Chronicling the adventures of the most awesome group of well-adjusted geeks that Mankind has ever known.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Looking for campaign ideas :o
It has been far too long since we've had a roleplaying campaign, so shoot me some ideas (remember that I prefer to DM D20 Modern Campaigns) and I'll see what I can come up with.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
A reason to hold on
I was going post a thing pretty similar to what Mike said...but then realized he summed up everything I've been feeling lately pretty nicely. That being said though, he did leave one thing out, and that's something I think everyone should have, his reason to hold on. I've drifted through my life up till this point, essentially living for myself, never caring about anyone else... Lately however, since my dreams fell through, I've had to think of a more rewarding way to live...something better and more meaningful than instant gratification 24/7.
It wasn't really me that thought of this, but rather Father La Combe, a Chaplain I worked with while in the Corps. I worked with many men better than myself, and at one point or another each and every one of them would ask me the same question "Why in the fuck did you join the Marines? You're smart enough, dedicated enough, driven enough, to do litterally anything you could possibly want, and you chose THIS bullshit? Why?" I would usually give them a bullshit answer along the lines of loving my country, wanting to protect people, blah blah blah. The truth was that I joined because I wanted to test myself and anything short of war wasn't a good enough challenge...after breaking my feet it became pretty clear that I wouldn't be able to put myself through that test...But that chaplain gave me something new, something better, something that has given me more hope for myself and the future generations than anything else I've ever attempted to do. "I've seen the way you treat your Marines, you're hard on them, but harder on yourself...They may not understand it now, but I can see what you're doing. You want them to be better than you, they talk about how you come down on them hardest for mistakes you make, but they don't see how badly you beat yourself for those mistakes."
I forgot that lesson, the one thing I'm apparently good at. Pushing people to be better than me. As soon as I realized that this shitty ass civilian life is the best I could hope for, I gave up hope. Then I got a phone call from the one man that saw through my bullshit, and he listened to my complaints, and simply said "what makes these college kids different from your Marines? The fact that they didn't think they were strong enough to try? I would like to think you're smart enough to see past that, but I also know how Marines are...so I'm just going to say this. These kids may not be recruits, but they're still going through basic training. The basic training for who they'll be for the rest of their lives. You have a gift of being able to inspire the people around you, and while you may call it a curse, the fact that you despise yourself is a gift as well. It keeps you grounded, it ensures you wont let yourself get caught up in the politics of a work office, of life in general...when you see something wrong, you open your mouth. So next time I call, I don't want to hear any more about how lazy and moronic they are. I want you to tell me what you've done to try and improve the people around you."
Well Father La Combe, you probably wont ever read this, but I want you to know that I've at least started to take the steps to begin what you wanted me to do. This world is fucked up, some people say our country is lost, our political and financial systems are definitely broken and need to be fixed, but that gives me hope. I wont break down, I'll be the inspiration the people around me need. I wont let others break down, I'll be the one to hold them together, and show them glimpses of what the future may bring. I'm young, but the way I live my life pretty much ensures I wont make it for another 20 years. But I can guarantee that I'll live on through the people who have listened to my words, and felt the level of pride I felt when they succeeded at something they thought they could never do.
Mike, I can't answer why all this bullshit is happening, but it's our generation that is going to be stuck fixing it. The problems we're currently experiencing aren't new, they're hella old, but the generations before us have always kicked the can further down the street. My reason to hold on is my belief that we're the ones about half way down the street, that pick the can up and throw it away. I don't believe in the people, but I believe in our generation, although our parents sure as fuck don't. We're the oversexed-ultraviolence-over-exposed-to-media generation that has grown up with two wars and the worst economic outlook in decades. I can see the can coming, kicked by a fat elitist white politician that thinks he has nothing to fear, and I look forward to introducing him to something our generation knows better than his. It's something called reality.
It wasn't really me that thought of this, but rather Father La Combe, a Chaplain I worked with while in the Corps. I worked with many men better than myself, and at one point or another each and every one of them would ask me the same question "Why in the fuck did you join the Marines? You're smart enough, dedicated enough, driven enough, to do litterally anything you could possibly want, and you chose THIS bullshit? Why?" I would usually give them a bullshit answer along the lines of loving my country, wanting to protect people, blah blah blah. The truth was that I joined because I wanted to test myself and anything short of war wasn't a good enough challenge...after breaking my feet it became pretty clear that I wouldn't be able to put myself through that test...But that chaplain gave me something new, something better, something that has given me more hope for myself and the future generations than anything else I've ever attempted to do. "I've seen the way you treat your Marines, you're hard on them, but harder on yourself...They may not understand it now, but I can see what you're doing. You want them to be better than you, they talk about how you come down on them hardest for mistakes you make, but they don't see how badly you beat yourself for those mistakes."
