CE Wills

    Hey, everyone. It is 09:30 on a lovely morning at the green retreat. I hope that you and your folks are well and happy. Well, I ventured forth into the haunts of men yesterday.      I met a Sony Rep, a very pleasant lady who took the time to chat about games and gaming. We liked a lot of the same games. I mentioned the new/ pending / fictitious? Playstation 4.5. She reminded me that the above-mentioned device was merely a rumor at this time. She also said that if the 4.5 exists, that it will not hinder people like me, it would merely allow 4K definition in the ultra-modern gamers' lives. Those like myself can continue with their current system, games etc. So, I went on my way rejoicing.      By the way, I finished The Order: 1886. I enjoyed it. I began to play Uncharted . I have the box set, you know, remastered and all. I loved it the first time around and decided to play it again while I am awaiting Nate's return in Uncha...

     Hey, everyone. My two favorite games that I have ever played(for any system) are Far Cry 4 and the Last of Us . I read just a day ago that they had been planning to make a movie about Joel and Ellie from the Last of Us . Unfortunately, those plans have failed utterly, as I understand it. The girl from Game of Thrones (Arya) had been approached about playing Ellie in the movie. I think she would have been a terrific choice for the role. You know who I would love to play the role of Joel? Wolverine from the X-Men. Alas, it is not to be.     I did hear that there is to be a sequel to the game, however. I certainly would love to see that.      This game came free with my PS4 and what a great choice for the package. It is the epitome of the 'story driven' game. The two lead characters draw you into their lives in such a compelling manner!       Joel is a middle-aged guy with a 12 year old daughter. Wh...

Hey, everyone. I had a lazy day today. One which will surely bore you but I'll take that chance and tell you about it. Let me start by telling you about the supper I fixed for my wife and I. We used some potatoes O'Brien, fried in a skillet. You know, with peppers and onions? I cooked them brown, then added a bunch of scrambled eggs, cheese and crumbled up pieces of bacon. Then I cooked it till they were all mushy. Served with toast, covered with apricot preserves and butter. We had some pineapple and grapes on the side. A  big glass of milk to wash it down. Not too shabby. I finished my game. ( Far Cry Primal.) Then we started a new/old game by the name of The Order, 1886. It seems that this game gives us a bit of revisionist history. I have only played Chapter 1, but I'll give some initial impressions. It seems we are in London and a member of a group of men and women who aspire, no, they are, Knights of the Round Table. We play as Galahad, a lion of the aforem...

    Hey, everyone. As you doubtless recall, I have been on a trek through Oros in the PS4 game of Far Cry Primal . One of its fiercer inhabitants is Batari, a sun worshiper with a penchant for blue skin, knifes and fire.     Part of my unofficial job here in prehysteria (that's a joke) is to do all manner of deeds for those folks who inhabit my village. This task has proven to be one which I have failed at many times. I was sent to destroy Batari and the temple where she practices human sacrifice. As you can see from the pics, it is a bit of a stretch to call it a temple. There is not even a ceiling. For the pyros among you, there is a really neat fire, though.    I had to search for the place, to begin with. I was told to follow holes drilled in pillars of stone. I found some, sure 'nuff (southern colloquialism.), as shown. Then I happened across a dude who gave me the desired info. He wore a wild necklace but seemed a decent c...

        Hey, everyone, across the known world. I ventured forth into the haunts of men today. I had to pick up a new pair of spectacles (not shown). I also picked up some new contact lenses. It was a relief to get that chore over with. But the day was not without its pleasures.      I bought the DVD of the latest Star Wars flick. Carley and I had watched it at the theater around the holidays but I'll probably talk about it when I watch it again. When I got home it was blustery and cool but I grilled some steaks. Carley fixed baked taters (southern for potatoes), rolls and salads. She put stuff on the salads until they were a meal. Sure, lettuce, tomato, cheese, grape, pineapple, onion, boiled eggs, strawberry and dressing.     On the steaks I put Cajun, not an actual person but the spice, Greek and Montreal steak spice. The meal was good and I washed had almond-pistachio ice cream for dessert. Then I kicked ...

