Spiderman 2, Left 4 Dead & other snazz

Replayed Spiderman 2 for the PS2 coz I remembered it was pretty fun for a movie game... and it is except that its a little glitchy and repetitive after swinging thru the city for a couple of hours. Finished it pretty quickly to be buried in my list of completed games. Fun, but nothing to shout about. 5/10.

Left 4 Dead. Man, I love this game. I always loved zombie games but this one rocks my socks off. Detailed, gory, action packed at every corner. And its frickin MULTIPLAYER. You have no idea how much I've been waiting for a game like this. And you get to be a zombie? Count me in. Check this game out, probably not game of the year but hell of a fun game none-the-less. 9/10.

Other snazz includes me looking forward to my friends coming back from overseas study. Lots to catch up on and do. Work is still alright, working on a lot of new things but obviously I'm free enuff to slack off and write on this blog lol. Gaming wise, I'm trying to see how far I can go in civ 4 before I get bored and write it off as a completed game. And trying to bloody think of a plan to stay alive when I'm surrounded by crazed zombies on one-side and trigger-happy, friendly-fire prone teammates on the other lol.

RA3, HL2:ep2 & RE4

Finished the Red Alert 3 campaign... took me a couple of days, mostly because the game kept exiting at the end of certain missions and I had to patch it up to get it to work. The feel of the game is a bit too colourful for me to enjoy seriously as a RTS but nevertheless its still an enjoyable game to play. Full of slapstick comedy and shit like that. 6/10.

HL2 episode 2... hmm. The gameplay design seemed pretty rushed to me. Like they just brainstormed a whole bunch of ideas for the game to fit the story. Still, its half life 2, story is still solid and the gameplay, although pretty droll, is still perfectly acceptable. Graphics are top notch as ever of course. 6/10.

I finished Resident Evil 4 like 10 times before and I'm just replaying it again for the heck of it and because the game is awesome anyway. Gameplay, graphics, story, everything was pretty much top notch (just like a final fantasy game OMG!). If you haven't played RE4 (or any of the cult-classic previous games for that matter), then stop wasting your time reading this blog and go play those games. Of course, 9/10.

The days go on an on...

Its been a few months now since I started working... and frankly, its been alright so far. But that's coming from a guy who has little to no personal preferences so that may be an understatement. I've learned a lot of things from my job which I hope I can carry over to whatever other job I may take in the future. Right now I think I have to just try and settle in to the working life.

With the working life however comes less free time to do the things I want to do. I haven't really played many games as of late (though I try to whenever I can). I only have the weekends to do the things I wanna do, what with my job lasting from 8 to 8 everyday. On top of the weekly exams we have to do, its distressing sometimes!

Enough about work, lets talk other stuff. So I played RA3 recently... not much jazz I felt but the game is still fun all around. Haven't tried the co-op yet but I figure if you did play co-op, the game would be much too easy even on hard. Deadspace on the other hand... that was cool. Its like Doom but with religious overtones. And you get to sever limbs. Or get yours severed. Its cool, play it.

Me & my new computer

I GOT A NEW COMPUTER AM HAPPIES

4GB DDR RAM, 3 Gig speed and 320 GB space, its like a 300% upgrade from my old laptop. Finally can play the games I want to play at a decent speed... expect more reviews on the latest games soon!

The review is up!

The review on the new website is finally done! Check it out!

And we're on our way!

Alright so the new website is mostly done, I got the skeleton structure up. I'll be doing my first review soon in a new, simpler and faster format (got to work as well to you know). Take a look at the website and tell me what you think! Would appreciate any additions to the website you guys and gals can think of. Check it out at http://g4me54u.blogspot.com/

Like I said before, I'll be making this site my personal blogging space to rant about anything at all... fits the "curry" theme if you know what I mean. Hey, we gamers have a life too y'know. If you're interested in reading my random rants about anything (politics, my life, your life, etc. etc.) then feel free to visit this site at any time. Don't forget to check out the website!

New Website Under Construction

Design and construction of the new game blog website is under way! So far all I've done is the title and about me page but soon... soon it will be done. Don't know when that is, but soon. Maybe a year later HAHA that would be so typical of me.

I think I'm going to scrap the idea of posting about the Australia trip here cause 1.) takes too much time and 2.) takes too much space and 3.) takes too much effort. Sorry pie... I've told everyone about the trip already, I swear!

