Working on it I swear!

I'm working on my dragon age 2 review, but in the meantime I've been gaming my butt off.
I've been trying new games, well not NEW games but, new to me as in, I've had them sitting around but never touched them.
So, til I get that  big Dragon Age 2 rant out to you, I'll give a quick rundown of the games I've played.

Dungeon Defenders both on STEAM and XBLA:
Played it on Steam with a friend and really liked it a lot. So this week since its on sale on XBL andits 4 player co-op i decided to let everyone in the house demo it and tell me what they thought. Everyone had a lot of fun with it and so I bought it and the DLC and we got our game on, it was Sapito, Waterfalls, me and the hubby... We suck balls at it together lol. We kept dying at the final wave of the first dungeon but we all had a really good time with it. Looking forward to another session of co-op. However it wasnt all great, 4 player split screen has one REALLY big disadvantage. While none of us had a problem running around or fighting, I actually found it easier to focus on my little box at the top than keeping track of my character in split screen co-op, the downside was that it was almost impossible to read the text whenever we picked up gear or had to level up, everyone had to take turns going up to the screen to read it. But, small price to pay for sharing a family game night.

Pac-Man Championship Edition, XBLA:
I have always sucked at pac-man. Even though, I had a good time playing the trippiest pac-man i've ever seen, even got  a few achievements. YAY!

Scott Pilgrim Vs the World, XBLA:
I only played this briefly with Sapito, Its a fun little side scrolling brawler though I did find the controls a bit iffy. Its a cute game though and I'll probably go back to it.

West, XBIG:
I bought this ages ago when Kotaku recommended it. I played it fora very short amount of time because frankly I found it preachy and pedantic. I can safely say I will NEVER play this game again and feel robbed of the buck I paid for it. It was dull, boring, and as I said, preachy on the evils of the world. *sigh* If I want a sermon I'll go to church.

Cthulu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII, XBIG:
Now these are fun little throw back RPGs. Both of them made me chuckle at the dialogue and the old school turn based fighting is well done and fun. difficulty however goes up and down randomly it seems and I found myself overpowering 4 higher level enemies easily and then getting destroyed by one single Ninja (this was in Cthulu, which I played much longer than Breath of death).

Resident Evil 5, XBOX360:
What I like: Wesker, Sheva. What I hate: everything else. I confess that I have no desire to go finish this, though I probably will sometime in the coming days.
Co-Op games are hard to find these days so My husband and I jump on any opportunity to play something together. He's a RE fan, I'm not. To him its a good game with better controls than previous RE games. To me its a study in crap mechanics.
I can KINDA getover the whole inability to run and gun...but I cant move while wielding a knife? Really? WTF is that about?
I find the fact that in every cutscene Sheva looks at Chris like he's an utter cretin hilarious though.
Now, i'm not some hardcore kick ass gamer so I admit, I kinda suck at this game, but hubby sucks more and put together we are one big bag of suck that dies CONSTANTLY. That kinda dampens my enjoyment of any game.

F.3.A.R., XBOX360:
weak story aside, I LOVED this game. I got to play as Paxton Fettel, and damn was that fun. Seriously, I love the possessing mechanic, and the ability to grab an enemy and lift him in the air then clenching my fist and making him explode. MY husband played Point Man and he enjoyed it a sight less, still we did reach the end with relative ease, aside from one  very evil Mech bastard.

Prey, XBOX360:
My husband bought me thison PC ages ago, but my old PC couldnt run it, so then he bought it for me on  xbox. I added it to the collection and never touched it again. No idea why I decided to finally try it but, try it I did. For abuut an hour. Right off the bat I hated Tommy, the main character. I tried to give it a chance but overall, I just cba to put any time into it.

Rage, XBOX360:
If you guys have read more of my blog, you've probably read about my back and forth debate on this game pre-release. I eventually decided on not pre-ordering  and waiting for a price drop. I'm so glad I did. I finally picked it up for $19.11 on Amazon and I think I paid Nineteen dollars too many.
MY GOD, this game....it looks like Borderlands and Fallout had a child, an uninteresting, painfully obnoxious child. Yesterday I gave it a third try....Raptr says I played for an hour.. I swear it felt like 10. There is no discernible story besides, i woke up in the future and instantly everyone makes me their delivery bitch.

