I haven't felt this awesome since the beginning of last year when I was mentioned in the show notes of the 100th X3F Podcast!
Oh, how cool I feel right now... XD
5 years ago
I haven't felt this awesome since the beginning of last year when I was mentioned in the show notes of the 100th X3F Podcast!
Limbo is REALLY open to interpretation. So open that it would probably piss a lot of people off. The story telling in the game is so vague, that you would probably miss the fact that "you are looking for your sister" up until the very end of the game (halfway through if you REALLY pay attention) unless you read the game summary. The open end-edness of the game is one of the largest selling point of the game, so if you want a story that is concretely there, don't get this game (I'm pretty sure that the only word that ever appears in that game is HOTEL. No spoke dialogue. Heck, no vocal sound effects whatsoever).
You'll also have to put together with the world of the game. The game world itself is rather empty as well. The game has a really chilling vibe that is actually very appealing. The world is full of death (your own and the one's of others) and other things that would make you cringe (spikes, electric boards, and brain-sucking leeches). There's also a weird satisfaction to the game when you overcome the things trying to impede your progress through the game. I say that because most hinderences in the game are dealt with gruesome deaths.
The game has fairly difficult puzzles and the game can explains it's own mechanics pretty well (after a LOT of trial and error, though). This difficulty then SPIKES about 2/3rds into the game and will drive you pretty close to the edge to looking at a walkthrough if you are not a usual puzzle gamer. The game is REALLY short looking at it (about 3 hours at least) but the puzzles near the end can get you stuck for a pretty long amount of time (not including optional puzzles that will gain you the achievements in the game).
FINAL VERDICT: If you are really into the "deeper meaning" kind of games, this is definitely for you. If you've wanted a different gaming experience, this is also for you. This game is fairly reminisent of Braid in that it's a puzzle-platformer with a vague underlying story, but it doesn't have the brilliant impression that Braid gave me. To me, this game is trying to be really smart, but fails to give you even a hint of what the game wants to mean. It was a nice experience, but I don't think it's worth the $15 price point. To call it a masterpiece is really a bit of an overstatement.
Written by Kaillif Ammen, Gamertag: Gloqwi
In short, I got Windows 7 and it's pretty damn awesome!
Also, FORGE WORLD LOOKS FUCKING FANTASTIC!!!!!!!! I NEED TO GET THIS GAME NOW!!!!!
I was sold when I first saw it, sold even MORE when I read this, and then my heart and soul gave way when I saw these screenshots.
And that's it!
I know it. I don't update this website and no one visits it. Why do I still have it? Because it's a fantastic memory that I always want to remember. So yeah, I think I may have moved along to Library of Games.
HAHA! NO!
Instead, I will stay here and work on Library of Games as a lead contributor. Why should I barely hang onto this dying site? Because LoG doesn't do ANIME! XD
This is the new self-interview that I did for the new website that I'm on. Does it look familiar?
Kaillif Ammen (Gamertag: Gloqwi) is a video game/anime addicted teen and one of the first two people who joined the YouMedia gaming club (originally known as the YPlay Gaming Club) that made this website! He has taken time out of his completely free schedule to answer some questions that look very familiar to people that visit Bungie.net because he is unoriginal like that.
Q. Who are you and what do you think your doing here?
Hi! I am Kaillif Ammen! I was the first person to host the Library of Games podcast before Patrick came in (who has now left us...he's not dead!) and I currently edit the podcast together. I am also the site's caretaker and one of the two currently contributing writers (and lead editor).
Q. That sounds boring and frivolous. How long have you been in the gaming industry?
I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I only started becoming super into video games since I got my original Xbox in 2005, and I've only been completely immersed by video games since 2007. I opened a website back in early 2008 which I post on from time to time and now I work here!
Q. Isn't that sweet. What makes Library of Games seem different than any other gigs you've done?
There is more than one person that cares. Seriously! Byrdie has been doing some awesome stuff for the website and Stanley puts a surprising amount of work into the podcast! I'm also happy Aaron and Malic can stand talking about video games and other nerdy things with us for about an hour straight! I love it!
Q. You've been here part of the club for about half a year. What do you think this site will become?
This club has become something bigger over the past 6 months. This started out as two people who raised their hands when they said they wanted to review games for the library, which has now become a larger group of people who now talk about video games weekly for an hour and a website. I don't know what it will become, but it will grow from what it is now.
Q. Whenever you do these long, meaningless posts and work on the slightly frivolous website, what stays in your mind to keep you going?
I don't think they are meaningless, and I don't think this site is frivolous. Everything has to start somewhere, you know? I think it's the thought in the back of my head that says that "something good will come out of this." Yeah, that's it.
Q. Any tips for people that want to start a podcast or a website?
Be different. The key is to stand out from the crowd to get the attention of people that you want to listen to you. We are different because we are teens on the internet that won't spend half of the time spewing racial, sexist, homophobic slurs and speak about video games with thought! Right now, that's not enough to get everyone's attention, but we are currently thinking of ways to stand out (and Byrdie seems to be on the right track!)
Q. Experience, work ethic, or talent? What are you looking for with these guys?
These guys come to the podcast every week and bring something to the table, so there's work ethic. These guys have enough experience talking about games and other geeky things with friends all the time, so what I would want from them is the talent to make something interesting on the podcast or website. For me personally, I have basic experience and talent to start up this place (because I'm egotistical like that) but if you know me, I LACK work ethic. There are about 4 podcast episodes you readers haven't heard because I was too lazy to edit them on time. Don't worry! I'm trying to change that right now!
---------------------
That seems like a very optimistic note to leave off on. This is just the start of interviews that all the members will be doing if you want to learn more about them and get inside their heads. I don't know what they'll be like, maybe the same as mine, maybe completely different. I really have no idea. But I can't wait to see what they respond!
