Noxx

My heart says Emma, but my boner says Emily...

I finished Dark Souls 3 today. In my opinion the game itself is great, if you look at it separately from the previous titles. I feel like map and level design was great. Weapon and Gear selection is great. The upgrade system is so much better now. Bosses were very good. There's very little negative about the game, but there is one thing that kind of annoyed me. The fact that they're recycling so many of the old NPCs is kind of getting old. I get that they're trying to bring back fan-favorite characters, but it feels kind of lazy. As for the game though, like i said, it was amazing. This is the first time i played a Dark Souls game 100% blind and all the weeks of avoiding spoilers and trailers really paid off. Was well worth it. I did my first run without any shields except for when i used it against one of the earlier bosses. It made the game pretty hard, but i feel like using a shield always makes it just too easy. Might use it on my NG+ Playthrough though just to see if i can keep myself to as few deaths as possible.

I've kinda gotten back into Smite lately. I stopped playing it right after SWC last year, for some reason. Guess i got just got a bit burnt out, but i started playing it again earlier this week and it's been fun. Kinda just waiting for the Destiny update that's due next week, along with DS3. Kinda excited for that. Also been playing some Division on and off here and there. It's such a fun game when i manage to get myself into it.

Had quite an interesting day/evening. I spent the day in the desert with some people i met a few weeks ago. One of the couple that went are a couple from Texas. As we were cooking our meat on the barbecue the Texan guy asked me what meat i was cooking and i pointed out that it was lamb chops. This sparked quite an unexpected conversation, and long story short, they (the Texan couple) seemed completely unaware to the fact that people actually eat lamb. It was a very strange concept to me, but it kind of made me realise that throughout my entire time in the US i couldn't recall eating lamb or mutton once, nor do i even remember seeing it in stores (not that i was ever specifically looking for it). The i realised that whenever i watched American cooking shows (specifically Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives) i can't recall a specific episode where they used lamb/mutton. Also during the day i would, every now and then, talk to the girl i'm "seeing" in Afrikaans. She's Dutch, so it's fairly easy for us to communicate with me speaking Afrikaans and her speaking Dutch. This is how we usually communicate when we're alone, so it was nothing strange to us. But the other people (who were all American) found it strange that we spoke a different language with each other. One of them said that he just assumed since we speak English to them, that English was the language we always used. They seemed confused by the fact that when i'm speaking with my parents or sibling, i speak to them in Afrikaans and not English. So we sort of explained to them that it's just a lot more comfortable and natural for us to speak in our mother language when talking to each other. It would feel really forced and unnatural for me to talk to her in English unless i am forced to do so (because our languages aren't 100% the same, sometimes we have no choice but to rely on english). All in all it was a very fun day, and i found it cool how things as small as these that i never even consider to be strange to me are so strange to others and vice versa.

Now is a terrible time to move to the middle east. But they made it sound so nice with their 9-1 working hours TT_TT Not all jobs are 9-1. Very few are, actually. And those that are usually work split shifts, ie. 9-1 then 3-8 or something like that. But aside from that, lot of companies have been downsizing over the past few weeks due to the economy still steadily crashing. Not so sure how bad it is in neighboring countries, but there's been a lot of people losing their jobs here lately. And every other day you hear of another company losing 500 employees. Kind of on the same note, and kind of ironic, but i'm gonna get back to my aviation studies in a few weeks. Despite what i said about it a few weeks ago (not enjoying it as much anymore), due to the "crisis" here at the moment, it seems like the only sensible thing i can do right now. That is if i want to at least give myself some peace of mind in terms of future job security.

Now is a terrible time to move to the middle east.

I really wish they would make a sequel to Skyrim, or a remastered version for the current consoles. It's the first open-world RPG i ever played, and it's the game that "won me over" for that genre and basically turned my interest from FPS games to RPG games instead. I recently finished my first full playthrough of Bloodborne. I was kind of disappointed to be honest. It wasn't as difficult as i had hoped. Most of the bosses were a lot easier than i expected. If i didn't kill them first try, i killed them in 3 or 4 attempts maximum. Even the final boss only took me 3 or 4 attempts. I think it's because i got used to the parry system very early on in the game which ended up making so many bosses and areas pretty trivial as long as i had the ammunition to deal with it. I plan on doing a NG+ playthrough at some point though, i just want to get the DLCs for it first. Also been playing some Destiny and The Division. Actually a lot of Destiny. Really liking it, especially the PvE side of it. I'm working on a second character at the moment so i can get rewarded more than just once a week. Strangely enough, even though The Division is very similar to Destiny, i have found myself unable to put the same amount of hours into it as i can with Destiny. I can play it for an hour at most before i either get bored, or frustrated. With Destiny i can easily lose an entire evening without realising it. I'm kind of excited for Dark Souls 3 coming out soon. My only fear is that, from the limited game-play i've allowed myself to watch, i feel like it might go back to the typical Dark Souls 2 playstyle. The playstyle that everyone criticized. The "strafe around an enemy and backstab them" playstyle, which really makes the game too easy. The bosses i saw also looked a lot easier than i would have liked. I'm hoping they impliment a lot of the Bloodborne mechanics though.

