GAME-A-WEEK - VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE - BLOODLINES

I'm not just cranky.  I'm also old and, as you may have deduced, I'm a gamer.  But what you may not know is that it hasn't always been just video games.  All through high school and into my early 20s, I was an avid pen-and-paper gamer.  I did some D&D here, a little Shadowrun there, even experimented with GURPS and Palladium games.

My heart, however, belonged to White Wolf.  Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage: the Ascension, and occasionally even Changeling: The Dreaming.  These were my gaming bread and butter.  My purple Crown Royal bag overfloweth with 10-sided dice.  With all of the hours spent poring over sourcebooks and character sheets, I always wondered, how would our adventures in the World Of Darkness translate to a PC game?

ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES OF ALL TIME

I have to share this two-part video with you all.  As you know, I'm pretty fond of hearing myself talk, but this guy...this guy says everything I could possibly say and more.  I've loved this video for a long time now, and share it with friends often.  This game is one of my most beloved and cherished games, because it's so amazingly bad, but still manages to be some of the most fun I've had playing a video game. 

Once again, not my video...but that of someone who is of like minds with me on this game (Part 2 of the video after the break).

A SHOUT-OUT FOR ONE OF MY FAVORITE RESOURCES

Just a quickie post here, making a shout out to one of my favorite resource sites out there.  A lot of you know that about 80% of my gaming is on the PC, and one of those reasons is because PC gaming is so ridiculously cheap.  Online retailers like Steam, GreenManGaming, Amazon, GameFly, etc. have ridiculous sales all the time. 

CheapShark is the best way to keep an eye on all of these sales.  They do the scouring for you, posting the top sales of nine of the biggest online PC games retailers out there, so you don't have to go hunting or miss out on a great sale. 

GAME-A-WEEK - RECETTEAR, AN ITEM SHOP'S TALE

So, after the relentless brutality and unsettling violence of last week's Hotline Miami review, I decided to play something a little lighter and fluffier.  I chose Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale.

What the fuck was I thinking?

NPC AI, AN OFT-OVERLOOKED DETAIL

For the past week, I haven't so much been "playing" Far Cry 3, as much as "rabidly devouring".   I have barely touched the main questline, but I've already crafted everything possible, found over 60% of the collectables, done most of the side missions, and unlocked most of the map.  It's a freakin' great game, and I'd be lying if I said otherwise.   However, it has a lot of glaring flaws that I think almost stand out even more because the rest of the game is so well-crafted.  One flaw in particular has actually become something of a fatal flaw for a lot of modern video games, in my book.

The AI and dialogue for non-combat NPCs is dumb as shit.

GAME-A-WEEK - HOTLINE MIAMI

This week, I will be taking a look at one of the more controversial titles out there right now, Hotline Miami.  It's a hyper-violent action game that the creators proudly admit is heavily inspired by the movie Drive.  The game is being called a "murder simulator" by critics.  I have to admit, I wasn't really interested in playing this game, as much as I was curious to see what all the hype was about.

THE CRANKY OLD GAMER EPISODE 2 - 10000000

Hey kids, it's your ol' Uncle Cranky here with a new video for the Youtube channel! This week I am giving you a brief overview of a new indie title on Steam (also available on iTunes for Apple devices), called 10000000.

Fair warning, I've also started fiddling around with Windows Movie Maker, so enjoy some "professional" video effects at the beginning! Having header art and a logo gave me a taste, and now I'm hooked on making things look neater. Next thing you know, I'll actually have THEME MUSIC! Maybe. Someday.

Anyway, enjoy!

EDIT:   I stand corrected. In this review, I stated "I don't know that I would really play this much on the PC".   I was wrong.  I was so very, very wrong.  This game is like fucking heroin, and I have been completely unable to put it down all week.  I bought it on my iPhone and play it at work, or while I'm on the couch watching a movie.  It's addictive as hell, and I've absolutely fallen in love with it.