Dome of Doom Comic / Day 12

Super awesome happy fun times in Wayfairer Foothills. Idiot Norn....

Anime Challenge: THE TWELFTH DAY:

Saddest Anime Scene

(spoilers *probably*)

Some animes make it a point to be depressing sometimes. Maybe it's because the medium (animation) makes doing so easier than say, live action, or maybe it's because Japan's just kind of evil like that.

For most depressing I'll have to go with Attack on Titan. No real scene, just...God the whole show up til now. Just EVERYBODY dies. Horribly, with most if not all the graphic horror on full display.

The worst of it is they take the time to actually build these characters. You just get to know someone, and BAM dead. Oh that character has funny quirks! Surely he's- No, he's dead now.

Even better is how they portray the aftermath of these killings, going to great lengths to show pure, raw emotion. It's awful. And amazing.

Whip out those tissues, what's your saddest anime moment?

I Can Has Syringe? / Day Eleven

Hope Hospital just got a little bit safer. All thanks to this cat *points both thumbs at own chest*.

Doctor Malpractice...I mean Stiles, finally got the intern smacked back out of him via his new assistant Angela Thompson, the lucky nurse taking over for Dr. Stile's previous babysitter nurse Fulton.

'Mommy' now out of the picture and 'daddy' (the head surgeon) out of town, 'lil Derek decides hes a real doctor now, and just in time for an operation!

Despite nurse Thompson's frequent misgivings about the condition of the patient, Dr. Stiles carries on full boar. After all, he's got a super awesome symposium to go to, with all sorts of important people he just cannot keep waiting in the next town! Ignoring the patient's paperwork, irregular blood results, and every other red alarm going off Stiles sews the chump up and skips off to the big city.

*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*kicks the machine*beep-beep-beep-beep-*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*

As Derek laments his inability to hit the town kindergarten style due to work the next morning, his phone rings. The patient he left half dead on the operating table was now 3/4 dead, and sprinting toward the light. The guy lives, but Derek's lab-coat covered ass is in deep trouble, with Angela informing 'daddy' that Doctor Stiles was incompetent, careless, hopeless, and frankly has no business being a doctor!

His heart torn raggedly in twain, Derek takes a rainy walk down the boardwalk of depression and self doubt...Until a car accident snaps him back to reality.

He rushed back to the hospital to find the patients already in the ER and nurse Thompson in the fetal position, rolling back and forth in a pool of her own tears. She couldn't revive the guy *hyperventilate* but at this rate he's gonna diiiiiiie! But Dr. Derek Stiles is here to saaaaave teh daaaaaaaaaaay, and save it he surprisingly does thanks to what I can only assume are magic time control powers that are beginning to manifest within him.

With the doctor's confidence and resolve renewed and the time space continuum at his disposal (probably) the game can really begin. Chapter two, here I am!

Anime Challenge: THE ELEVENTH DAY:

My favorite mecha anime

I've never really seen the allure of mecha style animes....GUNDAM, Big O, etc. Yes giant robots are cool and all, but it never really did anything for me...except for one.

Zoids. Zoids: New Century, to be exact, following Bit Cloud and his Liger Zero mech. The show follows tournaments based around mechs of all shapes and sizes, from bulls to wolves to pterodactyls, as opposed to the warring of humanoid mechs in other animes.

Zoids was one of the Toonami shows back in the day that cemented my love of anime, and thus will always hold a special place in my heart (specifically the place just above the left ventricle).

Which was your favorite mecha anime?

That's DOCTOR Geeky Cat to you/ Day 10

You don't let a cat perform surgery. You also don't let a cat control a spacey idiot while he performs surgery. Seriously. Don't. People die. 

Today I played a little Nintendo DS title called Trauma Center: UNDER THE KNIFE, which follows the medical malpractice suit-in-the-making of Dr. (giggle) Derek Stiles. A new surgeon fresh from his internship, Derek is a surgeon with something to prove, man, and so far hes managed to prove that he really shouldn't have lives placed in his hands... Or anything sharp, for that matter. 

*beep*beep*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP* Yup, looks like I'll need that fourth needle after all...*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*

Seriously, this guy is such a hardcore slacker the head nurse considered postponing a move with her husband so she can minimize casualties left in his wake. 

So far The game has been largely characterized by brutally precise gameplay, verbally abusive characters, and forgettable anime-esque sprites. But it's a fun game. Lets see how many lawsuits I can dodge before my body count gets me kicked from the hospital!

