Random questions, Spring 2014!

[superaielman]

Random questions, Spring 2014!

Piggybacking on Gate's topic.

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?

8.  The last place you ate out at? How was it?

Switching gears a little.

9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?
 

[superaielman]

Random questions, Spring 2014!

Piggybacking on Gate's topic.

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?

Dreamwalker, by CS Friedman. It was a fun read but was very much a YA novel.

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?

Rewatched bits of Forrest Gump on AMC. I enjoy the film well enough. Last new movie to me I can't remember. Probably wasn't any good.

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?

Mana Khemia 2. It is equal parts excellent elements and horseshit execution. Thinking it's going to be a 5/10 game.

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?

Rewatching Burn Notice. Season 1 is so good. Last new thing I finished was True Detective, which I enjoyed quite a lot.

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?
Miso soup and Wasabi. Loved Wasabi, Miso was good but too salty.

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?

Twitter, checking sports news.

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?

The Strange Case of by Halestorm. Really entertaining band that verges on being too generic at times.

8.  The last place you ate out at? How was it?

Local sports bar, had the hot wings. They weren't hot enough.

Switching gears a little.

9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?

Skin Game by Jim Butcher . I'm also super hyped for Defense Grid 2.

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?

DLC in July in Washington DC.

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?

Pink's hot dogs. Some of that may just be due to the experience I had (2+ mile walk through LA to get it) granted.

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?

Final Fantasy 7 for realistic. No surprise here. FFT would be something as well but I think FF7 has far more room to improve. unrealistic is either Saga Frontier or Ogre Battle, though both could happen I guess? TO did get remade.

[Lady Door]

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?
Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold. Soppy has been trying to get Andrew to read them so I got this for my Kindle. I liked it. It read an awful lot like books by Anne McCaffrey in which I mean it has some disturbingly gendered stereotypes in place. But it's also her first book published. I'd give that more credence except it got me to buy Barrayar, which was released in 1991 and received a Hugo award and it has a lot of the same tropes. At least in Barrayar she seems more aware of it and attributes things to various cultural differences.

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?
Captain America: Winter Soldier. It was entertaining. I'd put it somewhere in the middle in the Marvel Universe cinematic spectacular. It did some things with the story I didn't quite understand, including leaving the Winter Soldier plot hanging until midway through the movie. A strange move considering the title, and the relationship it represented.

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?
Uhhhhh... sorry, I don't really play these anymore. It was probably Hearthstone, if that even counts. I like it but it's a little too simple for my taste.

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?
White Collar. Still watching it. I like it, though it's had to do some weird things to keep the concept fresh. It definitely makes me terrified of the police force, though, as most cop dramas do. The amount of stuff that isn't strictly legal that they manage to get away with is staggering. As a citizen against whom such liberties would be taken, it's not a pleasant thought.

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?
Currywurst. It was okay. I think I should blame the source for this rather than the food itself.

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?
Some German SIM card activation site because I needed my cell phone to have German service. Wandering around the site trying to figure out what the graphics were telling me was pretty diverting.

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?
No idea what this might have been.

8.  The last place you ate out at? How was it?
A pasta place a few blocks away from the German office. Apparently people here really like pizza and pasta because I also went to a pasta place on Monday. It was pretty tasty. Tomato sauce, penne, and German cheese. I specify German because it is different here. Can't quite describe how.

9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?
Next Butcher book.

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?
Next week. Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Edinburgh.

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?
Something authentically German! There's been surprisingly little of that. Maybe I will try to grab something simple for dinner.

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?
No idea. I like Sonic but they've beat that to an awful grave already. For pipe dream, I had a soft spot for Greendog: Beached Surfer Dude and Cool Spot. Either of those getting a modern remake would be fun.

[VySaika]

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?

Various DnD sourcebooks. I'm in those things like 4-5 days a week.

For novels, I recently reread Fire Logic, since I reread it awhile ago and then spaced on continuing the rest of the series. Let's see if I do that again.

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?

Winter Soldier. It was pretty badass.

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?

Conception 2 - Children of the Seven Stars. It's better than expected! Solidly fun gameplay and despite the fanservicey nature of the game they somehow managed to avoid making any of the characters completely unlikable. Even the main's shonen rival dude is actually a pretty cool guy once he stops acting like he doesn't have emotions.

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?

Tele...vision? You mean that box I play video games on? What are these 'shows' you speak of.

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?

Went to a great build your own sammich place in San Jose with Laggy the other day. They had hardboiled egg as a burger topping, which I tried, and it was great.

