Ramblings of WEasted Gamers

Naruto Databook 3 Analysis II

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Okay, lets keep up with the analysis of data? That sounded weird, anyhoo if you missed the first part then click here.

Also, remember we are still using the skill chart for reference as to some of the conclusions. Okay? OK.

* Pain must be ridiculously powerful, maybe the strongest ninja in the Naruto universe.

First lets lay the facts. Jiraiya was among the top ninja of the Naruto world and overall on par with such a complete ninja of the level of Itachi who is a genius Uchiha and owner of a Mangekyou Sharingan. (Remember that Jiraiya was one of the few that Itachi showed concern to fight against)

Now with those facts in mind let us note the following main points:

Pain man- handled Jiraiya even before revealing his "Six Paths of Pain" (Jiraiya was able to sustain himself without being completely dominated only for a while) and then smacked him around with summonings, taijutsu, ninjutsu and some weird genjutsu towards the end.

Then their was the part that was not shown in between, where the 6 avatars of Pain attacked Jiraiya.It ended with Jiraiya only being able to trap one of them and loosing the ability to sustain Sage Mode anymore.

Even after knowing all this...

PAIN'S STATS ARE STILL UNKNOWN!!

Given that Jiraiya pushed him so hard so as to make Pain reveal his secret... Pain's abilities are far beyond an S-class ninja. This just means that Pain must be on some level comparable to that of Rikkudou Sennin (the sage who created ninjutsu) or even superior. I mean we know that Nagato (Pain's "real name") was able to control and use all of the 5 elemental chakras by the age of 7, yet we did not see him even use one of them during his fight with Jiraiya... nor do we know if he has the capacity of fusing them to make Mokuton and/or Hyouton like elemental techniques, given he has the eyes of the person who helped the first ninjas understand how to use them.

Then there's facts like him finishing a whole civil war, by himself! Murdering the leader of the Hidden Rain Village (who even the Legendary Sannin had in upmost regards as a very powerful opponent) and all his allies and family, and has a technique in which he has complete awareness of all that happens in the radius of the whole village and to an unknown limit, it's surroundings.

Pain's techniques, experience and personal resume are probably as or even far greater then those of Madara. Pain may not have controlled the Kyuubi nor have a Mangekyo Sharingan, but he has the eyes and intelligence of the man who created the ninja world and all in it! He can control all the natural elements, can use all type of techniques and even separate into different bodies. He has an omniscient ability that far exceeds the Byakugan and is more penetrative and incisive than the Sharingan

* Note: The Sharingan and Byakugan are a derivation of the the Rinnegan. *

No doubt that by the present chapter (424), 6 Pain's are very troublesome to handle even for an elite ninja as Kakashi and other Jonin and Chunin of Konoha... I can only wonder what the original body is capable of, I'm guessing it's not friendly.

A true feeling of fear and desperation will come, to any mortal who dares challenge a god.

Gears Of War 2: Anime Or Gay Friendly?

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Well, recently the Gears of War media machine has released the spiritual successor to "Mad World" trailer and it feels like a too emo variation of the predecessor. This one, for Gears of War 2, is titled: "Last Day".

I don't know, it doesn't ring with me like Donnie Darko did and hence the "Mad World" trailer. That trailer was set in a very depressive and gloomy environment filled with children killed insinuations in the form of broken statues, war torn cities with pouring rain and a lonely single man in the midst of it all. OF COURSE! The Donnie Darko theme was perfect for that trailer.

In my opinion the theme song for the new trailer should have reflected more of the "finish the fight" ambience that the trailer, and I guess, the game speak of. Have you not seen the previews?! They are fighting on top of Brumaks! Hot Brumak on Brumak action. Personally, maybe some Metal would have been fine or to keep it kinda emo, some Within Temptation.

Still, I think... I really think that this trailer could foreshadow the possible coming out of Dom and Marcus. I mean, it's there and out in the open. I guess the world isn't ready for it. Also, that rumour has already been debunked and apparently Marcus will have a female love interest this time around and who knows, maybe Dom will get some alone time with his wife too.

Getting this whole gay and emo thing out of the way... man! does this trailer look alot like an Anime opening or what? The whole helping each other up the platform, the shots in dramatic posses of the characters, they all seem too Anime familiar to me. I could name any number of Anime OP's but I'll just show you the latest Naruto Shippuden opening (Blue Bird) so you can get an idea of what I mean.

Just goes to show that all of life's answers are in Anime and Manga, you just need to look for them.

Tapping to the beats : "Rhythm Tengoku Gold" Review

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:45:00 +0000

Not too long ago, the guys behind "WarioWare" games released a funky GBA Rhythm game, "Rhythm Tengoku" (literally meaning "Rhythm Heaven" in English). The game really did turn out to be a sort of "heaven" for fans of rhythm games with its funky levels, comical characters and very simple gameplay. It was definitely a memorable experience all throughout. Now, after 2 years, Rhythm Tengoku Gold (RTG) released for the DS ,in Japan.

Lets have a look at short video to introduce you to the game

*How to be rhythmic

The game has stuck to its core and the gameplay is as rhythmic as before. The cartoony and personified art style is retained in RTG, and the animations of the characters will make you want to swing along to the rhythm. This time, you will observe that the game takes advantage of the DS's power and contains many levels where the objects are rendered in 3D rather than in good 'ol 2D. Every thing represented on the screen has high quality animation expressing their own rhythm, be it clapping hands, or rolling blocks.

Gameplay this time revolves around you doing two basic actions (as opposed to the previous' single-button-press gameplay). The first action being a single tap on the screen, which feels very similar to the old button tapping gameplay. Then there is the second action which is a "down to up" sliding action. This might take a bit getting used to, as changing instantaneously from a continuous tapping motion to a sliding one can get confusing at times. Also, timing on the sliding motions have to be more precise, making games based on sliding a bit more difficult. Overall difficulty of the game is "OK" with games not being too easy and not too hard with the exception of 1 or 2 games which can be very difficult to pass.

*Simple yet effective

RTG has the same basic game structure as the previous one. There are 4 different mini-games to be played in every level. Each game begins with a simple training session, which any one (even those, who have little to no knowledge of Japanese) can understand. After succeeding in the training level, the main game starts, usually lasting ~2mins.

The simple level structure and lack of "story" allows for a perfect handheld experience which means that you can just turn your DS on whenever you want, play for a while and then shut it off. There is nothing like the player will get "out of sync" after not having played the game for a long time (Aka, ouendan etc) as there is basically no concept of memorisation used in the levels, and the gameplay itself is simple.The songs themselves this time are very different and nice, but the remixes do not impress much, when compared to the ones in the GBA game. They are good, but not as good as they could have been.

* Is it Freaky?

These minigames are the heart of the game. Each one is unique in its own freaky way. Games where you make frogs swing their hips or make a guy eat eggs, all while responding to beats in a rhythm, are some of the game's defining moments. You will have to see it to understand how and why these are the main selling point of the game.

To pass a game you will have to get most of the hits/slides correctly. There are two ranks given for passing, you either JUST pass,which is indicated by a silver/ash outline on the game's selection box, or you do very good and get a gold outline. As soon as you pass, the next game is unlocked. If you fail, the next level is not unlocked and you will have to retry till you pass.

There is a small feature in the game which allows people to bypass this in case you are failing repeatedly in one game (~5+ times continuously). When that happens, the kettle icon on the right-end of the line with the "move" icon starts boiling and upon pressing that, you can select to unlock the next level. Once 4 games from a level are completed the 5th game is unlocked which is a remix using all the previous games of the level. Once this is completed the next level is unlocked.

* Import friendliness and worth.

Apart from the 50 levels that that you play to get the "end credits" (which again is a minigame in itself) you have loads of extra games. These levels feel more like an integral part of the complete experience one can spend a great deal of time just playing these unlockable games. They are unlocked when you get a "gold" for the levels you play. These games range from things like flipping coins to punching those "hit me nots" toys, all to the rhythm, making nice music as you do it. These are very addictive and add a lot to the whole value of the game. Makes all those golds you get in the games really feel "worth it"

50 levels each with around 2 minutes of gameplay might make it sound like a short game. But the mini-games are just so good that, no matter who you are, you will find yourself replaying some of them, just for fun. Also, its not like every level can be crossed at first try. It takes a few tries to understand the music and play accordingly. All these factors, along with the infinitely long long extras that you unlock by playing game, add a lot to the replay value of the game.

