Trigger Knight

Trigger Knight is a really fun game. It's an easy game to learn and fun/frustrating to play. The basic story is that the player is a female fighter and you run through a land full of vendors and monsters. The player taps the screen to buy potions, armor upgrades, weapon upgrades, and golden tickets. The player also taps to rest at soul shrines which replenishes the knight's lifespan (if you decide not to tap then your knight will disappear from existence).

I got my first kitten related injury and so I have been trying to stay comfortable which is difficult since my injury is on my leg. Mobile games are really easy to play on the go and in a comfortable way around the house. This is one of the easiest games to play so this is one of my top choices for this type of situation.

You can find this game on the google play store as well as on the web. Armor games and Kongregate have the game ready to play on a computer which makes it easily available to play no matter where you are.

The game is simple and fun. With that in mind it can be stressful. If the player doesn't time things right the knight will disappear from existence and then it's time to start again. Also, going between items can be dangerous because, even though what is coming up is shown, you don't know what monster is coming up. Certain monsters have more health do more damage, or is even a dragon (which has a lot of health and does a lot of damage). The player gets money from defeating monsters and will eventually die or run out of lifespan no matter how good you are. Even with that information I don't feel discouraged, playing it. It's like a race or challenge to keep your knight alive.

If you feel bored or are kind of bed-ridden then I would highly suggest this game.

Red Dead Redemption Part 2

I actually finished the game (saw the credits and everything). The ending was interesting and was good for the type of story that it was. I was much over half way through the game when I stopped though. I had a few more missions left before the focus of the game switched to Marston's son Jack. Once it switched to Jack there is only one mission and then the credits roll.

You can still help people (or rob people), make money, spend money, hunt, etc. but it doesn't get you any closer to anything except to completing the challenges. I'm sure that if I searched hard enough that I could find strangers who could use my help or find that I could gather more herbs to complete the herbalist challenge... but after completing the game I don't think it matters.

There is still a lot of replay value for this game. The missions are fun and even though you know the story it is still interesting enough that hearing/seeing it again isn't so bad. The ending was sad to me. I already said I'm not doing spoilers so if you want to find out the ending you just have to play through it. I almost wish that I had stopped when I did originally to spare myself the harsh realities of the game world, but I am also glad to have closure; to have officially beaten the game. I don't have 100% clearance but I'm okay with that.

Finished a great game,
Skye

Minecraft

Hello fellow Minecraftians! haha I used to play Minecraft quite a bit. I was part of a 24 hour streaming channel called Minecraft 24/7 and I had the night shift. There were good and bad things about playing so much of it and having the night shift. I will get to that after I talk about the game for a bit.

Minecraft at its basic form was a block building game. It starts with classic where people could build crazy intense structures with many different kinds of blocks. My first experience with it was a classic server (this was back when the game was in Alpha) and I loved it. I carved myself a home out of the side of a mountain and one entire face of the home was glass so I could see outside. It was a wonderful experience that reminded me of a virtual Lego building game (I love Legos).

Adventure came out and it was really fun! You could build things but it wouldn't be an endless supply like in classic (you had to gather the resources yourself). Also... if you didn't have a shelter or weapon by nightfall... good luck. Monsters would spawn and it could be terrifying if you didn't have the right equipment. The Monsters (at first) included Zombies (melee), Skeletons (archers), Spiders (my most hated), and creepers (suicide bombers), which don't die when the sun comes up... they will stalk you forever. The creeper quickly became the face of minecraft. They were silent (hence the name) until they got close and all the player heard was "Sssssssssssssssss" followed by an explosion. If you didn't die from it you were lucky.

There is a lot to do in the adventure: mining, farming, building, and even working with redstone (which is an electricity of sorts). There is even more now that the official game is out. In Alpha and Beta the game was open ended but then they created things to make it so it was a game with an ending. You could actually "win" Minecraft. For those who fell in love with the game when it was in early stages thought it was odd. I, especially, didn't realize that Minecraft needed an ending. The developers added a lot of interesting things, one being alchemy. I stopped playing for a while and now I feel overwhelmed by all the changes. It's a completely different game now, than when I was playing it a lot. The alchemy part of it is really confusing for me and I just don't deal with it but I'm probably missing out on something. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of the new features because I just don't play it that way, but that's my choice.

