Minecraft Mania

So yeah I seem to have been sucked into minecraft thanks to the yogscast youtube vids. Been having a blast so far and it has only been a few days. Have already got my money's worth out of this and I haven't explored nearly everything that the game has to offer yet.

Magicka: Vietnam

Well I knew they were going to be releasing something Magicka related during GDC....I didn't expect this though lol. Now I don't know if this is a full new game we will have to buy or some sort of expansion pack but either way day one for me loved the original and this is such a random idea how could it not be great.

Announcement trailer here

and back!

Well looks like everything is back up and running here internet wise. Need to get back into the blogging atmosphere but I suspect everything will be 100% back to normal this week and as such it is Monday so weekly update time!

Rift is set to be released this week on the first of March. I do not plan on buying it but if you are then I wish you luck and hope you have a fun time. My review of Rift is pretty much on indefinite hold since i wasn't able to see very much of the content.

A free Magicka DLC was released, Mainly just a new tongue in cheek costume and staff to poke fun at how broken the game was at release. All in good fun and free stuff is always nice though i still want a new arena or some such or PVP come on arrow head you know you want to!

Speaking of Magicka, TB and the Yogscast guys released two more of their Magicka play through hilarous as always.

And finally the Fourth Break Blade OVA has been released over in japan and hopefully i can acquire a copy definitely looking forward to that one!

Absence

 So yeah been really light on content this week. My internet connection has been completely gone since like Tuesday, something to do with some blown wries or something in my apartment complex. There for I have had to jurry rig my phone to use as a cell modem, thank god for android phones though or else it would have been a lot more difficult to do. I have been told i will get real internet back Next week so hopefully i will have some cool stuff to post on Monday or so until then have a good weekend everyone!

-Cheers!

Off The Hook

Weekly news Update

So I apparently missed about half the Rift beta because I thought it ended Tuesday and not a day or so earlier. So I will be putting up a part two of the review but it will be a lot lighter on content and just sum up some things since I missed out on some stuff. In the mean time here is the second video of TB and two other random brit guys playing Magicka!!

Rift, A Review [part 1]

So yeah my thoughts on all MMOs are very biased towards World of Warcraft. It being by far the longest MMO I have ever played (on and off since closed beta back in '04) with only a slight dabbling in the likes of EQ1, LotRo and Vindictus. Having said that obviously there will be many comparisons to WoW in this and any other review I do over a fantasy based MMO so keep that in mind if you decide to further delve into my slightly structured ravings on Rift.

An Update + More Magicka!

Small Update today sorry for not getting anything out yesterday had some personal stuff come up that needed to be dealt with, I will have my review of Rift up tomorrow though and in the mean time I present to you a trio of Brits playing magicka! If you watch Total Biscuit you have probably already seen this but it is still a blast.

Reading....a Book!?

So I enjoy reading but it seems like I just do not have the time or more precisely the will power to make the time to get into the longer novels that I enjoy. As such i have started to really enjoy Japanese light novels. They can be read in only an hour (if that) and are generally more fast paced. So I will take this time now to give a brief over view of the one I most recently finished.

All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

The easiest way to explain the plot is Groundhog Day (the Bill Murray movie) mixed with Starship Troopers (the book).  The protagonist of the novel is Keiji Kiriya a rookie drafted into the defense force to fight against the invading mimics a mysterious alien force. Unfortunately for our hero he is killed on his first mission out of basic training but for some unknown reason he wakes up the morning before he is killed back in his bunk. He eventually becomes an excellent soldier and encounters a young woman named Rita known through out the world as the Full Metal Bitch, the most decorated soldier of the war.

It is a very fun read with likable characters and kick ass battle scenes. The story it's self is intriguing to say the least and the reasons behind the time loop are actually explained somewhat and seem to make sense. For those of you less inclined to read a movie is currently planned with a 2012 release date and if done right could be a great blockbuster popcorn flick! You can find the book at amazon and other online book sellers and perhaps even your local book stores but don't get your hopes up at finding it at your local library it just does not seem like something they would have picked up on a whim.

Rift Open Beta

So the Rift open beta started yesterday and I have been occupying my free time with it. So far it is fairly fun I really enjoy the class combo system customization is always a plus in my book. The rift events them selves are also a nice distraction from the questing. As I have been a wow nerd since that games closed beta the game does have many similarities with that game which is not necessarily a bad thing. I will write up a full review after the beta ends in a week.

One Shot Manga of Note #2

Another one this one is from all the way back in 2006 *gasp*

Hotel

The story of an AI tasked with watching over a "Hotel" for million of years after the extinction of humanity due to global warming. A very insightful tale that manages to really hammer home the emotions and thoughts of the main character in so few pages. Also very touching ending if you do not feel something from it then you might want to check out if you are really alive.i only recently read it but it quickly jumped up into my top ten mangas in no time just because of the excellent story and wonderful artwork. Do your selves a favor and go read this as soon as you are able.

Weekly News Update

First thing first it seems I passed the 100 followers milestone (achievement unlocked?) so I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone who has enjoyed the blog and decided to stick around!

Now I have decided to make Mondays my weekly news update day which means if I come across any news regarding anything I've mentioned so far in this blog I'll throw it in here to keep everyone up to date. Since this is the first one it is going to be kind of short but will probably get ridiculously long as the weeks get going.


