tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74910431136031304272024-03-04T23:19:26.100-08:00The Crawler's Blog !!!Love it, hate it... or just let it be.Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-91455966336678737652016-01-03T13:02:00.001-08:002016-01-03T13:02:26.935-08:00Gaming Recap 2015: JRPGs Killed the Video StarsTo avoid to have my laptop falling victim of this summer's heat and burn to ashes, I decided to make one single Gaming Recap for all 2015. Without further ado...<br />
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<b>Dark Souls II </b>The Dark Soul franchise has the (in)famous reputation of being one of the must ruthless and difficult ones of this age of gaming, and that's why I felt appropriate to resort to one of the oldest cheats of all times. What would it be, you ask ? It's simple: playing the game with somebody who <i>already</i> finished it a couple of times and had a better chance to surpass the most difficult parts of it. Now, some might be curious to know if such unconventional choice ruined my playthrough and the answer is <b style="font-style: italic;">not even a single bit. </b>On the contrary, both me and my (younger) friend brought our share of expertise to it: while he was more familiar and prepared to the horrors that lied ahead, I had some more years of experience as a gamer in general to bring to the table.<br />
The whole process was so fun (yes, you read well: <b><i>fun</i></b>) that I agreed to buy the three expansions (that my friend never played as well) and beat them all together as well. If there is something that DSII told me is that being in good company can turn even the most frustrating deed into a pleasant one.<br />
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<b>Warriors Orochi 3 DLC Stages Packs </b>With the 11 DLC Stages Packs, KoeiTecmo gave another good example of "Downloadable Content done right". With a reasonable price, these packs altogether brought to my copy of the original <b>Warriors Orochi 3</b> (and the <b>Ultimate</b> version as well, the day I'll decide to buy it) enough content to bring me back mashing the square button for hours. These additions do also very well in terms of story (provided you even bother acknowledging its existence, of course): not one of these optional stages explains some pivotal parts of it, and yet they deliver some interesting insights to the backstories of the many characters that were barely seen in the original iteration of the game. Of course, there's also a considerable amount of "joke" stages, created only for the purpose of making the player more familiar with said neglected characters and the massive roster in general.<br />
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<b>Breath of Fire II </b>I have to admit it: I had average expectations about this game, and even then BoFII managed to be mostly a disappointment. If you like the idea of roaming the world to prove the innocence of one your party members to the law, this game's plot is going to be a blast for you - because that is what you will be doing for a consistent part of the whole storyline. Sure, new members will join you in your quest for truth and freedom, but you'll have to wait until the later parts of the game to know their backstories - and when you will finally know them enough to care about them, the story itself will much probably end soon. BoFII is relatively short, and yet it manages to pull in all the things that made me hate to love this genre, ranging from story quests that have no logical correlation one with the other to being forced to have X member in your party at every turn.<br />
The only true positive thing that I can say about playing this title is that it marks my long-awaited retirement from this genre, at least for a long, long time... so now you know what this recap sub-title it's all about.</div>
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<b>Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag </b>When this iteration of the <i>Assassin's Creed</i> franchise came out all you could read about it were good things - and there is no wonder why. <i>Black Flag </i>brings the age of pirates to the AC continuity, and it does it so well that I honestly recommend this game as a stand-alone experience in the case you (like me) don't even care that much about the franchise as a whole. <i>Black Flag</i> is, to put it simply, one of the best examples of immersive open-world games combined with a great story that will keep you hooked until the very end. There are indeed some issues with the gameplay (sometimes you character will do the most insane acrobatic deeds but will simply refuse to jump to <i>that wall </i>just in front of you), but the overall experience is so engaging that you won't regret even a second of (almost) yelling at the screen.<br />
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<b>Stranglehold </b>A quite obscure, lost gem of the first age of the PS3, <i>Stranglehold</i> brought John Woo's cinematic style to my console in such a successful way that I started asking myself <i>"Why didn't they made a sequel ?" </i>even before I was done with it. Yes, this game is very short indeed, but if you like third-person shooters where you can shoot dozens of thugs as you jump over tables in slow-motion while things explode around you, <i>this </i>is the game you would have already beat several times if you only knew it even existed. Look up some videos and prepare to spend about 20 bucks (and about five to ten hours) if you'll find it at your local store: you can thank me later.<br />
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I am currently (presumably) about halfway through <b>Farcry 3. </b>At the moment, I'm enjoying it very much, but that will be another story for another year. With that said, until next time.<br />
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<i><b>NOTE: I wish to let know to the reader that I usually set a game's difficulty at Easy whenever I got the chance. If you find a certain game more difficult, unfair or unbalanced than I did, that might be a good reason.</b></i><br />
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Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-32160642644947178392015-01-05T12:50:00.002-08:002015-01-05T13:06:02.798-08:00Geeky Recap 2014: Road To Disappointment <i>WARNING: The following post contains a very high amount of negativity. In the article the author will complain about popular TV shows, <strike>overly</strike> highly praised classic old-school console games and many other stuff that you probably consider some of the things that made your life worth living for. If you plan to complain about the things the author complains about you're obviously allowed to do so, but just be aware that doing so will give the author the chance to complain about the things you complain that the author complained about. So, before doing we suggest to ask yourself the most obvious question: is it really worth it ? Oh, it's also worth mentioning that this article will also contain <b>*MASSIVE SPOILERS*</b>, so please proceed with caution... or don't proceed at all. </i><br />
