A Bit of Bugs: Worms Armageddon

Despite the fact that the principle and play of this game was pretty basic, it still merits a mention as one of the better "old school" games in the memories of myself and fellow players. You could play it as a single player campaign, single player "deathmatch" mode (which essentially was a challenge against the computer, or as a local or online multiplayer. Because of that I think that this game was (and still is) especially versatile in the grand scheme of gaming.

A Bit of Space: Phantasy Star Online

The Phantasy Star Online series was one of my first introductions to the genre of MMORPG, and it's strange to think that it was released over a decade ago. I remember watching my boyfriend at the time play and being curious about how the whole thing worked, and then once I started playing on my own being so sucked in to the plot, world, and playing online with others that I couldn't stop. PSO was integral to my life as a gamer, and I'm sure many others. After the break you, too, can check out my musings on this awesome series, and partake in the happy remembrance yourself.

A Bit of Marvel: Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer has been claimed, by many, to have been one of the more difficult releases for NES. This is primarily because the main character, Silver Surfer from Marvel Comics, was squishy as all get out and would die after a single hit, no matter what the enemy he was facing. While this may have been frustrating for many players, it was the g-dang NES—I don't really know what you guys were expecting. Also, it is apparently now retailing for close to $125, which obviously speaks to its stellar quality. :]

A Bit of ANNIVERSARY: Doom

For those of you not in the know, recently the 20th anniversary of the release of Doom happened. Doom has a large hand to play in the growth of video game culture: it started as shareware, essentially founded the First Person Shooter genre, and successfully started a multiplayer system. While it has been followed up by two additional games (Doom 2 and 3), Doom was the original and, in my eyes at least, the best. You know what, don't even let my review skew your perception of the game if you haven't played it yet. Go check it out here. For those of you that have played it and want some of that good nostalgia, or for those who prefer to have their games SPOILED check after the break.

A Bit of Crossover: Learning to play Magic the Gathering

For a long time I have wanted to learn how to play Magic. In grade school, the only kids that played it were some of the nerdier boys and when I tried to ask them to explain it to me they never really wanted to. Instead, I joined up with local Pokemon leagues, and spent my weekends playing the Pokemon trading card game with my sisters, friends, and competitors at our local comic book store The Annex.

A Bit of Link: First Impressions of A Link Between Worlds

Jerry bought me both Pokemon Y and A Link Between Worlds for my birthday this year and that means he gets husband of the year award. Couple that with Walt's awesome gift of a sweet wireless gaming headset and I am fully kitted out (expect for a mouse, which I somehow kill with the frequency that most people kill their rodent namesakes). While I haven't yet gotten through Pokemon Y, and what I have has been pretty similar to Pokemon X but with different Pokemon, Link Between Worlds is a great refreshment from the other more recent Zelda games (like Windwaker). Here are some of my first impressions:

A Bit of Courage: Why I Want to Become a Streamed Gamer

The other day after tagging a post on Twitter about my blog, I decided that I wanted to see who else out there was using the hashtag #GirlGamer. I figured, if anything, I could find some new blogs to read and new women with similar interests to myself to talk to. Instead what I found was a plethora of Twitch streams with petitions against them to be banned for inappropriate content. Now, I am no stranger to the almost naked female form in gaming, nor am I someone who is really bothered by it, but this took it to a whole new level.

A Bit of Admiration: How I Came to Terms with being Nerdy

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and we didn't necessarily celebrate it in the way that we usually do. Typically, my father, stepmother, husband and I celebrate this wonderful, gluttonous holiday on our own in my parents' house in Connecticut. This year, given the unfortunate stroke of a close friend, we decided to go and spend Thanksgiving with him and his family instead. Having never met his family, and given my propensity towards awkward social situations, I was nervous. The first few uncomfortable handshakes had confirmed what I felt positive about: this was going to be awkward, I was going to be the weird one that no one would talk to, etc.

Luckily for me, I was wrong.

A Bit of Psychosis: Loaded

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 7/8 BITS.

Loaded, if you had a Playstation and were into bloody, gory, shoot 'em ups without much of an intense plot line, was perfect—and still is perfect, really, for what it is. Re-Loaded, its sequel that was released a year later, was ALSO good—keeping the same gameplay with some new characters to play and updated graphics. Both were designed by MobyGames and are outstanding, though I couldn't find an online venue for those of you not familiar to give it a try. Find a friend with a Playstation, and get on that sweet, sweet Loaded action. Below the jump there is some video of gameplay, if you are left wanting more of a taste, but have no way to get your hands on a dusty old console.

