Gumballs Plays Games

I’m still alive, I promise! (Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei IV and more!)

Posted on February 12, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Hey there, haven’t posted a whole lot lately and just wanted to apologize for that. It’s been a busy week and I’ve been getting dragged into a Persona 4 wormhole of sorts lately. I’m enjoying the game a lot on the Playstation TV and have probably spent more time playing it after work than I should.

I love Teddie’s facial expressions!

I am a bit sad that Persona 4 feels like it’s slowing down a bit now that the game is starting to open up. I miss the fast pace and voice acting of the first few hours. Now all of a sudden most of the dialogue is no longer voice acted and there’s not a whole lot going on. Trying to figure out what to do after school hasn’t really been appealing. I’ve just been doing the first thing available and skipping through dialogue hoping for something cool to happen soon.

I haven’t played any Dying Light since getting sucked into Persona 4, but I hope to spend more time with it this weekend. I’ve played a little Shin Megami Tensei IV and have made some slight progress, but I feel like the game has started to slow down now that I’m in Tokyo and I’m finding it difficult to stay interested.

I have had The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds sitting around for a few weeks and haven’t gotten around to trying it out yet. I also have barely put any time into Fantasy Life, and my town in Animal Crossing is probably burning to the ground right about now.

Consuming Surge and playing Persona 4 has pretty much been my after work routine this week.

There’s been just so much going on and not enough time to get into any of it (besides Persona) lately. I’m taking three weeks of leave starting on February 28th so hopefully I’ll have some time to make some progress on a whole list of things (I really should finish Dragon Age!).

Hopefully I’ll be able to post a few things this weekend! Don’t hate me, okay?

See you soon!

Playing Persona 4

Posted on February 9, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Chugging along in Persona 4. Super tired but need to stay up while laundry is in. Have to say Teddie is already of my favorite characters in the game (only a couple hours in).

First day with the Samsung Galaxy Gear S

Posted on February 8, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

I was browsing Best Buy yesterday and was pondering picking up a Galaxy Gear 2 Neo when I came across the Samsung booth and saw the Galaxy Gear S for the first time. I was immediately in love with the design and screen quality and knew this was the watch I was going to leave the store with.

I didn’t know much about the Gear S at all, and was surprised to discover that in a sense it is a completely separate smartphone. What I mean is, the Galaxy Gear S has its own phone number and data connection and can function completely on its own when you’re away from your phone. You can also set up call forwarding, so that if you don’t initially answer a call on your phone it will be redirected to your watch. It may also come in useful in a pinch if your phone dies and you need to send a quick message or make a call.

There’s a lot I love about the Galaxy Gear S already. I love being able to read my phone’s messages and notifications on my wrist without ever having to reach for my phone. I found this feature appealing while at a casual lunch yesterday. I could just glance down at my watch and read a message without interrupting conversation or looking away for a significant amount of time.

I also found the on screen keyboard easy enough to use which was surprising. I didn’t expect it to work very well on such a small screen, but it is certainly functional.

I also love how the watch automatically displays the time when you lift your wrist. I know it seems silly, but being able to glance at the time without having to push a button on my phone is quite convenient.

I’ve also enjoyed using some of the apps available for the device.
The weather display:

CNN:

Calculator:

The media control lets you navigate the songs playing on your phone (this will be great while running!):

The S Health functionality is one of the device’s most appealing features to me. It’ll track your steps, heart rate, calories burned (based off of steps taken / activity), sleep and the UV index when you’re outside.

To use the sleep tracker you have to first tell the device you’re going to sleep and then it’ll begin tracking. It was interesting to see just how restful I was while taking a nap earlier (I was 89% motionless over 4 hours and slept for three and a half hours.

The watch will vibrate and notify you if you’ve been too inactive over an hour long period which can be a nice motivator to get up and move. When this happens it’ll show you how many steps you’ve taken during the day and your progress toward your goal.

The Galaxy Gear S is $199 with a 2 year contract, and does require a data plan. I have AT&T and upon adding the watch to my account I had to switch from the 5GB data pro plan to a 6GB data share plan. As far as I can tell, this actually made my monthly bill cheaper, but I’ll have to wait until I’m billed for the first time to know for sure. I also now qualify for rollover data which is pretty cool!

If you don’t want to be locked in on a contract you can purchase the device for $329.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments!

