THE BIG VIDEO GAMES POST PART 2

Batman: The Arkham Knight

 Gotham City is in peril once again thanks to Scarecrow and his newest partner, the titular Arkham Knight. The third title from Rocksteady Games and their conclusion to the Arkham trilogy, was hyped up by the fans ever since the title was announced last year. Undeniably, it’s current-gen iteration is the most beautiful I’ve seen in their three games. The action was superb and as always you get a pitch perfect performance from Mark Hammill and Kevin Conroy.

 However, as much as I would like to love this game, it really isn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the technical aspects of the game, and I feel it has improved a lot since Arkham City. But it just did not hook me. I don’t know. I didn’t like the whole Batmobile sequences (and there is a LOT!). Driving in video games has been my weakness ever since, and this game has a lot of it. So much so, that you can’t progress further into the story if you don’t utilize the vehicle. And I hated it.

 Good thing Youtube has videos of all the cutscenes for this game. I have no patience to solve all of Riddler’s trophies and puzzles. I know there are over 200 of those around Gotham City. It’s too bad really because if you take those out, Arkham Knight is a brilliant Batman game. It has a solid combat system. Every villain has their own play style and fuck, all of Man-Bat’s appearances begin with a jump scare!!! The story has its flaws, but it’s engaging. It’s gripping, and they almost always require you to think on your feet. You really do become the Batman when you’re playing Arkham Knight.

 But my idea of being Batman is one where I don’t drive the Batmobile a lot.

Until Dawn™_20150908003456

Until Dawn

 Sony’s sleeper hit last August is one of the few games I actually finished this year. In the advent of huge open world video games, it’s refreshing to play a short story driven game. I loved video games that you can finish in one weekend, and this is one of the bests that came out in 2015.

 Until Dawn follows 8 teenagers headed by Hayden Panettiere,  who return to a cabin one year after a tragedy befell two of their friends. What originally was set to be a reunion of some sorts turned out to be a nightmare inspired by all of our favorite scary B-movies.

 In my gameplay, I only saved 3 of the teens, but this game has a lot of choices and consequences that it is possible to kill or save them all. I watch of gameplays online for Until Dawn, and rarely do I see similar scenes per gameplay. No, it is not an open world game, unlike the other titles on my review, but there are still a ton of things to keep your attention to. There are collectibles, clues, totem poles, sometimes I delay the story so I can walk around and find loot.

 I truly enjoyed my 8 hours of playing Until Dawn, if it weren’t for my huge backlog, I would give another try with this title. Hopefully, with all kids surviving next time.  This is not Game of the Year material, far from it. But in terms of pure enjoyment, Until Dawn delivered in droves. It is tense, suspenseful and can be funny when it needs to be. I finished this game in one weekend because while playing, I found myself not wanting to let go of the controller. I wanted to find out what will happen to Mike, Chris and the other kids I got attached to in the 8-10 hours I played this game.

 

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

 Oh Kojima you brilliant son-of-a-bitch. I have played and finished most of the Metal Gear Solid games since I first discovered it in 1999. I remember enjoying all the unique and absurd things that you can find littered all over the world of Solid Snake or Raiden or Big Boss.

However, The Phantom Pain felt different. It felt unfamiliar. It looks like something new. But not the bad kind of different, don’t get me wrong. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was excellent!

For one, this game is now an open world. You are free to wreak havoc on Afghanistan or Africa in any way you want. You can be stealthy, you can go guns blazing. You can choose to have a dog as a sidekick or a robot, or a sexy sniper. There are several ways you can go about completing missions, and you are only limited by your imagination.

There is no game like this one before. My initial impression, specially after playing Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is that I’m not going to like this game. Trailers, kind of made it look difficult. Complicated. It certainly is overwhelming, if you have not played this game before. It will not hold your hand. This game will treat you like a smart person, because it expects you to be one.

