tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36407141916483146562024-03-05T19:17:50.905-08:00Gaming GoodnessHoly Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-15494844782855235802015-03-15T08:06:00.001-07:002015-03-15T08:06:16.392-07:00Introduction to 2015
<!--StartFragment-->
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Ladies and
gentlemen, boys and girls, extra-terrestrials, robotic life forms and
everything in between. The year is 2015 and it's time to get underway. Last
year I was slack and focused on work, university studies and the plethora of
other personal issues I went through. This year is different. This year, will
change. Or will it?<br>
<br>
Firstly, I'd like to address the last blog post I did in relation to the Wii U
and I'd like to say one small thing:<br>
<br>
<br>
"Suck shit! I was right! The
doubt should not have been real!"</p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Ahem, excuse me.
Needed to get that off my chest. In the meantime, yes, the Wii U did amazingly
well for what most people thought of as a lacklustre console in the current
generation race. <span style="font-style:italic">Mario Kart 8</span> boosted
sales by up to 400% in May, the month of its release. <span style="font-style:
italic">Bayonetta 2</span> was released and was bundled with the first <span style="font-style:italic">Bayonetta</span> game, which was really cool. Two
games for the price of one is great, but when it's <span style="font-style:
italic">Bayonetta</span> it's awesome! <span style="font-style:italic">Hyrule Warriors</span> was released and many people
jumped on the limited edition bundle with the nice looking scarf. I managed to
get my hands on one as well and I have to tell you, it's pretty comfy and warm.
As for the game, it's very <span style="font-style:italic">Dynasty Warriors</span>
but it doesn't just have a <span style="font-style:italic">Legend of Zelda</span>
skin. It can be its own game in its own right. Now <span style="font-style:
italic">Super Smash Bros.</span> for the Wii U! Oh dear lord! That thing is
selling consoles by the truckload and it'll be interesting to see what the
numbers are when we find out in a month or so. </p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-style:italic">Super Smash Bros.</span>, along with the
aforementioned, have pushed the Wii U from a distant third to a must own second
in the console race. While most people will be choosing between an Xbox One and
a Playstation 4, the Wii U has a strong case to make as a secondary choice due
to its differing selection in games. Hopefully it can still release some high
quality games this year. Some titles would most likely be <span style="font-style:italic">Splatoon</span> and <span style="font-style:italic">Yoshi's
Woolly World</span>.</p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Anyway, I'm going to
end this one premature. However, I will find time to write more often. If you
want to catch me on my day to day life, check out my Twitter and Facebook.
Links are here:<br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holy-Daprawn/116998368335708">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holy-Daprawn/116998368335708</a><br>
<br>
<a href="https://twitter.com/HolyDaprawn">https://twitter.com/HolyDaprawn</a></p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Game
on!<br>
<br>
Holy Daprawn</p>
<!--EndFragment-->Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-4210881047333615302014-02-02T09:57:00.002-08:002014-02-02T09:57:51.397-08:00Rant: Wii UThe hype train has well and truly come and gone for the Xbox One and the Playstation 4. Recently the PS4 has been in the news about bringing back older titles from their first three generations, some rumours even include the use of old discs but upscaled to HD. This is big news for a generation of game consoles which aimed to initially faze out the previous generation in favour of forcing customers to upgrade their hardware. The best news that Xbox can come up with this year, in my honest opinion, would be an update which allowed the use of Xbox 360 titles on the console. If that was the case, consider me sold! However, this isn't a three-way war of video games. Everybody remembers Nintendo yeah? Fitting in neither the red corner or the blue corner anymore, it sits on the sidelines waiting for it's turn to become to powerhouse it once used to be. It's newest console, the Wii U, hasn't sold anywhere near expected sales. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has even taken a pay cut of around 50% of his salary for the next 5 months while other executives of the company have taken cuts between 20-30%. Nintendo is facing a dead end, much like SEGA did when the Dreamcast flopped in 2001. However, is everything as bad as it seems?<br />
<br />
Short answer: Not really. Nintendo can look to the Nintendo 3DS for inspiration on how to get the Wii U back as a marketable console. While the Wii had motion controls before any other console of its generation, the Wii U brought in a tablet which could also be used to play certain games without the need of a TV available. The difficulty of this is the choice game developers must decide on. Do they try and create their game to be used with the Wii U and the gamepad with the knowledge that the Wii U is experiencing poor sales? Or do they ignore the Wii U altogether and focus on consoles which are easier to develop for and have proven to be competitive sellers? For most, the choice is easily the latter. In order to turn this around, Nintendo must do what they did with the 3DS and release some must have games for the console. The 3DS had a steady release of much hyped games which ended up making it the best selling handheld of 2013. It had such titles as:<br />
<br />
- <i>Fire Emblem: Awakening</i><br />- <i>Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon</i><br />- <i>Animal Crossing: New Leaf</i><br />-<i> Pokémon X & Y</i><br />
- <i>The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds</i><br />
<br />
Now for me personally, the release of <i>Animal Crossing: New Leaf</i> around June showed me exactly how many people owned a 3DS. Here I was thinking a few close friends owned one and next thing I knew, one in three people owned one! Gamers were given reason after reason to get a 3DS and it went crazy, with a 45% increase in software for the handheld since 2012. Now everyone is talking about the 3DS and it's time the Wii U gained the same publicity. 2014 looks really exciting for the Wii U in regars to their classic games, with titles such as these making their way to shelves (hopefully):<br />
<br />
- <i>Mario Kart 8</i><br />
- <i>Super Smash Bros. 4</i><br />
- <i>Bayonetta 2</i><br />
- <i>Hyrule Warriors</i><br />
- A new <i>Legend of Zelda</i> game<br />
<br />
Now on initial thoughts of that line up, it's primarily trusted game series. <i>Mario Kart</i> can almost do no wrong. <i>Super Smash Bros.</i> will be loved and cherished by everyone and is it's closer to <i>Super Smash Bros. Melee</i> it'll be a competitive favourite. <i>Bayonetta 2</i> was a big surprise when Nintendo announced it as a Wii U exclusive, but we haven't really seen much of it since it was announced. Then you have your token <i>Legend of Zelda</i> game and the interesting <i>Hyrule Warriors</i>, which is a <i>Legend of Zelda/Dynasty Warriors</i> cross. One game that didn't make the list was <i>Watch Dogs</i>, because we've all been waiting for it for over a year now and since Ubisoft deemed <i>Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</i> more important, the staff were moved across to help <i>ACIV</i> get released on schedule. However with that line up, it's hard not to think that the nearly impossible, the Wii U becoming relevant again, will actually happen. Nintendo have a fighting chance, they just need to get their proven first party titles out there and try and get some third party support. Ubisoft had initially pledged to release consistent games on the Wii U but have started to take a backseat in that agreement.<br />
<br />
The third option, and the most intriguing one I believe, can be split into two different paths: Nintendo could either give up on the Wii U, realise that it was what the Wii should have been last generation and start working on a real next generation console to match up with everything the PS4 and XBOne have, or they can go the path of SEGA, say that they've had their time building consoles and start releasing games for Sony and Microsoft. Hell, you may as well throw in mobile games too. Now path one would hopefully be the next step for Nintendo. Try and keep the Wii U afloat with first party titles but come up with a console that can appeal to the masses without all those gimmicks. Yes, it sounds like killing the creativity of Nintendo and pushing them in line with the other consoles, but it might be just what they need to save themselves financially. Then if that works they can continue on their path to innovate in making controllers for octopus'. The second option looks more real though, especially with the mobile games. Nintendo have already announced that they'll be releasing some software on mobile devices either this year or early next year. Hopefully that doesn't mean the death of them though.<br />
<br />
All in all, I love my Wii U. It's not hard either, with <i>NintendoLand </i>still a party starter and with titles such as <i>Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, Zombie U, Monster Hunter Tri: Ultimate</i> and <i>LEGO City Undercover</i> just to name a few, the Wii U has shown that it has potential. I bought mine day one because I believed that it would last long enough for Nintendo to come up with the next best thing. Am I a Nintendo fanboy? No, I just enjoy playing games and the Wii U has games I enjoy playing. It would be a shame to see Nintendo start to die off though. It's not the same having Sonic appear on a Playstation compared to being on the Dreamcast, and I'd find it just a little bit weird if Mario only showed on an Apple handheld and Microsoft's home console.<br />
<br />
/rantHoly Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-78945559718053537922013-04-04T06:07:00.000-07:002013-04-04T06:07:10.495-07:00Review: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (2008)Is this a joke? Did Chris and Tim Stamper wake up from their mighty hangover from the successes of Rare's previous titles <i>Goldeneye 007</i>, <i>Conker's Bad Fur Day</i> and <i>Perfect Dark</i>, money spilling from their pockets while the room span around like a CD and think to themselves "Hey man....lets make <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> once more, but with vehicles...!" Like....fuck....what?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/ul/105198-banjo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'd avoid this game altogether with eyes like those on the front cover.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Now don't get me wrong, <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> will forever be known as a solid, fun and enjoyable platforming title on the Nintendo 64 and its sequel <i>Banjo-Tooie</i> is still a marvel. But after continuous pressure to make <i>Banjo-...Threeie</i> (Dafuq?!)<i> </i>they decided to scrap the platforming goodness of the first two and make a completely different game which taunts the player for even playing it? That's just ridiculous! But no, the game stoops that low. During one of the loading screens, hints and tips usually pop up, until you come to this:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Have you been playing for a while but still don't like the vehicle-based gameplay? Maybe you need to buy <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> on Xbox Live Arcade instead."</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Are you kidding me?<br />
<br />
You know, this is the first game I've reviewed where I haven't yet finished the main storyline because the game was just too terrible to play. (<i>EDIT</i>: Actually, I didn't finish <i>Pimp My Ride</i> either, but that shit is cray-cray. Three levels was enough.) Instead I ended up spending a good few days building vehicles from the default parts that you get plus a few others from easy-to-reach crates in the hub world, Showdown Town, and then flying them around the practice map. Yes, that's all I did. No storyline was going to suck me in, I wanted to play the game and play it for what it was worth.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i11c.3djuegos.com/juegos/4018/banjokazooie_nuts__bolts__logs_lost_challenges/fotos/analisis/banjokazooie_nuts__bolts__logs_lost_challenges-729182.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really? Does this really need to be in a <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> game? Rare!! Dafuq?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After trying to build a good vehicle which could float, speed along the ground and fly as well I put it into action, only to see it run out of fuel after about 15 seconds of flight. The game is fairly good in a sense that once fuel runs out, it takes a few seconds before it recharges a fraction. This is probably reminiscent of the health system made famous by games such as <i>Call of Duty</i> where you take cover for a few seconds to stop seeing red. This was probably the only logical step the game made to try and be "modern" without taking the piss out of itself.<br />
<br />
<br />
As you saw from the quote I mentioned above previously, the game doesn't try and make you feel like you're playing a good game. Even Mumbo walks around talking about how the game is shitty and that he just wants to retire. Kazooie is probably the only decent character in that he knows the game is boring and is only in it so he can go back to what he was doing, which was ironically playing is new Xbox 360. Since the game was meant to be released as a launch title, it heavily features Xbox 360s in the game with many references to sell the console even more, much like it's other Rare counter-part <i>Viva </i><em>Piñata</em>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i2.listal.com/image/377892/600full-banjo--kazooie%3A-nuts-%26-bolts-screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">^^ Better than being in the game itself. Kazooie knows what's up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
To the game's credit, it is still spoken about fairly highly. Not in gameplay and story mind you, but the physics of the vehicles. Make a vehicle too front-heavy and it will just drag along the ground. Make it too wide or long and it'll have problems turning. The vehicular based part of the game could've probably been made into it's own game, minus Banjo and Kazooie, and would've had moderate success. Yet no, <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> had to be revived and much like Fox McCloud in <i>Starfox Adventures</i>, really didn't need a shift in genre to make a comeback. Just give us bloody <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> in it's pure form and leave all the shit out Rare. You'll thank me for it later when you start to go back to your golden age of gaming.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>--FINAL VERDICT--</b><br />
<br />
<b>Platform Used</b>: Xbox 360<br />
<br />
<b>Score</b>: 3/10<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Recommendation</b>: Avoid.<br />
<br />
In short, that rating would be a 6 if the name <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> was taken away. But no, Rare had to go and ruin a perfectly good game series. This review was fairly short, but that's because I played so little of the game that there wasn't much to talk about. Who knows, maybe I'll make a video. Everyone loves torture. =/<br />
<br />
I would've given it a 2 but it's not on par with <i>Sonic 06</i>. Nothing is.<br />
Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-29638312726237601802012-09-23T01:11:00.001-07:002012-09-23T01:11:47.138-07:00In case you didn't know...I'm on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gaming-Goodness/116998368335708" target="_blank">Facebook</a>! That's right, I have another output to...output (*cringe*) my work. I'll be using that page a little more regularly than this here blog, so go over and give it a "Like".<br /><br />
In the meantime, here's a couple of games which I'll be looking at very soon among others:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Pokémon Diamond (GBC) <b>- It's on the Game Boy Colour. Yes, I know it's not "real" but it's a game nevertheless.</b></li>
<li>Toy Story 2 (N64) <b>- I actually can't wait!</b></li>
<li>Slender (PC) <b>- If I can get it to work, I'll make this a video response.</b></li>
<li>Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (360) <b>- Sounds like fun.</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
Here's a picture. Bye now. =)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvKXCKTPow6yK0txGSGlgNWz52qYBbHOBCC2erCbR04ovoPHeVRAfiHk1PR9_ut2bZ_bJlGewjQ5_tx5LhbhwE3eR9_bsxBt4oOzbH23V63dmF81LLeHzWNvNuHf0XmjthMdlR7xflfUr/s1600/246629_468577749839289_758504341_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvKXCKTPow6yK0txGSGlgNWz52qYBbHOBCC2erCbR04ovoPHeVRAfiHk1PR9_ut2bZ_bJlGewjQ5_tx5LhbhwE3eR9_bsxBt4oOzbH23V63dmF81LLeHzWNvNuHf0XmjthMdlR7xflfUr/s320/246629_468577749839289_758504341_n.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-74253899650299519242012-09-03T18:12:00.001-07:002012-09-03T18:14:53.409-07:00Review: Pimp My Ride (2006)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdnBiOk2voUR4g7liaW7blLm10s_Bs2jQwAxX1vsitcHLRxp9xAnkA5qyJnpSjI1OksLBORgfD_ezMDpy9Ga5RHfpTLCDSqUjYv9oNu9pU7fqIwLo4Lzi1eiCnzYyOuoiRxa4dSFiG11bA/s1600/Pimp+My+Ride+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdnBiOk2voUR4g7liaW7blLm10s_Bs2jQwAxX1vsitcHLRxp9xAnkA5qyJnpSjI1OksLBORgfD_ezMDpy9Ga5RHfpTLCDSqUjYv9oNu9pU7fqIwLo4Lzi1eiCnzYyOuoiRxa4dSFiG11bA/s320/Pimp+My+Ride+3.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'm pretty sure I
can make out the conversation Xzibit had with Activision when the idea for a
game based on the popular MTV show <span style="font-style: italic;">Pimp My Ride</span>
was first conceived. It probably went along the lines of this:</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-style: italic;">Activision</span>: So Xzibit, we hear you have
a new idea for a game. Show us your pitch.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Xzibit</span>: Yo dawg, so I heard you like games. So
we want to put a game in a game so you can play while you play!<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-style: italic;">Activision</span>: [in tears at the genius that
is Xzibit] That's brilliant! There's no way this has been done before, it will
be the greatest game ever!</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQN2Qb9XklYh09Y3DcE286J-9lpWiLY0b-tLBjMr2hSoL4tHj_QKdRU4DgZq7sZ_Wmr1jR3sG1K8sfGxpzazlAQeMl85y8SxszhXpN4ZbQ0m941wk5Hwmue89tGpuKLOwBuft-ENk08cI/s1600/Pimp+My+Ride+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQN2Qb9XklYh09Y3DcE286J-9lpWiLY0b-tLBjMr2hSoL4tHj_QKdRU4DgZq7sZ_Wmr1jR3sG1K8sfGxpzazlAQeMl85y8SxszhXpN4ZbQ0m941wk5Hwmue89tGpuKLOwBuft-ENk08cI/s320/Pimp+My+Ride+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Xzibit</i>: That true dawg.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Allow me to take
this opportunity to ask you if there's a game out there, based on a television
series, which has done well. Please, take your time. I'll still be
here.<br />
<br />
Thought of anything? Nope, neither could I. We can only hope that the newly
released <span style="font-style: italic;">Game of Thrones</span> game is at
least passable [EDIT: It isn't]. <span style="font-style: italic;">Pimp My Ride</span>,
however, is nowhere near it.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
It starts off by
telling you the basis of every episode of the show; you find a loser with a
shitty car, you have to make the car the most outrageous, stupid piece of junk
to hit the streets, then film the reaction of the now ecstatic client. All the
while the vehicle just needs to run until the cameras stop rolling*. *(citation
needed)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrETk16LSpQTT9_v4C9_WAtAO353hpA0Duywts8ywjx9JxrbuXmkLmMmVB8ywTvllKIWzsXU_EIQQciag9puA5Ap7T_O0O_Ffn6oQKQS9Lz6Sot3Ou5CxuPFmUr53S-NB4acm1qlFXbctK/s1600/Pimp+My+Ride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrETk16LSpQTT9_v4C9_WAtAO353hpA0Duywts8ywjx9JxrbuXmkLmMmVB8ywTvllKIWzsXU_EIQQciag9puA5Ap7T_O0O_Ffn6oQKQS9Lz6Sot3Ou5CxuPFmUr53S-NB4acm1qlFXbctK/s320/Pimp+My+Ride.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This would totally fit with my daily lifestyle! I can't wait to mix some tunes in the boot of my car!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
So your first
customer is Marcia and her car, to be frank, is a bomb. The graphics don't even
give the detailing any justice either, making it look like a bunch of poorly
grouped polygons. Anyway, you're given Xzibit's ride as a loan and you have to
collect enough money in order to fix the car. Ways to get said money include
ramming into other cars, hitting parking metres and smashing down billboards.
