Okay, All-in-All
So... checks have gone through and what I put on my credit card is all cleanly paid off without any interest. Now I get to figure out how much of the rest to toss at the mortgage and what to stash for an emergency fund. For that matter, I need to take this kick in the rear as a motivator to make said fund on my own.
I think it's been about four weeks now since they started peeling old wood off the condo exteriors. Most of that is done and a lot of patching has gone on, but the word isn't done and the painting hasn't even started. Progress seems a little slow to me, but there are 23 units in a total of five buildings and I don't really have any frame of reference.
Exalted
Building up to fighting our first death lord, the First and Forsaken Lion. Army units of undead crumple before the sheer damage output that is Kashim. The two death knights that got in the circle's way went down before most of us (them included) got our second turn. And the Lion himself has made his appearance. We'll see how that goes, presumably Tuesday if schedules don't bump the game any further.
Seeing Exalted combat tends to make me think "oh, Alexandra could rock if she had X" or "damn, maybe I need Y to cover her ass if people pull this trick." But there just isn't enough experience points to get everything, and Alexi probably shouldn't be a combat-primary character anyway. Still, the temptation is always there to go that route, even if notable combat doesn't come up a lot.
On the other hand, we have such a large circle (even though it sometimes doesn't seem like it). A 'perfect' circle is generally 5. We have 4 Solars, 3 Lunars, 1 Sidereal and 1 Alchemical. Even if a few people are holding back, that's a lot of Exalts to kick opposing tail.
Metal Gear Online
After loads of updates, my roomie and I got into a few rounds of Metal Gear Online with one another. The online multiplayer component of MGS4 is pretty neat. It looks as good as the game, though the maps may be more limited.
Still, the maps are biiiig for two players (really made for... I think closer to 16). I don't know if I could get into the competitive play seriously. The thought of being gunned down by someone half my age who just spends more time at it is depressing to me. But it seems like it'd be fun to play with friends. Alas, I don't really know anyone else with a PS3 anyway.
But it was fun at the time. There were some amusing moment such as my "what's that? it must be an item, so I'll grab it" right before realizing that's what set claymores look like in nightvision and sneaking up on each other when one of us was looking the other way.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Hmm. Actually relatively short for a Star Wars title. But anyway, I was watching eagerly when they finally got the demo up on PSN last night. The download took so long, though, that I went to sleep before it was halfway done. I got to play this morning, though.
The game makes me think of God of War. Not that it plays exactly like GoW or anything, but before GoW, most action games I'd played moved at a... slower pace, I suppose. Then I picked up the controller for Kratos and I was amazed at the constant flurry of action, even if it was largely a button-mashing experience. TFU makes me feel like that in that it really keeps things moving and kicks everything up a notch. I was under a hail of blaster fire almost as soon as the enemies could see me, whether I was blocking or bouncing around.
There seems to be a major emphasis on Force-throwing. I'm not sure if this is an advantage or disadvantage, though. There were tons of objects to lift and throw, and plenty of opportunities to hurl people off ledges or drop tie fighters on them. But anytime I would pick up a crate of whatever-the-Imperial-supply-officers-forgot-to-properly-secure, my attention would shift to that. I'd have to be fairly careful in maneuvering the object to launch it where I wanted, and that took me away from what was happening to the character. I'm not sure if that disconnect will actually hinder the game in the long term, but it didn't feel right to me in the demo.
Also, with the focus on Force abilities, the lightsaber seemed to take a back seat. That's a little sad. Everyone knows lightsabers are cool. >.>
Overall, it looks to be a pretty active, Force-heavy, run through environments with lots of stuff to destroy/lift/push/throw and so over-the-top that it's more in line with Mace Windu's showing in the animated Clone Wars series than what we see in the movies. There is, at least, potential in this.
I think it's been about four weeks now since they started peeling old wood off the condo exteriors. Most of that is done and a lot of patching has gone on, but the word isn't done and the painting hasn't even started. Progress seems a little slow to me, but there are 23 units in a total of five buildings and I don't really have any frame of reference.
Exalted
Building up to fighting our first death lord, the First and Forsaken Lion. Army units of undead crumple before the sheer damage output that is Kashim. The two death knights that got in the circle's way went down before most of us (them included) got our second turn. And the Lion himself has made his appearance. We'll see how that goes, presumably Tuesday if schedules don't bump the game any further.
Seeing Exalted combat tends to make me think "oh, Alexandra could rock if she had X" or "damn, maybe I need Y to cover her ass if people pull this trick." But there just isn't enough experience points to get everything, and Alexi probably shouldn't be a combat-primary character anyway. Still, the temptation is always there to go that route, even if notable combat doesn't come up a lot.
On the other hand, we have such a large circle (even though it sometimes doesn't seem like it). A 'perfect' circle is generally 5. We have 4 Solars, 3 Lunars, 1 Sidereal and 1 Alchemical. Even if a few people are holding back, that's a lot of Exalts to kick opposing tail.
Metal Gear Online
After loads of updates, my roomie and I got into a few rounds of Metal Gear Online with one another. The online multiplayer component of MGS4 is pretty neat. It looks as good as the game, though the maps may be more limited.
Still, the maps are biiiig for two players (really made for... I think closer to 16). I don't know if I could get into the competitive play seriously. The thought of being gunned down by someone half my age who just spends more time at it is depressing to me. But it seems like it'd be fun to play with friends. Alas, I don't really know anyone else with a PS3 anyway.
But it was fun at the time. There were some amusing moment such as my "what's that? it must be an item, so I'll grab it" right before realizing that's what set claymores look like in nightvision and sneaking up on each other when one of us was looking the other way.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Hmm. Actually relatively short for a Star Wars title. But anyway, I was watching eagerly when they finally got the demo up on PSN last night. The download took so long, though, that I went to sleep before it was halfway done. I got to play this morning, though.
The game makes me think of God of War. Not that it plays exactly like GoW or anything, but before GoW, most action games I'd played moved at a... slower pace, I suppose. Then I picked up the controller for Kratos and I was amazed at the constant flurry of action, even if it was largely a button-mashing experience. TFU makes me feel like that in that it really keeps things moving and kicks everything up a notch. I was under a hail of blaster fire almost as soon as the enemies could see me, whether I was blocking or bouncing around.
There seems to be a major emphasis on Force-throwing. I'm not sure if this is an advantage or disadvantage, though. There were tons of objects to lift and throw, and plenty of opportunities to hurl people off ledges or drop tie fighters on them. But anytime I would pick up a crate of whatever-the-Imperial-supply-officers-forgot-to-properly-secure, my attention would shift to that. I'd have to be fairly careful in maneuvering the object to launch it where I wanted, and that took me away from what was happening to the character. I'm not sure if that disconnect will actually hinder the game in the long term, but it didn't feel right to me in the demo.
Also, with the focus on Force abilities, the lightsaber seemed to take a back seat. That's a little sad. Everyone knows lightsabers are cool. >.>
Overall, it looks to be a pretty active, Force-heavy, run through environments with lots of stuff to destroy/lift/push/throw and so over-the-top that it's more in line with Mace Windu's showing in the animated Clone Wars series than what we see in the movies. There is, at least, potential in this.
If my roommate gets a bit spendthrifty, we might have a Ps3 here. I'll keep you updated. As for SW: tFU Uhhh.. I hate the fact there's no PC demo (or even slated release, neh?)
ReplyDeleteThat has always been a little odd. They're releasing it for everything under the sun... except PC. I mean, there's even an iPhone version (not that it looks all that spectacular). Strange decision, but maybe it'll get ported over at some point.
ReplyDelete