Surge!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Surge (the late 90’s to early 2000’s soft drink) has been back since the Fall of 2014, but it’s only today that I’ve managed to get my hands on some. For quite awhile when I’ve checked Amazon the stock was low and the prices were skyrocketing (as much as $40 for a 12 pack) which kept me from ever ordering any. However, now that I have Amazon Prime, I was able to order two cases and throw them in a Prime Pantry for around $30.

Prime Pantry is a service that charges a flat $5.99 shipping fee for whatever you can fit in the box (for example, the 12-pack of Surge takes up 30% of a 45 pound box).

This was the first time I’ve used Prime Pantry and it was incredibly easy and pretty convenient. The box shipped quickly and arrived within a week of placing my order. The box was packed neatly and everything arrived intact.

So, just how was it to taste Surge for the first time in over 10 years? It was nostalgic, that’s for sure. From the instant I cracked open the can I was brought back to the days of all night Goldeneye sessions on the N64, stacking an unhealthy amount of cans as the nights wore on.

I’m glad Surge is back. Maybe someday we’ll see the return of my all time favorite soda, Pepsi Blue or heck, let’s bring back Vault (the red variety!) while we’re at it!

Cheers!

Watch on Netflix: Iliza Shlesinger: Freezing Hot

Posted on February 4, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Last weekend we watched Iliza Shlesinger’s Netflix exclusive comedy special, Freezing Hot. I loved her War Paint special and Freezing Hot is just as great. Iliza is smart, clever, original and outrageously funny! There isn’t a dull moment, and I was left wanting more.

Luckily there’s a great way to get more Iliza Shlesinger in the way of her weekly podcast, Truth and Iliza. There are currently 24 episodes on iTunes featuring guests such as Joe Rogan, Bob Saget, Diablo Cody and Jay Leno. I’m looking forward to adding it to my podcast feed and going back and listening.

I highly recommend watching Freezing Hot if you’re in the mood for some great stand up comedy.

RISK is back (Xbox One)

Posted on February 4, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Back in December RISK was posted on the Xbox One store and shortly after pulled from sale. It was mistakenly listed for sale (alongside Trivial Pursuit) and quickly pulled alongside a note saying it’s official release would be expected in early 2015.

Well this time it looks like RISK is here to stay. You can pick it up for $14.99. I’m probably going to end up purchasing it, but until then have any of you played it? What do you think of it? I’m somewhat torn on the price. I feel like $9.99 might be a more appropriate price, but maybe there’s enough content to justify it.

Recently watched: Guardians of the Galaxy

Posted on February 1, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Yesterday evening we finished watching Guardians of the Galaxy. I knew absolutely nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy comics going into the movie, and despite all the hype I hadn’t been very interested in seeing the film. I usually love the Marvel movies, but for whatever reason Guardians never caught my attention.

I think part of it was that the film seemed a little cartoony and too caught up in trying to be funny. Most of the Marvel films have a pretty decent and often self aware sense of humor, however the trailer made it seem like Guardians was going to take it a little too far.

Overall the movie was enjoyable, and it definitely has nice scenery and special effects that stand out on Blu Ray, however I couldn’t really get on board with the humor. Sure it was funny for the first few jokes, but after awhile it just felt like it was trying too hard. That said, I think Vanessa enjoyed it more than I did so maybe I just wasn’t approaching the film with the right attitude.

Guardians is certainly of a different tone than most of the Marvel movies, but maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. It isn’t quite as predictable as other comic book films, and the characters are unique and fresh. Bautista plays his role especially well, and I was surprised by the quality of his character. Groot confuses me, but I feel like he provided the best comedic relief in the film. Rocket Raccoon started out as an enjoyable character, however I feel like his jokes came off a little forced toward the end of the film.

Ultimately I enjoyed the experience of Guardians of the Galaxy, especially the colorful visuals and special effects. I’m interested to see how the story further unfolds, as we’re assured in the end, that the Guardians will return.

Dying Light

Posted on February 1, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

I just finished playing through the first couple of hours of Dying Light. Not bad. Well okay, some things about it aren’t great, but overall it’s competent.

Developed by Techland, the people behind Dead Island, Dying Light is an open world zombie game that focuses heavily on parkour traversal and melee weapon combat. The combat feels a lot like Dead Island, with weapons that degrade as you use them, and it feels pretty solid. The parkour, on the other hand, hasn’t impressed me. I found the parkour tutorial section frustratingly difficult to complete. Maybe it’s just because I suck at most video games (especially platformers) but I kept falling over and over again which wasn’t fun. Even once I got out into the world, the climbing and movement felt clunky and somewhat annoying. Having to try to make a jump four or five times is not fun.