Oh, what's that? You don't want to dint Xzibit's car because you adore him?
That's cool, as your car won't take any damage. From anything. Driving along at
100km/h and slam straight into a wire fence. Nothing happens. If you're lucky,
you'll bounce off.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'm going to make a
quick assumption here and say that the game isn't aiming to be realistic in any
sense of the word. I mean, it can't call itself a 'real driving simulator' if
the driving mechanics include you running into billboards, parking metres and
other cars for an extra dollar. If I was paid $10 for every car I ran into, I'd
buy myself the biggest, meanest car and do the job properly. Driving around in
a rusted metal shit-bucket pushing buses and trucks around with ease is not my
idea of a driving simulator. It's an excuse to call a shit game even worse.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikla7GUG4Gzjj7qYn1tqYc2X-OYmR5tQRNFfQzhuDXoNnBEROyz77NoOZHM5jIrhDQx3ucVXO2mV5P5m63GvYi-cNwkCKsbQaeDvVGjHlhVN_7VFgDHwHXGIXMvaVekQ72_45hTmWav_6W/s1600/Pimp+My+Ride+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikla7GUG4Gzjj7qYn1tqYc2X-OYmR5tQRNFfQzhuDXoNnBEROyz77NoOZHM5jIrhDQx3ucVXO2mV5P5m63GvYi-cNwkCKsbQaeDvVGjHlhVN_7VFgDHwHXGIXMvaVekQ72_45hTmWav_6W/s1600/Pimp+My+Ride+6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've seen better pieces of shit...in a...toilet.<br />
<br />
...yeah...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
And the
mini-games...geez! Both of the mini-games for these driving sections are just
so terrible. Apart from the cruising past groups of people pressing three
buttons in sequence to make some money, the game has your default character
dance next to the car in what can only be called an awkward situation for
everyone involved. The car moves along at around 5km/h while you worm, hip-hop,
moonwalk and breakdown next to the car. I just focused on the button pressing
during these parts as the player model looks so weird, so disjointed and out of
place when he dances that you almost feel bad for what he's going through in
this game. You feel some sympathy, knowing that inside he's probably ruing the
day he was created for the game, thinking that pimping rides was fun and all.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NaBQ560gHhe6IfnFU2EUkQ7j_MTbGZRNhhdpoYb28_1Da2wTzx3ZR3cI4FbjrN9aatue5b3L8d3zXGVf9ISuf5enM5K6sHQqLykVFU0V2KHCsu9uw4SuS-bvrITlFss6nHDLZyomOGBA/s1600/Pimp+My+Ride+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NaBQ560gHhe6IfnFU2EUkQ7j_MTbGZRNhhdpoYb28_1Da2wTzx3ZR3cI4FbjrN9aatue5b3L8d3zXGVf9ISuf5enM5K6sHQqLykVFU0V2KHCsu9uw4SuS-bvrITlFss6nHDLZyomOGBA/s320/Pimp+My+Ride+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I hate my life." - Your character and yourself.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
But wait, there's
more!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MZPpis2Rl543DPj0xeIQ6dRMDN1meybVoWE6XsKvqBBUXyNiBL3M8kZNoI7Mwx2aHuyzcscOV3YTjdZCurkf-ptYkBTi3eb44Y8fI-DWqwp13TaN5cMyceOi5dYYGnWxezZv3jJGjGAT/s1600/Pimp+My+Ride+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MZPpis2Rl543DPj0xeIQ6dRMDN1meybVoWE6XsKvqBBUXyNiBL3M8kZNoI7Mwx2aHuyzcscOV3YTjdZCurkf-ptYkBTi3eb44Y8fI-DWqwp13TaN5cMyceOi5dYYGnWxezZv3jJGjGAT/s320/Pimp+My+Ride+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"More of me dancnig?! =D"<br />
<br />
No.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">
Once you get enough money to 'pimp' the car, you must drive around the map
again to each of the different mechanics and designers to get the best deals.
You have 2 minutes to get to them all and there's a mini-game for each part.
This was actually the best part, as not only was there a sense of urgency in
racing for the parts, but the mini-games were small, quick and generally fun.
Things like the correct timing for button presses to rotations of the analogue
stick actually shows some sort of mini-game potential for the game, if only the
driving was improved...and everything else.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JPAvPvynvPG7dseNJ3ymJrxZxIn8KAw5TVjZ7XDNFxwAvPbA1rJYMG4n7ZNqjaPyqDBk3mkp4ITYxEessWGvZvjDz6VGOXVD0C8RA4uv4RYWN7TcYD-rIpa4NlOpK-vMCqXdDPObygIK/s1600/pimpmyride_7a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JPAvPvynvPG7dseNJ3ymJrxZxIn8KAw5TVjZ7XDNFxwAvPbA1rJYMG4n7ZNqjaPyqDBk3mkp4ITYxEessWGvZvjDz6VGOXVD0C8RA4uv4RYWN7TcYD-rIpa4NlOpK-vMCqXdDPObygIK/s320/pimpmyride_7a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is actually fun. I'm not even kidding.<br />
<br />
(Also, thanks Cheatcc.com for the watermark!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">Once all that was over though and the timer expires, you're sent back to compare your car with your competitor. Yes, that's right, some computer-controlled sorry sod of a competitor wants to try and beat you at the designing game. It's almost too easy to beat them though. All you need to do is get the best things for the car which you can afford while the competitor looks like a joke. Every. Time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">At the end of the day, a game is about how much enjoyment and fun you made from it in the allotted time you've given it. In the case for </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Pimp My Ride</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">, I couldn't finish it. It felt like a job, the tedious driving mechanics and everything making for a fairly unenjoyable time. I didn't want to spend my time getting enough money to do the borderline-good mini-games. It didn't feel as though the effort would be justified. So yeah, I'd give this game a miss unless you were to play for either a joke, a drunken night or because you're a sucker who gives in to pressure from others to torture yourself, all for the amusement of others. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">Or...you could watch </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q8VnvWtKHY" target="_blank">this YouTube clip</a> <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">of Marcia's story. It takes out the middle portion of the game, but you don't need to see it. Tell them I sent you.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">-- FINAL VERDICT --</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Platform Used:</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Xbox 360</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Score:</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> 3/10</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Recommendation:</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Avoid.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The only good thing that can come out of this game were the small minigames, but you can find similar ones on most other mini/party game titles. Apart from that, the game is just terrible. So...so terrible. Even if you're a fan, avoid.<br /><br />Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is better.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">[EDIT: I take that back, that was harsh. It's not as terrible as StH06, it's just a really, really, REALLY bad game.]</span></div>
Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-22359229496582938972012-05-21T20:01:00.001-07:002012-05-21T20:39:26.797-07:00Review: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Part 2<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEe9W5gLI2oYr-_6mzjKUpdFjW0kbCUkHA0t3BqsA7kXzbp9BCL2ZdujeLM-BOxiJ8rha_RwbN5VVQPKA5aqiuUA-jGS93LIUDNPsj46KUL3IclVWP-gEFRGEPxeuBUh2oUIk8kZyFTA5b/s320/1-sonic_2k6_title.jpg" />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
My palms were
sweating. Patience was wearing thin. It's okay, I thought. I can wait around
for this. Only when I changed over to the football on TV for a little bit, saw
a goal being scored, then turning back did I realise that nothing happened. The
loading screen had been staring at me for a grand total of 13 minutes. I
realised in that time, for the first time in my life, real disappointment. I
hate this game.<br />
<br />
TL;DR: 13 minutes before I could even attempt Shadow's first mission. That's
how long I had to wait.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFnSn3J7MnsqChyphenhyphenCSG20uHaPXFkA5F0sUMkOUuBoJgLXx9rre7UpLIjiHFxWnHqmfuIzpbvIzBK8BrWCee2vwQps2zfF6yagLP0NCvPW_et0N_N9guqWaZORerGYhOUjqdth1lKwIh18i/s1600/loading.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFnSn3J7MnsqChyphenhyphenCSG20uHaPXFkA5F0sUMkOUuBoJgLXx9rre7UpLIjiHFxWnHqmfuIzpbvIzBK8BrWCee2vwQps2zfF6yagLP0NCvPW_et0N_N9guqWaZORerGYhOUjqdth1lKwIh18i/s320/loading.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IT JUST WON'T STOP!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
This game is so
boring and it has it's loading screens and it's unfinished feel to blame for
it. I have games that install on my Playstation 3 faster than it takes to load
a level for <span style="font-style: italic;">Sonic the Hedgehog</span>. When I
said that I had so much to complain about, I wasn't lying. Now after completing
the three main stories, I can safely say that the list has doubled. I can't say
everything, otherwise I'll be here all day, so I'll just explain the worst of
it so perhaps you can get an idea of just how depressed playing this game made
me feel.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIb2e1kg8GsI747N0LlBzcHv-ODH-q4EqxYmrzkSnRnl7MeVF1_GhWF12di069MH2h7HZwRdukguzTeDSx4HVyJLmElLOQGXh9anAkNs3KbFEqF2lSbhSL6XCUft8KwWKpmwFP-BQRcY7C/s1600/Worst_Elise2--article_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIb2e1kg8GsI747N0LlBzcHv-ODH-q4EqxYmrzkSnRnl7MeVF1_GhWF12di069MH2h7HZwRdukguzTeDSx4HVyJLmElLOQGXh9anAkNs3KbFEqF2lSbhSL6XCUft8KwWKpmwFP-BQRcY7C/s320/Worst_Elise2--article_image.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can just hear him saying "You got yourself into this...".</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I think the
penultimate moment where my dislike of this game was magnified was the boss
battle with Silver. It happened in Sonic's and I thought it was a glitch (it
was) but then when I played against him as Shadow, the same thing repeated. You
see, Silver has psycho-kinetic powers, so he could literally pick me up with
the poser of his mind and throw me against a nearby wall, damaging me and
making me lose all my rings. If he was close to this wall, he could so it
again and again and again until the ring
that was falling out after being hit managed to avoid me. That's right, I
wanted my lone ring to bounce away from me so that I could die. That's how much
I disliked this game. I felt better when I was dead. But then that feeling
didn't last long as I had to sit through another loading screen…</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHzozlsHt8WmsO13xcv4FfD8V4VGylCr9YXrlCeGY4AicUKJNzWJnJii5MEsFFHFns3IYRAhpPVK9oX_SI31p0QMYUbuqVzsEam-Q5kbqZmoyog4UCielFmBXRXCM3lwNk10KUaZ_nLWj/s1600/320px-06_SonVsSilv.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHzozlsHt8WmsO13xcv4FfD8V4VGylCr9YXrlCeGY4AicUKJNzWJnJii5MEsFFHFns3IYRAhpPVK9oX_SI31p0QMYUbuqVzsEam-Q5kbqZmoyog4UCielFmBXRXCM3lwNk10KUaZ_nLWj/s1600/320px-06_SonVsSilv.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hated this. I want Silver to go die.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I remember a quote
during the game where my sidekick (I've forgotten their name, that's how
memorable they are) comes up with an excellent quote whose timing can possibly
put it next to Vector's line of "Find the computer room" as one of
the worst delivered lines in Sonic history.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
"Watch out
Shadow! If something that big runs into you the soft footholds won't
hold."<br />
<br />
I heard this every single time I was dead. Not before, where a prior warning
would have been accepted, but after it was needed. My body lay sprawled on the ground, limbs
lying next to me as if I was sleeping (there was not much slack for movement,
it's G rated after all) and I was given warning about the big hunk of death
that was coming towards me. I didn't like this late announcement one bit. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyX9g6vrNKv1xBQCNVYdpEtWn9Lnf7d1fP0q3XSeb_UCNfTOttewjTW1JTxgAOYncep8P1rUDzXRs8z69esudhBD3WWD8h8hCbNoqwezv7BhGbXdzENcsXWo7c6VrDvRgl6Hx-q_kEtWEZ/s1600/sonic_13a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyX9g6vrNKv1xBQCNVYdpEtWn9Lnf7d1fP0q3XSeb_UCNfTOttewjTW1JTxgAOYncep8P1rUDzXRs8z69esudhBD3WWD8h8hCbNoqwezv7BhGbXdzENcsXWo7c6VrDvRgl6Hx-q_kEtWEZ/s320/sonic_13a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah Shadow! Watch out for that big worm thing creeping up behind you!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'm going to stop
the Sonic slaying at the end of this next paragraph. I feel as though you get
the picture of what I'm trying to say, plus I want to keep this entry fairly
short in case my brain decides to explode at the thought of actually completing
the game (I'll only do it if I get paid. There, I said it). </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
This last point is
about a civilian in Soleanna, again, because you end up going there quite a
fair bit. This civilian had a yellow exclamation mark on top of them but when I
spoke to him, he said the same thing as the civilian on the opposite side of the
road. Now, I thought this was just Sonic Team being lazy but no, it was worse.