I forgot that lesson, the one thing I'm apparently good at. Pushing people to be better than me. As soon as I realized that this shitty ass civilian life is the best I could hope for, I gave up hope. Then I got a phone call from the one man that saw through my bullshit, and he listened to my complaints, and simply said "what makes these college kids different from your Marines? The fact that they didn't think they were strong enough to try? I would like to think you're smart enough to see past that, but I also know how Marines are...so I'm just going to say this. These kids may not be recruits, but they're still going through basic training. The basic training for who they'll be for the rest of their lives. You have a gift of being able to inspire the people around you, and while you may call it a curse, the fact that you despise yourself is a gift as well. It keeps you grounded, it ensures you wont let yourself get caught up in the politics of a work office, of life in general...when you see something wrong, you open your mouth. So next time I call, I don't want to hear any more about how lazy and moronic they are. I want you to tell me what you've done to try and improve the people around you."
Well Father La Combe, you probably wont ever read this, but I want you to know that I've at least started to take the steps to begin what you wanted me to do. This world is fucked up, some people say our country is lost, our political and financial systems are definitely broken and need to be fixed, but that gives me hope. I wont break down, I'll be the inspiration the people around me need. I wont let others break down, I'll be the one to hold them together, and show them glimpses of what the future may bring. I'm young, but the way I live my life pretty much ensures I wont make it for another 20 years. But I can guarantee that I'll live on through the people who have listened to my words, and felt the level of pride I felt when they succeeded at something they thought they could never do.
Mike, I can't answer why all this bullshit is happening, but it's our generation that is going to be stuck fixing it. The problems we're currently experiencing aren't new, they're hella old, but the generations before us have always kicked the can further down the street. My reason to hold on is my belief that we're the ones about half way down the street, that pick the can up and throw it away. I don't believe in the people, but I believe in our generation, although our parents sure as fuck don't. We're the oversexed-ultraviolence-over-exposed-to-media generation that has grown up with two wars and the worst economic outlook in decades. I can see the can coming, kicked by a fat elitist white politician that thinks he has nothing to fear, and I look forward to introducing him to something our generation knows better than his. It's something called reality.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
My tangent on a Thursday morning. . .
College is going to shit. Not doing so well, and no matter how I attack my courses, it seems I'm destined to get a bad grade. Ughhh, I've already signed up for my spring semester classes, but I don't know if I'll be able to pass my Fall classes. Pretty depressed right now. . .and my video games and booze are my outlets. . .except now they are my hindrance towards school. Can't wait till Thanksgiving break, but at the same time I don't want to go forward. . .I want to go back and restart. How can anyone expect happiness today? American Dream? Those are for the people not living here, Americans live in a nightmare. . .everyday we either go to school, or work. We pay pay bills, or soon pay off loans in the $100,000. . .Our society grows ever closer to those fucked animes we watched so much back then and thought it would be awesome and adventurous to live in...now. . .I'm more fearful of the future. . .I'm fearful for you guys and my family. Our government doesn't exist, our education about the future and our expectations don't exist. I'm not being pessimistic here, I'm honestly a realist. . .or is that another term for pessimists taht act like optimists? Why did we wanna grow up so fast in a world where dreams have become shitty TV shows and hot, twisted minded, deprave celebs flaunting their vices in front of millions for attention and money. What happened to the hard working Americans? The innovators? The role models? America has yet to see a true statesmen since FDR! Our politicians and government officials are all demagogues or at least controlled by them. When did capitalism become so one sided and distorted? Barack Obama was a Illinois Senator and never once did anything in Congress except speak at a speech conference for a charity. . .and he was suppose to bring change? Why don't Americans care? We are too busy dealing with out own problems on the homefront, than to look some what decent to the rest of the world and offer a dollar to help. The EU is on the verge of collapse with Italy showing signs of economic instability and if the EU goes? What next? Sometimes I wonder. . .what the hell were we thinking? WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING!? WHY WHY GODAMMNIT WHY!? Here's my beer can to all you guys, I miss you and I wish. . .things never changed.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Two People in History. . .Part II
Pick two people from history that you would love to take along with on a vacation trip to the Caribbean and why? Johnny Depp so we can drink Rum together everyday and Marylin Monroe. . .because we are in the Caribbean, duh! :D
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Two People in History. . .
