Growing up I was never very interested in role-playing games. I took a brief hiatus from my disinterest to obsess about the Final Fantasy series (like most other non-RPG players), but after the disastrous FFX-2, I'm back in the thick of my anti-role-playing ways. As I type this, I can hear the music of Tales of Symphonia coming from across the room and I feel like a terrible girlfriend for only having played with him once. I planned to from the beginning, but after about five minutes into the game, when the story began to unfold, I became too disinterested to keep Colette alive during the fight sequences. I contest that she’s dumb and deserves to die, but it’s really no surprise that he hasn’t asked me to play the game with him since.
Other than Final Fantasy, I have played a few enjoyable MMO- and action-RPG games. The ones I put the most time into, Dark Age of Camelot, Morrowind, Anarchy Online, and now Fable, are probably in the lightweight division as far as RPGs go (at least the way I played them, Morrowind is a monster if it’s done right). But it’s not just about the game mechanics and the fact that I hate the type of management and the free-form style of RPGs (by God I need STRUCTURE). There’s something much more implicitly wrong. I can’t role-play.
When asked how I was going to play Fable, there was never really any question. “I’m going to be good, of course,” I said to everyone who asked me. They have all insisted that it’s not nearly going to be as much fun, but I don’t get enjoyment out of watching people unhappy or suffer, not inside or outside of a game.
I understand that it’s not real, but even in my wildest fantasies, I have no desire to be evil. I truly enjoy seeing the underdog get protected and the bad guys lose. In so many movies, we’re left with these absolute injustices or heart-wrenching moments. Am I supposed to learn something from that? I don’t want to focus on misery and disappointment. I want happy endings. I want the honorable person to come out on top. That’s the kind of thing that keeps me going from day to day.
So when I wander around Fable, and curse Whisper for being cheap and stealing all my kills (because that’s just not fair!), protecting the innocent, and defeating the bad guys, I feel a real sense of enjoyment from the game. I may be a terrible role-player, but I don't mind that title.
Now if only the villagers would please stop calling me a Chicken Chaser, then everything will be okay.
Carrie Blog
The Good Old Days
by Carrie on Comments
From 1997-1998, I lived in a miniscule New York City apartment exactly one block from St. Mark's Place. At the time, I had about seven piercings, had just shaved off a leopard print mohawk, was sporting a short blonde 'do (ala Jeff Gerstmann) and a wardrobe primarily of safety pins. Just picture that.
My roommates and I were poor students, trying to scrape out a living while going to school and working full time. It wasn’t a comfortable life, but it was definitely a very happy one. On more than one occasion I accepted food from total strangers or went weeks with nothing but Ramen, while I hustled from work to school back to my six by six foot living space.
Buying games at that point was never an option.
The one thing I did have was a subscription to PSM, so my gaming was usually limited to demo disks. When people ask me if Final Fantasy VII is really my favorite game of all time, although I might hesitate or change my answer to Metal Gear Solid, I need only remember the emotions evoked by the demo (let alone the full game) to reconsider my initial answer. At that time, the demos were better than the majority of full games coming out in the market right now. It’s a good thing too, since I had to save up my money just to afford one rental. I can still sing the entire Chop Chop Mister Onion level of Parappa the Rappa because I have spent more cumulative time on the demo level than on the entire game.
Once in awhile during that year I would choose a game to rent, often based on those demo disks. When Tomb Raider II hit Blockbuster, I was the first person in line to get it. To me, it was worth skipping a few meals to grab the sequel that I had so greatly anticipated. After getting my hands on the game, I made camp on the floor of my bedroom for the 23 consecutive hours it would take me to beat it. At the time, rentals were only two days, so I decided that it was better to stay awake and do my best to get through the game than risk not finishing it.
On my triumphant return to Blockbuster, I ran into the clerk who had checked me out the day earlier. When I told him I had beat it, he declared that it was impossible and demanded that I bring him my memory card as proof. My reward was ten free rentals, with which I was able to pick up quite a few recent releases that I had missed.
To this day, I will argue the merits of Tomb Raider II, a game greatly disliked by critics. Maybe I was so desperate for a full game that my memories are more fond than they should have been. Maybe I’m glad for the sequence of events that led to my long torrid love affair with the PlayStation. But I believe that Tomb Raider II is truly a great game, one worth every minute of those initial 23 hours and every hour that I spent replaying it in the years later when I could finally buy it. Sometimes it just takes the right circumstances to really love any game and I’m of the opinion that there’s nothing wrong with that.
My roommates and I were poor students, trying to scrape out a living while going to school and working full time. It wasn’t a comfortable life, but it was definitely a very happy one. On more than one occasion I accepted food from total strangers or went weeks with nothing but Ramen, while I hustled from work to school back to my six by six foot living space.
