Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare

 

 

Single player is pretty fun now

Gameplay wise I like it, the progress remind me of Batman Arkham Knight but in small scale and done right, you have your on foot section and your Jackal (batmobile) section. The game is not open world, it's still COD at heart but this time instead of going nonstop roller coaster ride, you have short-medium "chapter" and every time you finish it the game throw you back to galaxy map and you can pick which mission next.

The combat is still the good old COD you knew, frustrating but satisfying if you play it right, enemy die in a few shots and you are more or less the same, some section will have enemy pouring non stop which mean you need to force yourself to charge through in order to continue the story, then you have the usual "gtfo before time run out" section which is the staple of COD i guess, stealth segment also there but very few and less punishing now, the on rail shooting however is gone (there is one but very short like 2 minutes short)

Jackal section is the half part of the gameplay in IW, many mission will have you in jackal, it play similar like the batmobile from Arkham Knight but in air/space, the movement is more akin to arcade shooter instead of simulation because your plane will switch between hover or flight mode automatically, targeting enemy is also automatic just make sure the enemy is in your crosshair then press right click to lock on in which your plane will go semi auto to chase your target, all you need is press the fire button. Overall the jackal gameplay is very simple but I find it more fun than the actual onfoot gameplay.

Graphic is nothing new for this one, it's definitely not at BF1 tier, in fact it's only a slight upgrade from Advance Warfare for me, but it still pretty enough as it is, debris flying around, sparks everywhere, a lot of things will happen on your screen at the same time, it's one of the COD trademark, the game also UI galore so if any of you a big fan of scifi interface and UI screen, you'll love this game. As for aesthetic, I actually like the setting, it's believable futuristic, firearms despite looking so high tech you'll know what weapon is this just by looking at it (P90 still look like a P90), battleship is essentially a battleship but in air and space instead of sea. The game just like every other COD is filled with tactical gimmick, so if you into that kind of thing, you'll love this game even more, every little bit in this game is all about tacticool stuff from people chatter, interface, movement, maneuver, call sign, military jokes and so on. The sound in this game is really good, I love hearing people chatter over radio, sometimes it's all cluttered but it make things more realistic if you in the middle of heavy fire fight, gun sound is satisfying, each of gun has different sound, voice acting is believable in most part, as for music however I don't remember anything in the game that make me go "welcome to COD" moment, partially it's all overlapping with gun, chatter and other effects.

 

 

  

Valiant force is (finally) out

 

 

Meaty gameplay and amazing character art

Valiant force, I heard this game last year when I visited Singapore game show at 2015 (GameStart), I was quite interested because how colorful it is, and the character art is also something else for a game coming from a new studio (XII Braves), The game however got quite a delay several times, just a week ago however the game is officially released, I played it for a while and I am quite liking it, the 3D model is decent and the gameplay is quite meaty thanks to heavy emphasis on formation, the character art however is a big plus for me, the art is amazingly detailed and the style is very "animeish"

The game has been out for a week more or less for both android and ios, try it =D
Android link
Ios link

Back to The Secret World

 

 

Still have the best presentation in mmorpg term

2 years ago I play a lot of SWTOR and The Secret World (TSW), now I am mostly stay in FF14 and occasionally try out some F2P games, and lately I have been itching for mmorpg with modern settings since I am really bored with fantasy stuff now, then I remember this game.

TSW is your usual wasd movement mmorpg, nothing is new in term of gameplay, you pick quest, finish it, learn skill, get new equipment and so on. What make it different is how this game is presented and how the quest work, those 2 factor is enough to make the game stand out among other mmorpg.

It's 2012 game, be reasonable

First thing first, the game has been out from 2012 so I am not going to say much about it, to this day the game still hold well, the graphic is not high end like TERA or Witcher stuff but good enough to make casual guy like me to say "not bad, still pretty for 2012 game", you will find some graphical glitch if you have up to date driver series but all of them is not game breaking and can be easily fix by playing around the option (set it to DX9, it fix most the graphic glitch)

The population is what I can say dwindling? below average but still active and spread throughout the game world meaning you still find people run around in most area in the game. Community is very friendly from my experience, just make sure you join a chat channel or you start asking why nobody chatting in this game.
 

