Destiny - "A Reflection, A Farewell"

This morning, out of sheer curiosity I logged into to Destiny on the PS4 just to see what Xur was selling. It's like a bad habit now. Regardless of the nature of this routine addiction I played through two weekly heroics with my Hunter, and Titan to get the strange coins I needed to buy whatever it was that Xur had in stock. The weekly heroic playthroughs went by fairly quickly, and smoothly on the level 32 difficulty setting, mostly thanks to void burn damage. As usual I was rewarded with 9 strange coins in each playthrough, and went to spend said tokens on Xur's stash. I should also note that someone at Bungie gifted my Titan 9 extra strange coins, possibly because I complained about the state of Destiny this morning. It didn't say it was from Bungie, but the tagline "gift from an unknown benefactor" pretty much stated the obvious. When I finally found Xur near the 'New Monarchy" vendor in the Tower (At the large sealed door) I discovered that he was peddling the same damn crap he always does. It's SSDD at it's worst. Regardless I nabbed some exotic chest armor for my Titan, and a pair of exotic gauntlets for my Hunter. Both of which will not likely be of any use for my preferred play style. As I went about my morning Destiny biz doing all of this some thoughts came to mind. Particularly about the current state of the game, and what it used to mean to me ...

God of War III Remastered (PS4)

The 'God of War' series, for me has been a truly exciting journey through makeshift mythology. While it doesn't exactly stay true to it's Greek origin stories it does give us history buffs plenty to enjoy as we help the protagonist, 'Kratos' exact his revenge, and tear the foundations of Olympus asunder. The combo based gameplay, and brutally unforgiving boss battles help to set the proper mood for this story of vengeance, and and the Spartan soldier who was done wrong. In the beginning (aka, "God of War") we learn of Kratos being tricked into killing his beloved wife, and daughter by the Gods themselves. This act of betrayal sets into motion the ultimate fall of Ares, the original "God of War". After Ares is slain in the first game Kratos assumes his place, and identity amongst the Gods of Olympus. Not satisfied with Are's fall though Kratos takes his war mongering through the Olympian hierarchy, and sets his sight on Zeus who was the mastermind behind his betrayal. He ends up nearly defeating Zeus only to kill Athena instead. Of course Zeus retreats, and Kratos pursues him up Mount Olympus with the aid of Gaia, and the Titans who have been trying to get at Zeus themselves. Thus enters the third portion of the ongoing 'God of War' saga ...

Weekend Blog Log (July 19, 2015)

Here we are at the final day of the weekend. It is Sunday, and so far my weekend off has been a mixture of grief, and fun. I have been gaming with my friend @Bitch_Duck_ in Destiny lately, and have been enjoying our online time together. We each hail from similar life circumstances, and find comfort in chatting with each other as we game. It's a nice distraction being able to talk to her as we play. I can't say I'm enjoying Destiny too much, but being alongside her in it makes things more tolerable. In the way of family strife my Grandmother continues to worry about every little thing. She worries to a point it's consuming every moment of her daily life. Often times she says she'd be better off dead, and living life the way she does I could see myself feeling a similar way. The only advice I can offer people like her who constantly dwell on the negative things is that you're life will only be miserable so long as you continue to dwell on things that make it so. Find hope, and positivity even if it is in the simplest of pleasures. Life is only worth living if you can set goals, find hope in a better tomorrow, and strive to make the most of the time that you are given. Don't become set in your ways. Don't become satisfied with merely passing time, and hoping for an end to your misery. The only way you are going to dig yourself out of that abysmal hole that you're in is to make an effort to do so.

What Gaming Means to Me ...

First off I want to say that a certain Twitter follower whom I've blocked seems to be tinkering around with my passwords, and social media accounts. If you notice any suspicious activities/posts that seem to be coming from me be aware. They are more than likely not from me ...

Growing up I've seen some truly dark times, and have experienced a lot of grief in said times. As such gaming for me has been an escape from my troubled existence many times over. Had gaming never become a part of my life I don't think I would have done too well in the grand scheme of things. I truly don't. I know a lot of gamers out there who can relate with me in saying that same thing. When it comes to gaming in the current iteration of consoles though I'm finding it very hard to enjoy the entertainment genre I've grown up loving. The introduction of online features, and the follow-up of half-finished games that incorporate shady DLC practices have all but begun to bleed the gaming industry dry. Like a proper horror movie vampire greed, and the seeking of massive profit has started to drain the life force out of gaming, and the gamers who dare invest in it's current generation offerings. Sadly too many gamers have become complacent with said practices, and wrongdoings. They don't speak up for themselves, and just accept things as they are.

Zen Pinball 2: Ant-Man (PS3/PS4/PS VITA)

Beyond what I've seen in the movie trailers I have absolutely no clue as to what the Ant-Man origin story, or continued Marvel lore entails. It's a given that the rogue protagonist who plays the role of the miniscule hero is gifted his abilities through the scientifically created suit, and helmet that he wears. In a similar way as the Iron-Man saga we are also presented with a hint via the trailers that a certain someone is out to steal the technology, and that they eventually do. Thus creating the series' villain, the 'Yellowjacket'. I imagine all sorts of shenanigans go on as 'Scott Lang (aka, Ant-Man)' changes sizes, and commands armies of ants to defeat his almost equally sized adversary. There will no doubt be a criminal aspect thrown in as well since Scott led a former life of crime before joining forces with 'Hope Van Dyne/Hank Pym' for the good fight.

For those of you looking for that usual Marvel history lesson fret not as I did do some online digging in order to provide at least a few factoids that relate to Ant-Man's source material. Those factoids go as follows ... Like many of Marvel's masterpieces 'Ant-Man' had his humble beginnings as a guest character in a series that was not his own. In September of 1962, in the pages of a comic book known as "Tales to Astonish #35" the original Ant-Man (aka, Hank Pym) made his debut appearance. Unlike the movie protagonist Hank created, and sported the unique size and strength changing apparatus as a scientific way to combat the world's many problems. You could say he was one of Marvel's geniuses in that respect.

Thanks to the initial trio of comic book legends (Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby) whom each contributed to the origin story of Ant-Man the pint-sized hero that was Pym was able to pave the way for other characters of interest to sport the same mantle through the years, but to a different affect. Originally Hank Pym was the scientist who crafted, and the Ant-Man suit/helmet combo, but through chance encounters Pym's legacy was passed on. In the Scott Lang continuation Scott effectively steals the suit to save his daughter only to be caught by authorities, and trained later under the tutelage of Hank Pym himself in order to turn his life around for the better. Of course it goes without saying that the epic saga did not end with Hank, or Scott, and has in fact been picked up to this day as an ongoing series in the ever-expanding Marvel multi-verse. In total there are four men (possibly more ...) who have each donned the Ant-Man guise according to their own unique situations. This includes Hank Pym, Scott Lang, Eric O'Grady, and Chris McCarthy. While the story is a continuation of sorts that has been built upon through the years other famed Marvel artists including 'Robert Kirkman' and 'Phil Hester' have also contributed their visual, and novel interpretation of the characters/situations at hand. With the success of the Ant-Man film, and the revival of the super-hero we may yet see more in the way of comic book spin-offs, merchandise, video games, and films. Let us hope so!