The game is very import friendly

The game being Japanese only for the time being means that importing is the only way to get it. But how import friendly is it? Well, lucky for all of us, the game is very import friendly. It will only take a few minutes to figure out what is happening and which buttons is the "ok" or "cancel" button. The meaning of all the extra options in the menu can also be found out by trial and error method. There are usually images on the other screen which give a basic idea on what it is.

*In Conclusion

The game's very import friendliness, great replay value, catchy music, easy gameplay and "handheld" structure really make it a must have for anyone who is looking for something fresh and entertaining for their DS. This will keep you busy for 10s of hours and will you want to get back to it even after months of playing it. All in all, it is something that every DS owner should atleast try out. The game has already sold over a million copies in japan, that sure speaks volumes of its appeal.

Lets end this review with another nice video

For Hi-Res pictures : checkout the album.
For more Gameplay Videos : checkout my youtube playlist (all videos created by me)

Diwali crackers and Otaku-ness

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:44:00 +0000

*The Occasion

Its Diwali time once again in India, and everyone is busy buying sweets and crackers (thats what we call fireworks here, not something that polly would want). Its India's festival of lights where people of all ages have fun blasting crackers the whole night. Little kids with sparklers and plastic guns that blast "tickli"s , big kids with atom/hydrogen/lakshmi bombs, and then everyone else with their flower pots and rockets.

It is indeed a sight worth watching where everyone tries to show off their purchases by blasting at the right moment. Its not like a special location is fixed where you can blast them. Anyone and everyone blasts them on their colony roads, in their house's plot etc.. the community handles the aftermath (cleaning roads etc)

*The Point

Now what does all this have anything to do with the topics that we at WEastGamers deal with? well, the special thing about Indian crackers is that there are many companies/small households making these things and the best way to sell their wares is by having the most attractive covers for the boxes they sell them in.

They usually have things that kids (cartoons) and adults (famous actresses) would notice the most. Not too many years ago, I started seeing things like Mario and Sonic popup in these box covers. I immediately wanted to have a look these boxes, and then understood how effective this idea is. However, the first thing I got in my head was "copyrights!" but seeing that this is India and no one cares for such small things.(not like they are earning billion dollars and they don't have an "official" presence here either) Its freely done.

*The Reason

Recently I saw a post @ Kotaku showing "devil may cry fireworks" People went "Wow" by looking at it.. seeing that how everyone was surprised at the thing, I commented there saying this:

Wow, guys, if you find that amusing, wait for "Diwali" to start here, there are so many cracker boxes with Mario, Peach, Sonic and many other game characters that are sold here since years!

Cool, so I will take pics and send them this diwali!

So, yeah I am man of my words, today was diwali crackers shopping time for me and I took pictures of all those boxes with references that I thought you all can relate to.

Without further ado..

From Diwali Crackers

These are the ones I could find, but I am sure there are many more somewhere out there. I leave them here, for your viewing pleasure, to make it more interesting, why not try and name all the characters that you see here in the images.

Will try to take videos and more pictures of things this diwali. Keep looking for updates :) But yeah one thing is for sure.. people found it very amusing, seeing me take pictures of these things :P As for myself it felt kinda different but nice!

Naruto Databook 3 Analysis I

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:37:00 +0000

So, user Agrias over at Mangahelpers was nice enough to upload some scans of this book.

For anyone who doesn't know, Databooks are a common class of books published by many mangas (specially long running ones) in which the creative team of that manga put out vital and/or non-vital statistics concerning characters, events, backgrounds, consequences, abilities and plot-lines for the respective title.

Now these scans are all in Japanese so tough luck on getting all the facts, specially if you don't know Kanji... what user Agrias did provide so kindly was an understanding to what the following graphic stands for: (Click to enlarge)

Skill Chart

**Note: The embedded skill chart was edited by me, but using the information provided in the image's description.

The basic rule by how this class of chart works is simple: the more the color area covers, while pointing towards one specific attribute, the more skillful the character is at that particular attribute.

It's nice to finally be able to see some stats since the two year gap in Naruto, the Itachi vs. Sasuke fight and the appearance of Pain. It helps in giving some idea of the growth the characters have gone through and realize what some of the new faces in the manga are capable of.

Some characters stats are still a mystery, given that they have not made a move or the real extent of their abilities are unknown 'til this moment, and on the other side, some characters may have not yet shown their skills to the fullest capacity.

Among the data I was able to see, I came to some conclusions:

Tobi was saying the truth, Itachi was stronger than Sasuke and let him win.

I'm not saying that Itachi is stronger in the sense of physical strength, but as the overall ninja he was superior to Sasuke in almost every aspect. So I will have to give this one to Tobi's side of the story as it is now basically a fact in reference to these stats. So, the way Sasuke won was by having an edge over Itachi (Itachi's illness) and by Itachi not really going "all out" from the beginning by having orchestrated the end result to go in favor of Sasuke. This last statement explains why Itachi was very close to killing Sasuke like 10 times before exhausting (and didnt kill him). He also expelled Orochimaru out of Sasuke, that too, in such a way where Sasuke didn't perceive it...all because of his blind hatred towards Itachi at the time.

It's true that Sasuke Uchiha's stamina is just a bit above Itachi's but it's not known if the creative team was counting on this pre or post loss of the Cursed Heaven Seal and/or a partition of Sasuke's M. Sharingan. Also, its fair to mention that Itachi's stamina was seriously affected by the continuous use of the M. Sharingan and how just using it once, drained alot out of him; not to mention the life threatening illness he had succumbed to, for who knows how much time.

Either way, without the M.S. and not at full power, Itachi was more than capable to handle Kakashi and Naruto through Pain's Shapeshifting Jutsu. Which tells a lot about his overall strength

**Update: One point I failed to mentionn regarding Itachi's stamina was that before his fight with Sasuke he gave some of his power to Uzumaki Naruto. So that could have properly drained him of energy or overall lower his stats to some degree.

Getting 'yer booty off PSN : A Huge Pain.. in 'yer booty

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:04:00 +0000

[UPDATE] Just now I finished download the game for the nth time.. this time the "current went off" only twice throughout the download, although I expected it to not work like all the previous times. I was staring at the "loading please wait" screen that comes before the installation starts(after which the error is usually shown) and after minutes of non blinkage, I was surprised to see that even after having 2 abrupt cut offs, the download started installing.

This is just great with one of the best timings, because now I dont need to buy the Rs.800/- worth Standalone version that has been released, and neither do I have to spend Rs.600 extra (an alternate plan that I thought up of) to increase my Internet's bandwidth by twice and download again, trying for complete download with no power cuts.

All is well and My bilind faith and continuos retries have paid off! Dont know if the problem of abrupt power cuts spoinling downloads has been fixed now though. Maybe thats the reason? (from FW 2.5)

Let us just hope so.

---

OMG Ratchet and Clank ?

I have been a big Ratchet and Clank fan ever since I first played the game. I always tried my best to get all the games ever released and play them (never cared for the Mobile ones though). You could say one of the biggest reasons I even bought a PS3 (and DS3) was Ratchet and Clank. So, yeah I think you got the picture.

Recently "Age of Booty" a small expansion pack to Tools of Destruction was released on PSN. I knew that I would get it the instant I saw the announcement at E3 '08. But never did I imagine that getting it would be that difficult.

With my friend's help I was able to get game from HK PSN store. After seeing its size was a whopping 2.8 GB, I told to myself "oh well, its only 24hrs of downloading", I was casual about it,because I was (and AM) playing GTA IV, which I know will easily take me more than 24 hrs to play, so I can always have the game download in the BG, hence not wasting much electricity.

Realisation 1.0

So I start the download and then start playing GTA IV, what do I see after a 2hr session? the percentage had not increased at all. After a bit of googling, I found out that GTA IV on PS3 doesnt support background downloading (unlike MGS and many other games). What did this mean ? well, now I had only one option.. turn on the PS3 "not for gaming" and just leave it like that to download stuff. becasue GTA IV is the only game I will be playing till I finish it.

Whats the problem?

Well, first of all, leaving the PS3 turned on for hours together, with no A/C and that too in a closed room is just too risky. Also, it feels like unnecessary current waste.

What did I do?

Well, I started watching movies on the PS3 just so that I can download things while watching movies, so there is atleast something got from turning it on (also that I will be using A/C when there). This time I realize another thing..

You cannot BG download when you are watching DVDs/BDs on PS3..

