Dark Souls why does it hurt but I can't stop playing!

Despite what the title states I have stopped playing to write this and take a few hrs break and then watch some anime because I am exhausted of dying too much.

Um, Dark Souls, in may respects is much more lenient and also even more difficult than Demon Souls but it seems to be longer tons more to explore. In terms of leniency, the game menus are much more updated and streamlined...for instance instead of going to a blacksmith for ones basic smith needs there is an option to do it yourself at the bonfire/checkpoint which is tremendously convenient. It is easier to grind thanks to the revamped system but it is always more challenging than Demon Souls due to these convenience.

I like the game but once again it is not for everyone because it requires a lot of patience and methodical thinking at a slow pace to go through with this game but you will die regardless. Dying happens often mainly due to the lack of visual cue. Many of my deaths were due to me going to a boss room and obviously I was ill prepared and other times, thanks to the game's intentional sadistic design, I fell to my death because of the sharp corners situated close to bottomless pits, tightly cornered rooms with tons of enemies and sometimes bosses with minions by their side. This game is hard core and I am loving it but I can't play it for long sessions because it is just too much.

I am weak...

A while back I said I was reluctant to buy a used artless copy of Dark Souls because it would look ugly in my gaming collection for retrospective reasons...alas, I succumbed to my impulse and I bought the game. Yeah I know but it had a good deal of under 24 bucks with shipping included. I do care about the box art but things are tight right now and by the end of the day it is the game that matters.

The game is suppose to come in tomorrow, Saturday, from USPS so I am I just documenting this at my blog because once the game hits my life will be utterly consumed in this game. Once I am finish with it I will write a detailed review from my experiences with prior RPGs and its predecessor and hopefully later this year I should do a review and comparison of Dark Souls and Skyrim once I finished them both.

I really enjoyed Demon Souls because it is just one of those RPGs that sucks you in to its world and the whole journey of getting one's character to omnipotent level awe-inspiring and rewarding experience. Yes the game has some rough points, mostly notably that decayed dark like swamp level, actually, that was the only lackluster experience for me in the game, everything else was just superb.

I read that Dark Souls is longer and more engaging than its predecessor and I hope they are right because I love RPGs with at least 60hrs of raw game play and 100hrs plus with side quests included. I won't get frustrated with the supposed difficulty because I am a RPG veteran to Demon Souls and RPGs in general so it should be extremely fun.  Furthermore, I need a break from fighting games due to the annoying aching feeling that's happening to my wrists. Say what you will about playing fighting games with pads but if I do have any pain it would affect my thumbs and not my wrist - I love using the arcade stick but it is not as flexible and as ergonomic as the pad. Right now my joints are aching and to be fair it is my fault for playing for several hours with out break and other times I practice lying down despite discomfort, so I am to blame. However, if the pad was my central tool for playing then I would have been having this problem. Maybe I should have invested in one of those face-six-button pads instead of the arcade stick....anyway one day I will but I don't see myself reverting to the pad anytime soon; I just have to change my bad habits.

Random & Dark Souls.

How long has it been since I reached out to that gaming site for a job? I can't remember but it has been a while and it is sad they didn't reach out to me or at least tell me they are not going forward with me. Ironically, this is a non for profit that offers wageless positions - just bloody sad, it is a NYC company after all since NY employers are synonymous and notorious for disregarding potential employees.

Anyway, enough of that because this is not the page to talk about jobs, although the job market is beyond terrible and the unemployment rate - true unemployment rate - is in the double digits, probably 15 to 20 percent. You may be shock or think I am smoking something for saying such a high figure but it is truth. The posted mainstream number is disingenuous because they do not factor in individuals that are out of work more than a year, individuals that stop looking, and other factors. It is a sad prospect but that's America for you with their broken idiotic system - good bless the Occupy protest movement for their efforts.

Um...yeah, so Dark Souls, I almost purchased it at Amazon for almost $27.00, used and that is with shipping included, but it doesn't come with cover art and manual. Many don't care for those trivial things but I do because it is Dark Souls; a game as epic as this deserves to have its full package art, especially for reminiscent  after I've beaten the game. I want to look back at my proud collection of games with their packaged contents included instead of having them without. I may wait for a better deal, like $20.00 with all of its contents included and I may buy it new instead of used, because there are times I like to give back to actual developers of the game. I was surprised of how quick the price went down since the game only came out the last quarter of 2011 but these prices stemmed from small entities and individuals instead of the almost monopolized Gamestop store. God, I hate Game Stop...I just hate their business statics and their broken hiring methods.