Honestly, I don’t remember the story of this game that much, because majority of my playthrough of this game was spent running around the map, fultoning people and animals to bring home to my mother base. In TPP, everything has a purpose. Soldiers you kidnap will become your followers which you can use to expand your base or to complete tasks or gather more resources. Animals you fulton will go to your own private zoo. There are over 250 missions/side missions to complete in this game. Considering how much games are these days, It’s more than worth what you paid for.

 

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Assassin’s Creed is slowly becoming a tired concept. I have played several games in its franchise with varying levels of enjoyment. Black Flag and AC2 being the best ones in my opinion. Unity, even after all of its patches remained a broken mess when I tried to play it again a couple of months ago.

Fortunately, Syndicate is one of the good ones from this series. London is a great place to run around in. Maybe because it’s finally easier to traverse the huge map, that’s why I like this game. But the thing is, it’s still the same Assassin’s Creed.

You are shown a map with its little icons for treasures, missions and sidequests that you need to check off. 10 hours in and it’s become a bit of a chore. A chore that I don’t want to do anymore.

Jacob and Evie Frye are definitely interesting characters, that may initially play different, but eventually are the same. They are interesting characters, definitely. It’s such a shame though that their world isn’t.

I guess I’m just tired of playing around the world of Assassin’s Creed. It is no longer that awe-inspiring world. I don’t feel the vertigo anymore whenever I jump off eagle’s perches. It is a stealth game that does not really feel too stealthy. Maybe I just got spoiled by how great MGS:TPP was at stealth action. Or maybe it’s really just time for this franchise to go away for a little bit and find its purpose again.

 

Fallout 4

This has been the only game I played since it came out a few weeks ago. It has totally swallowed up what little free time I have. Fallout 4 probably will be the only game I’ll be playing until the next big game comes out in the next couple of months.

So far in the 60 hours that I have played Fallout 4 I have walked all over the upper half of Boston. I found 5 Power Armors. I freed and befriended a Super Mutant, a Synth detective, a dog, a pretty investigative journalist, a Minute Man and a heavily outfitted soldier. I finally learned how to put up a decent house, and built a three-story fortress. I have started about a hundred quests and sidequests, finished only a few and still have not moved forward in my main mission which is to find my kidnapped son.

Just like all the other Bethesda games, this will devour all of your free time. Fallout 4 will keep you playing until your head hurts and your eyes begin to deteriorate. I have spent a couple of sleepless weekends already trying to find new locations on my map. But it’s because I have been a huge fan of the developer ever since I played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

I get though that this is not for everyone. Walking around the wasteland can be a bit boring. It’s not as fast as your typical first person shooter and not as engaging as your typical linear games. Fallout 4 requires you to be patient. It wants you to enjoy discovering. It asks you to not be afraid of its world.  This game has bugs and glitches, which are I guess a staple of the developer already. Some might say, that’s the game’s charm, but we’re now on the latest generation of consoles where everything is powerful now, so we expect games to not have floating corpses or flying Brahmins. That turns me off a little bit. Fortunately, I have not experienced and game breaking bugs on my playthrough.

But I guess, the question now is: is this a Game of The Year type of game?

It could be.

 (Images courtesy of Google)

20 MOST UNFORGETTABLE GAME OF THRONES MOMENTS

Another season ended for everyone's favorite fantasy epic, so it's time to update my list of the most unforgettable moments in Game of Thrones.

I limited this to twenty because the list would not have ended if I add them all. But there are definitely a lot that I have missed (Theon's torture scenes, Jorah and Daenerys breakup,  Ned vs Jamie, all of Ghost's kills, and every scene with Lady Olenna Tyrell) ,  feel free to let me know in the comments the ones that you think should have been here.

20 Sansa's Wedding Night (Season 5 Episode 6)

Season 5 is chock full of horrible events one episode after the other. We saw a child burned at the stake at the order of her father (some might say that this was more unforgettable... but for me Shireen's a minor character). A teen-ager poisoned after she had a heart-to-heart with her father. And a pedophile who beats on little girls getting stabbed in the eyes. But for me, the worst / most unbearable thing to happen this season was Sansa's Wedding Night. She married the vilest living villain in the series now, and he raped her while his slave Reek was watching.

