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I'm Oli. I'm a software engineer based in the south-east UK where I've lived all my life.

When I'm not working I'm usually playing or writing about computer games which I've been playing since I was 5 or 6 years old. I wear my nostalgia goggles a lot and I'm far more fond of older games than I am of most things that are being released nowadays. My favourite systems are the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 for which I have a large collection.

I enjoy photography and birding, two hobbies I picked up back in 2024. I'm not particularly great at either but I try and post some photos of birds here on the odd occasion I snap a keeper (assuming my cat Poncho hasn't got there first).

Finally, I'm the proud father of my daughter who was born in May 2026 and for whom I want to be the best role model possible.

What am I up to?

A list of things I'm currently working on, games I'm playing, or places I'm going.

Currently Playing
Breath of Fire IV
Title: Breath of Fire IV
Platform: PlayStation
Released: 2000
Developer / Publisher: Capcom

I've never played this JRPG series and don't know much about it. However, I was quickly drawn-in by the excellent painterly sprite work.

I'm only a short way in so far and there are things I like and don't like. The camera system seems obtrusive to the point it's annoying to navigate towns. It's similar to the 360 degrees from Xenogears but not executed as nicely despite being released 2 years later.

The characters seem fun and somewhat unique to me. I'm particularly enjoying Ershin, the stout robot with oddly blunt dialogue.

We'll see how we go but if I enjoy and finish this entry I may go back to play the earlier entries. I've heard III is also a solid JRPG.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Title: Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Platform: PlayStation Portable
Released: 2008
Developer / Publisher: Capcom

I'm a long-time fan of the Monster Hunter series since being introduced to it with Monster Hunter Tri back on the Nintendo Wii. I never owned a PSP and had therefore never played Freedom Unite before I purchased a console recently.

I'm really enjoying this entry despite the clunkiness compared to the modern games. There's a certain charm to old-school Monster Hunter.