WoW, just what I needed :| Luckily , I have a lot of Anime and movies burnt on DVDs, and luckily PS3 supports them, so I started watching them.

Problems for Developing nations

I am from India, and as you all might know India is still a "Developing Country" what does it mean? One thing is that, in many areas you have constant power cuts, most of all, these are Random. Because of this thing, I was first afraid that such abrupt power cuts would hurt the PS3, but even then I kept downloading because "I wanted to play it"

So after many hours of watching anime (and also leaving it on , just downloading) the download was finally done. With great happiness I started the installation. only to see

What is this you ask? well, its a fatal error, where "Re-Download" is the only option. I've googled for it earlier, while trying to solve the problems of people in forums, but never actually faced it. Why did it happen? well, it was because of the "power cuts" that were happening whenever I was downloading.

There is this problem in the PS3 where downloads get corrupt if there is a power cut when you are downloading the file. I remember very well having power cuts while downloading demos, months ago, but never faced the problem till this time. Maybe its one of those "new features" that the constant firmware updates bring up.

What did I do then?

Well, just like any other fan would do, without a moment's thought, I started the download again..Not once, but 5 times!

Here is a small list of the downloads

Complete Download - Corrupt
PowerCut @ 400 MB
PowerCut @ 700 MB
PowerCut @ 200 MB

After observing all this, I started downloading only at nights, as per my friend's recc. power cuts are almost null at night times (you know, cause everyone sleeps and uses nothing electric) After a few nights of atleast 4 hrs download each, I reached 1.5 GB..

But as fate would have it "Current Wala" always waits for the right moment. It being the time when you can feel sad the most. As there was once again a very unexpected powercut @ the 1.5GB mark late at night, where I practically went mad.

How time was wasted?

In my 256K Internet speed (yeah, its another one of those "developing nation" thing) it takes me almost 50mins to download 100 MB. So thats around 4 GB of download that takes up easily 35+ hours of download.

So I've spent that much of time trying to get the thing working and its still not done, however, just in hope of current not going off again, I started downloading it again.

Possible Solutions

0.Keep Trying

I can always keep trying and maybe one day, like that scene from very other anime "I will believe" and then there will be no problems, or better yet.. I will believe so much that, even after powercuts the download will be work! ~the power of fandom~

1. Get a UPS

Well, First of all, people would say "buy a UPS", The thing is that spending so much money on getting only this download done, is a pretty, non economical solution IMO. I would rather rely on my luck than to spend more money to get it. As for everything else I will download after this.. I am guessing it will be under 1 Gb which I think luck will allow me to download.

2.Wait for fix

Seeing how frequently we get PS3 Firmware upgrades, I can only sit and wish that in the next upgrade they fix this problem. I mean, Sony cares about its customers.. right? no matter how much of a minority they are. Seeing that it has not been fixed till now (it seems the problem was there since many months) I feel we are being ignored.

3.Buy the Retail Version

Oh yeah, definitely.. once it comes out in India, with a proper (i.e not Rs.1499/-) price tag, I will be first in line to buy it. Well, hope it happens sometime soon, seeing that the UK release has been cancelled and the EU release is not known right now.

4.Move to some other country

Nope, I dont think that is going to happen soon.

Halo 3 Secret ODST update?

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:37:00 +0000

[UPDATE2] The game has been officially Announced, and it will be called "Halo 3:Recon" and yes, the game will infact be based on the ODST. It will be a tactical shooter, no Idea if its Third Person or First person, will have emphasis on "Stealth". The game will release with new maps and some forge items too.

Here is the boxart of the game and the complete trailer

Thanks to MTV Multiplayer for the BoxArt

[UPDATE] Thanx to the Cool people at Digg, got the thing clarified.. ANS : Long term memory loss!

Just a few days ago, I dropped by at my friend PeldonPeldon's GS Blog and found out something strange. It seems when he was replaying the Halo 3 campaign he found that all the marines he encountered in "The Ark" level were ODSTs. Neither he nor I and other friends remember finding them in the levels back during the previous play-throughs.

Was this a case of poor memory? or something else? As far as I can say, I think this could be a case of "tricky marketing". A small update might have been sent in the BG when your 360s were connected to Live which made all those ODST models to appear. Let me quote myself on what I said when I saw this.

maybe its some kind of secret marketing technique where they are trying to make people feel that the ODST were really a huge part, hence a game around them, making sense.

After considering the teaser trailer for the new Halo game which was released recently, this could be true. I mean, the HUD shown in the teaser also had a helmet type view and was not particularly like the one Master Chief had. It could be of those ODST troops, and Gamespot has officially listed the game as a "Halo 3: untitled ODST project"

So is actually some kind of stunt by the Bungie/MS peeps.. Or did we truly forget that they were present in the game since the beginning ?

Enjoy the video

Why The Dragon Ball Movie Will Break My Heart I

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:04:00 +0000

Well as and when I find more details trickling out on the web or by any other means, about the Dragon Ball live action movie, I'll keep posting them on this "mini blog" series. Here is the first of "X".

According to the new post on Kotaku, I just keep finding more and more reasons for my heart to get broken into pieces by the impending and nearing premiere date of it, on DVD/Blu-Ray or the big screen which doesn't make a difference.

*FYI* I'm a huge Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and luke warm Dragon Ball GT fan, I was born within the same week or more like around the days that the original Dragon Ball anime was premiered in Japan. It was destiny... no wait, Dragon Ball chose me. XD

So some new pics have been released and from all of them, two just rip out my heart and dance the Jarabe Tapatio on it (Full House reference, watch it, it's a nice family show); not that the rest of images aren't crap because they are... MEGA CRAP!

First:

Piccolo, as seen in the "movie"

WTF?! OK, before just loosing it and as the image was loading I saw something white and said: "Calm down! Your a grown ass man!, it could be the turban Piccolo uses." The image kept loading and I saw the eyes and thought: "OK, too much white now but the eyes look menacing... cool :S ?." Anyone who has seen DBZ knows that all Namekians are nice but basically scare the life out of anyone just physically... kinda look like demons (Piccolo was at once affiliated with them and their leader Garlick Jr). After that just watching the rest of it loading, I was asking myself: "Why is that shiny black thing on his body?"; and then the gruesome truth appeared before my eyes, they had given Piccolo a spandex suit. To make it worse, a black "didn't you see the X-men movies and how dumb that was" spandex muscle suit.

By the end I wanted to know what the hell were Eli Damaskinos (Blade II) or The Ubvervamp (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) doing in the movie? I kinda knew that Goku and many of the human characters where going to get messed up from day one, but it really, really hurts when they do this to the cool/strong/few words/loner type characters from any story. I'm talking of the Vegeta's, Sasuke Uchiha's, Wolverine's, Sabertooth's and yes Piccolo's of the fiction world.

Second:

A Dragon Ball as seen in the "movie"

From this batch of images, this one hurts the most but not on a nostalgia value as the Piccolo image did, but more on common sense level. What is the name of the movie? Dragon Ball. Why don't the friggin Dragon Balls have stars on them. It can't be a huge budget expense, I'm guessing, if at least to get something right in the movie.

I really cannot believe that anyone whose name is affiliated in any shape or form to this sham even thinks this is a serious/"good decision for my acting career" movie. The director is just doing it to get a directorial seat push of some sort or publicity at a Uwe Boll type of "Their is no such thing as bad publicity" level. Of course make his way in the most mediocre form possible and using such a beloved story as his stepping stone through the Hollywood swamp.

At this rate and from whatever half-baked production is behind this blasphemy as my evidence, I'm guessing someone can put out a movie where the Nazis are the good guys and get a budget and support for it.

I'm not trying to sound like some angry nerd, I know that stuff like DBZ, Naruto, Bleach, Gantz (maybe), Blue Dragon cannot be faithfully recreated, but at least anime and/or video game movie should have some stream of decency and character behind them to make them more credible. Like, take the original idea and use stuff approximate to it, and if some things are particularly hard to do then twist the concept in another direction while keeping the spirit of what was originally intended. Thats not so hard.

Better yet, this movie could be great if they had stuck to the Dragon Ball idea but used an aesthetic closer to reflect Journey to The West (in the fantastical aspects of the Dragon Ball story), which is the classical Chinese novel from which the original idea of Dragon Ball cribbed from and has the look and feel of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to it(aesthetically speaking).

Of course that's just an idea, but I think it would be at least a bit more decent then what the movie has become up to now.

