Blog update: Nov 10th, 2013

I'm a week away from my final exams, which is why I'm here in the first place.
1st - to get away from my boring revisions.
2nd - to update my blog
3rd - to post my review of XCOM
4th - to plan a revamp of my blog

As you can see, I'm planning to blog about different stuffs from here onwards. In my past few years, I only blogged about my personal issues and ranted angrily about some other stuffs.

But now, I've decided to change, to switch my blogging entries into something more of my lifestyle. You see, I read manga, I play games, I watch movies, I update myself with stuffs mostly from the geek side of the world.

Which is why I thought I should post my blogs with these relevant entries too, most probably reviews about games that I have played this year, or maybe reviews of each week's One Piece, Naruto, Bleach and Fairy Tail mangas - so stay tuned peeps(not that any of you are my regular readers, but whatever)!

Until then, ciao!

-Shinn

XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a very late review

So I finished my first playthrough of XCOM: Enemy Unknown on PC not long ago on September 7th, yes I'm about a year late to the party but this game didn't really impress me initially so I didn't wanna play it. But now that I've played it, I'm gonna say this was one hell of a ride for a TBS(Turn-based Strategy) lover like yours truly.

I hereby present to you my first ever game review in my blog, minor spoilers alert!

COVER ART: XCOM Enemy Unknown PC Box Art

Basic Info:
Developer:     Fireaxis Games, Feral Interactive
Publisher:      2K Games, Feral Interactive
Release Date: Oct 9th, 2012(NA) Oct 12th, 2012(Int.)
Genre:           Turn-based Strategy/Role Playing Game(TBS/RPG)
Game modes: Single player, Online multiplayer (2persons PVP mode)
Ratings:          Mature/Pegi 18
Platforms:       Windows, Macintosh, Xbox 360, PS3

OPENING: The game opens with an interesting, yet 'terrifying' quote, a prelude to what's about to come. (Aliens, UFO, anyone?) *Also, I had to shrink all the other images from XL to L, or else they would have crossed the line like this one did.

FIRST MISSION: Your first mission commences with only 4 squad members with the same armor and weapons, with randomly assigned names and no class specialization. Eg. Holly Clarke, which i prefer to read it as - Holy Clerk!!

As your new recruits gain experience in the battlefield and get promoted, they are randomly assigned into one of the 4 different classes that each has their own pros and cons.

1. Heavy
2. Assault
3. Sniper
4. Support

The Psionic class is an extra, special class that you'll not gain access until late game. Keep in mind that the Psionic class is not a separate class, but it builds upon your current class and enables your unit to gain access to additional Psionic abilities.Take my 'Omega' Summer Cheong for example, she's a Colonel ranked Sniper, but also has access to the Psionic abilities. Only Psionic-enabled units are able to wear the Psi Armor, where the Psi abilities are in purple, as shown in the 'HEADSHOT' screenshot below.

HEADSHOT: 'Omega' Summer Cheong prepares to snipe an Uber Ethereal with her Plasma Sniper Rifle. Her Psi Armor is easily the best armor you can eventually research and purchase in the game, but at $400, it doesn't come cheap .

The gameplay is divided into 2 segments: TBS on the battlefield, and Base Management during mission intervals. Battlefield TBS is self-explanatory - you're deployed into an area with alien activity, and you'll be ordered to Dispatch the enemies, Locate and escort a VIP back to base, Examine the UFO wreckage or Assault an alien base.

MISSION PREP: You'll eventually unlock 2 more squad slots to allow up to 6 units in your mission squad. It's just glorious when you have them lined up like this.

BASE MANAGEMENT: Facilities built adjacent to one another nets you the adjacency bonus. For example, every Satellite Uplink or Satellite Nexus built in adjacent will provide a +2 satellite capacity bonus.

The Base Management, however, is more complex than it seems, where early decisions will have significant repercussions. For example, if you bought extra Medikits from the Foundry(I actually bought 6, damn it), which heals 4 HP on use, it'd be a waste of money since you might not want all of your squad members to carry a Medikit, cuz you're only allowed to carry an extra item such as a Medikit, a Scope, or a Grenade in the early game. To remedy this, your Support class units are able to learn a skill that enables you to carry two items in a mission. For other classes however, it is wise to take a moment off to think about what to bring along.

LAUNCHING SATELLITES: I permanently lost 2 countries in my first playthrough, unfortunately, which was a shame.

However, that was just a small example of Base Management. A bigger example would be Launching Satellites. As you progress through the game, nations will have increased panic level due to unchecked alien activity without a satellite scanning the region. Therefore, it is imperative to launch as many satellites as possible at the start of the game to minimise panic and bring in the extra income per month as each satellite is launched for a nation.

In the case that the panic level of a nation has exceeded the threshold, the country will permanently withdraw from the Council, where any additional rewards you were receiving will be null from that point onwards. If 8 countries withdraw from the Council, it'll be an immediate game over. Micromanagement and careful planning are therefore important if you want to survive another planetary assault to see the ending and credits.

BARRACKS: The game gets better though: You can customise your squad member's names, skin colour, hairstyles, loadouts etc. The game certainly gets more interesting if you name your squad after your friends.

