Blast from the Past

Published on April 7, 2013 in The Blog. Closed Tags: , , , .

bicycle

A few days ago I was clearing out my old files. I try to do this every year or so to keep my disk drives free of crap, and it also gives me a chance to re-evaluate things. I have dozens of DVDs in a cupboard burned with pictures, videos and such of times that I don’t need to find on a day-to-day basis. This year I’d found a load of USB drives that I just copied all the files from to keep safe, and look through later.

I went through them today and found that this was back when my main machine was Lakota, a big beige box that had a Celeron 500Mhz processor in it; my first ever computer made from scratch. Two CRT monitors, with two printers; one for B&W printing and the other for colour. This was back when I was still in secondary school. 2005, nearly eight years ago now. I was still fixated on getting into the IT Support business, and my friends were all in the same area. I missed those times, and went back to my del.icio.us bookmarks back then and found all but a time-capsule. My old web addresses (limoure.servebeer.com), a link to my first hosted site (kaecyus-drake.net), my Myspace (pre-Timberlake), and even my old VampireFreaks Profile! It had been deleted of course, but the memories were still there.

And then I came across a picture that made stop. I had pictures of all my old friends, but then I found one of me. One of me way back when.

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Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC and ME3MP final thoughts.

Published on March 23, 2013 in Gaming. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

me3mpending

NOTE: There will be some Mass Effect 3 Single Player and Citadel DLC spoilers in this entry. I wanted to wait until everyone had the chance to play it before posting. Consider yourself informed. :]

Citadel was re-opening a wound for me. I had already tasted the Humble Pie that was the Mass Effect 3 ending, then the Humble Pie with Added Sugar that was the Extended Cut DLC. I still lacked closure, and obviously the Citadel DLC was meant to be the answer to that. The whole sense of Citadel was the post-ending send off for the characters, and it really showed. There were a few moments where I liked the back-and-forth banter that was obviously there as a set up or continuing an in-joke or fan favourite discussion, but the majority just felt like over the top fan service. The Mako and Hammerhead discussion was used in the squad names, while the Clone Shepard was used as a prop for jokes that involve Shepard (I specifically remember “I should go.”). Don’t get me wrong, the plot behind the DLC was fascinating and ultimately believable. But it begs further questions. Why would The Illusive Man not use the Clone Shepard at all, even to the point of letting it get out to wreak havoc, as an example?

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Pile of Shame – Ace Combat: Squadron Leader

Published on February 19, 2013 in Gaming and Pile of Shame. Closed Tags: , .

ac5

Ace Combat is a game series that I follow quite strongly on the home consoles, but not so much on the portable side of things. I’m on the verge of completing my Ace Combat collection after getting Ace Combat 2 (despite the original title being named Air Combat in the UK), missing only Electrosphere and The Belkan War to complete it. Ace Combat is a series that has the basics sharpened down to a fine point, and adds new features to it, like Dogfight Mode in Assault Horizon or the Allied Attacks from Fires of Liberation.

But this game stayed uncompleted despite being, having played six of the series’ eight titles, the best of the bunch. I had gotten down to just after the Stadium flyby (I can’t say more than that because of spoilers), and after that I just lost the knack of playing the game. We were taking over a fortress and I kept getting overwhelmed in an A-10 Thunderbolt on a ground attack mission! I put the disc back into the case and forgot about it. Only recently when I had an urge to crack open the PS2 again did I put in Squadron Leader (also known as The Unsung War or just Ace Combat 5).

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