Beauty and the beast, gaming edition.

Some like them beardy!

No, not talking about the disney classic. But rather, character creation. Most games nowadays have this feature so that we can make our fantasy-self or fictionary girlfriend(hey! some of us are alone..).

So, what would you rather play as, an ugly hero/heroine or a beautiful hero/heroine?
For most of us, they go for beauty(yes, including myself). But I guess that's the easy part(at least for me), the carefree-beautiful hero/heroine. But, games like Oblivion and Skyrim for instance let you fantasize about a backstory to your character. Simply a "do and don't list", for instance you have arachnophobia, or even play as a merchant. There are some really interesting gameplay videos about just that, being a merchant in skyrim.

Yes, I made this chick out of
that abomination above..

But this isn't about being a merchant, it's about character creation. Yes, most games have in-depth character creation "tools" and most of us like to experiment it, while other games have pre-made ones and that's fine too. But I'm one of the people who like to experiment with character creators. Simply because you can make an abomination or some really pretty characters.

However, there are three games I sit in the character creator for 2-3 hours before I'm happy with the results, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Oblivion. Some have stated that it's impossible to make a decent looking female face in those games. But with enough patience you can make some decent looking characters. It's really tedious but worth it, sometimes it feels like I've completed the game when I'm finally done.

My Oblivion chick.
Which is decent!

Also, I'm back!(for now..)

HUGE BLANK SPACE










HUGE BLANK SPACE END, because I can!

Also, I think I have a thing for redheaded girls.
JUST TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW! K BAI!

It's not the destination that matters, it's the Journey.

Games don't need words to tell a story.

Let me tell you something about a game called Journey. It's a short game that manages to deliver one heck of an impact on you! The visuals are fantastic, the atmosphere and the music it delivers is just perfect.

As mentioned, the visuals of this game are fantastic, it manages to give you an illusion of a vast world while it being kind of linear. You'll always have your "eyes on the price" or rather, you know where to go next. Linearity isn't a bad thing in Journey, since you always want to know what happens next. You'll mostly travel a vast desert by the start of the game, and that's really all I want to tell you. Since the later stages are easily as impressive. Music plays a huge role in this game, and manages to fit into the landscapes perfectly.

Platforming. Nothing too hard.

The gameplay is easy, yet really fun. I would call this game a platforming game since there are a lot of segments that include just that. Anyways, you are a masked traveler and you have this magical scarf, you may find "upgrades" hidden here and there to make this scarf longer, hence giving you the ability to jump further. But the scarf depletes when you use it(depending on how long your scarf is). But that really isn't a problem since you can always find these.. wierd looking scarf-creatures that refill your scarf jumping ability. Still with me? Good.. You'll also play this game alone most of the time, but you can meet other travelers(real life players) and help each other out or just completely ignore one another.

This game has a deeper meaning than what it really seems to be at first, I would say this is a journey through life. You'll have fun, you'll meet hardships along the way, you'll push yourself even if the odds are against you, all to see and end to this journey. And what an ending this game has.. I seriously sat there, with manly-tears cheering on that little masked traveler all the time. Yes, this game will make you satisfied, even though it's a short game.

You can meet others in this
lonely journey. But it's optional.

If I were a therapist, I'd force people to play this game. Since it manages to tell one heck of a journey with so little words. I guess what I'm saying is.. go get this game if you own a ps3! Please, just do yourself a favor and get it. It is such a beautiful game, and it's so rare to find a game like this in the marked nowadays. And that's all there is to it. Seriously, I could sit here and write how good this game is. But then you'd be wasting time reading it. And since I'm a good guy(or the fact that I'm lazy), I made this review somewhat.. brief.

GO GET IT NOW!

Rayman Origins

Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “a game review for Rayman Origins? But that’s like old news! And it’s way not old enough to be retro! Wtf?!”, but we (I) don’t really care what you think, so here it is!

The Rayman series started back in 1995 with the 2D platform game, and since then the series have included Rayman 2 and 3, both in 3D. There is also the Raving Rabbids mini-series for the Wii, and even educational games like Rayman Brain Games. I consider myself as a Rayman Veteran, and the first Rayman might just be my favourite videogame all time. And yes, this might just make me a bit biased. I also really enjoyed Rayman 2, (especially being dragged through the lake by holding on to the snake’s scarf), but it just couldn’t compare to the first game. I would just like to point out here, that I think they actually did a really good job with Rayman 2, but in almost all cases where there is a follow-up (be it a game or a movie or whatever), it is as good as impossible to beat the original.  And in Rayman Origins this is what I think Ubisoft managed to really understand, and accept, instead of fighting it.

