“Monster Hunter: Wilds” Is MH Worlds 2.

Posted by Karl Weller on November 13, 2024
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Having sampled a fleeting 4 or 5 hours traversing “Monster Hunter Wilds” desiccated new land during Capcom’s open beta, the best compliment I can give and what is certainly “Wilds” most satisfying quality, is being an almost identical replica of Monster Hunter World. This may seem like damning with faint praise, but is exactly what I’m looking for in a Monster Hunter sequel. Infamous for its convoluted mechanics, that requires significant patience to even handle any competency, it’s a relief to find that a game I have dedicated considerable time to learn, functions almost identically. Sure it features its own individual qualities that differentiates it from its predecessors, freshening what some might consider repetitive of perhaps even lazy game design. But as someone with limited time/patience to learn new mechanics, the brevity in complicating an already complex system is an exciting prospect for me.

The new additions do add, however superficial, are useful. Taking down the numerous beasts you come across has always been an exercise in patience, stamina and durability. These are conflicts that require the utmost of team synergy to overcome. Weak points exposed by continued attacks, are now highlighted and can be exploited. As a bow user, persistent button prompts with the R1 trigger allow you to bombard the afflicted area, rendering the creature immobile and allowing for powerful, accurate incisions. You can also navigate this barren wasteland with much more efficiency, mounted to the back of “Seikret”, a kind of camel/lizard composite. A mobility option used in “Monster Hunter Rise”, albeit with a different mountable ally. With it you can chase down retreating monsters quicker, while enabling a dynamic verticality across this huge environment. Though this is fun, it is a difficult creature to control at first, as it tends to scurry off before you’ve had the chance to adapt its speed. And much like every Monster Hunter game before, the controls aren’t exactly intuitive.

There is also adaptive weather conditions. In one instance an intense thunderstorm buffeted the wilds, causing me to retreat back to the safety of the hub. How this effects you during exploration or combat is unclear, at least to me anyway, as I was too scared to venture out, for fear of being toasted. Overall there isn’t anything here that will blow you away as a returning player, just a few quality of life adaptions and the thrill of the hunt. What is clear is that if you have enjoyed previous installments in the series, particularly “Worlds”, then you will almost certainly enjoy this.

Why Do I Blog?

Posted by Karl Weller on November 7, 2024
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My initial motivation when I started penning my series of sporadic, eccentric and barely competent thoughts and tangents into something resembling wisdom, was that this platform would somehow catapult me to journalistic eminence. That I would become an independent voice of distinction amongst a litany of capricious mainstream media puppets. An originator of idiosyncratic thought, capable of cutting through the corrupt bias of the established media, influenced by their corporately funded overlords. When in reality the world is awash in the ubiquitous ramblings of “individuals” that foolishly believe that their opinion is unique, original or in some cases deliberately inflammatory. Really the Internet has in some respect beholden the ambiguity of some with as much bluster as a Floridian storm. So why do I keep blogging if I’m only contributing to the oversaturated cesspit of communal nonsense?

For me it has to do with where I am in my life right now. Now this may sound a little more existential than I had originally planned, but it is kind of accurate. I’m someone in the midst of middle age, burdened with all the obligatory banalities that afflict everyone in adulthood. Parenthood, job (in)security, mortgage and our own dwindling mortality. The everyday obligations that dictate the majority of our lives. Of course it leaves little room for our own selfish interests. For me gaming, movies, reading and even music have taken a considerable hit over the past 10 years. Being neither financially viable nor time permitting, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that these interests are limited. It’s difficult to be selfish when grown up responsibilities inhibit you to do so. That’s not to say that I brood in the absence of time, that has been traded for the responsibilities of family and work. Nor do I lament the natural passage of time. I’m still able to enjoy all of these things, just not at the same uninhibited capacity I did when I was younger. And if I was being honest with myself, I don’t think I was any happier when I could. What I do miss is the engagement of discussing these interests, which I believe is why I really persist in blogging.

