Day 31: One Month Done

Today is the last day of Month 1 of the 6-Month Challenge.  Here's a list of the games I have completed.

Sonic Unleashed

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

Prince of Persia

Grand Theft Auto IV

Catherine

Rugrats: Search for Reptar

Ed, Edd, and Eddy: The Mis-Edventures

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Katamari Damacy

I have to say, I am a little disappointed in my ability for this first month.  Only 9 games, and four of those were completed before I even started the challenge.  But because I didn't want to play them again this year I added them to the list.  There is still a lot more to play, and a lot more that I want to play on my list.  Some of the games I own, I have only played a few minutes to find out if they even work.  Up next is a list of games I currently have files made.

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII-2

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Dark Cloud

The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Pokémon FireRed

Pokémon White

Phantasy Star Universe

The last one I started last night after I posted yesterday's entry.  I completed Chapter 1 in one hour and 28 minutes.  It isn't exactly the kind of RPG I like to play, but it is still good.  Ethan Waber reminds me of a less whiny Tidus for Final Fantasy X, in that Ethan is so strong in spirit.  He's so sure of himself, it seems.  I didn't really like the whole underwear scene at the beginning of Chapter 2, but the fact that he was able to put on his clothes at the touch of a button was really cool.  I know I could definitely use that.  It would save time in choosing each day.  Up next is a small list of games I want to start for the coming month.

Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht

Metal Gear Solid

Crash Bandicoot

Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA version)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (GBA version)

The last three in this list are generally short games.  I need to work on a few of the shorter games in order to help get the average completion up to a level I am proud of.  I think I may work on a few of the games in Atari Anthology as well.  Those are also quite short, because the capabilities at the time for those games was really limited.  But I don't know yet.

Despite the poor results this month, I am really pleased that I was able to stick to the challenge for a month.  I hope I am able to complete the other five, and complete every game on my list.  One major goal for this month is to NOT buy any more video games.  First, because I can't afford it.  Second, because it just makes this challenge that much more difficult.

As always, if you have any suggestions on what I should play, or if you have any questions; feel free to leave a comment.  That's all I have for today.  For the coming day, enjoy every game you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 30: Let me off this Cart!

I played Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony last night after I posted yesterday's entry.  I didn't play much, because I became really tired really fast.  I have finished the game once before, but that was last year so it doesn't count for the total this year.  But more on that in a bit.

Then this morning I began a file of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  When I first bought the game, I didn't really like it.  But now, I like it.  A lot.  But the thing with this game, and other open world games, is that I can't stick with them.  I have probably started 15-20 new games since I brought it home.  Maybe more.  I started three just today.  I can never decide.  I guess I need a game that has a bit more linearity to them.

Well, sometimes it isn't because I get bored with the game.  One of the new games I had today glitched on me.  The prisoner cart reached Helgen and was in the parking spot.  However, the cart driver didn't want to stop.  He kept urging the horses to continue pulling.  The thing is, the horses couldn't get through the brick wall they had walked to.  But still the driver was going through the motions and horses were still walking.  And here my character is thinking that the driver must have dozed off or something.  And then I can't do anything about it.  So I had to restart the file.

Each year on December 31st, I get all of my consoles and handhelds out from their hiding spots.  Then one by one, I erase everything on the memory cards.  The handheld games get their saved games erased.  The XBOX's memory gets cleaned.  Everything starts off fresh for the new year.  Then, I start the list of completed games over for the year.  Last year, I managed to finish about 40 games completely.  And through my gaming life, I have finished a lot of my collection.  But this year I hadn't spent near as much time playing video games, which is something I love doing.  Yeah, I was making money working more, but I couldn't play any of the games that I had been purchasing with this extra money.  So that's the reason I made this challenge.  And now that I have more time at home to play, I am going to take advantage of it and catch up on what I have been saving in my games cabinet.

So, for the coming day, enjoy all the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 29: Broken Files

Today I was going to try and work on the main story quests for Oblivion, but the worst thing happened.  My save file wouldn't load.  I tried several times to get it to load, but it wouldn't.  So, I deleted the file.  It's too bad, because I was nearly finished the main story questline.  Oh well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be yet.  I can always start again.

I also tried to make some progress with Final Fantasy XIII.  I haven't played it since June, I think.  I nearly beat the next boss, but I failed at the last moment.  And because it took so long to get to that point, I didn't bother trying again.

After that, I began the epilogue of Prince of Persia.  I really like the how the story continues after the events of Prince of Persia.  I didn't like how the game ended, so the epilogue is redeeming itself.

I also finally reached Castelia City in Pokemon White.  It's such a big city, and I love how the town is laid out.  It's so much different compared to the places in the GBA versions of Pokemon.  Right now, I am just exploring the city, trying to bring all of the dancing trainers together to form a group.  I only have one left to find.

I also put in some time in Osu! today.  Currently, I am ranked 1,040 in the U.S., and 20,985 in the world in osu!mania.  I am also in the Top 4.1% of gamers who recognize Osu! in the Raptr profiles.

I have a file of The Ballad of Gay Tony that I need to finish, so I am probably going to work on that tonight until I go to bed and tomorrow.  I may catch a few multiplayer matches while I have Grand Theft Auto IV playing.  So I know what I will be doing tomorrow.  And so, for the coming day, enjoy all the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 28: Day Off

Today I took a day off from playing video games.  Kind of.  I still played, but it was only for a total of about 20-30 minutes.  I have learned that if you throw the whole of yourself into something and not take a break once in a while, you get burnt out and decide to abandon the whole thing.  So today was a day off.

I don't think I will do this often.  Every four weeks or so I will just not play anything to give myself a break from it.  That way, I don't play something just to have something to write about.

Instead of playing something from the list, today I played and recorded some gameplay of Boardgame-online.com  When I finished putting it together, because it took about 45 minutes to finish the game, I will post it here for all to see.

Well that's all from me.  For the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 27: A Racing Day

I wish I had played more games I wanted to today.  The only thing I made any actual progress was Pokemon White.  And even that was only a couple Team Plasma battles.  I raised Pansear's Level by 2 though, so it wasn't all a waste.

Today was mainly spent entertaining a 6-year-old with racing games.  We played almost every racing game I own.  We raced cars, trucks, 4 wheelers, and bicycles.  I had to stop playing with him because his little fits when he lost were making me so angry.  So I had him play single player races instead.  That way I could just help him instead of having to drive two vehicles at once.

The game that kept his attention the most was Mountain Bike Adrenaline.  I don't play it because I get enough bike riding done in my life that I don't want to do it in a game.  My brother said I should buy it because at the time bicycling was just something I did for fun.  It still is, but sometimes even riding a bike is work.  Anyway, I handed him the controller, told him what buttons to push to move the character, and let him free roam the Alps.  I am so glad I was able to get to stop for a moment and calm down.

So, today wasn't a productive one for the challenge, but it was productive in finding a way to settle down a kid who acts as if sugar is his oxygen.

And that, everyone, is all I have for today.  For the coming day, enjoy every game you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 26: How many floors does this thing have?