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For me, 2014 was a year filled with great expectations about many things in different media. Unfortunately, most of these expectations had been crushed, and it's with a bitter taste in my mouth that I have to write down this article. But whether if I like it or not, it's time to get to business.<br />
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<b><u>Gaming</u></b><br />
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<b>Adventure Quest Worlds: The 13 Lords of Chaos Saga finale</b> Now, let me put me this down fair and square: the release itself was truly amazing. The revelations of the Hero's true nature and origins, followed by a multiple stage battle against Drakath that went on for a couple of weekly releases gave me some moments of pure exaltation. The problem is that the conclusion of the <i>13 Lords of Chaos Saga</i> simply leads to the beginning of a whole new saga, <i>Ancient Evils</i>. While this new story arc looks very interesting, it's quite disappointing that after so much time and effort spent to confront the hordes of chaos, we happen to know to that the Hero (the player) and his arch-rival Drakath were simply outsmarted by the true big bad of the series, the Queen of Monsters. And the new release doesn't actually change the narrative's direction, as both the Hero and a new NPC (Syrrus the Astromancer) has been deceived by <i>another</i> bad guy named Karok the Worldbreaker. That leads me to a question that I'm not sure I want to be answered: how much dumb the good guys have to be to keep the story going ?<br />
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<b>Shining Force: Resurrection of The Dark Dragon</b> There is an episode of <i>Happy Days</i> (a popular TV Show that really made a good portion of my childhood) where Fonzie tries some very dangerous trials with his motorbike because he wants to prove himself, because he feels that they just "have to be done" even if the risks are way higher than the things he will obtain by doing them. That is the philosophy that I followed in the last couple of years while struggling with my "must-play old-school JRPG games" backlog - I don't play them because I like them but because I feel that I just have to do it.<br />
Now, many people on Gamefaqs reviewed <i>Shining Force: Resurrection of The Dark Dragon </i>as a game so easy that it's not even funny to play. For a veteran gamer of tactics RPGs, someone who eats <i>Tactics Ogre</i> for breakfast and could complete every single iteration of <i>Fire Emblem</i> blindfolded, that could easily be true. But for someone like myself, who struggled to beat even the original and relatively easy <i>Final Fantasy Tactics </i>on PSX, this game is a brutal experience, a potentially good title flawed by many horrible game design choices that make it simply unfair and unforgiving. I am very near to complete it ("only" three stages left), but it's very though to gather the willpower to get in front of the TV screen and play it again, so much that I have no shame to admit that I had to put the game on hiatus for a bit because of the stress it puts on me... and <i>Shining Force 2</i> lies in wait.<br />
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<b><u>Shows</u></b><br />
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<b>Avatar: The Legend of Korra Book 4 </b>In my previous post on this very blog, I spent positive words about <i>Book 3: Change</i> and how the series kept being interesting and entertaining even after the spectacular, mind-blowing events of <i>Book 2</i>. Now, even if I didn't find the challenge against Zaheer and his powerful followers as much as engrossing as the previous chapter, the story arc still felt consistent and well executed. Unfortunately, I don't feel I can say the same about <i>Book 4: Balance</i>. Now, don't get me wrong on this one: this chapter has nothing to envy to the previous ones in terms of sheer quality. The animation is fluid, the voice acting is impressive and the score is outstanding as usual. Notwithstanding that, there is something about this story arc as a whole, something that I cannot describe with words that makes it feel rushed and... uninspired. If there is something that I owe to the final chapter the Avatar-verse (at least when it comes down to the contribution of its original creators), is that it did <i>not</i> left me wanting for more.<br />
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<b>Video Game High School </b>Browsing through the internet I found this show and I got immediately hooked with it. VGHS tells the story of Brian D, who accidentally beats the strongest FPS players in the world, and gets into the prestigious Video Game High School. As much as juvenile the story can be, this web series looks gorgeous, with a directing worthy of a triple A TV show. The story, however, tends to indulge a bit too much on the romance side, with the relationship of Brian and his Team Leader, Jenny Matrix, dragging on and on for all the three seasons of the show.<br />
What really got me into the series to be honest, was Brian's nemesis, the above mentioned FPS champion simply known as "The Law". The Law has all the things a villain needs: he's arrogant, vicious and crazy. You're gonna hate him, and you'll just love to do so. At some point, The Law is given his own sub-plot, which in my opinion is way more involving than the main story... and than the final episode comes. I was there, waiting for The Law to finally redeem himself by joining the heroes in their final challenge and lay waste on the enemy side, but unfortunately (for me), none of this happens. The contribution of The Law in the final battle it's even <i>counter-productive</i> for his comrades, and the lack of any expected... no, <i>mandatory </i>badassness from his side makes the return of this entertaining arch-rival one of the most disappointing comebacks I've ever experienced in any media ever existed.<br />
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That's it for the Disappointment Section. Since sometimes some good stuff have to pop-up here and there, I think it's fair to spend a bit of lines also to talk about...<br />
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The Good Stuff</h4>