So what's up now? Working in Sime Darby that's what! 2 weeks into the job and all seems good. Been training non-stop (reading a text book) and I'm almost done so hopefully I'll be getting some real work soon. The workplace is really nice and the people are friendly so I'm pretty comfortable here :D

A friend of mine left Malaysia today :) Take care and all the best alright? And... be impulsive! Don't forget about the Risotto! If that's how you spell it...

K time to get back to work. Cya all around in a bit!

Back from Australia and in Malaysia!

Got back last week but didn't really have time to blog. I'm at work right now so I'm going to make this a brief update... just want to include some announcements about changes to this site:

1. The update about the Australian trip will be written soonish... though most people have probably heard about it from my own mouth already

2. This blog is going to change to be a casual blog for me to post about stuff I've done. The games section will be moving to a seperate section which I will work on to make it better and more focused on gaming. Any ideas you have for this new blog is much appreciated, just post some comments or sth like that.

That's all for this quick update, check back soon and hopefully it'll be done sometime this week, if not next week.

Back in Malaysia and off to Australia!

So for the past 3 weeks I've hanging out in Malaysia, chilling around playing sports (football mostly) and meeting up with friends. Drinking loads too ;) Its been pretty exciting for me what with work starting soon. Been trying to get back into living life in Malaysia by "renovating" my room a little... buying some small trinkets like an alarm clock to add some identity to the room if you know what I mean. Thinking of getting more stuff but I still have loads to sort out, like getting a new computer (to replace my old and WET one) and work so it'll have to wait a bit.

I went to Subang recently to take part in the Pro Tour Qualifier for Berlin. It was fun, my image of Malaysian players was a bit skewed but they seem a fun bunch. I've seen much worse in UK so I can count my blessings I guess. Its sad to say however that I'll probably be stopping Magic. Reason being, I have too much to get sorted out right now like work and life in general. The amount of money and effort I have to put into it is immense as well. Seems a better choice to leave my legacy as is and move on. Too bad I never managed to get on to the Pro Tour. Sorry Pete :(

For the better part of last week, I've been visiting a friend of mine in Melbourne. I'm still visiting her at the moment and we're having a blast! We just got back from Lorne, a beautiful place with a fantastic view. The apartment we stayed in was superb! I'll be writing about my Melbourne trip once I get back to Malaysia so look out for it.

My trip ends on the 12th of August so I'll be back in Malaysia pretty soon. I'm looking forward to going back too cause I have little time left before work starts and there are people I would like to spend time with and things I have to settle. Enough said for now, see ya back in Malaysia!

Finally!

UAHHHH! I've officially graduated! 4 years of university life over and done with! It was a fun 4 years and I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you to everyone and everything that made by university life complete. You know who (or what) you all are!

So... final year project. That was tiresome indeed. But I stuck in there till the end and managed to scrounge up something reasonable. Gave an O.K presentation... not the best I've done I have to admit but I'm happy with my effort and results all the same!

Also... Its been sometime but I'm currently ranked 3rd in the whole of London for Magic! Only for Limited though but it was still an achievement all the same. All my luck and hard work has paid off. More than that though is the fact I made good friends on the way up. Even though I may not see you guys again, I'll be watching out for you! Make it to the Pro Tour!

Well I'm currently busy getting my business in order for my trip back home. I'll post again when something new comes up. Until then, take care!

Another update! Congrats to me I suppose

I'm spending my time blogging when I should be working on my final year project. Such is the procrastinator's life. Ah well some rest time should do me good I suppose. Enough rambling, on to the actual post!

2 weeks ago, yours truly managed to qualifiy for a spot in the UK Nationals tournament. What that means is I won another major qualifiying tournament! Hurrah! My track record so far is doing well for 4 out of 5 major tournaments so far. Its all great and good. I'm proud of my achievements and hopefully will be looking forward to many more victories to come.

That said, I've decided I'm not going to go for the Nationals tournament. Why? Cause... I want to see someone. Nothing's going to come out of it but it feels wrong and sad if I don't say goodbye in person. In any case, that's going to piss off a lot of people, least of all me cause I really did want to see how far I can go. Ok enough of this stuff...

Well after my exams I picked up a few new games... and finished them all in less than a week. This is an annoying habit of mine that I haven't been able to fix. Once I get something new (movie, book, game, etc.) I just have to finish it as soon as possible. There's no pacing when it comes to me. Reviews... when I can do them I will but it won't be anything major. I'll leave it at that for now!