Anime Challenge: THE TENTH DAY:

My favorite fighter anime

An argument can be made that most Shonen style animes are 'fighter' types, at least in spirit. I do love me some cartoonishly muscular dudes beating each other over the head with cars and magic beams of death, but I wouldn't call them 'fighter' animes, at least most of them. 

As for favorites, Hajime No Ippo tops my list. With the manga running in the hundreds of chapters (been going since the late 1980's) and the anime gearing up for a new season soon, Hajime No Ippo follows the boxing career of Ippo Makunouchi, a boy who overcame his shyness and bullying once a boxing school discovered he had a helluva right hook. 

The show (and manga) do an amazing job of making the fights just as interesting and, shall I say painful to watch as anything from Dragon Ball Z, without a single super power in sight. 

So how do you like your anime ass kickings? Super-natural or realistic? Whats your favorite fighter anime? 

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaay Nine!

Anime Challenge: THE NINTH DAY:

My favorite anime villain

*spoilers y'all*

I do love me some classic bad guys. The dudes who are dripping with villainous intentions. The guys who are evil for the sake of being evil. 

Their simplicity is what makes me love them. Burned down an orphanage? 'Cause I'm evil. Stole candy from a baby? 'Cause I'm evil. Punched a puppy in the face? 'Cause I'm FREAKING EVIL *shrug*.  It's the stark contrast between good and bad, black and white, that I love. No gray area here, just a spike moat for their lazer sharks. 

But, for my favorite of the baddies, I like someone a bit more...subtle. Akihiko Kayaba, aka Heathcliff from the first story arc of Sword Art Online. Kayaba creates a virtual reality helmet, builds a massive virtual world, sticks a bunch of people in it, and kills them if they try to leave. Or i they die in game. Or if some outside source completely outside the player's control damages or deprives the helmet of power for longer than its battery can survive. 

Adding insult to injury is his placing himself as a prominent figure among the players, simply to play out his story line of betrayal once the players reach level 100 (the beating of which would free everyone still trapped), wherein he would reveal himself to be the final boss. 

But in the end he is discovered, long before his, shall we say scheduled appearance, and an answer is demanded of him: For what reason has he jeopardized, even stolen, the lives of thousands? For what cause was so great that he robbed people of their very lives, both literally and figuratively?

Hell if he remembers. 

Seriously. He doesn't remember. Two years into his mad plan for (virtual) world domination, and he has already forgotten. Just...*poof*.

So, maybe you have a more concrete answer: Who is your favorite villain? 

Holy Comic it's a Crap! And Day Eight

Balls indeed, Shatterer. Balls indeed. 

Anime Challenge: THE EIGHTH DAY:

My favorite anime character

It could be so easy to answer this question: pick an anime at random and name the biggest bad-ass of the bunch, or be like some otaku and simply pick the main character *cough* LAZY *cough*.

As I said, easy. Especially since I do like me some bad-asses. But for this one, I'll have to go with high school delinquent Hayashida from Cromartie High School. Yes hes a 'bad-ass', but note the quotation marks. Despite being stuck in a high school for delinquents you never actually see Hayashida do anything...bad. Hell he's the small glimmer of sanity for the main character, as it seems the rest of the students checked out mentally long, long ago.

Also, I am mesmerized by his mohawk, slipping into a trance whenever I see it wave to and fro...to and fro....to and.....

....What? Sorry, I was....Never mind. Who's your favorite anime character?

The Circuit of Life

There comes a time in every computer's life where the years begin to show. Maybe he doesn't start up quite as fast as he used to. Maybe the fans groan under the pressure of full-screen where once they were silent. When that day comes, they come before a crossroads: Do we trade him in for a younger, stronger, beefier model? Or do we upgrade, give him shiny new insides, maybe clean out the hard drive?

My dear, loyal PC is before these very crossroads himself. The years have been kinder to him than others, but I have needs. Needs he simply can't satisfy anymore. Namely the need to play Guild Wars 2, Left 4 Dead, and other games on a setting higher than 'vague polygons' and with load times faster than 'the second coming'. 

Come on, little dude, wake up. I gotta load in before I get kicked to the overflow world...

That said I am eagerly awaiting my brand-spankin' new video card and RAM coming in the mail this week, meaning this weekend's gaming will be TEH EPIC.

Prepare yourselves, more PC titles are comin' 'round the bend!

Ready...Steady....FIRE!!!!!! Also, day seven.

Tell my PC....I love him.....

Go on. Do it. Pull the trigger. We both know I deserve it...SPRITZ ME ALREADY!!!

Yes yes yes yes I've been absent for *mumbles incoherently* days and shame on me for it. But hey! I'm back!

Wooo-hooo! Party Time!!! *spritz spritz* GAH my eye!!!

