Girl Gamers
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: April 18, 2009
- In: gaming| me stuff| opinion
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This is by no means a sucking up post, but I feel I owe a lot to blogger Hawty McBloggy aka BSangel. If I’d never come across her blog then I can say with some certainty that I never would have got an Xbox 360. And I’d be missing out on a lot, lol.
The rise of the girl gamer seems a little bit weird. Thinking back to when I was young, when I was 6 my ‘boyfriend’ had a SNES and used to play Super Mario a lot, my best friend at junior school had a N64 and we would play Banjo Kazooie (she liked Golden Eye too which I never really got into), my best friend at high school had a Sega Megadrive and we would play Sonic 3 with her as Sonic and me as Tails. In 1997 I was bought a Playstation for xmas/my birthday , I was so excited. The first game I played on it was Crash Bandicoot which I loved. I also got the Jurassic Park/Lost World game which was so hard that I couldn’t get past the third level. Then I got a Gameboy Pocket in yellow, next a Gameboy Colour and eventually a PS2 (which was also my first DVD player).
Up until the PS2, me and my N64 friend had always been in competition with each other seeing who could get the newest console Gameboy first and who could get the best most games. But something changed. As we grew up, she seemed to move on from the gaming (she probably discovered boys, lol) and I never really did (move on that is, I discovered boys just fine). In fact all the girls I knew who used to play games all stopped. There were only the boys left. In fact I used to get phone calls from my friend’s brother fairly often asking for tips on finishing Tomb Raider.
As gaming became more unpopular with my group of girl friends, I felt more and more that this was a part of me that I had to hide. It sounds bloody stupid I know but I really just wanted to fit in and not stand out from the crowd (god knows I already stood out enough because of other things). I wanted to be the pretty girly girl, I was worried that being a girl who plays games might make me seem manly or something. It’s taken me years to figure out that I can be many things together, including being girly and a gamer.
I’m sure that there are stereotypes of girl gamers (much like there are stereotypes of Digg users etc) some of which will not be exactly flattering. But stereotypes, while they must be based on something, aren’t a true representation of most people. And there’s certainly no reason why somebody should feel like they must conform and be stuck into a pigeon hole.
I’m such an idiot, it’s taken me 11 23 years to openly admit that I’m a girl gamer!
God knows what I’d do if I had to admit to something really important.
Point is, recently I’ve noticed that there are a lot more girls playing games, which has a lot to do with the Wii. I work in a female dominated workplace and so many of the girls there now own Wiis, it’s kind of scary. Granted a lot of the Wii games they play are casual party games (making me look like a hardcore gamer with my Tomb Raider) and the like but it doesn’t matter. It’s nice not to be always looked at like some kind of freak because you play games.
Plus on the internet now there are so many more girls blogging about their gaming, as well as other techy things. I’m really loving the rise of the girl gamer, it’s just a great time for more girls to get involved.
Trade in prices
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: April 15, 2009
To the people who keep coming across my blog by searching for the trade in price of a DS Lite at Gamestation…
What would it take to become Lara Croft?
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: April 12, 2009
I’ve been pondering for some time what exactly it would take to turn somebody into Lara Croft. I remember reading something on the BBC website about Barbie, basically her stats are usual and unlikely to happen, but it is possible for some few women to have her stats naturally. I don’t think that Lara’s stats are as crazy as Barbie’s, but I’m still wondering would they be truely attainable. If I were to wake up tomorrow and decide that I wanted to have the body and looks of Lara Croft, exactly what would I have to do and how hard would it be?
New DSi just arrived in the post
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: April 3, 2009
My brand new DSi arrived in the post not too long ago. And in the style of other certain technology sites, here are some unboxing pics (I surprise myself daily with my new found geekiness).
The Xmas Saga: Gamestation and the Black DS Lite
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: April 2, 2009
I know it’s a long while since Christmas, but the eve of the release of the DSi seems like a good time to post a DS related story. (Ordinarily I’d always post a picture to accompany a post but the SD card reader on my laptop is playing up, hopefully I can fix this for when the DSi comes out on Friday).
The story starts way back in July when I traded in a PS2 and approx 30 games at my local Gamestation. I can’t remember the exact trade in value of the lot but it came in somewhere between £85 and £90, which I was going to use against the value of an Xbox 360. I didn’t ever quite get around to using the trade in credit note to get the Xbox and as, by then, it was getting close to Christmas I figured I’d get something for my boyfriend.
To be honest, there were probably quite a few things that he wanted from Gamestation (but his PC can’t run them). Being the loving, caring girlfriend that I am, I completely ignored anything that he might want and decided that he might like a DS Lite. He played the Zelda game once on mine and said that it was better than he had expected, which obviously means that he really wants one! Hmm.
Leaving it very late, about 3 weeks before Christmas, I call into Gamestation on my lunch break. I wasn’t really bothered about what packages there were or what games would come with them, I knew that in the end I would have to ask my other half what he would want to play. The only thing I knew was that the DS Lite had to be black, lol, I’m not sure how or why but I knew that it had to be black.
