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Afternoon sun shower, waiting for the train

[amagclub]

Cliffhangers that hurt

I just rewatched Kamisama Dolls and AnimeLab. Not only does the credits tease moments from a nonexistent next episode that post credits scene is like salt in the wound that there is no follow through.

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My Ten Recommend Games of 2016

It's that Time. This time when one year ends and a new one has begun. This is now the time to look back and think of all the good times enjoyed via the hobby of gaming. On checking the release list on Wikipedia - which is a little inconstant on if it will include DLC/Expansions or not - There was almost 400 games released to my platform of choice, Windows Powered PC. From these 400 games I've managed to play 23 of them. Which might sound awfully poor on first glace but from their steam review rating I've had my fill. There are likely a few I didn't pick up this year at a later sale but for now I just have to many games to split attention over between my usually time barren schedule. For the list of games released this year and I played this year click the jump. Looking back at last year I did manage to play a few more games than in 2015. Although it is more likely that I forgot more than I listed in the end. One of these I have already made comments on so I will link to though here. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend Darksiders: Warmastered Edition Hackmud Hyper Light Drifter ICEY Killer Instinct: Season 3 Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 No Man's Sky Overwatch Plague Inc: Evolved Quantum Break Rise of the Tomb Raider Shadow Complex Remastered StarCraft Nova Covert Ops Superhot Titanfall 2 Tom Clancy's The Division In Verbis Virtus Watch Dogs 2 World of Warcraft: Legion

Really I would recommend all of them on their own merits but lists are quite fun. Other than No Man's Sky with it's price tag and even though I enjoyed it myself it is in no way something I can recommend. 

Hyper Light Drifter is an action adventure that I found really compelling to play despite it initially being only 30FPS. For the most part it did feel fluid until you attempting the dashing challenge rooms and some of the bosses. That said it did take a little time to adjust to the 60FPS change that was made later the in year but I do believe the game was better for it. 

ICEY is a Metroid like action sidescroller that appears to have made the developer a little batty after its 10 years of development and attracted a dose of Forth Wall/Stanley Parable angst along the way. That said it doesn't come off as too pushy of at all over the top and but it does predict player behaviour in funny ways quite nicely. Although it is voiced in Chinese the mechanics alone make this a really enjoyable game.

Blizzard are if nothing else really dedicated to the Games as a Platform model and would rather expand what they have currently than change something that from the outside might look like it's dying a little in player base. The additions made to StarCraft 2 over this year have really changed the game such as adding Co-Op missions for those of use that find ladder just another form of anxiety. The Nova Cover Ops missions were also fantastic kinding giving StarCraft Ghost in a format it should have been developed for to begin with. 

I have a love for fighting games that I just can't describe and on that list of fighting game devs I really enjoy anything by Arc System Works. The art and how the combat feels if everything in both their 2D works and 3D works. While I'm yet to try the new Guilty Gear the port of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend is awesome. Although I'm more in the the story mode for these games than online multiplayer I really love the anime aesthetic.

It has a very rocky beginning and for solo end game does have a number of shortcomings but the extra additions of Survival mode and other end game content expansions I feel that The Division has at least become something I can wholly recommend as a good game to play. 

This game. Just play it. No buts. This game is hands down awesome fun and feels like a more tactical puzzle game then a really FPS. Will also have you saying SUPERHOT over and over again. 10/10

 The campaign really surprised me as it felt fleshed out and gave the world of the game a lot more grounding than the first. While mechanically speaking it didn't really change the overall gameplay I feel it was a good steep in the right direction for the franchise for the future as world building was a needed thing for lasts games multiplayer only entry. Although I only enjoy the Attrition mode when playing multiplayer I've enjoyed what I've had the change to play which is really more the same with a little more tactics needed as you're no longer kitted out with 3 weapons per class.

