxing on the mind and gets very little accomplished. What I’ve relearned is that it is far better to dedicate each planning session to resolving a single issue and concentrating my mental efforts on that issue. For example, one night I focused only on purchasing my Japan Rail Pass and a pocket wifi. Another night was spent solely on deciding my flight from Japan to Korea. While it might seem that I’m not getting much done on any single night, I’m actually making steady progress and accomplishing a lot more than when I was pulling myself every which direction and staring at a dozen different tabs on my Internet browser. As it turns out, it’s more effective to walk one step at a time towards your goal than to run in circles.

Friday, July 21, 2017

The Destiny 2 Public Beta Starts Today

The public beta for one of my most anticipated games of this year begins today for people like me who haven’t preordered the game (people who preordered got to start a few days ago). Until Sunday night I’ll have the opportunity to get a taste of what Destiny 2 will be like and hopefully my gameplay will in someway help improve the final product. During my time playing the game I’ll try to grab some screenshots and gameplay clips, and at some point next week I intend to publish a writing piece detailing my thoughts on what I experienced. If you’re on PSN and you see player named Attila_The_Pug running around, (and probably getting destroyed in multiplayer) that’s me.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

RIP Chester Bennington

I had another post that had already auto-published on this website earlier today, however in light of the tragic death of Chester Bennington I’ve decided to withdraw that post for now and substitute this brief, impromptu tribute. There was probably no more influential band during my high school and college days than Linkin Park. One of the core components of the band was Chester Bennington’s vocal performance, which somehow could cover an impressively wide range. The man could scream like a demon, and sing like an angel. I’m not much of a music guy, so I can’t speak authoritatively to where Linkin Park and Chester Bennington stand in the world of music, but at least from my perspective we lost a great vocalist today. His talents will be sorely missed by myself and many other fans around the world.


Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Kingdom Hearts 3 coming in 2018

At this year’s D23 Expo we got a new trailers for Kingdom Hearts 3, a game that I’ve been waiting for since my college days in the mid-2000s. New gameplay footage was shown, in addition to the reveal that the world of Toy Story would be one of the locations visited in the game. At the end of the trailer was an announcement that Kingdom Hearts 3 will be released in 2018. If that date sticks then when Kingdom Hearts 3 is released it will have been five years after its initial announcement and thirteen years since Kingdom Hearts 2 came out. While I consider myself to be something of a Kingdom Hearts fan and I’m certainly looking forward to playing Kingdom Hearts 3, with how long I’ve been waiting for this game part of me just won’t believe it’s really coming out until I hold the game disc in my hands. It’s been a long, agonizing wait for Kingdom Hearts 3, but on the plus side I suppose I should at least be thankful that the game is real and will one day be released. Half Life fans aren’t so lucky.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Food without taste

Due to poor dental hygiene, I had to get a filling done on one of my teeth. The dentist applied anesthesia to the area around the tooth and performed the procedure, but afterwards some of the residue of the anesthesia got on one side of my tongue. For a few hours my tongue almost completely lost its sense of taste on that side. It was really weird to eat a cookie and have one side of my tongue register the sweetness while the other side didn’t. Tomorrow I’m going back to the dentist to get the second of the two fillings that need be done, and this second filling will be on the other side of my mouth, so I guess I can look forward to the same experience all over again, but on the opposite side.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Regarding that giant iceberg

Amongst the cacophony of voices surrounding the giant iceberg that broke off from Antartica, there’s a group of persons whom we really need to hear from. I of course am talking about the Flat Earth Theory people. What do they think of it? On one hand, I would think that Flat Earth Theory people should be some of the staunchest supporters of reversing climate change and preventing more giant icebergs from breaking away, because if the ice wall at the edge of the Earth continues to deteriorate then at some point in the future a section of it will collapse and all the water in the oceans will fall off the edge of the earth (which would likely lead to the death of much of the world’s population). On the other hand, maybe they’re ok with the ice wall breaking down, because then they can continually scream “Told ya so!” while the oceans empty into the abyss of whatever is over the edge of the Earth. Somebody contact the Flat Earth Theory people and get a statement on this giant iceberg breaking away and the possible deterioration of the ice wall. We really need to know.