I had this yesterday except no flooding since we got all sorts of canals despite the drought There's just no drainage here, so whenever it rains even a small amount, there's water all over the place for days. The roads aren't build for rain either, so they start forming sink holes. You need to be so careful when you drive in the rain here, cause you never know if the road you took this morning will still be there in the afternoon.

Well... to be honest, it's a tough question for me to answer. I feel like most of the negative things you'll hear on the media are things that have little or no impact on my life. So to me living here would be the same as living almost anywhere else apart from a few minor changes. My life here is the same as it would be in a country like the US, for example. Only difference is i would most likely not be able to have such an "extravagant" lifestyle. The things that do affect me are things i've either adjusted to, or they have such a small impact that they're not noticeable. Kind of a vague question though, so i'm not really sure how to answer.

Weather has been stupid past 3 or 4 days. Raining constantly. And i'm not talking the drizzle we usually get, this was full on tropical-rainstorm type stuff. Even hailed a bit earlier too. I really dislike rain in this country because half the roads become inaccessible, especially if your car is low.

Someone's "pet" tiger got loose today, and was roaming the streets of the city.

Nah i got it for PS4. Friend of mine doesn't have a PC that can handle it so i just got it on PS4 instead. Have you watched any sort of gameplay on it or anything? I haven't watched much more than the trailer so i don't really have any idea what to expect.

I just think at some point they become "too young". 7 year difference at my age is a big difference. I think if you're like 40 dating a 30 year old it's fine, but a 25 year old dating someone that's pretty much still in high school is a bit weird. Oddly enough i got a call from her earlier today asking me if i had any interest in maybe taking her sister out who's new in town. I agreed to it without knowing what her sister looks like. I didn't really want to ask for a picture of her before i said yes or no because that would pretty much just come off as douchey. She did refer to her as her "hot older sister" so there's hope. I wish you the best lol By the way, did you hear the rumours about Ghosts 2? If they're accurate, i find it kind of a strange move after the bad response Ghosts got.I might be the only person in the world that cares about the CoD campaign stories, but they've got to deal with that cliffhanger ending they gave us. If it is Ghosts 2 I wonder if they'll keep the advanced movement or go back to the old system. Actually a statistic i saw a long time ago showed that only a small portion of people who buy CoD actually play it online. Something like 19% or 32%, i don't remember which. And as far as i remember, the only good thing people had to say about Ghosts was that the campaign was really good. As far as the advanced-movement thing goes, well it can go either way. On the one hand you have people who play the game casually, who really just want to shoot some people, who don't really understand the negative implications the advanced-movement has on the game. So to them they'll have fun and play it, with or without advanced-movement. On the other hand you have players who take the game a bit more serious, who compete, etc. They understand how the advanced-movement makes the game a lot more fluky than it should be, which ends up lowering the skill-gap. It's not as bad in BO3 as it was in AW, but it still adds a lot of inconsistency and you still lose a lot of gunfights you shouldn't/wouldn't normally lose. So i'm sure these kind of players would prefer to see advanced-movement gone. In my personal opinion i think Infinity Ward has the perfect opportunity to redeem themselves after releasing MW3 which was pretty awful, and then Ghosts which is considered to be one the worst (if not the worst) CoD in history. I don't know how well it would fit in with the story-line of the Ghosts campaign (i never played it), but if they manage to bring us a WW2-ish game, or at the very least a "boots on the ground" game, i think they'll make a big part of the community (the community that actually cares about balance) very happy. And they need to remove the concept of specialist abilities/weapons completely. I think it's a very poorly executed copy of Destiny and quite frankly it just doesn't fit in CoD at all (because it just adds yet another element of inconsistency). Developers seem to cater towards bad players, and bad players make up the majority of the community. But bad players will play the game regardless, so they're basically catering towards players who really don't give a shit as long as they get to shoot a gun. I find it strange though because personally i really enjoyed AW despite some of the infuriating aspects of it, but i don't really enjoy BO3 as much even though i think it's technically a better game. But i would prefer a more old-school CoD just because it caters to my playstyle a lot more.

