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Then again, I suppose that's true of all of my weeks, but this one was notable because there were so many different nerdy things. Enough that I couldn't think of one single topic that I wanted to cover in my post today. Instead, I figured I'd write about the week as I experienced it: enjoying one nerdy activity after another.
Re: Sick Days
I love sick days. Sometimes you just don't want to go to work, but you still do because it's your responsibility. However, every once in a while the universe says "Here, let me help" and strikes you with illness so you can stay in bed past 7:00 AM and relax all day. Of course, you're also sick, which can get in the way of the fun part, but hey, you're not at work. A stomach bug plagued me last week, forcing me to take half of Wednesday off to rest and recover (and avoid infecting my coworkers). I accomplished this relaxing by playing tons of video games. It's such a great way to zone out (depending on what you're playing), so it's perfect for distracting me from my constant trips to the bathroom and water consumption. Luckily a ton of amazing games made this sick day a wonderful one.
Re: Titanfall Beta
I spent most of my sick day playing the Titanfall beta. In the frenzy surrounding the beta registration, I threw in my name but never expected to get the opportunity to play. Lucky for me Respawn (the developers) opened the beta to all who signed up, giving me a chance to try out the robo-centric FPS. I've written about my favorite multiplayer experiences before, and despite my love of MOBAs like League of Legends and MMORPGs like Final Fantasy XIV, most of said experiences occurred while playing first-person shooters. When it comes to FPSes, the Halo franchise has always been my favorite. Halo 4 still managed to pique my interest even after I had ceased playing FPSes almost entirely. Unfortunately, my romance with Halo 4 didn't last long, and I started to wonder if I'd permanently grown out of FPS as a genre because they typically lack compelling narratives and I get my multiplayer fix elsewhere. Enter Titanfall. HOLY CRAP THAT GAME IS FUN. Once I configured my video settings to remove the beta's gross screen-tearing issues, I totally fell in love. You run on walls, blow away tons of enemies (some AI, some human), and pilot giant robots. What. Is. Not. To. Love? Many of the controls are derived from Call of Duty's, but frankly, mechanics are one of CoD's stronger elements (I say this as a non-FPS player... I could be totally off). I didn't think I'd be as sold on the game as I am from a few hours of play, but damn. Titanfall is definitely getting my pre-order.
Re: Return to Eorzea
In keeping with my New Year's Resolutions, I jumped back into Final Fantasy XIV this weekend. Of course, it helped a lot that a friend of mine was starting the game himself, providing a new incentive to reenter Eorzea. In the short time I'd been away, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed playing the odd MMO genre. The gameplay loop revolves entirely around random drops, high statistic values, and pressing certain keys in the right order, yet I still love them. I'm honestly not sure why, but I do. I enjoy them even when playing alone, as I can explore the landscape as much as I want and it is a damn good-looking landscape. Yet I had also forgotten just how fun they can be with a friend (or a few). My pal and I weren't exploring or fighting anything particularly noteworthy, but even playing together and doing early levels was a good time. It's not very difficult, but it was fun to be helping someone else and to have some company. Plus it gave me an opportunity to explore one of FFXIV's many jobs which is always fun. I tried out a tanking job, the Gladiator, in an attempt to play a different role than my damage-dealing Monk. The only drawback is how long everything in an MMO takes. After 5 hours, my friend and I gained eight levels, but we were still a long way from anything important. On the other hand, that means there's tons of fun still ahead.
Re: Bravely Default
My other JRPG experience this week was the highly-lauded 3DS RPG, Bravely Default. The victim of an uninspired localization department, Bravely Default, even from the early stages, is pretty excellent, far exceeding any middling expectations set by its silly name. After hearing so much praise for the game, I definitely wanted to grab it, so when I finally finished A Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, I went out and picked it up. The opening scenes were chock-full of JRPG and anime tropes, which were nostalgic but incredibly goofy (despite the "dark" content). Despite its sillier trappings, however, Bravely Default is a modern and innovative take on the aging JRPG genre. It includes a plethora of jobs, a town-building minigame, gear optimization, and an awesome take on turn-based combat. The "Brave/Default" system adds a surprising amount of depth and rhythm to the otherwise-traditional JRPG battles, imbuing them with novel strategic options. I also love the ability to alter the enemy encounter rate and game difficulty as you play. For those looking for a challenge, it's simple to turn on Hard Mode and you can tone it down just as easilyi when you're stuck. You can also increase the random encounter rate to make one of JRPG's traditional annoyances much easier. You still have to do all the grinding, but it's made more palatable by Bravely Default's streamlining. The game sports a "standard" Square Enix story (four young heroes, crystals, etc.) but it appears to acknowledge its nostalgic simplicity, so I'm having a good time with it. Finally, YOU CAN TURN ON THE JAPANESE AUDIO. It's awesome to listen to Japanese again, and I love when I can understand what's going on from the audio alone. It's also simply better than the US voice acting, so having the multiple audio tracks is a huge boon for the title.
Re: The Lego Movie
I don't see movies often. I try to get to the nerdy and well-reviewed ones when I can, but it's usually tough for me to find the time to do so. However, I had to see The Lego Movie, so I made the time this weekend. You've probably heard about The Lego Movie already. I'm probably not going to say anything about it you don't already know. It's still worth reiterating. GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It's amazing, especially if you're a nerd. To be honest, I didn't want to do a full review of the film because it needs to be seen. The cast is brilliant, including upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy lead Chris Pratt, Community comedian Alison Brie, Pacific Rim scientist and wacko Charlie Day, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, and many, many, many, many more. The humor is marvelous from start to finish. The animation is incredible. It's a childhood daydream of mine made real, including Lego lasers, spaceships, buildings, and sharks in a style I've never seen before. The pop culture references, including ones about comics, sci-fi, and action movies, are positively brilliant. It even pulls on the heartstrings a bit. It's one of the best movies in recent years, kid-intended or otherwise. Everyone should check it out.
There was a lot of nerdiness in my week this week. A lot of variety and a lot of fun new things. It was a damn good week (illness aside) and I'm looking forward to the next one already.
You can read this self-involved musing and a bunch of actually useful things at the N3rd Dimension.
