I think the first one was a good story, set in the 1930s and I liked how it showed the main character being drawn into the mafia having previously had nothing to do with it. I also loved the radio stations and the vehicles. I'm not 100% sure how accurate they were but it did live up to my expectations there. I liked the story for this one, it seemed plausible and didn't linger too long on any one part - though I didn't really enjoy the jumping through time. But then, that was probably quite realistic - mob life doesn't play out over the course of a couple of weeks. The second game was set in the 1940s. Again, the cars seemed to be authentic enough, whether they were accurate or not is another matter. The story was ok, it just seemed to be missing something. I'm not sure I can put my finger on it. I liked how they tied in the first game's ending, that was a nice connection for me. I think it may be one of the things I liked the most about this game. That and the radio stations. I'm not old enough to remember any of the music from the trilogy first-hand but it was great to hear authentic music. I honestly only remember snippets from Mafia II, probably because the story and some of the characters didn't really stand out for me or I just found them annoying as hell: Paulie for example. I was a little sceptical for Mafia III, but it did surpass my expectations. Set in the 1970s, Lincoln Clay was definitely one of my favourite characters. The music was amazing and very much reminded me of Battlefield Vietnam (anyone remember that one?). The story was pretty convincing too. I liked that it was a deeply personal story of revenge, and Lincoln wanted to make things right after his family was destroyed. And when things did get a little to repetitive, I was able to change to another objective. And I never got tired of shooting the enemies in the game. The AI really did annoy me though. I would be driving perfectly reasonably at 120mph and the pedestrians would just throw themselves into the middle of the road. Who does that?! I can't count the number of times I ended up in a police chase because someone jumped in front of me when I was driving at high speed. It was a lot!! On a more serious note, the topics covered by Mafia III, such as racism, were well documented and equally uncomfortable to listen to and watch. It's not something I have ever experienced much or witnessed, but with the Black Lives Matter protests, and more and more references to what it's like to be on the receiving end in TV shows, I actually started to feel sick. People shouldn't have to think about how others will react to their skin colour or talk to their children about how they should behave so they don't get shot by a police officer if they're stopped. It's just plain wrong. *Climbs down from the soap box* The third game seemed to last forever, which was good. There was a lot of story and a lot of map! I'm not even sure I explored everything there was to explore. I certainly didn't unlock all the achievements for it. I think if I revisit any of them again, it would probably be the third one. Donovan was absolutely brilliant too. Crazy but brilliant. The documentary style for the end of each of the main objectives was very interesting. It gave you the after story without having a massive cut scene at the end of the game. I won't say which ending I went for, but suffice to say I was tricked and didn't get the outcome I wanted. Also, Leo Galante?! I actually thought he would have been dead by then! Overall, I really enjoyed playing the trilogy. I am so glad I managed to make it to the end and get the full story (well, one of them). The cars and the music in each game were definitely a highlight for me and I definitely recommend it if anyone hasn't played it yet. I also find it's great to set aside the consequences of the real world once in a while and be the "bad guy" in a game - as long as it stays in the game. I'm hoping to start getting a weekly stream going again in the next month or so - it's a little difficult at the moment with work and travel commitments, but there will be a Saturday stream coming soon! I will be my usual clumsy and unaware of anything self, and Hicks will no doubt be abusing me for it, haha. Thanks for reading my post! Stay safe :)
It has been so long since I last posted, and on top of that, the website was also down for a while. For all of this I'm truly sorry. I hope you all managed to stay safe during the pandemic - I know it isn't over, but it certainly seems that things are getting back to 'normal'. As you know, life was challenging at the start of lockdown. Hicks and I have certainly been to hell and back over the last few years, but things are beginning to calm down again and I feel that I can actually play games again. The last time I wrote I had moved, having been (thankfully) taken in. We have since moved again and are now settled far away from where our home was. We have both taken time to work on our mental health and we're not all the way healed, but we are slowly getting better. We've learned to slow down and appreciate what's around us more. I also changed jobs at the end of last year, and I absolutely love where I work and what I do. I'm so lucky and am very grateful for an amazing opportunity. I'm also back playing games, well, enjoying playing games. At last!! I was so frustrated with everything that happened that I just couldn't enjoy even a simple relaxing game of Rimworld. That just frustrated me even more! Anyway, now that we're all caught up on the last two years (where did the time