Now Playing - GTA IV : The Social Life Emulator

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:10:00 +0000

After some Busy months at college doing some projects, I finally got me some holidays! I have been trying to make the most of these "Holidays" by playing as much as possible! Played many marathons of GTA IV till now, am 25hrs into it and just finished the "Three leaf clover" Mission, it was pretty interesting and I think I am getting to the part where I will have to kill someone..by making my OWN choice.. Its going to be very hard for me as I will have to compare my personal thoughts on those characters ,also think of how the game will turn out after I Kill 'em!

From as far as I got,I am guessing I will have to kill either Dwayne or PlayboyX and then from the others, I would have to kill either Frankie McReary or someone from the McReary Brothers.. This is going to get intense! At the present stage I would prefer to kill playboy ANY day.. but I think some more "character" will be given to him soon, to make my decision harder.

As for the other things, I think the game is pretty HUGE! I havent even explored the 3rd City yet and have spent considerable time wandering around and having fun doing various thing.. no not THOSE things, but the other more-enjoyable-in-a-game things. I however am getting really bugged wth the "socialize" part of the game where I have to constantly move around from one part of the city to the other to go DO stuff with people.. it breaks the flow of the game very much, and feels like more like a chore than anything else.

For a while I was feeling so happy that Roman stopped going "hey Cousin, its your COUSIN" on the phone, but soon I got a message from him saying "i think we are drifting apart". I mean WHaaaa? And for these "calls" I have to stop doing whatever I was going to do and go show him some "big american fake t!ttes" so that he would stop calling me for a while and stop thinking that I "dont love him no more"

Other than tis socialising part most of it has been great, I am playing the Ps3 version, the game isn't necessarily an a great graphical achievement in the looks dept (neither were any of the previous ones) I've noticed many frame drops, and very bad Anti Aliasing till now. However it still is able to immerse the player into the game's world with its great style, like when you are slowly flying around in a helicopter at night, the sight is just beautiful!

The sound has been great, radio channels specific to every race in the game can be found here :P , and it retains its awesomness in the Talk Show radio Channels very interesting to listen! The TV has been very addictive too with me spending atleast an hour till now sitting and watching all the random nonsensicle things it has been showing.

It has been a good ride so far. Hope the game's story gets to the "OMG 10!" part soon.. Haven't yet got very attached to all the characters as I did in the previous ones.. maybe its because there are too many...

P.S: And Check out the great VGCats Comic Strip that describes exactly what I am feeling!

A Different Take On The Kyuubi Attack

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:37:00 +0000

Saw this pic while keeping up with PAX 08 on Kotaku, it was one of those advertisement banners they have. (Click to enlarge)

Wish one of them had a white robe on, to tell apart the Yondaime Hokage.

Looks cool and can even relate to some at a "childhood reminiscence" level. None the less pretty cool, although that could change depending on who's point of view.

Credits go to John W. DeFeo, or at least thats who appeared when I clicked on the banner.

Only Colossal things cast Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:34:00 +0000

I read about "Lords of Shadow" just yesterday and the first thing I noticed was "Shadow" and then thought of.. you know it.. "Shadow of the Colossus" and then I saw it was a game by Konami, which made me think "they aren't THAT unoriginal" (I mean.. a similar name for a similar concept) and then, Just now, I saw this Video.

I mean, WOW..the game DOES have Giant things, and it is about slaying them.. other than the character being more appealing to people who like "bada$$" things the trailer only tells me one thing "This is very much like SoTC, only more violent and maybe,with blood and guts spitting out"

Ok, The game could have been of a similar premise, but why does it have to be that the name is "Lords of Shadow" thats VERY generic and has a "decided-over-at-lunch" feel to it.

I mean, I love what konami does (making you break controllers multiple times, i.e) I always look forward to what they are going to make.. but this is very surprising to me... hope it turns out be something better than what I am thinking! and wish that I will end up really liking this game :P

Liquefying the Solid Metal.

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:10:00 +0000

This, is a Sneaking Mission.

Solid snake is on another sneaking mission and this time, he is determined to settle everything. Many gamers around the world have been waiting to get their hands on this game for a long while, and after watching all those teasers the game has finally come out. And it turns out that it definitely did live up to the expectations.

The story of the game is everything everyone wanted it to be. All the loose ends are tied together, every little detail is covered, and all questions are answered. The gamer's memory is also tested in the game, as many references to events from the old games are made throughout the story. But all these references do not completely alienate new comers to the series. One can easily cook up their own flashback to fill in the small blanks and still have a great story to enjoy.

*The Beginning of the END

The game itself starts with a 8 mins Mandatory install, which doesn't feel that long because of the lines of text that come pouring into the screen, telling the player, what to do (and what NOT to do) with a profusely smoking old snake in the BG. After the install we are introduced the main screen, where old snake is shown paying tributes to the boss and then slowly taking out a gun and testing it.. all with a very dramatic music in the BG, which really sets the mood for the player and tells you "This is the END". The camera pans out to the sky after snake puts the gun towards him, with the music looping in BG. Then the game starts.

MGS4 Starts off with you, as old snake, going to the battlefield in a truck filled with militia, in morocco. There is a small tutorial type section and soon after that you enter into the action filled MGS universe, right in the beginning you will be introduced to the newest and probably the most feared recurring enemy in MGS games, the mooing mechas , commonly known as Gekkos. You try your best to evade them and then are informed about the main objective of the mission. FIND OCELOT and Kill him.

Friend or Foe? You Decide.

In the First Act itself you are introduced to the 4 Main bosses known as the B&B Corps (Beauty and The beast) which is a group of 4 Beauties who have been turned into Beasts due the traumas they faced during the wars. All of them are reincarnations of old MGS Bosses, but improved. You are also shown how "old" snake has gotten and how there are limitations to his agility now.

The early introduction of characters and the main goal somewhat ruin the emotional moments of the game later on, where the player gets the feeling " oh, I've not beaten all the bosses yet, so obviously there is no need to be sad now" Although you can make yourself get into the moment by pretending to be really sad. A comparison would be, how in DBZ when Vegeta is tearfully dyeing in the hands of Freiza, the viewer is probably thinking "They will get him back with the dragon balls anyways" but will still want to be immersed in the moment by giving a value to Vegeta's death and painful story.The complete story however, we will discuss in a later post, let's get to the Gameplay part of the game.

*Tackle them Forcefully

Everyone, even before playing the game will know that this time "It's different" , The whole gameplay has changed to something like a hybrid between a pure third person action game and previous MGS games. It's more accessible this time and with the addition of "Over-the-shoulder" view and First person aiming, all those guns we collect have finally got some use to them. Every area you visit in the game is under some kind of civil conflict and war, so there are many scenarios when you find yourself running and gunning rather than sneaking around.

One side of the war are the Rebels/militia, and the others are Soldiers of Private Military Corporations(PMCs) Hired by the government to fight the rebels.PMCs are completely ID controlled with ID locked guns with the help of nano-machines, where as the rebels use unlocked/laundered guns. The game says that you can help any side by killing the other, but then again, it also says "The PMCs are programmed to kill you" suggesting we team up with the rebels and kill as much PMC as possible. In many cases you will find yourself gunning alongside the Rebels to overthrow the PMCs and take over a patch of land, after all the nearby PMCs are killed, "Huzzahs" resound in the air with everyone thanking you for the support. All this adds to the "BattleField" feel of the game , making the player want to take part in the ongoing war, and get the a feeling similar to that of an online TDM.

But there is a problem in some locations where PMCs respawn indefinitely and you are stuck wondering if they will stop thus keep wasting bullets. The devs have put a nice morale balancing technique where in "The voice of God" (?) makes you vomit in the battlefield saying the words "Because you like killing very much" in case you kill a lot of people in one location. This can also act as a hint "They will keep coming, so advance to the next section"

The game introduces us to a new character and gameplay element. The character is Drebin, he is a weapon launderer who makes it possible for you to unlock ID protected guns that you collect in the battleground from fallen PMCs. In order to unlock weapons you need Drebin Points which you get by collecting "extra" weapons and selling them to him. Not only can you unlock weapons, but also buy ammo, and new weapons from drebins shop. The Prices are not-so-well balanced, as you will rarely be in a situation where you are out of points to buy new stuff.