Some stores here are already selling it. Like i said, i got my copy on the 28th or 29th already. It's useless though since the servers aren't up yet so it's not like i get to play it before anyone else.

Can't wait to play it. Been sitting on my desk for 10 days now staring at me.

Might be a bit of a weird/awkward thing to ask, but what are your guys' opinions on grooming and more specifically "man-scaping"? I went to a pool party 2 days ago and noticed i was one of the more hairy people there. I don't have a ton of chest hair but i guess i could say i do have a fair amount. I have never really given much thought about shaving my chest because a.) i think it's too much hassle and b.) due to my lack of muscle (and my pasty white skin) i feel like it would make my body resemble that of a 12 year-old boy's. That said, i did notice some guys with similar body types that definitely didn't share my opinion. I will sometimes shave my armpits in the summer, but that's mostly due to the heat, and to more easily manage/prevent body odor resulting from sweat. I don't know if it actually helps/works, but i feel like it does. As for "man-scaping"... well i kinda feel like it's a very hit-or-miss department and can be largely dependent on your partner's preferences. I've been with girls who thought any sort of trimming is weird, i've been with girls who thought that a "pornstar trim" was the only way to go, and i've been with girls who didn't care if the snake was out in the open or hidden in the bush. Personally i don't really care either way, and i feel it's kind of selfish to limit myself in those regards. I know i have my preferences when it comes to girls, so it's completely understandable when they have their preferences. With that said, i know some guys who think different.

I just think at some point they become "too young". 7 year difference at my age is a big difference. I think if you're like 40 dating a 30 year old it's fine, but a 25 year old dating someone that's pretty much still in high school is a bit weird. Oddly enough i got a call from her earlier today asking me if i had any interest in maybe taking her sister out who's new in town. I agreed to it without knowing what her sister looks like. I didn't really want to ask for a picture of her before i said yes or no because that would pretty much just come off as douchey. She did refer to her as her "hot older sister" so there's hope. I wish you the best lol By the way, did you hear the rumours about Ghosts 2? If they're accurate, i find it kind of a strange move after the bad response Ghosts got.

I just think at some point they become "too young". 7 year difference at my age is a big difference. I think if you're like 40 dating a 30 year old it's fine, but a 25 year old dating someone that's pretty much still in high school is a bit weird. Oddly enough i got a call from her earlier today asking me if i had any interest in maybe taking her sister out who's new in town. I agreed to it without knowing what her sister looks like. I didn't really want to ask for a picture of her before i said yes or no because that would pretty much just come off as douchey. She did refer to her as her "hot older sister" so there's hope.

I'm 25. So it's kinda weird.

I accidentally asked an 18 year-old out on a date...

So i bought The Division the other day when i went to buy Bloodborne. It's such a tease having it but not being able to play it yet. Only a week to go. And now that i've actually had some time to sit down and really play Bloodborne i actually kinda like it. Sometimes i think it's a lot easier than Souls games, but sometimes i think it's a lot harder. Either way, it's still really fun.

Activision bought MLG for like $50 million, so they're going to look to get their studios to make eSport options in their multiplayer. You can blame Activision also for the in-game purchases too, they've started to do it with all their console games. I heard a whisper that Infinity Ward's next COD is going to be something new, but I can't even remember the source so.. don't trust me lol. Also I believe Treyarch is working on a new series, I believe the Black Ops series is over. This is highly speculative, but i think CoD might be returning to the WW2 era, or at least something based on that type of game. Apparently AW added the M1 Garand recently, which some people believe might be a hint towards what they might already be working on. I also heard a rumor that IW is working on a game based on that style/era. It's good and bad. Like i previously mentioned, people always refer to CoD4 and to some degree MW2 as being the best CoD games in history. But i think that's purely because of nostalgia. Those games with today's players are probably just as likely to be as infuriating and as bad as the current games. Additionally, i think it's going to be a tough transition going from the fast paced/movement based games we currently have, to a much slower game with no "advanced movement".

