Days 142 and 143: Slumber

I had planned on post an entry yesterday, but I fell asleep.  I guess all the weirdness in my sleep pattern finally caught up with me, and conked out on the couch by the fire.  And then when I woke up, it was 7am and I just said that I'd just post one this evening to make up for it.

So, yesterday I worked some more on Tomb Raider, I am at Midas Palace right now.  I have one of the lead bars needed to progress to the next area.  I hate this area, because I always get lost.  I remember back when I first reached this area, I found it so funny to stand up on Midas' hand, and be turned to gold.  The sad thing is, I thought that first time it happened that I was meant to stand on the hand.  And I learned quickly that I was not supposed to do that.

I also sent a message to the Osu! tournament organizer about my recent rank improvement.  And I am clear to compete in the Beginner Tournament despite having a rank that would qualify me in the Advanced Tournament.  This is great, because I'd have no chance at all if I had to compete at the Advanced level.  I haven't had any training sessions with my training partner at all this week.  And now that there are 4 players competing in the Beginner Tournament, there's going to be more pressure in playing well.  Anyway, the deadline for signing up is still December 8, 2013; so there's a chance to have even more people join.

Now for today.  Today I started yet another Fallout 3 Game file.  I am horrible with keeping up a single file of Bethesda games.  They are just so good at the beginning when I am making my character how I want it to be, but then actually going forth into the world with the character is not something I feel like doing.  So, I need to be committed with my choices and finish the main story of this game.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, I had to go online and look up information on Wild Artefact locations, because I couldn't advance.  But now I have gotten a different timeline for Academia.  And then I mastered all of the Brain Blast questions...with some help.  The questions were mostly easy for me to answer.  I didn't like the "Red or Black" and "Odd or Even" questions.  And how was I supposed to know about some obscure person in a time that I haven't learned about.  I think the game was expecting you to do these things multiple times to get all of the correct answers.  Well, I had no time for that, and so I looked online for the answers to some of them.

I cleared another stage of the chapter in Dissidia Final Fantasy after Cosmos "dies".  It took some luck (well, a lot of luck), but I am now at the stage where there is an boss enemy and the insignia.  It's the boss that comes after Kefka.  I haven't scanned the area yet to see how it is.  But I do know that there are three enemies blocking me from even advancing two squares.

Well, that's all for this double day entry.  So, for the coming day(s), enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 141: It's Zi-dawn, not Zi-day-ne.

Today I played a bit of Dissidia Final Fantasy.  While I was at Grandma's, I worked on completing Zidane's Odyssey.  And I am now almost finished with it.  Zidane is one of my favorite characters among all of the characters I've come across in video games.  And his portion of this game is very nice.

I also reached Nipton in Fallout: New Vegas, and I am now Level 6.  I was so surprised when I saw people hanging on the crosses.  Now, I am on the road to Novak.  I recently was in a gun fight with a few gang members, and I managed to deal with them with a single shotgun.  My only problem right now is that I have too much stuff.  I am carrying 302 pounds of stuff, and I can only hold 200.

Finally, I managed to complete the Coliseum portion of Tomb Raider.  It took nearly 40 minutes.  Now, I am at the area where the statue of King Midas is.

Well, that's all for now.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 139: Raiding Again

I have made it to the Coliseum in Tomb Raider.  I am almost to the point in the game where I have always become bored with the game and just stopped playing.  But I haven't gotten to the part yet, and I hope I can power through it and finish the game.  I don't even know how long this game is.

Anyway, I had to stop playing because I change the brightness of my screen I have connected to the PS2.  Before I continue playing, I will switch it over to one of the other TVs in the house.  We have nine television sets in the house, but only four get used on a somewhat regular basis.  One of the things you deal with when you live in a house that at one time had five people living in it, and now only two people live there.

In other news, I think I will have to get a new mouse for my computer.  Especially if I am going to have as good a chance at competing in any Osu! tournaments.  My mouse has been acting as if it's not connected all the time, and sometimes will stop scrolling and stuff.  When I play, it will drop the track and make me lose the combo.  I have tried pressing the button harder, thinking that may help, but it isn't.

If I am going to get a new mouse, I will have to do it soon.  That way it will give me enough time to get used to it before the tournament.

Well, that's about it for now.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 138: Raiding Tombs

I began playing Tomb Raider today.  It is just how I remembered playing it back when I bought it.  It was one of the first games that I bought myself.  I've had it for so long, and yet I never finished it.  Back then, I didn't see the appeal to it, and I found it to be boring.  Now, I still don't see what's so great about it.  Maybe it's just that you are playing as a woman?  Probably.

Anyway, I have gotten through the first two areas.  I know, it's not much, but it's a start.  I didn't want to get bored of the game and not finish it again, so I am pacing myself.  A level or two each day should fine.

