MrA's Blog

Something I created in photoshop

2010-10-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

The 5 Worst Things About Metal Gear Solid

2010-09-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

So cool till you meet her face to face.

5. Screaming Mantis

Throughout Metal Gear Solid 4 Screaming Mantis is portrayed as the true evil villain. Sure you have Liquid Ocelot but you could consider him somewhat of a good guy considering his intentions include freeing the world from dictator-like control by a community of AIs. Screaming Mantis on the other hand has the single urge to murder everyone in her way using anyone in her way. In my eyes that seems way more evil than attempting to kill Snake simply to inspire him to save the world and what not by killing him.(Kojima I’m still wondering about that) If Screaming Mantis is so evil and essentially the apex of boss battles from defeating the Beauty and the Beast Squad, then why was her face off such a let down. Essentially the boss battle attempts to retread the same route as Psycho Mantis, but more generic and more confusing. Psycho Mantis taunted you with a whole speech, reading your mind and simply scaring/amazing the crap out of you. Screaming Mantis on the other hand just screams. Even when you defeat her, the origin story is just a haphazard plot mess in order to reintroduce Psycho Mantis, an encounter which overshadows everything you just did in the past hour, or at least however long it took you to find out to shoot the dolls.

Seriously?

4. The Pain

“NOT THE BEES, NOT THE BEES AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH”

Ok in all seriousness he can control hornets, which gives him some street rep, but seriously he can control hornets. How stupid is that?

Made using lots of bubblegum. I mean lots.

3. Metal Gear Ray

This machine embodies the part of the plot which has never been explained, at least to my satisfaction. How did we go from Metal Gear Rex, a somewhat believable bipedal tank, to Metal Gear Ray, which somehow uses liquid metal and nanotechnology to swim in only two years? Heck even the development of the Gekkos are explained to some detail. However, we are supposed to believe that in two years they went from big, bulky walking death traps to perfect machines. If they had at least tried to explain the technology behind the concept then maybe it wouldn’t be so awkward. Even Star Trek attempts to base its Sci-Fi on real technology and research. Even Star Wars does that. It seems so out of place that they could explain how the Patriots were made, yet they didn’t even approach the subject of how Ray was designed. I’m also still waiting to hear why the developers decided to just start calling everything a Metal Gear even though they didn’t launch nuclear weapons, let alone walk on two legs(Arsenal I am looking at you).

So awesome and then you learn his true intentions.

2. Liquid Ocelot

You wouldn’t expect to see a list of the worst aspects of Metal Gear Solid without a mention of this. Considered to be the best and worst plot twist throughout the entire series, Liquid’s personality took over Ocelot’s body simply because Ocelot decided to use Liquid’s arm to replace his damaged one, courtesy of you. Out of all the ridiculous things in the Metal Gear franchise, even this seems out there for fans to believe. It is explained somewhat in the debriefing, which is apparently not an epilogue since there already was one, in Metal Gear Solid 4. However, even though it makes sense, it feels as if it was just added on to please fans. Essentially the plot went from Liquid taking over Ocelot’s body in order to enact revenge by destroying the Patriots to Ocelot hypnotizing himself to turn in to Liquid to deceive the AI’s into thinking he only wanted to take them over rather than distract them so Snake could destroy them, even though Liquid Ocelot wants Snake dead. Pheewww, that was long. I would have rather just stuck with the first option.

It's almost like a power ranger!!

1. Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 4

Now Raiden is already a controversial topic from Metal Gear Solid 2. Curse you Kojima for making us believe Snake was playable through the whole game. However, by the end he had grown on most players, gone through a whole character arc, and came out as a likeable character who had a bright future ahead of him. Metal Gear Solid 4 threw that all out the window. What we get instead of a person who has found true love, discovered and dealt with his past, and came to embrace the good around him is a character who has fallen so low in life he doesn’t care if he ends up dead. Now hopefully some of why this came to happen will be shown in Metal Gear Rising, but until then I am going to rip him apart. First off he looks like a freaking woman in his armor. A FREAKING WOMEN!!! He even has high heels he can use a hands. WTF!!! Seriously we were already struggling with his looks in Metal Gear Solid 2, did Kojima really need to make it worse. Is there something he wants us to know? Second, he just threw everything Solid Snake told him out the window as if it never happened. Solid Snake told him to enjoy life and hold on to the things that are dear to him. In Metal Gear Solid 4 not only has Raiden regressed beyond this point, but beyond the point he started at initially in Metal Gear Solid 2. I know he was tortured and everything, but still. Every time he opens his mouth it seems as if Snake just wants to facepalm himself. Finally, Raiden comes off as a total douche to everyone. In MGS2 he is a likeable rookie who gets along with everyone he comes across. In MGS4 it’s like he had a complete change in personality. He even treats Solid Snake in a douchy manner. We didn’t need Raiden spurting stupidity from his mouth from the beginning till he finally returns back to normal when he meets his Son. This simple fact is enough in itself for him to get the number one spot on this list.

