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 On 08/19/2016 at 04:37 AM by asrealasitgets See More From This User » |
I put off gaming for a week and just spent my free time reading and watching tv for a change. I live in Southern California and we're in the middle of Summer and heat waves make it miserable to play games indoors, especially PC games, since I don't have AC, preferably, and I spend more time outdoors anyway during the summer anyway.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
I've put about 50 hours into the game and forced myself to take a break. I can't remember the last time a game kept me immersed and unable to quit since maybe Witcher 3. I would not compare the two in any way aside from the time sink they both require. I don't even think some of the bad reviews for X were wrong. It is definitely built around old school level grinding, but it is oh so perty though. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface and I still need to understand the depth of combat and weapons options. I also want to play more of it, but a good break never hurt any game. I think taking a hiatus from a good game makes it feel fresh and new again when you pick it up again.
Outcast
I was really disappointed with the way this TV show turned out. You might disagree, but at first I praised it for being a slow burn with a creepy unlikable protagonist, and there are monsters in the show, but show up very rarely. The monster show takes a back seat for character drama and it feels like a boring soap opera at times. Part of the problem is that I started watching Preacher at the same time, which shares a similar theme but is more interesting to watch. There are priests trying to fight evil in small U.S. town and there is a load of bible thumpin through out on both shows, but Outcast was quite boring in comparison and it felt like a chore to finish out the last episode. I don't know if I'll be back for more.
Stranger Things
The other reason I got bored with Outcast, is that I started watching Stranger Things, a show I really loved not for the nostalgia of the 80s but the 'underside' world it depicted very beautifully. Another show set in a little U.S town, the show reminded me of Twin Peaks from the early 90s, except it had 50s nostalgia as well as a strange underworld and supernatural elements. It put character and story first though, as well as a memorable location and soundtrack. Also, Stranger Things felt like Silent Hill and Resident Evil had a baby. I got some Ray from Evangelion vibes going on with 'L' as well as a bit of Akira.
Preacher
I cannot explain what I saw of this show. One of the things that kept me going through Stranger Things and Preacher was the unpredictability of the story. I had no idea where the plot and characters were going and it kept me wanting more after each episode, like a page turning novel. Preacher had its slow burn moments but it had more of a sense of humor and absurd amounts of violence which made it more entertaining. I will definitely watch the second season. Outcast, not so much.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
I like the idea of revisiting characters years later to catch up on their lives. Part of the fun of playing new Resident Evil games is seeing the return of old characters and continuing their stories. I liked that about Force Awakens and the Avengers films. Anyhow, the new Harry Potter book revisits Hogwarts through the eyes of Harry's youngest son and surprisingly he kind of hates his father and is kind of a loner at school who sucks at everything. I won't spoil the story if anyone is interested, but it is fun to revisit the locations and characters again.
So are there any new hot shows that shouldn't be missed? I haven't watched Mr. Robot yet. Is that a good one?
On second thought, speaking of things continuing that wont die...
I heard the new Harry Potter book is absolute dogshit. Is that true?
I really need to catch up with Preacher. Glad you're enjoying it though.
I did enjoy Stranger Things, I just don't think it was mindblowing like everyone else did.
I will eventually play Xenoblade Chronicles X. Did you play the first one?
I enjoyed Stranger Things as well, and I'd agree that people are overstating things. It's a solid show that's well-thought out and well-executed. It hits on a bunch of inspiration, which includes stuff like Twin Peaks, X-Files, Poltergeist, Friday the 13th, Close Encounters, and even Silent Hill. If you grew up in the 80s/90s, it just rubs that nostalgia spot so damn well that I expect it's why most people are going crazy.
By parsing the nostalgia out of the equation, I think it's a well-done show and if/when they do more, I'll be excited to watch it. I enjoyed the run and it was consistently engaging. The one part of it that is so fucking amazingly good though is the music. I mean, holy shit, the music was awesome.
