I didn’t go back to my kampung at Johor. Well, my grandparents already passed away years ago. There are still relatives back there. As usual, my parents will still going back. For this raya, only my sisters (biological and non-biological) went back along with my parents. So, there, my brother and I were the only people left at the house, like usual. What I did on those days? Frankly speaking, playing games. 
Need for Speed: Shift for the win!
Previously, I’ve been an ardent follower of PC Games. Following that post, there are still games not yet released for this year like Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3. Truly, I am still a PC gamer while being a console games fanatic at the same time. I choose to buy PS3 last time after some exclusive games that I like which are only available on it. Not really neglecting PC games though I can say, I am only interested with certain FPS and RTS games for PC gaming. Of course that games like Killzone 2 looks cool and nice in PS3 but I hate playing it with the DS3 controller. Xbox 360 controller might be better than Dualshock for PS3 in terms of playing FPS but I still hate playing it with such thing. Not only that, it’s stupid to play Red Alert 3 on consoles as well. Micromanagement is totally out of topic for consoles. In my office, there’s an Xbox 360 along with several games which included Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath. I tried playing the game and found it’s totally hard. Despite how cool the controller can do, it’s still better on keyboard and mouse. Good thing about console games is that the ease and quickness from booting the console up and play a game. Anyway, let me proceed to what I have in my mind for the upcoming games.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey (PS3)
Tallyho!
Originally a WW2 aircraft combat simulation game for PC, IL-2 finally being made available for consoles. Being a fan of WW2 planes, I simply love the sound of propeller engines along with the upbringing of the original term of dogfight. Also, I am a little bit fanatical of German WW2 planes for their supreme quality and designs of their weaponry. Of course that modern jet fighters are fun to play with. But this new digital era shows us that things can get easier in aerial combat with simply computerized systems and button mashing. Birds of Prey presents playable authentic planes from Germany, Great Britain, United States and Soviet Russia along with historical air battles especially the epic Battle of Britain and Eastern Front. This game is also available for Xbox 360 and will be released on September 15.
*touches*
If we take word by word, “umi” means sea while “neko” means cat. But in Japanese language, “umineko” means seagull. Perhaps for Japanese people, seagull is so cute like a cat but living nearby the sea. Well, originally “neko” came from the word “neru” as in sleeping and “ko” for “kodomo” which is child. Literally, a cat is look like a sleeping child. Hehe, btw Umineko no Naku Koro Ni was originally a game, a visual novel game. for PC (Wikipedia says that it’s also for Mobile Phone). Which, there’s also an animu that already aired starting last July. Somehow I really like Beatrice. Yep, she’s the witch from Umineko no Naku Koro Ni. At first, Maria-chan is quite something being a yandere little child. But Beatrice is far more superior than her in terms of characteristics and even powers. Oh well, here goes.
Nya~n
I’ve been thinking of making a serious related post earlier but really not sure how to conclude the text well. Maybe I can finish it up later on. It’s not really something new but more just like a rant and some thoughts. Anyway, just let me proceed to my recent fanaticism. The picture above is Taokaka, a character in a fighting game of Blazblue: Calamity Trigger. She’s a catgirl from Kaka village. Yeah, after getting my Limited Edition copy of Blazblue from Sora, I’ve been playing it for some time, I guess. Well, I am playing Disgaea 3 as well (borrowed from Sora). My fondness of Taokaka is due to her voice when fighting and the combos are quite nice to be done too. Speaking of voice, her seiyuu is Chiwa Saito who also voice casting for Hitagi Senjogahara (another love of mine for this new season of animu) of Bakemonogatari and Raspberyl of Disgaea 3.
Perhaps Hitagi Senjogahara gallery after this? Until after I am getting enough pictures to display though :3
I bet some of you might be thinking of how big my underwear is, aye? Or rather pantsu if you prefer that way. Anyway, it’s about my bad habits in getting something I like. Something costs me money. The recent purchases of Comp Ace tankoubon and Megami Deluxe show how cruel the papers flew out of my pocket. It didn’t end there yet. I ordered lens for my Panasonic Lumix LX3 camera from a bulk order in LowYat.NET which was delivered to my house on Tuesday through PosLaju. From a third party lens maker, Pandabase, the package contained an adapter along with telephoto lens.
