Picture this: I’m sitting at home, alone. It’s late into the night. I want to play a video game. I stare at “Resident Evil 7” as a potential title to play in my game library. I continue to stare. I think about how play this game will impact my emotional well being. I stare some more. I think about how uncomfortable the gameplay will make me feel. I take one last look at the title–and turn on “Rainbow Six Siege.”

I am plagued by the scenario above. The idea of being able to sit down and causally enjoy a horror game on a whim is lost to me. I have to psych up, cry a little and then finally jump into a horror game.

This could be why I’m a chicken:

1. I’m too roasted. Coffee and multiplayer games are a winning combo. But add coffee to a horror game and it’s an anxiety filled nightmare with a side of heart palpitations.
2. It’s not like a horror movie. I have to play the character in the game who is going through a terrifying scenario. I’m the decision maker, making the experience like 100x scarier.
3. I’m a quitter. Areas in a game like “RE7” may require more than a couple of tries to complete. All they while a foe is hot on your heels wreaking havoc. My heart can barely handle one effort let alone multiple.
4. I legit scream at jump scares. I can’t help it! I find it embarrassing for me and those around me.

Ideally, gaming should be relaxing, not torture. In a perfect world I would be able play the horror genre but it’s just a pain!

Watch the “RE7” trailer here:

Daddy’s got a new pair of shoes–I mean headphones!

The Early Mistake

Before grabbing brand-new A40s on sale during Amazon’s Prime Day, I picked up refurbished A40s on Ebay. They were cheaper than buying new and the vender was reviewed very high. In short, I ended up returning them because a part of the headset that sat on my head would not stay secured, so hard plastic would dig into my scalp—it drove me insane.

Experience With New A40s

The brand-new Astro A40 Tournament Ready headset that I purchased on Prime Day is fantastic. I love them. They feel like a cloud made of gaming perfection. The ultra-crisp sound that comes through the headset’s speakers help me pick up on every detail in the game, which in turn, helps me wreck plebs* (I’m a pleb myself). The design is  comfortable too–perfect weigh and contact with my fat head.

*Pleb-An ordinary person, especially one from the lower social classes.

Weird Bug

One thing I had to do to fix the microphone from cutting out intermittently was change a setting in the mixamp options from home to stream on my computer. Initially, I thought the problem could be with the headset/microphone itself but a brief surf on the web revealed it’s a common issue. Side note, it’s odd that the Astros come standard with a wonky setting.

Conclusion

They are very nice headphones. Put them on my head when I die.

Would Recommend.

5/5.

Sure, eating chips is bomb and so is playing games. But doing it at the same time… It fucking sucks.

I don’t know about you but when I dig into a bag of chips, let’s sayyyyyy Duritos–my hands turn into these immobile, disgusting claws. It’s like the artificial flavoring slathering my hands creates major paralysis. The feeling is awful, uncomfortable and distracting.

Playing video game requires my hands to be in prime condition for maximum pawnage. Now, think about my grimey, hands-turned-claws trying to properly grip the controller. Can’t happen, plain and simple. No eating chips before or during a sesh. It sucks but it’s also a sad reality.

Drinking Cokes is totally chill though.

After a nasty split from Konami, Hideo Kojima, the legendary game creator who developed the “Metal Gear” franchise is hard at work on his new IP. “Death Stranding” marks the first game to be produced by Hideo’s new studio, Kojima Productions and it’s sure to be absolute fire.

I think Hideo wants to hit back at his old employer, Konami, with the new game. Not only does the game creator already produce quality content, but now he has a chip on his shoulder! “Death Stranding” could be a spite piece in a sense. Which is fine by me, if that means the game will melt my face in a good way.

Sadly, “DS” is still shrouded in mystery. The President of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Shawn Layden, recently played it and admitted he “couldn’t explain to you what the game is.” One thing is for sure, actors Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen will portray leading characters in the game. These two make a damn fine addition to the game!

Here’s a pinned tweet from Hideo showcasing the “DS” teaser and telling you to “pay attention to the lyrics.” And at one point in the song the lyrics say, “I want to feel again–Memorable.” Hideo is making a game that makes him “feel again,” that is “memorable” and it will blow Konami out of the water.

Watching people play video games nostalgically takes me back to the good ol’ days. As a youngster, I would happily be the spectator as my friends played bangers like “Super Metroid” and “Super Mario RPG.” Thanks to the invention of Twitch, I can experience the feelings of the past as an old-ass 27 year old.

Here are my go-to channels:

Summit1g

LIRIK

Goldglove

OuterHeaven

 

I’m scrolling through my Instagram feed when out of nowhere I’m presented with a sponsored post showcasing this random free-to-play mobile strategy game, “Terminator Genisys: Future War.” All of a sudden, I’m in the app store downloading it. I can’t exactly recall why I took the plunge right then an there but this is my experience with the game so far.

Gameplay

The game consists of two factions: Skynet and rebels. My allegiance landed with Skynet because robots rule.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as a T-800 instructed me on how to build my base (he’s such a good teacher). This is done by following a simple to-do list of what to focus my resources on. At first, I found the tediousness tasks to be annoying but then I couldn’t stop upgrading all my damn buildings and units. Upgrading things takes a certain amount of real time. Using a boost can reduce that time but boosts are hard to come by and require real money if you want to buy more. That’s the big catch to a free-to-play. Then I got recruited into a clan.

Clans

I was solicited by the clan chief and the only prerequisite to join the clan seemed to be whether I spoke English. I do (sort of). So, I joined up! I haven’t experienced any raids or anything in-game but I’m assuming being in a clan protects my base from invaders. Either way, I have friends now.

Check out the very basic convo with my clan chief below:

Addiction

I’ve heard about the mobile gaming addiction but shrugged it off. Now, I can’t stop playing the silly game.  I’ll pick up my phone to see what upgrades I need to fulfill or whether something is posted on the clan message boards. It’s pretty funny the way things end up.

Playing video games requires a certain amount of energy. That means being completely blasted on coffee. Grab the nearest roast and suck it down.

Starbucks

If you want to have a large quantity of coffee, get over to your local Starbucks and grab a Venti black Pike Place. Featuring a ballistic 410mg of caffeine, this beast will increase your K/D ratio and your heart beat.

Keurig

This is the quick and easy way to get your roast fix. Pop a K-Cup pod into the Keurig machine and before you can say “put the kids on one” a cup of steaming hot roast will be ready for consumption. Going this route won’t put a damper on your game time at all.

Standard Coffee Maker

This is the OG of coffee making, your parent’s method of getting roasted, if you will. The coffee maker I’m rocking will brew a stellar 12 cups. Let’s say you have some company who are looking to game and get equally cranked on caffeine as you, go make yourself a fresh pot.

Bonus Ways of Getting Jacked Up

Sure, coffee isn’t the only way to get absolutely wrecked on caffeine. 5 Hour Energies, Rockstar Lemonades, Redlines, Red Bulls and plenty of other name brands will do the trick!