I jump between hobbies so frequently, it’s hard to keep track of what I’m actively working on. Whether it’s games, comics, drawing, reading, movies or tv. Are books, movies and tv a hobby? I don’t know… Interests – I guess. I miss writing though. And I find that whenever I check-in here, the update is so dense that it requires me to look back and figure out what I even did. So I’m going to start breaking these up into smaller posts, more frequently. He said for the 100th time. Maybe a few a week, each more focused on a specific flavour of hobby / interest. Weekends are meant for games, so on the weekends I’ll post about games. And then during the week, it’s usually art and comics and movies and Tv. And one video game co-op session. So during the week I’ll post about art and comics and other stuff. Sounds good?

Good.

My last update was in February. What have I accomplished / consumed / produced since then?

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

I finished Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth in May. An expansive sequel that builds on everything that Remake offered. A gorgeous, full world, with many regions to explore, enemies to fight, card games to play, and chocobos to ride. I spent 3.5 months there, 85 hours in total. And acquired over 500 photos to remember my time. A truly memorable experience from a gamer that has never played a Final Fantasy game before.

Goodbye to Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Red, Barret, Yuffie, and Cait. For now. See you later in Part 3. The Revelation. Some time next year.

Dispatch

After Final Fantasy I needed a full palette cleanser reset, and something small. So: Dispatch. Something completely different. It’s less a game and more of an interactive show. 8 episodes, roughly an hour long each. You play as a ‘super hero’ who loses his super suit, and ends up working for the super hero dispatch call center. Some point-and-click, some QTE, and some hacking mini-games. And then the dialogue choices. The story and voice acting are really, really… really good. And you have to make some really tough choices throughout. Very much like the TellTale games, like The Walking Dead or Wolf Among Us series.

The game doesn’t have a photo mode and doesn’t allow for in-game screenshots, so I had to make some game captures the old fashioned way. An incredible game though, from start to finish. And I know I’ve been saying that about all the games I play, but really this year has been banger after banger, and it will be tough to pick my own personal game of the year when all is said and done.

10 hours. 18/36 achievements. Might need to do a replay of this with different choices. Maybe I’ll chase after Blonde Blazer instead of Invisigal next time.

While this isn’t an art post, I did make some art for the game characters. I’ve done 2 so far, Blonde Blazer and Invisigal, and plan on doing Coupe, Malevola, Prism and maybe a few more.

Max Payne 3

While playing Dispatch I also took a quick detour into Max Payne 3 as one of my sequels. Such a dour and depressing man, Max.

Clair Obscur – Expedition 33

After Dispatch I jumped into Expedition 33. Again, I wasn’t quite ready for another open world game, and this game, while not a sequel, was on my short list. And wow, it did not disappoint. Also, it was also not as small as I thought. 45 hours played. 40/55, 580/1000 G. A serviceable 152 in-game photos.

The story was incredible, and it hits like a gut punch right away, right in the intro, and continues to surprise. It’s appropriate that the main ‘villain’ is labeled the ‘paintress’, as the game is absolutely stunning. Beautiful environments, and interesting characters and enemy designs. The overworld is also very cool, with its tilt-shift perspective.

I played on Easy as I didn’t want to fret too much with the combat and party builds, as turn-based is not really my jam, but the parry and dodge made it at least engaging.

Deserving of all its many accolades.

Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater

After E33, I needed, yet again, a smaller game to play before heading off for vacation. Death Stranding 2 is probably my next “big game” but I only had a few weeks before vacation, so I ran through Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater. 14 hours, 30/45 achievements. A meager 81 in-game photos.

This is a remake of the PS2 era game, with a modern game engine and audio. A faithful remake with the original dialogue retained. And with the new camera system, the game is a lot of fun to play, and very good looking. It was an interesting playthrough, as I last played it 22 years ago and forgot how over-sexualized Eva was. Some of the classic moments I remembered fondly though, like the mountain-length ladder climb, which felt like Kojima just showing off and pushing the PS2 tech at the time.

The story felt a lot like a James Bond film, even down to the opening credits song, and bond-girl romance. A lot of the same tropes. I am excited to continue my MGS replays and start Metal Gear Solid 5 soon, but I know 4 is also finally getting re-released, and ported to the PC. I am concerned about regressing back to the old control/camera setup though, if I am to play 4 again.

Other games and Co-op

I’ve been dabbling in other games as well over the past few months. Playing Helldivers on occasion, in Co-op, and played through Aliens: Fireteam Elite again. RV There Yet, also in co-op.

RV There Yet has been fun with Illestrader. And I’ve been recording our game sessions to make funny little videos. Here’s one…

Otherwise, I’ve also recently tried Replaced which is a gorgeous pixelated left-to-right type side runner-type action platformer game, and some Grand Theft Auto IV in anticipation of GTA 6.

Illestrader and I also have Halo: Campaign Evolved to play soon, and Gears of War E-Day around the corner as our co-op ventures.

September I have more vacation time off and will probably start my next “big game”, which will likely be either Death Stranding 2, or God of War Ragnarök.

Next week, I’ll have another post for art round-up, and then a follow up for comics.
Until then…

Rogan
G 486,125
2026-08-15