So, my friends wanted to start a machinima series, but it's been a year since that happened and it never really came into fruition. Before we started working, we all did these self-interviews that pretty much served as an 'About Me'. Now I am part of a new website THAT LACKS AN 'ABOUT US' PAGE, I think we need to do our own self interviews to make ourselves look MUCH more interesting. This is what I did for the machinima website a LONG time ago, this is: Broke'd In: Gloqwi.
P.S. Apparently, I thought loathing meant the same thing as egotistical back then. So replace any sign of loathing with egotistical as you read this.
P.S.S. I also didn't know how to spell.
FOR THE SAKE OF OUR PERSONAL INTERVIEWS, LET'S REPLACE 'AMP' WITH 'LIBRARY OF GAMES' and 'VIDEO EDITING' with 'AUDIO EDITING'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaillif Ammen (GT: Gloqwi) is a self-loathing blogger slash gamer who was brought into the AMP crew because he knows more website design s#1t than all you guys (see? self-loathing) and because of his suprisingly low-voice over the microphone. He has taken time out of his completely free schedule to answer some questions that look very familar to people that visit bungie.net.
Q. Who are you and what do you think your doing in AMP?
I'm Kaillif Ammen, gaming and blogging extraordinare! I'm currently the lead website designer/organizer and might possibly be seen in some of the videos. I could also help out with some of the video editing when that actually does happen. Other than that, I'm really just the dude to go to when things need to be done and you really don't have the time to do them yourself.
Q. That sounds boring and frivolous. How long have you been in the gaming industry?
I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I only started becoming super into video games since I got my original Xbox in 2005, and I've only been completely immersed by video games since 2007. I opened a website back in early 2008 and that's as far as industry talk goes.
Q. Isn't that sweet. What makes AMP seem different than any other gigs you've done?
There is more than one person that cares.
Q. During your small time with this gang, what makes you think they'll pull through with the machinima.
When did I say they'll pull through?
Honestly, the only hope I have for this is that these guys realize how much money they have dropped to do this and are gonna do it whether they like it or not.
Q. Whenever you do these long, meaningless posts and work on the slightly frivolous website, what stays in your mind to keep you going?
Seriously? I really don't know. It's a good laugh, it shows how much of a life I don't have, and that I really have nothing else to do. I'd go with the second one, realistically.
Q. Speaking of no life, some people might read this and like to learn more about web design. Any tips for them?
Spend most of your life on the computer. Easy.
Q. Experience, work ethic, or talent? What are you looking for with these guys?
Work ethic. I already have enough of the other two. I just want to see the crew actually do something with this.
Q. Bonus Round! What tips would you give the people that are actually viewing this website to do to get people that are complete strangers to you find your website?
Make it look professional. Which is what I am doing. All other answers you will find by asking Crimson.
A new Library of Games Podcast episode? Where?!? Oh, look at that! You weren't kidding!
Why have we not released one in so long? Because Kaillif is a lazy piece of crap editor, that's why! The new editor is mu--- oh, it's still him. Oh well. At least he put one ou--- it's only five minutes long?!?
Yeah, just to let you guys know, our podcast has been recording episodes ever since. I just never got to editing them. So now I bring you episode 10.5! We are re-branding and rethinking our podcast layout, so expect something clean, professional, and brand new next week! But it's still worth listening to this one! Join in on the conversation and post what you think about our thoughts.
This week:
- ONE TOPIC AND ONE TOPIC ONLY. TOP TEN MOST CREATIVE WEAPONS IN VIDEO GAMES. (P.S. Our number one is FANTASTIC!)
[Download Here! Listen to it. Love it. Live it.]
Intro and Outro: Am I Awake by They Might Be Giants
Supesharu Anaunsumento! The Library of Games podcast is coming back with a new episode either later today or tomorrow! We're planning to rebrand that shiz and turn it into something much more interesting now...
And now for the super exciting awesome news surrounding my success!
I can beat Painkiller and Panic Attack on Expert Drums now! WOOT WOOT! I mean, not with a very good score, or anything. Just that this proves that I have been getting better and better over time!
Also, I may be broadcasting over UStream often now! Here's a link to my channel that will be updated over time...
Wow! Blogger has made it much easier to edit in pictures! Woot!
And also, I may have just gotten Street Fighter IV gifted to me by a very nice person just now. Stay tuned!
Everything is going amazingly fine today! I feel great!
Why haven't you posted anything lately, Kaillif?
Because I'm having fun playing video games.
Playing video games? Does that mean...
Yes. That means I'm not grounded anymore.
Holy shiz, dude.
I know.
But seriously. Can't you post anything?
Too..busy...kicking ass...this is what I've done in the past week...
Beat Mass Effect 2 [3 days after I started it, 25 hours and 32 minutes.]
Played Left 4 Dead 2 [Not for long. Didn't have any fun since there was no one to play with.]
Played Rock Band 2... I finally have beaten "The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails on Expert Drums...
...and the biggest story... is [Played Battlefield: Bad Company 2].
I kick. So. Much. Ass. At. That. Game.
Consistently.
I hated this match. My squad freaking sucked. We won, but I carried the damn team:
Different match:
Consistent pwnage as I leveled up.
Ahh... good times.
Well, that's it!
Because I'm having fun playing video games.
Playing video games? Does that mean...
Yes. That means I'm not grounded anymore.
Holy shiz, dude.
I know.
But seriously. Can't you post anything?
Too..busy...kicking ass...this is what I've done in the past week...
Beat Mass Effect 2 [3 days after I started it, 25 hours and 32 minutes.]
