There is both good news and bad news with the onset of week two:
Bad news: I haven’t played Fatal Frame. At all. Boo on me.
Good news: I thought about Fatal Frame a lot. So that’s something. And it’s only the start of week two. And I played a heck of a lot of Pokemon X while horizontal from feeling an onset of yuckiness (thank goodness for handhelds!).
I’m still not sure what it is that is psyching me out about Fatal Frame. My horror exposure is extensive, so that shouldn’t be a factor. I feel like there is a weird mental block towards it, but I have to overcome that sometime. It didn’t help that I was feeling super lousy this weekend and spent most of the time either asleep, or necessarily horizontal on some yielding surface such as the couch.
But boy oh boy is Fatal Frame on my mind with each passing day. Each of those days brings us ever closer to the release of Until Dawn! And I am imposing a new restriction upon myself that I know will be the perfect kick in the rear: I won’t allow myself to play Until Dawn until I complete Fatal Frame.
That’s serious business. Until Dawn has been my most anticipated game of the year for a good long while.
Time to get started. For reals.
On the positive gaming side, I got to play a veritable ton of Pokemon X and oh my goodness! I have been having so much fun! I finally really got into the rhythm of the experience. I’m now stocked with a really excellent team of Pokemon, and exploring has never been quite like this. I’ve spent all kinds of time in Pokemon Amie and my Pokemon and I are all best friends.
Best friends!
This is both adorable and heartbreaking, as, sometimes in battle, one will get attacked and hang on to a sliver of health because they didn’t want me to worry. When that happens I just look at my screen like…oh no. Another thing that comes up is when a Pokemon will resist fainting because of our bond but they look like they might cry, which just punches me right in my digital heart. I always choose to heal them immediately because I can’t take them being so troubled.
I’ve also started going back to previously traversed areas to use my HMs and open up the little “secret” areas. This just never occurred to me before this past weekend. As I’ve said before, this is the first Pokemon I’ve ever played, so I didn’t know the ins and outs of the game. Now that I’m in the thick of it, I’m having a stellar time. Last time I saved, my total playtime was around 70 hours. If you had asked me back when I got the game in 2013 if I would put so much time into a Pokemon game, I would have said “No” with confidence. Now, I can’t wait to get back to it. As in, right after I finish writing this!
I’m also hoping to get in a bit of Little Big Planet 3 this week, as I can’t believe I’ve had it since launch and have yet to complete it. Plus: couch co-op goodness!
I will certainly be knuckling down this week for some serious gaming, and I very much hope to have solid progress to report next week instead of…progresslessness.
Yup. That’s a word.
Cheers friends, and thanks for stopping in! If you have a game challenge going for the month, please fill me in!
Categories: games
Rebekah Lang 
I’ve never tried any Pokemon game, partly because I don’t think it’s for me and partly because I’m afraid it’s a hole I’d never climb back out of.
I kind of know what you mean about just not being able to get started on a game, psyched out or mental block or whatever. I’m not sure how to describe it, but I get that feeling like you just can’t press start a certain title. Like you’re just not in the mood for it, or have the energy or something. I’ve felt it many times, and then complain later when it’s taking too long to work on my ever-growing backlog. When will I learn?
Speaking of gaming challenges… I finished Oblivion! Well, sort of. I gave it most of my weekend time over the last several weeks, and it fought back. Hard! I swear, the closer I got to the end, the more it crashed, froze, or just glitched out. Like it didn’t want me to ever finish. Then I started up the expansion, “Shivering Isles”. Very early on, a glitch happened that made it impossible to continue. After several restarts it continued to happen. So I said, “I guess I’m done!”
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I’m still not sure what made me want to play Pokemon X so badly, but I’m so glad I did now. I think you’d be pleasantly surprised!
I really don’t understand my block on Fatal Frame. I’ve gotten a lot better about it, but I really do have a problem with just STARTING a game. I don’t know what it is, but I definitely need to work on that. I’m trying, and slowly getting better.