As far as actually NEW food goes...that may actually be the brazilian steakhouse at last DLC(or the japanese place we went to that had those little skewers), since I've eaten at basically everywhere in walking distance that has non-poison food to serve around here.

EDIT: Holy hell how did I forget TOAST. Okay, there's this filipino sandwich shop near me that is freaking amazing, and I haven't had anything quite like their sandwiches anywhere else. While I did have some of their stuff before last DLC, I did not try the Lumpia Sliders until recently. These are exactly what they sound like, little burger sliders made with lumpia style beef in them, topped with 'slaw and a really tasty house made sauce. They are fantastic and I need to remember to drag people out to there when they come up.

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?

Song lyrics website. Woke up with a song stuck in my head, needed to see the lyrics to try to get it out.

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?

Probably something Jenna bought and has on her playlist to listen to while driving. Not sure what the newest of them is. That or something on Pandora. I typically leave music running, but don't really notice that something is "new" unless it stands out as either good enough to go "hey I want to buy this" or bad enough to thumbs down it.

8.  The last place you ate out at? How was it?

The Chili's near the movie theater, after we saw Winter Soldier. It was pretty good, got carnitas fajitas.

Switching gears a little.

9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?

Off the top of my head, Shin Gundam Musou should be making it to the states around July-ish? Or Dynasty Warriors Gundam 4, as they'll prolly call it over here.

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?

DLC.

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?

I literally just ate breakfast, so not hungry at all. So probably a nice cold tri-tip sandwich with horseradish that I could stick in the fridge and munch later for lunch.

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?

Realistic? Hmm. Not really sure. Largely because I can't quite think of any games that could 'realistically' get remakes that I either care about or don't already have remakes. Maybe WA2? They already did ACF for WA1, so that could fall under 'realistic'? And WA2 could sure as hell use an update.

Any game, I've got the same thoughts as super there. SaGa Frontier and Ogre Battle are both games I love that could use an update badly.

I would also love to see a AAA style DnD video game. Preferably as an SRPG so they can use 4th edition for it.

[AndrewRogue]

1. Uh... Legitimate book? Probably Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. Comics? Newest chapter of the Seven Deadly Sins.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Pretty good.

3. My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic Tribute Edition. Solid basis for a fighting game, reasonably enjoyable, feels pretty nice in play. Inputs and hitboxes are still a little off though.

4. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Was just looking for something to have on as filler, so I picked a favorite episode. Unshockingly, I think it is is pretty decent.

If you are talking new TV, then it is White Collar, which I've found simultaneously kinda dumb but pretty enjoyable.

5. I... am not actually sure? The only thing that is jumping out was a Korean Burrito. Didn't like it too much. That fermented cabbage thing that has the name I'm forgetting just doesn't sit well with me. Kimchee. That's it.

6. Reddit.

7.  Uh. Prolly something by Eurobeat Brony or Odyssey? I honestly don't know. All my new stuff has been fine though.

8.  McDonald's. It was McDonald's.

Switching gears a little.

9.  Nothing I'm super hype about at the moment, so I suppose I gotta default to the next pony thing that's coming out?

10. Later today. Flying out to Berlin, then it'll be over to Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Edinburgh.

11. I could do with some delicious shrimp and pasta right now.

12. No idea.

[Cmdr_King]

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?

All three books of The Hunger Games.  They... they are to movies what something like Transformers is to toys, so in a way I feel like I need to watch those to have a deeper opinion than "fast reads, very laconic, except when talking about how traumatized the characters all are".

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?

Cap I think.  Is what it is.

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?

I'll probably be finishing up Star Ocean: The Last Hope in the next day or so, so that probably counts.  It is probably the tri-Acest tri-Ace.

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?

Picked up the first half or so of Gargoyles.  I am continually impressed by some of the shit people put out in the early-mid 90s that actually stayed on the air.  I mean, Batman: TAS was one thing, Batman's inherently cool and toyetic (why that word is on my mind today I dunno).  This is a show that goes from like 5 villains down to... 2, and is somehow better for it.  The main characters are visually indistinguishable from, like, demons.  Interspecies romance! And they stayed on the air for 50-odd episodes with more or less no major meddling.  From Disney.  The 90s were fuckin' weird man.

I can't even think of the last show I followed that wasn't older-but-I-found-some-DVDs.  God, might've been the first season of Korra.

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?