What two people from history would hike outdoors with and why? For me it would be Bear Grylls because he is a hard ass and will protect me, the other would be Bob Marley so we can sing some sick as songs by the campfire :D
Monday, October 17, 2011
Real chess
Pieces are shot glasses filled with your favorite alcoholic beverage. After awhile you don't want to sacrifice pieces and when you do lose pieces you fucking hate it :D
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Fucking Gold Membership
So Battlefield 3 comes out Oct. 25th. . .and that's when my gold membership ends. . .fucking awesome; here goes $60
To Ty
Post a story of a funny or horrific moment as an analogy, and I'll respond with a witty, positive comment.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Roleplaying Memories Part II
Rob's hand-made zombie campaign. . .that was so BOSS. Also on a related note. . .one of Rob's other D2o Modern sessions. . .LUKE, WHO THE FUCK WIELDS A GREATSWORD AND THEN ATTACKS AN ONCOMING CAR!?. Good Times ;p
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Group Goal
I say that we should create a roleplaying system that would fit all our crazy needs. taking the thrills, darkness, and evil from the Warhammer world, mechanics from DnD, and a few ideas from video games like World of Warcraft: for example classes, the way the spells work and talents.
It's just a thought and I find it quite disturbing that we should create something that seems semi-unrealistic and actually create a different world. DnD takes actuality in play, i applaud them, Dark Heresy takes it into the future with daemons and lots of darkness, more applauding. And I find the spell crafting in WoW to be quite amazing. Like the mana pool seems like a fairly good idea and I think should be considered.
I know none of us are going to have the time on our hands to do this just yet but I find it an interesting thought at the moment. Because I'm pretty sure we all have certain classes that can be improved and become much better in game. I like the idea where we create a system upon our own needs then abiding by a system that has so many rules that are all common sense and we generally don't use them in the first place.
Food for thought I guess. :P
It's just a thought and I find it quite disturbing that we should create something that seems semi-unrealistic and actually create a different world. DnD takes actuality in play, i applaud them, Dark Heresy takes it into the future with daemons and lots of darkness, more applauding. And I find the spell crafting in WoW to be quite amazing. Like the mana pool seems like a fairly good idea and I think should be considered.
I know none of us are going to have the time on our hands to do this just yet but I find it an interesting thought at the moment. Because I'm pretty sure we all have certain classes that can be improved and become much better in game. I like the idea where we create a system upon our own needs then abiding by a system that has so many rules that are all common sense and we generally don't use them in the first place.
Food for thought I guess. :P
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Roleplaying Memories Part I
Officially working on the second phase of my original Dark Heresy campaign. Going through all my notes, maps, and character sheets [all of yours as well] is just so profound. . .that was a great campaign. . .
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Fight Club
Some friends and I down here at SIUe got drunk the other day and began fighting. I walked to class with a broken nose and cuts all over my face. I knew a great deal them knew what happened to my face. haha my fight club has begun!
Life So Far - Kile
I'm currently in Okinawa, Japan right now. I just came back from the Mojave desert, learning about things that I already knew but doing ridiculous stuff.
Right now I have a few Corporals that love to haze and I am an augment, an augment is a person from a different MOS/job that was moved to another job, and I basically had to learn their job. After shifting to their standards and adapting to their work style, I have come to learn to effectively shoot the 50cal, MK19, SAW, and M4. I can use an IV, splints, and other medical devises that help people breath and continue living.
Every single day I think about you guys and my family, what they do and how differently it is working in the Marine Corps. It saddens me that I can't do what I want to do, I have to report and have formations every single day, and I can't go anywhere without doing paperwork. To go back home would cost thousands of dollars and leave pay which I don't have which is why I'm not coming home before Afghan. I wake up everyday around 5-6 AM if I'm lucky. Sometimes around 3.
I hide myself in my room to get away from everybody since I love my silence, alone-time, and anti-socialist feelings. It's quite funny how I exactly remember getting back into Luke's basement and beginning the journey of being part of this group. It was during lunch in highschool, Mike and I sat next to each other with a few others, and we were both talking and I brought up if I would be able to join in because I was interested in playing DnD, Warhammer, and all the video games that we could get our geeky lil hands on.
