All posts by Noob of All Trades

Shawn Lucas is the self identified "Noob of All Trades". He is married and the father of three boys, two of whom help with their own podcast every couple of months. Raised on Atari, Nintendo, and Sega, he enjoys all games and will play all of them to the best of his ability, which is often average at best. Currently, he is most interested in Magic, Heroclix, and other games that he can play with Chris and his sons.
Digital Playground, On the Tabletop

MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 2: Story/Art

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Introduction

It’s that time of year when things get pushed to the background, especially here on the page. But, I remain committed to updating as often as possible. And, so, MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 2 and Part 3 becomes Part 2 only. Who knows? I actually think this works better.

Again, similar to my previous article in this series, a direct comparison between the two feels ridiculous. Wizards of the Coast takes their art and story very seriously. They also worked tirelessly recently to clean up some loose ends and make the story more consistent and coherent. Blizzard went the route of making their stories sillier and their art less realistic. Being someone who likes that style less, I side with Magic the gathering on both.

Showdown in the Badlands Art

As if proof of concept, I found no art in the new Hearthstone set that impressed me other than the new Reno. And, honestly, I think that’s just because I like the card style of the hero cards. The art itself leaves much to be desired. It’s simply a portrait of the hero. Some of the new Druid dragons look cool, too. Other than that, though, the set art is very plain.

Showdown in the Badlands Story

From the Blizzard Hearthstone site:

“The Bloodrock Mining Company found powerful Azerite in the Badlands. They’re digging deep and bleeding the land dry, disrupting the Badlands and awakening slumbering elementals! Now mysterious outlaws are riding into town to set things right. Tumbleweeds roll by and high noon looms. Grab your horse and your hat, it’s nearly time for a Showdown in the Badlands!”

I mean, that’s not a terrible set up for a decent story. But, after that, the pay off lacks some punch. Some of the cards and the mechanics mention the Azurite and other parts of the storyline. However, Blizzard doesn’t weave their story into the game as much as Wizards. So, while I like the story, I wish they gave fans like me a little more to work with.

Lost Caverns of Ixalan Art

I picked these three cards for a reason. The only one I genuinely like as art is Hurl into History. The art matches the card description perfectly. It also gives a great sense of motion. I picked the dragon to give a comparison in art styles between the two games. The Fabrication Foundry does the same. Even when they come up with some ridiculous idea of a being, they still make it seem like it exists in a real and living world. That adds to my enjoyment and appreciation of the art.

Lost Caverns of Ixalan Story

I can’t hope to include the entire story here like I did with the Hearthstone excerpt. The story on the official Wizards page scrolls for thousands of words and follows several different characters. But, what I remember from Ixalan before, it features dinosaurs and pirates. What more can you ask for?

As far as I’m concerned, nothing. But, as Billy Mays always said, “There’s more!” WotC also gives us gods in this set. Unlike some other planes, these gods aren’t explicitly immortal. Rather, when they die, they transform into temple lands with a mana ability that allows the god to reascend later in the game. I like that twist because you can remove the god from the board for a time without having to use an exile spell.

The Verdict

Again, without directly comparing the two, I need to wrap up this MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 2 article. The art for Showdown in the Badlands doesn’t impress me at all. The story, on the other hand, works well enough. I always love looking at old Magic the Gathering sets to revisit the art. I keep track of the story when it’s interesting. Other than the pirates and dinosaurs, I don’t find Ixalan particularly compelling.

Digital Playground, On the Tabletop

MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 1: Mechanics and Keywords

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Introduction

I realized a few weeks ago that both Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone released expansions this week. Instead of reviewing both sets individually (who has time for that?), I decided to write a series comparing the two sets. I, then, further refined the series by splitting it into three parts, mechanics/keywords, story, and art. MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 1 brings mechanics and keywords.

Having never written this type of article before, I have no idea how to approach it. Do I write it as if it was a true battle of the card battlers and come up with a victor at the end? Or, simply give a summary of the two sets and allow the reader to make up their mind. Now that I see that written, that makes the most sense. So, be prepared to make a decision by the end of the week.

