If I am to pick my top movie of 2022, that’s got to be TOPGUN: MAVERICK, hands down.

I grew up watching the original TOPGUN from 1986 over and over, obsessing over it almost. This new one, brought nostalgia, fun, and excitement.

Runner-up:

The Batman (2022)

For January 2023, I’ll do a photography challenge, for myself. Although I’ve done these before, it is always good to do these for both practice and to get out off my comfort zone in a way. I am always shooting photos, with my camera, with a 45mm lens (I believe the equivalent in full frame is 90mm). On this challenge, I intend to shoot on 17mm (35mm equivalent) for the whole month of January.

I think this is me trying to convince — or test —myself that I can shoot at this focal length too. Otherwise, I’ll sell the lens, lol. My comfort zone has always been the 45mm or 25mm (50mm equivalent).

We shall see.

Welcome, to another post of Games of the Year!

God Of War Ragnarök

My impressions of the game are here.

This is the kind of game, well this is the game that you'd want to buy a PlayStation 5 for. I have played through the entire main story and it was a thrill, to play this game. Definitely worth coming back to it for the extra missions.

 Xenoblade Chronicles 3

My impressions of the game are here.

By far, one of the bests games I have played on the Nintendo Switch this year. The character development, and the overall story, it's so great! I genuinely invested in these characters and the sorry, chapter 5, uff, it really got to me. A game is definitely worth picking up and enjoying.

Horizon Forbidden West 

No impressions on this one, not sure why 🤷🏼‍♂️

I am very surprised, I did not make a post on this one, or perhaps I did while I was hosting – briefly – my blog in Ghost. So we can say that those impressions on the game... ghosted.

This is another game, worth getting a PlayStation 5 for, even though this game also came out for the PS4 if memory serves. The graphics, story, action, and everything about this game make it a  game of the year for me.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

My impressions of the game are here.

Best Independent game I played on the Nintendo Switch this year. Developer Tribute Games did an outstanding job on this game. Bringing a great beat 'em u, full of fun nostalgia, a fantastic soundtrack, and lots of fun!

Trek to Yomi 

Also, no impressions.

I can't recall how I became aware of this game but I do remember taking notice of its classic samurai film visuals. It was like Ghost of Tsushima but in side-scrolling. I can't really say that is 2D side-scrolling because it does have some different camera angles. The game is beautiful and full of surprises, and it can also be tough, it is almost soul-like. You need to memorize your opponents' attacks and strike at the right time, there's no hacking and slashing your way through this one.

Games on deck:

Currently, I am playing a few other games that haven't played enough to be runner-ups.

On the Switch, Chained Echoes.

created by a single developer, is my understanding, with the help of some pixel art artists but developed by  Matthias Linda. What got me sold on this game is that it is an homage to games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. Very much calling back to some SNES classics JRPGs. I have played a few hours but not enough to be truly invested yet.

On the PlayStation 5, Need For Speed Unbound

I do have a lot to say about this one, I think. I have played a significant amount so far and I have a lot of mixed feelings, mostly good but, well, stay tuned.

Well, there ya' have it, my top 5. Let me know, down bellow, what are your top 5 games, if any, and what have you been playing.

Okay guys, until next time! ✌🏼

Every Thursday, at work, we have an "Idea Board" meeting, it is literally us, four of us and two on the phone, in the hall, in front of a board. In these meetings, as the name suggests, we propose ideas, discuss them, plan upon them, etc. Anyone and everyone can submit an idea, and this is done by writing your idea, by hand, on a piece of paper, with some kind of template, with context, and the department, project owner, etc.

There are dozens of them, plastered all over the board. 

Sidenote: we have some kind of meter, next to the board, that counts/measures how many ideas have been submitted and implemented, and if we get to a certain amount of points/level, we get free catered food.

Anyways, dozens, and all with their unique handwriting. And today, for whatever reason, that was all I was focusing on, each unique handwriting. In my mind, I was like, "what typeface would that one be called?"

Which made me think if I were to name my handwriting as a typeface, what would that be? Gabz Sans?  I don't know.

Now, tell me, what's your typeface?

I’ve read many times, to write my thoughts before bed, apparently it helps with sleeping better. Also, many times, there’s so much running through my head to figure out what exactly to write about or where to even start. I’m sure there are ways to work around that. I know journaling applications like Day One have templates for this, like many others. These templates or exercises consists of a few questions about your mood, your day, wins, and failures (I think) and goals for tomorrow, etc. I have thought about this, and it gives me some anxiety. Why? Well, it means I have to think and be honest with myself. It means I might also get overwhelmed with everything that there’s to do and accomplish. That perhaps I’m not as much in control as I think I am.

I have always been, for years, in this philosophy that things will just work out. Well, spoiler alert, it doesn’t always. Like a great philosopher once said;

That’s not how the force works!

There’s got to be some effort to put on. There is responsibility and accountability. There are many things about me that I know I need to get straightened up, that I need to be more responsible about.

Like most of us, I am a work in progress. But acknowledging that and doing something about it, are very different things, I would think.

