Keyrock

I finished Call of Pripyat today. I've been through it before, so it didn't come as a surprise, but that final mission is just so anti-climactic. It's really my only complaint about the game. I mean, the mission makes sense as far as the story goes, it's just that there's really no challenge whatsoever in it, especially after having survived some of the earlier missions. It's like the game becomes Call of Duty or Gears of War for that final mission, in terms of how difficult it is and how it plays out. I haven't tested the theory, but I bet you could get through the final mission without firing a single shot, just letting all the others mop up the enemies. Oh well, it's a small stain on an otherwise brilliant game, one that I will likely play again, because there's just nothing else out there like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. Metro comes the closest, but it's not S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Time for me to head to Lab X-8. Considering my armor (fully upgraded CS-3a and Sphere M-12) amd armament (fully upgraded Strelok's SIG 550 and Predator, no need to bring Lynx along since there's nowhere good to use it), this should be a piece of cake as long as I play it smart. No mutant or Monolith can withstand my sheer firepower.

The Boys picked up Demarcus Lawrence with the 34th pick. I'm very happy with this pick. He's an extremely athletic and versatile outside linebacker. He could stand to bulk up a little bit, but a proper nutrition and conditioning program could solve that, he has the frame to gain another 15 lbs of pure muscle.

Back to Call of Pripyat for me. I've done a lot of the things to get the "good" endings: Cleared out the bloodsucker lair, Hunted down the chimera (both times), made sure everyone survived the trip through the underground. Any other things folks can think of that contribute toward the "good" endings as I approach the finish line?

Yeah, Gruden was unbearable, even more than usual, last night. He was even more unbearable than Ray Lewis. Ray I can give somewhat of a pass to, since it wasn't him trying to cram Johnny Football down our throats every second, he's just not a good speaker and doesn't belong as a commentator. Maybe he'll get better with practice? Gruden, on the other hand, is comfortable enough on camera and with a microphone, annoying, but comfortable. Him going on and on and on and on about Manziel was making me physically ill, though. Mel - "This team doesn't really have a need at quarterback but has pressing issues on the offensive line and in the defensive backfield." Gruden - "Yeah, but what if their quarterback slips in the shower, won't they regret not taking Johnny Manziel then?" Later on... Boomer - "This team is already paying their starting quarterback big bucks, and most people agree that quarterback isn't their problem." Gruden - "But what if an asteroid crashes down and kills their quarterback? That could happen, then they'll be wishing they had taken Johnny Manziel. Later on... Gruden - "Listen, I get there are other critical needs, but when there's a quarterback like Johnny Manziel on the board, you gotta take him, nothing else matters." It was horrible.

Does this game feature sexy time?

I won't likely have much time to play any games this weekend since I'm going to visit my folks for Mother's Day Weekend, but I'll pick up where I left off in my Call of Pripyat playthrough and see if I can finish that up before I head over there. After I get back, or if I finish up CoP early (doubtful), I'm going to jump into Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Joint. I'm also getting an itch to play Gothic 3 again, so I may have Tex split time with that.

The different responses you have as Tex have always been great. It usually comes down to either playing it straight, being a smartass, being confrontational, or trying to be a smooth operator. It's a little bit like Alpha Protocol, in that respect. Figuring out what resonates with certain people, and falling flat on your face in the process, is great fun.

Squirrel MMA. Watch out for that up kick.

Teddy Bridgewater, at one time considered most people's projected #1 pick, winds up going to the Vikings (they got the pick from Seattle in a trade) as the very last pick in the 1st round.

And Johnny Football goes to the Browns. Cleveland - Where quarterbacks' careers go to die.

LOL. I don't necessarily think Manziel is going to be a bust, but he would have been an awful pick for the Cowboys. Last thing the Boys would have needed is the distraction of Manziel on the bench with Romo starting, that would have been a disaster waiting to happen. While I would have preferred someone on the defensive side of the ball (Aaron Donald would have been perfect, but alas he was gone), I won't complain about beefing up the O line.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! Cowboys take Zack Martin. It's not defense, but it's a great guard, and, more importantly, it's not Johnny Football.

Aaron Donald is off the board at 13.

Aaron Donald is still on the board... but so is Johnny Manziel as the Cowboys pick draws nearer. Oh man, I'm hopeful and also scared.

UT99 was worth playing just to hear "M-M-M-M-Monster kill kill kill"

UT99 was so freakin' good that a guy like me, who normally wouldn't touch a competitive FPS with a 10 foot pole, had a blast playing it.

I'm not into competitive FPS, but I am interested in seeing how this turns out. It certainly has the potential to be an epic trainwreck (pun most certainly intended), but, there's always the chance it turns into something really good.

New Unreal Tournament announced:

I actually didn't mind Qara. Elanee, on the other hand...

I didn't hate the NWN2 OC, I just thought it was pretty mediocre and really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really dragged through the middle portion. I don't think I could stomach going through it again.

Well, the NFL Draft begins tonight. I am absolutely PETRIFIED that the Cowboys are going to take Johnny Manziel with their 1st round pick. The Cowboys need help on the defensive side of the ball, they don't need a QB. Tony Romo still has at least a 3 or 4 more years in him, and, contrary to what Romo Haterz will have you believe, he was not the problem last year. What I hope they do is trade up to get Aaron Donald, or he miraculously falls to #16.

I finished Child of Light, though I'll still go back at some point to try to 100% the game (I still need to find 2 confessions and a couple of the fireflies). I liked the game a lot. The story is quite simplistic, basically a children's story you tell them at bedtime, which is fine, since that's what the game was going for. The highlight of the game is the combat system. Not a big surprise as I liked the combat in Grandia, and this is ripped straight from that. The combination of the interrupt mechanic and using Igniculus to slow down enemies is pretty darn brilliant, though. One or two missteps in a battle can send you into something akin to a stunlock as you constantly get interrupted and/or setback. Play your cards right and you can do that to your enemies. Learning how fast enemies progress through the timer and trying to guess whether they will use a long casting time ability constantly keeps you on your toes. Add to that certain enemies that you may purposely not want to interrupt since the counter interrupts, usually with a buff to themselves or a debuff to you. It makes the battles engaging and even frantic in some parts, which is quite unusual for what is essentially a turn-based system. I do wish there was more to do in the world than fight enemies. The platforming is really easy because you can fly. There are some areas where either wind or water pushes you around, making it harder to traverse, but nothing particularly taxing. Ubi did a great job of hiding hidden areas and paths, though. Right up to the end I was still finding paths I had missed even in areas I had been in multiple times before. It's not the meatiest game in the world, but the price was more than fair. I'm definitely satisfied with my purchase.