Friday, July 14, 2017

Replaying the Classics - Thomas Was Alone

As a gaming enthusiast I’m always interested in new gaming experiences, but every once in awhile I feel compelled to go back and put in some serious time replaying some of my favorite games from the preceding years. In that spirit, I have created a new series of writing pieces titled Replaying the Classics, wherein I discuss the games that I have replayed recently. Unlike my Late to the Party series, my goal with these writing pieces is not so much to give a strong analysis of a particular game, but rather to give an informal recounting of a game and to try to convey to the reader why it’s one of my favorites. I do not come to you this time as a game reviewer, but merely as a friend wanting to have a casual chat about what he’s been playing. Today, let’s take a seat in our comfy chairs and talk about Thomas Was Alone.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Drone Photography

I’ve been interested in drone photography for years, but three things have always held me back. The first is the cost of buying a drone, however in recent years we’ve seen drone prices steadily declining so at some point the cost issue won’t be much of a problem. The second and biggest barrier between drone ownership and me is that I’m scared I would accidentally break the law and be slapped with a hefty fine for using a drone. Recently I went online and found the FAA’s basic rules for operating drones, but it looks like individual states also have their own laws regarding what you can and cannot do with drones. I have no desire to get into legal trouble because of my hobby, so part of me doesn’t think using a drone would be worth the risk. The third thing holding me back from buying a drone is that I know a lot of people hate drones—oftentimes for very good reasons—and I don’t want to add to the problems they can cause in our society. Should I overcome the inhibitions mentioned in this post and purchase a drone in the future I’ll probably do a follow-up post, but for now drone ownership remains unlikely.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Bring Back Battlestar Galactica To Netflix!

I don’t use Netflix much, but when I do there’s one show that I keep checking to see if it’s streaming again: Battlestar Galactica (specifically the Sci-Fi Channel remake from the early 2000s). Years ago I watched it on a whim and it quickly became one of favorite sci-fi TV shows of all time. This past weekend I had a few minutes of down time, so I logged into Netflix and took another look. Still no luck. If anyone at Netflix is reading this, bring back Battlestar Galactica!

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Muscle Tear

You might remember that near the end of May I participated yet again in the Bolder Boulder, and that this year did not go well for me. In the weeks following the race my hip joints have largely returned to their pre-race conditions, however my knees have been much slower to heal. My right knee, in particular, hurts when put under any strain more intense that normal walking. Last week I was having a dinner with a friend of mine who works at a medical clinic and upon hearing of my problems he volunteered to give my knees an inspection at his clinic, which was conveniently nearby. He performed an ultrasound on both knees and found muscle damage in both, and in the right knee I have a small muscle tear. To help stimulate healing he injected a chemical mixture deep into my knees that causes inflammation and tells the body that there’s a problem there that needs to be fixed. I was fully conscious the whole time and on a monitor next to the bed I was on I got to watch the ultrasound images of everything he was doing, which was kind of cool. Since that day I’ve been trying to take it easy and stay optimistic about my knees getting back into good condition. I really, really, need them healed prior to my trip to Asia, which might sound weird at first since that trip is technically a vacation, but those who know me know that my overseas vacations are normally intense blitzkriegs of whatever places I’m visiting.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Ludonarrative Dissonance

With the Uncharted series being featured prominently last week, I thought I’d use today’s post to give my perspective on one of the things people sometimes fault the games with, namely the disconnect between parts of the game’s story and gameplay. In each Uncharted game, Nathan Drake kills about 500 or so people but he doesn’t seem to be affected by all the lives he’s taken. Normally we might think that someone with Drake’s bodycount would be a sociopath, but I think you’d have a hard time arguing that given how much he cares about his friends and all the times he puts his life on the line to save others. That’s not to say that Drake isn’t a deeply flawed person—I mean, you kind of have to be in order to be in his line of work—but he’s not the type of person that his games’ statistics might suggest. Still, there’s an undeniable break between the lovable, wisecracking Drake during some sections of the game and the Drake in other sections of game who (under your control) mercilessly kills the twenty guys standing between him and the next checkpoint. For some people, this disharmony as to the way Drake is written as a character and the actions he performs during combat is too great for them to enjoy Uncharted.

For my part, I have no issue with Drake’s gargantuan pile of fallen enemies. I think the main reason for this is because Uncharted is a video game, so I expect a ton of killing to begin with, but another reason is that the first Uncharted game made it clear from its opening chapter that it was a pulp-action story and not a serious look into the consequences of killing on the human psyche. If you’re looking for a game where the main character has to come to grips with all the blood on his hands, you’re in the wrong place and instead should be playing games like Spec Ops: The Line. To developer Naughty Dog’s credit, however, they took some steps to address the issue in Uncharted 4, wherein we got a deep dive into Drake’s mind and the conflicts within it. Also, Naughty Dog showed themselves to have a sense of humor about this problem, and in Uncharted 4 there is a trophy called Ludonarrative Dissonance which you unlock after killing 1,000 enemies.

