Birthday donuts at 6am!
Donut boy
Presents…
Cuties
Awesome shoulder workout together with his new shirt
Omusubi for lunch in his new H&F shirt
BEACH! We saw dolphins and body-surfed awesome waves (thanks, ocean!)
post-ocean selfie
Ramen for dinner!
Dessert!
Way more presents than I deserve–I’m a lucky girl
Surrounded by great people!
Got a nice card from Jamie
and a hike!
Indian for lunch
Chris cooked a great dinner
Helping Chris
Blowing out candles for RHUBARB pie!
Furry friends
Beautiful sunset
Building a computer my family got me!
It’s finally here! Sims 4! A game series I’ve been playing for a very long time. I had expected it to come out in December, but it came out just a week ago! I got the Pre-Order so I was able to play it at 9pm, Monday, September 1st! I was incredibly excited, though somewhat wary of some of the features they took out. I tried to enter the game with a giddy, but open mind. Here is my Sims 4 review:
First things first, loading times have been reduced dramatically. It was so nice, it was a quick “Reticulating Spines” (of course) loading page and then no other loading times (pretty much)! Sometimes, I would have to wait for five to ten minutes just to start playing! In the world of I-need-it-now, the lack of loading times is excellent! I get to Create-a-Sim and it’s very different. No longer are there the aspirations that we are used to, nor the way we have shaped our Sims in the past. It’s very new. Instead of using sliders to create your Sim, you simply drag and pull at your Sims body. Want a longer nose? Grab it and pull! Want to give your Sim a beer belly? Pull it out! Although it’s new, it’s a pretty cool way to create your Sim. There’s all sorts of great clothing options, hairstyles, make-up, tattoos, and more. It’s a great way for new players to dive in.
There’s also a different trait system. Back in Sims 3, you would construct your Sims’ personality and then it would suggest different aspirations such as become an astronaut, become master of evil, collect 15 perfect fish, etc. This one gives you about 8 or so choices of broad categories such as “Love,” “Fortune,” “Nature,” and so on and so forth. And within that category you pick, you choose a more specific option. For example, if I picked “Love,” it would either be to find a soulmate or be a “serial” dater. And then after that, you can pick 3 personality traits such as Athletic, Lazy, Bookworm, and so forth.
After creating a single female with a thing for money and socialization, I was ready to jump in! I moved her into a pre-built house (as I always do–I was never one to build houses unlike some of my friends) and got started. It was very different from the previous Sims. The build mode is completely different. There were slight things that made a big change, such as instead of turning with the mouse to rotate objects, you now use the right mouse button and such like that. After eventually learning all the tools and how to put what furniture I wanted in, I started to play.
Image source
The gameplay, at first, is different from the former games. It’s actually “harder” than the other ones. With Sims 3 and previous games, it was easy for me to advance my Sim and do whatever I wanted. In this game, they’ve brought elements of the first Sims back and made it more difficult to achieve things. I like this! It gives me more of a challenge which I enjoy. The big new thing about this game is that Sims now have moods that significantly affect the game. Before other things like relationships, jobs, and aspirations would create the “wants” for your Sims–and they still do to some degree. However, now, the mood of your Sim has a huge impact on what their “wants” are. I’ve found them to be slightly repetitive, but not too much that it makes it boring. The different moods (from Energized to Flirty to Bored to Inspired) affect how you do certain activities and how you perform at work and school. It’s fun that it makes an impact on the game. Yet another element to keep challenging you.
I’ve gone through one generation so far, had a kid, got married, and so forth. I’m really enjoying the game. Overall, this Sims game has the steepest learning curve. It’s not huge, but substantial compared to the previous game. It’s definitely more challenging and the Sims’ lives go by that faster because of the harder difficulty as you’re trying to advance their career or whatnot. I like that. Sometimes in previous games, I would get bored because it would be so easy to do well. Not anymore! They’ve taken out things like ghosts and toddlers, and at first I was upset, but it really hasn’t been that big of a deal so far.I’m probably most displeased with the lack of traditional career options. There used to be a core career selection such as Medical, Science, Athletics, Military, and so forth. They’ve taken these out (wrongly, in my opinion) to add in Comedian, Space Cowboy, and other random careers. Probably my biggest nitpick of the game so far.
Overall, I am liking the game, so Sims 4 gets a thumbs up from Hungry and Fit. I still have a lot to play and a lot to experience, but I believe that this new game is on the right track. As always, stay hungry and fit!
Happy Labor Day, all! And lucky for you, as you’re kicking up your feet and relaxing, we have our #20 Greatest Video Game of All Time! Yes, we’ve now officially marked off ten of our most favorite games ever! Remember to check out who’s writing these zany reviews–click here for our video game trust. Also, if you haven’t seen our other reviews yet, here are #25, #24, #23, #22, and #21. I hope you enjoy our #20 picks!
Kai — Deus Ex Series – I played the original Deus Ex when it came out. It’s a dark, gritty FPS with RPG elements, similar in some ways to System Shock 2. The best part of it is the massive, overarching story with tons of lore and in-game touches. It has true flexibility when achieving mission goals, similar to the newest version.