After playing through the first game and just how dark it did get with some of the content I was hoping for some more hacking focus on the next game with a little last revenge angst. Watch Dogs 2 is such an improvement over the first game although it does still attempt to force multiplayer on you from time to time. Even in some cases when you're attempting to do a story mission. That said I really enjoyed the characters this time around and although it does suffer a little of usual Ubisoft open world game issue where the story drags a little (expectantly if you're attempting to complete all the side quests) I loved the tone of this over the first game. 

While I've yet to find the time to complete In Verbis Virtus if you're looking for something a little different in the usual fantasy FPS setting this could be something you can look for. Or if you want to simulate how frustrating an Interactive Voice Recognition system is in a game this could also be the case. I really enjoy the concept and the development of their own language system for using the spells is a nice touch. It can get a little chaotic when you're attempting to remember the needed name of the spell when being chased by something around a room for a while. But I do recommend the experience 

Blizzard's first new IP in quite sometime and while I enjoy and recommend it I personally find the lack of a single player a little underwhelming. I love the characters for what is know about them and their designs and that they all play differently. I think I might be more willing to play the game more often if it the game play showed more context to the characters in game. Maybe I'm just a good vs bad kind of person.

Well OK. Wrote a little more than expected but this is the list of my recommended games this year in no particular order.  

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mIRecommends: An Anime to Binge - Code Geass

If you're looking for something that crosses a wide range of genres then look no further then Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and R2 - It features a huge amount of story with a number of plot twists with mostly well developed characters that while they may appear to be one dimensional they will later show more to themselves than first thought. My main enjoyment of this series is the ebb and flow of Lelouch's plans and how they appear to succeed only for the climax to be stolen from him due to his hidden motives or cockiness that leave him shortsighted. Other may find an interest in the Mecha battles that can really awesome although the convention of power creep as a new Knightmare Frame will appear with little lead up or hint it was something in the works can feel a little samey as the series progresses. In short. If you like a good store with no real good or bad and some very troubled characters that makes them work to a tearful end I would recommend all of the current Code Geass episodes. If you're in Australia you can find all of Code Geass at AnimeLab -here and here - There is also a OVA movie series set between these called Code Geass: Akito the Exiled that is not up on a streaming service at this time but is also very good.

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mIRecommends: An Anime to Binge - Erased

Although I've heard of "Erased" - also known as "Boku Dake ga Inai Machi" (僕だけがいない街, lit. The Town Without Me) - from a number of people that recommend it as is my habit to to wait well until a season is finished as waiting for what comes next is the worst part of falling for series. This is something I greatly recommend.

A heartfelt story of someone that felt loss but found a way to correct what they feel were mistakes and missed opportunities. Satoru Fujinuma attempts to correct of someone lost 18 years prior with a randomly occurring ability he calls "Revival" that seems to trigger when there is a possibility of changing an outcome. Before it's only happened for about one to three minute jumps until he is framed for murder in the present. 

The intrigue of the plot of the setting is not for the faint of heart as it does deal with some sensitive subjects such as murder, child abuse, abduction and serial killing. The concept is not all that new either but does it in a way that kept me interested. You could see similar beats from "The Girl Who Leaped Through Time" or "The Butterfly Effect" although the later would be a better watch.

As I said before the jump that would be something I highly recommend. 

If you're in Australia you should be able to watch it from AnimeLab.com

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mIRecommends: An Anime to Binge - Noragami

There are times that you just stumble across something from a Top 10 Anime list someone placed on YouTube that doesn't listed it's sources. So you search the comments to find what had the awesome scene that got you interested.  Noragami is something I just binged for the reasons above and it's been something I would recommend.  The Noragami (ノラガミ, lit. Stray God) anime based on a manga series by Adachitoka  around Japanese gods and folklore based in modern times follows the attempts of a minor god Yato to gain a name for himself. Hiyori Iki who gets way to deeply involved in the world of the gods.  The world craft is quite good although it does hit similar beats to Madoka Magia and Bleach in some ways and Soul Eater. Although some done it a more elegant display. Such as having a force that is created by the emotions of humans they can't perceive in the form of phantoms and named weapons that area formed from the spirits of humans.  As an anime done by Studio Bones it has all the quality animation style that I've loved from watching their work time and time again. So if you're a fan of some good fight scene adorable moments and just a heartfelt delivery this is something I would recommend to binge when you get the chance.  My place to binge is AnimeLab 