Example picture of the adapter attached on an LX3 (image taken from ClubSnap.com)
Telephoto lens attached along with an adapter to LX3 (image taken from FotoBestBuy)
They cost me around RM 233 along with the delivery fees (well, it’s imported from Hong Kong). Since it’s only 52mm lens, it’s not really that far like those DSLR but it’s an addition to the original zoom of LX3 itself (inb4 DSLR fags come in and saying stuffs). Apart from the stuffs for my camera, I purchased some games for my PS3 as well.
Metal Gear Solid 4, Little Big Planet, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 and Burnout Paradise Ultimate Box
I bought MGS4 (RM 80), LBP (RM 80) and PES 2009 (RM 140) from my friends. Means, second-hands. Eventually I bought brand new package of Burnout Paradise for RM 140 in which I was also purchasing Silent Hill Homecoming (RM 90) for shah. Since all these games have already available on the market for sometime, I had to update all these games before started playing them. Meh, a lot of big updates and long downloading time. Looking back at these, Mein Gott. A lot of money were spent for such things. T^T
P/S: Shah, don’t forget to pay me back RM 90 of you SH:HC game and also that RM 30 of CF banner.
Being a contract worker and a Masters student at the same time, I am barely alive here lol. I am not saying that they’re hard but it’s pretty tiring to have all days in a week used non-stop. Apparently, I might have my weekends a little bit free after this semester ends. Oh well….
I am planning of making double posts today. For this post, it will cover up things related with my Playstation 3. More than a week ago, my copies of Resident Evil 5 and Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. arrived. As usual, Sora kept urging me to play with him after he got to know that I got the game.
Arrived at my home 2 weeks ago on Friday. Barely more than a week ago....
Resident Evil 5 – Verdict
It’s full of actions despite the story is quite short. I finished the game less than 5 hours with Sora’s help. Yeah, I know that he has the unlimited ammo thing since he unlocked them already but with only 6 chapters, the game can be considered as very short. Despite similar control as Resident Evil 4, the introduction of co-operative play means you have to solve some of the riddles by using two people instead of one man show like previous series. Perhaps PS3′s online multiplayer capability made Capcom decided to make the game more fun by having multiplayer elements.
What’s so good about the game anyway? Well, I’ve been a fan of RE series since the first game though I only played the main series and neglecting the Survivor series plus others (oh, I didn’t play RE Zero because I don’t have GameCube). The game has far off left it’s horror theme as it’s push on towards third-person shooter game. As much as some people still insisting that the game as survival horror game, I believe the game isn’t as horror as before or other recent horror games like F.E.A.R. RE5 brings in Sheva Alomar, a new character that acts as Chris’ partner throughout the game (eventually you will be able to use her when you’ve finished the game). The AI is quite good. Helping you each time you got some troubles like being strangled by those mindless zombies or creatures. Like I said earlier, you will be needed to rely on your partner to solve things up. Items can be shared together with your partner. Despite that it’s short to finish the game, there are many achievements and unlockables that kept me playing it again and again. Especially when trying to beat the scores. Each chapters will have grades and once you’ve finished the game, there will be Mercenaries mode unlocked where you will be playing on some recognizable places like in the main story campaign. Beating each Mercenaries map with A grade will unlock you with additional characters with different outfits. Two other characters are Albert Wesker and Jill Valentine where you can play as them on Mercenaries mode.
One of the things that I dislike in the game is that you have to stop when you want to fire weapon. Plus, when in firing mode, it is slow as you couldn’t face back quickly if there’s an enemy at your back. Usually I have to do the quick 180 degrees turn before switching to firing mode. Other than that, connecting to a co-op game with friends is frustrating. Most of the time, my connection to Sora’s game lost. The communication error thing will pop out and have to restart the PS3 then try to connect to the game again. Apparently, this is not related with internet or in Malaysia, the Streamyx connection, which I can tell Malaysian internet enthusiast people will try to point that first but as I searched on the forums and some gaming sites, it’s due to the game itself.
