Movie: "Gamer"

At last, a movie about us geeks. 'Gamer' is a movie about Kable (Gerard Butler), a death-row prisoner who takes part in an online multiplayer FPS deathmatch game known as "Slayers", where he is consciously mind controlled by an actual 17-year-old gamer Simon (Logan Lerman). Any death-row inmate who participates will be freed after 30 consecutive victories. The movie starts where Kable and Simon had already gone through 27 victories.


The basic setting is this: A technical and eccentric genius, Ken Castle, developed a sophisticated mind control technology and used it to create a game named "Society". It is like The Sims, only that a player mind controls a willing victim to do...er...stuff that they would like to do. You can either be paid to get controlled (for desperate people) or pay to control (desperate people, though in a completely different sense). It took the world by storm and Ken Storm became an instant billionaire surpassing even Bill Gates.

Then after some time, he created the FPS "Slayer", which revolves around the same mind control concept, only that it is catered to violence and its participants are death-row inmates, reassuring that even if the prisoners die, it wouldn't matter anyway since they are on a death sentence.

And the rest is history, I shan't spoil the show for you.

The special effects are rather sweet, especially when they replicated the FPS-like UI and the modern-day FPS third person camera (the Gears of War type). They also abused the static screen effects a lot to create an effect that there is lag/ping/loading/etc.

'Gamer' is what you might expect if Nintendo reached their ultimate goal (creating a completely immersive game aka The Matrix jack-in concept) and suddenly turned evil with mind control technology. You can try to imagine Miyamoto as Ken Castle, but Castle ain't japanese and too smooth so it's actually quite hard to think about it.

This movie has quite a few geek references that normies might not understand when they watch it. Terms like 'fag' or 'ghey' that are somewhat overused might not click in with normal audiences.

But for me, I had fun watching :)


Trailer:

Vocaloid Nendoroid, WARNING EXTREMELY MOE!

I was browsing through Sankaku Complex and chanced upon this post

Honestly I almost died with joy and sadness. Sadness due to my currently limited income, happy because they are in a trading figure set and thus inexpensive. I almost spent a bomb on the Haruhi set.

This product is avaliable as a trading figure Nendoroid set: Buy a box of them and in it, there are random Nendoroids in it. If you are unlucky, you might end up buying tons of boxes, but of course, the best way is to trade with others via services such as Yahoo! Auctions or eBay. In total, there are 11 normal figures and 1 'secret' rare figure. Good luck with that one!

*sigh* Hatsune dual wielding leeks gets me EVERY time:

Death by Moe!!!

This product can be pre-ordered (and ordered when the time comes) here.
For Singapore residents, you can try contacting KKnM.

If you want to see it in action, I chanced upon this at YouTube quite some time ago. It is a 3DCG animation done with the older Vocaloid Nendoroids:

DDO is now FREE

As of 09/09/09 Turbine went Free to Play for their most recent not-so-popular MMO: Dungeon and Dragons Online. It sure has come a long way, from a pay-to-play MMO on release at 2006, to removing the subscription fees, to being free to play. Of course when I say "free to play" I meant that there is still cash shops in the game.

This reminds me that it's about time I write a DDO review. DDO is quite a different MMO as compared to the ones currently floaing around like World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online, etc etc. Hmm I wonder that after creating Asheron's Call, killing Asheron's Call 2, Turbine decided to finally settle down with DDO?

Registration and client download at the DDO homepage.
You can find me as "Cannae" at Khyber server.

Review: "Samurai Legend: Musashi"

Looking through my old PS2 game pouch, I chanced upon a game that I have actually completed. So I wanted to write a review, but I can't remember anything about the game other than being very tiring. I decided to find out and slotted the DVD into the PS2.

Samurai Legend: Musashi is in many ways alike to it's PS1 predecessor, Brave Fencer Musashi, although both stories does not interlink. It is an action/adventure game.


