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• 4Feb 10

  Is System Shock 2 A Hard Game?

  

  I just finished System Shock 2 for the PC today and it took me five consecutive days to complete it (Lost quite a lot of sleep). After defeating the final boss, I felt so exhausted and drained out because of the level of difficulty in this game. I never expected this game to be hard and long but it really is hard. Here are some of the things I find so frustrating in System Shock 2:

  1. The Enemies: It's so annoying when majority of them can kill you with a single hit and when they die, another one respawn right behind you and kill you before you could even react. I absolutely hate the cyborg ninjas and spiders because they take so many hits before they hit the ground.
  2. The Maps: I find the navigation in System Shock 2 to be so laborous and tiresome. Half the time I have no idea where to go and what to do. The mission objectives tell you to go somewhere but when you look at the map, you can't find it anywhere. For example, the objective tells me to head to the bridge but when I look at the map, I don't see any bridge. Then I wandered around aimlessly looking for this bridge but I still can't find it. About like an hour later, I finally found the bridge but it wasn't a London Bridge kinda bridge but a Command Center kinda bridge. That is so freakin' misleading!
  3. The Weapons: When it comes to an FPS game, your weapons are your friends and when you don't have them, you're screwed. In System Shock 2, you can find weapons lying around everywhere but when actually want to use them, it's either broken or jammed so you have to fixed them. It's a cool mechanic but the problem is is that the weapons are so fragile it becomes busted very easily after only a few shots. It's especially stupid when your weapon goes kaput in the heat of a battle and when you wanna switch weapons, it might be too late.

  So yeah, basically I had a hard time beating this game. I've never said "O my God," s**t and f**k so many times in my life before. Every thirty seconds it's cussing, load the game, cussing, load the game and it just goes on and on and on. It was that hard. Now I'm sure most of you would think that I hate this game. Well, the truth is I'm not sure. I had a good time playing the first few levels though but once I made it to the third deck in the ship, I was so stressed out. So stressed out that I had to use cheat codes. Technically, I don't like to use cheat codes but when a game gives you limited cash, ammos and med kits, you know you're in for a deep shiiit. And of course, whenever you're stuck, it's normal to refer to walkthroughs at GameFAQs.com or something but try looking at the ones for System Shock 2. All the walkthroughs are so flimsy, short, lack contents and they assume you know all about the game. It's useless! Normally you'll feel so rewarded, relieved and happy after beating a game but in System Shock 2 case, I felt so angry, tired and dissastified.
  
  It puzzles me that System Shock 2 gets positive reviews everywhere with perfect scores of 5/5 and 10/10 scores but I feel the urge to contradict them. I really want to love this game but somehow I just can't do it. What do these people see in the game that I don't? Is it the way I play? Is it because I didn't level up my character properly or is it something else? What do you guys think? I'm sure most of you have played it before so would you say it's a hard game? I'd love to know. Please comment in my blog and tell me your experience you had with the game. Was it hard? Was it a breeze? Tell me now!

  • Posted Feb 4, 2010 12:49 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 26Jan 10

  Daikatana's Not That Bad

  I was watching this particular video a little while ago about the long awaited video game that was John Romero's Daikatana. It was designed by the co-creator of everyone's beloved Doom and Wolfenstein series and it was in development for a long time. I remember reading about it in a magazine sometime in the 90's and it got me excited about the game even though I was not aware of its hype. Later on I had forgotten about it and moved on to other games. But after watching this video I thought to myself, "hey this game seems pretty cool" but little did I realize that Daikatana turned out to be a huge flop.

  Curious, I started reading its reviewsand I was surprised that everybody hated the game saying that the graphics looked ugly, it had bad controls and overall was below expectation. It's hard to believe; how can a game created by a guy who brought FPS on the map would suck so bad? Maybe it's because of this infamous advertisement that reads "John Romero's About To Make You His b***h and tells everyone to suck it down. What a way to promote your game.

  

  Thinking I would need to see it for myself, I decided to purchase a copy from Amazon and give it a try. And guess what? I like it. Yeah, I'm literally playing Daikatana right now and it's not bad. The controls are responsive and natural, the graphics are appropriately good for its time and the level designs are pretty good. So why nobody like this game when it came out?