Overall, it’s a superb game. Good actions and great graphics are really mesmerizing. There’s a scene that really resembles Indiana Jones movies. Giving the game with 9/10 wasn’t an exaggerate hype from an old fan.
Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.
Originally I wanted to get this game for PC like I stated before. But I couldn’t resist the tempt to get it for my PS3. This arcadish air combat game is one of my favourites. If some of you didn’t know, HAWX is related with Ghost Recon game in Tom Clancy series. There are missions where you will be needed to protect them from up above. Since the cancellation of Ace Combat 6 for PS3, I was really looking for an alternative for it. HAWX is full of action packed dogfighting and there are many planes that you can choose from the hangar (well, obviously after you unlocked them each time you completed a mission and also your levels). The planes are realistic. As much as I love to try MiG-29 after I unlocked it, I also enjoyed flying the F-15 jet fighter and taking out as many planes as possible (this is arcade, mm’kay? 140 missiles on a plane is just cool). You can choose your viewing preferences as there are 3 modes; Cockpit view, simplified first person view and also third-person view where you can see your beautiful plane while piloting it. I prefer cockpit or first person view tho.
Actually I felt a little bit boring after started to play some few early missions. It feels a little bit easy and somewhat similar with Ace Combat dogfighting. But then, there’s Assistance OFF mode which was introduced after some missions completed. When flying without assistance, you can perform sharper turns to avoid missile locks, but you’re more susceptible to stalling if you brake too hard. In this mode, the camera angle switches to a wider view of the landscape, which affords you a better view of your current target and incoming missiles. Then again, it can be a bit disorienting and makes controlling the plane even more difficult for those who are not used with it. Graphically speaking, it’s awesome, only when you’re up in the sky. The grounds look just like those old Combat Flight Simulator games when you’re flying in close to the ground. Tho, cities were well built just like real life cities with buildings. While dogfighting can be immersive, the wingmen AI is quite useless. They can be ordered to attack your designated target and also defending you but most of the time, they’re not that helpful.While there are many aircraft to choose from and various attributes, the controlling is very similar on all planes. A difference that can be seen is the speed, for example.
To sum it up, it’s a great air combat game despite some minor flaws here and there. I give it 8/10 and honestly speaking, it’s a little bit biased because I love dogfighting anyway.
Huh?
Bought this baby because I wanted to find a microphone for my PS3. Since PS3 can use any Bluetooth device, I opted to find a headset where I can use it on my HTC as well. So I found this B-Speech Calypso SP. It’s not that cheap as it’s priced RM 230 but it fits perfectly on my ears. Sadly, PS3′s audio output only applicable on HDMI, Digital output and analog output. Oh well, at least it can be used with my HTC :3
The seventh generation of console made by Sony named Playstation 3 made me further away from gaming on PC. Despite currently being concentrate on playing only one game, I have been dreaming about getting more games for my gaming console. Might be buying Resident Evil 5 after this (Sora keeps bugging me to get it quickly). Oh, I just finished playing Valkyria Chronicles few days ago. I was thinking of making a new post out of it in this blog but was busy with daily life. Overall I can say it was a good game. Great graphics, good story but a little bit short for somewhat RPG like this (the game indicator shows that I have played for almost 24 hours on the game itself and decent JRPGs are usually 40 hours and above). I heard there is DLC (downloadable content) for this game but I am not sure enough. I am still noob about PS3 stuffs >_<
Alicia says, "Roger!"
"Yosh!", said Isara, firmly.
Alicia and Isara want you to join Gallian Militia!
Next month will be the said animu of Valkyria Chronicles on Japan television (where someone will rip it, upload it on the net and then subbed). I might not amused with it’s directional arts but surely I will follow the animu anyway. That’s all for now. Short post is short.
Not sure where should I begin. Hmm, perhaps the Forum Nokia Code Camp would be a good starting point. Last week, Nokia and Maxis held a Forum Nokia Code Camp on Wednesday and Thursday for free. Yep, registration was free and apart from free lectures on developing applications for Symbian OS, we got free breakfasts, lunches and tea breaks as well. I am not into Java programming but well, it was a good start for mobile phone application developers like me to get to know about it better. I eventually got to meet with Flavert guys and not forgetting about Your Brother, a clan member of Your Clan (erm yeah I know the clan name sounds weird but that’s our clan name >:3 ).
