• 24Oct 09

  Borderlands [SUPER QUICK BUYER'S GUIDE]

  

  What you're reading: a personal review of Borderlands without all the details, just the main points.

  Why: I want to talk to you about the game, not put you to sleep.

  Ok, the bad:

  • No, not "87 BAZILLION GUNS!" More like "20-30 GUNS WITH 87 BAZILLION STAT VARIATIONS!"
  • The open world is actually divided into sections, separated by loading screens.
  • Loading screens can be anywhere from 15 - 45 seconds long.
  • RPG elements are bare bones compared to other established games in the genre.
  • No armor to collect/sell/modify, only energy shields.
  • Level cap of 50.
  • Minor, minor text and skills glitches that Gearbox needs to fix.
  • BROKEN ONLINE THAT GEARBOX NEEDS TO FIX.

  Now the good:

  • 20-30 GUNS WITH 87 BAZILLION STAT VARIATIONS!
  • Not all of the RPG elements are somewhat lacking - the skills actually affect your performance.
  • Open world.
  • Lots of side quests.
  • Good sense of humor.
  • I-don't-take-myself-seriously-but-I-can-still-kick-your-ass sense of st yle.
  • Art st yle is very nice. Think moving comic book, not cel-shading.
  • FPS gameplay feels spot on. Guns are fun, "CRITICAL HIT!" shots are satisfying.
  • The way Lilith laughs when you score a headshot.

  So yeah, that's it.

  I didn't have money for this game, so in order to get it, I had to trade Super Mario Galaxy, Prototype, a caseless Resistance 2 and a caseless Uncharted, all games I got for free from a friend. I got $37 from that, plus the "Trade 4, get $20 extra" which put me at $57, and I was able to buy Borderlands for $2.45.

  So yeah, $60 game for $2.45. Deal of the century, amirite?

  Anyway, I'm not doing much other than that. Just playing the game in single player, waiting for a patch from Gearbox and my Bayonetta merch to get here.

  Tune of the Week: DJ Champion - No Heaven

  (Hah, like that? The original song from the first few Borderlands trailers.)

  • Posted Oct 24, 2009 11:37 pm GMT
  • Category: Pets and Animals
  • 33 Comments
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• 18Oct 09

  Dexter & Bayonetta

  Everything Else-

  Let's get something out of the way now: Dexter is awesome.

  

  (Look at him - badass. The guy rocks Vans for Christ's sake.)

  Call me late, but it's a real piece of work that I only discovered recently. Excellent script-writing, compelling characters (especially Dexter), twists & turns - it's nothing short of a triumph. I always knew what it was about, but I was never interested until I decided to download the free pilot episode off the PSN store.

  I became attached to Michael C. Hall's character, the anti-hero; someone that you normally would want to see put in prison, but because of how much the show focuses on him, and the rules of his moral code, you understand his motives and why he does the things he does.

  I'm currently working my way through Season 3 (episode 3 right now), readying myself for season 4.

  Gaming-

  No new video games, unfortunately. Remember when I said I was gonna grab Operation Flashpoint 2, Uncharted 2 and Fallout 3? Well, that plan never came to fruition, unfortunately. A couple days ago we got a letter from my sister's school saying that she needs to see an eye doctor for prescription glasses, so we did that.

  I decided to set aside my wants for her needs, as her grades were slipping because of her eyesight.

  We had a little bit of money left over, and I would've bought those games, but they were out of stock online and in-store (bad luck follows me everywhere), so I decided to get the next best thing: Bayonetta 150 song, 5 CD OST and an 80 page artbook.

  

  

  I know, obsession. Kamiya's a genius for creating a character this awesome, and he's got me hooked. I've been playing the demo non-stop since it came out. It's addictive as hell. I've never played any of the Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden games, but now I know why they're so God damned popular: action games are fun.

  Looks like it's time to dust off that old copy of Ninja Gaiden Sigma that my friend gave me a while back.

  Anyway, this stuff ships out November 4th, when the soundtrack drops in Japan. I'll be sure to give each a nice, thorough review for those of you interested.

  Anime-

  Nope, too much Dexter.

  Tune of the Week: Ore Ska Band - Hana no Ska Dance

  Saw these guys at the Warped Tour last year at St. Helens in Oregon.

  It was magical.

  • Posted Oct 18, 2009 12:22 am GMT
  • Category: Travel
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• 4Oct 09

  Aw, dude, colds are lame.

  Gaming-

  Uhh.. N/A.

  Oh wait, BUY 2 GET 1 FREE AT TOYS R' US IN THE U.S., OCT. 11th - 17th!!

  I shall buy:

  
  
  
  Free:
  
  
  
  

  ...and that's about it. Haven't had much time for video games lately. Well, honestly, I'm just bored of them.

  Oh! So I just got back from blowing my nose (I'm sick) and I saw a Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 commercial on TV as I passed through the living room. See that? A real-time update. Wasn't that cool?

  Now it's like you're right here with me, breathing in all the microbes that I've sneezed into the air the past 10 minutes.

  Anime-

  Recently Started:
  - Chocotto Sister
  - H20: Footprints in the Sand (Which, might I add, looks great.)

  Recently Finished:
  - Ai Yori Aoshi seasons 1 & 2
  - Rosario + Vampire 1 & 2
  - Shaman King
  - True Tears
  - They Are My Noble Masters (No, it's not what you're thinking, and it was better than I expected.)
  - Strawberry Marshmellow
  - Nabari no Ou (Horrible. My uncle made me sit through it because he was convinced that main boy would stop being an emo little fairy and man up to his responsibility, but nope.)

  Onegai Teacher is officially my favorite romance/drama ever to come out of Japan, Myself; Yourself in a close, close second.

  I also watched Shaman King for old time's sake and realized that they edited a lot of things out since the version I watched on FoxBox as a kid. (Remember Saturday morning cartoons? Yeah, Pokemon, Yugioh, etc. Everyone watched anime at one point or another. For the record, Fox Kids > Kids WB > FoxBox > 4Kids or whatever came after that.)

  Still, I liked it a lot, and it was every bit as fun as it was back in 5th grade, especially because I understand a lot more now. My uncle thought it was cool too. He watches these shows with me on random occasions, such as if he isn't busy or he just wants to chill. He enjoys Bleach as well.

  Everything Else-

  Not cool bro, not cool. Like my nasal's plugged up tighter than the Hoover dam and my head feels like Rosie O'Donnel's ass on thanksgiving - heavyyyyyy. It's that time of the season, I guess.

  In other, less painful news, I finally foung Something Missing by MiChi that appeared in that live action Bayonetta commercial. I was pretty happy this morning, despite being so close to death. If you want it too, the download link's in the video description of the first link.

  I also got a super new monitor:

  

  ...which is why I've been gone, because my old monitor was like aging or something. It wouldn't turn on, and I did everything I could, so I just got a new one. Full 1080p and all that crap, even though I couldn't game on this PC ever, because it's got a graphics card that's even less capable than a TV screen tied to a rock.

  But whatever, everything's nice and crisp looking.

  And uhh, that's it..

  Oh yeah, been listening to Jay-Z's new album, The Blueprint 3, and I gotta say, it's not bad. Better than Blueprint 2, but nowhere, nowhere near as good as the original Blueprint.

  Anyway, whatever.

  I'm gonna go downstairs and rest, I'm really exhausted from this cold and my heads going to burst open, I swear..

  Tune of the Week: Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind.

  
  

  • Posted Oct 4, 2009 11:17 pm GMT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 22 Comments
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