Tekken 6 (Online/PS3) - Hints n' Tips (Pt.1)

I ve been playing Tekken 6 (online mode on PS3) since last summer and i could say that it's totally addictive. U can never get bored cos there is the human factor that makes it so provocative and challenging. Plus that u can collect money to costumise ur characters afterwards. While playing, especially at the beggining, i had so many questions in my mind, which i couldnt find the answers to them wherever i looked on the web. So i figured the most of them out while playing and making my progress through it. 

When u log in for the first time u simply dont know what to expect and ur literally a noob. But thats not necessarily bad because it happens to anybody. Even if u know a character extremely well, ur first matches will end up getting disappointed and swearing at the opponet or even hitting the controller to get a revenge!! But im gonna explain here various and helpful things that maybe will make ur online gameplay more enjoyable n challenging.

1. Connection Problems 

Weak signal

searching for opponent online mode

Well after u selected ur character, u see a default screen and the message "searching for opponent" is on. At the background u can listen to a music track playing, and Playstation tries to find a player suitable for a match. How strong ur connection with the other player's is, is indicated by a signal icon and a number from 1 to 5. 1 is the weakest connection possible (most times lagging or disconnects) and 5 is the strongest (most of the times are of a region near urs). And here's the thing. If the music at the background doesnt stop playing, that means that the connection is good and that in a few secs u ll have an opponent available and most of the times is gonna be a 3 or higher signal. If the music stops for some reason it means that the connection is faulty and that u have to cancel it and start the process over. The most playble connections are those of 3,4 or 5 signal. There other ones are slow, often lagging or disconnecting so avoid them.

2. Search Priority Problems

Various online customizable options

The main menu of the online mode has a number of choices and one of them is Ranked Match mode (u play online and u progress ur way through the various ranks, having a percentage counter to measure ur effectiveness and success). Selecting this one some options of customizing the fight to come are becoming available. Well, if u ask me all those shit are there just to trick the players and think that they have a lot of choices. That is totally wrong. Although, phenominically, u can prioritize the criteria with which Tekken searches for opponent, this entire procedure is all confused. When i choose to search according to connection quality, many are the times that i get connected with opponents with the weakest signal etc. Or when i choose to search according to rank of the opponent, if we suppose that i have 123W/100L and Mentor Rank most times I find myself confronted with guys with 12000W/2000L and Champion Rank and so on. So what i do is always choose the connection quality cos one way or another it searches randomly.

3. Fucking Nerve-Breaking Juggling Combos!!!

As u have realised many are the guys that dont know how to play rather than using juggling combos and not letting u play at all. This is quite irriatating cos it ruins all the fun. Well most of those guys have learned to play offensively and when u attack them or surprise them they are totally worthless and even easier opponents that the rest. For example if u backside roll and start attacking or even better counterattack when they rush to u they freak out, lose temper and finally cant do all those juggling shit that they are so fond of. And the fun doesnt stop there. When u finally so digracefully defeat them, they get sooo mad that will surely swear at u or at least say to u what a big noob u are! And thats where u realize ur BIG SUCCESS!!! So learn how to play defensively and ur half way there! In my expeirience i have defeated many many guys with a 5digit number of wins and high ranks fighting like this than average guys.

4. New Account

When u first start to play online, u are an amateur and it is really natural to have more losses than wins. That means that even if u at some point learn how to be a worthy adversary, the difference between ur wins and losses will probably be so big that u wont be able to cover it. So what i suggest is create an account just to learn how to play and behave online and when u have accumulated some online experience, delete that account and create a new one. That way, u can start from the beggining with the only difference that u will be  an experienced player.

5. Customized Characters

When I at first was playing online i couldnt understand if the clothes u buy to customize ur players give extra stats to online mode as they give at the offline mode. For example if  King has a robe that gives +40% to Strength that doenst count for online fights. Its just the looks. So u can dress ur characters as u d like without worrying if they have pros n cons that will affect ur fighting results.

