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I think I realize now why I'm not much of a gamer these days and it's probably a personal preference among other things going on in my life as far as having not enough time for it. But, when there's a passion towards something, I'd make the time for it much like I make it a point to go swimming after work or if there's a social meetup I'd work around that and make sure I swim regardless. So, modern gaming falls in the category where I'm just not that interested getting into and there may be a lot of reasons for it but here's a few at the top of my head - 1. never-ending games ... I know how some love the fact that games just don't end but there's some closure and excitement getting to the finality of the boss stage of Contra or Metroid or Duke Nukem 3D or Doom or Castle Of Wolfenstein or King Of Fighters for instance. I can't get into multi-player games that had no real end or direction or it's endless with multiple possibilities like war-themed games of today (compared to war-themed games of old) 2. I'm here in NY and when I go to an arcade I get to play older games, which's AWESOME but it makes me think - popular games that I see you guys playing aren't in arcades, because the focus and design of the games have changed. Today's market deals with sitting at home and playing endless multiplayer games (like above point) but there's no arcade experience like an old school street fighter or king of fighters or metal slug or pac man. The fun of seeing high scores and making your mark at an arcade is just a different experience. 3. if you died in an old game, you had limited lives and it's game over. Continues allowed but still game over. I'm not talking about cheat codes. Today I see Lara Croft or the game I saw recently at a friend's home where you can die many many times and it doesn't affect you, maybe take a weapon away or level of ability or whatever but there's no end-game. It's funny cos as I type this it kinda reminds me of the education system here where schools make it a point to pass a student versus failing them for bad grades. It makes me want to see those lazy chaps in Wall-E. Maybe it's why I like Demon and Dark Souls cos it's genuinely hard like the old days and there's no cop-out like new games. 4. up, down, left, right, 4 buttons and that's it. Now you've got 10 different things to press which is really really useless to me and for me, takes away from MY gaming experience because now I'm focused on pressing the right buttons versus enjoying the game. I can't get into L1, L2 and R1, R2 and silly joysticks on both sides or either side of a controller, it's not working for me. PC gaming was fun in that regard, I'll give them that. Mouse and keyboard combo ruled. 5. Most war-games look the same, bleh. Most zombie games look the same too. All jungles or waterfalls or cities are very similar. Don't get me wrong, they're all realistic looking as hell but I feel like there's no originality in just that. Blade Runner looks different than the world we see in Total Recall or Minority Report, if that makes any sense. 6. games back then were more affordable and less intimidating from a price point. If I spend 60 bucks on a new game and don't play it, it would hurt my wallet. 7. no real music talk anymore and I think it's something I'd like to explore in the sense, I feel like there are good soundtracks out there for fantasy games but the people I've seen gaming only play war games or survival games, so there's no real opportunity for something like Zelda or FF to be heard, so no novelty because it's supposed to be all serious and gun shots etc. Funny cos we don't like violence when afflicted on ourselves but we're more than open to being super violent in a game to a point where it's celebrated (head shots, etc) ... sorry I digressed a bit in this point. I'm sure there is more but I have to run to the post office and get on with my day.

Groupchat between iPhone users works better than Android or anything that isn't iOS. Otherwise, I wouldn't have WhatsApp. WA replaced what I used my BBM for - keeping in touch with folks back home. I could add unlimited international texting for a mere $5 but sending picture/ video messages might be troublesome and a burden on the person abroad receiving it at a cost to them. I'd rather have just an email and phone number where you can reach me at but due to circumstances, I'm stuck with using WA.

Nami rip-off, yes hate me for saying that!

Do these Escapist reviews break down the whole movie as they spoil it or give out a non-spoiler review? I've yet to click any of their links.

Very burnt on comic book or superhero movies. Earlier it was cool or sort of like a novelty to go see it. Now, every year there's a release, wtfrakk. Watching the trailer doesn't make me want to watch it. Same with that new Captain America trailer or Spiderman trailer (looks like a video game), though I'll give Spiderman a shot cos the first movie in this current reboot series was decent.

