Yesterday I wrote a small story/blog on my tumblr page. Oh, that's right, I have a new tumblr page. You can visit it here: http://jakewhlr117.tumblr.com/. Anyway, I was-... well I'll just let you read it.
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Today, SSX comes out. Boy am I excited to play this game again. Not necessarily because I enjoy snowboarding, but because I used to play SSX Tricky on the PS2 all the fuckin time when it was out, so my interest is mostly nostalgia-oriented.
My plan today was after my first couple classes, during an hour and a half break, I would head on over to Gamestop, pay off the other $55 I still owed on it and that would be that. After this past weekend, I have next to no cash on me and I prefer not having to spend my debit money because I don’t know how much is in there… So, I would be using the money I had on my Gamestop PowerUp card, which was only $20, which meant, in order to spend the least amount of money from my debit account, I was going to need to sell some games. The frontrunners to sell back were Skyrim (because I have it for the PC now & I’m never going back), and Mass Effect 2, which I JUST got in the mail from Amazon, so I could prepare for ME3. I haven’t even gotten to touch ME2 though because I’ve been relatively busy and somewhat lost interest in catching up on ME2. I was also considering Forza 4, which I also just got…
So as I’m sitting in my car this morning, studying for my impending Ethics exam, I realized that not only did I forget the games I was going to sell trade in, but I forgot my wallet. I quietly sighed to myself, cursed my Ethics test yet again for making me forget my stuff, and continued studying. In between classes, rather than heading to Gamestop as planned, I headed home to go get what I needed. I picked up the games and headed back out to class. After said class, I headed on over to the mall, Gamestop and SSX awaiting me. I grab the games, reach into my bag for my wallet, and wouldn’t you fuckin know it, I had yet again forgotten my wallet. “Mother fucker,” I said to myself, now unable to blame my Ethics exam and instead cursing my uncharacteristically forgetful manner.
I put my seat belt back on and trudged back home… I would just go back later tonight and do it then because it’s rush hour and there’s too many people about on the roads. I came up to my room and found my wallet immediately sitting on the loft in my room, right where I knew it was from the beginning. A lingering thought popped into my head that perhaps I hadn’t spent all of my Gamestop gift cards that I got for my birthday like I thought I had. I checked where I normally keep extra cards and low and behold, I still had $100 in Gamestop cards. Finally, a reason to rejoice. I no longer have to part with games that I have barely gotten into (sans Skyrim).
So that’s been my Tuesday. I did well on the exam, found I don’t have to get rid of games to get a new one and am now relatively free for the rest of the week. It feels good knowing that I won’t have any major stressors until the first week of April, which I just found out is probably going to be my hardest week of the semester, but I’ll wait until then to unload my stress through the internet. Hope everyone is having a fantastic day! :D
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Since then I have gotten SSX and it's pretty damn fun, but I don't want to spend a whole ton of time on it right away and then wear it out, which is kind of what I did with Forza 4...
There's not much of anything on my plate right now, so what I really want to get to right now deals with, what was considered, a leaked 343Industries vidoc showcasing some Halo 4 cinematic effects. Before continuing on, I'll let you see it for yourself.
Now, since then Microsoft has come out and confirmed that this video is actually fake. I'd like to say next that whoever made this thing did a damn good job of a fake, and to fill it with such amazing imagery to boot. Personally, I hope it somehow turns out that it actually IS real. I don't just hope though. Something tells me that it could be more real than we're taking it.
Many people who saw this video were left pretty confused, and almost rightfully so. It seems that most everyone took this vidoc as a new trailer that is dealing with the story, which left everyone going "What the fuck did I just watch?" This notion also resided in me, but only in a hopeful manner, not in what I thought it actually was.
Let's ignore that this is (so far) a confirmed fake. Let's make the assumption that this actually was real, officially, and was put out by 343i. How do we view this? What impact does this have on how we see the Halo universe and the upcoming Halo 4? I want to start by what I think it actually is- showing off. Everyone seems to only be seeing what they want to see, and that is "Halo 4 Cinematic..." instead of seeing that "Effects" comes right afterwards. This has next to nothing to do with the story at all. Rather, it's just showing what the Halo 4 engine is capable of creating. The blue plasma fire, the explosions, the metallic look, the pulsing blue lights that are so frequently seen throughout the entire Halo franchise. This video isn't a new teaser for us to dissect. It's too early for that. Halo 4 is still probably around 8 months away. This vidoc, which, remember, are videos to show us behind the scenes stuff, like cinematic effect examples like these. So, as I said above, this video would be nothing more than showing off what sorts of things we will see in Halo 4. Nothing more, nothing less.
But what if it actually was dealing with the story? I imagine, as we've seen already, people would be left scratching their heads with a look on their faces that cannot seem to figure out what it is they just watched, and if 343i was actually bringing R2-D2 into the game. To that particular notion, I face-palmed a bit. You see this spherical mechanical thing that looks like it's having sex with the barrel of a rifle, and the first thing you think of is fucking Star Wars? Your mind shouldn't be turning it's focus somewhere that clearly has nothing to do with this. You should be wondering what this actually is. Assuming this was real and it was solely story-focused, I would have guess that it was some mechanical implant within Master Chief that was effectively turning him back on when he's waking up from the cryo tube. This entire video lends itself to the beginning of the Halo 4 announcement trailer, where they are showing that very thing! Before moving on, I also thought that, based on the pretty blue lights that are being shot through microscopic darkness, is showing us the birth of a monitor, much like (SPOILERS) the birth of 343 Guilty Spark that we see in Halo: Primordium.
Despite what the focus of what this video could be showing, there's still a very profound image I get from it. Everything is dark and quiet, and yet there is still bits of bright and colorful beauty in the darkness, alone, not concerned with the struggle with Humanity and Covenant, the discovery of lost histories, and the destruction of all sentient life in the galaxy. No, these are so much small and seemingly insignificant in comparison, not worth mentioning or showing in the Halo universe. But why not? Why not show us this sense of peace, quiet, and beauty that seemingly has nothing to do with anything we've seen so far? If this video was real, and was from the story, then I applaud 343i for showing us something we're so not used to seeing at any point during Halo's history. It gave me the sense that despite everything that is going on in the Halo universe, none of it really mattered. It presents a much deeper theme into Halo; one that, for most, doesn't have a place within the story, or possibly was just in such a small place that no one ever thought to look. But when you do look, I think it speaks volumes. This video, I think, has sold me Halo 4 more than any other Halo 4-related item. It's just a shame that it's fake...
Well, that's all I got going on in my world right now. I hope you enjoyed reading. I leave you with "New Theory," by Washed Out. Enjoy!
Until next time...
Until next time...
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