Customized Kazuya Mishima

6. Ways That Spammers Cheat (NOT RECOMMENDED)

Some guys obviously dont know what fair play means n so they come up with several ideas on how to win without deserving it. Well some guys learn how to play when the game is lagging, so they have a good connection at the beggining  and then with various ways they reduce the connection quality ruining the game speed and eventually ur mood by defeating u. I dont know if what i ll say now is true but there probably are many hackers out there that also ruin the gaming feeling and this is how they do it. Many times i have run into players with 0W/67L for example and they are 1dan!! Ridiculous if u think that u need at least 10 wins to reach 1dan. When i asked someone how he replied that he was a PS3 hacker. And some other time i was playing against an Eddy that he was moving so fucking fast as if his movements had less frames! Well if u consider all these u can easily conclude to that someone can cheat in some way, now if u ask me what is the way... im sorry, i dont know.

7. Attack and Humiliate

A lot of the oppononents that u ll meet, at the first round will lie down just to let u win. So that he gives u the advance and then even with less rounds at his disposal beat the shit out of u. Well when that happens dont be fair or merciful! just make him regret it even by spamming the battle if possible. that way will win u one or two successful rounds and in the third one if u are warmed up and u start it with combos n stuff u ll get him disorganised without giving him the chance to think how to beat u, cos he ruined his chances by letting u win.

Sensuality (and sex) In Video Games

Its widely known that sex is behind almost anything in this world. It always was and it  always will be. Sex, money, fame and power are the things that rule the world and make everything go round! From the ancient times till nowadays the examples are literally A LOT, like orgiaque type feasts, politicians and military men that acted according to the will of a woman, the whole female industry ( shoes, dresses, clothes, underwear, cosmetics, etc...) that wants women sexier and sexier, or the world of movies itself (i can remember not a single movie that didnt have a sex/love-making/kissing scene).

Sheva Alomar, secondary n primary outfit

Considering the above, the gaming industry comes to play its own role in that sex driven world. From the early gaming days (when graphics were more than a few pixels) we have the appearance of the first female characters. Its like a tradition these days for the female characters to be designed really hot, sexy or provocative, which is a tested way for the manufacturers to raise the number of sales! I literally cant recall a video game with an ugly girl protagonist or anything closer to the girl next door. All of them have to be sexy, lightly dressed, fit and luscious even if the game that they are in is a survival horror (see Sheva Alomar of Resident Evil 5)

Chun-Li

Chun-Li n her legs!

One of them was Chun -Li (Street Fighter) one of the first playable female characters in the gaming history and she appeared in Street Fighter II. Its needless to say that she was one of the most famous female characters in fighting games back in the day, and we owe that to her sexy modified qipao (an early 20th century, body-hugging, female dress) that in her case was modified to maximize her fighting effectiveness. She was quite a site for sore eyes, when the fans of the game were used to playing with characters as Ken or Ryu, especially when she was using her legs to attack!!!

Lula The Sex Empire

And all this for some kickass chick with a sexy outfit! And what about when it comes to an actual pornstar video game heroine? And of course im talking about Lula. A sexy busty blondie who is nothing more than the descritpion above. But even that was more than enough to send some eroticly geeky vibes to the gaming community! It is noteworthy that Lula games were forbidden in several United States such as California. Even the cover of the first game "Lula: The Sex Empire" was like the one found in 90's porn!

Kinky Larry Laffer

Damn! I almost forgot Larry!  Larry Laffer is a 40 years old loser, who wears a leisure suit n always tries to hit on sexy women with his kinky, sick, slimy way (COOOOL!!!) with not much success! The games that are basically adventure and full of humor, boobs, legs, and naked girls so what more is there to ask??? U can easily imagine what a big change and renovation it was back then, if u think that in  most games u had to kill little ghosts (pac-man), or to destroy spaceships or alien (Alien Invaders) etc. Id personally love it! :P


Who doesnt remember BloodRayne? That bloody-thirsty, leather-dressed damphyr, who was slaying endlessly her enemies while showing every curve of her body with such a charming way! BloodRayne is still one of the hottest video game heroines out there and will be for a long time!

Damn black stripes

And of course there is Lara Croft that we all know so well for her killer curves who is starring in the Tomb Raider series. Her butt n boobs was a subject for long conversations and a fantasy for most of the gamers. I still remember playing Tomb Raider 3 on playstation and trying to find cheats to get her nude!!! The actual gameplay always came second!


