The Mixed-Up world of Cluskevird

I guess I've been off in my own little world for a while now.  Haven't really blogged much except for a generalized summary now and again.  Once I get a controller in my hands, I tend to forget about doing other things, but don't worry... the wife keeps me from ignoring the important things like food and going to work!  :p

 

Where the heck did all these unplayed games come from?  Okay, I actually know WHERE they came from... I'm just wondering why I haven't played them.  Assassin's Creed, DiRT, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, and Star Ocean are just a few of them.  That's not counting the few games I've started and haven't come back to.  I see some of these games making it to the Platinum Hits or even in the "so bad it's 20 bucks in the discount bin" category and wondering why I couldn't wait if I wasn't going to play the darn thing for so long.  Is this how my gaming has evolved into?

 

I guess it's hard to get started on something when I keep picking up the ol' plastic guitar all the time.  Seriously, I did my best to avoid getting into the music games - but the trip to visit the inlaws really killed that as they thrust the guitar into my hands and turned on GH III.  It was all over, then.  Now that I've added the Rock Band into the list I can play all day long without repeating songs!  Still have a few more to pick up too. 

 

Well, it's back to my little world again.  Perhaps I'll start checking out some of those missed games on my shelf. . .

It's been a wild week and not much of it has been good.  I hate blogging about the bad stuff, but what can I do?  Significant things get blogged about.

 

So what's been on my plate?  First of all, another leak from the outside faucet.  That was Saturday bright and early.  Same place where the leak was three weeks ago so that wasn't a good find.  I called the plumber and they said they could get there Monday.  Guess what?  They didn't show up on Monday. I called them a couple times during the day letting them know that I had to shut the water off it was getting that bad.  Finally got a call back late in the afternoon (4:30) and they guy couldn't get there Monday but he did say that he would show up first thing Tuesday.  That he did and he did fix the leak, but he said that we're getting too much pressure from the city water and that our regulator needs to be replaced.  So. . . until the end of the week we'll see what happens.

 

Work has been . . . well, work.  Including a Sunday.  Still looking for a little vacation time to relax, but the wife is getting sick so I'll be busy even on my off days for a little bit.  Got one of the two positions filled in our area so after a little more training things should still be busy but more manageable.

 

Now we get to Monday Night.  >sigh<  Even on a good day, Vikings give the Packers nothing but trouble.  I didn't care though, they usually put on a good show and I could not get the enthusiasm to watch it.  I don't know if it was from the events of the week or seeing Favre wearing purple or a mix of the two, but I just sat there and watched the game with no emotion.  I have to admit it was a great game, but from the beginning you would thought that it was 53 to nothing if you were to see me sitting there.  In fact, I don't think there were any good games on tv all of Sunday either.  Definately nothing like the previous three weeks.

 

All that and limited gaming.  I played a little bit here and there.  Started Rock Band, started Condemned 2, but haven't really gotten too far into either one.  I need some time off bad.  Thursday and Friday are those days off and maybe Monday.  I'm going to try and get back on track.

 

Wish me luck.

:p

That sound you hear is me playing Rock Band:  The Beatles.  Yeah, as if Guitar Hero wasn't enough, now I have a new set of games to get into.  My wife wanted this, so I went up and got it and we have been playing all weekend. . . errr well, maybe not constantly because it can be a lot of work hitting those notes just right.  Anyway, this is the first Rock Band game I've got and it seems, well, slower.  Don't get me wrong, it's a blast to play and fun to hear the songs again, it just seems easier (on medium anyway).

 

Looking over the achievements I see that there are a lot more achievements tied to the expert level.  I guess in that respect it may be a more difficult game, but I'll have to work on it and see how tough Hard and Expert are.

 

It would seem that is just about the only game I've concentrated on, but I did manage to work a little on some Pinball FX.  I decided to get the Rocky and Bullwinkle table and after several attempts, manages to get a decent score with all the multiballs flying around.  I even managed to get the achievement tied to the spinner. 