I can't do that anymore every weekend because I'm literally thousands of miles away from my true best friends. It's one thing to trust my Marine friends with my life and mine with yours, but I trust things to held by you and nothing to be taken away from me. The Marine Corps is like one huge take care of yourself first then the buddy next to you party. It's sad...
To be honest, I envy not being able to go to college for a few years and continue on with my life, repaying everything. But I'll just use the GI bill for my tech college, make my underground house, and continue on with my plans for business - and great plans they are.
Then come the thoughts of me dieing while in Afghan but then I think of, 'Well, at least I won't have to worry about anything else ever again.' Which is sadistically true. I'll try to preserve myself as best as I can. I can't tell you anything else about my job due to security reasons but know this, I'm part of a group that can kick ass.
I really miss freedom. I really do. Irony's a bitch. I'm fighting for freedom when I have no freedom myself.
Right now I have a few Corporals that love to haze and I am an augment, an augment is a person from a different MOS/job that was moved to another job, and I basically had to learn their job. After shifting to their standards and adapting to their work style, I have come to learn to effectively shoot the 50cal, MK19, SAW, and M4. I can use an IV, splints, and other medical devises that help people breath and continue living.
Every single day I think about you guys and my family, what they do and how differently it is working in the Marine Corps. It saddens me that I can't do what I want to do, I have to report and have formations every single day, and I can't go anywhere without doing paperwork. To go back home would cost thousands of dollars and leave pay which I don't have which is why I'm not coming home before Afghan. I wake up everyday around 5-6 AM if I'm lucky. Sometimes around 3.
I hide myself in my room to get away from everybody since I love my silence, alone-time, and anti-socialist feelings. It's quite funny how I exactly remember getting back into Luke's basement and beginning the journey of being part of this group. It was during lunch in highschool, Mike and I sat next to each other with a few others, and we were both talking and I brought up if I would be able to join in because I was interested in playing DnD, Warhammer, and all the video games that we could get our geeky lil hands on.
I can't do that anymore every weekend because I'm literally thousands of miles away from my true best friends. It's one thing to trust my Marine friends with my life and mine with yours, but I trust things to held by you and nothing to be taken away from me. The Marine Corps is like one huge take care of yourself first then the buddy next to you party. It's sad...
To be honest, I envy not being able to go to college for a few years and continue on with my life, repaying everything. But I'll just use the GI bill for my tech college, make my underground house, and continue on with my plans for business - and great plans they are.
Then come the thoughts of me dieing while in Afghan but then I think of, 'Well, at least I won't have to worry about anything else ever again.' Which is sadistically true. I'll try to preserve myself as best as I can. I can't tell you anything else about my job due to security reasons but know this, I'm part of a group that can kick ass.
I really miss freedom. I really do. Irony's a bitch. I'm fighting for freedom when I have no freedom myself.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Dance of Dragons
Just finished Dance of Dragons (took me about a week to finish). Well, well Mr. Martin. . .I want to read your next book. . .NAOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I went on my first late night walk in about two years tonight. The stars have always comforted me, no matter how chaotic my life seems, I can always go out, look up at them, and they'll be the same. Tonight they were unusually clear...and it made me understand some things about them that I had always known, but never really thought about in depth. I'll get to those things later, first I'm going to talk about everything that went down as I walked and contemplated.
The whole point of this little 3 A.M. trip was simply to get some cigarettes, and to let the chilly air clear my head. As I walked though...I realized that despite the fact that it's been two years since I've done this, and yet I was thinking virtually the same thoughts that I had the last time. My insecurities are the same, my pure, almost psychotic hatred of myself was there, my alienation from everyone around me? The same. I walked past an old friend's house, the only thing different was the fact that he didn't live there anymore. Walked past a few different houses of some girls I had fucked in the past...the only thing different about those ones, were the dicks that said girls were sucking. The streets are the same, the memories I've had on them, the same, and the drunk town people stumbling around...pretty much the same. Only instead of simply feeling slight amusement from watching them, I felt something else...Especially when they recognized me.
"Oh shit...are you Tyler?"
"..yeah"
"You went to MCHS?"
"yes..."
"Aren't you in the Marines?"
"I was"
The conversation continued for a bit, but my mind was elsewhere, these were people that graduated school the same time as me, but were still doing the exact same shit. That last part however stung.