Played Left 4 Dead 2 [Not for long. Didn't have any fun since there was no one to play with.]
Played Rock Band 2... I finally have beaten "The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails on Expert Drums...
...and the biggest story... is [Played Battlefield: Bad Company 2].
I kick. So. Much. Ass. At. That. Game.
Consistently.
I hated this match. My squad freaking sucked. We won, but I carried the damn team:
Different match:
Consistent pwnage as I leveled up.
Ahh... good times.Well, that's it!
Oh, and awful news.
My computer died.
...
...
...
Yeah, an Err1Err3 error. Basically, my computer can't detect a hard drive which means either I dropped my computer and my hard drive disconnected, or a virus destroyed it's existence.
Yeah, didn't have to think to hard on that one.
Working hard on finding the money to replace the hard drive. I have a friend who will =very kindly= loan his copy of Windows Vista or 7 to install. Thank you, M.
Now that's really it.
P.S.:
HUMOR TIME!:
1:30 seconds. 27 helicopters. 0.3 helicopters per second. 1 Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer:
And did you ever wanna know how many helicopters there were in Call of Duty 4? No? Still, read it. It's EVERY SINGLE DAMN HELICOPTER IN THE GAME!
HA! Get it? A VALVE pipe-dream? Because of valve pipes? And pipe dreams? And their name is Valve!?!?
...
Well, I'm a bit late to doing E3 expectations (since it's kinda, ya' know, the LAST DAY today), so instead I just wanted to do a dream sorta-thing. Something that I wish will happen but hope to God will happen. But hey, Valve always manages to surprise me. Today's focus? The mentioned new partnership between Sony and Valve. I hope they make beautiful children...
Sony ♥ Valve 1: Cross-platform co-op.
So the fact that there is going to be a co-op mode in Portal 2 is already a great surprise. And knowing Valve, it's not going to be a crappy tacked-on co-op mode. But what would make me that happiest gamer in the world (and might possibly like the PS3 more than the Xbox 360 O.O) would be the addition of cross-platform co-op. Being able to play the co-op mode with people who own the PS3 version if I owned the PC version, or vice versa. I wouldn't have to desperately catch up with my friend who always wants me to get the PS3 version of a game I REALLY want to get on the PC (not without reason, his PC doesn't seem like it could handle a lot), and I could just play with people who just don't want to bother playing games on their PC's (because PC gaming is cheap up until comes to hardware...).
Sony ♥ Valve 2: Fully-integrated Stream overlay.
If I could somehow make it so I could integrate my Steam account with my PSN account (since making either of those is free) and I could access things like modded-maps made from the PC version, than I would be a happy-happy-joy-joy person!
Sony ♥ Valve 3: Mouse & Keyboard Support.
Yeah, as you can see, I'm basically asking my PS3 to become a computer. There are some challenge levels that I just can't complete fast/precisely enough on the consoles because of the controller. Just gimmie a mouse and keyboard, and THEN I can beast.
Sony ♥ Valve 4: Half-Life 2 Episode 3.
Yeah. That's most definitely a dream.
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I think I had other ones, but I probably forgot about them because I was surfing the internet for awesome images. Yeah.
"I've been being really busy being dead...you know...after you MURDERED ME."
New companion (one that actually speaks!)! New puzzle elements (heat lasers, gravity beams, vents, jumping gel, sliding gel, and jump pads!)
I was able to beat the last game in a simple 5-something-hours. This game, looks, HARD!
All you needed to know about Day's 0-1 of E3 (everything that interested me. :P) - Part 1: Microsoft, Ubisoft, Nintendo
Microsoft's press conference was mediocre! Only thing super-special awesome is the new slim Xbox 360! Built-in Wi-Fi! 250GB Hard Drive! Same price! Looks sweet!
Metal Gear Solid: Rising also looks pretty damn kick-ass! Hideo never lets me down!
Fable 3 has been dated for October 26
Halo: Reach going to have space battles! XD
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And then there was Ubisoft's conference.... oh my god... (in a bad way)
Everything completely sucked for the most part. Only notable things:
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier looks to be kick ass.
A new Driver game has been announced! (To tell you the truth, I've never heard of the Driver series before this). Driver: San Francisco. Actually looks kinda cool!
And... A NEW RAYMAN GAME! NOT A RAVING RABBIDS GAME! AN ACTUALLY RAYMAN GAME! FINALLY!
And absolutely nothing was said about this "game", but there was a hella lot of dancing (don't worry, good dancing), and some blasting music. "Music by who?", you might ask? Well... Michael Jackson.
------------------
And now: Day 1. Nintendo's keynote. I would actually go so far as to say it was the best of all of them...I've never been so happy Nintendo has been kicking ass...:
Zelda: Skyward Sword announced!
Epic Mickey displayed! Very interesting concept actually!
Metroid: Other M has more shown of it... I am now VERY interested...
3DS detailed:
Depth Slider to control the 3D effect:
Motion sensor and a gyro sensor on the 3DS. Also, 2 camera lenses for 3D picture taking!
New Kid Icarus game announced! Kid Icarus: Uprising. Best description of it: It's a 3DS game, to clarify. It just LOOKS like a Wii game. And he is sorry to keep you waiting!
HOLY CRAP! Kingdom Hearts 3D game announced for the 3DS!
And last thing about Nintendo: Metal Gear Solid Franchise coming to the DS.
So I was supposed to have a lot of exciting stuff up today, but things caught me by suprise:
1. Oh! We have to record a podcast every Monday! I almost forgot!
2. Oh! I still have to edit the last two podcasts and this week's because an E3 podcast is almost completely useless if not posted the day of...
3. E3 has already started! Microsoft is already done with their conference while Ubisoft was finishing their's up on my ride home!
