Valve: The Anti-EA

Valve is awesome. Let's just face it. I rarely develop love and devotion to companies (that aren't Wegmans) but Valve has a tendency to make me want to hug them. So, to the rest of the companies out there, here is how to make me love you:
1) Make a good product. Valve's games are consistently known for being well-done. I will admit I haven't played as much of their stuff as I'd like, but what I've seen I'm typically impressed by. The visuals are effective and interesting without being needlessly flashy. The gameplay is well-done and engaging, and the stories sneak up on you and pull you in like that zombie right behind you.
2) Advertise smartly. Valve has long been praised for their viral advertising campaigns, especially on the Portal series (for more details see Llife, who has a much better grip on it than I do), but even their regular advert videos are a joy to watch. And this is coming from someone who generally hates advertising. I found this one earlier today (yes, I know, it's old, I'm behind the times, shut up), and it was one of the most clever things I've seen since the ad it was based on nearly 30 years ago (yes, Mac used to have good advertising, before that obnoxious stuff with the kid from Accepted). They also make smart marketing moves, like including a free download of Portal with a pre-order of Portal 2. Already have Portal? Great! You can give the new copy to a friend, thereby increasing their fanbase and making you more popular. Things like this show that Valve knows what they're doing. They actually stop and think. They realize their audience is smart. Which leads to step 3.
3) Be nice to your customer. This would seem obvious, but how many times this past year have you felt bullied, ripped off, or otherwise mistreated by a company, especially a tech company? From their policies, I get the feeling Valve isn't like that. Take for example their online game vendor Steam. Think iTunes for games, only less evil. Usually I'm a little hesitant to buy an online product without a hard copy, but Valve makes it okay. When you buy a Valve game on Steam, Valve gives you the ability to install the game on as many machines as you see fit. Want to show your friend the awesomeness that is Portal? Go ahead and install it. The catch: Your purchased copy of the game is attached to an account, and your account can only be logged in to one computer at a time. So once you sign in on your own machine, your account is signed off on your friend's, and he can't access it any more. Much like if the game was on a disc and you were passing it around. This allows you complete freedom over where you want to play the content you paid for, while still protecting Valve from being ripped off. Also, if something happens to your computer, you're free to reinstall as needed without any fuss whatsoever, which completely saved me a few weeks ago. So yes. I love Valve. Especially since they may be releasing Portal 2 sooner than expected. There will be cake.

Arkham Asylum: or, How I Learned to Start Fighting and Love the Bat

I’ve been doing more gaming the past couple days than is probably healthy. Last week I picked up Arkham Asylum in a mid-week Steam sale, and thought I’d share my thoughts on it (since I was thick and didn’t think to bring my laptop with me so I’m cut off from playing it). Keep in mind I’m only about halfway through, and that my previous Batman exposure has been fairly casual: most of the movies, and a desperate desire to read The Killing Joke.

The game feels exactly how you’d want a Batman game to feel. It has its dark moments but at the same time plenty of humor. The Joker in particular feels really balanced, not too gruesomely psychotic but not too cartoony either. You can laugh along with him as he threatens your demise, while still kind of feeling that his threats have weight (insomuch as we know no one is going to kill anyone meaningful in this game, I mean it is BATMAN after all). The story is entertaining enough to hold the game together, kind of silly in a way you'd expect from anything the Joker cooks up, but has some parts that are interesting and occasionally even moving. All in all it feels a tiny bit secondary to the sheer fun that is running around being BATMAN. There is an epicness factor to that that doesn't get old.

The gameplay has a nice variety to it, switching from combat to stealth, and finding your way through passages by using tools from the famous utility belt. Some of my favorite sequences are when the thugs can’t find you and you get to pick them off one by one. There are also these sidescroller-ish sequences that you think would be really jarring, but they’re always well-introduced, as Scarecrow takes over Batman’s mind and adds some nice character depth. Granted the game started to feel a little repetitive after about 5 hours, but that’s longer than some games actually run.

I’ve heard a lot of praise for the combat system, and to be honest, I haven’t played a whole lot of fighting-required games on the PC, but it feels pretty damn smooth, and relatively intuitive. The only exceptions are these guys with electric baton things, which are a pain when mushed in with large groups of thugs, but even then they’re manageable.

The controls very occasionally get a bit confusing, especially after jumping in after not playing for a week, but I’m guessing that’s common of games with lots of different commands. I wish they hadn’t used “push down on the mouse scroll wheel” as a button, considering how sensitive those things are, but so far I haven’t run into any time sensitive issues on that command, so it’s been okay. I’m probably being a bit harsh on the controls, 95% of the time they work well. The camera is totally intuitive, or, to put it another way, I haven’t had to think about the camera at all until I sat down to write this, which is really how it should be.

As far as replay value goes, there isn’t a whole lot of one. I mean, it’s pretty damn linear, at least so far, so playing again won’t mean a totally different experience. There is an achievement-esque system set up by the Riddler, where you have to get to trophies he’s placed and solve riddles and things. The nice thing about this is that, rather than just being to keep the achievement whores happy, they unlock some pretty cool stuff, character bios and stuff that are worth a look-through. My personal favorites are the interview tapes scattered on various desks, fun-yet-creepy looks into the minds of some of the villains you’re fighting.