The only thing I had ever wanted in life was to be a Marine, and I attained that goal, but then had it taken away from me, for reasons that..if you don't know, you don't really NEED to know. But what they say about "Once a Marine, always a Marine" is unfortunately true. I would give anything to have people not know what I did, every time they bring it up, it's salt upon the wound. I think that's why I've been drinking so much lately, because at the end of the bottle, there's blissful unconsciousness. In the past I could deal with all the shit my mind put me through, because I had something to look forward too. Now however....Now I don't have shit to hope for. So I'll spend my next paycheck on cancer sticks, and a shit ton of liquor, and my friends can take bets on which will kill me first.
Back to the main concept of this blog, which is how much nothing changes. It's kind of weird because 2 years ago the conversation would have went like this
"Aren't you Tyler?"
"Mhm"
"And you go to MCHS?"
"Mhm."
"Why don't you talk much?"
"Don't know"
Not much different at all really. In school I was extremely quiet up until about my Senior year, where I realized it wasn't all that hard to seduce someone, and had sex with more girls than I (or they) would like to admit. Anyone that has read my previous posts may wonder why I bitch about being single so much if I could "easily" seduce a gal...well I'll put it like this. Let your dick fuck up a few of the best friendships you've ever had, and then we'll see how confident you are about taking a chance by flirting.
Anyways...I got my smokey smokes, and walked back home, and that's when the suicidal hate kicked in. I've always kinda been jealous of people that kill themselves, I've never understood it though. Despite the fact that I on a pretty regular basis hope I get creamed by a drunk driver, shot by some gang member, or stabbed by a girl's jealous boyfriend, I've never been able to do the deed myself. I think it has something to do with my annoying habit of not liking to be beat, especially by myself. Ending my life would essentially be telling myself "good job, you win." No one wants their enemy to win, and the main villain in my life, is me. So fuck what that guy wants. Then I looked up to the stars in a desperate attempt to escape the voices gathering in my head, and that's when I made the connection between stars and people.
Despite the fact that we generally think of stars as always being there, quite a few of them are already dead. We're just seeing pictures of how beautiful they were before they exploded. It's the same with how people are. You see them walking around with a smile on their faces, but more times than anyone would like to admit, they're already dead. Corpses stumbling through life with pictures of the past stapled to their faces. I don't know what I'm trying to get at with this, but I guess it's this. We all have a favorite star (mine is the middle one in Orion's belt) and it could be dead already, but I don't know if that's any more tragic than any of the millions in the night sky. Each one is beautiful beyond words, and the fact they could be gone already, today, or tomorrow makes them all the more perfect. You need to look at the people around you in the same way, they could be your best friend, an acquaintance, or a complete stranger. It doesn't matter though, we all have shit going on in our lives, some have a harder battle than others, but at the end of the day, my problems are the same many of you are feeling. Cherish every moment you have with them, because you never know when their mask will fall away, and you'll be at their funeral wishing you had spent more time with them, trying to figure out how you didn't realize they were so depressed. If you're put in that situation, whatever happens don't blame yourself. They were dead long before their heart stopped beating, their light just wasn't quite done burning yet. And if YOU are one of the people out there already dead on the inside?
Well..
You may think you're just another anonymous face among the billions of people on Earth, you may think that no one would care if you're gone, but trust me. To someone out there, you're Orion's middle star. Someone would miss you dearly if you weren't here tomorrow. And even in the miniscule chance that no one would miss you, the night sky that is humanity would be a little less bright because you weren't there to light it up. I know how hypocritical it is for someone that freely talks about how much he hates life, and how badly he just wants to end it all, to say something like that.
But I already found the fuel to keep me burning. I refuse to give in to those thoughts, period.
Find your fuel, and hold onto it until your body decays. Rest will come for us all.
The whole point of this little 3 A.M. trip was simply to get some cigarettes, and to let the chilly air clear my head. As I walked though...I realized that despite the fact that it's been two years since I've done this, and yet I was thinking virtually the same thoughts that I had the last time. My insecurities are the same, my pure, almost psychotic hatred of myself was there, my alienation from everyone around me? The same. I walked past an old friend's house, the only thing different was the fact that he didn't live there anymore. Walked past a few different houses of some girls I had fucked in the past...the only thing different about those ones, were the dicks that said girls were sucking. The streets are the same, the memories I've had on them, the same, and the drunk town people stumbling around...pretty much the same. Only instead of simply feeling slight amusement from watching them, I felt something else...Especially when they recognized me.
"Oh shit...are you Tyler?"
"..yeah"
"You went to MCHS?"
"yes..."