19 Valar Morghulis (Season 2 Episode 10)

Jaqhen H'ghar and Arya Stark had a very interesting relationship in Season 2 of the series. Jaqhen was doing Arya's bidding. And by her bidding, I mean he's assassinating Arya's targets. Everything culminated by the end of t he season. For Arya to escape her captors, she blackmails Jaqhen to kill more men. And in the middle of their escape, Arya bumps into Jaqhen and tells her what he really is... a faceless man. Apparently, they are the coolest people in the whole of Westeros. They parted ways in the end, but what's awesome is that there is a chance Arya's path is towards that of the Faceless Men.

18 Brienne Vs The Bear (Season 3 Episode 7)

Game of Thrones is at its best when they pair up characters. Tyrion and Bronn. Arya and the Hound. Varys and Littlefinger. Lady Olenna and whoever. Season 3's best pairing however was Brienne of Tarth and Jaime Lannister. It was an odd pairing that started antagonistically. Brienne was tasked to bring Jaime back to King's Landing in the hopes that the Lannisters will be returning the Stark daughters back to Catelyn. But what started as antagonistic ended in friendship. In Harrenhal, Jaime went back for Brienne only to find out that she was thrown into a pit to fight off a bear. To save the lady, Jaime jumped into the pit and threatened not to come out unless she's with him. And so begins Jaime's redemption.

17 White Walkers (Season 2 Episode 10)

While technically Game Of Thrones is a Fantasy show, the series is too grounded that we sometimes forget that there are dragons and shadow creatures lurking around Westeros. But one of the more fantastical creatures of the series was finally introduced in the Season 2 finale of the show. We finally get a glimpse of what the soldiers on The Wall are finally guarding. Fucking Zombies!!! And they are scary as shit!!! Winter is coming indeed.

16 Sandor Clegane Vs Berric Dondarion (Season 3 Episode 5)

Oh I put this on the list because who does not like a fight where one of the fighters uses a flaming sword? One of the coolest scenes on television. Ever.

15 The Death of Viserys Targaryen (Season 1 Episode 6)

Viserys has been a jerk. Ever since the moment we first laid our eyes on the elder Targaryen, we knew he was an ass. He sold his sister to the Dothraki so he can build an army. He let Khal Drogo rape his younger sister all for the uncertainty of them helping him take over King's Landing. He was a vile, irrational and pretty much annoying. Not only to the viewers but mostly to the Dothraki tribe. So when the time came he demanded to have a taste of the Dothraki women, and be treated like a king, Drogo fulfilled his wish. He poured a pot of melted gold. Yes it was sick, but it was only the first of many gruesome deaths that the show has in store for us.

14 The Death of Ned Stark (Season 1 Episode 9)

This was the Oh Shit moment of the first season. The first time that we realized that no one is safe in Westeros. Not even it's lead character Ned Stark. Sean Bean was the face of Game of Thrones. And he did not even live long enough to finish the season. My jaw dropped when I first saw this episode. Just like the millions of people who have seen Game of Thrones, we cried for the elder Stark. He was the one we were all rooting for to sit on the Iron Throne, and he just got beheaded. WTF right?! But it is awesome that the show has the balls to drop it's lead star just like that. If he hadn't died, Arya, Robb, Sansa, Jon Snow and Bran, would probably just be bit players til now.

13 The Birth of the Dragons (Season 1 Episode 10)

This was what kept me from dropping the show. Watching the first season finale, I was so depressed. By that time, they have killed two of the most loved characters of the series (Ned Stark and Khal Drogo). I thought Arya alone would not be able to make me sustain my interest on the show. But then, by the end of the episode, Daenarys rose out of the fire, and with her dragons. Baby fucking dragons!!! I'm glad I stayed and stuck with this show.  And we've got Khaleesi's babies to thank for that.