Somewhere between average and good

 

Combat and animation is clunky and probably the weakest part of the game

Even back in 2012 when the game is still the hotness, both the animation and the combat is really clunky, this give even more "meh" impression if you come from mmorpg with high animation quality like FF14 or TERA.

Movement feel off and stiff, everything you do from melee weapon, cast spell or even just a simple sprint, everything feel floaty as if there is no sense of weight in it. Firearms is the only weapon that feel okay for me, the sound is real, the way your character holding it is convincing enough, and some of the animation even give you a kickback to give a similar feeling of recoil, overall the firearms is the only one for me that feel allright compare to others.

As for combat, your character only allowed to have 7 active and 7 passive skill, you can switch around whenever you want if your character already learn the skill, this give the impression of abundant skill and talent but, because the majority of the skill is pretty much the same only with different weapon, everything just end up feel "samey"

There is a lot of skill and talent to play around (more than 300 both active and passive skill), but the core of the combat will always look like this, use ability that earn "power" then use ability that spend that "power", basically the combat is all about generator and spender skill, with some long cooldown ability in between.

This is your sword stance, any sword from a katana, short sword even 2 handed sword, your character will always hold it like this

Gimmick, aesthetic and presentation however is the best part

Clunkiness aside. This game has amazing gimmick and aesthetic from all mmorpg I have played, the setting and atmosphere is top notch especially if you are into stuff like X-files, Illuminati, ancient mythology, pop culture, urban legends and any similar things like that. Common fantasy stuff like Templar, vampire, werewolf, and so on is still there but everything is clasp and fashioned in today modern setting, there are no fancy garment like in FF14 or oversized equipment like in WOW, everything is ranged from your usual hangout jean and T-shirt to standard business attire to your typical emo goth fashion to weird wacko stuff.

Everyone dress like they're ready to hit the most ridiculous nightclub ever

If you know Funcom then you know Dreamfall and The Longest Journey game, amazing adventure game with a lot of depth, lore and background, and this game is going all out in that department. Lore is scattered around the game world giving you a little explanation about what did happened before, the story quest is where the meat of the story will play, while normal quest can give you a different view from someone perspective or a more in depth explanation. Basically there is no quest that throw you out from the story, if you are in the area that centered around zombie and Cthulhu mythology then all quest will be based around it everything is connected, you won't find npc that suddenly give you "I am hungry, fetch me an apple" quest like.

There is a lot of info dump in this game

Then you have one type of quest that make TSW special, unique and set apart from other mmorpg.

Investigation mission - this is what make TSW a unique experience in questing. In short this is a puzzle quest but, we are not talking about simple puzzle like click the correct object or avoid red area, nope. This quest will have you solve a literally brain squishing puzzle segment which test your real life knowledge and education in order to solve it, the game even give you an option to open a web browser within the game itself, here is some of the puzzle segment that strike me most at that time...

• Solve a Morse code
• Check a real (fake) website made by the developer itself in internet
• Solve an advanced quiz test (math, physic, logic, etc)
• Literally learn and translate a foreign language 

All of it was blended and masked with TSW setting and story lore both visual and dialogue. TSW is probably the first to make a quest like this and work like a charm, the world setting and the story help each other to make a puzzle solving as an actual valid mission because your character is there to unsolved the mystery not to simply stab werewolf or vampire. And those puzzle that i mentioned is only a taste of it, there is plenty more and the best part? it give you no answer at all not even a subtle one, the game will give you a clue and some pointer but no hidden clickable or a give up button to reveal the answer, if you can't solve it you're pretty much stuck in that quest forever. 