I really don't care about things with little kids in it, like Disney channel and CW stuff, but I thought the kids were all great on the show, even the teens. I liked the three seperate storylines kids/teens/adults where there is no communication between the groups until the end which was very believable. Show could have ended sooner if everyone listened to each other more, the disfunction is very 80's after school special. I love when soundtracks are fit the show properly. I quite like the Preacher soundtrack as well.
I agree about the 3 separate storylines and how they all came together at the end in a very believable way. That was one of the best parts of how the show was executed.
I'm hoping that if/when they do more, they've already got the general thing figured out and storyboarded. I'd like to see Season 2 come together just as great as this season did. Based on how it ended, it seems like they have a direction. I'm also hoping they don't kill the whole thing by overextending it.
If they don't bring zombie Barb back I will scream! 
To be honest, I was kind of disappointed in Preacher. I'll still stick around for the next season, but it wasn't nearly as good as I was hoping. As a fan of the comic I had high expectations, but it hasn't lived up to them yet. There were definitely some high points that still give me hope for next season though.
When the show first came on, I told a couple other people with similar tastes that they needed to watch it, but after a few episodes I think they both gave up on it.
I did enjoy Stragner Things alot, and am looking forward to the next season.
My problem with Preacher is the lack of direction. It has kind of confusing and messy plot if you aren't familiar with the source material, which I am not, but I can appreciate a show/media that deals with these themes, religion, violence, etc. I particularly like Tulip and Jesse and how they deal with the situation around them. Cassidy is a bit of a wildcard, I'm not sure if he's good or evil or what? A seemingly good character fed her boyfriend to him for some reason? Maybe the second season will straighten out a bit more. Also, Outcast was quite confusing as well. It didn't really give definitive answers about anything and I'm afraid Kirkman is trying to create a new Walking Dead or Lost where he doesn't plan on answering anything ever until the show runs out of steam. Stranger Things at least tied things up with a satisfying conclusion and left things open for more. Preacher is like a weird satanic toybox where evil keeps pouring out of it.
I don't watch much in TV at times. I need to watch Stranger Things, everyone tells me I'll love it. I did watch the start of the second season of Yokai Watch and I enjoyed it.
Resident Evil films need to die, except for the cgi stuff. I enjoyed those. I'm confused even more by the next game. The new trailer was just like "what was that?". So I'm on the fence about RE7
Stranger Things is in between good to great depending on whether you were an 80s kid. The nostalgia factor might add to viewing experience with sound and visuals. There are loads of homages to 80s. Without that, it's a fairly standard monster show like X-Files but just subtract Mulder & Scully and let shit hit the fan without them rescuing anybody. It felt a bit like Resident Evil and Silent Hill for me. Paranormal and supernatural all mixed up with a teen soap opera and kid adventure movie. It's also only 8 episodes long, so its on the shorter end of binge watching. I recommend if you like horror adventure. It's pretty fun.
Also, I'm not sure about RE7 either. I will play it because I've never missed a game, but I'm not sure if the whole thing is FPS or not? I keep hearing diff. things about that. The demos are just prologues and not the whole game, or the whole game is like the demo? Make up your mind internet?
RE films aren't that bad. Some are decent action flicks like the 3rd one Extinction which did Walking Dead western before Walking Dead. I love seeing dead Las Vegas with zombies everywhere.
No gaming for a week. How do you LIVE?
I sound like an addict. LOL! I usually mix all these up, but I just put off gaming due to a heat wave. And normally I'll play between 40 mins to an hour of a game a day avg. either on ipad or some indie game.
I play Star Fox in front of a fan. Woo, I'm flying! "Do a barrel roll." Whoops! Knocked over my froyo again.
Eww. It would be like blasting a blow dryer in my face. The bigger issue is the cooling systems in hardware go apeshit.
Ha ha! Right. Tech doesn't like the heat.
Hot damn no AC in Southern California? Yeah I wouldn't be indoors either. The one positive is that currently temps are going down for a bit, but thank goodness summer is almost over.
I don't mind hot weather. Heat waves that are like 100+ degree weather is the worst of it but usually lasts less than a week or a weekend. Its always hot in S Cali.
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