  After finishing a few levels I can now see why it wasn't a big hit. First of all, the enemies you fight are nothing what you expect. From a creator of Doom you'd think you fight some zombies, mutants or any kind of abominations from Hell but no, all you fight in the first few levels are killer frogs and bats. Couldn't they come up with something better? Is that the best they got? Sure, you'll meet other mean adversaries along the way but what a perfect first impression. Killing frogs and bats. What a great idea.

  The second problem is the overall layout of the game. Like I said before, the graphics are appropriate for its time but I find the game to be quite messy and dark at times. I'm sure that's what they were going for but in execution it doesn't turn out quite well. The last complain I have is the lack of introduction. The moment the game starts, it doesn't tell you how to interact with objects, how to open locked doors and how to take out the turrets. I died so many times in the first stage because I didn't know what to do and there were so many bats, frogs and crocodiles attacking me everywhere. It was a disaster. Shouldn't the first stage be the easiest stage in the game with some basic instructions? I know it explains everything on the manual but still, the lack of introduction sucks.

  Those are my only complains so far and I still have a long way to go before coming up with the final conclusion. But after playing for a good 30 minutes, I can safely say that Daikatana is one of the most unappreciated games out there. It's got a decent storyline and interesting characters for the most part. If you happen to come across a copy of Daikatana, consider giving it a try and don't judge the game from other people's opinions.

  

  • Posted Jan 26, 2010 2:37 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 15Jan 10

  January Update: Games and Music

  2009 has been good to me for the most part and I hope 2010 will be better and a promising year for me. I missed quite a lot of good games last year which I'm very disappointed. I missed Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed II, Killzone 2 and many other games that probably ends with the number two. However I did play Batman: Arkham Asylum, Resident Evil 5, Left 4 Dead 2, Ghostbusters, Cryostasis and The House of The Dead: Overkill and I had a blast playing each game.

  

  Arkham Asylum sticks to me as not only the best game of 2009 but also the best Batman game by far. Way better than Dark Tomorrow. Everything about the game is so picture perfect and highly detailed from the characters to the backstory to the storyline and to the environments. It's completely seven heaven from beginning to end. I look forward to the upcoming sequel. The next game that I had a great time is Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the very sequel I've been waiting for for a long time. Ever since the last movie they made in 1989, I eagerly awaited for next movie to come up but after a dead silence or almost a decade, I began to lose hope. But when it was announced that an official sequel will be made in a video game format, I was speechless. Who would thought a beloved franchise will be making its return not as a cinematic picture but as a video game. And guess what? It was good.

  I was initially skeptical with the game's choice of letting you play as neither of the Ghostbusters members but as this new rookie. The thought kept lingering in my mind but after playing the game, it wasn't that awkward after all. I bought Ghostbusters for the XBOX360, PC, DS and the PSP because I love the game so much. It's a real treat for a Ghostbusters fanatic like me.

  The following game that I was glad and happy to play is Resident Evil 5. I played the PC version because I don't have my 360 with me at the moment but the experience is still the same I think. The graphics and the plot is pretty damn good as it follows the same mechanics asResident Evil 4 but like the previous game, the gameplay can get really boring later on as you are to upgrade weapons, buy new stuff, slash boxes with your knife and maintain your inventory slot over and over again. I kinda miss the old fashion Resident Evil with its fixed camera angles, item boxes and most importantly zombies. I don't understand when people complained about the fixed camera angles because it never occurred to me. I love it! The other thing that I don't understand is the racism issue with 5. I'll say it again and I'll say it clear:Resident Evil 5 is not racist!Seriously, it's not. Even the voice actress of Sheva Alomar said so. It just so happens that the viral outbreak takes place in South Africa and all its inhabitants are infected. That's it. So what's the fuss all about? Resident Evil 4 took place somewhere in the rural areas of Spain so how come you don't hear anyone complaining about a guy killing spanish people? It's all about popularity bullcrap. Just because you heard someone is talking about it you decided to join the club as well. It's ridiculous. I think the reason the public went on to an outcry with Resident Evil 5 is because of the screenshots they saw before the game was released and assumed the worst.

