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New PC, Games, Books, and Other Shit You Don't Care About


On 06/30/2016 at 07:32 AM by Blake Turner

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 Hey guys, just thought I'd give you a little update on my life, since that's why you're all subscribed to pixlbit and paying $12.99 a week for this glorious privelege. If you were unaware you've been paying me all this time, that's technically on you and you should have read the fine print before joining pixlbit. You pay us all weekly, Nick owns your soul, and you should all be getting a diabetic puppy sometime in August.

 Anyway, that's not important. What's important is me.

New Computer!

Two days ago I purchased an Alienware X51 for $1345. It was marked down from $1935, which is awesome. I could have got a cheaper and more powerful computer if I built it myself, but honestly, I'd rather have warranty on the whole thing and not worrying that I might not get a return because I fucked something up.

 Anyway, it runs an i7 6700, and a GTX 960 4GB graphics card. If you don't know what that means, essentially it's about a midranged machine. It'll run most things on high-ultra but it's not going to run 4k or anything fancy which I'm fine with.

  It's about the size of a PS4 (maybe a tiny bit bigger) and should be here in about 2 weeks. I'm super pumped, as my current pc is about 5-6 years old and very close to death.

Books

 I'm somewhat of a slow reader, so it takes me a bit to get through a book, especially a longish fantasy novel. I finished "The Blade Itself" last night, and it was pretty great. The plot is a bit slow since it was setting up for the rest of the trilogy, but the characters are so awesome that you don't really care all that much.

 The second book is a lot darker than the first thus far, reminding me of GoT without the sex. The characters are are super flawed, the villains might be the good guy, and a guy who tortures people for a living shows the most humanity of any of them. You've also got an ex slave who's been living in the wild so long she doesn't trust furniture and is just itching to kill, you've got a barbarian who's killed so many people he's frankly done with it, andyou've got a fucking cuntbag douche noble bigot brat who deserves a mace to the face.

 They sound unlikable, but they aren't. Abercrombie's humour is always there, and he has a knack for making you sympathise with even the most unlikable characters. All in all, a great series, if a little slow to get going.

 I also picked up The Name of the Wind because I'd heard a ton of good things. I started reading it in the bookstore to see if were any good and got so enthralled with Rothfuss' style of writing that I was afraid I'd get kicked out of the shop. His prose is beautiful, yet still concise. It's elegant but flows rapidly enough that it's always pertinent to the plot. It's fucking masterful is what it is. Oh, and this guy is writing the new Torment game, so, uh, get the fuck on that.

GAMES!

Ok, so I spent a little bit of money on the steam sale. Some would argue too much, and I'd be one of them, honestly. Still, a deals a deal and here's what I got:

Subnautica - $11.49

 I dislike minecraft games, and I hate being underwater, but somehow, this title won me over. It's just really fun to explore the world, especially as it's hand crafted and not procedurally generated. It reminds me of Terarria in that the game gives you goals to accomplish that lead you into somewhat of a story but requiring you to craft to proceed. It's great stuff.

 The game is utterly gorgeous, and also terrifying. In the depths especially, there are horrific monstrosities who want to murder your face, and the constant threat of running out of air always keeps you slightly on edge and -

 But fuck that. You can just chill out and build a nice base with an aquarium. Might be in my top 5 GOTY list if it comes out of early access this year.

20XX

 Basically "Mega Man the Roguelite", this is a super fun game that controls much smoother than mega man but still retains the feeling and charm of that series. If you like mega man, or if you like Rogue-like's, check this out, it's a blast!

 Those are the main ones I've been playing. In the interest of brevity, the other ones I picked up are:

 Resident Evil 6
 Age of Empires 3
 Gunman Clive 1 & 2
 Outland
 Alan Wake
 Castlevania Mirrors of Fate
 Crypt of the Necrodancer
 Necrovision
 Project Snowblind
 Spirits of Xanadu
 System Schock Remastered
 

 And that's about it. I also tried the new system shock remake demo, which seems like a hell of a lot of fun and I can't wait for that to be a thing. 


 

Comments

Alex-C25

06/30/2016 at 01:46 PM

I'd so would like to get or build with some help a desktop computer, although it may take years because of my current staying.

Due to price differences and trying not spend too much, i've only gotten three games on the Summer Sale.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 03:02 PM

What'd you get?

Alex-C25

06/30/2016 at 03:21 PM

The pc port of the first Danganronpa (FINALLY), the second part of the Higurashi When They Cry visual novel series and Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, aka mostly weeb games. I was planning in adding Oxenfree, but I had to cut on the budget, especially since I wanted the game bundled with the soundtrack. Maybe I could get one of the cheap-ass ones of my wishlist before the sale ends.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 03:08 PM

subnautica looks awesome!  

diabetic puppies would be a good band name.  

Congrats on the new computer.  That must be really nice to sit down to.  

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 03:44 PM

The Diabetic Puppies would be a great name for like an 80's hardcore punk band!

