Thoughts On: Divinity II: Developer's Cut

That was a close one! Almost didn't get to write something about any new games this month. Of course with the 12 hour shifts going on that might still happen in September.

Anyway...

This has been on the backburner for me for months. I loved Original Sin, and unlike most people I find the genericness of the setting is played with a certain charm not seen in most other worlds. I had stopped due to frustration with the choppiness of the XBox version, and picked it up after finally deciding to buy the PC version. It actually wasn't that much less choppy, but better is better. As far as my opinions in general? See them after the break.

Thoughts On: The Umbrella Academy

Technically, just the Apocalypse Suite, since apparently there's more to this series.

Was semi-recently coerced into reading this, and finally found the time to do so. Didn't know anything about it besides 'White Violin is one of my favorite characters.' At first I thought she was being difficult when I asked her about her favorite characters and she responded with a musical instrument. Naturally I had to judge whether my friend's taste was sound.

Was her taste sound? Find out after the break.

Thoughts On: Mamunia

Click image for link to the story

I can't really say too much about this. It feels very...traditional. And by that I mean, there's nothing here to set it apart. It's raining and the main six reflect on various things with varying styles of emotional handlement. Then they meet at Pinkie's and tell each other about how terrible the things they were reflecting on were. And they have a big moment where they hug and tell each other how great they all are. And then Pinkie goes off and we have the happiest-person-is-actually-the-saddest cliche.

And that's it.

These slice-of-lifey things seldom do anything for me, so nothing against the fic. It was well written enough. But considering I was very much in the mood for something more melancholy to get into, the problem certainly wasn't the tone. I just felt it was lacking something to give it any real punch.

Thoughts On: Besides the Will of Evil

Click image for link to the story

You have no idea how long I waited for this story, reader. This fic right here. This is the sequel to It's Dangerous Business, Going Outside Your Door. The sequel to the reason I got as into ponies as I did. The sequel to what convinced me that fanfiction could be a worthwhile medium. The sequel to what was, for a very long time, my absolute favorite tale ever told.

I had extraordinary expectations going into this. Did it live up to them? Find out after the break.

Thoughts On: At the Mountains of Madness

Click the image for link to Wikipedia's thoughts on the story

And for the last of the starting uploads, I'd like to get an example of a thing that's neither ponies nor video games. I read this at a friend's behest, who had at the time been on a bit of a Lovecraft binge. This was apparently the story that got him into the author, and I had to admit I was curious about the works of the guy who came up with Cthulhu.

How mad are these mountains? Full thoughts after the break.

Thoughts On: Harmony Theory

Click image for link to the story

For the first story, I wanted to put up the fic that made me decide to start creating notes on what I was reading as well as video games. As you might guess, I had a lot to say when I finished reading this. The general idea here is that Rainbow Dash wakes up far in the future for reasons unknown, while in the present Twilight uncovers something terrible about the Elements of Harmony. Normally I stay away from time travel, but the extra bit with Twilight persuaded me to check it out.

Does it do well despite the time travelling? Complete thoughts after the break.

Thoughts On: Terraria

Click image for link to the game's website

Starting off the blog with my most recently completed video game, Terraria. Long ago I dismissed this as 2D Minecraft and never bothered with it, but the recent 1.3 update and all the people talking about it persuaded me to give it an honest shot. Does it live up to the hype, or is it Minecraft all over again?

Full opinions on it after the break.

Fresh Hot Opinions Delivered Straight to Your Monitor

Hello there, fellow internet viewer! If you've stumbled on this page, you might be wondering what this blog is about, and I'm happy to answer your theoretical question.

For about a year and a half now, I've been writing little notes on video games I've played, and recently expanded that to include things I've read, saving them to my computer so I can easily say, 'ah HA! That's what I thought about that.' And before you begin to think I might be a well-read gentleman of taste despite my notes starting exclusively with video games, let me demolish that notion by saying that almost all of what I read is My Little Pony fan fiction.

Now, my 'reviews,' if you want to call them that, have always been intended for myself, and are written with that in mind. However, I have on occasion told my friends about the thoughts I've written, and even been told I should consider putting them online so they can easily access my opinions. So, half a year after any of them have expressed any sort of interest in such a thing, I've decided to go ahead and start it up, both for their convenience and mine. I'll be altering my style a bit keeping in mind other people may see it, but otherwise it'll be like having the old thoughts up in one nifty online location.

As I've learned since I started doing this, it brings me a sense of closure to get what I thought about things spelled out on the screen, and an odd sense of satisfaction to be able to see those thoughts whenever I like. While my notes are seldom ground-breaking, if you see I've a game or fic on here that catches your eye or that you've played/read, take a look! You might find it fun to compare your thoughts with mine.

To start this blog off, I plan on putting up a couple old reviews that I feel the friends who persuaded me to start this up might be interested in. Once those are up, I'll start writing them up as I go, which will lead to a more sporadic schedule, though on average probably about four reviews a month. I may also load up an old one from time to time, if I feel it's become relevant for whatever reason.

Come aboard if you'd like! This will be my first adventure into blog-posting.