So whats new...Well lately I've been doing less playing games and more watching games being played...You see, Grand Theft Auto V hit shelves last week, thus my (*cough* his) Playstation 3 has been taken hostage by Aaron, and while I don't have a whole lot of interest in playing the game myself, I am utterly fascinated by watching it.

For starters it is a gorgeous game. I firmly believe graphics don't make the game, but GTA V's graphics are worth noting...I could watch its water animations for hours...

I am also quite impressed with the depth of the game. Not just in story, which is amazing, but in the world itself. The map is huge and entirely unique throughout. Hell one of my favorite moments was when Aaron, as Trevor, just so happened to be ridding a mountain bike on the outskirts of town when he happened upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong. Just bodies everywhere, with a suitcase filled with $25,000 nearby. As with Skyrim, I loves me some living world. Also unexpected paydays.

Last week also brought us Arena Net's update to the world bosses of Guild Wars 2, completely restating and reworking the world boss encounters, most notably those of the dragons like Tequatl the Sunless.

Yup, I reckon this ones 'bout ready to pick....Marshmallow, go
get my spade out the shed.

Oh Tequatl...You festering, rotting card you... What once was a mere walk in a swampy park is now an exercise in futility. Most servers haven't felled him yet, and the ones that have took a few days. The battle I took part in chipped off less than 25% of his health within the 15 minutes (a time limit now!) allotted for the fight, despite the battle going better than the one before it.

It's like seeing the dust bowl in game form. What once were proud boss farmers reaping plentiful harvests are now but shadows tilling the unforgiving fields, too old and stubborn to leave the lands of their birth for greener pastures.

Anime Challenge: THE SEVENTH DAY:

My anime crush

(Yes I know I should be well past day seven...But I'll go ahead and pick 'er up here) 

Roy Mustang. all day. I don't give a damn about my "no more Fullmetal Alchemist guys for realz!" thing. Roy wins. Hands down. Hawkeye be damned. 

Who is your anime crush?

The Shame of Geeky Cat and Day Six

I... I can't do it... I can't... Call me a quitter all you like, but I'm done. Finished. I cannot continue playing this game.

Round and round we go...Where we'll stop, nobody knows! 

Its not just that I think Jet Force Gemini is bad, as a matter of fact I didn't want it to be bad. I read great things online, and the sheer number of save files Aaron created over the years all testified to it being quite a good game. The (main) problem is it can't make me care. I don't care. Not even a little. About any of it. Not the characters, not the game play, nothing.

The combat isn't fun, primarily due to abysmal aiming capabilities. It can be awkward and dizzying if there are too many enemies, doubly so if those enemies are flying, as in the case today. Even if I stop running in circles like an idiot and stand still to aim properly, the only thing to change is that the combat goes from vertigo inducing to enemies playing the 'hey look at the people-shaped pinata just standing there for us to eviscerate!' game.

But, you see, that running around in circles is kinda necessary sometimes, as the camera is shit.

The story is the gaming equivalent of using a tv as a baby sitter. Sure its there, but its more background noise than substance and it sure as hell won't do anything to stop me putting a fork in the light socket.

...I'm sick of running 'round, just let me kill you already!

I mentioned before I didn't feel the game aged well, a statement I'm sure leads most people to believe I'm a spoiled gamer who can't handle a little Old School. But that's entirely untrue. I played the Nintendo 64 'back in the day', and I rather liked it. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are two of my all time favorite games regardless of system, and I can remember many other games I played and enjoyed over the years.

Oh buuuuuuuuuuuunneeeeeeeehs

So I'm done, you see. A game is to have fun with, and I am not having anything remotely resembling fun. 

But until I decide a new game to take it's place I think I'll blow off a little steam with some Guild Wars 2. Arena Net has recently (like today recently) revamped the world bosses like the Shatterer and Tequatl the Sunless, and while I'd like to go check them out immediately I don't think my poor PC has it in her. Put that many other players within 50 feet of each other while unicorns and flowers explode all over a giant dragon and my frame rate slows to the speed of tectonic plates. Oh well, I can find plenty of other ways to faff about. 

Speaking of faffing about, it's Thirty Day Anime Challenge time!!!

The Thirty Day Anime Challenge: THE SIXTH DAY

What anime I would like to see but haven't

*If I spoil anything it's pure talent*

Now this one's rough simply because the majority of my 'would like to see' urges come from surfing Hulu, Crunchy Roll and Netflix, generally a "meh, that looks cool *click*" kinda thing. If I want to watch something, I do. One of the joys of adulthood, I guess. Some animes, like One Piece and Case Closed (Detective Conan), are ones I'd like to finish, but seeing as I've already started them I don't feel they qualify. 

