Tuesday, December 30, 2008

M.O.M.E.N.T.S

Games scenes that shrinks your manhood and fill the excitement bar were the best moment in gaming. In this post, I will be discussing scenes that makes you worth remembering with just words. Or if you want it in a more "Game addict" way of explanations it goes like this, "WTF! <> game moments.
And the scenes are.

Metal Gear Solid.
The first old Metal Gear Solid, nothing is more thrilling when you learn that your own master, that helps you through out the whole mission is your nemesis. Good job, Colonel. Next time, if you asked for help make sure he is not in disguise. Bah! I really didn't saw that coming.
Recalling Snake's mentor, Master Miller removes sunglasses and disheveled his hair and turns out to be Liquid. F.U.C. *Parental Advisory* K.

Resident Evil.
Jill opens the door slowly. She held trigger tightly, pointing around, observing her surroundings. Her hands are sweaty, she places her trusty revolver back to her hip. She hears a sound coming out of the window. She quickly draws her revolver, slowly, step by step walking to the window and then.......
*Crash*
Ok. Pause here. Remember this scene? The insane dog infected with rabies that came crashing through the windows? Come on who doesn't push the start button at the moment, for crying out loud. Don't need to be shy, I was scared too. No matter how many times I reloaded back to the scene it always scares me. Even more than Nemesis first time appearance. WTF.

Doom 3.
I remember dying so many times due to falling down to the endless abyss of Mars space station. I remember butting up aliens to death with my flashlight. The game is dark, eventually. And creeping with demons, all around you. Oh yeah, nothing frighthens me even more when I suddenly see a red flash and turns around only to see an four-eyes imp clawing and spitting off fireballs on me. What else? Pew,pew,pew,pew , Ratatatatata. all the way. Kaboom. Panting and breathing heavily, even worse than after having sex. This game is never good for the heart.

Famous scene? The bloody red angry footprints that appears to you accompanied with whispering voices of children guiding you. The screen blurs and gradually turns red while hearing...."they took my baby" *crying baby can be heard on the background* or flying skulls running around howling in horrid noises sure scares me.

Fatal Frame 1 2 3.
Okay, anyone who finished playing without shouting, screaming, making weird noises or without hearing insignificant voices, please raise up your hands. No? You are clear to read this section.
Come on, you've gotta be frighten. White eyes, impossible turning angles of the neck, long tongue, grayish-see-through figure, long black hair, weird solemn crying noises and not to mention laughing noises.
Brrr*shivers*... Damn, the meta-physical being. Damn it. What I remember is a tight place, dark, dusty, no ghost until something out of the corner pops out and her eyeballs looking at me, filling a quarter of the TV screen. Imagine this, having a ghost face appearing in a 29 inch television was never a good sight. Well, I paused and take a breather. That got me. It got me good. Damn the Meta-physical being!!

Diablo 2.
Our brave hero activates the final seal. He readies his sword, preparing for the most gruesome battle he will face.
The hellish grounds and plains shook violently, indicating the arrival of terror, in fact the Lord of Terror, Diablo. Then, everything went into silence. Our hero tighten his grip and gazed towards the empty dark space. A large howl suddenly came from the darkness, our hero raises his shield.
And there it is. Diablo, Lord of Terror.

I have fought him countless times, the fight is still freshly burning in my mind. Bone caging the town portal is a very slick move indeed. But it still confuses me up until now, why it did not Bone Cage us instead?

Half-Life 2.
Other than being chased by a helicopter, walking through a town full of crabheads zombies, being rocketed by a large airship and many more. Nothing beats the moment when I got the enhanced version of the Gravity Gun.

Now I know what is feel to be god, sucking and sending people flying to Neverland has never been this fun. So what if you send over 30 Combines to kill me, I will wipe them out in nearly 2 seconds.

Running out of juice. xD
Well I will continue later, will continue later.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Alpha Stage Starcraft 2 Battle Report.



Screenshots with captions post. Not much elaboration needed. A Screenshot says a thousand words.


The Developer Team places rocks in this new expansion area. Destroy them to gain new access to the new mining area. But not all expansions were barricaded with rocks.


These are Xel'Naga towers, move a unit nearby it to uncovered a large area of the map around the tower.


High Yield minerals is a new type of minerals that can be gather in Starcraft 2. Of course, it has greater amount resources compared to a normal mineral.
















Thursday, December 25, 2008

Malaysia Jollywood Strikes Back.

