Ramblings of a Gaming Girl reaches 10,000 hits!

I’ve been so busy with the man coming to stay, and then relatives coming the day after that I never got chance to update when I reached 10,000 hits! I’m over the moon that I’ve had so many people look at my (sometimes silly) ramblings on the gaming world. Lets raise a glass to the next 10,000 hits

On a more gaming related theme, I’ve been quite busy recently on the Xbox. I’ve managed to procure some intermittent internet connection and have been updating my games and downloading the on disc DLC I was never able to do before. Today I also sorted out my PSN account as it was tied to a dead email address. I was going to sign in and download Legend of Dragoon, but it appears that the May 1st release date has not happened? Someone please correct me if I am wrong. There appear to be some good games on the PSP available to download as well (RPGs, of course) so that’s charging at the moment. The sun is shining and everyone is outside, but I’m inside on my consoles having a great day. Before anyone criticises me for staying inside, I’m pale with red hair, so the sunshine is my worst enemy.

Since procuring this unknown internet connection, I downloaded a little Xbox Arcade game called Trouble Witches NEO. It’s a great little game, and it was only 400MSP. It’s a little repetitive at times, but it is a port of a Japanese arcade bullet shooter. It’s very similar to Deathsmiles, but it’s nowhere near as overly complicated or full of lag. Most of all it’s just a cute little game to pass the time with if you’re a fan of anything Japanese or anime related. It’s got a cute little shop where you can buy power ups from, and loads of different modes so it really is excellent value for money.

On a side as well, I went to the National Media Museum in Bradford one of the days the man came to stay, and we had a great time. They’ve got a Games Lounge with all the retro classics, including some up to date games for people to go and have a little play with. The older games such as Pacman, Frogger and Donkey Kong were 20p to play which I thought was a bargain. The other, bigger arcade machines with games such as Street Fighter and a bigger version of Pacman were 50p a go, still a bargain.

There was a big section all about the internet, and the progression of internet technology since, I think, the 1970s. If you live in Yorkshire, or if you’re planning a holiday to the North and are interested in everything media related, then please visit. It’s free to enter, it’s got a cinema on the side, and you can easily kill an entire day there. There are also sections on Kodak, television, radio and film. It’s all interactive so you’re not just wandering around a museum that you can’t touch anything in.

For the rest of my pictures from the Museum please go to my Flickr to find them, and feel free to leave a comment.

Trying something a little bit different

As gamers we can get into the habit of only sticking to our favourite genres. This is understandable of course; we’re not going to go out & buy a racing game when we have no interest in cars, nor are we going to buy a fighter if all we can hope to do is button bash at our opponent.

It does us some good every now and then though to try something just a little bit different, dip our toes into the unknown and sometimes you may even surprise yourself at how much fun you will have.

She may look crazy...oh no wait, she is!

This past week or so I have been slightly disillusioned with my gaming, even with E3 just around the corner. I was recommended Sega Rally Online Arcade by a friend and have been enjoying zooming about the small yet sweet selection of racing tracks (also, failing miserably), but an Arcade game just hasn’t cut it for me over all. With no new releases really catching my attention, I raided my games collection to see what I hadn’t played, and for some reason Batman Arkham Asylum caught my attention. I don’t like Batman as a character at all, and I don’t even like the general premise of many of the American comics he has been in. I enjoy superheroes with a bit of a dismissive praise. More of a ‘Sure, this is good, but don’t they all just look a little bit silly?’ state of mind.

I have a lot of love for the psychological, as well as the dark & eerie though (even if it does scare my senseless sometimes, I love the adrenaline that comes with the fear. You could say I’m a fear junkie?) so once I really got into Arkham Asylum, I think my love was firmly rooted. The problem is, Batman has always been a really cheesy character for me. Taking me back to my A Levels & studying Film I remember a friend who was mad on all the American superheroes, and he brought in one of the original Batman films for us to watch. I sat at the front & cringed, buried my face in my hands when ‘Shark repellent’ appeared and Batman was hanging from a helicopter with a plastic shark attached to his leg, beating it to death with said can of  repellent. I have never seen anything so horrendously corny in my life.

You do not want to mess with this guy

Arkham Asylum is a stark comparison to that film though. Sure, Batman’s voice actor is cheesy as ever, but it’s not Batman himself I want to praise, it’s the dark pasts of all villains featured. Scarecrow terrified me the first time I encountered him, sat on my bed with controller in hand, wide-eyed out of genuine fear. I just played out the section with Killer Croc chasing me through the sewers, also quite pulse racing. The general dark atmosphere has given me a new-found appreciation for the game, and dare I say the original characters. I still don’t like Batman, and I don’t think I ever will, but I am now hotly anticipating the new Batman Arkham City & hope that it’s even darker than the first.

Go out there, try something a little bit different. Don’t necessarily spend your hard-earned £40 on a new game you’ve never really heard of, but borrow something from a friend, give it a go and expand your gaming horizons!

LIMBO; Ending Interpretations

LIMBO intrigued me the second I heard about it. A glimpse at a single noir screen shot and I was pretty much sold on the idea. I instantly fell in love with this little Arcade gem because it really did excite my love of the morbid and creepy. At 1200MSP it’s definitely a hefty price to pay for such a short game which is easily completed in 4 hours, but I certainly do not regret spending my time and money on it.

LIMBO is a game that focuses heavily on puzzle solving, and not characterisation or emotive game play. You still cannot help but feel emotionally involved with the young boys cause though. Every time he dies a gruesome death at the hands of a vastly oversized spider, or is maimed by a flying bear trap, you can’t help but cringe and feel some remorse for him. The poor thing is only trying to find his sister.

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about my thoughts and feelings on the ending of LIMBO though, not the gameplay or processes. There are going to be huge spoilers from this point on, so if you haven’t finished the game, or are intending to play it at some point, close this page down now.