Ramblings of a thirty something cephalopod
I finally got around to playing Bayonetta from developer Platinum Games, a whole two to three years roughly after its release.
I will honestly admit that I came at this game expecting to dislike it. The character design is awful. Even getting past the fact that her head is creepily tiny – her proportions, dress and attitude all pretty much put me off…
Now that we’ve reached 2013 – without the world ending and everything – I wanted to post about the books that I read in 2012. I took part in the GoodReads Reading Challenge to try and read a set goal of books over the year as I’d really felt like I wasn’t reading as much as I used to, and I love reading.
I originally set the challenge figure at something like thirty books, as I started properly in April after finally sorting out and getting into the habit of using my local library more (free books are awesome!), but I soon upped it to sixty. I beat the goal in the end, reading sixty four books last year. I read some great ones…and some not so great ones.
I’ve been meaning to play Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for quite a while now, it’s been about two years since its fall 2010 release. I really enjoyed Ninja Theory‘s previous game, Heavenly Sword (though admittedly for its art and style more than its game play) but I just haven’t gotten around to playing Enslaved until now.
Part of that was simply a cost thing. At thirty to forty pound a game, even for games that turn out to be quite bad, I just can’t afford to buy every game when it comes out. Nor would I want to, it’s my money…I’m discerning with it. Using a rental service (which we’ve had for about a year now) really helps. We have a whole list of games, ‘B games’ we call them, which we kiiiind of fancy playing…but we suspect they won’t be good/worth the money/or anything we’ll want to keep.
So, onto Enslaved…
Our final week of playing Silent Hill 2, and it’s a fairly short one, with just three parts, the end credits, and our talkie. It’s a sort of finale, as we are going to be playing the optional scenario “Born from a Wish” which our player Scott hasn’t played either. Look forward to it soon!
We’ll be putting up a fun little teaser for the “Born from a Wish” scenario soon, so we’ll see you then!
So, we’re now finished week five of our awesome Silent Hill 2 Let’s (not) Play…(and I’m a tad late in linking to them, but oh wells)
We finished with the abstract maze…area, killed Eddie *sad face*, finally make it to the Lake Side Hotel where Mary is waiting for us, and managed to explore a fair amount of the hotel. Not far to go now.
Our fourth week of Silent Hill 2 videos! So, we finished the prison, and nearly finished that weird…maze/draw your own map area. We jumped down so many holes! Next week will be a little while in the waiting, but we’ll finally be at the hotel then, and then we’re close to being finished our Silent Hill 2 play through.
So, we’re back again with another week of lovely Silent Hill 2 videos. We had a week long break from video uploads, as Peter caught a nasty case of the flu, and he’s our chief recording and editing guy. Thankfully, he’s getting better! This week we have lots more goodness. We finished with the hospital, lost Maria to an encounter with Pyramid Head, and returned to the streets of Silent Hill, which are now dark and changed.
I…kind of get the feeling this whole, novel-ing thing isn’t for me. I’ve been dutifully going along so far with this year’s NanoWrimo after failing it last year. I have written about 12,000 words this time – which I’m pretty sure is better than last years attempt. And I do like the story I’ve written this year a lot more.
So, I wrote about a guy called Jamie Eltin, going to work in a seasonal Night Watch position in a forest/wood/hillside retreat called Stringham. I was having him doing the unsocial night watch, feeling ignored and undervalued by the boss as it were Nita Leavell, coming to nit picky blows with the handyman Allan, and finally meeting one of the guests Chritie. Jamie was generally unsociable and a bit of a loner.
During the course of the next few days Jamie is unnerved by the green tiled pool, the empty woods and bad dreams. Someone comes into his cabin and takes food. He finds muddy foot prints in the reception leading to the disused parts of the main retreat building. He feels watched and harassed – and then he finds a faded old blue note pad, which turns out to have belonged to someone who worked there before him.
The note pad described other buildings that used to be part of the retreat, but are now abandoned for some reason. Jamie investigates and finds one old building, but someone interrupts him and he hides – knowing he’s not doing his job. Later Jamie is pushed into the pool by someone during his watch, holding him down.
…
…
…Aaaand then I stopped. I played Minecraft, and the Sims 3. I watched Game of Thrones. I read through the Fifty Shades Trilogy. I read Eighty Days Yellow. How to be a Woman. The Great Gatsby. And I’m now just about to finally read The Casual Vacancy.
So, I’m thinking maybe loving to read, and even reading vicariously doesn’t at all translate – for me at least – into being able to write. Or maybe I’m just not in a good position to write right now with all the combined stress of a lot of stuff going on in the background. Who knows?
I’m not going to continue with this NanoWrimo then. I feel a little guilty, to be honest. I do know I could get through it. I don’t think it’s going to do anything for me. Right now. And maybe not ever. I’ll be keeping – like I did last time – what I’ve written to far.
*sigh*
So, another week…another set of lovely Silent Hill 2 videos.
A lot happened this week, in these videos, we…
…meet Eddie and enjoy the dulcet tones of him vomiting…
…put our hand in a disgusting toilet all for the sake of a few packets of bullets…
…get weird-ed out by Angela…
…wonder if James is crazy or really, really crazy…
…have a unexpected and deadly encounter with Pyramid Head…
…meet Maria…
…yell at Eddie for eating pizza…
…and appreciate Maria’s “charms”.
National Novel Writing Month is nearly here, and despite being unsuccessful last year in finishing it, I’m going to give it another try this year. I already have a rough idea of what I want to write as well.
It’s going to be…a kind of horror story, I think. About a guy who works in a wooded retreat as a night watchman. I’ll just have to see how it goes! Also, this year Peter of Peter Reviews will be joining me in the attempt.
nano2012