#INGAME - Alice and the Colossal Ruin

I don't give up.

Well, not all the time. Only when I've tried everything I have, done everything I can.

But this time, I have to say, that I've given up. I thought taking a few weeks, months even, away from Alice and this stupid blasted Colossal Ruin would give me fresh insight on how to kill it and get past the stage. But I went back. I died a couple more times. Ranted and raved and hurled vulgarities and everything else.

It eludes me. This... winning. I don't know how to kill it. It refuses to be killed and I HATE that stupid insidious ruin that just appears and hits me JUST when I've got a nice shot at the big baddie.

Maybe I need to take another break.

In other slightly less aggravating news, I've turned Level 8 on DoTA 2 and pretty much having an awesome time. No longer limited to just the Sniper and Drow Ranger. I have expanded my range to using Medusa, Luna, Viper, Death Prophet, Jakiro and even Zeus. And I even managed kills. And I farm better.

But then again I am still playing against bots and have yet to play against humans. They might pwn me and humble me down to size.

I've also met my fair share of trolling morons, idiots and douchebags. But what else is new?

#GAMEBREAK - Just too much

Old naysayers were right when they said that too much of a good thing is bad. Though I wouldn't say that DoTA 2 is necessarily good. It's been eating way too much of my time making me neglect quite a number of things that need to be done. Though I still guess I'm enthralled by how some players seem to be adept and versatile at playing every character.

Was reading a page on how to improve in DoTA and not suck so much. Practice is the key and you have to try out each of the 100+ heroes at least once. I'm reminded again of some friends who play LoL and say that DoTA is just a rip off. They claim LoL is harder to train and be good at but when I compare it to DoTA, I honestly think the latter is a lot harder to master. I mean why else have some players taken years to achieve that almost god likeness in their game play?

I know for certain that I am a very bad strength and intel player. I don't micro manage very well and thus my magic spams are really just all over the place. I'm more of an agi ranged player. At least I know I won't die so fast and so often. Although against certain enemy bots, even my most skilled character ends up getting pwned one too many times. 

Enough of DoTA though. I dyed my hair. It's red and my mother tells me it's like rust growing n my head. Thanks mum. Love you still. Losing this motivation and drive in work... Well... Simply because. 

And oh fitness. It's that time of the month so I'm game raging a lot more than I should to the extent that my bookend gets scared when I play. I also eat way too much and too often. Or rather, I eat too often but the portions are actually the same. 

I think I should go back to Alice. Maybe after all that DoTA, I'd be able to find a way to get past the Colossal Ruin. If not, it's another game I'm going to shelve for awhile, again. 

And don't ask me about FarCry3. 

#INGAME - Alice: Madness Returns - Stupid Colossal Ruin

I actually had a video to accompany this post but I was too smart in cleaning up my phone and thus, the video is gone. In it though, you can see me trying to defeat this ugly tar-like monstrosity and it's little spawnlings. I've been playing that stage non-stop to the point where it gave me a tension headache. I won't deny that several swear words that would otherwise have my mother whack me on the head were let loose as well.

Never had much problem on other levels and usually I'm able to beat the crap out of this bitch. BUT for some reason, I can't. Even dodging and fleeing and shrinking and everything else. This stupid black blob manages to pwn me and laugh in my face.

I don't like it. Not one bit. I hate it. And I will soon pulverise the undead shit out of it. If that were possible. Actually, I don't even know if it is an undead. It just looks like a black blob of tar and poop.

Argh. I take some comfort that I am no alone in this and that numerous searches on Google for "how to defeat the colossal piece of ruin shit in Alice" has led me to several unfortunate gamers who too have difficulty in getting past this... idiot. I'm so flustered and exasperated that I can't even come up with something vile to describe this... piece of crap.

So at least I've gone back to gaming and I've gone past a couple of levels. I liked the Japanese/Chinese-centric level although the side-scrolling bit gave me a headache for some time. Went to Queenland and it was ok. Gigantic spinning wasps... not so funny and nice. Then again, when are wasps ever that nice. Stuck at the Dollhouse where I am stuck at that godforsaken stage to defeat that piece of crap. And I can't even avoid it. I even tried it on Easy mode (that was just how desperate I was to get over it).

To no avail.

Oh well. Waiting for a couple of hours before my cold dies down (hopefully) and I can muster up some courage and promises not to over-swear and get on with the program.

If anyone has got really helpful and valuable tips on getting past this ugly and pain in the ass-ish monstrosity, please do. Please help. Or I may have to shelve A:MR for Farcry 3.

