Video: Expectations vs Reality!

Our team has proudly released a new video about movie parody dubbed the "Expectations vs Reality" filmed with the Crew of:

- Henry Huang
- Justin Zhou
- Travis Wormwald
- Michael Lay
- Anthony Putra

Our budget for the video was very tight so we tried our best to make the video very appealing to the audience.

Check it out here:

Game Review - Fallout 3

The fallout series has been a long time favourite for many gamers. Fallout 3 lives up to the expectations of the previous games in the series and completely revolultionises the series, attracting many new players to the series. This is an amazing game, with endless amounts of things to do and areas to explore. Personally, I have over 80 hours in one character on Fallout 3 , and the game lets you pick it up easily but makes it extremely hard to put down.

Oldschool Runescape Review

Game Review: Oldschool Runescape     

Runescape. Remember that game you used to play back in primary school? Those memories of logging on after school, running to Lumbridge or Varrock with a rune scimitar in your hand, ready to battle monsters. Or first getting membership to the game, and getting to see what is beyond those member only gates or ladders. The nostalgia….

Game Review: Portal 2

Game Review: Portal 2
A Unique game experience in the midst of all the the usual game genres that are released, portal 2 provides a refreshing and entertaining experience. 

Source: http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/16/15715/portal_2-june11.jpg

Game Review: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

2015’s fastest growing online multiplayer first person shooter; CSGO is the 4^th instalment of the Counter-Strike franchise.  Developed by Valve, CSGO brings back all the original maps found in the first series while revamping their graphics and balancing gameplay for more competitive opportunities. CSGO follows the same concept of its predecessors, where players work together to eliminate enemy teams or complete set objectives.

Game Review: Killing Floor 2

Game Review: Killing Floor 2
With improved graphics and new maps, does the new killing floor live up to its predecessor?

Source: http://assets.vg247.com/current//2014/05/Killing-Floor-2_10.jpg

Game Review: Osu!

Osu! Review.

Welcome to clicking conundrums! A fun and very chilled game that is very easy to learn but difficult to master. Osu! is a rhythm game developed by Dean Herbert (under the alias “Peppy”) in 2007 that involves users primarily clicking circle and sliding sliders to the rhythm of the music. The game is completely free to download from the website and users must make an account on the website to get themselves started. The game was based off a popular Nintendo DS game of the similar concept known as “Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan”.

Osu! comes into 4 game modes:

Standard – the most standard form of gameplay. Users simply click on circles to the rhythm of the music. Some players can use their keyboard to tap instead of click. Many top players use a graphical tablet to play the game. Here is a video showcasing an example of the gameplay:

Taiko – Yes, the same ones at your local arcade, except you can click or use your keyboard to the rhythm. The beats come into the form of drums and it moves horizontally to the left. Players must hit the correct drums in succession. Here is a video example of the gameplay:

Catch the Beat – A quirky type of gameplay where the player must catch the food falling from the top of the screen. The more food caught in succession, the higher the points. Here is an video example of the gameplay:

Osu!mania – A ripoff to the popular rhythm game “Stepmania”, players must hit the correct notes with their keyboard to gather points. Difficulty can increase with more keys to use and harder patterns. As always, here is a video of the gameplay:

Downloading a beatmap is as easy as pie. Simply go to the website and download a certain beatmap and simply open it to get it loaded it into your client. One of the greatest aspects of Osu! is the ease of convenience and organisation of the game. The user-interface is extremely user-friendly allowing users to easily change their hotkeys, graphics, and mouse settings. The menu selection offers an organised look allowing players to easily see and pick their songs. Difficulty usually ranges from Easy, Normal, Hard and Insane. Different player-made difficulty also exists.

Osu! also allows easy customization to the game. User made skins are available through the website and other social sites such as reddit. Skins make the game appear nicer and hopefully easier to the player as they play the game. 

The game offers song modification that makes a song harder but gives additional point for the disadvantage. Mods like “Hidden” which gets rid off the timing ring circle and disappears before the beat of the song forcing users to hit the notes based entirely on sound instead of sight. The “Double-time” mod speeds up the music by 1.5x speed making the users hit the notes 1.5x as fast. If you’re a new player, there are also difficulty reduction mods such as “Easy” which makes circles larger and the ring circle slower allowing easier progression to game play. 