After wandering around all of Soleanna and not finding a single person with a
blue exclamation mark, I decided to look every where else. After spending 20
minutes looking through every nook and cranny of all the hubs of the game, I
decided to ragequit and turn off the game. After coming back to it a week later
I ended up spawning next to the civilian who was copying the guy opposite him.
He was now blue. He was now also about to die. I haven't played since.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CNhF_yBiw5EX-HNWtJsIVkXWnKr2zRrD4Ken3OXXyneqZx50zguThZDm__GicLrsaNTQa7CXieiV-J09fafSFuZJbIClWYMrgQO7FXwf0Eo31URKuCwzcZIdY9DDo_SR64Mzv4To9CEV/s1600/sonic_the_hedgehog_2006_wallpaper_2-12891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CNhF_yBiw5EX-HNWtJsIVkXWnKr2zRrD4Ken3OXXyneqZx50zguThZDm__GicLrsaNTQa7CXieiV-J09fafSFuZJbIClWYMrgQO7FXwf0Eo31URKuCwzcZIdY9DDo_SR64Mzv4To9CEV/s320/sonic_the_hedgehog_2006_wallpaper_2-12891.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Can there be a sequel guys?"<br />
<br />
No. No there will not be.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">-- FINAL VERDICT --</span><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Platform Used:</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Xbox 360</span><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Score:</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> 2/10</span><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Recommendation:</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Avoid.</span><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The game is glitchy. The game has a weak story. The game is terrible on all fronts.</span><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Give it to a friend to play and watch the torture.</span></div>
</div>Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-79403061728763361192012-02-23T03:46:00.007-08:002012-02-23T04:34:16.192-08:00Review: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Part 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEe9W5gLI2oYr-_6mzjKUpdFjW0kbCUkHA0t3BqsA7kXzbp9BCL2ZdujeLM-BOxiJ8rha_RwbN5VVQPKA5aqiuUA-jGS93LIUDNPsj46KUL3IclVWP-gEFRGEPxeuBUh2oUIk8kZyFTA5b/s1600/1-sonic_2k6_title.jpg" style="font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEe9W5gLI2oYr-_6mzjKUpdFjW0kbCUkHA0t3BqsA7kXzbp9BCL2ZdujeLM-BOxiJ8rha_RwbN5VVQPKA5aqiuUA-jGS93LIUDNPsj46KUL3IclVWP-gEFRGEPxeuBUh2oUIk8kZyFTA5b/s320/1-sonic_2k6_title.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712302771344790866" /></a><br /><br />I can't do this. I just can't.<br /><br />Yes, I suppose I can call myself a Sonic fan-boy, but I just can't finish this game. I think I've played a total of about 30 minutes and watched about 50 minutes of loading screens and cut-scenes. It's absurdly ridiculous. I had to wait a full 8 minutes, possibly longer, before I could control Sonic for the first time, and that wasn't even in a Stage level. That was during the Town sequences, which is the hub world of the game and has some terrible, terrible glitches.<br /><br /><b style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTzS7hQNyB5CmoM3E_dEgrZKem7HE9vg5WcIF6rMt7sfIKDz5WHvwzDqBLObIdzGWhvmc-n5Ov9gvCYsXlWScxX93xDaqA_hWwCgbPgF48Y_EfCU4kmBsZEevvjSUxxkuv1b5aWqNWNA7/s1600/sonic1_large.jpg" style="font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTzS7hQNyB5CmoM3E_dEgrZKem7HE9vg5WcIF6rMt7sfIKDz5WHvwzDqBLObIdzGWhvmc-n5Ov9gvCYsXlWScxX93xDaqA_hWwCgbPgF48Y_EfCU4kmBsZEevvjSUxxkuv1b5aWqNWNA7/s320/sonic1_large.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712302774271459394" /></a><blockquote style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-weight:bold;">Also the game is stupid. I mean, grinding the water? Seriously Sega?!</span></blockquote><blockquote style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /></span></blockquote>At the start of your control over Sonic, you have to find Tails. Once that happens, Tails will now follow you everywhere. I feel there must be something wrong with his shoes, giving him an excuse to fly everywhere. Whenever he lands after flying, it's like his feet are on ice and he just slides away, usually over the edge of the level and into the water, killing him off. If this happens, don't panic! He comes back after the next loading screen, which are all too frequent.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6IQDY14ZX7w7A2YMdWGPj0u977mWuVH4OtkWQYJhI_0Aytz1UBDAc8WHcN3TtF3ACAAdi-2msBEUriQ6o5X3IBXgTl3udDeXceFA8kp8aBUyVJQaNH9Dzmx_zivBNRjei0Dik7dqxpAN/s1600/sonic5_qjpreviewth.jpg" style="font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6IQDY14ZX7w7A2YMdWGPj0u977mWuVH4OtkWQYJhI_0Aytz1UBDAc8WHcN3TtF3ACAAdi-2msBEUriQ6o5X3IBXgTl3udDeXceFA8kp8aBUyVJQaNH9Dzmx_zivBNRjei0Dik7dqxpAN/s320/sonic5_qjpreviewth.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712303464438298578" /></a><blockquote style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-weight:bold;">Stupid Tails. I don't like you.</span></blockquote><br />While walking (running) around the Town sequences in Soleanna at the beginning of the game, you will also find yourself missing turns and running into walls a lot. That is normal, Sonic's meant to be fast. Sometimes when you hit a wall you may freeze and stay still for about 5-6 seconds. This is not normal. What adds to the frustration is a lack of direction during these sections. The loading screen may say "You must stop Eggman!" but it never says 'how', it just gives you the general story mission and then says "Here you go, you need to do this. Find it yourself though, because I ain't helping". Although this works for some games, not a Sonic game. If anyone remembers Sonic Adventure, you'll know why...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsTw_oMzUamuU40kIQKhhGer198CLpO01sQT191UDne5lWQggZmxi3jostLnk1II2cyP_DJEGg8f2bDk1-9Y-U7mBkvUDhCD4j-vd3eoz-GL2oyMbnKLHDJT0pIPLEgQXmQd6RnDB31D2/s1600/tumblr_le0nxlYwbl1qdtw9eo1_500.png" style="font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsTw_oMzUamuU40kIQKhhGer198CLpO01sQT191UDne5lWQggZmxi3jostLnk1II2cyP_DJEGg8f2bDk1-9Y-U7mBkvUDhCD4j-vd3eoz-GL2oyMbnKLHDJT0pIPLEgQXmQd6RnDB31D2/s320/tumblr_le0nxlYwbl1qdtw9eo1_500.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712302777429533554" /></a><blockquote style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-weight:bold;">At least it has occasional moments where you can go fast...</span></blockquote><br />Also throughout these town sequences there are people just waiting to tell you useless information like how they want to go snowboarding or that they're late. These people have a yellow exclamation mark above their head. Then there are those people who may or may not point you in the right direction, depending on what mission you're up to. These people have orange exclamation marks above them. Then there's the people who have quests/missions ready for you to do. These are either side missions or actual story missions. They have a blue exclamation mark. An easier way to find them all is to look at your mini-map while running into buildings at every corner.<br /><br />Now there's this one guy who's hanging around Soleanna the first time you're there (and possibly later, I dunno) and he has an orange mark above his head. You would assume that he helps you along to the next part of the game, right? Ha, no. Why would he?<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-weight: normal; "><span>"When things settle down I'd like to go to the beach with my girlfriend. Or maybe a barbeque in the desert!<br /><br />Hmm... No, a barbeque in the woods might be better. Or skiing! Or snowboarding!<br /><br />But first I need to find a girlfriend. So much to do, so little time…"</span></blockquote><blockquote style="font-weight: normal; "><span><b>Liek if u crieddd...</b></span></blockquote><br />Yes. I really needed that life-saving information about your lack of a girlfriend. Have a cup of concrete and join the club. This didn't help me in the slightest with progressing to the next part of the game, which I've explained is done shitty.<br /><br />There's another character with an orange exclamation mark above their head which I'd like to point out. It's a bishop and you cannot progress any further in the game unless you talk to him. Although it's told to you by one of the people hanging around Soleanna, you can theoretically move through the game without the need for talking to any orange people. Just talk to the blue guys an you'll be fine. But no, this bishop is different. You have to talk to him so he can take you to some ruins where you'll have to play three different mini-games against the clock to show your worth. They are Courage, Intelligence and Love. The Courage test is fairly obvious; kill all the robots in the given time limit. The Intelligence test then moves a little further from that, telling you to go through warp holes until you get to the goal ring. This is not really an intelligence test and more a memory test. Then come the stupidest test of the three of them; you have to decide whether to save Amy or Elise from impending doom.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3BVgruem6JX1W5UZhUhIDo9wqXdX4NZzFQT_eWqwFC33sJEEguSLqe39egjjOPskfbuhgZiNzB4jHIRBcDeGBssDZa5huWJtfC3veky1li24s_REMTSPVAIvwN7VbVT1hYgO_qTTYn-3/s1600/tumblr_lkky35xiC91qdtw9eo1_500.png" style="font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3BVgruem6JX1W5UZhUhIDo9wqXdX4NZzFQT_eWqwFC33sJEEguSLqe39egjjOPskfbuhgZiNzB4jHIRBcDeGBssDZa5huWJtfC3veky1li24s_REMTSPVAIvwN7VbVT1hYgO_qTTYn-3/s320/tumblr_lkky35xiC91qdtw9eo1_500.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712302792481374594" /></a><br /><blockquote><b>She's not a lover if she's a stalker.</b></blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; ">Protip:</span> No one likes Amy, so it only makes sense you need to pick Elise. If you pick Amy you fail the test, which is worse than failing your primary school acceptance test at age 31 after finishing university and going back because you're an idiot.<br /><br />Oh, last note about those tests. Once you complete them all you get access to the next level gate via an eagle picking you up and taking you there. You had to go grind through those tests before you can progress, which makes the game look stupid when Tails is just sitting there at the gate, waiting and taunting you for not have two tails available to be used as a helicopter.<br /><br />I have so much more to complain about on the subject of this game, but I'm going to give Sonic the benefit of the doubt...for now. Looks like I'm going to have to suck it up and beat it. Prepare for Part 2 soon...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfQ_imIY_P_MRmn8-SShKUacczNdlPKEVPuhtiXU3sbhm7bkyYhlWrFAMnySgb7yDVfkpo4_KdAVqzsfvqBSyBqKsLMVZWnknw8c2ShmiTLa32_LgmsRlQ_sxMIBtphrCimGvxPEtEqBO/s1600/sonic.jpg" style="font-weight: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfQ_imIY_P_MRmn8-SShKUacczNdlPKEVPuhtiXU3sbhm7bkyYhlWrFAMnySgb7yDVfkpo4_KdAVqzsfvqBSyBqKsLMVZWnknw8c2ShmiTLa32_LgmsRlQ_sxMIBtphrCimGvxPEtEqBO/s320/sonic.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712305963836088098" /></a><blockquote style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mother of God...what have I done?</span></blockquote>Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-4088521768082402672012-02-08T07:20:00.000-08:002012-02-08T07:24:40.077-08:00Well this is overwhelming...Wow. I honestly didn't expect that many responses. Looks like I'm going to be looking at a fair few games. I haven't posted for a bit as I've been tracking down some of your suggestions. Some are old and a couple are fairly new, so there's a good mix. I like it.<br /><br />So please be patient as I go through my paces and get through all these games. There are some I'm looking forward to and others...well...not so much.<br /><br />Anyway, before I go, I'll leave you with this picture. Think of it as a little teaser as to what's coming up...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsa_FwTptHCVd1qaIqREmqIyGBmclGTLfyL8jO5WN7P3JjaDj1p8pUNwhEMOK_ik_O5Gipd1zKD3Q1xDrUkLZIdMylCfOF4pQuDXxu48cnxtfB7eL5j0bjCkW91ryNWLKXJtHHxqZV_4K2/s1600/301964_142785025824497_142774222492244_129635_201511422_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsa_FwTptHCVd1qaIqREmqIyGBmclGTLfyL8jO5WN7P3JjaDj1p8pUNwhEMOK_ik_O5Gipd1zKD3Q1xDrUkLZIdMylCfOF4pQuDXxu48cnxtfB7eL5j0bjCkW91ryNWLKXJtHHxqZV_4K2/s320/301964_142785025824497_142774222492244_129635_201511422_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706785970729290370" /></a>Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-55907173964461600082012-01-31T02:11:00.001-08:002012-01-31T02:15:32.794-08:00Set me a challenge!So I've been thinking recently, maybe the games I'm looking at aren't to your liking. That's cool. If they're not maybe give me some idea as to what you want me to look at. It could be anything, whether it be <span style="font-style:italic;">Hello Kitty</span> on the Playstation 2 or even <span style="font-style:italic;">Lylat Wars</span> on the Nintendo 64. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Any game, any console</span>. If I can get my hands on it, I'll play it and tell you about it.<br /><br />This is not a cry of a desperate man, but a call out to anyone wanting to make their opinions known. I will play anything. <span style="font-weight:bold;">ANYTHING</span>!Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-14535114448088299952012-01-28T21:21:00.000-08:002012-01-28T22:31:02.565-08:00Diary of an MMORPG player: Flyff, Day 4<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68JiROvYXWGNqDlVZEfQhuRExhyphenhyphenneHwyl15I2vxspVHFuacz4IumvMuqyLcqrYH6ojGOgXGw5zgGl0kZY6oA-ukKuNRdwIqz_zGCmIZbB988E4R3yLwi5sRcsHTzJ74hrqL31Q1538lXA/s1600/flyff-logo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68JiROvYXWGNqDlVZEfQhuRExhyphenhyphenneHwyl15I2vxspVHFuacz4IumvMuqyLcqrYH6ojGOgXGw5zgGl0kZY6oA-ukKuNRdwIqz_zGCmIZbB988E4R3yLwi5sRcsHTzJ74hrqL31Q1538lXA/s320/flyff-logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702923862307598066" /></a><br /><br />This game is broken.<br /><br />The quest asked me to collect 15 'Mia Dolls' from the enemy 'Mia' which are little girls with a ball and chain who are...life-like dolls? <br /><br />So I get to my 15th Mia Doll after about an hour of killing them off and I go to pick it up and...it's...floating?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RYsP7dEpCVKX7vIurrDzkjJHyiaYzUofpZCqk-VyLtZ7d21F1Ml1Sp4OHaQCTAFJ-NnMRH2tMqxHULPK9keM7sOKnArF08dHBBxuBMjatPhVQ7m3lw08Npy0SGbVREDQ_sgTL4Gp1egQ/s1600/Floating.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RYsP7dEpCVKX7vIurrDzkjJHyiaYzUofpZCqk-VyLtZ7d21F1Ml1Sp4OHaQCTAFJ-NnMRH2tMqxHULPK9keM7sOKnArF08dHBBxuBMjatPhVQ7m3lw08Npy0SGbVREDQ_sgTL4Gp1egQ/s320/Floating.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702923863893157058" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">I know the screenshot shows a bag of Penya (the currency) but the same thing happened on a hard-to-get quest item. Get over yourself you <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span>-freaks.