Showdown in the Badlands Mechanics and Keywords

According to the Blizzard expansion page, Showdown in the Badlands only introduces two new keywords, Quickdraw and Excavate. For those of you who play Eternal, Quickdraw sounds familiar. However, in Hearthstone it has a completely different effect. Cards with the keyword get a bonus if you play them the turn that they are drawn. The card below gives you an example. If you play this on the turn it enters your hand (so it can be discovered, not drawn is how I interpret that), you get a coin. If you combo it with another card, you get a coin. According to my rudimentary research, you can only generate one coin with this. So, small miracles. Yes, that pun was intended.

Excavate, on the other hand, only applies to certain classes. By my understanding, other classes can excavate cards through Discover, but you don’t get a pay off of the legendary treasure. You simply cycle through the Common-Rare-Epic treasures. If you want to see the various treasures and their rarity level, check out this guide at Hearthstone Top Decks.

Aside from the keywords, the only notable mechanic that I see returning in the set is “Highlander” decks. So called because they only contain one copy (get it?!) of each card, some cards in the game pay off for just such a deck. The most prominent is the original Reno, which healed your character back to full health in the case of only one card left in your deck. Others came along like Kazakus and Zephrys that were fun, but the only ones that really caught on long term were priest cards. Well, Reno is back and he wants your Highlander deck again.

Lost Caverns of Ixalan Keywords and Mechanics

The other reason I didn’t want to directly compare the two sets is that Magic the Gathering is a much more complex game than Hearthstone. Therefore, with each set release, they have more keywords and mechanics. They also have cycles in each set that share a commonality. If you’ve never played the game, you care nothing about those. On the other hand, if you have, then you probably already know all of this. If you somehow exist in another subset of those possibilities, you can read more here.

The two brand new keywords in the set are Craft and Descend. Craft allows you to transform an artifact into a more powerful artifact with a mana and additional cost. Descend refers to your graveyard. You can descend by putting a card into the graveyard. You can check your descend score with an “X” value.

The Verdict

No, I didn’t lie. You won’t find any actual verdict here at the end of MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 1. Instead, I leave you with a question. Which of the keywords has you most excited, interested, or wondering. Are there any that you can see yourself building a deck around? I, for one, love the idea of Reno and I’m putting that in my decks.

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Marvel Comics October 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

Last month saw Amazing Spider-Man rise from the depths to enter “Decent” territory. Spoiler alert: No chance of that happening in Marvel Comics October 2023 or ever again, I think, as long as Zeb Wells writes this title. I can’t take the extreme step that Chris did and remove this from my pull list.

Two Reasons. 1. I discovered a couple of months ago that I own a third of all of the Amazing Spider-Man issues ever printed. B. I worked to put together an uninterrupted run back to at least issue 800. I need to look at my inventory spreadsheet because I went to a couple of stores an a flea market to fill in more issues.

Returning Category: Can We Don’t?

Amazing Spider-Man: (Writer: Does it even matter at this point?, Artist: Patrick Gleason and Ed McGuinnes). I gave Wells a chance. You can’t say that I didn’t. I lasted longer than I ever thought possible with this mess of a title. I intend to keep collecting, but I will not read another Spider-Man story until Wells name is not associated with it. I blacked out during the mention of Paul in 35 and then threw 36 in disgust when I saw Rek-rap. I’m out. My verdict: How dare you?

Decent

Incredible Hulk 6 (Legacy 786, Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist: Travel Foreman). I wrote Chris about a variant upcoming by one of our favorite artists. He said, “Oh, thank God.” then mentioned how bad the art looked this time. Yikes. I like the story, but this one gets demoted because of that art and also the story is too gory for me. I don’t want my Hulk with a blood lust.