I will be very frank on this. First, this post is not about game review. Second,I am not in a good mood.

As I know, generally my readers are Malaysians.
Ok, let's not get so far. Let's discuss it on an microscopic view. There are two major things that I hate in Malaysia. First, the Government, which they always deal things in a weird manner, be relieve, this is not the topic I gonna touch on today. Second, our local products, which is what I gonna do in this post.

Besides food, everything in Malaysia is sick. Being the most advanced "developing" country in the South East Asia.(For me Singapore is a developed country)
We have our own local films. Which I do not pay attention much throughout my life. My entire life. The reason is local movie suck hard and I am serious.
Until today, I decided to read the newspaper(yesterday paper) and happen to stumble upon this.

I apologise for the profanity.

What the fuck? Holy-fuck?
So this is how you guys settle things. Just because your movie suck so bad, you want to raise the movie tickets on hollywood movies.
What kind of shitty proposal is that? and the Local directors agree on it? What the fuck? Are they out of their mind, don't tell me among all of the producers who made this proposal never thought of, "Hey, I think this is a shitty proposal." or maybe, "This is stupid, why are we torturing the consumers because our movie sucked?"
OR,
"If our movie's good, they will watch it for sure."
But NooOoo... You have to go and sent the proposal to torture the shit out of us.
Fuck, your movies were so bad that even if I torrent it, nothing could be found. Zero searches FTW. Even I do found it, who will be the seed? anyone?what dead torrent?

"Director Afdlin Shauki said the number of Hollywood movies in local cinemas should be limited."

Yes! Good idea! What genius mind! No wonder your movies were so good. This is an example of an idiot. I do not want to discuss what type of consequences will it lead to, but it is definitely not good for me and for you and for the idiot who just said this.

"He said China only allowed 20 Hollywood movies to be shown annually."

So now you wanted to be Chinese, after giving the Malaysian Chinese a hard time. AND you tell me you wanna be like China. You were now certified, of being the biggest douchebag in the universe. Human stupidity is really infinite.

"Afdlin, however, cautioned that the ticket price hike could backfire. "

Wow. Such wisdom.....

"At the current ticket price, you can watch two movies, one Hollywood and one local. But if you increase the price to RM20, movie-goers might just skip local movies altogether."

That's it. And I just wanted to give him a bloody compliment. I have no idea what is he trying to say in the statement.

So, are you trying to say current ticket price which is RM 11(depending on places) can let you watch two movies? Who the hell told you that? Ok, asssume I am wrong.

Maybe is this.

Are you trying to say the price after the hike, can let you watch two movies? What the hell? I don't get it. *&!@#^!@^#

Were the local movies cheaper than hollywood movies all along? I had decided that I shall have my friends to enlighten me. Shucks. My friends don't watch local movie. Diu nia ma. (Motherfucker) I really need someone to explain this statement for me. Headache.

*Gets the answer and snaps fingers*

Ok, I got it. It means one ticket of Mission:Impossible IV costs around a price of the current, one LOTR and one movie. Diu(fuck), I gonna go get a bunch of friends, gather up some money and buy an original DVD. Copy & Paste FTW on each computer.

You wanna do a good movie?I'll give ya a piece of my mind. Don't. It's not that I do not support, it just that.... come on be true to yourself. Do you guys seriously thinks that local movies were good? Come on, during Malay Festive Season, turn on the TV.
I have ASTRO for a reason okay.

It is a good step but it should not stop there," said award-winning director Datuk Paduka Shuhaimi Baba.

She said another way to help the industry was for local producers to have a bigger cut of the box-office collection.

"Currently, producers and cinema operators are sharing the ticket sales equally. Producers should get a higher cut."
She said cinema operators could also share the promotional costs of local movies

Do the producers really should get a higher cut? I don't know man. If the producers produce a film which sells like hot cake, won't they be getting hot-cakes for breakfast too? Prove it that you deserve it.

"Shuhaimi said many countries were imposing regulations to protect their movie industry. "

Alright go ahead and raise the price, and we shall see how Golden Screen Cinemas and Tanjong Golden Village (Current leading Conema Operators) dissapear from the face of the Earth. Seriously, with the numbers of the local film's viewer plus your movies' prices, plus the increase price of movies. I can see where it is leading too.

"We welcome any proposal or effort to improve and develop the industry. But we have to look at each proposal and its overall effect on the industry."

AT LAST SOMEONE WHO SPEAKS THE SAME LANGUAGE AS ME!