Castlevania Lords of Shadow, XBOX360:
This game I like. I dont consider it Castlevania at all but taken on its own, its a fun game. I mightily suck at it and Lycans keep making me their bitch but, I definitely plan on coming back to this. Sure its completely derivative, in the bit I played I did a little Prince of Persia, a bit of God of War, Some Shadow of the Colossus and Some Devil May Cry. But, while derivative, its still fun and makes you want to keep going.

Cave Story +, STEAM:
I confess to playing this a very very short amount of time. In the bit I did see, it looks cute and fun if a bit hard (platforming....i have no sense of timing or distance gauging) The music did annoy the ever living hell out of me after just a few minutes though.

Iron Brigade aka Trenched, XBLA:
Just plain awesome. I really like this game.  I suck at tower defense/ Strategy games but this one is just a blast. Not to say it doesnt have a few little problems. For one, no local co-op, which makes me sad because i'd like to play this with Sapito without needing to buy another copy of it and a gold subscription for Sapito. Second, it can be REALLY hard protecting 2 locations on either side of the map. Finally, unskippable cutscenes...while I don't skip cutscenes first time through, Why oh why cant I skip something I've watched 6 times already?

Guwange, XBLA:
Not much I can say about it beyond, its a Cave Shmup and its fun. I utterly suck but, you know, thats what unlimited continues are for :p

F.E.A.R., XBOX360:
I played this for a little bit when I first bought it ages ago and I dont remember why I stopped playing. I think it was before I had played too many shooters and I was getting my ass handed to me.
After playing F.3.A.R I decided I wanted to go back and play the previous games.
This time around I was doing pretty good, and having a good time til the freaky stuff flashing on the screen got to me and I stopped playing. This is definitely a lights on, someone sit with me and hold my hand thing...like Dead Space...what? I scare easy.

Deathsmiles, XBOX360:
Another side scrolling bullet hell shooter. Cute anime witches, lots of bullets flying, hours of fun. Also the game which helped me break 20K gamerscore.

Kinect Adventures, Fruit Ninja, Dance Central, XBOX360:
This years family gift was a Kinect and this week I finally got around to trying it out. I enjoyed it a lot, its fun to watch everyone acting like an utter goofball. I'm thinking of checking out Child of Eden and Rise of Nightmares.

Shadows of the Damned, XBOX360:
This one is a bit...I don't know.
I don't mind crass low-brow humor, hell I THRIVE on it. For example I adored the ridiculously over the top  cursing and insults in Bulletstorm. But this game....Its missing something and I cant put my finger on it. Every so often it gave me a chuckle but over all I just groaned at the over the top dick jokes and the random Spanish cursing. The story is bland and uninspired, the visuals are so so and I find myself liking the damn skull, Johnson, better than Garcia "Fucking" Hotspur. Thank God it was only $12.99.

Rez HD, XBLA:
Still as trippy weird as I remember....and no matter what I do I always die at the damn final battle of Act 3...*sigh*

Lost Odyssey, XBOX360:
JANSEN, JANSEN, JANSEN, JANSEN, JANSEN.
Now that I got that out of my system...I dont know what made me throw this in the disk tray but, I'm glad I did. I really do like this game. The Dreams tend to drag out a little too long at times and it would be nice if Kaim removed the stick from his ass but its got a good story, great characters and its absolutely beautiful to look at...Great Soundtrack too.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, XBOX360:
I can't even begin to describe this games, its just...so...WOW. The amazing art which is out of this world and richly varied, the combination of  hack and slash fighting, 3D platforming and 2D platforming are just so well done that none of it feels out of place. The story is one big headache but who cares? Its like playing a work of art. And like Lost Odyssey, its another game with an AMAZING Soundtrack.

There are many more games I've played on and off but I dont want to make this longer than it already is.
So, I'll be working on that Dragon age thing between gaming binges :)

Its Monday and I NEED Friday already.

Oh my, its been quite a weekend.
Friday was a marathon run to 4 separate stores looking for Halloween costumes. Why the rush? Saturday was my daughter's Birthday party (though her Birthday is actually today) and she wanted a costume party.
Saturday was the party...rambunctious 10yr olds being loud and hyper...great fun. Sunday was recovery. I'm still feeling Meh.

