Archive for August, 2018

Castlevania: Season 2 Poster!

Posted in Artwork, Best / Worst, Blog, Castlevania on August 31, 2018 by slateman

After season one started slow and ended well, it’s been a long wait for season two to arrive. I expect more of the same this year, but it should be exciting, especially given how the debut season finished off! Until October rolls around, the new poster should tide me over.

Unfortunately, it looks like the show will have to suffice. It doesn’t look like Konami is looking to return to the series in game form – in either 2D or 3D – any time soon. It’s a shame too, as Castlevania sits at #8 of my favorite game franchises ever!

Ys VIII Begun!

Posted in Blog, Games, Music, Ys on August 19, 2018 by slateman

My Ys journey started almost 30 years ago on the TurboCD and the legendary series continues with a title that truly stands up to those iconic classics. Just last year I completed II, Felghana and Origin but entry #8 (by far not the actual eighth game!) would have to wait. And while I’d prefer play on my big-screen TV and PS4, the Vita will have to do, much as it did for those three aforementioned titles.

And I’m excited as the first three hours have been compelling and fun, not unlike countless Ys titles in the past. Reading reviews never helps convey quite how systems work and how fun they can be. What I can share, however, is the kick-ass overworld theme for the first section. I instantly fell in love with it and the tune captures that rocking exploration feeling the series is synonymous with. It’s immediately become one of my favorite Ys tracks ever… Quite the statement given the franchise’s heritage. Ah well, enjoy the song… It’s spectacular.

I Beat A GTA!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games with tags on August 9, 2018 by slateman

Despite having played every major GTA installment dating back to the late 1990s, I have never actually completed any of them. Not a one! From the London updates to the original, through the PS2’s trilogy, even GTA4, I’ve played almost everything (Except 4’s DLC). In fact, I’ve already written about GTA3’s impact on gaming. But at no point did I ever follow-through and see the credits on any of them. That’s not a bad thing! They were all marvelous releases and Rockstar’s brand revolutionized gaming and became the biggest-selling form of media in history.

And I actually started GTA5 when it came out. However, I had to return it to GameFly for one reason or another. As the years progressed, I watched the sales figures creep up. 60, 70, 80, 90 million units. Holy shit.

With sales never floundering, the price tag rarely dipped. However, I finally nabbed the game at the low, low price of $20. And it is quite low, considering just how much game is crammed into this behemoth. With no other games capturing my attention at the time and a busy autumn ahead, I gave it a go. Reminiscing of the missions I’d done and branching into new territory, the entire lot was a hell of a lot of fun. It’s such a polished product with scores of random events, WTF moments, incredible writing and amazing production value. I cannot recommend it enough and even completing it leaves a great majority of the game still unseen, both online and off.

As has been my wont, here are some spoilericious snapshots from the journey. For the first time, I can claim accomplishment in clearing a GTA game. It’s about damn time!

4×4 Windmill Last-Layer Parity

Posted in Algorithms, Blog, Cubing on August 8, 2018 by slateman

Another quick algorithm update. I saw I had left my awesome MoYu AoSu 4×4 Windmill Cube on the shelf unsolved. That last-layer edge parity (either opposite or adjacent) can’t be fixed by the normal algorithm, as it messes up your centers. “Oh, what was the solution again?” I pondered…To the YouTube!

Ah, that’s simple! OK, so first, rotate the U layer either way and then drop down the white center. Move back the top layer so your parity is properly located for your algorithm and the white/yellow centers are front and back. Do the awesome LL parity algorithm and then just reset the white and yellow faces. Since those two don’t have any orientation, it’s OK if you flip them around.

Quite simple really…until I forget next time, of course!