Hell just to complete this post I'm surfing Hulu for inspiration. Lets see here...No, no, no, maybe, no...Why so many high school and harem animes? Ugh.

Oh! I know! Blue Gender! Years ago I saw it advertised for a few weeks leading up to its premier on Cartoon Network, but for whatever reason I never actually watched any of it. I think it's about some guy who gets cryogenically frozen, only to thaw and find the world overthrown by bugs. Or something. It looked cool. 

Whelp looks like I know what I'm doing tomorrow, how about you? What anime would you like to see?

Comic and a Question

Game physics are funny.

Dark Souls has done a magnificent job of adding the illusion of weight behind weapon swings and enemy attacks. However it appears the only thing with any mass in this game is the souls and weapons themselves, for once an enemy is dead it immediately turns into a rag doll made of weightless rubber. Sticky rubber. Made of deeeeeeeeeeead bodies.

The Thirty Day Anime Challenge: THE FIFTH DAY

The Anime I Am Most Ashamed to Have Liked

*spoilers, not so much*

I can't say I've ever been ashamed of anything I've watched to fruition. I generally play it safe with my animes, preferring the shonen variety over some of the other genres. While I'm not ashamed of anything I've liked, I can list a few shows I'm ashamed to say I watched far more of than I should have, for one reason or another.

One such abomination is Powerpuff Girls Z, a bizarre alternate reality of the Powerpuff Girls show I grew up with, Japanimationized.

The art style is similar to a modernized Astroboy. Professor X didn't create the girls, rather his son decided 'whats wrong with committing a few crimes against humanity' and dumps a bunch of chemicals into the atmosphere, resulting in three random (and unrelated) girls gaining super powers instead of cancer. I think I stuck with this mutated freak of a show for about two episodes when I should have punched out the screen 10 seconds in.

The other show I spent a bit more time on, although many of the episodes I watched weren't in order. Not that it mattered, as the things I DID see were enough to make me question whether a truly just and loving God exists. Because if there was such a being, this pile of wtf would never have existed.

I shall not name this monster aloud, for to utter it's name is to risk it's reappearance, a fate my heart cannot bear. Let's just say this beast of a show stomped my childhood into the ground like an Ōzaru stomps a baby bunny.

What anime are you most ashamed of?

Day Four and a Promise

The Thirty Day Anime Challenge: THE FOURH DAY

My Favorite Female Character

*spoilers DUH*

As I mentioned yesterday, I have a tendency to dislike female characters on the whole. They are generally...well, girly. With stupid girl problems like boys and bullshit. And I don't like that. I like my protagonists of the ass-kicking variety. 

Ok, pinky-promise I'll try harder to stay away from Fullmetal Alchemist from now on, but you cannot go wrong with Riza Hawkeye and Olivier Armstrong, both from Fullmetal. Both are ass-kickers of the highest degree. Period. While they have the occasional emotional lapse, a moment of weakness, if you will, it is my personal theory that it is merely their ploy to convince us mere mortals that they too are totally human, and not of a race of super-powered mutant badasses. 

 I have plans to cosplay as Armstrong int he future, and have been to a panel featuring Colleen Clinkenbeard, Hawkeye's voice actress. 'Twas awesome.

I do have one more addition to my list: Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan. Because squeezing that much badass fury into a tiny human form is nothing less than gloriously awesome. Also probably magic. 

Who is your Favorite Female Character? 

Check out tomorrow, for a comic awaits!!!!!!!

Day the Third

The Thirty Day Anime Challenge: THE THIRD DAY

My Favorite Male Character

*spoilers DUH*

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhn why you get so hard 30 Day Challenge? You've been so easy so faaaaaaaaaar.

Oh damn where to start...It doesn't help that I tend to only like male characters...Women in anime are far too quick to either whip out the panty-butt-shot scene or fall victim to some bullshit kidnapping scheme that never should have worked in the first place (you just single-handedly felled a giant beast of legend! How did that bitch catch you?! Just cut his bitch head off and be done with it!!!), after which time she is resigned to a fate of sighing morosly while wearing clothing made entirely of fan service (I'm looking at you, Asuna).

Favorite male character...Well always I have to at least mention Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist (dreamy sigh), but I'll try to get away from FMA for a while.

Oh, I know, Yoichi Hiruma, from the football anime Eyeshield 21.