The game kicked off in a rather good start. You will see a really overdone cell-shading effect as the game's overall graphical direction, making the game rather colorful and outstanding. At the time this game was released, it was beautiful. Story is a bit lacking. Upon watching the first introduction scene, you can easily guess the whole story already. It's the traditional girl-gets-kidnapped-hero-come-to-rescue plot. Even worse, the story involves going to 5 different-themed elemental dungeons. But look at the bright side, at least the voice acting is quite decent.

Overdone but beautiful cell-shading

Basically, the whole town (which is actually a floating whale or something) was attacked by baddies and everyone evacuated all over the world. One of your side-jobs (albeit an important one) is to find the citizens of the town, who were trapped in crystals and you must break them open (and they call these crystals "escape pods"). Rescuing them will make them appear at the town and most of them will offer various services like the Arena, General Store, Appraisal, Item Combine, etc. If you have played RPGs long enough, you will actually know what all of them do without even a explanation.

Combat mechanics is actually quite interesting...on paper. The key feature of this game's combat system is that Musashi can unlock abilities for himself. By holding "R1", Musashi will lock onto a target and charge his 'focus' gauge. When it is full, you'll have to wait for the target to unleash a specific attack on you, in which the game will temporary freeze. During the freeze time, you press the Square button and follow the instructions stated. Upon doing so, you will learn the ability. Some costs mana. Some doesn't. And with so many abilities to learn, it isn't surprising that most of them becomes obsolete after some time.


That's about the most interesting mechanic there is in the game. Combat overall feels horribly dull and grindish. All the enemies can be defeated the same way: Square, Square, Square, Square, Square - which is actually the first move you learn in the game. It is probably the fastest way to level up your character, other than spamming the overdrive move which costs like half your mana. By the way, the X-spamming move is actually rather slow, espacially towards the end. Since the game uses this move as its staple bread and butter combo to defeat foes, combat ended up being quite slow. Don't worry though, foes are quite slow, predictable and dumb too so you can actually keep mashing until you see something coming, then stop and defend.

I learnt the best move in the game!

Boss fights may seem quite cinematic (as they should), but even though they are different in looks and attacks, they are still fundamentally the same. Somewhere in between, they will throw out an attack that leaves them vulnerable, and then you attack. Nothing much to comment on here.

Oh yes, not forgetting a key 'feature' to the game - "Carrying". Some of the people needs to be rescued, but due to some silly excuse ("My leg fell asleep!"), Musashi have to end up carrying them, limitating your attacks. One attack that can be noted is the spin attack done by throwing the victim up and pressing "Square". That attack is quite powerful and is worthy to note, but otherwise, "Carrying" is to create yet another limitation to your already limited movesets.

That's all there is to the game. It is actually a pretty long game, considering that there seemed to be endless amount of enemies to be defeated (the same way over and over). Despite my tone in this review, this game is still worthy of a runthrough. Like I mentioned, the graphics are great, the voice acting is also pretty decent. Music and sound are also done nicely, making fighting (or grinding) mobs at least a bit more tolerable. A small little effect that did that I actually enjoyed was the way mobs are defeated. Depending on the way Musashi swings his sword, when the opponent dies of that hit, he will freeze and be sliced at the exactly way the sword sliced him.

Here a small gameplay video:


Overally, great graphics and sounds, average mechanics, boring combat. Still worth a chance.

Pros:
- Great graphics
- Good sound and music
- Good art direction
- Decent RPG mechanics
- Learning abilities is actually quite fun and cool to watch.
- Good voice acting

Cons:
- Boring Combat
- Learned abilities become obsolete fast.
- Draggy overall experience
- Bad story filled with an incredible load of 'cliche'
- Did I say 'Boring combat'?


NeetGeek gives "Samurai Legend: Musashi": 6.5/10

Review: "Mario Kart DS"

Despite the amount of times I can bash this game, Mario Kart DS will always somehow return to haunt me. It has one of the best, if not the best, multiplayer experiences of all the DS games I've played.

