This week: Fable 1, 2, & 3 - Also: Comikaze 2013 - see you there!

So lots of things are happening this week. We got Halloween on Thursday and then Comikaze on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My group of friends will only be going to Saturday and Sunday (mostly because we all work 5 days a week) so if you're there I will be dressed as Catwoman! 

I realized that since Stan Lee is the host he probably will want to see more Marvel heroes but ... oh well. 

This week I want to talk about Fable! I covered it a teeny bit last week but I want to go into detail. Fable was the first xbox game I played. My cousin let me play it when we stayed for the week at my grandmas for the Christmas/New Years break.

This game opened up a whole new world for me. Partially because it was a new system and a new controller and partially because it was definitely a more serious game. Even more serious than Final Fantasy I would say. 

I fell in love with the series but (as I sort of covered already) I wasn't allowed to play around my mom. She didn't like the violence and cursing (even though it's mild) and thought I should be playing more appropriate games. This was one of the first instances where my mom had to restrict me from a game. One of the other games that I played that year was Morrowind. Another game that my mom felt the need to keep me from playing. Although I will give her that one. I was prone to ravaging towns and stealing homes from innocent people. 

After that week of playing I never was allowed to play again. I didn't see my cousin for some time after that. Maybe because he was so much older than me and a boy... so my mom thought it was best to keep me from him because he was a bad influence. But I disagree. He was just sharing what he loved and since he was an only child for a long time he needed someone to share with when we were with family. 

I didn't play Fable again until a couple of years ago when my boyfriend at the time got a new xbox 360 and wanted a game. I recommended Fable 2 along with Oblivion and Fallout 3 but he chose Fable 2. He began playing it and quickly got addicted and then I found a copy of it for $5 so I picked it up myself. We literally only played Fable 2 for like 3 months (okay maybe not that long). Repeating the same quests over and over. Downloading the DLC and playing through those was the first time I actually downloaded a DLC. They were great DLCs and expanded the game a good amount. What I mostly liked about the game was that it reminded me of my formative years and reminded me why I love video games so much. 

And now my boyfriend (now my fiance) and I can play video games. I will point out that he is not as interested in video games as I am. The only game I can get him to play is Borderlands. There are some exceptions. But he just doesn't get hooked on much. 

Anyways -- when we finally got Fable 3 we were both really eager to play. We had to switch off playing because we only had one copy and we didn't live together (and still don't) so it was a little bit longer of a play through for me. Fable 3 was WAY more intense than Fable 2. At least for me. I found it sort of haunting at certain parts too. When you're running through the desert and that guy keeps popping up with no eyes in front of you scared the SHIT out of me. I'm kind of a wimp though when it comes to creepy things. I'll say it! I'm not ashamed! 

Fable 3 was also a bit more complicated. Forcing you to make tough decisions that decide the fate of the game. I failed. I was in millions of debt trying to help everyone and at the end everyone died... 

My boyfriend ended the game completely even. Doing the exact right amount of good and bad. I don't know how he did it honestly but oh well. 

Anyways, that will wrap up my post for this week! Be sure to follow me. You can find me on twitter and instagram @katieishh :) 

Comments below are welcome! Leave me lots of love and hate. 

Looking Back: The Legend of Zelda

Hello all!
This week I wanted to talk about one of my all time favorite games in existence.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
Now. You are probably wondering. Which one?
My answer is all of them.

Just kidding. I hate Adventures of Link.

I have a subscription to Game Informer and before Skyward Sword came out they released an issue featuring the series and had an article about each game. As I read I got really excited about the new game coming out and also realized how many of them I hadn't played. I thought - I have a month to get through all the games. I began with the original Legend of Zelda which I had borrowed from a friend for the gameboy advanced.

This game was pretty hard for me because I was not used to that sort of gameplay. Obviously this game is heavily puzzle-based rather than combat which the newer games have a little bit more of. But after probably 2 hours in the last dungeon walking around in the darkness I found my way to the final room and beat the game.

Adventure of Link really held me up. I didn't like it at all and it took me some time to figure it out. I finally gave up... I know... I'm a failure.

I got through A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening pretty easily. Then I replayed Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

I found that I was running out of time so I skipped the Oracles games and have yet to come back to them but I have them on my 3DS so I intend to play them someday. I played Four Swords with my friends, and replayed Windwaker.

