Like a Boss.

Time to kick this show off again. It keeps me busy and gives me some self satisfaction!

So i've missed alot of news recently but nothing that i missed really appealed to me. There are however only a few things that i feel need some nerd rage. Not so much nerd rage that i need to deface my desk but enough to make me cry inside.

My first dig is at the 3DS. It's already been out half a month, and although i have yet to play one and experience the 3D technology, i despise the concept! I know this kind of technology is wasted on a portable device purely because it would be so much more effective in the home. I mean i know i haven't done any research into this and i should have before ranting, but to me it makes sense. Why perfect something which can be used on the go instead of in the comfort of your own home? I just don't get it. The 3DTVs available already are fantastic despite having to wear the glasses. It would just be better if you didn't need them, and I'm sure almost every owner would agree with me. I'm not hating on Nintendo though, they came up with something pretty clever for such a popular console. And they are breaking barriers in gaming and technology in general. I'm probably just hinting that the 3DS is before it's time.

However, the NGP which was announced by Sony is definitely my most anticipated gadget. In comparison to the 3DS, it surpasses it at everything i want in a portable console. The only thing the 3DS has that the NGP doesn't for me is the 3D. The pure power of the NGP amazes me too. Almost PS3 quality on something just bigger than the original PSP with no cut back on additional features. In this sense i will always be a Sony fanboy. Makes you wonder what Microsoft would add to the portable arms race.

Finally, i want to comment on the upcoming Battlefield 3. This game just looks absolutely phenomenal, and has not competition on graphics. Not even with Crysis i think. The new Frostbite 2 engine is basically reality you can play. If you haven't seen a trailer yet you should. At some points you will find it hard to realise the game play is not real life. Unfortunately it just won't meet the same expectations as Call of Duty exceeds. It will be a great game but no one will play it. Just what i know will happen.

Until next time.

Echo....

My this space seems a bit dusty.

Aion Life

So I'm back on Aion, after picking up a 60-day time card for only £5! What a deal! But anyway i stupidly re-activated my account during the last few weeks of my college course which means I'm too easily distracted by simply logging on and taking off into the Abyss.

HOWEVER, i do not care because i simple am in love with this game for a second time. And hopefully this time for a bit longer. What threw me away on the first date was the incredibly difficult levelling curve and also the difficulty. I'd never played anything like it before! Alot of the early quests require groups (By early i mean around level 20, which i guess in the big picture is early). I wasn't put off by this, but the fact that they were so hard, the mobs were packed together and the amount you needed to rely on healers was just stupid. They've fixed this allot now, making it easier since launch. Unfortunately there were less people at this level since launch so i kinda lucked out on finding a suitable group who can at least speak English and not some form of Scandinavian.

One thing i love about Aion is its inconsistency too, kind of like this blog. On my journeys I've encountered so many bugs it's almost funny. But one I've come across today was quite a big texture bug. As you can see in this very badly inserted image, it is just a laughable shade of brown, and this appears on all paths throughout the region. Either i haven't looked at the ground enough or this is definitely new. Anyway i lol'd inside.

I know i should be leveling old characters because of the 1.9 patch and its whole 3 gigs of content, but after realising some of the initial features of Aion i never even saw i really wanted to level up an Assassin. Fairly simple, two daggers, fuck load of melee skills and BAM i can kill things. I'm surprised how many unintelligent people i have seen play this class. It makes me sad. Because for a start, you need to at least have a GCSE qualification to play this class i swear. As soon as it introduced Runes and Signets my mind was blown.

I'm kidding, it's a piece of piss.


BUT ANYWAY! His name is Arysar, he is now level 20 and i wuv him so much :DDD As much as a man can wuv his virtual character. I don't have problems i tell you, now shut up.

Since last playing i have also updated my graphics, CPU, RAM etc, and the game looks as stunning as it did! I'm running around 40 FPS on a bad day i think, though I'm not too delighted to check as I'm still annoyed by the increased lag or rubber banding I've received since installing Vista. I've minimized that now so the game is as smooth as my chin, or something. How does it go?

In other news! E3 starts today at 6pm, or at least for me. Microsofts conference is kicking off with a pretty skanky Co-host. Some girl from the hit show iCarly on Nickelodeon. I must admit I've watched a few times. And the movie. And know the theme song. And laughed at most of the puns. But that doesn't mean anything. It's still shit. I'm not expecting too much from MS this year since their announcement of Natal last year is still an on going crusade in the fight against Move. All i hope to see is a re-branding of the Xbox from what I've seen of many various box-arts from Rock Band 3 and other games scheduled for release. I really want them to cock up a live demo of Natal, maybe Milo and Kate. That would be good.

Skanky C-host: "Hey Milo, what you up to?"
Milo: "Input error detected, please retry input"

Something along those lines. Think of that as a Pseudofail.