Oh btw I have something that Hangmen might envy.
Street Fighter 4 and Killzone 2
I got my copies of Street Fighter 4 and Killzone 2 on the last Friday. I tested SF4 with Sora on that night after work. I had problems connecting to Warzone with KZ2 though. Perhaps because I bought the Region 1 version. So meh. Then again, I haven’t finished yet my game of Valkyria Chronicles. More over I got emoed halfway through the game because my favorite character died ;_; nooooooooooo…. At the time of writing, I still have one more episode left to go. Maybe I shall finish it tonight.
Saturday was an unfortunate day. My mom was being admitted to the emergency ward at Serdang Hospital. She fell ill and her body’s weak. For the whole day I was at the hospital. Eventually doctor said that she can go home to rest after giving some medication and also several hours of examination. The even pretty much shocked me. I became less motivated to do anything and I had a presentation on the next day. So I skipped the next day classes at Malacca after I got headache as I was doing some works on the previous night. My mom still not fully recovered though. Most of the time she’s resting at the bed and do some light chores.
Monday’s an off day. The celebration of Prophet Muhammad birthday. I did nothing much and most of time doing chores at home. Eventually I played Valkyria Chronicles a little. Then Shah called me on the phone asking me to go along with him and his wife to Nilai 3. Well for those who don’t know, Nilai 3 is a place where most stuffs are directly from manufacturers and you can bargain there. The first thing that came in my mind was remote control. But in the same time I was thinking about brithday presents for my dad and my mom. Whatever. So I went there in the late afternoon and I bought Panzerkampfwagen III RC. The turret is operable and can shoot too. Back home I played around the tank with my gashapons and figmas.
Strike Witches (not sure about her name because this character wasn't in the anime)
Yuki Nagato as Tank Commander y/n?
Sexy Tank Commander Natsuki Kuga
Sakura Matou as Panzer Command
Lucky Star's Panzer Crews
Konata having fun with Kagamin
It was tempting to get the tank as it was priced at RM 180. Since it’s made in China and it’s not a Tamiya, it’s supposed to be cheap. However, this is bloody cheap as the shopkeeper dude really wanted to sell it off because it’s the only one left. Plus, people prefer the normal version more rather than the more expensive ones that have artificial smoke. For example, the Panzer III that I got is priced at RM 180 while the same model with artificial smoke is priced at RM 230. There are other models like Panzer IV which I prefer more than Panzer III but it was priced at RM 250 and has artificial smoke. If you’re wondering what’s the artificial smoke do, it is actually appeared when the tank shoots. At other shop, there’s Panther model and also an American tank model. But they’re priced higher. The model that I really wanted was Tiger I which was sold out (and priced far more higher). Apparently my purchase came with a freebie, another RC. Just a simple RC stuff which I think I may give it to my niece as birthday present since her birthday is on the next month too. Back to my initial point, I supposed to find some presents for my parents’ birthdays. Hmmm… Maybe I should get something else.
Finally, I got my PS3. I bought it last Saturday from Bernard for RM 1630 (Console + Dualshock 3 + HDMI-to-DVI Cable + one game). I went to Bernard’s shop near Pertama Kompleks there with shah_ho_nam and linkinstreet. Actually, we went there for about 3 times; first, it was too early in the morning and we decided to go elsewhere first, second, it’s in the noon but Bernard wasn’t there as he had to get some console stocks, and finally, we went back there around 8:30 pm just to get the PS3. I wanted to buy Killzone 2 but since I didn’t make any preorder, I have to wait for some days as all the copies he currently have are for those who already preordered. So, I bought Valkyria Chronicles instead.
Valkyria Chronicles
I have already knew about the game long time ago. Since I subscribe Comp Ace tankoubon, I got to know about the series as a manga. From the tankoubon also I knew that Senjo no Valkyria: Gallian Chronicles was pretty popular. Reading through previews and some character designs included, I happened to be sceptical about the story as most war theme series always had typical I-don’t-want-to-fight-but-I-had-to syndrome. Plus, I don’t really like the heroine’s appearances; twin tails with feminist headscarf girl wielding a rifle. Well, that’s my preliminary thoughts of the game.
