Gaming's Grumpy Gandpa's Groans and Gripes V 1 Ed 2

[GamngsGrmpyGrnpa]

What (ignores pulling on sleeve),…what… WHAT!!! Oh good god is it Groans and Gripes that time again already? (Looks at his unfinished trophy list and sighs) Hello everyone and welcome to the second issue of Gaming’s Grumpy Grandpas . Have a lot to cover this issue, so let’s get started.

 

Advancement to man and woman kind, my buttocks. Keeping the world connected, disconnected is more like It. Computers, Cellphones and the internet, all supposed to help the lives we lead, but at what cost?  The thing about age is one becomes… no, not grumpy…cynical is a more apt word. I sit here and watch as the tools meant to help mankind, have slowly and gradually turned today’s youth into zombies. I firmly believe humanity has lost some of what made us human. Personal contact!!  Now before any of you barrage my emails or message box with hate mail, allow me to put the following out there. How many of you were going through withdrawls at the recent inability to log into psnprofiles when it was down? How many have to check into your Facebook or the like accounts several times a day? Or freak out because your cell phone power bar is flashing in the red.

 

Things were simpler when I was growing up. And I know each of the things I mentioned above have their place in society. Unfortunately in my opinion, they have taken over. I watch at work as today’s youths attitude varies upon what was posted upon Facebook at the most recent moment. Something they seem to check at every available opportunity I might add.  Or the comment my son made the last time I went camping in which he almost had a conniption because I would be unavailable. The sight of a 10 y/o with a cell phone more expensive mine and claiming that it is a nessacity? Have we lost our Fricken minds, seriously. You know WHY the stress rate of life today is extremely high, we have made it such. Our ability to get away has drastically diminished. And what about personally contact?  How many arguments have started online by a simple misunderstanding of how the words were typed and how they were read?  In my opinion not all advancements turn out to be a good thing.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-advancements. I have a 70” Vizio smart TV, connected to a blue ray dvd player, with surround sound, My PS3 connected to it, a place reserved for the PS4 and pair of old fashioned pioneer tower speakers hooked up to the surround sound behind me for added effect.  I also have an area set up as a charging area for my HP notebook, my PS Vita and my cell phone.  If there ever was a tech geek out there I am one… HOWEVER. I use them to enhance my life; they do not dictate my life or what goes on. Something I see a lot of unfortunately from today’s younger generation. I can survive away from the modern conveniences of today, just as we survived without them in the 70’s and 80’s.  We could go on at great lengths regarding this subject as I am sure there are many viewpoints out there, however that is not the reason for me bringing it up. There is another advancement I wish to bring up. The reason for me bringing this up is it leads us into the first topic of this issues newsletter, Digital Downloads.

 

Until Recently, I was a huge fan of digital downloads. They were a no muss no fuss way of getting my games. No jumping into the car and having to waste gas, no having to take time out of my gaming. And they still are a great thing…well kind of.  They are great UNLESS, you have to change gamer id. As everyone knows I recently changed my gamer tag, feeling that the new one fit me better as this columns author, and in everyday life. UNFORTUNATLY, PS Vita allows you to only have on gamer tag, so I had to reformat it…. Went to re download AC liberation upon it….and found myself unable to do so even though I had paid FULL price for it. All because it had been purchased by my other account.  Fist  full of money out the window there. Same goes with all the Pinball add on packs I had purchased, money wasted simple because of a change in screen name. As for PS+…. Well if there is a way to change it short of spending time on hold, I have yet to find it. THANKFULLY, I can still use what I have on the PS3 because I have the other account on there.  Just not what I had for the Vita. Moral of the story, if it is something I really want, I’ll go get the hardcopy from now on. Something you may want to keep in mind when considering changing your screen name.

 

Speaking of Screen names, why do we game? Why is it so hard for some to let go of the old. Why do we hold upon our trophy counts and it plays a role in the trophy hunters decision as to change or not.  Now I’m not talking about the psychological BS that the world out there spews, after all they are the same people that tried to convince us that playing violent video games made us violent individuals.  I’m talking to you out there reading this, the actual gamer community.  Why did you start? Why do you stay? Why do some pursue 100% perfection while other chase trophy count and yet others only want that platinum prize?  For me why I got into gaming was easy. Two simple words, Alcoholic Abusive. That was my father. His drinking and beatings were a nightly affair. The Video game   allowed me to lose myself in it and not be aware of the time or the beating yet to come.  After I left home, well I’m a thinker and a worrier. My mind is always at a constant, except when playing a video game. In later years it became a bond between my children and me, one that remains even to this day when they are grown and living on their own. My youngest and I recently co-opped Fast and furious showdown together and it was a blast, while my oldest and I spent weeks in a race to see who could plat ME2 first. As for why I have set my goal in trophies and being in the top 5%, well that is something that has to do with old age.  When one is young, they are filled with dreams of leaving their mark upon the world. When you reach the age of this grumpy old man, you realize what a pipe dream that most often is.  What legacy do I have left to leave my children and grandchildren? I’ve made no huge impact upon the world, and with my health the way it is I most likely never will. However, if I take the one thing I love, and share in common with my children and someday my grandchildren when they are old enough, and give it my best shot… Well they will be able to look at that trophy card of mine with their friends or even someday maybe my great grandchildren and say…. “See that there, that was Grandpa Lee “Self-indulgent, yeah maybe, but just as DJ said in the movie Hustle and Flow, “Everyone’s got to have a dream.”