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Okay, so it's floating. No big deal. Yeah, I can tell myself that, but when my character runs back and forth underneath it travelling 4 pixels each way, you know you're never going to pick up that item. Ever.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7otir5vW6bYCLhh4K6Wxadci7n6xWi868_A-gRCni7R5sf8Fi41MetLHznn7DpGORLMaEEnM2LSbw_dD4DUEdZNu0HSZqDFeA_Ujqw1CD9FLBxAvRDPPlbYDdyhNjp-2PPRBzDSbJgBxo/s1600/Floating+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7otir5vW6bYCLhh4K6Wxadci7n6xWi868_A-gRCni7R5sf8Fi41MetLHznn7DpGORLMaEEnM2LSbw_dD4DUEdZNu0HSZqDFeA_Ujqw1CD9FLBxAvRDPPlbYDdyhNjp-2PPRBzDSbJgBxo/s320/Floating+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702923870392158002" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">GIVE ME YOUR PENYA! I WANT TO ADD THAT MONEY TO MY OVER ONE MILLION BAG OF IT!</span></blockquote><br /><br />So now that's out of the way, I'd like to speak to you about the best combo to ever be seen by me at such my low level (which when writing this, is roughly 30). Since my job is an acrobat and I use bows and arrows or a pair of yo-yos (which I only use if I run out of arrows) I've found the best action combo to date. First, some backstory on what the action moves are.<br /><br />Action moves are like your special hotkey moves, except that the key you press is "C" and you can have between 1 and 5 moves in the action bar, whether they're 5 different moves or 5 of the same. They're your job-specific special attacks, in other words. They mostly use up FP (Fighting Points or Fatigue Points), which is that green bar you see in the screenshots, but they can also use MP (Magic Points) which is the blue bar. However, it's not something you can spam, as every time you use your designated actions the bar decreases by half a slot before slowly recharging. There are ways around this though, which brings me to my favourite combination at the present time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOmv9cDog3H5Wq0nWGrpXyFvTLN0sai_cHkPL0koFPR12VcpUHW1ElnrOcQFuQJmPst44tuSYSWHmrDUci3tSLjlh5Gk1xLvG1EuOg-_bIpmE2iAgLTevsN4gKd7SBGcj5I5U5y3xY5up/s1600/Status+Bar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 218px; height: 110px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOmv9cDog3H5Wq0nWGrpXyFvTLN0sai_cHkPL0koFPR12VcpUHW1ElnrOcQFuQJmPst44tuSYSWHmrDUci3tSLjlh5Gk1xLvG1EuOg-_bIpmE2iAgLTevsN4gKd7SBGcj5I5U5y3xY5up/s320/Status+Bar.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702927710001021122" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Here's the status bar. Green = FP bar and Blue = MP bar.</span></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ksoT8znb_dKnrcDBxjmi37oltztIkYbl2tkgezfzKaigFFS8joB1ZOUJzreQS-_vZ_Akq0vwGd06zuoul1UebdPTWpjLGlnr6iFjwChIJABqW1GDXKzEblfiqQRt0HLa9sUyFr4RUyh3/s1600/RefresherHold.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ksoT8znb_dKnrcDBxjmi37oltztIkYbl2tkgezfzKaigFFS8joB1ZOUJzreQS-_vZ_Akq0vwGd06zuoul1UebdPTWpjLGlnr6iFjwChIJABqW1GDXKzEblfiqQRt0HLa9sUyFr4RUyh3/s320/RefresherHold.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702927705649726898" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">This potion is one of the best I've used so far. Unlimited MP use for 20 minutes. You can get these from quests.</span></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbA5eq1Z8eisE4CxknIICdaR9ViMZAMoPgS2e9OBnqGyjeCL8siK0tHQWCG4vPIywvnu2eNIU2xyz90sAf_QQpCRD1xHtKQctm6jIvysVGJEW8kDjWXYFOIHZO-YHxXi-yJoo_L1Y4Vt-/s1600/Cooldown.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 186px; height: 48px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbA5eq1Z8eisE4CxknIICdaR9ViMZAMoPgS2e9OBnqGyjeCL8siK0tHQWCG4vPIywvnu2eNIU2xyz90sAf_QQpCRD1xHtKQctm6jIvysVGJEW8kDjWXYFOIHZO-YHxXi-yJoo_L1Y4Vt-/s320/Cooldown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702927702355654898" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">This is your Action Bar. See the black bar on the side? That's the cooldown and whatever's got the black on it can't be used until the cooldown recharges/goes away.</span></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLX3J6V2lvzKva7dNvlTAz_VSnfyihSl9Zus-61EE1RmycWyHu5-Lnh4hImb_kcKJirIl7KMuQcgFvNeqqZo26NavCLPHQdPtpBdNWxPL6J_F882ZD10l5caQiaiJ-IzbpFLsHbErr437/s1600/Enhanced_Activition_10.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLX3J6V2lvzKva7dNvlTAz_VSnfyihSl9Zus-61EE1RmycWyHu5-Lnh4hImb_kcKJirIl7KMuQcgFvNeqqZo26NavCLPHQdPtpBdNWxPL6J_F882ZD10l5caQiaiJ-IzbpFLsHbErr437/s320/Enhanced_Activition_10.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702927707262152658" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">This give you unlimited use for your action bar, getting rid of the cooldown.</span></blockquote><br /><br />For my combination, you need to first use a Refresher Hold, which not only refills your MP bar but gives you infinite MP for 20 minutes. Then I would use an Enhanced Activition which allows infinite actions to take place for 30 minutes. After filling in your action bar with 5 slots of "Rapid Shot", which sends down 3 arrows at a time, four times (in other words it's 4(3x) where x = an arrow, for the math-savvy and for those who failed maths, it sends 12 arrows) you spam "C". This makes quick work of nearly every enemy under level 35, which for someone under level 30, is pretty good. It cuts through them so quickly, my mercenary friend was jelly. Flavour? Raspberry.<br /><br />Before I finish this post for today, I'd like to show you a second quest from one of the NPCs.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfDn4ij0y7RnPmMXQkBt0m5gN2A1GD0Y32Nm0WVoyDxLAXrkn-TLwC99uaqw2zzmsK1wqrPUJqSi5QpjxMnzVrli9bkpO8mQaiYPrJjxy7M7AfNtFfdgFUNjXTL8lnx8oNmMXja3431sV/s1600/Entry+3+-+Quest1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfDn4ij0y7RnPmMXQkBt0m5gN2A1GD0Y32Nm0WVoyDxLAXrkn-TLwC99uaqw2zzmsK1wqrPUJqSi5QpjxMnzVrli9bkpO8mQaiYPrJjxy7M7AfNtFfdgFUNjXTL8lnx8oNmMXja3431sV/s320/Entry+3+-+Quest1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702923876229003074" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">If you look at the writing at the bottom, she seems so sweet. Especially after giving me 100,000 Penya.</span></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hAIFzBTjQ8JVVASSR0Pw7auaoNosBhJKgNY6u9zuU7wh8kf2H4E9KxFydQKUtKltrqg0MgN1-dY5QiIC73dkzzdWu7dW3GVVRL4LMe4wXR3AnuixiZQ5ZJ4R3pGswoEjkvRAAqXOpV3N/s1600/Entry+3+-+Quest2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hAIFzBTjQ8JVVASSR0Pw7auaoNosBhJKgNY6u9zuU7wh8kf2H4E9KxFydQKUtKltrqg0MgN1-dY5QiIC73dkzzdWu7dW3GVVRL4LMe4wXR3AnuixiZQ5ZJ4R3pGswoEjkvRAAqXOpV3N/s320/Entry+3+-+Quest2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702923878270383970" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Oh no, the knives are rusty! Maybe she should go over to the food shop and see if he has any cooking utensils. I'm sure you have something else pre-prepared in the fridge.</span></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkJSHPaPJzQF_r2fPQC_7qja2_aUB9w8vCV3-2e06GoXGgAdL3EOlk1FGb4gxfYFQs-e0W9m81vCAiRg699gqQLuJ9MF16R_FDSYhyTrJpfSEMwIyxs2vg1NZUkXHs5nFPC422Yam9ApQ/s1600/Entry+3+-+Quest3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkJSHPaPJzQF_r2fPQC_7qja2_aUB9w8vCV3-2e06GoXGgAdL3EOlk1FGb4gxfYFQs-e0W9m81vCAiRg699gqQLuJ9MF16R_FDSYhyTrJpfSEMwIyxs2vg1NZUkXHs5nFPC422Yam9ApQ/s320/Entry+3+-+Quest3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702924446288966930" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Look, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine without some knives. Maybe use your hands? It's not like there's a problem with your mothering...</span></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7FB_xAXYITSEPlEM5kYAANTnGaYLk5gfE3Ga6uaES8u_AkyaLX-F_4s_bN7EEP9-A5Q_1djJ_xsZyxzPjY7vYsDvf1i1kCmC2lu5ZxHFd7rJXoUcpXVSuvj24_pFCN05vkdyt6FWapak/s1600/Entry+3+-+Quest4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7FB_xAXYITSEPlEM5kYAANTnGaYLk5gfE3Ga6uaES8u_AkyaLX-F_4s_bN7EEP9-A5Q_1djJ_xsZyxzPjY7vYsDvf1i1kCmC2lu5ZxHFd7rJXoUcpXVSuvj24_pFCN05vkdyt6FWapak/s320/Entry+3+-+Quest4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702924451838002626" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Once again be a fit mother"? That's a bit harsh. But anyway, Sharp Edges aye? I'm sure I can find like an old piece of machinery and pull off some non-rusty parts. That should be fine, right?</span></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIekdehu_9a6Y7-XSUrd8V6PxMbIvd6LhqHmrpEolOkhzLuSgN0HI7X5H79dbtTHw-8r4haBVl1kOaQmYUTbNwnx1zii1ANWq1SwWxEqFNfmLTGfSVyAPsirFuQ9NZD7Wng43Aq7yZq11d/s1600/Entry+3+-+Quest5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIekdehu_9a6Y7-XSUrd8V6PxMbIvd6LhqHmrpEolOkhzLuSgN0HI7X5H79dbtTHw-8r4haBVl1kOaQmYUTbNwnx1zii1ANWq1SwWxEqFNfmLTGfSVyAPsirFuQ9NZD7Wng43Aq7yZq11d/s320/Entry+3+-+Quest5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702924448569673426" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wait what?! Pulling off their legs?? A 'little' vicious?! And I said that this game was for a younger audience, how wrong I was. This game is for serial killers and those with an addiction to pull things off other living beings! </span></blockquote><br /><br />This is the part where over-protective parents say "Protect the kids! Ban this game!". They are idiots. It's not going to stop me questing, whether it be this quest telling me to rip the legs off Mantis' to make knives or to slay countless pumpkins to find the right amount of matches (I think it's a Halloween reference). Either way, let's see what kind of black magic this game can throw at me now that I'm a level 30. <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span>, SHOW ME YOUR WORST!Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-67220467107738014362012-01-27T08:01:00.000-08:002012-01-29T04:09:56.570-08:00Review: Just Cause<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTvKPkjZez4i9HwmxaSaWiWJzvaGpfl2fY7KRGRG6rcohOR2eLZS1IJFeZZjZJP5rIUu7p68hk3BNezkttFJ8xogSo13rKwzK2U0fM5nnaMtAqTu1yNPc-s6GigiwJN0ZBfEtkPE076j0/s1600/Just-Cause-win-cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTvKPkjZez4i9HwmxaSaWiWJzvaGpfl2fY7KRGRG6rcohOR2eLZS1IJFeZZjZJP5rIUu7p68hk3BNezkttFJ8xogSo13rKwzK2U0fM5nnaMtAqTu1yNPc-s6GigiwJN0ZBfEtkPE076j0/s320/Just-Cause-win-cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702345779396416866" /></a><br /><br />Have you ever seen a game and thought to yourself "That is going to be the best game ever! OMG!"? Chances are you've seen a preview or a review in a magazine, on the internet or from a friend and your expectations are really high for when you get the game. You're told:<br /><br /> • A massive amount of space to explore.<br /> • A huge gallery of weapons.<br /> • Lots of vehicles to use. <br /> • You can do tricks and stuff on the vehicles and jump from one to the other!<br /> • You can fly helicopters and it is SIK BRO!<br /><br />Sometimes it's only one of the above, sometimes it's two. When I first heard about <span style="font-style:italic;">Just Cause</span> my expectations included all five. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_nEaS70PiCVfFSOOtnPutnr8zfAYN0KO9_6kV9EWCV8ARSHdrzdWiOdioMqISYA3zBqFkfwfSBxMiXlGmuRejrMMatNbTnO33IrRxbkqN1SPsAds1m51bA1DTOyN-F0r5gN-oG1sspyd/s1600/Huerta_PA51_Aztek.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_nEaS70PiCVfFSOOtnPutnr8zfAYN0KO9_6kV9EWCV8ARSHdrzdWiOdioMqISYA3zBqFkfwfSBxMiXlGmuRejrMMatNbTnO33IrRxbkqN1SPsAds1m51bA1DTOyN-F0r5gN-oG1sspyd/s320/Huerta_PA51_Aztek.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702348269034056914" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">OMG OMG OMG DIS IS FULLY SIK!</span></blockquote><br /><br />The game map is around 1000km squared alone, which is a hell of a lot of travelling time on foot. I suppose that's why they have a large selection of vehicles including tanks, tractors, jet skis, speedboats, helicopters, fighter jets and even huge passenger jets. Sounds pretty cool right? Then you have the weapons which include pistols, machine guns, shotguns, grenade launchers and the obligatory rocket launcher. It even has a grappling hook, which is an integral part of the game. As I said; from the information above, expectations were pretty high.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-xfzTCntaQ8534AhZ9BqXKh-_k5WkIzbfZd8PNRUTSQgy0OhmdqG4vyxIdIvmI35LzeJrXwrjGMZG-z1ZP2VX1mx2IgYBNfpob1wu7qRDRZjKbgITa91dOj9Evnb-MzAWh8ftjbLKbjz/s1600/c60665d0d1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-xfzTCntaQ8534AhZ9BqXKh-_k5WkIzbfZd8PNRUTSQgy0OhmdqG4vyxIdIvmI35LzeJrXwrjGMZG-z1ZP2VX1mx2IgYBNfpob1wu7qRDRZjKbgITa91dOj9Evnb-MzAWh8ftjbLKbjz/s320/c60665d0d1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702345776083868434" /></a><br /><br />After playing the game and beating it's very small campaign of 22 missions (which can be completed in a couple of hours), the game feels bare. It feels repetitive. It feels as though they tried to fit all these cool ideas in and then tripled their appearances. Quite frankly, I was pretty disappointed. The game promised so much and left me feeling like I played something empty. I had no joy for the most part. I didn't connect with the characters. Rico, the protagonist and your character, has very few lines which are only in the script because of his European accent. Your so-called "guide" Tom is probably the better character, but he talks way too much. The characters just don't feel balances enough in the right areas.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkKe023PJwE5Lu_62Y1G7xn9uRp2uwUHKpIRj6BvHHeVwHlEHYdTVLk9Ja2-7Yn1bLq_E-EHfyU0Xh-tgnAti8lNfcf-oxQIH7qqmiqDJv7YmbDhI1pDUMGhdUkTIRo4kn2ZdzhtY0Art/s1600/feb799e3-7461-4021-9e38-f61dbd26088e.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkKe023PJwE5Lu_62Y1G7xn9uRp2uwUHKpIRj6BvHHeVwHlEHYdTVLk9Ja2-7Yn1bLq_E-EHfyU0Xh-tgnAti8lNfcf-oxQIH7qqmiqDJv7YmbDhI1pDUMGhdUkTIRo4kn2ZdzhtY0Art/s320/feb799e3-7461-4021-9e38-f61dbd26088e.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702347254911261890" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Stolen, but oh so true.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Now onto those points; the selling points for the game.<br /><br />Most vehicles are useless. You may think you're cool stealing a car and running over a few motorists on their motorbikes, but once you unlock the ability to call in a little gyrocopter to wherever you are, there's no point using a vehicle. This is nowhere near Grand Theft Auto, yet it tried so hard. And it's selling point of the helicopters? There are some like the gyrocopter which are alright to use. The rest? Utterly hopeless. You may think it's easy to either go up or down, side to side, forward and back but the way it does it, which I'm guessing is trying to be as life-like as possible, is annoying as hell. If I needed to travel to one side of the massive map, I'd use a helicopter, but I usually ended up getting it to top speed, aiming it to where I wanted to go and then jump out and holding on to the back. Doing a "trick" such as this locks the vehicles speed and altitude, so you could put the controller down and go make yourself a cup of tea while you're travelling from North-East to South-West.