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Sunday, February 10, 2013

I'm Playing a Video Game?!

[Insert apology about being on hiatus again]

Annnnndd.....we move on.

So you know how there are some people who have ready everything about Mona Lisa that they've become experts on it?  They study all the books, they know all the methods and thoughts that went into it's creation.  Heck- they might even be experts on all art in that era just to understand how big of a impact the Mona Lisa had on the world of art then and now.  But let's add to this idea that this expert has never seen the Mona Lisa in person.  Sure, they've seen copies or pictures in books, but they have yet to ever see the painting face to face.  This might automatically hurt this person's creditability no matter how extensive their knowledge is, because they don't have the full background to pump their knowledge up.  Well this is how my relationship with video games has always been.  I have researched video games for a long time now.  I've read and watched a lot of videos that give me both the history of video games and where they might just go in the future.  Still, and let's be frank here, I rarely play video games due to one simple fact, I suck at playing.

That is, until The Walking Dead game came along.


Once upon a time my boyfriend, with the help of my brother-in-law decided to build a fancy new computer.  This would finally allow him to play many of the games he had been missing out on in the last couple of years.  I, being the typical weary girlfriend, was curious to see if any of the games he would be playing would be what I like to call "Soul Suckers".  I'm talking about your Wows or LOLs, you know, the type of games that take an individual deep into the depths of Hades for all eternity. So when he downloaded Skyrim I was relieved because for some reason I find this game very none threatening.  He found a few other games like Witcher 2 and so on where I silently gave my blessing.  Then he told me about a game called "The Walking Dead" and I didn't know what to think.  I had heard of the television show, but if you know me than you'll understand that I do not handle the concept of zombies well.  The idea of being dead, mindless, and out of control of your own body (the one thing in this world that SHOULD be yours) terrifies to the point of many a sleepless night.

Here's my main man, Spike, to demonstrate my usual reaction
So when my boyfriend said, "Try it, I think you'll like it."  This was my reaction: 

No witty caption needed, the face says ALL!

But then he told me it was like Heavy Rain.  Look back at my earlier reviews, like waaaaaaay back, and you'll know how much I enjoyed Heavy Rain.  My interest was starting to peak, but still, I remember my boyfriend having to hit the controller with his nose because that game required him to hit so many buttons at once.  I don't have that kind of coordination....but then  he told me this game was on a computer (DUH to silly me!) and not a console and would therefore be boatloads easier to play.  

You want to know what I did?  I started playing.  He left to go to work, arming me with the most basic of instructions on how to use the controls, make decisions, and progress through the game.  You want to know what the one afternoon with that game did to me? 

Hook, line, and sink.

I was eventually screaming at the zombies approaching me in the game, yelling "Bull Sh**!" at the top of my lungs when I died, and (most importantly) having fun.  I'm for probably the first time in my life genuinely enjoying playing a video game.

Now not only does this game allow me easy controls for my less than agile hands, but it has a deep storyline that has always been one of my key draws to video games.  I get to make important decisions but am not always penalized for being too slow with the mouse.  In many ways, this game is the perfect introduction for me down the gaming rabbit hole.  I intend to see if this becomes my gateway drug or if this is simple one of those rare games to not only get my interest, but not lose me for my lack of skill.  

And this is where a new chapter will begin for all of us here at The Patchwork Nerd.  I am introducing a new series of articles I'd like to call "The Dead Diaries".  This will be both my confession to how I feel about this game but my thoughts on what it's like to go from a backseat gamer, so a fully loaded driver.  The articles will be produced at the mercy of when I find time to play the game.  I will also be doing my best to sprinkle in more regular articles about my typical content.  I hope you guys will all enjoy and take a nice long walk to the dead side with me.

Oh....and I've already had a friend warn me that this game might make me cry....so be ready for that too!

Now excuse me, I'm going to blissfully stroll back to this game to bash some skulls....

My badass strolling


I missed you guys ^_^

Tootles!