12 Cersei's Walk Of Shame (Season 5 Episode10)

This is a bravo moment for me because Cersei really deserved all the shit that she got for all the horrible things she's done to the show's 'heroes'. But even if it's well deserved, it was still horrible to watch. It's humiliating. De-humanizing. Just truly awful, what she had to go through in what obviously was a long walk back to the Red Keep. Imagine yourself doing that, you'd probably not last a meter without fainting. What's sadder, I guess is that it happens in real life and not just in the fictional world of Westeros.

11 The Trial of Tyrion Lannister (Season 4 Episode 6) Just read this chilling speech and tell me you're not getting goosebumps imagining Peter Dinklage's emmy worthy performance.

"I did not kill Joffrey, but I wish that I had. Watching your vicious bastard die gave me more relief than a thousand lying whores.

"I wish I was the monster you think I am. I wish I had enough poison for the whole pack of you. I would gladly give my life to watch you all swallow it.

"I will not give my life for Joffrey's murder. And I know I'll get no justice here, So I'll let the gods decide my fate.

"I demand a trial by combat!"

Chilling.

10 How To Train Your Dragon (Season 5 Episode 9)

In terms of the cool factor, I think Daenerys takes the biggest slice in this series, mainly because she has dragons for her children. And the penultimate episode of Season 5 gave us the most chilling scene with Drogon. The last fifteen minutes of episode 9 starts with an epic gladiator match with Jorah kicking ass, followed by an ambush by the Sons of the Harpy. Everyone has a moment, and in the end, when everything looked dire, we hear an ear-piercing scream. Drogon arrives and kills a lot of his mother's enemies. And in a How-To-Train-Your-Dragon moment, Danny rides it and they fly off. I literally screamed like a little girl after seeing that ending.

9 The Battle of Blackwater (Season 2 Episode 9)

You see that flash of green destruction in the picture above. That's some shit that's both deadly and beautiful at the same time. This I think is the first time that Game of Thrones shows it's viewers that they can do Lord of the Rings style of war and destruction. When I saw this episode I remember being overwhelmed by how big the whole battle was. It's like watching a big budget movie. And then this is the episode that elevated Tyrion's hero status. He showed great leadership and made us want to root for the people of King's Landing even if their King is an idiot.

8 Hound Vs Brienne / Arya Leaves The Hound (Season 4 Episode 10)

I have to cheat on this one, these are two great moments that I had to combine since they all occurred together. It started when Brienne crossed paths with Arya and The Hound. Some witty banter were thrown and then Brienne and Sandor got into the most gnarly fight I have ever seen on television. Groins were kicked. An ear was bit off. And then we end the whole scene with Arya. Just staring at the Hound who was begging her to kill him. That look, it says more than any line would ever have. We know that The Hound is on Arya's list of people she wants to kill. But she's not going to let him die in his own terms. Instead, she leaves him to die a long and lonely death. That's dark.

7 The Battle for Castle Black (Season 4 Episode 9)

Mammoth-riding giant archers!!! That alone easily puts this moment or episode at the top of the most awesome GOT moments list. In season four's penultimate episode, we are taken north of Westeros, on The Wall where the Wildlings for some reason find it's time to finally take over the giant landmark. You can't help but cheer for the  crows on this one. Jon Snow showed effective leadership, as well as that other guy who we disliked on previous episodes when he disagreed with Jon Snow's suggestions. Plus, it gave us that long seamless shot of the fight inside the wall that was just breathtaking. Oh, and anytime we see some direwolf action, you know there's no wrong in direwolf scenes.

6 Hardhome (Season 5 Episode 8)

What an incredible 20 minutes. It's intense. It's action-packed. It's terrifying as shit. And it delivers it's goal of letting us know just how scary and formidable the White Walkers are. This is close in terms of action to the Battle on the Wall from Season 4 as one of the best action set piece of the entire series. The slaughter of the Wildlings from zombies was hard to watch. We may have been introduced and attached to some of the elders, so seeing them die was quite difficult to watch. And then in the end, during the staring match between the Walker King and Jon Snow, when the King raised his hands and all of the dead came back to life, all I could think of was a resounding "Oh. Shit!!! Winter is here!!!"

