Picture the scene. You’re in work, it’s 5pm and you finish in 30 minutes. What do you do to pass the time? Check facebook? Twitter maybe? Trip the the toilet could be good?
Not me, I did this:
Keeping busy
You see, I work in a primary school, and I help out in their after school club. A number of weeks ago I was tasked with buying the kids some Nintendo DS’s so I asked how much I could spend. It wasn’t a small number! A week later we had 8 brand spanking new ‘New Nintendo 3DS XL’s’ I was also tasked with ordering games, I got them some Mario games (Mario Kart is easily the most popular) some games aimed at younger children and I got a copy of Pokemon Omega Ruby. Then I waited.
Then this last Friday it happened. We had a quiet evening. There was about 3 kids left and two members of staff so I sat down, booted up and 3DS and cracked on with Pokemon. Now, I haven’t really played a Pokemon game properly since Pokemon Blue on the Gameboy, but I soon figured it out. Half past five hit “I’m taking this home for the weekend” I announced, half joking half hopeful. Nobody said anything so I did. I’ve spent about 6 hours on it over the last two days. I’ve got two badges and everything is going well.
Sadly I have to give it back Monday morning, and I am busy next weekend. The weekend after though we finish for two weeks (perk of the job) and if none of the kids have deleted my save I shall be carrying on!
So yeah. I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was.
Wow, it’s been a while since I posted something eh.
I am a huge fan of the Metal Gear Solid games and have been since playing the demo of MGS on the PS1 one school holiday as a kid. I played that now very famous demo over and over and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve played them all multiple times, and over the last year watched the Giant Bomb playthroughs by Dan Ryckert and Drew Scanlon which are excellent if a little frustrating at times.
So last week Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain launched, rather annoyingly on the day I returned to work after 6 weeks off, and is utterly wonderful.
That right there, is why I am loving it. It could be a very serious mission based open world stealth game, but because it’s Metal Gear, it has to also be very silly.
I’m not too sure how far in I am, but I’m just up to a sniper battle, which if you’ve played it, you’ll know. It’s damn hard, but so much fun.
I’d type more, but well, I’m off back on the PS4 to play some more.
So, I did indeed go shopping and picked up myself a PS4. I wasn’t really in the market for one but I did know in the back of my mind if I was to get one that I would be trading in my WiiU to help pay for it. The trade in price of the Wii U seemed to be dropping by the day so I took the plunge while I still had something of value to trade in.
It came with FIFA 15 and Destiny, I then picked up The Last of Us, a game I started on the PS3 when my old flatmate had a PS3 to play it on, since moving out however, that isn’t an option.
Fifa 15
Wow. I’d never played a next gen version of Fifa, and right off the bat I must say this looks bloody lovely. Everything you’d expect really from a Fifa title (apart from tackling, but I’ll get to that). My first sit up and take notice moment graphics and presentation wise was when being awarded a penalty, the reply showed, in detail, the oppositions defender grabbing at my players shirt and yanking it back. I was impressed!
I’ve only really played 2 modes so far, the ‘Be a Pro’ mode or whatever it’s called these days, where you created a player and guide him through his career. I started at Portsmouth, who in my first friendly with them played lovely attacking football, with my striker supported well, I banged in a hat-trick ‘easy this’ I thought. Sadly they loaned me out to Exeter, who played a boring defensive 5-4-1. Still, I managed a 25 goal season as we lost the playoff final.
Celebrating a goal, CM Punk style.
I’ve also been playing the very lucrative and addictive Fifa Ultimate Team (FUT) though not as much as in past years. This comes down to one thing. I can’t defend, like at all. I’m hopeless, which makes playing online against real people a little rubbish as they walk through my attempts to tackle. I’m getting better but it’s still not clicking fully, once I managed it I’ll be on FUT a great deal more.
Destiny
So, Destiny, an online shooter, and that was my first problem. To play Destiny properly, you need to be playing with a group of friends, all around the same level. I had a Xbox 360 last gen, so my PS4 friends list has about 3 people on, none of who have Destiny, in fact only 2 of them have a PS4. I am sure it’s a great game, but it’s just not for me, sadly.
Football Manager 2015
So yeah, FM15 is out. Guess who’s playing it.
It’s only in the Beta stage at the moment, but it’s pretty fun, mainly because the match engine allows for LOADS OF GOALS! Who doesn’t like scoring goals! As I type this I just had an epic 5-4 thriller against Spurs.
I’ll no doubt put a load of hours into it. I put 22 dull days over all into FM14. Oops.
I’m going to try to keep playing other stuff though, The Last of Us is lined up for the weekend.
I’m currently off work for the summer holidays, you remember those right, as a child you’d get a wonderful 6 weeks off school, turns out if you work in a school you get 6 weeks off too (it’s actually 5 with inset days and stuff but still)
Great for gaming right? Well, no, I’ve watched Orange is the New Black, been out on my bike and just messed around online when I should have been hitting games hard.
I did say a while back “once the summer holidays roll around, I’m getting a PS4 and getting into console gaming again” Sadly money hasn’t let me do this, though I am very tempted to pick up a The Last of Us Remastered bundle and get going.