And finally, all mission in this game is repeatable, except for story mission, this is why you still see people roam around in starting area, they are there to farm exp because the game can be very grindy if you want to learn all skill and talent, once you finish the mission there will be a cooldown timer next to it, once it reach zero you can replay that quest again with no penalty, same enemy, same progress, same story.

Parking garage is hell in disguise

I'll keep saying this, if you like stuff like X-Files, thriller and horror, this game is totally worth it, yes even for the horror aspect, the game maybe an mmorpg but some of the segment can be very scary, the developer actually manage to make stuff really creepy and spooky in some part, I've lost count how many times I said "not this shit again" every time my character enter a segment or instanced then suddenly shit went all creepy, especially when I reach Tokyo area, at first I was fine because I still see people run around help each other and the general chat is there to humor me, until I reach that part.

Enter a parking garage, just your typical parking garage building, and that segment scarred my life, I venture inside expecting the usual thriller and scary stuff... I was not prepared for it, I am not joking because by the time I finish that part I steer clear from any parking garage especially at night for a whole week!!! that segment traumatized me so hard, TSW magic and charm really showed when you reach an area where you feel most familiar with, I lived in Asia so I am more susceptible to eastern urban legend and ghost story.
 

Creepy alley and slender man behind me, welcome to The Secret World

Still the most atmospheric mmorpg to this day

 

The Secret World overall is an enjoyable game for me, and I really recommend this for anyone who like to play game for the adventure and exploration part, the combat might put you off a bit but the presentation is something else, the atmosphere, setting, the deep lore, for me there is no mmorpg up until now that can reach TSW level, the player base may dwindle now but it's still populated and most of them are active and the community is very friendly, just make sure you enter an active chat channel and join the fun =)

Seriously, buy the game it's very cheap now

Is there such thing as unlucky streak?

These blog suppose to be about games and anime related stuff but, again another one of my rant topic sigh.

Because my life right now is like that guy in anime where he keep getting bad thing one after another, the only difference is that my life is real. I am not an important person, I am just your average joe who lived in boring lifestyle, everyday all I do after work is sit in front of PC playing games, anime and browse internet, eating mostly bread, instant or junk food, hangout with friends on weekdays, again chatting about games and anime stuff. Everyday is zero excitement, it's monotone and for some people it's crazy, same menu everyday, same stuff every hour, same life style and pacing every week. True, but for me I take it the other way, it's peaceful, I didn't bother nor bothered by anyone and no worries about over spending.

I am a passive person, the type who prefer to listen and talk little, the one who won't take a step unless there is insurance or 90% it will be fine and/or it's not a life breaking situation, lastly I have this tendency to "pretend to knows nothing" even though I know about it. Timid is what my family called me, coward is how people see me but I don't care, if I have to choose between a boring uneventful life but peaceful and quiet or high risk high reward lifestyle, I gladly take the former.

2010 is where everything start, at 2010 i still work casually not thinking about stuff like now, I got decent pay which I can lived through it no problem, I am not a "needy" person, decent PC and iphone is my source for entertainment and internet is where I spend most of my time, then the storm coming, and it hit hard.

early 2011 - Company quality going down, undercut many staff, me and among others.
early 2012 - Found a new job, standard office worker.
early mid 2013 - Company closing down, jobless again.
mid 2013 - Friend is kind enough to let me work as part timer at his place (hobby shop)
late 2013 - leaving from my friend place, found a new work ("rich looking" boutique store, better pay obviously)
mid 2014 - Got booted, they said too many staff and since I am the "youngest" one I got the red straw.
mid 2014 - Another friend want to open a game shop, not open yet only idea and concept.
late 2014 - Everything went to smoke, apparently his family don't like it and force him to open a cafe as family business so there is no room for me and my friends.
late 2014 - Try to go back to my friend hobby shop, he already hire a new one (hint: It's a girl)

And that is only the tip of it, even before 2011 I keep jumped around changing job after job but not as fast as this last 5 years, then somewhere in 2015 until now I just... give up, I feel no motivation whatsoever, I never feel this down before, even doing things that I enjoy like games and anime didn't help me much, going out with friends is definitely better but they too have their own life, my sister is married and has 2 kids so that's out of question obviously. What I most afraid of right now is that I feel like the storm is not end yet.