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqJN43DJNdsDFijXkCdNuE6V9n9UtKZPtTrq9birVVRlIRUEODwIBnoORxES08pq-B7hM7LF2d8YPlxhFWafczTf_Eccn4hrFXp_kMR_vocQKAUWhlIk-uIo3regrcWq6N7wMW5OcyAOy/s1600/just-cause_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqJN43DJNdsDFijXkCdNuE6V9n9UtKZPtTrq9birVVRlIRUEODwIBnoORxES08pq-B7hM7LF2d8YPlxhFWafczTf_Eccn4hrFXp_kMR_vocQKAUWhlIk-uIo3regrcWq6N7wMW5OcyAOy/s320/just-cause_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702345786266975362" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pictured: Cheating.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Speaking about the map, it is big. Not quite as big as something like <span style="font-style:italic;">The Elder Scrolls III: Morowind</span> but it's big enough to take 20 minutes to get from one side to the other. Most of it has nothing in it as well. Once I finished the main campaign I set a task for myself to go around the whole map clockwise and liberate every government-controlled or Mendoza-controlled town, army base or city. This, so far, has taken longer than the campaign itself. Then there are the collection items, which may sound like a lot when you consider there's over 100 across the entire map but compared to the feathers in <span style="font-style:italic;">Assassin's Creed II</span>, it's super-easy. They appear as black dots on your map anyway, so the challenge to find them is replaced by the challenge of which direction to collect them from in relation to the whereabouts of the next closest one.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlHEUvKu8AGLkMnAuQLuFsgIPZ9Mdcy2uJzZ7e7uKdHv9F590RWAubmSIxJOY4LDM_V4v0EHpXBXVUNuUZvI7nPcNw-RWhKJwFI2a4WiF4NQ6PncuKVJeOhb7hdjqH6X_u1Rx6zOQqVmQ/s1600/Justcause.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlHEUvKu8AGLkMnAuQLuFsgIPZ9Mdcy2uJzZ7e7uKdHv9F590RWAubmSIxJOY4LDM_V4v0EHpXBXVUNuUZvI7nPcNw-RWhKJwFI2a4WiF4NQ6PncuKVJeOhb7hdjqH6X_u1Rx6zOQqVmQ/s320/Justcause.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702347509378091826" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">For reference:<br />GTA III: 8 sq.km<br />GTA VC: 10 sq.km<br />GTA SA: 36 sq.km<br />GTA IV: 8 sq.km<br />Oblivion: 41 sq.km<br />Fallout 3: 41 sq.km<br />Farcry 2: 50 sq.km<br />Just Cause: 1,000 sq.km</span></blockquote><br /><br />There's not much to say about the weapons except that they all lock on to the enemies (except the grenade launcher, which is fairly awesome once acquired). They all also follow the similar routine of:<br /><br /> 1. Cast your view across the battlefield<br /> 2. Lock onto enemy<br /> 3. Spray bullets until the enemy is dead<br /> 4. Repeat steps 1-3 until all enemies are dead<br /> 5. ???<br /> 6. Profit!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2u7vmRve4LhHUPJBNLNOWlqV7-nxkNGBH3kY2PVwRq2IUSAjkZh8Rb9HAuVw9_4J1tf_DFI4OjnS0qVcF9TfrHdx-cZPs10faDdxbPJI0BzgsUYx9LS_O3YkeIxpksWFmiQT6gCdq3Wy/s1600/just-cause-8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2u7vmRve4LhHUPJBNLNOWlqV7-nxkNGBH3kY2PVwRq2IUSAjkZh8Rb9HAuVw9_4J1tf_DFI4OjnS0qVcF9TfrHdx-cZPs10faDdxbPJI0BzgsUYx9LS_O3YkeIxpksWFmiQT6gCdq3Wy/s320/just-cause-8.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702345798602086498" /></a><br /> <br />One thing about <span style="font-style:italic;">Just Cause</span> which I believed worked to their advantage was the grappling hook. Just lock onto the vehicle you want to use and pull the trigger. Once grappled, you can parasail after them, travel toward them and drive or release the grapple, lock onto another vehicle and grapple onto that vehicle. When starting off, this is generally the best way to move around unless you find a really fast car and an empty, eight-lane freeway. The other thing which I found myself doing was getting a helicopter and going up. Forever. Well, eventually the game's invisible walls stopped you, but once you got high enough you can get out of the vehicle and skydive down to the islands below. The views here are pretty good. Then you can release your parachute whenever you want and travel down slowly, wasting your endless time to end the government's rule and help the revolution. It's best to do this during the day as at night, contrary to popular belief, there are hardly any lights and a plane can run into you.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3YHI7Fco9uzAhxENSdBwEXWBPcefVBKcH18YG_Xu3wZ65HXinT7vfGDXeg6TCwpr_O67S703DmBBbKnKhbtRUb3cizQqQPsn5b-JF7yaYwzi45koouwMmlhy6mya15iNqkUdKILSAj9e/s1600/justcauseisland_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3YHI7Fco9uzAhxENSdBwEXWBPcefVBKcH18YG_Xu3wZ65HXinT7vfGDXeg6TCwpr_O67S703DmBBbKnKhbtRUb3cizQqQPsn5b-JF7yaYwzi45koouwMmlhy6mya15iNqkUdKILSAj9e/s320/justcauseisland_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702345789945859906" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">From such a height, you can put the controller down for a bit and rest your hands. Not like you would've played long enough for that, but the opportunity's there.</span></blockquote><br /><br />I haven't really touched on the story in this review and my reasoning for that it that it's empty. They had an opportunity to explore everything about a revolution yet instead chose to make the game more about flying around in helicopters. Plus the whole revolution thing doesn't sound like it's working when you're doing the same fetch-quest side mission for the fifth time, stealing the same tank from the same place. It just feels like it's all a game to them…<br /><br />Oh wait.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">-- FINAL VERDICT --</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Platform Used:</span> Xbox 360<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Score:</span> 6/10<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Recommendation:</span> Try, but stay frosty.<br /><br />Avalanche Studios tried really hard with this (you'd like to think so) and they had such a good idea. It's repetitive. A secret opperative trying to help overthrow a government in an open-world setting is golden, but they didn't quite pull it off. It's repetitive. I think I've got to try <span style="font-style:italic;">Just Cause 2</span> to see if they've improved.<br /><br />Also, it's repetitive.Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-89369825363918636622012-01-26T22:47:00.000-08:002012-01-29T04:18:11.990-08:00Diary of an MMORPG player: Flyff, Day 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2AI0unCq-iMg5lJkGfevznm4AXEsggwVjxM6BzVuiUG1qVNIMkpBcoVaSkZ59xc4OWfjWBAzIBipDHc1Oimnxmm_x4Yht9ACa-gdAkXy8V6jhz6g6nx8rxNedRnyfcsGpbT3kD1LCmd5/s1600/flyff-logo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2AI0unCq-iMg5lJkGfevznm4AXEsggwVjxM6BzVuiUG1qVNIMkpBcoVaSkZ59xc4OWfjWBAzIBipDHc1Oimnxmm_x4Yht9ACa-gdAkXy8V6jhz6g6nx8rxNedRnyfcsGpbT3kD1LCmd5/s320/flyff-logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702203431877076146" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ding! Level 15 Reached!</span><br /><br />It may not be an achievement in <span style="font-style:italic;">Borderlands</span> but it's the truth about my character in <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span>. Level 15 is pretty much the next stage in your life; just like your seedy adolescence, it is the time to get your first job. And let me tell you that they pay really good too, better than the $1.10 you can make elsewhere.<br /><br />You have four jobs to choose from at level 15 and these branch out into subcategories, but we'll focus on these first jobs...first. It is also the time where you have to consider joining a party as some quests will require a party for completion and the jobs sort of compliment each other in a sense. However, I'll get to that a bit later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIgISkLiFeEGXvFRlLdwGQ1mqxRrbn7xfHbruhks15CPwV4sO3ohcDd-Yw0ZgZTvrHwWfYKHPZWsfyGftNVHxTJ1pKePT5D6LUX4ZMr1h8gYTFkjn57z00u3mZu91RygNSnw1iG9ODbOb/s1600/Jobs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIgISkLiFeEGXvFRlLdwGQ1mqxRrbn7xfHbruhks15CPwV4sO3ohcDd-Yw0ZgZTvrHwWfYKHPZWsfyGftNVHxTJ1pKePT5D6LUX4ZMr1h8gYTFkjn57z00u3mZu91RygNSnw1iG9ODbOb/s320/Jobs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702204974329619010" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">We'll be going through this 100%...if I play for that long.</span></blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Acrobat:</span> The Acrobats are the types to stand back with a bow and arrow (or even an over-sized double yo-yo) and use their speed to attack quickly from a distance, run away for a bit and continue the attacking. In a party they can sit back while a Mercenary tanks (see: Mercenary) and continue firing from a distance, meaning that assists can usually ignore them as they'll be the last ones to get attacked.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlgQk-jQbTY90FjrBIthwGU8KYmarz3JiuTalk7M8rfqK5RU8puHVceKQl3PE7gm7cQ5dJp5jYFg5Zui1o-AIv3i_-oOwYueBYtsZUkj5B3nTe5i814VDFdijdNkVIgoSwCI9cE7vsu9B/s1600/2326861210_be9c1d797a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlgQk-jQbTY90FjrBIthwGU8KYmarz3JiuTalk7M8rfqK5RU8puHVceKQl3PE7gm7cQ5dJp5jYFg5Zui1o-AIv3i_-oOwYueBYtsZUkj5B3nTe5i814VDFdijdNkVIgoSwCI9cE7vsu9B/s320/2326861210_be9c1d797a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702203418695740498" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Assist:</span> Assists to just that: assist. They're like the white mage of the group, the healers. Their job by themselves is to use a two-handed stick and hope that they don't die while repeatedly healing themselves. In a party, they heal everyone else and bring them back from the dead. Against tougher enemies such as bosses or monsters in the Colosseum, an Assist is a must. The downside? You barely see any around as you're not the one killing the monsters. It's sort of an "in the background" job if you ask me.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5r0lxhtf4yqryZO_6Jnti_PbmSEa1f7Yir4m2bv1tN4qEI0IM3w3rwP3x4QtedBaRuTtEpHdsG47cZJspQEYH9CNN-ZSeqCYa6L7XN_7lkR5DaY9ClFCuh9v3ctCwaOWcZsrilFnYUsg0/s1600/flyff+assist.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5r0lxhtf4yqryZO_6Jnti_PbmSEa1f7Yir4m2bv1tN4qEI0IM3w3rwP3x4QtedBaRuTtEpHdsG47cZJspQEYH9CNN-ZSeqCYa6L7XN_7lkR5DaY9ClFCuh9v3ctCwaOWcZsrilFnYUsg0/s320/flyff+assist.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702203419501850786" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Magician:</span> There are no balloon animals from the magicians (as far as I know. That would be SO cool if there was). These guys (or gals) are your stock black magic characters. Using your trusty staff, you're there to FSU with some magic. To be honest, I know the least about this class. Maybe time to get one in my party for a game of 20 questions...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6hThyphenhyphen6Eeos58RGttwap0XAKZVIH_vcSEPNszg2S8TyX7hH0VUnkWljXjor_4c0cvR52Rl_YbO7BkirWlZIhEB1ERaaO63B1y3q-SMRwxVmP9otorJR-S95O8YelfWvDWO_nsRbJ2Qu62/s1600/flyff+magician.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6hThyphenhyphen6Eeos58RGttwap0XAKZVIH_vcSEPNszg2S8TyX7hH0VUnkWljXjor_4c0cvR52Rl_YbO7BkirWlZIhEB1ERaaO63B1y3q-SMRwxVmP9otorJR-S95O8YelfWvDWO_nsRbJ2Qu62/s320/flyff+magician.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702203423731300658" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mercenary:</span> Do you like big-ass swords? Are you a fan of small creatures with a red ball on their head that follow you around and sell you items? If so, you'll love <span style="font-style:italic;">Kingdom Hearts</span> or <span style="font-style:italic;">Final Fantasy</span>. For those of you who like buffing up their health, healing items such as potions and food at the ready and the ability to make an aggressive monsters think "I want to make him tomorrow afternoon's pate", then the Mercenary is for you! The Mercenary is your primary attacker and your tank. If you don't know what a tank is in the terms I'm using, it's the player who has the high defence and high health who takes the attacks of the enemy while everyone else gets off scot-free. This is pretty much my definition of the Mercenary.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MPrRX7JNfqNJczBgkgZeIJacqchyLdB0rgWsclZCLgwUAGWEgi91mjNa2HvtMpFjXwD4iNcg_bhQ1xKmoGL8t5il9CsE9ambObtD_n7ui7agEfWi4tiVvPr7mbNUq5Zn6AnlkRmCnn8H/s1600/flyff+mercenary.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MPrRX7JNfqNJczBgkgZeIJacqchyLdB0rgWsclZCLgwUAGWEgi91mjNa2HvtMpFjXwD4iNcg_bhQ1xKmoGL8t5il9CsE9ambObtD_n7ui7agEfWi4tiVvPr7mbNUq5Zn6AnlkRmCnn8H/s320/flyff+mercenary.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702203429825412722" /></a><br /><br />After looking at all the jobs, I decided on choosing the Acrobat job, mainly because I'm not a magic sort of person (unless it's fireballs at the start of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion</span>) and my friend who got me to play <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span> chose the Mercenary. I thought that sitting back shooting arrows sounded pretty cool anyway, compared to healing everyone else while they get the experience. So I get a little present in my inventory, I open it up and get new armour including boots, chest armour, gauntlets and a hat. After looking at the nearest weapons shop at all the new stuff I could buy, I realised that the armour I was given was better than the best armour the shop had, which I couldn't buy until I was level 24. Broken armour is broken?<br /><br />So that's the first tier of jobs right there. I'm going to try and look at a couple of individual quests next time I get around to playing, as I've done some so far which would fit under the category of ''weird'' and I'm sure there's going to be even worse. I'll also try and get a couple more screens of the actual game world instead of the usual stock photos. =PHoly Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-8549045760680904192012-01-20T06:17:00.000-08:002012-01-21T00:11:18.574-08:00Diary of an MMORPG player: Flyff, Day 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojJnrq1fxYaKNFlChq3MvNwzY9ZtUDS36VT2uLsvTHjxmdZ_NO7M71FI86dj94cg5X2x6LZXUDQVaMQ6QzknIZqHMR9FrELJ_VV1tFB6ReQ7dxKLzoy8mrohNoKtHSnRk-zQTl4UYhSEo/s1600/flyff-logo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojJnrq1fxYaKNFlChq3MvNwzY9ZtUDS36VT2uLsvTHjxmdZ_NO7M71FI86dj94cg5X2x6LZXUDQVaMQ6QzknIZqHMR9FrELJ_VV1tFB6ReQ7dxKLzoy8mrohNoKtHSnRk-zQTl4UYhSEo/s320/flyff-logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699727168504181698" /></a><br /><br />Okay, I admit it. That previous post probably didn't help my cause about playing Flyff. But you know what? Neither do I, that's why I'm asking. >.