Our lives are always shifting and changing. We’d be doing something wrong if it didn’t. Blogging allows me to express my thoughts and opinions, even when I’m bereft of human interaction. The thought that someone might be reading this, nodding in agreement or hurriedly skipping onto their next inane Google search out of pure boredom doesn’t even register to me anymore. It has been a long time since I checked out my viewership stats. It’s cathartic to rigorously type out frivolous imaginings that have been circulating around my head like a tumble dryer, purge these little idiosyncrasies and yet feel totally satisfied in relaying these thoughts from my scattered brain, into a jumbled series of letters arranged in a way that make you wonder “what hell was that about?”. Very much like this really.

Was this insightful? No. Was there a point? Certainly not. But do I feel a little less burdened having written this. Absolutely.

Do Games Take Too Long To Release?

Posted by Karl Weller on October 24, 2024
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There was a time when a new release would be cause for excitement. Or at the very least, inspire an emotional response in the vicinity of something resembling anticipation. Perhaps it’s my age, the natural procurement of cynicism that develops over the years. But I find there is a seldom excuse to be euphoric about an industry that is either derivative or exploitive. Sure there are the occasional outliers that rouse some furtive joy, buried below the rigours of disillusionment. The thought of playing a new GTA does generate a beat or two through my ragged and darkened heart. But it’s evident from the current gaming climate that it’s an industry strangled by the pervasive tyranny of financial greed, the subsequent stagnation of creativity and the aggressively demanding needs of consumers. There are still great games being created by indie developers, keen to remind gamers of this once eclectic medium. But it’s the prestige triple A games that have suffered most.

There was a magical period in franchise gaming, when a new release was almost annual. Though consecutive releases such as “Assassin’s Creed” proved that this model was wholly unsustainable, there was an abundance of quality produced. Each subsequent release of “Ratchet & Clank” for instance was either as good, if not better than the preceding entry. You also have to consider that between 1997-2004 Rockstar released 5 mainline GTA games, as well as a litany of spin-offs scattered around them. Since then, a mere 20 years later, we’ve had 2 mainline entries in the series. With V, originally released back in 2013, having been upgraded twice since, has been rereleased across 3 separate generations! And though GTA VI has finally been announced, this isn’t likely to be released before 2026. 13 years after V! It’s been the same teenage years since the initial release of “Skyrim” and “NaughtyDog”, a once prolific game studio, has been reduced to remastering and now “remaking” their two “Last Of Us” titles.

Now there’s nothing inherently wrong with taking your time to perfect and fine tune your games. “A delayed game is eventually good, but a bad game is forever bad”. Though this famous quote attributed to Mario’s Miyamoto is now disputed, the point does still stand. I’m also not oblivious to the advancements in graphics that has certainly contributed to the escalation in time to create these complex games. But it’s clear that there is not only a paucity of ambition, but also far less emphasis on consistency. Of course it’s not viable for games that are so much more complex than they were two decades ago, to be released with the same frequency. But it would also be nice if we didn’t have to wait 20 years between Elder Scrolls games. Because at this rate, I might be dead before the Elder Scrolls VII is announced, let alone released!

Do you think games take too long to release? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.

The Friends We Were.

Posted by Karl Weller on October 17, 2024
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It has been over 20 years since I left school to pursue a career in procrastination. That’s more than half my life ago. And it’s strange trying to compile those memories into something comprehensive. It’s all just fragmented images, pleasant ones for sure, just faded. It’s like trying to remember a time before my parents got divorced. Everybody reminisces about their days of misspent youth and the general anarchic brevity of adolescence, and it would seem that I am no different. I was never academically inclined, requiring supervision as well as “special needs” in primary school. A terminology that I suspect isn’t an accepted expression these days. For me, once you gain an adequate comprehension of maths, reading and writing, the rest of it is largely redundant. What school was really about was something that as I have gotten older has become a much more dormant ability: socialising. Specifically with that small, like minded ensemble to whom you could discuss all of the significant, all encompassing issues that only you guys really cared about.