I played Dark Cloud a lot today.  I am still working on the first dungeon.  It can't be too much longer that I will either reach the center of the planet or I will finally meet Dran, the person I was sent to find in the cave.  I have gotten much better at keeping my weapons from breaking and keeping myself alive in the cave.  If a weapon does break or I do die, I simply reset the game and try again.  Though the real world doesn't have a reset button, this game does and I make full use of it.

I have Macho's House and the Item Shop in Norune Village finished.  I still have Toan's house, Paige's  house, and Claude's house to finish.  And the small windmill.  And whatever else there is to put in this place.  I don't know.  I thought I was getting close to finishing the village when the Atla in the levels started decreasing, but then it went back up to eight per floor.  So, who knows when it will be finished.

I still really like the game.  And most likely I will spend the night playing.  Since tomorrow's Saturday, I have no obligations other than washing laundry and feeding my pets.  So maybe a marathon gaming session is in order.  I don't know.

I also played some great songs in Osu! this evening.  I went up against a first-class Portuguese player and had several close matches.  One song only had 127 points between the two of us.  Unfortunately, I lost every song we played.  But I was having so much fun that I didn't mind losing.  Going up against such an advanced player and coming so close every time was more fun than winning against a whole room of new players.  I did that tonight as well.  It isn't fun for me.

Well, I didn't play anything else today, and I wrote about all I had to write about, so I am going to get back to playing.  For the coming day, have fun with whatever game you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 25: A Dark Cloud looms overhead.

The only game I played today was Dark Cloud.  I am still not finished collecting all of the things for Norune Village.  I still like the game, but I have learned a couple things that really frustrate me.

1. You lose half of your money when you are "nearly destroyed".  And it wasn't something I learned by chance.  I was told by a NPC that that is what happens.  I really just want to start the game all over from the beginning so I can prevent myself from losing my money every time I die.

2. Once you arrange the shop, the mayor will no longer give you items.  I have no money for even a bottle of water, because I keep dying in the cave.   So how in the world am I supposed to prevent myself from dying if I can't afford to buy restorative items?  Especially when I keep getting floor layouts that don't include a spring.

3. If you have items equipped to your weapons and it breaks, the items disappear.  This is a biggie for me.  I have learned to only equip items to the weapons when it is time to upgrade them.  But I don't like that they go away should the weapon break.  And, the weapons are really lame.  Other than my starting dagger, I have a kitchen knife.  If I had a fork and spoon, I could just make a meal of it.

4. Caves get new layouts each time I have to try them a second time.  If I were to die on one of the floors, I don't get the same layout when I go back in.

The only good thing I have learned is that the Atla I collect before I die I get to keep.  That way I can still make the town layouts and advance the game some.  So it's not all bad.

Despite all of these things, I still really like this game.  I am frustrated with it to no end, but I like it.  And with that, I have nothing else to write about today.  So, in the coming day, I hope you enjoy what you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 24: Dark Cloud on a Sunny Day

I received a copy of Dark Cloud today in the mail.  I have had a copy once before, but it wasn't mine.  It also didn't work in my PS2 either.  My silver PS2 doesn't play some games, like Xenosaga I, Metal Gear Solid 2, Gran Turismo 4; and Dark Cloud is another on that list.  But all of those games are playable on my black PS2.  So I wanted to finally try it out.  I have to say, I really like this game.  But before I played it, I didn't like the concept of it.

For those that don't know, the main character in this game has to basically put the world back together when it was destroyed by the Dark Genie, being controlled by some guy in a military suit (I haven't reached the part where I find out his name, or I missed the part that tells it).  No, the world isn't physically in pieces just floating around waiting for the hero to come by some magic glue to stick the pieces back together.  But all of the houses, people, belongings, trees, fences, roads, rivers, etc. are all in these magical spheres.  The Fairy King put all of these things in the Atla (the magical spheres), and it is up to the chosen one (whose name is Toan) to collect them and put them back on the world.

That is the main thing that separates this game from other RPGs, the ability to make towns however you want.  Yes, you will fight monsters and search dungeons and whatnot; but you also find the Atla to restore the world to how it was.

When I was first told about this game, I didn't think that rebuilding the world would be fun.  I thought that it would be just a boring mini-game that would unlock special areas or something.  I am glad I still gave the game a chance, because I like it a lot.  I die a lot, because I forget to heal myself sometimes; but I like the game.  Right now, I am still in Norune Town (or whatever it's called).  I forgot to save, so I have to go and start the dungeon all over.

I actually have more experience with Dark Cloud 2, because I borrowed both of them and only 2 would play in my PS2 at the time.  However, I couldn't take the game seriously.  When your first weapon is a wrench, I can't believe you are serious about a journey to save the world.  And the game was really slow to open up for exploration.  I didn't have access to the one mechanic that the Dark Cloud games have going for them.  I have a bid on a copy of Dark Cloud 2, but the auction for it ends in two days.  So, only time will tell on whether or not I will complete the set.

The only other game I played today was Pokémon White.  I finally earned my second Gym badge.  It was surprisingly easy now that I had two Fighting-type Pokémon in the party.  There were I think only five turns I made in the entire battle.  And now I am in the Forest looking for the Team Plasma people after they stole the dragon skull from the museum.  Here's a question: Why would the curator of a museum ask a ten-year-old kid (I assume they are still ten) to go chase after a gang of thieves, rather than alerting the authorities to the theft?  Just because they have Pokémon with them means they are suitable to do such a thing.

Anyway, I will be going back to the Pokémon Center to switch out a couple of my team members, as they aren't really suited for the next Gym's Pokémon.  I tried finding out the main character's age, and discovered the names and preferred Types for the Gym Leaders.  My current team won't do too well against Bug-Types.

Before I forget, I should tell you all that I completed Katamari Damacy last night before I went to bed.  It wasn't too hard at all.  I love that game and I knew beforehand where I needed to go in order to get the required sizes as fast as possible.  I only had to redo one level, and I only had to redo it once.  Sure the night sky isn't as full of stars as it could be, but I reached the credits, and rolled up most of the countries.  It was 171 regions of the world by the end of the song.  In the end, a completion is a completion, and I completed one more game on the list.  So, that's 9 finished, and only a whole lot more to go.

Well, that's is everything I played today.  I hope to see you back here tomorrow, and I wish you lots of luck finishing every game you play in the coming day!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 23: Rolling up some balls.

I caught a Tympole today when I played Pokemon White. It is so CUTE! I caught it, and then stopped playing. I hope that when I see its evolved form that it stays cute. I would hate to see it become some big ugly bullfrog or something. If it does, I think I may cry, or never ever battle with it. One thing I noticed is that unless you level grind for hours, you really have to listen to the hint-givers and go where they suggest you go in order to win. Before I battled Cilan, I was told to go to the Dreamyard and train. That's when I was given Pansear and the battle was a piece of cake. Now I am told to catch a Fighting-type Pokemon in order to combat the Leader's Normal-types. The trainer battles in the museum were super tough. That's why I followed the advice and I am now looking for a Fighting-type Pokemon. That's when I caught Tympole.