><br /><br />So anyway, I started off my adventure in a little town called Flarine. Now you might expect the town to be the size of a town like, say, Pallet Town? Well, it's larger than that. In fact, it's so big it has a Flarine Central, Flarine East and a Flarine North. Nope, no West or South. Not cool enough methinks.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2J_WsZJPCoLHKPvReQvQ44f6YqXdioe_Xq_A5Rp-EjNQhRm79iDlyrC77uquqj6G3Ec-oW-PTE9n-xmURXBVQHbjrld5ByxPMtsMGbejzNKPMYLgjCB_r0FTqVzenWjWIKYWmcTi0Yf6/s1600/Flarine.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2J_WsZJPCoLHKPvReQvQ44f6YqXdioe_Xq_A5Rp-EjNQhRm79iDlyrC77uquqj6G3Ec-oW-PTE9n-xmURXBVQHbjrld5ByxPMtsMGbejzNKPMYLgjCB_r0FTqVzenWjWIKYWmcTi0Yf6/s320/Flarine.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699719842407181426" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Is it just me, or does it look like an ax on it's side?</span></blockquote><br /><br />So you start in Central Flarine and you accustom yourself to many of the different stalls. I'm one of those impatient people when it comes to some games, so I didn't read much of the text as I went through all of the introductory quests. However, it got to a stage where I was told to go to the Shield Shop. Me, being the brute that I am, didn't necessarily want a shield...<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">(Weapons) Boboku: "Now you're ready to look at shields."</span><br /><br />[Quest Declined]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">(Weapons) Boboku: "Look, I know it's not as exciting as axes and swords, but you'll need one just the same. Plus he's got plenty of other stuff for sale, so pay him a visit."</span><br /><br />[Quest Declined]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">(Weapons) Boboku: "Go see Luda next door at the Shield Shop and he'll take care of you (otherwise I will)."</span></blockquote><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErUPWnZjgWuHsbNHwRRcwRgV0zr_jWPyfafOka44WJUyD9kxyJEW9Gdo4F5siYFe3zBykek2ZPCGYXttmUiO539hU7JkWIRqC7m8mSmq2KtAkI2_N0lcuqHRVo6xEILAvpGBZC2edr-vw/s1600/Boboku.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErUPWnZjgWuHsbNHwRRcwRgV0zr_jWPyfafOka44WJUyD9kxyJEW9Gdo4F5siYFe3zBykek2ZPCGYXttmUiO539hU7JkWIRqC7m8mSmq2KtAkI2_N0lcuqHRVo6xEILAvpGBZC2edr-vw/s320/Boboku.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699719838518090290" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">That hammer isn't just for show...</span></blockquote><br /><br />The NPC was bigger than me and I'm pretty sure was also invincible, so I didn't like my chances. I ended up getting some pissy shield, because no-one cares about a Level 1 when you have to go and kill the easiest enemies around: an Aibatt.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXvbospHEyx7TxPtMOJBdOKhjQrsyllxz92bdq2jG_X2KtdjYChSct3ZQmdR7Ql9yVUMcyAarm9F9VDrdwmqRkjrzMLGlND0tqVUteJ62rTZSiFyCUNoeFPZlf5DK83xuyuScLqPRva6r/s1600/Aibatt1.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXvbospHEyx7TxPtMOJBdOKhjQrsyllxz92bdq2jG_X2KtdjYChSct3ZQmdR7Ql9yVUMcyAarm9F9VDrdwmqRkjrzMLGlND0tqVUteJ62rTZSiFyCUNoeFPZlf5DK83xuyuScLqPRva6r/s320/Aibatt1.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699719832975138466" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">It's like a cross between a Zubat and a Gastly while equally as common.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Anyway, a couple of hours pass (because I can say that SO casually) and I return to the Flarine's historian Martinyc after finishing one of her quests, ready to start a new one. This is where the game really shines. Well, I shouldn't really say that, but the following situation will bring to light exactly what these NPCs actually expect of me:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">[Historian] Martinyc: “I received plenty of money to study history thanks to you.”</span><br /><br />[From previous exchanges, I've found out that most of the history books are corrupt, with fake entries and whatnot.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[Historian] Martinyc: “The other day I was almost killed by renegade Blades but I cannot stop now. No matter what the History Society wants.”<br /></span><br />[Um...what? You survived an attempted assassination by the...History Society? You are a ditsy NPC, how the hell did you survive??]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[Historian] Martinyc: “I will found out the true history of Madrigal, I have to. Would you please help me? The danger for you could be great however.”</span><br /><br />[I'm pretty sure you meant "find". As for the danger being great? It can't be too much harder than some level 12 Lawolves.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[Historian] Martinyc: “Will you help me regardless of the danger?”</span><br /><br />[Hang on a second here. Regardless? This could be a trick. You might be the Devil Incarnate ready to bring forth a volcano from where I stand with the click of your fingers. I could be captured, mutilated horribly and then tortured for whatever information I hold, which is practically nothing because I've skipped most of the game's dialogue. TL;DR: I'm having second thoughts here...]</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrLovd2eRVllCQdE6NdwmljiAJq3vkcRt8hBGhKRcycbAwwjiMnb4w_-Dd0ZAPGBodWyVVGG57Fm4U5seyUeiBwxI6JXv1qofQfKuNDkceCiRkHQVyLctFhHnaqmZmy4z4IJhbSLbXurt/s1600/Cheshire_Cat.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrLovd2eRVllCQdE6NdwmljiAJq3vkcRt8hBGhKRcycbAwwjiMnb4w_-Dd0ZAPGBodWyVVGG57Fm4U5seyUeiBwxI6JXv1qofQfKuNDkceCiRkHQVyLctFhHnaqmZmy4z4IJhbSLbXurt/s320/Cheshire_Cat.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699727727132745186" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pictured: Danger.</span></blockquote><br /><br />So anyway, I'm reaching level 15 soon, which means that I can get rid of the label "Vagrant" and I can choose my first job. Hopefully these jobs have a better pay rate than some fast food outlets and service stations...Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-22027437886028600602012-01-17T07:03:00.000-08:002012-01-17T08:16:26.666-08:00Diary of an MMORPG player: Flyff, Day 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSiMPbfuXdkvuiY-ZForpDYzlFB_RnXBx9swL9JdbUHEL_3uLwSzcXvp4mV1Udh01zZ69EWDc9A7A2VUy6-PPxLAPZXAUJ_RbDANvfanpEWs9i3ZQsmoazxafYn3IAriGdfm85U78wxJpN/s1600/flyff-logo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSiMPbfuXdkvuiY-ZForpDYzlFB_RnXBx9swL9JdbUHEL_3uLwSzcXvp4mV1Udh01zZ69EWDc9A7A2VUy6-PPxLAPZXAUJ_RbDANvfanpEWs9i3ZQsmoazxafYn3IAriGdfm85U78wxJpN/s320/flyff-logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698630993834289090" /></a><br /><br />So a friend came to me today and said "Hey, I found this MMO while looking for something besides Puzzle Pirates. You may like this.". Yes, I realise that the first line of this entry makes it sound like my friend plays games directed at little kids, but who's to say it can't be played by older gamers? Anyway, he pointed me towards this game called <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span>. It looks like a spelling error, doesn't it? Yeah, well, it's not. It stands for "Fly for Fun". Either way, I'm open to play any game, so I booted it up and gave it a try. Once I did, I realised a few problems within the first few minutes.<br /><br />Firstly, I opened up the program and after the obligatory patches and whatnot, I was presented with a window of white. Windows then decided to pop on over after having too much Chrome and said <br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Oh hai! Looks like <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span> is not responding. Shut everything down? =)"<br /><br />"No, I just want the game to work. Maybe if I gave it some time..."<br /><br />"NOTHING WILL WORK! YOU MUST SHUT IT DOWN! .\ /."<br /><br />"I think I can wait it out. I'm not in a rush or anything-"<br /><br />"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED.</span>"</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXxMTN_LhiuuU95-L74ejZL9QAo8U6n7jwZMLhY2Tm_5N-a-RCFy2EMVM_C73dBEE_WXJig8QFDccYy71yieFQIiI3NUCDwi_zOEJaqeUKaVci4BlJoaSpwEkJjNMcEm4poeDzqsvFTEu/s1600/troll.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXxMTN_LhiuuU95-L74ejZL9QAo8U6n7jwZMLhY2Tm_5N-a-RCFy2EMVM_C73dBEE_WXJig8QFDccYy71yieFQIiI3NUCDwi_zOEJaqeUKaVci4BlJoaSpwEkJjNMcEm4poeDzqsvFTEu/s320/troll.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698633065515927234" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">I was *this* close to being mad, but I'm good now. The monitor? Not so much...</span></blockquote><br /><br />So after clicking "Restart Later" lo and behold, <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span> started to work! After signing in and clicking my preferred server, which my friend was positive is one of the best servers, I was told yet again that the program was not responding. However, this didn't stop it from actually signing in to the server and working like it should.<br /><br />Okay, before we go any further, here's the back story on <span style="font-style:italic;">Flyff</span>. I'll try and make it as simple as possible (not that it needs to get any simpler) and break each chapter down into dot points. Quick tip: there are 4 chapters. The last one is two sentences long. Here we go!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil49trNDp6e8IDkQpt4sKlNSVhAaBCht1SvlxF_Sg5nYTx-OCW5K48dl-gIubhLXamE6LhDfkNVMXhnnd7seGSu7HCKtWC1kgxVf0N2y_rP72n_BWKqGwHS9Rbpnv252m-q9cY62qAHbQw/s1600/flyff-3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil49trNDp6e8IDkQpt4sKlNSVhAaBCht1SvlxF_Sg5nYTx-OCW5K48dl-gIubhLXamE6LhDfkNVMXhnnd7seGSu7HCKtWC1kgxVf0N2y_rP72n_BWKqGwHS9Rbpnv252m-q9cY62qAHbQw/s320/flyff-3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698630968193750402" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chapter 1:</span><br />- There were 5 big, awesome dudes called the "Creators" who ruled just about everything.<br />- They got bored.<br />- They decided to create a world of magic because, well, I don't know, they were bored?<br />- The elements used were Water, Earth, Wind, Fire and...Lightning?<br />- They called it Roika, probably because "Metropolis" is over-used.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chapter 2:</span><br />- Humans were the dominant species because ants weren't around.<br />- The Humans grew lonely and wanted companions. I'm guessing for the same reason sheep are found in New Zealand. (I may assume incorrectly and I apologise if I do)<br />- Dwarpets were born because 'why have a pet, when it can be a Dwarpet?' (Dwarpets are "skilled humanoids" that possess secrets, because what's a game without secrets?)<br />- Dwarpets and Humans ran the world for generations. I'm guessing not long enough for sharks to start growing legs and begin their conquest on land.<br />- The Creators grew bored of the new world they created, so like a child in a zoo, moved on to something better.<br />- Because the Humans and Dwarpets begged and asked really nicely, the Creators left a protector to...protect?<br />- The protector got lonely because they didn't have a sexy secretary named Lily.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0lTMc4sZdxwwem0sXCB8fy2r9-ymtHAaVadRL7rN17_byijJ2nSBsKodlNNj92v43byx1CxF9k_KJ2VvQhIEHy9KqsOgw7SNz_dTJ8neru-z77W2ntRBdQtKMCzrwuok8Bb_UDNdPs9W/s1600/itclown.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0lTMc4sZdxwwem0sXCB8fy2r9-ymtHAaVadRL7rN17_byijJ2nSBsKodlNNj92v43byx1CxF9k_KJ2VvQhIEHy9KqsOgw7SNz_dTJ8neru-z77W2ntRBdQtKMCzrwuok8Bb_UDNdPs9W/s320/itclown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698630974159694434" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chapter 3:</span><br />- The protector made three "Clown Gods" because IT isn't scary enough, so you need three.<br />- One represented joy and purity. Another represented fear and anger (so wait, they actually made IT? What's more, a female one??) and the third represented apathy and neutrality. Yes, that's right, make an apathetic Clown God. I can see how that goes down. Let me guess, he's not convinced to doing the shows because he can't be bothered walking around in shoes 10 sizes too big. That's probably it.<br />- So then IT decides it would be best to "create disorder" and so she breaks off a part of Roika so that she could see all the mortals on the newly floating block slowly wither and die. Painfully. This soon-to-be-dead rock became known as Madrigal.<br />- The Humans and Dwarpets on Madrigal proceeded to give IT the single digit salute and rebuilt their cities, mocking their Clown God.<br />- IT got pissy, called cheat and then created her own race called the Masquerpets to destroy Madrigal.<br />- The joy and purity Clown God suddenly became non-joyous and Falcon Punched Madrigal into 3 separate continents.<br />- The apathetic Clown God did nothing. At all. Like a boss.<br />- There were apparently 8 or so Heroes who then opened up a can of Shaq-Fu on IT, saving Madrigal, but nobody really cares any more. It was SO long ago...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chapter 4:</span><br />- Everybody on Madrigal starts training for the day IT decided it's time for Round 2.<br />- ...that's it. I fit both sentences into the one dot point. There is nothing else to add.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7jPEt59kjfFeVXLN235ggo7_pBPMuVXE2rBG4xob4xEUqevEDSAVj1kRhaxCv1h005-49W3nnZuEUVncLvmNSUgdGYeNAfl7GwANkQe_E-8MweYUpKleYufbAklI9MNShKcqqxFUaQC9/s1600/2752585148_045bce55be.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7jPEt59kjfFeVXLN235ggo7_pBPMuVXE2rBG4xob4xEUqevEDSAVj1kRhaxCv1h005-49W3nnZuEUVncLvmNSUgdGYeNAfl7GwANkQe_E-8MweYUpKleYufbAklI9MNShKcqqxFUaQC9/s320/2752585148_045bce55be.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698630974183740482" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">This is what makes a clown apathetic. Treat them nice kids!</span></blockquote><br /><br />So yeah, that's the ingenious back story behind Flyff. I have one comment to make about all of that: everyone's bloody forever alone, aren't they? Geez, the Humans, the protector, just everyone. So alone. I'm sick of that 'alone' crap. Couldn't they think of some better reasons? Also, an apathetic clown? Really? Sounds more like the writers couldn't be bothered thinking of something better...<br /><br />I'll come back to a point I briefly mentioned in the intro: "is this really a game for kids, or is it a childish game for adults?" Me? I don't know personally, which is why I'll play and find out.<br /><br /><br /><br />Finally, into the game we go...next post. =PHoly Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-26052044365876397912012-01-15T02:50:00.000-08:002012-01-15T03:21:53.091-08:00Review: Gravity Bone<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDIzaOmtQAv3-tJdhw6t-j1D6t5MaHx9moEvknFwArQw3rDOJxZOgujRpK3tBzPezccNyuDosBsFqt1cHfsTM2p_JNqIwlGQaYKeVMIz3ZYvqa_7R1Hte3DYdOGl4_jzt-cUDX1tK1jo2/s1600/gravity-bone.