Credits to Nicholas on using your law/theory that you wrote on Ben's log.

Hollywood > You.

Yes, until next time. Game on. In this case. Watch On. Yes I feel better now.

New Year's Resolution. 2009.

2009 coming soon. I did not achieve much. Other than getting a Diploma this year(2008) which is consider if compared to the "normal" ones. Heck, slowly work towards my goal one step at a time, it's better not to rush things. Especially these kind of things.

Ok, post title explains it all.

Reso 1.
Acquire new knowledge. If you are my friend, you know that I am greedy. If you are even closer to me, you know that I am always hunger for knowledge, (only works in the fields which I am interested) eager to discover/explore/venture new things. *especially gadgets, electronic gadgets to be precise*.
Be it from a size of an iPod Nano to a EOS Canon 1D Mk II. So, that's why I've always bombarded Ben with questions regarding about his second wife. ( his 300 D) Correct me if I am wrong. You have way too many mistresses, girlfriends, and wives. Apologies, if I am wrong. *Note that these are all techno gadgets, Ben is a good man. He only needs one human wife.*xD.

Main point, so what if I have a good gaming knowledge. Now, in this era, everything comes within a package. Focusing, devoting in one specific areas/fields of interest will never really get me anywhere. There will be a time, my future editor will step up to me and say, "Hey, I want you to write about iPod Classic for this month issue.
"I want myself to reply "OK, Chief!" or "One Ipod Classic comin' rite up" instead of replying "Bollocks." or lock myself up in the staff toilet and hug the toilet bowl, while desperately calling another friend for help, "Hello! Rachel! I need your help, my editor gone haywire, he wants me to write an article on iPod Classic." WTF.

Sum it all up, I will be writing more reviews on cars, iPods, cameras, computer hardware. Yes, this is what you call a hybrid, jack-of-all-trades, all-rounder or in the Malaysian way, Rojak.FTW. I will be more focusing on games though. 80% on game reviews, 20% on others.

Reso 2.
Learning a new language.
Japanese is good, but it is just for the sake of learning. Chinese should be my primary objective. I have been through 3 different translation agency and got kicked out. The reason? Chinese illiterate. Look at the bright side, by learning Chinese, I got 3 language up my sleeves now, and the truly Ace of Spades. The bad, Chinese language is one of the most hardest language to learn. Memorizing the symbols one by one, not to mention the proper strokes and fluency practice. Now, I feel like switching to Japanese. At least I have the passion...chinese...sigh...
Conclusion, having an additional language up my sleeve is more than perfect.

Reso 3.
Develop and improve a new writing style to impress readers.
Other than humour and simplicity, which I have always prefer. I really should try adding in other elements. Sarcasm,emo-ness, illogic, innuendo, etc. Yes, there is only one way to do so. Read, write, being commented, read, write, read, watch tv, being commented. Other than that, I have really no idea how. Any suggestion? Feel free to comment my work. I need it to improve.

Reso 4.
Relationship.
I have a girlfriend of 2 years. I need her verbal support more than anything, if I lose her it will took me a long time to recover. Very long time. She is important to me no matter what but still nothing comes between me and my dreams. I told ya, I am greedy. So, better or worse, I hope she will always be with me no matter what I am thinking.

Reso 5.
I gonna turn 21 next year. I just want
- Buffet. Eat all I can.
- with friends that I know to be there. If cannot make it, nevermind, If don't remember, nevermind.

Reso 6.
At least give me a chance to get one of my game reviews publish. *sparkling eyes with tears rolling down through the cheeks*

Monday, December 22, 2008

Hall Of Heroes

Prominent protagonist that walks down the red carpet, always keeping us entertain and saving the world be it coincidentally or intentionally. These post was devoted to the most prominent/well-known characters that attracted our attention and becoming an Icon in the gaming world.

Protagonists step out to the stage.

Mushroom P0wa!!

Mario. (Super Mario (insert series here) )
Over popularize, but heck who doesn't know about this nasty red-hat midget that kicks every mushroom's and turtle's butt. Jumping, flying, getting big, and eventually turning into a paper plane. Mario, out of the question is one of the most prominent gaming icon that lives until today.
Nintendo has come a long way. But it is time to change, Mario games has thousands of expansion/installments/sequels/continuation as far as I can remember...


Be it 2D or CG, my looks and hair still rock the world.