Grand Theft Auto V
Before all that though, I need to polish off some of my 360 stuff as I imagine I’ll trade it in. So, I’ve been playing the masterpiece that is Grand Theft Auto 5, or GTAV for short. I think I was about half way through when I stopped playing, so I’ve just picked right up and carried on. I’m loving it
GTA V looks wonderful
The game also looks stunning, which, on such old hardware as the 360 is very impressive. When I last played it, I was growing tired of the missions, so was just messing around, having fun and seeing what chaos I could cause, much like everyone does in GTA. The break though means I’ve been hitting the missions hard and am currently building up to my next heist. Can’t wait to see what Trevor and his friends get up to next!
Trevor stopping for a ‘selfie’ as you do.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014
Last friday I took a trip to see two of my friends for a night of beer and Pro Evolution Soccer. We had a blast.
For the last couple of years Fifa had pretty much taken over our football game evenings, it’d had taken huge steps to take over from Pro Evo which was the game of choice in my teenage years. This year however, we’ve all grown a little tired of Fifa while Pro Evo has improved itself to get back on level pegging.
So the three of us sat back, and as one of my friends doesn’t like to play player vs. player we hit a 3 player Champions League mode. We started out poorly with lots of swearing and my friend oddly giving the finger to the TV. By the end of the evening though, we’d reached the CL quarter finals, winning the first leg 4-0, my finger giving friend had changed to doing forward rolls around the room when we scored and a good time was had by all. We shall be picking up the saved CL game the next time we all met up.
The quest for glory
I’ve also just picked up Mount Your Friends from Steam, my brother and friend are over tomorrow, so we’ll be loading that up. Should be fun!
So I am all settled. I’ve bought my own home, it was all kind of scary!
Not posted as I was without the internet for over two weeks, imagine that, two weeks without the internet. In that time I dabbled in some games, without playing anything fully Dark Souls was loaded. I am not very good at it, I lasted ten minutes, sorry internet!
I managed to play a episode of The Walking Dead Season Two and The Wolf Among us, I’ve posted about them before so won’t again other than to say I am still loving them. They’re ace!
I did managed to play and finish Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes
I am a huge MGS fan, I loved the first Metal Gear Solid, I played the Game Boy game, I loved two despite many not being as fond of it. Three I really didn’t like at first, mainly because I got stuck really early on, a year later I went back to it and loved it. 4 I enjoyed too.
I recently replayed the first via the PSN network, then played through 2, 3 and Peace Walker through the HD collection, and fell in love with them all over again.
Needless to say I was excited to get to grips with Ground Zeroes.
Due to moving, I’ve still not upgraded to a PS4 or Xbox One, so played on the 360, this didn’t bother me though, the game looked wonderful. Plays wonderfully too! I was rubbish though, so will be giving it a second go through once the World Cup is over, along with the extra missions.
So, no updates for what seems like forever. Sorry about that. Here’s why…
The title of this post has most likely given away the reason for this, but yes, I am moving. More excitingly it looks like I am buying my first home after a few years of renting. Once I am all moved in and settled I’ll get back to it but until then I don’t have a proper desk and chair to PC game, and my consoles are all boxed up. This has meant I have been well and truly sucked into my current Football Manager save. Oops.
I have added a few games to my steam library to get stuck into once I get set up. South Park, Trials Fusion and if I can get into it Dark Souls 2 are all on the agenda.
Been a quite week or two for me. Not played very much.
I have however, been playing two very rubbish games on my phone. The first.. Coin Dozer.
Coin Dozer is an iOS game based on those 2p machines you get in the arcades at the sea side. You put your 2p in and try push other 2p’s over the edge (or 10p’s if you’re fancy)
So anyway. I played Coin Dozer after a girl I work with recommended it. You start with 40 coins, once they’re gone, you can leave the game open on your phone or other ios device, and every 30 seconds you get a new coin, or leave it closed and get a coin ever 9 minutes (i think). At first I hated it. It’s rubbish. Then I played a little more, and before I knew it, like most iphone games I enjoy, I found I’d load it up while sat on the toilet, just use the coins up I had. It was hooked! I’d get home from work and use the coins I’d acquired through the day, doing the same at bed time and then again first thing in the morning. I hit level 10, then 20.. I told myself, I’ll stop at 30. Eventually, at 33 I deleted it, and that was that. Check it out though, for a bit, then remove it. It’s free too
I am sure by now, if you’re reading a blog about gaming, you’ve heard of Flappy Bird. It’s that annoying iphone game everyone’s playing on your facebook, moaning about how hard it is but returning for one last go. It’s also a game that despite going huge is apparently being removed from the app store by the guy who made it. He says he can’t handle it’s success, I think it might be more that he’s ripped off a bunch of Nintendo stuff in it. Either way, if you can still get it, check it out. I managed a rather impressive (if you’re 6 and missing your thumbs) score of 10.
So this Saturday my brother and a friend came to my flat, the plan was to watch the Football then head to the pub for some food. After we returned from the pub we found ourselves at a loose end as to what to do. I put King of Kong on.