On hindsight, that might not be such a bad thing.

#GAMERTHOUGHT - Last of Us and why it still lingers in my mind

A friend recently completed Last of Us.

And the journey with Joel and Ellie comes to an end. The plot's easily the strongest point and yes, as Yin pointed out you really grow to feel for the characters towards the final chapters. Indeed, the living are far scarier than the dead.

The reason why I've always felt Last of Us was just... different as a zombie post-apocalyptic war game is because the plot and the characters mirrored so much of real life. Even without a post-apocalyptic war setting, you can find similar character subsets in our society.

It's not a happy feel good game, sorry for the spoiler. True, there are times where you punch your fists in the air in victory for overcoming a Clicker or one of the Hunters, that rush of adrenaline when you successfully sneak stealthily past heavily defended or infested areas with minimal casualty and ammo loss. But peel away the fun factor of the game and you find something that can either be more troubling or a subtle reminder to reality.

I'm reminded of a quote whereby man's greatest enemy is himself.

We'd like to think and believe in times of crisis and hardship, that if we were fighting for our survival, that we would band together. Yet that isn't the case. Stumbling across High School of the Dead (Japanese anime about a group of high schoolers trying to survive a zombie apocalypse) further drove the fact. We band together to form small communities, the bigger it is, the higher the risk of conflict and enmity. For some reason, humans are just programmed to want to fight against one another, to cause friction. Even if it's something small and trivial.

While the Clickers, Runners and Bloaters are the primary enemies in the game, the surviving humans pose a great threat too. They are far more intelligent, equipped with weaponry and force you to stop and think because they are the same specie as you and yet, you have to kill them in order to survive.

I've written how it can be a bleak game and if you're not prepared for it, may find yourself feeling depressed once the game ends and credits roll. But I doubt the developers, Naughty Dog, meant for that. Perhaps they wanted us to think of why this survival, this course of action, is a necessity. You sacrifice innocents for a cure but what if that one chance turns out to be a fluke. Denying a life, a chance to live. Would a small scrape in progress be able to end the disease, the plague?

Hope can keep people alive, but it can also lead them to desperate and sometimes insane measures.

Ellie and Joel don't really come off as likeable characters at first. Found one too stoic and bristling and the other plain annoying (as expected for a human her age). But then you are forced to put yourself in their shoes and experience the anxiety, fear, tension and even trauma of some of the scenarios and situations you're put in. We're lucky we respawn when we die, but imagine in a real-world setting, could this possibly train us and help guide us in making better instinctive decisions as opposed to panicking or acting impulsively?

I'm still holding on to my CD.

#INPROGRESS - Injustice

Heard a lot of hype about this game. I'm not really one for fighting games. When it comes to it, I'm a button masher and I hate hate hate losing. Then again, who doesn't like losing? I tried out the practice battle first and that one had me confused. The main reason why I'm just so bad at fighting games is because I can never execute the combo moves perfectly. Always a second slow or fast or my fingers just cram up. In the end, button mashing again. This worked really well when I was playing Street Fighter 4 and just mashed around for Ryu to do his combo.

Injustice has got a lot of movie cinematics, all needed and necessary for the player to understand what the hell happened in the story to lead him or her to where all the characters are. Random though, why is it that when anyone goes over to the 'dark side', that they always end up looking goth/emo? If dark circles under the eye were any prerequisite for being part of the dark side, well then, I was there long before anyone else.

Gameplay, I guess you can say it's fairly straightforward. You'll be playing several characters as the storyline progresses. Some are easier to manage and play and some require a fair bit of dying/losing first before you get the hang of their abilities and moves. To date (only about 50% through right now), I kinda like using the Joker and Deathstroke. The Joker is just too hilarious, you gotta love a dude with a sense of humour even in the bleakest of situations, no matter how psychotic he is.

Will this be the turning point of my aversion to fighting games? Who knows. There was the other one I tried - Mortal Kombat vs DC. That, again, spamming random moves. Loved my Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Who doesn't?

#MUSINGS - To record or not to record

Ok. Confession time, I've always wanted to do a video for this blog. Like do updates and reviews and everything else via video. Not because I'm lazy to blog... ok wait. It is because I can be a tad bit lazy to blog and type and everything else.

I bet you didn't know that about 75% of the entries here were actually done on my phone, hence this laziness.

What's holding me back? Let's just say once bitten, twice shy. I'm not really good in front of a camera. I sound better than I actually look. Does that make sense? Sometimes I find that I ramble just a little too much on the camera and end up digressing and straying really really far away from what I had planned to talk about. Another reason is that I just can't stand editing videos.