And then throughout the day I practiced for the Osu! tournament.  I am slowly getting better at the maps.  If I can just raise the consistency with my scores, I will have a good chance to win.  The advantage I have right now is that I rarely play with mods on.  Yeah, my scores are naturally lower because I don't make the maps more difficult, but most people always play with mods, and then that's the only way they can play.  They find normal play difficult, because everything is always super fast.  My training partner tends to play maps with double speed.  That's good for him overall, but the tournament doesn't allow mods.  That's where I'll excel.

The tournament itself has seen a lot of people applying to participate.  So far, there are 2 in Beginner League, 1 in Intermediate, 8 in Advanced, and 65 in Expert.  I still perform the newest maps to help get more performance points.  Though I technically don't have to, I may ask to be moved up to the Intermediate League because of my ranking.  However, that could prove to be bad, because it means I have to learn 15 new maps.  Maybe I won't.

Well, that's all for now.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 137: Another Day Off

I didn't get home from working until 2:30pm, and then after that I was asleep until after 7pm.  I didn't get any gaming done today.

However, I am planning on starting Tomb Raider tomorrow.  It is a game that I haven't ever finished, despite owning the game nearly ten years.

And that's about it for today.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 64: My GF is better than yours!

I did start a playthrough of Final Fantasy VIII today.  I didn't get very far with it though.  Well, I did, but I was overconfident and ended up not having any actual proof of the progress.  You see, I chose to try Fire Cavern in ten minutes.  I ran out of time, and I received a Game Over.  If I had not drawn magic from the enemies along the way to Ifrit, I would have had more time.  Anyway, I will set the time for twenty minutes next time.

Other than that, I am just rushing through the story.  Since I have played and completed the game once before, I know what happens.  I will not go for the extra things.  I want to stick to the story and complete it quickly.

For those that don't get the reference in the entry title, a GF is Guardian Force.  Yeah, like I would have time for a girlfriend.

It was also a big day for me when I played Osu! today.  One of my friends was online, and I played him for quite a long time.  He is ranked #7,543 in the world and #339 in America.  Playing against him was a challenge, and I rose to the occasion.  Each song was close, with our scores coming within 3,000 points each.  There was one song where the difference between our scores was only 274 points.  That time was the first of my winning streak.  When I won, he gave me control of the room and the chance to pick the songs.  I tried to pick songs that the two of us have played together.  Each song ended in a win for me.  In the end, we both had other things to do and we both stopped playing.

The big news is that I am that much closer to making it on to the worldwide leaderboard.  I am now ranked #765 in the country, and #15,214 in the world!  Some more play sessions like the one today, and I will be right there with all of my friends.

I also have second place in a song right now.  I don't know where the song is from, but I do know that it must be really easy to get a top score in it if I have second place.

Well, that's all for today.  I will continue playing Final Fantasy VIII later tonight.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 63: Month 3 Begins!

Right now I am currently waiting for the match to begin in Osu!.  The waiting is the one thing I don't like about playing multiplayer matches.  It can take what seems like forever for some players to get the maps.  I am ranked about the same as yesterday, so there's nothing new to report on that end.  I just wish I didn't have to wait so long.

I also played Skyrim a lot today.  And I only did the main story quests today as well.  My character is about to enter Sovngarde to go after Alduin.  I am at Level 30.  I just want to hurry and finish the game, because it is starting to feel boring to me.  This happens a lot when I play something for a long time.  That's why I am in the spot I'm in right now, I am bad about not completing video games.

Last night I thought about starting a playthrough of Final Fantasy VIII.  It is one Final Fantasy game that I don't play often.  But then I never got around to playing it because I was playing Skyrim.  I think I just didn't want to play the beginning of the game.  It seems slow to me when I play it.  But I think I will start it later this evening.  I have no plans for tomorrow, so I might as well.

Well, that's all I have for now.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 62: Month 2 Review

It is the end of the second month in the challenge.  I am surprised I haven't driven myself crazy because of it.  I should be freaking out because there is still so many more games I need to finish in the next four months, but I am feeling really calm right now.  I think it's because I have pretty much resigned myself to not being able to complete it.  After all, it is a huge undertaking.  But I am still going to try.  And even if I don't complete the challenge, I will still have fun playing the games I own.  So, it's still great!

Well, I should probably go over what I did complete this month.  The easiest games that I marked off the list this month were the ones from Atari Anthology.  Since gaming technology back then was nothing like it is today, there wasn't a lot for me to do in the games I played.  Since levels are repetitive and most are based on a final score, there isn't much progression needed to be satisfied.  I still have quite a few Atari games to play, and I am looking forward to playing the old-style RPGs.

Other really easy games for me to finish this month were Crash Bandicoot and Jax & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.  The former was one of the first games I played when I first received a PlayStation.  The latter is a game that I have played several times and have little difficulty in completing.  Both of these Naughty Dog games are ones I would recommend to any starting gamer.  They may be old games, but with their availability for PSN download, even new gamers can enjoy these classics.

My favorite game I completed this month is by far 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.  It is unlike any game I have ever played, to my knowledge.  If I wasn't doing this challenge, I would probably still be playing it right now in order to get the other endings.  The puzzles are challenging, and the story is great!  I hope to get the sequel to the game someday.

