I've been feeling rather anxious this month. I want to be able to continue doing my own work and producing audio and other projects, but I should really be looking for a proper job right now. I was hoping that Camera Obscura would bring about some sort of recognition to help bolster my resumé, but the game seems largely ignored and sales don't seem all too great. What I'll probably end up doing is looking up for any open positions and then applying for them while hoping for the best and then go right back into working. I just finished my first piece of audio work two days ago for the year and it annoys me that it took me this long just to get one remix done. I started on three of them but stopped production on the first two when I realize I couldn't really achieve what I wanted out of them. I had finally dove back into "The Guardian Legend Remix Project" which I had planned out back in 2007. I brought back my notes out from then and realized the way I think of music is very different and is a lot more diverse. I finished an orchestrated rendition of the title screen theme and was actually disappointed with how it turned out. It doesn't sound as nearly as grand or free flowing as I imagined it. I don't want to dwell on it anymore because it's the middle of March and it was the very first audio I've produced this year and I just want to produce more. In other words, I'm moving on. Then there's the case of wanting to work on other projects. I want to make a game and I've been wanting to forever. I remember how much time and effort spent on making games on my own back in High school, so I know it's not going to be easy to find the time to do so now. I also want to start up a new comic and do an animation project or two since I have ideas for them. I keep building up ideas but never really have the time to create them. I have so many ideas from when I was kid up until now all built up with it being materialized so slowly. But at the very least, I'm able to make it happen. I didn't know I'd be working with music, art or videogames. That's stuff I used to just imagine. All I can really do now is take it one step at a time, and I think I want to work on my audio projects first. But I'm finding it difficult to work with a clear conscience when I should be looking for a proper job and working at it right now considering I'll have graduated five years ago as of this June. At the very least, I'm making more stuff I can show to employers rather than applying empty handed with no material to show.
In terms of gaming, I kind of slowed down on completions this month. It's probably because I've started so many long lasting ones. I didn't really finish FEZ as I gave up on completing the game. It got boring. The game's beautiful and the mechanic for the 2D/3D perspective is really cool, but it just wasn't enticing to play after the first two hours (I played 4 hours before I gave up). Momodora 3 was significantly shorter than I thought, and so I completed it 3 times (or was it 4?). It was a fun little action-platformer. Guacamelee was fun at first, but then it got frustrating and I just wanted to finish the game (of which I did). It was an interesting Metroidvania that had a unique combat system. I liked it for the most part, but the game really frustrated me near the end. Wrack finally went on sale at a price I was willing to pay. I got through the short campaign and thought it was pretty solid classic First-Person Shooter. I actually think it does a better job of being a old-school shooter than the new "Rise of the Triad" did. I think the game did frustrate me at some points, but I don't recall what it was.
Megabyte Punch was an interesting yet unsatisfying action-platformer. It plays like Super Smash Bros. with the ability to switch out parts and specials like other robot games (of which I can't really give an example of at the moment). Here are some of the problems I had with the game:
- The reach of attacks are pitiful. It's like you're playing a Pichu.
- In the last half of the game (adventure mode), you get juggled like crazy by enemies
- Enemies have ridiculous priority over your attacks, even if it's the same exact attack
- Adventure mode is really boring after a while
- Some enemy attacks are overpowered with its speed, damage, and priority
Despite all my complaints, I finished adventure mode to the end. The game left me with a pretty poor impression of it. Abyss Odyssey still does the best job of utilizing Super Smash Bros. mechanics.
I also finished Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed for the PS Vita earlier this month. I kind of made the mistake of playing the game on the hardest difficult (that was available, I unlocked an even harder level after finishing it) and so I an aggravating experience playing the game. I often get stuck in a corner and get juggled into a strip and die on the spot. The game is as weird as a lot of people speculated with stripping the clothes off of "man-made vampires", but it wasn't anything too risqué. The game definitely felt cheap with the clunky animations and low-res textures, but the game was still mildly entertaining. I really didn't like the side quests and decided to skip all of them after the first two chapters as I got really bored of them. The main game was alright and I was able to have fun with it, even though the difficulty drove me crazy. I was getting taken down with one hit every time and enemies were incredibly aggressive. I thought it was pretty cool walking around what is to be considered a rather faithful recreation of Akihabara. Once I completed the game, I started over with New Game+ on the easiest difficulty. It felt like a totally different game. It was a lot less stressful to play, that's for sure. I might revisit the game later, but I have moved onto a different game on my PS Vita for now.
I think I'm most happy about completing Hyperdimension Neptunia this month, though. I bought that game 3-4 years ago and just didn't have the patience to get through it until now. With the remakes coming out, I really wanted to get through the series this year. I really like the theme, art style, story, music, etc. for the franchise because it's colorful, happy and fun. The problem with the first game was that combat was really slow and the combo system was rather tedious after a while. But the dialogues and events were so humorous and delightful that it kept me going. After I finished the game, I wanted to start Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2. But I decided to take a short break and play something else first.
In February, I started Valkyria Chronicles on PC. I kind of knew I wouldn't be able to finish it within the month. I knew it was a long game, but I'm able to enjoy it even if it's taking so long to complete. This month, I started Sleeping Dogs to play alongside Valkyria Chronicles because I've been wanting to play it for the longest time and decided not to wait any longer. It's fun! I don't I've been so into a GTA-like game before (other than Saint's Row the 3rd and 4). On PS3, I started Time and Eternity. The game got really low ratings and I was weary about getting the game, but I couldn't help it when I knew Yuzo Koshiro did the music. I can see the flaws and downsides to the game, but I really like the combat system so far. It's a lot more engaging than most traditional RPGs. And as far as I know, the game isn't that long for an RPG. I'm not sure what I want to play after finishing it as I have a lot lined up for PS3, but perhaps I'll playing an Action game next. On PS2, I finally started Persona 3 FES. I know it can be a short game from what I've been told, but so far it's super slow. I've engaged in one fight, and it was tutorial. I think I've played at least 2 hours of it so far. Hopefully it gets more interactive from here on out. On 3DS, I started up Final Fantasy Theatrhythm Curtain Call. I'm getting kind of bored of it already, if not frustrated whenever I get near the end of a song and then fail. I played a few songs on the easiest difficulty and then decided I'd only play the hardest difficulty and fall back on a lower difficulty if I cannot handle it at all. Even then, I'm starting to get bored of the game and not want to play considering how many songs are in it this time around. I might give up on it soon and start up Bravely Default. On DS, I started Megaman ZX a while back and haven't really played it. It's not as fun as the Zero series. On PSP, I'm still working on Final Fantasy Dissidia and the game pisses me off every time I play it. It's on such extreme ends on whether you win or lose a match. I'm not sure if I want to fully complete this game either because I'm not fully enjoying it. On PS Vita, I started Soul Sacrifice after I finished Akiba's Trip. It has a strong sense of atmosphere and presentation. The game is unique, but it's sadly already starting to get boring/frustrating with fights lasting 15-20 minutes. Out of all the Monster Hunter-like games I've played on PS Vita, I think I liked Freedom Wars the most in terms of a Single-player experience.
I think that's enough ranting for now, haha. I'm hoping to get some more audio work done this month.