 

Also in non console related games, there were a few football games I got to watch.  That Jets game was interesting to watch as was the 49er/Vikings game.  Great stuff!  There was even a bonus when Green Bay decided to show up for their game.  Seems that offensive line needs a little more to it.  Hate to see Bulger get hurt in the game, but the backup quarterback for the Rams seemed to bring some life into the game and made a showing.  But now that this week is done with (as regards to the Packers) it's now time to look forward to the Showdown in the Metrodome on Monday night no less!  This promises to be a nerve wracking game to watch.  On one hand I want to see Green Bay put in a decisive win, yet on the other hand I want to see Favre have a good game.  But knowing how these darn divisional games go and the fact that Green Bay and Minnesota almost always give each other the worst headaches, I'm prepared for the slice of humble pie should that be what is served.

 

Well, the weekend is over so it's back to the grind tomorrow.  Gonna be a 2nd shift for Monday, and then back to that 6:30 start come Tuesday.  I guess that means I'll be able to put in a couple of hours of gaming in before I actually have to do anything.  So many games I could play.... hmmmmm... I wonder what I'll do. . .

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most intimidating guy, but I came OH so close to getting some teeth loosened.  Who the heck picks fights in an AM PM parking lot?  Yeah, I'm puzzled too.

 

All I wanted to do is get my Dr. Pepper and get back to work to finish my day up, but it's hard to leave when you have a car sitting behind you while some guy talks to the driver. . . and talks. . . and talks.  Okay, I'm gonna be late so I honk my horn.  No, not a long extended blast - just a quick couple of bursts to let them know I'm trying to back up.  This guy comes flying towards me yelling... yes, yelling using profanity frequently while he tells me he's talking to his grandma and that how DARE I throw up my hands to her (for the record that little gesture was for him since he was the cause of the hold up, but I figured I didn't need to point out his mistake there). After listening to his tirade and a  few heated retorts from me (the guy wasn't that intimidating either) I finally said "listen, I need to get back to work and I don't have time to sit here for 5 minutes while you have a conversation with your grandma.  You need to find a place where you aren't blocking traffic to conduct your conversations"

 

I don't know, maybe he realized I was right and then yelled at me to go.  Which would have been easy if, you know, his "grandma" wasn't still behind me.  I'll give her credit, she did move mostly out of the way and after creeping forward a few more inches I was able to back out.  He then told me not to say anything stupid or he would "pull me out of my f-in car"  He said more but I was too busy trying not to say "anger management classes"

 

So, you would think that the story ended there.  You happen to be in luck.  My co-worker (first week at the job) came back from lunch and I told him I was almost beat up and he's like... "oh no... where at?"  When I told him and what the guy was wearing he proceeded to tell me about HIS run in with the guy at the same place.  Seems the guy wanted money and was asking people for a couple of bucks.  Co-worker told him he jus carried an ATM card and the guy began to walk away muttering to himself.  This guy then turns around with that "I'm gonna start something look" starts heading back.  My co-worker then pockets the little collapsable billy club he keeps there for his wife and gets out of the car.  Instructs the guy to just stop and turn back around because he doesn't like how he's approaching him.  He then calls out to his dog in the back of the truck.... a pitt bull/Rottweiller mix.  The dog takes one look at the situation and is ready in crouch mode, hackles fully raised and that deep growl that intimidating dogs do so well.

 

Let's just say that the guy actually does have a few common sense cells left in his addled brain because that was pretty much the end of that confrontation.

 

I'm still wound up from that and even though I tried to play a little Xbox... I can't sit still yet.  In fact, all I do is pace around still.  Hopefully the adrenaline levels begin tapering off soon. 

Earlier in the week I decided to throw in Guitar Hero Aerosmith.  One of the games that has been sitting on the shelf for a long time.  Yeah, it dropped me below the 50% completion level, but I started unlocking those achievements and was enjoying playing some of the songs.  I even got the wife to do some co-op songs as well.  It may have taken a few days, but I did manage to get back up past 50%.  Now I really need to work on the hard difficulty!

 

Since I had started on that game, I also played the other Guitar Hero games I had as well.  Sure, no achievements, but it's just fun to "play" the songs... on a fake plastic guitar.  :p

 

On a sad note. . .  It appears that my Green Bay Packers didn't quite live up to expectations today as the mighty Bengals held on to win that game.  I thought I'd feel more upset, but I guess this early in the season the pressure isn't there.  Vikings took care of the Lions, but that first half had me thinking that it would be fun to see the Lions lose, the Packers lose, and the Bears win so our division would have everyone at 1-1.  Evidently the Vikings didn't get that memo  :p  Time to look for next weeks' game at the Rams.  Not sure who everyone else is playing, but so far I've been able to watch the games and see the scores progress on the other ones I can't watch.