Drebin's shop also allows you to modify your weapons, which ranges from adding the very-necessary Suppressor, to stability increasing extra handles, it also has nice additions like "master-key" and others which will allow you to add Shotgun attachment to rifles, which definitely helps in many situations. There are a plenty of customisation options, but they too, like the weapons, will never make you spend a lot. One can play through the whole thing by buying only the suppressor for guns. This feature will, however, come in handy during the next playthroughs as there are many things that can be done alternatively in the game, and every small customisation adds a twist to the gameplay strategy.

*Evade them Stealthily

Thankfully, the whole game has not turned into a run and gun affair, its only in those battlefield like areas that you find yourself using guns with no suppressors. Every act has its "stealth" part where you are either tracking down footsteps in the forest (like a Ninja) or trying to find a secret base by following unsuspecting passer-bys.

It is in these stealth sections where the new "OctoCamo" comes into use, it's the most advanced and probably the best new feature of the game wherein your body suit dissolves into the surrounding area's texture, keeping you very well hidden when motionless. But the enemies are not totally dumb, if you are well within their field of vision and they see a strange lump on the floor, they will come to see what it is.In these situations the new "on your back" prone position can prove very useful where you can aim while lying on the ground.

You also have the trusty Mk. II which helps you in scouting ahead and procuring items in dangerous locations. It has limited battery life, but one can easily play through the whole game without finishing a single battery. The MK. II proves useful in many locations where stealth kills are of most importance. You can sneak behind enemies undetected and zap them, after which, snake can silence them forever. There are a few irritating things like Otacon always warning you when Mk.II is going out of range, even though one can easily tell by looking at the signal strength indicator. There is also the time consuming boot-up process where it takes 3 secs to stretch. Mk.II being an essential gameplay element will be used very frequently and hence such minor things irk the player a lot throughout the game.

Stealth is a major part of the game, you are well rewarded for being sneaky at the end of every act. You can also prevent major battles in the game by sneaking around enemies. There is a part in the game where you have to sneak around with a gekko patrolling the area, its footstep's sound add to the tension when you are desperately trying to sneak. Such situations and many more are very memorable in the game, where sneaking is the best and (sometimes) ONLY means of proceeding.

Control the Snake

All Gameplay Elements are right in place, and for them to play along nicely, the control scheme has been laid in a very well thought manner. The game plays very different to every other one out there, where you are not holding a weapon all the time, therefore, the default position of the character is NOT a holstered position.

To holster a weapon, you need to press the L1 button, which readies the Gun for aiming. After this you are in a very familiar, over-the-shoulder position with offerings of both Auto-lock and manual aim at the player's disposal. It also has small options where you can switch over which shoulder you aim. This mode of aiming will be easy for automatics, and others, which will come in handy during those warzone scenarios where you are bombarded with action all over.

But the game is primarily a "stealth" mission, so you will find yourself in many locations, in a situation where silent one shot kills are a must, so that the enemy has no chance of warning others. And it is during these situations when the newly added "First person" aiming mode comes in handy. At any point when you have a weapon holstered you can press the Triangle button and toggle to First Person aiming mode. This mode paired with a silenced gun will be the best option when you are in need of silent head shots to sneak away undetected. The Controls are very customizable too, with many options for the camera, and weapon change functions. All this customizability makes the game as good as the player wants.

Speaking of which, the game can played as good, or as bad as the player wants, one might try to run and gun and use the wrong weapon in some locations. But such decisions will lead to nothing but frustrations, as sometimes, trying to blow things up to smithereens is just doesn't work in some places (where it feels to be the viable method to deal with enemies)

Please the Senses

Apart from the Gameplay, the Game has its sound and Cinematics, which are by no doubt, of top-notch quality. The game has complete 5.1Dolby digital support which will certainly please anyone with the right hardware. The surround sound experience can be used very much like ears in real environments, where sound of footsteps and other things help in pointing out exactly where the enemy is. Of course, there is the solid eye, but playing it this way adds to the fun factor and immerses the player into the environment.

Graphically the game is sure to please everyone, it looks very beautiful, and motion capture, lip syncing is done as good as possible. The incredible sound quality and voice acting paired with the beautiful looks will please the gamer's senses. There are however a minor framerate drops in large outdoor areas where there are many characters on screen along with a lot of explosions and things happening onscreen. This doesn't get anywhere near botheration level though, hence keeping the whole experience, smooth at best.

The cut scenes at the end of every act tend to cover a lot of story and hence are of good length, the acts are laid in such a manner than one will usually find himself playing the game one act at a time in one single stretch. After every act , the game installs for 5 -8 minutes for the next act. This can also serve as a relaxation break for the player, where, as suggested by snake, one can do a bit of stretches and other things to relax a bit. Hence playing one act every sitting (which are each of almost 4-5 hours in length) is the best and most comfortable way to play the game.

The boss fights of the games, are still as great as ever, figuring out the right and best way to conquer them will be a challenge, and the way you defeat them will have different immediate consequences (not related to story).

Final Thoughts

MGS4 surpasses all the older games in every technical aspect and ends everything that had started. It leaves no room for missing connections from previous games and leaves the player completely satisfied at the end. It is a "must have" for anyone who has played a MGS game before and enjoyed it. The game plays and feels different from anything out in the market, so it will seem very foreign to new comers, they will have to play the game with a grain of salt, as the long cutscenes , sneaking around, and fact that running and gunning doesn't always work, might not be their cup of tea.

Behind The Scenes Look AtSpider-Man: Web of Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:36:00 +0000

They say that "where there's a will, there's a way", from the looks of it Shaba Games wants the heartbroken fans of the Spider-Man videogames to feel that’s still true.

No doubt that the story of the Spider-Man franchise in the history of gaming is a long and convoluted one. It has had it's up's and down's, but it has not disappeared from the world of videogames because every so often you get a title bearing the mark of the web-head which is just fun to play, it has it's issue (like most games) but it makes you understand why old Spidey is such a great character to witness in games/comics/movies.

*Note*: Not all can be Spider-Man (PS1) or Ultimate Spiderman (GC and PS2).

So from what the video shows, the developers actually "seem" (to be confirmed by the game's performance) eager and excited to have the license in their hands and work on a great game. A great first step, for sure.

From the looks of the game, it looks pretty much the same as the movie license games. The swinging just seems very plain and just there with Spidey throwing his web wherever and just swinging from the air. I do like what they are trying to do with the combat; a superhero (according to his abilities) has the advantage over other people because he can face situations common folks can't... like say throwing a dude towards a building, hurrying up to the building, standing on the side of it and continuing the fight there or heading for some air combat if the foe presents more challenge then usual. That sounds AWSOME! Now, having that in a game that looks pretty much the same, as every other Spider-Man game to come out since DVD's where used as gaming optical discs... could just burry this nice new feature (unless its some kind of ground breaking new gameplay feature, which doesn’t seem like it from this angle).

As I've already heard from other points of view, they need to do some more tweaks to the future games to make it interesting again. Surprisingly enough, its mods in the little stuff that could make the franchise go a long way. Changing something essential but very influential as the swinging and the physics in it would take this new game to a new level. Maybe ask for some tips from the guys who are making the Bionic Commando remake for PS3 and X360 for swinging mechanics... wouldn't hurt.

For now it’s really cool to see the developers have the enthusiasm to want to make a great game. If they play their cards right then maybe they can use this huge name in gaming (and most of entertainment media) to launch their dev house to "namedrop" status.

Alone in The Dark... Looks and sounds GREAT!!

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:05:00 +0000

After watching 1Up's interview with Atari's Phil Harrison on the upcoming the upcoming Alone in The Dark... I have to say I'm impressed.

So this interview with new Supreme Overlord of Atari, Phil Harrison, has really gotten me excited on the future of the Alone in The Dark game... with also a possible rebirth of Atari (which is also a great thing :)).

Right off the bat, I love the comparison with Indigo Prophecy. I could not think of a better made game in the Supernatural Thriller/horror genre (if that even exists). That game had some of the best atmosphere of uncertainty and overwhelming tension in the air for the game's characters. The game had a feeling of real life elements in it: character's home, the city, the park, the season's, the characters themselves... and later on mixing it with supernatural elements and making a very credible and creepy Supernatural/Horror based game where you at some point could identify with some characters and feel like its was a possible situation (to some degree of course).

Indigo Prophecy, some of the best atmosphere presented in videogames... Imersiveness, action, creepyness and mystery applied when needed.

