Gamespace in Durango

Well, I went to Gamespace and it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. It is for RPG and card game geeks. Don’t get me wrong, there is a healthy amount of people out there that love this type of gaming. Hell, my dad used to play a lot of this stuff growing up, so I have been exposed to plenty of Magic card games and D&D roleplaying as a kid. In fact, it may be what got me into virtual worlds when the Mario universe was introduced to me.

My dad has always had a soft spot for fantasy games, and in turn me too, but this isn’t my kind of gaming. I need a controller, a screen, and some killer moves to blow stuff up or solve puzzles. To me video games are instant gratification that is easy to tune in to or tune out of. I can jump in, play 30 minutes and then do other things. OK OK, I admit that I play more than I probably should. It interferes with me school at times and social life at other times, but in THEORY it is something that is easier to play a quick game and go on to something else.

It isn’t a bad place at all, if you are into such games. There are some cool people running it and the patrons seem to be cool, too. I just cannot deal with one on one RPG’s or card games anymore. It just doesn’t appeal to me.

If you do like these things, check them out.

http://www.durangogamespace.com

Glitch! My New Love!

Hey folks. I have been introduced to a great waste of time called Glitch, by Tiny Speck.

This is what I call “Farmville on crack”. It has all the busy-work that Farmville has in that you maintain everything. You harvest vegetative crops, animal crops, and mine ore all to assist you in building skills and material items to help yourself and others (in the form of gifting and barter) in an imaginative world. Here is the backstory in a nutshell:

11 gods imagined the world you are a part of. Your part is to play the role of a little Glitch and live your life they way you see fit. During the life, you procure items, create items, make contacts, explore the vast realm you live in, and deal with the amazing to the mundane. You give offerings to your god (no blood sacrifices, sorry) and they grant you goodies in return. Watch your health meter or else you will find yourself in Hell stomping Hellish Grapes. Don’t worry, stomp enough grapes and you are right back into the fold of the Glitch universe.

There is a monetary interface to this game, but at this time you do not have to participate. Sure, you can spend money on some of the items to help personalize you and your home, but again this is not necessary in order to enjoy many of the features this game has.

Currently it is in Beta testing and requires you know someone to invite you. I currently have 3 invitations that I am happy to give to the first three people whom comment on this post. It would require you to hand over an email addy so I can send the invite to you.

http://www.glitch.com

Here is a trailer:

Earthquake

I think I need to get out of this place. Yesterday I got home and my mom asked me to clean my room and shower before dinner. Since I had already eaten dinner, I ignored her and walked downstairs to take a nap. I woke up to my dad screaming “it’s bathtime!” followed by getting soaked by a pitcher of water he dumped on me. If you’ve ever woken up this way, then you already know it is the most shocking, unpleseant feeling in the world.

Later that night I called Clara and she didn’t answer. It took her 3 hours to call me back…3 HOURS! I’m not usually one to get nervous or anxious by any situation, I would even go as far as saying I’m a chill guy, but I began feeling sick to my stomach after the first hour. She never does this, and my mind began jumping to conclusions; what if she’s with another guy? What if he makes a move on her? What if she’s at a foam party and everyone is getting naked? She called me back a while later and told me she had been in the library and her phone was on silent. I yelled at her for not checking her phone, because we usually talk every night, but she calmly explained that I shouldn’t be mad and that I was being ridiculous. AGHHH! I really hope I don’t have to put up with this shit all the time, because my life is difficult enough as it is.

I’m going to take a nap.

Farcry 2

I’ve been doing these reviews and I think I’m pretty dang good at it. Checks it!

