New Feature Alert

I am just stopping by quickly to let you all know that, I've decided to add another feature to this blog beside the reviews and the JPG posts. This shiny new feature will be a little spot light for youtubers, who, you guessed it, game.

For now I am going to be making this a monthly feature, where I'll link to the youtuber and write a little bit of my impression of them and leave you with their most recent video.

If there is a youtuber you think should be nominated for a spotlight post, just comment at the bottom of the Gamer Spotlight post with your nomination, and I'll check out their channel if I haven't already.

That's all there is for now.

xo

Just Plain Geekery #3: The DIY Edition

If you're just stopping by and have never been here before, JPG is the post where I talk about some awesomely geeky things I've seen around the interwebz lately. And because I feel like I have to say this again, I am in no way paid to put these things up on my blog, it is strictly me sharing things I think are pretty awesome, and maybe you think they are too.

JPG

The DIY Edition

Feeling a little crafty? Maybe a little artistic? Or are you just bored? Well here are five geeky DIY projects I've seen around the web.

#1

Who doesn't want a Wither Plushie? I mean, look at it, it's adorable. Best of all, you can make it yourself if you're crafty like that. Here's the link from Instructables

#2

Are you bored of how your USB drive is looking? Is it plain white or black? Do you like Lego? Well, here is a bunch of different tutorials on how to make your own custom USB drive. Click me

#3

So maybe you're not crafty in the sense of wanting to make things like the USB's above. But maybe you're baking crafty. Here's some awesome game controller cookies that you can make, pretty easily.

#4

Or maybe you're more of a cake ball person. These Dragon Balls are honestly so perfect that I might attempt to make them myself. Also, you really should check out Nerdy Nummies, it's amazing. 

#5

And if you are a big Zelda fan, bling out your clothes and bags with this DIY from Dodger. I'd do it, but I can't sew.

Metro 2033

Partial Review Time!

Metro 2033

Now, the first thing you might be asking is "Partial review, what the heck is that? Why didn't she just finish the game?" and I can answer that for you right now. The answer is simple, my computer decided it hates me. So, because of that I will be reviewing Metro 2033 up to the Depot, which is where my game decides to freeze and crash and fail in so many infuriating ways.

I am hoping however, that once I finally figure out the problem, I will be able to come back and do the review on the other half of Metro 2033. So, really this is more like a part one. 

*Ahem*

Moving on.

Metro 2033 is a video game based off of a post-apocalyptic book of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky (can we just take a moment to appreciate how his name rolls off the tongue?). It was released in 2010 ad developed by 4A Games. Metro 2033 now has a sequel released in May of this year under the name Metro: Last Light.

In Metro 2033, you play as Artyom in the metro tunnels underneath a completely destroyed Moscow. The world is inhabited by Dark Ones, mutants, and humans. And naturally with people forced to live in such close quarters in the metro, tensions are high. As Artyom you travel through areas of the metro occupied by the Soviets and the Reichs, as well as, unallied stations, all in order to find D6. D6 is the underground missile base that Artyom, Hunter, and others set out to find in order to "reclaim" the surface from the Dark Ones.

One thing that I find that Metro does extremely well is all the atmosphere. This is a game where you want to be sitting in a dark room with good headphones on and the volume cranked. When you are in the metro stations walking through the masses of people who call the station their home, and the refugees from either side of the war, the way the sound hits you can be overwhelming. Which, is great. The voices and cries of people and the advertisements from vendors seem to bounce of the close walls all around you. You literally hear everything everywhere, it left me with a claustrophobic feeling.

Another thing that I love Metro for is all the little details on the surface or below in the metro, how everything just seems to have stopped. How the buildings crumble and the play ground equipment still creaks in the background. How there are personal affects of people left laying around and skeletons to loot.

Bullets are rare in Metro 2033, and if you aren't careful you'll end up shooting the only currency in the game at an enemy and being dirt broke when you need that armour upgrade (yes, I am speaking from experience). But that just adds the urgency to the game, an unwillingness not to shoot unless you have to, not to shoot wildly, and aim properly. I love games that force me to explore and loot in order to have extra bullets, extra bombs, add in the lore, etc.

Metro 2033, is so far one of my favourite games thus far and that is based on pretty much only the atmosphere. Seriously, if you haven't had a chance to play this game yet, play it. I know I will be finishing it once I can figure out why it's suddenly stopped running on my computer. 

Interview Time! With Christopher Odd

Hey everyone, I had another little idea a while back about interviewing some of my favourite Let's Players and gamers, so naturally I went and emailed Mr. Odd as soon as I had things finalized in my head. And I was lucky enough that he responded and I was able to interview him on the weekend.