I love everything about this guy.  His charactr design is brilliant, sporting pointed teeth and ears among normal humans in a non sci-fi or fantasy setting. Hiruma starts the show as a sort of psudo villain, with an evil reputation within his high school and a penchant for firing off high caliber assult rifles on campus. He blackmails people into doing his bidding and isnt above straight up kidnapping. But as the story goes on you learn that while he is absolutely nuts, hes dedicated and loyal, especially to his team.

He does all this while remaining absolutely hilarious.

Who is your favorite male character?

UPDATE:

Yesterday I said my favorite anime right now was Fullmetal Alchemist.  In the short time since that post I have caught up on the anime Attack on Titan and OMG GO WATCH IT IT IS TEH 'MAZING!!!!!!!

Oinking Ants/ Day two

I will be strong...I can't quit out of two games in a row...I-will-be-strong...

The opening cinematic to Jet Force Gemini made me dizzy. No, really. Between the oddly close camera, it's wildly erratic and quick movements, and the already blurry graphics, my head started spinning and it spun fast.

Oink oink SHREIEEEEEK!?

The heroes, near as I can tell, are two twits and a dog. In a space ship. One of the twits has terrible blue hair. The other one might. Not sure, he's wearing a helmet. The enemies, near as I can tell, are giant blue ants. They squeal like piggies when you shoot them. It's hilarious

From what I can see it won't be a bad game, just severely dated. I received zero information in the beginning (something that could be rectified had I had the manual that came with the game, an assumption I'm sure the creator's had in mind). Instead a random voice steals the camera for a while, explaining things I hadn't seen yet, but not what I had already seen. It looks like it'll be awesome after a while, I just hope my assumption is correct.

I hope to make this a swift play through.

Anime Challenge: THE SECOND DAY:

My favorite anime so far

*spoilers DUH*

This answer is a bit trickier, in that it requires an explanation.

My favorite anime of all time is a combination of the original Fullmetal Alchemist and Brotherhood.

The original series was created before the manga from which is was based had finished, leaving the show's writers to fill in the story themselves (something the author, Hiromu Arakawa, specifically requested), while Brotherhood follows the (now completed) manga. Both series start off the same, breaking off from each other into radically different paths after the death of Maes Hughes.

Now what do I mean by combination? I loved the overall much darker feel in the first show. Watching Roy Mustang's descent into despair after the death of his closest friend was incredibly powerful. I also loved the Homunculi's origin in the original, although only parts of it (keep that they're made from failed human transmutation, nix the part about Trisha being Sloth, because what sense did that make?). I also really liked the identity of Envy and his final showdown with Edward, and the tie-ins with war torn Germany.

From Brotherhood I would take Von Hohenheim and everything included in this incarnation's backstory. Original Hohenheim was kinda...awful. Also, anything coming out of Fort Briggs (General Armstrong wooooooo!). And finally, watching Mustang utterly obliterate Lust was just...wow.

Whats your favorite anime?

The Thirty Day Animeeeeeeeeeeee Challenge!!!

Seems all the cool kids these days are getting into this 'thirty day anime challenge' thing. I wanna be a cool kid too. TELL ME I'M COOL!

So for the next 30 days I'll be giving you guys a daily bonus in the form of my all time favorite anime stuffs! 

*WARNING* Spoilers WILL happen. I won't apologize, as it's your own damn fault for not watching already!

Let's get started!

THE FIRST DAY:

My first ever anime

Easy one. My first ever anime was Dragonball Z, like many other youngsters with Cartoon Network in the late 90's-early 2000's. I started watching it because at the time my younger brother was a fan, and thus for half an hour each day it was on the living room TV. I'd watch as well because A: it was easy to make fun of and B: it was on the house's main TV in the middle of the afternoon. What was I supposed to do, go outside? *pssh*

The shift came quickly, however. I started the show in the Frieza Saga about the time the Ginyu Force shows up, and by the time Goku went Super Saiyan I was hooked.

What was your first anime?

Hectic Hexen

A week or so ago I announced the Nintendo 64 as the winner of the 'next console I play' poll, listing three potential games to play for the system. Of the three, only two were requested by readers, resulting in a tie (at one vote a piece), so I decided to play the odd man out: Hexen.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this game. The cartridge art told be little more than the game's name, and a quick online search told me it was a sequel to a game called Heretic for the PC.

First things first: I have to hook up my 64 before I can play it! A quick investigation of the back of my TV told me I would need a little assistance, lest I blow up the entirety of the house trying (yes, I am every bit that untalented with technology). With Aaron home for lunch we finally got it working, requiring 10 whole minutes  of fiddling and a trip to the cord closet to work. With the 64 up and running, further digging was needed to find a working controller. Try one controller, unplug it, plug it back in. Take it out and plug in another. Wiggle the connector a bit, take the connector out and blow in it a little, plug it back in. Unplug that controller and plug the first controller back in. Turn the system off and on again. Hey, it works now!