"Aren't you in the Marines?"
"I was"
The conversation continued for a bit, but my mind was elsewhere, these were people that graduated school the same time as me, but were still doing the exact same shit. That last part however stung.
The only thing I had ever wanted in life was to be a Marine, and I attained that goal, but then had it taken away from me, for reasons that..if you don't know, you don't really NEED to know. But what they say about "Once a Marine, always a Marine" is unfortunately true. I would give anything to have people not know what I did, every time they bring it up, it's salt upon the wound. I think that's why I've been drinking so much lately, because at the end of the bottle, there's blissful unconsciousness. In the past I could deal with all the shit my mind put me through, because I had something to look forward too. Now however....Now I don't have shit to hope for. So I'll spend my next paycheck on cancer sticks, and a shit ton of liquor, and my friends can take bets on which will kill me first.
Back to the main concept of this blog, which is how much nothing changes. It's kind of weird because 2 years ago the conversation would have went like this
"Aren't you Tyler?"
"Mhm"
"And you go to MCHS?"
"Mhm."
"Why don't you talk much?"
"Don't know"
Not much different at all really. In school I was extremely quiet up until about my Senior year, where I realized it wasn't all that hard to seduce someone, and had sex with more girls than I (or they) would like to admit. Anyone that has read my previous posts may wonder why I bitch about being single so much if I could "easily" seduce a gal...well I'll put it like this. Let your dick fuck up a few of the best friendships you've ever had, and then we'll see how confident you are about taking a chance by flirting.
Anyways...I got my smokey smokes, and walked back home, and that's when the suicidal hate kicked in. I've always kinda been jealous of people that kill themselves, I've never understood it though. Despite the fact that I on a pretty regular basis hope I get creamed by a drunk driver, shot by some gang member, or stabbed by a girl's jealous boyfriend, I've never been able to do the deed myself. I think it has something to do with my annoying habit of not liking to be beat, especially by myself. Ending my life would essentially be telling myself "good job, you win." No one wants their enemy to win, and the main villain in my life, is me. So fuck what that guy wants. Then I looked up to the stars in a desperate attempt to escape the voices gathering in my head, and that's when I made the connection between stars and people.
Despite the fact that we generally think of stars as always being there, quite a few of them are already dead. We're just seeing pictures of how beautiful they were before they exploded. It's the same with how people are. You see them walking around with a smile on their faces, but more times than anyone would like to admit, they're already dead. Corpses stumbling through life with pictures of the past stapled to their faces. I don't know what I'm trying to get at with this, but I guess it's this. We all have a favorite star (mine is the middle one in Orion's belt) and it could be dead already, but I don't know if that's any more tragic than any of the millions in the night sky. Each one is beautiful beyond words, and the fact they could be gone already, today, or tomorrow makes them all the more perfect. You need to look at the people around you in the same way, they could be your best friend, an acquaintance, or a complete stranger. It doesn't matter though, we all have shit going on in our lives, some have a harder battle than others, but at the end of the day, my problems are the same many of you are feeling. Cherish every moment you have with them, because you never know when their mask will fall away, and you'll be at their funeral wishing you had spent more time with them, trying to figure out how you didn't realize they were so depressed. If you're put in that situation, whatever happens don't blame yourself. They were dead long before their heart stopped beating, their light just wasn't quite done burning yet. And if YOU are one of the people out there already dead on the inside?
Well..
You may think you're just another anonymous face among the billions of people on Earth, you may think that no one would care if you're gone, but trust me. To someone out there, you're Orion's middle star. Someone would miss you dearly if you weren't here tomorrow. And even in the miniscule chance that no one would miss you, the night sky that is humanity would be a little less bright because you weren't there to light it up. I know how hypocritical it is for someone that freely talks about how much he hates life, and how badly he just wants to end it all, to say something like that.
But I already found the fuel to keep me burning. I refuse to give in to those thoughts, period.
Find your fuel, and hold onto it until your body decays. Rest will come for us all.
Monday, September 26, 2011
LA Noire Review-First detective based game review
LA Noire was said to break the gaming world with it's innovative gaming style and raise the bar in gaming, with Rockstar at the helm I'd say they made a great step towards the sandbox series . .with a few strangled victims and then some.