 

Well, it's almost time to watch the last game of the night. . .  maybe I'll play something for a few minutes before that starts. 

You know by now that I like playing me some 360 games.  I play almost every day (vacations I leave the playing behind).  Recently my brother talked me into playing some horde mode in Gears of War 2 and I have to say that it's a lot of fun and so far every game we've played has been enjoyable.  There are a lot a good players out there that have revived my sorry playing more than once. 

 

I've also started on Guitar Hero 5.  Interesting changes they've made in the game, but the track choices leave me and the wife feeling a little let down.  Sure, there are some great songs in there, but a lot of them are just not songs that really grab you.

 

Now there are GAMES.  And when I say GAMES, I mean that football has started up this week and today... well, I only played just enough 360 to keep my streak alive so I could watch a couple of games.  The only one I was interested in though came late....  Green Bay hosting Chicago.  Kinda weird that I don't like playing sports games, but I so enjoy watching a good matchup.

 

Yeah, I'm a Packer fan and I really have high hopes that Aaron Rodgers can put together some great games.  But don't expect me to talk trash.  I have a lot of respect for every team in the NFC North division.  I guess it's because I know some fans of the teams and they're all great people.  Sure, we poke fun at each other, but in the long run... if you know a fan that's been following a team win or lose for a lifetime, then how can you possibly talk down the team?  They know the players, know stories, watch their games and to tell them that YOUR team is going to treat them like garbage?  That's not a fan at all - that's nothing more than a bully.  It's a first game, some teams won, some teams lost.  The shining part is that it's only one game. . .  May every division be a knock down drag 'em down fight... 

 

For those that follow the game and your players went down to injury, I wish them a speedy recovery.  For those of you whose team lost, may they get back in it next week.  Me... I'm breathing a sigh after a rough game where either team could have won it.  Next week, It's Cincinnati coming to town.  I'll make no predictions, I'll keep a healthy optimism, but if I could wish anything... I'd wish for another close hard fought game that comes down to the last minutes/seconds to determine who walks away with a W.

I don't know how it happened, but I lost myself and I'm trying to find out where I've gone off to.  That's okay though, I have a few leads that I'm sure will discover where I am and what I've been doing.

 

Mostly I've been playing games... imagine that.  Nothing new, just some Shadow Complex where I've discovered that just my friends' list shows that I'm far from the best scoring... ending up in the last two slots in 6 of the 8 leaderboards.  That's okay, it's still lots of fun running around trying to find all those items (and in some cases SEEING the item but not knowing how to get there).  Played a little Gears 2 with my brother where hardcore is kicking our tails something fierce.  On the flip side of that, I ended up getting the spider to the fly achievement... yeah, that's how many times we've been killed at that one spot.  Hey, let me tell you about Resident Evil 5!  My brother and I couldn't even hit the 'x' button on the controller.  Yeah, we died like 4 times. . .  I'm thinking the weather where my brother was, messed with his connection enough that the little bit of lag prevented us from getting past that point.  At least, I HOPE that's all it was.  How awful is not being able to hit a button when you know it's going to show up?

 

Ever see something on the shelf at the grocery store that you brain said "stay away" and yet you still picked it up to see what it was like?  Listen to your brain!  It may say Steak-a-licious on the box, but it's neither.  I can't believe how horribly far from meat something can be.  I mean Spam is more meat that that crap!  <shudder>  I barely survived that ordeal.

 

Just in case you were wondering, yes, I did get my haircut.  I'm suprised you noticed as there being no picture or anything. . .  Oh, wait.  You didn't notice did you?  I was just typing and started jumping to conclusions.  My bad.  But since the subject was brought up, HEY!  I got my hair cut.  Went to this one salon (my wife made the appointment) and they actually... well... massage your scalp and shoulders.  I guess this is fine... If you DON'T HATE BEING TOUCHED!  That pretty much ticked me off before they even started cutting my hair!  WTF?  Just cut the freakin' hair and get me out of there.  I've got gaming to do I don't need a massage... While we're at it, I don't need a shampoo and conditioning... just throw some water on my head.  And what's with the wax?  Wax is for candles and removing unwanted hair... not for putting in your hair for the hell of it.  If I wanted to wax my head I'd shave my head first... wax would be for shine... not making my hair stick up and not move.  Ever wonder what happens when you get the back of your neck shaved?  Probably nothing, unless you're me and it gets all red and raw from the clippers.  I know, put a little lavender on that to "soothe" it.  I didn't do anything, but I wanted to.  That blankin' stuff stung like crazy.  Luckily, my neck started going numb after five minutes.