 

And I will admit, it was hard to look at the screen after changing my gamer ID. After a year of having a goal of at least 3 trophies a day, then discovering PSNProfiles and committing myself to working even harder to achieve my goal, it was hard to watch as the creation of my new ID caused my ranking to plummet as it did. 1600 trophies disappearing as they did, gave me pause to reflect.  The past year and a half that I had dedicated towards pursuing my goal left me with mixed emotions. Some games I looked forward to the opportunity to play yet again, while others left me filled with dread. In reflection I pondered how much gaming has changed over the years. In some ways I have to ask myself is it for the better. In the 80’s and 90’s gaming was simpler. You got a game to play it, and basically you played out of enjoyment. No hidden tasks, and if you missed something it didn’t matter, i.e. pipe tunnels in Super Mario Bros. The introduction of trophies has drastically changed that landscape, and one has to wonder is that a good thing?  Take Mafia 2 for example and the Wanted Poster feature.  Before trophies we would have thought it a cool feature, but I highly doubt we would have pursued them all. Yet with the creation of trophies and tracking, if you want to Plat and 100% it, you have to chase down every fricken one of them and while I can’t remember exactly how many there were I know it totaled well over 200.  Not exactly the most enjoyable feature in gaming.  On the plus side though, trophies also allow us to see things we may have missed within a game, or to try a different angle of pursuit. They give us a better return upon our investment by challenging us to have another go, chase another outcome or witness another ending.  A classic example of that was when Mass effect first came out on the PlayStation 3. The first walk thru I had played as a soldiers. I was satisfied but in order to get the platinum, I had to use biotics. Something in which I had so much fun in that when I replayed the games after ME1 was released my class of choice had gone from soldier to Vanguard. As trophy hunters, Plat pursuers, and completionists I am sure we would all agree that Trophies have changed the landscape of gaming.  They are something we LOVE to achieve, yet sometimes … just sometimes HATE to have to pursue.  Sometimes I am thankful we didn’t have them in the early days of gaming, though could you imagine our trophy scores if we had. One could only imagine the painful tasks we would have had to have completed. With the lousy camera angles and the many glitches we faced. Here are just a few for laughs that I myself would have dreamed up.

 

Taste the rainbow:  Eat 100 of each color of ghost (packman)

 

Doo doo du …du doo…doo du can’t touch this: Defeat Mike Tyson without getting hit (Punch out)

 

Mashing Maniac: Set new world record in all events (Track and Field)

 

They call me Mr. Draino:   Travel through all pipe passages (Super Mario Bro’s)

 

PETA is gonna fine us for sure: Caught all 151 Pokémon (Pokémon red and blue)

 

Wasn’t me: Farted 1000 times (oddworld)

 

Ok maybe it was: Farted 10,000 times (oddworld)

 

Anybody have a change of clothes?:  Farted 100,000 (oddworld)

 

Phone home my @@@, phone Atari I want my money back: Glitch 100 times (ET)

 

There is though a topic that has just been nawing at me though.  I sit back thinking as I write this, reflecting upon days gone by.  I think of gaming in the 70’s and 80’s and wonder……..

When the ^&(( did it become COOL to be a gamer???? Now I know what you young kiddies are thinking, what the heck is the ol geezer is thinking…it’s always been cool! WRONG!!!  There was a time to admit you were a gamer meant you were a GEEK.  That is how you were labeled. You were looked at as if there was something wrong with you.  When I was watching E3’s rebroadcast I realized, gaming got cool, which left me wondering when did that happen? How did people like I go from being ostersized to suddenly being part of the “IN” crowd?

 

GAME SERIES REVIEW: Assassins Creed, Lost in the woods????