Finally, a post! Lots of news updates coming your way!

Hiya, haven't posted for long time have I? Reason being, a most unfortunate accident occured where a water pipe burst in my room, drenching my computer. My Compaq Computer, aged 4, deceased. It has served me well and will be well remembered.

So yeah, lots of new updates. Finished a couple of new games (Assasin's Creed, Condemned 2 and God of War: Chains of Olympus). I'll get on to those reviews in the next post. Also, my magic career has picked up a little bit. Last time I posted, I was getting ready to go to Brussels for the Grand Prix... its a 2 day magic tournament where the top 128 players qualify to play on day 2. I'm proud to say I managed to qualify for day 2 and finish 74th on day 2. Recently I managed to qualify for the UK Nationals tournament which is my 2nd major constucted tournament. I'm quite happy at how much I've improved since picking up this game again at the end of last year.

About my job status... I got an offer from Sime Darby to work in their Business and Group Strategy division. Sounds like the kind of job I like though I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm imagining i'll be doing a lot of research work rather than actual hands-on work. But I guess it could be much worse. I'm just hoping its not a dead-end job.

Also, my final exams are over! The last standard academic exam in my life.... it hasn't had such a large impact on me yet. I imagined feeling a lot more elated than I am now. Ah well I'm sure it'll kick in at some point in my life. When I'm feeling old I expect.

And now summer time is rolling around again... this summer is going to be completely different. Hopefully, nothing like the roller coaster summer I had last year. I'm actually feeling a little sad this summer... the one reason I've been looking forward to summer vacation will no longer be there when I return home. A more depressing matter is that I can't let go which is really depressing me the closer to going home I get. I really should get over it so that I don't become a burden.

Anyway, that's all for now, I'll get on the game reviews when I next visit my uni to use the computers.

Interviews, Exams, Coursework and... more Interviews!

Yeah Easter break is more like extended study leave to me. Which I don't mind in the slightest, I mean giving us time to study is never a bad thing. But mix up 2 unfinished (and unstarted!!!) coursework and interviews filling up a whole week and you feel like there's not going to be much time to get studying done. I'm going to have to really reassess my schedule seriously, else I'm going to cock up somewhere soon.

Well I'm pretty happy with the interviews I got, PWC, E&Y, Sime Darby, OCBC, Maybank and Accenture so far. All for Malaysia though. I did really want to get a job that's not in Malaysia, like here in the UK where all my friends are would be great. America would have been great too... but there's no reason to be there anymore. Malaysia may not be the best working environment but I have family there and I miss the food... maybe working there for a couple of years isn't so bad.

Alright I should get some sleep, the careers fair is in like 4 hours from now. I'll be back in a week maybe to upload the long overdue Paris pictures. No reviews probably cause, I haven't been playing anything else other than Dota recently. Not excessively of course but if I have the time, a quick game of Dota is usually all I can fit in. Anime takes up the rest. Alright then till next time, take care all.

2HG Champs UK: FAILED

Heya,

Right so today me and Daniel went for the 2HG Champs in London and.. well we didn't massively fail but not getting into the Top 4 is like a fail to me. We went 4 wins, 1 lost and 2 draws. I felt we could have played much much better considering how he's a really good Magic player and I'm pretty ok (no bragging here.. haha!). We still managed to walk away with some product (12 packs each + sealed deck product) though there wasn't anything good in the packs we opened. And the entry fee was a whopping 27.50 per team. Ah well... it was a good experience and I had fun partnering with Daniel (my first partner for a long time other than Allan). Next up would probably be the Extended Pro Tour Qualifier: Hollywood in London. I'm not expecting to win at all cause it would be the first time playing extended for me but I might as well dabble in a bit of Extended now and then, just to cop a feel of what everyone's talking about. Right, enough Magic talk for now, read my other article about what's going on in my life.

No time at all

Hey,

I've really been slacking off in terms of blog posts but I simply don't have the time right now... sorry to anyone who actually checks this blog on a regular basis. I've been bogged down with project and coursework for the last few weeks and I'm still heading for more coursework next month and exams the month after. Not to mention Grand Prix Brussels preparations. I'll post when I can, don't expect it to be soon though. Till then, take care.

