The Summer of Slack

Sometime, life just a funny way of getting in the way of all the fun. I had such grand plans to start a gaming blog, get it rolling, play some games, give my thoughts on that and other things and share it with the internet world.

It lasted 3 months. Life took over.  Or a regression toward the mean.

I had a lot to say and didn't really have the time or energy to say it. For one, work kind of took over for a bit, then stuff at home, and then I just got lazy. Its pretty easy to get sidetracked.
Then on the recommendation of a friend, I decided to download Trials HD; it was all downhill from there.

That's me.

Where the hell have I been all summer? Playing an XBLA game from last summer. I honestly don't know if I've ever gotten more out of a fifteen dollar video game.

For the un-addicted, Trials puts you in the seat of a motorcyle/dirtbike and you have to traverse a various assortment of stunt tracks, trying to not take a spill nor be too slow. The physics of the game are what's going to get you: you can easily flip your bike one way or the other if you don't lean the right way. You also can't go full throttle the entire time, either. You have to run up ramps that require precision speed and handling, which is time consuming to learn, but rewarding to master.

You always know where your friends stack up.

This game alone would have been enough to suck me in, but there are mini-skill games that take this thing over the top. Mini games are unique running from a ski-jump (distance), to a game where you have to run as far as you can before you explode in flames, to one where you have to stay on one wheel before your front wheel falls off (technique).

[Going to take this moment to brag about my top 1% distance in both original and DLC ski jump game. Brag.]

This game also brings out the competitive nature in the player. You will get better because you not only want to get gold medals in all the events, but you also want to beat your friends. That has driven me these last few months to improve my game, read up on strategy, and spend hours upon hours trying to improve my skill and be number one on my friends list leaderboards. This is a game one can pick up, think they can play for just a few minutes and next think you know its 3 in the morning, and you are certain this next run will be your best.

As for this blog, it will be back. I've been doing more than playing Trials this time. I promise the three people that read this that there will be some more content coming in the next few weeks. There is a lot to talk about.

TL;DR- I'm lazy.