Venom 26 (Legacy 226, Writer: Torunn Grønbekk, Artist: Julius Ohta): Torunn Grønbekk is finding her voice in Venom, but it’s still a bit inconsistent. To be fair, I think it might be just where this hero is right now. Ewing tried to clean up the mess left by Cates and did an admirable job. But, there’s just too much happening there right now. I like what I see and have faith. It will take time.

Good

Black Panther 8 (Legacy 217, Writer: Eve Ewing, Artist: Mack Chater): It took me a while to figure out this book. He, like I say, sometimes it just isn’t for you. But I stayed with it because I saw something there. This issue starts to pay off that patience. I enjoyed this issue and I can see this one bumping up to “Great” in the near future.

Captain America (Legacy 752, Writer: J. Michael Straczynski, Artist: Jesus Saiz): I make no secret that, other than Spencer, I think JMS wrote the best Spider-Man of the last 20 years. He gives us a Cap/Spidey team up that soothes the soul from the main title disaster right now. If he keeps this up, he might join Spencer and Brubaker in the Captain America pantheon, too.

Doctor Strange 8 (Legacy 434, Writer: Jed McKay, Pasqual Ferry): I struggled with this one for a bit. I went back and forth between “Good” and “Great”. The title kind of oscillates between those two itself right now. I just couldn’t quite push it to the great this time around. Besides that category is a bit busy right now.

Great

Sensational She-Hulk 1 (Legacy 179)

Image 1 of 5

Writer: Rainbow Rowell, Artist: Andres Genolet

We finally get the pay off in the Avegners to the Planet Eaters or whatever. Each of the Avengers uses their unique strengths to finally best their particular villain. And, now Viz gets a featured story in the next issue (arc?) What more can I ask for?

I can’t believe how closely this title resembles all the great things from the old Lee/Kirby run of Fantastic Four. Ryan North absolutely understood the assignment and continues to deliver fun stories. This time we get the FF (and a prominent villain) as dinosaurs. I mean, come on, if you can’t find fun in that, you have no soul.

We got a payoff for Grootfall in the last issue. Now, we are all Groot. I loved GotG since their introduction in the mid 90s. I think I like this story better even than anything James Gunn did with his movies. They just know these characters and treat this whole thing with such tenderness and, dare I say, love that I want them to write this comic forever.

What can I say about Thor? Al Ewing brings his magic to another title and gives me a reason to enjoy this book again. I forgot he was writing it and missed the first two issues. I’ll fill them in on my next Midtown order. I want this to be a full run like his Immortal Hulk.

I’ve run out of compliments for Rainbow Rowell’s She-Hulk. It is the most fun I have reading comics right now. If you’re not reading this book, you’re doing life all wrong right now.

The Verdict

I’m so mad that comics will probably die in the next few months. Hey, Chris and I have a track record. We need to say this every few months or it might actually happen. Seriously, both companies figured out how to make books fun and entertaining. Marvel Comics October 2023 (other than ASM) gave me so much joy that I don’t even care that much that Amazing Spider-Man is quite possibly the worst it’s ever been.

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DC Comics October 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

Last month, for some reason, they sentme the first issues for Power Girl and Green Lantern. I thought maybe I added them to my pull list or cart to check them out because of the non-reboot reboot “Dawn of DC”. Maybe the latter, but not the former because I’m back to my usual 7 books for DC Comics October 2023.

Overall, the books entertained me this month. None of them were especially bad or annoying. That’s all I ask from my comics books right now. I’m older and softer when it comes to my criticisms. Since there are so few books, I’ll just give my thoughts on each of them in order.

Action Comics 1058

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist: Rafa Sandoval. We got pay off after the evil Superman reveal. Supes keeps his doppleganger busy and away from the public. He pays for it, but defeats the other Supes. Someone talks about turning a Kryptonian and then Clark goes to Steel to have him craft a suit while he heals. I feel like I forgot something because of the Knight Terrors gap. Need to go back and read previous issues again. My verdict: Decent.