I got Minish Cap on an emulator that would not save for some reason and decided to come back to it. I had missed Twilight Princess when it originally came out because I had to decide between that and Pokemon. My decision was Pokemon. When I played this -- I was taken aback by the amazing plot and features of the game. I regret picking Pokemon over this. Definitely a great game.

I got halfway through Phantom Hourglass when Skyward sword came out and I still have not touched Spirit Tracks. Skyward sword was an awesome game but I am upset that I have not finished it yet. When I was really busy with school I let a friend borrow it and haven't gotten it back. I know that it's not gone forever because the person who has it is my best friend. But I don't have a Wii anymore so playing it would be impossible anyways. I'll eventually get a Wii U once I move out and after I get the PS4 but for now I will just be sad.

Ocarina of Time quite literally changed my life. Without this game I think I would have given up on gaming a long time ago. It makes me so happy and helps me forget the adult things that people struggle with. I get to be a kid again when I play it and that's my favorite thing about it.


Well, that's it for me! Have a great weekend! If you like my blog subscribe or add to your reading list or favorite.. Whatever! Leave your love below! Or hate. I'm totally open to hate. Whatever....

The Beginnings: Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Fable.

I decided to update a little early just to fill-in some stuff about me and all that.

Incase it was unclear why I want to write.

Like most gamers, (again I hesitate to use the word "hardcore" because I wouldn't describe myself this way) I grew up playing video games. I mostly played Nintendo systems up until my parents cracked and got the PS2 a year or so after it released after I insisted that we get one since my cousin had let me play Final Fantasy 7 one week when I stayed over.

Side note: My cousin and I were very close growing up and while I didn't see him often and he was a lot older than me we always bonded over video games. He was the major influence for me to play video games since my dad only liked racing games and my mom ONLY played Super Mario games.

So when I played Final Fantasy for the first time I was hooked. When I found out that FFX was out (or coming out?) I begged and pleaded that we get them. Insisting that it was a great system for racing games which pricked my dads attention. When we finally got one obviously the first game I borrowed from my cousin (because after all the whining they didn’t by me the game) was FFX and I played through it. Loving every moment of animation and soaking in the beautiful world. Then I discovered Kingdom Hearts. (*Note: I am being very careful to look up release dates of games as to not only avoid a lapse in memory but to make sure I have my timeline correct. There are so many games that I have played that I don’t want to butcher anything because I’m forgetful.*) Kingdom hearts was a great title for me because being raised in a somewhat controlling and conservative home Disney was often shoved down my throat. I won’t go so far as to say that I don’t enjoy Disney movies. But the combination of Disney into a serious teen-friendly game was perfect.  I never had to be nervous about what the characters would say and hope my mom didn’t hear.
 

When Xbox came out and released Fable, that was when I began the struggle with my parents. Fable wasn’t a gory game or violent or really inappropriate at all it just wasn't something my mom was comfortable with letting her daughter play. She wanted me to play more appropriate games. I stood my ground and continued to play games through high school. I played the sequels to games and new releases to some series. Eventually I got Halo 3 after a few guys around the neighborhood introduced me to the first two.

 

Anyways, this is all supposed to lead up to a introduction of my gaming history and now on to an introduction of ME! I really hate this part.

 

I'm 22-years-old as I've previously posted in my short introduction. I'm engaged to be married in January. Currently work as an assistant for an Interior Design company. I am also a writer for an up and coming company. Currently I am working solo on a script for a machinima. I also do some voice-acting for these small productions. Feel free to check out the youtube channel RoyalWe. Things have slowed down a little because we are all busy playing Pokemon and we all work fulltime since we are unable to create revenue so far. But we hope to one day open an office and work on short films and youtube series' fulltime.
It's exciting being apart of something that has generated so much success lately. I realize more and more how mainstream video games are becoming. I can't wait to one day give my child their first gameboy or 3ds and watch them experience playing pokemon for the first time and have (at least I hope) the same reverie and amazement that I did.

So! I think I'll leave this here. If you got questions - I got answers! Feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading!

Pokemon X!

This week (and probably for the next couple weeks) I am playing Pokemon X!