Fit — Oblivion – Stop! You’ve violated the law! Oblivion, one of the great Elder Scrolls games. You may be surprised to see it so high on my list, but it just wasn’t the same as others. It was a blast going through the story, shaping the character you wanted, exploring all the nooks and crannies Bethesda developers would deposit in the world. I loved how the way you played the first little dungeon shaped what class you could be, kind of like a personality test–but in action! I also love, in all Elder Scrolls games, that you can put points where you want them, wield what you want, and just do whatever the heck you want. Bethesda always wows me in that they can put so much into a game that players truly appreciate. For example, all those little quests, characters, treasures not found to many, and great dialog. Oblivion didn’t have the same feel as the others, but it was still a blast playing in the Imperial City. The world was absolutely beautiful and I did get lost in the game many times. Many, many hours went into this game. The Arena was a blast, too! ALSO, Boromir and Captain Picard were voices in this game. ‘Nuff said.
Hungry — Super Mario Bros 3 (NES) – We had this game before I was even aware of it, but as soon as I could start playing, I did. Super Mario Bros was not majestic enough and the second was a bit too difficult for a three-year old (but the digging was fun), and the Super Nintendo had not yet come out (Super Mario World… YOSHI), so this game was the perfect source of Mario enjoyment for a young child. Thus, I had years and years of replaying Super Mario 3… and it was marvelous. Games like this and The Legend of Zelda are the reason that I have been playing for over two decades, and the vast majority of my life.
What makes this game so great is that I can still play it, although it’s considerably shorter. It used to be a full day adventure and now it can take an hour but the magic is still there and with all the remastered versions, the graphics and sound have kept up with the times. Being able to play with someone else adds to the enjoyment and all of the (somewhat) unique bosses and special abilities that Mario can pick up (TANOOKI and FROG) make this an advanced game for its time. Most lists have it in the Top 10 of the Greatest Games of All Time because of what it did for the video game industry. But it made my list because of what it did for me!
There are #20 picks. Do you agree with them? Disagree? What would be yours?! We love writing about this and hope you enjoy it too. Get ready for some great articles about food and fitness coming your way this week! As always, stay hungry and fit!
*Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite video games?
Lots of beach time and beautiful sunsets
Good workouts
Cute kittens
Awesome shirts
Found an apartment we like!
Found an AWESOME donut place (review coming)
Gold’s Gym!
Good eats
Good runs with cute dogs
More good eats
Friends and dogs
MORE good eats
Workouts
Fish tacos ^.^
Lots of yard time for Noke
Keeping it fresh
Finally, #21 is here! We apologize for the hiatus, we’ve been busy with the move and settling in. However, we are now back on track! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, look at this post here. Please meet our Video Game Brain Trust before you continue on. We put this together as a somewhat weekly display of what our favorite video games are. What we love about it is the variety between all of us and what we prefer. If you missed it, please see #25, #24, #23, and #22! Let’s get started..
#21 Best Video Games of All Time
Kai — Gunpoint – A much more recent game than those I’ve listed so far, Gunpoint is a stealth puzzle game with great atmosphere. You play a private detective in a noire style adventure. Although short, the story is really interesting and ties in great with the gameplay. It doesn’t feel like you’re figuring out puzzles, it feels like you’re trying to move the plot forward. The difficulty curve is very good, challenging but not overwhelming, unveiling various mechanics and techniques as time goes on. My only real complaint is that the game is short and not very replayable, but definitely worth the price ($10). If you’re looking for a game to while away a rainy day, I’d recommend Gunpoint.
Po — Super Mario 64 (N64) – Brought 3-D gaming to the mainstream. I’ll never forget the first time I walked through a door and entered a new room — it blew my mind.
Alana (Fit) — Yoda Stories – For me, this is an absolute classic. It’s a LucasArts game not many know about, but it holds a very special place in my heart. Released in the 90s, this game has no ultimate goal. It’s simply a collection of various levels you have to play through. So when you start the game, you could be doing one of the various Hoth levels, Endor levels, Death Star levels, Tatooine levels, and so forth. There were tons of different “levels” aka scenarios, each one with different surroundings and plots. Sometimes you’d meet Boba Fett, sometimes Vader, sometimes the Wampa. I remember my cousins, brother and I would always crowd around the computer playing and laughing at the subtly funny LucasArts writing characters said.
You usually played as Luke Skywalker, out to save the day or escape or something of that nature. You also could gain other weapons like a lightsaber and find hidden things behind boxes. It’s really a puzzle game in order to find the objective. This game was basically just the arrow keys and that’s all it really needed. It was a blast to play any of the levels over and over. I think I will play it again today.
Chris — Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) – Vice City is close behind on my list of favorite GTA games. While I typically enjoy some of the earlier entries in a franchise, the expansiveness and ability to do so many ridiculous things makes San Andreas my favorite. I might have enjoyed the story in Vice City a little bit more, the game based on Los Angeles takes the cake over the game based in Miami. However, San Andreas really is one of those games that I put on that highest level of near perfection.