Rayman Origins was at first meant to be a smaller game, a tribute to the first Rayman game, but also a game that would “fill-in-the-blanks” between Rayman 1 and 2. Fortunately, Ubisoft decided to make the game into a sequel instead, giving us a lot more Rayman to enjoy!

 The Collector's Edition (Oooooh...)

Yes, I had to. So, what can I say about all this extra fancy stuff I got? Well, first I kind of have to point out what it included, which was:

Original Soundtrack CD

Art book

Fancy Cover

(and the game obviously…)

The best thing in this package was, for me, definitely the art book. The game drawings are really beautiful, and there are also funny stories, like how Globox became blue. Other than that, it’s cool to actually have the soundtrack, so we liked that. But unfortunately the fancy cover was mostly annoying. Yeah it looks a bit cool and stuff, but if you do not have the room to display it properly, it becomes pretty annoying. I thought I could just use it like a normal cover and keep the game inside, but the problem is that it is really easy to destroy while opening and closing it, so I don’t dare use it. Instead it now takes up twice as much place in my shelf. And it just annoys me.

The Game

 

First things first, the game really is as beautiful as everyone claims it is. Why doesn’t all game development companies do this?! Instead they just go “Hmm… should we use computer animation, which we wish we had the technology to do better, but we don’t, so we just make it as good as it can be, or should we instead use drawing, which we have the technology to make really spectacular looking? .. Well, drawings old news, let’s use computer animation instead! Yay!”… Oh yes, back to the review.

The gameplay is really a tribute to the original Rayman game, and yes it is a side-scrolling platformer game. The game is built up of different worlds, which consists of (I don’t know the correct term so lets call them…) places, and each place consists of levels. For each place you need to catch Lums (pronounced Looms), and free electoons. Later on you will need a specific number of electoons in order to reach new worlds. There are 5 electoons for each place, the first three you need to physically find throughout the levels (hint: they are often hidden, so listen for someone crying for help), the second two you get by obtaining large amounts of lums, and the last one you will get by finishing the course before a timer runs out. Which in order to do, you actually have to play the places again, giving you really good replay value!

The same as in the previous Rayman, you won’t get all of your skills at the beginning of the game, instead you have to free the sexy fairies, and then they will grant you skills such as boxing, running on walls and other cool things. 

Multiplayer vs Singleplayer

In Rayman Origins you can choose whether or not you want to play with friends, in a solution that is about exactly the same as in Super Mario, meaning if you die you get bubblized. A point for Ubisoft here is that also the bad guys get bubblized, but of course they just die, whereas you can be freed by a friend. I had a really great time playing the game in multiplayer mode, and most of the game I actually played with friends, so I highly recommend it. Just don’t play it with annoying people who laughs hysterically after punching you into a monster, simply because they can then take the coin instead of you. It is ofc totally okay if you do it to others. So how is it playing singleplayer? It is just as fun, but also a lot harder! Because if you die in multiplayer mode, you just get bubblized, and then your friend frees you, so you can try again. But when you play alone, you just simply die, and has to start the game over again. And some of the later levels are really difficult, something which is not the best if you have a temper when you play (ehem…). Luckily I managed to destroy the evidence before youtube gained a “Angry chick plays Rayman” video.

My Overall Opinion
 

I would definitely recommend this game to almost anyone (which I think I just might already have done). It is really enjoyable, whether or not you get mesmerized by the graphics, just stop playing in order to listen to that weird chorus again, or laughing hysterically at how you punched a friend into a monster, or yet again when you get so angry it is a wonder the TV survived. I might be biased, but seriously, Rayman rocks!

Giving games a second chance

Ever play a game which everyone praised, butyou just couldn't get that into? Or better yet, a game you were really hyped up for? Then disappointment. You just don't like the game, no matter how much you want to, and so you leave it on your shelf. Leave it there to rot and fester.