 Thanks, but the computer hasn't arrived. That's just an image from the site. It won't be here for another 12 days D:

 

Machocruz

06/30/2016 at 04:04 PM

Been watching someone on YT play Subnautica.  It's so interesing and mesmerizing, and I'm not even into ocean life.  Perhaps because it's a different environment than I'm used to in games. Plus I like the visual style. I got a new laptop for work, but it's supposedly a "gaming" laptop also. I might just have to get this.

Alienware are always pricey. You probably could have gotten similar specs for less with another company, like CyberPowerPC.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 08:40 PM

Not really in AUS. One of the reasons I'm actually okay with Alienware is they're up front. Everything is in AUD, it includes shipping and our online goods/imported tax in the price (which is fucking 10%, costing me $134), and the deal I have now included 5 years warranty, which is what really won me over.

 One thing to keep in mind with Subnautica, it's still in early access, so optimisation isn't great yet. For a few seconds after I go from above water to below water it dips to single digits in the frame rate, and I have to drop it to low to hit 45 fps. My pc is pretty old though, but just something you should keep in mind. It's a fucking great game though.

asrealasitgets

06/30/2016 at 06:53 PM

Sweet rig! I'm holding out another year before I build another PC, mine is still pretty good, and I've been mostly playing indie and retro games any how. 
Are you buying physical books or digital books? You should just have a standard book blog on the side since all your books seem rather interesting to me. It's hard to get  good curated book lists nowadays. There are so many god damned books out there releasing all the time, how do people keep up with all of them? 

What are your thoughts on Preacher and Outcast shows so far? I'm still watching and enjoying both of them, although they are very different. Sometimes I feel like Outcast is more uncomfortable and disturbing than Preacher considering how violent Preacher is. 
These two are more fun to watch though
 

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 07:22 PM

Haha, thanks. I'd love to do a book blog, but I'm a slow reader, and it's a hobby I've really only just gotten back into. If you want some recommendations, I can send you them, though these days I mostly read the darker spectrum of fantasy and sci fi, with the occasional gritty western. And I buy physical books, because I just like owning and holding books.

 I actually haven't watched more than the first episode of Outcast, just because other things have taken up my time. But yeah, Outcast is definitely the more fucked up show. I think Preacher is honestly just some good fun (especially Cass and Tulip) that skews pretty dark, whereas Outcast is straight up horror/thriller stuff.

 

Cary Woodham

06/30/2016 at 08:20 PM

I played 20XX at PAX.  It's definitely a lot like Mega Man X.  You can even choose to be a blue robot with a blaster (X), or a red robot with a sword (Zero).  If I was into PC games, I woiuld definitely look into getting that game.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 08:34 PM

It definitely seems like something that should be on a console. It'd feel right at home on the Wii-U or PS4 honestly, and it will probably end up there when it leaves early access. Fingers crossed anyway.

V4Viewtiful

06/30/2016 at 09:01 PM

Impressive processor, mines an i7-4790k, 4ghz is about right. But thanks to steam i'm finally playing Arkham Knight.

As usual my current reading material are comics but I have some good one.

How To Talk To Girls At Parties, which speaks to me on a disturbingly personal level.

And Dark Knight: A True Batman Story, written by Paul Dini of the Animated series fame about his struggle with life after a mugging and how Batman essentially saved him.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 10:08 PM

How to Talk to Girls at parties is Gaiman right? I have that but haven't gotten around to reading it. Any good? (Who am I kidding, it's Neil Fucking Gaiman, I bet it's amazing!)

 It's been far too long since I read a Batman comic. Last one I read was the Zero Year stuff in 2014. Honestly, I just got sick of superhero stuff and moved onto stuff like Wytches, and other Image and Vertigo stuff.

V4Viewtiful

07/01/2016 at 08:48 AM

Gaimen book? Yes, it's good.

As for the Batman story, it is very Vertigo (it says it on the cover Tongue Out) and it's a very deep tale. Give it a shot.

mothman

06/30/2016 at 09:17 PM

Love the rig Blakeanator. If I were to consider another desktop it would probably be an Alienware. I really need to get back to my books. Haven't bought a physical book since Under the Dome but I have hundreds of digital Sci Fi, Fantasy and Horror novels unread along with a shitload of graphic novels.

I really need to start scheduling shit. LOL

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 10:02 PM

I can't do digital. I mean, I can, but I don't want to. I love books. I love owning them, I love having them on my shelf, I love flipping through them, and I love the feeling of progress a book naturally offers. When I read a book, I don't want to be in front of a screen. I'm in front of a screen far too often! 

 God I sound old.

  I feel the same way though. I bought books for ages and never read them, but I finally forced myself to sit down and read and I'm loving it. Forgot how awesome reading can be!

KnightDriver

07/05/2016 at 02:14 AM

I got that Rothfus book for Xmas one year. I started it but couldn't finish it. The epic journey was just too much for me right now. I often think how I should give it another try sometime though. 

Sweet PC!

goaztecs

07/06/2016 at 12:27 PM

Hey congrats on the new PC! Around the same size as a console sounds pretty good. Glad to see you found some good stuff during the Steam Sale. I thought about getting that underwater game but I never pulled the trigger. Snowblind I played on the PS2 and enjoyed it. 

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