The game also uses a leader board that can calculate the skill level of a player and gives them a rank based on the skill level. The game implements a system known as the “performance points” that are rewarded to players when they complete a song with extremely good performance. Generally this is very good as it gives players an incentive to learn and a competitive drive to get better. Most performance points are earned through “Full Combo” when a player completes the map without missing a beat and the accuracy of their completion is quite high. Full combing songs using difficulty increasing mods also makes the performance points go up a lot higher than playing it normally. Players are given both a global rank and a country rank based on their skill level. This information can be easily accessed through your profile on the website which makes tracking progress and seeing which songs gave you the most points is very convenient.

Note: This leader board was taken in 2012.

And what would a competitive rhythm game be without a multiplayer portion. The game implements “bancho servers” that allow users to play against each other. Different modes include, teams and co-op games. The quality of the servers are excellent as there is literally no lag or delay between the players and multiplayer games also serve the same role as the single player games. So scores will also be updated to your profiles when completed.

The game also allows players to create a beatmap of a song that they choose. If there is no song that is beatmapped to your liking, why not make one yourself? The Osu! editor is the tool to do the trick that allows users to create and edit a beatmap. Fancy a bit of creativity then get beatmapping straight away.

This game is extremely polished very well. Osu! has since then taken over the popular Stepmania as the ultimate rhythm game of 2015, having organised scores and a website that keeps track of user scores and ranks. Content is quite frequent across the forums and in-game discussion. You will enjoy hours of fun and entertainment.

Game Review: Solar 2

Game Review: Solar 2

Solar 2 is a unique game which provides you the opportunity to take the identity of an asteroid in the vast universe. The game mechanics are fresh and interesting and the sandbox nature of the game gives players freedom to go at their own pace.

Source: http://i.imgur.com/nvYML.jpg

Game Review: Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 Review:

Left 4 Dead 2 is a 4 player co-op survival zombie horror first person shooter game developed by VALVE and released on November 17 2009 and the sequel to the original Left 4 Dead 1. It reprises the same maps from the 1^st game but with additional story maps and new characters that the players can play. It also features an entire new arsenal such as the minigun and the chainsaw as well as different zombie types like the Spitter and Charger. This game also features multiplayer content allowing players to set up their own dedicated servers and play as zombies to beat the enemy team.

Simple would be the perfect word to describe this game. The team must make it from point A to point B, while this sounds simple, the complicated part of it is making it through with a crap loads of zombie running towards you and the element of teamwork and communication is very important. Players start off at a safe house or at a designated locations where various starting weapons and items appear. Players take weapons and items of their choice before heading off to their destination, some items can include health kits, adrenaline and pain pills. All players must efficiently utilise their items and weapon ammo to ensure that they reach their destination with minimal waste of resources. Players traverse through 4 safehouse before they reach the “Finale” where they must defend their position long enough to be rescued by a event such as a helicopter or a ship.

One aspect I’m amazed of the game is the level design, not too long yet not too short, enough room for players to traverse through their environment. Just blowing off a zombie’s head feels amazing and just running and gunning down them with your friends over skype is something that will never get boring. The artificial intelligence of the zombie play out different scenarios extremely well, even working together effectively to outplay the human players. Special infected use their abilities to not only harm the players but to initiate an attack and prevent progression.  There are also 4 difficulties that the players can choose from, ranging from Easy to Expert with expert being extremely difficulty and requires the best of teamwork, map knowledge and communication.

There are 8 different types of special infected:

Hunter: Medium to high HP, their special ability is their leap which they can leap around very quickly making them a very difficult target to hit. They pounce on a player rendering him/her useless unless another teammate helps them.

Smoker: Around Low to medium hp, they use their tongue to snare their prey and deal damage to them, usually they hide around rooftops or places that are generally hard to see so players cannot make out their presence.