Grand Prix Trial Brussels in London

So I just won the Grand Prix Trial Brussels which is still a shock to me. For those not in the know, the Grand Prix for Magic: The Gathering is like the biggest casual tournament for players to take part in, meaning anyone at all can participate. Unlike the Pro Tours which are exclusive to Pros who have made a mark in major tournaments or those who have qualified through Pro Tour Qualifiers (which I managed to Top 8 some time ago but didn't win).

There were 66 players and the format was Lorwyn / Morningtide (that's the most recent expansion sets they were using) sealed deck with a booster draft play-off for the top 8. I managed to get a decent card pool with quite a few bomb cards: Masked Admirers, Reveillark, Epic Proportions and Thoughtweft Trio, Titan's Revenge and Knowledge Exploitation. My Red pool was weaker than the Green and White and I had hardly and Rogues to use Knowledge with so I settled for a Green White deck splashing Black. Here's the deck I built:

Creatures:
1 x Cenn's Tactician
1 x Kithkin Greatheart
1 x Leaf Gilder
1 x Woodland Changeling
1 x Bosk Banneret
1 x Wolf-Skull Shaman
1 x Fertilid
1 x Burrenton Bombardier
1 x Masked Admirers
1 x Reveillark
1 x Burrenton Shield-Bearers
1 x Moonglove Changeling
1 x Thoughtweft Trio
1 x Plover Knights
1 x Everbark Shaman
1 x Walker of the Grove

Spells:
1 x Epic Proportions
1 x Pollen Lullaby
1 x Nameless Inversion
1 x Violet Pall
1 x Fertile Ground
1 x Coordinated Barrage
1 x Weight of Conscience

Lands:
7 x Forests
5 x Plains
3 x Swamps
1 x Shimmering Grotto
1 x Vivid Grove

Sideboard:
1 x Lignify
1 x Spring Cleaning

The deck may look unimpressive apart from the bomb rares but what the deck has is synergy and consistency which is really what made this deck fun to play with. Here's how my deck did in the 7 round sealed deck tournament:

Round 1: Joe
I started the tournament by pairing up against Joe who I had the pleasure of playing at the Two Headed Giant tournament finals at the Morningtide Pre-release event. He was playing a Blue / Red / Black Elemental deck with Wydwen and Aethersnipe being notable mentions. Game 1 goes to me with a splendid opening hand of Thoughtweft Trio with early beats. In game 2 I manage to pull off a win by drawing into removal spells later in the game and running my display of bombs consisting of Reveillark, Masked Admirers and Thoughtweft Trio.
Result: 2 - 0 (Win)

Round 2: Glenn
As luck would have it, my next opponent was someone I also met at the Two Headed Giant tournament as my first opponents. I knew who he was from way back as a pretty decent player with a huge sense of humor. He played a Black / Blue deck with Wydwen, Dread and 2 Cryptic Commands. Again I manage to win Game 1 due to early beats and some card advantage in the form of Masked Admirers. Game 2 was mine due to an unfortunate draw by Glenn; by the end of Game 2 he had 5 Swamps and 1 Island with 2 Cryptic Commands in hand and little on the board.
Result: 2 - 0 (Win)

Round 3: Pepe
Pepe turns out to be a friend of my Thai friend, Parn which was pretty cool. Pepe was running a very aggressive Black / Green deck with some notable bombs like Shriekmaw and Imperious Perfect. Game 1 goes to me with a nice Turn 4 Thoughtweft Trio and Reveillark in the air. Pepe makes a play who forgot Trio has first strike and wastes a Final Sting Faerie on it. Game 2 goes to Pepe who manages to get his creatures out of the gate at the same speed I was. I nearly won it when he plays Morsel Theft bringing his life total just out of my strike range while bringing mine into his. Game 3 was terribly close, with a late game Reveillark swinging in the air while our ground forces were stuck in a Trio-Perfect stalemate. Had he drawn into a Shriekmaw, the game would have turned out pretty badly for me.
Result: 2 - 1 (Win)

Round 4: Zul
Zul turns out to be Malaysian like me, a student at UCL. He was running a White / Green splashing Black deck just like mine, with more emphasis on the late drops than mine like Oakgnarl Warrior and Orchard Warden but with respectable early drops like Militia's Pride and Imperious Perfect. Game 1 goes badly for me with a Imperious Perfect on turn 3 and me stuck on 2 land for a better part of the game. I manage to quickly stabilize but end up getting beat down by a few creatures supported by Militia's Pride to make things worse. I manage to spice things up in Game 2 by bluffing him with a bluff that I had Epic Proportions in hand which I drew a few turns later. Game 3 sees me dominating the board with him having a very slow start in comparison to mine. By the time he starts to play his threats, I have a whole bunch of removal in hand waiting for them.
Results: 2 - 1 (Win)