It had that Rockstar game feel, but also had something more:
There haven't been many games out there about detectives solving murders and crimes (like those old problem-solving games on the PC back in the day). LA Noire wanted to reopen a new genre of gaming. What to expect from Rockstar Games? A good sandbox game with funny, enjoyable, real characters. A big world to explore. . .literally I was running and driving around most of Los Angeles getting to mission markers and places to find secret, classic cars to drive around town with. Aside from that, you also expect a solid story line full of intrigue, betrayal, suspense, and humorous moments. Rockstar delivered, but every game can only take so much repetitiveness sadly.
The Story: You play as a young Caucasian male named Cole Phelps, married with a child, ambitious, intelligent, overall a just person with a responsibility to the world not seen by other Rockstar characters: GTA III's character never talked, and did anything other people told him to do/ CJ from San Andreas was your typical African-American gangbanger from the movies who did it for the streets/Tommy Vercetti from Vice City was yet again your stereotypical hard-ass, coked up, Italian mafioso doing it for the cash/Niko was that unknown man, a horrifying history that would haunt him throughout the game, but all them had the same thing in common: They all took on responsibility to satisfiy a need of another. Cole Phelps seemed to be that character again with a troubled past (former Marine lieutenant, 3rd Division, fought in some of the thickest battles in World War II, and was haunted by his actions during the war) his past would be a reoccurring flashback throughout the game that would all culminate at the end with spectacular fashion. His hard-knock Marine discipline plays a crucial role in the game as it makes him the just zealot, solving crime for the greater good and to aspire to be a great hero like he did during the world.
You start off as a blue shirt (patrol cop), doing the grunt work for detectives like setting up police lines, patrolling the streets. You eventually solve your first case with flying colors and impress the Captain of your district and promoted to the Traffic Desk i.e. average joe crimes around the city. You gain your first partner and begin a list of crimes that all revolve around the Black Dahlia murders. After solving each crime with flying colors, you move on to Homicide, Vice, and finally Arson desk each with a different partner with their own personality and takes on how to solve the crime. The end leaves you in awe. . .and WHY!? WHAT!? You BASTARD! And I'll leave it at that.
Gameplay: The finding of clues is the basis of the game. To solve each case finding clues at the crime scene is important (especially for the interrogations). Each clue you find is put into Cole's mini notebook that details the clue further. Clues are fucking important. . .don't miss even one or it could make or break an interrogation. Questioning prior to interrogations is a big factor. With the "face-recognition" feature you had to base your gut feeling on this and conclude if their alibi checked out or believed their story (if you got it wrong you, man it would fuck your day over). Choosing from 3 choices: They were telling the truth, you have doubts
(I doubt you 90% of the time. Basically I'm gonna agree with you now and kick in your door later and find the the GOD DAMN EVIDENCE just to smite you!)
of what they said, or they are straight up lying. These lead to the interrogation where you make the decision if this man is guilty or not. On some occasions I didn't know if the man I just accused of even did the crime. . .oh well another scumbag behind bars I guess. Gaining the confession from the interrogation is the only way to pass on to the next case (if you fail you redo the interrogation). Also at the end of each case you're graded, which really doesn't matter unless you killed a few innocents or they get hurt during the case, property damage etc. The game begins to get repetitive with the same style of interrogating, questioning, clue searching, driving around. . .(except you can tell your partner to drive around for you, but you miss out on local crimes that you can call in to help out i.e. a liquor store robbery). Shooting is reminiscent to Red Dead Redemption with auto-lock, but you don't have to use it. You mostly use your M1911, but can pick up a shotgun or a Thompson in certain occasions. Minor shootouts, chase and pursuits, looking for clues, questioning, and interrogation are step processes you will have to complete in on each case to move on. . .which gets VERY repetitive.
Visuals: Awesome. . .especially the facial recognition of each character.
Sound: Um, good?
Final say: Overall the game was exciting, with a unique story-plot twist. You really get a sense of realism in this game and the repetitiveness, though tedious and often boring, was special and made the game feel like you were a detective not sleeping for days working on a single case. Game mechanics were innovative and fun, hopefully in the future to evolve into something greater. Characters came and went and somewhat left a mark on you. Story was a roller coaster ride, climatic endings to each case yet always the same grind up the top.
Fun, innovative, new taste, replay value. . .with the last of the DLC out is worthwhile but not enticing, story is exciting and you force yourself through the tedious detective work to find out what happens next, 9/10 a fresh new taste in this RPG/sand box/first person shooter/ third person rebirth/ horror filled gaming world we live in.