Batman 138 (Legacy: 903)/Catwoman 58

Writers: Chip Zdarsky (Batman), Tini Howard (Catwoman), Artists: Jorge Jimenez (Batman), Nico Leon (Catwoman). I put these two together, because they complement one another in the Gotham War storyline. Speaking of, the gild appears to be solidly off the lily on this one. I liked Catwoman better than Batman this month. I have no use for the Zur storyline. But, I like that Catwoman took it upon herself to keep Bruce busy and try to keep Gotham together in the face of overwhelming odds. My verdict: Decent.

Detective Comics 1076

Writer: Ram V, Artist: Francesco Francavilla. A fun conclustion to a two part scarecrow story. It expores the myth of Batman through a conversation between Batman and young Bruce. An old and overused technique. At least Ram V does it well. My verdict: Good.

Flash 2 (Legacy: 802)

Writer: Si Spurrier, Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr. You all know I liked Williamson’s Flash. Like, really liked it. I thought when they shuffled things around books might suffer. Some have a little bit (like Batman), but not this one. This story is weird, but I dig it. My verdict: Great.

Superman 7 (Legacy: 850)

Writer: Josh Williamson, Artist: Gleb Melnikov, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Edwin Galmon. Unlike recent big number issues, they simply continue the current storyline in this one. That’s fine with me. Chris mentioned in the latest podcast that I keep making him rethink taking Supes off his pull list. What can I say? Williamson writes a fun Superman and this story has just enough to keep me interested right now. My verdict: Good.

Wonder Woman 2 (Legacy: 802)

Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sampere. I like Tom King. I wasn’t sure about his take on Wonder Woman after the prologue and first issue. I’m still not 100% sold on it. But, this one gives me just enough of the Tom King magic that I think he might eventually pull it off. My verdict: Good.

The Verdict

Like I said, DC Comics October 2023 has some fun books in it. I like what they’ve done with this latest not a reboot reboot and the creative teams work pretty well together. I do find it interesting that my two favorite books of all time, Batman and Spider-Man are both suffering right now, but they’ll get it figured out.

Visit DC Comics for these books and more.

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October 2023 Independent Comics I Love

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Introduction

I neglected my articles last week. Grades were due for the first quarter at school. I stayed home on Wednesday with a migraine. So, I focused on keeping the podcasts and videos going instead of the articles. But, I’m back this week with the comics reviews as promised. I start with October 2023 independent comics. Last month brought some uneven quality with the Spawn titles, but Ninja Turtles redeemed the month.

Gunslinger 25

Writer: Uncle Todd, Artist: Brett Booth. They dial up the ultraviolence and the naughty words in this one. As far as I can tell, this is a one shot (or maybe part of another ongoing) because only Gunslinger stars in this one. Typical revenge family. My verdict: Decent.

King Spawn 26

Writer: Sean Lewis, Artist: Javi Fernandez. Also a trail of bodies left in his wake. But, we are spared most of the gore in this one. He searches after an entity known as “The Visage”. Asks her for help in preventing Cog from ascending to the throne. I like this approach much more than the Gunslinger in your face. My verdict: Good.

Scorched 22

Writer: Sean Lewis, Artist: Stephen Segovia. She-Spawn is back and she’s different. Or, is she just all that she was ever meant to be? In any case, she’s pissed at just about everyone, especially her team that she blames for her death. This isn’t over. My verdict: Great

Spawn 346

Writer: Rory McConville (with Uncle Todd on additional script), Artist: Carlo Barberi. They keep building this story. I just noticed that it’s the big 350 in 4 months. So, that makes sense. While a bit of a slower issue this time around which mostly focuses on the machinations of each faction, it does give Spawn a reason to care with a slaughter of several of his allies. My verdict: Good.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 144

Writer: Sophie Campbell (with Kevin Eastman as story consultant), Artist: Gavin Smith. I wrote several times during this story that I worried about a drop off in quality from the Armageddon Game. Obviously, that happened (you can’t keep up that pace forever), but not as much as I feared. Campbell built this story with a compelling narrative and sympathetic characters. She finishes it off with a thrilling conclusion. She also expertly sets up the next story. I, for one, hope she writes this book forever. My verdict: Great

The Verdict

October 2023 independent comics brings us a more consistent Spawniverse (good thing because I heard they want to add books to the line up?!) and the consistent awesomeness of the turtles. I need to expand this section and I’ll take some of Chris’s suggestions from the Spooktober discussion in 2 Guys Gaming. See you next month!