So I was very excited to see how close to that feeling Alone in The Dark is reaching. Just the shot of Central Park and part of the surrounding N.Y. gives it that super hero flying (or maybe more like swinging) you would see in a Spider Man movie of that land mark and/or the rest of the city, so the camera angle already gives the game a Supernatural/Superhuman feel where you can achieve that shot only as a consequence of some huge and hard to conceive event.

Always a cool camera angle for big terrain views, specially when done in huge overflowing with various elements type of settings.

The gameplay is looking sharp in the vid and it seems like puzzles will take a good part in the game, while in an overwhelming situation for the character... while keeping the action - gameplay in the same setting's atmosphere and alot of interactions with the environment (to what degree or size is yet to be seen).

Maybe killing zombies with a gun and flamable objects is so done... but danggling up high within an inch of your life, in between a helicopter and a train will always do the trick.

Lastly what I really, really, really like from the vids on Alone in The Dark is that Atari (and whoever else is onboard with the game's production) finally sat down and talked about what should the game have to set it apart from the other popular Horror game franchises... suddenly someone must have said: "You know what this game needs? Young people singing in Latin" PERFECT!! I can't stop saying how refreshing it is to see children singing in a weird language as part of the BGM of a Horror game, film, etc.. This is a 20 year old, more or less, concept that is just that right type of crazy and creepy that in the hands of talented people, can make a Horror game extremly creepy/scary/disturbing/weird. Heck! It worked for one of those Nightmare on Elm Street films (aka Freddy Kruger movies) so why not a video game which can make the user's experience more imersive then a film.

Oh man I got really creeped out when I saw that Freddy Kruger movie... I hope Alone in The Dark makes me want to play it under the covers and during daytime. As far of what I've seen of the game's producition, via what Atari is letting out, I'm begining to have high hopes for this game; even more then any other Horror game out their for the reason that Lurch (Addams' Family butler) himself is talking about it. Its like hearing a creeped out zombie talking about how scary something else is.

This game has got to be great... Atari reeeeeally depends on it, so I'm sure they will role out thier biggest, prettiest and most filled with talent "dog and pony show" for this title. Which means a great game for those of us wanting to get it in the near future.

MG Ohh!

noreply@blogger.com (Reeteshifier) — Mon, 19 May 2008 08:57:00 +0000

*Not the Alpha nor the Omega, its the Beta!

Not Too long ago, it was announced that people who preorder MGS4 would get MGO Beta Keys.I've been waiting to get the "MGS4" experience for so long and now I finally had a chance! I'm definitely going to buy the game, so preordering wouldn't hurt. But sadly, this offer was not available in India. Well, there is no surety of the game's Indian release even.All this was making me more anxious to get my hands on it.I decided that I would play the Beta someway or the other.

One fine day I came across a Kotaku article linking to a GT Profile,telling people how to get into the "free" Japanese open beta. On seeing this, I registered with no second thought. I soon got my Beta Key by e-mail, and was ready to download! My happiness knew no bounds after knowing that I would get my hands on it soon AND help in trying to make the game better.

I was waiting for Apr 17th now, which was the day when the gates to Beta downloads would open, and just a day before that I saw this news! Upon seeing this I was worried about my Beta key, I had a tab for Gmail always open and refreshing inbox whenever I looked at it (even though I know it refreshes automatically :P ).

*Konami Servers = BOMBED!

In all this hiatus I went to the new Konami id creating portal(now in English) and started creating another Id with fake UK information with the hope that I could atleast get into the UK Beta, but the site was so full of traffic that the pages wouldn't load and would often return errors after submitting information.But, such errors couldn't stop me! I kept trying and was able to finally create a UK Id for the game. Now all I had to do was wait and see if I could really get into the beta one way or the other.

Konami site never saw traffic like this before, and it caused huge problems from Id creation troubles to the Beta being delayed by a week

*Japanese Key, European downloads?

Now came the question of downloading the Beta.Due to the delay I had more time to download the thing and luckily, I didn't get any e-mail about my ID being banned, so maybe, Konami was only doing that to people from areas where the beta is officially available.(lucky! ) Now I had two functional Konami IDs and all ready for downloads!

I was unable to find the beta download link in Japanese PSN Store,I was planning on using the valid key with newly announced UK beta download.But after following a few links and looking at pictures in the japanese MGO site I realised that we had to access a special option from 'account management' page to download the Beta.

Now I had to choose between a sure-to-enter japanese version of the beta(have the key,But all text in game would be japanese :S ), or the not-so-sure UK beta (where I could be kicked out for not being in the Uk ). After thinking of all possible consequences I finally decided and started the risky UK BETA download.The download was 7xx MB and it takes 1hr to download 100 mb in my connection! So I started watching movies etc on my PS3 just so that current for keeping the PS3 on all the time would not go to waste.(yeah I think a lot about the electricity wastage :P ) All the games I own for the PS3, I've already beat so there was nothing left to do than watch movies on it.

*Patch the size of the Beta? Whaaa?

3 days and 3 movies later the download was complete, then I got a Shocking PM from my Friend on PS3 saying "You have to download a 700 MB patch after starting the Beta, lol" :| After 7 hours of download I will now have to endure another 7+ hrs, now with NO background downloading, so no movies or whatever.

I was still wondering if taking all the risk was worth it, because turning on the PS3 (and having the PC also turned on at the same time , ISP problems) would charge a lot for the electricity! but being so near to finally being able to play the game I just didn't want to quit it, so i started the downloaded BETA file.

The Menu screen was pretty MGS-ey which was a good thing, and as usual I first saw the "other" things before pressing "start game' :P The only other thing in this case was a HD trailer for MGO (which itself was around 150 MB of the download me thinks :| ) and It was the same trailer I saw when it was first announced. so I was kinda sad whole through the video (they could have removed the video and saved us all a lot of time! )

Well, Then I started the beta, and the sound of pressing start itself was something worth noting, it was like a gun shot, but very impressive! it was one of the best gun sound effects I heard in recent times I can say.(Yeah,I keep track of these things too :P ) and was just what one needed to hear before starting a MGO type battle.

*P2P Uploading...

Soon the User agreement showed up and after accepting it it showed that there was a patch and I had to download it, I started the download and the HTML download option didn't work properly. I restarted the Beta and now started the download in the peer to peer mode and this time it was downloading but there was this HUGE PROBLEM!

The thing is that my ISP is really strange it provides a total bandwidth of 256kbps where its Up+down= 256k (where as in DSL connections I tested, its Up/down =256k each). The peer to peer download thing had a speed limiter, but it was one of the strangest ones I saw till now. instead of giving higher priority for downloading, the upload speed limited to "2x download speed" Now I was stuck with 1/3 the bandwidth for downloading the thing.

Most of the bandwidth was wasted for uploading :(

The download speeds were very slow (~10K) and because of that, the download would take very long. Here in India electricity is cut off randomly, its something everyone has learnt to accept as if it were a natural disaster.No one can stop it, and one has to suffer the consequences.

Therefore, I was really worried if the thing has resume or not (because downloading 50% and then having the current go off would be a VERY bad thing to happen ).I stopped the download after 1% completion, and upon restarting, it luckily resumed :D so with a sigh of relief I continued downloading.

This time, I HAD to leave it unattended,I left it turned on for many hours every day, there fore in 2 days with around 12-15 hrs of download time the thing was complete!

*2x uploading done! The Beta calls!

Now I was ready with all my Konami Ids, Game IDs, and Beta Keys, ready to enter the Beta, and finally get my hands on the game! So How was the game?Did in anyway help in making the game better? Lets leave it for the next post :D

MGO has great keyboard support.

MGS4... Bringing it HARD!!

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:36:00 +0000

Really not much to say but rather show, in the midst of all the GTA IV love (it's "supadupa" great... we get it) MGS4 is also wanting to say: "Hey! We're here too." They begun what I'm l thinking is gonna be a huge P.R. (Public Relations) month or in other words: "Try to sell the hell out of this game"... eergh.. month.

GTA IV and MGS4 are bothe great titles, one is proven and the other one has a legacy and duty to fufill that expectation. Only this time their are two key difference between the releases of both titles.

The GTA (Grand Theft Auto) series isn't going anywhere, and will continue to pump the series with new locations and installments in the future. The MGS series on the contrary is ending its tenure with MGS4 and is basically obligated by history to put out one of the best god damn games released by humanity and set its place up with Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 and now GTA IV. (I bet their are also others, but hey! those are the ones of the top of my head.)