Simply, the graphics, soundtrack, and controls were all top-notch at the time. The story was what you would expect from a GTA and as I mentioned before, they expanded on what the player could do a million fold. One example is the ability to get in a plane, jump out, and go skydiving. Every vehicle was an option and if you had the money, you could customize your really fast cars however you wanted.
But this is a favorite list and not a list of the best games, so what really makes San Andreas stand so tall. Completion. This game truly had an RPG feel to it and I put in hundred of hours in order to get to a 99.9% completion rating. I never got to 100% but it always offered enough mini-games and side quests to keep my attention and that replay value in a game like this is untouchable.
That wraps up our picks for #21 Greatest Video Game of All Time. Stay tuned for next week’s #20 and read up on the previous ones if you haven’t already! We are having a blast doing this. I hope you’re having fun as well looking at what we have to bring to the table. And as always, stay hungry and fit!
*Question of the Day: Have you played any of these games? Do you like them?
Here at Hungry and Fit, we give you a large variety of posts. From recipes to workouts to movie reviews to video game nerd alerts, we give you it all. However, after some discussion, we’ve decided to bring you more of a “routine” regarding our posts. I’m sure we won’t always follow it, but it will be our guidelines. So now we bring this guide to you.
Mondays: Entertainment (movies, video games, tech, Weekend in Pictures)
Tuesdays and Thursdays: Related to food–recipes, suggestions, reviews, etc.
Wednesdays and Fridays: Related to fitness–workouts, reviews, advice, etc.
Saturdays and Sundays: Anything or nothing–we could post something random or not post anything at all!
Pretty simple, huh? I’m excited for this. I think it will be a lot of fun for us and for you. We will see how long we follow it and how much we can stick to it, but for now, I’m liking the plan. Hope you are all having a great Saturday. As always, stay hungry and fit!
*Question of the Day: What’s on your agenda for the weekend?
BONUS KITTY PIC
Precious little girl
Great workouts
Chris’ love for Mexican Coke almost got us one of these cases
Went to WaterWorld and had a blast
More cute kitties
Pretty flowers
Yum food
Saying bye to our apartment as we finally finished packing at 2am
As you may or may not know, Hungry and I studied the International Studies field at college. We are very concerned, aware, and conscious of what happens in our world. We look beyond America’s borders into every other place in the world. Sure, we have our specialties, but it all matters to us. Why am I talking about this? Because I want to share with you an easy way to “be in the know” with what’s going on in the world every day.
In comes theSkimm. A quirky, smart newsletter (I’m not sure what else to call it) that finds its way in your inbox every weekday morning. This newsletter contains very short briefs of the most immediate issues occurring worldwide. Almost as if you were skimming the newspaper (get it?). It’s usually around two to three main “articles” while the rest are little tidbits of information. It’s fun, it makes you laugh, and it’s easy to understand even if you were not previously aware of the story beforehand.
We are not sponsored by theSkimm at all, but when I find things I really like, I want to share it. Even though I am on BBC and NPR every day, I still like to get my fill of theSkimm in the morning while I’m making my tea. It’s that fast. It’s a combination of the younger generation’s lack of time and their way of packaging things up into succinct, clear ideas that makes this newsletter great.
Here’s an example of yesterday mornings theSkimm:
Yesterday, the UN Security Council said it wants an independent international investigationinto last week’s plane crash over eastern Ukraine. Russian President Putin said ‘fine.’
The US says pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine shot down the plane with a missile they got from Russia. This has the international community taking a harder look at just how close Russia is to its separatist friends. European leaders have already hit Russia with some sanctions over the Ukraine crisis. But now, they’re thinking of turning up the pressure with new measures that could do damage to Russia’s economy.
It wasn’t until yesterday that the separatists agreed to release the victims’ bodies, and handed over the black box flight recorders. President Obama had some harsh words, saying it “begsthe question: What exactly are they trying to hide?”
After months of frustration over just how helpful Russia has been in dealing with the ongoing Ukrainian mess, you’re seeing a global spasm of anger against Russia. Although it’s unclear exactly what the consequences of that will be.”
See? Easy to understand while getting the important points across. It’s great for all ages. I have been spreading this around to friends and family so I thought it only fair to spread it to Hungry and Fit fans as well. Although we are all about eating and working out (nerdiness too), I believe it to be incredibly important that we stay socially aware and conscious of what happens every day of this inter-connected world that we are a part of. Sign up! As always, stay hungry and fit!
Abusing people
Yummy eats
Cute kitties
Great workouts
Chris thinking of tattoos…
World Cup games and yumminess
Chris went to Marshall’s and DIDN’T get any shoes, so proud
LOTS of yummy eats
Adorable animals
Workin’ out
Korean food
Great tunes
^.^
Tip well!
More Korean
BRUNCH
Kittens
Homemade eatz