I bought Megami magazine too along with PS3
Installing...
Apparently, I got some guesses wrong for the game and the story itself is pretty much acceptable for me. Oh btw, the title for English version is called Valkyria Chronicles (easier to remember compared to Senjo no Valkyria: Gallian Chronicles). It’s a squad turn based combat game which is bombastically called BLiTZ (Battle of Live Tactical Zones). The story starts with Welkin Gunther being arrested after drawing some natural and environmental images by Alicia Melchiott for mistaken him as a spy of the Empire. Instead, he is actually the son of a renown First Europa War veteran general who doesn’t really like war and prefers to be a teacher (this is what I called as typical war stories). Similar like Welkin, Alicia wanted to be a baker instead of carrying around a rifle and killing enemies. Welkin’s non-blood related sister, Isara, looks like a girl with frail body and naive. However, the first chapter of Valkyria Chronicles simply explained who they really are.
Alicia and Welkin
Isara
Both Welkin and Alicia understand that their country is under attacked by the Empire. Both knew that they have to fight and it’s not the time to think about their peace time ambitions. Despite their own preferences, they are determined to take arms against the invaders. Alicia is surprisingly adorable. Marina Inoue, her seiyuu, simply brought out her character within which I simply like it. Isara on the other hand is not entirely naive. Her late father designed a modern combat tank that wasn’t mass produced due to it’s complexity. She secretly follows her father’s footstep by becoming an engineer (at least to her brother, Welkin). She pilots Edelweiss, a tank left by her father, which she had some training previously. She suggested her brother to become the tank commander of Edelweiss and eventually her brother became the leader of Squad 7 with a rank of lieutenant. Basically, these main characters are not some teenagers who don’t know shit about war as the country of Gallia has already conducting yearly military training at schools all over the country.
Selvaria Bles
The Empire or the East European Imperial Alliance was not short of surprises as well. The most notable character is Selvaria Bles who actually from a bloodline of legendary Valkyrie warriors that capable of wielding ragnite spear and shield for superhuman strength. Apparently, the seiyuu of her, Sayaka Ohara, was also the seiyuu of Alicia Florence of Aria the Animation and both characters of hers were totally different (Selvaria isn’t as easy going and relaxed as Alicia Florence lol). Another thing worth mentioning that the crown prince of the Imperial Alliance is Maximillian, voiced by Jun Fukuyama. He reminds me so much about Lelouch Lamperouge of Code Geass. Plus, with royal stuffs and nobility, again I can hear ‘Yes, My Lord’ and ‘Yes, Your Highness’ again with Jun Fukuyama. With the upcoming anime series of Valkyria Chronicles, I hope it won’t be suck. Currently I like this game very much. As much as I like its story.
Siegheil!
That’s all for today.
My PSN ID: darksteno (MY), stenolovesyou (UK).
It’s been awhile I haven’t put up any kind of post about games. In fact, I’ve been struggling to find a writing theme for my site which eventually ended up as personal blog rather than what I planned before (it was still something personal stuffs but with more varieties.. oh well). For example, there’s one unrelated post in this blog that seemed out of the league (*points at MiG news*). Nevertheless, let me write something about upcoming PC Games of 2009 that make me feel amusing just by thinking about it.
oliolioooo
2009 is the year of sequels. Many existing games are currently having their continuitions under development and some of them gonna be released this year. Of course there are also brand new games that look promising such as Rage, Dragon Age, Alan Wake, Tom Clancy’s End War, Men of War and some others. Anyway, I will only give a slight preview over my personal favorites for upcoming games (without any preference order).
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
Yeah, the best World War 2 real time strategy out there. I am not playing with the “best” word here. From the first original title to its first expansion, Relic have delivered us with awesome and realistic games involving WW2 theme. Fallschirmjagers, Calliope, King Tiger, Priest and many more cool units. The next expansion will have no new faction. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor gives players new campaigns, units, multiplayer modes, and maps. Having three new campaigns with new units are excellent enough to add up unto this excellent game.
Tigers!
