Catch Up Time! 9/28/2011

   Due to RL issues & work, times have been sparse during these last few weeks. For one, I was without a proper internet connection for 5 days while on the road. So, here's a quick catch up on things I normally would have a nice post for.

1.) Zelda: 4 Swords Adventure is now out for download for FREE on the Nintendo 3DS & DSiWare store. Game works on both systems, and you can cross-platform play. This works out greatly due as the rest of my house owns DSis, while I am the sole owner of a 3DS.

2.) Batman Arkham City's Joker trailer was released, and it's frikkin' awesome.

3.) FFXI got a nice update; Level cap to 95, Dynamis changes for Dreamland Zones have been completed, alot of new spells (For the love of all that's good, why make the new spells only drop from bitch endgame stuff!) and job abilities, and additions to Voidwatch and Burning Circle Orb Battles. There are also the option to buy Dynamis maps now, making it easier to bring new people to zones. Oh, and there is this guy..

"Oh Hi! I'll be tearing your face off in a Voidwatch zone real soon!"

4.) Ranma 1/2 will be getting a NEW 2 hour special. The catch? It'll be live action.

5.) SquarEnix releases a press statement that "The Final Fantasy brand is damaged." This could be due to the lack-luster releases of FFXIII and FFXIV. With XIII getting a sequel and FFXIV being worked on, maybe we'll see some improvement soon? Maybe Lighting's Loli sister & XIV adding Chocobos will help?

6.) Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas are the most boring states to driver though on I-40.

7.) Waiting for the new, barely talked about, Code Geass season 2? WELL, I have nothing on that. Don't fear, the lovely makers of hugging pillows featuring C.C. & Kallen are releasing something to hold you over. Let's just say.. it'd take a certain power of a kings to get me to purchase one of these.

Watch for another update later on this week covering my Solo Summoner Dynamis San d'Oria walkthrough & review or two.

Some changes in the Star Wars Blu Ray are very acceptable.

   With the release of Star Wars on BluRay, we've exptected some changes through the movies to improve the experience. I was a little thrown off with Bitch-Anikin was added into the final scene of Jedi, but it seems they finally won me over by re-imaging that scene again:

Thank you Yoda, Ben... and you too Murphy.

Review: Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 (PS3)

   Gundams are back and tearing through mecha-fodder like never before. Is this mech-meets-dynasty warriors ready for a third try?

Someone keeps cutting my logo!

GAMEPLAY:

If you've ever played a Dynasty Warriors or Sengoku Basara game, you know what to expect. The gameplay has changed very little sense the previous game, both in good and bad. Character combos are a little flasher, it's alot easier to obtain better mobile suits, and it's a hell of alot easier to befriend fellow pilots. This time around, instead of playing as each different pilot and working on friendships and licences per character, you play as a "player" who befriends pilots simply by fighting along side of them. Another great upgrade to the gameplay is the different types of fields. Catapult fields will shoot you to another area, while communication fields will summon some back up. Also a great chance to the gameplay is the moral system. Ever get to the end of a tough as shit fight simply to get shanked by say, V Gundam? In pervious games, this would end the mission. You'll also be welcomed to new assist moves, where a friend will come out and help you by either supporting you with funnels, or decimating the field in your stead. In this third instalment, players are allowed to respawn after defeat. This takes away alot of frustration. Of course, new mobile suits and pilots are introduced from series including Gundam X, Unicorn, and season 2 00 characters.

"You have my spear."

All of this new stuff is great and all, but of course there are a few drawbacks. Space missions are nerfed to simple "You're either on a ship or on a planet" zones with maps that constantly repeat themselves, leaving little-to-no originality in the levels. Some levels in story mode seem to force you to play as a character in a grunt suit, making a boring level worse.

2/5

SOUND:

Most of the voice actors from the previous games and the series return to fill the rolls of the pilots. The issue here is that you often hear the same voice actor for 2-3 characters. The actors do a great job repeating lines from the series, but unlike the previous entry into the series, they are spouting more nonsense then usual. Characters try to talk to each other, usually creating awkward moments that almost make sense. Char comments "Gundam. I see there are more then one." Where the fuck were you for the last 2 games? (In before fanboy rant.)  The music is another let down, removing the original Japanese score and music and replacing it with something that sounds like a rip-off of other game music. Once you play you'll hear familer-esq music you may think would come from MegaMan or Power Rangers. I may be harsh on this, but they could of done ALOT better on both the music and voice acting. Japanese audio is available for those who want something different, like listening to the voice of Amaro voice Ribbons instead of Setsuna.

1/5

GRAPHICS:

Holy crap does this game look good. Probably one of the best looking games from the Musou/Dynasty games. The Gundams, their enemies, and the grunt suits look amazing. Some of the best cell-shading I've seen in a while. Lasers and beam swords give off the right amount of glow. Suits that give off energy look amazing as well. 00 Riser and Gundam Unicorn were given great treatment, and is always pleasing to the eyes. Character portraits are detailed and large, despite the fact that they spew gibberish.



5/5



"And my axe!"



CONTROL:

The suits move as you want, and that's amazing to say the least. The new dash ability and added combos makes the game a smooth ride. Something that is very welcome in a repetitive game. I still wish you had vertical control while in a jet-mode, but that's ok for now. Everything is assigned it's own button, and that is also a very welcome thing.