Round 5: Bruno
Since round 4 I had been sitting at the 1st table meaning I was either 1st or 2nd in the entire tournament. I was feeling pretty good about myself. And along comes Bruno, playing Morningtide for the 2nd time in his entire life. He plays a Black / Blue Faerie deck with Bitterblossom, Scion of Oona, Oona's Blackguard and Scion of Oona. Game 1 goes to me with a slow start by Bruno with Scion of Oona followed up by a brutal early beat and Reveillark. Game 2, Bruno plays Pestermite, Violet Pall for another 1/1 Faerie and Spell-Stutter Sprite and drops Scion of Oona on the table. Its at this point that I realize how useless my deck was against flyers as he beats me to a pulp for 7 a turn in the air. Game 3 is even more brutal for me: he plays Oona's Blackguard turn 2 and follows up with Bitterblossom turn 3. Talk about bombs.... 3 turns later he smashes me in the face with 4 2/2 Faeries generated by Bitterblossom. I was genuinely impressed that he managed to reach the top tables seeing as its his first time playing the set.
Results: 1 - 2 (Loss)

Round 6: Alex
I can't rightly recall his name but I know he studies at Southbank and is staying in halls. His deck was INSANELY good which is a shame that he didn't manage to make top 8. He was playing a very, very aggressive Red / Green /Black deck with Countryside Crusher, Glareweilder and lots of removal. Game 1 goes to me as he mulligans down to 5 and proceeds to run out of steam a couple of turns later. Game 2 is again goes to me due to his bad luck; he starts the game with a nice hand and follows the draws with 4 Green cards with no forests in play.
Result: 2 - 0 (Win)

Round 7: Rob
I reach the final rounds with a soaring heart as all I needed to do was Intentionally Draw with my opponent and I would have made the top 8. And then I find out my opponent is Rob, who has an insanely good deck and is one of the top players at the GPT that day. Funnily enough, he's a pal of my friend Danial and so he agrees to ID with me IF he doesn't lose more than 5 rating points. So we go over to the Tournament Organiser's desk and proceed to calculate the rating points he loses which turns out to be 5. Unfortunately, we had taken so much time doing the calculations that he was forced to ID with me or receive a game loss. I bought him a beer for the 5 rating points he lost.

And thus I managed to make it to the Top 8 of the GPT with a record of 5-1-1, ranked 3rd in the tournament! Needless to say, I was ecstatic with joy. Now all that was left was the booster draft play-offs, which I only needed to win the first round in order to get to Brussels. I'll leave the finals report for another time as I think this article is long enough as it is. Till next time then.

News updates!

Alright I haven't been posting for some time now which I know is really bad cause I should be posting every week. Sorry all, just been really busy with finishing up projects and preparing for Magic tournaments. So here's what to expect in the next few days (I hope):

1. Story of my Paris trip (yes, I do take time off from gaming to go traveling).
2. The fact that... I WON THE GRAND PRIX TRIAL BRUSSELS!!!! I'M GOING TO BRUSSELSSSS!!!!
3. A review on Devil May Cry 4 (warning: it will be biased) and maybe one on DoTA.

Just to rant, I'm really happy about the Grand Prix win. Its my first big Magic tournament victory for me. Now I get to go to Brussels with my train ticket paid for and 3 round byes, just like a champion. And I met lots of great players at the GPT. Enough ranting now, look for the new posts soon!

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

" Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward[5] and published by Activision for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows. It is the fourth installment in the Call of Duty video game series (excluding expansions), but the first one to break away from the World War II setting and be set in modern times, and the first game in the series to be rated Mature in North America. The title and game details were announced on April 25, 2007.[6] It was released worldwide between November 6 and November 9, 2007, and became available on Steam on November 6 for pre-purchase, becoming available to play on November 12. [7] A Mac OS X version of the game is scheduled to be released in May 2008.[8] The game has received almost universal praise, winning multiple awards at gaming websites, and has been complimented on its storyline, visual elements, realism, and quality of its multiplayer.

