Choice Paralysis: Video Game Edition

For 2019 I’ve made several resolutions – many of which are directly related to my writing. One of them is just quantity. I started off 2018 with the goal of 3 blog posts a week, which I kept to for about a month and change. By the end of the year I was getting two to three a month done which is still good (because I was still writing!) but not an output amount I felt good about.

Part of my writing problem is I feel everything article I write on here has to have a definitive point. It has to either be a review or an in-depth analysis or a summary of games I’ve been playing. Sometimes I have a lot of topics I really want to write about but can’t decide on one, or I wait for that “moment of inspiration” that drives me to choose one out of a hat. And because of these factors sometimes I never write at all.

This leads into the topic that I’m writing about today that applies to my writing, video games, and life in general: choice paralysis AKA analysis paralysis.

Continue reading “Choice Paralysis: Video Game Edition” →

Episode 17 – This Man Did Some Cocaine

It’s the first episode of Make Me A Gamer in the year 2019! We’re starting off with a bang as HarveyZ talks about some fan interactions he’s had over a specific game reference he made. Then TMan tells the story of how a single game nearly destroyed the video game industry in America, and they wrap up the episode by talking about some games scheduled for release in 2019 that they’re looking forward to. Happy New Year everyone, and we’re looking forward to sharing many more episodes with you! (This episode was recorded December 18th, 2018.)

TMan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmanplaysgames

HarveyZ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThaZIsSilent

Make Me A Gamer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MakeMeAPodcast

E-Mail Us at: makemeagamerpodcast@gmail.com

As always, thank you so much for listening and please leave us ratings and feedback however you’re listening to our podcast!

The 2018 Manatees – Writing Edition!

Last Friday on a bonus episode of the Make Me A Gamer Podcast, I doled out the first-ever Manatees (T-Man, manatee, get it?) to some of the games I really enjoyed this year. But I also wanted to write up a companion article to expand a little bit on all the games I talked about and a few I didn’t get to on the podcast.

In the podcast I go over a lot of the technical and mechanical details as to why I enjoyed the game, but in this piece I wanted to go a little more into the feelings and emotional side of the games. I’ve gotten into a habit of writing about and reviewing games from a detached, matter-of-fact standpoint instead of really exploring how games make me feel. Sometimes a game just has that je ne sais quoi and grabs you from the beginning and never lets go.

So here are TMan’s 2018 Manatees in article format. Hope you enjoy, and happy new year!

Continue reading “The 2018 Manatees – Writing Edition!” →

The 2018 Manatees! (And One TKO)

What’s this? Two episodes of Make Me A Gamer in one week? It must be a Christmas miracle! TMan and HarveyZ got together to record a shorter, bonus episode (although it didn’t end up nearly as short as intended) to talk about their favorite games from 2018. HarveyZ talks about the one game he played that was released in 2018, and then TMan gives out the first ever Manatee awards for his games of the year! We hope you enjoy, and we’ll see you all in the new year! (This episode was recorded December 18th, 2018.)

TMan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmanplaysgames

HarveyZ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThaZIsSilent

Make Me A Gamer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MakeMeAPodcast

E-Mail Us at: makemeagamerpodcast@gmail.com

As always, thank you so much for listening and please leave us ratings and feedback however you’re listening to our podcast!

Episode 16 – Mug Liquid

On this episode of Make Me A Gamer, TMan and HarveyZ get their hands dirty to discuss a lot of gaming news. They talk about Super Smash Bros Ultimate and the policemen who settled it in Smash, the Playstation Classic and the ethics of emulators, and Fallout 76’s many controversies and failures. They also compare Pokemon teams (TMan’s from Let’s Go and HarveyZ from way back in Red/Blue) and finish up with The Game Awards and the Persona series. (This episode was recorded December 11th, 2018.)

TMan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmanplaysgames

HarveyZ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThaZIsSilent

Make Me A Gamer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MakeMeAPodcast

E-Mail Us at: makemeagamerpodcast@gmail.com

As always, thank you so much for listening and please leave us ratings and feedback however you’re listening to our podcast!