HUGE shoutout to my fellow blogger and friend: Quince Yap, my Major ranked Heavy class, codenamed 'Thunder' - checkout his awesome blog at http://mygfisguminho.blogspot.com/

UNIT CUSTOMISATION: Fairly late into the game, my boy Quince was gorgeously equipped with a Titan Armor, a Heavy Plasma, a Blaster Launcher, and a Scope lens for that +10 Aim. 

END GAME: It took me more than 20 hours to beat the game, and it was a fairly good run, as you can see, i did a little better than most people on the planet - I only lost 3 soldiers in the final level(whose names I won't be mentioning). I tried repeatedly to not lose anyone for more than 2 hours, but I just gave up in the end cuz it's too damn hard to not let anyone die.

Here's a video review by IGN's Steve Butts:

Here's another one by Gamespot's Kevin VanOrd:

Summary:

+Addictive, tension-filled TBS gameplay

+RPG elements - classes and skill tress make your squads progressively more powerful

+Soldier perma-death gives you an emotional attachment to your squadmates, especially if you name them after your friends

+Memorable and diverse cast of aliens

+Well-animated character models

+Complex base management economy makes each decision important

+High replayability

-Difficulty spike during final mission, especially in the last segment

-Equipment sorting during prep

-Boring and repetitive maps, for some reason, the UFOs never crashes into cities, only forests

-Dumb civilians who sometimes run towards aliens to be killed

-Camera foibles and visual glitches

-No selling option for extra equipments

Score: 8.5 GREAT

I'm very blessed

I'm a lone wolf.
You don't kacau me, I won't bite.
That simple.

Most of the time, in my university, I eat alone.
I don't need your pity though,
I'm perfectly capable of eating alone.
And I enjoy it actually, cuz making conversations with people is a pain I think.

These alone time are hard to come by these days,
I'd just prefer to have my meal while thinking, reminiscing and reflecting about myself and some memories which i hold dear.
If you come sit beside me, you interrupt me.
And I just have good enough manners, and some laziness also, to not tell you that.

Sigh, having good social skills to know people can be a pain too.
You can only have so many friends, and managing these budding, so called 'new friendships' is also a task I'm not fond of.
You kinda need to filter these friends like your fb friend requests i think.

Of recent events, i think i'm getting more and more patriotic with each passing day. I was, of course, devastated by the election day's results. Really, really sad that night, couldn't fall asleep, literally.

Be that as it may, recent events of black as silent protests have really got me going. I see hope and a brighter future for us all. I'm happy.

Even so, I get a lil sad and down sometimes, but I'm glad i have a habit of keeping things to myself. I don't go and announce to my friends I'm sad or down or depressed - that's just not who I am.

Being silent might seem unhealthy for some, but IMO, i think it teaches me to be strong. It serves as a constant reminder that I have to stay strong for myself, for I do not fancy relying on others, nor do I like the idea of sharing my inner-most thoughts with people.

Ultimately, I can classify myself as a recluse. Though I hardly think of myself as an introvert - I can be rather noisy and active when I feel like it; and I enjoy being a lone wolf when i need some alone time.

Over the years, I've picked up different speech patterns from my friends. Indeed I was an introvert, many years ago, until i gradually picked up my friends' speech patterns for my own usage. I TALK COCK, then I think at some point, I became LC, but I don't think I'm arrogant actually, just LC, in the way I talk.

Mayhap I've offended lots of people along the way, but I just like being blunt and straightforward. But recently, I'm kinda reflecting on this, it's just, old habits are hard to be rid of. Or rather, they're already part of who I am now. I like being blunt and straightforward, but I think it might have been too much at times, that I may have been a jerk.

Sigh, at the age of 19, approaching 20. I'm not proud to say that I'm still doing my soul-searching, ie. I'm still unsure of what kind of guy I wanna be. It frustrates me every time I think about it.

See, I'm the kind of guy, who's so bold that he ain't afraid of dying or doing anything, which is why I don't really give a rat's ass as to how people think about me, well, usually, and in most cases. But recently, I conduct little surveys by asking a few friends what do they think about me, cuz I want to know whether my, so-called 'friends' are comfortable being around me.

Pretty much, I'll iterate that I'm perfectly capable of living alone and dying alone when the time comes, but of course, having a mate to sleep on the very same bed for the next couple of decades is a good thing to hope for, and to strive for. Though for years I've always been kind of sad when I think that I'm always, and always will be the kind of guy who's only good enough to be a friend, and nothing more.

Not to mention my mom who keeps on pressuring me about gf stuff, it does make me speechless and sad most of the time, but I do manage to cope with it. I guess at some point, I've already hinted that I might most probably live the rest of my life in my man-cave Alone.

And yes, should that scenario ever be my future, I'll just regret not being able to name my children Bruce and Scarlett. I told a couple of friends about this, and one of 'em told me these are good names to go with my last name. I'm glad actually. And sometimes, I do picture myself calling out their names. My imaginary kids look different each time i think about them, but the love of my life, that woman smiling behind my imaginary kids, she's always a blur. But she does always look like the woman of my dreams, yea, it's just a dream, and it may stay, just a dream.