It's weird to think of it now, but when I first played Mass Effect I didn't like it. The combat was clunky, the squad command sucked (not to mention I had to check the manual for controls every. single. time. I wanted them to do something) and.. I just couldn't get into it, for some strange reason, and this is Bioware! One of my all time favorite developers. I actually did beat the game that time, because I figured "Hey! I'm already this far, might as well get this over with", but after that nothing from the game stuck with me. Except the story. The story is awesome.

Part of the reason I didn't like it probably has a lot to do with expectation. I had just finished Dragon Age when I started playing Mass Effect and I guess I expected the latter to be much more like the former. I went into it in the wrong set of mind. I was ready to leave Mass Effect behind for good, when one day I bought the sequel at one of those "get 2 for the price of one!" sales. I bought it because.. well, you know, just in case I ever wanted to play it. It too had to rot on my shelf, for 6 months. Until I one day decided that I might as well beat it, I've got nothing better to do. Wait a second! I can't remember a squat shit of the story! I decided to play through the first game a second time, just to catch up on the story. I was really dreading it. Last time I played it, it was a 40 hour snorefest. Not this time.

Like I said earlier, a game has a lot to do with expectations. The last time I played Mass Effect, I had been superhyped about it, because of all the perfect scores it garnered from reviews. This time I was prepared for a tedious game. After a while the memories of the great story came floating back to me. The gameplay wasn't as bad as last time. I cared to speak with my crew members. I actually started enjoying the game. So you can just imagine how stoked I was for the sequel, which somehow garnered even better reviews than the prequel. Instead of impressing me, it blew my mind.

Anyway.. I had a point with this article, but was it again.. Ah! You should give some games a second chance. You might be surprised to find out that you actually enjoyed it. Oh, and also, only 2 weeks left for Mass Effect 3!

(PS. I probably should have proof-read this article, but I can't be arsed because fuck you.)

The soul shines bright in this game!

If you're familiar with the Soul Calibur series, then you already know it is a weapons-based fighting game. Soul Calibur V shines in a lot of aspects, but I miss a few things from the past games. Like a story mode to each of the characters, rather than a mediocre story which goes all-over-the-place. The fifth game in the series is looking fine indeed, this is one of the best looking fighting games to date. Added with flashy animations, a surprisingly fitting super-move-meter and an indepth character creation mode.

Patroklos in action.

The story is focused on a guy named Patroklos who is in search of his sister. You mainly play as him and get some "skill" in his fighting style(sword and shield), but, I never really enjoyed playing as him. The guy is so simpleminded and full of clichés, so much in fact, that he doesn't become a likeable character. There are some other characters you also play in the story aswell, like Patroklos' sister, Pyrrha. I found more liking to her than Patroklos, even though she has a slight different moveset than her brother and a greater "feel" to the fighting. Not the best story, but still, it had me entertained.

Ezio, show ya moves!

While this game seems to be focusing a lot more on online than it's predecessor, I still play offline most of my time. Even though there are some really nice lobbies, you can spectate while others are playing, chat lobbies and an overall nice feel to the online community. I still spend most of my time in Quick Battles or Arcade mode, since they got me hooked. Especially the Quick Battles, they can be challenging(fun!) and you get to unlock titles, you even get some exp after each battle. Yes, you level up in this game, but you don't really get more damage or anything. But! You unlock certain clothing at certain levels, which is awesome.

Probably the most awesome feature in this game is the Character Creation mode, you can pretty much make anyone. That's right! Anyone. The characters I've made so far are Ganondorf and Luffy D. Monkey. I wish I could show you some screenshots because it's awesome how much you can do in this mode. And of course, you can then play as your favorite character online/offline. There is also a great amount of fighting styles you can play as, all of which seem pretty balanced. You can even play as Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed, but I was disappointed to find out you can't make a character out of his fighting style or rather "soul".

Indepth character creation.

And that pretty much sums up Soul Calibur V, it has a rather weak story, but I was entertained by it. Quick Battles are a blast to play, even more if you like to collect titles. The online portion is really well done with awesome lobbies and a better online community than it's predecessor or -dare i say it- in all of fighting-games history(especially the lobbies etc.). Also, the limitless character creation mode is a huge bonus!  All in all, I enjoy this game and I will definitely continue to play it.

Early sunday morning..