Many are the games that have explicit sex scenes or just imply sex. Some of them are 7 sins, GTA, Gothic 3, The Witcher, even Fable and Divine Divinity! The games are full of whores, or girls that just wanna have sex, brothels, kinky comments and so on. I found it so cool in The Witcher, Fable and Gothic 3, u actually could have sex (NEEEERD) and that there was a lovemaking cut-scene!! Even if digital video game girls are not sexy, they definitely are cute like Coco Bandicoot or Dixy Kong. U know the combination, huge eyes, huge eye lasses, an innoncent childish look and a lovely smile can give u the cuttest little thing! I dont wanna begin listing games with sexy chicks (i just refered to the most noteworthy), Id prefer to write a book instead! Though i believe that whatever contains sex/nude in big doses most of the times that happens because it has flaws (Tomb Raider, DOA etc.), still this is a good promoting way  and an easy money-maker. So as long as sex sells, everyone wants to benefit from it. So simple as that. Sex n sensuality can be everywhere and fortunately in games as well, so we have one more reason to melt our brains playing!

BloodRayne n her ... blades!

Original vs. Counterfeit Game Boy Cartridges - How To Tell the Difference

All these years i have layed eyes n played with many not original cartridges for Game Boy and Game Boy Advance as well. Judging by the first look counterfeit carts seem quite legit but if u take a closer look many differences become obvious. Ok, fake cartridges might be a little cheaper than the original but they are quite unreliable products. There isnt any guarantee for ur system in case of damage, and the game saves usually get corrupted without any specific reason. Im gonna explain n display with photos some of them, so u know how to tell the difference by urself. 

1. Nintendo Logo

First of all as u all should have noticed on the top of front side of a game boy cartridge u can see clearly the "Nintendo GAME BOY Tm" logo. Well, in the fake cartridges all u can see there is just "GAME BOY" or "GAME" etc. Thats a serious reason to start suspecting that something is wrong with ur cart.

2. Printed Sticker 

There are some cases where the stickers on the fake carts are well made so many times we can be cheated. But in some cases the printed sticker is:

- Blur

- Not fit exactly to the sticker frame

- Wrong colors

- Out of proportion 

- The sticker may say that its a Gameboy Advance game although its on a gameboy cart

Sticker Comparison ( left - original / right - fake)

Original / Fake Gameboy Cartridge Screw

3. Nintendo Screw

On the back of the cart u can see the screw that holds the front n back sides together. In the original carts that screw is a very peculiar one, that needs specific screwdrivers in order to unscrew it. On the other side, the fake carts, use convensional screw that u can find in any hardware store. They cover up those screws with stickers saying things like "dont remove" or something like that, to prevent users from removing it and revealing the fake screw.

4. Bottom Side (Nintendo/Date Printed)

As far as the Gameboy Advance carts there is a very easy way to tell the difference between fake and original ones (if u dont consider things as the not so well printed sticker or the not so well molded logo). If u turn the cart over, u can see the side that actually connects with the Gameboy system in order to function. There are some "golden" stripes (we used to blow them when the cart didnt function right!!!). Right Behind those golden stripes in the original carts u see printed the word "Nintendo" and the release date. Guess what? In the fake ones theres nothing printed there. Here is a link explaining exactly what i mean.

http://www.gamerascal.co.uk/counterfeits.php

You can also open a cartridge to see and compare the inside but that requieres some technical knowledge ( u can also use guides from all over the internet).

    

Kirby's Dream Land Review (Game Boy)

Kirby's Dream Land Game Boy cover 1992

Yesterday night i couldnt go to sleep (maybe cos of the 8 coffees? Who knows) so i decided to play some retro classic masterpieces. I was between Kid Icarus and Kirby's Dreamland (for the old school game boy). Well i think u can tell which one won just by reading the title!

I still remember the awesomeness that the first experience gave me when i first played Kirby's Dreamland on game boy when i was 8 or 9 years old. It was like : "WOW!!! Hey hey look, its a..a..round cute thing that sucks the enemies making the most joyful sounds", or like "Hey thats the sweetest vacuum cleaner ever". And all that feelings were multiplied by the music. But before i get carried away lets start from the beggining. Actually Kirby's Dream Land is a 2D one-way platform game made for the classic Nintendo Game Boy, which was followed afterwards by a bunch of sequels on that very console and its offsprings too.

PLOT: 8/10

Kirby's Dreamland is about a roly-poly little hero, with the happiest smile on his face, that tries to save the day. An evil king has stolen the Twinkle Stars and the Dream Land is doomed without them. So Kirby sets out and starts an non-stop full of action quest to retrieve them and be once again a hero! The plot, if u consider the release date (1992), and also that it was destined for a younger audience, is really good n catchy!