Boomer: A fat zombie that doesn’t do any damage but initiates a horde attack through their bile vomit. When vomited on a player, it will blind the player and stun them for a few seconds attracting a horde of zombies and opening up a chance for other special infected to attack the enemy.

Charger: High HP zombie, these guys charge straight at a player and if caught, will continuously slam them to the ground until dead, they are difficult to play because it is easy to dodge their charge.

Spitter: Uses acidic spit to create an area of effect puddle that damages all humans that walk on it. The longer they stay on it, the more damage it does. Spit can be strategically placed to block off a door and prevent humans from progressing the map for a short amount of time.

Jockey: A small like creature that rides on the head of players, in this moment, they are given a small control of players dictating their movement to wherever the jockey pleases.

Tank: The big boss of them all, they usually appear randomly once in a level, these are heavy muscle zombies that are extremely tough to take down and can seriously do some damage if caught. They 

can use their environment to their advantages such as hitting cars towards players which is an instant death if caught, they also can through large boulders at players which is also devastating. However their weakness is their speed, so players can utilise its weakness to take it down.

Witch: Also appearing randomly every level, these witch are usually harmless but if disrupted by players become extremely dangerous. No matter what difficulty the game is on, it will always one hit ko a player, if played on expert, it will kill the player in one hit. They are generally best avoided in the game.

With over 5 valve-created maps, there is always fun to play no matter where you are, the new user interface has made it so that players in one click of a button can find an online multiplayer server and play with other players. Different game modes such as versus allows players to also play zombies which pits in actual strategy to defeat each other. For a game that costs $20, it should be a bang for your buck. The music and ambient have been well created and give off an eerie feeling every time you play a level.

BONUS: TOP 5 CREEPYPASTAS

Like scary stories?? Maybe some of you already know about creepy pasta or some may just heard about it, and some of you are addicted to this! Creepypastas are internet horror stories that are passed around on forums and other sites to disturb and frighten readers. Creepypastas are sometimes contain pictures, audio and video footage related to the story, typically with gory, distorted, or otherwise shocking content. It’s kind of like the Internet’s version of sitting around a campfire and telling creepy stories. These are five frightening creepypastas ever written (Full stories whatch the videos). Don't watch this at night.

Game Review: Knights of Pen & Paper +1

Knights of Pen & Paper is a very unique game, in fact it's one of a kind. You aren’t just playing a turn-based fantasy adventure, you’re also playing as a Dungeon Master and a group of up to five tabletop gamers. It's a literally a role playing video game, you choose your own enemies, your own characters and quests.  Knights of Pen & Paper +1 attempts to blend retro table games in a unique meta-RPG experience, throwing in no small amount of humour, pop culture references, quirky pixel art and nostalgic chiptunes. Behold Studios, the developer of this game, is a small indie game development studio, from Brasilia, capital of Brazil. The studio was founded in 2009 by Saulo Camarotti, and has been nominated and awarded several times since its beginning. The game has mobile and tablet version with identical content, but has a few different settings.

Game Review: League of Legends

The epitome of e-sports and the pioneer of professional gaming. The game originated in 2008 developed by RIOT Games and based off the popular mod “DotA” (Defense of the Ancients) from WarCraft III. League of Legends is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game that setups a 5v5 competitive server where players are put into a team to destroy the enemy’s base specifically the fountain, the epitome of the base.  The game requires each player to select a set of champions with each champion being a certain type of role and all players must fulfil their role and coordinate with the team to achieve victory. Champions gain gold by last hitting creeps, destroying buildings and killing other player champions. These gold can be used to obtain different sets of items paramount to the victory of the team. Items can be offensive (Adding extra damage or attack speed), other items can be defensive (Armor and magic resistance) or miscellaneous.

The standard map of League splits off into 3 forks where there is a top, middle and bottom lane. Usually the top and middle lane will have 1 champion and the bottom lane will have 2.  The remaining champion will farm in the jungle which are situated near the team’s base.

                                                                      Standard Map 

              

League has a good selections of champions with new champions being released on a fortnightly basis. Players dub roles such as the:

-          “ADC” (Attack Damage Carry) which are  champions whom are extremely useful during the later phases of the game and must “carry” their responsibilities and team to win the game. An example of the ADC is the champion “Ashe”.