Spawn images taken from the mothership. TMNT from IDW.

Digital Playground

Higher Further Faster: Marvel SNAP

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Introduction

Just like the new Marvels movie, Marvel SNAP challenges us to go “Higher Further Faster”. Somehow I missed the last two updates for the game. But, I remember in time for this one. The update releases in a couple of days. I must say. It looks fun.

In one of my previous updates, I said that X-23 might alone bring me back to the game. While I played enough over the last two months to finish the rewards track and get her card, I have yet to play her in any one of my decks. Oh well, however it happened, I came back to the game.

New Locations

The Djinn also gives you +2 energy next turn.

This feels like a location that people will rush. Me, a filthy casual, already have the idea of Quicksilver and Domino and you’re off to the races. I have a hunch that we might see some sort of nerf on this one in the first few days. Maybe you only get a Djinn the first time you play a card or something along those lines.

I’m sure there’s some utility to this location that I’m missing. But, it just feels like one of those annoying locations that will reward my opponent and punish me. Yes, I’m one of those players who sees conspiracy in these types of games. 200 cards in your Magic deck and you still draw every removal and your stupid Agony whatever. FOH.

New Cards

Martyr

Image 1 of 4

At the end of the game, move to a location that LOSES you the game (if possible)

Wow.

Seriously. I see only utility and almost no draw back for all of these cards. I’m putting Martyr in my “Ones” deck. I fill all of my locations with that deck regularly, so there’s no place for it to move. Annihilus is perfect tech against the goblins and also The Hood and that stupid location that takes one power away each turn. Ms. Marvel belongs in my “Ongoing” deck. The only one that will probably end up screwing with me is Gladiator. With my luck, he’s guaranteed to pull their highest power card every time.

The Verdict

This update lives up to its “Higher Further Faster” motto. I love every one of the new cards introduced. I’m not sure about the location that transforms, but the other one seems very exploitable. See you in a couple of days, SNAPers!

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A Note About the FNAF Movie

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Introduction

My kids went to see the FNAF movie on Thursday. They actually put together a group of their friends and took over a movie theater for the event. When I heard, I got the idea to maybe record a special episode of Noob and Sons with them.

Then, I talked with each one of them about the movie. None of them seemed overly impressed with the movie. Because I like to promote positivity whenever positive, I don’t want to release a podcast basically trashing it. So, I collec their thoughts here and put the whole mess behind us hopefully.

Quinn – “It was Okay”

Christine and I both asked him the night of the movie when he returned home. He replied, “It was okay.” But, he reported that he had fun and that’s all that matters. He also told us a funny story about one of his friends who got scared during the movie only when a truck honked its horn. For the record, Quinn is very much like me when it comes to entertainment. His “It was okay” means that he’s pretty disappointed with the whole ordeal.

Aiden – “They Made it for Kids”

Of the three, Aiden sounded the most positive. He said the movie, for what it ended up being, was okay. He didn’t like that they geared it too much for kids. His final complaint is that they should have followed the game more. When I said I only recently played the game, he confessed that he never played it much, either. So, no big surprise, but our horror kid wanted the movie to be scarier.

Liam – “The Problem is the PG-13 Rating”

He said this the other day when we watched Scream as a family. He made the connection because of Matthew Lillard. I need to watch something good with Matthew Lillard in it. “So,” I replied, “you didn’t like the movie.” During his answer, he said this. I asked, “The games aren’t that violent, are they?” He laughed and said they are. It’s mostly pixelated violence, I guess, but they do show people being dismembered and such. Well, I guess I never witnessed that in my quick playthrough last week.

