Thursday, June 18, 2009

Assassin's Creed 2


Set for release this Christmas, AC 2 is one of the year's most anticipated game along with Starcraft 2.The first sequel currently ranks among the top two or three best selling games for the playstation 3 and Xbox360. During the E3 2006 awards, it won the Best Action/Adventure Game by Game Critics Awards. Also, it bagged similar awards by IGN, Game Spot, Game Spy, Game Trailers and 1Up.com. Fans are set for another adventure in AC 2 as players step into the life of another assassin, Ezio who is also an ancestor of Mr Miles. According to producers, AC 2 was developed according to the feedbacks they had on various forums. In AC 1, players reprised the role of Altair who was later stripped of his ranks only for him to regain them back as the game progresses. In AC 2 however, it was told that Ezio started as a normal citizen. Something bad happened and forces the protagonist to learn the ways of an assassin. The plot is set to take place in Italy, during the renaissance. From the demos and videos I've watched on Youtube, players are able to perform a variety of new assasination methods and also gain access to new inventories. Leorndo Da Vinci makes an appearance in the game as well and helps Ezio throughout missions. In short, if you thought AC 1 had alot to offer, AC 2 is even more versatile with new systems such as money,factions, hire, transportation and many more.


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Sunday, June 14, 2009

My first karaoke experience

It was Thursday, June the 11th. I was sitted in front of my monitor, blogging about the departure of Ronaldo when Heng Yie invited me to join her along with her coursemates to The Jetty. Feeling the need for fresh air, I decided to make haste. I arrived at her place slightly before 12. We were about to leave for the karaoke when my car battery died.




  • Shortly after, I was able to get the engine running again but I decided it would be safer to go in another vehicle. So I gave my car some miles to run before parking it by the side of the road. Heng Yie and I then took her brother's car instead. We arrived at The Jetty around 12 or so if I recall correctly. The place seem lively partly because Arena was just around the corner. It was not long till we met up with Heng Yie's coursemates who were joined by an elderly man.


The man whom I believe is in his mid 40s was a friend to the mother of one of Heng Yie's coursemates. I was feeling out of place as everyone was singing in languages I can barely master. However, I did not want to draw attention in a negative way so I tried to enjoy myself. The finger food was phenomenal in my opinion so I did not hesitate to help myself to it. Everything was enjoyable till the elderly man bought us some buckets of heineken.

At this point, I knew I was in for some real stuff. There were 2 buckets in the room so I thought "Okay, just 1. After all the girls here are drinking as well so it will be a shame if I turned away". After the first bottle, everything seemed okay. Then my body started to get warm and I knew my face would probably be red by then.
Moments later, the uncle called for another 2 buckets so I was obliged to dig another bottle. After the 2nd helping, I felt as if God casted a stone spell on my brain. It felt heavy. I made my way to the gents but while walking along the way, my vision was like.. hmm.. that of an assassin in the movie Wanted. It felt like that. Haha. My heart was beating faster than usual too. I was unlucky to be offered a 3rd bottle T_T but soon after, the uncle told me to take half of the bottle. So I hold my breath and gulped as much as I could but I felt like puking. I was able to recover and still managed to drive myself and Heng Yie home safely. By the way, God's stone spell lasted several hours before it wore off when I woke up in the morning.

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Ronaldo gone for £80m

Manchester United have accepted a world record offer for £80m offer from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo. A statement on the United website confirmed that a deal for the 24-year-old should be completed by the end of the month.

  • Personally, I have mixed feelings abt the deal. As a Ronaldo fan, it saddens me to see him go considering how he has performed for the last 2 seasons. Afterall, it's dead-rare for United to possess a Ballon d'Or custodian who is also FIFA's World Player of the Year. During the 2007/08 season, he scored a staggering amount of 42 goals inlcuding an audacious backheel in the 4-0 thumpting of Aston Villa. The following season, he was only able to score 26 but still ended up as the second top scorer in the Premier League with 18 goals. He did well against Porto and Arsenal to ensure that United were able to defend its UCL crown.


On the other hand, as a United fan, I am somewhat disgust to see him fall easily when given the softest of nudges. He will then raise both hands into the air as if he were Moses trying to split the Dead Sea into two. Nevertheless, it was United's decision to accept the bid. With him missing now, it means Rooney can play his favourite striking position again which he has been doing well on the international stage for England.

Ribery was considered a possible substitution for Ronaldo but judging from comments made by those in Bayern's club, Ribery is unlikely to leave unless someone comes up with an offer between £60m to £70m which I believe is a ridiculuos bargain. Even at £40m, I think United should think twice n rethink after that.




Tevez, in my opinion, isnt really among the best strikers yet but he has proven me wrong on certain occasions including one which he came off the bench to score via a backflip against Wigan. He is often chasing after the ball which I think is good and consistent with United's fast pace football. But does he have the heart to remain at United?

Karim Benzema was widely linked with United previously but I dont see a possible deal without United having to offload Tevez. He may not make things better since United had a hard time rotating Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez. Afterall, United still needs a player to replace Ronaldo's role.

Joao Moutinho from Sporting Lisbon has been in the spotlight recently. But I have not seen him played but neither have I seen Ronaldo played when he was still at Sporting Lisbon. Heard his freekicks were fantastic and that he isn't too pricy. Moreover, Sporting Lisbon is eager to do a swoop for Nani with Moutinho as part of the agreement.

Another striker, probably not a good go-for but if he's here, perhaps United will have a deadly combination of Rooney and Villa. Poor Berba and Tevez. Bringing Villa will also tempt Silva to come over. Since both of them have a certain chemistry and considering that Valencia are having internal financial problems, it would be cool to see both of them in Old Trafford next season.