Like most Nintendo games, Mario Kart DS isn't really catered to competition, even though it's a racing game. If you've played other Mario Kart games, you will know that it is a series which allows players to screw other players on the race. These are done not only by the standard racing game method of knocking an opponent away from the track, but also by the use of items. Items are obtained randomly from "?" boxes. The type of item depend heavily on the player's position. For example, first place never (at least I haven't seen it before) get anything other than banana peels and fake "?" boxes as their items.

"?" boxes that gives random items depending on your position

Here is the item list:
Banana - Comes in threes or one. Anyone who lands on a Banana peel will lose control of their vehicles temporarily.

Fake "?" Box - Anyone who lands on a Fake "?" Box will immediately be stopped in their tracks.

Red Mushroom - Comes in threes or one. Using this item will give your racer a temporary boost in speed. Quickest way to accelerate to your maximum speed.

Red Shell - Comes in threes or one. Threes will rotate around the racer when used. Opponents that get hit by a shell will immediately be stopped in their tracks like the fake "?" box. When used again, 1 shell will shoot forward and home towards the nearest opponent. Getting only one red shell does not allow you to deploy it as a shield.

Green Shell - Comes in threes or one. Threes will rotate around the racer when used. Opponents that get hit by a shell will immediately be stopped in their tracks like the fake "?" box. When used again, 1 shell will shoot straight towards the direction you are facing and will bounce like a ping-pong ball if it hits a wall. Getting only one green shell does not allow you to deploy it as a shield.

Ghost - Renders you invulnerable, invisible, and steals an opponent's item for you. Usually for people at middle placing.

Lightning - Zaps everyone on the track except you. Everyone's size will decease as with their weight (allowing you to easily knock them away from tracks) and speed. You will also cause everyone affected to lose their current items. Usually for people at middle placing.

Bomb - Upon deployment, will have a short delay before a wide explosion as big as the track's width sometimes. Everyone affected will be blasted sky high! Usually for people at middle placing.

Missile - Transform into a missile. You will basically be automatically brought forward at a high speed and will knock away any opponents in your way. Usually for people at low placing.

Blue Shell - The bane of the 1st place. This shells will home towards the 1st place racer and create a blast effect similar to the Bomb blast effect...without the delay of course. You can hear it form miles away. Usually for people at middle/low placing.

Golden Mushroom - For a limited time, you can use the golden mushroom and boost yourself as if you have unlimited Mushrooms. Usually for people at middle/low placing

Squid - Blotches everyone's DS screen with a black ink blob. Usually not very effective but at certain critical times, it will kinda screw people up.

I have the green shell!

The DS screen is split into two different parts (duh). The top screen is used for the actual gameplay, while the bottom screen can show a map view of the track with the racer's position OR a top down view of your surroundings. The top down view is able to pin-point certain traps opponents have set up for you and the rest. For example, a banana peel on the track will appear as a 2D banana peel on the top-down view at the corresponding location. These two views are interchangeable with a touch on the touch screen or the "Y" button.

Are there special techniques in this game?
There is one, and it is based on one mechanic: "Drifting". When you hold the "R" button, and hold left or right directional button, your racer will perform a small jump and start drifting (useful for facing bends for certain characters). During this state if you mash the left and right directional button, you will see blue sparks that keep appearing under the racer's cart, before it becomes an ongoing orange spark. Releasing the "R" button will give you a speed boost as if you have a mushroom.

The name of the technique is called "Snaking" and it can be quite difficult to do depending on the track. It requires you to keep doing the technique above over and over and over again until you are not confident in doing it. Usually if you drift towards your right, chances are you will need to do the next one towards your left, hence creating a snake-like motion, and ergo: "Snaking".

Here's a video tutorial by IGN on how to perform "Snaking":

Any more mechanics?
There is two more mechanic a newbie wouldn't know. First is the starting boost. When your race is starting, you can get a quick boost to get in front of everyone immediately after the countdown. The trick to doing this is to hold the accelerate button the moment the "2" is going to fade.

Sequence of events:
Countdown 3....2....(hold accelerator)...1....GO! = gain the starting boost.

The second mechanic tries to implement the "Drafting" mechanic in many racing game. When are tailing a racer at a close distance, after a certain time pass you will get a temporary speed boost. This is often used when I play with my friends.