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Game Review: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

At one point I placed this on my Steam wish list and then promptly forgot about it. To my memory as to why I'm not sure. That aside I'm really enjoyed the 5 or so hours I've sent on this and while I have yet to get to the end I feel completed to do a write up about it. Join me after the jump So what is Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight? You are a priestess from an distant land that is becoming affected by a shroud of darkness and have come to the domain of the Queen to ask for assist only to find it in near ruin and occupied by all manner of creatures. Anyone spared appears to only want to look out for themselves but will offer some hints as to how you may proceed. Aims with a Sacred Red Maple of you faith and your trusty bow can you set things right and end this curse. It one of those pixel art, action sidescroller games that takes a lot of things of other games that have come before it. It got a classic Metroidvania  like challenge, in that you will die a lot but if this is your jam you might find that beating a boss has you feeling compelled to find the next challenge. Minor enemies will respawn when you scroll from screen to screen and progress is reset if you don't save at a pray bell. Despite looking like a lot of other indie games around the place what does it have going for it? I found the animations really fluid and smooth from the small touches of your death to the way combat flows the amount of work that has gone into the movement of this is amazing. I give this to game running at 60fps and it really shows in the responsiveness of the game and when you do take damage for the most party it doesn't fell like it was the game being a pain and more just a lapse is skill or not reading an enemy correctly. This game really delivers from the sutile story, ambient music solid combat and 60fps. This is one for any action sidescroller lover. You can pick this up from Steam Edit - I didn't know it before but it appears this is the fourth game in the Momodora Series but is made as a prequel so playing the others is not required but if you would like to see more you can do so here - https://rdein.itch.io/

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My Top 5 Games of 2015

A top 5 games? Well yeah. According to Wikipedia there were about 300 games released to PC last year and it only appears I've had the chance or time to place a handful of them. The following listing below is what I've played this year that was released that ran on the Windows PC platform Grey Goo Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Life is Strange Hand of Fate Homeworld Remastered Collection Dragon Ball XenoVerse Sid Meier's Starships Dead of Alive 5 Mortal Kombat X Magicka: Wizard Wars Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Heroes of the Storm Undertale World of Warships Assault Android Cactus Downwell StarCraft II: LotV Shadow Complex Remasted Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- Out of this list which ones did I enjoy to place in to a top 5? Well here we go

Although it was a very disappointing port from High Voltage of Mortal Kombat X and the launch of the game was botched that I had issues playing till a week after release I was still very happy with the game overall. Although WBgames is no longer looking to support the PC version and that due to consistent issues with the online play and the dead community because of it is a shame to see after WBgame made such a good game in Mordor to have both Batman and MKX suffer from such a lack of effort for the PC platform. This sits at my Number 5

I picked this up when episode three launched and enjoyed it enough to go back and play through the rest as it released. The story is completely lackluster and despite the attempts at leaving you on a cliffhanger you feel like the game often has little regard for your input into the games story. The best moment of this 5 part story arc was the moments when you really got to play with time which gave the illusion of having a lot more impact on the games outcome then the story really wanted you to have. This sits as my number 4

I love StarCraft. I overly think the story from the original was a great deal better but the way the story is told in StarCraft II just has an amazing execution that I just enjoy. The differences in the missions and the changing gameplay is amazing. Although I do enjoy the Protoss their story feels a little weak when compared to the last two chapters of this story. As I suck at the multiplayer I can't give comment on if the changes to it are any good. They are enjoyable watching though. This sits as my Number 3