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDIzaOmtQAv3-tJdhw6t-j1D6t5MaHx9moEvknFwArQw3rDOJxZOgujRpK3tBzPezccNyuDosBsFqt1cHfsTM2p_JNqIwlGQaYKeVMIz3ZYvqa_7R1Hte3DYdOGl4_jzt-cUDX1tK1jo2/s320/gravity-bone.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697816041305429890" /></a><br /><br />Where to start with this one? Labelled a marvel, the best 'art-house' game of 2008 (by Game Tunnel) and loved by those who played it. Brandon Chung may have just found his 15 seconds of fame, or more realistically, 15 minutes.<br /><br />Gravity Bone is different. It's not an A-grade game. It doesn't have a 20 hour campaign or hundreds of side quests. It has 2 levels. Two. It feels as though it was either a large-scale project ended prematurely or a big idea with only a small taste to show what it was. It's more like a portfolio piece; it's only a little side-project and only used to show off it's wares. That's what I got from it anyway.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN76MKYP9PpMGkTfRasScJWkJtylBcNNCOXu38w2aUY6KHJ8-224YkduqTKqZfAGl7bgFsMcRqUbg6aE7tSWE2Jwgkdz9lsJoJyOldCjn5mUv-U8MgG-otHn6JxgfoU__Ht48iFjpiyqR-/s1600/gravity_bone_lg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN76MKYP9PpMGkTfRasScJWkJtylBcNNCOXu38w2aUY6KHJ8-224YkduqTKqZfAGl7bgFsMcRqUbg6aE7tSWE2Jwgkdz9lsJoJyOldCjn5mUv-U8MgG-otHn6JxgfoU__Ht48iFjpiyqR-/s320/gravity_bone_lg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697816038302103074" /></a><br /><br />The first thing you notice when you start Gravity Bone is the way it puts you straight into the...whatever it is. I was going to say action, but it's not really action, or is it? I guess that's one of the details the game has; it doesn't have a lot of anything but it has bucket-loads of everything else. Anyway, you start off by descending on an elevator into what looks like a party of some description. The game expects you to assume that moving the mouse allows you to look around. To your right, you see a sign explaining how to move. You're also carrying a card which tells you to go to the "Furnace Room". Why? You're not told until after the level but even then, it leaves you pondering the exact nature of what you do and your 'clients'.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukvdya_NeK4CEQ2hm-MSMiILqKCg-hPd4vUhimUfNaGlWY0RD1XBCO9Z4vWsebz4meddHbymv-ExGoiDT212NbKqVsHD5AdAl_BvbhB4Y9X_9Senz3BrDRsE9pZPKPHFHPjrRIzOA-BIj/s1600/gravity-bone-5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukvdya_NeK4CEQ2hm-MSMiILqKCg-hPd4vUhimUfNaGlWY0RD1XBCO9Z4vWsebz4meddHbymv-ExGoiDT212NbKqVsHD5AdAl_BvbhB4Y9X_9Senz3BrDRsE9pZPKPHFHPjrRIzOA-BIj/s320/gravity-bone-5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697816047168856386" /></a><br /><br />As you can probably tell, I'm trying my best not to spoil the game. I know you'll be saying "but it's only two levels, why not?" but the truth is that you need to experience it for yourself and interpret it the way you want to. You don't need to depend on what I think of the story except that the way the story plays out leaves a lot to be known. It's mysteriousness is probably the best thing about the game besides the graphics, which I haven't even touched on yet. The graphics show that you don't need the most sophisticated game engine churning out the best photo-realistic graphics money can buy. The heads of the people are cubes. Deal with it. It reminds me of Minecraft left in the 70's; the psychedelic colour palette will just stay in your mind. <br /><br />Some games are just that: games. There are those which are different and somehow hit a nerve with the player. They stay with you. Gravity Bone, even for it's short length, does that. I still get that feeling when I play it and I've played it a good 30 times.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMf_Q4E29qAlBB3lvb3t3hXJYQiT8X1mC2Fuq0UHlw6fGKs_shrTqsrFm86HmNWgfzAPzySaRNvO5pVW8VoyAK-CweErAxAGcc3c3LuT0NlrqwRdNoHPLVOrqAsppCjmEx9N2Ss-lBiE7/s1600/gravitybone4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMf_Q4E29qAlBB3lvb3t3hXJYQiT8X1mC2Fuq0UHlw6fGKs_shrTqsrFm86HmNWgfzAPzySaRNvO5pVW8VoyAK-CweErAxAGcc3c3LuT0NlrqwRdNoHPLVOrqAsppCjmEx9N2Ss-lBiE7/s320/gravitybone4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697816046652202850" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">-- FINAL VERDICT --</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Platform Used:</span> PC<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Score:</span> 8/10<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Recommendation:</span> Definitely try. Now.<br /><br /><br />It's free to download. It lasts 15 minutes. It doesn't require the best computer this side of Russia.<br /><br />You have no excuse.<br /><br />Find it here: <a href="http://gravity-bone.en.softonic.com/">http://gravity-bone.en.softonic.com/</a>Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-37051034788164831982012-01-10T06:45:00.000-08:002012-01-20T07:08:24.897-08:00Review: Bionicle Heroes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0pcOaUe1Qsml4Oii-mew2N-eaQd84ElZs0lmSH-mhPR_gWNnBQFOZe0-xENgs9pH3FgOTMjCXe_CBQirzcRJcg3np2AzTiXBcg3qRBZIg5vLGr54eVzL0THHW3H9ueUj9Ux-JFm7vtKM/s1600/FeatureImage_bionicle-heroes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0pcOaUe1Qsml4Oii-mew2N-eaQd84ElZs0lmSH-mhPR_gWNnBQFOZe0-xENgs9pH3FgOTMjCXe_CBQirzcRJcg3np2AzTiXBcg3qRBZIg5vLGr54eVzL0THHW3H9ueUj9Ux-JFm7vtKM/s320/FeatureImage_bionicle-heroes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696023581460748210" /></a><br /><br />If you've ever played the LEGO games, more specifically the Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Batman spin-offs, you'll remember them for their humour, construction and the collection of LEGO pieces or studs. The first LEGO game I owned was LEGO Racers and although that isn't very recent, I loved it to death and still do. The game which got me hooked to the adventure LEGO games however was <span style="font-style:italic;">LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game</span>. It had everything: constructing and de-constructing with LEGO pieces, an array of different characters, re-playability and the massive amount of collectables to reach 100% game completion.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UpOnTwSUvK9wWdjOt3NM5eaYfjIgxh0YSudRatsxdg99vUtw6RikzdLHCWsioziK1BhJDVPtmB1_jLp7c0fbv_2h8QUrIeE3SJrMh7KPuhv9P2Ek7yGH3ZgBkrmc4Nf_ZtxQ9OXZ-D3i/s1600/s_0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UpOnTwSUvK9wWdjOt3NM5eaYfjIgxh0YSudRatsxdg99vUtw6RikzdLHCWsioziK1BhJDVPtmB1_jLp7c0fbv_2h8QUrIeE3SJrMh7KPuhv9P2Ek7yGH3ZgBkrmc4Nf_ZtxQ9OXZ-D3i/s320/s_0.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696024207232707058" /></a><br /><blockquote>I can mess around here for hours. Oh how I love <span style="font-style:italic;">LEGO Racers</span>.</blockquote><br /><br />To actually unlock and collect everything in the game you needed to first complete the game and then go back during 'Free Play' mode once you had other characters unlocked so you could go through pathways you originally couldn't. The Drop-in, Drop-out function was also a really good idea if the second player needed to leave every 5 minutes (perhaps to check on their baking muffins). All in all, I loved the game and the recent LEGO games are no different. Their system seems to work well with many different games and one such game is <span style="font-style:italic;">Bionicle Heroes</span>.<br /><br />Released on the same day as <span style="font-style:italic;">Eragon</span> the game and a week after the release of the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, <span style="font-style:italic;">Bionicle Heroes</span> went through to little fanfare. Face it, a new console will win over a LEGO game any day (So far. Please let this change in the future.) and it was <span style="font-style:italic;">Bionicle Heroes</span>' turn. It was released on the PlayStation 2, Gamecube, Wii, PC and the Xbox 360 while a different game under the same name was release on the Gameboy Advance and the Nintendo DS. You might be thinking "I don't care about this game, why are you bothering to look at it?". My answer? It cost me $9 and because I can. Moving on...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PNSci16rVbQ4VopwSdwL72z230VlSbVQcgJDmtxqPdo0eb-wezFWUd1LRk_vhXjN3042q31LVBM6H0WwnN242511T8CH9xN4Uy62nuD6_rqWEL2Tb4n-aDP3K63db3fXDY-MjjtB_Bd0/s1600/937916_20070119_screen003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PNSci16rVbQ4VopwSdwL72z230VlSbVQcgJDmtxqPdo0eb-wezFWUd1LRk_vhXjN3042q31LVBM6H0WwnN242511T8CH9xN4Uy62nuD6_rqWEL2Tb4n-aDP3K63db3fXDY-MjjtB_Bd0/s320/937916_20070119_screen003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696023582480136818" /></a><br /><br />From a distance, the game is repetitive. It is. You walk through the corridors, occasionally finding secrets to the sides, before reaching the boss or waves of enemies at the end of the level. However, although the gameplay is practically the same for every level, which game isn't? Anyway, if a game had completely different levels with different ways to play each one, it's reception would be horrible as it didn't follow the same mechanics throughout. But I suppose that it's meant for the 8-12 year old male demographic and they're stereotyped as just kids who don't really care. I may disagree with that (you find them on <span style="font-style:italic;">Call of Duty</span> like bubbles in Coca-Cola) but that doesn't mean that it's not generally accepted as fact. One of my Xbox LIVE "friends" sent me a message while playing it saying "<span style="font-style:italic;">REALLY</span>". Yeah, considering deletion.<br /><br />I found a couple of bugs with this game. I have the Xbox 360 version and I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that it's almost entirely a port from the PlayStation 2 or something. For example, no less than five times out of six on the level Shattered Wreck did I get up to the end-of-level boss when all of a sudden he jumped up and away. Forever. Minions did not spawn and I was left waiting, which allowed me to see the details in the game the developers DID include, like a few different animations for the characters when you sit around idle waiting for a GLITCH TO FIX ITSELF. I was disappointed. I am yet to re-visit the level again to finish it and record me getting the gold and silver canisters.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWttxG32SP0wXUctHTwzEUuByc8ntJ9xSpPGR051l8SdCdAxtXJ8VMKF0dng4KEpEKiFVWVhtOw5XRuwcYEL3pq5rqEQOGvZ-nsg4wXMcA6hviUVDDO-rx5LtKwvpGztqB1_HIx6JJdEu/s1600/5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWttxG32SP0wXUctHTwzEUuByc8ntJ9xSpPGR051l8SdCdAxtXJ8VMKF0dng4KEpEKiFVWVhtOw5XRuwcYEL3pq5rqEQOGvZ-nsg4wXMcA6hviUVDDO-rx5LtKwvpGztqB1_HIx6JJdEu/s320/5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696023588151886098" /></a><br /><blockquote>I am sick of climbing up here to get to the boss, only for him to piss off and never return.</blockquote><br /><br />There was also one big peeve about this game. Now I loved the music to some of the levels. The Piraka Playground track is a fairly decent dance track and sounds like one of those remixes you'd find on YouTube of some movie's epic music and bass. However, every time you collected enough LEGO pieces to fill your Hero Bar and activate 'Hero Mode', the music changed to the Hero Mode music. I got sick of it and I'm one to listen to a song I like 500 times in a row. Also, Hero Mode is so cheap as it makes you invincible and trust me when I say: it's too easy! All you have to do is, at the start of each level, blow everything up and use your Bionicle powers and in about 2 minutes of clearing everything and killing what enemies decide to ruin your afternoon, you're invincible. You don't need it unless you're in a boss level or you're farming for LEGO pieces.<br /><br />However, the bosses are derps. I find it humorous that the inhabitants of Mata Nui (the island the game takes place on) are scared to death of the Piraka (the main bosses besides their leader Vezon, who's some dude who rides some massive dog-thing which breathes fire. Mmmyep). Apart from the introduction movie, the Piraka are stupid and appear incompetent to run even a ticketing booth, let alone an entire island. Some of the unlockables for the Piraka Playground show this off as well, with the Piraka failing at working out, serving drinks and DJ-ing. LEGO humour is some of the best non-spoken humour in games.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHtjKuHdPHPIqNEIcxvEFChei5mmdqPkrea2eacuABf3Dh1t1Qn97hi2AJJHAwVERolXaNVPEO9oiFOOCijRso_5_tTgzJj3ld8Tlo19D6xSEMlJ0je5_WHNGXX09d5jnJpWpmLzpK6LB/s1600/The_Piraka_2006.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHtjKuHdPHPIqNEIcxvEFChei5mmdqPkrea2eacuABf3Dh1t1Qn97hi2AJJHAwVERolXaNVPEO9oiFOOCijRso_5_tTgzJj3ld8Tlo19D6xSEMlJ0je5_WHNGXX09d5jnJpWpmLzpK6LB/s320/The_Piraka_2006.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696029029043553314" /></a><br /><blockquote>They may look nasty, but the Piraka bosses are clumsy and absolutely hopeless. Joy will be taken from watching their failures in cut-scenes.</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">-- FINAL VERDICT --</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Platform Used:</span> Xbox 360<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Score:</span> 5/10<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Recommendation:</span> Try, but stay frosty.<br /><br /><br />Depending on what side of the fence you're on, you'll either like it or find it mind-numbingly boring. I thought it was alright and perfect if you were whoring for achievements. If Shattered Wreck works for me and I manage to defeat the boss, I'll have got every achievement in the game. =)<br /><br />[EDIT]: Shattered Wreck managed to work for me when a friend was watching so now that's 100% completion. Fairly easy if you ask me. All you need to do is go through the game, then upgrade your characters and then go through each level again to get the canisters and kills you need. Simple really. =)Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-42506814724201058352012-01-07T06:02:00.001-08:002012-01-15T03:22:47.895-08:00Preview: Castle Story<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rEsYSaIkd_IGmYkJsNKiOmRqo2OJGUQs-6O7mARGIP1cEWjhXO1h9YPLsGwisvL1LUZbeD3Iv3LUkC9UySecCnTrAQqNyIhuwXgF5tlJ5S7ZW0UTMhraSPmuT4WXVnp-vlwqB3U0VlrK/s1600/minecraft.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rEsYSaIkd_IGmYkJsNKiOmRqo2OJGUQs-6O7mARGIP1cEWjhXO1h9YPLsGwisvL1LUZbeD3Iv3LUkC9UySecCnTrAQqNyIhuwXgF5tlJ5S7ZW0UTMhraSPmuT4WXVnp-vlwqB3U0VlrK/s320/minecraft.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694879818205732210" /></a><br /><br />Everybody knows <span style="font-style:italic;">Minecraft</span> right? Indie game of the year? One of the major pushers towards Indie gaming this past 2 years? Anyway, it was big. Like, REALLY big for a game that wasn't even officially released at the time and was releasing a patch every three months or so. Anyway, this was followed by another game, <span style="font-style:italic;">Terraria</span>. Terraria was 2D, not 3D like Minecraft, but allowed you to craft and build things in a similar fashion. However, it also included more enemies, an (arguably) better system of tunnels which eventually led you to hell and different weapons besides the sword or bow and arrow found in <span style="font-style:italic;">Minecraft</span>. Either way, I enjoyed both games, playing solo or with friends, which makes the next game I'm about to mention intriguing.