I think you mean 'distortion' when you say guitar feedback. Metal isn't for you then. Most anime openings that sound hard hitting have guitar's with distortion. Like the opening for Death Note. Try ...

Better episode than the first stagnant one. I hope the plot moves forward.

Not heard of the original movie, not interested in the remake. That YT clip ^ makes you see that they made a movie out of this form of jumping across buildings, etc. Not my thing.

PG-13 vs R.

Dumb episode with very little happening. This's where I feel a series may have the potential to move the plot somewhere but they know they have a fanbase and they can take liberties to slow it down. Yeah sure, let's spend 15 or more seconds to show Caaahhhuurrlll sitting on a roof enjoying some chocolate. Yeah, lets show Michone walking in the woods for a few minutes imagining things, people will LOVE it! / *sigh*

What songs or album of Nirvana's did you listen to? Maybe it's not about the lyrical content but the music sounding harsh to your ears? Hit up Nevermind -

I'm told the end is something that a TV network cannot air. It also will be a downer if it can't happen the way it's supposed to. Gonna start reading tonight.

I don't know how you guys feel about it and it's probably a bad topic considering how much love for gaming most of you have but it's an interesting one none the less. I've been with a few friends who'd constantly text when we're at dinner or lunch and it does get a bit annoying. It's a different kind of social culture where conversations are about Instagram posts and how someone dissed someone on Facebook or Twitter or in the media. There's nothing stimulating or intelligent in that sort of thing, as far as I'm concerned. But hey, I also don't like stupid (not the cool intentionally stupid ones but just plain stupid) or really dumb movies that make big money at the box office, so I'll consider it as my failure to not keeping up with what's considered the social norm of our current generation. I used to be a big gamer back in the days of NES and SNES but only for a few games because cartridges for the full catalog was never available at the 1 or 2 video game stores back home. We'd have to do with what was available. This was back in secondary school up until the 8th grade. After that I wouldn't say I was addicted but I did play and finish Wolf, Doom, Doom 2, Quake, Quake 2, Duke Nukem 3D and would enjoy NFS, NFS 2, Commando and a WWII plane game (all PC). During this time, my brother continued to play more games than I did. He had a close friend who would give him a gaming system as soon as a new one came out. So when the PS2 came out, he gave my brother his PS1 and Dreamcast, and so forth over the years. So, he's a big gamer. In fact, he sent me that same PS2 and a bunch of games he said I could get into, they're staring right at me under the TV but for the lack of a power cable which I'm too lazy to look for, I haven't touched a game since I got it. It's been maybe 2 years. I noticed today that my interactions with him are few but that's not why I noticed it. I realized that every time I visited home for either 3 weeks or 4 weeks, which I've been able to for only 3 times in 7 years now, our social interactions often are with him playing a video game when we're in the same room. So he would come home from work and I'd maybe get home from meeting family and I'd find him in his room playing something on the PS3 and we'd exchange hello's and make small talk about the day or hey want to check out this movie or something and I'd then watch him play a game because that's what he would do. There's not much talk in the end and my limited time with him is invariably with a game being played and not as much valuable conversation. I blame myself for this failing in the dynamic of our current relationship because