Malik
(8/10/09)
I don't have much in the
geek way of speaking for today. I spent the weekend, plus Friday,
out in the woods with not much more than nature, clean air, some
off-road vehicles, no cell signal, and some modern fun like water
and electricity. So, when you're removed from the modern world to
that extent, you don't have too much to really talk about.
I did have a small TV in
the woods with my friends and I, so there was some old school
nostalgia gaming with the Genesis we brought. Actually, the X-Eye
from JVC (Genesis with Sega-CD built in), but it's still the same
thing. I didn't do any gaming, but there was constantly the sights
and sounds of Sonic 2, Shadow Dancer, Toe Jam and Earl, and a few
other classics.
I also didn't post about
it Friday, since I was technology free, but tomorrow looks fun for
Rock Band with some Gorillaz in a three pack and some random singles
(including Janis Joplin and The Band, to name a couple).
Anyway, my goal is still
some Final Fantasy 4: The After Years. I need to finish Porom's Tale
and start on Edward's Tale and the Lunarian's Tale. I also have a
bunch of TV to catch up on in the form of True Blood, Hung, Z Rock,
and a few others. I guess you can say, in a way, that I have some
geek work to catch up on after my vacation.
Malik |
Malik
(8/11/09)
I'm still running a bit
low on getting things done that are not required "grown up" type of
things. In other words, technological fun and Malik are not seeing
much of each other for the last few days. Although, I'm at least
clearing a backlog of TV that I need to watch.
The only thing I
can really comment on right now is that I watched True Blood last
night (the one from Sunday). That show is getting both incredibly
awesome and incredibly f#@$ed up. In fact, each episode makes me
feel more excited for the next episode. Every time anything happens,
I can practically be assured that it will deal with something that
will definitely build the plot to a new level, if not also bring a
character to a new light that makes him or her a thousand times more
awesome.
Hopefully, tonight
I'll get back into playing some games. I need to play more of The
After Years. I really do since it's been a week since the latest
three pack of tales were released, and I've only barely touched one
tale so far. Of course, having Edward's Tale in my future doesn't
exactly inspire me to play more quickly, but I have been surprised
by Yang's Tale and it could also be the case for Edward.
I also want to get
some Rock Band DLC tonight. At the very least, I have some new
tracks this week and a Gorillaz pack to get. I'll probably add a
song or two from the Spinal Tap album to that list. That's, of
course, assuming I get around to playing and have the hard drive
space for more than a single song. I really don't like my 20GB HDD
with only a third of that open for use...but spending $200 on a
120GB just feels like a shame when a PC can get a 1TB HDD for that
price. It's like Microsoft is wanting me to throw away all of my
long earned frugal feelings and smart shopping abilities.
Malik |
Malik
(8/13/09)
I spent yesterday making
up for lost time in games rather than posting. At least it gave me a
chance to formulate some thoughts on things.
For one, all of
the new songs for this week on Rock Band are awesome on expert
guitar. There's a nice blend of styles and rhythms. However, it's
safe to say that challenge fans will not be too happy, with only two
exceptions. The solo in Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz) is an evil
instance that comes out of the Green Grass and High Tides second
solo playbook with constant zig-zags and hammer-ons from hell. The
other, without any surprise, is Magic Bus (The Who, live). Some
parts are simple, but there's a few tricks pulled out especially
when the band begins to jam in the second half and does some crazy
tempo changes. This is especially crazy since it's a lot of shifting
chords with a constantly increasing speed.
I've also gotten
through Porom's Tale in The After Years. Definitely not as bad as it
could have been, but a tale of mostly mages is almost as bad as a
tale with no mages. That brings me to Edward's Tale. Edward is in a
land in which he is the closest to a mage that his party encounters
(at least to the point I'm at now). He can use "salve", which uses
items on an entire party instead of a single target. He also can
wear a ring/bracelet that allows consumed items to be doubly
effective. Still, it's not making up for no mages. At least he does
get a party of three drone soldiers to give him some offense and
defense. However, Edward and his secretary Harley are not the most
enthralling characters or even fun in combat. It's almost like his
tale is just there to give you some filler between the fun stuff.
Hopefully I'll end
Edward's Tale tonight so I can start the final tale (Lunarian's).
Until then, I'll probably just keep trying to kill this filler tale
off as quick as possible so I can enjoy playing with a more diverse
party. It, however, will be awesome to see how everything comes
together next month with the finale.
Malik |
Malik
(8/14/09)
I said Edward's Tale on
The After Years felt like filler, and I feel like I was validated in
my feeling upon completing that tale. First off, there was no final
boss. In fact, there was no boss of any sort, unlike all of the
other tales I've completed (only The Lunarian's Tale can change this
fact, but I foresee a boss in the future for that one). Edward's
Tale also had no amazing characters with amazing abilities. You had
a bard with a pretty bad shot of successfully performing a song that
would possible give a result you wanted. If you are counting on the
song to heal you, you have only a 25% shot or so of getting that
health boost. I guess you can say that Edward's salve command is
cool...if you like white mages with a price to use (it uses items
instead of magic points).
Harley wasn't much
better. She had a gold coin toss type of attack, which may be
good...but I prefer money and outfitting my useful people for
combat. She also has an ability, piercing sight, to remove magical
buffs and to give a weakness to a foe. That would be good if you
knew what weakness she gave. Instead, you need a spell or item like
the libra spell (to determine the weakness) and then a black mage or
an item that will hit with that type of element. That's three steps
instead of just kicking the crap out of a foe.
Beyond Harley and
Edward, you have three nameless soldiers. They can fight and use
items...that's it. They aren't even powerful fighters compared to
Kain, Ceodore, Edge, Yang, Luca, or any other fighter in any other
tale.
At least that
freed me up to play the Lunarian part of the tales. I am too early
in it to make much of an opinion. The only thing I can say is that I
expected Golbez to be far more amazing. He can fight with mediocre
damage and he can use black magic...but with a vastly limited
selection of spells compared to FuSoYa (also in his party after a
few minutes). He can possibly stun with an ability or draw agro away
from FuSoYa...but that's it. He's definitely not the character I
imagined when he was tormenting the party on FF4. His only strong
point comes in a high initial defense and a lot of HP...and that he
at least has bio (an instant cast spell).
To end today, I'll
once again say it...http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157576...and
my HDD cannot take much more of this awesomeness. A three pack of
Foo Fighters, Dropkick Murphys (with the awesome I’m Shipping Up to
Boston...too bad it's not a pack of their stuff), No Rain from Blind
Melon, and so other nostalgic 90's singles (Eve 6's Inside Out, a
Blur song, and a Kaiser Chiefs single). I know at least a half dozen
tracks will need to find room on my overly stuffed HDD. I would say
it's time to buy a larger HDD, but I still hate the price gouge
feeling I get from paying around $200 for a 120GB drive. If
anything, I may just wait until I'm in sales-tax-free Oregon in a
few weeks. At least that saves me $20 in excessive taxes.
Malik |
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