Valve Games Review (Part 2 of 2): Left 4 Dead 2

For my Valve game review, I take a look at Left 4 Dead 2 and its predecessor. I still remember, back in elementary school, my friend and I (both avid FPS gamers) were getting tired of CS 1.6 and CS:S, but one day, my friend spots an ad by Valve featuring L4D. Every single day, both of us would search for new Left 4 Dead gameplay videos, and I can't begin to describe the anticipation that was in both of us. Remember for us, this was essentially the newest FPS out since CS:S from Valve so we were very anxious.

Leaf 4 Dead 2 features Uncommon Commons

Getting incapacitated, picking them up and healing them? Playing as zombies? These were all unheard features of any game before its time (to our knowledge at that time). And when L4D was finally released, both of us immediately bought it. I'll have to say, both of us enjoyed it thoroughly and the game pretty much lived up to the hype. But not a year later, L4D2 was announced and this marks the split of the L4D fandom/community.

     I personally was initially against L4D2 being released so early. The main reason was that Valve promised constant updates to L4D, just like in TF2 where maps, weapons and new features were constantly added (see my other blog post). I remember I read a quote from a Valve employee that said (I'm paraphrasing), "There were many things we wanted to do for L4D but didn't, so we're doing them in L4D2". Immediate, I thought "It's not too late!", "You can release your ideas as updates for L4D". But no, L4D2 was released, and eventually, the fan base rose as time went on.

     To be fair, there are lots of new features in L4D2 such as mutations, new weapons (Military Sniper Rifle, AK47, deagle, adrenaline, uncommon commons and new special infecteds). I've enjoyed L4D2 along with a bunch of my friends, but with any good game, there are always a few downfalls.

     To give a basic gameplay overview, there is single player where you play as a human (with 3 others) and fight your way through various zombies to reach a rescue point. There is also a multiplayer mode (max of 8 people, 4 on each team) and you essentially take turns being the zombies and humans for each map (you get to play as both on every map) so obviously, teamwork becomes a huge variable for enjoyable games. Well, so with multiplayer, there are some idiots (we are talking about the internets) and some people enjoy ruining other peoples games. Some enjoy glitching (such as getting to unreachable places) and some griefing (such as team killing). But not all of this comes at the fault of the player, there are many evident glitches in L4D2 that haven't been fixed for awhile. But overall, I found some good friends to play with, to ensure at least an enjoyable game and I'm also expecting many more updates in the future (such as map ports from L4D1).

I do not own or take credit for all of the above image, if you would like them to be taken down, please message me.

Anyone else play games from the L4D series? What's the best zombie game you know? What do you like/dislike about co-operative shooters?

   

Valve Games Review (Part 1 of 2): Team Fortress 2

I'm starting off this week with a game review/rant, the first of two. I've been a pretty avid gamer over the years and there are two specific games that I've kept coming to, one being Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2, or TF2 for short, first came out as a package with some other games called "The Orange Box", during the fall of 2007 and was later released as a standalone game during the following year. TF2 is essentially a team based FPS (First Person Shooter) where you can choose classes to fit a certain style of game play. Each class has their own specific roles and abilities. Their abilities are dictated by innate skills and by various weapons/items. And heres a quick run through of all the classes, their names should be pretty explanatory: Scout, Demoman, Sniper, Spy, Soldier, Medic, Heavy, Engineer and Pyro.

Actual Game-play of TF2. Here a medic is healing a soldier
while a pyro attacks.

     For me, this game has been "the best bang for my buck", even though I bought this game at it's highest cost ($19.99) where as it's lowest cost has been $2.00 during promotion periods. There are a few things that keep this game exciting and fresh, and that is through constant updates. New maps, weapons and items are periodically added, but this can be viewed as both positive and negative.

   There are a few things that annoy some players, one being the number of weapons available and two, a specific type of item hats. First off are the weapons, there are probably over 60 weapons currently available (more weapons are constantly added), but the problem comes with the balance of all the weapons. Every update, there will be moaners and groaners about the "OP" of certain items and etc.., and I don't blame them. Take for example the "Natascha", this weapon came out for the heavy a few years back, but only last year did they alter the damage and attributes of the weapon. If it takes that long to "fix" a weapon, how do they manage to keep up with all the new weapons they add?

    Secondly, are hats. Most of these "hats" are just for your visual pleasure (some hats give a class a bonus gameplay effect). Hats are constantly added and traded (a trade system was implemented a year back where players can exchange weapons, hats and other items) and has become a huge part of TF2. Since the implementation of the trading system, there are many servers dedicated just for trading purposes. Now for hats in particular, there is a very high demand because of the rarity of them. Some go as far as to purchase hats from the TF2 Mann-Co store or even from other players. Some hats (unusual hats), fetch as much as a thousand dollars. I've personally haven't ever bought a weapon or hat, but I have sold numerous hats and I've taken advantage of this market. I've since detached my association with trading and I just play TF2 for what it really is about. 