Buying games at that point was never an option.
The one thing I did have was a subscription to PSM, so my gaming was usually limited to demo disks. When people ask me if Final Fantasy VII is really my favorite game of all time, although I might hesitate or change my answer to Metal Gear Solid, I need only remember the emotions evoked by the demo (let alone the full game) to reconsider my initial answer. At that time, the demos were better than the majority of full games coming out in the market right now. It’s a good thing too, since I had to save up my money just to afford one rental. I can still sing the entire Chop Chop Mister Onion level of Parappa the Rappa because I have spent more cumulative time on the demo level than on the entire game.
Once in awhile during that year I would choose a game to rent, often based on those demo disks. When Tomb Raider II hit Blockbuster, I was the first person in line to get it. To me, it was worth skipping a few meals to grab the sequel that I had so greatly anticipated. After getting my hands on the game, I made camp on the floor of my bedroom for the 23 consecutive hours it would take me to beat it. At the time, rentals were only two days, so I decided that it was better to stay awake and do my best to get through the game than risk not finishing it.
On my triumphant return to Blockbuster, I ran into the clerk who had checked me out the day earlier. When I told him I had beat it, he declared that it was impossible and demanded that I bring him my memory card as proof. My reward was ten free rentals, with which I was able to pick up quite a few recent releases that I had missed.
To this day, I will argue the merits of Tomb Raider II, a game greatly disliked by critics. Maybe I was so desperate for a full game that my memories are more fond than they should have been. Maybe I’m glad for the sequence of events that led to my long torrid love affair with the PlayStation. But I believe that Tomb Raider II is truly a great game, one worth every minute of those initial 23 hours and every hour that I spent replaying it in the years later when I could finally buy it. Sometimes it just takes the right circumstances to really love any game and I’m of the opinion that there’s nothing wrong with that.
Shop Around
by Carrie on Comments
Since I work part time in retail at Gamestop, I often see the thought processes of retail upper-management in action and I am here to tell you that they want to screw you over. You don't have to succumb though, since a little bit of research can go a long way.
Now for a bit of backstory. A friend on these here forums recommended Culdcept and claimed that with it being $12 at EB and all, I had no excuse not to buy it. I thought about it for a minute and thought "no that isn't right", I've worked at my store long enough to memorize prices and I know it's still $40 new and $30 used. EB, however, confirmed what he said. How could the price vary that drastically between two competitive retail chains, I don't know, but I headed over there with a copy of Project Gotham Racing 2 in hand (now a redundant member of my collection thanks to Burnout 3) to see if I could get away without spending any money. I'm on a tight enough budget this month as it is.
At my store, PGR2 can be traded in for $9, so I was expecting to pay a little bit on Culdcept. When I arrived at EB, the guy says their trade-in price on PGR2 was $15, fully paying off Culdcept and leaving me with $3 left over (with which I might rationalize buying a $70 Neo Geo Pocket Color). Well gee that's a pretty significant difference. If I had done the same thing over at Gamestop, and included my employee discount, I still would have had to pay around $15 for it. I thought to myself, this is the kind of thing that people need to know about.
It's never one store that sells games cheaper, or trades in higher than others. As a retail employee I certainly don't want to encourage people calling every store they can and asking a ton of annoying questions, but as long as you promise to be polite, then you really should be informed. We're about to embark on an extremely expensive holiday season and you need to make your game budget go a long way. "But doesn't this only matter for used games?" Certainly not.
Have you ever heard of this place?
Do a double-take on the first page and you'll see that they are selling Fable for $34.99 the first week it comes out. You could get overnight shipping and still pay less than you would in a store. People who live in Texas or California are lucky enough to have Fry's local to them so they can just hop in and buy it sans shipping. Fable, on the day of release, for $35. Hot damn.
Anyway I'm all about spreading the word. I heard about Fry's last night and I wished there was a way that I could tell everyone. Here's a site that shows weekly deals at all the different retail chains. If there are more or if you can think of any particularly good deals, please share them below.
Now for a bit of backstory. A friend on these here forums recommended Culdcept and claimed that with it being $12 at EB and all, I had no excuse not to buy it. I thought about it for a minute and thought "no that isn't right", I've worked at my store long enough to memorize prices and I know it's still $40 new and $30 used. EB, however, confirmed what he said. How could the price vary that drastically between two competitive retail chains, I don't know, but I headed over there with a copy of Project Gotham Racing 2 in hand (now a redundant member of my collection thanks to Burnout 3) to see if I could get away without spending any money. I'm on a tight enough budget this month as it is.
