Today was a pretty good birthday. I got to sleep in a bit, went off to pick up Tomb Raider and then had a nice lunch on the way home. While I downloaded the DLC and the Day-One patch, presumably for said DLC, I entertained myself, said in the loosest way possible, with some Plants Vs. Zombies on my Vita. It has fast become a game that I do not enjoy or have fun with, but tolerate because it doesn't make me angry except for the mini-games because the mini-games are diabolical ass. Oh sure, limit what I can put down by only spoon-feeding me plants every other minute or so and oh all the zombies are invisible and come in the exact same timing as regular maps. 'Finicky' is not even the right word to begin describing that, nor will I be able to put a good word -on- it.
When I actually started playing Tomb Raider, however, I quickly became enamored with Crystal Dynamics' latest effort in the series. While I'm not a veteran of the series in any fashion, I know -of- the series, and I can tell the stark departure this reboot takes while also still playing close to the roots of the franchise. Yet for how different it is from what came before it, it's all at once familiar and comfortable because it retains those roots, as well as taking a few notes from games that may have taken notes from its former self and refined them into something much more refined. Yes, I'm essentially saying that Tomb Raider takes from Uncharted which took from the original Tomb Raiders because, well, that's what happened. Uncharted took the platforming and made it something spectacular and Tomb Raider says "Yes! That is what we were trying to do!" and manages to do it now that it's a known quantity. No matter the way it got there, it's resplendent and that shining brilliance elevates the entire game with it.
I won't get too far in-depth in my praise, as I want to save some for later, and my impressions are only based on a small chunk of the game. Suffice to say, however, that I'm having quite a bit of fun with it and I do believe that it will prove to be a worthy birthday gift to myself.
Whether or not it can top the birthday gift of this ultra-comfortable new computer chair I have has yet to be seen, though it will be a hard-fought battle. Because it is not just any chair, but what is called an Executive Chair, and yes, it's as swank as it sounds. It is quite comfortable, as stated, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if I find myself asleep in it one night because it is -that- accommodating. It was a surprise in every facet of the word as, in no way, would I have ever expected to receive a computer chair for my birthday, but at the same time, it's quite the perfect gift, seeing as I find myself here a lot lately, what with the writing here and the short story stuff. Which is going to end up not being very short at all, I believe.
So, all in all, it was a pretty good birthday. Pleasant surprises and affirmations all around and while it could've been better in -some- personal regards, it was as good as it's going to get these days. So I'll take that happily and move on to the next day which will hopefully be good as well. With that, though, I'm off to break in this chair with some more youtube watching for maximum comfort.
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