The Depression

Well, it seems as though the depression is finally to be felt in my home. My father has just taken a 10% pay cut, as has everyone else at his workplace, including the owner. At least they all still have their jobs. However, now I'm going to feel really bad about asking him for anything... I'll have to find a job myself. But where to work... I'll have to write up a resume and start looking around. Part-time, of course. I'll be able to feed myself and by myself games and stuff, then, which will be good. And I'll have real-world job experience to stick on there.

In other news, I have... erm... Ah, yes, Generation of Chaos. This is a unique sort of strategy RPG, in that you manage squadrons of one hero and 29 other dudes. Soldiers. The hero has skills and super moves but can succumb to the weaker units of the other side if you aren't careful. Of course, sometimes your dudes stand no chance and you'll just have to run. At the begining of each battle, you choose your formation and attack strategy. You can wait, charge, target their commander or defend yours, or sometimes run. I'm not sure of the conditions for run, as it doesn't always appear.

Aside from combat, you manage your empire. Aside from shopping, you can only do things in town when there is a commander there, and only one thing can be done per commander, whether it's moving or fortifying a town or what. Multiple units of yours can sit on one square, and depending on where you are, up to four of them can defend against attacks, one at a time.

The movement system is based on a grid, with squares filled in to form paths between locations. Some units can move four, others five, and still others six. I havn't run into any units with more or less movement than that. Every unit has an ideal terrain to move on, as well. Dessert will slow most units down, and flatland, I do believe, is ideal for all units. Forest may slow larger, heavier units down, while flying units move best over rocky terrain.

Personally, I like it. It's a strategy game, but the combat is simple enough where I stop playing the game because I can't figure out what I want to do, as in Fire Emblem. Of course, a death in Fire Emblem is permanent, so it requires planning.

Blarg. Been a while.

So, let's see... what's new. Portal's new, let's start with that. At least, I think it is. Anyway.

Yes, Portal. A puzzle game made by Valve. You take control of one of seemingly many test subjects and have to make your way through various, well, puzzles, using... well... portals. You have to use inertia and momentum by falling, running, jumping and thinking your way through them. It's good fun, especially when you get to goin' real fast. The ending song is fun, too.

That's all I have to say about Portal... let's seee... Prinny!

Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero? is NIS America's first action game of the Disgaea series, known to be a strategy game. And it's very well pulled off. It digs back to the roots of gaming, when things were a challenge to play. There is the one-hit kill mode and the 4-hit kill mode. Either setting can get very difficult. Hell's Finest mode presents you with 'one hit you're dead' play mode, and you'll really need the thousand lives you're given to get through it!

New blog

So, I decided I should change my main blog to something a bit more fitting. I don't just play games, after all. I roleplay, I watch anime, I read manga, -and- I play games. It's so much more than just the video games.

So, let's see... I've been reading Negima! a lot lately, I'm up to volume 15, though I used the internet to finish the current story arc. Just to get it over with. I'll still buy it, of course, but I just wanted to finish it already. Heh. As for anime, I watched Ghost Hunt, which is good. Suspenceful at times, kinda scary, I couldn't sleep right away after watching it late at night, all by myself.

As for games, I've been playing a new MMO with a friend and I also found a cool Source engine mod off of Valve. It's based on space ship battle, between two capital ships. You can fly fighters and infiltrate the enemy ship, all sorts of stuff. It's good fun.

Now, with all these games I'm playing, you can imagine that, factor in school, and I might feel crunched for time! Oddly enough, I don't. Though, well, I suppose it's because I watched Ghost Hunt a while ago and read my Negima! books a while ago, too, so all I've got occupying me right now are the games and school.

Also, I've been rewatching parts of another anime, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I highly recommend this anime! It is AMAZING!

Anyway, yeah. So, here we go, maybe I can maintain the habit of posting regularly this time...