Although a port of a PS Vita game I really enjoyed this side scrolling beat'em up. It has a character to it like none other in the genre and combat system is really enjoyable. As you move up in difficult and with different characters the game can be a little on the frustrating side but it a really top experience. This sits at number 2

I don't have a way to explain Undertale than just to recommend the experience of it when you know very little about what it's about. What I can say is if you like a classic RPG feel with a lot of forth wall breaking weirdness this is a game I can solidly call my Number 1. From the characters to the music to the humour to the emotions. This game has wrecked me to be one the look out for every piece of fan content I can find... I don't think I'll ever feel this about another game as such as I do Undertale.

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That Moment of Fleeting Motivation

So as it is I'm a big guy and by big I mean fat. I currently weight around 150 kg or about 330 lbs if there is any people that use such measurements reading. I've always been a big guy and as such I've often found it hard to imagine in any other way but from today I will be looking to see if I can change this paradigm. I've set a schedule to stick to and see how this goes, which I have placed below. I might even make a video series on my progress. I would also be looking for a little help from people I know that have read this or know me to keep me accountable to this. On top of this I will be looking to get back into intake tracking and looking to eat about 6000-8000 kJ a day as my current weight is maintained by more than 10,000 kJ which I've attempted to reduce before and had some good success but I've been very slack over the 6 months when my results plateaued. So starting from tonight I'll start at top and work my way down and hopefully the scales will follow suite.

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Game Review: DmC - Devil May Cry

The remake the new Dante before the white hair. There was a lot of fan rage and outcry about some of the character design changes before this was released but did it ruin the experience that was Devil May Cry?

The short answer to that question is a big N O. Well in my opinion anyway, the long answer? I love hack n slash action platformers, there is often so much on the screen and to see you able to just decimate a legion of monsters with a very over the top looking combo is satisfying and with the weapon switching system being really simple to use combos can be strung together really well. The movement system can get a little bit to get use to but once you learn how to dodge correctly and make space between you and the every surrounding enemies the game makes you feel like a god of combat. I found enemy variety to be really enjoyable as once you get use to a new enemy it isn’t long before it has a new trick up its sleeve to make the engagement a little more tactical. Like forcing you to have to particular weapons to challenge one enemy while another can’t be hit by the same type. Nothing new but I feel it’s done rather well in this game.

Platforming sequences and puzzles are a plenty in the story mode and for the first run provide challenge in more remembering which button pulls a platform to you or flings you toward the next platform. It can feel very linear in most regards and getting lost in an area is just about impossible. Unlike Devil May Cry games in the past there is little backtracking through areas and very little item collection although some of it is still there I feel that it looses a little flair if it wasn't for the environments looking as pretty as they do. The story is dramatic and passable for what I've experienced from older games in the series but it kept me interested in what was happening and made me care about the characters involved which is always a positive for the series. I definitely recommend picking up both the base game and Vergil’s Downfall DLC as it changes some of the core fighting mechanics and gives Vergil a lot more development. I would love to see another outing for Ninja Theory on a DmC again but I’m not sure if they will get the chance.

You can by DmC - Devil May Cry on Steam

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Upcoming Things

Hello All

I'm looking to get started again on that game reviewing and pendent stuff.I just haven't made the time to do amidst work, life, games, study and the like. I even completely forgot to do an end of year post, how shameful. I'll be back on the horse from the end of June or July. I might even post of list of what I want to work on review wise in the near future. Stay tuned.