I'm a perfectionist. So nothing will ever be right or good or nice. I'm also extremely critical of myself so once again, nothing is ever good enough to get off my Macbook and off to the internets.

But I will attempt. Soon. In due time. There are already a few videos in the works and I've been looking around for a datacard to help record my gameplay on the PS3. All that's left is to overcome this fear and paranoia and just... wing it.

#GOODGAME - Army of Two; The Devil's Cartel

Some people think this game is crap. GiNX said it wasn't too fantastic. I had a friend who dissed my choice in playing a game like this.

But like a post I had earlier about personal preference, I like the game and I cleared it and honestly it's my blog so that's pretty much all that matters (haters gonna hate). 

I didn't get a chance to play the first installment, perhaps I should. AoT:DC got me intrigued because I had never played a 3rd person army shooter kinda game. I guess I could say I am a closet war/gunfight kinda girl (I mean, I like The Hurt Locker). First-person console games always give me a headache which is why I usually gravitate towards game's that are third-person yet first-person, if you can understand what I'm saying.

Why Army of Two and not Battlefield or Call of Duty? It's not that I haven't played those games before... I do. There really isn't that much of a difference in terms of the storyline. Some may argue that AOT's plot is thin and predictable, but isn't that the case with most army/war games anyway? The uniqueness of AOT is that you're not in a group. As in you aren't deployed as a group. You work as a duo, a partnership and the survival of both is essential for the game's success. If either Alpha or Bravo dies, you restart. Granted it's almost like unlimited life but the save points and all aren't quite so close together. So when you die at a tricky part at the end of a stage of sorts, you'll be booted back to the beginning and go through hell again.

An issue I faced with this game, or rather a pet peeve, was not having a mini-map. I think I've been so spoilt and pampered by games that offer me mini-maps and locations of my enemies that when I first started playing, I was so disorientated. I didn't know where the enemy was or where they were firing from and often got confused by my partner's shots and theirs. At least in some games there are arrows that kinda show you the general direction where your enemies are firing from. This one... not so much help.

Ammo can be a-plenty. The arsenal of weapons is pretty generic and limited. Then again, I don't know my SMPs to the M4s or whatever they are. I prefer sticking to my modified and customized sniper rifle, this AK-47-ish rifle with a scope and my Desert Eagle. Also... what's the point of having a small shield on a gun? I thought shields were to protect the body and person, not the gun. Unless there's another reason and my brain is just too lagged out to process and compute.

Fine I admit that I felt a little cheated when the game ended. It was tough in some parts but I guess I expected a little bit more for expanding so much energy, effort and time in taking the risk to play it on medium-hard (I would vacillate between the two depending on how many times I would have to restart a stage/mission). Granted I was given money to purchase and customize my masks, tattoos and weapons but that was pretty much it.

In multiplayer mode, it's pretty much the same although I felt that I had much more initiative and action than my counterpart, whoever it may be. Points are scored based on who kills more, does certain skills more or decoys blablabla and it all adds up after each stage. Somewhat faintly reminiscent of Time Crisis.

The game's playability (as in how often you'd wanna boot it back on the PS3) depends on how well you like the multiplayer. I guess it's ok. I prefer this to Tomb Raider's only because I am a little slow when it comes to aiming using a console as opposed to a mouse and keyboard (though I suppose that's pretty much the same with everyone else).

What did you think? Hate it or love it?

#NORMALITY - Finally, a PC!

My boyfriend is super amazing. He can drive me nuts but most of all, he loves me plenty :) What girl wouldn't be happier when her boyfriend sets up his PC so she can play it. Best bit was when he texted me saying that he had a new toy for me to play with :D

There are way too many smileys and emoticons here. Oops. Can't really hide how happy/chuffed/excited I am. Blogging from the new computer and there are THREE monitors! Just that we haven't got the splitter and the cables for the monitors so I'm just using one. First thing I did was to download Steam and of course, Left4Dead.

Then a friend told me that there was a HUGE sale that just ended and that made me a little sad. Quickly logged in but what do you know, lo and behold! The one game that I had been hunting for, especially to be played on a Mac was on SALE! Now that I am using a PC, there was nothing holding me back. Just waiting for it to finish downloading and then... I hope I may see my Imoen again.

Yeah... If you didn't already know, that game is Baldur's Gate. A game introduced to me by my brother donkey years ago and I was so hooked on. I love medieval RPGs. Well, some of them. But what I loved most about BG was the characters and their personalities.