I hope with the pending release of Black Flag that the Assassins Creed Franchise will redeem itself. I really do.  One, Two and even Revelations were great games I felt. From game mechanics to story I felt the series delivered on all fronts. Unfortunately by the end of three, I as an extreme fan of the series (I was at midnight launch for 2, brotherhood, revelations and 3) I was extremely disappointed. I mean really WTF!!!! 3 felt to me that the game writers had no idea forthcoming so thru a bunch of bs into it, hoping it would appease the fan with great graphics…..  It’s like they had no idea what to do with the loose ends and questions the gamer had so they winged it. I realize that for example revelations and brotherhood were nothing more than test areas for new ideas, but they certainly made more sense than 3. I mean really, that is the most justice you can give the death of Lucy, a quick couple of lines of dialogue?  And the Ending, really?? Let me guess, you were so attached to the incoming revenue of the franchise you just couldn’t end it, so came up with a total BS continuation??  I realize that the series wandered drastically away from what had been the original concept of the first game. Which had been that you were the person in the animus, not Desmond. You were the person living the animus experience of Desmond and his being in the Animus, (anyone disagreeing with me, pull out your first games instruction booklet and read it, paying attention to how it is written.) It is written as if the game is the animus. As a fan, I enjoyed the way in which the story flowed. Even with the many surprises the franchise placed within the games endings, they made sense. I didn’t feel that way at all when it came to 3. Conner’s story made sense, however outside of the animus things did not. In the role of Desmond, I felt almost disconnected from previous events within the game.  Maybe it is a case of too much. They heard the cries from gamers and attempted to appease us with multiple releases. Giving us Brotherhood and revelations to fill the void between 2 and 3.  Was it a simple of giving us too much? By 3 had they simply run out of Ideas? Was it a rush to appease the money men and make a deadline rather than saying we aren’t happy with it and aren’t releasing it until we are?  Whatever the case may be, I hope it not the case again come Black Flag. As a distant relative of the Pirate Morgan the Marauder I look forward to this retelling of his time period.  As a fan of the series however, I wait with baited breathe. Hoping this once great series can once again make sense and wrap me up within its finally woven web of storytelling.

 

Game Review: Arcade Pinball

This is a new feature I have decided to add to the newsletter. From time to time will take a look at new and older games and add an old man’s perspective upon them. My first newer game review will probably be Saint’s Row 4, being that is the next game to be released that is on my pre order list. For now though I want to take a look at a game which is slightly older, yet still available. It is rare that I don’t stick within a certain game element. For me, the most important thing within a game is the story it tells and whether or not it entertains me. Arcade Pinball is an exception to the rule.

 

I’m old yes I know. I remember a time when games were primitive and Pinball ruled all. And what a great walk down nostalgia lane Arcade Pinball is. Unlike some pinball games recently released, this one is based upon actual real life tables.  And what a walk down memory lane it is. Remembering the days of skipping school to hide out down at the local seven eleven to feed the slot of Pinbot. Memories of going to the local arcade and playing the many machines. During my lifetime I can honestly say I have had at one time or another came across many of the machines featured. From the days of childhood to those of driving across the 48 states as a truck driver, memories come flooding back as the sounds vibrate through the speakers. The free version comes with several tables. Currently they also have two seasons of downloadable tables, each featuring an additional 10 tables per season, (Though season two is partial at the moment, you will however get access to the newest tables as they are released.) For the trophy hunter, each season contains 60 trophies you can earn (3 per table: High Score, Table Master and table wizard). Another great thing about this Game series is you can take it with you on the Go, as the purchase of the PS3 version, also grants you access to the Vita Version as well. Doubling for all you trophy Hunters out there the total of trophies you can earn, at no extra cost to you.

 

My review of this game, thumbs up. Not simply because of the memories it brings back. Realistic tables and sounds, ease of gameplay Add to the experience. It allows the average gamer on limited time a quick fix, not taking up much of one’s time. Perfect for those days when you have a few spare moments to kill. The fact that purchasing one version grants you access to the other, makes it a value.

 

I want to thank everyone for their support since the first issue. As you can tell I’m still working out a few kinks as to how I want to lay things out. I have a few ideas which I will attempt at the next writing. For questions and comments, you can reach me via this message board, my messenger here at psn or my email address [email protected]. Until then….

 

GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!!!

 (I need to get my gamer score higher)

 

Lee

[ShadowGandalf]

Very nice. I read it all. I agree about Assassin's Creed. I want Black Flag to be good. For me, the series got boring by Brotherhood. I skipped Revelations and 3. I also wish they would drop the multiplayer element from the main games and maybe just make a separate multiplayer game. An Assassin's Creed Online sort of thing. That way, those that just want the single player can enjoy it without the multiplayer element.

 

That's MY thoughts anyway. It'll never happen though, who am I kidding?

[GamngsGrmpyGrnpa]

Thank you. Still in the process of finding my groove and a presentation I am happy with. Thinking sub-sections maybe. With regular segment mixed with new.

 

Lee

[electrifryer]

 Read you're latest,very interesting and as you mentioned life has it's cruel,harsh moments.One of the main things in life is family if one is fortunate enough to have one and to enjoy being,doing things with them as much as possible.Doesn't matter if it's gaming,sports or even just to listen to their latest escapades.Hopefully one will be remembered for the time and goodness they projected to them.

 Keep them coming