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<b>Lyrania 2.0 </b>This game is a prime example of PBBG (Persistent Browser-Based Game). On the surface, it's a text-based RPG grind-fest, where all the player has to do is kill one mob after another until the current quest is completed and start over again. On a more detailed look, however, this game offers many things that you can find in MMORPGs: skills, trading, guilds, bosses, dungeons, housing etc. To make a long story short, <i>Lyrania 2.0</i> takes a very simple game mechanic and develops it as much as possible, inducing me to get back to play it day by day in order to level up my equipment, buy a new jewelry slot and eventually reach the next milestone.<br />
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<b>Dragon Tavern </b>This Web RPG is being neglected by its developers, <i>Rowdy Baron Games</i>, and that's quite a shame because it has all the good things of games of this genre and almost none of the flaws they generally have. The player sure has a limited amount of Action Points per day, but this nuisance can be circumvented by making additional characters in the same account at zero cost. Each location (and sub-location) is brought with a description of its history and features, adding a good amount of flavor in a text-based game that just revolves around the same basics of grinding, looting and leveling up your character.</div>
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<i><br /></i>Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-35424231190521985042014-07-04T09:36:00.001-07:002015-01-05T13:07:31.840-08:00Geek Recap: Q2 2014After skipping the recap for the previous quarter of year, here I am again to chronicle my geeky activities from April to June 2014.<br />
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<b><u>Gaming</u></b><br />
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<b>Artix Games </b>In my previous post I noted how the quest for the <i>Blinding Light of Destiny</i> in <i>Adventure Quest Worlds</i> could be tedious and time consuming. Well, what I recently discovered it's that the farming of Undead Essences was actually only the tip of the iceberg. It will take really an absurd amount of time, patience and dedication to complete it, but that's not what really bothers me (considering that I will put it on hiatus and get back to it once in a while). My real issue with it is that defeating all the monster required to finally forge the weapon will certainly get me to the game's level cap much, much before I complete it. The problem is that once I'll get there, I won't be invested in playing the game anymore, and for that reason I will assemble the Blinding Blade of Destiny (which is actually a requirement to forge the ultimate weapon) and wait until the level cap will be raised to resume the farming... assuming that it will even happen, obviously.<br />
The classic <i>Adventure Quest</i>, on the other hand, made me a little upset when I had a very hard time defeating some bosses in the latest releases, until I remembered that the answer to that was simply to equip the <i>freaking basic armor</i> to have higher defense stats and win the fight. Putting that aside, it's still a great game and the only other little issue I have with it is that there are at least three different story arcs going on and it's not really that easy to follow of all them, considering that two of them (the <i>Truphma</i> and the <i>Transmorphers</i> saga) are quite complex on their own.<br />
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<b>Tanoth Online</b> A very simple browser game based on the same concept of <i>Bitefight</i>, Tanoth Online is something I care about only because it demands very little time and effort to be enjoyed. The progression is slow but constant, there is no overarching plot or ultra-complex quest to pick up with. You can literally play it everyday, stop for a year and then go back to it and start right where you left. It might sound stupid for "true" gamers, but it's a winner for those who want something easy and simple that won't take you away months of your life.<br />
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<b>Shining In The Darkness</b> This name has been in the back of my mind since I started playing video games many years ago, being the beginning of the <i>Shining</i> games series. Now that I'm approximately at one third of the game itself, I'm thankful to whatever higher being (the God of Gamers ?) that I <i>didn't</i> have the chance to play it back then. <i>Shining In The Darkness</i> combines the disorienting mechanism of a first-person dungeon crawler like <i>Eye of the Beholder</i> and the random encounter system of the old <i>Final Fantasy</i> games. Translated in a just slightly more comprehensible language, it means you have to expect turn-based battles to pop up at every step you make... and I can guarantee you that in some case, this occurrence is <i>literal</i>. Thankfully, today is possible to play that game in your emulator (or, just as I'm doing thanks to a Google Plus post by Cody and Jon from <i>Unqualified Gamers</i>, right in your browser) with features like the instant save and gif maps right from Gamefaqs (on this matter, I wish to thank <i>Paul Keating</i> for the great work he did there). Now, if you think that this game it's a piece of cake with these helps, this is not <i>really</i> the case. Even with this "arrangements", Shining In The Darkness will still be a though, unnerving and time-consuming game. If anything, I will keep up playing it (and hopefully beat it) even just to marvel at how cool is to be and old-time retro-game player in this modern age, not to mention the "documentation" purpose of such feat.<br />
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<b><u>Anime/Cartoon</u></b><br />
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<b>Jojo Bizarre Adventures: Stardust Crusaders </b>When Jojo Bizarre Adventures first two story arc anime transpositions finished airing some months ago, I made a "Last Impression" article on Japanator (that you can check right <a href="http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/jojo-the-animated-series-2012-final-impressions-28491.phtml">here</a>), and there is very little I can do here other than reiterate the very same concepts. My biggest praise on the transposition of <i>Phantom Blood</i> and <i>Battle Tendency</i> was about how David Productions was committed to reproduce as faithfully as possible the original manga on the screen, and the only minor (and completely irrelevant) observation I could do was that the character design was just slightly different from the original. Well, this time around even such minor remark would be totally out place: <i>Stardust Crusaders</i> visual style, design, and basically <i>everything</i> is absolutely identical to the manga. I like to think that such precision was impossible without a genuine love for this classic shonen from the anime staff, and it's safe to say that nobody could pull off such an astounding representation as David Productions, to which all true Jojo-fans of the world owe some debt of gratitude.<br />