GAMEPLAY: 9/10

The easy-to-learn gameplay of Kirby's Dream Land, soon enough, becomes quite addictive, as all u have to do is run or fly by swallowing air (just press up button), jump with the action button A, and swallow/spit enemies with button B. Just with a few minutes of gameplay u ll find urself trying to suck everything is moving, and to smash enemies Super Mario-like blocks. Id rate that masterpiece with 10/10 just for its simple yet attractive gameplay, but instead i gave it 9/10 cos its really short lenghted. There are 4 stages that u have to finish. Each one has its own boss u need to win as well, n then u have to defeat those bosses again (after a quite short version of each one's stage). And eventually u fight against the final boss King Dedede. It didnt take more than 40 or 50 minutes to beat the game.

ATMOSPHERE/MUSIC: 10/10

Its atmosphere is based mostly on the happy cute n playful music. Simple and catchy yet sweet and addictive ( i remember myself  playing, when i was a boy, going up and down according to the tune like i was injected with caffeine). Its sound effects blend in with the music really smoothly making them an integral part of it. Even if when u die the sound effect is lovely!

Kirby's flying

GRAPHICS: 10/10

Well about graphics. There's not much to tell here except for that they are definitely not poor (u can clearly see the shading even on the clouds and the flowers on the foreground) but they dont become overwhelming either. All those fluffy clouds n cute monsters are so sweetly n well made that u think they are made of sugar! One of the few game boy games that the actual game was as cool as its cover!

OVERALL: 9.25/10

As a conclusion to this review, Kirby's Dreamland is one big lovely dose of fluffy cuteness that every gamer can hardly miss it! Even if u have never played it before give it a try and u surely will be amazed to say the least or if u wont be ... well then u re not worthy to be a gamer!!! :D 

Pink Kirby

Movies Inspired by the Gaming World (Pt.2)

Due to the lack of time last week i didnt add anything new to the blog, but here it comes now the 2nd part of the "Movies Inspired by the Gaming World" article! Im sure that whoever read the 1st one wonders if im gonna refer to some "classic" movies of that "genre" such as Street Fighter or Tomb Raider! Well ur gonna find out just by scrolling down!

Street Fighter

When u hear about Street Fighter several very specific things come to mind! Ryu, Chun-Li, buttons getting smashed to perform combos, spinning kicks and of courses hadukens!!! Those things are so classic as Super Mario himself!

But lets see if the movie was a worthy adaptation. Street Fighter was directed back in 1994 by Steven E. de Souza and in general terms is about Colonel Guile (Jean-Claude Van Damme) fighting against the tyranny of M. Bison (Raul Julia) with a team of martial artists by his side. When it was first released i was so excited about watching it and so young, that i couldnt relate it with the game or realise how badly it was made! Oh, and just for the record .. U DONT PUT KYLIE MINOGUE IN AN ACTION FIGHTING MOVIE unless u have mazochistic tendencies! Every single fan of the game wants to see a Street Fighter movie with Ryu as the main character, Blanca as a green, orange-haired, electrifying beast, or M. Bison as a ripped, huge, badass, mothafocka!!!. But instead of those things we got such a laughable ,almost b-movie, attempt (with terrible cast) distorted in so many ways that when u actually watch it u forget that its a Street Fighter movie. The very things that distinguish a game title among the years and make it a "must" and a classic, have to exist in the movie version as well, if its desired to have the same impact on the audience. So  in other words the movie kinda sucked and i could watch it only as a b-movie or a cult one!

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Although i personally never liked Lara Croft as a video game heroine ( just a bunch of enormous, pixelated, out of proportion, badly made boobs n lips for me) i will admit that Tomb Raider game series was and still is one of the most well known, ever. And all that thnx to the sexy Lara Croft of course. The lightly dressed Lara came to a gaming world, exclusively ruled by male examples as main characters, and yet managed to change the facts. In a men's gaming world, Ms. Croft's simple n sexy innovations set new standards in how a game's got to be. After Tomb Raider, many games appear having women as main characters such as BloodRayne, Lula, Syberia, Resident Evil (some of them) etc... That trend still exists till nowadays and its going really good (Bayonetta, Grey Matter etc.). And now having wasted ur time babbling about the nerdy past, lets talk about the movie which was my main goal after all!!!