This blog in a way help me a little bit to "let my though out", I doubt anyone read this but at least it's better than nagging to someone non stop.

SRW V first promotional video

 

 

Time to hype

 

Several months ago we heard 2 new SRW series is in development, one is SRW OG The Moon Dwellers which already out and also the first official SRW that finally is in english (text only), we finally understand the story!!!. Then the second one is SRW V which is the usual cross over mecha franchise fit into SRW universe, and finally the long waited promotional video is here.

SRW V promotional video

We got a lot of surprise for this SRW, great mazinger is finally getting a proper upgrade =D

For the first time ever, Space Battleship Yamato in SRW series.

A brave series that is not Gaogaigar?  about time!!! welcome to SRW Might Gaine.

Cross Ange also decide to grace us for the first time in SRW.

Out of nowhere, Nadesico is back to SRW again.

For some reason, the original Grungust and Huckebein also making a comeback, I can't read japanese so I am not sure.

And to celebrate the anniversary, looks like we're also getting premium anime song album from the mecha series in SRW V later, again I cant read japanese so I am not sure if this is one package or separate item.

The game will be out in 23 February 2017.

Code: Hardcore

 

Amazing upcoming kickstarter game

 

On paper, design and the trailer they have showed to us, this look like an amazing game. Code: Hardcore (CH for short) was developed by a new studio in early 2016 called Rocketpunch and CH will be their first game. The game design is heavily inspired from the Super Robot Wars series, from the sprite based assets, cut in attack, semi real proportion, colorful presentation, fluid animation, everything is oozed with SRW feeling but with one core difference, CH is fully 2D action game, think of it like Metal Warriors with newest SRW sprite animation, that is Code: Hardcore.

I said Metal Warriors as the example because the gameplay is exactly like that, even to the eject feature, CH also let you the pilot eject from your mech and continue the game, the developer also assure us that the game will not just be a typical 2D action game, there will be a lot feature from variety of weapons, items, rich 2D animation cutscene, arcade mode, story mode, co-op and so on. The promise is there and from the comments, it's real and it's working perfectly.

It will be out on PC and PS4, not sure about the other console however, you can check their kickstarter page below, I really recommend to see the trailer first thing first just to see how amazing it is.

Code: Hardcore kickstart page

 

If you like 2D stuff, mecha and side scrolling action game, and always want to see how SRW is done in 2D action game? I don't see any reason why you shouldn't buy this game.

Tom Clancy Division 1.4

 

It's finally here

 

A long wait

 

Tom Clancy Division (Division for short), is a 3rd person shooter game with a mix element of loot drops, stat distribution, and a lot of RNG galore. When the game out, I bought it immediately because I love 3 things, loot based, anything that is not 1st person and leveling system, the game was perfect on paper, and it still good in actual gameplay but, it got boring... fast.

Then the 1.4 came, it fixed a lot and I mean a lot of things, end game equipment is now much easier to obtain, weapon and gear set got balanced out thus more variety on character build, enemy are now much easier to kill, world tier is introduced, some progression has been smoothed out, world boss now respawn, and many other things. The game is way better now, with daily and weekly task become much more rewarding, player now has reason to do the same thing over and over.

Overall Division is now a much better game, and now massive can continue with their planned expansion project. I want to enjoy the game but right now, for me and everyone who has explored all the current content, has reach more or less their "highest" build, patch 1.4 is just a "duck tape" patch, it only fixed a lot things, nothing more. I really hope massive announce their next expansion soon.

In case people want to read the full patch notes, here it is.
Division patch 1.4