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<b>Avatar: The Legend of Korra Book 3</b> After the resolution of Book 2 (which I <i>won't</i> spoil here), it was difficult for me to believe that the authors could bring something to the table that could keep the viewers interested in the story, and that's where a show like <i>Avatar </i>sets its difference from your average Dragon Ball Z arc, where the only way to keep the story going is to replace the previous big bad with a new, more powerful big bad. Sheer power it's not the point in a show like Avatar: there are many ways to villainous characters to pose a threat to the world. And i can't avoid to mention the very two characters whose return made me rejoice <i style="font-weight: bold;">(SPOILERS AHEAD).</i> Call me nuts, but Desna and (especially) his sister Eska are the true characters who steal the show to me. Just a couple of lines with another certain "old acquaintance" of Avatar fans make the first three episodes worth watching... as if they weren't awesome already one their own.<br />
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<b><i>What's next: Shine On, Crazy Backlog</i></b><br />
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The whole point of playing Shining In The Darkness is to complete the so-called "Shining Trilogy", which means that the games that will follow will be <i>Shining Force 1 </i>and <i>2</i>.<br />
Needless to say, I will keep up with <i>Tanoth Online</i>, <i>Adventure Quest</i> and <i>Adventure Quest Worlds</i> as long as I'll have an Internet connection and a bit of time to spare.<br />
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<br />Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-40797861953216724692014-04-20T14:01:00.001-07:002014-04-20T14:01:29.364-07:00AQW Rants: The Essence of FarmingAll good things must come to an end, they say. Fortunately, this also happens to bad things (and games), too. I was dangerously near to a well-deserved quit rage, but after watching a couple of videos and tweaking my clearly under-leveled party, I managed to defeat the final boss in <i>Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 </i>(watch my previous blog entry if you're curious to know what I think about the whole game). After a rather unfortunate tentative to play the classic dungeon crawler <i>Shining In The Darkness </i>I had to abandon that because of... technical issues.<br />
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And that leads to the topic of this journal rant: the magnificent, seemingly unending and incredibly entertaining (*sarcasm*) quest for the <i>Blinding Light of Destiny</i> in <i>Adventure Quest Worlds. </i>Now, this particular quest involves gathering a massive amount (we're talking about <i>thousands</i>) of specific drops known as Undead Essences and Undead Energies in order to forge a super-cool weapon that gives the name to the quest itself. The craziest thing it's that I'm not actually interested in the weapon itself (which I'll keep anyway, of course) but the achievement and satisfaction that will hopefully come when I'll finish all that insane farming.<br />
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"<i>Spirit Orbs x5" ? Bet</i><i>ter luck next time....</i></div>
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The quest will take entire days of slaughtering the very same undead enemies in the very same area (that's was farming in every MMORPG means, after all). I'm pretty sure that I won't complete the whole thing in the near future, but at least I'll use this few weeks to give it a good run. My true objective will be trying to collect all those drops and getting to the level cap (which is currently 60) as late as possible. Why, you ask ? Because the idea of not having a level progression as you defeat your enemies anymore is very detrimental to me in enjoying a game like this. For this reason, I will avoid using those X2 Experience Boosts bonuses that those nice guys from Artix Entertainment keep throwing at me every now and then.<br />
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After all, one must put some of those Youtube "Epic Music" Playlists at use... right ? ;)<br />
<br />Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-75544366040449224622014-01-03T09:43:00.001-08:002014-01-23T18:41:11.175-08:00Gaming Recap: Q4 2013Here I am with another episode of my recaps, this time around focusing only of my gaming experience in the last three months. Without further ado, here I go.<br />
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<u><b>Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll</b></u><br />
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Can an ending ruin a game with an engaging gameplay, and a couple of clever ideas ? After playing this game from Tecmo Koei, my answer can only be "Yes, <i>it can</i>". Trinity it's a very brilliant mix of beat'em up a la Devil May Cry and a dungeon crawler. The gameplay is consistent and funny at the same time, and while the RPG aspect isn't exactly mind-blowing, it manages to get the player keep searching for another chest to open or completing another side-quest to obtain a new, shiny item.</div>
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Unfortunately, I happened to casually (not joking here, really) learn about the ending as I was halfway through, and my expectations and excitement went down in a single, devastating blow. I don't want to spoil anything to the player, but I feel the necessity to give a warning: this game's ending manages to deny the player its well-deserved glory and satisfaction in a most unexpected way. The final resolution wouldn't have been so bad if we were talking about a half an hour long horror indie game, but after 30 or more hours of monster bashing, exploration and level grinding, it really looks like a joke where nobody is supposed to laugh. I guess that for many others who played it all and went through it like I did, the conclusion was tragic and emotional in some measure. To me, it was a complete disappointment.</div>
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<u><b>Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1&2</b></u><br />