Obviously I was doing a lot this weekend and didnt get to game all that much but I did manage  to squeeze in a little Lost Odyssey and last night we made it to Wave 26 in Horde in Gears 3, which is the farthest we've all gotten, but everyone was fried and we stopped there after we started dying in assmonkey ways because we were all exhausted.

I actually fell asleep mid battle in Lost Odyssey, thank god its a turn based game. Every so often I'd wake up, see everyone standing around and hit the X button again before passing out. Eventually I finished the battle, I THINK I saved, I hope so.

Finally got a Subway Uncharted 3 MP code, but I'm too lazy to go turn the damn PS3 on. That is SERIOUS laziness right there.

So, in my mentally drained state, I will try to talk about something game related. I warn you it might not be coherent. Its probably gonna be more like random sentences....

Lets see, I made it to the second disk of Lost Odyssey and while its great that Kaim got the stick out of his ass finally, I'm having a hard time liking anyone besides Jansen, Queen Numara and once in a while Mack. (is there some unwritten rule that in JRPGs at some point you must get saddled with 2 little kids in your damn party?)
Ah well, at least Cooke and Mack are slightly less annoying that Palom and Porom from FF4 and somewhat more useful. Seth the immortal she-pirate... Not only do I wanna smack her for her ridiculously improbable and ugly outfit, But she seems to be in Turbo bitch 24/7. Also, the 2 little brats fight better than her and thats' just sad...I mean, you'd think in 1,000 yrs bitch would have learned how to actually, you know, hit something with her sword. But enough about my hatred of Seth (cause I could probably rant about her  longer than I ranted about Lucas Montbarron from Dungeon Siege 3)
Final rant on this...How the hell do those stupid ribbons hold up her armor? and why does she have armor on her arms but nowhere else? Her dress is a backless halter summer dress. Because everyone knows that this is the logical attire for a pirate.

My husband is not  exactly a fan of JRPGs and as such, he doesn't know much about well, most of the things that are standard in JRPGs which leads to the strangest discussions...

I'm running through the streets of Numara, talking to random people, doing a little shopping when my husband comes in and sits down to watch me play for a bit.

Him: Oh, what happened to the rest of your party?
Me: uh, what do you mean, I have my whole party.
Him: (looking slightly confused) I only see Kaim.
Me: yeah...that's usually how these games go. You control 1 person while you are running around cities and such until cutscenes or battles and the rest of the party shows up
Him: So what do they do in the meantime? Does Kaim like I dont know, absorb them to become some mashup KaimJansenSeth creature? Do they shrink?  WTH?
Me: Hmm...never thought about it before, I dont know what the hell happens to them. I never really thought about it, it just..is.
Him: ok. I was just curious because you're running around with only one character but your save file shows 5. Carry on.

You know, that's a really good question though. WTF are all the other party members doing when not fighting or participating in cutscenes. they just magically disappear as soon as they are done fighting. Does Kaim have like a magical pocket that is huge on the inside like Vampire coffins in Vampire Hunter D? (*Bigger on the Inside: In the novels it is often described how the vampire castles, carriages and even coffins may be vastly huge on the inside thanks to the space-warping technology the Nobility used to possess. There are tales of people entering a vampire's coffin and never finding the way out again. They were often built to accommodate their owner for centuries, yet another way the Nobility tried to forget their own decline.)

It would also be nice if I could choose who from my party I want walking around for me. (Translation: I think Jansen is dreamy)

Now I'm just being nitpicky though, I admit it.
As a kindness to all of us, I wont bother talking about anyone else's the ridiculous clothing choices beyond Seth's because while they are all committing heinous Fashion Crimes, I hate Seth, so I must complain about her and her outfit is probably the most impractical and idiotic (Excluding NPCs, especially Soldiers....that shit is just ludicrous)


*from Tvtropes.com

SUCCESS!!!

and Allergies.

No, they have nothing to do with each other, I just wanted to have an excuse to post pics of Luke.

Isnt he cute? He's a Border collie, Australian Shepherd mix. He's also a hyper little meatball. One if his eyes is totally awesome, its half brown, half blue.

This weekend he woke me up by leaping onto the bed and landing right on me...35 lbs of fuzzy slobbery dog plopped down on my chest and stomach...OWWW.