MGS4 has a huge burden that Sony (or rather Konami/Kojima Productions) has placed on it's shoulders. This game IS a system seller. This type of job would have fallen on GTA IV's shoulders also, if it had not been because of Ken Kutaragi's arrogance to secure the exlucivity of the series or at least this installment on what would be at the time Sony's "Next Gen" console (Playstation 3). So, if you calculate on still that huge group of people that were not early adopters, the people with PS3's that have been waiting for another friggin game to be worth the investment on the PS3 since Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and those who are waiting to buy the PS3 for this game alone (Me included)... this game will sell over a million copies and might (it just might) sell Sony over a million PS3s on its own.

Of course, that last bold statement (zing!) will not just depend on what Konami does for the game's P.R. but without a doubt Sony will set a HUGE SPOTLIGHT on the game, using its own resources and P.R. manpower to let as much as the industry, gaming and (to some extent) the public mainstream-media know the game exists, its playiable, its got action, its sexy, looks beautiful and realistic and most importantly CAN ONLY BE POWERED/PLAYED /MADE A REALITY on ONLY the PS3. :S

Now, that I think of it... although it's sad to say as a fan, MGS series or MGS4 in specific will never reach GTA series sells numbers since its not as mainstreams nor as controversial as GTA is and you've never seen it talked about in in public-popular media outlets... weather: late night talk shows (Letterman [after minute 5:40 in the vid], Jimmy Kimmel... [after minute 8:36 in the vid], Conan O'brien, Craig Ferguson) news channels (CNN's Glenn Beck) and even current date leading U.S.A. Democratic party presidential candidate Barak Obama...

Geez! The most mainstream MGS4 has gotten up to know was that morphing PS3 commercial from some time ago. Hmm, Sony hasn't done to well on publicizing the PS3, huh? Then again, this is the first exclusive game that actually matters to millions of of possible customers at any given time, with even a movie in production, which would indicate a mainstream portal for the MGS series but a little too late.

Oh man, I said I wouldn't write anything more, but I just ramble too much about this series' future at times.

To finish, during what's gonna be the month of May up to June 12th, don't be surprise if you see 2 or more stories weekly, some game show paid P.R. or even a new mainstream (cable or non cable TV channels, radio, etc) commercial during May... highlighting the game as some huge larger then life "THING"............................ but even more important on how you can only experience it with a PS3.

Anywho whats important:

Japan Gets *Another* Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 Bundle

Metal Gear Solid 4, You've Changed, Man

MGS4 Revived Trailer

With a follow up story on Kotaku titled: More Info About Metal Gear Solid 4 Flashbacks

G4 TV, X-Play Exclusive New Gameplay Video

Thank to Kotaku for the heads up on it.

Thats it I guess, for now. Most probably this is just a sample of stuff to come regarding the game for this whole month up until it's launch date. Prognostic: A great month for MGS fans!

(Review) Gantz 270: Ping Pong

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Well this another favorite of WEast Gamers (or at least me... for now), so if you don't mind and have gotten to this point of the manga, then you don't need reviews for the past fase (Stage I) and the beginning chapters of this second fase. Although their might be something related in the future. Never say never. For now, lets stay in the present.

And now, on with the review.

______________________________________________________________

"Solitude is like a thick coat.

However, even with it on, it

can't put an end

to a cold heart."

I finally got to see what this Oka Hachirou is able to do in that last chapter (ch. 269), this guy or girl is no joke. Although its not as he/she doesn't have a sense of humor... as it will be seen a little later on in ch. 270.

Going back to ch. 269 again for a bit, the more I see this guy fight (although I've only seen him/her fight the Minotaur-Spider Nurarihyon) he/she reminds me so much of Kurono Kei. They both have that straight foward style of fighting and both go on from being calm to a "fighting frenzy" state of mind as soon as the adrenaline hits their bodies. Just watching him/her on top of the Minotaur-Spider Nurarihyon and beating the crap out of it... took me back to the Buddhist Temple Mission.

(I wanna say the 3rd mission? - 1st Stage of the manga. More or less.)

You know what, I´ll start refering to Oka Hachirou refer to Oka Hachirou as a "SHE" since I suspect its the same person from the cover of ch. 268 and how that lady is nobody seen yet in the manga. (Then again I might be wrong... now that I look close, she could be Reika.)

OK. So its come down to the final showoff, what's left of the Osaka and the Tokio team watch from a distance as Oka is ready to make his move against... "Nurari"?

Note 1: Wow?!, Oku Hiroya finally gave that thing a name. Although it really came out of nowhere... unless it's more of a general term or title given to the alien by the Gantzers. Oh, speaking about names... isn't weird that this badass Oka character has a very similar name to Oku, which is the author's name. Hmmm... maybe the author is trying to specify something there or wants to/compensate some how by becoming that character. Who knows?)

At this point all I can wonder is: "What is Reika feeling?" Specially since her stand of not interfering has gone just as bad as if they had done something, like Katou, and tried to have saved some lives instead of just watching all that carnage go by. Maybe this could affect Reika's condition as leader. Truth be told, Reika should have known by now that when Gantz wants you to fight... you fight.

Oka is now the only hope, if he fails then everything and everyone gets wiped out. Just before the fight gets to start off it was intresting to note some features regarding Oka and his suit or armor in this case. I'm pretty sure she's not that big. This new suit just might be more of a Gundam suit type of armor; something really huge but is piloted by a regular human being. I mean, if even a Gantz suit is able to expand itself, it's not possible to make someone using it super huge, have their arms reach almost to the ground while standing up and basically make the Gantzer look gorilla-ish. Also if you look at her knees... its not joint together like that of a person's knees in a regular Gantz suit. Its something more bolted or artificial/robot-esque in appearance and structure.

Well, after all that BS I randomly notice, the fight starts fullway and as anyone might hvae guessed "Nurari" started of with a some sorta Telekinisis/Psychic Blast/Crush. *_*

Note 2: This "Nurari" dude, pretty much somekinda mutant giant Diclonius type of creature, huh? (Read or Watch Elfen Lied)

Oka's suit quickly shows that it is strong, very strong and can withstand Nurari's PsyBlast with minimun or no damage at all; but from that it shows that its not just all muscle and enhances Oka's speed to an incredible level, letting Oka land a good blow at Nurari without letting Nurari even react to her presence.

What is most amuzing during this chapter is how funny and light hearted Oka Hachirou turned out to be beneath that huge armor, even when being in a life and death situation. So at one moment she goes on and says: "Bring it on, anytime... ANYWHERE!!" I just smiled because it's these little moments where the Gantz manga goes from a straight up from Seinen (Mature) genre to a lighter Action/Shounen one and I get this feeling as if I were reading Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc.. Oka keeps talking about how he used to play ping pong when he used to be in grade school... as she's uppercutting "Nurari"'s; at this point I was thinking to myself: "This guys is most probably an Otaku" . I wasn't quite sure at the time and was hoping for some confirmation of sorts over the next few chapters (I hope more will be seen of those who are left of the Osaka Team). I'm glad to write I didn't have to wait weeks for reassessment, because Oka later confirms how she is taking "online Karate classes". Of course I went: "Yup, denfinetly Otaku..." XD.

All of the sudden we have "Nurari" dead and taken out by one single friggin human being, a powerful Gantzer but none the less one single person... I mean the most badass, ruthless S.O.B. Gantz Team (shown to date) wasn't able to lay a scratch on it; not even those who had compleated the game over 2 times each. Can you imagine what kind of mess this "Nurari" character must be for those 3 guys, who brought the Nurarihyon aliens into submission basically by themselves, who must have seen all sorts of other mess and survided it. Add to that the caliber of expertise and the advanced weapons they obtained for clearing the game so many time... It still amazes me how tough these Nurarihyons were.

With this thing dead all thats left to say is: "Is the mission really over?" I don't think so specially since I'm seeing Katou looking at this as his opportunity to revive Kurono Kei.

Note 3: Maybe this is a way the author might be telling us this is Kurono's chance to come back intro the fold. Kinda like foreshadowing. Maybe not.

Plus hasn't this thing done 3 transformations already and had it's head blown off and was able to keep on going? I might be wrong but I think thier are maybe a few chapters left on this whole Osaka-Tokyo crossover.

Note 4: Thinking back on Oka fighting "Nurari", somethings came to mind:

The way she speaks lightheartedly while kicking ass, reminds me alot of Dante from the Devil May Cry series of videogames; more specifically DMC3 Dante.

