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Battle Journal

This is the Battle Journal of alext_b, where I'll write everything about my daily life and my struggles on GS. Enjoy and comment.
Inactivity.....
....until GS comes back to life. I'm tired of everything being so dead. I might check in from time to time
Posted by alext_b, Jun 19, 2008 9:24 pm PT   11 Comments
The winner // Something about leaving GS

The winner of this top 10 is Unreal Tournament

Masterpiece. Clasic. Game of the year. All of these describe this game accurately.

Preceded by the not-so-popular Unreal series, Unreal Tournament is a game that revolutionized the world of deathmatch. Although it was released almost a decade ago (1999) I feel that this game still tops all new FPS's like Halo, Half Life etc.

Although it's not much for graphics, and lacks vehicles and amazing gameplay modes like 2k4's Onslaught, UT's greatest strength lies in it's simple but furious gameplay.

This has all the basics like an array of weapons to use, the usual gameplay modes like deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and also UT 'specials' like domination, which involves controlling specific locations to earn points; assault, which involves infiltrating the enemy base and completing certain objectives; and a campaign only mode called lightning deathmatch....never quite understood what it's supposed to be though.

As-Frigate

Assault

As for playing the game, forget the campaign, got for the true essence of UT - practice matches against bots...I know that sounds pretty easy but the higher levels aren't for amatuers; and of course multiplayer gameplay. What makes this game worth playing, even today, is the popularityof the game. There are more servers here than in 2k3 or 2k4, and a decent amount are populated. Of course, ping can sometimes lay restrictions, but once you find a playable server you can keep playing for hours and not realize the time. To add to the game's value, there are tons of mods and maps lying around the net and each of them brings a different flavor to the game.

The bottmline: There are 100+ reason to play this game and 0 reasons not to.

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I wonder if it's just me, but GS seems so terriby inactive these days. Unions which were once flooded with posts are now dead, and there are people leaving or simply being inactive left and right. The only reason I've been coming since the past two weeks or so is to finish the top 10 I started, and you'll notice that towards the last few games, I couldn't be regular with the updates. I find it a bother to come to GS cause there's absolutely nothing to do but comment on friends' blogs and although it helps to keep in touch, it's not as fun as unions are.

Are there any unions which are active and will stay active for some time? If not, then I might follow suite and leave for a long time.

Posted by alext_b, Jun 17, 2008 10:05 pm PT   18 Comments
Game #2 Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Another unexpected game?

This game is the first RPG I played and the best. Falling short of Neverwinter Nights in terms of graphics and even sound, the greatest strength of this game lies in it's gameplay system and it's amazing plot.

As in all RPGs the first thing to do is to make your character. With all the choices of race, clas etc given to you, even just creating characters can be fun. Every choice you make has it's own pros and cons and this gives you the opportunity to carve yourself into your computer character.

The game starts as a direct continuation to the prequel and you find yourself in a dungeon with a few of your old friends. Talking to your old friends gives you an insight into what happened in the first game and what you're in for now. Escaping from the dungeon also serves as a sort of tutorial mission, teaching you the basics of the gameplay and also making you aware of how certain things in the game need to be handled.

The real game kicks off when you get out of the dungeon. You'll find yourself with a huge city to explore, plenty of NPCs to ineteract with, some of which give you very inetresting information and quests. There are quite a few characters which can be taken into your party, and each of them have a personality of their own, which will make you feel almost as if they're real people. All the objectives promise to give you a very fun gameplay experience and also show you how big the city and it's surroundings are.

Although the rest of the game is like your usual RPG, one thing that makes this game stand out amongst all of them is its superb plot. You're presented with mysterious motives and even more mysterious characters early in the game. As you play further into the game, the mystery slowly starts to unravel itself but tends to get crazier. After all the twists and turns which you struggle to figure out, the final link is placed only in the last stages of the game. By this time this revelation occurs, the events in the game wil have taken you to such an exciting point that you just can't leave the game. I remember playing the last bits again after completing the whole game. That's how much fun it really was.

One last thing about thsi game is its length. It'll take a decent amount of time to finish it, but with the kind of gameplay it has, you'll be far from bored by the time you reach the end.

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This game deserves a review MUCH better than what I can write. RPG fan or not, if you want a game that's fun, last for some time and most importantly, actually runs well on your system, get this. Play this through even once, and you'll never forget it.

As for my final game......I guess it's pretty obvious but still, cookies for guessing it

Posted by alext_b, Jun 16, 2008 9:27 pm PT   10 Comments
Third position - Grand Theft Auto 3

GTA in #3......imo it's grand enough to deserve it.

GTA 3 was a revolutionary game. Not only does this game offer near-complete freedom to do anything you want, but the missions themselves are a memorable experience.

As you know, the missions in GTA 3 are all about illegal activities like stealing stuff, killing someone, dealing drugs etc. These missions have different levels of difficulty allowing you time to familirize yourself with the game early on, and even giving you scope for enjoying yourself later on. If you get tired of nerve cracking missions you can turn to easy missionsfor a break or if you get tired of easy stuff and want some actions you can go for the tough missions.

GTA3's trademark free roam system means that even when you're not on missions you can have a good time cruising around the city for fun, killing people randomly or simply messing with the cops (my favorite) Of course, you might wanna use this freedom to follow the law for a change but that's totally your choice.