If you don't know who Christopher Odd is, he is a YouTube Let's Player with a love for games that give him the choices.He's been on YouTube for about a year now, and has 11k subscribers (but come on, he totally deserves more). He currently has Let's Plays going on of The Witcher 2, Amnesia, XCOM, and Saints Row 4, along with many others he's done in the past. If you're interested in checking out his channel, and I seriously think you should if you haven't already, he's probably one of the nicest YouTuber's out there, just click this link HERE.

So without any further ado, here's my interview with him. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for showing interest in the my channel! I hope I can answer all of your questions.

 I've been watching your YouTube videos for some time now (under a different account), though I'm one of those silent watchers who don't comment, I have always wondered how do you do it? It amazes me how many videos you put up not just in a day but all week, and you have a day job too right? And family? It's just incredible, so how do you manage to do it? Do you film everything all at once or is it very clever time management?

There is definitely some clever time management involved.  In addition to YouTube, I have a full time job and I'm married.   At first YouTube was just something I thought I would try out for fun.  Now that I've been able to see some success, it's developed into more than a hobby.  As such, I've had to put aside time to get the things done that I'd like to.  I'm recording almost every day, rendering over night, uploading before I go to work in the AM, responding to comments on my commute to and from work, etc etc.  That said, my wife is crazy supportive, and we make sure to spend time together each night doing things we both enjoy so everyone is happy.  I have a routine, it gets overwhelming at times, but I enjoy the whole process of making videos, so it doesn't feel like work at all.

I noticed that you put up an Amnesia video today, welcome to the club of scare your pants off. Are you planning on doing a Machine for Pigs Let's Play when it comes out?

Yes ma'am.

 And I know this is one of the more boring questions that I could ask but I'm going to ask it anyway :). Out of all the LP's you've done since the start of your channel which one do you think is your all time favourite? I love your Metro series. 

Tough one!  Up until a few weeks ago, I would have said Deus Ex Human Revolution.  That's still in my top 3 games of all time I'd say, but now, I'd have to lean towards The Witcher 2.  I love sitting down to play it every day, and I'm going to be really sad the day it ends!  Metro was really fun, but it felt a tad repetitive. Great atmosphere though!

It took me a while to decide on starting this blog because of some of the backlash you can get from reviewing games, though I have prior experience with reviewing books, but I know that Youtuber's suffer from the same thing. I have seen some awful comments on YouTube videos, though on yours I haven't noticed very many, but when you do it a bad comment how do you deal with that? Does it bother you? Or do you just brush it off?

 I feel extremely fortunate to have the viewers that I do.  I really feel proud of them.  It's like I've lucked out and attracted intelligent people with brains on YouTube! They do exist!  That said, I do get negative comments at times, and I'd be lying if I sad they don't bother me.  Funny thing right?  1000's of positive comments, and 1 or 2 negative ones really stand out.  Over the past year since I started, I've built up a thick skin.  If you can't deal with criticisms, you will fail.  It is important to note however, that criticisms and insults are two different things.  The way I handle this is as follows; I reflect on criticisms, I ignore insults.  If someone straight up insults me, they get ignored.  They don't come back.  If someone criticizes the way I play, I may respond and let them know what they can expect from my channel.  More often than not, they stay.

Alright, back to gaming, what would you say is your favourite genre of game? If you had to pick one.

I would say I enjoy the type of game that offers me meaningful choice.  I love being challenged to pick a lesser evil.  It pushes the narrative of games, and it's super engaging.  I know that's not really a "genre" so if I had to pick something general, I'd say stealth.  Any time I need to sneak around in a game, I get all kinds of excited.

What's your opinion on Ben Affleck as Batman? I'm not sure where I stand on the debate, personally. 

I feel that this is the most important question so far ;)  It's tough.  I'm not really able to picture him as Batman in my head. BUT, I couldn't picture Heath Ledger as Joker...and now I can't imagine anyone else doing it.  I'm excited to see how he pulls it off.  I'm mostly looking forward to seeing Matt Damon as Robin.

Mr. Odd how did you get your start on Youtube? What made you decide to start making Let's Plays and Let's Discuss videos? Where did your love of gaming come from?

