More Vision

Less Bureaucracy!!! Well finally after a long time chionging com games and re-chionging com games (albeit at a harder difficulty), I'm glad to say I'm almost done. Only Hellgate London left to complete -that letdown game- (hence the uncompleted status)... But of course sitting at home playing games 24/7 is not the way to go... There are visits from various ppl, swimming with WL, outings with ex-classmates and being a 24/7 standby chauffeur... And of course the inevitable task of planning for next year. The objectives to be completed before going into NUS and beyond. And no "The Game" for me... I prefer my own outdated tactics. I don't believe "The Game" can get a discounted lunch at Tiffin's Room... If it was so effective, then Natasha Bedingfield won't be singing the song "Soulmate"... Indeed if there was one thing that I learned in the jaws of tyranny, it's how to speak in riddles. Anyway, it's just a precaution to prevent myself from being compromised... Don't understand? Ignore... Bloody Saruman and his legion of spies coming from that foul pit... I wonder if I can get rid of that taint anytime soon? After all the mud on my boots is from OUR SOIL, which is tucked away in isolation in MY STOREROOM... Like I care about the soil... What we need is granite... Oh sorry old news!

A brand new strategy is being planned for next year... It will be more complicated because "Yes Sir! Yes Sir! 3 Bags Full!" is not part of the agenda. However, I embrace complication. Who wants to be mindless zombies? But as of now, we still got 1 month more to clear. Time to complete the rest of the remaining agenda for this year and move on. Lingering around will do no good. Indeed the good old days of 05 is coming back... Rebuilding and moving on from where I left time standing still... The 06 that should have been, albeit 2 years later in 08. I'm sure there are many who feel the same way as I do now... Sometimes in life, we need experience to differentiate truth from lies. Of course there are others who knew the truth even before experiencing it. Indeed, the 2 years of time has spoken volumes. Either you believe the truth to be true or the lies to be true. To each his own. Anyway, moving on to my favourite part. Game reviews. In chronological order.

From the makers of Diablo II, comes a game about post-apocalyptic London. Hellgate London is an example of a game that was touted as the next step in RPG history. However it fails to live up to its hype. Like any RPG, HL has 6 classes of "heroes" to choose from. Being a die hard FPS fan, I chose the Marksman class. Basically it's like playing CS but having the ability to customise the weapons and armour like any RPG. So you could choose to play it as a RPG or an FPS RPG hybrid. However choosing to play HL using the latter is a wrong choice. The shooting mechanism is unrealistic; bullets are either too accurate or flies in every direction, you can't aim down the sights and the shots do random "dice" calculated damage. HL has good graphics. Especially when you turn on Dx10 smoke and have a good graphics card to support it. Indeed the London underground looks eerie and the monsters scary. However, first impressions aside, there are many bugs in HL. The jumping monsters sometimes hang in mid air after you kill it. Sometimes while jumping, your character sinks into the ground and you end up at the start of the level. The sound of the guns are muffled and unconvincing. The monsters are repetitive as you level up. They just change colours and are harder to kill. The redeeming feature of HL is the amount of customisation you can do to your equipment. Upgrade guns and swords with enchantments. Break down useless equipments to scrap metal and parts to upgrade your weapons. And of course the monsters drop a myriad of goodies. The uncertainty of getting legendary weapons and random unique upgrades makes playing HL a uncertain, random and interesting game. Coupled with the long campaign and multiplayer features, HL delivers a wealth of content, at the extent of quality until the patches resolve the issues. If you are a fan of Diablo II, HL is a must have. If you prefer a less buggy RPG, then Mass Effect would be a better alternative.

• Overall:7.0/10
• Graphics:8.0/10
• Gameplay:7.5/10
• Sound:6.0/10
• Music:6.0/10

Next time, stay tuned for the reviews of COD 4, Assassin's Creed, Crysis and Mass Effect. But before I go, to fulfill a belated promise to CL. Here are the chinese translations that I did just before I ORDed... Enjoy! Courtesy of Babel Fish.

Although my chinese is bad, SAF is worse!!! Nothing in my way!!! The big countdown is ending!!! 14 more days to ORD!!!
虽然我的中国人是坏, SAF 更坏!!! 没什么用我的方式!!! 大读秒结束!!! 14 另外天对ORD!!!

One day a corporal, the next day a civilian. How fast things can change in a blink of an eye. The green 11B became a pink IC. What a welcome sight!!! ORD LOH!
一天伍长, 次日平民。多么事可能快速地改变在眨眼。绿色11B 成为了一桃红色IC 。真是受欢迎的视域!!! ORD LOH!

ORD, back to study. Got degree, so happy. can forget, the days in army. With my rifle and my buddy and me!!!
ORD, 回到研究。被得到的程度, 因此愉快的罐头忘记, 天在军队。与我的步枪和我伙计和我!!!