Whoa, I don't remember the last time I was awake this early.. on a friggin sunday! And no, I'm not drunk or anything.. because that would've been the obvious answer. However, I guess I should thank some drunken people for waking me up with their drunkeness though. Because I've found some awesome news for anyone with an adventurous heart! It is still in development, but maaan.. I'm looking forward to this game already, because it defines the word "Fun"(at least it should!). Make sure to watch that fan made trailer, I think I must've already watched it 100 times now.. So should you!

Cube World.

And for those who want more info on the game, check out the development blog:

http://wollay.blogspot.com/

Some gaming news!

First off, I'd like to say I've been playing REvelations like crazy lately, the online portion is really fun. So fun that unfortunately, my wrist hurts.. So, I've been thinking to get my hands on the Circle pad pro to the 3DS, I've seen a lot of good reviews and that it actually looks pretty comfortable!

Sceptic at first, now it looks more.. attractive.

Besides, I might as well get it now, since Monster Hunter Tri-G has finally gotten an european release date! Well, sort of.. I did some research and all I could find was it will be released this fall, which is indeed great news for me and all the other european monster hunters! However, it will not have an online mode like Monster Hunter Tri(wii), but still.. local gameplay with friends is always fun. So, you might think to yourself, what is new in this Monster Hunter game? Well, besides from new armor, new weapons and new monsters.. There is a G-rank available, there are basicly 3 ranks in this game, well.. 4 if  you include the solo quests. But they aren't as important! Anyway, it's normal-rank, high-rank and then finally G-rank, where all the baddies are.. this is like a super-hard-mode. Whereas the wii version only had normal and high rank quests.

Kind of mesmerizing, eh?

Next off is Soul Calibur V, which I probably will get my hands on, since I'm a sucker for fighting games.. Though still a novice in any fighting game(not a button masher!), I enjoy a good fighting game every now and then. Soul Calibur V looks amazing, and they've really outdone themselves with the character creator(yes, I've watched a few videos) and the customization is pretty much limitless. Ohh, and have you seen the japanese Ad for this game? It's looking rather.. awesome.. can't... look.. away. But yeah, Soul Calibur has always been close to me ever since Soul Calibur 2(Link was awesome!).. unfortunately I never got to play the first game of the series and I guess I never really want to either.

Monster Hunter Tri G, new monster has appeared!

I've also been playing a lot of Dark Souls lately, mainly because of a new patch, well.. I guess it's pretty old, but it's new to me(patch 1.05). Where they've actually improved the co-op, meaning you'll be able to join your friends in some jolly cooperation! I'd say it was pretty much impossible to join a friend in a co-op session before this patch, which made the world of Lordran feel kind of lonely, with an exception of being invaded all the time.. Ohh, and there is one complaint I have about this game, it's the pvp. I usually don't have anything against pvp, but in this game, it makes me furious because of one thing.. lagstabs. It's all they ever do, that's why most of my time, I play offline.

I guess this concludes gaming news for the week/day, I am still waiting for Shach to do an article about "what-we've-built-in-minecraft". 

Anyways, have a nice day!

Resident Evil: Revelations

I know I've been absent for awhile now, but what better way to start my "comeback" than REvelations, as I like to call it! Resident Evil games have always been about cranks, now though, it's all about screwdrivers! Talk about a handy tool in this game..

Ohh Crank, how I miss thee.

As stated in a previous article, I'm a huge fan of the RE series. When I first heard about REvelations, I thought: "Great, another action game." So I really didn't pay a lot of attention to it, now though, I'm glad I got it. Not only is it scary, but the game actually feels complete! Unlike the previous RE game for the 3DS, it had a lot of things missing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The story in this game takes place on an abandoned cruise ship. Not going to spoil anything, but Jill Valentine and her new partner, Parker, have been assigned to find Chris Redfield and Jessica. The last known location was.. yup, you guessed it, the abandoned cruise ship. The only problem I had with the story.. was that you switch characters a lot, kinda like Call of Duty(well, not really THAT extreme). And that kind of breaks the tension you have going on in this cruise ship.

Your standard enemy, the Ooze.

There are a lot of charming characters in this game, I noticed that when turning on the Japanese voice actors(2nd playthrough). You know how I like my voice actors! I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the english voice actors, but sometimes they sound too bossy, too cocky or too whiny. While the japanese voice actors, I think they nailed it. The story should take you up to 7-8 hours to complete, which i felt was just right, any longer and it would've been a drag..