At my store, PGR2 can be traded in for $9, so I was expecting to pay a little bit on Culdcept. When I arrived at EB, the guy says their trade-in price on PGR2 was $15, fully paying off Culdcept and leaving me with $3 left over (with which I might rationalize buying a $70 Neo Geo Pocket Color). Well gee that's a pretty significant difference. If I had done the same thing over at Gamestop, and included my employee discount, I still would have had to pay around $15 for it. I thought to myself, this is the kind of thing that people need to know about.
It's never one store that sells games cheaper, or trades in higher than others. As a retail employee I certainly don't want to encourage people calling every store they can and asking a ton of annoying questions, but as long as you promise to be polite, then you really should be informed. We're about to embark on an extremely expensive holiday season and you need to make your game budget go a long way. "But doesn't this only matter for used games?" Certainly not.
Have you ever heard of this place?
Do a double-take on the first page and you'll see that they are selling Fable for $34.99 the first week it comes out. You could get overnight shipping and still pay less than you would in a store. People who live in Texas or California are lucky enough to have Fry's local to them so they can just hop in and buy it sans shipping. Fable, on the day of release, for $35. Hot damn.
Anyway I'm all about spreading the word. I heard about Fry's last night and I wished there was a way that I could tell everyone. Here's a site that shows weekly deals at all the different retail chains. If there are more or if you can think of any particularly good deals, please share them below.
How to tell the difference between Jeff and Alex a.k.a. a Burnout 3 post
by Carrie on Comments
The answer is that you can't, they're identical, especially if they tell you that they're Alex while you're playing Burnout 3 with them and then later they tell you that they were Jeff.
I just wrote a short review of Burnout 3 which I don't intend to duplicate here except to say "!*#$@)(!@*#!@)#(*!@@%#!ASLFAD@!@##ADAS@!!@ADFAS!". Whew. Earlier today I managed to stay connected long enough to play in the late afternoon with a crowd which consisted of a lot of little boys home from (or skipping) school and British men well on their way to intoxication (bless five hour time differences and accents over headsets). After listening to 15 year olds squeaking out the word "fgt" at one another, I had to ask myself why I am attracted to a sex that could have such an unbelievably awkward developmental stage. "Yes yes your brother touched his penis and now he's trying to touch you, that is HILarious".
Although earlier I was quite agitated about the state of the multiplayer, it has been at least twenty minutes since the last time I played, which means my anger has lessened enough that I can rationalize playing again.
I just wrote a short review of Burnout 3 which I don't intend to duplicate here except to say "!*#$@)(!@*#!@)#(*!@@%#!ASLFAD@!@##ADAS@!!@ADFAS!". Whew. Earlier today I managed to stay connected long enough to play in the late afternoon with a crowd which consisted of a lot of little boys home from (or skipping) school and British men well on their way to intoxication (bless five hour time differences and accents over headsets). After listening to 15 year olds squeaking out the word "fgt" at one another, I had to ask myself why I am attracted to a sex that could have such an unbelievably awkward developmental stage. "Yes yes your brother touched his penis and now he's trying to touch you, that is HILarious".
Although earlier I was quite agitated about the state of the multiplayer, it has been at least twenty minutes since the last time I played, which means my anger has lessened enough that I can rationalize playing again.
Recommend a good book and I'll be a friend for life
by Carrie on Comments
That's written in my profile and I've managed to meet a few interesting people because of it. I love good books. I tend to read classics (old and new), but I'm interested in trying out almost anything. I'm going to list a few of the book recommendations that I have already gotten and will include more (or let people post them in the comments) as I hear about them.
AveryS recommended White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I have never heard of it, but I'm pretty sure Avery has good taste.
mindcavity recommended Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Then I told him it was one of my favorite books of all time, so he recommended Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
carolynmichelle said that I should watch (or read) Gross Indecency, a play based on Oscar Wilde. Man I forgot that she recommended The Corrections and the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay as well.
AlexN recommended Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, which strangely I had just been to the library to pick up since it's next on the list of books I have been meaning to read.
Kainx6 recommended Earth Abides by George R. Stewart which I had forgotten because I hadn't kept all these book recommendations in one place before. But no longer!
omar80 recommended the Da Vinci Code. I've had many friends suggest I read this but never managed to get around to it. I really should.
doubletrouble21 wrote to tell me how great my game collection is and then recommended that I look at the books based on Resident Evil. I'm sorry to say that I didn't even know they existed, but I'm very curious about them now.
ElektraNatchios recommends The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, which she has also talked about in a lovely journal entry.
rickolus suggests that the The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is life-changing, which is a little hard to pass up.