Some bad stuff...

Ssssssssssssssss.... BOOM!

The game, honestly, is not friendly to new players. If you haven't done your research and you start playing then you could very well be lost. The game has a very extensive crafting system and if you don't put the materials on the crafting bench, just so, then you won't make an item or you won't make the right item. This is a game that requires lots of knowledge and a wiki page up right next to it. The alchemy system is also confusing if you don't know much about it (which I don't). The game can often be frustrating and/or scary based on what you're doing in the game. You can build a nice house and during the day (when you should be safe) you walk outside and a creeper is hiding there next to your door. Your house blows up and you die. When you get back to your house you have to rebuild and you don't get all the materials back from the explosion so you have to go gather more. The last thing I will say about it is unless you're doing specific things the game gets boring after playing on it for a long time. The more popular a game gets the more griefers you will find. Be careful who you play with and be careful where you play (servers).

Some good stuff...
Minecraft has lots of options now so you can play however you want. There are many multiplayer servers out there to play with your friends and there are lots of modes so you don't even have to play with monsters. It makes it nice for those of us who just love to build. There are lots of complex things to figure out and build (even a rollercoaster) which make the game exciting. The monsters each have their own unique abilities which makes for quite an adrenaline rush! Exploring in a cave and mining a stone to see a Creeper's face on the other side could very well startle a person into screaming. The game can be very relaxing based on how you play and can be great stress relief. Honestly I had quite a lot of fun playing and I would recommend the game to anybody who might be interested.

My experience...
I was in charge of the night shift. I was usually on from 6pm to 6am and it took a lot out of me. The good part about it was that I was hanging out with (on the stream) a bunch of fellow insomniacs and a loyal group of people who would keep me company for the long haul. A 12 hour shift is not only long but bad for the health. By the end of my streaming time I had quite a few health problems and I looked like a zombie (it scared me). To all of you out there who might consider doing something like that I have to say make sure you get sleep and manage to eat a balanced diet if you can. I didn't and it was rough. The worst part about the night shift (besides being tired) was it being dark in my room (I was in college housing and had a roommate) and running into a creeper or other monster. It was terrifyingly startling. It was wonderful to meet new people and to feel like I was part of a community. I was the most social then, than I have been in years. It can be a very fun place to be and if you are interested then I would recommend it. Thankfully for me, my streaming for hours at a time days are over.

Minecraft is a fun game and many new people are joining the ranks all the time. I would highly recommend it to anybody. If you already play it then let me know if you play on a server and I might just hop on there for a while.

Have fun gaming,
Skye

The Sims

The Sims... a simulation game about life. It's quite something. 3 sims games with more expansions for each than I care to count. It's not for everybody (some may find it boring, pointless, and I've even heard it called pathetic), but I happen to like it. It's where my computer gaming truly began (I've always been a bit more of a console gamer). In the Sims you can create sims, make them do what you want, and even kill them. The things they can do have grown as the newer games have come out and how pretty it looks has grown drastically. Your sims can do mundane tasks such as brush their teeth, clear dirty dishes, throw the trash, and do laundry. The sims creators hadn't initially wanted to put that in there but the fans asked for it so they gave in. Keeping the fans happy is actually a surprising thing for EA to do ( I kid, :P ). I won't go in depth about any of the EA stuff (at least here).

I enjoy the sims games... I always have. There were quite a lot of problems with the earlier games. Although they were fun at the time the graphics are nothing compared to today's standards, there are also less customization for your sims (even being able to choose your shoes for your sims in the newer games was a new thing that was quite exciting), and the options that your sim could do was limited. Despite all that I couldn't get enough of it. I loved (and still love) to play the games for hours. My friends and I would ll talk about what our families had been doing and oh the stories we would tell.