4. Anime/Breakout still needs to be done!
Current schedule:
- Block out any fun at YouMedia.
- Post up Post-Day:1 E3 impressions.
- Download editing software at YouMedia and edit up the podcast there OR Anime/Breakout!
- Watch streaming E3 coverage!
YouMedia: Now home of clumsy video game journalist Kaillif Ammen! XD
I hope whoever has been reading this has enjoyed my mostly consistent posting! As celebration for me finally reaching episode 53 of Inazuma Eleven (I would call it a season ending since episode 51-52 was an hour long special and the ED changed) and E3 is starting tomorrow, I would like to announce a couple of things!
NEW ANIME/MANGA BREAKOUT: 19 - Inazuma Eleven has gotten really good. Much better than the point I was at before (around the end of the first season). I also want to bring back the "every Monday" thing for Anime/Manga breakout thing that I always tried doing and failing. Now that I'm at least updating steadily but not overdoing it, I would like to see this site come back, and something to look forward to is always a good start.
E3 SUPESHARUS! (E3 specials for those who don't want to read it aloud :P) - With E3 starting tomorrow and Twitter fully in my grasp, I will be able to talk about everything I am totally excited for and everything else I feel the need to mention!
I'm excited, are you? *crickets chirp* OKAY! LET'S DO THIS!
Yeah, call me a copycat and getting on the rebranding train, but hey! I'm posting much more often than I used to and I think it's time to start a new. When I saw Joystiq and their new logo and how awesome their new design is, I just had to do it for myself as well. I decided to go font shopping and downloaded a huge collection of fonts to choose from.
While testing one of the fonts, I noticed that the actual font was so big so that when I tried typing Gloqwi in it, the only letters that would appear would be G L O. I didn't really think much of it, but then I thought, "a LOT of people misspell my Gamertag. I could even think about changing the site's name to GLO and it will work much better!" But then I thought that maybe changing the site's name was a bit too extreme, so I was thinking of a way to make GLO work. I then came up with the perfect acronym! Game Loving Otaku! It fit perfectly! It was like I subconsciously thought about this when I was made my Gamertag 3 years ago...
But I wanted to be even more Asian about it, so I just made it Gēmu. It also looks cooler that way. XD
I decided to make that my brand subtitle, and then I also found the PERFECT font for the new logo. And it is now what you see today. :P You could check out the old version of my logo, the new version, and the unused version, plus the Joystiq logo it's based of off in that little bitty picture there!
[As of writing: Inazuma Eleven Episode 27-28]
Today, around 4 or 5, I decided to approach the available PS3 next to the pillar. I wanted to go there because it reminded me that the Green Day: Rock Band demo finally got installed. As I was playing "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", I saw some guys who didn't look much older than me walk in and ask if they could play. I played both available songs on the demo and finally decided to switch over to Rock Band 2. The guy I was playing with was playing the drums and said I could choose any song. I decided to play "Give It All" which is a pretty challenging song for the guitar and drums and I notice he chose Expert difficulty, which shocked me. What shocked me the most was:
He was hitting the notes.
More notes than probably I could hit.
Now, he isn't the first person I met that is better than me at the game, but I haven't met anyone better than me at the drums. Also, his friend took over for him as well and, although he wasn't quite as good and not as good as I was, he was still much better than anyone else at YouMedia. I would've expected myself to get mad, but I was actually pretty damn happy that I've finally met people I could play at my level with (there are people on Xbox Live I play with that can do the same, but I'm really happy that I could take it to a couch-co-op play session)
After they left and feeling a bit competitive, I decided to connect the PS3 to the internet and play 1-on-1 against some people online. I played a couple of Tug of War matches with a guy and I was kickin' ass (even when he switched down to Hard difficulty while I was still on Expert). I knew that Tug of War wasn't where the people I was looking for were playing, so I switched over to Score Duel. That's when I met a guy named Doob. Right at the start, before we got to even playing a single song, he seemed to already know what he was doing, going straight for Carry On Wayward Son and choosing Expert Guitar for both of us immediately.
Simply put: he smoked me.
I got wrecked by about 30,000 point which is a pretty huge gap. I felt crappy but at the same time excited. People watching me were shocked that there was someone better than me and were trying to support me while it was the first time they've ever saw me lose.
Now it was my turn to choose the song. Maybe I could turn the tides. Actually, no. What was going through my mind was "let's see if this guy can do something I can't." So I went straight for Panic Attack on Expert Guitar knowing that I was pretty decent at the song. Maybe I could stand a chance. I couldn't lose that bad, could I?
I lost by about 100,000 points. I was somewhere around 200k while he was sitting proudly somewhere around 300k. I was in shock. I knew I wasn't awesome like the people I see on YouTube, but I didn't think I was THAT bad, and I knew most people that saw me at YouMedia thought I was pretty kickass. (just because I want to, I'm going to say that the battle was pretty damn epic. I was hitting notes I usually never hit before with some pretty dramatic and awesome music) Having them see that raised their standards and also raised mine.
I surprisingly felt really good and accomplished even though I got myself whooped. I had described it to someone like this: It's like an anime. There are the normal people who are decent at what they do. And then there are the super-powerful people. The ones that have some sort of hidden power that can't be seen until they need to use it. The awesome ones that are recognized as awesome after you see them once. They are super-cool and super-important and, even though they do most of their things with seemingly normal people, they break out into incredible awesomeness when they decide it's time to take things seriously. I feel like I'm one of those awesome people at YouMedia, and, just like an anime, I seem to have encountered my foreign enemy who's skill rivals against mine and I will have to try hard to become better (and maybe even the best).
