The basics are in place and this site, Words of the AgingGamer, is now more or less ‘operational’. I’ll eventually create an ‘About’ page explaining who I am and what this blog is focused on, but here are the basics.
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This is a short ‘public service announcement’ relating to an odd problem I encountered with my Xbox Series X.
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The featured image for this post is AI generated. For some reason ChatGPT insists on giving my image a beard and moustache
I recently posted about the games I’ve been enjoying so far this year. But there are a number of upcoming titles that I sense will replace these on my ‘favourites’ list for 2024.
Lists are fun and fairly easy to write, so here goes: my list of games expected in the next six months or so that I’m looking forward to.
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I haven’t posted much recently on the topic of gaming. I should probably give some thought regarding why that is the case. Part of it, I suspect, is that I have thought for quite a while that I should move my gaming-related content onto its own blog like what I did with my motorcycle content and Geek on a Harley. But any more in-depth analysis regarding my relative silence on the gaming front is a topic for a different post.
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I am a gamer, these days primarily of the video / computer game variety. Lately I haven’t felt like writing about gaming on my blog for a variety of reasons.
I do hope to get back to it at some point, and I felt a bit inspired to take a step in that direction by this #blaugust2024 writing prompt from Rieaglenest :
…Do you have memories of an old game consoles/device that you have? What games do you usually play on that console? If it’s not specifically a game console, what do you usually do when using the old device?
Elden Ring is a new game from FromSoftware. They are famous for their ‘Souls’ games that established a whole genre of their own: games with gigantic boss enemies and unforgiving combat. Basically, these games were the origin of the ‘git gud’ meme.
Elden Ring is that “Souls-like’ concept writ large. I have proven once again that I don’t like this style of gaming: but once again it taught me some things about why. It isn’t because I’m ‘not good’ or don’t know how to play. I’ve been playing computer games for over 40 years and, although I’m not claiming any great skill, I can work out the basics. Elden Ring just appeals to a very specific player which isn’t me.
I have had an Xbox since not long after they first came out: back when ‘Xbox’ was the entire name of the console. I’ve been on the Xbox Live service nearly as long: over 16 years.
So it goes somewhat without saying that I wanted to get the latest iteration of the console: the Xbox Series X. Unfortunately the global chip shortage for ‘advanced’ technology components meant that getting one wasn’t so easy. The Xbox Series X was (and still is) very hard to come by: any that appeared online were bought up in seconds, and then offered for sale via Ebay or Amazon ‘resellers’ at several times their retail cost. I fought this battle for about six months in ever-increasing frustration.
I finally got an Xbox Series X in November via the ‘All Access’ program: more on that later. A month later I realized my fancy new console was defective. This is my story.
…| Title | Assassin’s Creed Odyssey |
| Developer | Ubisoft |
| Type | Action RPG |
| Platform(s) | XBox One, PS4, PC (reviewed on XBox) |
| Kelly Score ™ |
80/ 100 |
I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for a few weeks now. I think I can form a personal opinion: it is good, excellent in parts, but struggles somewhat under a weight of grinding which seems clearly in service of micro transactions. Overall, I’m definitely enjoying the game, but I also feel a little bit ‘dirty’… and not because of all the murder.
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I’m not a Pokemon person. My computer / console gaming history started in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s, and completely missed Nintendo. And to be honest, none of the Nintendo games really appeal to me- they are just a bit too ‘twee‘
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| Title | Fallout 4 |
| Developer | Bethesda |
| Type | RPG |
| Platform(s) | XBox One, PS4, PC (reviewed on XBox) |
| Kelly Score ™ |
95 / 100 |
Fallout 4 has been out for over eight months now. Even for a procrastinator like myself, that is more than enough time to formulate an opinion. So now I’ll endeavour to document my thoughts on Bethesda’s latest open-world post apocalyptic role playing game
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