I started in August of 2012.   I originally found out about Let's Plays approximately six months before that.  I started watching videos of people playing Civilization V and I was genuinely engaged in their approach.  I found it fascinating that I could watch and listen to someone play a video game.  I decided that I wanted to try it.  I looked at it as a way to encourage me to finish more games.  If I knew people were watching, I'd be more inclined to finish games.  Prior to my start on YouTube, I can count the number of games I've completed on one hand.  Maybe even just three fingers.  The idea for Let's Discuss came from the fact that I wasn't satisfied with the way that games just ended. I needed more resolution.  I realized that people were having very intelligent and well thought out discussions on the last video of each series, and I thought, "What better way to end a series than to get viewers involved and chat about it?"  I don't know of anyone else doing that on YouTube, and it's something I want to continue doing.  I've ALWAYS loved video games.  Super Mario, NHL 94, Final Fantasy VII, GoldenEye 007.  Those are the games I remember most from growing up.  Problem was, as I got older, I needed something more.  I needed a good story.  I'd find myself losing interest though.  Games couldn't keep my attention.  When I started making LP's, I realized that if I was sharing my thoughts out loud, it not only encouraged me to articulate them clearly, it helped me to retain more of the story happening around me.

Are there any other Let's Plays that we can look forward to in the near future?

I usually like to keep pretty tight lipped about LP's that I have planned because I don't want to let people down if my plans change.  That said, you can expect, at SOME point in the future to see the Mass Effect series, the Metal Gear Solid Series, and the Thief Series.  As of writing this, I have The Witcher 2, Amnesia, Saints Row IV, The Bureau XCOM Declassified, and my weekly XCOM Enemy Unknown video.  That's a lot of gaming! 

And that about sums it up. Thank you very much again, for taking the time to answer my questions and taking my emails. I hope I get to speak with you again, and maybe I'll stop by and leave a comment now and then and stop being so quiet :). Happy gaming!

Not a problem at all. I had a great time doing this, and I hope it's what you were looking for.  Thanks for writing me.

Thank you once again to Mr. Odd for taking some time away from his busy schedule to chat with me, and I hope the viewers on the blog liked this feature too.

Just Plain Geekery: The Decal Edition!

I'm back again with some more fine geekery to share with you. I know last time I did this, I left off with number five being a decal of Ironman. And that started me looking at decals all.over.again. I love decals, do I currently have any on my laptop? Nope. Styx is looking pretty bare, which I suppose is why I started looking for something shiny and new to stick on her.

Without any further delay, I present to you my 5 JPG: The Decal Edition!

#1

 Aw, for your inner Pokemon trainer, a Pikachu decal. Also as a side note, this shop has some other awesome decals too.

PikaNOM apple Laptop Decal
DraconicDesigns
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/DraconicDesigns?ref=l2-shopheader-name

#2

 I am a total fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so when I saw this I just couldn't help it. I swear, if I could I'd have decals for every day of the year and change them daily.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer "B" Vinyl Decal
Austin Sticker company
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/AustinStickerCompany?ref=l2-shopheader-name

#3

And of course, for the geeky and proud, announce it on your laptop with this simple and elegant decal.

Geek Macbook Decal
AmazingMacDecal
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/AmazingMacDecal?ref=l2-shopheader-name

#4

 Alright, alright, so Firefly is honestly one of my favourite shows ever. I'm talking to the point where I had every line of every episode memorized and could recite them on command. Unfortunately, not so much anymore. Guess, I should rewatch the series again. Nothing wrong with that? Nope, nothing at all.

Firefly Inspired "Browncoat" Vinyl decal
Perfectly Aligned
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/PerfectlyAligned?ref=l2-shopheader-name

#5

This one speaks to my inner band geek, which by the way I was. Flute and Piccolo. *waits for band camp jokes* are ya done? Good. Anyway, this decal is just plain pretty.

Music Notes laptop Decal
EvyalDecal
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/EyvalDecal?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Annnd that's all I've got for you today for JPG. Next time, I'll get back to regular geekery for your perusing pleasure.

The Last of Us

Review Time!

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is a post apocalyptic game with zombies and heart created by NaughtyDog. In The Last of Us you play as Joel, a gruff, hardened smuggler put into the one situation he has dreaded, delivering a little girl, Ellie, to the Firefly's. Why? She's immune. 

Along the way you are thrown in to a beautiful environment, I mean, right down to the individual pieces of grass. This game is just plain pretty, not more than pretty, it's beautiful. The sunset in the background behind all the collapsing abandoned buildings, the places where it is clear that nature has started to take the world back. When you walk through water, Joel's clothes actually get wet and gradually dry (though, I did notice that this also occurred in the Uncharted games, but this is better.)

The Last of Us, is more than just a pretty game, the graphics are amazing, the character arcs, the character interactions, oh I can go on forever about the story and character in this game. I'll try to make it brief, so this post doesn't become four pages long. 