Wow. Writing that makes me realize how cliché that is. The thing that makes this much more real is that the people that I consider rivals probably don't care as much as I do. They probably think I take the game way to seriously. You probably think the same as well. But it's fun to take things seriously like that. It makes you feel important and powerful in your own way. I treat video games like Endou treats soccer, or how Hikaru treats Go, or how Dynamite treats DDR. They are at the top tier of their game, but then they encounter higher tiers and things get really interesting. Yeah, that's EXACTLY how I treat it.
[As of typing: In Lunchroom. 8:55 AM, typing on Andrew's computer]
Okay, so as of now, the game I am most excited for this year (and I am shocked myself) is Rock Band 3. New keyboard peripheral to beast (that works as an actual MIDI controller), new Pro difficulty mode to kick-ass in, new 25-fret guitars to shred for said-mode, beautiful new look, all the DLC from all the other games work, you can change difficulty and/or instrument during songs (like Guitar Hero 5 convenienty allowed you to do), drop-in drop-out multiplayer, refined animations, and freakin' "Bohemian Rhapsody". The game wants you to experience the band more than ever now. They've improved the character models and you can actually see your band go in the van for shows and even practice! They even appear when you are choosing songs! YouMedia, I'm tellin' ya guys right now, insta buy. I will work the blog to the skies if you do. Can't wait until it finally comes out Holiday 2010.
The songs I'm most excited about:
Crazy Train -- Ozzy Osbourne
Plush -- Stone Temple Pilots
I Love Rock and Roll -- Joan Jett
Bohemian Rhapsody -- Queen
For more info about the keyboard, click here.
For more on what's new and notable about Rock Band 3, click here.
Gloqwi Today 6.9.10 - Where is the hockey anime? Oh, that's why. [UPDATE]
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
0
comments
[As of typing: Blackhawks 3, Flyers 2, third period]
Quick one today! So, chatting with my friend while watching the Blackhawks game, I was wondering if there were any anime's of Hockey. Googling "hockey anime" like the smart person I am, I....wait...
[Score now: Blackhawks 3, Flyers 3, 5 minutes before the game would've ended] Dangit.
Anyway, I find a manga called "My Heavenly Hockey Club" (as shown above). Looks a bit familar, sounds a bit familar, and apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed this (by the way, I HOPE that you noticed without my help), and apparently it is a combination of this and The Mighty Ducks, except without the "slowly getting better and winning". Actually, I don't think they played a single game at all. You could read a better read-up here. I might take a quick peek...
Anyway, I was also wondering why there isn't a hockey anime anyway. I then found a post that basically sums it up perfectly. Other than the fact that hockey really isn't popular in Japan, this might also be a factor.
That's it for tonight! I hope I'm updating enough for you imaginary readers! XD
[UPDATE: BLACKHAWKS WIN!]
[As of typing: Episode 27 of Inazuma Eleven]
So, I'm basically here to come and apologize for the next 3 days. I'm going to be swamped by studying for the finals. But to stay a bit lively, here are two things that shocked me today:
INAZUMA ELEVEN'S ENGLISH DUB APPARENTLY DEBUTED YESTERDAY. I just read it somewhere, and I'm still looking for it. Maybe it's wrong, but I'm still going to try looking for it.
And, also apparently, my theatre teacher's husband apparently looked over my blog recently. Which kind of sent me into a state of alert. It's awesome, no doubt. But now I know what it feels like to be watchful of what I post on the interweb. :P.
Anyway, thanks for reading and have a nice day. Good luck on finals, other freshmen in highschool!
P.S. I noticed that I didn't do an introductory sort of thing for Inazuma Eleven. While I won't do a whole thing here, I will post the opening of the show that includes a song that has been stuck in my head for a while. Not an amazing song (like, say, the ending for Ouran High School Host Club), but still catchy. Oh, and thanks for reading, Rob! XD
[As of writing: "Inazuma Eleven" Episode 17]
Hai guys! I told you I would type something else up! I said Inazuma Eleven, I bring Inazuma Eleven!
Here's a good summary of the show: Soccer + Special Abilities = Inazuma Eleven. If you watch it with a knowledge that it's based off a video game but haven't seen the game, you can kinda see how the game works. Each character has a specialization and a special move that they can use under certain circumstances. For example: the main character, Endou, the goalie, has a special move called God Hand which can basically be used to protect against any shot. Or Goenji, the main forward, has a move called Fire Tornado that is a powerful shot that can usually bypass normal attempts to block. The characters can also work together to make stronger versions of their moves or completely new abilities. Example, Goenji and Someoka who has a special ability called Dragon Crash, another powerful shot, can combine to make an almost unstoppable shot.
The story of the show is pretty basic, a team who had no chance of winning before has gained hope and has slowly become a very strong upstart team who has been winning against unfavorable odds. They enter a competition in the chance that they might be able to compete in a larger national competition. The main character leading the team is a descendant of a legendary player part of a legendary team of players called the Inazuma Eleven. He is also trying to revive that in his team. But there is an evil force out there looking out to win no matter what the cost: sabotaging their bus, organizing a team of soccer cyborgs to take them out, and sabotaging the stadium for things like, say, having the roof collapse on them. Yeah.
It's a good anime. Not a super-special-awesome-Ouran kind of Anime, but still a pretty good anime. I'm not going to lie, I was forcing myself to get passed the first couple of episodes, and then it got awesome somewhere around episode 9. It's enjoyable, and I want to keep watching it because I always missed anime's during their original runs, so I want to catch up and watch a show that no one I know seems to know. There is also another reason that's probably larger than this reason, but I'm........not going to talk about it. Seriously, though, I love watching it! And I think my 53 minutes of waiting for Megavideo are up! Time to get back to watching it! :D I'm a year late, but I can catch up. I'm at episode 17, the show is at 81, and it's apparently been extended to 2011. Sweet!