*Memory card full, unable to create Hexen save file*

Wait, memory card? I forgot those were a thing! It's hard to believe how far games have come today, no longer requiring things like memory cards. Several weeks ago I was surprised (or shall I say livid) while playing a game that, unlike modern games, didn't autosave, requiring me to redo about three hours worth of work. *Chuckles* we modern gamers sure are a spoiled lot!

Eventually plugging in a memory card that didn't trigger the error, I could finally start playing. I had a choice of three classes and several difficulty settings, naturally choosing the 'Stick Jockey' class and 'wailing little girl' setting.

The game looks a helluva lot like Doom. It plays like trying to control a large boulder traveling down hill. It was also dark. So dark. Rather than handing me a sword with which to demolish my two-headed S&M wearing foes I was instead left to punch them to death with nothing more than spiked gauntlets and comically over-muscled arms.

Monster to kill? PUNCH IT. Beautiful Gothic stained glass window? PUNCH IT. Hey a door...PUNCH IT!!!!!

Hmm, nothing happened. I wandered aimlessly for about 10 minutes, punching things, running into walls, always coming back to the huge door with the emerald lock no matter what direction I left in. With Aaron's prodding I do finally find a new place inside what I assume is a temple or shrine of some kind. Punch a few Bad guys, punch a few windows, ooo! Here's a lever! PUUUUUUUUNCH!

Hey, I'm punching, why isn't anything happening...Why do you fail me Fists-o-Death? Oh, you activate levers and pulleys...By jumping. Intuitive!

I get the emerald key, open the emerald door and run around some more, with little to zero clue about where I'm going or where I've been. I eventually do figure out what button is the map, but I'm pretty sure that knowledge hurt my progress more than anything. I guess I better save.

*Pause screen*  *Select save game* *G-e-e-k-y-C-a-t*. Now what button do I push to finish and save? Not that one, now I have to re-enter the name. *G-e-e-k-y-C-a-t* still nothing. Aaron tries a few times, with far better results. You have to scroll past all of the letter and number options and select 'end'. INTUITIVE!

*Error. Could not save file*

Huh?

*Error. Could not save file*

Balls. Thankfully there IS an option for a 'temporary save', but according to Aaron it means I have to beat the game in one play through. So what, is it used for temporary checkpoints for when you die? Nope, as I discover 30 minutes later. It isn't. Whelp I'm done.

But you know, I do have a little extra time today...And the 64 is already hooked up...

I can't heeeeeeeeeear yooooooooooooooooou

Tomorrow's Jet Force Gemini kids. Stay tuned!

All of my Rage

A Terrible Tuesday today has been indeed.

Loading up the personal hell that is Dark Souls this afternoon, I had a feeling of empowerment. I had recently increased the effectiveness of my armor and weapon, and today the first thing I did was further improve my dear claymore further, to a +4. I truly felt as though the gargoyles would be mine. After all, if not for my impromptu low altitude skydive last time I probably would have beat them. I turned human and made my way up the chapel.

First three hollows outside the chapel: Dead. The three Balder Knights inside the chapel: Dead. The wave of Crimson Quackers at the top of the stairs: Weird. Creepy. Also dead. During this time I barely took a hit, sustaining a small wound from the first Balder Knight. Nothing much, not enough to require healing before entering the Gargoyle's fog door, leaving me at full estus flasks for the big fight.

I stood before the fog door contemplating my position. Just for a second. Yup, I was ready. I spotted Solaire of Astora's summon sign. I walked to it, and began the summons. 

------Summoning Knight Solaire------

------Dark Spirit Jackass-Mc Ruin-Your-Day is Invading------

Wait, wut?

Speed 'er up, Solaire...

And then it was over. I was dead. Before Solaire could even finish materializing, I was dead.

I sat there for a solid 30 seconds, thinking about what had just happened. Then it hit me.

MOTHER @&%*ING PKER!!!!!!

I was told I couldn't be invaded during my first play through!!!!!!! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING NOW!?!?!?!

I was soooooo close!!! I could have had the Gargoyles this time!!

Invasions, like summoning NPC help (like Solaire) can happen only when a player has reversed their hollowing and become human again. Players elsewhere can invade a humanized player's game to either help or, like this jerk, kill you. Usually they go with the second option.

------Knight Solaire has been Summoned------

All of my rage. All of it. 