So much about the mechanics and items, it is no wonder Mario Kart DS is a fun game to play with your friends. With yourself...hmm...not so much, but playing with your friends is always a blast. I usually have tons of fun with 4 but you can actually play with 8(!), although it will lag.

Not to mention, this game have more than 25 maps for you and your friends to play with! It is a game that can really probably last a long time if you and your friends have nothing else better to do. And not forgetting, this game actually has WiFi support!

Pros:
- Great multiplayer experience
- Advance techniques to learn: Snaking, Drafting and Blue Shell dodging
- WIFI connection!!!
- Many stuff to unlock, making single player quite meaningful

Cons:
- Boring minigames (that's just my opinion, but the mini-games seemed pointless to me)

NeetGeek gives this game: 9/10!

Review: "Batman: Arkham Asylum"

And finally it is here.

Following up its demo review, the game "Batman: Arkham Asylum" truly does not disappoint. The primary concern that most people have about Batman:AA being a repetitive game, like Assassin's Creed, was removed. Batman:AA drives the player throughout the game with its cinematic gameplay, and immersive storytelling. And there isn't one point when I felt bored.

Detective Mode tracking

We all read from the demo review about the detective mode. On detective mode, Batman will gain X-ray vision, detected armed/unarmed targets and heartbeats of a target. The complete game shows its additional feature: Tracking. The detective mode seemed to be able to track almost everything that the average person thought impossible: alcohol fumes, DNA, fingerprints, tobacco traces, etc. From a programmer point of view, it is actually the same code with different skin. However, it really adds to the immersion, allowing the player to feel that he really is Batman.

If you have played the demo, you will notice that whenever Batman completes a task, or defeat an opponent in combat, he will gain experience points. Experience points in Batman:AA can be used to buy skills at "WayneTech". This ranges from skills that enhances his melee combat skills, to upgrading his armor to improving his gadgets. Melee combat upgrades allows Batman to perform a grapple or a takedown after a certain combo count is met. Sadly, the skill list seems to be lacking and most of them are boring.

Dealing with foes come in two-fold: Stealth and Straight-up Melee. In a straight up fight, Batman is able to change target anytime by just changing the direction of the analog stick. In Easy and Normal modes, an extremely bright logo (I'm exaggerating, but it's very noticeable) will appear on an opponent's head if they are about to strike. Pressing the Counter button will cancel its animation and force Batman to counter him immediately (talk about cheap, Batman can control your animation frames!). Also, double tapping the dodge button + direction of the opponent will cause Batman to flip over your target, rendering him helpless. It does not screw up your combo counter. There are many other stuffs to do, but elaborating them here will take a whole page.

Stealth is usually used when too many targets are armed. Batman is still human after all, and can only take so many shots. In this case, you are required to take down every target with as little attention to you as possible. For early stages, you can deal with two side-by-side targets by throwing a Bat-a-rang at one and glide kicking another (where Batman swoops down, in bullet time, to kick a target). As you get more upgrades, handling more complex situations become easier, although with patience, you don't really need to use the upgrades. In fact you can just do silent behind-the-back takedowns if you are good enough.

Also, again if you have played the demo, you have seen those Joker Teeth clattering noisily at random places. You can throw your bat-a-rang to destroy them and yield experience points. The point of them? Riddler.

Riddler hacks into your communications at a early part of the game. He supposedly has riddles, trophies, and challenges for Batman in every zone. Completing riddles is part of the game completion percentage indicated at your save file, and some of them unlocks stuff such as character biographics and challenge maps. The most innovative thing they have in Riddler's Challenges are the riddles themselves. You are required to find the answers to the riddles and scan them at the correct angle and magnification by holding the L2 button (or the detective mode button).

One of the items I find interesting to collect (as part of Riddler's Riddles) are the interview tapes. The interview tapes are sure to ignite the fanboy within every fan. Every villain involved in the game has 5 interview tapes to the found and each interview tape tells us more about the villain as well as the interesting conversations they have with their psychiatrist-in-charge. You can spoil yourself by search for them at YouTube.