Friday, July 7, 2017

Replaying the Classics - Uncharted 2

As a gaming enthusiast I’m always interested in new gaming experiences, but every once in awhile I feel compelled to go back and put in some serious time replaying some of my favorite games from the preceding years. In that spirit, I have created a new series of writing pieces titled Replaying the Classics, wherein I discuss the games that I have replayed recently. Unlike my Late to the Party series, my goal with these writing pieces is not so much to give a strong analysis of a particular game, but rather to give an informal recounting of a game and to try to convey to the reader why it’s one of my favorites. I do not come to you this time as a game reviewer, but merely as a friend wanting to have a casual chat about what he’s been playing. Today, let’s take a seat in our comfy chairs and talk about Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Ricardo’s Top 10 PS4/Xbox One Games (July 2017 Edition) Recap

Yesterday I wrapped up the countdown of my top 10 games of the current console generation. If you don’t want to read the posts from the last three days I’ve compiled the complete list below. Sometime around January 2018 I plan on coming back to this list and reevaluating it, but until then here are my top 10 PS4/Xbox One games.

10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (singleplayer only)
9. Infamous: Second Son
8. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
7. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
6. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
5. Watch Dogs
4. Batman: Arkham Knight
3. Destiny (complete edition)
2. Ratchet & Clank
1. Uncharted 4

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Ricardo’s Top 10 PS4/Xbox One Games (July 2017 Edition) Part 3

It’s time for the third and final part of the countdown of my top ten games of the current console generation. Monday had numbers 10 through 7, Tuesday had numbers 6 through 4, and today is the big reveal of numbers 3 through 1.


3. Destiny (complete edition)
I wield the power of the sun!
Were I rating Destiny solely on its base version and the condition it was in when I first played it, I think it’s safe to say it would be several slots further down on the list. With all the expansion packs and improvements that have been made since launch, however, Destiny has transformed into one of my favorite games of this console generation. Continual refinements to the Destiny formula have created an addicting and incredibly fun sci-fi FPS that I’ve poured about 100 hours into, and even though I’ve now largely stopped playing I still frequently go online to see what’s new with the game. Whether it was playing story missions, teaming up with other players to complete Strikes, or dipping my feet into competitive multiplayer, Destiny was a blast and I can hardly wait for Destiny 2’s release later this year.


2. Ratchet & Clank
Off to save the galaxy.
If Ratchet & Clank doesn’t put a smile on your face then I don’t know what will. A remake of the iconic PS2 game, Ratchet & Clank is an absolute delight to play and has some of the most hilarious weapons you’ll find in a video game, including one that turn enemies into sheep, another that cause impromptu dance parties to break out, and the trash-talking killer robot named Mr. Zurkon. With a visual style that might best be described as Pixar-esque and a classic story of misfits out to save the galaxy, Ratchet and Clank is the sort of game that reminds you why you love playing video games.


1. Uncharted 4
Drake's final adventure.
I guess it’s no surprise that my 2016 Game of the Year is sitting pretty atop the list of my top 10 games of this console generation. At this point I’ve showered so many accolades on Uncharted 4 that I don’t know what else to say. It perfectly wraps up Nathan Drake’s storyline, delivers everything that we’ve come to expect from an Uncharted game, and shows once again why developer Naughty Dog is one of the best developers in the entire video games industry. It is both the best game I’ve played so far on this console generation and my favorite game of this console generation. Kicking it off its throne will be a tall order for any other game that I play over the next few years.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Ricardo’s Top 10 PS4/Xbox One Games (July 2017 Edition) Part 2

We’re continuing the countdown of the list of my top 10 games of the current console generation. If you missed it, be sure to check yesterday’s post for the showcase of numbers 10 through 7, as well as some important notes on the list as it currently stands. Today let’s take a look at numbers 6 through 4.


6. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
This girl's on fire!
In yesterday’s post I noted that remastered editions of games from previous console generations might make the list, and wouldn’t you know it, this one did. Tomb Raider is a reboot of the long-running series by the same name and the Definitive Edition of it was my first time playing a Tomb Raider game. In it we see a new origin story of Lara Croft and her transformation from a history nerd who doesn’t like to get her hands dirty into a badass survivor. Taking cues from the Uncharted series, Tomb Raider is an excellent mix of exploration, combat, puzzles, and character moments for Lara. I may be really late to the Tomb Raider party, but I’m glad I showed up when I did.


 5. Watch Dogs
All the information. All the power.
Watch Dogs has a so-so protagonist, but an outstanding world to make up for it. The city of Chicago is the world’s first Smart City, with much of its infrastructure and utilities controlled by a central operating system. As you might expect, our hero Aiden Pearce has manage to hack it along with the innumerable number of smart devices being carried around by Chicago’s citizens. Traveling deep into Chicago’s seedy underbelly to find out who ordered the failed attempt on his life that left his niece dead, Aiden has the city itself to use as his tool. There’s an undeniable satisfaction to clearing an area of enemies without firing a single shot or ditching pursuers by turning the city against them, and once you play Watch Dogs you’ll see why it can be hard for me to go back to modern open world games that don’t have its hacking mechanics.