Our puppy has been sneezing a lot and his eyes are red, so we took him to the vet who told us he has allergies...
Oh the irony...He's a dog with Hay fever who comes from 2 breeds of outdoor dogs...And while he suffers with his allergies, I suffer my allergies to him AND the great outdoors.We can be drowsy on Allergy pills together :p

So now that I've shown off our squishy fluffy doggie I shall move on to something relevant to at least part of this blog's name. (the GAMES part)

So 3 years ago, I bought a game called Lost Odyssey, you might have heard of it. Its an RP for the 360 by Mistwalker.Without spoilers its basically the main character's (kaim) search for his memories. He's immortal and has amnesia..wow those are some original ideas there huh? lol
Throughout the game your party will meet and fight along with other immortals and humans.
Kaim has the personality of a bag of doorknobs, but his dreams, which are told in text form with music and sound effects for ambiance are incredibly detailed, and beautifully written. They are also wrist-slittingly depressing and WILL make you cry.
One of the characters you meet early on is Jansen, a human, a mage, a spy and a smart ass. He's also the best thing to happen to that game. Whether you find him annoying or you love him, he add some much needed levity to the story.
So I set out on my journey with Surly Kaim, assclown Jansen and another incredibly annoying and stupid immortal pirate chick named Seth.
We were doing well, I was having fun admiring the scenery, laughing at Jansen's comments, fighting random battles...no worries.
Then, I came upon this one battle...this battle with a giant blue worm thing and little blue bugs. Bugs and a worm, how hard can that be?
Last time my husband said "this seems straighforward enough, how hard can it be" while playinga game, we got our asses handed to us.
It was true then and it was true for Lost Odyssey.

That stupid worm sat there doing nothing, while his little bugs attacked. I tried wailing on him...but he didnt die, what he did was suck up the little bugs' magic every turn until his meter was full and then he hit me with a paralyzing beam that destroyed my party.
So then, I tried again and went for the little bugs. Finally killed them all, but not only had the worm gotten enough magic out of them before they died to attack, he summoned more of them mid battle.
As you can probably guess, my party ate dirt.
Third times a charm....
This time, I did the one thing you NEVER want to do in an RPG...have each party member attack a different enemy. Unless you are fighting pushovers that die in one hit, its stupid to divide your party's attacks because while they will weaken multiple enemies, they dont take any of them out, and even weak the enemy can hit you back and kick your ass.
But I was desperate. I chose 2 bugs and the third person went for the worm. I went down even faster this time.
I kept trying, mixing up those approaches and getting my ass handed to me, til about the 12th try....
The bugs were dead, my party was barely hanging on and FINALLY the Bogimoray (that's the worm's name) fell down dead. I was about to start jumping on my bed like a 5 yr old, cheering my victory when another worm popped out of nowhere with his squad of bugs and the fight was on again.
With my party out of magic, and almost out of health it took about 30 seconds to destroy us. Dejected I turned off the Xbox, put the game in its case and went off on a rant to whoever would listen about that damn blue worm that fucked me over.
When I calmed down I went and read the walkthrough on Gamefaqs and it seems that with my last encounter I had the right idea but I took it too far.
You want to kill some ofthe bugs, til you are down to 2 or 3. then beatdown the worm, as he summons more bugs, you keep this strategy up. Eventually, He'll bite it.
I thought about going back and giving it a try, but I was too disgusted with my constant deaths at the hands of Shai-Hulud's distant blue cousin that I didnt bother trying again.

Time passed, I moved on to other games but, Jansen had stuck with me. (actually I developed a bit of a crush on the pixelated comedian. and plastered him as wallpaper for my psp, my pc and laptop).
I thought about trying again but I had other games and other things to do...so finally i broke down and totally cheated. I went to Youtube and watched the "jansen-centric" cutscenes.
I laughed, I cried and I wished I could get past that damn worm and get to those places myself.
Usually I hate spoilers, turns me off a game, but not Lost Odyssey. Seeing  the ending made me want to experience it for myself.

As you know, lately I've been ALL about the Gears. I've played online with friends (Hi guys! *wave* and strangers (yes, Gears 3 got me over my fear of online. its just too fun to not play with others). I've played alone, and with my husband and kids. We've done splitscreen co-op, we've done system link. Its ALL gears  ALL the time. And while I will be playing Gears for a while to go (bought the season pass.. MATAKI!!!!!) I need some non-Gears time, cause I'm really starting to develop an unnatural crush on Baird.