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What can be worse than a big disappointment ? A consecutive, <i>even bigger</i> disappointment. I had great expectations from these games, as they are considered a "must play" for PS2 in the JRPG department. I admit that the fault is partially mine: I had no idea about what I was getting into. And let me assure you, I can't help but consider DDS nothing but a glorious mess, a beautiful disaster that every casual (and even <i>not so casual</i>, in my humble opinion) player should stay away as far as possible.</div>
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DDS is not just a very difficult game, it's frustration in its purest form - and it's really a shame. Because these games (which is actually one game "conveniently" divided in two parts) have great characters, a compelling story-line and an outstanding cell-shading presentation. Unfortunately, they both take together all the things I learned to hate about JRPGs and mix them together to form a deadly cocktail that sapped my will to play them bit by bit. </div>
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As I write, I am stuck inside the final dungeon grinding to get the level and the skill needed to beat the final bosses. The only reason that kept me play the second one so far (I quit the first one halfway through, and I don't regret that every single bit) it's a mix of "gamer's pride" (which I had to swallow in a good measure, considering that I have been using a walkthrough almost step by step for the sake of my mental sanity) and pure, unadulterated masochism.</div>
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<u><b>Artix games</b></u></div>
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Fortunately, <i>Adventure Quest</i> and <i>Adventure Quest Worlds </i>never disappoint. Both of these games required a decent amount of time and patience, but they've been always worth it. December was a bit lacking with events in both games (you know, game developers get some holidays too), but this gave me the chance to try out some new free to play browser games, which I'm going to list in the section below.</div>
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<b><u>Other F2P games</u></b></div>
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Out of curiosity (and to take a break from the horrors of <i>DDS</i>) I've tried several games to select a few to get back later. <i>Hero Town</i>, <i>Blade of Eternity</i>, <i>Tynon</i>, <i>Doomforge</i>, and <i>Outwar </i>are games that I went into but decided to drop (some for an indefinite time, some others forever). Those who caught my interest are <i>Tanoth Online</i>, <i>Moonstone RPG</i> and <i>Glory of Gods </i>- all games which just require a daily login and don't need an excessive commitment to be enjoyed.</div>
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<b><u>What could be next</u></b></div>
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<b>Shining in the Darkness</b></div>
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<b>Way of the Samurai</b></div>
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Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-24769216736589434812013-09-11T18:17:00.001-07:002013-10-18T09:24:12.112-07:00Geek Rants: A Summer Re-capSummer 2013 came to an end, and since the purpose of this blog is basically to have a personal diary everyone can read (but nobody does), it's a good time for a nice, useless recap of the " geek activities" and achievements made so far.<br />
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<b><u>Gaming</u></b><br />
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<b>Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 </b>I really had a blast with this game... well, quite so. Unlocking all the characters (well, almost), a decent number of stages and MS Licenses had been quite fun. I must admit that the story-line didn't compelled me very much to go on, and I still have to get the "true" ending. With Warriors Orochi 3 always looming in the back, DW:G3 provided a good diversion, but not much more than that.<br />
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<b>Scarlet Blade </b>The embodiment of eye-candy and fanservice in one single MMORPG, this game also was just a temporary experience. It was also good for testing my PC performance with a current generation MMORPG. Unfortunately, the servers constantly disconnecting me and the need to input all the log-in info again <i>every time</i> has been a significant deterrent. Maybe I'll get back to it one day - or maybe I'll just uninstall it when I'll find a more interesting client-based MMORPG to play.<br />
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<b>Warriors Orochi 3 </b>When it comes down to button-mashing, nothing beats the ultimate crossover game from Tecmo Koei. The nicest part of this summer playthrough, it's that I finally got the Trophy for gathering 100 crystals - which means that I'll be finally able to spam those Triple Musou Attacks at my heart's content instead of waiting to have as much generals as possible on the screen. <br />
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<b>Adventure Quest</b> My favorite on-line game of all time has been my primary source of gaming entertainment. There hasn't been many events going on that interested me, but those few have been quite satisfying. Moreover, I had time to do some serious grinding (as I wrote in the previous posts) to finally get Atreides above level 100. Now that summer is over, I'll go back to the game only when interesting events will appear.<br />
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<b><u>Anime</u></b><br />
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<b>Jojo: Bizarre Adventures</b> I enjoyed this anime so much, that I couldn't help to <a href="http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/jojo-the-animated-series-2012-final-impressions-28491.phtml">write down a review about it.</a> JJBA is one of my favorite manga, and both Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency truly deserved such an awesome adaptation.<br />
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<b>Detroit Metal City</b> I read about this anime last summer on Japanator, and since then I've been curious to watch it. Finally, I decided myself to do that and I didn't regret it any bit. DMC it's funny, vulgar and uncompromising - something I would recommend to anyone who doesn't mind watching something... different.<br />
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<b>Attack On Titan</b> When a certain anime, movie or video-game is literally everywhere, you eventually give it a try out of curiosity, right ? I absolutely wanted to see why everyone was talking about AoT, and I got the answer after watching the first episode. Attack On Titan is a cruel, desperate tale of survival. If you can "handle" its crudeness and tone, you will experience one of the deepest, engaging anime of all time.<br />