Although the PC is here, doesn't mean I'm gonna be forgetting about my PS3 games. I bought Alice: Madness Returns. Just finished battling a couple of dead sailors and letting their souls rest in peace.

Ok. BG is done downloading. Time to PLAY! But before that, let me leave with you with a visual of the set-up. Two more monitors on the left and right (all Dell). Razer keyboard and mouse. Creative sound system. I can't say much about the PC rig itself because I am no hardware junkie. But let's just say that it's fast. Like crazy fast.

See ya!

#GOODGAME - Last of Us - Briefly

22hours.

That's the total amount of time it took me to finish the Last of Us. The only other time where I took less than 24hrs to finish a game was Diablo 3 (16hours). Again, I'm not a competitive hardcore gamer. 

22hours over a span of 10 days (since I got the game early July on the 6th). On top of juggling work and a lot of other commitments. 

I guess you can determine two things from this: when I like a game I can sit at it for hours on end or that I speed/rush through things. I'm sure if I had taken the time to explore every book and cranny instead of panicking when confronted by the infected, I would have clocked in more game time. 

Last of Us is also the second game that I respected well enough to sit through the whole credits. Even when I know there's no easter bunny bonus video. I love the game. Or rather, enjoyed it tremendously. Not so much for the gameplay, but for the story that NaughtyDog crafted and the characters they created and allowed to grow as the game progressed. 

It was beautiful. It was relatable. And it deserves all the high marks, applause and acclaim given to it by IGN (tho I don't always pay heed to what IGN says about games). 

Now that I'm done and have posted it up on Facebook, friends are asking if I would be willing to sell it. Turns out, the game is sold out almost everywhere!

I don't know yet. I tend to hoard. Still, this game tops everything else I've played so far and ties with Tomb Raider. 

What did you think?

#NEWKICKS - Last of Us

IGN gave this a 10/10. We watched the trailer and were pretty intrigued. So guess who shelved Farcry again :(

But it's been FUN! In the past 3 days think I clocked about 24hrs. Didn't play much when I first got it because of work but totally got into it the next 2 days. Full of suspense, game play is amazing but the graphics are really something. 

The zombie-ish undead or not so dead are really freaky and you don't always have the option of killing them because ammo is limited. Best bet is to sneak past them (impossible sometimes due to certain infected) or try to take out some of the key ones (like those blocking exits and all) as sneakily as you can. 

Plus is it just me or the lead female looks a lot like Ellen Page?

More to come later. After the boyfriend is done playing Pro Evolution Soccer 2013. In one game he manages to get 4 red cards. Now his team is down to 7 men. 

Oh dear. 

#MUSINGS - Grand Theft Auto - Gamer morals

Tony, who reminds me too much of a wussy George Michael.

I bought this Rockstar collection of games pretty recently. It had Red Dead Redemption, Midnight Club, L. A. Noire and Grand Theft Auto. Heard quite a fair bit about GTA and I know it received quite a number of raving views for its gameplay. On the other hand, it also received a couple of negative stuff because of the vices and sins that was one of the game's main recurring theme. I didn't think it would be that bad. After all most, if not all, video games had to have the whole sex, violence thing for it to sell. Or was it that the formula to successful games was to have one or the other, or for guaranteed success, both.

There were two parts to the one that I got - The Lost and The Damned and Gay Tony. Tried out the former which revolved around a bike gang. That appalled me. Although there was a character who was a chaotic good turned lawful good, his other gang members, particularly the leader was quite the chaotic evil. I didn't like the use of excessive vulgarity as well as how some of the female characters (though non-playable) were being portrayed. It quite disgusted me. I didn't even bother completing any of the missions and just skipped over to the Gay Tony one.

This one was a lot more palatable, much more fun. There was still stuff like drugs and sex involved and some nonsensical gang wars and the like. I liked the characters better. Both the lead (whom you pay) and the boss were like able enough and they weren't so extremely morally corrupt. So far I've managed to fly a helicopter and land it and not get too lost driving about Liberty City, which compared to Sleeping Dogs (based in Hong Kong) was like so so so much bigger.

The GPS was much less confusing.

Didn't ever think that the morals of a game could affect me and my decision to play. Is it because I am older and have some understanding of the world and human nature? I don't think the kids who play such games are able to make that kind of decision, to not play because of the errors in human judgment and the abundance of sin and vice that runs as a rampant theme throughout. Maybe that's what we should worry about. Main reason why such games are not suited for children below a certain age is because they're still young and have yet to formulate their own concept of what is morally right and wrong. To be able to identify it for themselves and to make their own informed decisions and distinctions that whilst it seems ok in the game, such things are not and should not be applicable to real life.

