Red Dead Redemption

Because I obviously have nothing better to do than to talk about video games that I've just played.

RDR is created by Rockstar games (of GTA fame) and their experience with free roaming games has really made RDR shine. In many ways, I find that RDR is much more enjoyable than GTA, and I'll go delve into that further (because we all know how interested people are with my thoughts).

The story of RDR goes something like this: you're an ex-outlaw that's quit the criminal life in favor of getting married, raising a son, and living the life of a rancher. However, some government fellows are decide that they'll take your family hostage and force you to hunt down your old gang. I found this to be a much better inspiration to perform missions than the GTA ones where all you're really doing is the dirty work for gangsters, corrupted politicians, and those of that ilk.

I also found the world of RDR to be much more exciting than that of the busy streets found in GTA. The Wild West setting gave the a strong feeling of isolation that made all the human interactions much more meaningful. All the mini-games you can play also felt neater too (i.e. hunting wild animals, treasure hunting) as opposed to the GTA ones (going on dates, shooting random pigeons in the city(why?)). The occurrence of random world events like a man's horse being taken by bandits are a robbery being held at the bank also make the gaming world much more lifelike than before.

Character development wise, I found that I really liked the protagonist, John Marston, as the story went on. His personality, the way he interacts with others (partially through my choices), and his dialogue make him a likable character that you can relate to. It's especially with the final few missions in terms of both content and objectives that make the game feel like it's completed a full circle. It was also sad.

Too lazy to check, but I think I logged a good 25 hours? It was a fun 25 hours. Whee.


In other news...


Being an examiner for the belt gradings turned out to be a bit more physically involved than I thought it would be. The result of that is now my arms / legs / body in general is kind of sore to the point where I can't take off my shirt without my arms aching. It's a side effect of swinging heavy objects around. At least what he hinted at did not point to what actually came about. That, I am hardly surprised at. I am however, surprised at being presented with another stripe. I don't believe it is well-deserved, nor do I truly feel right wearing it. But it's rarely my place to state what's on my mind.


Did another MCAT prep test today (ish). 9,10,6,_. Not sure how I did on the writing sample. Scores are still too low. Too too low. Minor improvement with physics and verbal, but it's definitely not enough for me to achieve anything. More later.


Grapes are delicious. Nom.


First time playing squash in...I don't know, a month? Teaching is always interesting, although I doubt I did a fine job of explaining how the game works, nor techniques for that matter. Broke into my new court shoes a little, the extra grip and lower center of gravity (ish?) makes for tighter movement... but I'll know if that's really true or not when I play an actual game (no offense).


I'm surprisingly not tired despite how little I slept last night. Wait, I rarely sleep anyways, no? Just difficulty falling asleep as well as suddenly waking up early. Odd sauce.


Spring Course marks still aren't up yet. I'm getting a little antsy. Or something.
That I don't know? Don't realize? Not willing to admit? Afraid of? Rejecting? Keeping silent about? Or something. Something.
Or something. There's always something.