Game of Thrones S8 E3 - A well-directed yet disappointing episode (SPOILERS Beware)

We're half way through Game of Thrones' final season, yet as much as I enjoy GoT, I feel the latest episode was quite a let down in some respect.

SPOILERS ALERT!!

To be fair, it's quite a well-directed episode, great acting and reasonably good CG and loads of practical effects. But I was let down by the tactics employed by the defending party aka everyone in Winterfell, but also due to the plot holes and plot armours.

• The Dothraki cavalry charge, yet there's no follow-up in terms of tactics
  ->Everyone else stayed behind watching the Dothraki's flaming scythes get snuffed out
• The cavalry charged before artillery was fired, risking friendly-fire
• The artillery seemed to only have been used once
• Conveniently Ser Jorah survived this charge, returned, just to be killed again later on while protecting Daenaerys.
• When the army of the dead started charging toward Winterfell, artillery fire should not have stopped, but what did we get instead?
  -> It's cool that the dragons rode by Daenaerys and Jon swooped in to buy some time, but once they were gone chasing the Night King, isn't it obvious that artillery and arrows should have resumed?
• I'll give the people of Winterfell the benefit of the doubt for not knowing the Night King is able to raise people from the dead even when they are underground - aka don't know the range of the "Raise Dead" skill
• So many people died in the crypt, yet Varys, Tyrion and Sansa survived 
• The commanding officers in the battle such as Grey Worm, Sir Brienne and Sir Jaime had thick plot armours that prevented them from dying.
• Jon went back to the castle, forsaking his allies such as Sam who are clearly in trouble. Clearly the man had a purpose, yet he's just stuck because of a blue-fire spitting dragon.
• -> The resurrected dragon melted the castle walls in 3 seconds yet the rocks Jon hid behind also had plot armor where they didn't melt
• One of the White Walkers could hear blood dripping in the library, yet all the White Walker generals couldn't hear Arya lurking in the Godswood while she waited for her chance to pounce on the Night King
  ->Did she turn her face into a White Walker and managed to sneak about?
  ->If she could do that, why was she so afraid of getting caught in the library full of walkers?
  ->Sure she had the Faceless Men's training, but overall that's just terrible writing
• The Night King was built up to be this terrible figure that inspired fear throughout the previous seasons, only to be killed by an underwhelming drop knife + stab tactic
  -> Logically, he should have just crushed Arya's windpipe while she was dropping her knife
• Who is Azor Ahai? Arya? Jon? Daenarys?
  ->"He's the lord's chosen, born amidst salt and smoke", "wake dragons out of stones", reforge the great flaming sword
  ->don't think anyone fits all of the above, but it doesn't matter anymore, does it?
• Now that the sub-boss the Night King is gone, we're left with Cersei at King's Landing.
• Is this the ending we deserve? Where is the tension now that we're left with humans at war?
  ->Wouldn't it be better if a fraction of the Winterfell dwellers survived and fled south while the Night King and his merry band of undead marched towards the south to show Cercei how to pee her pants?
  

The episode gave us a tremendous sense of hopelessness - the undead do not fear death, do not tire, numbers only grow as time passes. As we see Winterfell's defense line fall one-by-one, we can't help but search for glimmers of hope. An unexpected hope was foreshadowed when Melisandre gave her short speech about "Brown eyes, green eyes and blue eyes", and it was fulfilled when we saw the Night King and his grand undead army perished by a good stab. 

A huge sigh of relief it was, Bran was not killed, and the survivors of the onslaught survived all thanks to Arya the ultra-silent assassin. Yet this end was unsatisfying. Almost too easy after all the build-up. Now it's just Cersei and her grand army comprising of many ships from Euron and many men from her own house, the Golden Company and Ironborn, likely outnumbering the North's. But take out the Night King, and the tension, mystery and expectation are much less palpable. 

In a way, this is to be expected. The fight for the throne after a common threat is gone. This is, after all, a Game of Thrones.

In an alternate reality, a figure slowly walks towards the Iron Throne, followed by a chilling mist, an icy howl from the wind. The figure turns and faces his men, slowly sits and claims his throne, watching with his piercing blue eyes as the world of men in Westeros is no more. 

