Today was a day defined by accidental sleep. I fell asleep for an extra two hours or so after I woke up for the first time. Luckily I still made it to therapy on time with no issues. Then, after running some errands, I got home and promptly fell asleep again for three hours. So a huge portion of the day has been lost to unintentional unconsciousness. Not exactly ideal. But that’s just life in the medium-large, rainy/wet/cold city, I suppose.
Shadow of Mordor
Falling in with my habit of being permanently behind the times when it comes to video games, I’ve been diving back into Shadow of Mordor. Merc has gushed to me about it (and its sequel, Shadow of War) enough that I wanted to give it another shot. Every time I pick it up I find it a really satisfying, really smooth-playing game. I think the reason I tend to bounce off of it is that I’ve never been great at the combat. The game has a strange tension between being a stealth game and being an action game, without fully committing to being one or the other. Which is fine! I think it’s an inherent part of the Assassin’s Creed template. But it makes it really hard to know when to run away. Even if I’m in the center of a stronghold so there will be tons of reinforcements always coming.
There’s also at least one or two nemeses that are haunting me. Mostly because they’re invulnerable to nearly everything, so combating them is incredibly difficult. One, as far as I can tell, can only be damaged by setting him on fire. No ranged, no stealth, no combat damage/finishers. Unless there’s something I’m missing. There probably is. (If I get him to panic, will that make him vulnerable to a stealth finisher?)
Also I 100% ship Talion and the Wraith. Characters are a little thin on the ground for shipping purposes, but they have a good dynamic and I really enjoy Talion’s snark and frustration with his curse companion. Though the game does a very good job, in its loading screens of all places, of establishing a very believable love between Talion and his (now deceased) wife. The dialogue that’s played as you load into the game very clearly focuses on Talion’s regrets, and they all feel so real, especially the haunting refrain that “soon” was clearly not soon enough.
I’m looking forward to playing more of it. I don’t know if I’ll 100% it, but it’s an easy game to play for as long or as short a session as you want, so it might happen. Assuming I manage to not get mauled by captains every third fight while running around the landscape.
Shivering Deeps
I’m excited! I stumbled into the climax of this last Sunday, and while I haven’t had a chance to write much more yet, that means I’m finally closing in on the end of this second draft. I’m looking forward to being that much closer to having a submission-ready manuscript. Assuming, of course, it’s not an unsalvageable wreck. But that’s what fresh eyes are for, and I’d like to think there’s something good in this little story. 🙂
So that’s been what’s up for me the last few days. How’s it going with you all? Play any good games lately? Any fun updates on projects you’ve been working on?
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