At this point, I still can think of anyone who'd be willing to spend the rest her life with me. People say you'll find The One at some point in life. I doubt that. I think it's more to ourselves than destiny. I mean, what's destiny gonna do for your life, if she gives you a girl right in front of you, but you don't know how to cherish and grab the chance presented?

Haha, I try. I try hard in fact, and most of the time, I do realise I am no fun to talk with. It's obvious, rather obvious. It's sad, but I live with it. I've been living my whole life to this point with that in mind, what's there to lose?

And I do have so many things in mind that I wanna accomplish while I'm alive, that includes owning my very own house by the age of 30. My mom finished-off her instalment at the age of 25, she told me, I wonder if I can even reach my target of 30, let alone 25.

Which brings me to my Lamborghini dream. I pledge to myself, in the hopes that I could own  a Lamborghini by 40. Haha, it's a big dream, and yes it seems so far far away. 20 years more - two decades more filled with so much doubts and uncertainties, I wonder if I could make it through, and if I could, with whom?

Will my current list of friends whom I hold so dear, walk with me till the ends of the earth? Until Death decides to take one of us away? I doubt it, but true friends stay true, and the bond stays strong and never wavers, I will it to be so, and wish it'll turn out so too.

I'm good at many things, it's like I have a natural affinity to many kinds of stuffs - these were always my confidence boosters, for my academic results were nothing to be proud of. But then, I wish I could be good at so many other stuffs as well. I'm even so greedy that, say, if I were given a magic lamp or 7 dragon balls to make a single wish, I'd wish "to know and understand all there is to know and understand in this world and universe; no knowledge will be out of my reach"

Haha, such a wild dream. And a very impossible one too. Say, if magic truly exists, I'd create or learn a spell that may grant me immortality just to pursue that dream of learning all but limitless knowledge. How nice if I could live for eons and learn and evolve. But witnessing the deaths of so so many loved ones can be a pain too.

This life I'm living, I think I'm very blessed, and for that, I'm truly grateful, and happy. I try to live a life with no regrets, but of course, we always have something that we regret doing or not doing. I always do, and I always do wish I could turn back the time and rewind things and incidents, to make things better.

And still, everything's a dream. AND IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP. i mean sleep.

***This post(and all of my blog posts actually) was(were) never intended for anyone to read, so if you somehow stumbled upon this by chance, thank you so much for reading. I'd very much like to meet you people who'd check my blog haha, it's just so surprising and exciting really.

***This is not an assignment, so I don't really do proofreading. And yes, I know there are grammatical errors, but I'm just too lazy to proofread what I wrote an hour ago. I just don't care, really.


Shinn
May 9th 2013. 2.50am 

Blog Update, November 18th

Have been much less active in the facebooksphere, the twittesphere and the blogosphere these days.
Lazy, mostly,
and
I think I just currently enjoy my life being at home and with my family - siblings, especially :)
watching dramas,
gaming together,

window shopping,
teasing and jeering at one another,
the endless laughter,
simply,
just having some good ol' fun,
with the people that grew up with me. ^^

Anyway, I'm gonna leave for Nepal in 2 days time,
which is on Tuesday(morning flight btw).
Feel kinda lazy to go,
like i said,
I really enjoy the peace and quiet now - well, after spending 4 months in Miri,
that's the least I could say for myself. 

(You can't expect me to have the desire to go out all week, can you? :P)

This is Nepal.. err, well, some little parts of Nepal.. XD (Kathmandu I think)

But then, well, since most, if not all, things have been prepared,
And my supportive Mama Gan has helped me pay for the un-cheap fee,

I suppose there aren't any excuses not to go. ;)

FYI, Nepal is a country in between India and China, famous for its mountains and scenic beauty.
Fun fact: There are actually 2 mountain trails,
and thus 2 Everest Base Camp -
 leading towards Mt. Everest's peak,
the north one is in China,
and guess what?
the opposite one is in Nepal!

Proud Family Achievement:
In 2008, Mama Gan's actually hiked to the Nepal Base Camp which has an altitude of 5364m,
Haha, I'm just so damn proud of her
that I've bragged about it to my fwens a couple of times (Sorry XD)

BTW,
This'd be my very first solo experience to go hiking/travelling in a country that far away,

an unfamiliar place w/ lots of strangers.

I'll admit, it does feel kinda scary.
Meeting new people,
Treading on unfamiliar grounds,
Seeing a different piece of sky..
It's all very daunting,
But I'm thinking I'll enjoy it.
Well then, wish me luck. =)

Till next time!
Adios! 

Kitchen Turmoil

Notes I wrote to warn that 'special' someone.

I'm seriously pissed off by the fact that some retard floor-mates dared to use my cooking utensils, cutlery and crockery without permission, and the fact that they'd never washed them nicely after use just enrages me to no end.

Leaving food stains and oil patches on my stuffs, you think you're my best friend? Even ordinary friends don't do that, you unthoughtful schmuck!!

Try me