Cloud Strife. ( Final Fantasy 7)
Hair that defies gravity, wielding a superbly oversize broadsword like a twig is his signature. He is one of the most famous character in the Final Fantasy world. He indeed, deserves the mark of a hero. Cloud have been through alot of hard time as a hero, learning yourself is a clone of someone insane and having your memories fake could easily break anyone. But not him. Living up to his name(Strife), he lives through all kind of hellish moment. No, Tidus would not be a main cause he doesn't exit anymore.


and he said, "Contacts are for the weak."

Gordon Freeman. ( Half-Life Series.)
The Scientist-commando that save the world from alien invasion and an alien nation at the same time. Has always been a silent protagonist, a man with few words. The only thing I want to see in the game is to see him talking. Let me tell you a secret, IMO, he is the most coolest geek around the planet.


".................", smiles and hurls the sword to the spotlight.

Link. (Zelda series)
Let's not all of us forget this Chibi(little guy). Apart from saving the world with his sword and shield. Same as Gordon, he is also a silent protagonist but rich in facial expression. At least, unlike Gordon you'll get to see his face. It's been too long I can remember when Zelda first came, SNES (Super Nitendo) i think Please correct me If i am wrong.


Why do I fight?Why do I keep fighting? Why? To seek for an answer... this is why I keep fighting.

Ryu. (StreetFighter)
Hadou-ken! Shoryu-ken! Who doesn't know a man with a white "Gi" roaming through the world of StreetFighter. He has always been portrayed as the strongest character in StreetFigther. A pure martial artist that lives for nothing other than achieving his goal. No, I will never Guile is the protagonist of SF series!!! and for the fans ...Broom head doesn't deserve a mark of a hero.
Never!!!

Why don't you try having an insane brother that planned to take over the world. and having your ass chased by a walking WMD robot all around the world.

Solid Snake. (Metal Gear Solid Series)
The clone of a powerful soldier (check), saving the world....Twice (double check), do not possess any superpowers(check). Come on, who doesn't heard of the name, Snake. Master of Stealth, Master of CQC(close quarters combat) and not to mention the funny moment.


Argh! You are stealing my shots! (camera)

Marcus Fenix.(Gears Of War series)
Seriously, I want to know how his hair looks like. Other than that, he makes an aspiring leader, showing no signs of fear, hesitant, or mercy when going on a war against an alien race. He is your typical everyday hero that bleeds for himself and helping his teammates along the way. Another additional info? His Bender from Futurama FTW!!!


Oh my god, now I just noticed that I've been wearing the same top and hot pants for the whole series while I am tomb-raiding.

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider Series)
I almost miss this one. Yes, the chick that raids a dungeon/tombs/caves while dual wielding the handguns. Dealing with monsters at least twice her size most of the time she can still pack a punch. I don't believe there is anyone in the world that can back flip, side flip, or any directional flip while firing a deagle. Not to mention , she is an anti-thesis of the stereotypical reverse-proportion theory. (bigger breast = more stupid)


Today? I am wearing Nike all the time. LoL. I have a life time supply of shoes. I run alot you know.

Sonic The Hedgehog (Sonic Series).
Blue, kick ass, slice almost everything into half, running in a speed of sound, and having one hell good of an attitude, what can you ask for more on a hero. You have to admit Sonic looks cool when he is in speedy mode. Dodging obstacles, dashing into the heart of danger itself. Speed is the Factor!


Can the Resident Evil movie start focusing on me instead of Alice?

Jill Valentine.(RE series)
Dead or not dead? That is the question. Anyhow, running around with a Nemesis spooking out of an unexpected game scene is not something everyone can handle. And not to mention, the combination of a blue tube plus zombieapocalypse-settings is the perfect harmony.

Yes. These are all the famous hero I've known. Be it famous/infamous or not famous xD, heroes were always determined by players and will always live through inside our heart by the example they set during their journey.
Oh yeah and Merry X'mas !!!

Question to Oneself.

The questions that I asked myself, mostly about the "gaming trends" in Malaysia. I know that some foreigner readers would like to ask.

How's Malaysia gaming trend?
What is the most popular game in Malaysia?
Are games updated in Malaysia?
Where and What is Malaysia? (joking and for the one who never knew, it's ok .. WIKIPEDIA baby XD.)
Does Malaysia made their own game? ( this is the type of question that makes you place a palm on your own face.)