I am working on traveling back to Cloud Ruler Temple to give Martin the book in Oblivion. I also completed a few other quests in Cheydinhall as well.  I received a recommendation from the Mages Guild.  And saved the painter dude from the painted trolls in the painting world.  I found incriminating evidence against the Captain of the Guard.  Right now, I am in some cave on a weapons delivery for the Fighters Guild.  I have done this quest a couple times already today.  The first time I completed it, but the people I delivered the weapons to ended up dead.  It looks bad for my reputation, so I reloaded the file.  The second time I tried it I ended up protecting them too much and didn't look after myself.  I ended up dead.  That's even worse.  So I stopped playing and moved on to something else

And I looked up game completion times online this evening. I wanted a short game that I owned that I could play and post about in my gaming blog. The shortest game the person listed was one I owned.  That game was Katamari Damacy.  And I must say, it really is a short game.  I am already almost finished with it.  I am just doing the Make A Star levels, and in the hour that I played, I have already completed 6 stars.  I believe the constellations are optional, so I am not doing those.  I need to get more games completed, so researching the short games and completing those are key right now.  The longer games are fine to work on, but if I don't add some short games in the mix then I will not see results in this challenge until the end of it.

Well, that's what I played today.  And now I have a question for you.  What are you currently playing?  Leave your comments at the end of this post.  Also, if you have any tips on any of the games I am playing that will help me complete them faster, please tell me.  I have the feeling I will be using the Magic Whistle to teleport when I start playing Super Mario Bros. 3.

Until next time, have fun playing what you are playing.

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 22: Working on saving the world.

Today I mainly played Oblivion.  I worked on the main story quests.  Right now, I am on my way to retrieve the Amulet of Kings from the Mythic Dawn cult.  I also joined the Dark Brotherhood, and completed a couple kills for them.  Unfortunately, I forgot that I had contracted Porphyric Hemophilia and I went to sleep.  When I woke up, I was a vampire.  And now I am stuck with it because I am nowhere near Skingrad to start the quest to fix it.  I hate being a vampire.  It makes my character so ugly, and it makes him look like he's 500 years old.  I think I will just have to deal with it, because I want to complete the game and I can't be wasting time trying to find a cure.  Also, I kind of want to know what happens if I don't feed regularly.

The only other game I played today was osu!.  It is also the game I playing right now as I type this entry.  I even hosted a room for a while this evening.  Right now, I am in a room that is playing a lot of anime songs.  I always end up in the middle of the group when we finish.  I don't watch a lot of shows the songs are in, and therefore I don't have the songs on my computer.  I think it may surprise some people when I perform well on songs I have never played before.  But then again, it probably doesn't.

Tomorrow I am going to work on completing some games.  I can't resort to Oblivion every time I get bored.  I should be playing games that I can complete quickly.  And an open-world game like Oblivion is not one of those games.

Until next time, have fun playing whatever you decide to play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 21: Sickly

For the first half of the day, I played Pokemon White.  I arrived in Nacrene City, and I am ready to attack the Gym.  All I know about the Gym is that the Leader uses Normal-type Pokemon.  That's kind of nice considering that three of my main party are also Normal-type.  I have nine Pokemon at my disposal, so I could always change the layout.  Here's what I have:

Pidove - Level 10
Blitzle - Level 10
Woobat - Level 10
*Pansear - Level 13
*Patrat - Level 13
*Lillipup - Level 13
*Oshawott - Level 14
*Purloin - Level 14
*Audino - Level 14

Those with asterisks are my party members.  Actually, those six are also the first six that I received.  Other than switching them around within the group to change who is brought out first in battle, these six have been at my side the whole time.  My favorite Pokemon in battle is Audino, because she is my tank.  She can take a hit, and also deal a hit as well.  Design-wise, it is still Lillipup.  She is so CUTE!

The second half of the day I played more Oblivion.  It may not seem like much considering the amount of time I played, but I only completed five more quests today.  I have 21 quests in active status.  I am a little disappointed that I only completed a handful today, especially after having played so much of it today.  But once those active quests finish, I will be so much closer to completing the game.

I made a spur of the moment gaming video last night after I posted my entry.  It only makes sense to feature it here as well.

I have been watching the anime this song is from, and when I saw that there were osu! beatmaps already made for it, I jumped at the opportunity to play them and record a video of it.  At the time of the recording, I ranked 37th for the song worldwide.  Now that a day has gone by, I am now in 59th worldwide.  I am going to try and change that.

(I am playing the song right now)

1st Try:  I advanced to 47th Place.  Let's go again.
2nd Try: I failed to even reach my best score, I finished in 50th.  One more time.
3rd Try: Again, I failed to beat my score.  This time coming in 48th Place.

Anyway, it is a really impressive score and accuracy percentage for myself.  My best for the song is 99.50%.  I only missed the beat on one note, but it wasn't even a total miss.  Oh well, I can always try again later.

Well, that's all I have to write about today.  I hope that in you have fun playing whatever you play in the coming day!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 20: Dreaming in the Dreamyard

I played two games today.  The first was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  I completed a few quests and even advanced the main quest line some.  I am currently in Chorrol at Level 12.  I have completed 42 quests out of the more than 200 quests in the game.  Of course, I should just go and do only the main story quests.  That would technically give me the completion of the game.

Anyway, I finally finished the Meridia quest; then because I had to cure a disease, I went in to Skingrad to heal.  That's when I joined the Mages Guild and completed the Glarthir quest.  After that, I delivered the Amulet of Kings to Weynon Priory.  Then, I worked on joining the Fighters Guild and receiving the Chorrol recommendation at the Mages Guild there.  That's where I am at in the game right now.  I am waiting for Earana to translate the book so I can steal it back from her and give it to Teekeus for my recommendation.  After that, I think I will go and work on the main quests some more.  Or maybe since it will be Sunday, I should go and do the Dark Brotherhood quests.  There's nothing that says celebrate the holy day more than some fake computer generated assassinations.  I also have lots of stolen goods to take to Ongar in Bruma.  Then I get a better standing in the Thieves Guild.

I also received the first Gym Badge in Pokemon White today.  I have to say that the difficulty level of this game is much higher than FireRed, LeafGreen, or Sapphire.  Normally, I can get the first badge easily.  But this Gym battle proved tough.  I had five Pokemon, and I only finished the match with two of them.  I was fighting Cilan (since my starter was Oshawott).  Right now, I am in the Dreamyard with Bianca, getting ready to move on in the game.

Tomorrow I will continue to work on completing the big list of games.  I don't have a specific plan of what I will play, but I do know that I will play as much as possible tomorrow.  And until then, have fun playing whatever it is you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 19: I just can't decide.

I had one of those days where I just couldn't get motivated enough to stick to one game today.  I started with Pokemon White, but when I got to the first gym, I stopped playing.  I have four Pokemon now.  Other than that, there isn't a lot to say about the game.  The moves the Pokemon have are all pretty basic still.  Nothing that you don't see in the other games.  My Lillipup has picked up two items so far.  That's cool.  I really like that about Zigzagoon and Meowth as well.

