Games Summary

Personal copy resting on a
black jacket.

It’s been a very interesting adventure these past few years writing online. From educational topics to fun ‘I got to try that’ topics, a little bit of everything was written. My starting point is on the now inactive site known as Squidoo.

A new experience altogether since nothing beyond course work was written extensively. Here, you could write on any topic whenever you wanted and people would still read it. 40-something articles were written and those were down-sized to 35.

One of the articles that were given the axe – due to a recent update that introduced article limits – was a review on the book titled Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda. It was an extensive review which prompted an interest in starting a standalone blog. After the initial testing phase an actual well planned blog launched but this time it focused on a series of games that were documented in a couple of articles that were written.

A Tale of Words and Posts

After the closure, a bulk of the material made it to the blog but I failed to adequately space them out so they weren’t jumbled together; probably still reeling from the last minute informant. The first post was launched on August 19, 2014 and focused on a series called Halo. Information in the post was compiled from past experiences coupled with the then latest unveiling at E3 2014 in regards to Halo 5: The Guardians.

It was brief yet interesting. Posts two and three were an article broken into 2-parts; again blogging was still new to me at this time. By the end of 2014, seven posts were published that focused on a variety of games that were documented back on the previous site.

Come 2015, things are a little better but still hit and miss. The first post was part of a continuation of sorts and focused on the game Super Mario Bros. 2: Yoshi’s Island for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System; and yes, I still have the console. Post two of that year was pretty much a highlight, a rare one at that, of a game that was actually purchased after experiencing the gameplay on a demo disc.

In fact it was one of two games that were purchased as a result of the game demos. Soul Calibur 3 for the PS2 was a gem and one of my favorites in the franchise following Soul Blade. Guess I’m a bit old school because there were no bonus characters from other installments present and the ones you did see were generated by the Custom Character feature; well most were.

From there, I pretty much flip-flopped between console and online games of past and present. After going back through the posts, I managed to catch a snafu that I didn’t see all those years ago; the note I left to myself about the premise of the post. Of the posts between 2014 and 2015, I have re-visited Wartune, Yoshi’s Island, Killer Instinct and Legend of Dragoon in other written pieces; others were re-visited as well but they weren’t as extensive.

2016 was interesting as posts didn’t get made a lot; I mean, the first post of the year came during the month of September. Of course by this time, there was some order to the chaos that was my posting habits. Things were kicked off with an introduction to some mobile games that were enjoyed at the time followed by some new MMOs that were tested out.

Nidia character after some upgrades and achievements.

Yes there was Wartune but at that time, the thrill and joy of the game went by the wayside when all the veteran, cool headed players left the game. Those that were left had to put up with some overzealous individuals that were too competitive for their own good. After some browsing, Crystal Saga was discovered but I didn’t stick with it long for varying reasons.

So another search was launched and even though that one failed, a discovery was made while browsing the forums; usually fellow players had suggestions of where to go. I was trying to scroll down but wound up clicking my mouse that was currently hovering over the banner for this new game called Swords of Divinity. Hesitant as I was the game was taken for a test drive and found it to be quite wonderful.

A major change of pace but eventually got a hold of the mechanics enough to function; though not well. Another hunt was launched but took a break to highlight some other games: a fashion title and some cooking series. The cooking series post featured five cooking games that were played both past and present on Facebook.

ChefVille, Kitchen Scramble, Dessert Shop, Cafeland and Bakery Blitz were the five that I talked about as well as highlighted some interesting observations of each. When it came to Fashland, talk was mostly about the mechanics and the very confusing fashion show where the darnedest of outfits wins especially when they don’t fit the theme at hand. As mentioned in the post, this is the only fashion game where I’ve never placed in a competition EVER.

While compiling the material for the above posts, plans were in the works for a future post about a newly discovered MMO. Not wanting to play briefly and then write, some time was set aside to play the game for a whole week all while jotting down notes of each gameplay session. Suffice it to say things didn’t go according to plan especially with the unexpected downtime that spanned across all platforms.

Like Swords of Divinity and Crystal Saga, Nidia’s game play and mechanics were different from what I was exposed to prior. That said the mechanics were grasped rather quickly. Even though a week was planned, I played longer to make up for the downtime so that I could provide more details; an excuse anyway.

This I will say, the game is extremely addicting especially when you discover all these locations you can visit and just take your time with. So much so I had to take a break to keep from getting absorbed for hours on end. To round things out for the year, a three day weekend celebration of sorts was planned.

December 30, 2016 through January 1, 2017 was the duration with each day dedicated to throwbacks from the past. Post one highlighted Bejeweled 3 for the PC and is the first post published that showcased a video I created myself. The second focused on the Chronicles of the Sword feature from SC3 while number three centered on the Spryo: Year of the Dragon game demo.

The Journey’s Just Begun

Way to start off the year with something corny and memorable – or forgettable if you choose. 2.5 years have flown the coop but more is to come in 2017. Two mobile game apps, a throwback and a post on the latest game hunting quest; of which is still taking place.

A bit of a general break is in progress from games at the moment but still drop in for a few as I’m not up for cold turkey. Thanks for following along and putting up with my shenanigans over the years and hope you stick around for more fun and games.