All good things must come to an end, and I'm on the plane back to Madison. I probably should have used another vacation day and stayed for the entirety of the Con, but I had pretty much done everything that PAX had to offer in these two days. I think Ace & Jess are bringing Dan & Becky around to the Microsoft and Nintendo campuses, and then later to the "Mitsuwa" of Seattle.. but those things will always be there. ^_^ I can check 'em out next time.
For the plane rides I had picked up a couple games to keep me busy.. I wrote a long boring text file of getting these games.. but i think it's almost too boring to post..
I had Planet Puzzle League, which I purchased the weekend before up in Minneapolis.. And picked up Brain Age 2 and Rune Factory specifically for the trip.
Rune Factory is a fantasy based harvest moon which features many RPG aspects into the genre. I've been quite excited about this game.. In fact, I nearly imported it over a year ago, anticipating its release. I was very happy to see it come to the states.
In Rune Factory, you are a wandering traveler with amnesia who stumbles upon a girl that needs someone to work on her farm. You accept and begin working on the farm.. You eventually get a hoe and all the tools you need, and begin like any other harvest moon.
The twist is that there are several caves throughout the land which harbor monsters. You can go down in these caves and kill monsters or you can "friend" them and have them work on your farm for you.
This game has an amazing amount of customability and open-ended-ness... but it's boring as fuck. most Harvest Moon games are.. Much like I mentioned in the last post, there are so many games out and coming out that who's going to spend 50 to 60 hours playing through Rune Factory when there are better options.
Also, it's not really all that good. It takes a tremendous amount of patience with very little rewards.. But this is only my initial impression. I played it for about 2 or 3 hours before not wanting to play it ever again.. I'm really not in the mood for this game and I don't know if I'll ever be.
I wouldn't really recommend this game.. But If you really really like harvest moon, I'm sure you'll like this game too.
God, I'm horrible at this game.. I've never been good at this game, and don't know why I never thought of that when buying it. I much prefer Tetris and Dr. Mario to Puzzle League or Panel de Pon..
The puzzle modes are pretty fun, but I can't get anywhere in single player mode.
I'm a pretty big fan of Brain Age 1. I kept up with it for nearly 2 months.. I played it each and everyday, tracked my Brain Age, and got a daily stamp which eventually unlocked more things to do. I've also got around 80% completion in the Sudoku category. It was a no-brainer that I'd pick up the sequel.
There were a few problems with Brain Age 1. Namely the fact that it didn't recognize when you said BLUE, but it was too damn easy. I kept a very long streak of having a Brain Age of 20, the lowest possible. My Brain Age chart is a flat line at the 20 mark.
Brain Age 2 features all new puzzles which are more challenging and grading is more harsh. I started off with a Brain Age of 34, and even though I've tried my hardest over the weekend, I've only today managed to get past the 30 year old mark. I love it. It actually gives a me a challenge to overcome, rather than constantly get the highest possible score.
Sudoku in Brain Age 2 also raises the bar in difficultly. I'm fairly decent at Sudoku and these "basic" puzzles take me about 20 to 30 minutes to complete. That's about how long it takes me to complete an Expert level puzzle on the previous game. At first, I was disappointed that both Brain Ages have only 100 Sudoku puzzles, but it's a good amount. It'll still take you a decent amount of time to complete 'em.
With Brain Age 2 raising the bar on these games, it really disappointed me that Vision Training was so easy.
If like to be challenged by word and math puzzles, definitely pick up Brain Age 2. It's only $20 ^_^.
Greetings from Detriot.. Both plane trips back and forth from Seattle have really taught me the importance of buying tickets WELL ahead of time, rather than a mere 4 weeks. Sitting bitch for 4 hours in a seat that is narrowly widen than your body is the most uncomfortable 4 hours I've ever experienced.. aside from sitting bitch in the same fashion for 13 hours back from Japan..
Also, I wish American Airline tickets were cheaper than Northwest Airlines, because every single NWA flight I've been on contained loudmouth, inconsiderate douche bags, crying children who kick your seat, and that one passenger who makes a big scene on how they're being mistreated. It never fails.. I don't get it.
I don't get how people can be so oblivious, inconsiderate, selfish and rude to complete strangers.. We're all on this flight together.. obviously you're complaining about how you're being treated, why the crap can't you realize you're doing the same to everyone else.. jesus.
Honestly, NWA is not bad at all.. I don't know why people all the passengers seems to think otherwise. I seriously mean it this time.. I'm spending the extra $100 to fly something else, if the option exists.
ugh.. now I'm just blathering on about pointless topics..
edit/update.. actually my flight from Detroit to Madison was absolutely perfect. The plane was only filled around 40% and everyone had a great time. It really made me forget about the flights from one big city to another.