go?!), I wanted to update you on my plans for the blog and the YouTube channel. I'm going to start back slowly. I'll post updates about the games I'm playing personally here. What I'm playing, how difficult I find it on the 'sleep through it' easy mode and what I think of the games, stories etc. I'll be starting with streaming Dying Light 2 with Hicks which will be on Saturdays. And obviously I'll add pictures of the fur-babies he re too once in a while. They are all doing well and have very much come out of their shells. The only exception is Kimmi, who we were told is terminally ill. She's being kept comfortable and is being spoiled by all of us - lots of treats and cuddles. So, here is a picture of Kimmi terrifying Zoe (apologies for the poor quality) and a picture of Kimmi relaxing as my first pet-updates Anyway, I hope you are all staying safe and enjoying whatever sunshine you're able to get! Sneaky Peaches
Hi everyone. I'm back again after yet another absence. And everything was going so well with a live-stream on a Saturday! Well, I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I, Hicks and all the fur-babies are all well and are now safe. In the middle of April (just after my last stream), Hicks was assaulted, our neighbour went crazy and tried reporting us to everyone she could come up with a story for, and got her friends to shout obscenities at our home. Our neighbour's landlord was no help, and the police can only do so much. We very quickly decided that we needed to move out (you can't fight stupid - it brings you down to their level and beats you with experience), and so we are now living at my parents' house in their spare room. The house was then vandalised after we left (twice) and it's been made very clear that we are not safe to return there. We've been in the process of emptying the house, and trying to prepare some quotes to get it renovated before we finalise what we're going to do (sell or rent it out). So, moving house in the middle of a global pandemic while the country's on lockdown is not ideal. We can't even go find somewhere to live because the estate agents are all closed. It's been stressful to say the least, but the important thing is that we're now in a much better place. We have no noisy neighbours and are able to take the dog out for a walk or even sit in the garden without being threatened or attacked. All being well, I should be back to streaming on a Saturday again, very soon - it will be earlier than normal though, maybe around 3pm UK time. I hope you're keeping safe during this pandemic, and finding ways to keep yourself sane and healthy (any tips are gratefully received!!)!
What is going on in the world right now? I feel a strange mix of life being normal, but at the same time surreal. I'm working from home now, which is weird. But I'm not really doing anything differently. I don't go out much other than to get shopping, so in that sense, life is very normal. The only real change is that now I won't be able to just pop down to the shops whenever I feel like it. I'll have to carefully plan when we go to the shops. I'm not scared of getting this virus, although it does sound like it really hits some people very badly, whether they have underlying conditions or not. I'm scared of the people who are out panic buying and acting like idiots. We're effectively in lockdown in the UK as of today. Day 1 of working at home has been...challenging. But I have my desk setup (for gaming obviously) and have adjusted slightly for work. It's not all bad though, I'm saving a 1 hour commute each way. I want to quickly take a moment to explain what is going on for me and Hicks, and why I disappeared for about a year. Hicks and I have had a lot of problems with his work and has been off work sick for about a year and a half. It's been a really difficult time for both of us, but we are getting there slowly, step by step. I can't go into too much detail about what's going on because it is all very active at the moment. When it finally gets sorted out though, I'll share more. It's a very interesting story. Anyway, I'm currently streaming Dying Light on a Saturday night (8pm ish UK time) and am hoping to stream some other games, particularly some of the games I've been looking forward to playing. There's not enough time to edit videos and upload them, so for now I'll stream when I can, but will guarantee a Dying Light stream on a Saturday night. That's all from me for now. Please, please listen to the government's advice wherever you are, stay safe and look after each other.
Watch the first episode of my new RimWorld series - Bear and Panda try to survive the wilds of the planet they've crash landed on with no memory of who they are or where they came from.
Sorry it's been a while, again. Here's what's been going on.
Apologies for my radio-silence. Here's a little of what's been going on.
I uploaded my first video! Watch me play Rimworld and probably fail my colonists over and over and over again!
2018 was a challenging year, sprinkled with some good moments. For 2019 I aim to switch that up - a great year sprinkled with some challenges. I write that knowing that one of the biggest battles my other half and I have been dealing with throughout 2018 will continue into 2019, but these things never finish neatly when the bells chime. As I mentioned in my last post, I'll be posting more regularly from now on and hopefully will manage to start getting some videos uploaded! Anyway, I hope your New Year celebrations went off without a hitch and that 2019 is a fantastic year!