I am too chicken to play F.E.A.R.

There is this game that has been recommended to me by multiple people, called F.E.A.R., an abbreviation of First Encounter Assault Recon. What does First Encounter Assault Recon mean? I have no idea. But - I suspect the game creators just wanted to call the game FEAR, but wanted to put in a pseudo-"military" spin to it.

Basically the game starts off as any other first-person shooter. You're this bad ass "military" dude - have a bunch of guns, and you have some buddies who are practically useless and will inevitably need you to save them from annihilation (this is a common theme for first-person shooters).

Under the false impression that I am a self-assured confident young male, enjoying the time of my life where my emotional, intellectual, and physical maturity is at the peak of my prime, I embraced the challenge of F.E.A.R.


I was.... W. R. O. N. G.

A little background... (SPOILER ALERT)

Every good story needs antagonists that also make good cannon fodder. Traditionally, video game makers use Nazis or aliens (i.e. Wolfenstein & Doom). More recently? In games like Grand Theft Auto, the fodder can be anything from stupid mobsters to the random civilian on the street.

This time - the bad ass soldiers meet "something" that cannot be killed. No, I'm not talking about zombies - zombies, while scary, can be killed.

I'm talking about scary little girls.

Like the ones that scare the hell out of everyone in Japanese horror movies, like the Ring (1998), or the Orphan (2009).

It would appear that in F.E.A.R? The cannon fodder is you.

Being a fiscal conservative, I did not buy F.E.A.R. Instead? I found a free demo for F.E.A.R 2, the sequel, which I hear is a pretty good sequel to the original game (critics say F.E.A.R. 2 is apparently less suspenseful). I figured if I enjoyed the demo, I'll buy the game.

Demos usually are designed so the player gets about 45 minutes of enjoyment. F.E.A.R 2's demo? It took me about 2 hours to complete. The gameplay wasn't tedious, or hard - I just couldn't play through it without hitting the pause button, and leaving the couch to find something to drink and maybe wash my face.

Don't get me wrong - I generally enjoy horror films, but playing a game where you go from fighting for your life against super-clone soldiers to fighting against an immortal little girl called Alma is not my idea of relaxing fun.

You're exploring what appears to be a medical research facility/office - the next moment you're fighting for your life against the super-clone soldiers.

Ok. I can take the testosterone filled moment - that's the time when you go AHHHH! and blow the soulless clones away with your shotgun.

Then out of your peripheral vision, you see some strange movement. You turn around, hear some creepy sounds, and then Alma strikes.

For example? You're riding in the elevator. Minding your own business. Then suddenly...



WTF? OK! Maybe the little girl in red is just being friendly - I shouldn't prejudge her based on her creepy appearance... after all - wasn't there that woman in red in the Matrix? Or the little girl in red in Schindler's List?

But then...



... it is like... do do do *whistle* - then AHHHHH! AHHHHH! AHHHH! DIE!!! *BANG BANG* I can't kill you YOU SCARY MONSTER GIRL!

RUN AWAY!!

RUN AWAY!!!

AHHHHHHHH!!!

So at the end of the game... you managed to survive. Congratulations you've reached the extraction point, and a helicopter picks you up. Your superiors decide to nuke the damn place, and you're watching the mushroom cloud... when...



... sorry - I'm just not cut out for this.

Grand Theft Auto Diary.

Niko Bellic ("NB") has been busy lately. As I mentioned previously, NB dispatched of a gay-bashing bigot with great vengeance and furious anger. What I didn't mention was... NB was riding a Vespa in "Middle Park" and shooting left handed with a H&K MP5 :|

So below is an incomplete list of what NB did today:
1. Do some odd jobs for the mob (stealing coke and heroin from the Russian mob),
2. Did some cleaning (assassinated a mob boss and dispatched his bodyguards with some drive-by grenade dropping action),
3. Took a bunch of cab rides around the city & drove around in the Lambo (the reward for dispatching the gay-bashing bigot).

Anyway... I've always started playing Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It is essentially this mix of Indiana Jones + Tomb Raider. I say this because the main character is a dude, but has no real respect for archeological goods (like Laura Croft). Although the endless shooting of Filipinos, Indonesians, and evil Anglo-Saxon expedition bounty-hunters gets a little tedious at times, it is a pretty fun game.

Introducing the Playstation 3.

It has been a while since I've updated. Studying for the bar exam is boring, and after a full day of studying, I have very little motivation to read/write and update this blog.

Instead I have been spending my late afternoons getting acquainted with my PlayStation 3. I've been spending most of my gaming time playing Battlefield: Bad Company and Grand Theft Auto IV.

For those unacquainted with the GTA franchise... it is essentially a nonlinear/sandbox game where the player controls a Serbian immigrant called Niko Bellic, who has joined his idiot cousin in "Liberty City" (NYC). There is a whole series of missions that the player can decide to complete, or you can always just roam around the city and wreck havoc.

Below is a sample of what "Niko" did today:
1. Shot up a homophobic idiot (who was beating up gay people jogging in "Middle Park").
2. Take possession of a truckload of cocaine from a Chinese Triad.
3. Drove around NYC streets at something like 100mph.

Good times in Liberty City.

I've purchased a Playstation 3.

After intense deliberation, I have purchased a PlayStation 3.

As previously stated, I've been studying for the bar exam, and I've been finding myself incredibly and increasingly bored during my study sessions. The decision to purchase the PS3 was largely motivated by my desire to recharge after the daily rather tedious studying.

I've always enjoyed video games. I've just never committed financial resources to seriously pursue them. PC games increasingly require consumers to purchase expensive graphics cards to run them, particularly if the consumer wishes to enjoy the quality graphics. PC games are also not particularly well suited for playing on the couch in the company of friends and family.

So I decided to invest in a console.

I could not seriously consider the Wii because it didn't really have any games that I was particularly interested in. In addition, the console's hardware was hampering future software developments, and I don't see how it will continue to keep pace with Xbox 360 and PS3 content once Microsoft and Sony produce hardware attachments that actually makes motion-controllers interesting.

Some people have also tried to steer me towards the Xbox 360, but I just couldn't bring myself to buying it. As an initial matter, I do not like the idea of having to annually pay a fee to be able to play games online.

The Xbox 360 is a Microsoft product. In order to get WiFi on the 360, one has to purchase a $99.99 wireless adapter from Microsoft, even though a solid third-party USB adapter can be purchased for less than half the price.

A comparable PS3 retails at a price point $100 dollars more than the 360, however, it comes with a wireless adapter built in (rendering the 360s lower price moot if you want WiFi), a Blu-ray drive, Bluetooth compatibility, free multiplayer support, and better USB support for non-proprietary accessories. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I prefer the exclusives for the PS3.

In any case, stay tuned for updates after I start playing with the console when it arrives.