It had that Rockstar game feel, but also had something more:
There haven't been many games out there about detectives solving murders and crimes (like those old problem-solving games on the PC back in the day). LA Noire wanted to reopen a new genre of gaming. What to expect from Rockstar Games? A good sandbox game with funny, enjoyable, real characters. A big world to explore. . .literally I was running and driving around most of Los Angeles getting to mission markers and places to find secret, classic cars to drive around town with. Aside from that, you also expect a solid story line full of intrigue, betrayal, suspense, and humorous moments. Rockstar delivered, but every game can only take so much repetitiveness sadly.
The Story: You play as a young Caucasian male named Cole Phelps, married with a child, ambitious, intelligent, overall a just person with a responsibility to the world not seen by other Rockstar characters: GTA III's character never talked, and did anything other people told him to do/ CJ from San Andreas was your typical African-American gangbanger from the movies who did it for the streets/Tommy Vercetti from Vice City was yet again your stereotypical hard-ass, coked up, Italian mafioso doing it for the cash/Niko was that unknown man, a horrifying history that would haunt him throughout the game, but all them had the same thing in common: They all took on responsibility to satisfiy a need of another. Cole Phelps seemed to be that character again with a troubled past (former Marine lieutenant, 3rd Division, fought in some of the thickest battles in World War II, and was haunted by his actions during the war) his past would be a reoccurring flashback throughout the game that would all culminate at the end with spectacular fashion. His hard-knock Marine discipline plays a crucial role in the game as it makes him the just zealot, solving crime for the greater good and to aspire to be a great hero like he did during the world.
You start off as a blue shirt (patrol cop), doing the grunt work for detectives like setting up police lines, patrolling the streets. You eventually solve your first case with flying colors and impress the Captain of your district and promoted to the Traffic Desk i.e. average joe crimes around the city. You gain your first partner and begin a list of crimes that all revolve around the Black Dahlia murders. After solving each crime with flying colors, you move on to Homicide, Vice, and finally Arson desk each with a different partner with their own personality and takes on how to solve the crime. The end leaves you in awe. . .and WHY!? WHAT!? You BASTARD! And I'll leave it at that.
Gameplay: The finding of clues is the basis of the game. To solve each case finding clues at the crime scene is important (especially for the interrogations). Each clue you find is put into Cole's mini notebook that details the clue further. Clues are fucking important. . .don't miss even one or it could make or break an interrogation. Questioning prior to interrogations is a big factor. With the "face-recognition" feature you had to base your gut feeling on this and conclude if their alibi checked out or believed their story (if you got it wrong you, man it would fuck your day over). Choosing from 3 choices: They were telling the truth, you have doubts
(I doubt you 90% of the time. Basically I'm gonna agree with you now and kick in your door later and find the the GOD DAMN EVIDENCE just to smite you!)of what they said, or they are straight up lying. These lead to the interrogation where you make the decision if this man is guilty or not. On some occasions I didn't know if the man I just accused of even did the crime. . .oh well another scumbag behind bars I guess. Gaining the confession from the interrogation is the only way to pass on to the next case (if you fail you redo the interrogation). Also at the end of each case you're graded, which really doesn't matter unless you killed a few innocents or they get hurt during the case, property damage etc. The game begins to get repetitive with the same style of interrogating, questioning, clue searching, driving around. . .(except you can tell your partner to drive around for you, but you miss out on local crimes that you can call in to help out i.e. a liquor store robbery). Shooting is reminiscent to Red Dead Redemption with auto-lock, but you don't have to use it. You mostly use your M1911, but can pick up a shotgun or a Thompson in certain occasions. Minor shootouts, chase and pursuits, looking for clues, questioning, and interrogation are step processes you will have to complete in on each case to move on. . .which gets VERY repetitive.
Visuals: Awesome. . .especially the facial recognition of each character.
Sound: Um, good?
Final say: Overall the game was exciting, with a unique story-plot twist. You really get a sense of realism in this game and the repetitiveness, though tedious and often boring, was special and made the game feel like you were a detective not sleeping for days working on a single case. Game mechanics were innovative and fun, hopefully in the future to evolve into something greater. Characters came and went and somewhat left a mark on you. Story was a roller coaster ride, climatic endings to each case yet always the same grind up the top.
Fun, innovative, new taste, replay value. . .with the last of the DLC out is worthwhile but not enticing, story is exciting and you force yourself through the tedious detective work to find out what happens next, 9/10 a fresh new taste in this RPG/sand box/first person shooter/ third person rebirth/ horror filled gaming world we live in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)