I've been really lazy at home lately, and it's a pain in the ass to get something that's not mexican or american diner hereabouts, so honestly I can't think of anything.  Probably back in the fall in a class I guess, couldn't tell you what really.  So I'm guessing it wasn't too impressive.

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?

These days, aside from basic life function stuff like email and facebook, I pretty much come here and SA LP.

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?

Mmm.  Well I picked up some stuff on itunes that were part of albums I hadn't heard all of before, but had heard some (Distant Worlds II, the XG orchestral album).  Beyond that... last summer I picked up new CDs for the first time in years, but that was quite a while back and I couldn't tell you what was last in the set.  Discovered fun. who I greatly enjoy though.  Also learned that Bruno Mars is enjoyable but also a creeper.

8.  The last place you ate out at? How was it?

Technically I had dinner at work tonight >.>

Switching gears a little.

9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?

Nothing in the near future is super-hype-excitement time for me that I can think of.  Two non-MCU marvel movies that I plan to see, some number of games I probably plan to pick up, but not HYPE level y'know?  The only thing I can think of where my thoughts are "JUST RELEASE IT ALREADY THE POWER IS YOURS RAAAARRR" is the next Persona fighting game, which isn't until Fall-ish.  I think Persona 5 is also out around that time, so that'll be a good couple months.

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?

I'm probably not going to DLCon, so... nothing in the foreseeable future.

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?

I... don't think I can really answer that.  There's nothing I can think of where my reaction is "oh my god I just want to try that again RIGHT NOW".  Really, related to what I said to the other food question... something I've never tried before.  Dunno what really.

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?

I've been chain listening to the XG orchestral album.  Realistic or not, fuck you I want XG remake.  I started designing it in my head because of music.

[Ranmilia]

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?

Eh, what counts as a book?  Pick one or more: Racial Polarization of Language in 'Nerd Culture' (interesting but exceeded my tolerance for research bias), To Be Or Not To Be (Ryan North, still 100% amazing), Background Pony (stupidly long My Little Pony fanfic, was AWFUL in hilariously jawdropping ways, blame Andy?!), The Hellbound Heart  (Clive Barker novella that was turned into Hellraiser, very thematically different from the movie, super interesting to read and critique although it's not the most polished fiction ever).

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?

Technically people here watch random terrible movies almost nightly, which I mostly tune out, but the last film I deliberately watched and paid attention to was Frozen.  I liked it quite a bit, there's a lot more narrative complexity and things to think about than many past Disney films, and the animation and production are of course gorgeous.  That said, I'm not sure the narrative complexity was handled as well as it could have been... but maybe I'm giving too much credit to previous Disney fare that were really underestimating their audience.

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?

MLP: Fighting Is Magic: Tribute Edition.  A simple and possibly underdeveloped but nonetheless fun fighter.  Wound up enjoying it considerably more than I thought I would - now if only Andy wasn't on a trip so I could actually play it with someone again...

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?

Survivor.  Continues to own.  This season's been almost 100% gold so far and even the stupid Tyler Perry idol doesn't seem like it can ruin things too much.  Everyone is crazy and no one knows what is happening, strategies that normally would be horribly overplaying and lose to boring safe play are actually working, it's great.

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?

..... dunno.  I am boring and prefer familiar food.

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?

twitch.tv because I'm a wreck and need background noise.

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?

http://silent-cicada.bandcamp.com/album/the-478-anniversary-of-the-confessio-augustana  40 minutes of awesome, for me, and probably no one else who will read this >_>

8.  The last place you ate out at? How was it?

Subway.  It was good.  Hard to really go wrong with Subway.

9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?

Touhou 14.3: Impossible Spell Card, coming May 11.  Another individual attack challenge style game, like the camera games?  Yes please!

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?

The rest of the family is going to Hawaii for most of May; my vacation will be staying here!

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?

Kinda wanna get Subway again since the questions brought it up.

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?

That is a hard question, in no small part because I tend to consider those remakes universally inferior to the originals.  And also a lot of things coming to mind that could get decent remakes already did, like House of the Dead.  Ooh!  FF7.  Just make that one already please.  Yeah, that works.  The pipe dream I guess... ... Marathon series?  Maybe?  That isn't even too farfetched, and you could consider the Halo series as already being that, but still...

[Grefter]

Challenge accepted.

[Dark Holy Elf]

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?

CS Friedman's Feast of Souls series. It was good but left lot on the table in terms of what it could have done with its setting.

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?

Frozen, it was good with yeah some unusually neat ideas for a Disney movie (also good music). Also about simultaneously rewatched Dr. Strangelove, which is a great little piece of dark humour.

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?

Last new one I finished: Bravely Default, which I've talked about enough by now, a fun game with a good class system which could stand to tighten up its pacing and execute its plot ideas better.

I've more recently finished replays of Xenogears, Devil May Cry, and Phoenix Wright (still need to post about all of those in WGAYP I guess...), not too much new to say about them.

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?

It's been over a decade since I've watched a new TV show. Wait... no, I checked out some MLP episodes a year or two ago. It was pretty fun I suppose.

That said I have rewatched some Simpsons this year. Not much to say, it's an old favourite.

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?

I don't remember. This isn't a "I haven't done it recently" type thing either, I'm sure I have. I just don't have a great memory for food.

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?

Facebook.

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?

The Bravely Default soundtrack is pretty cool. New composer but I definitely like the sound.

8.  The last place you ate out at? How was it?

Went out for Indian at our favourite Indian restaurant last week, it was great as always.


9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?

Not sure really, I'm not one for pre-release hype. New Smash Bros with playable Mega Man I guess.

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?

DLC in July, and then to the UK! Looking forward to it.

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?

*shrug*

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?

FF7's the easy answer. Xenogears is good too. I feel like there's more I thought of but am currently blanking.

[Grefter]

1. What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?
House of Leaves, which I still haven't finished even though I started it at DLC.  I am full of self loathing and this book is as amazing as advertised and I haven't even got into the meat of it.

2. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?

I have had a terrible time of going to movies for a couple of years now.  I just don't do it even though I love watching movies at a cinema.  I can't remember.  Something art faggy that I would have liked to watch with my mother.  Wasn't Gravity.  Should have been Gravity.  Probably was Rush actually.  Rush was really good.

Fuck me, looking at the movie thread it is like that, Warm Bodies and Iron Man 3.  I really need to get my shit together.

3. What was the last video game you played? What did you think of it?

I am playing Bravely Default like a lot of the DL and like a lot of the DL I really dig it.  Otherwise I guess South Park: Stick of Truth is the big stand out.  It is a good South Park game, a decent Obsidian game, an okay JRPG style game to come out on like every fucking system.  If you like any three of these components I would recommend playing it if you aren't put off by others.

4. What was the last TV show you saw? What did you think of it?

I don't watch much TV.  I have caught bits and pieces of Psych while my room mate watches it, looks good.

That said I have rewatched some Simpsons this year. Not much to say, it's an old favourite.

5. What was the last new food you tried? What did you think of it?

I tried a new kind of pizza the other day, but meh.  Paella from Nando's is the new thing I have tried this year that I am obsessing over though.  It is the bomb.  Extra Hot is spicy enough to be good and the flavour is amazing.

6. The last website you browsed besides the DL?

Reddit I guess.

7.  The last new song/CD you heard. How was it?

http://silent-cicada.bandcamp.com/album/the-478-anniversary-of-the-confessio-augustana  40 minutes of awesome, for me, and probably no one else who will read this >_>

This.  It isn't bad.  Nice ambient stuff.

I am right now ripping Petshop Boys - Electric which I forgot even came out (CIATOS told me and I forgot to buy it), it is my Dad's birthday present.  Also bought a new The Fray album because as boring as they are I still love them.

Otherwise last album I bought was Kate Miller-Heidke - O Vertigo! which is good and a solid album like her stuff always is.  She is an absolute workhorse who consistently puts out decent quality albums that don't ever seem to have a spike into popularity.

9.  What is the next game/TV show/movie/book coming out that you are excited about?

Nothing got me super pumped on the immediate horizon.  I expect Pillars of Eternity to be good, but when it happens it happens.

10. What is the next vacation you're planning on going on and when are you going?

I have nothing planned other than making sure I get to DLC10 and that is kind of not super healthy for me.

11. If you could have any meal you wanted right now, what would it be?

Went out for Indian at our favourite Indian restaurant last week, it was great as always.

This.  At this place with those people.

12. If you could pick a 'realistic' game to get a AAA type remake, what game would it be? What would be the pipe dream game to get a remake?
Planescape: Torment.  I keep hoping that Baldur's Gate remakes would spin off in to that and hopefully even Icewind Dale, but I don't actually know if it could happen.  Those technically aren't AAA I guess, but they are solid.

For pipedream, a game that was interesting but clunky enough to need a remake that doesn't run well on things as is and has aged enough to not be worth the effort to play.  Freedom Force and Freedom Force VS the Third Reich.  I think those could be cool to revisit.