And so marks the first post of June of many! So many promises made, so many unfulfilled. I'm going to work on that. Other than the fact that Megavideo just told me I watched 72 minutes of video and I have to wait 54 minutes to watch more, I want to be able to update more and more! Sure, I could be spending this time reading "For The Win", or uploading "Library of Games" episodes onto Podbean, but I'm going to do this instead! To-Do List time!
Anime's recommended to me by fellow otakus that I need to watch (* denotes a show I'm ashamed I haven't seen yet):
- Death Note*
- Code Geass*
- Monster
Manga recommended to me:
- Gantz
Anime's indirectly recommended to me that I will think about watching:
- K-On!
- Gurren Lagann
- Gintama
Shows I am currently watching:
- Inazuma Eleven
As you can see, there is only one thing on my "currently watching" list. The show is pretty awesome (not in an Ouran way, but in an impressive way), and I'll probably be doing a write-up about the first 12 episodes I saw of it (because I know I'm going to regret it if I don't). That's all for today, though! Expect something tomorrow!
Also, be cautioned. Layout may be changing soon. Yeah, I know, I do it all the time and I should stop doing it so frequently, but the layout actually has been causing some problems that kinda get on my nerves. Text displays weird, color scheme could be a bit better, pictures are previewed terribly, etc.. As much as I want to keep it, I need to start looking for something else.
Since I have nothing else to post now that my review is done, I should get to uploading those podcasts. But because I love myself so much, I decided to change my profile pic on Facebook to something awesome. I am now working on making it an awesome wallpaper for all my Me. This is what it looks like right now.
If you could make it look better than probably could, then try. I'M LOOKING AT YOU EDWARD!
That's it! No, seriously. THAT'S IT! If you wanna blame something, blame Tropico 3.
The game is a genre starter. You could say a mystery game. You could say it was a role-playing game. You could say it was an action game. At heart, it would be an “interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” visual novel” game. There are many games that claim that “every choice affects the game”. But in truth, these games have choices that either make very little difference to how the game plays out or just one major choice that just affects the ending of the game. Even the predecessor to this game, Indigo Prophecy , was basically just that. Most games that have this have this bullet-point on their boxes have nothing on Heavy Rain. I went into the game with high expectations, and I was not disappointed.
I know for a fact that many of the seemingly miniscule things that the you do in this game have just about as much of an effect as the major choices in the game. I wish I could go into detail, but that’s something for you to experience yourself. And if you want proof, ask a friend to play at the same time you are, and ask each other about your separate experiences with the game. I swear that the game will play out almost completely different for each of you.
I walk into a room unnecessarily while investigating this house, and get clocked in the head and end up trapped in a basement. Unlike my friend, who went in, got what she needed, and got out. My OTHER friend accidentally got drunk and ended up having his character experience a premature death.
And that was only a glimpse of the possible outcomes of ONE level. It could end up being very short and simple, or it could end up being very drawn out and risky. It all depends on what kind of player YOU are.
Yes, the game does lead up to a certain final event, but the way the event plays out takes into an account almost EVERYTHING that has occurred through the whole game. Certain characters might not be there and certain characters will either succeed or fail(and they can) in their missions.
Many points of the game are super-intense. Every event of the game occurs in real-time most have a lot of player involvement, meaning that you are given many choices, even during the cut scenes, that you need to make, and you aren’t given an infinite amount of time to make those choices. There are many quick-time events that usually give you very little time to react, keeping you tense every second of the game. Also add the fact that your character has many chances to die during the game. That’s right. Each character you control can DIE at almost ANY point in the game.
My experience with the controls came to me like second nature, but for some others, it may take some time getting used to. If you aren’t a fan of Silent Hill/Resident Evil tank controls, you might have a bad time while playing. Other complaints that I heard other people voice revolved around some scenes that require you to hold down a combination of many of the buttons on the controller to do actions. With some of the situations, it seems very fitting. The character is doing something that requires extra precision, and these controls is the game’s way of having you experience the same pressure.
And of course, the major point of the game, the story, is fantastic. You could either really care, or really hate some of the characters. It’s so fantastic that I won’t tell you anything about it other than the game has some awesome twists…
Now, buy or rent? Well, the game is definitely worth a play through. You HAVE to complete this game ONCE. But after that, you learn that the game is definitely surrounds a few number of major plot points, but once you’ve experienced that, the thrill really disappears. You really only play certain points of the game just to see how they can play out differently. The game is a must play, but not really a replayable game. A definite rent. A fantastic game, but I don’t know if you should spend your hard earned money buying and keeping the game.
You might see that this review is shorter than most of my others, but that's because I accepted the idea that reviews are impressions and opinions. Unlike my other reviews, were I explain unnecessary mechanics like controls, or go into things like graphics if they don't need to be brought up, I just say what needs to be said: What I thought of the game. If the graphics stood out that much, I would've mentioned them, but they really aren't anything special. If they were outstanding or terrible, than that's when I would mention them.
Okay. List start now!
Heavy Rain Review (DONE, JUST NEED TO TYPE AND POST)
Library of Games Podcast FOR PODBEAN.
You need something to blame? Doctor Who and Tropico 3. Actually, just blame Tropico 3. DO NOT BUY TROPICO 3. IT IS WAY TOO ADDICTING!
Thanks for voting everyone!
A quick apology for not posting at all this entire week. Too busy backing up files and preparing to euthanize my computer. After that's done, I have to reinstall all those new games that I just got...
this isn't going to be fun.
Library of Games: Episode 10 - Professional...Could You Use It In A Sentence?
Monday, May 17, 2010
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Ooo! Look! A new podcast logo! I'm actually planning to keep this one! I like it!