Tank crews in action
As much as I hope they include more factions into the game, perhaps balance issues might plague the game once more if being added just like when Opposing Fronts were released some time ago. Nevertheless, this is a must buy game for me. No exact date of release yet. Perhaps March or April?
Diablo 3
The new sequel of Diablo that will be unleashed upon its fans who have already waiting like 7-8 years? Blizzard is currently putting their best efforts to make the game as fun as possible like before. We have already seen several sequels of other games flopped and ended up being some hype. So, Diablo 3 is being carefully made to become the best hack-and-slash RPG ever for this time around. Ever since the popular World of Warcraft already taking the top spot of RPG titles, the Diablo 3 development team tries to differentiate both games by having Diablo 3 concentrated more on PvP more rather than more economical bla bla stuffs like in WoW. Good move as I am not into using skills to combine several liquids or dusts to make a kind of aphrodisiac potion.
Meow!
This is an early alpha shot btw. The recent screenshot release shows that the game has become darker and horror environment just like its predecessors
Will it be coming out this year? I doubt so but it is something that we should hope to.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
Another games that will be released from the same maker of Company of Heroes. Apart from graphical enhancement and new game engine, what can we expect from this new sequel? First and foremost, the game will be more on tactical sides. For that matter, there will be less resources gathering matters that need to take care off. More units customizations with different war gears and items especially weapons. The destructible environments will make the more to be more challenging and exciting. With no buildings, will the game be more like DotA that focusing on heroes and tactical squaddie?
For the Emperor!
Rocket jumps can crush enemies upon landing
This is one great game that should be collected. When we will be able to get it? Perhaps June or July.
Empire: Total War
Aah, the great Total War series now brings us back to the 18th century era. What can we tell upon that timeline? It is the Age of Sail. Yup, there will be real time naval battles unlike its predecessors. Apart from that, we can see the colonization of India and the New World which is America. We also can recreate the American Independence battles which introduces more rifles and firearms. Currently, Creative Assembly still deciding on what factions they should add into the game as of what we know, there are many nations and factions of the European origin. Some factions have already been confirmed such as Great Britain, France, Sweden, Ottoman, Prussia, Russia, Spain and United Provinces (which is the Dutch).
Box shot for British release. Subject to change, though.
pew pew pew pew
The released date has been confirmed on the 3rd of March 2009. A must have for those RTS fans.
Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.
The new air combat game from Ubisoft. Set on near future where some private military forces attacking the United States. Well, what you can expect from Tom Clancy anyway, huh? It might be just a good game if not a decent game. But, really, we have less and less simulation/arcade-ish games involving air combat games on PC recently. Especially modern air combat. With F-35 that we can control, how could I ignore this game? Heh, surely this game tries to compete with Ace Combat series that already have dominating the console games for air combat simulations.
High Altitude Warfare - Experimental Squadron
"Bird down! Bird down!"
Still no exact date of release. Maybe around March or April. I might be waiting for reviews before buying this although my hands feel itchy to play air combat simulation games for some time.
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Again, the mother of all RTSes. Now on the second sequel. By the look of its screenshots, there’s actually nothing that really impress me much. I know, it’s Starcraft. Who doesn’t get the hype of it anyway? Well, Blizzard will surely try to make the games not getting far off from its predecessor and putting new elements to make the games feels brand new. If we really want to compare with other ancient games that still alive until now with sequels, Red Alert 3 is a good comparison. In RA3′, there’s like a large gap between RA2 and RA3. Hardcore fans like to whine everything about … anything. Despite the developers put more effort on gameplay, some fans are biased towards old units and also the storyline. Being a spin off of the original Command & Conquer series, I don’t really care about RA3′s storyline. But things are different for Starcraft II. This is a game that I really want to get just because of it’s story. The Starcraft expansion has already left us with many hangovers and I’d really want to know its continuition.
jeng jeng jeng
Zerg rush anyone? How nostalgic
Just like Diablo 3, there’s no exact date for releases. However, Starcraft II will be coming out before Diablo 3 as the game was announced earlier than the latter. I sense Diablo 3 might be released at the end of the year or maybe next year.
Well, those are games that I am willing to get them this year, hopefully. Hmm, what should I write next? Politics? lol
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