Well being directed in 2001 and with Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, Simon West surely draws the attention of every Tomb Raider fan. It was finally the time for those boobs that i already mentioned to be incarnated as Angelina Jolie's. In this case, the movie is just about everything the game is. Showing Anjelina Jolie with tight outfits in every angle possible and making sure to highlight her swollen lips n boobs! And come on im not mean here thats the games are all about as well! Have u ever considered if there is any real action in those games at all? Killing tigers and dodo birds every 25 fucking minutes!?! HELL YEAH!! Well back to the movie again, Angelina Jolie is really the applausable person here. She has all the physical characteristics Lara Croft has, plus all the mental ones. She seems quite brave n smart, n full of emotional expressions. The plot, which is not anything new or impressive, is about a planetary allinment that happens every 5000 years amd a secret cult, Illuminati (have u heard that anywhere else before..? Hmmm...) that  searches for an ancient talisman which gives to the bearer the ability to control time!!! So guess what, they have to find it really soon or they have to wait 5000 more years for the next planetary alignment! And who of all the people might possess that artifact without even knowing it? Lara Croft? NO WAY!!! :O !! Anyway the artifact is stolen from her eventually and she has to get it back. Ok, i think I said too much here, so if u want more plot analysis, just watch the movie. The thing is that none of those characteristics are authentic and have we seen it before numerous times before but we cant have everything right? Although Lara Croft seems almost invulnerable, which kinda cancels the plot's menacing atmosphere, its really well directed and with pretty good sound quality really impressive and vivid. Overall the digital, billionaire, british archaeologist couldnt have a better movie adaptation attempt, and that thnx to the many successful resemblances to the main title!

To Be Continued...

Movies Inspired by the Gaming World (Pt.1)

Since the dawn of the gaming era, many directors attempted to make movie adaptations of video games. The examples are many such as Silent Hill, Mortal Kombat, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter or even BloodRayne (LOL)!! In this post im gonna kill my time refering to the most noteworthy ones! So pay attention!

Mortal Kombat

Well.... who hasnt even once played Mortal Kombat back in the 90's and not anticipated the next wave of blood-spilling combos to fill the screen or the awesomeness of a Fatality's gory atrocity? NONE! And dont say "me" cos ur a liar! The number of the fighting games is really vast but Mortal Kombat sticked out because of the dark atmosphere and the infinite gore!!! This was enough for Paul W.S. Anderson to direct the Mortal Kombat movie. The movie adaptation of the video game (1995) was a really good attempt if u think that it was a bit less than 2 decades before!!! The movie plot is quite similar to the game. Raiden is trying to gather some fighters to defend the EarthRealm against the Outworld. The main characters are Rayden, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Sonya, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung, Kano, Kitana and Goro. The fighting scenes are impressive with a very good combination of martial arts and choreography. Also the cast was really well chosen having  Christopher Lambert  in the main role of Lord Rayden, Robin Shou as Liu Kang and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as the main villain. The soundtrack was also based on the classic one (found even on the gameboy's cartridges!!) with a touch of a techno-house (wtf???) remix! In other words this movie had a really good n successful formula: 1. really good scenario 2. strong cast 3. awesome soundtrack 4. and stunning martial arts that afterwards ud say "Get over here" and get dissappointed cos nothing came out of ur palm!

Resident Evil

Another video game of the 90's that sent numerous chills down the spines of the gaming community was Resident Evil (unofficially based on George Romero's Night of the Living Dead). When graphic processors started processing 3D environments or 2D pre-rendered environments with 3D characters, game designers set high standards on the gameplay and the athmospere. And that was what Capcom took advantage of to create one of the most classic horrifying titles. Resident Evil gives u the impression that u are watching a movie rather than playing a game cos its really well directed (i.e. the point of view constantly changes to emphasize on important objects or places). And here comes Paul W.S. Anderson again, in an attempt to direct Resident Evil (2002). The movie had some really good parts and some parts that had absolutely nothing to do with the game! One thing is that there is so much advanced technology in the movie that is not found in the game. When i first heard of Resident Evil the movie i was sooooo excited to watch it but got frustrated when I finally did see it... And who the FUCK is Alice anyway!?!?! And what about all those Matrix-like stunts? All those things automatically played down the importance of the movie! Yes the actors were really good, the plot, though brutally butchered to some parts, was good, the direction was impressive BUT THAT WAS NO RESIDENT EVIL!!! Id say it was more like an Alien-Matrix-Evil Where has the lordly mansion gone? With the victorian-like atmosphere wandering in it? Jill, Wesker or Barry? Summing up is a very good movie if u are not going to relate it with the game version. Im not gonna refer to the sequels though cos they were really indefferent to me.

