PixlBit

Started Pre-Sequel today. My first impression (on this second playthrough) is that it is way less aggro than Borderlands 2. Enemies say less ultra violent things. There's even an option in the settings to tone down the gore. I don't think that was in B2. The game is a little bit less chatty overall. However, it still makes me chuckle frequently. I can't help thinking about the difference in developers in this regard. 2K Australian toning down the violence from the Gearbox, based in Texas, USA, developed B1 and B2. My friend Mark perfers B1 and B2 over Pre-Sequel, but I like it just fine.

I'm talking the years 1977-1979. These were my pre-teen years and the beginning of my education in everything nerdy. I saw Star Wars; I played Advanced Dungeons & Dragons; I watched Star Blazers (or Battlestar Gallactica, if you're not into anime); I read The Silmarillion; I went to arcades and played Space Invaders and Asteroids; and I played handheld systems by Mattel Electronics - Baseball being the one I owned. But most importantly was the Atari VCS (later the 2600) I got for Christmas, the first really succesful home video game console. 

It was a snow day here in the Philadelphia area, so I played all the side missions for the Borderlands 2 DLC, or at least attempted them. Some I had trouble with, but I experienced them, and that's what matters.

I got my rental this weekend, The Dwarves, and played it on XBO. This is an interesting game but the battle system annoyed me after a while. Then I played Borderlands 2 where heard a Shakespeare soliloquy and shot fire balls that would've made old Ironsides turn and run. 

Every so often, I get autobiographical and want to review my history with video games. This blog on Pong is the first in a long series I'm planning.

I think I'm going to avoid going after achievements anymore. It's making me into a bit of a jerk especially when it comes to co-op play. I'm forgetting what it's all about, and that's having fun. It's going to be an effort for me to not think about them or steer my playing in that direction, but I think it's necessary if I want to have friends to play with. The Borderlands series especially brings this to the fore, because I get really frustrated going for achievements in this game. It's just not a healthy way to play. It's sort of obsessive. It's like I'm becoming one of the characters in the game - one who has a wildly out of control neurosis.

I got a text from my old manager yesterday that said, "check out Exton Square Mall Round 1". I thought it might be some horrible news of a fight or other disaster. Instead it was a new entertainment center called Round 1. They have locations on both coasts. Today, I went there to check it out.

I finished the Tiny Tina DLC today, the last major piece of DLC, playing co-op with Mark and started chasing achievements.

On a whim, I went to several stores on my way to Mark's to see if they had any Halo Hot Wheels. I found them at a Toys R Us. I couldn't resist and got all five. Here's a pretty terrible pic:

That's what I was doing today in Borderlands 2, or, at least in the second half of the day. The first half was me playing the main campaign again and getting super frustrated with it. Then I had Mark jump in the game and we finished the Mr. Torque DLC and began the Sir Hammerlock DLC. That part became fun. Here's some more detail.