5 The Viper Vs The Mountain (Season 4 Episode 8)

Oh you can tell from the picture above that  this one ended nasty. All season long we know that Oberyn Martell came to King's Landing for one thing only. Revenge. He knew The Mountain did it. He knew that the Lannisters were behind it. He just wanted a confession. And when Tyrion demanded a trial by combat, the Viper knew it was his chance to finally get what he wanted. The fight  was epic. It's like David vs Goliath, and the Viper had the upper hand. Miraculously, he was able to stab The Mountain in the chest. That was great until, for one moment, while showboating, he set his eyes away from the enemy. Immediately The Mountain put him down, knocked his teeth away and slowly, while confessing crushed Oberyn's skull. Along with the hopes of Tyrion winning the trial.

4 Tyrion's Revenge (Season 4 Episode 10)

For two seasons, Tyrion has been humiliated, stripped of his power, wrongly accused of murder and sentenced to death. Right now, he's one of the very few characters in the show that we consider as the hero. And with the death of Oberyn a few episodes prior, everything looked hopeless for everyone's favorite imp. Fortunately for him, he still has friends in King's Landing, and he escaped. But not before he exacts his revenge. I think his father's death was a bit disappointing, but what he did to Shae was incredibly satisfying. Hearing her neck snap was painful to watch but you can't help but think that she deserved it after betraying Tyrion twice.

3 The Death of Joffrey (Season 4 Episode 2)

The asshole king is dead. It was a long frickin' death. The turd deserved it. And it was so satisfying. 'Nuff said.

2 The Red Wedding (Season 3 Episode 9)

This was awesome. But to be honest, this is one of the most painful scenes to watch in the entire run of Game of Thrones. This effectively eliminated some of the show's biggest heroes. In a wedding nonetheless. And they spared no one. Not even the pregnant wife of Robb Stark. Not even the direwolf. And worse, they cut off it's head and sewn it to Robb's lifeless body.  It is awesome because this is when GOT nails in the head the fact that no one is safe in George RR Martin's opus. Absolutely no one. Until now, I can still hear Catelyn Stark's last cry of pain.

1 Daenerys Takes Over Astapor (Season 3 Episode 4)

In total, I think I have replayed this scene like 15 times. This is my favorite scene of the entire series. It's a spectacle. It's grand. It's a perfect scene.  It started with Kraznys showing off his Unsullied at the same time bad mouthing the mother of dragons, calling her a pig and bitch. He was using the Valyrian language thinking the Mother of Dragons could not understand him. But then, in a grand showing of power, Dany spoke in Valyrian, telling Kraznys that dragons are not slaves and ordering the Unsullied to kill everyone holding a whip. Dracarys. With one word ending the life of the slave master and destroyed a city. The scene ended with Dany marching out of the city finally with an army she can call her own. Epic.

ANDREW

Nasaktan na ang puso ko.

Yung sakit, yung tipong hindi ka makatulog. Hindi makakain. Hindi makahinga. Hindi makagalaw. Yung tipong ayaw mo nang mabuhay dahil sa sakit. Gusto mong matapos na ang buhay mo dahil di mo na alam kung may pupuntahan ka pa dahil wala na siya.

Pero isang araw, wala na yung sakit.

Makakalimutan mo siya. Makakahanap ka ng dahilan para ituloy ang buhay.

Iba ang sakit ko.

Yung sakit na tipong hindi ka makatulog. Hindi makakain. Hindi makahinga. Hindi makagalaw. Yung tipong ayaw mo nang mabuhay dahil sa sakit. Gusto mo nang matapos ang buhay mo dahil ayaw mo nang maramdaman ang tunay na sakit. Dahil hirap ka na. Literal na wala ka nang pag-asa. 

Cancer.