FWD: Nurse reveals the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed

So this was an article I stumbled upon a while back, and I have now decided to share it here on my blog,

1. To serve as a constant reminder of the important things in life: not money, not sports cars, but these.
2. To share this good read with my fellow readers
3. To let it forever be in one of my archives so that I can look it up easier compared to Facebook
4. To remind myself that this is one of the rare articles that could bring me to tears

Pasting starts here, originally written by a nurse working in palliative care:

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality.

I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way,you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again. When you are on your deathbed, what  others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happine(ss)

Pasting ends here...................................................................................................................

I was originally tempted to pay my tributes to the original author by referencing it using the APA 6th style, but I was unable to identify him/her, as this article surfaced in the web around 2011, and possibly even before that. Many online publishers have copied and pasted pretty much the same thing and I was unable to pinpoint the original author due to poor referencing. And also, since I could not determine whether karenstan.net is a news page or a blog, I just decided to ignore it and just give the original link from FB here, so..

- See more at: http://www.karenstan.net/2013/11/11/nurse-reveals-top-5-regrets-people-make-deathbed/#sthash.M0uPXp4r.dpuf

P.S. If you know who the original author was, please do drop me a comment below. :)

Until next time!

-Shinn

Dota 2 - 10 Reasons Why the Transition was a Bad Experience for Me + mini-Review

I'm sure the word Dota is no stranger to anyone who's been into an internet cafe, or owns a computer. But today I'm not gonna talk much, just a little about Dota 2 - a standalone sequel to the immensely popular Warcraft III mod, Defence of The Ancients.

IGN's Video Review:


Gamespot's Video Review:


So this game has been around for quite some time, I received my beta invite like 1.5 years ago, I still remember it like it was yesterday, sounds like a cliché i know, but it's the truth. And I still have my e-mail kept, I looked it up in my Steam inbox, and Voila! The date says June 23rd, so 1.5years sound about right. Screenshot below:

My Dota 2 Beta Invite

I was overjoyed when I received this cuz I was the first among my friends to be able to play this. So I played my first match of Co-op versus AI, and I didn't like choosing heroes so I randomed Invoker.Then I was like sh*t, i can't remember the invoke list, but you know what? I'm just gonna go with this cuz I want the extra gold. Nonetheless, it was definitely a bad experience at first cuz:

1. I had stopped playing Dota 1 for some time, skills were very rusty
2. Even in the original, I wasn't a very good Invoker player
3. I didn't know how to check the invoke list
4. Vastly different AI behaviour
5. We used to buy by left-clicking, then it was switched to right clicking
6. Searching for items was a pain in the ass at first
7. Different interface, icons, character models
8. Glyph of Fortification and Creep Kills/Denies were nowhere to be found until I noticed my bottom right
9. A minor one - the original's 'Sentinel vs Scourge' had become 'Radiant vs Dire'
10. The overworld map was darker overall, where the original was brigther; the map in the UI felt smaller too

Offline Mode Home Screen: I was selecting my AI difficulty here, as you can see, Unfair is the hardest as of now.

Hero Selection Screen V1: This is what I'd like to call - The Horizontal View, which I prefer less, but you do get to see the detailed facial animations of the heroes that we have all come to know and love.

Hero Selection Screen V2: This is the Grid View, where it's easier to select heroes based on availability, and type(S,A,I), the one I prefer.

Post-game Stats: My first ever perfect run against the Unfair AI, with no deaths and 26 kills. (Just only finished this match at 9pm Novermber 12th)

Even so, the change isn't so bad once you get used to it, and in fact, the change is for the better. The slicker GUI, the superb graphics, the sound design, item search and organisation - everything just looks and feel better. And I must say, I've already gotten to the point where I cannot, and won't ever wanna get back to the Warcraft original!!

I'm not trying to write a review here but I'll outline Dota 2's strengths and weaknesses:

+FREE to play

+Sleek, User-friendly GUI

+Excellent sound design (from the 'Zap' of Zeus' Thundergod's Wrath to the very familiar 'Mmmmooonster Kill')

Thundergod's Wrath: In an early version of the game, a well-timed screenshot showcasing the lightning bolts summoned by Zeus when his Ultimate is activated.