I will answer every question that I can imagine to satisfy your curiosity and to spread the gaming culture of Malaysians. Note that some facts will hurt. But you must know I have no intention of hurting anyone nor flaming any Malaysians in this post.
I am just stating the facts. And I do not represent any Malaysians =_=. It's just me..and me..
If I somehow offended you, I apologize or If you still find I am offensive. Here is a quote best-suited for you.

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple" - Oscar Wilde.

Okay back to reality.

Question 1. What is the most popular game in Malaysia?
When you first enter ANY CyberCafes in Kuala Lumpur, our capital city. And as soon as you set your eyes upon any PC, the game will be DoTA.

Believe it or not, at least 8 out 10 Malaysians played DoTA.

Question 2. When did DoTA became super famous in Malaysia?
Seriously, I have no idea. I would say when the 5.84c era, when I was form 3 or form 4 (2003 or 2004). These were the times that my friends spend thousands of hours in CC if I am right.

Question 3. Do I think it is a good game?Do I play?
Yes, DoTA is a good game. But not my type, I am not a micro person ( being able to control single hero movement and flanking heroes). I am a strategist that deploys tactics and maneuvers with huge amount of units rushing through the map. (Macro person ;D )

But...I am sadly to say that Malaysian players, most of them but not all of them. Has a very low-valued ethic which ruins the sensation of the game. Cursing, banging mouses, keyboards, shouting when one's losing, shouting when one's winning. Sometimes the game went so bad, fighting occured. Mostly on teenagers 15-18, young adults doesn't care much.

And most of the players, really have no idea what is DOTA's genre.
You can say it's strategy but it's not cause it involves a role. You can say it's role-playing but it involves too much strategy. So.....anyways is a good game xD lol.

Question 4. Second most popular game?
MMORPG Rules Malaysia besides from DoTA. Yes. It is true... sad but true. Believe it or not, epic titles like RO, Maplestory, and those XXonline, YYonline, ZZonline. First thinking that comes to mind, Malaysian must be rich. Trust me, they are not. Malaysia dominating online games are mostly F2P. F2P involves buying an virtual item in the game with pure cash. So, no monthly subscription fee.

I had to admit there was a time I played these F2p servers but... I stopped. I found out it was retarded and pointless, console and PC games were more better.
And you will seriously puke electricity out of your mouth if you saw one of the online games available in Malaysia. And not to mention our beloved one and only over-all-time most STABLE ISP (Internet Service Provider), Streamyx that has been giving us "GOOD" connection and "EPIC" services throughout the first day of Broadband era. Streamyx....Strip My Nuts!

MMORPG is a nightmare in Malaysia. I even had troubling remembering their names. There really just too many, the concepts, the skills, the grinding, the quest, oh my god.... it kills the originality. So far, RO and WoW is enough.

Are Malaysian aware of upcoming games?
Lowyat, Lau--yi-at ( the malaysia Electric City XD, which what I called) is 24/7 updated on games upcoming release game. So yes, majority Malaysians do know the upcoming games but they still rather DoTA/MMORPG. Even if they migrated to US, they will still DoTA...
You have to understand, DoTA is like Badminton in Malaysia. Where we only pump one type of game and neglect the other.

Question 5. Are there any potentially good games that will overthrow the DoTA's dominancy in Malaysia?

Yes, there is. Call of Duty World At War, Left 4 Dead, COD 4 Modern Warfare. Epic Console game series like God of War, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid online, Fifa online. They are lot seriously, it's just that Malaysian don't quite fancy versatility. If you are good in DotA or CS, concentrates on it, that is the Malaysian way. Which I found rather hard to accept.

Eventually I pity them because they don't know what game they are missing out there. Frog in the well. In this case, gamers in the grotto. That is why Malaysian gamers hardly improved. But, CS was once so hot right? It was overthrow by DoTA. I wonder what game will overthrow DoTA

Question 6. Gaming in your point of view is?
Gaming is the most enjoyable moment, it shares experience, culture(especially language wise and behaviour.), and technology.
Gaming is science. Gaming have nature's principles apply to it, the way how one human behave, their feelings, their experience, their movement when they are playing a game. And then, technology was applied to the games, physcis, laws, and numbers were added to the element. So, in other words, it's science.

Question 7.How is the Media's Gaming Industry in Malaysia?
To be frank, not doing very well. Take a look at the PC GAMER Malaysia Edition. The contents were direct copy paste of the UK version, which already loses on orginality. Reviewers and writers(Malaysian) in the magazine wrote game reviews about online games and mobile games. Oh come on... I know sponsors were giving you a hard time, but stop writing mobile games, online games that no one bothers to play. *Reads at PC Gamer...mobile game reviews* oh my god....

