Closeups of the art cards

I bring these to you backed by popular demand for closeups and more detailed pictures. My apologies that there is glare as I do not have a proper studio or lighting equipment.

Splinter Cell Blacklist Review

I promised a review of this game! Do not fret if things are late... I really love my games as I'm sure all of you do as well. Anyways... Splinter Cell is easily one of the best TPS (Third Person Shooters) to enter the market in recent memory. It's face paced action, smart combat, and insurmountable challenge make you feel like a special ops operator.

Pros:

• Engrossing and fun combat, going full ghost on any single stage can be a challenge to the average gamer.
• Integration of all its elements are well put together, topped off with the paladin flying HQ
• The story is really well done, Tom Clancy rarely disappoints with these stories though.
• There is no "correct" way to play you determine how you wanna do every scenario, giving you free reign to silently slice throats or blow your enemies into dust.
• Plenty of re-playability, perfectionist mode will make you want to cry.
• Enemies actually feel intelligent, this is most apparent when you set off an alarm.
• Supports a 2 person co-op something sorely lacking from a lot of games.

Cons:

• For the PS3 the graphics did leave something to be desired especially regarding the textures on Sam's Echelon suits
• At times the game can be really challenging almost deterring you from continuing
• Combat can feel repetitive if played for too long, this is because if you want all your achievements you'll be forced to play a specific way for the duration of that level.
• Enemies can get tiring, there really isn't a lot of variety with enemies. But, its a shooter so this is only a small con. 

All in all the game is an absolute must have IMO. This game really caters to the really hardcore though, I give it an 8.8/10 It lost points in graphics and a few small problems I found while playing the game.

PS: This review only covers the single player/co-op campaign.I have yet to play Mercs VS Spies. (this mode review will be carried out on a much later date)

FFXIV: ARR How to log in!

Currently Square is working tirelessly on bringing up more data centers and servers to acommodate the massive amount of people who purchased and are intending to play the game, as a result a lot of the servers are closed to both character creation and log ins. The nice thing is that most of you should be able to get on JP servers if you can't get on NA servers (It plays just as smooth, if not better). However, if you've already created a new character on one of the NA/EU servers then here's a tip for you all to logging in. Congestion hours are highest between 1:00PM( EST) -12:00AM (EST) After this period I advise you to log in either around 3:00AM or early morning 8:30~9:30 AM (EST) and just keep your character logged in. There is currently no system in place that boots players for inactivity [other than an unstable internet connection xD].

Bear with them as they work on this problem I know it can be frustrating but 150,000 people logged in at once during beta 4 [World Record]. We should acknowledge that they didn't expect this many people. I'm even quite surprised to hear of this myself. Most MMOs don't accommodate this many people at once its no wonder there's been a slew of login and server related issues.

For those of you who were able to play

Server: Diabolos
IGN: Nodoka Miyazaki.

See you in Eorzea fellow gamers ! more coverage on other games to come soon. I think however, FFXIV will absorb me and all aspect of my life xD

PS: If you are afraid you wont be able to play with friends, just be aware that Square has already slated that world transfers will be available mid September.

FFXIV: ARR CE Edition Unboxing (PC)

Well its here its the launch date of FFXIV: ARR having played almsot all throughout Early Access I am happy to say I have changed my opinion of the game and all skepticisms have been cleared and wiped from my mind. THIS IS THE GAME to get if you're into MMORPGS. Combat is fun and exciting, story is fulfilling and well written, and there is plenty to do. The greatest enemy of new mmos is the lack of content. Experienced MMOers can blow through the entirety of the content in weeks. I'm happy to see that even the most seasoned veterans wont be getting bored anytime soon with FFXIV: ARR.

 Here comes the un-boxing ceremony drum roll please!

I'm sorry this is sideways Photobucket hates me.

Next we have some a stunning view of the slip cover and box cover side by side.

An inside view of the collector's edition mmm the artbook is sexy ;).

Dam you photobucket!!!!

 

Mmmm look at all those nice goodies Square Enix never does disappoint when it comes to physical goodies. There's also a bunch of other digital stuff but I can't show that to you yet :P. Those codes are mine :D. If you haven't yet picked up your copy of the game it is most likely to  late for a physical CE edition but you can pony up for the next best thing.

FFXIV: Early Access!

Yes folks it began yesterday and yes my good friends it is plagued with problems. Those of you who joined me yesterday for fun in Diabolos have realized now that the server is plagued with downtime. However, I would not ask you to get mad at Square Enix because of this. Anyone who has played a fresh launch mmo should realize this now the first few days or weeks are always the rockiest . Why? It hasn't been tested under nearly the same strain during beta, as a full release would have. I'm actually kinda glad they had this early access period. I know it sucks that because of all these bugs and down times we're kinda wasting early access time but, let me offer you a rebuttle.

Would you rather have had an August 27th launch where everything was broken and even more people were in playing causing more issues? Yeah... didn't think so. Bugs aside I think those of us who are able to talk this process with a grain of salt are really enjoying the game. I usually hate tab-target mmos because they get boring fast. However, I'm actually have a lot of fun with FFXIV.

Here's my initial review.

Graphics: Nothing special outside of the environment. Outside the environment the graphics look really bad... I mean really bad... The armor looks poorly textured, texturization and animation feel stiff for npcs, etc... That being said The world itself looks fantastic, the monsters are varied, the environment looks spectacular, etc... The graphics problem may be solved when the implementation of the DX11 support goes live, or if it has gone live maybe some kind soul will release a HD texture pack. Naoki Yoshida and team support mods for the game.

Combat: Combat is a little stiff especially compared to TERA's combat but all in all its a deep immersive combat. I'm playing the monk and in no part do I feel like I'm just clicking and waiting for shit to happen. I'm actually having to position myself to get the best dps, which is a refreshing in between for tab-target mmos.

Story, Lore and Everything else: I'm not far enough into the story to judge how good it is but from what I've played so far I'm pretty happy. Finally an mmo with an enriching story is it as good as say FFX, FFVII and its main line counterparts debatabely no. But, from an mmo standpoint this is a real step forward. Soundtracks are varied and beautiful, as with all FF games the soundtrack is one of the best parts of the game and FFXIV: ARR does not dissapoint.

Well that's all for the preview. More to come soon for FFXIV: ARR.
If you're playing currently
IGN: Nodoka Miyazaki
Server: Diabolos
Class/Lvl: Pugilist/ 15

Come join me and my linkshell for some fun if you're looking for someone to play with !!