Before I say anything about the new game I just want to say that I have been playing Pokemon since 1998. My older cousin let me borrow it on Christmas (since the game had been out for a couple of months he had time to beat it) and at 8 years old I was hooked! For Christmas the following year I received Gold version from my parents - and enough christmas money to go out and buy the limited edition Gold/Silver gameboy color with Pikachu and Pichu on it. This was also the same year we obtained the N64 and I began my adventure/addiction with The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64. But I don't want to stray too far...

I was so young when I began playing Pokemon that I didn't really understand the game entirely and looking back at my old Red version years later to see pokemon named "Puppy" or "Cutie" made me laugh. Gold version was my favorite game despite my initial infatuation with Red. I was so excited to see Red hiding up in the mountain after I beat the elite four. It felt like I was in a way challenging myself. It was really meta looking back. This same year I met one of my best friends who I am still very good friends with and for her birthday (she reminds me that I promised her this if she would make me king of the tetherball court) I got her Crystal version. The first game you could choose to be a female in. We played pokemon all day together in school and often had sleepovers where we constantly got in trouble for staying up until 3 in the morning and playing together.

I wasn't as impressed with Ruby, Sapphire, & Emerald or Leaf Green & Fire Red. I played them because I didn't want to miss them but overall they are sort of weak games. This deterred me from Pokemon for a while and I picked up playing more Gamecube games like Super Mario Sunshine, Legend of Zelda: Windwaker, and Pikmin.

My sophmore year of high school Diamond and Pearl came out while I was in Hawaii with school and I was ecstatic! I went to the closest video game store (which was at this giant shopping mall on Oahu and a maze!) and bought it along with a DS. Diamond and Pearl was the best game ever for a long time for me. I loved all the new animation and features and pokemon. A group of friends that I had all got the game too and we EV trained teams and created a pokemon league. It was WAY nerdy but I loved every minute of it. When Heart Gold and Soul Silver came out I was again ecstatic - excited to relive and revisit my favorite game and good ol' Lugia. Platinum was another great game that I enjoyed replaying.

After high school I was really excited for Black and White. I showed up at Gamestop at the crack of dawn (to find only myself there for a time - I guess I was overly excited) and played it for about 2 weeks and stopped. Again, I was super excited for the new pokemon and the graphics and everything but something was missing for me. I still can't explain why but I just didn't enjoy Black and White. Of course, when Black and White 2 came out I didn't even buy them. I was disappointed with the first ones so why buy both?

Now, on to my main topic!
Pokemon X is THE BEST Pokemon game yet. I obviously have experience with each game and I am just getting my mind blown by every new feature. So many things in this game that were a common nuissance for me were cleared up. The EXP Share is by far my favorite thing about the new game. It's so easy to keep your party relatively the same level. And the fact that you can turn it off makes it all the more wonderful for building a pokemon up to the level ground of your team. First gen starters? Yes please! Not only do you get a brand new generation starter but you get to pick a classic one too!Roller skates are sweet, catching Eevee in the wild is amazing, and all the new pokemon are awesome. I don't care what Pokemon elitists think. Fairy-type is just so darn cute that I don't know what to do with myself when I see one. Gah!


I think I may have rambled. Well, this is a good stopping point I think. I will probably post a second post this weekend talking about some news and expressing thoughts about some new games coming out.

Stay tuned! If you like my blog make sure to keep reading and comment your love below!

Introduction

Welp! Here I am!
Katie (Katherine), 22-years-old, California resident, and lover of everything cute and video games.

I am not going to say that I'm a hardcore gamer because realistically I am not. I just LOVE video games and love talking about them and going a little crazy everytime a new game comes out.
I am also a big-time reader. Literature is my major in college.
I also am a huge fan of cosplay! I am currently in the process of sewing a suit for the animated series Catwoman while my two best friends make their Harleyquinn and Ivy. We're preparing our Gotham City Sirens costumes for Comikaze coming up in a couple of weeks! Yikes!

Anyways, I will get to the point. I am going to begin blogging about video game news, opinions, reviews, and other junk going on.

So I think that as I am beginning this blog I am going to set weekly goals
1) Update on what I am playing!
2) Mention any news I heard via articles or podcasts that I find exciting.
3) Talk about games I like.

Every week I will feature a new game that I have played and loved or hated.

So! Look out for this weeks post!