I think I mentioned it before, but I am a writer (unpublished :( ) and when a game has such an in-depth story line I get giddy. I was very giddy with this game. Sometimes, I find that characters in games aren't as flushed out as I'd like them to be. Who were they before the disaster happened? What made them change into a smart ass? Surely they didn't just start off that way. The Last of Us does this great, right from the beginning when we find out Joel's reason for his hardened attitude toward Ellie, but it's more than that, throughout the journey little things are revealed about Joel. Little things that you might miss if you're not a story line/Character design/lore fanatic like me. 

These little things all piece together to give an understanding on why Joel is the way he is. They do the same with Ellie, and it's not too far into the journey with her that the game makes you realize how different Ellie is from Joel. How much she doesn't know about Before, because, she wasn't around before the world went to shit. 

The dialogue interaction between the characters is something else I noticed, first of all, I love the voice acting in this game, but NaughtyDog has never let me down in voice actors. The dialogue flows so easily, and naturally, that at times I found myself so invested in the characters that I couldn't stand to see anything bad happen to them.

Which leads me into the FEELS. Oh. My. God. The feels. There aren't too many games that get me this emotionally invested in the characters and the story, but the Last of Us, hits dead on. And I haven't heard very different from anyone else I know who've played it either. When the characters are tense, you're tense, when something happens to one of the characters you hesitate. There was one time I was yelling at my TV because I didn't like a particular decision Joel makes. If you've played the game, and aren't a snow troll, you probably know which one I'm talking about. 

Overall, I absolutely loved The Last of Us. It definitely lived up to all the hype around it, I think. And I'm seriously hoping that they decide to bring it back for a sequel, personally, I'd like to play through a game of the years between Sara's death and meeting Ellie.

Just Plain Geekery

While wandering around the internet I stumbled upon some pretty geektastic things. Now some of them I've seen before, but I didn't have a blog before so there. For these JPG posts, I'm going to pick five items I've seen around the internet that I personally think are pretty awesome and share them with you, so you can enjoy looking at their awesomeness too--because let's face it, all I can do is drool of things right now.

I'm honestly not sure how regularly these posts will come up, so I am not going to say that you can expect them at such and such a date, because let's be honest as soon as I say that, I'm going to forget and then get hounded for forgetting.

Sidenote: Don't get all huffy and roll your eyes, it is not all girly stuff. Honest.

Number One
I haven't even played Diablo III yet--I know, I know--but I want these socks so badly. I mean, look at them! Hey guys? Got a Geek Girl? Here's a gift idea for you.

Diablo III Mistress of Pain Socks $11.99

www.jinx.com

Seriously, check out the website for more pictures of these stunningly amazing socks.

Number Two
I am a huge fan of ThinkGeek, so you can expect that at least a few things in these posts are going to be from there. Mainly, because I check ThinkGeek the most.

But I mean, check out these Walking Dead Blind Boxes, personally, I want a Daryl one.
Walking Dead Blind Box Mystery Minis starting at $6.99
www.ThinkGeek.com

Number Three
And no Whovian's fancy outfit is complete without this TARDIS tie, I mean, I'd buy it.

Bigger on the inside Tie
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/binarywinter?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Number Four
Grab-it Pack Gadget Holster starting at $24.99
www.ThinkGeek.com

Yes, I know another thing from ThinkGeek, but COMEON, I mean it's a freakin' thigh holster for everything you could possibly need. This can replace my purse any day.


And last but not least

Number Five
I love me some Ironman, no, seriously, he's in my top five superheros.

Ironman Mac Vinyl Decal
NorthStar Decals
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/NorthStarDecals?ref=l2-shopheader-name


Disclaimer: Because I feel like I need to say this again, I am not paid by any of these websites or anything. I am sharing these items with you because I like them, and you might too.

BioShock

Review Time

BioShock

Quick note: Yes, I am aware this game is several years old. I am going to review it anyway so hush.

BioShock is a first person shooter developed by 2K Boston--now Irrational Games--which made it's debut in 2007 on Xbox 360. It's set in a the crumbling underwater city of Rapture in 1960 where madness is apparent in most of Rapture's remaining citizens. You are launch into the game after your plane crashes in the middle of the ocean, only then to swim to the nearest piece of land which happens to be a tower sort of building, where after hopping into a Bathosphere you're transported to the decaying city of Rapture.

First of all, I would like to openly admit that I am a total scaredy cat, why? Because I remember when BioShock first came out and seeing the trailers for it, and people talking about it, but why didn't I get it and play it then? Because big ass machine-like dudes with freakin' drill arms that's why! When BioShock originally came out, I couldn't even bring myself to watch horror movies. 