ANYWAY, time for sleep! A good day ahead of me as i work on my final assignments for college! Expect more news soon and maybe a couple of flashbacks to old games I've completely forgotten about. Should be a luff.

P.S Fish will be retraining soon.

Oh Noes!

I missed May D:

P.S Feed the fish!

Wooooaaaahh Woah WOAH

Stop. Almost E3 time. Let's think about this. Games convention, lots of work? Lots of work or games convention? Fuuuucccckkk.

It's going to be good, glued to my chair for 4 days staring at a screen filled with live streams from the event. I have high hopes for this year. Although Sony have let out about Killzone 3 and inFamous 2 only a few weeks before their conference, I'm sure that they will surprise us. I've seen a few rumours that it could be the PSP 2. Now I'm a fan of the PSP and still have my original 1001 (White version from Japan because i was an impatient bastard) and will hope that a next generation PSP will be packed with so many features that it won't even be portable.

The PSP Go, though I've not handled one yet, was quite a step forward, but not enough for it to feel like a new product, something actually worth showcasing. With a lack of UMD drives and the introduction of downloadable games, the PSP 2 should defiantly be able to add more such as a freaking SECOND ANALOGUE STICK. Not that I'm complaining or anything, it's just trying to play Coded Arms with the face buttons is almost impossible if it wasn't for auto-aim. I'd love to see a nice big hard drive on it as well, throw on some movies and all my tunes. Whack a camera and a phone in there and i won't need anything else on my many travels. Also with their new screen technology, I forget the name but it was so awesome, they were able to bend a screen showing video footage of GT5 round a cylinder, and roll it out again. This just screams portability. Though it would be pointless on a portable console...must think things through before i type....

I've constantly been asked by my friend my predictions on E3, though i haven't said the PSP 2 (Only just come to mind after seeing recent rumours) I really want to see the following:

• Motorstorm 3: You know that really good racing game with the most over the top physics I've ever played. From rumoured screenshots I've seen of speeding through a city, even the new locale is giving me stained pants.
• Resistance 3: OK so i traded the first one in because i really didn't like the feel of the game, felt to clunky and it was too hard! Also i didn't like the online. I didn't enjoy it. But the second one comes out and I played it. Multi player was good, Co-op and Competitive. Makes me consider buying or at least look into the third installment.
• Uncharted 3: Now this is a long shot. One of the best single player games i have EVER played. From start to finish i was hooked. Hooked to Drakes sexy arse as if were ./dumpmouthing. A third one would be a long way out considering the second only came out around 8 months ago with extremely good scores overall and achieving GOTY.

Mostly though i will be on the look out for any new MMOs to the scene. I have one on my radar called TERA and it seems like a promising prospect. I want something that has the smoothness of WoW, with the style of Aion, and the bounty of LOTRO. Too much to ask? Oh well, we shall see.

Expect to see some posts about E3, probably allot. Also i will be posting about my venture in Aion 1.9 once i have earned my wings for the hundredth time i swear. Ciao xo

Feed my god damn fish.

Microsoft, Monsters and Massive Improvments.

Been a while.

So first off, my Xbox account has been suspended. For reasons so unbelievably shocking. Remember when we had Silver and Gold? Well now it's Gold or instaban. Now I'm a poor person, and i don't have enough money to my name to play Modern Warfare online anymore, so I expect to get the usual revert to Silver protocol like i've experienced before. However, i get Gold for a whole month while being spammed with e-mails to update my credit card details for payment (You should instantly revert to Silver if you have insufficient funds). Come April, i turn on my Xbox to find i'm suspended. No longer am I enlightened by Andy and Dan, nor able to jack up my gamerscore. Disappointed face. This serious issue with Microsofts service has really shifted my position in the console war. If Microsoft expect their customers to put up with this then sorry, I love Playstation.

Even cancelling an account is a battle. The only way known is to phone Microsoft support and get it cancelled like that. Surely you'd have an option online, considering that that is where most of your settings are changed. It's just really done my head in.

In other news Monster Hunter Tri (3) is released this week on Wii! Now, to find some money to get it! I can safely say this is one of my most anticipated titles for 2010. I played the PSP versions to death, clocking in over 300 hours on both. Monster Hunter to me has always been an unstable franchise however, especially in the west. Either it's bad marketing strategies or people aren't fond of the grinding game play style. But with the release of the third one, it seems to be doing alright. I saw a magazine today with Monster Hunter all over the cover. Apparently adverts are shown in cinemas too. Capcom are really pushing for it's success over here. The console seems to be the right target audience too. I can't imagine CoD fans playing this for extended periods of time required for the real Monster Hunter Experience.

Finally, the new patch for Aion has been announced for a May release. 1.9 has really persuaded me to play it again. NCSoft have really taken on board the elements of the game that caused it's flaws. Long leveling time and little quests around the world indefinitely affected my departure from Atreia. Maybe i can finally get my characters to level 50 and own some noobs in the Abyss. Fat chance.