Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The fallacy in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicals: The Crystal Bearers.



So I know I was complaining about this game on my Facebook page a while back. I'm still trying to mull over my anger for this game. I have always had a strong affection for the Final Fantasy series, despite having not played that many of them.

There are a few good points to the game. It's short and the story is very direct. There are not too many side quests to get lost on. (Granted I didn't find that many, so who knows.) The game has a quick jump-in style of gameplay that is great for people that aren't huge RPG fans. The game looks great for a Wii title, but at times it has that PS2 smell to it. The music is pretty solid and not too kiddish at times.

Onto the bad stuff. The in-game battle is on a flipping timer. If you don't beat all the critters around the miasma stream in a certain amount of time, a dinger goes off and you have to wait till the stream opens again. The critters come back and you have to kill them all to close the stream and get the mythril shards to add to your health bar. There is no level grinding. The controls are for the birds. You have to aim with the Wii remote and target to pull, push, hit, flip or whatever you have to do. It is a pain in the ass for sure. The map blows. You can't tell where you are on the overworld map because it's so small and lacking any and all detail. I got lost for 45 minutes and walked in circles to find a location.

Onto the even worse. The game is short. Like shorter than my ex's...oh, the jokes are no fun now. Anyway, I went into the boss battle after having only fabricated one of each armor class and only getting two additional mythril shards. The whole game took a grand total of 13 hours and 18 minutes. Honestly, if you don't account the 4-5 hours of cinematics and the estimated 2 hours I spend walking from place to place until the rail system opens up to SLIGHTLY speed up travel, I didn't really play for 13 hours. More like 7 hours of game play.

Ugh. This game is SOOOO not worth $50. Rent it from Gamefly or wait till it hits the $9.99 clearance bin and pray it trades in for $7. Seriously.

I give it a 4.5/10. Not unplayable, but it is not a Final Fantasy epic. A good waste of a weekend, but not good enough to keep and replay.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Prayer and the unbeliever.

I have dated my share of unbelievers. Been friends with a lot of them too. Still are friends with them. I've had my faith questioned and been laughed at when the only thing I can say about why I believe and pray is, "I just do." I thought about prayer over the past few days a good bit and how it affects me and my perceptions of reality.

I was raised Baptist. Eventually, I stopped buying into all the preaching and singing and whatnot. I started seeing myself as someone that believes but isn't actively practicing. When I feel like everything is on top of me, I will stop, breathe and pray. I don't know is someone is listening, but as an only child from a less than normal home life, it's nice to think that someone out there can hear me and cares.

I began praying more lately, mostly at the request of a friend. She was having some guy troubles and wanted me to keep her in my thoughts. When I pray for her and the situation, I pray first and foremost that she finds peace of mind and heart. Then, I pray that the young man will have a moment of clarity and do what is best for him and my friend. I find that prayers work best when you really pray for the important stuff first and the extra things that would make the primary request that much better. I want her to find happiness very much because she and I share an odd bond, so in a way, it's a bit of my happiness, too.

Don't get me wrong. I am very happy with Tim. If you had told me 4 years ago, before my last long relationship began that I would be dating Tim; I would have laughed. As we all know, time and pain changes people. I am not the girl I was 4 years ago. I am harder and braver and stronger. My heart has not faltered though. I had misplaced faith for a period of time or two, but I am always working to have my heart and mind in the right place.

I still have friends ask me about how time and people have affected my faith. I have thought about it a lot. Some people have to see things to know they are real. Some people have to feel things to believe. Some people can look into the void and see boundless potential. Some people will only look if they have heard something strike the bottom. No one is right or wrong. It all boils down to what helps that person sleep at night.

Me, I still pray that my heart will one day be fully mended. I pray my friends are safe. I pray my parents are ok. I ask for the simple things. In return, I have been blessed with the chance to go back to school and do it right for the last time. I have friends who care for me and parents who, in their own way, love me. I have a boyfriend who doesn't care if I answer the door in pjs or a dress because he's just happy to see me.

I think for all the pain life can give, if you just believe that there are better days ahead of you, life will turn around and give you moments of happiness that scrub away the dark tint of pain. If you believe in a Higher Power, then thank Him. If you believe in the fates, thank them. If you believe in nothing, then, well...thank chance or whatever.

