The Professional Gamer - January 23, 2016

Hi Readers! We've certainly had an eventful week. I hope everyone enjoyed the Nintendo Switch demo. We are very excited about Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild  in our house. And, surprisingly, I'd rather have a subtitled version of the game rather than one that has been dubbed in English, at least based on the voice acting performances that were evident in the previews. The Japanese voice actors just put a lot more emotion into their performances.

Other than salivating about some cool new games, I've played some more Fantasy Life. I've even managed to master a couple of the lives in the game. I'm feeling like things are a little bit of a grind currently, but much of that is due to getting further along in the game and having more asked of me in order to advance my character.

In Elite: Dangerous, I'm starting to explore the galaxy, and slowly make my way to the Colonia cluster. My current intermediate destination is the Pipe Nebula. I'm purposely going very slow, plotting an economical route and scanning every feature in each system that I travel through. And, I've decided to start streaming my adventures in the stars on Twitch. I'll post notes when I'm streaming on Twitter so you all can follow my adventures.

That's all for now. Have a great week and game on!

Blizzard Supports "Make a Wish" with a Fel Kitten

Every so often (probably more than I think), Blizzard comes up with a new pet that they sell in order to benefit charities. And this year they have created a new being of pure evil and chaos to fill your stocking with, Mischief the Fel Kitten. Now normally I would have probably been pretty lazy and just let this pass without writing about it, again. But this year I really like the way they are doing it. First you have the digital version of Mischief, which is pretty normal. But now their is also a plush version. So you can pick one for your character or one for the stocking, or both. Just keep in mind you only have until the end of the year to snag one.

Ah, I also can't forget the wonderful video Blizzard made to push this little cat. It calls back to my child in a way I think many of you will recognize.

The Professional Gamer - November 28, 2016

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to all our U.S. readers! I hope you have all enjoyed the holiday. For me, I always enjoy having the extra time to pursue my leisure activities, rather than being trapped in my typical routine. In addition, spending time with my family is always fun.

Yuri!! On Ice continues to be a lot of fun to watch every week when it is released. I don't have much else to discuss about it, but I continue to recommend the show.

In Elite: Dangerous, I have finally managed to purchase an Anaconda, one of the biggest ships available in the game. In fact, the largest that does not require earning rank with either the Empire or the Federation. Now, I'm working up money in order to better equip this vessel and then by some other vessel to play around. 

That's all I've got for now. Have a great week and game on!

The Professional Gamer - November 14, 2016

Hi everyone. I tend not to discuss news or politics on my blog (that's what twitter is for :P) but with the recent results of the U.S. Presidential elections, I do want to take a few moments to discuss more serious matters. I'm deeply troubled by the election of Donald Trump, a man who is uniquely unsuitable to lead a parade of bath toys, let alone a modern nation. To top it off, we have unequivocal proof that a significant portion of the United States would rather side with a racist, homophobic, misogynistic lump of orange play-doh, rather than a somewhat flawed career politician who happens to be a woman. A large portion of the country has said that hating the other is perfectly acceptable. Most of my friends belong to a marginalized group, and their fear is palpable.

If you find this distressing like I do, please make a commitment to leverage whatever degree of privilege that you have to help them. Watch out for threatening behavior in public spaces, volunteer or donate to charities that serve these communities, make art, write articles, or simply let your friends know that you care about them and that you value you them. If we are going to get through the next 2 to 4 years, we need to stand together and support each other.

I think I'll leave that subject there. Shall we talk about video games and anime instead? I think we should. I'm still pushing forward in Elite: Dangerous and getting closer to buying the top tier ship. I did manage to kill a pirate in my Type 9, which mostly came down to a war of attrition. It's amazing what you can do with three beam lasers.

Yuri!! On Ice is still amazing and a pleasure that I look forward to every week. I have to say that the subject matter was especially refreshing.

And that's all that I have for now. Have a great week, stay strong, and game on!

Andromeda Initiative Starts Today

Today is November 7th, and you know what that means. Yes, that tomorrow is election today and you should go out and do your civic duty if you have not already done so. But it also means that it is N7 Day! And as such training for the Andromeda Initiative starts today. Are you brave enough to leave all you know behind to sleep for over a hundred years to find a new home for humanity? Do you have it in you to be a part of the our galaxy's first inter-universal expansion? And are you prepared for all the things that can go wrong on this trip? GREAT! Then head on over to the above site and start your training for the Andromeda Initiative.

Denver Zoo Embraces Pokémon Go!

Attention all Pokémon Trainers. This weekend the Denver Zoo is providing a $5.00 discount to all that are playing the popular mobile game. In addition to the discount, between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM the zoo will be dropping lures at it many pokestops. So come on down and see animals both real and virtual! Just please remember to stay out of the cages. 

And just in case you want it, here is the Facebook page detailing the event.