Modern Otaku: Its about everything, see?

Hello there readers (or lack there-of, I suppose.)! I will be your host. You can think of me as Ota, Otaku, or "that guy with the blog over there!" . It all works. Either way, this blog is going to be about well..anything, really. As you guessed from the title, I'm a geek..but Otaku is a much kinder sounding word...almost sophisticated! Though, its really not. Anyway, on with the insanity that I am.

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Yeah, firstly, I'm an anime fan. I like it for the plots. No, I don't have a particular fanboy love for certain characters or anything like that...I have favorites, but who doesn't. It just like regular western television shows, except that the characters can do things that you and I can't, even in TV land..well..at least not without alot of fancy, expensive special effects. And for the record, I do not sit in my room at 1AM, trying to finish that one...last...drawing...or..okay, I don't draw anymore. More of a digital artist right now.

I'm also a gamer. I want to say this right now..while most of my posts will weight heavily against microsoft's Xbox, know that I have no ill-will for the box. I simply can't find anything I want to play on it, short of Dead Rising. The thing is, I bought a PS3 for the game selection, so my gaming posts will always be from the POV of a PS3 or (rarely these days, due to budget constraints) PC gamer. If you want to argue that I'm an idiot or some such..take it elsewhere. I won't suffer fanboy posts from any party(THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, WII! You heard me!!).

Currently, I'm simply working my days away until January 2010. Then, its off to college! Im psyched! Like Wolf3d PSYCHED! I'm going to be taking courses in PC Design, Repair and Internet Technologies. As for what I'm doing right now, thats priviledged information. Seriously. If I told you, a guy in a stealth suit would immediatly swing through your window (the one behind you, wiseguy.) with a silenced SOCOM pistol and a scruffy chin..and..well..I can't say what happens from there..why ruin the fun, right?

Guests? Will I have any? Thanks for asking. I've got one person in mind...I might have a few more later, but for now, its just me, myself and that guy over there.

I suppose I'll start with my first segment.

This Month in Gaming
This is where I'm going to (repeatidly) sum up my latest gaming nonsense. It won't be just video games either. I'm a big fan of D&D, too. And mindgames.

So, this month its mostly been about D&D, Arkham Asylum, Uncharted:Drakes Fortune and LittleBigPlanet, and tiny little bit of Metal Gear Online.
We're heading into the 5th session of our D&D Campaign(actually..sorry...thats a lie..see, I hosted 3 of them, but quickly found that, because of my near constant work schedule, I really don't have the time to sit and plot out stuff, so I've passed the torch to a companion...) and I think its going well. I totally enjoyed the last session. Established some pretty diverse characters, into a living, breathing original world. Its nice to get away from Faerun for a change of pace. More on that later, I'm sure theres going to be some notable hilarity.
Batman: Arkham Asylum. I have nothing negative to say about this game, short of one thing.

I'm not a huge fan of new Batman. Yes. I said it. I like the 90's Batman movies more then the current growly Dark Knight of 2008. I guess because I'm not a huge fan of graphic novels (read: Overglorified Comic Books), so I don't appreciate the incredibly dark, gritty Batman of today. Also, its not the Batman I grew up with. That said, having Mark Hamill as Joker and Kevin Conroy as the Dark Knight himself, made the game awesome. Batman didn't growl all the time (at all!) and Hamill gives a steller performance as a creepy, yet hilarious version of Joker, that adds just enough wit so that the game doesn't crush you into a pancake with all the gritty darkness that is Arkham. The combat system is smooth and simple(Point, press attack, press counter, jump a guy, toss a batarang, finish the fight with a groundpound!) and, in true Joker fashion, you never know where the story is going to go, right up to the end. Nothing is predictable. Or perhaps I'm just dull, or tired. Either way.... Well, then theres the other half of the Caped Crusader, the Investigator. Well..not much to say..you throw on investigation mode, look around, think, follow clues, and find stuff...it works, but its not terribly taxing or in depth. Its sort of like throwing a rocket car into automatic drive. Sure, your going fast, but your really not. It's just sort of there to slow the plot for a moment, otherwise you'd just be running and smacking stuff for the whole game. Aaaanyway. Its good. Don't miss out on it if your a fan...otherwise..don't miss out on it if you've got 37 dollars Canadian for a used copy at EB Games.