SatanicOrgy recommends Idlewild by Nick Sagan, after astutely pointing out that my question really is too vague.
A guy named Josh emailed with Clive Barker's Imajica and then afterwhich I should read The Great and Secret Show and Everville.
EntroP throws a few books on my list by Chuck Palahnuick; Choke, Lullaby, and Invisible Monsters. Little does he know that I'm totally in love with the idea of a talking tapeworm, so Choke I've been trying to hunt down for awhile.
Heretic says I should read the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Does watching the movie count?
TheBlueCasket reports in on the BBC's top reads and recommends the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.
BlackHawk213v says I should read the Bourne series (which I think is a good idea) and Watership Down by Richard Adams.
Arkali wrote me about Steven Brust's Jhereg and Phoenix Guard series. Since she recommended the latter to be similar in style to the Aubrey-Maturin books, I'm definitely going to have to get a jump on this one before they up and make a movie about it.
PhileasFogg kindly recommended books even after I closed one of his threads, by Tad Williams the series that begins with the City of the Golden Shadow.
AveryS recommended White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I have never heard of it, but I'm pretty sure Avery has good taste.
mindcavity recommended Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Then I told him it was one of my favorite books of all time, so he recommended Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
carolynmichelle said that I should watch (or read) Gross Indecency, a play based on Oscar Wilde. Man I forgot that she recommended The Corrections and the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay as well.
AlexN recommended Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, which strangely I had just been to the library to pick up since it's next on the list of books I have been meaning to read.
Kainx6 recommended Earth Abides by George R. Stewart which I had forgotten because I hadn't kept all these book recommendations in one place before. But no longer!
omar80 recommended the Da Vinci Code. I've had many friends suggest I read this but never managed to get around to it. I really should.
doubletrouble21 wrote to tell me how great my game collection is and then recommended that I look at the books based on Resident Evil. I'm sorry to say that I didn't even know they existed, but I'm very curious about them now.
ElektraNatchios recommends The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, which she has also talked about in a lovely journal entry.
rickolus suggests that the The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is life-changing, which is a little hard to pass up.
SatanicOrgy recommends Idlewild by Nick Sagan, after astutely pointing out that my question really is too vague.
A guy named Josh emailed with Clive Barker's Imajica and then afterwhich I should read The Great and Secret Show and Everville.
EntroP throws a few books on my list by Chuck Palahnuick; Choke, Lullaby, and Invisible Monsters. Little does he know that I'm totally in love with the idea of a talking tapeworm, so Choke I've been trying to hunt down for awhile.
Heretic says I should read the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Does watching the movie count?
TheBlueCasket reports in on the BBC's top reads and recommends the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.
BlackHawk213v says I should read the Bourne series (which I think is a good idea) and Watership Down by Richard Adams.
Arkali wrote me about Steven Brust's Jhereg and Phoenix Guard series. Since she recommended the latter to be similar in style to the Aubrey-Maturin books, I'm definitely going to have to get a jump on this one before they up and make a movie about it.
PhileasFogg kindly recommended books even after I closed one of his threads, by Tad Williams the series that begins with the City of the Golden Shadow.
I have an N-Gage
by Carrie on Comments
It was free and it came with Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Spiderman 2. As a collector, I'm glad to have it, especially since it's a system I know nothing about, and as a game geek, I must know everything I can about everything pertaining to video games.
It poses an interesting problem because I own neither an mp3 player nor a cellphone. Since this is a first edition N-Gage, which I have learned from my recent research to actually be better than the QD (sidetalkin' and all), it can become both. But I'm cheap and I haven't bought an mp3 player or a cellphone for a reason. So while I have this opportunity in front of me, I will still have to make some kind of investment in order to take full advantage of it.
It's amazingly difficult to find short and sweet information on phone programs and memory cards. How do I know what is the best one to go with? How do I know where to get the best deals? I guess the problem is that it's a little too much work for something that is strictly for my amusement. I'm much happier with lower-maintenance entertainment like my GBA, which has thankfully just finished recharging.
It poses an interesting problem because I own neither an mp3 player nor a cellphone. Since this is a first edition N-Gage, which I have learned from my recent research to actually be better than the QD (sidetalkin' and all), it can become both. But I'm cheap and I haven't bought an mp3 player or a cellphone for a reason. So while I have this opportunity in front of me, I will still have to make some kind of investment in order to take full advantage of it.
It's amazingly difficult to find short and sweet information on phone programs and memory cards. How do I know what is the best one to go with? How do I know where to get the best deals? I guess the problem is that it's a little too much work for something that is strictly for my amusement. I'm much happier with lower-maintenance entertainment like my GBA, which has thankfully just finished recharging.
