Saturday, December 27, 2014

Video Game Tag

I was tagged on Youtube by a friend, GeneralJReviews, who did a video entitled "Video Game Tag Questions". I was tagged in this video to answer a few video game related questions, so I thought that I would answer them here instead of in video format. 


Q: What is your favorite video game of all time?
A: Tales of Symphonia.



I love it so much in fact that when I first started my blog, I did an entire post about it here. So if you want me to explain in more detail, feel free to read about it there. It has been my favorite game for many years now for a multitude of reasons. It holds very fond memories for me, as well as being a kick-ass game in general that I have spent hours and hours replaying. It also introduced me to the JRPG genre, which has become one of my favorite genres over the past few years. I could gas on and on about it, but plain and simply, yes, this is my favorite game.

Q: What is your favorite video game genre?
A: RPG/JRPG's

It's very difficult for me to choose a favorite, as there are so many different types of games over an array of genres that I love. I would have to say though that RPG and JRPG's are in my realm of comfort, skills/abilities, and also provides me with what I look for in a game. I'm very much a grinding, completionist, 40+ hours of gameplay type person, so I've become quite accustomed to the genre. I don't always find it necessary to really immerse myself into a game's "world" so to speak, but most of the time I do, and that's what I love most about RPG's. 

Q: Earliest game that you remember?
A: Banjo-Kazooie


The N64 was my first ever console. I remember unwrapping it for Christmas one year alongside Banjo-Kazooie. I begged my grandparents to help me set it up and after that, there was no turning back. They had this massive TV from the 90's that must have weighed 50+ pounds. The brightness was so incredibly low that I could barely see anything, but it was still one of the highlights of my childhood as I sat there glued to the TV.. loving it all the same. From there, my N64 collection grew and it became one of my most played, most memorable and most loved consoles.

Q: What game are you most looking forward to?
A: Resident Evil Remastered





A lot of great games that I was looking forward to came out in the last year, including: Dead Rising 3, Wolfenstein and The Evil Within. When I caught news of Resident Evil being remastered I couldn't contain my excitement. Not only was I extremely impressed by what screenshots (some shown above) that have come out, but I was also excited at the prospect of playing an already great classical game with what will hopefully be better features. Hopefully the controls are a little bit better and the "fear factor" will be cranked up a bit with some better graphics. I absolutely cannot wait.

Q. Least favorite video game character?
A: Ashley Graham from Resident Evil 4 and Roy Earle from LA Noire



This was a tough question to answer because I couldn't really think of many characters who stood out in my mind. Many game villains are very well done and interesting. I sort of 'love to hate them'. There are other characters that stick out in my mind, sure I don't like them, but I don't really hate them. 

However, Ashley Graham will forever be one of the most infamous "terrible escort mission" type of characters that will be forever ingrained in my memory. I've disliked her the moment I laid eyes on her when I first played Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube back in 2005 and my feelings haven't changed much since. She exists only to make your job a pain in the ass. She is absolutely useless in any sort of situation, can't jump off of buildings or ledges on her own, has no awesome moments or amazing one liners, has no combat abilities whatsoever and is constantly getting in the way. Her only mode of defense is to hide in garbage cans, and frankly, that's where she should stay.

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While I hate Ashley purely for the fact that she's annoying, she's never really done anything to make me as the player hate her for any other reason. I had to put Roy Earle from LA Noire on this list too though, because I dislike him for a whole set of other reasons.


I mean.. just look at this guy. You can tell he's an absolute sleazeball the moment you lay eyes on him, and he doesn't fail to deliver in that regard. Although I only played LA Noire recently this year, Roy Earle still sticks out to me as somebody that I just have a burning dislike for. 

Rockstar did a good job in making an antagonistic type character who is so unlike the main protagonist in comparison. I can only try and describe it as "You fuck with the character that I'm controlling, you fuck with me." Is that weird? Like his actions against the main protagonist are something that I seemingly take personally, even though it's playing out for me and they're only characters in a fictional piece. It's a hard feeling to explain, and one that I don't think I've ever had for any other character to date that I can at least think of at the top of my head.

Q: Who is your favorite video game character?
A: Link


It's a big world of gaming out there, but there are certain characters for each and every one of us that really stick out. For me, that character is Link from the Legend of Zelda series. He is the unsung hero, bound by fate to save the world. He is the single shining example of actions speaking a thousand words. The silent protagonist who never has to utter a single word in order to make an impact. The blonde boy in the green tunic who is always stumbling out of bed to start a new adventure. He is simple, modest, honest and a true hero the people of Hyrule.

He has been by my side throughout my entire gaming life and I have nothing but the upmost respect for him. 

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Those were the six questions included in the video game questions tag. A big thank you to GeneralJReviews for tagging me for this. I tag anybody who wants to take part and answer these questions for themselves!