Somehow over the course of the last week I didn’t game all that much. Part of that was due to getting sucked into some TV shows, and part was apathy. Oh, and spending a lot of time learning to Podcast and edit said Podcast. Some of you have listened to the pilot episode, and I appreciate all the feedback. For those of you that haven’t listened, the plan is to have the official first episode out by Friday (6/20). The pilot will probably be released side-by-side.

I did play some Awesomenauts, although I know that a new patch went out since then, and I have yet to try the new character Skree. The only funny story I have regarding that game took place over several days. A few months back, I was playing the game and had a guy on my team that I did really well with. We had a good long winning streak, and by the end of the night he added me to his friend’s list. I accepted, and anytime I felt like playing Awesomenauts, he’d be there, and be willing to join in.

Me and my roommate play together all the time, but my roommate doesn’t have a PC, so we have only played together on Playstation. However, we have both played the game long enough to understand the ebb and flow of a typical game. I have become accustomed to playing in such a way, that if you are losing due to being over-extended, that you should reel it in, play defensively and farm. My roommate understands this. We have had conversations about tactics at length. We used to butt heads though. He used to get mad at me for the way I played, because I would “leave him hanging,” when really he was over-extending.

This carries back to the story about the “friend” on Steam. See, every time I was logged into Steam, even if I was playing another game, he would invite me to play Awesomenauts. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s flattering to be thought of highly in a competitive environment. Good for the manhood and all that. Some times I would join him, other times I would not. But we played together pretty regularly over the past couple of months.

A week or so ago was no different. We got into a group together, and he invited someone else that he knew. We completely destroyed our opponents during the first match, but for 4-5 subsequent matches, we lost. I wasn’t always the one doing the worst, but at the end of the day I took the blame and said that I was having an off night. They were cool and I logged off. A few nights later the same sort of thing happened. Just a couple of days ago, it happened again.

Right off the bat he was blaming our third partner. He kept calling whoever we were playing with useless. 1st game we lost, “useless Leon.” Next game we lost, “useless Sentry.” Next game, “useless Frog.” The next game, he turned on me. He kept saying that I wasn’t doing this or that, and I told him that he needed to back off, and play more defensively. He kept on telling me what I was doing wrong, and in the process kept running out and dying. Feeding. I called him on that, but at that point the match was basically over. I left the game and was going to discuss, but he had already deleted me from his friend’s list. Wow.

The best part? For the next 5 games in a row, my team won. You know why? Because they adapted to the ebb and flow of the game.

I’ve played a little Hearthstone too, but that was more of the same. I’m basically saving up gold for when the expansion arrives, as there are supposed to be bits that you can buy for in-game gold. I think I’m floating around 700. Just doing dailies for gold at this point and waiting for new stuff.

So outside of that little spot o’ gaming, I have been catching up on shows, and one day I spent watching a bunch of movies. I’ve caught up on season 4 of Game of Thrones. I must say that I still very much enjoy the show, despite all the reasons people say I shouldn’t. The same goes for Shameless. I hated it the first time I saw it. But it’s such a train-wreck and I can’t stop watching it. I challenge you to watch it and tell me you don’t see some correlations to your life. Me and my roommate literally watched the entire 4th season of that show in one day. He had said that he thought it was the final season but I’ve read elsewhere that it was renewed for season 5.

My movie spree consisted of:

The Returned: A Zombie movie that had a similar premise to something I had already written. Thankfully it’s different enough that I don’t feel like I stole the idea. Basically, a cure for the zombie virus is found, but supplies become limited and some crazy things happen. Worth a watch if you enjoy the zombie genre and want a different spin.

Contracted: This one really didn’t have much of a point, besides it sort of having something to do with a disease and some zombie undertones. There’s date-rape involved as well. I can’t really say much without giving things away, but it’s not really worth your time.

John Dies at the End: John didn’t die at the end. This one reminded me of the old Evil Dead movies. Pretty cheesy, horror elements, and off the wall weirdness. Worth a look if that appeals to you. Otherwise skip it.

Insidious Chapter 2: I’ve read there’s already a 3rd chapter in the works. I enjoyed the first well enough, so I thought I’d take the sequel for a spin. From what I remember the 1st could have ended and didn’t need a sequel. This movie isn’t terrible, had some imaginative stuff in it, but is overall a generic horror sequel.

Texas Chainsaw: Speaking of generic horror sequels. This isn’t really a sequel, not really a reboot. It’s kind of just the same story in a modern setting, which seems to be the case with all of the other TCM movies. It had some interesting moments, but overall a snooze fest.

Superheroes: My roommate picked this one at random one day. I had seen it on Netflix before, but skipped it because it sounded dumb. This is a documentary based on real-life superheroes. I.E. normal motherfuckers walking around in costumes pretending to be super, when they actually just call the cops when they see crimes. I suppose it’s admirable, but so cringe-worthy. Lots of laughs when it’s not supposed to be funny. Maybe I’m just an asshole.

Lastly, I watched a new stand-up special from a comedian that I rather enjoy, Steve Byrne. The new show entitled “Champion,” had me rolling as he usually does. He has several specials on Netflix, you should check him out sometime. Here’s the only snippet I could find from the newest special, and though this wasn’t the funniest bit of the set, it still has some good moments:

That’s all for this week. I’m starting to feel gaming withdrawals, so prepare for more of that in future posts.

#stateofthegame #netflix #awesomenauts #hearthstone