  

  (SPOILER STARTS HERE)

  There are two things I like and dislike about Resident Evil 5. The positive side is the (SPOILER ALERT!) final demise ofAlbert Wesker. When he died in the game I was like "yeah, finally! It's about goddamn time that sonnafa b***h dies." Don't get me wrong, I like Albert Wesker but when an antagonist slips away more than three games in his career, it gets pretty silly and you just grow tired of seeing him getting away repeatedly. On the negative side, it was sad to seeExcella Gionne, Wesker's partner in crime, gets killed in the game. I thought she was a great antagonist for the Resident Evil franchise with her evil looks and devilish talking but unfortunately she died too soon. I was hoping for Capcom to use her as a replacement for Wesker but sadly, they don't see it my way. Oh, well.

  (SPOILER ENDS HERE)

  Another great game I had fun with is Overkill. It is called the best game in the series by fans and the worst by the other party. If you asked me, I love Overkill. The plot and the humor is well done and I love watching the cutscenes. I even have all the cutscenes in my iPhone right now and watch them whenever I feel bored. That says it all. The performances for each character is well done especiallyAgent G,Isaac Washington andPapa Caesar. Their constant swearing and hatred towards each other is priceless and some of their quotes like "what does a brother have to do to pacify a b***h still lingers in my mind to this day. I love that stuff.

  

  If there's one game I wished I could play isBrutal Legend. I only played the demo in a gaming convention and I wished I could play more. My disappointment with the game is that it's not been made available for the PC. Previous Tim Schafer games have all got games for the PC fanboys so I was surprised that Brutal Legend didn't have any PC port. Hopefully there shall be one someday.Other than that, I really don't have any regrets of missing other games likeDragon Age andDemon's Souls since I'm not a fan of RPG and Online play.t;/p>

  Now for some updates on music. Aside from video games, the next thing I love in life is music. Though I focus my attention more on Heavy Metal and Rock, I'm generally a universal listener and listen to all kinds of music. I stop listening to radio for a few years now because I really don't have much love for today's music. Today's music has evolved into something really commercialized and too mainstream which hurts me in some ways. Music nowadays has evolved into new age R&B, strange mix of alternative pop and rock, clubbing and god knows what else. Majority of the new songs don't leave an impression on me anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love pop music and I like R&B in some angles but today's music lack soul, melody, body and control. There's no love to them anymore.It's all about fame, boobs and fortune.I dig good beats but when it comes to today's R&B and clubbing music, they feel so empty.

  I also don't watch music videos on TV nowadays because it's all dominated by clubbing scenes and soft porn materials which has become extremely excessive and very misleading. I miss the old music videos where it's about stories, dancing, humors and fun. That is why I now stop listening to the new stuff and begin listening to the old stuff. I literally start listening to a lot of music which I grew up with and slowly make my way back to the basics. As a guy who grew up in the 80's and 90's, I started listening back to good ol' music that these decades have to offer including pop music. Yeah, other than Metal, I also listen to pop music like boy bands stuff. Yeah, it might not be cool for some people but whatever man. I don't care, I grew up with that s**t. I also listen to old influential artists like AC/DC, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Elton John, Twisted Sister, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Megadeth, Motorhead and more. For dessert, that would be hip-hop and R&B like RUN-DMC, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Beastie Boys and a whole lot more. Basically, I'm going all the way back rather than forward and it feels good.

  

  So that's my honest opinion about today's music. If you love them to bits, good for you. But if you hate 'em, then sign me up. But having said that, I do like one or two of them. I hate to admit but Lady Gaga is pretty cool. Sure, her music is very clubby and such but there are some pop elements in them which I dig so overall, Lady Gaga just barely makes it out of my hate list. Nothing else to add except I also hate emo!Speaking of music, I enjoy video game soundtrack and I have a whole bunch of them in my iTunes right now. My favourites are Metal Gear stuff, Biohazard/ Resident Evil stuff and SIlent Hill stuff.Akira Yamaoka is the bomb but I'm disappointed that he officially left Konami in December of last year. What a tragic news. What will ever happen to the Silent Hill series now?

  Well, that's about it for now. Hope you all enjoy reading my long blog.

  Psykhophear

  Chrotokho Creative

  • Posted Jan 15, 2010 9:02 am GMT
  • Category: General
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