(that aren’t Zelda-related)
So it’s probably pretty safe to say that much of my recent life has been dominated by writing about the Legend of Zelda series. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything else going on worth blogging about during that hectic rush. Here’s a quick summary of the kind of things I might have written about during the last five weeks if I hadn’t wanted to keep Vagrant Rant dedicated to Zelda countdowns:
.
Rayman Legends is my favourite 2D platformer of all time.
I reached the end credits of Rayman Legends with my brother a few weeks ago now (which by no means indicates that the game is actually finished) and while reflecting on my experience with the game I struggled to come up with a side-scrolling platformer I’ve enjoyed more. Ever. That includes the Mario games. There’s just so much charm and variety throughout the game, it looks and sounds amazing and its co-op, at least when played with the Wii U gamepad, is incredible. This will be up there in my personal game of the year calculations for sure, because it’s just on another level of amazing.
.
It’s a pretty dry time for movies.
I don’t think I’ve seen one movie in the cinemas since I started writing my Zelda countdowns. This is partially because I need to save money for a trip to Japan I am undertaking this November, but I’d be lying if I said there were any films during the last month that I looked at and thought “Wow, I need to see that!” This may be about to change, thankfully, because there is a lot of hype surrounding Alfonso Cuaron’s apparently groundbreaking new film Gravity. Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World is also coming up later this month and suffice to say November-December is stacked with potential.
.
Gravity Rush is still loads of fun.
I’ve made my fondness for Playstation Vita exclusive and PS Plus flagbearer Gravity Rush rather obvious on this blog before and the thought of having a real tilt at its Platinum Trophy has been in the back of my mind ever since I first had the pleasure of playing it. So last month, during the height of a trophy-obsessed fever, I finally returned to the game in a serious attempt to attain a gold medal on each of its many challenges and thus make that Platinum pop. After much stress and frustration at falling a few milliseconds short on more than one occasion it finally happened. The immense satisfaction I felt as a result came alongside the realisation that I had actually really enjoyed myself that day. Bring on the sequel!
.
PSN Trophies can strain friendships.
Speaking of Platinum Trophies, the moment when I revealed my Gravity Rush conquest to my colleagues on Episode 8 of the Mega Ultra Blast Cast, recorded in the middle of VR Zelda Month, drew a priceless reaction from Delaney in particular and may have indirectly led to Shane’s entry into the competitive world of the trophy war. You can listen to our laughable pettiness in MUBC Episode 8 on Soundcloud – link here – during which we also discuss GTA V at length (and without spoilers). While you’re at it, why not check out Episode 9 – link here – where the three of us try to understand the recently revealed Steam OS range and what it may mean for gamers.
.
Kingdom Hearts is, after all, worth playing.
Who knew? That thing that a bunch of your friends talk about fervently every chance they get that has the really confusing storyline and the Disney characters may actually be worth your time now, even if you never had the chance to get into it before the amount of releases in the franchise got out of hand. Reason number one why this is possibly the best time since 2001 to jump in is the release of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix on PS3, which collects three of the earliest stories in terms of series chronology, including the first-ever Kingdom Hearts game, onto one disc and presents them in lovely high definition. Reason number two is that the series has well designed combat, likeable characters and wave upon wave of nostalgic Disney moments. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed my decision to finally give the series a go.
.
The hype around Titanfall is justified.
Last weekend I attended what is currently Australia’s biggest hands-on gaming event, the EB Games Expo, with one of my podcast colleagues. To say there was plenty to like about what I played and saw at the event would be an understatement of note, and I’ll soon be posting up our recorded impressions of the event on this blog. But by far my personal game of the show was the Xbox One pseudo-exclusive FPS Titanfall, which may come across as a cliched answer at this point in internet history but is nonetheless an absolutely incredible experience that I cannot hope to convey in words. Believe what you’re hearing about this game.
.
I should write more music stuff.
While writing my two music-specific Zelda countdowns I was reminded about just how much I enjoy writing about music. It has been well over a year since I penned an album review, which admittedly is due primarily to my recent listening habits being of the Korean pop variety and my belief that an extremely rudimentary grasp of the Korean language renders me ill-fitting for reviewing their albums. Having said that, I can almost guarantee at least two reviews by the end of the year due to the impending release of both a remix album by Linkin Park and a fresh release from my favourite dance music duo Capsule. And we’ll see what happens from there.
Vagrant Rant 