December | 2010 | Procrastinating in the Heat

Archive for December, 2010

Have you pre-ordered yet?

YouTube – Dragon Age II Rise To Power .mov.

The follow up to one of the best RPGs of 2009 is drawing near. This latest video from Bioware gives us a glimpse of the gameplay and the characters that our “Hawke” will be going through.

It is known that the game will NOT follow the character you made in Dragon Age: Origins or in Awakenings. But instead put you in the shoes of a new character named Hawke (which could be male or female). Think of it as Commander Shepard of Mass Effect placed into the world of Thedas.

I’ll actually miss being called “Warden” by everyone in the game. Now they’ll just refer to me as Hawke or “The Champion”. That’s just weird for me at the moment. But look on the bright side, I’ll probably live longer than any Grey Warden and there will be more adventures with thus character than the Grey Wardens.

But I do wish Bioware fixes the bugs with the DLCs and expansions for Origins. Especially if they plan on using the choices you made in that game carry over to make the world that Hawke has to fight his way through.

Dragon Age II hits shelves on the busy day of March 3, 2011.

2010: 12/29
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: bioware
dragon age
dragonage
RPG
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Dissidia Final Fantasy 2

YouTube – DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL FANTASY JF2011 Trailer.

The PSP fighting game which brought together the main heroes of every Final Fantasy game ever made (and I do mean every game every made, what ever were they thinking when they brought in Shantoto for FFXI is beyond me, she was more like an anti-hero to me) against their corresponding nemesis has a sequel. Yes, Dissidia Final Fantasy is coming back with the addition of Lightning from FF13.

But judging from the trailer. There’s a whole lot of new characters as well. Vaan fron FF12, Yuna from FF10, Laguna fron FF8, Cain fron FF4?, and Tifa from FF7.

I was already impressed by the first game, this should be nothing less. But I wish Square-Enix would bring to the PS3. It would be a refreshing change from all the Street Fighters and Tekkens and all the other brawlers out there.

Dissidia Final Fantasy 2 comes out in Japan and the US on March 2011.

2010: 12/28
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: ff13
ff13. final fantasy
FFXIII
Final Fantasy
psp
Square-Enix
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Mass Effect 2 DEMO on the PS3

Recap comic book

One year after Xbox and PC gamers got their hands on the best game of 2010, it’s finally coming to the PS3. For my review of the Xbox version of the game it can be found here.

But why only Mass Effect 2? What about Mass Effect 1? How will Bioware have decisions from the first game carry over to the second game if there is no first game for the PS3?

In a recent podcast , PS3 Mass Effect producer Jesse Houston was interviewed by the Bioware Blog on the challenges and changes with the PS3 version.

Bioware has employed an interactive comic book type prologue to explain the events of Mass Effect. Dark Horse comics, who also published Mass Effect: Redemption, which narrates the events in between the opening events of the game to the present. During these comic book sequences, the player then has a chance to decide the path of the story that their Commander Shepard experiences in the first game.

I just recently completed a playthrough of the PS3 version and there are differences. Though it’s still the same game, the PS3 is graphically superior. The shading is not as vivid as the Xbox but there’s a lot more detail. I can the weathering of the uniforms and the difference between the armor that Shepard wears and the fabric of the Cerberus uniforms of Miranda and Jacob. Though there were a few sound issues during the demo it’s still fairly the same. Button layout was initially a bit confusing. On the Xbox, the Right Bumper was used to bring up the abilities menu and the Right Trigger is to fire the selected weapon. The PS3 is the opposite, R1 will fire and R2 will choose the abilities. I kept forgetting that and ended up either firing weapons I didn’t want to or abilities. But I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon enough. The interrupt triggers for paragon and renegade decisions are still there and so far I haven’t made a mistake just yet.

Judging from the demo, I’m definitely buying this and playing this again. The PS3 version also comes out with the 3 DLCs (Overlord, Kasumi, and Lair of the Shadow Broker).

One can also infer from the podcast that the holiday 2011 release date for Mass Effect 3 will be simultaneous for the PC, Xbox and PS3.

Mass Effect 2 for the PS3 lands on January 18.

PS3 version

2010: 12/22
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: bioware
mass effect
PS3
RPG
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Should I get a PC?

It’s been bugging me for quite some time. As an avid gamer, I find it difficult to say that I do not have gaming PC. I have long sworn away from PCs and dedicated almost my entire time and income to console games which are much easier to maintain than PCs. That said, I want to get one.

There’s the benefits of work of course but then there’s this.