The Verdict

I also considered watching the movie myself and giving my thoughts when I learned that they released it on streaming at the same time. So, for now, we put this subject to rest with the knowledge that all three Lucas-Mullen kids came away disappointed with the FNAF movie.

Digital Playground

Five Nights at Freddy’s First Impressions

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Note: Banner taken from Deviant Art page.

Introduction

As many of you know, the movie releases this Friday. My oldest texted the group chat last week to notify his brothers that he and his friends wanted to go. Because our kids are close, he invited them to come along and even said Aiden could bring his girlfriend. Truly, the movie to heal our divided nation. I thought, perfect for a Spooktober I forgot to plan for this year! I can finally play the game and give my Five Nights at Freddy’s First Impressions.

Of course, I mean actually playing the game. I heard about the game from my kids. They all discovered it in middle school (Quinn earlier because he’s younger) and as far as I know, they played the game. At first, I thought nothing of it. Seemed like a mostly harmless jump scare type game more or less appropriate for the age range. Then, I stumbled on some lore or fan fiction (or both) and some parents seemed worried.

Worried About What, Grandpa?

Well, that’s the thing. I can’t quite put my finger on what about the game actually worries me. I tried explaining it to Christine when we saw the trailer. She said something along the lines of, “Wow, that looks pretty scary. Do you think Quinn will actually enjoy it?” I thought about it for the rest of the movie and then tried to explain my thoughts later in the car on the ride home.

It looks like simply a silly little jump scare game. But then, I read some more lore or fan fiction (or both) and I’m not entirely sure anymore how I feel about the game. The sensible thing would be to try to find those things that concerned me about the game. But, when have you ever known parents to do the sensible thing.

I Did The Sensible Thing

I went on a search for what I might have read and found nothing in the games that I consider inappropriate for my kids. What I found was a companion novel that “shares the same universe” but does not fit together with the game “like a puzzle piece”. It includes a “human element not before introduced in the games”.

So, what I read was that the animatronics were inhabited by the souls of kidnapped children and that seems like an unnecessary addition to me. I understand wanting to be scared. This game seemed to provide just the right fright factor for kids who remember going to Chuck E Cheese and being absolutely terrified by that rat and his minions. Why somebody added the element of abduction and soul stealing rituals to that mythos is beyond me.

Have You Actually Played the Game?

Once.

In anticipation of this week, I loaded up a web version of the game last week. In order to replicate what I understand as the “experience”, I went in with no instructions other than what the game told me. I clicked camers, heard some pots and pans bang around and then received the “Game Over” message.

Once that happened, I looked up some more information on the game. Apparently, the pots and pans alert you to the movements of Chica, one of the animatronics in the game. I needed to respond to that noise in some form or fashion to avoid “Game Over”. Hey, you live and learn.

The Verdict

After my Five Nights at Freddy’s first impressions, I want to play the game more. Unlike my kids, who spent much more time with the game, I have no interest in seeing the movie. However, I might try to record a special version of Noob and Sons this weekend to see what they thought of the movie.

Digital Playground

My Case for Fatal Frame

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Note: Banner taken from here.

Introduction

I came up with the idea for these articles this week in a bit of a panic. When I got sick a few weeks ago and then slogged through the madness of Homecoming while still a bit under the weather, I realized that I neglected the page for two weeks. While not unusual for us around here, at least for the last year I made this page a priority. So, for Spooktober, a collection of articles about the old horror games I used to play. Therefore, I present my case for Fatal Frame.

As what, exactly? Well, let me answer that question with some more exposition. I wrote in my last article that Fatal Frame ranks as my favorite horror game ever made. So, maybe I just write one of my patented articles where I try to convince you that you need to like the game as much as I do. Because, honestly, what else makes sense at this point?

This Game is Scary

I told a story about how I played Silent Hill in surround sound and ambient sounds in the game creeped me out. Resident Evil made me jump more than once. But, only this game kept me on the edge of my seat through the entire game.