Tekken

If there is a fighting game that has surpassed Mortal Kombat, then this is Tekken. The anime style fighting games are so many (Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive, Rival School etc.) that i could name titles for hours. One of those is Tekken which managed to be the number one in that genre for more than a decade. The successful formula i think was a combination of addictive gameplay, stunning graphics, real martial arts and combos and characters with interesting background. But as far as the movie version, my words wont be so nice! First of all it was completely unfaithful to the game ( yeah i know i get obssesive with this thing but this is a gaming blog after all) and dont even dare to say that it was an alternative aspect of the game, cos if u are using a successful title to be famous n make money out of it u ve got to be respectful! To me it was more like a badly fan-made movie or a well made cosplay!!! I dont really know what the director, Dwight H. Little, had in mind when he changed so many things and neglected even more! When someone attempts to make a movie based on such a legendary title, he/she MUST stick to some principles (which many directors seem to avoid SO successfully) such as sticking to the main plot and using the main characters as the main characters! The main characters of Tekken are Law (Marshall & Forest), Heihachi, Kazuya, Yoshimitsu, King, Jun, Paul, Lei... Not Dragunov, Christie or Steve (who, btw, doesnt fight at all!!!). When i was really laughing and crying at the same time was when Yoshimitsu appeared! Are we to suppose that THING is a flexible cyber-human samurai??? Definitely not! And surely he didnt deserve such a laughable single-punch defeat. Do i even have to mention the role of Heihachi in the movie? I dont think so. Whoever has played the games and seen the movie knows exactly what i mean. Someone has to tell those wanna-be-directors that simply putting ripped bodies, and sexy leather outfits in a movie doesnt make it successful, just trashy! Therea are also 2 more adaptation attamepts. One is Tekken: The Motion Picture made in 1997. This anime version was really good if u think that it had a nice game-based plot and characters. But why fighting competitions in movies have to take place on far away tropical islands (Tekken The Motion Picture, Mortal Kombat, Dead or Alive ???). The last movie based on Tekken was Tekken: Blood Vengeance (2011). Finally the game series got what they so long deserved! A fast paced movie with stylish and full of martial arts fighting scenes, well made characters' background, and graphics that remind of the games' cut-scenes! What more is there to ask?!

Amnesia - The Dark Descent Review (PC)

Hello again! I wanted so badly to make a review this afternoon, but i couldnt choοse the game! Then I remembered that a few months back i had finished Amnesia. That game was really thrilling in so many ways. Its actually an FPS - Survival Horror - Adventure game! Well, lets get started

PLOT: 8/10

Amnesia - The Dark Descent takes place in what it seems an abandoned castle. You take control of the main character (Daniel) after regaining consciousness realizing that suffers from amnesia. He doesnt remember almost anything and the place is unknown to him, so you start wondering around the castle to unravel mysteries beyond any fear (which i can promise you, are really and disgustingly terrifying). The plot sounds simple but as u progress it becomes quite fearful and exciting, but enough said. I dont wanna cause any spoilers!

GAMEPLAY: 9/10

What feels really great and natural in this horror title is the gameplay. You can interact with almost everything you come across in ur path like lifting and breaking stuff but also u can toss them away rotate them, take them or use them as distraction tools. Its quite realistic cos in order to advance further in the game u have to look in every nook and cranny to find key items or health drinks. Many are the times during the gameplay that u come across horrifying creatures but because you are just a simple man with no super powers or anything similar u get scared, ur head is pounding, ur panicking and the only way to salvation is to hide or distract the monsters and...RUUUUN!!!!! In my opinion thats another thing that adds to the beauty of the gameplay. So u dont have to worry only about ur physical condition but for ur mental state as well! When Daniel is witnessing disturbing events such as staring at a monster or being chased by one or even standing in the dark his mental condition gradually fades away!

The riddles of Amnesia are like the ones met in similar survival-horror, adventure, games including physics as well. U have to combine stuff , push switches, operate machines etc.

