After realizing there is a point where I can no longer improve in skill, it may be well time to give it up. StarCraft, that is. You know, the greatest game of all time. Ever.
I. Here's why SC is very bad for me:
1. In general, I am very competitive when gaming. However, so are 11292848. . . other people. They are better than I am, and also huge jerks about this fact.
2. I could be working on creative/constructive things, like music or writing, instead of getting my face pwned in SC.
3. I lose far too often, yet I still play.
4. My social life suffers considerably because of it.
5. Watching pro league matches on Korean television (which I somehow adore) just makes me angry for not being better, while, at the same time, inspiring me to play more. Completely unfair/ridiculous.
II. Conversely, here's why SC might be good for me:
1. It can be rewarding (dare I say "fun," or even "cathartic"?).
2. My hand-eye coordination improves (or, maybe my eyes just get worse . . .)
3. It's something people can laugh with me about when I confess my obsession (or, you know, just laugh at me).
Since an unnamed jerk has been picking on my blog's description, claiming that I never talk about SNES or William Blake (which is true, only because the description is a joke), I've decided to review the SNES classic Metal Warriors.
Following the "Space Opera" and Mecha anime craze of the 80's and 90's, with such shows as Legend of the Galactic Heroes, EVA, and Gundam Wing, Metal Warriors debuted in 1995 from publisher colossal Konami, developed by Lucas Arts.
Basically, its plot goes something like this: Earth is under siege by an alien force, so it's up to an elite bunch of mech pilots to save the day. Sound familiar?
However, its gameplay is far from standard. The fast paced action was simply something I hadn't experienced as a young gamer. Only years after constantly renting a copy from my local video store would my brother and I try to seriously hunt down the title. We found it on Amazon.com for an outrageous price, so we hesitated and failed to buy it. (Nowadays, it's somewhat reasonable.)
[Fast forward to 1:00 for some rad animation and music:]
Anyways, undoubtedly the best part of Metal Warriors is its versus mode. It had such depth for its time. For example, the many different mech suits you could pilot gave it a unique dynamic that something like Mario Kart (SNES) really didn't have. Or, there is the ability that allows a player, if his rig is about to blow up, to eject and fly around in a space suit (only to get squashed by my giant feet muhahah). And, ultimately, it is extremely difficult to master (which was probably an unhealthy contributer to sibling rivalry).
All in all, Metal Warriors is definitely in my top 10 favorite games of all time. Check it out:
In the last two weeks, I've spent over one hundred and twenty dollars on music. You would think that by now I'd have about, what, ten or twelve new albums? Nope. Just six. Why? Because I have an unusual obsession with bands that are a) currently sporting an out-of-print discography, b) are so obscure that they have only a sentence or two on Wikipedia about them, or c) they are Japanese.
Geeezze, I know what everyone is thinking right now: "What an elitist, spendthrift, japanophile idiot!" And the trouble is, you might be right.
I'll admit it: I have this terrible feeling that, for some odd reason, I am somewhat of a music snob. The bands I like are either a) huge bands that I refuse to talk to anyone about in depth, so as to not ruin my special connection to them (so ridiculous!), or b) obscure bands in general.
(Dammit, continuing to make these stupid a,b, lists is not helping . . .)
I hate to say it, but I also feel like if people try to get me into a certain band/artist, I won't enjoy them quite as much as if I had gotten into them by myself. I don't know why I am like this, but I kind of hate it. I'm going to try and work on it, you know?
Anyways, I'm glad I got that off my chest. Where was I? Oh, right, what I spent a month's grocery budget on!!!:
1. [3/6] It all began with a trip to Amoeba, where I payed roughly thirty bucks for The Noodles' "Our First Noodles," which is basically a comp. of all their best work (making it easier for a yank like myself to get a hold of their stuff). Then, I ordered two more albums ("God Cable" + "Cover Me Shakespeare") off ebay for only $3.99 or something. Here's probably my favorite track, "She, Her":
2. [4/6] Next, I picked a CD that I had been wanting to get for years. This one is less obscure. It's called "Venus on Earth" by Dengue Fever. It's psychedelic Cambodian pop, inspired by 60's surf rock.
3.[5/6] Then, I picked up Kodama Kazufumi's (my trumpet hero) album "More," which is basically a collection of re-recorded songs from my absolute favorite reggae band, Mute Beat (who, incidentally, have only two sentences on their Wiki *sigh*). Here's a live version of "Fiolina":
4. [6/6] Finally, I ordered a rare vinyl LP by Mute Beat called, "Dub Wise." I almost have their full discography, so I was glad to get this. However it cost me about sixty bucks. I'm so stupid. But, anyways, they don't have any tracks on YouTube that are directly off the album, but here's one that's pretty close:
Okay, time to check my account balance and cry . . .
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