End of another week, What have you been playing?

It’s the end of another week and with two weeks until E3 I am quite excited as I’m sure a lot of you are, to see what is shown at the show. Especially from Nintendo. Perhaps more on their Fire Emblem title slated for 2018 for the Nintendo Switch, or a little more on Monster Hunter XX that was just announced that’s also coming to the Switch and of course Xenoblade 2!! And maybe a western release date for Dragon Quest XI. My list actually goes on and on but let’s save that for another post. I would love to know in the comments below on what you’re looking forward to seeing this year at E3 2017.

Now back to what I’ve been playing this past week.

I have to say this past week has been a lot less crazy than usual. I’ve cleared up all of my review titles finally. Auditors at work are finally done so I’ve been coming home earlier and most of all I’ve started video game hunting again and managed to pick up a few good titles, one specifically that I’ve been after for quite some time – Nier (on the PlayStation 3). Nier was actually recommended to me by two good friends who both are HUGE JRPG veterans. One of them actually has his own blog (Graham) dedicated to tackling his backlog which I highly recommend especially if you’re trying to slay your own video game backlog and I mean honestly, in this day and age who of us doesn’t have a backlog. So please make sure to check out and subscribe to his blog right here.

So to start things of the first title that I probably keep playing on a daily basis is of course…

Fire Emblem Heroes
Fire Emblem Heroes is possibly the easiest and most accessible title for me to play at the moment with it being on mobile I can pull out my phone, jump into a battle and level up my heroes all before my PC starts up at the office in the mornings…okay fine my PC starts up a lot faster than that but you know what I mean right. And with the continued support in new events and heroes, its going to be a while before I stop playing.

Next up we have a title that I came across on YouTube believe it or not. While searching Nintendo’s YouTube channel I found a trailer of Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. I immediately went into the eShop to search for it and to my surprise it was free to download. If you’re a Kirby fan, love fun and smashing bad guys with a team of friends than Team Kirby Clash Deluxe is for you. Four different classes to choose from namely Sword Hero, Hammer Lord, Doctor Healmore and Beam Mage as well as weapon and armor equips this Kirby title is tons of fun with superb soundtracks and epic boss battles. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ve played this as yet.

Following Kirby Clash Deluxe is a title that I picked up two days ago while game hunting:

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto is a must for all fans of the Naruto franchise. I will admittedly say however that I’ve never played a Naruto title before but am a huge fan of the anime. With that being said I will advise that if you’ve not watched the anime as yet and intend on doing so you might want to stay clear of this title until you’ve caught up especially with there being spoilers in it. After playing Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia as well as the Kingdom Hearts series I will say playing Naruto felt like a well needed break. Yes the game has some what of a story to it but at its heart is a fighting title and boy what an action packed, transformation and super powered title it is! I’ve only played for about four hours thus far but I have to say being in the shoes of Ninja’s such as Naruto, Kakashi and Obito is empowering. I can’t wait to dive back into the world. Let me know if you’ve ever played any of the Ultimate Ninja Storm titles before?

And finally as I’m sure some of you have seen another mobile title that I’ve recently started playing once again and quite possibly have become addicted to:

Fallout Shelter

I’m honestly not sure what exactly pulled me back into Fallout Shelter. It could be the fact that E3 is drawing closer and I still remember Bethesda’s conference in 2015 as clear as day or perhaps my hopes and wishes for a Fallout 5…yep impossible as it may sound, I can still wish right. So after downloading it once again two days ago I’ve thus put in 8 hours. My vault known as Vault 999 has also spawned a featured post on Controller of Life which I intend on updating once a week either on a Friday  evening or Saturday, with progress on how its doing so please check it out here.

Well that’s it for another week on Controller of Life but please let me know what you’ve been playing?

• Zain

When Life throws a spanner in the works…goodbye Switch

As we go through life we discover that there are many aspects that can uplift us as well as bring us down. When I thought about starting this blog I expected to only be writing about the good times, my passions, my hobbies and how amazing it all is. Well this week something happened that left me feeling down and out. I was finally in a good position to start saving up for the Nintendo Switch late last year, around November 2016. However being a video game collector (yep, some Retro Gaming deals just cannot be passed on) and purchasing a property two months ago I’ve had to cram down on just how much I put away for the Switch and honestly it was going well. So well that last week I made a little sacrifice and sold off a few of my Nintendo games which then gave me just enough to finally purchase the Switch.

Murphy (Murphy’s Law) however had different plans and on Wednesday morning I found my self booking my car in to the auto-shop. A few hours later after their driver drops me of at the office I get a call with the problem…my cars alternator needs to be replaced. Okay no problem it has to be done right, so how much is it going to cost me I ask. The price…70% the cost of a Nintendo Switch – GOOD BYE Switch…for now.

Image – Pinterest

It unfortunately left me feeling completely drained but I knew at the same time that as unfortunate as it may be, all I have to do is lift my head up and start saving again. Yes the time frame of acquiring a Switch obviously shifts a few months down but that’s fine right, good things come to those who wait.

Through out all this though there was a question that really made me think, how do others deal with these kind of situations. My situation thankfully is truly nothing major in the grand scheme of things but what situations and difficulties have you had in life with regards to video games or your passions that were blocked due to life throwing that spanner in the works.

My First Time…My first game

Video Games is not just a hobby but my passion and love, as I am sure it is with many of you. Growing up its guided me through some tough times in my life, personally. Its helped me create a world away from the pain and misery, its helped me learn that even when you don’t succeed you keep pushing. You keep trying and most importantly you never give up!

Growing up I’ve always been asked – “…you still play video games?” – and sadly nothings changed to this day. Being in my late 20’s the question is asked a lot more often by many people in my day to day life. And honestly it truly frustrates me but this isn’t a post to vent but rather discuss my first time I ever played a video game…well the first time that I can remember.

Around 1994 I was about 7 years old and my parents purchased a PC. The PC had a black and white display but had three games loaded on it. A tetris knock-off, a cannon shooter and the game that started it all for me Prince of Persia.

Although the game was in black and white it never reduced the quality in any way. And I think the thing that attracted me most to it was that you literally only needed an hour to play…yes that’s right an hour! The premise of the game is that the Princess is held captive by the Grand Vizier Jaffar and it is up to the player to escape the dungeons and save her. Along the way the player will have to face spiked traps, guards, trapped doors and even a mirror doppelganger. Yes Prince of Persia in its time was my masterpiece. And even though I completed it over and over again, I kept going back. Everything remained the same in-game of course with the exception of one thing, trying to beat my previous time of completion.

Many years have passed since then and Prince of Persia to me still remains as iconic as ever. The franchise itself has also since spawned many other titles on a wide variety of consoles not to mention a movie known as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time which released in 2010 surprisingly the same time the Soccer World Cup came to my country – South Africa…funny story when the entire country and World I assume had their eyes on the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, I was booked at the cinema watching Prince of Persia and the weird part is that I was the only one in the room that literally holds more than 200 people. Although the movie wasn’t well received I still do enjoy watching it from time to time and do recommend you watch it as well as try out any of the games in the franchise.

Tell me can you remember your first Video Game title you’ve ever played?