The story is set in a fictional near-future war between the U.S. and Europe against Russian Ultranationalists and Middle Eastern rebels, and features many real-world weapons and vehicles. It is told from the perspective of both a USMC soldier and an operative of the British SAS, and is set in a variety of locations, including the Middle East, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Chernobyl. Its multiplayer features a variety of game modes and contains a "level/ranking" system, with the player unlocking additional weapons, weapon attachments, and camouflage schemes as they advance. " - Wiki article on Call of Duty 4

The game is so fast paced, it took a while for me to actually grasp what the heck was going on. Add that to inter-changing perspectives between 5 or so different characters at different points in the game and explosions, bullets and more enemies than you can shake a stick at and you have Call of Duty 4.

"Ah crap, I'm scared of lightning..."

As expected, the action doesn't let off as you blaze your way through mission by mission. The storyline is well written, reflecting on current events happening in the world today and possibly future events. There isn't much scope for character depth but the main focus is on the bigger story anyway. There is a huge gap between difficulties which some may find annoying. The graphics are visually stunning and almost surreal though not quite realistic. The music is easily forgettable but sets the mood nicely for each mission.

In the thick of the action

If anything, Call of Duty 4 is a enjoyable FPS. With a developed storyline, great action packed game play and excellent graphics, Call of Duty 4 is set to be one of the best FPS games in the last 2 years.


Score: 8 / 10

Happy Chinese New Year!

Its that time of year again! Yes, that time of year when Chinese guys/gals can go wild and party all night long for 15 days without a care in the world.... or so I would wish. Sigh... in any case I plan to celebrate it as much as I can. So far I've done some drinking and gambling. I'll be keeping a record of my winnings/losses throughout CNY so wish me luck cause so far its in the negative. I only have 12 days left to make it back. I just hope I don't lose more.

On CNY eve me and my housemates cooked a 'reunion' dinner just for the sake of tradition. No pictures this time cause I was too tired (doing coursework the whole day long). Each of us cooked at least one dish. I'll put who cooked what next to the dish name so here goes:

1. Chicken in Plum Sauce - Lance
2. Chicken in Wine & Soya Sauce - Lance
3. Fried Haddock in a Ginger & Spring Onion sauce - Lance
4. Spicy Pork & Aubergine - Me
5. Prawns & Leeks - Melissa
6. Choy Sum - Melissa
7. Asparagus - Melissa
8. Sour Vegetable Soup - Alan

So. once again, Happy Chinese New Year and hope its going well for everyone. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Gears of War

" The game centers on the soldiers of Delta Squad as they fight to save the human inhabitants of the fictional planet Sera from a relentless subterranean enemy known as the Locust Horde. The player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a former prisoner and war-hardened soldier. When in cooperative play, the second player takes control of Fenix's best friend and fellow soldier Dominic Santiago ("Dom"). " - Wikipedia Article on Gears of War.

I'll just be shooting around this here corner then...

The gameplay is well thought out and enjoyable as much as squad based tactical firefights can be. Cover is an important aspect of this game; you won't survive long without it. The music fits in nicely with the mood of the game and the graphics are top-notch. Level and character designs are beautiful and effects such as gore and blood splatters look great. The plot isn't much different from any other war-based plot but the characters in the game are well developed and does a lot to flesh out the plot.

Delta Squad earning some extra cash pimping around town

I had a lot of fun with the game even though it was pretty short. Pretty much one of the best games on the Xbox360 you can play and one of the games you definitely need to add to your collection.

Score: 8 / 10

Me and my Xbox360

It was pretty much on a whim that I decided to go get an Xbox360. I was deciding between the Wii and the 360 but went with the 360 in the end. One of the reasons was because I think the quality of the games on the 360 is much better but the real reason is that Devil May Cry 4 is being released on it soon.

My Xbox360 in all its glory

I only got a couple of games, Halo3 and Forza came free with the Xbox and I got Gears and Mass Effect for 50 quid. I've been taking my time playing the games since they cost so much, though I finished Gears of War in like 2 days on hardcore. Right now I'm working my way through Halo 3 and I hope I don't finish it too soon. Can't afford to get any more new games at the moment. I'm planning to get Xbox Live when I go back home so that I don't get any more distracted than I already am. I really need to get some work done and some how I don't think getting an Xbox is helping too much.

