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Watcha' Playing Addiction Edition: Can't Stop Playing Rune Factory Frontier (Wii)

Hello, my name is Amber and I'm a Rune Factory-aholic.

It has been quite a long time since I marathoned a game. I'm still recovering from it actually, It being my weekend Rune Factory Frontier binge that saw me planting digital crops into the wee hours of the morning. I've stated before that I've never seriously played a Harvest Moon game, having recently cut my genre teeth on Rune Factory 2. Not only is Frontier a fresh experience compared to Rune Factory 2, it blows that game out of the water. I can enthusiastically confirm that combining a Zelda-esque adventure with Pokemon like collecting and wrapping it around a lite social sim with a side of farming and resource management equals one addicting experience.

Posted Apr 07 2009, 11:00 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments

Filed under: wii, amber ahlborn, watcha playing, rune factory

Conversations that go Nowhere: Why I Hate Talking to NPCs

Sometimes it doesn't matter. You're only going to talk to that random villager once in the whole game then move on. They're extras with one line, they say it then walk off stage and it's all good. This is fine in most RPGs or adventure games but sometimes the game expects you to hold actual conversations with people. Games that incorporate building social networks into the play are different. They give their NPCs lives and loves and things to discuss, right? Crap...

Posted Jan 14 2009, 11:30 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 1 comment(s)

Filed under: amber ahlborn, rant, rune factory, dialog

Looking Ahead: 10 Wii Games that I'm Looking Forward To in 2009. part 1

Everybody is making lists this time of year (and checking them twice) so I figured I'd get in on the act. While most of the lists I'm seeing pop up reflect on games of the past year, I figured I'd wish ya'll an early Happy New Year and knock off a couple lists of games I'm looking forward to in 2009.

In no particular order...

Posted Dec 17 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments

Filed under: wii, the conduit, amber ahlborn, rune factory, top 10, rygar, deadly creatures

What I Missed: A Look at What I Didn't Play in 2008

Towering Backlog of Doom

I have a backlog. I have de Blob still wrapped up in plastic. I haven't even looked at what's been released on the Virtual Console of my Wii for months. This is a weird time of my gamer life. In the past it was easy to keep up with game releases; to finish the games I bought then wait with anticipation for the next batch. However, now that my gaming tastes are broader than ever and my free time to play smaller than ever, I actually have more games than I can handle. I still buy a lot of titles and add them to my pile, but I've had to accept the fact that I just have to let some games slip through my fingers, even though they interest me.

Posted Dec 10 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments

Filed under: boom blox, wii, amber ahlborn, ds, backlog, sonic chronicles, rune factory

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.