Then it comes to the issue of how then can we prepare them before playing such games? Is there a need for them to be prepared? Or should we just stop them completely from even coming into contact with such games?

In this era of technology, unless you have absolute and complete control of your children, it would be a challenge to prevent them from coming across such things. Only if they are educated thoroughly on the concepts of right and wrong (which is a fundamental aspect of character development), can we be somewhat certain that we won't have to worry about them turning out corrupted.

I mean I know of some parents who don't even allow their kids to watch cartoons because of the implied and subtle notions of violence, racism, etc. But maybe one approach we can take is to talk about the game, before it is played. To highlight and make them aware of certain Therese. Granted they might be intrigued and even find the whole scenario amusing but if we stress enough, are serious enough, especially if we let them know that we are granting them permission to play BUT ONLY IF they agree to the responsibilities that come with playing the game.

Oh what am I saying and what do I know.

Though it was something that I thought about as I went about finishing missions. Enjoyable only for the gameplay but I wouldn't want to be a mafia king or a gang leader or some nightclub owner in the real world.

And if you we're thinking what Gay Tony implied; yes there's some homosexuality involved. Nothing explicit, mostly implied. I'm more worried about the objectification of women.

#INPROGRESS - Far Cry 3 - What? I killed him?

He kinda reminds me of Puck from Glee.

Just letting you know, that this is a spoiler. For those of you who don't know what Far Cry 3 is about and are planning to get the game and all, then skip along, move along, rainbows and fishes elsewhere.

But anyway, one of the core mission in FC3 is that you'll be slaying the big bad pirate boss - Vaas. Brother to Citra, gone insane thanks to drugs and money and he's the one responsible for the deaths of your two brothers. Tragic, perfect recipe for revenge. Classic vendetta.

So I travel all the way to Vaas's island (where before when I tried to explore without having unlocked that mission the game just booted me back to my last savepoint) and stalk his basecamp. Trance/techno music, dancing semi-nekkid girls and a lot of weed. He's already expecting me when I sneak into one of the buildings and no surprise, has got an ambush lying in wait. But with all the fumes from the burning weed, everything starts to get just a little trippy.

So I'm killing multiple Vaas who are coming at me with knives from all directions and my surroundings are tripped out with TV monitors and strobing lights, such is the game's rendition of being high on drugs. Honestly, it gave me a horrible headache, one that forced me to go cold and leave FC3 alone for the next two days.

But now that's done. Big hip hip hooray I wake up with Citra nursing me. I don't even get to loot the maniac's body. Do I feel accomplished now that Vaas is out of the picture? I don't know. I thought it'd be a lot harder and that he'd be a lot tougher to defeat. But he wasn't. Maybe I'm disappointed? That I was expecting a greater challenge. After all, why would I make it like some training practice to takeover as many outposts as I can, honing on my sniping/molotov/grenad/C4 skills if not for that one defining moment?

Well. It's over. Done. Now my next problem is Hoyt.

I guess I will be finishing FC3. And maybe a lot sooner than I thought I would, even given the weeks that I spent putting it on hold just because I was so frustrated with constantly getting maimed by the stupid komodo dragons.

There is hope still. Haha.

#INPROGRESS - Far Cry 3 - Badass Bow Hunter

So I thought I was badass with a bow when playing Tomb Raider. I'm even MORE badass in Far Cry 3. The Recurve bow is amazing. Just read up on Wiki about what it means to be a recurve bow, it's basically just the shape, how the ends are curled towards the archer and gives him/her a better advantage. Of course because of that, the bow will often be made of composite materials to be able to withstand the stress of the pull of the string due to its shape.

Does that make sense? It took me awhile to digest. 

Anyway, in-game progress is that I took on one of the side quests and that was to hunt down 4 leopards with only a bow.  I also took down a rare black panther with the bow. Prior to this, was never successful with the wild creates since I always somehow just ended up getting killed. But since then, I've learnt the art of running like mad when I hit the animal and its just about trying to register my location. So my chances of survival and not dying a horrible mauled death pretty much increased.

Yay me!

#NEWKICKS - Army of Two

IT HAS ARRIVED!

Or that I drove down all the way to Orchard Central to get it.

Other girls buy clothes, shoes and bags for retail rehab. I take the road less traveled.