The graphics give you a highly realistic view of the city as you go around making you feel as if it's your second life or something. Of cours, you can't buy clothes and stuff, but at least you can wreak havoc and enjoy all the destruction. All the cool visual effects make you feel as if you really ARE creating chaos in the city. Even all the cars have a disticntive look so you can learn to recognize all your favorite (or otherwise) cars from a distance.

Sound is one of the best aspects of the game. The sound effects are great and add another touch of realism to the game with sounds whencars blow up, or warnings by the police. THE best audio aspect of the game are its various radio stations. While cruising around or even during missions, you can listen to whatever kind of music you enjoy - pop, rock, love songs, or simply mindless chit-chat. I personally found a certain song called "Push it to the limit" highly inspiring during tough missions.

Whether you're a fan of FPS's, adventure games, hack n slash games, or basically any kind of action game PLAY THIS GAME RIGHT THE HELL NOW!!!!! This is at least x100 better than GTA Vice City or even San Andreas. Can't say about GTAIV though......

Posted by alext_b, Jun 13, 2008 11:39 pm PT   11 Comments
My system crashed + game #4

My system crashed I was doing something when Windows suddenly restarted and then it refused to work no matter what I did. It kept rebooting everytime it was upposed to bring up the logon screen. So I ended up reinstalling it, and now everything's fine. The only problem is that I'll have to reinstall all the programs and games too

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Game #4 Jazz Jackrabbit 2

What do you know? A 2D platformer! Bet you guys didn't expect that

This game is a classic, even in today's date. You get to pick either Jazz or Spaz to play the game, with both of them having respective pros and cons. The game starts off in a dungeon you're supposed to escape from, and the first level does a very good job of familirizing you with the game. Out of all the different types of ammo you can find in the game, the first two are found in the game's first two levels. Of course, getting through the second level can be a bit complicated, since it's a boss stage and it's pretty different from the rest of the boss stages but once you figure it out it's fun.

As a typical side scrolling shooter, you have a wide variety of ammo, all with unique and interesting effects, and a hoard of enemies to get past. There are 4 'episodes' in the game, each episode featuring 6 levels. The game also prsents you with diverse environments to play in, ranging from Alice in Wonderland style gardens and monkey forests to haunted castles and a victorian era city. Every environment gives you two levels to play, with the exception of two environments that come on later in the game, spanning over one level each.

Along with the enemies and usual bosses, you also have to get through certain traps, and of course getting around the place itself is not a very easy task.

Another thing about this game that makes it so great is it's music. Every level of the game features a different soundtrack that perfectly matches the level. True, some of the soundtracks can get a bit annoying, but they still serve to fit in with the level and some of the more extraordinary tracks more than compensate for them.

A truly memorable part of this game is a whole level hidden away in ones of the stages. Even the entrance to that hiddden level is in a place you won't think about looking in.

One lastpro about this game is it's multiplayer. It allows you to play race, treasure hunt, battle or even co-op. Naturally, one of the multiplayer modes is split screen and although the game says taht there's online gameplay I don't thinnk the servers are ative any more, so you're pretty much stuck with split screen. But if you can find a good player, it's still amazingly fun.

I've played this game 6 times till date, once on all three skill levels - easy, medium, hard, once more on hard, and twice more on medium. And I'm still not bored of this game

Posted by alext_b, Jun 13, 2008 4:37 am PT   8 Comments
Game #5 Prince of Persia 3D

Game #5 Prince of Persia 3D

In 1999 Jordan Mechner's original clasic returned to complete the trilogy....in 3D. This added dimension brought a whole new level of excitement to a clasic.

The game still features the original's trademark challenges like traps and strategic setups. However, since the game is now in 3D, so are the challenges which means you'll have to get through them like never before. Ropes hanging over pits of spikes, pools of water you need to get through, and stuff which was impossible in the original two games.

There's also a drastic change in the combat system as the prince now weilds four different weapons. One of them is obviously his trusty sword. The other two melee weapons include a quarterstaff and a pair of hand-held blades. The last weapon, being a bow brings an interesting aspect to the game - killing oppponents without actually engaging in combat. There are also a host of magical arrows, some of which can be quite fun to use.

Otherwise the gameplay remains more or less the same, with health and other potions sprewn around, a princess to save and guards after you.

Two major flaws in this game are it's graphics and sluggish controls. It's still really fun but it would've been a lot better if these two flaws could be fixed.

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Sorry for the delay.....I was busy. And I'm now level 25 Defias Brotherhood Anyone know what that means?

Posted by alext_b, Jun 9, 2008 8:49 pm PT   11 Comments

My Recent Reviews

Rise of Nations
"Rocks"
A satisfactory game for RTS fans, but those new to this genre should rent it first. Continue »
Posted Dec 27, 2007 1:31 am PT
Recommended by 4 users.
Unreal Tournament
"Highly addictive"
A pure classic. FPS lovers, if you haven't got this game yet, get it as ASAP. You won't be disappointed. Continue »
Posted Dec 27, 2007 12:39 am PT
Recommended by 7 users.
Midtown Madness 2
"Instant classic"
A very fun game. It's bound to keep you playing for hours. Continue »
Posted Dec 22, 2007 9:48 pm PT
Recommended by 4 out of 5 users.
Grand Theft Auto III
"Revolutionary"
No other game has this much freedom to offer with this level of amusement. You won't be disappointed. Continue »
Posted Dec 22, 2007 9:32 pm PT
Recommended by 5 users.

My Profile

alext_b
Last online Jun 21, 2008 10:30 pm PT
Member since May 10, 2006
 

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Defias Brotherhood
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