So far the story seems cool, and I’ve enjoyed running around the world and fighting off zombies. Once night started to fall I felt absolutely terrified because I’ve already seen what awaits after nightfall in Dying Light (super strong, agile zombies that will rip your face off). Luckily, I was still in the opening sequence and I’m pretty sure the game was waiting for me to get to the safe zone before it became completely dark. It was still quite nerve wracking though.

I’m not sure why I’m trying to play this game. I get scared and anxious enough when night falls in games such as Skyrim (I ALWAYS sleep until daylight) so I’m sure I’ll never be able to handle the night in this game. Heck, I’ve gotten rattled enough just having zombies close in on me during daylight hours in the game. I don’t know how much more I’ll play before I get too stressed out and give up. I probably shouldn’t have purchased the digital version of the game, but I guess I’ll try to push through it.

I managed to get into a co-op game, however the player I was matched with was just standing around unresponsive so at that point I decided I had had enough and should let my heart rate return to normal. I’m interested to see how the co-op works in Dying Light as I enjoyed it quite a bit in Dead Island.

Hopefully I’ll get around to playing some more Dying Light during daylight hours (in both real world and in game). Until then, you can watch my first two hours of the game that I streamed on Twitch.

Are you playing Dying Light? What do you think of it so far? Have any advice for me? Leave a comment!

Beat Medusa in Shin Megami Tensei IV and started Persona 4

Posted on February 1, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

I did it! I finally conquered Medusa in Shin Megami Tensei IV!

I spent maybe an hour or two grinding in the area around the boss fight split up over the past week and finally managed to get powerful (and lucky) enough to defeat Medusa.

Raiju’s sukukaja spell which increases hit and evade for your entire party, proved critical to my success. Quite a few of Medusa’s attacks missed after casting it and I was able to use critical wave with my other three party members to quickly knock down her HP and win the fight.

After defeating Medusa I descended into the forbidden lands below, otherwise known as Tokyo.

I was quite shocked to find that the game changes quite a bit once you arrive in Tokyo. I’ve spend something like ten hours in the game so far, so to have a mechanic completely change that far into the game is somewhat strange. Instead of exploring the area by selecting locations from a list, you’re presented as an icon on a top down map and you move the icon around to find people to talk to and locations to explore. There are monsters roaming around the map as well, however you cannot hit ‘X’ to strike at them (causing a preemptive strike) like you can while exploring a dungeon. It’s a little odd, and will take some getting used to.

Shortly after arriving in Tokyo I saved the game and decided to check out Persona 4 Golden (also by Atlus) on the Playstation TV.

Just as with Shin Megami Tensei IV, I’m going into Persona 4 knowing absolutely nothing about the Persona series. After spending twenty or thirty minutes with it so far, I can say I’m a little weirded out but strangely curious at the same time.

Persona 4 definitely feels more ‘Japanese’ or anime like than Shin Megami Tensei IV, at least from the start. Some of the dialogue is downright weird, and I’m not sure how much of that is from the localization of it or if the source material is just as awkward.

So far I can say that the game is very dialogue heavy and I’ve spent hardly any time in control of my character. I assume that this is because the story is just getting set up, but I hope there’s more to the game than just ‘high school simulator’.

I’m looking forward to further exploring Persona 4, but for now I think I’m going to check out Dying Light. If you have any advice for a newbie heading into Persona 4, feel free to leave it in the comments!

Good eats: The making of Bison Burgers

Posted on January 31, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

I had recently come across ground bison meat in the grocery store and decided it was something I wanted to try. I did a quick search for “bison burger recipe” and chose the top result (from Epicurious) as a starting point. The recipe (Bison Burgers with Cabernet Onions and Wisconsin Cheddar) seemed intriguing so that’s what I went with.

I should start out in saying that I suck at cooking. Completely. I’m very impatient and hate following directions, so things usually don’t turn out too well.

I deviated from the recipe a tiny bit, but in the end I think it turned out to be pretty tasty for a first effort.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t cook the onions right and I definitely used too much wine (Once Upon a Vine: The Big Bad Red Blend), but I think the rest ended up being quite good (for my poor culinary skill and “I’ll eat anything” tastes).

Yup, I served on paper plates 🙂

I enjoyed the process of cooking and hope to try out some more recipes someday. The one thing I will say is it turned out to be a little pricey ($44… 1LB of bison meat was $10 and the wine was about $12 so that’s the bulk of it).

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