I’ve been playing Final Fantasy 11 Online since it came out on the PS2 in 2004. I have not been drawn into World of Warcraft or even Everquest. Square-Enix has managed to create a platform where PC gamers are able to interact in the same world as console gamers on both the PS2 and Xbox360.

The most recent release, Final Fantasy XIV is currently available on the PC with the PS3 release initially scheduled for March of 2011 has now been delayed. Though the date hasn’t been changed on the Amazon.com website, IGN reports sometime in 2011. That said, the main reason has to be the space limitation on the PS3. Unlike the PC version, the entire game can be delivered in it’s full high resolution glory with all the graphic drivers and assets installed in the hard drive. On consoles, there is the sticky issue of the SKUs of the PS3. Remember when there were 20, 40, 60, 80, 160, 320 GB PS3. Yes, that’s what’s causing this. Sure you can replace your own hard drive on the PS3, but how many people know or even want to do that. Thus, the game has to fit the current generation of PS3s.

That said. I could wait a little longer while I upgrade my hard drive.

Those who purchased the North American version of Final Fantasy 13 should have a coupon inside for FFXIV for an in-game item.

Choices choices choices.

2010: 12/21
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: FFXIV
MMORPG
RPG
Square-Enix
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Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

New Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Trailer – Official VGA 2010

Uncharted was one of the first PS3 games released and was considered to be one of the highlights of the PS3.

We went through the jungle in search of Drake’s Fortune. Then almost fell out of a train car hanging over a cliff in Uncharted 2: Honor Among Thieves. Now it looks like we are going to survive a plane crash.

The Uncharted series is the action movie on the PS3. It uses the formula for action movies. The gruffy, charming and witty lead character of Nathan Drake, the side kick Sully, and all the guns, explosion and action you can fit into a blue-ray disc.

Uncharted 2 brought us to the Himalayas in search of the Fountain of Life.

But now we are brought to the Sarah Desert.

No shortage of action here

Uncover the truth on November 1, 2011.

Photos courtesy of Naughty Dog’s flickr page. Official Site.

2010: 12/20
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: naughty dog
PS3
Sony
teaser
uncharted
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Parasite Eve : The 3rd Birthday

The 3rd Birthday SQUARE ENIX

For a lot of people, Aya Brea is a stranger. But those who remember the “other” survival horror game on the PS1, Parasite Eve was something different. The storyline is very much similar to Capcom’s Resident Evil which involves zombies, mutated monsters and a mystery. If Resident Evil has Jill Valentine, Parasite Eve has Aya Brea.

One of the lesser known Square-Enix franchise, the last game was on the PS1 in 2001 and one developed solely for the Japanese market on their mobile phones. The game was completely ignored for the PS2 until now. The game was announced in 2008 at the DK∑3713 event in Japan.

Thank you Square-Enix for bringing the game back. I hope this may lead to a much bigger game on the PS3.

The 3rd Birthday comes out in Japan on December 22, North America and other regions on March 2011 for the PSP

Parasite Eve Trailer

2010: 12/19
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: classic
horror
RPG
Square-Enix
surivival
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UP Lantern Parade Part 2

More lantern parade pictures.

UP Manila College of Pharmacy winning float. Happy 100 years next year!

You know you’ve got it made when you have an effigy. NO TO EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS!

UP PEP Squad at Melchor Hall

Professor Edru Abraham with the College of Arts and Letters

College of Law

UP College of Mass Communication

I wonder how much work went into this?

The winning float from the College of Engineering. Happy 100 years!!

Pictures don’t do this justice. The guy on top pedals and the feet and head move.

Institute of Chemistry

Fellow lecturer Ramon Bautista also taking pictures.

They walked 2.2kms in these.

That’s no Clown fish. College of Fine Arts

Piranah?

Piggy floatation device

Merman in a can

College of Fine Arts

Fireworks finally!

I found this year’s parade kinda weird. There were no screens at the Amphitheater which led to no views for those who were there. The sound kept cutting off, probably because of grounded cables due to the rain. The angle of the fireworks were dangerously close to the audience with the explosions happening right above the crowd. Because of the close proximity of the fireworks, the whole area was covered in smoke. I hope they fix these next year.

See, the lights were on and it still looks great.
Lantern Parade 2009

I hope you enjoyed the parade as much as I do. See you again next year!

2010: 12/18
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: stuff
travel
TAGS: 2010
diliman
lantern parade
up
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UP Lantern Parade 2010 Part 1

Fireworks!

We’re all finally on Christmas break! The UP Lantern Parade this year was a bit iffy for me. Probably because of the heavy rain right before the parade started. But it did not dampen the mood of those who were there. As soon as the rain stopped, the streets were filled by all sorts of student creations and the students who made them.