Never be ungrateful though.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Life in the rear-view

I keep having people bring up people (one person really) from my past. I feel weird about it because I'm constantly wanting to ask them to stop saying their name or bring them up. I feel like I'm always being tethered to a point that I can't really escape from. Yes, I know how you feel. Yes, I know you think they are being stupid. No, I don't want to know what was said.

It's like trying to drive by looking at the road in the rear-view mirror. You stay on the road only so long before you veer off or end up in oncoming traffic. I lived like that for too long. I feel like unplugging myself from everything and everyone that would tell me these things. That's not really the answer though. I just have to bear down and deal with it. Block it off.

I start online classes at Tech this week coming. Oh joy. It's a lot cheaper than FMU and I'm just trying to get caught up on my gen ed stuff that I'm still missing. I realize I'll be going to school almost three years, year-round. So much for breaks and vacations. It's like I tell my best gal Becca, "I'll rest when I'm dead." Two jobs and school and a boyfriend.

Most people would crack under my level of self imposed pressure. I just harden, like a diamond.


God, I have missed Daria. It's like my high school years and a bit of my college. Total bitter nostalgia. I'm still a cynic, but at least I have reasons to be so now.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Stuck in the middle with a Jew. (well, he looks like one)

Tonight's menu:

Lo Mein (Beef and chicken because I don't have enough of either one)
--The Lo Mein will consist of Asian mixed veggies tossed with a orange honey marinade and the marinaded meats.--
Whatever ice cream I pick up when I get the noodles for the lo mein.
Woodchuck for him and vodka/cranberry for me.

Tonight's plans:

Try not to accidentally beat up my roommate while trying to teach her to cook Lo Mein. Small kitchen and I typically work alone. (Hers will be minus the meat.)
Eat dinner with Tim.
Watch Heavy Metal with Tim (not my first pick but, oh well, I haven't seen it yet).
Play board and card games and drink with Tim.

You know, if this is the rut I get stuck in for the rest of my life, I couldn't imagine a better rut to be stuck in and with a better person.

I really just like him.

Monday, May 10, 2010

I can't get the song out of my head now.

So yesterday was Mother's Day. Therefore, I was obligated to see my maternal figures. I drove all the way out to BFE to visit my mother and grandmother. It is just as much fun as it sounds. Thirty minutes away from Florence and I am "home".

Now, whenever my mother finds out I'm dating someone new, she tends to ask questions. She thinks that I am a golden child and that few men on the planet are good enough for me to date. She honestly believes that I date beneath me. I think she thinks too much of me, her kid or not.

I started telling her a bit about Tim. Now much though. I don't want her to start being all condescending as usual.

She asked, "So how tall is he?"

I told her, "Tim is 6 ft 2."

She sighed with relief. I looked at her with a look curiosity.She smirked at me and said, "Well, at least you're no longer dating a member of the Lollipop Guild."

Now I can't stop humming that stupid song from Wizard of Oz.

I love my mother because she has my same awful, bitchy sense of humor.

I'm trying not to make cracks about my ex, but I will repeat funny crap other people say.


Saturday, May 8, 2010

Small things that mean so much

Tim told me last night before we went out that he had a surprise for me. I knew from the sound of his keys striking the box in his pocket that I was getting jewelery of some kind. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and he sat there in the dark on my bed. Even in the dim light he looked nervous. I couldn't help but smile and try not to drip toothpaste on my polo dress.

After finishing up, I stepped into my room and snapped on the light. He held out a box to me and I hugged him before I even opened the box. I opened the brown cardboard box and tried not to burst into tears. They were little Triforce shaped earrings, studs. They weren't gold or silver, but that that moment they were the most precious thing I had held in a long time. I just kept hugging Tim to hide the fact that I was tearing up.

I've had boyfriends give me jewelry of all kinds. Silver and gold. Earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I'm not much of a jewelry person, but these earrings meant so much to me in that moment. Tim knew of my affection for the Legend of Zelda game series and my love for all sorts of gaming crafts. This was something I never expected.

I finally let go of him, apologizing profusely for starting to cry. I told him how much I loved the earrings and how I never expected it. I can't remember the last time someone I dated surprised me with a gift I truly loved. I felt so special and cared for and appreciated by him in a way I haven't felt in years. I suspect Tim teared up a bit too because as a pulled away he looked down and wiped his eyes too.

For the first time in ages, I know how my friends must have felt when I did something for them for no apparent reason, other than I cared and remembered them. I didn't know I could still feel this way.

It's amazing.