So, wait, let me get this right. Psychological massacre horror? One moment of scary? Zombies, a deep rooted fear from childhood? A couple of jump scares? But, a game about a camera that captures the souls of ghosts with a slightly punny title? That one gets your vote as truly scary.

Yep.

Just sitting here and thinking about it. The creepy little ghost kids still give me chills.

The Game is Pretty

Those who come to the page often know that I don’t care much about graphics. I feel compelled (for some reason) to clarify that statement. It depends on the game. Mario? I want the stylized graphics of my youth. A world and story built on atmospheric horror? Give me the goods. This game came out on the PS2, which offered greater graphical capabilities than the PS1 and it showed. Sure, they smartly hid some of the limitations behind darkness and mist. But, even so, the ghosts came through enough to make them legitimately scary.

The Story is Solid

Granted, I don’t remember the entire story. But, I remember the relevant parts. You are tasked with releasing the souls of ghosts using a camera. I know. It sounds silly. And, I admit that when I first heard about the game I thought it might be a joke game. But, the game is no joke. I wanted to keep playing to understand more about these people I met in the afterlife. And the main story provided enough intrigue and suspense that I cared what happened and worked actively to undo the damage.

The Verdict

All of these years later, I haven’t played a horror game that affected me as much as Fatal Frame did. A student asked me again what my favorite video game was and I replied, without hesitation, “Portal 2.” Fatal Frame does much of what Portal 2 did right. It might just be in my top 5 games.

Digital Playground

Noob’s History with Resident Evil

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Introduction

We got a late start on Spooktober this year. I already explained that I think I contracted Covid a couple of weeks ago. Then, I helped with Lip Sync, the parade, and the dance for homecoming at school. So, earlier this week I finally updated with an article about my history with the Silent Hill franchise. Now, I present Noob’s history with Resident Evil.

Unlike Silent Hill, I have much more experience with Resident Evil. I liked the combination of zombie horror with a good story and puzzles that actually required some thought. My love for zombies goes deep. I watched “Night of the Living Dead” as a youngster of about 11 or 12. My parents finally allowed me to stay up late and that’s how I spent the night. Well, I actually spent much of the night rushing to the back door to see if the zombie attack started.

And, honestly, I never stopped looking

Resident Evil

I fell like even with my zombie obsession, it still took me until the Director’s Cut to play the game. I know I owned a Sony Playstation. I bought it for full price only to see the first price drop a few weeks later. It remains, to this day, the last console I paid full price for. In spite of that, I distinctly remember the cover for the Director’s Cut up above. I probably rented it from the video store or Gamefly, got hooked, and then bought it to finish.

It took until the remake on the Gamecube for me to actually beat it. After doing a quick search to verify that game actually existed, it makes sense that I waited until then to finish the game. According to the Wikipedia article I read, they more than remade the game. They completely redesigned it to make it closer to the original vision of the director of the game. Man, this makes me want to play it again. Is it on Steam?

Resident Evil 0

I include this one next because it rekindled my interest in the games. Nintendo always served as my odd ball console. Mario, Metroid, and Zelda every generation. I never considered that the company might “grow up” in such a drastic way. Well, I played the game and I think it is probably my favorite of the entire series. Well, both this and the remake of the first one are on Steam, but they cost 20 dollars each. Time to hope for a sale coming up soon.

Resident Evil 2 and 3

I played both of these as soon as they released. I think I beat 3 first because I liked the story of that one better than the other two. To this day, I don’t think I beat Resident Evil 2. So, now I need to purchase that one as well. Looks like when Steam runs a Black Friday sale and offers a Resident Evil bundle, I’m buying.

The Verdict

That ends Noob’s history with Resident Evil. I never played any of the games after 3. Okay, that’s not true. It seems to be a pattern with me that with Capcom series, I lose interest after three. What’s funny is that with Valve series, I always hope that they finally figure out how to count to three. In any case, I played Resident Evil 4 and absolutely hated it. My favorite scary game, Fatal Frame comes this weekend.