Since my hand first touched PSP, I stopped playing console games altogether. And now since my brother got a PS3 as a gift and acquired himself a Star Ocean: The Last Hope, I'm trying to find time during Saturdays (when nobody's at home, but me) to play. I've never missed a single game from Star Ocean series, so I swore on my honor as an RPG lover to play this game.

Though there are a lot of online games appearing here and there for the past decade, I've never seriously involved myself with online games. I mean, I've played tons of online games and eventually quitting after a span of about 3 months to a year. This does not limit to playing MMORPG and other client-requiring casual games. It goes the same with playing Facebook games, other addicting browser games too like dress-up things, and perhaps, somewhere, online bingo games too? It may be due to my mentality of everything that begins must end somehow, lead me to a subconscious conclusion that playing online games eventually will lead me in a never ending adventure, thus, in the end, will lead me nowhere, as opposed to playing console RPG that has a definite storyline and eventually ends.

Onto Star Ocean: The Last Hope, I haven't gone very far yet. I think I haven't even reached beyond the first chapter yet. But so far, I'm liking it. Though I think the graphic is a bit cutesy (I prefer graphics to be more realistic like Devil May Cry) but since this is Star Ocean, and it's been that way and is already a part of the overall appeal of the game, I'll shut up about it.

The game play is like the old Star Ocean game plays which is unlike the common battle system of turn-based used in other RPGs. During battle scenes, you get to choose to control any character on manual. This meaning, hitting monsters, guarding and strategically aiming for combos and such. While you're busy with manipulating your current character, other 3 characters on play are run by AI. You can also switch between the 4 characters you have on play while in battle. This way, you can use the healer to heal characters with low HP when you need it.

For first timers like me, this is a bit hard. Though it's not my first time time on this kind of battle system, it is, however, my first time grabbing a PS3 remote control with my hands for more than 5 minutes. (The first time was when my friend Jepoy actually had the nerve to challenge me to a Tekken 5 match at ToyCon 2011 and eventually lost from my random attacks.) Though this particular game play is what attracted me to Tales of Phantasia at first and eventually lead me to the Star Ocean series, but playing it in a whole new environment, in my opinion, takes a lot of getting used to. I probably would take a few more days of playing straight to finally get used to it.

Oh and lastly, I'm very confused with the use of the the right joystick of the analog to rotate views! D:

A few days back (last August 10, 2011 to be exact), Playfish, subsidiary of Electronic Arts that develops Facebook social game apps, launched the beta or their most recent Facebook game,  The Sims Social. The Sims Social is a Facebook app game version of their multi-million  dollar worth PC game series, The Sims.

Being a guilty The Sims addict myself, I told myself that I gotta try this the first time it comes out in beta!

I made a male character named Ken Hidaka, after my eternal crush – a young handsome ex-pro soccer goalie of J-league turned assassin under the code name Siberan from an old anime called Weiß Kreuz.

My first impressions of it is that it's really cool. Imagine that you can actually play The Sims in your browser. Though not in full detail like the PC ones, it's still The Sims.

I took a few screenshots to let you compare them with the actual PC game.

Read the rest of this entry »

So a few days (weeks?) back, mobiusgames launched MU Online Philippines' Season 4 patch. I was initially planning on playing MU Online, since I haven't had the chance to try it before since the first MMO I've played was PRO. I was planning on gathering as much info as I needed before I start trying it out, so I rushed to the forums to read feedbacks and such about the said patch. And then, I saw a really interesting thread, so I read on.

The topic was about these certain MU Online players who initiated donation drives and/or were encouraging people to donate reliefs and stuff for the victims of Ondoy's quite unfriendly visit to the Philippines. And to my surprise, a lot of players responded to the thread and actually donated reliefs and such. They had this agreement on where to meet each other and go to the locations to give help.

Here are a few of the pictures they took while giving help:

(Please click the images for a larger view)

You can find the exact thread where I took these pictures from here. Pictures are on page 3 of the said thread.

And what's great about it is that this is not the only group doing this. I found a lot of thread like this in different sub-forums, doing the same thing but on different approaches.

To all the players who have donated for this cause, you guys rock! It may not be a full heal, but the potions and mana boosts helps!

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There have been a lot of bloggers posting on how to donate to the victims of Ondoy and such, cross-posting from one blog to another. So I guess with all of those, there are enough information on the Web for you to figure out where you could donate to help so I'll spare you guys the posting of info and just limit myself to re-tweeting stuff from twitter, and thought of sharing interesting finds I stumble upon here and there relating to Ondoy and I would call these series, "Bayanihan Ondoy".  So, look forward for more.

Hohohoho! Look at what I got in my e-mail just now! 8-)

MU Online Philippines Season 4 is coming! Woot!

And on the Season 4 site it says:

Notice the bold class! Yesh! Me wants a summoner! Me wants a summoner! *dances* But level 400 character? Oh, noes! D=

I shall get my character resurrected! But, wait. Oh, crap! Now that I think about it, I forgot what my old character is! *facepalm* Should I start from level 1? Boost me, pweeze? ='3

OR I'll go buy a character somewhere. *whistles*

PS:
GM, GM, pengeng gamit! 8-)

Hai! Hai! Hai! The sexiest, most alluring, not to mention, deadliest dhampir is back on track! Step aside ugly spawns of darkness! The super handsome, son of Dracula (no pun intended), Alucard is back to kick your asses! *ahem*.

Here's an eye candy for you (love me later for doing a good job editing a screen shot from the trailer):

At the Tokyo Game Show 2008 last October 9th, Konami made an official press announcement with an ass kicking trailer, that there would be a new Castlevania coming out for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. *super ultra mega grin* I'm crossing my fingers that this would be one heck of a game this time. Since I was terribly disappointed with the last Castlevania I played which was Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for PSP, I'm hungry for a good one this time around. Ooh! That game - the game play suck so much that simply being reminded of it pisses me off! I really wasted my time trying to play it for a few hours. No, I'm not having a tantrum over buying the game because it was not me who bought it. :P