Grace – Page 36 – AggroChat

Games While I’ve Been Alive

January 23, 2018 by Grace

Belghast posted a list of the most important games to him for every year of his life. I decided this would be a fun thing to do too. Little did I know how much I would agonize over some of these choices. There were a couple years where I just could not choose only one game. Conversely, there were a few years where I barely played anything worth remembering. Without further ado here is my list:

1979 Asteroids
1980 Pac-Man
1981 Frogger
1982 Pole Position
1983 Spy Hunter
1984 Tetris
1985 Super Mario Bros., Oregon Trail
1986 Bubble Bobble
1987 Space Quest II
1988 Super Mario Bros. 3
1989 Prince of Persia
1990 Dr. Mario
1991 Lemmings
1992 Wolfenstein 3D
1993 Myst
1994 Final Fantasy VI
1995 Descent
1996 Diablo, Tomb Raider
1997 Final Fantasy VII
1998 Parasite Eve
1999 Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
2000 Icewind Dale
2001 Pikmin
2002 Ratchet & Clank
2003 Beyond Good & Evil
2004 Katamari Damacy
2005 Metroid Prime Pinball
2006 Kingdom Hearts II
2007 Portal
2008 World of Warcraft: WotLK
2009 Dragon Age: Origins
2010 Plants vs. Zombies
2011 SW:TOR
2012 Diablo III
2013 Final Fantasy XIV: ARR
2014 WildStar
2015 Undertale
2016 Stardew Valley
2017 Horizon: Zero Dawn

Reading Challenge #83: The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks

January 22, 2018 by Grace

It’s time to start on my reading challenge in the new year! The next item on my challenge list is the Culture Series by Iain M. Banks. There are nine novels in the series, but as usual I’ll just be tackling one to complete the challenge. Oddly enough I have read the first book in this series as well as one of the later ones before, and quite enjoyed them. This month I re-read the original Culture novel, Consider Phlebas, which was first published in 1987.

This novel takes place during a war between two huge space-faring civilizations, the Idirans and the Culture. It’s told from the point of view of Horza, a member of a highly-modified race that can shape their appearance to their choosing. He’s working for the Idirans, because even though he doesn’t subscribe to their religious fanaticism, he likes the Culture’s reliance on AI and technology even less.

His mission is to retrieve a Mind, the sentient AI core of a Culture ship, from its hiding place on Schar’s World. This is complicated by the fact that Schar’s World is protected by a race of superbeings that don’t want it disturbed by the ongoing war. It is also complicated because shortly after getting his orders, Horza’s ship comes under attack and he is left drifting in space.

The story takes a few strange turns as Horza eventually makes his way to Schar’s World. It lets us see a bit of the wider universe, and the types of people and technology that populate it. I also enjoyed seeing the interactions between Horza and his counterpart from the Culture. They are on different sides of the war and are at odds from the first moments of the book but they never dehumanize each other and end up with something resembling a grudging respect at the end. Horza as a character is fascinating since he is treated as something of a second class citizen among the Idirans, and he doesn’t believe in their religious crusade. Yet, he’s willing to give up everything to help them defeat the Culture.

From reading both Consider Phlebas and Surface Detail, I can say that at least in some cases you can read books in this series out of order without issues. It makes a nice change from some of the sprawling continuous epics that are on this reading list. It’s also fun to learn more about this universe and the Culture from different perspectives. I will definitely be adding the rest of this series to my growing pile of “books I want to read once I finish my challenge list”.

TL;DR: This book has shapechangers, laser battles, intrigue, and super powerful AIs. You will probably find something in here to like.

The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks

Rating: 4/5 stars

Verdict: Would recommend!

Next up: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

AggroChat #187 – Pax South Vicariously

May 21, 2019January 14, 2018 by AggroChat

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo and Thalen

Firstly I feel like I need to lead with an apology. I’ve picked up some crud over the last few weeks and as a result my voice is pretty rough. I manage to make it through the show but there are a handful of long pauses where I went into a coughing fit. Tonight we talk about how jealous I am that Ash is at Pax South and I am not. The timing was horrible and I wouldn’t have wanted to be there in this condition anyways. We talk a bit about Destiny 2 announced changes and Kodra’s recent experiences with Super Mario Odyssey. From there we dive into the recent Nintendo Direct and Tam’s current forray back into Final Fantasy XIV. Lastly we talk a bit about the Total War series, specifically Warhammer 1 and 2.

Topics Discussed

Pax South Stuff
Lightseekers Awakening
Destiny 2 Changes
Super Mario Odyssey
Nintendo Direct
Final Fantasy XIV
Warhammer Total War I/II

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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AggroChat #186 – Games of the Year 2017

May 21, 2019January 7, 2018 by AggroChat

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo and Thalen

After our long holiday break we return to record the 2017 Games of the Year show. This time around we have sixteen games to talk about. When you get six hosts and ask them what their favorite games were for a calendar year… you are going to get a bunch of answers. Traditionally in the past we have split this into two shows, but this year we recorded it in one go for a show that weighs in a little over 2 hours long. It was a great year for gaming and as always we would love to hear what our listeners favorite picks were.

Games Discussed