Stuff I've been doing over the hols like Suikoden and reading and stuff

On 01/04/2015 at 07:11 PM by mothman

Good evening oh my brothers and sisters,

A couple of days ago I finished reading Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars. It's a quick read but not if you stop half way through and don't come back for a few weeks. I have to say I loved it.

It's a rewrite of his earlier book Against the Fall of Night and it's the only one of his books I've read other than 2001 a Space Odyssey. Let me just say that I intend to rectify that error presently.

2014 found me reading again. Not as much as I'd like to but better than nothing. Under the Dome was the only physical book I read the rest are digital thanks in part to my Kobo reader.

I enjoyed all of them but would put them in this order if pressed to do so.

American Gods - Neil Gaiman (fucking brilliant)

The City and the Stars - Arthur C. Clarke

Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz

Under the Dome - Steven King

Halloween Man - Douglas Clegg (I've since picked up a couple more of his books)

In graphic novels I've been reading The Strain (I have the first 4 volumes) and I've started The Sandman series.I'm also reading all the Shadow Man volumes I bought in a Humble Bundle

In games the release of Suikoden II has thrown a spanner in the works of my game completion and I'm about 60% of the way through Suikoden in preparation for playing that game. I know they are stand alone stories but I want to get all 108 stars and pump them up so that I get bonuses in Suikoden II

I am almost back to where my playthrough of Child of Light broke on PS3. I'm hoping not to see the same issues on PC

I downloaded The Secret World which I picked up cheap on a Steam sale. God what a fucking chore that was. 18 gigs of initial download plus a 4 gig patch then I had to set up a Funcom account and attach it to my Steam account. At one point the whole setting up the account screwed up and I was forced to shut down my PC by performing unnatural acts. When I finally got back on line Steam wouldn't even load!

I finally got it all back up and was able to create a character and start a game. Now I'm not even sure I want to play it. Getting it to work pissed me off that much.

I also picked up Rollers of the Realm in that purchase and it is really fun but like regular pinball I suck at it. It's something I will definitely go back to.

I finally succumbed to the pull of Greenman Gaming and picked up Dementium II HD for $1.75. I enjoyed the DS version but sold it before I finished it so this is my chance.

Ok, so that's my 2 cents worth for the holiday break. Tomorrow I enter the place of my work, I want to be sober. Anyone who can figure out who I'm paraphrasing there just might win something.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

01/04/2015 at 09:00 PM

Oh great Mothman, it is true that Secret World is as tedious as the download. Still, it can be fun.

And Lo, I too have succumbed to the evil succor of Greenman Gaming!

mothman

01/04/2015 at 09:55 PM

I wanted to hit something or someone when I was finished with it. What a fucking Rube Goldberg contraption it is to play that game on Steam. I'm also sick of games that make you sign up for an account before being allowed to play them.

I'm lucky I didn't get sucked into Greenman Gaming earlier. It could have been a lot more disasterific than a buck seventy five.

xDarthKiLLx

01/04/2015 at 09:01 PM

It means you're drinking tonight but not as copious an amount as in previous days?

01/04/2015 at 09:51 PM

LOL, OK, there's that but it's who I paraphrased the lines from that I'm looking for.

Super Step Contributing Writer

01/04/2015 at 10:34 PM

I too hate games my PC won't let me play.

Nicoleb1989

01/05/2015 at 02:12 AM

If you get a chance I definitely recommend the actual Strain series of books. There really good. I love Neil Gaiman's work, I read Coraline and The Graveyard Book from him and loved them. I actually hope to get around to reading American Gods one day.

01/05/2015 at 08:22 AM

I want The Strain books but I never seem to find them for less than 10 bucks. The first 4 volumes of the graphic novel were about 3 dollars each. That's more around what I want to spend on digital books.

rmsk8r05

01/05/2015 at 02:21 AM

PC gaming can be really difficult sometimes, especially if you want to play old games or start modding them.

01/05/2015 at 08:07 AM

This just seemed like the normal procedure for starting the game first time. It's awkward as hell. I also hate that every time I start the game on Steam it starts the Funcom app and tells me about the product key which I don't need anymore. Then I have to press Shift Tab to get rid of that message and then Steam throws up a dashboard I didn't ask for and I have to press Shift Tab again to get rid of that.

There must be settings to get rid of that crap. I'll have to look.

KnightDriver

01/05/2015 at 02:29 AM

I'm looking forward to tackling Suikoden I and II sometime this year.

01/05/2015 at 08:47 AM

The Suikoden series is definitely unique. Collecting all 108 characters (Stars of Destiny) and in the process building up your headquarters is a huge part of the game. Not all of the stars will join just because you found them and they require certain criteria to be met. You can also fail to get all 108 by letting any one of them die in battle. This can be tricky and involve lots of resetting to your last save.

01/05/2015 at 11:26 PM

Dammit this game sounds good! I can't wait to dive in.

01/06/2015 at 08:54 AM

For me the recruiting and HQ building are the most fun part of the game. Some will only join if certain people are in your party, if you are at a certain level or if you have x number of recruits already. Others want you to bring them stuff or do something before you talk to them.

01/06/2015 at 03:51 PM

Cool!!!

daftman

01/05/2015 at 09:47 AM

I didn't read much in 2014, other than graphic novels in the second half of the year (including the first four volumes of The Sandman), but I hope to change that this year. Got a list! And American Gods is on it That book has sat on my shelf long enough. Have you read Neverwhere by Gaiman? It's fantastic!

01/05/2015 at 10:50 AM

I intend to read a lot more Gaiman. Neverwhere included.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

01/07/2015 at 08:41 AM

I've read Odd Thomas and Under the Dome. What did you think of Odd Thomas?

01/07/2015 at 09:18 AM

I really enjoyed Odd Thomas. It was creepy and funny at the same time. I saw the ending coming a mile away but it didn't bother me. I'm waiting for Forever Odd to go on sale digitally so I can continue reading.

leeradical42

01/07/2015 at 03:43 PM

Now I remember why I quit pc gaming lol!!!

Aboboisdaman

01/08/2015 at 09:29 PM

Is Funcom DRM? DRM on top of DRM? That's why I haven't bought Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon off Steam. You need a Uplay account. I would play it on PS3, but it crashes all the time.

01/09/2015 at 10:33 AM

I can't stand starting a game which requires you to log into another app in order to play it. I have Blood Dragon on PS3 and Steam too. My son bought the Steam version in some Far Cry package deal which included 1,2 and 3 but I have only played it on PS3. (and by played I mean got killed multiple times in the first 10 minutes of the game then quit)

NSonic79

01/16/2015 at 01:48 PM

I need to read Odd Thomas. sAw the movie but felt it could benefit more from the story.

And the Secret World is one of the reasons why I don't PC game. Thanks for reminding me. I'd be upset too after waiting THAT long for downloads and patches?!?!

01/16/2015 at 01:55 PM

Odd Thomas is well worth a read. I was very impressed. Amusing and creepy at the same time.

PixlBit