Then I tried playing Grand Theft Auto IV.  Anymore, I play the multiplayer.  There wasn't a lot of activity today, so I didn't play long.  It's just not fun when it is just you and someone else trying to kill each other in a deathmatch.  And when there is still 58 minutes left on the clock, you don't play long.

And in Oblivion, I grew to Level 10.  It wasn't anything special.  I left the Shivering Isles, and returned to work on the main quest.  And then I got sidetracked and went and did the quest for Meridia.  I completed the quest, it wasn't difficult.  I was almost back to the statue when the game froze.  I decided to not play any more after that.  Luckily, the game autosaves a lot.  So it won't be too frustrating going back to the statue.

The plan for tomorrow is to finish at least one game I have a save file for.  It's a big list, and I can't remember everything that I have on the list.  So, until then, have fun playing whatever it is you choose to play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 18: White

I was so tired from working today that I took a long nap after I got back home.  So, my gaming time was quite low.  The only game I played today was Pokemon White.  It arrived in the mail, and I had to try it out and see if it was going to work.  So this blog post is going to be about my first impressions of the game.

I like how it has a little intro scene before the title screen.  And it was different than the usual "This is you.  This is your Pokemon.  This you battling others with your Pokemon." that you get with other games.

I don't like how my new modem can't be set up to connect my DS with the Wi-Fi at my house.  My old modem was able to do so with no problems.  But this one with its stupid WPA code instead of the needed WEP Key.  But that's not the game's fault.  It didn't know that I would have a modem that wouldn't be nice.

The Pokemon are so cute so far.  My favorite right now is Lillipup.  It's so SUPER CUTE.  I love the dogs of the Pokemon world, and this one is no exception.  The others I have caught are also cute as well.

The battles are laggy.  I don't like it right now, but it's not something that I will complain about forever.  I will get used to it.

The story so far is nice.

The random battles with all those Patrat are really getting annoying.  Walk a step, battle a Patrat.  One more step, one more Patrat.

I have Oshawott, Purrloin, Patrat, and Lillipup in my party.  They are cute and powerful.  I am hoping it will be a great game.  Despite not being able to trade and battle others unless I find some other wireless area.

So, until tomorrow, have fun with whatever game you are playing!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 17: A laugh.

My gaming today was mainly spent on multiplayer games.

My brother was stuck watching the kid from yesterday again today.  So to shove his endless barrage of questions to someone else, I put my headset on him and told him to start talking to the people he could here while we played Need for Speed: Most Wanted.  I was afraid to do this at first, because of the language some of the others can use during play.  But most of the adults in his life talk the same way, so it couldn't be any more harmful.

For the first ten minutes, no one else would talk.  They probably didn't have headsets or something.  All I could hear was the kid yelling "Hello!  Can you hear me?  Hey, talk to me!"  By the end of it, a gamer started talking to him in French.  I translated what the guy said to him, and luckily none of it was bad.  He was surprisingly polite and nice.

After the kid went home, I played Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer.  And for the majority of it, all I could hear was someone going, "Hello!  Can you hear me?  Hey, talk to me!"  This time from one of my opponents.  I don't talk a lot when I play multiplayer.  I choose to use the others chatter to my advantage and analyze their play style.  A lot can be discovered about a person that way.  Things like their current position, how they react to changing game scenarios, and especially how they change their play styles when they are given a barrage of deaths.

It's like I am playing against someone beside me instead of someone in another part of the world.  I would definitely do a better job if I could also monitor their body language, but the disadvantage to that is they could also find my patterns and weaknesses as well in that situation.  That's why I don't even inform them I have a headset.  In the waiting rooms, I try not to show that my headset is on.  I turn it on once the game begins.

And now you know how I play.  If you are interested, I am me3lingual on PSN.  Feel free to send me an invite or something.  If I have the game, I will play with you.  And with that, I hope you have fun in whatever it is you will play in the coming day.

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 16: Variety today.

I didn't get to play any one game for longer than 10-15 minutes today.  My brother was watching a kid today, and naturally, I got to watch then kid today instead.  I can't help having all of the cool toys.  We played Gran Turismo 4, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Ford Racing 2, and ATV Offroad Fury.  Since I was trying to be accommodating and nice to the guest, I had to play whatever he wanted to play.

Now normally, I don't become a backseat gamer; but he was just so bad at the games he wanted to play that I couldn't help it at some points.  How can you not stay on the road when you are on a straight stretch of the track?  He would constantly hit walls and everything else he could possibly hit when he played.

The most annoying thing is that he would hand over the controller, only to yank it back a few seconds later.  I really got on his case when he nearly pulled the controller out of the PS2 and dropped the PS2 on the floor.  I said, "How would you like it if I went to your house and started to ruin your stuff?!"

And then he wouldn't stop playing long enough to eat a popsicle.  He would play and eat at the same time, despite me telling him not to.  And then he would drop it and continue eating after he picked it up off the floor.  I just love cleaning sticky controllers.  It's better than playing the actual game itself.

The real gaming I did today was after my post last night and this morning before the kid showed up.  I played Romancing SaGa, but I didn't progress much.  I am starting to think that maybe having the guide with me while I play may actually be hindering me and my play style.  Yeah, it is convenient for boss battles, because the game doesn't have a scan enemies function that I know of.  But it is making me play the way the guide plays, and that is making me dependent on it.  I am not experiencing the fun the game should be giving me.

Well, the plan for tomorrow is to play games all day.  Whether or not I will actually do that is unknown to me, considering that I planned to do that today.  Anyway, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 15: A whole bunch, but not much.

A majority of the gaming I did today was with online multiplayer stuff.  First, I played in two Deathmatch mode rounds in Grand Theft Auto IV.  The first had five players.  I was slow to start, because I haven't played multiplayer in quite a while.  I forgot how to aim and use my weapons.  But in the end, I won.

The second was directly after the first, and I was still on my killing spree.  I managed to win again, this time by nearly $700.  There were originally 16 people playing, but as time ticked down, the amount of players dwindled down to seven.  My opponents sounded really young, you could say that they weren't playing an age appropriate game.  I am not very skilled at GTA IV's Deathmatch, but my opponents were all much less skilled than I was.  I finished with 22 kills in thirty minutes, the other players were all single digits.  In their defense, I also had the highest number of deaths (19).  I am good at shooting, but I leave myself open a lot.

After that, I played a couple rounds in Need for Speed: Most Wanted's multiplayer.  And I have to say, I am horrible at racing!  The only time I ever win is when I am in a team race and I happen to be on the winning team.  Otherwise, I always finish a race in the bottom three.  Today was a little different.  The game wouldn't load the next race, despite all of us being at the meetup.  In the end, I and several other players left the game.

Do you want someone to play with?  I know I always do.  Well then, you should consider adding me to your PSN friends list.  I don't have a lot of games with online multiplayer, but I do play the ones I own sometimes.

Grand Theft Auto IV
Portal 2
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Metal Gear Solid 4 (though I have been told that the servers are closed for that)

If there are any games with online multiplayer that you think I should consider purchasing, feel free to leave all suggestions in the comments section.