Out of all the games I own and could have picked, I pulled out Lost Odyssey last night. Everyone in my house seemed a bit lost and confused over my choice.

A few minutes after firing it up, Both blue worms and their minions were dead and my whole party was alive and well and I thought to myself...why the hell couldnt I do this before?
One theory, After all the games i've played between my first try at Lost Odyssey and now, I've rethought out my strategies in turn-based combat. I made sure to utilize each characters special abilities, and appropriate roles in order to greatly increase my odds of winning.
Another theory, I came into the game calm and not frustrated and dejected from multiple losses.

The non-bullshit truth..I got lucky. First try, followed the recommended approach and got lucky. So now, I FINALLY get to move on and enjoy the rest of the game.

Its been 3 years and the game looks just as beautiful as it did then. The graphics are lovely and the colors refreshing. It can stand by newer games without shame, actually its prettier than MANY games i've played in recent memory. The gameplay is pretty straight up traditional turn-based and it works well.
Its gonna take me a while to get through it since its 4 disks long but, considering I've seen how it ends...its totally worth the time.

Besides how can you resist a game that did a promo video to the music of Jefferson Airplane? White Rabbit is AWESOME!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Lost Odyssey - Extended TV Spot, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

I'm feeling emotional today (this is game related)

  Like I said I'm feeling emotional today for many reasons but I'm channeling that emotion into this post about games so I apologize if I ramble a bit here. Also excuse me if I slip up and post spoilers to a few games, I'll try not to but...
BRB..gotta break up a kid argument/fight. OY

Alright, I'm back. Siblings..I grew up an only child so I don't get the sibling rivalry thing but anyways, this isn't about  my kids its about games.

   Now, I'm not on either side of the "games are art" debate, I leave that to those wiser than me. However I am in the camp that games can emotionally affect you just as much as books or a movie. No, I don't mean that if you play a violent video game you're gonna go all Lizzie Borden on people. I mean they can resonate with you, make you feel, make you laugh, make you cry, make you relate to the characters and their plight, even make you feel guilty for some of your in-game actions (probably why as hard as I try I CAN'T be evil in Fable 2)

  Obvious example is Lost Odyssey and its "Thousand Years of Dreams", but that wasn't the only thing that struck a chord with me, I found myself tearing up at other parts of the game, including happy moments.
   Now, I'm a pretty cold hearted individual, While I am incredibly protective and passionate about my family circle (not the silly magazine, though they have good recipes), I tend to not care about others much. (I know it makes me a horrible person but there you have it).Example: While I consider 9/11 a great tragedy and feel for those that lost loved ones, I wasn't sitting there crying while watching the news. I have however cried when characters have died in movies or books or games. Hell I didn't cry at my own wedding but I cried at one in a video game.
   
  Here's a couple of games that caught me with their VERY contrasting  landscapes: Oblivion and Fallout3.
  Say what you will about Oblivion's fugly characters, repetative voice acting and scaling enemies, Tamriel is GORGEOUS. I remember the first time I stood on the Jerhall Mountains and looked out across the game world, the blue sky, The thick lush trees and the beautiful Imperial City right in the center of it all, shining white and proud. For a moment I was a Dark Elf Battle Mage and Looking out at the horizon showed me just what I was fighting to protect. It was a powerful moment for me.
   In contrast you have the Capitol Wasteland of Fallout 3. As I stand on a high vantage point and look out, I see the land rolling out for miles and miles. Where Tamriel filled me with hope and purpose, the Wasteland fills me with despair and sadness. Yes, the world is portrayed in detail just as interesting and precise as the world of Oblivion; Yes, the world is portayed in a way I can imagine it would look after a nuclear war, so from a graphical and realistic standpoint its amazing.
    Where Tamriel made me feel heroic and strong and noble, the Wasteland make me feel small and weak and frail. Of course that is the mood its meant to convey so it does a great job but I find that after a while I have to go play something bright and colorful and cheery to get me out of that darkness. I've actually felt like, if I was my character I'd be banging on Vault 101's door to be let back in. Not that its any cheerier there but its a slight improvement. I even feel bad for the Raiders I kill, after all, they're fighting for survival same as me.

  There's one moment in gaming that I have never been able to forget, its kind of the moment I compare other game moments too. That moment was in God of War.