The (few) games I got

The morning tide is released

I went for the Morningtide prerelease last Saturday. Here's pretty much what I did all day:

10am: Leave for the Royal National Hotel.
11am: Arrived & chatted with some fellows.
12pm: Played my 1st Morningtide draft....
13pm: and lost horribly. Played my 2nd Morningtide Draft....
15pm: and lost horribly again.
16pm: The 2-Headed Giant event started.
22pm: The 2-Headed Giant event ended and we won!

So that's 12 hours of playing Magic all day. You can imagine how tired I was after the event, I could barely think afterwards. And I managed not to eat all day till like 11pm. At least me and Allan managed to win the 2-headed Giant event (well... technically we won... its complicated). Got a shirt which is way too big (its my PJ shirt now) and 6 boosters each.

Morningtide is a really fun set, lots of new mechanics and even more interactions with creature types. Its really cool that its not only a 'tribal' theme now but also a 'class' theme as well which lets you mix and match more combinations of colors together. Treefolks seemed the way to go but I think Elf warriors are going to be the decks to watch out for in drafts. Milling merfolk is better than ever with the new kinship merfolk and Grimoire thief. Kithkin got a boost, giants not really anything interesting, lots of nice elemental cards came out, goblins got a bit nastier and faerie rogues are probably going to be one of the best block constructed decks now with the new handy 'toy' they got.

That about sums up my thoughts about Morningtide, at least at the prelim stage. Looking forward to drafting LLM soon.

Update: Forgot to put in pictures of the T-shirt I won from the pre-release. Here they are!

The front

And the back

Shinobi

" Raised together within the Oboro Clan, Hotsuma and Moritsune were seldom apart during their youth. Being the younger of the two, Hotsuma looked up to Moritsune, and considered his older brother to be a superior warrior.Eventually, the Oboro Clan commandment was revealed to the two boys after they discovered Akujiki, the sword that would be used in the ritual to decide the clan's leader. The commandment deems that the next clan leader must be determined by a duel to the death between the eldest clan heirs -- in this case, Moritsune and Hotsuma. Aware of their destiny, the brothers trained incessantly, instructed by their foster parent, Kobushi.

10 years passed as the brothers refined their techniques and honed their senses. The duel occurred beneath a full moon, and after a long exhausting fight, Hotsuma finally slew his brother. Not long after, a massive earthquake struck Tokyo, and a mysterious Golden Palace appeared in the center of the city. With the appearance of the palace came the arrival of the powerful sorcerer Hiruko, who summoned hellspawn to wreak havoc upon the city, and all but destroyed the Oboro clan. The city's residents became paralyzed with fear. With the Oboro Clan ravaged and Tokyo on the verge of collapse, Hotsuma placed himself at the heart of the chaos, determined to reach the mysterious Golden Palace and avenge the death of his clan. " - Wikipedia article on Shinobi

Poor sod...

The game is tough to say the least due to most part to the difficult camera angles and the lack of checkpoints in the levels. The soundtrack is repetitive and easily forgotten so there's not much there. The game is very graphical in its killing scenes which is cool at first but just takes up time as the game progresses. The art is just ok I think, nothing to special and some of the bosses and monsters just look out of place. The plot is almost non-existent although developed some what through in-between-levels cut scenes.

Hotsuma killing some shinobi dogs

Nevertheless, I found the game really enjoyable cause of its sheer difficulty; not many games these days actually challenge a player. This is definitely not one for amateur gamers. A good challenge as a 3D platformer though lacking in all other departments.

Score: 6 / 10

New review layout

So I decided to revamp the way I do the reviews... rather than write the sypnosis myself I thought I'd just use the well written ones from other websites. This shortens the review a little I think. Below that would be the usual comments and opinions I have about the game, usually on the game play, artistic values, plot and soundtrack. At the end I'll put in my rating on the game on a scale of 1 to 10. Another thing changed is the titles I put under the pictures, at least it explains the pictures a little bit. Hope this makes the review sections better!