Ah Silva's a midfielder who could replace Ronaldo's place and he might also lure Villa over as I mentioned earlier.
Antonio Valencia is probably the first player to head to Old Trafford but I think he may not be able to fulfill even half of Ronaldo's role. Heard he is good though I have not watched Wigan matches. What about you? Do you have any comments?


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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Storm Spirit Review

"A celestial being summoned to aid the Sentinel in their darkest hour; the Storm Spirit chose to manifest itself in the life essence of a humble elementalist, Raijin Thunderkeg. Though the Pandaren's soul perished during the profound surge of pure electrical essence, the divine entity even now seeks refuge in Raijin's body, unable to thrive on its own. However, despite its mortal imprisonment, the Storm Spirit is far from being limited of its tremendous powers. Able of manipulating vast, inexhaustible sources of energy in mysterious ways, it swiftly hails destructive sparks of lightning upon the Sentinel's adversaries, eradicating all that dared to cross its path."
  • After a pulsating week tryout on Garena, I am more convinced than ever that Rajin has the prowess as a late game winner. It is an interesting hero to play that benefits directly from the reach of your imagination. Let us take a closer look.
  • Static Remnant
Raijin creates a remnant of himself containg his essence. The Static Remnant will release its stored energy whenever an enemy unit comes near it. Lasts up to 12 seconds.
  • Level 1 - 140 Damage.
  • Level 2 - 180 Damage.
  • Level 3 - 220 Damage.
  • Level 4 - 260 Damage.
  • Cooldown: 4 Manacost: 70/80/90/100
  • Level 1: 70 mana, 4 sec cooldown.
  • Level 2: 80 mana, 4 sec cooldown.
  • Level 3: 90 mana, 4 sec cooldown.
  • Level 4: 100 mana, 4 sec cooldown.

  • Electric Vortex
Storm focuses his energy to rip open vortex drawing an enemy to it. This process slows the Storm Spirit down for a brief period.
  • Level 1 - Pulls 100 units over 1 second.
  • Level 2 - Pulls 150 units over 1.5 seconds.
  • Level 3 - Pulls 200 units over 2 seconds.
  • Level 4 - Pulls 250 units over 2.5 seconds.
  • Cooldown: 20 Manacost: 100
  • Level 1: 100 mana, 20 sec cooldown.
  • Level 2: 100 mana, 20 sec cooldown.
  • Level 3: 100 mana, 20 sec cooldown.
  • Level 4: 100 mana, 20 sec cooldown.

Overload
Storm Spirit becomes overloaded with electrical energy whenever he casts a spell. The charge is released on his next attack as an electrical burst, dealing damage and slowing nearby units.
  • Level 1 - 30 Damage.
  • Level 2 - 45 Damage.
  • Level 3 - 60 Damage.
  • Level 4 - 75 Damage.

  • Passive
  • Ball Lightning

Storm Spirit becomes enveloped with energy, losing his physical form, and travels until he depletes his mana or reaches his target. While in this form, he deals damage to nearby units based on how far his electrical form has traversed. Damage, speed and area of effect improves per level.

  • Passive

Rajin's abilites are synergies to one another. The first, Static Remnant helps tremendously throughout early stages of the game. Apart from its cheap casting cost, it also charges Rajin with the Overload ability. Moreover, its instant-cast-instant-effect trait hinders weak enemies from chasing you while you make your escape. Electric vortex on the other hand is somewhat similar to a 2.5-second stun. It does not deal damage but triggers the Overload ability as well. The biggest threat in Rajin's arsenal is Ball Lightning. It can be extremely annoying to opponents if used with quick reflexes. During my tryouts, I even had feedbacks such as "Your ulti like cock", "Hacker" and many more. Rajin is extremly deadly when he has anywhere near 2000 mana points and above. Even deadlier still when he is defending his base as he is able to zap to defend his tower and zap back all the way to the fountain again to regenerate.

My suggested strategy on how one should play Rajin :

  • Skills - Max Static Remant and Overload with the former having more priority. When capable of learning Ball Lightning do so. ( Lvl 6, 11, 16 ) Electric Vortex to be learned at lvl 10, 12, 13 and 14. The usual combo that I resort is to use Ball Lightning from a far distance. Upon arrival into combat zone, release Static Remant and Overload. Electric Vortex, Hex ( from Guinsoo ) and Shiva's freeze are all deadly as well when added together.
  • Items - One of the essential items that I would recommend would be Bloodstone. You need not waste money on Null Talismans and/or Bracers. Just go for an energy booster after getting boots and upgrade from thereon. The good thing abt getting Bloodstone early is that you are able to accumulate charges on it. In 6.59, each charge accounts for 2 hp and mana regeneration but it has been reduced to 1.5 in 6.60. The reason why I prefer Bloodstone over Guinsoo first is that Rajin requires hp as well since it is an INT hero. It would probably be safer to have 1.4/1.5k hp during levels 10-16. When the game develops further, consider Orchid Malevolence, Shiva's Guard and Linken Sphere. Linken would be a smart choice if there are disablers on your opponents team. The other two are equally deadly as well. So choose at your discretion.
  • Here is a copy of the replay whereby my frag was 27-6 while using Rajin. ( IGN : DeathLancer ) Good luck with your tryout and have fun. Any feedbacks and comments are welcomed.

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Welcome

I'm starting over on blogging and this time, I'll try to share almost anything that is interesting to you and my daily life. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the blog alive as I tend to get out of ideas easily.

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