The games got smarter as they moved along, and more expensive. The original games of "The Sims," "The Sims 2," and "The Sims 3" are full games and can just be played on their own without the expansions. Why would you want to only play those when you could buy an expansion that would give you pets, or let you be able to own your own business, or allow you to take other sims on a date. Not only do the expansions give you new items, but major expansions can give you new abilities, options, and sometimes even new places. If you like the game then those things are exciting. I don't even want to think about how much money I spent and how much my parents spent on these games for me. The Sims 3 can now usually be purchased with the newest expansion so if the newest expansion is what caught your fancy then you can get it in one nice set. They make it easy to spend your money. The basic Sims 3 game can be bought on Amazon.com for a little less than $30 and with over 10 expansions........ it adds up really quick.

If you like being able to control little people and/or escape to a world where things go exactly as you want, then this game is really for you. The newest Sims game is really pretty, is fun to play, is easy to control, and has lots of options to do. It has a lot even without the expansions which is the best part. It takes a lot more to run on computers than the older ones and if you do get the expansions you will need about 50GB hard drive space on your computer (or more). If it doesn't make you bored then the only thing you might truly have to worry about is spending too much time playing it. If you play it or are going to, I hope you enjoy it!

Red Dead Redemption

I just recently "beat" the game (yesterday). I have beat in quotes because I technically have not reached the end credits but to me I have reached the main goal of the game so I have beat it. (See note at bottom for more information)

In this Rockstar game you explore the old west (on a horse and everything) to hunt down outlaws. Your goal? To track down some of your old gang buddies and kill them or turn them in to the authorities. Your reward? You get to go back to your peaceful life with your family that the government has kidnapped. I said, in my first post, that I would try to stay away from spoilers but I can assure you that most of this is brought out into the open relatively early on in the game.

This has a lot of similar aspects to the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games in that you have a stash of different weapons, you go on missions, you can get different rides, and you can buy houses in different areas. The feel is the  same in the controls and so on. This game does have a big difference, though. When you commit a crime there is a bounty on your head. Even when your wanted status goes away, your bounty remains, at least for a period of time. You can pay off your bounty to become a law-abiding citizen at the nearest telegram office. This is an interesting game mechanic that I quite actually enjoy. There are three main areas of the game to play in. 1. Armadillo, 2. Mexico (which feels really big), and 3. Blackwater (which is more government but small).

What do I like about the game? I like that you can choose whether or not you want to be the good guy or the bad guy. Depending on what you do you gain or lose honor and fame. My honor was filled up completely by the time I hit the halfway point of the game. I also like some of the characters you encounter and help (it's easy to like them and they have interesting back stories that don't seem like a bother to find out).  There is a lot to do and a lot of gameplay. If the person playing doesn't want to play the missions there are plenty of side quests and strangers to help (or rob if you want to be an outlaw). They have challenges to complete (for small prizes) and everything feels fun. It's not all easy and the challenge fluctuates as the game continues. The game is really enjoyable and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to save Marston's (the main character) family.

What I didn't like... I hated to help the scummy characters do their dirty work. I understand that there are all sorts out there and in order to get things done you will have to work with them but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Some of the missions (in order to move on with the story line) had the player help them cheat, lie, steal, and murder. I was upset about having to murder innocent people to help evil people get their way. Halfway through the Mexico section of the game I realized that I wasn't having fun anymore. There was too much killing for no reason. Of course Marston's time there was in the middle of a rebellion so I'm honestly not surprised. It was in Mexico, though, that the difference between good and evil is blurred. The supposed good guys weren't so great and sometimes the supposed bad guys weren't so bad. I also didn't like fulfilling the authorities "request" and then not getting his family back. I found it extremely unfair and disappointing.

My overall impression of the game is good. After letting the frustration of everything subside I know that I had a lot of fun. The game felt fun to play and it is quite beautiful to look at. During the night portion of the game the sky was wonderfully decorated with stars, watching the wind blow the grass in the desert was a nice touch, and while it rained rain drops hit the screen to make it feel more real. It was all well done. The story was gripping, the gameplay felt good, and it looked great.