*pastes a DND sign on door*

#GOODGAME - Tomb Raider - A survivor is born and a gamer weeps for her loss

I'm done with Tomb Raider. I only just bought the game a couple of days back. Ok, maybe a week or so back. Put in enough game time (and this includes looking for relics, GPS caches and random optional tombs) and naturally you'd complete the game.

There'll be another more detailed post on this game. Maybe even a podcast. In brief, I loved this. I have to confess that I only ever played the first Tomb Raider - when LC had creepy blocky huge boobs and the graphics were well... Much has changed since then.

There's more to this prequel than the graphics and character model overhaul. It's got a very good plot with surprisingly good character development and depth. I mean come on, there are very few games where I would cry over the tragic and heroic death of a supporting character. Supporting, not main. So this means something.

I think IGN predicted that this would be one of the games for 2013. I can't refute that. Till the comprehensive post/podcast, this is hurricxne signing off.

#INPROGRESS - Tomb Raider - I am Legolas

Oh that I wish I was, Legolas that is. You don't really get help in terms of auto-aim in TR so you need some skill to move, aim and shoot with a bow. Or if you think the and shoot isn't so accurate when you're scrambling around for ground, there's always the handgun, shotgun or rifle as a backup. Or cracking their skills open like an egg with the climbing axe.

Having too much fun with TR and LC (that's Lara Croft) that I almost missed a dinner appointment.

I guess some people would prefer scavenging around specifically for items to upgrade their weapons with. I prefer TR's straightforward approach. You salvage materials, don't care what kind, and then they give you the option as to which weapon you want to upgrade and what aspect of it. No hassle, me like.

Back to TR, I've just come across a relative of Pyramid Head. This game gets more intriguing and exciting by the second!

#INPROGRESS - FarCry3 - Island Hero

Went back to FarCry3 after so long. Or rather, because I got so pissed off with Dead Rising 2 that I figured a little first person action would help me blow off some steam. Trying to refresh my memory on the keys, I blew my leg off, almost head shot the person I was meant to rescue and wasted one too many grenades because I thought R2 was the trigger.

Major face palm.

#GOODGAME - Hitman Absolution

"Bald badass."

Agent 47 makes me wanna wear a monkey suit to a Nerf war.

The only Hitman I knew was the movie that casted Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47. I think my brother did play one of the Hitman games but since he owns a PC and I own a Mac (and have not owned any other since 2008), t'was rather difficult for me to have a go at it. Plus, my brother is only his computer 24/7 which means I don't even go near the PC unless I've knocked him out cold or drugged him.

#NEWKICKS - Tomb Raider

"Damn Lara, you can raid my tomb anytime."

Original Link: http://www.tombnews.com/games/tombraider9/render08.asp

No brownies for guessing what game I got today. Been lusting after this ever since I saw the poster at a game shop near Chomp Chomp. When I first saw it, I was wondering when Lara got so grungey and punkish. Very attractive in an average rebel girl-next-door kinda way. If you're about as old as I am, you'd prolly be familiar with the old Lara model - big bust, big ass, big eyes, pretty much big everything. Then again, technology and graphics rendering then were a hell lot less advanced and refined as they are now.

I'm only like a few hours into the game (still in the first episode... if that's what they call it, I wasn't really paying attention) so can't make too much of a judgement. Though I must admit that the graphics are incredible. Very realistic. In terms of game control, it's very straightforward and doesn't require finger gymnastics (unlike Far Cry 3) to be able to accomplish things.

Although I guess I could improve on my aim when being attacked by rabid animals. Plus point, I don't think I'll be attacked unknowingly and then killed by a stupid Komodo Dragon (Far Cry 3 pet peeve). So I'm putting Far Cry 3 off, again, because I really really really am digging this game. I tried the first few parts on my brother's PC and I was blown away by the graphics but not so much by the controls (mouse and keyboard combo). Got this for the PS3 and I very much prefer using my right joystick to change camera angles in third person perspective as opposed to the mouse.

Anyway randomly, realised that recently I've been buying a lot of games by SquareEnix. Quite impressed by the repertoire so far. I think when I've figured out how to record playing on the PS3 and doing a video at the same time recording my reactions, I'll just stick to relaying everything I see and experience in text.

One thing that's a definite positive for this game is that my boyfriend can do his work in peace without me bugging him and annoying him because I'm bored (or that I got killed by a stupid Komodo Dragon again).

(Bear with me whilst I figure out a nicer and less of an eyesore signoff.)