5/5

FILLING:

There is alot to do in this game, though it becomes repetitive. Story mode opens most of the characters and there respected mobile suits, making unlocking a little more of a simpler task. With alot of suits to upgrade and characters to level, it really helps with the game long term. Online mode is lacking with 15 battles that you can do with a friend. It's not as promising as one would hope though. DLC is also available in the form of download only characters such as the other Gundam 00 pilots and Puru 12. The 5.99 price for each character is steep, making characters like Mr. Bushido less tempting. DLC also comes in the form on .99 cent single missions, that also feels like a let down seeing as DWG2 gave us free ones. Bad play there, BandaiNamco.

3/5

"And my ZOMG funnels!!!!1!"

OVERALL:

I can't express this enough. This game is entertaining, but not as much as the previous entry. The DLC fuck-you-in-the-wallet has already cost me 18 of my hard earned dollars. The game itself doesn't fill the price tag completely for it. If I wasn't playing this game with my best friends and daughter, I would probably be pissed about it frankly. To put it in retrospective, lets compare this to the recent DBZ games. Comparing this game to it's predecessor would be like comparing DB: Raging Blast 1 with 2. Not enough to merit a full price tag. Maybe a 4th title will fix this and I can compair it to DBZ: Budokai 2 to 3, and that was a huge step in the right direction there. Either that, or I guess I'll be waiting for Dynasty Warriors One Piece.
3.2/5

FFXI: Dynamis - Windurst Low Man Strategy

The following is an experimental strategy for FFXI's Dynamis - Windurst EndGame Zone. Obvious enough?

Maps belongs to FFXIwiki.

The above map gives basic locations of every time extension & notorious monster pop area. Our goal for a successful run will include gaining all time extensions, then relocating to an area to camp while we farm currency, relic armor, and anything else we can get these greedy Yagudo to drop. I also included a larger map of Windurst Walls, the area where Dynamis - Windurst is based. I will be using both maps as reference.

Trail Run Findings: We trio'd for a trail run for this zone, moving from the eatery point, north and then counter clockwise to hit all 5 time extensions. One of the largest issues that seems to be in most city zones is that the TE statues, known as Prototypes, are surrounded by beastmen. You either need to be sneaky and quick to kill, or have some killer crowd control. Fortunately, we have a little of both.

The first TE definitely foreshadowed times to come. Located on the small circle part of the bridge at G-13, our first TE prototype statue surrounded by two wandering monsters, with two paths that have 1-2 possible aggos each. During the trail run, we tried to zerg the Prototype down without aggro. This failed, as Yopo (RDM/BLM), had to keep linking and aggro monsters sleeping. We eventually had to kill 3 normal monsters that attacked. The biggest problem was hte Prototype's respawn was around 2 minutes, having to fight him two more times during the crowd control.

We then sneak/invis'd and headed north, making a right at H-10. We made our way to TE2, located next to the southern stairs where Shontotto's manor is.

We had less trouble with the TE here, as the only possible link is a NIN mob. If you time your attack right, you can zerg down statue while the Ninja's back is turned. You can sneak/invis right soon after, and move north onto the next TE at K-5. Watch for the NM on top of the manor. Getting to close could mean possible aggro. Now you'll run into the same time of spawn at K-5. Use strategy above, and you'll do swell. If either time the Ninja aggros, just go ahead and take it down. Watch for the Ninja's 2h, so have mages keep stoneskin and barfira on if possible.

We headed west to H-3 for the first 15min extension. The 15m mobs are slightly tougher it seems then the 20min that we've fought previously. One issue is that he's hanging out with two Summoners. A Summoner's two-hour move, Astral Flow, is a dismantler of your face when used. In most cases, wipes the entire group you're with. We lived through an aggro, as the mobs attacked Yopo then left after she was down. Thanks again for your sacrifice, my love. Once she was up and the stone was dead, we were able to move to the final TE at C-6. Little did we know, that we would not be making it farther then that..

Sudden aggro on my from trying to solo the mob, and the rest of us falling one at a time during the battle caused us to wipe completely. Thus, ending our first Windurst (test) run. We walked away with WAR relic (useless) and one piece of Windurst currency, T. Whiteshell.

The next run we do will be a another test run, as we attempt to get all the time extensions and successfully farm the zone. We'll not only need some of the relic items that drop here, but I'll also be needing about 1500 of these lovely shells. So, the following is a quick rundown of the next Dynamis - Windurst runs.

1.) Enter, Buff, and Sneak/Invis,

2.) Make our way to TE-1. While standing in the south-east corner and waiting for mobs to turn, we'll zerg down statue while Yopo watches for possible aggro.

3. Take out TE-2 while NIN isn't looking.

4. Do the same as 3, except to TE-3.

5. Standing behind TE-4, we zerg him down whole hoping not to aggro SMNs. If the SMNs see you, it'd be best to sleep their pets and pull them closer before taking them out. This will avoid possible aggro from the mobs in the water.

6. This one can be done one of two ways. Either have Yopo, our RDM/BLM sleep the lot of them while we take down TE-5 and then slowly take down other mobs. Issue here is with respawning mobs. If we only have to take one or two we'll be fine, but any more could lead to another wipe. A way to fix this would be to sleep the mobs, kill the TE, and run our asses as quick as we can through the zone to a safe location WHILE training the entire west side of the zone. We could also attempt to sac pull the whole area causing a mass-despawn once sacrificial lamb (possibly me) is down, leaving a few moments to kill TE-5 while the saclamb revives and rebuffs.

7. Return to the area we entered, as it seems to be the safest camp and resume farming. :D

I'll update after we attempt this run, and see how it works.

Random Pictures 9/5/11



I thought my forhead was big.



'cause the face don't understand.

Sorry, this one is mainly for FFXI fans.

That's all for now kids!