The gameplay is an over-the-shoulder-survival-horror-shooter, or you could switch it to first person aim view if you want. But I personally like the 3rd person view, mainly because it looks great in 3D. The control scheme in this game is a lot like The Mercenaries 3D, with strafing, aim while walking, shoot while walking etc. But the main thing I really enjoyed about this game is the fact that you can gyroscope aim, especially when you feel the 3D isn't doing it's part, I sometimes turned it off and went into gyroscope aiming.

The characters have a lot of detail.

The graphics look amazing in this game, and it's the best looking game on the 3DS with or without the 3D effect. However, sometimes I had some issues with the 3D(while it being rare). The thing about the 3D effect in REvelations, is that you can have normal, strong or very strong. Usually very strong is the way to go if you want amazing 3D effect, but sometimes my eyes weren't focused enough, meaning I see a lot of "ghosts" and aiming becomes difficult. But that's just me, I hope..


Now, there is one mode in this game which is AWESOME, the Raid mode. You get this mode when you complete the story. This mode is a lot like the "old" Mercenaries from RE3, well at least that's what I felt. The main thing about raid mode is to clear monsters from room to room and complete it, simple yet fun. But the thing that got me hooked was the fact that each time you complete a level, you get exp(to level up) and get random weapons/upgrades(custom weapon parts) after each level! Yes, random weapons! You can also upgrade them if you find custom parts throughout the maps. That is, if the weapons have upgradeable "slots", the other thing that is awesome in this mode is that it lets you and your friend play it online, but I don't have any friends, so I have no idea if it works that well.. But judging by the previous game(Mercenaries 3D) I'm sure it is smooth.

Chris Redfield shooting some enemies in raid mode.

While I could go on and on how great this mode is- what? Ohh! I forgot to mention you can also unlock other characters and costumes and whatnot! You also get BP each time you complete a map, this is the currency in this game. You can buy weapons, custom gun parts, you can even restock your ammo if you find some of your weapons have low ammo.

All in all, this game rocks, and gives you a lot of content. The story was fun and all that, but I saw it coming a mile away. So, it's kind of weak but still better than RE5.. But the things that make up for it are: smooth controls, great graphics, scaaary moments, great characters, the fact that you get to stare at Jills ass in 3D and of course, raid mode.

Well done, Capcom, well done..

Apologies!

Due to the fact that there hasn't been any posts lately is because I've been waiting for the Roxio game capture device. And when I finally got it, I figured I also had to order component cables.. That's what I get for not doing extra research. So, the main reason for the lacking articles lately is because: I didn't want to post text-based reviews this time around, but rather video reviews.

I was going to do a video review of Skyrim, but it's rather late, now that everyone already has it. But nonetheless, I guess I'll just make a review out of it.. Since it'll be my first video review in a looong time. And feedback/critic is always something I can learn of, no matter how harsh it may be. I guess the video review will be up at wednesday.. since I figured editing will be time consuming, especially if you're alone. I still haven't gotten the component cables.. but I know I'll get them tomorrow, hopefully... probably.

So, I am really sorry for the lacking posts in the site. However, there are some good news! I managed to bribe Shach to do a review of Minecraft when it is released, you know, the "full" release. I'll notify in the comments section if I get the component cables tomorrow.

People are amazing..

Classic D&D halfling bard.

First off.. there is this picture going through the net nowadays, and it happend to give me a great idea how "Modern Warefares" should be. Now, this probably applies to the fantasy game of Dungeons&Dragons, or P&P. But, remember how bards were? You know, the class that no one picks because they mainly are a support class. Just kidding, Bards can be awesome classes too, even I've played as a bard in my "youthful" days of p&p. Most people see bards as these stupid minstrels nowadays, but that's just because they are disguised as stupid minstrels. When you least expect it, they'll.. probably make you laugh to death by Tasha's Hideous Laughter.. well, not that it will kill the player, but still!

Classic Modern Warefare bard. Which will be the greatest
idea ever! Thanks  to me!