       Hey, everyone. I am still having major fun here in Far Cry Primal. I find the inhabitants fascinating for several reasons. They are never boring, certainly.     For instance, the first human I associated with is a lady named Sandy, Sandar or something. She is pretty and fit. She has a big round spot on the front of her head that is not bald or shaved but appears like the hair has been ripped out. Other than that she is hot. She has a sweet smile but her eyes give the impression that all her ducks are not aligned. I built her a hut and she became the first resident of my village. Cool.    Later, she offered to let me move in with her. However, the way she talked, the offer was contingent on me killing a bad man called Ul. She wants the dude's ear for a necklace. I give a hoot about her kinky jewelry but Ul is huge and bad to the bone. I gather that you can't beat him until the end of the game. So I sought other battles and fo...

    Hey, everyone, across the globe. Since I have taken a year off from blogging, I felt that I should tell you about my past year in gaming. As you older hands know, I played everything from pong to Intellivision, back in the day. But I became fiercely involved in raising children, building a career and the like. I missed the whole X-Box generation. Once the initial I-Pad came out, I became a gamer again.     When the in-app purchase plague began to raise sores on the buttocks of I-Pad owners, I sought a better experience. I decided that Steam gaming on PC might give me better gaming at a reasonable price by buying at the sales. And so it did for awhile.     What a thrill it was for me to play Tomb Raider, Mordor and Serious Sam! But then I was to learn that many desirable games would not play on my PC. I had a real desire to play Far Cry 4 after playing Far Cry 3 . Alas, it would not play on my machine. I even bought the Game Guide a...

Hey, everyone. Back with you at the Author's Green Retreat. Carley and I have been playing Far Cry Primal on the PS4. We are really enjoying it. Currently we are playing a quest entitled Urki's New Stink . Urki is a stone age inventor. He wanted to fly and landed with a resounding thump after attaching a few feathers to his arms and jumping off a cliff.      But today, he sought our help again. He had invented a concoction to anoint his body with. In theory, it was supposed to repel bears. Alas, it did not work, so he sent me in search of things to mix a new stink elixir. Here's where he and I disagreed. He wanted 5 piles of rhino dung. Yes, you heard right. I have a picture here somewhere...      The second ingredient is 3 honey combs or bee hives. I find the thought of mixing honey with rhino dung nauseating. By the way, the pics show these materials as being red and steamy. I certainly am aware that dung, at an early age, can steam. In this ...

     Hey, everyone. It is a rainy day at the green retreat. After taking a walk, I decided to play some games, specifically the Shadow of Mordor. If by chance you have missed this game, you really should consider buying it. I believe it is the best game I've ever played, and by a good margin. The best thing about it is that you really don't get stuck. Sure, it may take many trials and failures to beat certain parts, missions and the like. But, you can just go and explore or find artifacts or fight Orlucks. This is huge and rare, to my mind. Like one game I'm playing, I'm stuck trying to kill a robot. Until I kill him, I can do nothing else. That is being stuck and causes acute gamer frustration. (AGF) Another game I am playing requires that I slide under a bar, which is causing AGF.       It is not often that I think about Willie Nelson while playing games on my P.C. I did today, though. It happened like this. I ha...

    Hey, everyone. I am having a fun day, here at the green retreat. I have a number of things I'd like to talk about, if I don't get sidetracked. Firstly, about deflate-gate and the Super Bowl. I think that anyone who went back and watched the last three years of the playoffs on film and studied the last few minutes of the games closely during the miraculous comebacks, would find food for thought. Specifically, watch the play of defensive backs on many of the losing teams. I think that the deflating of footballs would seem minor, all of a sudden.      The other day I was at Wal-mart and got a wild hair. I had never looked at one of the game guides for the AAA games. They are pricey, and I only played I-Pad games for years. So, I had no reason to read one. I bought one for Far Cry 4 . Why? I just wanted to try one. Heck, I don't even own the game. Seems dumb of me, but I write about video games and I wondered about this phenomenon.   ...