he's my younger brother and I should be the responsible one. There's little I can do to change his behavior but the next time I visit, I'll try things differently. I don't know how it's with you guys and I can only hope it benefits you where you don't have to go through what I go through with my brother, which's more of a social effect that I'd blame his gaming to. I'm very happy I'm not into games that much because it would be weird if I were in a different room playing retro games and him in another on his current generation console. I know of instances where games bring people together through multi-player gaming, which is cool. It does surprise me sometimes when I talk to a colleague's 12 year old kid and he kicks my butt when it comes to knowledge of weapons to the point where he knows the names of guns or this calibre bullet for that and all that stuff. Just wow. And when I ask the kid about other stuff like general knowledge or science, he draws a blank. When I asked his Mom about whether gaming's been good for him or not, she defends it saying that he's off the streets doing drugs and instead has a hobby in games that's now all he does when he's home. Fair enough, that's how she wants to raise her kid, out of potential social troubles. When it comes to my parents, technology is a big boon since I'm far away from home and it's one way to connect. So, I see a good side to it and a bad side to it, if I am to look at my own situation. Tech has always helped me keep in touch with friends of old and in fact make friends across the globe like being on AC and finally getting to meet some members in the years to come. I guess I benefit from tech in that regard which's a bit different than others. About two years ago I stopped what I would usually do on weekends or weeknights, marathon movies or TV series or Anime or read Manga endlessly as if there wasn't an outside world. By doing that, I personally found myself meeting more people, engaging in things like table tennis or tennis or swimming or socially interacting/ hanging out with new friends/ people in general. But that's my situation. I got to pursue things I've always wanted to. I was over-weight for the longest time and that sort of low self confidence trickled in my social interactions confiding me to my home or safe places where I could be left alone and stay in a happy place. In retrospect, I wish I had spent more time on reading books or being outside. I've been on more hikes since this sort of shift. I try to limit my interaction with any sort of tech like the TV or being on my phone (at home or when I'm out socially). I find that social media is pretty counter-productive especially at a workplace, and I can only vouch for that because of what I see my colleagues do. I've been trying to get our IT guys put blocks on Facebook or Celeb blogger news sites but it's a bit of a struggle since it would trickle down to them behaving agitated. I've seen that happen so there's not much that could be done about it. They're the kind who are unhappy if you didn't share the corporate wi-fi password so they can save on data while they play YouTube videos all day or iChat with their friends and family while they're on the job. But yeah, tech has made stalking anyone very accessible. The only reason why I have a Facebook is so my parents can see what I'm up to. Ideally I'd want to delete it. People often complain - how will I get in touch with you - to which I say, isn't my phone number or my email address enough? Why do you have to have a phone number, email address, AIM messenger ID, GChat ID, Facebook ID, Twitter ID, Instagram ID, Yahoo Messenger, etc. etc. to get in touch with anyone? It's pretty silly. How much of your social time do you spend on something to do with technology in your free time? How does that affect your social environment?