Farcry 2: 4/10

Decent concept, open world FPS, ok story line, not too deep though. One major factor that made me dislike this game: Every time you step outside the sanctuary of the main “town” EVERY person on the map tries to kill you, including the side you’re working for (you are a merc so you work both sides).Add an apparent game ending bug where I couldn’t enter the building the next main

 story mission was so that I could continue the story part of the game, and you have a bad game. If it wasn’t a bug and I was intended to do more side missions or something, then it’s still bad.Sometimes I want to fully experience all a game has to offer, other times the game just doesn’t have enough going on to keep me interested in much other than the main story. Disallow me from completing that story without more side missions (or a bug) and I’m not feeling inclined to figure out what I need to do to finish your game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1BnWp_T0SM&feature=youtu.be

I met Clara at …

I met Clara at San Juan College almost two years ago. It was the first day of class and I was completely lost trying to find my American Lit class. She was the first person I saw, and I knew I wanted to ask her for directions. She was absolutly clueless as to where my class was, in fact she was more lost than myself, but she dropped everything to help me find my way. From that day forward, I knew she was right for me. 

Since then we have been through a lot. We spent a lot of time together in Farmington. Oddly enough, her parents even liked me. She transferred to UNM at the beginning of the year. She wanted to go to a bigger school where she could expand her horizons. When she left I was completely devastated. I lost all of my ambitions and locked myself in my room. It took a while for me to realize I just had to deal with it. 

We talk every day and see each other on most weekends. She is coming to Durango this weekend and I am extremely excited. We are going to check out Game Space, a new game hangout in town. I will report back soon!

Gametime – Infamous 2

School keeps me busy, often getting in the way of what really matters. But sometimes I just gotta put on my game face and explore what is new out there. More recently I have discovered inFamous 2.

inFamous 2: 8/10

Liking it so far, although having played the first one I was pretty sure I would. The Karma carry over from the first game was a nice (if known) bonus. The plot is maybe a little tired, as I just came to a “twist” in the story that was, if not blatantly obvious, at least telegraphed fairly early.The many improvements to the gameplay however, are far from tired. Sucker Punch took

 everything I liked from the first game and simply expanded it in a bunch of awesome ways. The “Amp” is a nice addition that vastly improves how combat can work, and the new improved powers I’ve been granted thus far have me grinning a lot whilst I play.

Been playing the side missions and a few of the “User Generated” missions (as I basically just have been playing the story/side missions, all the “User” missions I’ve played were developed by Sucker Punch, so I haven’t checked out any true user submitted missions.) I’m liking them also, I can see how there could be a whole lot of replayability added with them.

I have a huge test tomorrow in archaeology…over 50 terms to memorize! Whatev though, I’m a sponge so soak me with knowledge. Talk soon.

A trailer:

http://youtu.be/9fGnb2zpyGk

Addicted

My name is Spencer Thompson and you are about to discover my story. Most people assume I’m a slacker that lives under his parents roof, and they would be right except for the fact that I am no slacker. Actually, I’m a genious. I am not making this up, my IQ is 180. Let me explain.

I was 4 years old when I picked up my first Gameboy. My father had given it to me for my birthday, against my mothers’ wishes. It was bright green and covered in stickers my father had collected over the years. I only had one game: Super Mario Brothers. From that day on, I was hooked. I brought my Gameboy everywhere. On my first day of school, my teacher caught me playing Super Mario Bros. in the bathroom stall. She took my Gameboy and gave it to my mother later that day. I was devastated, especially when my mom told me I couldn’t play on weekdays.

Back to my story, I was an excellent student. When I wasn’t distracted by games, I could solve any math problem, or memorize a anything after reading it once. In high school I learned that if I read a chapter once, I’d get a C, twice I’d get a B, and three times earned me an A+. I have a photographic memory. Unfortunately school was never a top priority, not because I didn’t care about school, but because I cared more about video games.

When I was 9 years old, I was moved up to high school algebra after my math teacher, Ms. Graham, realized I was way ahead of my classmates. I remember she told me that day, “Spencer, you’re very smart and you’ve got a lot of potential, but you’ll never make it in the world if you don’t give a darn.” Ms. Graham was right, and I have yet to accomplish something great.