-          Supports, these type of champions are strong early (due to strong early abilities) in the game but lack late game presence because of their abilities and poor scaling of stats, their role in the game is to support the ADC so that the ADC can “farm” or easily attain gold more easier. Whilst their abilities may not output damage, their abilities will come with crowd control e.g. Stuns, silence and snares which helps the ADC kill champions quicker. E.g. Sona

-          Junglers, these role players at the start of the game will not go to a standard and lane and instead will being farming of jungle creeps as a means of getting gold and experience. Usually junglers are hidden in the fog of war and are used for assassinating targets and “ganking” targets when they least expect it. E.g. Udyr

-          AP champions – Magic-dealing based attacks, these champions output damage through the use of their abilities rather than their normal attacks and at some times can be extremely devastating because of specific combos. They can also be used for carrying teams. E.g. Brand

The gameplay of league can be considered very polished and well done, the mechanics of the game are extremely beginner friendly and the user interface are easy on new players who want to jump on a game straight away. Players can easily invite friends over to have a fun 5v5 games together.  The graphics are very cartoonish so it is very suitable for the young ages to play league. There are over 100 champions to play from which is a very wide pool for many players to choose from. However, a negative side of it is that there are champion rotations every week that players can only play before they have to try out different champions for another week. If a player permanently wants to unlock a champion, they may have to spend IP (Influential Points) which is the currency for LoL or RP (Riot Points) the micro-transactional currency that players spend real life money for. The cost of getting a champion (especially a good one) can cost a lot of IP (6300 IP for the expensive champions). Most games if won give between 50 – 100IP so it is time consuming to unlock all the champions.

There are also different modes of gameplay, dominion is the game where players take control of strategic towers around the map, the more strategic towers controlled, the more points that add up for the team, the team with the most points wins the game so it adds a nice balance of offense and defense quickly on the run and force players to quickly make decisions. Another game mode "All random, all mid" randoms champions for users and are all put onto a small battlefield where it becomes a massive onslaught onto 1 lane. While these game modes are limited, it still provides a diverse experience for players instead of having to play on the same map over again. However, I think League should adopt user made content (maps and mods) into the game to make a more enriching experience.

          Dominion Map                

                

                                                              All Random All Mid           

Over my time of playing of playing, there has been criticism drawn to LoL for being one of the most toxic communities with players immediately reporting teammates if they don’t comply to their demands or use online threats and abuse. Most games aren’t like this, occasionally happening every few games but a user should not experience any form of abuse, racism, threats from any players as it degrades gaming experiences and other players may copy bad habits into their game.

The graphics may not be top-tier compared to other games but has polished cartoonish graphics, well light area and great attention to detail of tiny particles and rendered models. At the same time, there is simplicity within the graphics which makes spotting and scanning areas and champions very easy. There are announcements for when players attain a kill streak or even for when a building is being attacked to easily remind players of their objectives.

There is a reason for why League of Legends has over 1 million players, while it may not be the best polished game, it offers excellent gameplay with a wide variety of different champions that users can choose from, easy for new users to use the interface and more importantly, it’s a free game downloadable straight from the website. So I definitely recommend you to give it a try!

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Marvel’s most anticipated film of 2015, Age of Ultron definitely meets the expectations of the audience, but being such a large franchise movie, is that really enough?

The first glimpse into the movie and you’re introduced to an epic battle sequence featuring the avengers, satisfying the audience’s hunger to witness the super heroes in action. Continuing the tradition of Marvel’s franchise theme, Director Whedon continues the flashy and humorous action scenes, which the audience all has come to know and love.  But having such a frequent mixture recurring throughout multiple marvel franchises, it definitely has become much more boring. The film follows the same plot from the original ‘Avengers’ film, where the necessity to save the world no longer comes as a surprise to the superheroes, but as a daily job they need to do. Evidently, Director Whedon has made attempts to mimic the features that made the first movie so enjoyable and unique but definitely has not met the same standards.