Anyway, I think I am going to end this abruptly because I am in the mood to play some WarCraft III and 3rd strike online..so later.

Super Rant AE 2012

Ugh...I am a Yun player but prior to SSIV AE's Yun I have always primarily been a shoto player, mainly Akuma, and now again I randomly play with Makoto and Adon. I enjoyed playing with Yun, despite his excessive degradation, courtesy of Akuma, but I am not having as much fun as I am having with Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3 and Street Fighter III 3rd strike online - God, these titles are long and ridiculous, again, courtesy of Capcom. The pride in me have me coming back but I just not having fun with the game, especially now that there are so many "better" options.

The reasons why I am not having fun with the game because of its systems - easy inputs, short cuts, mash friendly, and novice friendly - and the ridiculous updates. Does it hurt to leave the game the way it is for a couple of years of leave it entirely and let the community actually learn the game? Instead Capcom updates the game every couple of months coupled with a few priced content to incentivize a purchase. Granted, I wasn't happy with what they did with current cast, especially the shotos and many of the changes outside of that didn't make sense to me. Initially, I wanted to main Oni because he has always been the Akuma I've been crying for but when I touched Yun, I fell in love. Finally, a rush-based character I can play that has all the tools to deal with projectile characters and defensive players. He was fun, rewarding, and the type of character none 3rd strike players or inexperienced 3rd strike players hated. I didn't found him to be broken but just a solid character, and a character that has a play style unique to that type of game.

The update, SSFIV AE, hasn't been out for year or even 6 months but yet we have a patch that made some drastic changes to cast. Basically, they almost reverted cast to their former glory, but they are better now with even more destructive tools to deal with the twins and other bad match ups. Unfortunately for me and other players like me, they heavily degraded the twins to an extreme point that some their tools are taken away and what is there isn't as effective as it used to be.

Capcom is indirectly telling me to work harder because the character I love doesn't take any real effort to win and if I want to win easily I should play with the other brain dead, iconic characters, like Ryu and company to win. Well, Capcom, fuck you because I bet everything I own in life that they will be another update before this year ends with two more DLC characters and better tweaks to the twins because that's how you roll.

I don't have the mental energy to write all the things I wanted to say because I am so hungry...For the record, I am going to take a massive break from AE 2012 and concentrate more on UMVC3 and 3rd strike, and later this year I will probably be rocking King of Fighter's XIII.  You see when I lose in UMVC3 I don't get as vex if I were to lose in SSFIV because I understand Marvel to be crazy random game that is "fun."  With 3rd strike, when I lose I don't get vex because I know why I lost - I lose to a person that has better skill, execution, and pacing. In SSFIV, however, I can tell when someone is mashing, abusing the easy short cuts, and crap Capcom has in the game...KOF XIII should fill my fighter's competition void because SSFIV ain't cutting it.

Editor's Note: I popped back in SSFIV and still playing it despite my rant....call me a sucker but I hate having a weak Yun and my mission is to make him strong again....

3rd strike other random stuff.

I just had a series of gaming sessions in rank and in casual play in Street Fighter III 3rd strike online - God that is such a long winded title, thanks Capcom - on the PS3. I had fun, it felt solid and not frustrating as my sessions normally are with SSFIV. I just hate how easy it is to mash out reversals and the leniency in inputs in SSFIV because it just ruins the awe in execution. It is hard to tell if the player is skillful executioner or a masher, especially online, but in 3rd strike it requires more skill regardless online or not.

I've exchanged emails with the founder of Platform-community - a journalistic gaming website - requesting employment or to be contributor to the site. I think it would be great for me solely to have a wider audience and engage in dialogue with the community. I have no clue how it is going to turn out, and although I shared a link of my blog to them so they can sample my writing - mentioning them in this column isn't a tactic of mine but blogging of gaming ventures. I am trying my best to be consistent with this blogging and I will love to have frequent entries since gaming is a essential part of life. I've made a bold move contacting this company and I may make similar moves in the future. I love the gaming industry with all of its quirks, tech, politics, and nerdy atmosphere it has. It is a bloody shame one has to move to California to experience the full effect of it, so you could imagine my surprise when I found out the founder was from NY, that's bloody cool. I may try to reach out to FingerCramp since that is based locally here in Queens, NYC - I am assuming but at least I know it is in NYC.  I just love the fighting game scene and being a part of FingerCramp is a cool prospect since it is based in NYC as opposed to the many that are based in California.