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Game Review: Banished

Good city management simulators are hard to come by. Ones that provide a bleak outlook and likely death if you can’t manage your resources properly and keeps you playing just to meet the challenge and make it through the next winter are almost not existent then there is Banished. Banished is a game where you are charged to make sure a small community of people can sustain themselves. You make a few houses, construct a gather hut, hunters lodge and forestry maybe a fishing hut. Then you get to winter and realise you forgot to build a woodcutters and have all your people die of cold. The next game you remember the woodcutter but some how ran out of a resource you needed to build something else or mismanaged your labour so once again you small community begins to die as the game just shows you should not be placed in charge of the survival of people For a game built by one person it looks amazing and the size of the maps can be huge which can make some basic resource collection really interesting. The game also has a beta release for the addition of modification support there is no better time to pick this title up if city management is your thing. The game is being distributed via Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle and shiningrocksoftware.com

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Game Review: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

It’s been a while since I've sunk some time into an Assassin’s Creed game and felt absorbed by the world I was introduced to and with Black Flag I found the introduction to feel a little long winded. The premise of being on a pirate on the high seas wasn't something that was fully available until around 45 minutes to an hour in but once I had the command of a boat and was able to take down other ships to gain their cargo and improve my own and looking for bigger ships to attempt to take down. As with other comments about the game this feels a great deal better than what was presented Assassin’s Creed 3, from the feedback from the cannon fire the way you select weapons and the target assists then preparing to fire. It almost felt like Ubisoft could have just taken this concept outside of the AC universe and made a new game from it, could have been something grand. The rest of the game is more of the same really, although I found I really enjoyed the overall story and James Kidd being the character being my favourite, even after the reveal that he may be more than what he claims which was an interesting twist. Although having the option to do the usual Assassin activities outside of the main story was good as to avoid them. As usual the plot of AC involves the general Templar vs Assassin’s war and the general conspiracy that follows it around with the Assassin’s some how ending up under the heel of the Templar’s once more only to have the protagonist to get them out of it. The “modern day” component was similar to the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations DLC “The Lost Archive” that dealt with Clay Kaczmarek and has some very similar interactions. The character is unnamed and from the viewpoint taken may be representative of yourself as a new employee of Abstergo Entertainment. I found these sequences to be enjoyable and a welcome change from what we got with Desmond in the other games. Also seeing some of the other familiar faces such as Shawn and Rebecca. Then again I’m an odd one and find the jumps between time periods adds to the game more than it detracts from it. As I have found with all Assassin’s Creed they make me a fan by the end of it, although AC3 was the hardest to get through AC4 Black Flag is a welcomed return to form which I would gladly recommend You can get Assassin’s Creed Black Flag from your prefered outlet

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Game Review: Transistor

This is my first written review, as such this maybe a long and likely bumpy ride but bare with me.

I recently completed the game Transistor by Supergiant Games and I was as impressed with this outing as I was with Bastion and as with this being the developers second game there are moments where the similarities blurred a little but it never felt exactly the same as the combat, narrative and music was a more enjoyable package it had me going right until the end.

The combat from Bastion was competent for an isometric brawler it had impact when you hit enemies and they reminded you that it’s better to defend or dodge their attacks. Transistor’s combat is a little different as you only have one weapon, The Transistor which is a collection of data from individuals in the world they you are exploring that give you different combat abilities, augmentations or passive traits. You also have the option to pause the action and plan your attacks against a single or group of enemies which allows you to combo attacks and actions together. One example is that you can use the skill Jaunt() as an active skill to move yourself behind a target quicker than it would be walk there and then unleash a number of attacks that would back stab the target giving a damage bonus. Once you resume real time play the plan plays out in an amazing visual display of action.

The end result can feel really satisfying and the skill system is very adjustable. The only flaw in the system is that once you find a catch all way of dealing with most enemies you will stick with that set up until forced to do otherwise. When you lose all your hit points instead of a game over you lose access to one of you active skill until you have the chance to swap you skill rotation around which can make you realise the set up you were using was a little ineffective and you then swap everything out and rebuild which can be really fun. The fun it a little lowered when a “death” lockout you highest damaging skill and limits you to running from what were in most cases easy enemies to waiting for the pause ability to come of cool down.