Forums

2010-09-11T19:08:00.001-07:00

Don't forget to sign up in the forums. Link to the left.

Dedicated Counter-Strike Source Server

2010-09-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

We have an official server now. IP: 207.210.213.68.

Working on getting things set up now.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent Review

2010-09-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Let’s just get this out of the way first. If you love survival horror, in fact if you love any game with an atmosphere that drips through every section of the world then you must buy this game. Probably one of the scariest games I have ever played, Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent brings back the survival in survival horror.

Waking Up From Being Drunk

Gamers familiar with the Penumbra series should already be familiar with the basic concepts present in Amnesia. For the uninitiated the game consists of exploring a large environment, solving puzzles to advance the plot and reach new areas. What is unique to these games is how the player can manipulate the environment through real time physics using the mouse to control objects in the environment. When a hand pops up over an item you can press the left mouse button and control the object by moving your mouse. For example, when you click on a door you move the mouse to open it and the speed at which you move the mouse directly corresponds to the speed you open and close the door. This idea factors into the puzzles, of which they mostly consist of finding items, combing them, and then using them to manipulate the environment in some way. While this may seem boring and an overused concept, the graphical design of the game keeps these puzzles interesting and fun. Rather than regretting having to trudge around and find items to advance, you will want to explore the beautifully crafted Brandenburg Castle. The game is levels beyond the quality of Penumbra in terms of looks. Every area of the castle has a unique graphical feel that is beautifully rendered. The art style also contributes to the constant terror experienced as you explore your surroundings. You feel as if you are in an old European castle, the likes of which conjure up imagines of Transylvania and Frankenstein. The horror doesn’t just end with the environment though.

A nice cozy fire, what could possibly go wrong?

The game also shares another facet with Penumbra. There are no weapons anywhere in the game. Rather than fighting enemies the game encourages you to hide or run. This adds immensely to the fright factor in the game. In most horror games, enemies are frightening but you have the ability to deal with them and defend yourself. Here every enemy means your death and once you recognize you have no ability to defend yourself the terror sets in. This wouldn’t be nearly as effective if it wasn’t for the brilliant and original AI. Rather than having the enemies follow a set pattern, they will appear and disappear throughout the level keeping you on your toes and making you constantly fear what is around the next corner. The only way to avoid the monsters without fear of death is to hide in the dark as the monsters are faster than you. It is here where Frictional’s brilliant light vs. dark mechanic comes into play. In order to hide from the castle’s evil inhabitants one must hide in the darkness. However, the more time spent in the dark the faster your character loses his sanity, causing the screen to blur and the controls to be less responsive. In order to keep your sanity you must stay in the light, but it's harder to see through the darkness and makes you easier to spot. This mechanic keeps you constantly moving, making sure the game doesn’t slow down to a snail’s pace at any point in the game while making the player constantly uneasy no matter whether they are in the dark or in the light. If all this seems too scary for you, don’t worry. There are multiple hubs which connect all the levels where you have no need to worry about unseen attackers.

What the screen looks like when you lose sanity.

Unfortunately the game does have some minor faults. The story is one of the main driving factors of the game keeping you playing even when the game becomes so terrifying your body is screaming to turn it off. The ending of the story isn’t so great. While there are three multiple endings, none answer any questions about what actually happened. It seems as if Frictional was attempting to go the route of leaving the ending up for interpretation, but it end up more like the ending of the Sopranos then the ending of Inception. During the end of the game there are also some parts which require a strict sequence of events to occur in order to progress. This would not be a problem if it were not for the fact the games decides at this point it will no longer give any true guidance to the player. While this is a minor annoyance, it is something to consider for players who are easily frustrated.

Overall, Amnesia:The Dark Descent is a great game that is guaranteed to knock your socks off. Clocking in at about 8 to 10 hours the game is a decent length that should keep you occupied for a good amount of time as there are three different endings. Also included with the game is a level editor which allows for the creation of custom stories that can be shared with the community. The best part is, the game is only $20.

New Blog!!!

2010-09-11T00:34:00.000-07:00

Rather than try and spend the money on a server to host a blog and forums I decided to go to the free alternative. Hope you guys enjoy and look at for more soon.