I have a huge back log of games that I need to buy and play before I forget their names and move on to the next big thing. Just for reference purposes let me list these games, um so we have Uncharted 2 & 3, Dark Souls, King of Fighters XIII, Vanquish, God of War 3, The Elder's Scroll Skyrim ( for the PC at discounted price), Trine 1 & 2, and I think that's about it as far games that already out, oh yes I need to finish Portal 2. I haven't gotten around to these games solely due to Capcom fighters. They are addictive man - the endless online competition, and the endless cycle of improving oneself to get better. I just love fighting games and I think they are more rewarding than shooters. Shooters are my thing and my second love is War Craft 3 the Frozen Throne for the PC. I've been playing that game since 2002 and I haven't stopped since. I don't play solo matches because they aren't fun and maybe I should since the decisive factor of the match solely depends on my skill instead of idiots doing random things to ruin team matches. I love team games. I love the nature of working with as oppose to working against. Yes in I do agree there are factions fighting it out for the win but at last one side of the faction is working together for that price instead of every man for them self.

The last great shooter or team based shooter that actually requires team work was Gears of War. In a skilled match up team work is essential and all aspects of it - communication, cooperation, and strategizing - must come into play. It was not like those other games like Halo or Call of Duty and that's why I love Gears of War so much, I bought it twice even all...:)...Anyway in the next blog hopefully we go deeper on why I bought GOW twice but for now I am hungry and it is time end this.

One of my many thoughts of KOF13

Below is a comment I wrote on Dreamcancel's webstie: http://dreamcancel.com/2012/01/02/guard-cancel-genesisdc/#more-2505.

I think I will be saying more about this game in the future because it is a great game but those who are lazy to click the link here's what I wrote:

"This is a great little article and it gives one a little insight of the player or the mind behind this community. As a gamer and a fighting game enthusiast, I have a little note to those who are curious but reluctant to take the dive in KOFXIII.

The King of Fighters XIII, in many respects, is very similar to Capcom fighters - very easy to pick up but hard to master - but if you want a little more depth in your fighter, especially a new generation fighter that is fair, then KOFXIII may be your game. It is a straight forward fighter that rewards the player that "practices" instead of the player that doesn't.


I will never undermine the greatness SFIV series has done to this community but compared to other fighters and other past Capcom fighters, it is not the best. Personally, I have a distaste for the simplified input systems emplaced in SFIV because although it helps the casual player it undermines the player as well. For instance, if one first fighting game was SFIV and then try out Capcom's older games, like Street Fighter III 3rd strike then that player is going to have a difficult time performing super arts and regular dragon punches.

Games like KOF XIII keeps your execution honest and it makes the game sessions even more appreciative especially if that opponent does a difficult combo to "earn" the win. I guess that's one of the most important aspect of my opinion here...every match that is won is earned by the player's skill not by novice-like systems in SFIV."

Granted, I don't own the game yet because I am waiting for certain things to happen before I buy it. For one, I need to take care of my finances and my situation with my bank - I am converting my bank account to a more practical package instead of the one I currently have mainly to avoid monthly fees. Second, I am waiting to see how the upcoming patch from SNK and Altus pans out. The patch suppose to address the game's net code, although I personally think the net code is playable I am still up for improvements because I hate lag. I will, however, inevitably buy this game because after playing the demo and reading numerous articles from respected game sites and seeing so many positive views from the consensus of the fighting game community, this game is a must have. 


I love SSFIV but I hate Capcom's current philosophy in balancing the game - catering to the casual masses - because the game is has been balanced too many times. SSFIV AE, at least of the console, has only been out a couple of months before the balance patch came out. They basically improved everyone except the twins - Yun and Yang - by giving them even more devastating tools making my worse match ups harder. However, I am a better player with Yun now more than I have ever been, I am using his normal moves more strategically and my wins feel more earned by my skill than the power of that character. Probably Yun was a little too good but it was not an omnipotent character like Super Street Fighter II Turbo's Akuma. Anyway, SSFIV is fun despite its current build but I still have some issues with game lenient system itself. 


Hopefully, KOF13's online community will be as consistent and plentiful as Capcom's Fighters and the net code would be bearable because I am in desperate need of a game that rewards execute and skill.