     Hey, everyone. I have been doing an inordinate amount of gaming lately on P.C. and it is fun to play a variety of titles. My latest binge has been Wolfenstein: The New Order . Since I added RAM to my P.C. and turned down the graphic demands on the options page, the game plays well. Glad I didn't turn in a bad review on this game because it wouldn't have been fair.       Firstly, let me say that the storyline is quite compelling. Imagine if Hitler had won World War 2 and took control of the planet? History would have been so radically changed as to be unrecognizable. Well, that is the premise of this game. By the way, don't you think that the German people would like to see the end of movies, games and books that bring up this era? If it was me, I'd say, "Please, enough." I know that there are similar things in most countries' history, certainly America's. With us, things like slavery and the way we treated the Indians would be an exam...

   Talk about odd things to spend a few hours on. Yesterday, for no apparent reason, I studied the quagmire that is the End User License Agreement. As you know, this is the thing you sign for many downloadable games, software and the like. They would have had a tough time inserting this stuff down the throats of Americans many years ago but now most of us are sadly amenable to clicking the "I agree" box.       I read a lot about the agreements over on the terrific site called Wikipedia. The Eula is a device which is intended to form a contract with the user. Its intent is to give the owner of the software more power in copyright than the law allows for. It is many things, including a salve to company insecurities. Many times a court of law will rule them 'unconscionable'. That is, a judge, in good conscious, can't rule for a company that manipulates a customer's young age, ignorance or careless disregard of reading a long boring document, to sc...

    Hey, everyone. I thought that I would talk about gaming today. First off is Enslaved: Journey To the West . I think I mentioned that I had bought this game on Steam for my P.C. I got it on sale at a good price. It was all kinds of laggy and quickly gave me a problem with the lead character not moving off his perch on a wall, I believe in chapter 3. Well, I got past that point and I don't know if they fixed it or I did. I had a guy come in and add some RAM to my PC and I can play this game now. It has good graphics and shows promise but the verdict is still in question. Like most games I play, I find that it would be much more enjoyable if it were easier to make progress. I have a light saber sort of tool with which I beat the living scrud out of Mechs. I also serve as a pack mule for the above-pictured red-head. She is smallish, though and not much of a burden for my powerful back.      Although she placed a slave helmet on my head and is a ...

     Hey, everyone, and Happy New Year. I rang in the New Year in Mordor. It was intense, I can tell you. I am beginning to learn the ropes and to play better. It is easily one of the best games ever. I played for almost 4 hours straight this evening. I enjoyed it so much that I feel that I have already had my $30.00 worth of pleasure from the game. I went through a long session without being killed by Orcs, Urlocks or the massive beasts of this world.     I had a tough time dealing with the loss of a Carogen. I hope that is the right spelling for these huge and ferocious beasts. The Orcs keep the fierce animals caged up in the ruins of a great city. Usually there are several guards around the area. After you kill the guards or sneak up on the cage, you find the cage locked with a chain. Using my sword, I cut the chain. Of course the animals are not tame. You have to climb a wall immediately. Then you can jump down and mount the creature.( Lef...

     Hey, everyone. I have recently bought the hugely popular game called Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor . I am having a huge time with it. It has depth, challenge and the best graphics I have ever seen on a game. I am still learning my craft as an Orc killer but let me share some early impressions.      Okay, my character is upset with the Orcs, Orluks, whatever. The crude and rude rascals killed his family before his eyes and they killed him too, I suppose. He seems to have a wraith-like state as well as a blood and bone existence. In this manner, if he is killed in the numerous sword-fights, he returns to fight again. He is like the Bill Murray of Mordor, without the sense of humor.       Unfortunately, if an Orc kills him, the Orc becomes more powerful, like a Captain of Orcs. This title would seem to be something less than desirable to me but they certainly covet it. To make matters worse, the victorious Orcs tras...