Hi ho, Hi ho
by Carrie on Comments
I'm about to embark on some serious labor on Labor Day. Seems fitting if I didn't otherwise know the implication of the name "Labor Day", really should be "No Labor Day" if you ask me. I'm not so sure why I still work retail. I have a better paying better job, but I still crank out at least fifteen-twenty hours at this cesspool, pretending like a 15% discount is worth the pain and suffering of having to explain to hostile people that Mario does not come out on the PlayStation.
I think the only reason I stay is that it's my only guaranteed way into E3, especially now that Acclaim has gone under. Last year all the Acclaim staff thought that I was there through them, when I hadn't even thought to ask, and extended the invitation for future years. That's another reason to be sad for the loss of Acclaim I guess.
The only other perk of working retail is the ability to borrow used games. I suppose that's why I do it. I had Psi-Ops yesterday and Tales of Symphonia today and I haven't spent a dime. It's doing real damage to my game collection, but my pockets are fairly intact. (Until this Fall when all these new games that I can't borrow come out)
It sure isn't the pay, but I don't know why on earth I'm going to be late on the day when I'm getting paid time and a half. I'm off!
I think the only reason I stay is that it's my only guaranteed way into E3, especially now that Acclaim has gone under. Last year all the Acclaim staff thought that I was there through them, when I hadn't even thought to ask, and extended the invitation for future years. That's another reason to be sad for the loss of Acclaim I guess.
The only other perk of working retail is the ability to borrow used games. I suppose that's why I do it. I had Psi-Ops yesterday and Tales of Symphonia today and I haven't spent a dime. It's doing real damage to my game collection, but my pockets are fairly intact. (Until this Fall when all these new games that I can't borrow come out)
It sure isn't the pay, but I don't know why on earth I'm going to be late on the day when I'm getting paid time and a half. I'm off!
It's just so girly.
by Carrie on Comments
I have spent the majority of today face down in my GBA playing The Sims. I can't tell you what possessed me to buy the game in the first place, perhaps because I bought it off a friend for a good price or that I'm really looking forward to the Sims 2. That in and of itself is pretty unexplainable given that I haven't played the original addictively since it first came out.
Regardless here I am and I love it. It removes a lot of the tedium of the PC version, including the time-expenditure on cleaning dishes and throwing things away that take upwards of 15 minutes in the PC version. Almost everything else is the same though, and the story-mode works a lot better than in the console version because it's just as deep, but in a smaller space.
I have found myself cursing at my roommate for stealing my bed at night, or the cat for pissing all over the floor all the time. I'm still happy because it hasn't become repetitive yet. I'm sure it will in time, but I've heard this game can be beaten. A Sims game that can be beaten? Maybe that's all a game needs before it turns into boring level grind. Bring on the MMORPGs that can be beaten and perhaps I'll go back to playing them again.
Regardless here I am and I love it. It removes a lot of the tedium of the PC version, including the time-expenditure on cleaning dishes and throwing things away that take upwards of 15 minutes in the PC version. Almost everything else is the same though, and the story-mode works a lot better than in the console version because it's just as deep, but in a smaller space.
I have found myself cursing at my roommate for stealing my bed at night, or the cat for pissing all over the floor all the time. I'm still happy because it hasn't become repetitive yet. I'm sure it will in time, but I've heard this game can be beaten. A Sims game that can be beaten? Maybe that's all a game needs before it turns into boring level grind. Bring on the MMORPGs that can be beaten and perhaps I'll go back to playing them again.
Verbosity
by Carrie on Comments
Despite the fact that I write for three different (small) websites far too often, and am now embracing this journal system, I submitted a Guestspotting just for fun. Usually when I get upset or excited about something, I translate those emotions into text, and this time I just decided to neaten one up for a column. Since I'm going to be writing a gazillion papers this fall, it was my last chance to give it a shot. I hope I hope I get chosen.
I feel like I'm on the damn playground waiting to be picked for Dodgeball.
I feel like I'm on the damn playground waiting to be picked for Dodgeball.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Ninja Tournament
by Carrie on Comments
Well the Master Ninja Tournament ended a few days ago and sadly I didn't rank in the top 50 or bottom 50 (although if I had realized this sooner, the bottom 50 would have been possible). I think in a way I'm glad that I didn't rank in the bottom 50, even though I tried for some time to get a low score. Deep down nobody wants to be recognized for being a loser.
I'm really glad that people are familiar with the tournament and its difficulty, because I have been able to in several conversations impress my gaming prowress upon someone with one single sentence: I beat the Master Ninja Tournament. Damn straight.
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