But, that aside, I've been wanting to play BioShock for the last couple months and I got lucky during the Steam Summer Sale, and the package with Bioshock 1 & 2 were on. Hello Pretty, you're mine. So I've been pretty much glued to my computer since I installed it. 

The one thing that stands out for me in BioShock the most is the atmosphere and how well the story is told, revealing tiny bits and pieces as it goes on. I am one of those crazy people who go nuts over the lore in video games, and I think it's done well in BioShock with the recordings of different peoples accounts. Because of how this is done, you get to see even when Rapture was in good condition, things were already crumbling society wise. You get to know peoples inner most thoughts about the Big Daddies and the Little Sisters, about Andrew Ryan and Fontaine even before you meet these characters face to face. 

Now, I could talk about graphics in this game and how I think they're great, but being totally honest, I don't know much about graphics other than oh pretty. So I'll leave that for now and move on. 

The combat system in BioShock is great, I found switching between Plasmids and weapons to be easy and quick with my mouse (which in some cases since I am more of a rush in head first kind of gamer, is a great thing, for me at least). Though, the one complaint I do have is when adding a new Plasmid or switching Plasmids out, the entire order gets messed up every time, which forced me to take more time reorganizing everything or after I while I just adapted to every time it changed positions. 

Over all, I love the whole premise of BioShock. I love how the story has it's twists and turns until it gives you one huge AHA! moment.

Now, would you kindly give it a play?

Under Construction

Alright, so you might notice that I have a few posts up here, but GGP doesn't look too great yet. Well, don't let that stop you from dropping by. The GPP blog is still under construction, but while it is, I am going to continue to get some posts up, so it doesn't just sit here empty for weeks on end.

And let's face it, I'm a little excited and couldn't hold back posting.

So shut your faces about this blog not looking professional, or about it currently having a default background and lame header, those are coming soon, seriously, someone's on it. And by someone I mean my best friends little sister, because she is amazing. 

Anyway, that is all I have to say for now, do we need to recap? I hope not, but I'm going to do it anyway.

GGP blog is under construction, read it anyway.

Roll Call!

Who the #@%*! is Gamer Girl Present?

GGP is just a girl who happens to also be a gigantic geek, and Canadian.

And you're qualified how?

I think it's pretty self explanatory. I'm a gamer, the fact that I am a girl is what seems to get everyone's panties in a twist. I've reviewed books for years, hell, I want to write as a profession. I am a fairly opinionated person. Whether or not you deem me qualified is up to you, but I'm going to post reviews here anyway. 

Sure, OK, you are a "gamer" girl. Seriously though, are you just one of those chicks who pose with controllers and games in strategic places? Do you only game because your boyfriend/husband/significant other does?

So I guess, I'm going to hit some stereotypes here. No, I do not pose with controllers/games in strategic places, annnd never will so stop beating that horse. And secondly, I was gaming long before I met my BF, yes, he's a gamer too, yes we do play Borderlands 2 together, yes he encourages my gaming, but I do not game just because he does. Hell, I grew up playing Mario and Duck Hunt on the NES.

So you're a girl why aren't you in the kitchen? Seriously, make me a sandwich.

I swear, honestly, if I hear this one more time I am going to explode or implode which ever is more dramatic. And actually, if you want to know the real reason why I'm not in the kitchen? I can't cook. Seriously, not a skill I posses, just ask my BF.

You're just going to use this blog to talk about all the girly aspects in gaming aren't you?

I'm not sure what is meant by "girly aspects in gaming," I mean if you're talking about me going on a rant about the over sexualization of women in games or how female game characters are under some sort of injustice, I can do that, but, that isn't what this blog is about. Sure, I might write up a completely pms-y response to something said in the gaming community or something happening in a game, but let's not focus on that. This blog is for reviews, the end.

Consoles or PC?

Both. For consoles, I mainly use my PS3. But lately, I've gotten more into PC gaming, but seriously don't ask me for computer specs because I have no f***king clue, I can read off what the little sticker on my laptop says, but other than that you're shite out of luck. I don't have a fancy gaming computer, in fact, when I bought my laptop I was told straight up "This is not a gaming computer." But guess what? I'm gonna use it like that anyway. 

Blog features on the way?

Like I said above somewhere, mainly I'll have game reviews. Maybe later on into the blog life I'll start adding in some upcoming releases posts, if people want the kind of thing. And there will probably be the occasional random post from me, and maybe a pot or two about some cool gadgets I've found around the web.

Other badass gamer girls out there?

Honestly? There are a lot, you just don't hear about them because we're still outnumbered. But here are two of my favourite gamer girls.

Dodger Leigh 

Rosanna Pansino (Ro also does a show called Nerdy Nummies, which honestly is the best nerdy baking show ever).