+Much better graphics and customization (Shadows, Anti-Aliasing, Ambient Occlusion, Texture, Post-processing.. you name it)

+Customizable hotkeys

+Instant gratification

+Constant updates significantly reduce bugs
+Highly balanced

+Steam workshop
+Infinite replay value
+Well-developed and has matured compared to other MOBAs like HON and LOL
+Highly entertaining and enjoyable when played with or against group of friends
+Reworked names such as Outworld Devourer from the original Obsidian Destroyer

-Updates can take you quite some time if you don't have a decent internet connection

-Requires internet to play LAN, which defeats the purpose of it (the LAN is currently only developed for the purpose of tournaments)

-The infamous item purchase bug
-VERY steep learning curve
-Complexity tends to push newcomers away

-Relatively high PC requirements compared to LOL and the original

-Hero roster still lack some heroes like Terrorblade

-Like all online games, some users are just jackasses

Utter Chaos: Sometimes there are just so many things happening on-screen that it's hard to keep track of them - until you die, of course, like the Undying here, no pun intended.

Closing Comments:
If you are a busy person and only play games for instant gratification, then look no further, Dota 2 is for you!! If you are looking for a competitive game with depth, strategy and challenge, look no further too, Dota 2 will suck you up!! If you like to play games with story, then of course MOBA games are not for you.

Simply put, Dota itself has a universal appeal, and can be very addictive. I've seen people who have put in >500hrs in it, than's more than the amount of time I spend in my Pokemon and Monster Hunter!! So it's Insanely addictive, and players must exercise caution and self-restraint not to overindulge in it.

Dota 2 is a well-polished, constantly updated, balanced and addictive MOBA game. Its visual aesthetics, combined with the superb sound design and distinctive heroes, have all made Dota 2 the sequel that we all deserve, and love.

Score: 9.0 Amazing

Attack on Titans #51 - Levi's Squad Review

Levi's Squad

The 46-pages-long Attack on Titans #51 provides an interesting conclusion to the previous mini-arc and foreshadows what's about to come in the future installments. Minor Spoiler: It seems we'll have to wait for a couple of issues before any titans are featured again.

Yes, I enjoy every read of AoT, but since it usually takes a month for Hajime Isayama sensei to release a new chapter, it kinda breaks the momentum, which is a bad thing really.

*I'm still deliberating whether I should write manga reviews with spoilers or not, of course each has its own pros and cons, the obvious being there wouldn't be anything to write about if I can't write anything that spoils the story for readers.

I read #51 here!

Humble Bundle - WB Games

Introducing the Humble Bundle!!



If you haven't heard about it, it's a site for you to purchase games at a price you'll never dream of.
This season they have the Humble WB Games Bundle, which will give you these games:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
• F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origins
• F.E.A.R. 3
• Lord of The Rings: War in the North

Just name your price, any amount will do, yes you didn't read it wrongly, ANY AMOUNT!!

THE HUMBLE WB GAMES BUNDLE: Support charity by buying games!

In addition, if you pay more than the average, now at 4.63USD, you'll unlock two more awesome games!

• Batman: Arkham City Game of The Year Edition
• Scribblenauts Unlimited

In a nutshell, if you pay 4.64USD or more, you'll instantly gain access to 6 awesome games that could easily cost you more than 50USD!! Additionally, you're supporting charity by buying games from Humble Bundle, I'd say it's a pretty awesome deal!

Now some of you might think that this is too good to be true, but I must say, this is not a scam and is 100% legit. I repeat, THIS IS NOT A SCAM! I've personally bought three Humble Bundles so far, and all of the Steam and Origin game keys worked like a charm!

PAYMENT: You can literally pay any amount you want for the four games, in addition to selecting the distribution of your payment. I usually go for the Default Split as shown above.

If you're not sure about the charity organization - We Can Be Heroes, it's part of DC's CSR programme - it's a non-governmental organization which organises DC merchandise sales, exclusively-autographed stuffs and the like, all in the name of charity, in which 50% of the sales profit directly goes to the benefit of the less-fortunate.

Just check out their website - http://www.wecanbeheroes.org/

STATS: Just look at how much people all around the world are willing to pay for these games!! Or rather, support charity!!

So what are you waiting for? Support charity today at https://www.humblebundle.com/  !!!