I hear BO3 is a must buy :) I think the OnePlus is the best buy for your $$ or just buy something used off eBay. https://oneplus.net/x I already have BO3 on Xbox One. It's alright, but i kinda lose interest in it really fast. CoD just isn't as captivating as it was a few years ago. I think that because the development cycle was limited to 2 years for each studio there wasn't a lot of time to innovate the series, now that Activision has tapped in Sledgehammer as the 3rd studio developing a COD title, I think each succeeding COD title will start to show more innovation and hopefully be able to recapture the excitement of the earlier titles. BO3/Treyarch were the first to be given 3 years of development and it shows through the wealth of content that was available at ship. I also think there is going to be a increasingly larger focus on eSports going forward. It's a double-edged sword though. For 2 reasons as well. Firstly, the way the development cycle works, even in the past, actually has sort of a negative affect on the next developers. Sledgehammer came out with AW and the advanced movement and whatever. I assume they thought it would be a lot more successful than it really was. By the time the game was released, i'm sure Treyarc was already deep into development already. Then, after a few weeks/months when the honey-moon phase wore off and people started getting their own more rational opinions about the game, they realised they didn't like it as much as they initially thought they did. By this time it was too late for Treyarc to abandon the "advanced movement" and i guess they just decided to tone it down as much as they could. Instead of sticking to their guns and making something similar to BO2, they decided to make something similar to AW, and eventually had to settle for something in between. As a result you now have a game that's "not nearly as good as BO2, but at least it's not as bad as AW/Ghosts". That's still not a very positive review if you ask me. And now, with a 3 year cycle, the game will be 2 years into development before they really know what the public wants different. Unless a developer complete ignores what the previous developer is doing, and does his own thing. I think the only thing a 3 year cycle might ensure is a smoother game with fewer glitches/bugs, but even then that's probably not going to be true. As for the eSports side of things... Well i don't know how much you follow it, but CoD has seen a slight increase in traffic since they switched from MLG.tv to Twitch, but i wouldn't call it anything significant. The real problem however is that the more people watch competitive, the more competitive the game will become. This is probably going to push away a large portion of casual players who no longer enjoy dying 80 times a game, to players who sweat G-Fuel and play like they're getting paid to play. There's a reason skill-based matchmaking was/is such a hated thing. I know a lot of the people i used to play with quit for that very reason. They got tired of playing against people who were either just as good as them, or much better. Additionally, i don't think CoD will ever really grow as big as say CS or LoL, because it's on console. But i also don't think switching to PC is a good idea either, because completely kill the scene. Players who are currently the best probably won't be the best on PC. In fact, i'm pretty sure they'll be average. And a big reason people enjoy watching CoD is because of their favorite players. I don't think CoD needs innovation. I just think the game has really run its course, and reached its peak. People always get nostalgic about CoD4 and MW2, but that's only because back then the game was still very fresh. Basically a new concept. I can almost assure you that if they release a more "boots on the ground" game like everyone is always begging for, the sales might be very good, but online activity won't be. Not after the first few weeks anyway. People will buy it because they'll want to "relive" the glory days, but they'll soon realise it's just another CoD game and the ones who aren't sweating each game will stop playing, or only play now and then. Just like it is now. There's a reason Supply Drops became available for purchase, and there's a reason they're here to stay. I know that sales numbers might prove otherwise, but those sales numbers are very deceiving because it doesn't take into account how many of the people who buy the game actually play online. I remember reading something last year that mentioned something like only 19% (or it might have been 32%) of the people who buy CoD play it online. With a game like CoD that's really meant for the multi-player, those are the numbers you need to be looking at. And judging by the fact that they removed the "Players Online" display from the main menu, i can only imagine that it's not a good number. I don't think CoD is really dying by any means, i just think it's kind of stagnant and really won't see much growth. People who want to watch a serious FPS eSport will watch CS, and people who want to play a casual FPS will play CoD until they get tired of getting destroyed every game. EDIT: Sorry for the text wall.

I hear BO3 is a must buy :) I think the OnePlus is the best buy for your $$ or just buy something used off eBay. https://oneplus.net/x I already have BO3 on Xbox One. It's alright, but i kinda lose interest in it really fast. CoD just isn't as captivating as it was a few years ago.

Decided to buy a PS4 today. Friend of mine recently got a PS4 and has been enjoying Destiny a lot, so i decided to get it to have someone to play Destiny with. Think i might finally buy Bloodborne as well. Never really gave it much of a chance before since i only played it for a short time when a mate left his PS4 at my house. Gotta admit, i think i like the general feel and UI of the PS a bit more than Xbox.