The Musings of Flash Cable

Duke Nukem Forever initial impressions

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:50:03 -0700

Oh, come on, it’s pretty funny!

Started The Last Story, alcoholism in gaming

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:17:46 -0700

After having it in my possession for two weeks now, I finally started playing The Last Story. It probably would’ve taken me longer to do so, but I was just assigned to review it on account of no one else having the time to cover it. Hey, if the website I write for wants me to review a game that I’m legit stoked about, I’ve got no problem with that!

I’m two and a half hours into The Last Story, and I have to say I’m really enjoying it so far. The plot’s pretty interesting and not overbearing at all (unlike Record of Agarest War 2 … ugh). The gameplay takes a little getting used to, but I’m getting the hang of it. I’m certainly glad I opted to use manual controls for combat, as I imagine auto attacking would make the experience retardedly boring. Sadly, the visuals, while interesting as far as art direction goes, are sorely lacking in quality. I know you can’t expect much out of Wii games graphically, but if Xenoblade Chronicles can have decent visuals, there’s no reason The Last Story can’t.

Speaking of Xenoblade Chronicles, I should really go back and finish that game. I’m hoping to get to it after I finish The Last Story. Then I’ll definitely shoot to get through the rest of Skyward Sword. I seriously feel like it’s a sin that I haven’t finished that game.

Another aspect I really like in The Last Story is its cast. The characters all have distinct personalities, and it’s interesting seeing and hearing them interact with one another. Syrenne is especially intriguing, probably because she’s an alcoholic. I mean, she’s hammered all the time, and when she’s not drinking, she says things like, “I might cry if I don’t have a drink,” or, “It’s been a while since I’ve had a drink. My hands are shaking.” So yeah, total alcoholic.

Yup, she’s drunk.

It’s weird because I feel like I’ve been playing a lot of games with alcoholics in them. Not too long ago I played Max Payne 3. Now The Last Story. But in between both titles I played New Super Mario Bros. 2, and if you read my editorial on 2D Mario games growing stale, you’ll understand exactly why I think the portly Italian plumber is a booze head.

Also drunk.

Is Mario fatigue setting in? AKA How Mario lost his smile

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 16:35:47 -0700

Is Mario fatigue setting in? AKA How Mario lost his smile:

This editorial pissed a few people off. It also got some feedback from people who agreed with me. What do you think? Are 2D Mario games getting stale?

I finally figured it out.

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:16:05 -0700

I finally figured it out.

Gaming, work, and my refusal to be in a relationship

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:50:00 -0700

If you had both Sideway: New York and Renegade Ops in your possession, which would you choose? I chose Sideway: New York just because I figured it would be shorter. Also, the art style seemed pretty neat. I got halfway through the game tonight, and I’m glad I decided to play it. Sideway: New York is plenty fun, though it’s not without a few flaws. Specifically, the platforming isn’t as tight and responsive as I wish it was. Still, it’s certainly fun, especially since the platformer is my favorite genre (a revelation I recently stumbled upon).

I’m thinking I’ll give Renegade Ops a whirl this weekend. I also want to get started on The Last Story. I’m also constantly reminded that I need to play The Walking Dead: Episode 2. Will I get to all of that this weekend? Probably not.

I’ve started off the month of September pretty well as far as my job is concerned. I’ve been getting most of my work done in the morning and afternoon as opposed to late at night. I also picked up a third writing gig, this time for Planet Xbox 360/Planet PlayStation. I’m fortunate to have some solid writing jobs. Now I just need to work my ass off.

Speaking of working my ass off, I think I’m at the point where a relationship is the last thing I would want just because I feel that it might interfere with my current goals. Granted I’m not one of those pricks who just wants to get on top of anything with a vagina. The fact is I don’t want anything, even in the slightest romantic capacity, with a woman because I feel that I would constantly choose my job over her, and I’d hate to be the reason behind hurt feelings

That’s it for now. There’s a review I need to write, so I’ll probably get to that before bed. Night y’all. (Okay, I don’t think I should ever say “y’all again.)

Only pussies take Labor Day off

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 16:52:34 -0700

Well, pussies and people who can afford to do so. I, for example, can’t afford myself a day off because as a freelancer who gets paid on a per-article basis, that would be equivalent to me just refusing to eat on a random day. So yeah, no time for days off here. Case in point: I’ve written all my vidya game news for two different websites, and I wrote an editorial on Super Mario fatigue setting in. I accused Mario of being a heavy drinker in said editorial, so suffice it to say I look forward to publishing that article soon.

I’ll be reviewing Mutant Mudds today, and I also plan on getting started on The Basement Collection by Edmund McMillen. So many awesome games for such an affordable price. I am excite!

Other than that, I certainly plan on doing some leisurely stuff today. Specifically, I’ll be hooking up the ol’ Nintendo 64 and playing some favorites of mine. I’ll be doing a bit of Mario Kart 64 racing, Mario Golf golfing, and Mario Tennis, um, “tennising.” I guess it’s weird that I wrote an editorial about Mario fatigue, and yet here I am wanting to play all these Mario games. Hey, it’s for nostalgia’s sake, okay?

Speaking of Mario Tennis, anyone play the 3DS game? Is that any good? I was thinking of picking that up down the road.

That’s it for now. Hope everyone’s having a great Labor Day; even the lazy bastards.

Mutant Mudds complete, so what's next?

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 00:21:29 -0700

I technically “beat” Renegade Kid’s Mutant Mudds last night, but today I finished up all the secret levels, as well as all of the Grannie stages. Simply put, I was retardedly impressed by just how much fun that game is. Mutant Mudds is, for all intents and purposes, one of the purest homages to retro platforming that I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying. I’ll be reviewing the game soon, so there’s that.

Next up is Edmund McMillen’s The Basement Collection. Really looking forward to playing the shit out of that.

Tomorrow (technically today) is Labor Day. The thing about freelancers is that we really don’t get days off. I mean, we can, but I can’t. Not if I want to eat and pay the bills. A day off for me just means I’m screwing myself out of a decent wad of cash. Can’t have that. It’s weird because yesterday and today I did plenty of work. I think I’m entering workaholic mode, which I’m proud of because there’s nothing wrong with that.

That’s it for now. Feels good to be blogging again. Oh, and here’s a pic of what Mutant Mudds originally looked like. Found this out today. Suffice it to say I was shocked.

Started playing Skyrim again, loved It Girl comic

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 03:10:45 -0700

So I continued where I left off on Skyrim. Last time I played that game (a few months ago) I had clocked in 25 hours. I think that’s going to be my approach; Skyrim will be a game I return to and play for several hours but then put aside due to things like having to play other games for work or just wanting to finish one of the countless games in my backlog. Anyone else take this approach?

In other news, while playing Skyrim, I felt compelled to play Rage again. I greatly enjoyed that game and felt that it’s severely underrated. Maybe I’ll take on the highest difficulty setting. Then again, maybe I should worry about playing other stuff that I haven’t even touched.

Last night I read It Girl and the Atomics. Absolutely wonderful read. It’s pretty different from the other comic books I tend to buy, but I’ll be picking it up every month. Maybe I’ll write up a review for it later on.

Long time no etc.

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 02:03:06 -0700

It’s been a while since I updated my Tumblr. I’ll keep this short. I’ve been meaning to get back into blogging, but I don’t really have the time to do so as much as I would like. Between playing video games and writing about them, I’ve been pretty busy.

Anyway, here’s what I’m currently playing:

And here’s what I’m currently reading: