I've seen a few other people I know doing these, so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring and write a bit about my University experiences and things I've learnt, now that I'm leaving.
Back in Sixth Form, I remember being filled with excitement and nervousness at the prospect of going to University. I wasn't sure whether it would be a lot calmer and more sophisticated and intellectual than all those stories you hear about it, or whether it would be full of non-stop parties and drinking with no real lectures or essays to speak of. Suffice to say, it has been a mixture of both. A good mixture.
I remember thinking that University would last for ages and the prospect of graduating seemed a long way off, and I suppose for 17/18 year old me, it was. I couldn't really picture going to University, going to lectures, writing essays, taking exams, and all of that leading to graduating and having an actual degree. But with graduation 2 short weeks away, the prospect is a lot more real to me now.
While I suppose the whole point of University is doing all the above and gaining a degree (my exact degree classification will be revealed to me tomorrow so fingers crossed), I think University has taught me a lot more, and I will cherish these last 3 years for my whole life. Perhaps, to be all philosophical about it, that stuff is more important than the degree itself.
I went to an all-girls private school, and while I'd like to say I completely break all the stereotypes associated, I'll admit that when I came to University I was a little socially inept. I've also always been an incredibly emotional person, and I cry at pretty much anything. I remember crying when I found out I got into a University. Yes, I was that person. So when I came to University, I wasn't sure how I'd cope. My mum and dad drove me down, got me all set up in my room, took me for lunch in Courtyard (York Uni's SU) and then we walked back to the car. Mum and dad said goodbye, gave me a tight hug and off they went. I broke into tears (to be fair, I think my dad started me off, as he started to cry and he never cries). I walked back upstairs to my room as quickly as I could, trying to hide my tears from all these strangers all around me. I hid in my room for five minutes, indulging in my tears for a moment before trying to calm down. For five minutes. Then the STYCs knocked on my door, thankfully ignored my obviously teary-eyes and took me and a couple other people for a walk around campus and showed us around a bit.
Afterwards, I hid in my room again for a minute, not really sure what to do. Should I go and look for the people I would be living with? I didn't really feel confident enough, and what if they were experiencing similar emotional turmoils as I had and wanted to be alone or with their parents? What if they were all horrible? Eventually, I worked up the courage to go and hang out in the kitchen, with the potential pretense of just making myself some lunch if things were awkward. They weren't. Well, okay, they were a bit, I mean we had all just been thrown together in a strange environment. A few of us just hung out in the kitchen and talked and got to know each other a bit and it was quite nice. Others came and went with their parents to put away their kitchen stuff and food, and then came back awhile later once their parents had left as well.
I can't really remember much of what we talked about, but for the most part I think I generally agreed with things other people said, as I didn't want to be left out or shunned. On the whole anyway, I didn't agree to anything that goes against my beliefs strongly or anything. But I don't really remember much of what we talked about in those first few hours. It was nice, but it was still awkward. I remember when we went to our Freshers Ball that first week, it was nice event and it was good fun, but it couldn't compare to the Leavers Ball I'd had at school a few months before, and definately not to the Grad Ball I went to a few weeks ago. The problem was, we still didn't really know each other that well. And while there were a couple thousand students at the Freshers Ball, you only really knew the people you came with. We hadn't really done anything for our courses yet or met many other people who lived near us, so it was all awkward and I remember going home relatively early for a night out. Unlike the Grad Ball a few weeks ago. That was infinately better. I went with my friends, and we saw loads of other people we knew there as well, not just the people we came with - other friends and coursemates etc. It meant we could have a better time and we all (pretty much) made it to the 4am survivor's photo, even if some of us were incredibly drunk. I remember looking around the Grad Ball and thinking about how much more fun this was, and I never imagined when I started university, that I would meet so many incredible people that I am currently struggling to say goodbye to.
I've made so many friends here, some I never thought I would ever make. If you didn't know, I'm from Newcastle. And while I have a posh accent for Newcastle standards, I'm not that posh. When I came to University, I never thought I'd make friends with people from the south of England who (while again not that posh) are posher than me, and say barth instead of bath. Yet I have, and some of them are my best friends here. Some people I have met at University are the pretentious twats I thought many posh, southerners were, but not all of them. University has introduced me to a wide variety of people and challenged many of the preconceptions I've had about people. I'm not a stereotypical geordie, so why should others be a stereotype too?
While I'm still friends with the people I lived with in first year (for the most part anyway), they aren't my closest friends or the ones I've chosen. They, for the most part, are ones who actually lived on the floor below or do the same course as me. I think if anything, University has taught me more about interacting with other people and has given me more confidence. I'm still a bit shy around people I don't know that well, but I'm more confident than I was before. I've met some truly amazing people here, and I won't forget a single one.
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Demo Review
Okay, so I should say now, I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan. I mean huge. Love the games. I've played at least bits of the majority of the main series games and have finished many of them, and have played many of the side series games, sequels and spin-offs. I should also note, that I'm a bit of a music geek. I took GCSE music. I love the soundtracks for the games and have several of them in my iTunes library.
So when I heard the Square-Enix were releasing a rhythm game for the entire series, I was pretty excited. One of my favourite game series? Some of my favourite game soundtracks? What was not to like? I'll admit, I did become a bit wary over time. S-E has had a fairly spotty reputation when it comes to its flagship series of late, and (as far as I'm aware) hasn't done it's own rhythm game before. This could all go wrong. After playing the demo though, I can say my fear have been assuaged.
Theatrhythm's story is similar to that of the Dissdia Final Fantasy games. There's a war occuring between the gods Cosmos (good) and Chaos (evil, surprisingly), and they've summoned warriors to fight for them.
Basically though, in Theatrhythm, you can play through various different tracks from the various main series games I-XIII, as well a one or two tracks from FFXIII-2, Type-0 and the upcoming (still, but that's a different story) Versus XIII. The tracks are split into 3 types and have 3 difficulties: Basic, Expert and Ultimate. For whatever track you select, you have to try and match the rhythm, and your character loses HP for everytime you miss a note, and if your HP goes down to zero it's game over!
Battle stages, where you play through a piece of battle music from the game chosen, and the characters fight either a series of random monsters (as in the demo) or a boss. These battles comprise of typical rhythm stuff, including tapping the screen, swiping in the proper direction or holding down the stylus for the specified amount of time. In the demo, I was able to play 'Man With The Machine Gun' from FFVIII (aka., the Laguna battle theme). This was quite enjoyable, and was quite easy on Basic mode (surprisingly), a little more difficult and took me a few more goes to master on Expert, and was very difficult on Ultimate! I haven't completed it yet but look forward to the challenge!
Then there are field stages, where your character(s) (which I should say are randomly chosen by the computer, at least in the demo) are wandering through a landscape to the appropriate piece of music. Again, this consists of tapping, swiping and holding, the only difference being that when you have to hold, you move the stylus up and down to hit various 'checkpoints' along the way before you can release (see the below screenshot). This was also enjoyable but I found it a bit easier than the battle stage. The demo included the 'Sunleth Waterscape' theme from FFXIII.
Then there are event stages, where you have to move the stylus around the screen in time with the music again, whilst a video montage from the game, for example an FMV, is played in the background. Unfortunately, this was not included in the demo, but I can kinda see why. I guess Squenix wanted to save them for the actual game and they might have eaten up a tad too much memory for a demo. Ah well. I know one of the included event stages is 'Waltz for the Moon' from FFVIII, which plays the FMV of Squall and Rinoa dancing at the SeeD ball in the background, just so you can get an idea of what this is like.
I have to say I enjoyed the Theatrhythm demo, and will undoubtedly play it again while I can. I find being able to combine a game with listening repeatedly to some of my favourite tracks incredibly enjoyable. And S-E has said they're planning to include DLC for the game too, with additional stages and tracks for the games to prolong the games lifespan which is a plus too (as long as the DLC will be reasonably priced - they cost 150 yen per song in Japan, which is roughly £1.20, which I'd personally say is a tad high, and I'm hoping there'll be bundles).