The rest of the day was spent just messing around with Romancing Saga.  I started work on Albert's journey of the game.  I have the guidebook for this game, so completing this game might be easy.  I am only going to do Albert's journey to complete this game.  Since his storyline focuses on the events of the game, he will experience the most out of the eight protagonists.  So his journey will feel the most complete.

Well, that's is all I have for today.  So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 14: Madgod's Blessings

Today was another day filled with playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  I tried playing other games, but I just couldn't stay interested in them long enough to continue playing them.  So this entry will be short, in that I will only be writing about what I did in Oblivion.

Today, I basically finished the main questline of the Shivering Isles.  I chose to become the Duke of Mania.  Then I easily defeated all the foes in my path to become Sheogorath.  And that's all.

I guess it was shorter than I thought.  I don't want to go into too much detail just in case there are people who haven't played the game or the Shivering Isles expansion.

I would say that I plan to work on FireRed and The Adventure of Link, but chances are I won't.  I am just really into Oblivion right now.  The one thing that holds true for Oblivion is that I always get bored with it.  I will get bored with closing Oblivion gates or fetch quests that I will stop playing it and move on to something that I will most likely not complete.

What I should do is have someone only give me access to one video game.  Have this person hide or lock up the rest of the collection and only give me something else to play when the end credits are rolling.

Well, I have an important meeting tomorrow.  So, until then, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 13: Cheese for Everyone!

The title of this entry is probably my favorite quote from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  Today, I played Oblivion all day.  From the time I woke up until right before starting this post.  It's just been a save the world from daedric princes and other evil baddies.  More specifically, saving the realm of Sheogorath from the Greymarch.  I have been working on completing all of the quests in the Shivering Isles all day.  Currently, my character is standing in the church place after lighting the torch.

I broke down and bought a video game today.  I bought Pokemon White, and I shouldn't have.  I just really wanted to play a DS Pokemon game again.  I played Diamond last year, but it was a borrowed copy and I had to return it.  I will be glad to trade Pokemon with my friends again.

But my eBay journey didn't stop there today.  I actually put three of my games up for sale/auction.  If you are interested, I will post the links below.

Xenosaga: Episode I - Der Wille zur Macht

NCAA Basketball

NBA Live 95

I have another copy of Xenosaga I, so I don't need this one.  And the other two games I have never played before.  I have never owned a Super Nintendo, so I don't even know if they work.  Unfortunately for now, I am unable to ship outside the country.  However, if you are interested in these items, leave a comment or contact me personally and we can go from there.  It's just for the random eBayers that I am uneasy about shipping outside of the U.S.

Tomorrow I will be working on more video games.  I don't know what.  I should focus on completing what I have started, but that rarely happens.  Anyway, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 12: Yes, I am smarter than a 5th Grader.

I didn't play a lot of video games today.  Stuff happened to me today that I discussed in my personal blog, and I didn't have time to play as I had planned for today.  But I did play some.

First, I played Need for Speed (2008) with the kid I am tutoring.  He came over to visit after he went swimming.  He and my brother were here while the kid's Aunt was on her way home.  So while he waited, we drove cars into walls and other cars.

Then, I played Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? on my DS.  I got all of the questions right, and even the final bonus question as well.  So, I am going to go ahead and call this game completed.  I received the maximum score, and that is all I can do in this timeframe.  I am certainly not going to go through all 6,000 of those questions.

Tomorrow is, as of right now, completely free to play the day away.  I intend to do just that, but I wouldn't be surprised if something came up.  I will try though.

Well, that's all I have for today.  Sorry that this entry is so short.  I don't have any gaming news to talk about.  I am not making any more game purchases for now, though I would like a set of Rock Band instruments and game.

So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Days 10 and 11: No Internet equals More Time for Gaming

First, I apologize for not posting an entry yesterday.  When I woke up Wednesday morning, my modem was giving me a YLOD (Yellow Light of Death).  I had no idea that my modem had yellow lights.  So I called the phone company and after determining that my modem was indeed dead, they shipped a new one out to me.  And I received it just a couple hours ago, after the person I spoke to said it would arrive tomorrow.  I guess they really like my money each month.

I learned a couple things during my time without Internet service.  First, the world still turns without Internet service.  Second, I need a working modem for my PS3 to connect to the Internet.  I thought that maybe I could just bypass the modem by directly connecting the PS3 to the phone line.  It didn't work.

I also learned that I had a lot more time playing video games by not being on the Internet so much.  And so, I spent a majority of my time playing video games.

I played and completed a game I had never played before yesterday.  I played Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures, and completed the entire game.  As I said before, I had never played it before; so I had no idea what it was about.  I assumed it would be about the characters' journey to find jaw breakers (which seemed to be a main staple in the show's plot), and cause a lot of trouble while doing so.

For its time, it was pretty nice graphically.  I liked how they included animated scenes along with the CG gameplay.  Gameplay was pretty simple, seeing as how I was able to finish the entire game in a few short hours.  I liked how they made use of each of the three main characters, and gave each of them their own special ability and weapons.  My favorite character from both the show and the game is Edd.  In the game, he was the only character to actually leave the group and venture off on his own.  I liked that.

My only problem with the game was that it was such a short game.  It only had eight levels, and each were easy to get through.  I do see why the developers did that.  Since their audience was a younger demographic, they have to set the difficulty lower than what a game for teens or adults would be set for.

After that, I decided to start on a playthrough of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  It is going to be a game that will take a long time to complete, even if I were to just stick with the main story questline.  Of course, I don't want to do just the main quest for this game.  I have already become Grand Champion of the Arena, and I am also a member of both the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild.  I am playing as a Nord Healer.  It's not a typical class for a Nord character, but I rarely play to the types best suited for the races.  I did however go away from my normal Breton race to a Nord one.  So that's different than usual.

Right now, my character is standing in front of the doorway to the Shimmering Isles.  I am not sure if I want to go in or not.  I just have so much I could do that I can't decide.  Other than that, I have to go to Weynon Priory and deliver the Amulet, and to Cheydinhal for the Dark Brotherhood, and sell my stolen loot to Ongar in Bruma, and a whole bunch of other things.

As for the playthroughs for both The Adventure of Link and Pokemon FireRed, they have stagnated.  It's not that I don't want to play them, because I do; it's just that TAoL is so difficult, and FireRed is a game that I have played so much that the story is stale for me.  Although, now that I know there are more Pokemon in FireRed than what I originally thought, I am kinda psyched about playing it.  I had no idea that Ho-oh, Lugia, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou were obtainable in the game.  And that there were areas other than the Sevii Islands and Kanto Region.  I really want to see those areas and those Pokemon!

I am planning on working on The Adventure of Link this weekend.  I can't let the second dungeon defeat me.  That is what the third dungeon is supposed to do.  Other than that, I want to work on some of the game files I have on my PS3 that are unfinished.  There are quite a few on there just taking up space on my hard drive.  Not only will I count them on the completed list, but I can then get rid of them to make room for the other PS3 games I want to play.

Well, that's all I have for today.  So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 9: A Quick Play for a Quick Increase

I still feel a little down today about what has happened recently, but I did do some gaming today.

