A Certain Kind of Gamer

I'm always looking for new gaming blogs and YouTube channels to entertain me and recently I ran across a fairly new blog on Wordpress, A Certain Kind of Gamer. Akumojoebelmont1 appears to just be getting started, but so far this content has been well thought out, polished and most importantly fun to read.

I actually have ran across a good many of video game blogs/sites that I feel are worth checking out and this one is no exception. In fact, I just added it to the reading list located on the left sidebar. Give him a try and tell me if you enjoy his content as much as I am.

PowerA Nintendo Switch Premium Game Card Case

Nintendo Switch owners have no shortage when it comes to 3rd party accessories and supplies. While I haven't bought many things for my Switch since I grabbed it on launch day, I did recently grab this game card case as I needed something else that was portable to hold my games. I'm not familiar at all with the company that made this, PowerA, but my first impressions of this case are very positive.

PowerA made four variaties of this game card case, two for Super Mario and two for The Legend of Zelda. I opted for this Mario case. The other was a yellow question mark block. In the packaging the case felt that it had some heft to it, which was a nice change. Many of these 3rd party accessories just aren't worth their asking price. This case holds 12 Switch game cards, as well as 12 micro SD cards. I found this to be a nice touch, although I doubt I'll need the micro SD card storage.

Out of the packaging you can tell this case is quality. The red is a hard plastic that feels as if it's made of a good, sturdy plastic. The red/white circle with the classic Mario "M" has a rubbery feel to it. The whole case has some weight to it so in your hands you know that this case is built well.

The case is held closed with a buckle that snaps shut. This opens and closes good and seems to hold it firmly. I did a drop test on a carpeted flood from about 6 feet up and the case stayed closed. The inside of the case has six recessed sections on each side to hold your micro SD cards and Switch game cards. The inside had a sturdy, thick foam feel to it. While I didn't snap a picture of the case with a game card inside, I can report that it holds the cards just fine. The open area just above the game card makes it easy for you to get your finger underneath the card to pull it out, or to insert it back in.

Overall I'm very pleased with this game case. It looks great, it's easily portable and it holds a decent number of games and SD cards. It's well made and priced at $12.99 at most major retailers. If you're looking for a portable game case then you may want to consider this case.

Initial Thoughts - The Last of Us Remastered (Playstation 4)

I've never been a huge Playstation fan. I've always been a late adopter of Sony's home video consoles and the Playstation 4 is no exception. I finally took the plunge the summer of '17 and bought the exclusive gold version released just in time for Father's Day.

While on a business trip I found myself at a GameStop and I noticed they had a pretty good sale on pre-owned games. I don't normally take game suggestions from GameStop's employees, but I found myself needing one more game to complete the deal. Seeing how I missed a lot of great games on the PS3, I never got a chance to play the original The Last of Us game. I took the guy's suggestion and grabbed a copy of the remastered version, but only in the last day or so have I actually sat down to play it.

I did a good job steerling clear of this game, even when it was originally released for the PS3. I knew the game involved more stealth than action and I thought it had something to do with zombies or the undead, but that was it. I never watched any videos on YouTube of the game, including the game trailer. When I say I went into this game blind and with no experience I mean it.

First of all let me say how impressed I was with how beautiful this game is. At the beginning when you get to control the daughter, I didn't notice the game switch from the cinema scene to game play. The transition was smooth and seemless. Now, being a dad of two young daughters I was a little traumatized with the story and the outcome. If anything I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this story would continue to unfold.

I've only played a few hours thus far and I really don't know how long this game is. I'm really enjoying the story as well as soaking in all of the beautiful visuals. I'm enjoying the gameplay, but I can't help but feel this is more like an interactive story than your traditional video game. I guess I thought it took place in an open world environment so the linear gameplay wasn't expected. That's not a bad thing however, infact it works well for this game. The controls are pretty good and it has a nice tutorial of sorts to help you get down the various actions as you play.

As much as I thought I disliked sneaking around behind objects and going for a stealth kill, it seems as if this is how I'm able to survive and able to make it through the majority of the areas alive. I do like however how the game autosaves pretty frequently and if you do die, you don't have to replay much of the game from where you re-spawn.

I also didn't expect any humor in the game, so the scene in the truck as they drive away from the city was pretty amusing. I have enjoyed watching Joel and Ellie's relationship change over the short course of the game I've played. I do look forward to see where their relationship goes as I continue to play further into the game. So far this has been an excellent addition to my small PS4 library and I anxiously await to jump back in.

New Acquisitions: December 2017

This month I decided to do a video of my pick-ups for the month versus the regular blog post format. I haven't used my YouTube channel much, but I may start to utilize it a little more moving forward in 2018 across my network of blogs. Feel free to subscribe if you'd like.