Anyways, I'll keep this article brief, because I have two pictures I just HAVE to show you guys.. And the last picture, I know you've probably already seen it. But imagine if they add that feature to the next Call of Duty game, wouldn't THAT be awesome? I mean, a Bard buffing your party and whatnot! That would make the game more interesting. Or a killstreak! "Bardmageddon", that's what I would call it.. you get a carepackage and a bard suddenly pops out of it! And it would follow your player around and buff you. I know what your thinking, that would be a bad idea, since the bard likes to sing all the time. But! Since the enemy players most likely will hear where the bard is, -if I were to be on that team- I would think "Screw this shit, I'm not going near that overly-buffed-character!".

And that's it! I think this is the greatest idea, EVER.. and I know you agree with me!

The reason!

No, not that cheesy song.. But, the reason I'm not doing a review of Dark Souls is.. well, too much to explain, really. I did it with Demon's Souls awhile ago, it was a major failure, so.. this must be some kind of a From Software curse. The thing is, this is the only type of game I have no idea how to review. Don't get me wrong or anything, I don't think the game is crappy by any means. In fact, if I were to give it a score.. I'd give it 10/10, because of the simple -yet brilliant- combat, it's difficult and it has a LOT of replay value.

Tip how to beat this boss; put on the most awesome
battle theme you know of. Then you'll beat it!

There aren't enough games out there like Dark Souls, most games nowadays hold your hand around every corner and give you checkpoints after checkpoints, and that makes the player spoiled. Dark Souls on the other hand.. is like a strict martial arts trainer that pushes you down a cliff and hopes that you have the ability to take action. It will train you, and whenever there's an obstacle in your way.. you will learn how to defeat it with trial and error. I still remember the first time I beat Megaman(1), I was overjoyed and relieved when the credits started to roll, why? Because I had struggled every stage by trial and error.. Ohh, and I was 6-7 years old when this happend. I still get chills to this day, when I hear the credits theme of Megaman.

Now, the only game I can compare the Dark/Demon's Souls series to is Castlevania 64, though Castlevania 64 didn't have RPG elements. It was a love-it-or-hate-it-game, and I friggin loved it back in the day, because it was one of the most challenging games I had ever tried back then. Now, if you were one of those players who thought that the game was easy, well, kudos to you! But I never saw the end of that game.. All because of a friend.. he managed to use all of the healing items and save before the so-called-last-boss, which I later found out, wasn't the last boss at all.. There were at least two more bosses until you beat the game.. Yes, my friend.. the truth had to come out to the world eventually. <insert evil laughter>

This guy was scary as hell back in the day..

Games should be challenging, at least.. that's what I want in games. Games nowadays are too player-friendly, which to some degree becomes stupid. We're not retarded, we don't need a popup saying how to do things every 5 seconds! Remember when games used to kick you in the balls, and you were ok with it? Now it's like they're tickling your balls, and that just becomes really awkward. Sure, one tutorial level is fine.. But not when they think you'll constantly forget how the game works. Also a thing I'd like to talk about, there is a fine line between unfair and strict. Farcry 2 is unfair, because if you fire a SILENCED weapon, yes, silenced. And miss a guy on the other side of the map, then they'll suddenly spot you and send a raid after you. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if you could just simply hide again, but nooo, when you fire that bullet they suddenly get superhuman tracking abilities. Dark Souls on the other hand, is just strict, NOT unfair. It is your own fault if you run into a pack of undead and they manage to eviscerate you. And even if you think a boss fight is "unfair" in this game, eventually, you'll learn it's pattern. In games like these, you have to be patient..

The reason why everyone wanted to
wear a blue spandex back in the day.

At the end of the day, I think to myself.. why do I play games? Is it because of I want a challenge? I mean, if I wanted a challange I'd simply go to war and try to defeat a tank with a slingshot. But that's suicidal, so instead of real life, games like Dark Souls give me that kind of challenge. Even if I were to die a thousand times, eventually I'd have the knowledge on how to defeat a tank with a slingshot. So, what happend to the entertaiment part? Well, be surprised folks! Since it manages to deliver that aswell, you'll get the feeling of progression after you beat a hard boss. Which is an awesome feeling.. and after awhile, you feel like this master and nothing can beat you! And then at the next corner you get killed by a dragons breath.. Which made me laugh.. and cry at the same time.