Attack of the Killer Tomato

With Earthbound now behind me and the weekend at hand, Guild wars 2 was now on the menu. And oh how delicious it is.

I've mentioned before that I am a gamer very much set in her ways. I can also be lazy. I get a big sword/stick/axe and I hit stuff until they die from it. Simple, though not particularly elegant. I love my Norn Guardian for that reason. She is an eight foot tall Nordic/Amazonian beast wielding a giant two-handed hammer that looks like a steam-punk scythe. I also love that shes already max level at 80. But I'm trying to change, trying to grow as a gamer.

Thus I needed to pick a class I never would have played in the past. Using my birthday scrolls (a present for a character being a year old) I bumped up a Human Ranger, a Charr Warrior, and a Sylvari Necromancer all up to level 20, leaving my Asuran Elementalist in the dust at level 7 (remember? I'm lazy. Leveling in the beginning sucks). So who to play...

Einy-Meeney-miney-that one. Sylvari Necromancer. The anthropomorphic cabbage with the less than fresh friends.

Necromancers in GW2 are just like Necros in any other game, in that they use dead stuff as their puppets-o-pain. They are also very, very, very squishy. Light grade armor isn't the best at preventing daggers through the chest.

"Mistress, we need to talk. Me and the Bone Minions got to thinking, and maybe, just maybe, we should stop tapping every enemy within striking distance? I know you enjoy a good game of tag, but it tends to anger them, and being but bone and undead tissue, we can only hold up so long. The Shadow Fiend has already gone on strike over this, and I think it's in everyone's best interests..."

Named the Red Cabbage due to her reddish complexion and the fact shes made of leaves and plant junk, I geared her up properly and set all of her skills to 'summon minions', because I'm lonely and I figure they could take the brunt of the attacks while I chill in the back setting down circles of awfulness on top of my prey...I mean enemies...no, I meant prey.

That plan works in theory.  In practice it's a little different. As I am engulfed by the enemy swarm I usually see my minions, all four or five of them, just kind of standing around like they're waiting on the bus.

Now, this can be interpreted a few different ways. Either I need new minions, or I am a terribly incompetent Necromancer. I think we all know the answer to that.

 (Editor's note: Don't actually answer that last one, my poor, fragile psyche can't handle criticism...)

...I'm...h...a...p...p...y...

While playing Earthbound over the last couple weeks I have asked myself multiple times: Just what is it about this game that drives most players to such obsession over it? I understand liking games, and as far as I could tell Earthbound was a rather good game, if a little frustrating and at times nearly impossible. The art style is cute, the music is amazing, and many of the themes are clever and funny. But none of these things added up enough for me to call it a great game, just a good one. Then I beat the game, and I realized:

Everything about this game has been worth the final fight. 

Everything. All the frustration. All the annoyance. All of it. 

The ending of this game. Where do I even start. Oh, I know, robots. When in doubt, always start with robots...

See, after conquering your nightmares and your own insecurities (literally!), You are now ready to face your foe-o-destiny: Giygas. But you can't just walk up to his lair, knock on the door, and say howdy (with your baseball bat). No, you have to go back in time, to when Giygas was weak and vulnerable. Guess what doesn't handle time travel very well? Soft, squishy huuuuman bodies. So Jeff's father stuffs everyone's spirits into robots, with a hitch: We probably won't be able to switch back. Have fun running to your inevitable deaths kids!

The battle with Giygas takes place in several parts, but they all flow together beautifully. You start off facing Pokey, who now stands not as your annoying jackass neighbor, but as a true evil of the universe. Fittingly, you don't actually beat Pokey. I'm pretty sure I never actually came close to even hurting him. Coward that he is, he simply ends the fight, makes fun of you for a bit, then leaves you to his increasingly volatile master. 

Giygas, you creepy thing you. I just kind of wailed on him for a while. Pokey, being the absolute pain in the ass bastard that he is, interrupts my slugfest to run his mouth a little more. 

"Why not call your mommy, Ness! Say, 'Mommy! Daddy! I'm so frightened! I think I'm gonna wet my pants!' HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Blah blah blah (jerk). 

Know what? That's a great idea. Imma do that. 

Super-robot-telepathy-powers ACTIVATE!

And, frankly, that's exactly what we do. With Ness and Poo keeping the party healed and shielded, Paula prays. Every turn she prays. In the present on earth she is heard by friends, family, and Mr. Saturns alike, with all of the people we helped along the way pouring their own prayers back to us. Even the player (hey, that's me!) gets in on it, adding in their own prayers (actually I wasn't praying. I was button mashing, but, ya know, same thing) to the mix. 