Our everyday morning routine, besides the statutory profane greeting, was to dissect the previous evenings episode of “The Simpsons”. It could be an episode we had seen a dozen times before, it didn’t matter. Our enthusiasm in analysing every comical detail or reciting reams of dialogue never diminished. We discussed our mutual attraction to the only female, teacher or otherwise in what was an all boys school. Debating how each of us could court her, from infantile to borderline predatory means of seduction. As someone that gained notoriety for never doing my homework, I would often rely on these conspirators to provide me with theirs, so I could copy it, changing it just enough to distinguish it from their own. In return I would assist others with their gaming dilemmas. Which often required them to bring in their respective PlayStation memory cards for me to borrow, and finish some difficult sections in “Resident Evil 2” or “Driver”. We’d all hang out during breaks, after school and on weekends. But since school ended, nothing.

It’s a story we can all relate too. Those short evocative years that seemed eternal, that shaped us into who we are today. But it does make me sad thinking about the friendships that were at one point everything. How we casually toss those friendships aside without a moment’s hesitation. Kinships that are now so obsolete, you barely even remember them. Just some profile pictures that you scroll past in your socials. Knowing that you will probably never see these people again and worse still, having no desire to do so? But we see this as just the natural trajectory of life. Growing up it seems, requires abandoning everything that made you a kid.

How important were your friends to you growing up? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.

The Only Good Bug, Is A Dead Bug!

Posted by Karl Weller on October 10, 2024
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The fight continues to eradicate the invasion of the bug interlopers in my home. The scourge of the skirting board and clandestine infiltrators of the sofa and beds. Many subsequent bombardments of noxious pesticides have been dispersed to deal with the bed bug menace, halting our lives with their relentless presence. “Would you like to know more?”. Well I did. Since the discovery of these carnivorous lunar pests, I have developed a keen insight in the removal and preventative measures associated with our unwelcome tenants. I am now so well versed in the intricacies of bed bugs extermination, that I could likely go into business myself. And let me tell you the mere suggestion of becoming a professional exterminator, specifically bed bug eradication is a tempting career alternative. I have however become so perceptive of any potential bug hiding place, it’s become almost instinctive.

Due to my evening working hours, I arrive home during their prime migratory time. So it’s become a ritual to scope out the areas in and around the bed for any twilight movement. It’s evident from their blatant bum sewage strewn across the surfaces of the wall or bed frame, where they have been. I check the inconspicuous alcoves that conceal their blood filled bodies. Many of which have been sealed behind a torrent of caulk. And though there has been a significant reduction in the amount of visible evidence, their absence isn’t completely assured. Though any bugs unfortunate enough to attract my gaze, suffer the full fury of both my finger and thumb. As I squish them into little stains of claret. It is worth noting however that the smell emitted from their crushed carcasses, a kind of musty secretion, has now become synonymous with these nocturnal terrorists.

During the day’s when I’m not contemplating incinerating my home or take off and blasting the place from orbit (as it is the only way to be sure), I’m filling in any gaps or crevices with sealant. Blasting surfaces with my steamer, applying a light dusting of diatomaceous powder that causes them to dry up and die from dehydration. Or spraying areas of concern with essential oils such as peppermint, tea tree or lavender. I have performed extensive research on their weaknesses, strengths, lifespan, preferred ambient temperatures and environment. I’ve even read up on their reproductive cycles. With the rule of thumb being that if they can’t feed, they can’t breed. So we are at a stage now where all we can really do, short of a full scale nuclear attack, is be hyper vigilant. But considering the cost of 5 treatments, the inconvenience of having to displace our entire wardrobe outside, tossing out beds, sofas as well as tearing up the carpet in 4 rooms, I’m prepared to do anything it takes. Even if I have to go full Johnny Rico!