So far in this challenge, I have completed 25 of the 309 total games in my collection.  Sadly, I should be at 103 completed games at this point to keep a steady pace toward completing the entire challenge.  I will have to worker even harder in this next month.  Especially since it will be the first month in this challenge to have only 30 days.  Right now, every day is crucial to reach victory.  My goal for this month is to try not to get steered away from the direct path in games.  As much fun as they might be, I have to try and avoid doing the side quests.  They may offer more experience and better equipment, but they distract me from the endings.

Another goal for this month is to always be playing a game whenever possible.  If I am not playing a game on the television, then I should a handheld game in my hands.  The only way I can make a bigger dent to the list is if I play as much as possible.  Finally, I will try and do a better job at controlling myself and not purchasing any more games.  I swore to myself that I wouldn't buy any more after I received my copy of Dark Cloud 2
(did I remember to tell you all that I finally bought that game?).  And with any money I earn going toward the household bills, I can't afford to look at a game let alone buy one.

Moving on...

I was up late last night playing The Sims 3.  I managed to earn one trophy during the session.  Other than that, I didn't accomplish much in the game.  And today I spent a lot of time working on the main quest line for Skyrim.  Yes, the main story quests.  If you check out the main story's quest list, you will know that I am reaching the end of Act II.  I have found the guy in Riften, and he, Delphine, and I are on our way to Alduin's Wall.  At the moment of my last save, the three of us are at my home in Whiterun.  I wanted to get rid of as much as possible before I leave for the Wall.  I think I will also take Lydia along with us.  It will seem like a full-on battle party then.

As for my progress in Osu!, I didn't play it much today.  And so, I have fallen back a little on the leaderboard.  It's only a few spots, so I am not worried too much.  I wasn't able to find many multiplayer matches today.  No one was playing songs I had, and the ones that did were locked and I couldn't join them.  I am not a frequent poster on the game's forums, so I not known enough to have the luxury of knowing the passwords to get in those special matches.

Well, that's all I have for today.  I hope to have a well-played and really productive to the coming month, and that you continue to follow along as I continue this journey.  So, for the coming day, enjoythe games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 49: CRASHing and FALLing OUT

Today I started the day by playing Crash Bandicoot.  It is one of the first PlayStation games I have ever owned.  I got it when I was only eleven years old, so it's been quite a long time.  I am surprised it has lasted as long as it has.  I have played and completed the game so many times that I was able to complete it easily today.  I started playing it as soon as I woke up this morning, and was finished by lunchtime.  I didn't 100% it, because it isn't necessary to complete the game.  Besides, it doesn't feel like I actually complete the game by taking the shortcut to the end.  If there isn't a final boss, then it isn't a proper game.  And anyway, the second game continues where the non-100% ending ends.  It wouldn't be connected otherwise.

My favorite levels are when you ride the boar.  It puts your reaction ability to the test because you aren't able to turn back in case you miss something.  I also like the river levels.  One thing I don't like about this game that I am glad they changed in the future games is that you weren't able to save your progress with box busting if you died.  In this game, you had to collect all of the boxes in one go.  They fixed that in 2 and 3, and allowed you to keep the count in case of death.

After I finished Crash Bandicoot, I spent some time working on Osu! and raising my rank.  And I accomplished my task as well.  I am now #881 in the U.S.A. and #17,141 in the world in osu!mania.  I found quite a few songs that aren't played often, and received high scores for them in single player mode.  Then I went over to multiplayer and played some rounds with Kimmiee (Atca wasn't online at the time) and some others.  There were some players ranked higher than I, but I held my own and managed to perform well against them.

That's also what I am doing now.  I am playing against a few that are ranked higher than I am.  I actually have had the game loaded up for nearly 12 hours today.  But my brother wanted to use my computer so I played a different game when he was online.  I just didn't turn the game off.

During my time away from Osu!, I played Fallout 3.  I am already at Level 5.  I am just doing random quests right now, because I don't like the main story quests.  Maybe it is because of my strained relationship with my father (for more details on that, read my personal life blog), but I don't see the point of going after your father when he randomly leaves you to defend yourself when he puts your life in danger for putting his desires over that over the family's.  So there is very little motivation for me to complete the main questline of this game.  I probably will at some point, because how else will I complete the game.

I also progressed some in 999.  Or I guess I could call it 379.  After all, there are only 7 people still alive, and 3 hours left.  I am really liking this game.  I have my dry erase board filled with number combinations and the locations of the characters.  I know that as it stands, there will be at most only five people to leave the "ship", which means that two more people will most likely die.  I am leaning toward Lotus being one of the dead.  I haven't figured out who the other person will be.  Today I focused more on which room I should go into out of the three possible choices.  I do know that there is only one choice that gets all seven to the next area, but I want to see what happened with the story if I should choose the other choices.  I am saved right before I have to choose, so I can reload after finding out.  I didn't expect Junpei (my character) to cheat though.

Well, that is all for tonight.  For the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