Life Goes On

I still haven't finished Final Fantasy 13. I found the Archytte Steppe - Central Expanse to be quite pretty. I didn't spend as much time as likely I should have here, killing off the variety of creatures. To tell the truth I sort of liked the animals and watching them. So, I didn't kill any of the large elephant/lizardy things. They sort of reminded me of Star Wars. They have broken chains on them so perhaps creatures of burden at some time in their lives. Who knows - its not like Fang or Vanille EVER have anything constructive or informative to say on the matter. I liked the big cats that go racing around too so I didn't kill those ones in particular. For the most part if they didn't attack me and they weren't between me and an orb, I let them live. This could have been an error on my part. Perhaps I am not cut out for this type of game, too soft.

I also didn't kill the huge Cactus. Will I or will I not go to hell for leaving that vile creature running amok? I didn't have enough strength and he kicked my ass within seconds every time, no matter how I switched out characters or paradigms. AND...I never found the Chocobos. Not ONE!!! The game book said they "are a common sight". Lies!!! I looked but never found them, not even a yellow feather, so I didn't get to use the yellow swirls and make great leaps and bounds...and then I made a mistake, an error in judgement or rationale if you will. I thought maybe I had to go get stronger and so I headed into the last place I hadn't been - north to find Fang and Vanille's city. I thought it would be a round trip, a slight diversion and perhaps ride back on a Chocobo in style.

My hubby came and watched me game for awhile...he was a bit shocked at the redundancy and my ability to keep at it. Kinda like golfers who insist on putting little white balls in shallow little holes...okay, not quite. Anyhoooo. He timed one of my harder battles and said it was nearly 20 minutes. . . .

Ummm. Not quite sure about the timing thingy. I am pretty sure - there is no going back and I missed the opportunity to ride a big bird (okay - I DID ride a big bird in WoW so its not a biggie for me). A big yellow bird! I also didn't get all the stones, only some. Perhaps riding a chocobo is one of the stones I didn't activate but remained dormant on the ground.

I do know that there is a tremendous amount of fighting - the same things over and over. Not much of a story line and its extremely linear. I have to admit I've slipped past a few enemies because I am impatient to progress what story there is and I get tremendously bored fighting the same creatures in different outfits. If you are really into that sort of thing, you'll love it. Lots and lots to kill. Since I passed through the underground and got Vanille her Eidolon I have noticed that the enemies are stronger with more HP...which means they take longer to beat down. The fighting never gets more savy. Grrrr. Your pretty much stacking much of the same stuff over and over to win the battles. If it worked once, there is a chance it will work twice but what was one will now be two or two or one and two of another...that kind of math.

I spent the better part of today on it and....still haven't reached Fang and Vannille's city. I am at the boss fight at the tower and had to call it quits. Fed up. The tower and its canyon were quite beautiful....on the outside. Boring, annoying and seemingly never ending inside. *sigh* Finally the apex but you have to face the big beastie. I came close to beating the boss three times but then something weird happens and I haven't found the paradigm balance - yet. But I find that I have trouble having the game hold my interest. Distraction is my worst enemy because of the repetition.

I can brush my teeth while fighting but have to excuse myself to spit. I can apply skin lotion and fight. I can sort my books to donate to the library while fighting. I rearranged my games in the games shelves - they were getting a little disorganized - while fighting. I even Photoshopped a little. Read a few chapters of a book. My hubby thinks the game cheats - he bases this on how he watches the game, I tend to only watch my character's status bars and adjust my paradigms accordingly, whereas he sits and takes it all in. He says he'll look and see i.e. Hope is fully green then I'll say "Hope is down" and he is amazed at the speed which he goes from green to KO'd and how it always happens most when I am gaining the advantage. LOL This is why my hubby doesn't game.

I am still going to try and finish this. I don't think I'll ever buy another FF game. It really isn't the type of game I prefer. I am an RPGer and a FPSer but this is more like action platforming. I get frustrated that my strategy is soooo limited. I am having second thoughts about Enchanted Arms. It was a lot more entertaining than I gave it credit for. FF is reminding me of Ninety-Nine Nights which was another dragging, frustrating game for me.

It doesn't top Deadrising for frustration though. Or....Doom 3 for boredom. lol

Meanwhile, my new gaming chair is great. My neck and shoulder muscles are a lot better since they now have full support of the higher back. Being able to recline into differenct positions is kinda nice too but I haven't used that much. The cats think its marvelous - which is the problem with cats - you can't explain things to them, not because their stupid but because they are arrogantly smart and could never perceive why anything in the whole wide world would not be for or about them.

The weather has turned nice so its time to get back to biking and walking and jogging. Next up is fishing and camping. FF13 had better end soon or it will be on the backburner for the summer. There are some good games up for release this year. Just my luck that I already had ME2 and FF13 just had to come out at Easter (I only got a wee chocolate bunny, the game was my real gift).

I need to contact a friend to see if he can give me a walkthrough setup for virtual Windows XP to install on my laptop just to finish off some older games I have. Its scaring me. I use my laptop for gaming when we travel at night and I can't see the scenery anymore. I'd like to finish the Myst series and finish Vampire Bloodlines Masquerade - their old but lots of silly fun. I really miss my old Toshiba laptop - why does all good technology end in a blinding moment when least convienent and least expected?

Well, tomorrow is back to work so...I am going to bed. I hope that gaming hasn't bloodshotted my eyes....they might think I've taken up the bottle at work. lol

I am on chapter 11 - still. I am anxious for this all to end - in part because I've sorta done the tour and am ready to go home - I want to know how this ends. But I have a long way to go yet and I think because it isn't particularly my kinda game I am missing a lot of things. I had to turn in Hope's weapon, its levelled out. I suspect some of the others might be next. Dun dun dunnnnn.

Sideline - I was reading a topic on a forum the other day for women in their 40s or more. It was suppose to be about fashion. What I found disturbing was the number of women who were boasting about how they dress young and have their son's friends hit on them. Huh? Dress like you're ready to trot, why wouldn't you be taken out for a trot? These young men will still be gone when a 25 year old hottie comes along and its also the 25 year old they'll marry and take home to meet the parents, have babies with and love for the rest of their lives. In the summation of the lives of these young men (or boys?) what does it really matter who they fucked in between now and meeting that girl? I thought we femme fatales were getting smarter...but I don't know sometimes...I really, really don't.