    But overall, there are many things that players can explore and experiment with. Whether if you fancy the hats, or the always exciting game-play though constant map additions and an ever growing selection of weapons, there is always something for you to enjoy. 

Satirically speaking, some people dub TF2 as a great hat simulation game, rather than a team and class based FPS.

I do not own or take credit for all of the above image, if you would like them to be taken down, please message me.

If you play TF2, how do you find it? Any good FPS recommendations for 2011? How to you find other valve games?

   

University of Toronto Scarborough: First Impressions

So for many Canadians, graduating high school students heading off to post secondary school had to choose their educational institution for next year. I for one, accepted my UTSC (University of Toronto Scarborough Campus) co-op management offer. For those that are not as familiar with University of Toronto, U of T is actually made up of 3 campuses, UTM (University of Toronto Mississauga), UTSG (University of Toronto St. George) and UTSC

For the 2015 Pan Am games, an aquatics and athletics complex (such as 2 Olympic sized pool,
runnings tracks and other facilities) will be available for UTSC students in the future

     Well as I said in the last post (Japanese Treats! Meltykiss Chocolate (Part 3 of 3), I would be visiting UTSC today for the "Ready! Set! Go!" event which is to really get first year students familiarized with course selection and the next steps students should take.I also opt-ed to go for a residence and campus tour.

The infamous trios of smokestacks that
towers over the campus

Upon entering the campus, I encounter a figure that my peers have talked about, the infamous smokestack that makes the building look like a factory.









I also visited various wings of the campus and I'll have to say, some of them look really great and others look not too appealing in my opinion.


The one that didn't appeal to me were the ones that were structured by complete concrete (at least it looked like concrete to me). As you can see below, the whole building's interior is just this dull grey and looks like an unfinished basement to me. Another building also looks like this, but at least they painted a coat of white paint to change the scenery.

Concrete, Concrete Everywhere!

On the bright side, this is the new
Instructional Centre/Management building open for 2011

Besides the infamous smokestacks, some people also know UTSC for its lack of social life. Honestly, I really think this is up to the individual and their involvement in extra curricular activities (this university is a commuter school). I'll once again make a post about life at UTSC once I'm actually a student there. I might make another post about frosh/orientation week.

I do not own or take credit for all of the above images, if you would like them to be taken down, please message me.

So how was everyone else's first experience/impression of their post-secondary institutional? How did you transition from secondary school? Or how is/was your post-secondary school experience altogether?

Japanese Treats! Meltykiss Chocolate (Part 3 of 3)

Mmm chocolate

Well this is going to be my last post in regards to the goodies that were shipped from Japan.
This last item is probably one of my favourites, Meltykiss. Meltykiss is a type of chocolate that has many flavour/varieties, such as creamy, strawberries, extra fudge...and the list goes on. Some of the flavours are only available as per seasons! I personally got creamy milk chocolate. I've had Meltykiss before, but that was a few years ago, so what a nice time to reacquaint myself with it.
When my package of goodies first arrived, I noticed that the Metlykiss box was actually opened! Customs probably broke into my package and saw Meltykiss and stole some from me.

Anyways, the overall quality of the chocolate itself is splendid. Each piece has light chocolate powder dusted around it, and the center is soft and velvety chocolate.

If you want to check out some Meltykiss or related treats, check out Jbox by clicking on the link below.

I'll probably post again on Sunday about university as I'll be heading to University of Toronto today to check some stuff out. So stay tuned for some university realted posts!

Any good chocolates you want to recommend? How was your experience with Meltykiss or Japanese treats?

For more Japanese goodies, apparel, supplies, anime and manga visit JBOX.com

Japanese Treats! Lotte Black Black Gum (Part 2 of 3)

Caffeine filled gum!

   Continuing my series of reviews on my confectionery purchase, Lotte Black Black Gum is next on my list.
This type of gum was available in two sizes, in the rectgular 9-stick pack, or in the plastic bottle.
What makes this gum unique is that it is caffeinated.







Check out a Japanese commercial of  of Black Black Gum featuring Duke Toko/Golgo 13.

Whenever I still feel that I haven't woken up yet, and I need to get to class, I just pop one of these. Do they actually work? Well, I can't really vouch for it, but I do feel more awake (even by the intense mint taste of it alone, could also be a placebo effect).

There is an additional feature for the plastic container one. You can see in my pic that there is what looks like green post-it notes inside the container. They're actually little pieces of paper that you can spit your gum into and throw out! How convenient.

Anyways, if you want to check this gum out visit the Jbox link towards the bottom of this post.

I do not own or take credit for the video above.

How to you stay awake for the day or get away from the 2:30 feeling? A cup of coffee? A slap in the face? Any interesting gum out there you'd like to introduce?

For more Japanese goodies, apparel, supplies, anime and manga visit JBOX.com