Huh, it's 3 AM.. one helluva post. If you had any more further question you can leave a comment. For this time. Game On.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

4 and a Thousands of Millions. A Left 4 Dead review.



There are only two things to do in this game, pull the trigger and kill the zombies.
Don't misunderstood, you, the survivor was never the main attraction of the game.
The raging-mutated-angry-zombies that punches and slapping around you to death are the main ingredients in this game.
Okay off to Gameplay.

Gameplay. What you and your 3 friends facing here is a super hardcore-genetically-enhanced infected humans that will try to devour your brains wherever you run. These are not zombies, never a zombie. They jump, they charged towards like a bull when they spot you. Worst of all, they come in terrifyingly large numbers. Before you could even see them, you would hear thousands of wailing, groaning, crying voices thundered beyond the horizons.

The Singleplayer mode only offers 5 stages on each map. There is the apartment, sewers, airport and the woods stages. Each map has different atmosphere and you have only one mission, stay alive and get the hell out of there in one piece.( in this case, four pieces) lose a piece, it's game over . Teamwork for the win!Solo for the defeat.

This game was never an action game, it's a complete survival horror that forces you to switched on the flashlight 24/7. It's dark, eerie and blood was spilled in any corner you could find. Not to mention that, ammo and grenades were sacred, thank god your pistol has unlimited rounds but 15 bullets will never get you anywhere. This game only allows you to carry a main gun, a secondary gun, which can be dual-wield, an explosive, a medpack, and a painkillers that eases your pain. Checkpoints are safehouse, where you can restock your ammunition, take a break from those mindless infecteds and bandage yourself.

Punch of the Infected!!! Infecto-Shoryuken!!

For the people who said, this game was scripted simply. You could now take back your words, zombies will never spawn in the same place, your gameplay were determined by the one almighty A.I called the Director.

Living up to it's name, the A.I could make your game rather miserable depending on the situation. If you are having a smooth gameplay, the Director could anytime launched an ambush full of Infecteds from every corner to waste your ammo. Resulting, on a very unpredictable horrifying mood and pattern for the game. So, if you died from an ambush, going back to the same spot where you died will result on a different situation, as I said you were never the main attraction.

Valve decided to add in a few spices to the game by giving us some "unique" Infecteds to shoot at and making us shit on our pants even more. These "special" infecteds were horrifically annoying, especially the fa-gly(fat and ugly) Boomer that could puked green goo all over your face that took away your visions alas turning your monitor green for a moment. Then, turned you into a bait that attracts hordes of Infected that tries to rape you.

Ew! Puke, I wonder what this guy ate. Obviously ain't it's us?

Other than the fa-gly bastard, I had experience the horror of an Infected that uses it freakishly long tongue to kill me. It was horrible, it was pulling me away from my team and it was slowly pulling me to it's mouth. Not to mention, my hit points were dropping due to suffocation. Worst of all, I can't even move. I thought it was the end... until one of the A.I save my sorry yet useless ass.
After it died, it releases smoke that affects your vision and surroundings. Cough! Cough! Smoke!
That why it's called the Smoker.

Omg!! Tentacle Rape...Kya!!!

If you ever hear crushing and roaring sounds, be prepare for the worst fight ever. The Tank, appeals to it's name is one juggernaut that rushes towards you and smashes the living daylights out of you. The next thing you see after it lands a blow, your feet is not on the ground. Remember kids, the Tank sends everyone to a trip to Neverland with only just one swing, and it's a one way ticket. The only way to exterminate it you asked?
...... *cocks shotgun*.

What is the worst monster you had ever encounter in any FPS survival horror? There is one in this game, I can give ya' that. Stalking, leaping in the dark, this infected is a hunter, in fact it is called called Hunter =_-.

Leap of Fate, gracing through the air while his fate awaits.

This stalking ferocious being jumps on it's prey and will never stop clawing until it's dead, unless someone puts a bullet through it's head. The Hunter was indeed one of the terrifying monsters you will ever encounter in this game. Once you are knocked down, do not deny the ineveitable, only your teammates can save your sorry ass. So, teamwork is the major emphasis here.