WARNING SPOILER AHEAD IF YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED GOD OF WAR

   There's a scene in the game while you're in Pandora's Temple where you come across soldiers in cages suspended from the ceiling. as I walked towards them they began asking and begging me to release them. When I walked closer to them there was a lever on the wall that lowered one of these caged soldiers. Once I let him down I walked around the cage in confusion because I couldn't open it. After a while A realization came to me as I looked up the ramp to the door to the next room and the little ridges on the ground at intervals. I wasn't supposed to get him out, I was supposed to push the cage up. As I made my way up stopping along the way to fight enemies, this soldier continued to cry and beg and scream. I wasn't sure what was in store but I knew it couldn't be good. Then Kratos says to him "We all have to make sacrifices for our gods" in his deep chilling voice and I felt like I was the Soldier in the cage. When we made it up to the room there was a dead soldier on the ground, he had committed suicide and had left a note about how the God's asked too much from him and he couldn't do it. Me? I pushed that cage to the spot on the floor and pulled the lever and tried to ignore the screaming of that soldier as he was incinerated.

   That was a powerful moment for me. It stayed with me. It also had another weird effect on me. Rather than being disgusted that Kratos could be so ruthless. I felt angry at the Gods. The God's that required this sacrifice, the God's who betray him, who make him do their dirty work by giving him false promises. Kratos became "real" to me in that moment.

   

    There is another scene that, while it didn't impact me quite as powerfully did sadden me. That was in the PSP God of War game Chains of Olympus. I think that moment resonated with me because I'm a parent. If you've played it, you know what I'm talking about

GOW SPOILERS OVER

Bioshock. What got me about Bioshock wasn't just the "Would you Kindly" (which I thought was brilliant by the way) but the beginning, well I should say how the truth of it all, puts the beginning in a whole new different light. A very sad and dark light. There was also a part where you find 2 skeletons on a bed next to a scattered bottle of pills. When you listen to the tape nearby (and if you'd heard one other tape earlier) not only will you understand what happened to these people and why, it will fill you with such sadness.

Theresia. Probably not a very well known game its a point and click DS game. A very dark, somber, confusing, bloody, twisted point and click game. I have not finished it but I will say that the ambiance, the chaotic flashes of memory and the fate of one particular boy seen in your flashbacks made me feel sad and disgusted and dirty.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Yeah, I know, you're probably snickering right now. Seriously though, I loved the story. I loved Starkiller's journey from one end of the forces spectrum to the other. The ending made me cry. I think I ran the whole gamut of emotions throughout the game. There were scenes that were amusing; One of my favorites was Starkiller attempting to Meditate, Juno asks him if he knows what he's doing and he says "I don't know, I've never been a Jedi before" I chuckled. His cockiness at the beginning grated on me, then his blindness as to the true situation frustrated me, then as the story progressed I felt hope, and the ending was bittersweet and for me, unforgettable. (I hesitate to get the Sith edition of the game because I feel it might ruin my feelings for the character)

Titanic Mystery. Betcha never heard of that one! Its a recent release, one of those I Spy type point and click affairs. The premise is that to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic a new Titanic has been built, recreating as close as possible the original ship. For its maiden voyage it will attempt the same trip the first Titanic was taking and the people invited to go on this Journey are descendants of the original passengers. The Twist is you have to go around thee whole ship clicking on lists of things and collecting the pages to an old journal in order to stop someone from making sure the ship truly mimics the original Titanic.

   The game itself is pretty standard and a bit bland, though they throw in some tidbits of Titanic trivia which is interesting.  Its the Journal you are searching for that keeps you playing, each page is a tease that leaves you impatient to find the next one. You will become very engaged with the characters in this journal and I actually ended up yelling at my DS the same way you yell at some dumb broad in a horror flick who is about to enter the freaky house or what not after hearing noises.

    Of course so far all I've talked about are the sad, dark experiences. Of course I've had good, happy feelings playing games as well, its just that the dark seem to stick with me more. Its pretty easy to make someone laugh or amuse them,   its a lot harder to get them to really feel for a character or situation in a game. To make you care what happens, to make you believe, at least for the time while your console is on that these people live and breath and struggle and laugh just like we do.
     Perhaps another time I'll post about happy game moments.

   oh and just to lighten the mood I will be posting another post later on concerning something I mentioned on Twitter. I don't know if you will be amused but I was, so here's hopin'.