First, I played a couple of racing games with the child I tutor.  Our lesson for the day was finished, but the person who was to take him back home asked if I would watch him while he went out for a bit.  I agreed.  We were going to play outside, but it started raining.  So instead, we played Gran Turismo 4 and Ford Racing 2.  It may have been fun for him, but it was not fun for me at all.  First, I let him do a single player race in GT4, because I had never played it before and didn't know how to set up a multiplayer race.  Then we played a multiplayer race in GT4.  I won easily.  After that, we played a race on Ford Racing 2.  Halfway through that race, we switched controllers.  So my 1st Place car quickly became a last place car, and his last place car finished in 5th Place.  After that, he went home.

And I didn't play anything until 9pm tonight.  That's when I figured I'd play a quick and easy game to increase my completion percentage.  I played Rugrats: Search for Reptar.

It only took me 37 minutes to complete the game.  I received all of the puzzle pieces, and only two were earned by collecting Reptar Bars.  It was one of the first PlayStation games I ever had.  It was that and Metal Gear Solid and a few others that I still have to this day.

Anyway, I know this game like the back of my hand.  I could write the location of every Reptar Bar, draw maps of every balloon in Mirrorland, everything.  My disc is really worn out though, and so a couple levels are unplayable.  One of my favorites is Chuckie's Glasses.  In order to play it, I have to skip the intro cutscene and go straight to the game because it will freeze and not play otherwise.  Circus Angelicus is one that has become unplayable.  Luckily, you don't have to do every level in order to get every puzzle piece.  A couple of levels I really like, and yet I chose to not play them this time.  Ice Cream Mountain is another level I love to play, but it takes so long to complete it.

Well, I have lots of time to play video games now, so maybe this challenge will be doable.  I don't work until Thursday, so it's quite possible that with perseverance I can accomplish this obstacle I have placed before me.  Also, I have decided that I will consider the games I have already completed this year to be completed for the challenge.  And that the current position in games I have save files for will be my current spots when I continue playing them.

With that said, I have completed the following games this year...

along with Sonic Unleashed and Rugrats: Search for Reptar.  So now there are only 299 games left to complete.  That's much better than the 305 or whatever it was back when I started this whole thing.

Well, that's all I have for today.  So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 8: Due to some recent events...

I wasn't up for playing any games today.  I got home from work today, and then some stuff happened that made me feel really sad.  Some could say I was depressed by what happened, but I don't feel depressed.  Just let down and disappointed.  Anyway, I just wasn't in the mood to play anything.  If you want, I talk about all of it in my personal blog entry today.  There you can read any and all (or rather, most) things about my life.  My personal blog is titled

The Michael Swayne Story II: The Re-Ascension of a Prince

It is actually the second chapter of my life, recording the events of my life from September 13, 2012 to the present.  Like this blog here, I update Re-Ascension daily.  The only difference is that it is all of my life, whereas this is strictly gaming related.  There is also a first chapter to this called

Life On My Own: The Michael Swayne Story

where it chronicled my life from April 20, 2011 to September 6, 2012.  It also summarizes my life up to April 20, 2011 as well.  So, there's all of that to read up on my life.  And it is quite a long read.  Altogether, there are 585 entries between the two personal blogs at thefinalfantasy.com and it continues to grow daily.

But, I am not going to post an entry without any news of gaming stuff; at least not intentionally.

I received my copy of Xenosaga III today in the mail.  I did try it out to see if the game works.  It does.  I hope it enjoyed it's cross-country journey, because for now it will be taking a spot in my games cabinet.  I guess in a way, the game is grounded and is not allowed to play.  Oh well...

I also checked my copy of Grand Turismo 4 today.  It works, too.  And with that, I have hit my video game purchasing limit for a while.  Reasons why are discussed in Re-Asension, which is linked above.

And with that, I shall close this entry.  So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 7: No progress...yet.

I am seriously considering halting the playthrough of The Adventure of Link for now and moving on to another console game.  I made absolutely no progress on it as of the typing of this entry.  I am also thinking of just skipping this dungeon altogether and continuing the journey to the next one.  I have the item from Midoro already, and since I will just start back over at Northern Palace every time I run out of lives, I can just save Midoro's boss for later.

I guess there was some leftover angry feelings from yesterday still inside me when I played today that I couldn't stand playing for too long of a time.  I nearly reached the boss of Midoro Palace, but those red armored enemies killed me every time.  It is just so frustrating.  I have the map of this dungeon memorized, so the only thing I have to worry about is defeating the enemies along the way.  And asking for help is pointless because I can't even reach the place where I would normally ask for help.

Oh well.  I will try again right now.  Just wait...

Well, I got to the boss.  I removed two of his heads.  And then when I had him down to one bar of health, I died.

I think I may play a quick and easy game tomorrow after I get home from work just so I can say that I have more than one game completed in the challenge.

I played a little bit more of FireRed today.  Since I am recording the gameplay, I don't want to give away too many details.  What I can say is that I didn't play very long.  Only 15 minutes.

And when I was too angry to play more of The Adventure of Link, I play some of The Sims 3.  I still don't like the indirect controls, but I do like how I can actually travel along with my character as he goes to work or to stores and other places.  My character is a bit weird.  He prefers to be alone, but he's in the political career track.  He lives a pretty basic life.  Wakes up, goes to work, comes home, sleeps, and the cycle repeats.  He eats and does other activities now and then, but for the most part he saves that stuff for the weekend when he's not polishing podiums.

Well, that's all the progress for the challenge I made today.  I wish it could have been more.  So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 6: I wish Link would fall down a well!

The Adventure of Link is really kicking my butt!  I tried and tried today to get farther in the game, and I barely progressed at all.  Here's how it looks right now:

Number of Start Overs: 27
Attack: 3
Magic: 4 with 5 Magic Containers
Health: 5 with 5 Heart Containers

Spells: 3
Shield
Jump
Life

Items: 2
Candle
Handy Glove

If it wasn't for the urge to complete the challenge, I would have given up playing this game long ago.  So if I keep thinking that I will have accomplished a great task if I finish this game, then I will push myself forward and stick with completing this game.  Right now, I am at Northern Palace, where I start every time I die.  I am on my way to try and complete the second dungeon.  It shouldn't take but another day (or two) to do.  And then I have the rest of the planet to explore.

During my time taking a break from the rage-inducing game that is The Adventure of Link, I worked on my playthrough of Pokémon FireRed.  I even recorded around fifteen minutes of gameplay for my YouTube channel.  Right now, the longer first episode is being saved as I type this. I will then post it to my channel and put the video here as well for viewing.  It is pretty rough, I did hardly any work in editing (all I did was add a caption to show my finger getting in the shot).  And there's no commentary, because I couldn't stop coughing long enough to talk.  But at least there will be something other than text and video game pictures in this blog.