And that's about it, folks. Even if this didn't make any sense whatsoever, I felt like I had to post something in this barren blog for once. Since I'm the only one that does that.. *glares at the rest of the gang* Ohh, and I'm not comparing Farcry 2 and Dark Souls, I am simply stating what is unfair and strict.

Have a great day!

You know what time it is? It's BLOCK-time!

Wow, I'm getting better and better posting nonsense headlines.. But now, back to the topic!

We all know that Monday is our official minecraft day, and that's what we're going to talk about in this brief post. Me and Shach seriously need some help now, since we have found a huge open area, where we can build whatever we want. The first thing that came to mind was a kingdom, with castles and whatnot.. But! We have no idea what we should start with.. 

Anyways, these 2-3 last weeks we've been making a Harbour-town, yet another mansion, a tower and a... upside-down-house.. which I really didn't want to take a screenshot of!

BUT ENOUGH TALK! IT'S SCREENSHOT TIME!

Let's start off with the mansion, I'd say it's about 35% bigger
than the last one.

Front view. This is one of the few big buildings I'm
actually satisfied with.

Inside the mansion, Shach is always ready for some
photoshoots.

Mr.Shach, the bartender.. This guy has about every job
in the world.

Shach's tower. Now.. I usually make jokes about Shach's
buildings. But I clearly don't need to, this time.. *wink*

A bit of the open landscape where we can build whatever.

It's not too far away from Shach's tower either.

This town doesn't have a name yet, so I'm just gonna call it
Harbour Town (yes, that's really creative).

Another view of Harbour Town, isn't it awesome?

Street view, the first building from the right is Guard tower,
Jehrino's hut, and Shach's shack.. and what do you know,
he want's to be a part of the picture!

Shach's shack, perfect for holding parties every saturday.

Jehrino's hut, small and practical. Perfect for those hard
sunday morning scenarios.

The awesome guard tower! Spot the creep..

Jehrino's fishing boat, now.. making the sails to this one
was hard as hell. But then again, I had never made
sails before that anyways.

Look at those awesome sails! I even built that before the
small boat-sails. I am proud of myself.. *sniffle*

Now he is a fisherman.. what a guy..

Main attraction of Harbour Town, the most awesome
Tavern ever made!

Wait, where's the bar..?

Tah-dah! Erm.. I seriously think he is following me
around..

Downstairs we have the storage room, looks cozy.

Even more down, you'll end up here!..No, this isn't hell.

The tavern.. I should say that this is one of the BEST
minecraft screenshots I've ever taken.

And that's it, what a great way to start off the week. There are alot of areas that I didn't want to take screenshots from, mainly because those areas aren't quite complete yet. But, looking back to old pics, I'd say we've improved quite a bit, 45% more awesome than before! Soon we'll be hanging out with the pro-builders!..

Nonetheless, have a great day everyone!

Busy busy.

That's right! I'm quite busy nowadays, I am still writing about the story of this "side-story-webcomic" thingie. Even though I have a feeling that this will be the main story in this site, and since we've already made awesome stuff on Minecraft, I thought I'd borrow village names, places, etc. from "OurSecretServer" as I like to call it. Sort of like a "backstory" to the server, which I think will turn out awesome. But that's just me, I'll probably need some help with the writing etc. But I'm not too worried, since I'm going to my hometown this friday, so I think I'll persuade one of my friends to help me out.

Thought I'd make it a bit of a mystery,
as you can see, I am not yet revealing
anything just yet. Don't mind the
doodles here and there.. wait, the
whole concept is like a doodle.

Yet again, I have no update for this monday. But that's because me and Shach haven't done too much lately, so yet again, sorry peeps! But, despite my bad drawing skills, I guess I have to tease you with some really rough concept art. Even though he is nameless at the moment, I'm pretty sure if you would've played at OurSecretServer, you would probably guess who this guy is.

So yeah, I hope it turns out good. Even though my drawing skills aren't that good at the moment, but practice makes perfect, right? Anyways! can't wait to start on this project. I have a really good feeling about it! ..well, that just me.

Have a great day everyone!

Last year's award winning sports game just got better!

I'm not a huge fan of sports, but when it comes to hockey, then I'm a hardcore fan. It was even the NHL games that got me into hockey. So yeah, last years award winning sports game just got better!