Episode 15 – HarveyZ Vs. A Child

On this week’s episode of Make Me A Gamer, TMan and HarveyZ talk about a few of their favorite games. They get to Final Fantasy Tactics, Chrono Trigger, and Brutal Legend, and also talk about a recent game they played together called Oh Sir! The Insult Simulator. Then they reminisce about playing Age of Mythology in college, talk a little bit about their adventures in recording Let’s Plays for YouTube, and HarveyZ shares a harrowing experience from a trip abroad. (This episode was recorded October 6th, 2018.)

TMan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmanplaysgames

HarveyZ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThaZIsSilent

Make Me A Gamer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MakeMeAPodcast

E-Mail Us at: makemeagamerpodcast@gmail.com

As always, thank you so much for listening and please leave us ratings and feedback however you’re listening to our podcast!

Review: The Messenger

Last week I was on vacation in New York City and before I left I took advantage of the Black Friday eShop Sale. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of games on my Switch for entertainment while we were taking it easy. I added The Messenger and Valkyria Chronicles 4 to my library, in addition to having Pokemon Let’s Go, and I figured between the three that’d be enough to keep my attention.

It turned out I only needed to buy one game because The Messenger was all I touched the entire trip. I started it on the Monday train ride up and beat the last boss on the Saturday train ride back home. And let me tell you something: this little game kept my attention the whole time. I was never bored, frustrated, or wanting to switch it up with another game. Once this fun ninja platformer got its hooks in me it never let go.

This fun, amazing game released on PC and Switch at the very end of August – basically when I was avoiding starting or grabbing anything new in prep for the upcoming Spider-Man – so that’s why I didn’t play it when it released. But I’d heard good things about it so I thought I’d give it a try as a fun distraction during vacation down time. I was not expecting it to charm me and become one of my favorite games of the year.

So let’s dig a little deeper into why I loved the game in a full review – general spoilers for the game will follow:

Continue reading “Review: The Messenger” →

Bonus Episode – The Fabled Episode Zero

So TMan overestimated his ability to edit a full episode after returning from his vacation, but never fear! He’s not going to let a Tuesday go by without an update! So here’s your first bonus content from the Make Me A Gamer crew: the much talked about, long-awaited Episode Zero! That’s right, you get to hear TMan and HarveyZ’s humble beginning, before they even knew what their podcast was going to be called. The scheduled episode will be coming later this week, but for now enjoy this look back into our past!

TMan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmanplaysgames

HarveyZ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThaZIsSilent

Make Me A Gamer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MakeMeAPodcast

E-Mail Us at: makemeagamerpodcast@gmail.com

And as always, thank you so much for listening and please leave us ratings and feedback however you’re listening to our podcast!

Episode 14 – Monkey in the Box

On this week’s episode of Make Me a Gamer, TMan and HarveyZ forego topical news to discuss some games they’ve been playing. HarveyZ has another XCOM 2 update, and TMan’s been playing Hitman 2 and a mobile game called Piffle. We also talk a little bit about Lady Gaga playing Bayonetta before diving into a very spoiler-filled discussion of The Stanley Parable, which both TMan AND HarveyZ had a chance to play before the podcast! (This episode was recorded November 27th.)

NOTE: For about thirty seconds at the 37 minute mark of the podcast, you may hear some audio disturbance. Do not panic, do not adjust your set: it was part of the podcast that was unable to be edited out as TMan is not a professional audio editor yet. There are a few other audio errors within the podcast but hopefully not as noticeable.

TMan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmanplaysgames

HarveyZ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThaZIsSilent

Make Me A Gamer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MakeMeAPodcast

E-Mail Us at: makemeagamerpodcast@gmail.com

And as always, thank you so much for listening and please leave us ratings and feedback however you’re listening to our podcast!

Episode 13 – Predator with Parkour: The Assassin’s Creed Episode

On this week’s episode of Make Me A Gamer, TMan and HarveyZ have an unusually focused episode where they do a deep dive into Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and the Assassin’s Creed series as a whole. They do get on a few of their trademark tangents, though, including discussing magicians, sex scenes in video games, and….John Leguizamo’s The Pest? (This episode was recorded on October 13th.)

TMan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmanplaysgames

HarveyZ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThaZIsSilent

Make Me A Gamer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MakeMeAPodcast

E-Mail Us at: makemeagamerpodcast@gmail.com

As always, thank you so much for listening and please leave us ratings and feedback however you’re listening to our podcast!