Good news: there was one black one left in store.
Bad news: I was missing half of my credit note so I couldn’t use it and I couldn’t afford to pay the full price (a girl has to buy shoes! Kidding. Well not about girls and shoes but I wasn’t about to buy shoes for myself in place of a gift for a loved one).
Disaster. I don’t know whether it was me who lost the most important part of the receipt or whether the sales assistant hadn’t given it to me. It didn’t matter in the end, the manager said that the person who’d sorted out my trade-in in July was no longer working in the store. And he would have to contact head office to confirm that my trade in credit note hadn’t been used.
Cue me having a panic 3 weeks before Christmas, I’m not great with the forward planning (since I also managed to forget that it was my boyfriends birthday a few days after Xmas too, thank god for Amazon Prime). Thankfully I got a call a few days later saying that my credit note hadn’t been used and I would be compensated for the inconvenience of waiting. Unexpected but totally appreciated.
I visit Gamestation for the second time, two weeks before Christmas. Go for the same deal one game and a black DS Lite. Only this time they had no black DS Lites left. Lol, by this time I was beginning to think this just wasn’t my month. Talked to the manager again, no worries, he would call when they got some in, there was a delivery due. Cue more panicking, I hate what Christmas does to me (and pretty much everyone).
Good to his word, I got a call a few days later to say that there was a black DS Lite waiting for me. Woohoo! Panic over. And I got chose free insurance as way of compensation, as I know my boyfriend well enough to predict that he will at some point over the next two years break the damn thing. I just know it’s going to get crushed in his bag, stood on, dropped down the toilet or something equally deadly to the good health of a DS Lite.
And the moral of this story is, well, I guess there isn’t one. But, treat sales assistants and managers at shops with some respect and they’ll be good to you. The staff at Gamestation were really good to me and helped out sooo much. I always go back there now if I need some help with a gaming related item or if I want to do a trade in because they were so helpful.
And in the end, my boyfriend did like his gift of a black DS Lite, various games and the story that came with it. We’ve kind of turned into sad twenty-somethings who argue about Pokemon though, which isn’t good. But at least the gift went down well!
My brand new Xbox 360
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: March 26, 2009
A few short weeks ago, I became the proud owner of a brand new Xbox 360 Elite. And a few weeks before than my xmas/birthday gift from both sets of parents also arrived, a new fancy pants Samsung TV.
I’ve not played on the Xbox an awful lot as for the past few months I’ve been suffering from a huge increase in the number of migraines/headaches I’ve been getting. Hopefully once I’ve got these under control and I have some time off work in a few weeks I can get to grips with the Xbox 360 and also Xbox Live.
I’ve changed my display name to reflect my Xbox Live gamertag but at the moment my profile is friends only. It’s sadly lacking at the moment hence why it’s f/o.
Proper updates will return soon!
P.S The KF700 is still (barely) clinging on to life!
Christmas Holiday
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: December 4, 2008
Due to some issues out of my control, I won’t be adding any more entries until after Christmas, more likely New Year. So to anyone who happens to come across my blog, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Anyone with a Christmas birthday, like myself, have a great day and don’t let those people with Xmas obsessions ruin it.
I’m completely made up today as my copy of the new Animal Crossing has arrived in the post a day early. So now I’m off to hijack another Wii somewhere to test it out. Unfortunately, I can’t test the Wii speak as I don’t know anyone else who a) has a Wii and b) has any interest in Animal Crossing. Be back soon!
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: October 12, 2008
I started this review two months ago before I finished the game. I can’t believe that it’s taken me so long to finish writing it! Hopefully I’ll be able to finish all the other half written entries now as I’ve suddenly found myself with a lot of time on my hands. A mixed blessing I think.
Just taking a few moments before my friend arrives to get some thoughts down. I’ve spent the morning tidying up because the place is a tip, resisting temptation to pick up this game again. So I’ve learned three things this morning; I don’t like most of my clothes, I have a lot of shoes and I’m completely addicted dedicated to finishing this game.
I bought it last Christmas when I was working every hour under the sun so time was kind of limited. I did get through quite a lot of the game, but as happens quite a lot, I didn’t pick it up for ages and then couldn’t remember what I was supposed to be doing. To ensure that doesn’t happen this time, I’ve written notes on all of the maps 
I’ve got to be honest and confess that I don’t know anything about the Zelda games, despite the fact that they seem to have been around for ages. So I was playing this game without a bias, I had nothing to compare it to and no expectations. So unbiased view on little Link is that he’s very cute. Although in my infinite wisdom, I decided to call myself ‘Smelly’ in the game so now Link is called Smelly instead, small things amuse small minds quite obviously.
Basically, you (Link aka Smelly aka [insert your name here]) are looking for your friend who has been kidnapped by the mysterious ghostship. To do this you have to travel around various islands, seeing various people, fighting various foes and collecting sand for the phantom hourglass. The hourglass, or the time in it rather, allows you to wander around a large temple fighting more foes and solving devilishly hard puzzles. But there are some quite epic twists in the plot, that I won’t go into, which give the game some more longevity.