As for where I am at in that game, I am only just a little bit farther than where this video ends.  Unfortunately, I take a lot of time preparing for my Pokémon journey.  I have to decide which Pokémon I want to get.  Since my starter is Charmander, I think I will stick with a Flying-type team.  And since I am on a deadline, I won't be trying to catch them all.  Just the ones on my list.  And here's the list:

Of course, the legendary Pokémon are optional.  I don't have the time to try again and again in order to get them.  But the other eight I definitely want.  It will be difficult, because I am limiting my self to a Flying-type group, but the move sets of their other types is what will propel me to victory.  My goal in this playthrough is to simply become the Pokémon Champion and see the ending credits.

Finally tonight, I played Osu! multiplayer this evening.  It was fun.  It's been a while since I played multiplayer.  I mainly play osu!mania mode.  I am currently ranked #1,120 in the U.S., and #23,053 in the world in osu!mania.  The other modes I am not as good at.  I simply don't play them enough.

Osu!: #45,907 U.S.; #425,637 World

Taiko: #6,034 U.S.; #107,388 World

Catch the Beat: #12,083 U.S.; #161,265 World

My goal in this game, at least in osu!mania, is to be in the Top 1,000 in the country and Top 10,000 in the world.  I have more than fifty Top 100 scores in songs.  And a few of them are Top 10 scores.

I received my copy of Gran Turismo 4 in the mail today.  I didn't check to see if it worked.  At the price I paid for it, it would probably cost more to ship it back than it did to actually buy the thing.  I will check it when I receive Xenosaga III.  But until then, I am not even going to bother connecting my PS2 to the television.

And with that, I am out of things to talk about.  I am hoping to make some more progress with The Adventure of Link.  I may have to do some grinding to be ready for the boss.  It's not even the bosses that I have to worry about.  It's all those enemies before the boss that kill me before I can reach the boss.  Those are the ones I have to grind beforehand to beat.  The less time it takes me to kill them, the better.

So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 5: I am Error.

Well, I didn't get home until nearly 3pm today, because the weather was not wanting to be cooperative.  And after a nap, I started playing The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.  And oh my gosh, even with Skype voicechat help, it took me a little over an hour to finish the first dungeon.  I am so bad at this game.  But the good news is, I am getting better at the game.  I think.  I don't know.  Here's how things look statistically:

Number of Start Overs: 14
Attack: 3
Magic: 3 with 5 Magic Containers
Health: 4 with 5 Heart Containers

Spells: 2
Shield
Jump

Items: 1
Candle

I've got to say, going into those caves with the candle is so much better than when I would venture in there blind.  Now I know what has been killing me all those times I would play the game before.  I don't know what they are, those things that shoot rocks or balls or whatever at me.  They spit out things and hurt me, that's all I know.  The point is, now I can see them to kill them.

I don't like how every time I get a Game Over I have to start back at the palace where Zelda is sleeping.  It's like, "Oh, I am magically brought back here with all of my items and experience!  Woohoo!"  If the fairies or whatever that takes me back to the start point have the power to let me keep what I have, then why don't they just revive me where I died?  It would be so much easier and I wouldn't have raged every time those stupid armor soldier things killed me.

And what is the deal with those armored soldiers anyway?  Do they think it's nice to stab with their swords when they are doing so under their shields?  And then a not-so-clean thought came across my mind.  I will let you readers imagine for yourselves what I thought.

But I think I am getting the hang of the game.  My Skype helper, Nick, sent me a link (haha) to a map online that has helped me out so much.  Now I can just look at the map and see where I need to go next.  I am playing this game on the GameCube (The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition), and it doesn't provide a map.  Maybe the original had a map, I don't know.  I do know that a map is really needed when I play a game.  Or a character telling me the exact number of steps to go and in whatever direction it is that I need to go.  If I didn't have the map, I would probably still be searching for the statue that Goriya stole.

So yes, a map and a friend is most definitely needed to complete this game, at least for me to complete this game.

And the gaming news doesn't end there.  I have also decided to play a mobile, as in GameBoy Advance, game as well as The Adventure of Link.  On my personal life blog, which can be seen here, I also asked for game suggestions for my next game.  One friend and reader suggested I play a Pokémon game.  And since those game also generally take a while to play, I figured I may as well start on one.  So, I am going to be playing Pokémon FireRed

alongside The Adventure of Link.  Today I did some checking as to whether I will be able to record videos of FireRed's gameplay.  It is still not great quality, but it does look better than when I recorded some stuff for Sonic Unleashed.  I think it's because the screen of the GBA is different than that of my televisions.  Anyway, be sure to check my YouTube channel from time to time for videos on that.  I will be sure to add them to these entries as well, but just in case.

Finally, I received The Sims 3 in the mail today.  I of course checked in out to make sure it works and everything.  I didn't start a game yet, because creating a character takes a long time.  At least for me it does. I could spend upwards of an hour working on perfectly my character in The Sims 2, so it will most likely take a lot longer to make one in The Sims 3.  And if it is like The Sims 3: Pets (because why wouldn't it be), I am not sure I will like it.  I don't like the indirect control method.  I didn't like it in The Sims, and I don't like it The Sims 3: Pets.

I wasn't sure about this "The Exchange" either, so I immediately cancelled out of that.  I don't like to pay extra for game stuff (although I am guilty of doing that, I have to finish the Afterword of Prince of Persia and see what happens with Elika).  Anyway, I found out it was free just a few seconds ago.  And now I am downloading all of the free stuff.  So, if you play The Sims 3, please feel free to add me as a friend.  I don't know what that actually does game-wise, but go right ahead.  I will accept anyone and everyone; unless there is a limit, and then it depends on how well I know you.

Well, that's all for today's update on the challenge.  So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 4: One done, and on to the Next!

Because today was Independence Day, I got the day off from work.  So instead of seeing fireworks, I played Sonic Unleashed all day.  Fireworks wouldn't have really been fun anyway, because it has rained all day!

Anyway, with all this time today of having nothing other than gaming to do, I managed to finished Sonic Unleashed!  I was getting frustrated by the end of it, because I was so close to completing it, and I kept being denied the win.  Dark Gaia was like "You shall not move on to the next game!  You must fight me...FOREVER!!!  Muahahaha!"

In the end, I won, the world was saved, and I said goodbye to my furry friend Chip.

So, one game done.  Only 304 more to go.

I have also chosen which game I will be playing next.  The winner is...

That's right, The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.  This game is one of four featured on The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition.  I have never really played much of this game before, because I have no idea how to play it.  The only Zelda game I have ever finished is Spirit Tracks, and that took me forever to do.  I am thinking of employing massive help during my time playing this game.  I feel a little bad for my Zelda game friends, because they are about to be bombarded with questions.

Luckily for them, I will begin playing this game tomorrow.  So they have until after my work is done tomorrow to leave the planet.  Otherwise, I will use all means of communication necessary to bother them with my endless flood of "Can you help me get past this part?"'s.

That also is enough time to suggest a different game for me to play.  If the rain lets up, then I should be done working at about noon tomorrow.  So, just leave a comment on what game I should play, and I will change over to it.

I am preparing a video with my thoughts of Sonic Unleashed.  But if it falls through, be prepared with a blog post dedicated to my thoughts of the game.  The reason I am not writing about that tonight is because I have to be up at 5am tomorrow morning, and I am starting to get tired.  But make sure to watch out for it.

