Nick Postagulous
Monday, February 21, 2005
Tactics
(skip to next topic if you don't want to hear me rattle on about videogames, ok?)
If you've been reading me a while, you know that I'm fond of the turn based combat type Playstation games. (Like, say, that chess game that C3PO and Chewbacca were playing in Star Wars.) Right now, I'm playing Gladius. In fact, I've been playing it since Christmas. I don't get too much Playstation time these days.
I think Gladius and Front Mission 3 are the two best TBC games I've played. Though the one that really turned me onto this genre was Advance Wars 2, which I played on my nephew's borrowed GBA when I was in China.
Now, in my perfect little Playstation game world, we'd have more Tactics games. And I call them Tactics games for a reason, as that word is code for Turn Based when it's put in the title. So, here are some titles I'd like to see:
Armored Core Tactics - Front Mission 3 (and 4, but I still haven't played that) are great mech customizing combat games. But, while there are about 30 or so weapons in FM3, the Armored Core series has hundreds. I think AC2, the only one I've played so far (though I do own AC2: Another Age), has over 200 and they are five titles past that in the series now (at least in Japan, I don't think we got the last one).
Ghost Recon Tactics or Freedom Fighters Tactics - Or basically, any of the squad based shooters. For some reason, 99% of all Tactics games are fantasy based. I'm sorry, but I just don't dig the whole fantasy thing. But I will be playing Final Fantasy Tactics once I get around to it. Which will probably be around 2008 considering I've got a stack of games waiting on me. Freedom Fighters just gets a nod here since it is my favorite Squad Based Shooter. But that's probably only because we don't have Full Spectrum Warrior yet.
The Matrix Tactics - Ooh, I'm such a nerd. But it would be really cool to have a tactics game set in the matrix world.
And another thing, I'd like these games to be in more of a smooth way, rather than I move, computer moves type way. I'd rather see things move simultaneously in slow mo or something. And get rid of the grid system (which Phantom Brave already did that, but fat chance I'll be playing Phantom Brave.)
Ok, that's even more rambling that I like. Next topic.
Chinese Monotone
I think one of the reasons that westerners sometimes think that English-as-a-Second-Language Chinese are unfriendly is that they speak in a monotone. The lady at the takeout place near us does that, but she'd friendly and all, but you sure can't tell from the way she talks. I think this is mainly because they are raised having tones as part of the word, and then they get here and there is no tone, so they speak everything flat. Just my lil theory.
Railroad Day
I have done some extensive driving today at work. I have gone over approximately six RR crossings and three of those have had trains on them today. What is with that? I rarely see trains. Of course, I was running late for work, and I should have expected to see the coal train. (Where we are, electricity is coal).
Expensive Plastic
Tonight, I think I'll be buying Nina a playground set. Not one of those big ones, but a little one. I might also pick up the playhouse we'll be getting for her, but I think we might also wait until her birthday for that. But, heck, she's going to be two. Two ballons and a cake will make a two year old happy. (Though I'm sure it'll be a big deal anyway, but I just want to buy the lil house now too.) Oh, and playgound thing = $200, lil house = $140. But the little house I really like is $350.
(And I didn't know they had an adobe playhouse until I got to their site. ooh.)