Soon Giygas explodes with the power of love and friendship, and Ness n' friends make it safely back into their bodies (big mistake, always keep the robot body!), and the universe is saved! 

OR IS IT!?!?!?

Gotta love cliffhanger endings. 

I Love you...You love me...

Ok, so maybe I was just having a bad day yesterday, or maybe I just sucked more than usual. But today I flew through Stonehenge Base and beat it's boss, Starman Deluxe, like a redheaded step child that happened to owe me money. *shrugs*

Actually I flew through quite a bit today, more than enough to make up for yesterday's brick wall I found so lovingly in my face. I now feel confident that I can keep my promise of beating Earthbound by the end of the week. Hell, at this rate I'll be done by tomorrow.

Included on today's body count are:

"Goofy looking piece of..."

-Starman Deluxe in Stonehenge Base

-Electro Specter in Lumine Hall

-The Carbon/ Diamond Dog from the Fire Spring

-Thunder and Storm from the Pink Cloud in Dalaam

And countless other smaller nuisances along the way. Has anyone ever seen a Tangoo? Look it up. It's freaking weird.

Equally weird (well....just look up a Tangoo) is, well, anything found once you get to the Lost Underworld. Think Journey to the Center of the Earth, but with more weird Moonmen and purple dinosaurs. So many purple dinosaurs. I got so tiny coming here, Ness' sprite being reduced to only a few pixels. Good. I was sick of lookin' at 'em anyway...

While speaking to a rock I figure out I'm almost finished collecting all of the song spots, missing only the Pink Cloud (leading me to the aforementioned Tangoo) in Dalaam and the Fire Spring here in the Underworld. So after ditching the Diamond dog and getting my thoughts read out loud by a wall I suddenly lost consciousness, waking to what can only be describe as full on, balls to the wall insanity.

Welcome to Magicant. I know I'm not (welcome, that is).

Murder and Mayhem

Yes. Today I played Earthbound. No, I didn't get far. 

Why? Because of these assholes.

These assholes, right here. 

Atomic Power Bot and the Starman Super. Both can go jump off the highest cliff in Eagleland, nay, the Universe.

I'm currently in the caverns under Stonehenge. I haven't found my way out yet because these assholes respawn if I so much as move slightly, reappearing when I move back. Earthbound's trademark seizure inducing battle screens aside, these two have done everything in their power to piss me off, and, I must say, they're doing a greeeeeeat job.

Even if I do manage to damage either one (which is becoming increasingly rare. I swear my party spends battles staring at the wonders that are their shoelaces), they both heal back anything and, here's the fun part: When I do manage to kill an Atomic Bot, he explodes! Hard enough to wipe out half my party! Every time!

With Jeff my lone survivor, I let the next batch of assholes kill me. Because it's Jeff, whats the point.

Soooooo to blow off a little steam I jumped over to Guild Wars 2 to finish my daily before the 7 o'clock reset. What's this? One of the achievements is 'ambient killer'? The achievement that allows, nay encourages, me to slaughter the innocent wildlife with white sprite names? Wildlife like...Bunnehs?!

"Why hello, bunnehs."

Status Report!

As only the most astute can see, I am currently updating (aka completely changing) the look of my blog! The changes might take a little while, so things might look a little wonky for the time being. But never fear, I'll have it finished and looking teh awesome in no time! Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments (change it again, keep it, etc).

So what's coming up?

The Nintendo 64 won the 'next game system' poll by a wide margin. Forbidden from playing anything Legend of Zelda for the console (grumps), I will instead play one of three games: Hexen, Jet Force Gemini, or Army Men: Sarge's Heros 2. Shoot me your vote in the comment section.

"But Geeky Cat, you aren't even close to beating Earthbound!" You are right, dear viewer, I haven't. I am giving myself until the end of the week: If I haven't beat it by then, I'll stop posting about it, and move on to another game. Once I do finally kick Gigas back to whatever nightmare he spawned from, there will be a post, but I feel as though I've used too much real estate on here on it already, so to keep from boring people I'll move on.

Also expect a number of one-shots in the future, games that take no more than an hour or two to play. Some games (like Earthbound) take a liiiiiittle too long to beat, so to break up the monotony (for you and me), I'll throw these in to spice things up!

So, fire off in the comments: Hexen, Jet Force Gemini, or Army Men: Sarge's Heros 2? WHO SHALL BE VICTORIOUS?!

Update!

I'm now finished with the site's makeover!

More good news! All pictures, comics included, will now come in full color!

Because, you, my wonderful readers, deserve only the best in sub-par photoshop skills.

I've waited...

...Oh, have I waited...

...And now, you are mine.