So, what can I talk about in a sports game? Well, about everything I talk about in a regular game. Let's start off with the menus, they are indeed slick, and better than in the previous installments, there are tons of modes in this game and the menus are not so confusing anymore *looks at NHL 11 menus*. The nice thing about navigating menus is the fact that there is always awesome music in the background, there are times I turn on the game just to listen to some high quality music and chill out with the shootout mode.

The graphics are about the same as last years game, however, the animations are better. The bodychecks seem more bonecrushing than ever, and also, the animation to bodychecked players have improved. The puck no longer magically sticks near your character when your about to take a slapshot. I had a few of those incidents when playing against my brother, I charge way too long with a slapshot and then the puck drifts away. But it's great that puck is live this year. What also is live this year is the goalie, that's right, you can even bodycheck the goalie, but that'll result you going to the sinbin.

Pavel Datsyuk in position, as always.

The first thing you'll probably notice is the NHL Winter Classic mode, this is an annual event held by the National Hockey League (NHL) on New Year's Day where regular-season games are played outdoors, in areas hosted by the NHL teams. So that means outdoor hockey! Which manages to be interesting for awhile, but if I want to play against another player/computer, I'd simply just go to Play Now menu. But the outdoor areas look and feel fantastic. So, it is nice with outdoor hockey once in awhile. 

Another thing new to the series is the Be a legend mode, this lets you be a legend, in other words, it's a lot like Be a pro mode, but in this, you can be a legend like Wayne Gretzky. Now this mode made me kind of excited at first. The only thing different in this mode compared to be a pro, is that you play as a maxed out player and you have to perform tasks such as "score 25 goals this season" or stuff like that. So, it is a decent mode, but you'll have to unlock the other legends. Anyways, I thought I'd mention the legends that are in this game, so here goes: Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Steve Yzerman, Patrick Roy, Jeremy Roenick, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Börje Salming and Wayne Gretzky. What also is cool that there is a "Legends" team included in the game as part of the legends feature.

Ovechkin ready for some outdoor hockey.

Phew, almost done- wait, no I'm not.. This game has modes that'll keep you occupied for a very long time, what also returns this year is the Hockey Ultimate Team. This mode lets you create a fantasy team, with players from NHL, AHL, Elitserien and SM Liga being the major ones. This mode is awesome, this is what had me hooked last year, it's fun. It really is! What's so great about this mode is that, you start out with random players, yes, completely random! You can manage positions however you want, who should play etc. Another cool thing is that you can manage stats to the players, you can even buy new players! But to do this, you have to earn EA pucks, they are the "currency" in this mode, and to earn them, you simply have to win matches or win tournaments. And this grants you EA pucks, especially the tournaments, they grant you a hefty amount. With the EA pucks, you can buy booster cards, or other types of cards, which can contain players, new home/away jerseys, stat cards, contracts and even managers.

Be a pro mode lets you create your character, what is new to this mode is the fact that you can finally make a female character, more about that in a bit. This mode is interesting, since it manages to do it so well, you have goals/tasks to achieve, a lot like as I stated in "be a legend" mode. But you have to make your own character and you can put stats however you want to. In this mode, instead of EA pucks, you earn experience, which you then can invest in one of the many stats. This is what makes it a tad better than be a legend mode. You pick an NHL team, start off with the AHL(American Hockey League), and if you do it well, you get drafted to the NHL! Anyways, you can also create a female character now, thanks to 14-year-old hockey fan named Lexi Peters. It was even her idea to add this feature! She was discouraged by her inability to create a female player that didn't look like a man in a wig in the past NHL versions, Peters wrote a letter to EA, saying to add a gender option to its next NHL iteration, and believe it or not, she was rewarded for her efforts with a starring role as the game's female default model.

Patrice Bergeron laz0r shot during shootout.

I like the fact that you don't have to be a hockey fan to like this game, that's how I started. I even have a friend that is a hardcore hockey fan/"veteran player", as he likes to call it. He is the one who introduced me to hockey, and I sure am glad he did. Hockey is fast paced and brutal, if someone bodychecks you, you can't act like you've been hurt *looks at football*. This game has gotten better, with tons of modes, awesome music and good -yet simple- gameplay. It feels more live than ever! So yeah, I could go on and on about this game, but I thought I'd cover up the modes I think that'll keep you hooked, like it did to me.