unCharted: Drakes Fortune
I had 20 bucks on my EB Edge card, and 20 in my wallet. Theres a reason why the price was still 60 dollars two years after this game's street release: Its a great game. So as soon as I saw it drop to 40 at my local EB, I jumped at the opportunity. Turns out that even after two years, this game holds up pretty well. It doesn't have all the spit and polished of a current next gen title, but out of all the early PS3 titles I've played, it definetly holds up the best. (Resistance doesn't even hold a candle to this thing.) The basics are that you are Nate Drake, a possible (and definetly fictional) relative to Sir Francis Drake, infamous Pirate, Privateer, Sailor, Captain and all around badass of the 1500s. You are chasing after the treasure of El Dorado: except for one thing, El Dorado is *not* a city of gold. In truth, its a 500 pound golden statue. Pretty sweet. Nathan (Nate for short) is sort of akin to a young Indiana Jones, except I'm pretty sure hes in it for the money, not the museums. But either way, hes fun and lovable and all that great stuff. Without ruining too much, the action is fast, furious and intense. You may be behind cover, but how long will your cover last? If its not truly solid, it may blow up in a beautiful shower of stone or wood. So, in places where cover is sporadic, and a pile of skulls or rocks are your only salvation, you will definetly want to act, and quickly. The sound score is very well done. The first few richochets will scare the shat out of you, if you wear headphones like I do, and an AK actually sounds like an AK. The musical score is one of those new-age modern-classicals. That said, its incredibly well done, and you just know, right from the title sequence, that someone put alot of love into writing the scores. Its european orchestral meets african authenticity. I can't even identify all the instruments used in the recordings..and I've studied. Lastly, the graphics. The thing your going to notice right off the bat is that everyone looks relatively realistic, except for one thing. The characters almost look like plastic. They have sort of a constant wet sheen to them. Perhaps where they are, its hot, so theyre always sweating..but still... Anyway, after a while, it ceases to matter, as youll be staring at the back of a dirty T-shirt for most of the game anyway.The gameplay is sharp and intuitive. The cover system works, but it seems to fumble sometimes... (NOT COMBAT ROLL, YOU DOLT! COVER! Good! Good! Now get off the wall! DAMMIT! IM DEAD!) All this said, I can't wait for unCharted 2: Among Thieves, coming out October 13th, 2009. And thats a tuesday, not a friday.

LittleBigPlanet
I picked this game up on launch day, and it was totally worth it. I haven't put it down. (If I put something down for two-three consequtive months, I trade it in.) Yes, its an almost childishly beautiful platformer game. But I'm one of the people who liked The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, but originally went "Agh! Why did they screw up the artstyle?!". After five minutes, it doesn't even matter. You get sucked into the awesomeness of this game. Its one of the few console games of this generation that can both be nearly anything..or maybe it CAN be anything.. and actually allows you to make it into anything you want with a bit of reading, skill, and imagination. I can't describe everything about this game to you..but know this. If you own a PS3, but you don't own LBP, you are missing out on something great. Remember the first time you played Super Mario Brothers on the NES? Yeah? Well I do. It was steller. Same feeling. Go! Go now! Buy this game! The hype is true.

METAL GEAR: ONLINE

Ive been a Metal Gear fan now for many years, though, to be honest, my love for it didn't really sprout until Metal Gear Solid on the PSX. I was too young (and didn't have an MSX machine) to really appreciate Metal Gear when it came out. Looking back at it though, Metal Gear is damned hard. I can't beat it. Now, I've been playing MGO off-and-on for about a year now. Its a great game. Well designed..but like any offline single player experience turned Online Multiplayer, it has its share of flaws. But if you can get passed them, its pretty good. Since MGO runs on the same engine, with the same models, controls, and textures as Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, MGO is nothing short of gorgeous. I've heard this game described as "intense as Rainbow 6.", which I guess is a good thing. To be successful in this game though, you either have to be a fantastic soloist, or a fantastic team player, or have alot of time to sink into the game to become fantastic. Like MMORPGs, you either grasp the concepts and flourish, or you fall short and become prey to the pros. There isn't much cheating, short of a few people disconnecting their systems in order to purposely cause lag, which is actually advantageous to the lagger, which is unusual, by making him basically invulnerable for a short while. Theres been many a night where I get so upset, I just need to put it down and step away. I've broken one controller in a fit of infinite rage over this game, and I've NEVER done that with any other game...god I miss the feel good feeling of dying in Team Fortress 2...why won't my Steam work? Aaaaanyway, its a good game, but it can be incredibly frustrating. If you like Metal Gear Solid, and you love the stealth and avoid aspect, I'd actually steer clear of this, as its not your game. However, if you like Counterstrike, or your a big fan of instant headshots...or your just a masochist, go for it. The exception to this, of course, is when playing with friends. Friends are incapable of being douchebags, so that itself actually makes the game a tonne of fun. So if you intend to go mono-e-mono with your first mate, have a good time, the game is free if you already own MGS4.(And you should!)

Well! Thats all for now. I'm pretty tired. Next chance I get, I'll be taking about my recent incursions into anime, a little bit of Fallout 3 (unless my DLC finally comes out for PS3, hint hint Bethesda.., then itll be alot...) and a tad about personal life, if anything funny should happen. Readers Enjoy!

~Faithfully Yours,
Otaku-kun