VA Fitting and Pre-Aids Prom

Last Sunday, opted to help Rocky be able to get fitted for his very first unifrom EVAH! Brought him to Penny's house and there met up with Pao, Gigi and others. After getting his measurements done, we opted to hang a bit and see who else would show up. Was happy to see Benny Lee, Nina, Nick,Mark and Icheb again. Later that day, after a few rounds of Mega Man 9 (darn, i really want a Wii!) on the Wii, a game console which I never have ever played on before... sighs... the others prepped for the Prom night for Aids' party. So I bid them farewell like a proud dad watched them go.

[I wasn't aware if the Prom was open to all, and nto having received a PM invite, unlike for the two other party invites I got from other friends, I thought it best to assume may limit ang guests for the night. Sayang! Would have been nice to have gone and gone snake stomping, este, dancing.]

LEFT 4 DEAD

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Video Games
Genre:	Action
Console:	PC Games

Zombies overrunning a city + Four play Coop Play + All other players as the zombies + Freaky running, jumping, leaping, entangling zombies = Damn Good Game.

Left 4 Dead is a new shooter game from the makers of Half-Life and Counterstrike. Embracing the themes and motifs of a zombie movie, the game has you and up to three other friends as a group of survivors in a zombie overrun city. Adding to the fun is the fact that in multiplayer games, all other additional players get to play one of the zombies that can appear in the games very many spawning points.

With amazing atmospherics, lovely light effects, and really incredible visuals, the game captures the feel of a city overrun by the living dead. In single player, the computer's A.I. handles the three other characters superbly. They aren't as useless as in other games.

The demo currently downloadable via Stream allows only barely 5 days of playtime. However, the game is sure to shine once its released this coming November 18th.

Add to that what the creators call the AI Director.
"New technology dubbed "the AI Director" is used to generate a unique gameplay experience every time you play. The Director tailors the frequency and ferocity of the zombie attacks to your performance, adjusting pacing, special effects and audio on the fly."

Talk about making the experience even more personal and giving it much fun replayability.

Add to that the fact that there are many kinds of zombies, from the mindless fast running horde (yes, no Dawn of the Dead slow zombies here. The zombies here are more of the 28 Days Later fame), to the deadly hunters, the sneaky witches and the grotesque boomers. And more.

Fun fun fun game!

Check it out when you can!

STARCRAFT now a TRILOGY

Definitely a move that is to earn mixed views from its fans, Blizzard has decided the next Starcraft installment will have to be released as three separate games to give enough material for each race and for a greater story arc.  More on this here.

My view?

I say as long as the following things are incorporated somehow into this trilogy, then its a good move:

1) All three races SHOULD BE PLAYABLE for multiplayer games for each segment of the trilogy.  So whether I get the first, second or last pack, I can play Terran, Zerg or Protos for multiplayer games.

2) Each pack should still add something unique for the customer.  So even if I only get the first pack, I have an incentive (other than additional single player story to go through) to buy the others.  Typically this means more units.  Take for instance the Dawn of War series.  Each pack added a new "race" to play" as well as additional units to use.    What they did wrong was, the pack you installed limited what you can use for multiplayer.  And that majorly sucked.
 
3) Each pack COMBINATION should add even something more unique.  Maybe installing packs 1 and 2 give an additional race as well, which is different from the additional race you get when you install packs 2 and 3 instead.   And of course, if you install all 3 packs, you get both new races as part of your game, as well as a third new one for having a complete set.  Or maybe this can be more freebies.  Behind the scenes videos.  Sketchbook designs.  Maybe even comic graphics showing the story of certain favorite characters.

4) Each pack should also have new inventive maps for solo or multiplayer other than the typical game.  Think of a DOTA type of game using Starcraft.  Or maybe a few Tower Defense Maps.  Or maybe even a RPG style map.

5) If Blizzard is really smart, they should also consider making MULTI RACE options in the game.  Something like HYBRID RACES you can access depending on the games you install.  Maybe if pack 1 is Terran focused, and pack 2 is zerg focused (as far as the story is concerned), maybe installing packs 1 and 2 allows you to access Half-human Half-Zerg units.  This is in line with idea #3, but deserves to be mentioned since it uses existing units with certain modifications and changes.   Or maybe even an alliance system where you can have a Protos Human game (controlling BOTH bases alone) against someone else in multiplayer with their own combination choices.

6) I would love to see a third game mode, where you choose a hero who can be "leveled up" like in Warcraft III.  Though the mass combat RTS of Starcraft is what I miss, I would love to see them adapt the WC3 gameplay into the game somehow as an option.

Of course.  These are all wishful thinking.
If only Blizzard hired me, eh?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Its Jakey all right.

And yes, finally, he's starting to look the part too.