(04/07/12 EDIT: It's been announced what the first DLC tracks will be. There's 8 of them and will cost 90p each, which actually surprisingly affordable. Article can be seen here: http://www.nintendo-gamer.net/2012/07/04/first-theatrhythm-dlc-listed-reasonably-priced/)
It's definately a game for Final Fantasy fans like myself, who will enjoy being able to listen to the music and relive parts of their favourite games. I don't think it's any coincidence that this 'anthology' of mini-games and music is being released in during the 25th anniversary of the series either. Whilst any old Joe Bloggs could play the game for the music and the rhythm aspect, only a fan of the series will get the most out of it for their money, and this could be detrimental to sales of the game. Particularly since many fans of the series are more Sony/Xbox fanboys than Nintendo ones, and so it would seem to me that fewer are likely to own a 3DS and buy the game. But who knows, it might be a huge success. Either way, I have to say I can't see Theatrhythm being the start of a new mini-series of FF games, and I'd think that any future songs S-E wants to release will be through DLC.
I thought graphically the demo was good as well, smooth and crisp with bright, cartoony graphics which fit with the chibi characters and monsters. I have to admit as well that I kept getting distracted sometimes from the gameplay by wanting to see what the characters were doing in the background and trying to see what monster was what!
Overall, I thought the demo was enjoyable and has made me look forward to purchasing Theatrhythm in the future after it's been released in the UK later this summer. I think it will be an enjoyable game for any fan of the series, that you can either play for hours on end or just in short bursts, with some replay value, which could be enhanced with DLC. Like any game like this though, once you've beaten every song on all difficulties, it's hard to see what'll keep players coming back apart from for the odd nostalgia play, but I guess that won't really be S-Es problem. It's more a game for fans than casual gamers. Also, whilst I'm an admitted die hard FF fan, depending upon the price of the game itself, I am unsure about whether I will buy this upon release or wait until the price drops a bit before buying it.
So when I heard the Square-Enix were releasing a rhythm game for the entire series, I was pretty excited. One of my favourite game series? Some of my favourite game soundtracks? What was not to like? I'll admit, I did become a bit wary over time. S-E has had a fairly spotty reputation when it comes to its flagship series of late, and (as far as I'm aware) hasn't done it's own rhythm game before. This could all go wrong. After playing the demo though, I can say my fear have been assuaged.
Theatrhythm's story is similar to that of the Dissdia Final Fantasy games. There's a war occuring between the gods Cosmos (good) and Chaos (evil, surprisingly), and they've summoned warriors to fight for them.
Basically though, in Theatrhythm, you can play through various different tracks from the various main series games I-XIII, as well a one or two tracks from FFXIII-2, Type-0 and the upcoming (still, but that's a different story) Versus XIII. The tracks are split into 3 types and have 3 difficulties: Basic, Expert and Ultimate. For whatever track you select, you have to try and match the rhythm, and your character loses HP for everytime you miss a note, and if your HP goes down to zero it's game over!
Battle stages, where you play through a piece of battle music from the game chosen, and the characters fight either a series of random monsters (as in the demo) or a boss. These battles comprise of typical rhythm stuff, including tapping the screen, swiping in the proper direction or holding down the stylus for the specified amount of time. In the demo, I was able to play 'Man With The Machine Gun' from FFVIII (aka., the Laguna battle theme). This was quite enjoyable, and was quite easy on Basic mode (surprisingly), a little more difficult and took me a few more goes to master on Expert, and was very difficult on Ultimate! I haven't completed it yet but look forward to the challenge!
Then there are field stages, where your character(s) (which I should say are randomly chosen by the computer, at least in the demo) are wandering through a landscape to the appropriate piece of music. Again, this consists of tapping, swiping and holding, the only difference being that when you have to hold, you move the stylus up and down to hit various 'checkpoints' along the way before you can release (see the below screenshot). This was also enjoyable but I found it a bit easier than the battle stage. The demo included the 'Sunleth Waterscape' theme from FFXIII.
Then there are event stages, where you have to move the stylus around the screen in time with the music again, whilst a video montage from the game, for example an FMV, is played in the background. Unfortunately, this was not included in the demo, but I can kinda see why. I guess Squenix wanted to save them for the actual game and they might have eaten up a tad too much memory for a demo. Ah well. I know one of the included event stages is 'Waltz for the Moon' from FFVIII, which plays the FMV of Squall and Rinoa dancing at the SeeD ball in the background, just so you can get an idea of what this is like.