A Bit of Raptors: Primal Rage

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 5/8 BITS!

The other evening while my husband, Jerry, and I were watching The X Files, we came upon the episode about the kid who got struck by lighting and was then endowed with the ability to call down lightning whenever he wants. It had Jack Black in it. It was awesome. That doesn't have much to do with it, but in the background of the Arcade that Jack Black works in, I saw it. I saw Primal Rage, and dreamt about it that night—specifically beating one of my coworkers over and over again.

A Bit of Evolution: Pokemon X

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 8/8 BITS

Admittedly having not even delved that deeply into the post-game fun of Pokemon X (or Y), I can definitely say that it is one of my favorite games that I've played recently. Whether this be solely due to nostalgia or is a true testament to the Pokemon franchise's staying power, I can't say, but here are the 5 things that I liked most about Pokemon X. As a note, I will be purchasing Y soon, just to have another version of this awesome game to play.

Gaming FOMO

I was recently introduced to the notion of FOMO by my wonderful coworkers at Wistia. FOMO, if you are not familiar and need to be told (like I was) means Fear of Missing Out. It's something that most people are familiar with, but is a phrase bandied about at Wistia more often than probably anywhere else (mind you, I'm biased because I first heard it there and have only heard it there since). Given that it was a new acronym that I could relate to, I swiftly adopted it and made it my own—hence I have begun thinking about and defining my gaming "FOMO."

A Bit of a List: 5 Reasons Why I Love League of Legends

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 8/8 BITS.

League of Legends is awesome. You probably knew I was gonna say that just from the title of this post, but seriously. It is. There are many reasons why I love this game, even though when it was first recommended to me I thought I would hate here. Here are a few of those reasons:

A Bit of Garbage: Borderlands 2's Console Controls

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 0/8 BITS

This post has been a long time coming and, until I finish Pokemon X (which should be sometime in the next day or so), I do not have anything else really to write about that isn't old news (GTA V, Last of Us), so instead I'm going to write about just how much I hate the Xbox controls of Borderlands 2.

A Little Bit of Neglect: Animal Crossing

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 3/8 BITS

When I purchased my 3DS originally, it was so that I could buy and play Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I'm not sure what I expected, really, or if I thought that it would be able to hold my attention any longer than the other Animal Crossing games, but now I find myself playing it mostly out of guilt. I know, that sounds crazy, but guilt is a very real motivator for me—even when things are supposed to be fun and, well, games.

A Little Bit of a Mess (and a LOT of nerdiness): PAX East

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 0/8 or 7/8 depending on my mood.

The time is upon us, children, the time of year when little nerdlings all along the east cost get uppity and antsy and angry because PAX East is 167 days away, and tickets are almost already completely sold out. If you didn't get tickets yet, hurry quick, because only Friday and Sunday passes are currently still available and even their availability is low.

The reason I say hurry is for one simple fact: PAX East was the best experience of my whole past year (other than getting married).



Yes, people complain about the availability of PAX East passes (which I will also do here a little bit), and boycott it (for valid reasons, for the most part)—but truly there is not another gaming convention that can beat it. Most arguing and volatile parties agree—PAX East is a great way to draw commonalities between people that otherwise would be more likely to flame a stranger than shake hands and play Cards Against Humanity with them. Maybe I'm stereotyping a little bit, but I speak from a place of experience. When I went to my first PAX East with my friend Walt and soon-to-be-husband Jerry last year I had no idea what to expect—I was nervous about the hordes of people, anxious about lines, and worried that I wouldn't be "legit" enough for Walt's tabletop friends to like me. Man, I was so wrong.

PAX, despite being a totally garbage user experience for buying tickets is AWESOME. Not only did I get to hang out with all the people in the world that I love most, I also got to meet new friends, play new games that hadn't been released yet and run a Light Weight RPG campaign with people that I never thought I'd get around a tabletop all together. PAX was (and will be this year) a safe haven for all nerding types—whether they be fully-closeted or out cosplaying as a Brony, a Little Sister, or Grim Fandango. Everyone was friendly, talkative and generally accepting, which also seems to be a far cry from what I've experienced from my fellow gamers in the past. I mean, who doesn't want to live in a society with rules like these, even if it's only for three days:

Long and short of it is—PAX is awesome, and worth every red cent you spend to go. Do it at least once in your life if you care about video games, yourself, freedom, or FUN. It is just that good. I mean, heck, look at the sweet haul of goodies I got for tabletop just on my first day:

Now, on to the bad—you did see that I mentioned 0/8 bits up there, right? Buying tickets for PAX is a total mess. Not only are there scalpers up the wazoo who buy tons of tickets at a time and resell them for prices 5+ times more than they purchased them for, but Penny Arcade's servers for the site go down almost immediately every time, apparently. I experienced it first hand this year when trying to purchase tickets for Jerry and I (and for Walt later, which I forgot originally because I am a huge jerk). Penny Arcade announced that tickets would go on sale at midday the next day, and I (like thousands of others) logged on to the site at 11:55 to make sure I got the treasured three-day passes. Unfortunately, due to traffic I assume, the PAX East Registration site went down and neglected to inform me (when I was able to refresh) that tickets were on sale at another site. I checked Twitter and realized the error and immediately jumped into queue on ShowClix, the service PAX used to sell tickets this year. After sitting in queue for about 30 minutes for the three-day passes that I had selected at the start of the process, I was kicked out and informed they were all sold out. While I understand that maintaining a server is difficult, I felt that there was more that could have been done to tell people on the actual PAX East site proper that there were ticket sales happening elsewhere—the fact that it wasn't updated until around 12:30 after three-day passes sold out was a bit of a farce and a disservice to loving fans.

Whatever, I got the tickets in the long run and myself, my biff Walt and my hubby Jerry are all going for yet another round of awesome game-filled fun this year. And I can. not. wait. <3 p="">

A Bit of Mail: Loot Crate

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 8/8 BITS

While I know that this blog is meant to about video games, I figure every once in a while a something-nerdy-by-proxy is allowed to pop up. We're all nerds here, right? Equal opportunity nerdy-thing-lovers? Even if you aren't, this is my blog and what I say goes. So hmph.

Loot Crate, for those of you that haven't heard about it, is one of those subscription box services like Birch Box or Bark Box. But it's for nerds. Their site labels them as "Epic Geek & Gamer Gear Delivered Monthly!" which is basically exactly what they are. As someone who has never been a fan of "pay and we'll deliver it by mail" things, I was pleasantly surprised.

A Bit of Balance: Adult Gaming

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 0/8 BITS!

Ugh, adulthood. Goodbye to the days of "Which game am I going to play first?" and a resounding hello to "Do I really have time for that right now?" Every day I find myself questioning how best to schedule out my plethora of hobbies: Alright, I'll read for an hour, hula hoop and watch Doctor Who for an hour, then I'll play Pokemon while Jerry showers and maybe get a chance to schedule in an ARAM with Walt. 

No one wants to live like that, but it is how many of us overstimulated adult gamers choose to do it. It's tiring and, for me at least, the provider of a just the right amount of guilt to reconsider if my lifestyle really is worth the effort. It's a far cry from when I spent hours in my basement playing World of Warcraft with whatever boyfriend I had at the time but, ostensibly, it is better.

A Bit of Handheld: 3DS vs 2DS

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 6/8 BITS




So, some of you may not know this but I am a walking contradiction. In one of my older posts (several, actually) I mention that playing a DS is not "really" gaming. Let it be said: when I was younger, I was an asshole. I still maintain that console and PC gaming is a more immersive and complex experience, but I have been spending more time on my 3DS as of late given the recent release of Pokemon X & Y and the less recent Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

A Bit of Exploration: Obduction

For those of you who haven't heard the news, Cyan, Inc. the super-sick creators of awesome games like Myst and Riven are coming out with a new game: Obduction. Despite the fact that the name does admittedly irk the spelling nazi in me, I will not be kept from playing (and preaching about) it. From my understanding, anyway, Obduction is meant to be an amalgamation of Obfuscation and Abduction—at least that's what I take from its Kickstarter page.

A Bit of a Casual Return

Yes, friends, foes, countrymen. I have returned. I know, I know—how cruel of me to neglect something so harshly and then return semi-triumphantly years later.

The fact is, kiddos, people change. I forgot about the blog and every time that I was reminded of it I would think Oh, yeah, I probably should try to revamp that thing huh? And, just like everything else, it got caught in the riptide of my life—graduate school, new jobs, books to write, men to marry. But I'm BACK. Yes, yes—the posts are old and towards the end of the whole endeavor I got kind of lazy, but this time I am coming back with a vengeance.

Keep your eyes peeled for newly updated posts, better design, and sweet, sweet content!