Fire Rooster

Firstly, to all those who observe it - happy Chinese New Year! Welcome in the year of the Fire Rooster!

Another year has rolled by and though my post rate is up, it is still abysmal!  So room to improve I say!
Over the past two years, during Chinese New Year I have had to travel, which meant that I really did not get much of a chance to appreciate the festivities or really take a break.  However, it still has remained rather busy and hence there has not been much rest in the lead up to this time!  However, at least staying put has meant some less stress from the hectic travel.
Reflecting on the year, I tried to do better and remain focused, but it was quite challenging.  Taking the time out towards the end of the year was certainly refreshing and allowed me to get through one game which I had been looking forward to:  Uncharted 4:  A Thief's End.  On PS4. Which was awesome - firstly to be able to crack open the PS4; secondly to complete a game during the year; and of course finishing the series.  In a strange way, I was in two minds when I heard that this was the last in the series.  My initial thoughts were ones of disappointment in that a really good game franchise was actually finishing up, especially as I had played all of them and been on the adventures with the characters.  However, after deeper thinking, I realised that I had been lucky to play all of them and finished all of them.  In my (much) younger days, I certainly devoted much time to playing various games and was happy when I completed different games - Zelda I, II and III and a few in the Final Fantasy series - but I did find it difficult to keep up with the games across multi platforms, as much as I was fond of the series.  I was very engrossed in the Final Fantasy series, having played since around FFIV (Final Fantasy II for the US market). But somewhere after FFX, I seemed to have lost the urge - not to mention the gross misnomer.  I missed the PS One games, and had heard good things about FFVII, so perhaps once remastered, I will get a chance to play the version.
One game which I am currently torn in - The Last Guardian.  I played ICO and was immediately drawn to the puzzles and gameplay - and it did become a sleeper hit.  I also really enjoyed Shadow of the Colossus, with similar premise.  However the reviews have made me hesitate, but we shall see whether the urge to play it remain to be seen.  The discrete nature of the stories means there is less compunction to play.

This time of the year is also when one tries to make effort and makes resolutions.  Unfortunately, I have not had much success.  Firstly, I find it difficult to pin down one thing.  Secondly, I am not good at setting good goals.  It did put me to shame hearing others' resolutions and perhaps I need to put together a better list. An ambitious list (stretch targets) to keep me going.  Like finding good books to read.  Learning a new language (incl a programming language).  Finishing games.  Perhaps knowing what I want well help me set on the right path.

Well it is a interesting time of the year - with lots of horoscopes and predictions.  Having read mine, it did mention a few things to watch out for, so I will see how that pans out!