This is my fear about writing my thoughts out. It will reveal some truths that, in some way, I’ve been just putting in the back of my head, and neglecting them. Perhaps thinking that by neglecting and pretending they aren’t there, eventually, by some act of the force, they’ll all be fixed, and it’ll all workout. Without any effort, just with the bare minimum.

It has been a week, and it was fun, also, in a way, I am glad it is over.

My sister and her husband were in town this past week, visiting. Mostly to spend time with the girls and celebrate Christmas with us. Even though I was still working during the week, or at least from Monday through Thursday, and only half days, I got enough time to spend with them. This also made my week extremely busy. After working, I catered to my visitors, so I had almost no time to post, blog, or even catch up with my RSS. That being said, family is more important.

They left Monday morning, and luckily we also had it off, so we had time to rest and sort of, normalize again.

Now, back to the regular schedule.

How many days post bird site closure until you don’t either miss it or think about it any longer? I wish I did not know the new owner, that I wouldn’t be listening – and reading – people talking about it as much, and maybe, just maybe I would still be using it in some way.

Also, how many days until Mastodon becomes normal? I feel like since forever I have been forcing myself to use it and interact there. Luckily, there is a fine community of people in the local timeline I can interact with so it is starting to become “normal”.

The one thing I noticed since quitting Twitter, is the lack of information I am getting, like news and stuff. I still do get some through Mastodon but it is very little. Some of the more geeky-like sites do have Instagram so I followed a few there.

I truly miss all the pixel art artists and indie game developers I used to follow. Follow their gaming development journey until the day I finally saw the game announced. I miss some of the Puerto Rican peoples I use to follow and interact with, although a lot of them, like almost everyone on Twitter, was complaining about something socially, but it was a way to stay in the know about what was happening on the Island. Some of them have moved to Mastodon but it is a very small portion and they rarely post.

There is a sense of loss and grievance in some way, I’m not gonna lie, as dramatic as that may sound, and I can’t seem to be able to shake it off.

How many days?

I guess time will tell.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk!

Having the Apple Watch ultra, aka Megazord, and though I love it, I do also have a few nitpicks.

First is the strap, I have the orange Alpine loopy thingamajigger. Love the color and the way it looks, but the fit, for me, is a little weird, it can be too tight or too loose. Too loose wasn’t a huge issue before, but this watch is chunky and slightly heavy — compared to the regular Apple Watch — so it moves a lot. I prefer to wear it tightly, that also means, it sits too close to my hand; thus, I take many accidental screenshots. And although I own many other Apple Watch bands, I don’t feel like using any of them. I do intend to buy a new one, sometime soon, hopefully.

The action button, I made the mistake of setting it up, so it’d start a specific workout. I have started many workouts, on accident. Sometimes, without realizing it until about 20 mins later.

The strap, I can tell, it’s not going to age well, unless I do stay on top of it and wash it regularly. I mean, it’s fabric.

And still, it is my favorite Apple Watch ever owned.

Gungrave G.O.R.E on the PlayStation5

I got to start by saying that I am a massive Gungrave fan, I watched the anime adaptation back in the day, and I played the two games that came out on Play Station 2, Gungrave (2002) and Gungrave Overdose (2004), so I may have gotten a wee overexcited when I saw the announcement of Gungrave G.O.R.E. 

This game is a third-person action shooter, you take on the role of our hero, Grave,  a gunslinger, a sweeper for the Millenion mafia, now working alongside an organization called "EL-Alcangel" with one mission and one mission alone KICK THEIR ASS, well, there is a point to their mission. The setup is pretty simple, SEED, a drug that transforms its users into monsters that were thought to be eradicated, has actually survived. Now, sold by the Raven Clan, so Beyond the Grave and friends head out to stop SEED production and take the Raven Clan down. 

The stages are simple, you shoot your way from point A to point B, decimating waves and waves of enemies. Blood, explosions, wrath of god, lol, like a good old shoot 'em up. And you do that over and over until there is a boss fight of sorts. One thing that this game does differently from its predecessors, is the fact that in some instances, you don't necessarily play as Grave, there are other playable characters, that you play as for a short mission or so. Although, I think Overdose had two playable characters besides Grave if memory serves.

There are, so far, four main bosses of the Raven Clan you need to fight against, the boss fights aren't particularly super-engaging, I mean, all you do is move around shooting at your target and maybe evade one or two attacks but they push the story along. Most of the story is told in cutscenes, there isn't too much story, I mean, it is a simple setup. I don't need an overly complicated story on a shoot 'em up, honestly, the action is what you are here for.

I feel like this game is purely a fan service, you don’t have to have played any previous Gungrave games or seen the anime adaptation, though I do recommend it, at least the anime adaptation. Even if you do have a PS2, these games might be tricky to find and they probably don't hold up. However, there’s a short video explaining its history which is useful. Even I had to watch it to kinda remember some of the events of the previous games.

I am having fun with the game, but I can see how someone that is not a fan or familiar with the series might not pick up this one.