Balanced Gamer

1. Gaming lightly. This means you will not spend tons of time on the game.
2. Limited number of games. You should stick to only a few games giving the limited time you have for games.
3. Gaming is not a prioritized activity. Being an entertainment activity, it should come after all other things in life.
4. Entertained but not addicted. Playing games should be treated equally like watching TV or a movie – you are entertained when you are doing it, however, once the thing is over, you should go to bed or switch to other things immediately.
5. Physically fitness. Gamers tend to spend most their spare time in front of TV or PC. There is no time for gym. Being a balanced gamer this shouldn’t be the case. As opposed to game’s lowest priority, going to gym should have a top priority.
6. Socially active. Balanced gamer is not an otaku. He is socially active and has some good friends to hang out often.
7. Game is one of many entertainments in your life. Game should not be the sole entertainment activity in your life. Life is colorful and there are lots of other entertainments in life apart from game.

After game thoughts on Dragon Age Origins

1. On my character: the guy looks ugly and weak. I should have spent more time creating him.

2. On mage skills: (in my first run as a mage), talents are not spent very wisely. Should have spent points on ice magic. Tele branch is a good one, as well (Force field and crush prison). Didn’t use poison magic a lot. Especially the walking dead is not useful at all. That’s the main reason I have to bring back Morrigan. I followed the DPS mage model on prima guide, however the model doesn’t work quite well for me.

3. On mage specialization: AW is not very useful, I guess it is because the character attribute is not spent very well. Spirit healer is always good. Zero knowledge about blood mage. Have not explored shapeshifter very much. Maybe on the second run I’ll try to fully develop Morrigan’s shapeshifter and see how it works.

4. On tank. Should have put more HP on Allistar. As a tank he has done quite well, especially after setting up the tactics (drink a potion when health is low). Being an important character, I might still keep Allistar in the party though in my second round of playing. However, I am thinking whether I should consider Sten or Shayle as my main tank.

5. On ending. It seems that things didn’t go well in Dwarf’s kingdom at the end. The king I have chosen is not strong enough to hold. Even the chanty I helped to established caused lots of trouble. I might choose the other path for them: the prince, and Branka. We’ll see.

6. Quite impressed with fade level design in the circle of magi main quest. The puzzle design is outstanding and playing through the fade maze is satisfying (extra attribute points gain).

7. On what I have missed: Ostagar. I should have got the dog as well as 2 backpacks. Missed some locked chest though because I opt Morrigan instead of Leliana – still OK though. