Blog Herding – The Best Blogs Of The Community (September 24, 2015)

This week we get some blogs about what your lives would be like as video games, Pokémon battles, and a success story about changing the PS4 hard drive. I'd say it's been a pretty good week of Blog Herding.

Community Blogs For September 17 – September 23:

One Odd Journey (To A GI Internship)
Parker Lemke is kind enough to share how his adventure in life has brought him to the hallowed halls of Game Informer headquarters, along with fellow interns Joseph Knoop and Marcus Stewart. Their stories are similar to most involving video game writers: a love of games, and entertaining and informing others. I previously interned at GI, and without the experience I wouldn't have freelanced for places like Official Xbox Magazine, GamesRadar, and Playboy (as well as craft beer and non-video game outlets). So good luck, guys; we wish you well on your journey!  

Waxing Philosophical With No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky is Marco Polo's white whale. It's a rarity, a treat, a game that makes him question his very own purpose and place in the greater universe. He hopes it is the game he wants it to be, if only to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut.

52/52 Week 38 – Top Eight Pokémon Battles
As soon as I read the headline to TheDarkestLink's latest blog, I instantly heard Pokémon Red battle tunes. What a great series – my childhood was built upon Pikachu's back. Anyway, here we get to read about DarkestLink's favorite Pokémon battles. From twist endings to fierce dragons, these battles have it all.

Tech Success!
Rebekah Lang games with the best of them, but she also tinkers with the best of them too. Maybe it's just me, but I find replacing my PS4 hard drive intimidating. What made her chore even more challenging is the fact that she didn't want to lose P.T. Not only did she switch over hard drives with aplomb, but she saved Konami's horror demo. Well done, Lang. I would have looked at the new hard drive, my PS4, and then sat in a corner frustrated.

Community Reviews:

Tearaway Unfolded Review: Mastercraft
Enuo has confirmed my suspicions: This is an amazing game that I must play. I don't own a Vita, so when Enuo writes about new areas and just how much joy this game provides on the PS4, I can't help but get a little excited. For you number lovers out there, he gives it a perfect 10.

So Many Guns! Retro Review: Ratchet and Clank
Writergirl2394 goes way back to the PlayStation 2 era to write about Ratchet and Clank, a series that has been around for much longer than I care to think about (I'm getting old). Overall, she calls it a goofy game, but one full of charm, even if some of the weapons break the game's design.

Writing Challenge Responses:

Community Challenge: Enuo, The Video game
Enuo doesn't think his life would be too eventful as a video game – then admits to living in the mountains for two years. While that seems like it would be a cool premise for a game, Enuo actually thinks the life of the character his Game Informer username is from – Enuo of Final Fantasy 5 fame – would make a great video game. Since we encourage creativity with our blogs, we'll say you didn't cop out at all, Enuo!

Community Writing Challenge: My Life as a Videogame
GerardoExber actually wrote two blogs for the challenge. This first one is about his life. A sleepy, forgotten town. Muggings. Fear. It's all very interesting, and though he writes about fantastical games like Far Cry and Grand Theft Auto, it's not that hard to see why those would be the games the story of his life may play like. Only with less killing and more of the dangers and perils featured in those games.

The way I would like my life to be if it was a Videogame.
GerardoExber follows up his poignant blog with one focused on what he would like life to be if it were a video game. He'd like his story to be told as an action-RPG game with horror elements. I'd play that. It's a fun little adventure through a day in Gerardo's life – and it includes cooperative play.

Community Writing Challenge: The Man with 9 Lives, My Life, The RPG
Blogger XmeleonBlue writes about his life as an RPG. Not only does he love the genre, but it just makes sense. In yet another poignant tale from one of our community members, XmeleonBlue writes about how he started out life in a bad neighborhood. He moved. He leveled up with a college degree. He earned a lot of XP. And when our writer got lung disease, he battled it like Final Fantasy VII's Sephiroth – with an indomitable will, and probably a very large sword.

Community Writing Challenge:

What are some mundane things you like to do in video games? Tell us a story about it. Write us a list. For example, I like to sit in RPGs if the game lets me...and just chill. If the world is a alive, then you can watch townspeople scurry about with their lives. In Grand Theft Auto, I like to drive around while obeying traffic laws. Yup – I'm that guy.

Community Playdate:

There is no playdate this week. My apologies, but I'm currently moving, so I probably won't have my gaming systems unpacked. But please let me know what games you are playing so that I can plan some playdates. Oh – you should also check out the Super Mario Maker levels from your fellow community members as well. If you've made any levels please share them in the comments; I'll include them in a future edition of Blog Herding.

I hope you enjoy the blogs! Please contact me via my Game Informer page or on Twitter at @LouisGarcia12 with any blog news or playdate suggestions.