Magicka:

According to Bigdownload.com Magicka has surpassed 200,000 total downloads. For a game that came out less then a month ago from such a small company this is amazing news. There was also a small magicka patch today but I have not seen the patch notes to know what has changed. If i find them before the day is out I'll edit this post to include the highlights.

And that is all the news I have, told you it would be short!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. First Impressions

Acquired this game back during the Steam winter sale (stupid steam sales increasing my ever growing backlog of games) and I must say it is slowly growing on me. Only about 4 or so missions in and starting to get a feel for the game world with every NPC having their own rules and desires in this apocalyptic waste land. Also got to hear some of the story of the wishman and I am very interested in where this is heading. It took me more time then normal to get into things with this one as it is not your bog standard run and gun style FPS. Have to worry about the weight of your equipment no carrying 10 guns with 100 ammo each. Have to eat and carry medpacks as well and of course you can get tired and have to rest. Oh and the stealth aspect which I enjoy but really suck at. overall it is an enjoyable game so far and I am looking forward to seeing what else it has to offer.

A Review of Magicka

The First game from a small 6 man team called Arrowhead Studios. Magicka manages to really capture something missing from most modern games Fun, Creativity and Humor. The story is really simplistic and is simply a framing device for the core mechanics basically you are a wizard and you must defeat a dark wizard from taking over the world (OF COURSE!).

For being so simplistic and cliched it somehow adds to the overall experience and enhances the humor of which there is a lot. You really do want to see what randomness will plague your little randomly colored robed mage next. Fun characters also help to flesh things out: From Vlad (who is totally not a vampire) to Admiral Agnar (It's a Trap!). The humor is fun and many times you will actually find your self both groaning and grinning at all the little references being thrown around. Just take a look at the list of achievements to get just a small taste of all the references thrown into this game.

MAGICKA!

So I've been playing Magicka with a few of my friends and it has been a blast. Will be writing a proper review for this game later tonight or tomorrow but in the mean time here is the trailer.

One Shot Manga of Note #1

Just a little weekly post I wanted to try out to spotlight some one shot mangas that can be fun or interesting reads. One shots typically contain an entire story in just one volume so no long series to worry about with tons of back story and things.

So with that out of the way here is the first!

The Enigma of Amigara Fault

Another earthquake has rocked Japan but this one left something mysterious in it's aftermath. The quake exposed a new fault line in the mountains with strange holes in it's side, the holes have human like sizes and shapes.

This becomes a sensational news story and many people are drawn to the images on their TVs and begin a pilgrimage to the mountains to see this for themselves. When they arrive some find their own holes and are even further driven to learn about them through sheer curiosity or something unnatural no one can say but it seems to torment them until some snap and enter their hole. The hole is a perfect fit and they easily slide into the unknown. I won't spoiler where the hole ends up but it is a chilling read with a new and original story and definitely worth a read. You can find it online with a quick Google search happy reading!

Break Blade Review

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Story

In this world there are sorcerers who use a very specific type of magic, the controlling of Quartz. They use this for everything from controlling vehicles to operating weaponry such as giant mecha known as golems. The difference to standard magic practices is that everyone born in this world can manipulate quartz to some degree from the age of 2 children are taught this skill. Everyone that is except the main character Rygart and his younger brother, due to circumstances neither can control even the slightest bit of Quartz.

UPS, How I loathe you

OFF-TOPIC POST rant ahead captain!

So I ordered a new office chair last week on account of my recently bought previous one breaking on me and becoming unfix able. It was supposed to arrive Wednesday but I never believe them anyways and they never sent me a tracking number until Thursday saying it would be here Friday well fair enough. Then of course we get blasted with more snow then is reasonable in my state and it was delayed to the following Monday (no delivery on weekend) ok again fine I understand. Monday rolls around no package so i check and it says it is delayed once again until Tuesday this time due to "Emergency Situation" errrrr I sure didn't hear about anything that would remotely count as making packages unable to be delivered but i thought maybe they knew something I didn't (HA!) so today I happened to be home all day and still no freaking chair so i again i checked the website and now it says it was delivered to the leasing office....Infuriating they did not even come by to check if I was in or not they just took it right there not even a slip saying it was there this would not even the worst part for you see I didn't check up on it till 7 PM after the office is already closed for the day as my new chair sits (hehe) in there over night scared and alone. Now for a video that sums up everything in my post!

Roughneck Opening

Just wanted to show some more love to this great series!

Starship Troopers - Adaptation Roll Call

Let us take a look at all the adaptations for this Heinlein novel from 1959 going in chronological order starting where it first began.

The Novel

 

"There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men."

 -Sergeant Zim

The novel that started this little adaptation craze...although it seemingly took several decades to occur. A story of war and humanities place in it along with the moralaty of violence. Definately controversial and in today's light the views can seem a bit jarring especialy if your political views are askewed from it. Still the millitary and combat portions specifically the power armor and drop pods of the book are very well handled and I would reocmend reading it (it is also fairly short) as it is very enjoyable and I could not put it down.

Broken Blade

Just finished the First Broken Blade (aka Break Blade) OVA. I must say I am impressed with what i have seen so far. Excellent Mech design, likable characters, and beautiful art direction, as I would expect from Production IG. I had not heard of the manga before but I will probably end up having to take an archive binge through it if the next two released OVAs are even half as good as this one.

I will give a more detailed review once I have watched the other two but as far as first impressions go this gets a: Must Watch More!

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First Post

Obligatory First Blog Post. Will be posting random nerd type things, Random Anime and Game related mostly but other things as well if they pop into my mind. Thanks for reading!