I have to say I enjoyed the Theatrhythm demo, and will undoubtedly play it again while I can. I find being able to combine a game with listening repeatedly to some of my favourite tracks incredibly enjoyable. And S-E has said they're planning to include DLC for the game too, with additional stages and tracks for the games to prolong the games lifespan which is a plus too (as long as the DLC will be reasonably priced - they cost 150 yen per song in Japan, which is roughly £1.20, which I'd personally say is a tad high, and I'm hoping there'll be bundles).
(04/07/12 EDIT: It's been announced what the first DLC tracks will be. There's 8 of them and will cost 90p each, which actually surprisingly affordable. Article can be seen here: http://www.nintendo-gamer.net/2012/07/04/first-theatrhythm-dlc-listed-reasonably-priced/)
It's definately a game for Final Fantasy fans like myself, who will enjoy being able to listen to the music and relive parts of their favourite games. I don't think it's any coincidence that this 'anthology' of mini-games and music is being released in during the 25th anniversary of the series either. Whilst any old Joe Bloggs could play the game for the music and the rhythm aspect, only a fan of the series will get the most out of it for their money, and this could be detrimental to sales of the game. Particularly since many fans of the series are more Sony/Xbox fanboys than Nintendo ones, and so it would seem to me that fewer are likely to own a 3DS and buy the game. But who knows, it might be a huge success. Either way, I have to say I can't see Theatrhythm being the start of a new mini-series of FF games, and I'd think that any future songs S-E wants to release will be through DLC.
I thought graphically the demo was good as well, smooth and crisp with bright, cartoony graphics which fit with the chibi characters and monsters. I have to admit as well that I kept getting distracted sometimes from the gameplay by wanting to see what the characters were doing in the background and trying to see what monster was what!
Overall, I thought the demo was enjoyable and has made me look forward to purchasing Theatrhythm in the future after it's been released in the UK later this summer. I think it will be an enjoyable game for any fan of the series, that you can either play for hours on end or just in short bursts, with some replay value, which could be enhanced with DLC. Like any game like this though, once you've beaten every song on all difficulties, it's hard to see what'll keep players coming back apart from for the odd nostalgia play, but I guess that won't really be S-Es problem. It's more a game for fans than casual gamers. Also, whilst I'm an admitted die hard FF fan, depending upon the price of the game itself, I am unsure about whether I will buy this upon release or wait until the price drops a bit before buying it.
Sunday, 10 June 2012
I'm still alive!
Just a quick note my little bloglets (yes, I have decided that's what you are called if you're reading this... at least my very tired brain has... for the moment).
I am still alive! I've been pretty caught up as of late with uni work - I am in my last term EVER after all so hopefully you can forgive me! Later this week however I'll be finished with all my actual assessments and shizz, so I'll be able to post a lot more and get caught up on here. I have lots of ideas of stuff to write. I'm really looking forward to having the freedom and time to start writing again, to read for pleasure (instead of endless uni journals) and play video games (yes, I'm a geek, haven't we covered that already?).
Basically, I'm looking forward to my assessments being over with! But I've been thinking that I haven't really posted here lately and just thought I'd say this to anyone who might be reading this to let you know this blog is far from dead. :)
I will even apologise in advance for any blogging-splurge mania that may commence once I have the time to post on here again.
Cheers m'dears, looking forward to blogging to you soon!
I am still alive! I've been pretty caught up as of late with uni work - I am in my last term EVER after all so hopefully you can forgive me! Later this week however I'll be finished with all my actual assessments and shizz, so I'll be able to post a lot more and get caught up on here. I have lots of ideas of stuff to write. I'm really looking forward to having the freedom and time to start writing again, to read for pleasure (instead of endless uni journals) and play video games (yes, I'm a geek, haven't we covered that already?).
Basically, I'm looking forward to my assessments being over with! But I've been thinking that I haven't really posted here lately and just thought I'd say this to anyone who might be reading this to let you know this blog is far from dead. :)
I will even apologise in advance for any blogging-splurge mania that may commence once I have the time to post on here again.
Cheers m'dears, looking forward to blogging to you soon!
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