Weird things happen this episode:
- Random person appears at the beginning of the show. Seriously, I have no idea who he is, but he was pretty funny!
- Pat's laptop sounds like it may explode! We don't know why it made such a weird noise, but I know that I was genuinely scared.
- We get hyped on Cory Doctorow and his new book "For the Win"!
- We learn about a kid who has no idea what Halo is!
- We get hyped ON MOSKAU!
- Kaillif raves about Halo: Legends!
- And after about a 10 minute rave on Halo...I rave about more Halo! Halo: Reach impressions!
- Talk about movies based of comics!
- I expect to say something I'm hated for...but I'm actually quite supported!
- Taylor and I try to convince Pat to watch Ouran...but then we learn that Pat is lacking feelings...and we try to convince Pat that Ouran is not mushy and it's hilarious and Patrick, you need to watch it! Here, I'll give you a post to start you up with the show!
- We also talk about I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 and Bible Reader X.
- And we talk about a mysterious topic I don't even know.
This is the song we were listening to after the end of the first break:
HOSTED BY KAILLIF AMMEN (Gamertag: Gloqwi), STANLEY NG (Gamertag: Battlestorm132), PATRICK HERMANN, AARON ECKHART FRANK, MALIC, TAYLOR BAYLESS, AND RANDOM GUEST PERSON TO ENTER: JORDAN!
Here are the websites we (and always will be) plugged at the end of the show:
Gloqwi (duh, right here!)
Pat's Website (and Twitter) (the website that inspired me to change the face of this website!)
azndudedowndastreet's YouTube page (my friend's Yu-Gi-Oh channel. These guys take this children card game seriously!)Aaron's Twitter (Self-Explanitory)
Intro, Outro, and Break music: "No Escape" by Civalias.
Yeah, you see that? NOT NINE INCH NAILS. Not saying I don't like them, just saying that we need to differentiate with the music!
And the official new logo for the podcast as of now:
Don't usually expect posts during the weekends, but I just have to present a small piece of news (also, I'm waiting for Tropico 3 to download on Steam). As I brought up two days ago, I kinda took advantage of the Fry's sales and purchased Serenity and Command and Conquer 4. ($7 & $25, original price $26 and $50. Over 50% off!) Well, this weekend, Steam was also having an amazing deal. There was a game that I really wanted to buy a while back called Tropico 3 which I was willing to buy for $30 back then. Now it was on sale for $7.50 (75% off!). I HAD TO GET IT!
Now I feel a lot like my mom. I think I'm inheriting her taking-advantage-of-sales skill of buying.
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Footnote: This usually isn't something I get into (I actually try very hard to avoid it), but have you guys heard about this Greyson Chance kid? 12 year old singing prodigy? Probably going to overthrow Justin Bieber? Yeah, see why I stay away from that stuff? Well, anyway, it's your choice whether or not you want to see it, but it's ANOTHER underage talented singer. I caved and had to see this video. OH MY GOD JESUS CHRIST HE GENIUNELY SOUNDS LIKE A GIRL. No, not the Justin Bieber kind of girl, but a SERIOUS girl. I'm not denying the kid has talent, but seriously?
I can't really explain to you how awesome today was...
without explaining to you how much the beginning of the week really sucked.
I had a theatre project that I was apparently supposed to be working on over the weekend, but of course, I didn't. You know why? Because I enjoy life, and time away from school is time that needs to be nourished like a baby. So HELL NO was I going to work on it over the weekend.
So then I ended up having to work on it during the week. When I went to school on Monday, apparently everyone thought I was supposed to have it done by today. I was like "WTF, mate?" And so I lied and said that the editing was almost halfway done (it barely began. Okay, fine, I'm going to stop lying to myself. I didn't bother doing shiz). And then I decided to commit the rest of my entire nights and mornings working on the project. I'm not going to go too much into detail, but I'm going to tell you right now,
IT SUCKED.
I thought this was probably going to be one of the worst weeks of school in my life (as I got piles and piles of World Studies homework to do while simultaneously having to read "Things Fall Apart" for Survey Lit. (which I have only skimmed and read a few of the final chapters. It might've been good if I didn't have SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO DO.), but then,
Yesterday happened.
Something that I conveniently left out of my story was that I recorded the tenth episode of the podcast I'm in called the Library of Games Podcast (you can find the newest episodes right here on this website by clicking on the link or visiting the official Library of Games website here!). During one of the breaks that we took during the show, the librarian/mentor supervising the podcast Taylor (I mention her in a couple of posts) asked for volunteers to ask questions at a Cory Doctorow panel happening at the library this Thursday (author of books such as Makers, Little Brother, and his newest book which was the whole reason for the panel, For The Win). Seeing this as a great opportunity, I raise my hand, and I end up getting to sit next to the man himself and ask him any question I want to ask him in front of many jealous fans (even Leo has read more Cory Doctorow then I have, he wishes he was me). Sadly, I ended up having to leave early and I wasn't able to take a picture with the man like Aaron, Patrick, and Taylor were able to. It was really great thought!
And then today happens.
School was S.S.D.D., then I end up going to the library. The library decided to do a favor for everyone that was on that panel by getting them (that means ALSO ME) a SIGNED HARDCOVER COPY of FOR THE WIN (as seen in picture). So now my day happens to become amazing. After I get picked up by my mother, she is driving me with a friend who decides to celebrate my birthday a couple of days late by giving me $20. My mom also ends up asking me if I'm interested in the "Battlefield 2 game". "Of course I am!" says I, and then I find out that Fry's Electronics is doing a "basically 50% off" sale on the game ($35!) and I decide to take advantage of the $20 I just got.