YAY!!! Yay for finishing Oblivion, but boo for stupid glitches that forced you to be done. Did you enjoy your overall time with it? Will you be hitting up Skyrim next? If you do…I expect many of your future weekends to be spent in that world. It’s huge and fascinating. Boy do I love Bethesda.
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That’s the great thing about sticking to one platform, less temptation. Only joking… sort of. As many great games as are already available and continue to come out for the systems I already own, it’s highly unlikely I’ll venture beyond my current setup. I’ll have to be content with reading/hearing others talk about the games I don’t have access to, as I already have too many to play anyway.
I did! I loved the world, how each region had it’s own distinct feel. I loved seeing ancient crumbling relics randomly in my travels and wondering what might have taken place there generations ago. My only real criticism (besides the bugs, oh there are some bugs!) would be the characters just seem so sterile, so cold. As immersed in the world as I felt, it would have been nice to have more immersion with those that inhabited it.
I will be hitting up Skyrim and I’m very excited about it, but I don’t know about next. I think I’m either leaning towards Fallout 3 or Mass Effect 1…
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That makes a lot of sense to me. I am not so great at avoiding the temptation of certain games…though I am getting slightly better.
I think you will find the NPC situation to be improved in Skyrim. Sure, there are duds, but some of them certainly have a lot of character. Oh man, if you do Mass Effect or Fallout 3, let me know and maybe we can try concurrent runs? I’ve wanted to play through both, but I’ve crapped out on both. It would be awesome to play at the same time to keep myself motivated. If you are game.
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That’s encouraging about Skyrim. Bethesda is so good at creating worlds I can get lost in, but it helps if the residents are also relatable. Oooh! A game with a world built by Bethesda and inhabitants created by Ninja Theory! I’ve got my new fantasy development team.
Yeah, that would be awesome! I’ve never tried Fallout 3, but have owned the GOTY addition for years. I actually did acquire Mass Effect on PC when I was convinced I’d never see it on PS3, but my laptop couldn’t run it super well. So I played the first few hours and didn’t really get back to it. Thank goodness for the trilogy release! Hmm, how about Mass Effect? Bioware style relationships would be a nice change of pace after ending my 300+ hour save file from Tamriel. What are you thinking, like September? After finishing Until Dawn?
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You saying that just reminds me that I’ve yet to play a Ninja Theory game. I need to play Heavenly Sword, for sure.
I would super be down to play Mass Effect in tandem. I started the first one years ago and got maybe five hours in. I just wasn’t feeling it. So I don’t know whether I would start all over or start from there? We should discuss. But yes, September sounds fun!
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I’ve still yet to play the new DMC, but knowing my experience with Ninja Theory thus far I’m sure the characters are fantastically done. I would highly recommend Heavenly Sword with a caveat. Some found the gameplay boring is spots. It is pretty linear and can be compared to God of War in gameplay style (including QTEs). For me it was actually a gateway into God of War. The best part without a doubt are how well done the characters are. I would also highly recommend Enslaved. In my opinion it’s a better game than Heavenly Sword with a more interesting world, but again, excellent characters and character relationship development. Also, the DLC for Enslaved is essentially an entire game in it’s own right and should not be missed.
Yeah, let’s definitely discuss.
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Aw snap! You reminded me that I still need and want to play DMC! I forgot Ninja Theory did that.
I’ve actually been wanting to get through the God of War series, so I will make sure to play Heavenly Sword first.
I actually have Enslaved, too! :)
DISCUSSION!
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Hopefully you can finish fatal frame before until dawn.
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I HAVE to! I’m seriously not going to allow myself to play Until Dawn if I haven’t finished Fatal Frame.
Scare tactics!
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When are you gonna start fatal frame? I loved that show.
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Provided I can get three pieces written tomorrow, I will start in on it on Wednesday. Tomorrow is probably out for me.
Is scare tactics a show? I was just referring to scaring myself into playing Fatal Frame so I didn’t mess up playing Until Dawn.
I’m also super into Pokemon X right now and it’s hard to pull myself away from it.
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