With no remorse

I had Wed/Thurs off this week and with it came the best laid plans to get some things done around the house. Hardly. Mass quantities of free time were given to Bioshock instead of chores. Having made this statement in a space where my wife can readily access it and throttle me in my sleep if the fancy strikes her...I still oddly harbor no regrets. The only guilt I have is that I had not experienced this masterpiece of game design sooner rather than later.

As you can likely guess, I progressed beyond my elderly antagonist mentioned in Wednesday's blog entry. Knee deep into the belly of the beast, I am thoroughly enjoying every step of the journey. Such care has obviously been given to the level design and execution of said design. The atmosphere is nigh-breathable. A man could make a meal of it. Often, I simply explore and take in the scenery. Then it happens. The faint sounds of voices in the distance. The closer I approach, it becomes apparent it's a one-sided conversation: the ravings of a madman. It is for this reason I enjoy Bioshock's combat so much. You are given the opportunity to plan your attacks out. The game cannot make it as a run-n-gun shooter. The designer have found a way to freak you out with the demented chatter of the insane, while at the same time warning you of danger and urging you to take stock and prepare. The same applies to Big Daddy and Little Sisters. The screen will shake with the titan's footsteps, you will hear his booming growl accompanied by her deranged prattle. Better yet: he doesn't attack unless you give him a reason to. So confident in his ability, he very nearly dares you to approach his charge. He doesn't need to prepare for you...and that may be the scariest thing of all.

My wife has discovered Facebook. With it comes the very real possibilty of setting up my old PC and a wireless network. I was subsequently dragged along to join the ranks of Facebookers in a gesture of support for my wife's new hobby. I say that as if it were an inconvenience. That is hardly the case. Facebook is much like a Twitter with too many options for my taste. In any event, my significant other has now started spending more and more time on the PC than in time's past. This has encouraged me to start playing console games a wee bit more. I cracked open a copy of Shenmue for Dreamcast I obtained from Goozex on a whim and booted up my DC for the first time in many moons. The controls took a bit of getting used to, but my first impressions were very good. Oddly enough, my son was absolutely enthralled by the game. It looks like I will continue playing if only for his viewing pleasure.

The new Star Wars series began this week: Fate of the Jedi. The first book, Outcast, came in the mail Tuesday. Very excited to dive into a new story arc after I wrap up my second read through of Millenium Falcon (last novel in the timeline prior to this series).