And then my mother pulls up a list of $7 Blu-ray ads and asks me if any of them are interesting to me. I see Serenity, and I know that that movie is based of the show Firefly, which is where Nathan Fillion is from, who stars in Castle, which is a show that I LOVE. (He was also featured in Halo 3: ODST, his voice and his face model) So I decided to get that. After the purchase, I had this huge feeling of excitement. A feeling that said "I'm going to enjoy the next couple of weeks". I also came from a Math II meeting for school that made me feel smart. :P
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Footnote: Thanks for voting, Nicole and Didi. It's seriously probably what inspired me to post such are large post so soon after another one. Who was the third person, please show yourself in the comments so I could thank you too! I promise I will post about Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu tomorrow! I am seriously thankful for the votes, and I would be much more grateful if you guys proved you existed with comments! Not forcing you or anything, just a suggestion! :P
Ouran High School Host Club
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
I was hyped on these back in January/February. Apparently I was so hyped that I completely forgot about blogging about it (other than the fact that I almost forgot this site even existed).
Ouran is one of the greatest Animes I've ever watched. A 26 episode long series that was running back in 2006 that was basically a comedy surrounding six super-beautiful rich boys and one beautiful middle-class girl who can look like a boy when she tried (a reverse trap, basically) and her story trying to live school life in a super-rich school with these weirdos in a club that is completely based around the entertainment of other girls. The funniest part about this show is that it basically plays off of shojo-anime tropes that always occur (ex. the cool/calm/genius guy, the pretty/naive guy, the strong/silent type, the two uncontrollable twins, the one cute, small, and innocent yet incredibly strong type). I was laughing hysterically as my mouth was gaping when I watched the first couple of episodes and amazed at how true they are. One character, Renge, is basically an otaku girl who looks at each character and basically characterizes them and stereotypes each of them just by how they look, which is wrong, but the farther she keeps going with it, the more true and true what she says becomes (in the end, of course, she realizes that not all people are what they seem). They most amazing thing about this show is that the series slowly goes from comedy to seriousness as it starts to explain each of the characters back story. One of the characters has an pretty mellow back story that you just couldn't expect from that kind of character, but it all makes sense (unbelievably!). The show also has a LOT of fanservice, but the show is very structured. There is some romance, but no mushy mush kind of stuff. Every episode is an entertaining one, but you CANNOT watch the last two episodes without watching the whole series, or else most of it wouldn't make sense (and I know you people out there who do that kind of stuff....). It is one of my most highly recommended shows out there, and for anyone who still has not seen it (it's been four years, and I was able to go through 4 years without seeing a single episode), PLEASE watch it!
Interestingly enough, I've always saw fanmade videos of the show on YouTube AGES ago, but I always ignored them and I thought that the show the videos were based off of looked really stupid and ridiculous (I saw this one Honey fanmade video a long time ago, and I thought that it may have been one of the stupidest shows I would never see). Lesson learned: Don't judge a book by it's fanbase!
If you still haven't seen it, I will give you a headstart into it right now! Funimation hosts all the episodes subbed (which I strongly prefer, even though the English dub is not half-bad), but I would strongly suggest watching the Lunar subs. They have a great amount of work put into them, and I like them more than any other subs I've seen of the show. A user on YouTube named mashara5 has all of the episodes subbed by Lunar up to episode 13, then YouTube starts cracking down and many parts of each episode are missing. After that, I suggest you go find another place to watch the show (or, go my way and download all of them).
I know this isn't enough to apologize for not talking about this sooner, but this is the best I have time to do. I RABU OURAN!
Last but not least about Ouran is the ending theme. It is THE BEST ending theme to an anime I've ever heard. I really don't like any other one better.
The song is 「疾走」(Shissou) by LAST ALLIANCE and if you look at my iTunes library, it is the most "listened to" song there. Here are the translated and Romanized versions of the lyrics. (Here is another translation. Possibly more accurate)
And if you need the real Japanese (which, if you do, impressive!), right here as well!
I should also probably allow you to watch the first part of the English dub of the first episode. I warn you, though. I think that the opening in the English dub is GOD AWFUL!
What I DON'T think is god awful about the English version that I WISH they did for the final English dubs was use Vic Mignogna's voice as the singer for the English version of the Shissou, which you can see here. Ya know, Vic Mignogna? Edward Elric in Full Metal Alchemist and TAMAKI SUOH in OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB? Yeah, I probably should've mentioned that earlier. Sadly, they use another person's voice as the singer, and personally, I don't think is as good as the Vic version.
Tomorrow, I'm going to go over to my next anime addiction, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu!
P.S. I hope you enjoy the service I give in this post specifically. If I'm going to bring this blog back to life, I might as well try, right? I'm also going to return POLLS back to the blog as I remember that was one of the most used parts of the blog a long time ago. Simple and easy to use, how could you not want to vote? It might also help me out as well, so PLEASE VOTE! NEW POLL UP RIGHT AFTER THIS POST GOES UP!
Truly. I got to sit next to a famous author who's writing subjects are very much in my interests. Thanks to my impulse-hand-raising skills when Taylor had asked for two people to volunteer to ask questions for a Cory Doctorow panel during our last podcast. It was seriously a great pleasure to meet the man in person before I actually get to reading his books. I'll start with Little Brother to appease Leo and Patrick, but I really want to get into For The Win as that sounds amazingly interesting and Taylor says is so much better. Maybe I'll post a couple of pictures from the panel if I can soon!
P.S. Also, I can't believe I never posted a single thing about Ouran High School Host Club. It was (and still is) my favorite anime's ever. Maybe I was so excited about the show that I couldn't bring myself to post a single thing about it. Also maybe the fact that I'm about four years late to the excitement kind of brought me down).
