And so it happens: Baldur's Gate 3 enters early access. I can now play the latest iteration to this legendary saga. Excited does not began to describe it....
That was until I realised that I have a super-huge download to get through on a crummy internet connection.
As the Legend of Zelda games keep on being made, it is fair to say that they will keep building on the success of previous games as well as pushing the envelope as to what games can do (provided there is plenty left to do and all ideas haven't been exhausted yet). Yet even with such innovation, the PC will continue to be Link and Zelda will remain out of reach, regardless of how great the demand from the players to control her for once.
But it remains unlikely to happen because, as dictated by the Triforce, Link represents courage and Zelda represents wisdom. Meaning that Zelda will forever by the type that won't get her hands dirty and Link will forever be guided by the PC because he can't be courageous anyway else. So it will be the same no matter how much Nintendo alters it - so we may as get used to it.
Why the closest we have, thus far, to controlling Zelda was Sprit Tracks - and that was due to player demand - but even then she was reduced to allowing Link to handle the heavy lifting.
So the 'Link = active and Zelda = passive' dynamic is effectively rock solid in that it doesn't seem likely to change. But can it?
One possibility I saw mentioned somewhere online (I forget where) is that Link should have previously tried to defeat Ganondorf but failed. As such, he lacks the courage needed as befit the representation of the Triforce of courage. So when a PC-controlled Zelda encounters him, Link has no confidence and no sense of trust. So it is up to Zelda to give him a kick up the arse and get him back on track, so he can complete his own quest - a quest that is, of course, independent of Zelda's own and eventually converges in the final showdown.
It could work but considering that Ocarina of Time pioneered this whole 'Zelda sets up path for Link to follow' formula I want to see such a journey play out. A journey that follows the Zelda formula but with less combat and more problem solving.
Could work....
Perhaps the biggest (read most inescapable) news in the gaming world is that Zenimax has been bought out by Microsoft. Meaning a lotta gaming studios (Bethesda, id and others) has taken refuge under that (quite enormous) Microsoft Gaming umbrella.
'tis a big move to be sure and will result in some IP exchanging hands. The only question is, what is going to happen next...
This weekend, i went to a gaming bar.
Now that gaming has well and truly grown out of it's niche interest and into the juggernaut it is, you see this type of thing a lot: A place where gamers can gather, interact, drink grog and play some games (although not necessarily in that order).
I was told of the place beforehand and instructed to turn up early so i don't get left out. But when I did show up at the opening hour, there were very few people there.
Upon entry, I noticed a number of arcade games (Golden Axe, Galaga and TMNT among them). There was beer available and the staff were friendly.
But there were few in the way of other patrons - which was surprising as this was a Saturday evening. Therefore, one expected more numbers and more rowdiness but that was not the case.
Still, at least i can say I have been to a gaming bar
I was going through some of my Steam achievements on Age of Empires 2 and came across this:
Cause for concern maybe?
Apparently the upcoming PS5 will not be backward compatible with the PS3, PS2 or PS1 (Source).
I will, however grudgingly, accept that the PlayStation is built from unique hardware that would be difficult to replicate but seriously, do Sony want my money or not?
Well it happened: On the weekend, I made it to Level 810 on Elder Scrolls Online.
This means that, after so long, I have achieved the level cap and unlocked all the champion points for all my characters.
So I've done it: I've achieved what I set out to do. I declared that I will commit some key gaming time to ESO for the sole purpose of getting to level 810 and I did it.
But now I face a new problem: Where do I go from here?
It has been observed that once you reached the level cap in ESO then that's it: The game is over and there's nothing left to see or do. And I do agree with that: In order to reach level 810, I went through countless dungeons and traversed through all available areas (all in correct chronological order) - only to come out the other side with a sense that there's no more places to visit.
It also can't be ignored that ESO is, by far and away, the game I have sunk the most hours into. According to my Steam account it is the only game that boasts an investment of over a thousand hours. But that distinction has come because I have been playing ESO near exclusively - often at the expense of the other games in my collection.
Much like WoW before it.
So perhaps it is fitting that with nowhere left to go, the time has come to move on. I guess there was a degree of finality and inevitability to ESO once I made it to level 810 but at least i can say that this time I ended this MMORPG on a positive note (as opposed to loss of interest (WoW) or bitterness (Star Trek Online)).
So to that end I should be grateful.
