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Dean
I play video games, watch Star Trek, listen to British punk and drink Guinness.

Age 32, Male

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Scotland

Joined on 2/16/08

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March - A Late Month

Posted by Dean - March 14th, 2014


No idea what happened. I'm 14 days late writing this news post. Usually I like to try and write one of these things on the first of the month. No real reason for it, it's just sort of become a habit. I guess work is keeping me busy and I just forget about these things.

Anyway, I've not really done much worth talking about since the last update anyway. Been trying to watch films more regularly and build up a blu-ray collection in the process. Idea being that I end up with a set of films that if I were to pick one at random, I'd always get something I enjoy watching. Watched The Shining again recently, for the second time. Enjoyed that film considerably more than I recall liking it. I also saw Pulp Fiction for the first time the other day. Not quite what I expected from that legendary film but a fun watch none the less.

I've also been getting back into reading comics. Although "getting back into" probably applies I was really into comics at one point in time, which isn't true. I just used to read the occasional Walking Dead volume when I had the money to spare. I've picked up a few more volumes of that, been reading Watchmen and some of the really old Judge Dredd stuff. Have a few other random trade paperbacks ordered. Hoping to read some more of the big Marvel/DC characaters.

Video gaming is what I've always considered my primary hobby, although these days it seems to be taking more of a back seat. I still try to game when I can (playing Arkham Origins just now) but I'm starting to feel as though films and comics are a more entertaining way to spend my free time. I'm just starting to enjoy them more than I enjoy playing games. Thing is, I don't even know why I find games less appealing these days. It's not the newly released games that are the problem, because those aren't the games I tend to play. I have a ton of games that I think look awesome, yet no desire to start playing through them. Knowing that some of them are probably 50+ hour long games probably puts me off, especially when I know that I can only really spend a couple hours playing them each day.

In gernaral though, things are going pretty well for me. Just starting to miss all the free time I grew used to having.


Comments

Glad to hear that you are doing well. It is either advisable that you just take a break from playing video games all together as distance makes the heart grow fonder, or you could concentrate on games that you can play in short bursts.

Short games that I can recommend are To The Moon and Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. Both short games with a great story.

For something more action paced, One Finger Death Punch has been released recently and it's basically a 2 button beat em up with stick men. Recommend checking some gameplay videos to see how well done the simple concept is ^^

Thing is, I haven't been gaming much at all for quite some time, so I don't think the taking a break idea will work unfortunately. It's not that I don't want to play games, it's more like I just don't want to commit to a game given the length of the games I typically want to play.

You have inspired me to maybe try something new though. Debating the idea of getting myself a 3DS seeing as hand held games seem to be a bit more casual and pick up and play type games, unlike console experiences that generally require you to sit for hours at a time to get immersed in them. I'd particularly like to check out these new Pokemon games. I haven't really played a Pokemon game since the Ruby/Sapphire era, the first two generations of Pokemon games in particular were pretty big parts of my childhood. The idea of revisiting the series is kind of appealing.

Ugh to much reading just summerize it in a couple of sentences

This isn't Twitter.

Pokémon games are great. Pokémon Soul Silver and Heart Gold are fantastic DS remakes and my favourite games of the whole series. It's not what I would start with when you plan to get back into Pokémon but they are 100% worth playing at some point. Prepare for massive nostalgia though.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are very slow, Platinum is faster paced. Truth be told the 4th Gen is the one that I found most lackluster. Still good but it wouldn't hurt too much when you skip it. I can't remember those too well as I haven't playe them in quite some time unlike all other titles.

Both Pokemon Black/White and Black/White 2 are good. In the first ones you can only encounter new Pokémon up till the Elite 4. Those are the titles with the best story in my opinion. White 2 has a bunch of stuff that you can do after beating the Elite 4, like fighting old arena leaders and champions of the other regions in a big tournament. I think starting with those to get back into Pokémon would be a good idea. They play well on the 3DS and should be cheap to pick up.

Pokémon X and Y are the newest titles and exclusive for the 3DS. As opposed to Black and White, you can encounter Pokémon from all generations. There are also more than just 4 different Pokémon per route. Training Pokémon is faster now, and there are a bunch of Minigames. The new Pokémon of this gen are cool but there are not many new ones. Early in the game you can pick a starter from the first gen, Squirtle, Bulbasaur or Charmander. Also introduces stuff like Mega Evolutions to spice up the gameplay.

It's full in 3D and looks fantastic in motion. Like with most 3DS titles, it looks better than Youtube gameplay videos might suggest.Very recommended though a bit weaker when it comes to stuff that you can do post Elite 4.

Pokemon X and Y kind of appealed to me because when I was younger and playing Yellow and Silver, I always thought the Pokemon series would end up on a console and go 3D. I guess a main Pokemon title still hasn't made it onto consoles, but my younger self would probably be furious if I didn't check out these new 3D games.

I'll probably have to look into getting Soul Silver as well at some point, since the original Silver is the game that I mostly associate with the series. I started off playing Yellow back when that was released, but Silver was a brilliant sequel. Bigger, improved and just an all round better take on the first gen.

Dean also rhymes with keen, which is what you are.