4. Batman: Arkham Knight
Keeping watch over Gotham
What has always made the Arkham games great is that they make you feel like Batman—the detective, the predator, the martial arts master—and Batman: Arkham Knight is no different from its predecessors. In the fourth and final entry of the series, all of Gotham City is under threat, with Scarecrow, aided by several other Batman villains as well as the mysterious Arkham Knight, threatening to plunge Batman’s city beneath a cloud of fear toxin. Batman has a long, dark night ahead of him, but this time he can call on some help from allies like Nightwing, Catwoman, and Robin as he slowly unravels Scarecrow’s plot and frees the city from the clutches of the Arkham Knight’s militia. While it’s kind of sad to see the Arkham series of games end, with Arkham Knight it went out on a high note and guaranteed the series’ status of having some of the best superhero games ever made.

Monday, July 3, 2017

Ricardo’s Top 10 PS4/Xbox One Games (July 2017 Edition) Part 1

Last month I mentioned that I working on creating a list of my personal top 10 games of the current console generation. Originally I was hoping to publish this list last week, but some things got in the way and working out the exact order of the list proved harder than expected. This week, however, your patience will be rewarded as I present the completed list to you. Today, Tuesday, and Wednesday I will count down the entries on the list, and Thursday I’ll publish a post of the list in its entirety.

Before we get started, I do need to give a few quick notes on this list. First, I haven’t played as many games from the current console generation as I would like, so the pool of nominees was on the smaller side. No doubt the list will get shaken up quite a bit as I play more games and I’m currently thinking I will try to update the list every six months until I transition to whatever console generation comes next. Second, unlike my list of my top 20 PS3/Xbox 360/Wii games, there are no special restrictions as to what games can get on the list. That means that multiple games from the same serious could potentially show up and even remakes/remasters or collections of older games are in the running if I played them on the current console generation. Third, please keep in mind my habit of playing games months or even years after their initial releases, so don’t expect anything from the past 12 months on this edition of the list. Fourth, and last, you might have noticed from the title of this list that I am omitting Nintendo’s current console, the Switch. This isn’t because of any personal animus against Nintendo—I simply don’t own a Switch and have not played any Switch games so I can’t include Nintendo games at the current time.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get started. Today we’ll count down numbers 10 through 7 of my Top 10 PS4/Xbox One games.


10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Singleplayer only)
Lasers!!!
Kicking things off is Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, whose inclusion on this list is impressive given the fact that I only played the game’s singleplayer campaign. Delivering a substantial shakeup to the Call of Duty gameplay formula that hadn’t changed much since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Advanced Warfare threw exosuits and other futuristic technology into the mix but still maintained the series’ trademark fun factor. Kevin Spacey gave a fantastic performance as the game’s villain, Jonathan Irons, and greater emphasis on storytelling helped make Advanced Warfare the best overall Call of Duty that I’ve played so far on this console generation.


9. Infamous: Second Son
Seattle won't know what hit it.
Amongst the human population are a small number of persons, called Conduits, who have super powers and are largely feared by the rest of humanity. In Second Son you are Delsin Rowe, a very special Conduit who has the unique ability to absorb and copy the powers of other Conduits. Seattle is Delsin’s playground to flex the powers he acquires, and the choice to be either a super hero or a super jerk is entirely up to you. Will Delsin strive to heal the rift between regular humans and Conduits, or will he show humanity just how afraid they should be of Conduits? Either way, Second Son is a power trip.


8. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
The Golden Age of Piracy.
Once again it’s time to dive back into the Animus, a machine that allows its users to experience the lives of people from the distant past, and this time you are Edward Kenway, a pirate turned assassin whose ship prowled the waters of the Caribbean in the early 1700s. Though Black Flag does feature the usual Assassin’s Creed elements of traversal, stealth, melee combat, assassinations, and exploration, at the heart of the experience is fantastic naval gameplay that lets you live out your pirate fantasies of battling on high seas, plundering valuable cargo, and building up your ship and Edward to become the most fearsome pirate around. Black Flag is the pirate game we’ve always wanted and it is undeniably one of the best entries in the voluminous Assassin’s Creed series.


7. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Where is everyone?
What happened here? That’s the question you’ll be trying to answer in Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Set in fictional Shropshire County in rural England in the 1980s, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture has you walking around a land that appears to have been abandoned just a few minutes before you arrived. Mysterious visions of the events in Shropshire prior to the mass-disappearance give you tantalizing pieces of the puzzle as well as insights into the lives of the people who are now gone. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture’s story had me hooked from start to finish of it’s five or so hour playtime, and together with its outstanding soundtrack and colorful visuals made for one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had in the last few years.