Friday, March 22, 2013

Break Your Own Record?

Ever try breaking your own records? Of course you have! For me, today I finally broke my 9 kill record in World of Tanks and managed to achieve 11 kills. (Would've been 12 if he didn't steal my kill)

Nevertheless, it's always fun to push yourself past your limits and make a crucial contribution to your team whenever you play a team based video game. Just keep in mind that the enemy team usually aren't too happy seeing it happen but your team will thank you for it. I was slightly worried that I wouldn't have enough shells but thankfully, I did. I'll need to remind myself to shoot on the move less often even though it can be fun doing so.

This is just some advice to everyone out there, don't worry about trying to get 11 kills in a battle. Work on improving your skills overall and use your powers of deception to figure out the missing clues. Then exploit their weaknesses and ROFLSTOMP your enemies. It took me over 9000 battles to reach this record and it may take me 9000 more to kill all 15 tanks. Just take your time, be yourself, and constantly look to improve and you'll be a better player soon enough.




And for anyone who wants a copy of the replay, you can find it here.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

How Do You Start Off Your Week?

"I believe in what doesn't kill you, simply makes you...stranger." -The Joker

So for me, my week begins on Monday (just like a lot of people). I wake up, I look at my phone and realize it's another week filled with the same routine over and over again. The onslaught of sitting in lectures and studying for exams coupled with the occasional video game here and there is what most of my week generally consists of.

So after many years of Youtube, I have finally found a way to start off my week on a much more happier footing. Anna Akana is a talented Youtuber who makes videos and releases them every Monday. I first discovered her videos several years ago when she did 10 second traumas. I was however, disappointed that she would no longer be doing those videos. So I turned to her other channel (like many other people out there) and started watching her weekly videos. They kind of do feel like vlogs now that I think about it.

But to those who often feel like they have a bad week ahead of them, might I suggest you watch her videos? It's definitely something better than your usual cup of coffee accompanied by a newspaper that's about to get tossed in the recycling (honestly, who reads the paper now? We have the internet no?).

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnaAkana

As with all my other posts, I'll post my favourite video.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Crysis 3

So I recently got my hands on a copy of Crysis 3 and quite honestly, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. Even though you can now use a bow, a lot of the components of the game are more or less the same as before. Additionally, the single player campaign isn't as long as Crysis 2 and there aren't many boss battles (only 2 this time). Don't get me wrong though, Crysis 3 is still a fun game. It's just unfortunate that there appears to be less effort put into this game than previously.

One thing you'll notice about Crysis 3 is the familiarity with Crysis 2. The default controls are all the same and the same weapons make their appearance again. You'll also find the same buggies and APC's lying around on a couple of missions and yes, C.E.L.L. are back as an antagonist along with the Ceph.

The best part of the game is you now get to use a bow. Not one of those primitive ones of course but a much more modern one with four different types of arrows. You are limited to the number of arrows you can carry but generally you'll find a stash of arrows to replenish your supply before a big fight. At the same time, you can always pick up any standard arrows you fire. You won't be able to pick up the special ones but that shouldn't be a problem.

Story-wise, Crysis 3 more or less wraps up much of what was left from the first two games. (Granted I didn't play Crysis Warhead nor did I read the comics.) You'll get to save the world from utter destruction (isn't that what every video game is about nowadays?) and you'll look pretty badass doing so. I won't give away any spoilers but you will get a sidekick this time round and he's no other than Pyscho, the hotshot, trigger-happy, anger-fueled soldier you saw in a suit in the first game. He's got his suit ripped off of him and he's not too happy about that mostly because of the painful process of doing so. Most people die in the process according to him. His sarcasm is one of the more enjoyable moments of voice acting in the game and even though he does swear quite a bit, it certainly matches with his personality. I should probably also mention that C.E.L.L. is a much more corrupt organization this time and in their quest for world domination, they have harvested the Ceph's limitless energy and made themselves a very powerful organization. As part of their process of doing so, they have erected a giant dome over New York and set up "debt programs" for those who couldn't pay their electricity bills. It's an interesting concept but it does make you wonder how they're able to gain so much power without any government organization stopping them.

Overall Crysis 3 is the type of game that you would expect of the Crysis franchise; good graphics, ability to customize weapons, ability to choose different routes to the same goal (allowing for good replay functionality), decent AI and excellent voice acting. It's not an improvement over Crysis 2 but it is worth trying out this game and giving it a shot. Just don't get your hopes too high up or you won't enjoy the game.

As usual, I've got a couple of screenshots.

A predator bow and an APC for you to drive. What more could you ask for?

Here you can customize what arrows you want to use and your draw speed. Longer draw speeds mean you can fire much more powerful shots but at the cost of speed.

I like APC's. Don't hate on me for that.