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<b><u>Web</u></b><br />
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<b>Twitter </b>Last Summer has been very intense for me on the Twitterverse: it was something relatively new for me. This time around I have been a little less active, but I managed to meet new interesting people and RPers anyway.<br />
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<b>Google+</b> No matter what people say, Google+ has been a pleasant surprise for me. It gave me the chance to spread my nonsense in a different social forum, and helped me to get new people to interact with. I purposely decided to focus on the Otaku community because it's very active and welcoming.<br />
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<b>Memes</b> Discovering imgflip.com and how it was easy to make a meme has been a revelation for me: for a couple of days, it's been like a drug. Eventually I exhausted all the ideas I could came up with, so I think that now humanity is safe from my "peculiar sense of humor" for a bit.<br />
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<b>Fanfic</b> Eventually, I fell too to the lure of writing a fanfic of my own. The result is <a href="http://crawler3333.deviantart.com/art/Pink-To-The-Future-K-On-Fanfic-Prologue-399559829">"Pink To The Future"</a>, a story which features K-On characters in a crazy, alternate future. You might think it's funny, but it's not.<br />
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<b><i>What will come next...</i></b><br />
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<b><u>Gaming</u></b><br />
<b>Adventure Quest/</b><b>Adventure Quest Worlds (PC)</b><br />
<b>Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll (PS3)</b><br />
<b>Digital Devil Saga (PS2)</b><br />
<b>Shining In The Darkness </b><br />
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<b><u>Anime</u></b><br />
<b>Serial Experiment Lain</b><br />
<b>Welcome to the N.H.K.</b><br />
<b>Fairy Tail (possibly)</b><br />
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<b><br /></b>Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-72766345671081377152013-07-23T08:00:00.001-07:002013-07-24T12:54:10.106-07:00Gaming Rants: Adventure Quest<b>
Fighting back the heat</b><br />
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Ah, summer !! The perfect time for relaxing on a beach as you enjoy the weather and survive the heat, going to swim now and then. That's how most people (quite possibly the wisest ones) love to spend this time of the year, but to me the warm days of summer always meant a very different thing: <i>massive grinding</i>.</div>
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These days are simply too hot to start over a new game and enjoy it properly, and this time around I honestly want to get my Adventure Quest character to the highest levels (100+) before summer ends.</div>
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In one of my previous AQ rantings I stated that I would never use the untrainer to remove my END points and spend them in other stats - but I never said anything about untraining my DEX, right ? In fact, I did untrain all my 50 points and spent them in LUC, which resulted in a very good move. This idea came after I read many suggestions and conversations between players in Ubear's AQ site chat. </div>
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Since I'm just a regular Adventurer I won't be able to get Plasma Dragons or other better monsters for my grinding needs, so my attention is all for Drakonnan's strongest general: Broilspoil.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZ5ong80V1gXccdjmg8kV1gbdjBA7AI56dCbwaAkiN3NVGMYPahavRArdWMsOAlANqfJ0XmLtumdeDkP3Vt33qY4Dk_XH9zJQBR1Bgsm8NMxnZo75Qt1_ReJJH2_pkCaNCRAv2O0ZFNM/s1600/Atreides+VS+Broilspoil.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZ5ong80V1gXccdjmg8kV1gbdjBA7AI56dCbwaAkiN3NVGMYPahavRArdWMsOAlANqfJ0XmLtumdeDkP3Vt33qY4Dk_XH9zJQBR1Bgsm8NMxnZo75Qt1_ReJJH2_pkCaNCRAv2O0ZFNM/s1600/Atreides+VS+Broilspoil.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i> Broilspoil "The Brollinator" is probably going to experience the worst summer of his entire career.</i></div>
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In my humble opinion, the "friendly" red dragon general will be the quickest way to achieve the <a href="http://ae-atreides.livejournal.com/2122.html">AQ goals I've set for this summer.</a> So, until a new event unfolds (in all honesty, I have no intention to participate in the Knight Training quests), Atreides will be busy in the Hall of Memories (that's how I justify the Broilspoil grinding in my mindfap storyline), defeating such powerful foe over and over as he gets stronger for the challenges ahead.</div>
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Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-8108671821298528402013-06-29T10:10:00.001-07:002013-07-15T07:51:58.150-07:00Gaming Rants: Adventure Quest 37.8<b>
Against All Odds</b><br />
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We fought against any kind of monstrosities, from ancient dragons revived to rule the world to alien menaces threatening the whole galaxy - but the most punishing blow came from the most powerful being ever conceivable: Artix Entertainment itself.<br />
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Some players (read <i>"me"</i>) doubted about the true usefulness of the Endurance (END) stat. To clear that doubt from us (read <i>"me"</i> again), the developers decided to make said stat even <i>less</i> useful than before - and that after I claimed defiantly that I would keep going with my 150 END and avoid the "untrain" trick, no matter the cost (read <a href="http://crawler3333.blogspot.it/2013/03/random-rants-adventure-quest.html">my previous AQ ranting post</a> on this very blog for further details).<br />
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So what now ? Quests are simply going to be harder, more frustrating than ever. One might simply observe that all I have to do is to untrain END and distribute those points to different stats instead, but I want to offer a provoking thought: why not making the Endurance stat a <i>useful</i> one instead ?Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-7105601722843114752013-06-03T08:14:00.000-07:002013-06-29T10:35:06.015-07:00Blogger Rant: A Hiatus DeniedThis was a period of my life where job would take priority over other activities.The late spring/early summer season always led to a call from a certain company for employment, but the crisis hit so hard that even they are in bad business.<br />