Preacher got picked up officially for AMC. After months of this and that, people dropping out or ideas changing, it's now stuck to a TV series format, which may do it some good. Who knows if it is adaptable, a friend is lending his Preacher issues to me tomorrow. He said it was a bad idea, sort of like one of those things you wouldn't want to see adapted. I'd feel that way with Berserk or Vagabond, unless it's done right. Seth Rogen's apparently a huge fan of the series and he's taken this one on along with Evan Goldberg (co-written Goon, Superbad, Pineapple Express and other Seth or Baruchel movies) and Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad). Who here has read the comic? What can you expect from this?

Looks as bad as the other movies in the franchise but it's on par with other dumb movies that go on to make tons of money, won't list them so as not to hurt the sentiments of users on here. Mark's in it to cash in on his popularity. It's still going to make a lot of money, regardless.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/05/09/top-14-greatest-rock-operasconcept-albums-of-all-time?page=1

I'm going to try to list anything accessible to you, new and/ old across different genres, Strider. Meshuggah - start with Obzen, then Catch 33 (this entire album is based on 1 primary riff), Nothing, Destroy Erase Improve, Chaosphere, Koloss, Contradictions Collapse. Meshuggah is the best 'djent' band around, hands down. Bands try to ape their style, every djent band is influenced by them and they're always 2 steps ahead of the game. Good time changes and very technical. Immolation - Failures For Gods, Here In After, Close To A World Below, Dawn Of Possession. Fear Factory - Soul Of A New Machine, Obsolete, Demanufacture. Satyricon - Nemesis Divina. Summoning - Dol Guldur, Stronghold, Oath Bound. Suffocation - Pierced From Within, Despise The Sun, Human Waste, Effigy of The Forgotten. Skepticism - Lead and Aether, Stormcrowfleet. Deeds of Flesh - Portals To Canaan. Disgorge (California) - Consume The Forsaken, She Lay Gutted. Morbid Angel - Formulas Fatal To The Flesh, Gateways To Annihilation, Covenant. Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, IX Equilibrium, In The Nightside Eclipse. Numinous - Numinous. Devourment - 1.3.8 Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God, MoRT. Darkened Nocurn Slaughtercult - Nocturnal March, Necrovision. Shape Of Despair - Shades Of... Evoken - Quietus, Antithesis Of Light, Embrace The Emptiness. My Dying Bride - As The Flower Withers, The Dreadful Hours, The Light At The End Of The World, Turn Loose The Swans, A Map Of All Our Failures. Wormed - Exodromos, Planisphaerium, Quasineutrality. Ulcerate - Everything Is Fire, The Destroyers Of All, Of Fractures And Failure. Defeated Sanity - Passages Into Deformity. Gorguts - everything, start with From Wisdom To Hate. Katatonia - first 7 albums. Bolzer - Aura. Deathspell Omega - Paracletus, Drought, Fas, Kenose. Anathema - Judgement, A Natural Disaster, We're Here Because We're Here. Alcest - first 3 albums and Les Discretes (the band) is better so check them out too. Amorphis - Tales. Carcass - Tools Of The Trade. Birdflesh - Night Of The Ultimate Mosh. Incantation - first 3 albums. Rotting Christ - Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers, Non Servium. Dissection - first 2. Burzum - Filosofem. Darkthrone - first 5. Obituary - Slowly We Rot, Cause Of Death, The End Complete. Deicide - Once Upon The Cross. Vader - De Profundis, Litany, Revelations. Sinister - Cross The Styx, Diabolical Summoning, Hate, Afterburner. Cryptopsy - first 4. Monstrosity - first 2. Nile - Among, Black Seeds, Annihilation. This isn't the basic stuff, it's just something off the top of my head and should give you some time to go through, plus depending on what you like/ don't like, I can throw in more recommendations specific to that sort of style/ genre/ whatever. There's much more. Thing is, like anime or movies, there's a lot out there but it's key to skip the bad stuff cos you don't want to waste your time with it.

Ai yai yai ... Nymphetamine. Expect a longer post from me later tonight or tomorrow. I'll break it down for you with the stuff that's worth it.

So what do you guys think of it now? Amazeballs awesome or good or over-rated?

I see I see. I listen to a lot of Deathmetal (old school, brutal, technical), Blackmetal, Doom. It also depends on what album you pick from a band, like we take Cradle Of Filth for instance, outside of their first 4 albums they're just not good at all. Can't get into Melodic Deathmetal or Power metal, period. Outside of metal, I listen to a lot of ambient stuff, 80's and 90's synth/ electro. Were you able to check what older music you have on you, Sledge?

If you don't enjoy Deathmetal, skip Cannibal Corpse. Macross Frontier's music is pretty good. What other Deathmetal bands do you listen to, Strider? Post some of your go-to albums or bands for me ... or maybe your best of 2013?

Fairy Tail transformations were so annoying and took so long. Plus every power attack is like a chore to watch because of whatever magic circles you see on screen in glaring colors and sound effects, eeeesh!

So far I'm 5 episodes in. It's funny how critical we can get with new TV shows and their early episodes and then they never make it to a second or first season. For 2005's standards, this could have worked but today's standards, doesn't hold up for me. I'm told to watch on, so I'll give it a shot. Wait a minute, even for 2005's standards, it would not work for me. Twin Peaks, The X Files, The Sopranos, The Wire ... all have good openings where you don't have to wait for the series to pick up. So in that sense, there's disappointment, if that explains where I'm coming from.

Was longer than my current user name.