Persona 3

" A teenager who was orphaned as a young boy returns to the city of his childhood. Shortly after transferring to Gekkoukan High School, he is attacked by Shadows — creatures that feed on the minds of their victims. The assault awakens his Persona, Orpheus, his only chance at defeating these creatures of the night. He soon discovers that he shares this special ability with other students at his new school. From them he learns of the "Dark Hour," a hidden time that exists between one day and the next, swarming with Shadows. He joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), and with his new friends, confronts the threat of the Shadows. " - Wikipedia Article on Persona 3

The main character (bottom right) with Akihiko Sanada (bottom mid), Yukari Takeba (top left), Fuuka Yamagishi (top) and Shinjiro Aragaki (bottom left)

The game is mixes RPG elements found in games like the Final Fantasy series with typical Japanese dating simulation games. During the day you're a teenage high schooler, making friends, taking exams and dating girls and during the Dark Hour you fight Shadows. The RPG elements are the same as any other RPG and the date sim parts can get very tedious after a while.

The main character summoning his Persona

The better points of the game lie in its intriguing storyline and artistic presentation. Each character and their Persona are well developed and detailed. The soundtracks fit the mood of the game very well especially with the many different environments the characters would be in (school, bloody dungeons, school trips, dates, deaths, etc.).

Overall, a good solid RPG with a good plot. Good sounds and art but unfortunately may only appeal to fans of the Shin Megami series or hardcore gamers.

Score: 7 / 10

The Pro Tour Qualifier

Well, FYI, I'm an avid player of the trading card game Magic: The Gathering and recently attended the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Qualifier in London. It was a real blast and I managed to scrape through to the finals (barely). Too bad I didn't win though, the first prize was a trip to play in the Pro Tour in Kuala Lumpur which I really, really wanted! Ah well... at least I got into the Top 8! Here's some of the pictures of the event:

The tournament starts...

My two-headed giant & Magic partner, Allan...

... And my other friend and regular Top 8-er, Danial

Me at the Top 8 Table! (3rd from left)

Lost the first round in the finals to the guy on the far right... I put up a good fight at least. For some reason I felt really pressured to perform which made me not perform well, if that makes sense. Got a few booster packs (11 Future Sight packs I think) but I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Right now I'm preparing for the Morning Tide pre-release happening 1st Feb so wish me the best of luck.

Late updates

Sorry again for the late updates. I'll be updating it soon, I just haven't felt like doing any blogging for quite a while and some stuff happened so I've been really... busy. I'll do some posts soon and I'm thinking of changing the review sections a bit.

Also, to my friend going off soon, I wish you all the best and safe journey. I'm proud of how you've grown and who you are now. Keep going at this pace alright? I wish things were different but you need to do what you need to do. I'll always be the same.

So, anyway, I'll need to get back to studying for my Economics exam starting in 2 hours. Best of luck to me...

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

VP2 follows the story of Silmeria Valkyrie, one of three goddesses of fate serving the Lord of Creation, Odin (god basically - read up on Norse Mythology). Due to her rebellious ways, she was to be reincarnated as a human but due to Odin messing up somehow (don't ask me how) Silmeria ended up sharing a soul with the human she was supposed to be reincarnated as, the Princess Alicia of Dipan. Cause of this, Alicia constantly hears voices (Silmeria and her Einherjar - bodyguard/soldiers/party members) which makes people think she's crazy. That and the fact that Silmeria can surface from time to time and her personality is WAY different from Alicia's... and also that she knows things a 5 year old shouldn't know. Like the affairs of gods. Or the birds and the bees. Yup you'd freak too. So she's locked away in a castle for a long time. Eventually Odin realises that he made a mistake in his spell and sends Silmeria's eldest sister to go kill Alicia so Silmeria's soul can return to Valhalla. Thus Alicia/Silmeria set out to escape Hrist and bring an end to Odin's rule.


The gameplay is really unique for a RPG. It utilises the Action Point system which is used to cast magic or perform attacks. Each character can have up to 3 attacks depending on their weapon. When you engage an enemy, all four characters can attack at the same time as long as you have enough action points. However simply mashing the buttons won't maximise the damage you deal; you'll need to time attacks carefully with that of your other characters. Also, you free to roam the battlefield as long as you don't walk into an enemy's range of attack. The ability to dash makes tactics and strategy really important at times. A complicated but refreshing system.


The graphics are top notch for a PS2 game and the environments and characters in VP2 are really well designed and breath taking. I felt the storyline was a little lacking however. The story was solid and all but the characters were so... typical and stereotyped. Also I can't stand the English voice overs, they piss me off. They make all the characters sound like bimbos. The score is good and suits the game well. If I remembered correctly they recycled some of the music from the first VP. Which is alright by me cause it was good as well. Not the best RPG of 2007 but definitely a good title which deserves to be played. If you can, in Japanese.