Well, I am headed to bed.  Actually, I have a personal life blog entry to type.  After that, then I'm going to bed.  So, until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 3: I wish I could go Sonic's speed today.

Due to work lasting three-and-a-half hours longer than it should, I didn't get a chance to do as much gaming as I had wanted.  But I did a few stages just a few minutes ago so I wouldn't have nothing to write about.

Well, my progress in Sonic Unleashed is inching closer and closer to completion.  I currently have five lives with forty-six Sun Medals and thirty-three Moon Medals.  I have completed all of the Apotos stages, having received Sonic's final special attack.  I guess I should also say that I have finished all of the stages in Mazuri as well (all one of them).

Anyway, my main gaming news of the day is about a game I don't have yet.  I wish it would hurry up and arrive.  I ordered a copy of Xenosaga III to complete the series, and it hasn't gotten here yet.  I know where it is too.  It is in Kearny, New Jersey.  The odd thing is that the game is coming from Indiana.  To my house, in Ohio.  Why is it in New Jersey then?  I don't know.  The shipping said it should arrive by Friday, so maybe it will get here.  I have been waiting more than a week already.  I just don't understand why it would need to have such a long detour.  New Jersey is NOT on the way to Ohio.

Well, the good news is that I don't have to work tomorrow.  I do have to work on Friday, though.  But still, it looks like I may be able to get a lot more done tomorrow than I had planned.  I am off to bed now.  Until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 2: A Chip On Your Shoulder

I didn't get to play as much as I wanted to today.  In total, only two hours of my time at home was spent working on completing Sonic Unleashed.  But it was two hours well spent.  I defeated Dark Moray and have gained access to two new cities, Shamar and Adabat.  I have four continents put back in their rightful places, and there are only three more left.

Today, I figured I should talk about how I don't like Dr. Eggman's name.  In this game, even he calls himself Dr. Eggman.  That is not the name I grew up knowing.  He will forever be Dr. Ivo Robotnik in my eyes.  Just like Tails will always be Miles Prower.  It's just how I know them.  But as time goes on, and game players become accustomed to hearing something one way, that's how the games themselves adapt.  Sonic and the good guys always called him Dr. Eggman, and so later games even gave him that name.

Also, I still love Chip!  If SEGA were to mass produce Chip plushies, I would so buy one and keep him in my room next to Clifford and my Steer plushies.  All I have seen are fan-made toys, and some make Chip look like some drugged-up version of himself.

With my progress in Sonic Unleashed continuing to grow and reach its last scene, it's time to start thinking which game I should play next. I am always up for suggestions, so feel free to leave a comment either in this post or the entry where I list my game collection.  Remember that I have received a couple more games since then, and I still have a few that haven't arrived yet.  There's...

1.  Gran Turismo 4 (PS2) - Not arrived yet.
2.  The Sims 3 (PS3) - Not arrived yet.
3.  Xenosaga III (PS2) - Not arrived yet.
4. The Sims 3: Pets (PS3) - Arrived yesterday.
5. Phantasy Star Universe (PS2) - Arrived yesterday.

So there's now a total of 305 possible games I could play next (this amount includes all of the games featured on compilation games like Atari Anthology and SEGA Genesis Collection and those that feature two games in one.  And also, if there are any tips or suggestions on how to get past certain parts of any games, please let me know.

Finally, I was thinking about taking gaming questions.  For instance, my thoughts on a game, or what character(s) I like from a series and whatnot.  Since some of these entries are bound to be brief due to not having enough time to play in a given day or lack of progress in a game, I want to make each and every entry worth reading.  So once a week, I would like to compile all the questions you may have about games and I will happy to answer them.

Anyway, it is getting late here, and I am having trouble keeping my eyes open; so I am headed for bed.  Until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 1: Running Around the World as the Blue Blur

I managed to play Sonic Unleashed for 90 minutes before I had to go to sleep.  At 1:30 am, I crashed.  I woke up at 8:30 am, and started the gaming day once again.  Since it is one game that I have finished before, I still remember some of where to go and where to jump.  Here's some of the important facts and figures on where I stand in the game.

1.  I have discovered 5 of the 8 lands. Apotos, Spagonia, Holoska, Chun-Nan, and Mazuri.

2.  I have set 3 continents back to where they should be.

3.  I currently have 31 Sun Medals.

4.  And 28 Moon Medals.

5.  And 3 Lives.

By far, my favorite stages are the ones in Chun-Nan.  I am fond of Chinese culture, and the stage on the Great Wall replica was really nice.  And Chip is so cute!  How can you not love this face?

One thing I also enjoy about the game is that even if I lose a stage, the music at the Retry screen is still powerful and encourages me to try again (and again...and again).  Though it is at a sadder setting than when you win, the trumpets (or whatever brass instrument is playing) are there to pump me up and get me back on the course.

My prediction on this game's completion is Friday.  I am working tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday; so gaming time will be cut in half.  I could probably finish the game by Thursday, but I will say Friday just to be safe.  I wouldn't want to say that I will be done with it sooner than Friday, because if I am unable to meet that goal it will set a bad tone for the rest of the Challenge.

In other gaming news, I have two more games added to the list.  I received a brand new copy of Phantasy Star Universe and The Sims 3: Pets today in the mail.  I know that the server for online play Phantasy Star Universe are no longer up and running.  And that sucks a little because I was looking forward to playing it with others.  From the two minutes I played of the game to see if it was in working condition (because it's not difficult to plastic wrap a game to make it look brand new), I think I will like it.

As for The Sims 3: Pets, I don't like it.  Again, I tried it out to see if it worked, and I can't get over the fact that I can't direct control the characters like in The Sims 2.  The whole having to click on the toilet to use the restroom instead of walking over to the toilet and seeing the choice in a window is not something I like.  I like to be able to see my character up close all the time, not have him or her be somewhere else while I am trying to decide whether he or she wants to bring in the paper or to just throw it away.

Back to Sonic Unleashed now.  I really thought it was funny that Amy Rose wasn't able to recognize Sonic behind all of the extra fur and giant teeth.  In a way, it kind of questions whether she actually loves him or not.  If she really, truly loves him, then wouldn't she be able to know immediately that it was Sonic she ran into in Spagonia?  And then on their next encounter, Sonic runs away, like the Beast or the Phantom of the Opera.  Is he doing this because he doesn't want Amy to see him like that?  Does this mean that maybe he really loves her?  Instead of brushing her off all the time out of annoyance, is he doing it because he knows he won't be able to control how he feels when he's around her for too long?

I don't know.  And the game doesn't really give any clues either.  Sonic Unleashed is the most recent Sonic game I've played, so maybe it is explained later on.

Well, I am going to end this entry here.  Tomorrow after work I plan on taking another stab at Sonic Unleashed and hopefully make another big leap into completing this game.  I have a couple of ideas for adding variety to this blog, and I will talk about them in the next entry as well as the progress I am making in the challenge.

Remember, if you would like to suggest a game from my list for me to play after this, just leave me a comment, or send me a message on any of the Social Media places.  I think I have all the contact information on my Google account.

Until tomorrow, have fun playing whatever it is that you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