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGE2VqTzKdSG7z1S77Be3COOqx2lnHTrriMNVHhWFcrgbLAh7gaRmYWlqgVzVRnlbgkBQSh8w5_7LL2aEwByDtFYWykRKx42mIypTRC0xNqS0cdqM5qCpDPfHjhTJl8JojAH3EzLZ1k4yG/s1600/Castle_Story_Logo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGE2VqTzKdSG7z1S77Be3COOqx2lnHTrriMNVHhWFcrgbLAh7gaRmYWlqgVzVRnlbgkBQSh8w5_7LL2aEwByDtFYWykRKx42mIypTRC0xNqS0cdqM5qCpDPfHjhTJl8JojAH3EzLZ1k4yG/s320/Castle_Story_Logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694880397105131282" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Castle Story</span> is built by two Canadians in Montréal and follows a similar vein to <span style="font-style:italic;">Minecraft</span> with building castles, collecting resources and defending our wares. It reminds me a bit of Dwarf Fortress in a sense that you use little helpers called "Bricktrons" who collect stone, cut down trees and build your buildings for you. It's made with the Unity engine, if you have any idea what that is. Here's an 11 minute introduction to the game. I suggest you watch it:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZdXRPeYrc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZdXRPeYrc</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8XiKgplPAF6v5lgmXnqD7M3-uGlvlDMtnEts9Huoftq1nTV8tIom5ViGkMhh5KnWO-LfOJk51t0PM8wUGhMl6LN6GJF8CJV9_AF-5UxuBrYY7lDadBBBTbPg-2uWAyADg90k_n2n3Y6H/s1600/castle-story-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8XiKgplPAF6v5lgmXnqD7M3-uGlvlDMtnEts9Huoftq1nTV8tIom5ViGkMhh5KnWO-LfOJk51t0PM8wUGhMl6LN6GJF8CJV9_AF-5UxuBrYY7lDadBBBTbPg-2uWAyADg90k_n2n3Y6H/s320/castle-story-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694891714256438082" /></a><br /><br />It looks intriguing so far and it will be interesting to see what it develops into. Some of the things it uses is how notably RTS it is, with some "other elements" and the physics of the game. In the video they blow up a tower connected to their castle with explosive barrels and the physics of each brick looked really cool. The dynamic landscape over the 'blocks' that make up the world is impressive as well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLiaGaot1fEdidkiYnwFa700JNKutBPcrgrBajn-wUzJ9ZbDX4WG5vX_wyzJJjOFMwmE10nbV4PS8cSPGHgrV6ROqANtnwSTMPgsaB8T3kilhrrkXnaGHB6SmSAeZZI6SsIrjG4op7LEU/s1600/castle-story-4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLiaGaot1fEdidkiYnwFa700JNKutBPcrgrBajn-wUzJ9ZbDX4WG5vX_wyzJJjOFMwmE10nbV4PS8cSPGHgrV6ROqANtnwSTMPgsaB8T3kilhrrkXnaGHB6SmSAeZZI6SsIrjG4op7LEU/s320/castle-story-4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694879133435068786" /></a><br /><blockquote>The dynamic landscape gives it a smoother looks to <span style="font-style:italic;">Minecraft</span>.</blockquote><br /><br />Some people have said that it's the "Minecraft Killer" and I have to tell you that it won't be. However, that's not to say it won't be enjoyable and I'm positive it can work alongside <span style="font-style:italic;">Minecraft </span> to be the benchmark for a new genre in creative games. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46Cm1tdVsMUlTz3KKrvhMT0BOELu1vJNbZNiHDJ5KtgH88pcRBaFJqwInj68EqcpWELFNkL7fYzt9gxMahiubDgqyj0p_S8JVMYFTbLZqpMihtGNZKICpuwye-8y0si3NAgC-u5Dx9Mf0/s1600/castle-story-3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46Cm1tdVsMUlTz3KKrvhMT0BOELu1vJNbZNiHDJ5KtgH88pcRBaFJqwInj68EqcpWELFNkL7fYzt9gxMahiubDgqyj0p_S8JVMYFTbLZqpMihtGNZKICpuwye-8y0si3NAgC-u5Dx9Mf0/s320/castle-story-3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694879461114373282" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">--FINAL VERDICT--</span><br /><br />This is definitely one to watch. Although only in early stages, this looks like a fairly solid idea and a game you'll enjoy in 2012 if you liked <span style="font-style:italic;">Minecraft</span>.<br /><br /><br />The official site can be found here: <a href="http://www.sauropodstudio.com">http://www.sauropodstudio.com</a>Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-30936775711632348632012-01-04T09:36:00.000-08:002012-01-15T03:23:05.701-08:00Review: Duke Nukem Forever<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_QCa63x4VEcwTLR-qxZciEpDU81MMhOmlc3jKryrSwNmw-L-EOPyh47Nj0Iymz8TbtOxT-E-iJ6GA-bw3qM1XyN54Cdp_HOwRpoNfXWDw8AWKtTuARMFuWhSB7yMPvbxdYJlQzi9EHu8/s1600/duke-nukem-forever-wallpaper-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_QCa63x4VEcwTLR-qxZciEpDU81MMhOmlc3jKryrSwNmw-L-EOPyh47Nj0Iymz8TbtOxT-E-iJ6GA-bw3qM1XyN54Cdp_HOwRpoNfXWDw8AWKtTuARMFuWhSB7yMPvbxdYJlQzi9EHu8/s320/duke-nukem-forever-wallpaper-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693842813593167938" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">"There can be only one king...you f*ck."</span></blockquote><br /><br />This is the line that is stuck in my head after finishing Duke Nukem Forever. If you look at it, it sums up most of the game: slightly out-dated and simple. The linguistically challenged script has been abused by other reviewers and I tend to agree. The story is not the greatest thing in the world by a long shot, but it feels as though it's either been a case of laziness or a rushed job putting it all together. Most of the one-liners are pure Duke and I can't really attack the character of Duke Nukem saying that he's not the best character around. If I did, that'd be missing the point. However, the game is far from perfect.<br /><br />Not only some of the dialogue, which includes references to games such as Half-Life and Portal, but even the levels got tedious. By about three quarters of the way through the game I was wondering how long it had to go. It just seemed to be level after level with no end and I didn't feel any connection with the Duke or the cause he was fighting for (which is to save all the women on the planet from being abducted and...yeah...). Every level just seemed to be cut into two acts or something similar, like it was trying to emulate platformers. It didn't really have that even flow moving it along.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96EcXdvTHbr7JQqIZok9z0c-6O_oIM8ZywyOnlbgmyfLYIO0Sv6LNjB7T-Ox7RO4OzZSHVn4It-OTW1y69NPQ-AKkcSO3GHnc-bben0y5635aznMRvOPiQmnoy_IsgUqT6BSQX1RODqbe/s1600/duke_nukem_forever.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96EcXdvTHbr7JQqIZok9z0c-6O_oIM8ZywyOnlbgmyfLYIO0Sv6LNjB7T-Ox7RO4OzZSHVn4It-OTW1y69NPQ-AKkcSO3GHnc-bben0y5635aznMRvOPiQmnoy_IsgUqT6BSQX1RODqbe/s320/duke_nukem_forever.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693843867616194914" /></a><br /><br />Another thing which killed the atmosphere the game was trying to create was the loading screens. Now I thought Sonic the Hedgehog on the 360 and PS3 had really bad loading screens where one would appear, three lines of dialogue would be spoken in a cut-scene and then yet another loading screen. And that was before you got to the level at all, that was in the hub world. Duke Nukem Forever felt worse than that. Every time you had to wait for a level to load, you had to be prepared to wait a good 20-30 seconds before anything happened. The only reason I could live with this was the little hints the game gave as well as useless bits of humourous information like how they wanted to decrease your Ego (your shield) every time you picked up a turd.<br /><br />However, the game also had some good moments. The massive amount of interactions Duke could make with the environment was a nice little touch which made it a little different to your average FPS. Things like cooking popcorn in a microwave and looking in the mirror to 'admire' yourself to slapping 'wall boobs' gave the game a much needed filler. The game can be beaten in about 8-10 hours first time through if you tried to look for all of these interactions, most of which gave you a permanent Ego boost, which comes in handy later on in the game when the only guns that seem to be fired on you are shotguns and RPGs.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Tuo6yN26Ur3zXF2QhF50-Zt1ThEWi0iunSIBWjrFwD3q1qqohOlbdNa0OekldcOeVmoBcdcXM-US0SAoX6psPn0x4hP_0vQSVf-vabzcjyCfFk7Y3R6krG0OtHRl7qEC_gFG8-x7xVz9/s1600/06-27-2011_02-23-11_Shot0001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Tuo6yN26Ur3zXF2QhF50-Zt1ThEWi0iunSIBWjrFwD3q1qqohOlbdNa0OekldcOeVmoBcdcXM-US0SAoX6psPn0x4hP_0vQSVf-vabzcjyCfFk7Y3R6krG0OtHRl7qEC_gFG8-x7xVz9/s320/06-27-2011_02-23-11_Shot0001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693844730878324594" /></a><br /><blockquote>The game states that they'd rather see you slap these instead of real ones. LOLWUT?</blockquote><br /><br />Oh, another note: keep a shotgun. The shotgun is arguably the best gun in the game. Even when you first receive it, it's in a glass cabinet as back up for a world invasion. The shotgun is easily the greatest weapon in the game. I had to mention that twice because it is so true. Some might disagree and say that the Devastator is the best gun since it fires two rockets at once with more ammo. Contrary to popular belief, the gun is useless unless used in a boss fight because of two reasons;<br /><br />1. It's rocket count is 69 and there are no reloads, so you must find an ammo crate and camp near it. You might think that it's a definite improvement than the shotgun's 28 shells but trust me, you will burn straight through the Devastator.<br />2. The only weapons that can damage bosses are rocket weapons or pipe bombs. Therefore, the only logical place you need a Devastator or an RPG is in a boss fight. Pipe bombs are glorious and must be kept and used throughout the entire game.<br /><br />I also forgot to point out that the RPG, unless used in a boss fight, is also useless. It has 5 rockets and can only hold 5 rockets until you use them all and find an ammo crate or a weapon drop from an enemy. My weapon suggestions would be to either keep the shotgun or the pistol (there's an achievement/trophy if you hang onto the golden pistol for the whole game. It's actually really easy because it can get headshots with it's laser-sight) and pick up a weapon as you go along. Rockets for boss fights and whatever feels comfortable during the normal levels. Don't even bother with the Shrink Ray or Freeze Ray unless you're achievement whoring; they only work at close range and it's easier with one shotgun shell to the chest.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7y-jd-ZH0gfj5QWeVKP7pUhBhOvAlgeD-ihA-RNDteErCuwMBprpyZkUUjs0BlajDfBft9Q9KN_7clp8qETYJd-kHHx5rAFOUvIeIK_0b5S9ZLjreLv-ICpNTn-me8IOkh1qP6dgX3dq/s1600/06-05-2011_11-47-54_Shot000.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7y-jd-ZH0gfj5QWeVKP7pUhBhOvAlgeD-ihA-RNDteErCuwMBprpyZkUUjs0BlajDfBft9Q9KN_7clp8qETYJd-kHHx5rAFOUvIeIK_0b5S9ZLjreLv-ICpNTn-me8IOkh1qP6dgX3dq/s320/06-05-2011_11-47-54_Shot000.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693844605004445698" /></a><br /><br />Duke Nukem Forever isn't meant to be the greatest game ever made. It's rather obvious. It just wants to be remembered. It has boobs and guns and swearing and shitty humour, yes. But at least the game is alive, right? It was vaporware for a good 12 years, so although you might not want to purchase it, it's worth playing to see what you think. I never actually played Duke Nukem 3D but from what I've gathered, it's a solid enough sequel and could have been worse.<br /><br />Hell, if it's worth my $28 from EB Games, it should be alright.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">-- FINAL VERDICT --</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Platform Used:</span> Xbox 360<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Score:</span> 6/10<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Recommendation:</span> Try<br /><br />Has some nice moments with a couple of nice gimmicks, but could have been better with some more work. Not like it needed any more time though. There are definitely better titles out there but you can do worse.Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640714191648314656.post-20791162218111535562012-01-03T03:09:00.000-08:002012-01-04T22:45:00.762-08:00And so it begins...Hi, my name is Sean and I play video games.<br /><br />2012 is upon us. Entertainment is around every corner and you can't walk through a major city without some form of advertisement for a video game. Face it, it's the newest popular form of media and entertainment. Contrary to popular belief, I don't believe that 3D technology has the capacity to occupy the pedestal: it's just not that great yet. Give it some time and perhaps we can see a change. Until then, video games are making their mark and they're here to stay.<br /><br />Yes, I realise there's a gazillion different blogs online about video gaming but hey, it's worth a shot right? I'll be focusing on a couple of things during this here blog:<br /><br />- Game Previews and Reviews<br />- Achievement/Trophy guides<br />- Posts where I look back on older games<br />- Ranting and raving about anything video games<br />- Maybe the odd YouTube video if they're up to my standard (which I admit, can be pretty low sometimes. Must keep your mind open.)<br />- General thoughts on anything I feel like (It could be a quiet week on the video games front.)<br /><br />Phew, done. First post out of the way. For my next "real" post, I'm going to be looking at a game which has both haters and fanboys alike on either side of it's humour and etiquette (or lack of). It was also considered to be vaporware for most of it's life cycle.<br /><br />I will present to you...Duke Nukem Forever.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVvyxd2cgaAfylLqwTdtnZsT94cZeXAEUCmB7KpefQCY9-D0uGD-Oo4Jb3y9Beu-_TbV9GwMIkp2tWhp6-E9vB_XopWm2p-cvazUQ6Ugn_zX2BAiu3CA18wCuuqYoQyg_S-T7VNpnAToy/s1600/7908570823270167_l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVvyxd2cgaAfylLqwTdtnZsT94cZeXAEUCmB7KpefQCY9-D0uGD-Oo4Jb3y9Beu-_TbV9GwMIkp2tWhp6-E9vB_XopWm2p-cvazUQ6Ugn_zX2BAiu3CA18wCuuqYoQyg_S-T7VNpnAToy/s320/7908570823270167_l.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693388391951582850" /></a><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><br /><br /> var _gaq = _gaq || [];<br /> _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-28012044-1']);<br /> _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);<br /><br /> (function() {<br /> var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;<br /> ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';<br /> var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);<br /> })();<br /><br /></script>Holy Daprawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10625055192110568601noreply@blogger.com0