Puzzle progression is very straightforward. In fact, sometimes I wonder if there are even 'puzzles' at all. If there aren't supposed to be puzzles, then the upgrades Batman receives over the course of the story is just to unlock places he couldn't access. Sometimes you wondering why don't he just bring everything but hey, that will totally ruin the game wouldn't it? A gadget that stands out is the Sequencer. Batman uses it to tune to a sensitive frequency that would override (ie break) a control box (usually used to control an electric gate). Using both analog sticks, you will try to move them until you get a green frequency. It's really quite intuitive.

Cryptographic Sequencer

Finally, boss fights. Boss fights in Batman:AA are rather easy as long as you know the trick. Once you are able to juggle bosses and minions together, there shouldn't be a problem fighting them. Due to the technical direction the game takes (ie being very cinematic) however, boss fights, though boring and easy, seemed pretty epic at times. The camera effects manages to capture key moments and close shaves very well.

Oh speaking of boss fights, I almost forgot about the Scarecrow scenes. Midway through the game, Batman will suddenly start having visions and your surroundings will slowly become more and more surreal. He will start hearing voices of his past and will start seeing stuffs that are kinda scary at times. That is when Scarecrow's fear gas manages to affect Batman. Crazy things will start happening around Batman like raining indoors, tables flying, entering the same place using the exit...Scarecrow's nightmare scene is truly a masterpiece in special effects. It also shows alot for the storyboarding of the game, that the story does not only take place within the boundaries of realism. What really impressed me is actually the developer's ability to smoothly transit from reality to surreal.

Overall, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a dark and gloomy game, probably inspired from the latest Batman movies (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight). The story is a little short, but seeing how polished the gameplay is, I couldn't really complain. One thing I wished for is to meet more villains. In person I mean, not just the mere mention of them.

Villains directly involved in this game includes:
- Joker, the main villain of the game. Uses joker toxins and circus-themed deadly traps
- Riddler, the sidequest provider of the game. Leaves trails of deadly riddles for Batman to solve, although they are not so deadly in this game.
- Harlequin, Joker's 'girlfriend'.
- Poison Ivy, Mutated-Botanist-turned-evil. She believes humans are the root of all evil as far as preserving nature is concerned.
- Zsazz (sp?), An unpredictable serial killer/sociopath.
- Bane, the villain the key storyline item is based on (wow that's some big clue there). He's not a dumbass as everyone thinks he is so stop staying he's dumb.
- Killer Croc, Some bloodthirsty human mutated to a crocodile
- Scarecrow, aka Dr Crane, an ex-psychiatrist that experiments on humans using his fear gas.

Long story short:
PROS
- Intriguing storyline
- Great art direction and graphics
- Freestyle combat system (explained in demo review)
- A pretty cool mini-game gadget: The Sequencer
- Challenge Maps.
- Great technical directions (for special effects)
- Rewards for Riddler Challenge that players will actually care about
- Scarecrow scenes

CONS
- Too short
- Crappy skill list overall
- Too short (did I mention that already?)

NeetGeek gives "Batman: Arkham Asylum": 9/10

PS: This might be a Game-of-the-year contender imho.

BONUS: As some might already know, PS3 owners are able to download Joker challenge maps for free using the Playstation Store. Remember that you must have a US account to get the Joker maps (Singapore uses HongKong/Japanese store).

Using Joker in combat is not so much difference as compared to Batman, although he has different move animations, he is pretty much the same as Batman without the bat-a-rang. However he is quite different in stealth sequences as he had completely different equipments. For one, he does not have a grappling hook for quick escape purposes, and secondly, he's "Detective Mode" can only be used stationary. He also have a remote control bomb and a single-bullet gun. Because of such limitations, Joker is actually quite hard to use in stealth compared to Batman. Quite fun to use all in all though.

Haruhi Endless Eight in 36 seconds!

9 episodes of Endless Eight compacted into 36 seconds! Looped! It's funny because of the way they cut the video to fit the whacky background music :p