It is also of note that enemies don’t stay static either and will add perks and skills over the play time which can make some skill options a little interesting. Once I had a skill active that made a explode-able orb and when struck in combination with another skill would unleash a devastating area effect “boom.” One of the newer enemies was able to shield other and decided that the orb was the best object to provide a shield to and such not allowing me to complete the combo I had in mind a situation I was not expecting at all. Other changes to enemies will make them move faster, do more damage, clock, attack a little differently or change in some other way which as completely surprising.

The narrative of Transistor feels a step up from Bastion in a why having the relationship be appear more personal between the narrator and the protagonist but leaving it open to if they had ever meet before this incident or maybe who the narrator was before had always been watching over Red not sure if he was able to make such a move as he did. The world itself give the impression that it may be more of unknowingly digital world where the motif of “See you in the country,” gives the impression of removing oneself from the simulation and back into the real world and although unanswered it left me wondering if how these people came to be in this world that we are only privy to such a small amount of information on.

The narration is as expressive as it was in Bation but give it more of a film Noir feel that fits the visual display of the world. The narrator always appears to have a word or two about everyone as when looking through your skills you will find that you can find out a little more about the people of the world you find yourself in as well as finding news bulletin and message terminals that give the world a greater deal of depth that you can either choice to be immersed in or just ignore for the most part. It’s a great read though.

The music of the game is as stellar as Bastion and with the addition of the protagonist being able to hum along to the background music between combat make the atmosphere presented keep the Noir feel that is consistent in the background environments. Once again the soundtrack does change to reflect the mood of what is happening on screen from in combat to changing locations from expressing urgency to remembrance adding up to something that could be listened to outside of the game quite naturally.

All in a very enjoyable title that didn't reach the point of feeling tedious or trivial and was an improvement on the formula Supergiant started with Bastion and with the addition of a “New Game +” feature it is very inviting to do it all again for the addition challenge.

You can get the game on Steam.

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Update: Chrome New Tab

So in regards to my last post on this topic it appears that Google have now forced the change and have taken away the ability to change it back. So I've found a few other methods that should allow something similar to starting up on the Apps page at least. If you want to add one of the redirection addon you can do so and I will link the one after the jump. This is simple enough to find in the setting page, nothing as fancy as last time you can set the On Startup to go to "chrome://apps" on the other side you can also set the home button to go to the same page although I feel like that is no much different from the Apps shortcut in the bookmark bar.

If that is all that's needed then you're good. If you want the apps page to open on a new tab then you will need to use a redirector extension. I use the New Tab Redirect! which appears to do the job with to do the job but will also allow for other pages. I have seen reports of it messing with omnibar searching but that is apparently due to chrome developer restrictions.

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Oh, a painting. How quaint

So sometimes I get the need to use the very old WACOM Graphite 3 tablet I have to just digitally paint things. Most of the time I'm never happy with the result and usually scrap it and then feel disgruntled that I never look to slog the time and energy to improve. As seen with my attempt at trying a 365-52-12 episode per year video project. But I made something I at least want to show people using Black Ink which is an awesome digital illustration program designed to take advantage of a computers GPU allowing you to make larger images with little input lag and the design of the program is very different and less cluttered with tools and the like. The funnest thing in the program is the brush controls although it does require a bit of a math understanding there are guild on the community page. There is also some really good are there to. As you can see here Oh my picture.

I also have a deviantArt page with a few other things. So of which are a little old. You can find it here

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Steam Sale

If you haven't noticed the Sprint/Autumn Steam Sale has now started and I was very amused at this seasons website design. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page it will transition from Sprint to Autumn as well as everything being upside down the menus also work. You could say small thing amuse small minds. I will still say that this is brillant. Lots of good deals are likely to be had like Sleeping Dogs which is awesome and a great deal more fun than I was expecting. I'm very tempted to pick up Anit-Chamber as I have heard some good things about it. This will be the only post I make about it but be sure to check for more awesome prices in the coming days.