You can navigate around using the buttons on the DS, but it is kind of pointless doing so. You’ll be using the stylus a lot for writing things on the map, drawing symbols etc so you may as well just use the stylus for everything. Moving around and fighting is made easy with the stylus, plus it’s much easier to control the various tools that Link has to use in the game. The only move I never really mastered was the forward roll, always more luck than skill involved for me.
There are various mini games and missions scattered throughout the main game. The shooting gallery makes another appearance (which I’m told has been in other Zelda games) and can be so frustratingly difficult sometimes! Look out for the elusive Dee Ess Island, takes the award for one of the weirdest things I’ve seen in a game.
Overall, I’ve found the game engaging to the point where I couldn’t put it down and also hugely frustrating when I couldn’t solve a puzzle without resorting to using a walkthrough. The graphics are bold and bright, and you can come to care for the characters a reasonable amount. It’s definitely a good introduction to the Zelda games for newbies, like myself, but I think that there’s things to enjoy for die hard fans. I have no complaints to make, if they made another game for the DS I think that I would definitely buy it.
Also, I’m weirdly excited about the new Animal Crossing game, despite always having a kind of love/hate/bored now relationship with that game. All I need now is a new TV to go with the Wii, as mine has packed in completely now after 10 years. Hmph.
Case of the Ex: Part 2
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: October 7, 2008
If I’d known that people were going to read my post from the other day (probably because I mentioned the word iPhone) then I might have done a better job of writing it. It really was just an excuse to bitch about that non-Apple related brick that hangs out in my handbag a lot.
Anyway, some time ago I wrote about my ex and how I found his eternal presence on the Internet somewhat disturbing. I’ve pretty much gotten over the fact that he’ll always be here. He has every right to be, and he has every right to bitch about me as much as I’ve bitched about him if he really wants to. I’m an adult (although I never feel like it), and I’ve changed enough in the past twelve months to finally move on.
On my journey of moving on, and being a thoroughly modern-ish girl woman that I am, I figured that the medium of e-mail was the way forward. Twittering the message probably would have been the throughly modern way, but I figured that I didn’t want my thoughts public knowledge and my e-mail ended up being a frickin’ essay so definitely not SMS sized.
In my anality I even made a little essay plan.
Yay for stuctured writing. I said my piece; not holding onto the past, reasons for breaking up, correcting the accusations made against me, what I’m up to now, nice closing about not ruining what we had etc. It was a really good e-mail, even if i do say so myself, complete with standard English, punctuation, grammar and a spell check. But to be honest, I didn’t think that he would even read it. I figured that he might have made a nice g-mail filter for deleting my e-mails before he saw them, but no, apparently only I do that kind of thing.
He e-mailed me back.
I didn’t expect a reply, I didn’t really want a reply. I wanted to get all of the bad thoughts that haunted me on a daily basis out of my head. He’s still a tosser, playing the victim. Making a point of all the ‘bad things’ that I did to him when we broke up, it’s not my fault that break ups hurt. I went through much worse things in the final year of our relationship that he went through in that one day/week/month.
But since sending that e-mail, I’ve felt infinitely better. I’ve not been beating myself up everyday over things that I did or didn’t do. I tried to offer an olive branch, a bridge over the troubled waters of the past, but obviously despite my admittence that I made mistakes, he still can’t admit that he did too. I even offered my Facebook profile for him to friend, but he just uses it to send me weird messages about the past. He sounds like a kinda cheap Russell Brand/Edwardian gentleman.
I digress, I have felt better and a lot more positive about myself and the choices I’ve made. I enjoy the occassional bitch on the subject (as we women tend to), but I don’t give a monkeys’ fart beyond that anymore.
Honey, you look like a rat on smack, I hope that whoever ‘it’s complicated’ with is prepared for the fact that it takes you about five hours to **** and you pull a really funny face when you manage to ****. Good day to you!
Wow, I feel so much better having said that.
Normal service will be resumed tomorrow. Go have a bitch about something, get it all off your chest, it feels damn good!
LG KF700 vs. The iPhone
Posted by: LaraC8525 on: October 4, 2008
My LG KF700
Let’s be honest here, I don’t think it’s much of a contest.
I think that the similarities start with the fact that they are both phones and end with their touch screens. I don’t think that LG were trying to emulate the iPhone, it just happens to look like a really lame attempt at it.
This is my very own LG KF700 ======> look!
Quite cute really, I guess.
It’s kinda shiny, got the little LG symbol on it. Camera on both sides, one for video calling the other for picture and video taking. Various buttons on the side, little blue glowing dial on the back. It’s looks ok, not as slick as an iPhone but it’s doing ok.
It also has a micro SD card slot in the top, mine has a 2 gb card in it, which I only use for photos and videos (which actually are all from my old Sony Ericsson handset). It’s probably a good time to mention that I have a complete love/hate relationship with this LG handset.
