Anjin Unleashed: July 2014

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Usually I write these blog posts because I want to share my thoughts with the world. Not so much this one. I just want a place to keep links to all of these great articles about Bloodlines. You should read them, but this one is all for me.

Vampire: Bloodlines – Heather and Me by Kieron Gillen, April 9, 2008 - Kieron Gillen reminisces on his interactions with one NPC in the game and how it made him evaluate how far he would go in becoming a creature of the night.

Forever Young, The Tragedy Of Bloodlines by Jim Rossignol, February 11, 2009 - Jim Rossignol discusses how this massive game went wrong and why it is worth playing anyway.

Retrospective: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines by Lewis Denby, July 4, 2009 - Lewis Denby reassesses Bloodlines, making a case for why this broken masterwork is still worth experiencing.

Reanimated: The story of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines by Rick Lane, July 10, 2013 - Rick Lane discusses Bloodlines' troubled development and what the extraordinary lengths the community has done to patch the holes as best it can.

S.EXE: Vampire The Masquerade – Bloodlines Part 1 by Cara Ellison, June 20, 2014 - Cara Ellison tackles the sexuality inherent to the vampire mythology and who it is represented in Bloodlines.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Warning: I am about the bend the definition of "Played Lately" far beyond to bounds of our reality. Please wear proper eye and respiratory protection while in contact with this blog post.

Dark Souls - I finally completed Dark Souls on February 7, 2014, twenty-eight months after it was released. Were I to name a "Game of the Generation" (which I'm really thinking about doing), it would be a contender for the top spot. Dark Souls does not waste any time explaining itself. You get a tutorial about how to use the controls, and then they throw a giant demon at you. That sink-or-swim attitude drove many people away. But the positive word of mouth that made the game a phenomenon is not wrong. It rewards patience and planning, not reflexes and button mashing. Combat is not fast paced. It is thoughtful and deliberate. You can't bend the game to play like you would any other. It teaches you to play its way or not at all.
I love that each combat is deadly. There are no filler encounters. You take each fight seriously or you will die.
Of course, I did play it wrong. I had the wikis and maps to guide me through. But even with their assistance, I had to make my way through the game. I had to fight the bosses and I had to win the game. I was a gaming experience I will not soon forget.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - What better way to follow up one of the most intense fantasy gaming experience of the decade than with a flashy, action intense epic like Reckoning. While a good game, it didn't blow the world away. It very much feels like a cross between The Elder Scrolls and World of Warcraft. It's a big, single player MMO and it looks beautiful. I can't get over how pretty everything is. Of course, I had other things to do so I put it down and moved on. But it actually is a neat game.

Disney Magical World - Have you ever played Animal Crossing but wished it was an actual game? That's what Disney Magical World is. At the start of the game, you receive an invitation to Castleton, a magical crossroads for various Disney worlds. Upon arrival, you learn how to shop, dress, fish, harvest, craft items, and run a cafe. Then once the tutorial is over, you are sent to one of the other lands to defeat the ghosts who have overrun them. Progression is gated by achievements via the sticker book, so there is always guidance for how to advance though the game. If you are a Disney fan, this a cute, fun adventure.

Dark Souls II - Then I put everything else down to play Dark Souls II. There is a lot to recommend this game. The: combat is intense and the world is expansive and full of reward. But it does not have the same spark that Dark Souls did. I don't know whether to blame me or the game. But I did not find the same awe I found in the first game.

I appreciate anyone who happens to read this post. It has been a while since I last wrote for real and I've been missing it.