To me, the best measure of a game is how infectious it is. A really good game, like a really good book, seeps under your skin and has you thinking about it as you go about your day. And as I sit here writing this, I’m sincerely regretting not having my laptop with me so I can play some more. This leads me to say that I thoroughly recommend Arkham Asylum. Totally worth 30 bucks on Steam.

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

Okay, I admit it, I am a Gleek. Not as much as some people I know, but I tune in loyally. I was re-watching this week's episode, because unlike many this season it really warranted a second watch, and Kurt's rendition of "Blackbird" really struck a cord. What I mean to say is, it really resonated. Sorry, couldn't help myself. Music puns are almost as easy as sexual innuendoes. Anyway, I really connected to the song. Lord knows I'm a night bird, for one thing. And still a little bit broken. And the whole song's about finding this right moment to take action, which is a big theme for me right now. Confessional moment: I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life. Seriously, everything after graduation is a total blank, which is scarier than Weeping Angels. It's like, most of my life was planned out for me. I've just kind of stumbled through everything, followed the path people put me on. Teachers said, "learn this", I did. And well, if I do say so myself. The problem, I think, with school is that it never really teaches you how to think for yourself. I know, I shouldn't place the blame on other people for my predicament, but when I ask myself what I want, my mind just goes blank. I feel like I should be fighting for something, working towards something, but I have no idea what. Like I'm waiting for it to just hit me across the head and I'll figure it out, have a big epiphony like people do in books. Do those actually happen? If they do, can mine come soon please?! I've got a year left in college and then I have to actually start paddling.

SPOILER WARNING:
Also, Kurt + Blaine=YAY. End of story, they are my OTP. I squeed so hard after this week. When they have a big gorgeous gay wedding I want to be there. Hey, there's progress, something I want. Granted it's in a fictional world, but hey, I want something. Can I just go live in a fictional world, like Tortall or the Firefly 'Verse or Diagon Alley or something? Cause that would make things SO much easier.
END OF SPOILERS

Well, at Least it's Friday...

Here's a little tip for any guys that may one day read this: just because a girl is not high-maintenance, doesn't mean she's no-maintenance. If you're dating someone, and then you're incommunicado for days on end, you're likely not going to be dating her for very much longer. Girls don't like to feel invisible. We get that you're busy, but if you don't care enough to send so much as an e-mail, maybe you don't belong in a relationship.

Take Me or Leave Me

Yes, that song has been stuck in my head ever since I saw this week's Glee. So, here I am again. No better or worse than last time, I suppose. I have a 2-4 page paper due in 24 hours, with no clue what I'll write about for it, and no ability to care. I'm kind of tired of college. The more I learn about Hollywood business-y stuff, the more I realize I want nothing to do with it. It seems like it's all kissing asses and swallowing your pride, two things I am NOT into. But, whatever I'm actually going to DO after college, I'll be more likely to get a good job with a BA than if I drop out now. A good job doing what, God only knows. I wish I could just go back to London. I'm an English girl at heart. Just chill with the Whedonites and the Whovians. Or run a no-kill animal shelter. That'd be awesome too. If I had been born loaded, that's totally what I'd do with my inheritance. Okay, that and a PS3. And maybe a condo in Disney World.

Okay, take 2...

I'm not going to lie, this is not my first attempt at blogging. I tried once before, only to become frustrated trying to keep up with it. But I'm going to try this again, on the off-chance anyone becomes interested in my life. To anyone who doesn't know me, I'm a 21-year-old girl trying to figure out wtf I'm doing with my life while dealing with whatever it throws at me and proving day by day that being a nerd doesn't mean you can't be sexy. I juggle working towards a degree I have no clue what to do with, a long-distance relationship, and helping out my mom. I'm broke as hell and hoping my friend doesn't need her spare laptop back before the evil computer company manages to fix mine. I feel like I work best under crisis, because my mind becomes clear and I can actually focus. I have a hard time dealing with the BS that is academia. In fact, I've probably learned more worthwhile lessons outside school than in. Which brings me to my first list:
Things I've Learned From Doing Things Most Schools Would Consider A Waste of Time:
1) "Double Tap" (from Zombieland) See also, the rest of the Z-land rules. They will keep you alive.
2) "Keep Moving Forward" (from Meet the Robinsons) I could write an entire essay on the importance of this, but I'll save that for a later post.
3) Restarting fixes just about anything.
4) "Fear lulls our minds to sleep" (from Persepolis) If you're afraid of something, that thing has power over you. Then they've pretty much already won. If something scares you, stand up to it. Speak out. Unless it's a radroach.
5) Listen to the locals. (every horror movie ever) If the people who've lived there for years tell you something's dangerous and/or haunted, odds are going in there is a bad idea. Do not ignore their warnings. Walk away.
6) If your love life sucks, you're probably on the wrong side of the Atlantic (from Love Actually, The Holiday, etc)
7) If you're doing something you don't want your parents/teachers/boss to see, keep if off the internet. Otherwise, it WILL get back to them. (from lots of fail stories)
8) No matter what you're looking for, there's a 98% chance it's online. When in doubt, Google it.
9) "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain." (from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) This one kind of stretches to a good rule of thumb: trust your gut. Your gut is the result of thousands of years of developing survival instincts. Your brain is a result of maybe a couple decades of life. If something seems like a bad idea, it probably is.
10) The rules are more actual guidelines (from Pirates of the Caribbean) There's exceptions to everything, even the stuff on this list (see above re: radroach). Bend the rules to your liking from time to time. Trust me, that's how the best stories happen.