IRC-Galleria

Can't get any sleep, too bright to sleep as the sun burns me like hygiene (joke), moving to a new apartment grinds my gears. Moving is ok, as long as I wouldn't dislike packing, unpacking, dragging heavy furniture, doing paperwork, troubling other people to help, troubling extra people to help since these wrists are quite broken and useless with bigger items, yada yada yaa, you got it. So, while it is in human's behaviour and nature that people complain about things and spice things with a bit of humor and irony (ironically I'm still figuring out what irony is), I had a thought: Maybe I'll start ranting about video games. Quite many of my acquaintances seem to know so much about movies, so all I have left in my repertoire are video games. Of course I'm going to rant only about games that I don't like and played myself, and only mention negative things. Maybe few positive things for the balance. If I feel like. Bah, I write what I want, they're just opinions, you can make your own diary section where you rant about my notes. I could rant from other things too, then I'd call it Ran Rant Diaries. Ran, as in "revolt", "rebellion" or "war" in Japanese, nickname I got long time ago that got stuck as an unwanted cotton candy in an amusement park. You'll see that I'll be ranting about some games that others consider masterpieces, but that's just because I have a weird taste.

To make things clear for people what kinds of games I rant about and what my tastes are like, I'll write here things that make my eyes sparkle or bleed. Some might wonder how I've managed to gather such a "big" list of games to my experience, that's a result of not using my money for smoking, alcohol, sports, or anything other people consider "fun". Being a vegetarian makes life cheap and good, cooking at home makes life even cheaper. Trading games with others or game stores also helps, or having a job (which unfortunately takes your time away from playing the games). Anyways, on with the show.

+Trailers and demos

They have bad effects sometimes, as they bring up only the best moments in movies. They might spoil too much sometimes. Or they can make you feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. Same thing applies to video games.

+Music

Some games just have such great songs that you wanna play it through to see what other nice songs it might have. Music is the element that adjusts the scene to right mood and make it alive. Or make you feel like you're alive.

+Visual

Some games just look so good. I'm not talking how real things look, animation, or if they have good graphics, it's what character looks like, what the surroundings look like, does the thing that I'm staring at make my mind float somewhere else. Moments where you don't wanna go forward in the game but rather just stand in one place, look around and wish that you could draw better.

+Story

The script, how it was directed, plot that keeps the viewer stay in front of the television without realizing that it's time to grab something to eat. Surprises, witty lines, curiosity that drives us to see more and more because we wanna know what happens next.

+Concept

I want something different, I want new things that some don't dare to try. Strange or unheard combination of elements, when creators are brave enough to do something else than what is safe and seems to work for the mass.

+Fandom

Yes, pure fandom. It might be cheap excuse, but there are just moments when you have your favourite actor in the game as a voice, or a fictional character you've always wanted to control or see more action, or go deeper to the story, dig for the unseen events that were untold in movies or anywhere else.

Now, to the negative sides that make me return the game back to the store and change it to cash as soon as possible, consume something that lowers blood pressure, or wish that you have a gym card so that you can go and punch/kick the hell out of that punching bag (or in my case, a random inspiration of writing a ranting diary).

-Trailers and demos

Thankfully, sometimes seeing the trailer or trying the demo prevents you from using your hard earned cash (or in some cases, begging extra allowance or presents from your relatives). Unfortunately it might also make you miss an opportunity of experiencing something that you might've really liked in the end.

-Music

Rarely music has been a reason that prevents me enjoying a game. I have a way too wide taste of music, which causes that I end up listening things that somebody just can't stand. Even some songs that are poor end up amusing me just because I end digging up some hilarity from the moment. So far I can think of only one game where I dislike the music. Spore. I don't know why.

-Visual

Even though I'm almost half blind and sometimes easily awed, I might see small details that stick to my eye, like why character's head is so big, nose so long, clothes suck, or the colours just aren't right.

-Story

If it bores me, it bores me. Some games have such a poor story or so different to my taste that it would've been better for me if there would've been none. Some good games just work without any plot.

-Concept

Some genius ended up with controls from hell passing the test gamers. Or some developers have lightning reflexes compared to mine. Or I just see something that my mind cannot comprehend. Many random things qualify from this category. I also don't like FPS games much. Dunno why, perhaps I just wanna see the character movements and the environment better. FP fits better for some games though, like horror games.

-Fandom

Games are like interactive movies, sometimes you're even deeper in the story than just standing on side watching how things go forward. That is sometimes a bad thing of course, when you should stand and fight instead of running away like a cowardly chicken in KFC. You don't want your favourite character making dump decisions or acting like a jerk just because of some visionary writer/director. And of course there's always disappointment when some things have been hyped way too much, you have way too high expectations, and then it hits you like a cream pie in black and white movies (what's with the allegories anyways?).

Now that you know how I pick up my games, it's time for me to list my rants about games alphabetically. Yes, they're mostly rants. Wouldn't call it Rant Diaries if I'd just praise my favourite games. Don't worry, I'll manage to dig up something that I dislike even from games that awed me. I'll try. "Sniff it, sniff it, now take it." -Zohan, the toughest guy there is (not counting Bruce Lee).