With all that... why didn't I finish it to the end? I'm afraid to. This will be a partial spoiler so if you would like it to not be spoiled then please leave now. I got to the point where John Marston was reunited with his family but the game didn't end. Well his estate (farm) was kind of in tatters (his cattle was poached and the chickens had been eaten by coyotes etc) so there is a mission to go buy some cattle. I can understand the last missions to set up the ranch but after that there is more to do. With the game not ending I'm afraid something bad will happen. I am afraid that Marston's life will be ripped apart somehow and I don't want to see that when I worked so hard to get him back to his family. With that in mind I ended it. I said I finished it because, to me, I had completed the main goal of the game. That's enough for me. Maybe one day I will finish it to the end just to see if my fears were grounded, but for now I can imagine that it all ended well for his sake.

Wishing for a reasonable ending,
Skye

Note: I have been told that I am only halfway through the game and for the sake of it being a good game that I should push through what I might not like that is coming. I'm nervous but I will continue because it is a good game. I am extremely unsatisfied when things are unresolved or unhappy but the person who told me I should continue is right. The game is really good and I would hate to miss out on it because I am too stubborn to experience the bad with the good. Keep a lookout for part 2 of this entry as I am sure I will have some to say.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

I was a big fan of the Luigi's Mansion game from GC. I thought it was a well done game and I was actually pretty happy to see Luigi get some serious air time, though he wasn't particularly heroic. I found the idea fun and cute. It was also quite scary at times and the anticipation of a ghost jumping out of anywhere would sometimes give me white knuckles as I gripped the controller. Of course, I was younger so perhaps it just affected me differently then, then it does now.

When I heard there was going to be another Luigi's Mansion I got excited. I, of course, had no money so I waited ever so patiently and it did in fact, pay off. Luigi's Mansion is the most recent game I have been playing. I'm almost done with the game now but I feel I can write this review without finishing it first.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon did live up to my expectations. I was excited to have another game for my 3DS and I think this is one of the favorites I have. The game play felt weird to me at first but as I got used to it I found the controls to be easy to manage and it feels fun to play. There are all new ghosts and new places to go. Instead of one mansion that Luigi explores, it is several mansions in a mission format (meaning that he explores a part for one mission and then is forced back to the bunker). The new mansions are exciting and each has its own differences. The art is quite pretty and the quality is great. The professor is back and has new inventions to torture Luigi with, and he is the same as always. There is also a multi-player aspect which is cute. You can team up or go head to head in an online or local play scare scraper. I have not yet had the joy of playing that yet but I hear it is fun.
Now for the stuff I don't like. I don't like being forced to go back to the bunker without being able to explore more. Once you have completed your mission you are forced to go back whether you want to or not. I miss the feeling of just being able to explore around without being forced into the mission circumstances. Also... this game is incredibly easy (noting that I am an experienced gamer). I will admit that I have died in the game but it was because I didn't understand how to balance in the game properly (by tilting the 3DS, which I should have guessed). Once I figured that out I was just fine and haven't had a problem since. The game also feels really short. I really wish there was more. Something else worth noting... this game is not scary. I think the only time I ever got creeped out at all was when I saw a closeup of King Boo (who actually looks terrifying and menacing).

I found this when I did a Google search for
King Boo Treacherous Mansion

Other than that, you know full well where the ghosts are going to pop out of and when they do surprise you it's just not scary. Perhaps it's a good thing it's not and I suppose if you are going to give this to a child then it shouldn't be scary. It could be that I'm older now so it's just less scary now that I've matured. I don't know that it is though.
Despite the little annoyances that I have come across where this game actually did not live up to what I hoped for, I actually enjoy it. It's a fun game and that is what games are for. Games are supposed to be fun. I think the developers did a good job on this game and I am content with it. I would recommend this game to anybody who won't continuously hold it to the standard of the first game and can enjoy it for what it is; a fun game.

Welcome to my blog

Hello and welcome to my blog. I'm Skye but you may also know me as Fluffles or stellargirl87 (that is my most used gamer tag). I'm going to be posting on here about anything that I've been playing about recently or even just heard about or interested in. I will try not to give spoilers during my reviews and explanations and will try to give an unbiased opinion on the games and systems I talk about here. I hope to see you here again!

~Skye