May taning na ang buhay ko.

Buwan. 

Linggo. 

Araw. 

Anumang minuto, maaari na akong kunin ni Lord.

Nakajackpot ako sa Lotto ng Diyos. Bronchial Cancer. Isa sa pinakamalalang klase ng cancer.

Lotto o sadyang kagagawan ko. Naging pabaya ako sa buhay ko. Yosi dito. Isang kaha isang shift. Kalahating kaha bago matulog. Kalahati paggising.

Ngayon, 19 years matapos kong matuto manigarilyo, dama ko na ang kinahinatnan ng bisyo ko.

Apat na buwan na nakaratay sa maliit na higaan. Ilang araw  na hikbi at tunog ng makina lang ang naririnig ko. 

Pilit ko mang buksan ang aking mata, tanging mga anino lang ang aking nakikita. Alam kong pamilya ko ay nasa aking tabi, nagdarasal kahit di ko maintindihan ang aking naririnig.

Ayaw ko na.

Suko na ako.

Konti na lang ang lakas ko.

****************

"Ma, si Kuya gumagalaw!!! Bumubukas na ang mga mata niya!!!" 

Dali-daling lumapit ang pamilya ni Andrew sa kanya.

Kapit kamay ang pamilya habang pinapaligiran ang higaan. 

Ilang saglit pa ay pumasok ang doktor upang tingnan ang kalagayan ng pasyente. 

Umiling ito.

Umatras ang doktor at hinayaan ang pamilya na makasama ang kanilang mahal.

Pilit na tinataas ni Andrew ang kanyang kamay, naghahanap ng makakapitan.

Kinuha ng ina ang kamay nito.

****************

Sa unang pagkakataon matapos ang ilang linggo, bumalik lahat ng lakas ko.

Malinaw kong nakikita ang pamilya ko.

Mama.

Mahigpit niyang hawak ang kamay ko...

"Andrew, we're here... We lo...

33

Today I have the right to:

-pig out
-be lazy
-sleep all day
-play video games whenever
-complain
-forget about my diet and have a cheat week!!!

because it's my birthday!!!

33 na ako!!!

SARAP KAYA MAGTRENTA

Di ako makapaniwala na dati, takot ako na magtrenta.

Noong teenager ako hanggang early 20s, ito yung pinakakinatatakutan ko, umabot sa edad na trenta.

Dati, feeling ko ang tanda tanda na ng mga taong nasa edad na 'to. Nakakadiri sila kasama. Hindi sila cool. Dasal ko, na forever 20s na lang ako.

Almost three years ago, naging 30 nako. Hindi ako nagcelebrate, dahil natatakot ako. Dumating na ang ika tatlong dekada ng buhay ko. Pero imbes na madepress, nagulat ako, di ako sobrang nadisappoint.

At kahit lumipas ang tatlong taon, mas natutuwa ako ngayon na nasa trenta na ako.

I love my thirties!!!

Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero mas masaya ako ngayon.

Wala na akong angst sa buhay.

At kahit medyo mataba ako ngayon, feeling ko, ngayon ako talaga pinakagwapo.

Sabi nga nila, with age comes wisdom, at ngayon ko napapatunayan yan.

Hindi na ako nagpapakangarag sa mga simpleng bagay. Mas mataas na ang confidence ko. May pera na ako. Mas may kalayaan gawin ang gusto ko. At may sex life ako.

Baka iniisip niyo na nasasabi ko lang 'to dahil may Kasintahan ako, pero sa totoo lang, kahit siguro single ako, I'll be fine in my 30s. Maaaring hindi kasing saya, pero mahahanapan ng paraan yan.

Lahat naman 'to eh depende rin sa pananaw natin sa buhay. Pero marami akong kilala na katulad ko o mas matanda pa, na sobrang nag-eenjoy sa kanilang 30s.

Sabi nga namin, if we had the confidence of our 30-year old selves and the body of our 20s, life would be more perfect. Pero... nagagawan yan ng paraan!!!