(It worthy to note that Gantz manga is filled with all kinds of pop-culture reference from in and outside Japan.)

When Oka speaks of learning Karate online, it could be considered somthing of a reference to The Karate Kid (1980's movie) and how the main character was trying to learn Karate from a textbook. So both are similar in aproach and circumstances but a bit more updated.

Those tubes coming out of Oka's suit work to give this menacing look, just at it worked in the form of dreadlocks for aka The Predator and the those of its same race in the movie series AVP (Alien Vs Predator).

-o-

Chapter 270

Maybe... Kinda... New MGS4 Trailer?

noreply@blogger.com (SM2099) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:47:00 +0000

Well, who knows really. Although it's not really "new" and it has more of a fan made, clips video vibe... but on the other hand you get that Kojima Productions/Fox Hound logo sweet vertical bar displacement and fade in effect. Personally, I really hope at some moment the K.P./Fox Hound logo will fade out while turning into little hexagons, now that would make it look so much futuristic and a nice throw back to MGS2. Other then that, the character models and FMV sequences have gotten their last coat of wax and are looking extremly sharp, suprisingly (for real this time) realistic and just beautiful.

If you are a hardcore fan and have seen and learned the MGS4 E3 2006 (15 minute) trailer, then you would probably recognize the dialogue going on through this vid.

Last I would like to point something out, this is twice I've seen Snake putting a piece to his mouth and wanting to pull the trigger. I mean what the hell is Otacon being doing?! Has he not realized what Snake was going through? Geez! Give Old Snake some Prozac, Valium or whatever antidepressant pill their's out there. F' whatever Tom Cruise says, Snake needs help. Since Snake putting a gun in his mouth is becoming apparently something important (plotwise), I wonder if their will be a mini-game where Raiden, Merly or Otacon confronts Snake about his issues and you have to press the circle button quickly to avoid Snake from taking the gun to his head and pulling the trigger. It sounds wrong yet it could be kinda fun.

Thanks to Kotaku for the heads up.

UPDATE: Don't those 3 scenes at the begining of the video... kinda look like what Kojima Production's Ryan Payton said would happen when you die in the game? That at certain parts of the game (like FMV sequences) you could press a button and that time-frame would be recorded and so when you died, those frames you recorded earlier would come up like little flashback. Of course I assume this happens before you get the "Game Over" title and somebody yelling: "SNAAAAAAAKE!!!".

If thats how it's gonna look, then that would be trip to look at while dying in the game. So realistic, something along the lines of "watching your life flash before your eyes, right before you die" type of deal. Very nice feature IMO.

(Review) Naruto 397: The Man Who Knows The Truth

noreply@blogger.com (WEast Gamers) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:46:00 +0000

Welcome to WEastGamers' First review of Naruto Manga.Gamers don't just game after all they also have other interests, Manga and Anime being one of those other things we here at WEGamers like.

Expect to hear Rants on what things happened in the latest chapter and also maybe some predictions of things that might happen in the future!

So let get on with the Reviews! Up first is SM2099 with a detailed review what all things happened, and then its the Reeteshifier ranting out about what could possibly happen afterwards.

SM2099's PoV:

Hmm... I don't think there was a better way to start this feature on the WEastGamers' blog. Truly these types of events make me want to believe that there could be a higher power out there trying to guide us to into a better direction for the best... that part of that guidance is brought to us this week in the form of the Naruto manga, chapter 397.

We've finally finished the twist and turns, technique after technique and last resort after last resort, fatal conclusion that was one of the hardest and prolonged battles in the Naruto universe... Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uchiha Itachi. Probably one of the most intense battles up there with Naruto vs. Sasuke (Valley of The End/Sasuke Retrieval Arc) or the memorable Jiraiya vs. Pain. With chapter 397, the psyche of the going plot thickens and just make a huge 360º change for far out places up to now of a speculative nature.

So 397 starts out with Tobi/Uchiha Madara's "real" face revealing to Sasuke. ONLY to get turned down as soon as he rapidly becomes engulfed in black flames. A close shot to Sasuke´s left eye reveals the presences of the Magenkyo Sharingan. As Tobi/Madara survives this surprise attack, he explains that this was Itachi's gift to Sasuke?... to protect him? In the beginning I taught that maybe Itachi was trying to curse Sasuke, but Tobi's anwser could be true, although this must be backed up by the explanation of who Itachi was in the next chapter of the manga (chapter 398).

*Intresting to note, Sasuke's Magenkyo Sharingan,is exactly the same as Itachi's. One of the features that distinguishes the M.S. is that, unlike the Sharingan, it's shape does change from user to user as evidence by the variation in each of M.S. users.

So it could be said the in a certain way, Sasuke is pretty much **** if he over uses the M.S.. since Itachi didn't have the chance to perfect the M.S. with Sasuke´s eyes nor has Sasuke awoken the M.S.."

Of course from this moment on, Sasuke has become a complete mess and a million doubts and questions must have begun arising in his head. To the point where he shuts Tobi/Madara up angrily. Make me wonder what kind of things must he be thinking at the time. He basically just killed what he had considered his worst enemy, The Joker to his Batman, etc.. Plus, he really wasn't feeling bad about committing fratricide, now with Tobi/Madara's words (which he says are the "truth").

All that happened in this chapter just keeps me thinking: So now what?, Itachi was faking it good? Wow! He was pretty convincing with the whole torturing Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke with Tsukuyomi and that little killing the Uchiha clan (remains to be confirmed at this point of the manga) massacre that took place some time ago.

Can't really say anything else but just in a huge expectations (two weeks from now!) for the next chapter to come out and maybe start getting some friggin answers out of this Tobi/Madara guy. One thing is for sure, Naruto manga has stop being just black and white and has started to look all shades of grey. Next chapter will be great!

Except if Tobi/Madara confuses his personality, then goes and says: "Psyke!", then all the buildup for chapter 398 will have sucked and become a terrible letdown. Let's hope not

Reeteshifier's PoV:

Wow, SM pretty much summed up what I had to say.The whole chapter was filled with images and images for most of the pages, and only the last two pages had something important to say, and BOY was it important.Those two pages made this chapter possibly one of the best ones in the past few chapters.

It totally gives you the feeling that you dont know anything now, and HAVE to read more to completely understand what is happening.

I felt really sad for Itachi and it already made me think of Itachi as a super awesome great Hero.but man, why did he do all those things? What was the reason for all these secret works?

Also ,what I am still wondering is, HOW is Madara so young even now, does it mean he has multiple hearts like that other guy who fought with the First Hokage? or maybe some other way to achieve immortality? Or is "Madara" a title given to the Best of the Uchiha's

But a discussion I had with SM makes me really think, could this be the same person who was an Uchiha but was never good at anything? could this be the other person who has only ONE Sharingan?

But if he is so.. then WHY? why did such a good person (with a name reverse of TOBI) get so bad? what happened to him?

Man, I just want to read more of it, and of all the times, it had to come during the time when its a week holiday for all Mangas.

But oh well, lets keep theorizing and see if what we are thinking is the right thing when the next chapter comes! :D

-o-

Chapter 397

Podcast Beta

noreply@blogger.com (WEast Gamers) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:37:00 +0000

WEast Gamers wants to give that old podcast do-hicky another try. Lets see how it all goes.

A Formal - Informal Introduction:Hi Everybody!!!

noreply@blogger.com (WEast Gamers) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:12:00 +0000

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to WEastGamer's Blog. This is where you will find Gamers from Weastern and Eastern Hemispheres of the world... talking 'bout some games... and stuff.

You will mostly find us non-natively English speaking/writing people talk about games and the current gaming scene, which will give you an insight at how different/similarly people from different places view the same thing. Also discussion on things like whats happening in the Narutoverse and maybe a rant or two by the authors here will be recurring features.

We will try to have podcasts regularly in which you can expect talks of the latest gaming news, and also about things that we like doing, like Manga/Anime discussions and maybe things on how different religion have different superheroes, who somehow have similarities with each other and anime characters. Oh yeah and don't forget the Foreign accents!

So thats how its going to be, hope you all will have a nice time reading and listening to what we put up here in this blog. Feel free to comment/Compliment on our doings in any way you feel is right.

Thanks for Reading and see you all in next posts!

-WEastGamers

The Main Authors here for now are SM2099 and Reeteshifier you might know of them from their Gamespot profiles. All timings on the posts will be of GMT.