What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?

Halo: Combat Evolved (XBox Series S- Master Chief Collection)

September 19th, 2023

Last night, I felt un-stressed enough to play Halo with a coworker, but about halfway through the fourth level (the second one of the play session), my motion sickness got to me the worst it had in years. I made my guy hide in a corner while my friend finished the level, and I imagined my Master Chief to be the one with severe stomach problems, hoping there was a toilet in the map room when they got up there. Other than that, it was fun. It's a way more colorful game than I expected, and more shooting gallery-ish than I expected, too. I just wish I was more compatible with first person games!

July 26th, 2023

Today, I'm trying to get back in the habit of morning posting, which I feel like helps me have a better overall day. I'm still super tired, but I'm up and going, and that counts for a lot.

After posting last night, I played co-op Halo, finding out that I did not need to be so worried about my FPS skills because I am not friends with jerks. The mix of lovely outdoor scenery and slick sci-fi buildings really surprised me when we got to the second mission, and I'm having a way better time than I expected.

Before bed, I also kept grinding away in Jarataire RPG, genuinely delighted to have hit a point where I have to level grind in a mahjong solitaire game. It bothered me a little at first that you can match any uncovered tiles, not just the edge ones, but it makes clicking through chains of matches really satisfying, especially when special attacks start going off, too. I feel like this game was made specifically for me.

July 19th, 2023

From now on, my new measure of what an uneasy feeling person I am is going to be that, when one of my friends wanted to use the XBox online services to play Halo: Combat Evolved co-op, I panicked because I don't play many shooters, downloaded it ahead of time, and cheat played the first mission on my own to make sure I'm not dead weight. I played Halo 2 multiplayer about 15 years ago, so I did not feel prepared for such a challenge.

Actually, it turns out I was fine, and maybe didn't need to worry, which is also usually true. I'm not sure what I expected, but it felt "gamier" than I expected, and my fears about the controls being too complicated were totally unfounded. It's not like I did amazingly, but I wasn't awful, either, and that's enough.

I also picked Dragon Quest X Offline back up last night, just to do a few battles, and think I know where I need to go next. It's a good feeling.