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Being lucky enough that I don't actually need a job (for the moment) to make a living, I have no better choice than look at the bright side of things. I will at least be able to indulge a little more in my hobbies (you just have to read the side-bars to see what I'm talking about) and, yes, more to time to share, post and do the very same stuff I did until now on the internet.Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-31170341504985843602013-04-14T12:52:00.003-07:002013-08-02T09:34:48.290-07:00Random Rants: Of Tweet And ManIn my early steps back on February 2012, I started The Crawler's account (aka @Crawler3333) as a "regular" RP account. Seeing that there were more Nightcrawlers out there (as expected), I decided to made some sort of "alternate" Nightcrawler, taking the funniest aspects of the well-known blue mutant teleporter. Seeing my lack of motivation and skill in making it a "true" RP account (especially when compared with some very serious, committed and amazing writers) I soon gave it the label of OOC ("Out Of Character") in my account bio.<br />
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Then something else happened, something called Adventure Quest and Adventure Quest Worlds. Both of them are RPG games, and RPG games are (with some noticeable exceptions) by definition some of the most time-consuming video-games ever.</div>
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Unable to drop off entirely The Crawler (thanks to which I was able to meet a considerable number of amazing people), I decided to drop most of the "role-playish" side on @Crawler3333 and turned it in an "RP-RL" account. For those who follow me for a long time, the change will be subtle and almost unnoticeable, but some of my followers (both old and new) might feel somehow "betrayed" by this choice. If you are among them, I guess I will have to beg your pardon and suggest you to search some good "true" Nightcrawler RPer. </div>
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For better or worse, some followers (which I eventually followed back in turn) decided that The Crawler had its own right to be in that awkward reality I call the "Twitterverse" - and these are the ones I feel more obliged to. So yes, you'll have to bear with an alternate Nightcrawler which likes to "play Batman" in Metro City from Final Fight (I never said I would drop RP <i>entirely</i>, after all ;) ), listens heavy metal, watches anime, plays videogames and all - and when you see tweets in Italian you can easily assume that's the writer talking. Or you could just push the "Unfollow" button.</div>
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That's what The Crawler / @Crawler3333 is, after all. Love it, hate it... or just let it be.</div>
Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-25134399702724249662013-03-09T10:06:00.001-08:002013-04-11T13:32:41.679-07:00Random Rants: Adventure Quest <h2>
When the going gets tough.... the tough gets <i>Miss</i>ing</h2>
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For those who don't know, Adventure Quest it's a free-to-play, turn-based web RPG.</div>
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<a href="http://www.battleon.com/">http://www.battleon.com/</a></div>
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After months of furious battles I finally reached the so-called "mid-levels" and I had to witness some of the game limits - and more than anything else my precious character's build. </div>
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When I started playing AQ I underestimated this game difficulty, naively thinking that all I had to do was to equip the right stuff with the right enemy. </div>
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Now, I completed many of the game sagas (specific stories made up of several quests) and I had to skip some quests because certain bosses (and even regular battles !!) were too strong for my character. "What went wrong ?" I asked myself - and the I found the answer by looking in the dedicated forum: the build (i.e. the way you distribute your character's point in the various stats) I made for my character is very, <i>very</i> bad. Too much Endurance, and not enough precision Dexterity and Luck. In other words, the great Atreides is a hyper-tank which lacks the precision he needs to hit the most nimble enemies.</div>
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<a href="http://aq.battleon.com/build30/charview.asp?temp=83701246">http://aq.battleon.com/build30/charview.asp?temp=83701246</a></div>
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Sure, there is an in-game trick to reset to 0 one of your skills and distribute those point again, but it seems a little too convenient to me. So be it, then - what's done it's done. I will bear with the character's build as long as I'll be able to and make up for this grave mistake by distributing all the points to Luck for the next 12 levels (!?). I'll much probably miss my enemies A LOT, get frustrated at unearthly levels - but just as a Savatage song say "that's the price you pay when you come to play".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCYf70IQEG_hiaxoFOF-9Rc7NOj5E5Ywhx5BFSX7SKC7JGucZZaG7iORT5UgyH8LjvDrfW15PuA15lvWS4SNJG9WqECbalszOlo2RhMT6uvPjd4D5deHkrwZ8ZLXJzv-1pEozqu0W8p0/s1600/Atreides+Miss.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCYf70IQEG_hiaxoFOF-9Rc7NOj5E5Ywhx5BFSX7SKC7JGucZZaG7iORT5UgyH8LjvDrfW15PuA15lvWS4SNJG9WqECbalszOlo2RhMT6uvPjd4D5deHkrwZ8ZLXJzv-1pEozqu0W8p0/s1600/Atreides+Miss.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>I'm afraid I'm going to see this a LOT :(</i></div>
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So take my heed, future heroes of Lore, and don't make the same mistake that Atreides did in his crazy quest for power. Don't train your stats carelessly thinking there will be no relevant consequences: <i>read the instructions first</i>. </div>
Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-83206191075743517612013-02-01T08:01:00.002-08:002013-02-02T09:27:10.356-08:00It's all about sharingWhat is the sense of writing something that much possibly no one will ever read ? That is a question I ask myself every time I post something on the web, from a review to a single tweet. When it comes down to a personal blog/website, this question becomes even more relevant.<br />