The controls are quite simple, u move around with W,A,S,D, (PC Version), jump with SPACE, run with SHIFT, crouch with CTRL, open inventory with TAB, and menu with ESC. Also the buttons E & Q could really come in handy because when u hide u can take a peek at the enemy while being covered. The only thing that i found inconvenient and somewhat unnecessary is that the only saving option u have, is "Save and exit" which means, that u have to save and exit and then load again the game that u just saved. :P

Amnesia - The Dark Descent, Daniel shakes in fear
as he opposes this unearthly threat

ATMOSPHERE/MUSIC: 10/10

The creators of Penubra once more did a terrific job with the atmosphere in Amnesia. While there is not so much music throughout the game, i can say that many times i jumped in fear by the beautifully disturbing ambient tracks. Though the lack of music is obvious the sound effects that accompany most of the scenes are so heartstopping that u need to pause, take some reaeaeally deep breaths, and then go on freaking out even more. The sound effects are so well made that ud think they were recorded from some sick nightmare!!

GRAPHICS: 8/10

The graphics of Amnesia are really good and i could say vivid and clear. But some details were a bit dissapointing. Such as when Daniel takes out his oil lamp, his hand seems quite shoddy. There's no skin texture or any details i.e. the knuckles. Also the monsters and their movement could have been designed more carefully as they look a bit clumsy when they walk.

OVERALL: 8.75/10

In conclusion i can promise u that Amnesia - The Dark Descent will give hours of disturbing joy n gameplay and so many reasons not to sleep at night!!!! If u are a fan of the genre u simply must NOT miss it!!

Amnesia - The Dark Descent

Where Has Creativity Gone???

Being a gamer for more than a decade now, i can say that i ve seen quite a lot of games. RPGs , FPSs, Adventure games, Platform games n so on. But i have noticed that as the technology keeps advancing  (in the games field), the creativity about the plot of the games, or even the gameplay sometimes, is getting weaker.

The graphics of most of the recent titles such as FF XIII, God of War, Golden Axe Beast Rider etc. are breathtaking and realistic to such a level that a few years back we couldnt have imagined it, but thats all. Graphics and impression. I remember myself playing FF VII, Broken Sword, Wild ARMs, when graphics was not the center of attention but it was the plot, the gameplay even the music that kept u playing. And this is the reason why games like these are popular till nowadays. Why do u think FF Advent Children is based on FF VII, or the 1st of the Resident Evil series is still the no.1? Maybe because the plot was authentic n genious (Broken Sword - The Shadow of The Templars) or the gameplay was really enjoyable (Grandia 1 & 2 or Fahrenheit). These days all u have to do to finish a game is fuck the brains out of the action button,  when u must or prompted (see quick time events) and u ve got the game cleared!

Back then u were so much in to the game that even if u could see pixels or badly made characters u couldnt care more than a few seconds. Thats why i liked Eternal Sonata so much because even though  the graphics were beautiful, Capcom was focused more on the plot n the gameplay. Its kinda ridiculous to spend money on a game that u will play for a few hours n then u will never touch it again simply because it was sooo boring apart from the graphics part!

Maybe this is one of the reasons why manufacturer companies charge so much ... really high manufacturing costs => low buying rate => higher prices to balance the difference ... So.. what do u think?

FF VII vs FF XIII 

Gameboy Advance SP Review

Gameboy Advance SP
 (Tribal Edition, Model No.AGS-001)

Gameboy Advance SP (baclight screen)

Hiya! Recently i got myself a game boy advance sp (tribal verion). I must i was really impressed by it cos it has all the basic features of all the previous gameboy console releases (gameboy, gameboy pocket, gameboy color, gameboy advance etc.) but has also a backlight screen which was such a renovation back then in 2003. Actually u can play all gameboy games in that console with colors n light!!! It also has a rechargable battery which means u dont have to spend extra money every now n then buying expendable AA batteries! Its screen is almost similar to the one found in Nintendo DS (talking about size here) and its flipping feature keeps the console's screen from harming! It can be connected to gamecube like gameboy advance. The Buttons are the same as gameboy advance's plus one morewhich activates or deactivates the light of the screen. The only bad thing about it its that the first model that was released (AGS-001, u can find that on the back side of the console on the black sticker) has a somewhat weaker backlight screen than the later version (AGS-101). Summing up gameboy advance sp is the best choice if u are looking for a portable easy-to-play nintendo console!