Emo-ness(emotionally depresed) is one hell of an annoying trait you will ever find in the living and in this Infected . Cries of a depress woman could be heard when you were close by to it. The eerie background music could be heard when it is nearby. There she is, crying, moaning, looking pale in a small corner. People call her Witch for a reason, flashlights off, sneak around slowly, startled her it will be the end in one stroke. A stroke from the Witch could immediately incaticipate you or worst, the whole team. It looks like the rage virus works like alcohol, it does backfires. Well, the Witch is only deadly if you startled her.

Graphics and audios works spectacularly in the game. Dim light were used to indicate there is always something lurking in the shadows. Noises and weird voices from the Infecteds does give an eerie feeling, especially in dark and tight places.

Although the game did not used any extreme graphics, it still give players a hell of a fright due to it's camera angle, the smart A.I and worst of all the background music plus the twisted voices from the infecteds. Something is always behind a small dark corner.

When it comes to Multiplayer, this is where Left 4 Dead shines. Versus mode, a showdown between the Survivors and the Infecteds. Playing as Survivors you need to escape from the map as fast as possible so that the infected has less opportunity to ambush. As for the Infected, you will try your best to kill off the survivors by using all of the above unique infecteds except for the Witch. Yes, players that play infected get to play the Boomer, vomit on your enemy or play the Hunter to pounce, claw your enemy or maybe play as the Smoker to lasso your enemy with your longest weapon of the body XD.

*Pouncing is way more better when you are on top of a chick* thought the Hunter

Get lucky and get the Tank to pound and smash with your huge build. Muahahaha, the second star to the right!!

Points are the factors of the game. Survivors get point by rushing through the checkpoints while Infecteds gained them by killing the survivors.

Conclusion.
I shall say Left 4 Dead is a good game. Although the campaign and MP maps don't have much to choose from.

The game emphasize on teamwork, survivability and how fast can you adapt the current situation. Depending on the A.I Director and the difficulty of your gameplay, you will face tougher and greater challenge in later stage, don't feel weird if you were chase by 3 hunters and 2 Tanks at your back.

The gameplay environment is nicely done, eerie yet fantastically awry. The dark lighting and the ear piercing-thunderous cries of the infecteds really does scare the shit out of anyone. Ammo and supplies are well balanced in the game, never too much nor never too little.

The only let down is still the varieties of weapon. They are only a few types of weapons in the game, for a Valve game, the firepower is quite lacking but it is still acceptable.

Conclusion, a very great concept for the game, simple and fun, a very good multiplayer, puking on your friends and gutting them is even better!

The game blasts it way through with a huge 8.0 /10

Monday, December 15, 2008

12 days of Xmas *Ziwen's Version*

Since Xmas is near, I wanna wish you guys a very merry xmas and happy new year no matter where you guys are.

Here is a joke post of the day.
I present you twelve days of Xmas featurin' CODWaW.


On the first day of Xmas my true love sent to me.
A chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the second day of xmas my true love sent to me.
Two VGAs and
A chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the third day of xmas my true love sent to me.
Three 2 gig ram
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a quad core extreme.

On the fourth day of xmas my true love sent to me.
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2gig ram
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the fifth day of Xmas my PC startled me,
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is Quad Core Extreme.

On the sixth day of Xmas my true love sent to me.
Six Creative Speakers
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the seventh day of Xmas my true love sent to me.
Seven top GAMES.
Six Creative speakers
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the eighth day of Xmas shooting Nazis is what I'm doing
8 times Anti-Aliasing
Seven top GAMES.
Six Creative speakers
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the ninth day of Xmas I reached Level 56
Nine more levels please....
Eight times Anti-Aliasing
Seven top GAMES.
Six Creative speakers
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the tenth day of Xmas all the feeders came to me.
Ten kills STREAK!
Nine more levels please....
Eight times Anti-Aliasing
Seven top GAMES.
Six Creative speakers
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the eleventh night of Xmas I am sick of COD.
Eleven players hacking
Ten kills STREAK!
Nine more levels please....
Eight times Anti-Aliasing
Seven top GAMES.
Six Creative speakers
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme.

On the twelfth day of Xmas a new patch released!
Twelve KB connectivity......
Eleven hackers hacking
Ten kills STREAK!
Nine more levels please....
Eight times Anti-Aliasing
Seven top GAMES.
Six Creative speakers
Five times the speed!!!!!
Four-ty DVDs
Three 2 gig ram.
Two VGAs
and a chip which is a Quad Core Extreme!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

All heroes lived through World War 2. Company Of Heroes Review.




