Just some video game things since I've spent the last few months writing about nothing but French history and Creative Writing. It's something of a palette cleanser.

I beat the original Legend of Zelda!

Yep, whilst the cool kids are out playing and complaining about Mass Effect 3, I downloaded a 25 year old game on my 3DS and beat it. I have to admit though, I enjoyed a fair amount of help from the internet. The game only sporadically offers advice over where to go and what to do. It's like when you hear older gamers saying about how they purchased Nintendo Power to find out what to do in the game. I feel like I've experienced something similar. The game is still pretty entertaining, though I'm not gonna suggest it's aged brilliantly. Still, I feel like it's a reasonable achievement.

Fez is... ok

So I've been pretty excited for Fez for a fair while now, so much so that I actually downloaded it on the day of its release. The whole 'plane-swapping' concept excited me. However, I've only really played it three or four times, and left it since. I've enjoyed it so far, but I just don't find it easily accesible. It just feels like there's a few elements, like the alternate language scribbled everywhere, that just aren't explained too well. There are puzzles which give a fair amount of hints about what result should be achieved, but not enough information about how to complete the puzzle. I need to play the game more before I give a final judgement on it, but I'm just a little concerned that this could be another title everyone loves that I just can't get into.

Resident Evil Revelations is the perfect return to horror

With my increased free time I decided to grab a copy of Resident Evil Revelations. I'm only on Chapter 5 but so far I'm seriously impressed. People have complained that RE has become to action focused in recent years, but this game blends the refinements made to the series since 4 with the general horror atmosphere of the early ones. The enemies are genuinely creepy, looking a little similar to the Necromorphs from Dead Space. The bosses use human dialogue, which adds to the genuinely unnerving nature of the game. It is a fairly scary game, using more than just 'boo!' tactics. Sure the story is a little conviluted and some of the dialogue almost reaches RE1 standards but overall, this is a real atmospheric experience.

I'm still playing Skyrim

I've recently clocked 50 hours in Skyrim since Christmas last year. Honestly, I'm still struck by the scale of the adventure and just how much is availble in the game. I've completed a few of the side quest 'arcs' like the Companions and Dark Brotherhood stuff, but I've still got a ton more I can do. It's ironic that I've paid full price for games with only around 8 hours in their lifespan, yet received Skyrim for free as a present and still find stuff to do with it. I only placed the game fourth on my list of top games of the year, but it's quality.

Avoiding spoilers in video games is getting more difficult

Obviously I haven't had much time to play games recently, so stuff like Mass Effect 3 are still awaiting purchase. However, it's been difficult not to hear the various complaints people have had about Mass Effect 3 and it's ending. Luckily, I don't know the specifics apart from it being disappointing (no spoilers please!) but dodging info is surprisingly difficult on the internet. I'm also trying to do the same for Assassin's Creed III, since I haven't played Brotherhood or Revelations yet. Spoilers are annoyingly numerous, it's just a case of keeping an eye out.

The Bioshock Infinite delay sucks... but might be a good idea

Aside from ruining my Games for 2012 list, there are other reasons to be annoyed at the delay of Bioshock Infinite. For one thing, anticipation has been building since its original announcement in 2010. I've been incredibly excited for this game, so the fact it's been moved from an October release to February next year is disappointing. However, it should also be considered how hectic the release period will be at this time. GTA, Resident Evil 6, Assassin's Creed, Black Ops II and more will be releasing around this time. It sucks to wait, but a February release could yield more attention for the game, and that isn't a bad thing. Still, I don't know if I can have the same game at the top of a Games for 2013 list...

That's it for now. I'll try and return to more structured blogs soon, but tell me what you think. Did you like this rambling? Want me to do more? Tell me in the comments.