The COD effect. I hate it.

Sadly, this is NOT the type of camping I'm talking about... 

Preach. 

This blog update features a very specific topic in mind. Whilst I have previously mentioned my adoration (bordering "obsession" some would say...) for video game, I must reference my fondness for one such particular brand of game:

CoD... *dun dun dun* o.O

It's prevalence amongst gamers today is second-to-none. Mentioning "CoD" to most people over the age of say... 30,  they would probably expect you to be talking about a species of fish. However, to many people under 30 (if we're talking about the key demographic of 18-30 year-old males), their reaction may vary from: mouth-frothing, increased heart-rate, profuse sweating and indeed... an urge to "eliminate the opposition." 


In fact, as previously mentioned in my "Summer - not all sugar and rainbows..." blog, I myself am a CoD fan. Black Ops was the game in question that I looked forward to as being an unashamedly enormous time-sink for my Summer holidays. However, the excitement soon wore off. The thrill of killing anonymous online Xbox Live users was short-lived. I realised that COD, as a franchise, manages to both encapsulate and frustrate it's audience - including myself - in equal measures.

I'm not an angry person, by nature... Playing CoD has given me a chance at self-reflection. I'm a much more terrible person than I thought... D: 

This is me in Hulk-Cat Hybrid form. 

I find myself having to take breaks from CoD (or rather... play it in intermittent bursts... the first one made it seem like my entire summer was devoted to CoD - which would only be half right...), for fear of developing some adverse side-effects - like turning green and feeling unexplained urges to "smash." (for the astute comic book fans, I was likening myself to the Hulk... :| but... whatever...) 


A "game" should be fun... it shouldn't have the ability to elicit any negativity. But maybe that's what make me more... bloodthirsty?! 

This makes me sick... It requires no skill...! D:

... bastard. 

When a game harbours elements that frustrate me, such as so-called "camping", (whereby a player sits in a corner of a room, using equipment such as a motion sensor, or claymore to defend themselves...), I feel like it's such an injustice. Like the whole ethos of CoD multiplayer has been made of mockery of.  Is there any justice in "camping?" (I talk about "justice" as if there's a higher power of CoD police who could deal with such players... sadly - there is not). 


I then realise something else... these campers don't care how annoyed I get. And indeed, if we were in real modern warfare, you would use whatever so-called "dirty" tactics you could to survive... 


Still... It doesn't annoy me any less. 

The World Ends With You

I know where my loyalties lie... 

Hmm... This whole "Rapture" business seems to have not come to fruition. But I can't say I'm surprised, even though, at the time of writing this - 12:46pm - the apocalypse is meant to occur at 6:00pm in your respective time zones... a quick google search revealed. (I must admit, rather than think "apocalypse" when hearing the word "rapture," my mind instantly went to Bioshock... sigh video games... :D)

But I don't want to turn into a crazy-religious-nutjob-preacher-guy. Hence this blog is related to the theme of "endings."

There were many options I could've chosen for a "cool-sounding," or "artsy" blog-post title for today - "All good things come to an end," springs to mind. But the title is a video game (I'm obsessed o.O). Without giving too much away, the game starts with your death, and centres around the trials and tribulations you endure to reclaim your life. I'm not going to pretend like I can make sense out of the title, (or infer it to an unintentional meaning) because chances are it's a direct translation from the Japanese original, "It's a Wonderful World." But I would interpret its meaning is one of perception. If you believe that the world is over, then it ends with you. Only you can say when your world ends. 

But alas, I'm not here to get into philosophical debates either... I feel like I'm going off topic again. 

On the subject of endings, my first year of uni is almost over. I was discussing this topic last night with a friend, who shall be codenamed... erm... "Sebalicious" (an indecipherable codename, if I do say so myself...). This year has gone by too quickly. I know it sounds so cliché and everyone told me this would be how it would feel in the run-up to the end, but I didn't heed their warnings. Without realizing it, I'm literally a week away from finishing. My last exam will be over, then it's smooth sailing until summer... ahh the blissful ideals of a summer vacation - I can't think of anything better than spending copious periods of time indoors with my friends playing Xbox... 8-|

I'm not going to do a "review" of the year; that would be pointless. There were good, and bad times... mostly good. Do I regret certain choices I made throughout the year? I guess. Would I do it again if I could? Probably. Would things change if I did that...? Impossible to tell.

One things is certain though... regardless if you believe the world ends today at 6:00pm, or if you feel like you can take control of your own life, it's important to remember one thing...

This is me, in cat form, playing video games.
What? You're telling me that wasn't obvious?! 

Video games are fun.