The Company of Heroes offers fresh new gaming experience for the hardcore strategy players out there. Well, you don't need to be hardcore, of course.

Although COH has a unique way of handling squads and resources, the real winner for this game is the firepower, tactics and maneuvers you can pull to win the game.

Enough introducing, let's start the gameplay.

GAMEPLAY.

COH sets off in one of the most bloodiest battle during D-Day, the assault towards the Omaha Beach. The game scene does look similar to Saving Private Ryan here, people dying, blood flowing, infantries rushing to the shingles...ok you get the idea. Once you set foot on the bloody red angry beach, you will notice the power of MG-42 ripping through your squads like butter.

The real gameplay starts after you figure out how to make your way towards the shingles by using tank traps as cover, diversion, and skill.

RUN! RUN! RUN!

Macro in this game is very important, instead of ordering a single infantry unit, you were given a squad. Sending your squad to the enemy's lair without cover provided, will eventually get your squad wiped off by the Nazis. The squads' life depended on the cover that each terrain provides.
The cover's effectiveness were determined by a "shield" symbol next to it when you had your cursor pointed towards the spot.

There are three types of "shield" symbol for your squad to take cover from enemy's fire.
The green shield had the most effective cover for your squad over enemy's fire. If two opposing squads appears to be having a shootout, the one with the better cover will most likely win. May the one with the best covers win. *note that green covers were mostly concrete walls, stones, and other hard object you can imagine.*

Tank Traps provide cover as good as sandbags.

While yellow shield had moderate effectiveness, squads that are taking fire with this cover will be overrun. Then, being wiped out pretty quickly if you did not pay any noticed. But, it is still better than having zero cover. So, a tree or maybe a stone will still be good if you want to survive.

I don't think I need to elaborate on the red shield. Red shield appears if your squad were not on cover and left totally exposed AND were in the enemy's firing range. If an MG-42 hits you and there were no covers provided, the squad will be pinned, forcing them to the ground crawling like bugs that were waiting to be crushed.

Other than the unique Macro-ing, the game's way of gathering resources were rather impressive indeed, offering a new gaming experience for the players. In order to beat this game you must expand your territories to acquire resources.

Maps were divided into territories, each territory had a specific types of resources. The game runs on 3 kind of resources, Manpower, Ammo, and Fuel that add it's amount every minute if you manage to capture it with your squad infantry. So, infantry plays a big role in the game.

Each unit has their special types of abilities. Ammo were consumed and will received a cool down after used. Abilities were activated to turn the tides around, an ambushed tank could popped-out smokes to make incoming fire tends to miss more, infantries would never be pinned down and many more.
Ammunition points also allows you to send in support off the map. Bombing run, strafing run, paratroopers, crate supplies, and even recon plane.
Fuel were used when you wanted to upgrade your arms, buildings, abilities and so on.

Sherman Tank comin' thru! outta of the way,

Company of Heroes is a hard game indeed, amateurs will have a hard time learning all f the functions and features in the game.

Later in the game, for every action you make aside from moving units. Will let you gained a fair amount of Exp point. After you've have chose your path, an airborne for example. The exp points will be used to upgrade skills to be used as a off map support. Each path contains different skills be sure to try them out.

You have to know that Relic starts creating the Essence Engine from nothing. So, it is one of the first RTS engine that gives facial animations, dynamic lighting, shadows and shader effects.
Resulting an extremely good graphic for the game, smokes, exploded tanks, debris, fire well very nicely done in the game. Fires a recoiless rifle to the wall will knocked a hole and fell to the ground or watch the enemy's guts and limbs fly when you hurl a pineapple towards them.
The graphics makes the game seems real. It will always leave you in jaw dropping mode.

Audios were nearly perfect for the game. Acknowledgement of each units were pretty cool in this game. If your infantries or tanks are badly damaged they will response on a panic state. Or if you were infiltrating the enemy's base at night, the infantry will whisper and hushed too.
Not to mention the buzzing-rattling sounds of machine gun's fire, explosions from the artillery bombardment will lead to a sound of a deaf tone. Simply marvelous.

Conclusion.

A very technical game that involves alot of macroing. Flanks and weak spots of tanks and vehicles were heavily emphasize on this game making one of the best RTS WWII themed-game ever.

What more can I say? Good graphics, good audio, astonishing gameplay, challenging tactics and maneuvers surely wins the game a total respect of 9/10.

Game yourself out!