My flatmate, my brother and I had all seen it before, but my friend, it was his first viewing. I refused to tell him what it was about, as he’d have not watched. He in fact, started off playing on his phone, no doubt on Flappy Bird, but soon he was hooked. He joined our hate of Billy Mitchell and our love of Steve Wiebe. If you haven’t watched it. Check it out.
So, after my guests left I fired up Donkey Kong, a game I played a little as a kid, but not for 20 years, for a quick go. My flatmate and I played for a good hour, taking turns to try and get our flats high score (6500 by my flatmate)
So, I’ve not posted for a week or two. I started back at work and haven’t had the time. Can you guess what I’ve played?
The Walking Dead was my favourite game of 2012, and one of my favourite games I’ve played, ever. I loved it. I know you didn’t do much ‘playing’ it was like an interactive film in some ways, but I was hooked. If it wasn’t for the fact my flatmate watched me play the last part, I’d have blubbered like a baby!
It took me a while to get around to the first episode of Season Two, but when I did, I was hooked all over again. As I mentioned, my flatmate watched me play the last episode of the first season, and asked if he could watch me play Season Two. At one point he loudly exclaimed “What the fuck! Where are they going with this” He’s as hooked as me 😉
I won’t post about the game too much, as I don’t want to spoil it. Just go play it.
It had three stand out moments for me, they made you do two rather distressing things and when Clem talks about Lee, I had a lump in my throat 😦
I started the day off by patching up the mod version of DayZ (I’m lucky enough, or daft enough, that despite only playing FM I still pick stuff up in the steam sale and give them a quick go) Patching went smooth enough and I picked myself a server.
It was a little different from the last time I played, mainly as the server was a custom one. I started off in the air, falling “oh eck” I thought “what’s this then” I quickly read on-screen prompts and opened a para-shoot. Cool! I landed safely and instantly had again, double cool! Not only that, I had the stuff to craft myself a bike. So of course I did. And off I set, gun in hand, speeding along on my bike. Sadly I crashed into a wall.
Not to worry though, as I headed into a building and picked up some bits and bobs. Loaded up with a backpack with some beans in it, I set to the road and it wasn’t long before I attracted the attention of a number of Zombies. I quickly fired my gun, using up all my ammo and killing…… none of the Zombies. I legged it!
I found myself climbing a ladder to the top of a building, then falling off. I think I broke my legs, as I just lay there, able to roll about a little, but unable to stand. I had soon been eaten.
So, after my failed life in Day Z I loaded up The Wolf Among us. I absolutely loved The Walking Dead, so I’m not sure why I waited this long to play TellTales next game. Damn it’s good!
Like, really really good. As good as The Walking Dead, better maybe? Who knows. I won’t go into detail, as I don’t want to spoil anything, if you haven’t played it yet. Get playing buy it here
I imagine once I’ve finished it (all the episodes) I’ll post more about it.
New Years Day I was hungover and tired, I didn’t want to game other than booting up trusty old Football Manager and playing on the Liverpool save I started at Christmas at my parents. I took them to top of the league by Christmas, much like real life. Down to 3rd by the opening on the transfer window. I’ll be back on it again soon I’m sure.
First up, if you haven’t played To The Moon stop reading my poorly written words and go play it. GO GO!
It’s utterly brilliant, almost made me cry at the end and just lovely. The soundtrack is a treat too. So, when I saw the makers had put out a short little minisode I got right on it this morning. It felt so good to be back with Neil and Eva, made me laugh a few times, and the music gave me goosebumps again. I can’t wait till their next game, A Bird Story is out!
To The Moon might not have the most cutting edge graphics, but it’s utterly beautiful, has a genuinely moving story and an incredible sound track. Everyone should play it.
So, there you go. I’ve played some more games. What a treat! I picked up Season Two of The Walking Dead last night in the steam sale. So I’ll crack on with that ASAP.
So, I’ve started a blog. But why? Let me tell you.
I’ve always been a fan of gaming since I was a young lad. I fondly remember playing on a VIC20 with my Dad, we played a text adventure, a game I learnt to spell the word ‘ATTACK’ on, as it’s always my answer for any problem. “18 huge lions appear, you have a wet toilet roll as a weapon” “Type in ATTACK”
It carried on through my young, We got a ZX Spectrum, which meant weekly trips each Sunday with my Dad and brother to the library to rent a game. We never copied them, I swear.
It carried on, through my teenage years on consoles, but recently I find myself not gaming as much. Other than the behemoth that is Football Manager (and Champ Man before it)
According to Steam I’ve played FM for the following number of hours:
FM2009: 237 Hours.
FM2010: 527 Hours
FM2011: 591 Hours
FM2012: 649 Hours
FM2013: 336 hours (I left home this year)
FM2014: 157 Hours so far.
The Problem:
Now, that’s way to much. So I have set up this blog to document the other games I am going to play instead of Football Manager. I will of course still play FM, I’ve got an amazing Middlesbrough save on the go in fact…. just not as much.
I started yesterday, and managed to play Brothers and Game Dev Tycoon (where I made an FM clone)
I’ll do more detailed post on the games I play in the future.
Attempting to Game 