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And that's when the title of this post comes into play: a blog is (or CAN be) some kind of personal diary. Unlike a "regular" diary, anyway, a blog is written keeping in mind that there is a chance (and hope, I believe) that somebody is gonna read it. At least, that is somehow the use I make of it. In this particular case, this blog is made with the same intent I made every other entry in the strange world of Internet: sharing.<br />
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Whether is a song, an anime or a video-game, sharing is the very essence of this blog. Whenever I find something that amuses me, I'll be keeping track of it and include in the "Cool stuff of the moment" and the other side-bars. If somebody happens to read it, he might eventually consider to watch/listen/play my recommendations and (hopefully) enjoy them as I did. If <i>nobody </i>reads it, it's fine anyway: this blog would have served its purpose as a record of the things that made me passionate, entertained me - or simply helped me making through the day.<br />
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With that said, here is the very first list of things that I recently found entertaining and I'd like to share with all those who might read this thing:<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Anime</span><br />
Azumanga Daioh (Slice of life comedy)<br />
Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (Slice of life comedy)<br />
Jojo no Kimiyona Boken: The Animated Series (Action)<br />
Nichijou (Slice of life comedy)<br />
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas (Action)<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Movies</span><br />
Big Fish<br />
Iron Sky<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Video-games</span><br />
Adventure Quest (Web RPG)<br />
Adventure Quest Worlds (MMORPG)<br />
Warriors Orochi 3 (Action)<br />
Yume Nikki (Horror/Exploration)<br />
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Here's also a list of my contributions (!?) so far<br />
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<span style="color: red;">DeviantArt</span><br />
Deviations Gallery<br />
<a href="http://crawler3333.deviantart.com/gallery/">http://crawler3333.deviantart.com/gallery/</a><br />
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<span style="color: red;">MyAnimeList</span><br />
Nichijou review<br />
<a href="http://myanimelist.net/profile/Crawler3333/reviews">http://myanimelist.net/profile/Crawler3333/reviews</a><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Japanator</span><br />
Check This Out: Fortified School<br />
<a href="http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/check-this-out-fortified-school-27676.phtml">http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/check-this-out-fortified-school-27676.phtml</a><br />
Random Thoughts: The Dojikko Effect<br />
<a href="http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/random-thoughts-the-dojikko-effect-27579.phtml">http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/random-thoughts-the-dojikko-effect-27579.phtml</a><br />
Yume Nikki: A Journey Through The Dark.... in 32 bit<br />
<a href="http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/yume-nikki-a-journey-through-the-dark-in-32-bit-27287.phtml">http://www.japanator.com/blogs/Crawler3333/yume-nikki-a-journey-through-the-dark-in-32-bit-27287.phtml</a><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Youtube</span><br />
My Channel<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Crawler778">https://www.youtube.com/user/Crawler778</a><br />
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If just one of these recommendations and/or contributions will entertain even just one reader, then I'll call myself much more than satisfied. Because, in the end, it's all about sharing.Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-64236339014468323902012-11-16T13:21:00.001-08:002013-07-29T06:59:24.367-07:00Atreides LIVES !!! (...but he also dies a lot)Well, you might actually see him roaming in the world of Lore as XAtreidesX... but no one would complain about a couple of X here and there, right ?<br />
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I recently made some accounts in the various Artix games, and I currently made this new alter-ego with quite a precise idea in mind-to the create one of the most epicly insane (or was insanely epic ? Well, let's not indulge in details) characters of AQ and AQW. Now, bear in mind that when I say that I don't mean "strong" or "cool" (not that I would mind that, though...) because it would be quite a delusional fantasy.The very purpose of such a character is actually to make fun of epicness and "ownage"-some kind of parody of the very well-known mythological hero Achilles (the name sounds pretty similar and is NO coincidence) and all powerhouse characters ever made.I think it's quite appropriate because it's pretty obviously the very same approach that Artix developers themselves use on that matter. </div>
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Another quite interesting thing I will try to do is to test the game somehow (especially AQW) and see how far a character can go by only using "basic" equipment (non-members, non-AC).For those who will encounter the insane warrior during his crusade against evil, chaos and pretty much everything with a red name over his head, I'd like to say that I won't accept friendship requests until I'm around level 40 and I'll generally give priority to the 13 Chaos Lords quest for practical reasons-but I'll obviously be glad to help (and be helped) in furious boss battles.</div>
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With that said, here are the links to both Atreides accounts:</div>
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AQ: http://aq.battleon.com/build30/charview.asp?temp=83701246</div>
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AQW: http://www.aq.com/aw-character.asp?id=XAtreidesX</div>
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I will might even decide to write down a couple of stories about Atreides deeds sometimes - who knows ?</div>
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Well, at any rate...</div>
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BATTLE ON !!!</div>
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Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7491043113603130427.post-72107213796234086682012-11-16T10:18:00.002-08:002012-11-16T11:42:33.917-08:00Noob timesThere is a time for everything in life, and I just decided randomly to start a blog. The only thing that's left now, is to finally understand what actually a blog IS....Crawler3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/04170755981231577635noreply@blogger.com0