 

Ah, there I am.  I knew I must have just misplaced myself.  Well, it's off for more fun. . .  

You know, I've never really given in to "what's hot" because I like to sit back and research things and decide whether or not I would like something instead of assuming that it's going to be great.  I gave in this time to grab something because I had a mass comment at my 360voice.com blog. . .   "Drop everything you are doing and GET THIS GAME!"

 

Okay, so it wasn't immediate.  I still went over to the game marketplace and checked out the screen shots and the 1200 mp pricetag.  Hmmm.  Okay, so it looks neat.  A side scroller, have't seem many of those lately.  What the heck. I have the points and I see the person on my friends list so I think I'll rib him a little for his comment and I send "this had better be good, I dropped everything to get it!"  I get six exclamation points in response.

 

Oh, you want to know the name of the game?  I referenced it in the title so I was just thinking everyone would know what I was talking about!  Silly me.  I started playing Shadow Complex.  It kept me interested.  I took fewer breaks than I usually did and it all started with the big friendly "EPIC Games" screen.  Okay, the same guys that are responsible for Gears.  I played for three days straight (okay... not straight... apart from work, sleep and food with a few breaks sprinkled around.. and a game or two just to keep me from burning through the Shadow Complex, I played it).  There was a couple places I had trouble because being the old man I am I keep messing up the more finess parts of the game like jumping from place to place without actually ... you know... falling to my death.

 

I got to the final part... sure I didn't come close to the finding of 100% of the items, but that's the thing with a first playthrough... it's the learning the system.  From all the arcade games I've downloaded and played, it seems to be the way an arcade game should be made.  It was darn near close to being a retail game in my mind.  Even going into the game with high expectations, my expectations should have been higher.

 

In other words.  Shadow Complex is a great game and if you haven't played it, even if you don't like this type of game... you should at least try it out.  That's how good it is.

Well, ever since that furlogh day all I've played are old titles that I still need to work at.  Actually I should amend that statement and state old ARCADE games.

 

My passion for playing has kind of run out of steam what with the inability to stay focused for more than 5 minutes at a time.  I guess that's what these arcade games are good for.  Minesweeper, Domino Master.  Heck, I guess I lied - Splosion Man is a newer title. 

 

I still have plenty of retail titles I have to work on.  Maybe if I can muster up the energy after this really messed up day,  I'll see about doing some more damage on something with a little more to it than clicking a button now and again.

So today was my furlough day for the month.  Not much to do but play some games so I broke out some of my older titles and worked on those a bit.

 

I decided that I'd work on the multiplayer portion of my arcade games so I started with Buku Sudoku.  25 games later and that achievement popped.  Sure, it was local play - but the end result was still the same.  One of these days I'll have to try to play on LIVE.

 

After that I headed out to Word Puzzle and played a game.  Win or lose it didn't matter, at the end of the match I got another achievement.  Actually, now that I think about it, I believe I played Word Puzzle first and then Buku Sudoku.  But does that really matter?

 

I was going to try to get that last achievement in Coffetime Crosswords, but there's no local play for that and LIVE was dead on this game.  Goes to show just how popular that title was.  Maybe I can find someone that will be willing to knock a few of these down with me so I can delete it off my drive and free up a little bit of space since I only have 2.9 gigs left.

 

Finally I put a puzzle together. . .  It took two puzzle since I was under the impression that it was a 100 piece puzzle, but that was against the bots.  I needed a 200 piece puzzle for local play.  In the end, the final result was that glorious blip and a message saying I unlocked the achievement.

 

After it was all said and done, I managed to reach 30K gamerscore (yay me!) and then realized I got a double bonus...  30003!  That's a numerical palindrome!  Either that or it's 133tsp34k for the refrain of Old MacDonald's farm with someone that doesn't know the letter I.  Unfortunately, if you actually got that... you should be worried, because that would mean you actually understand my thinking proccess and it's been described as 'disturbing'.

:p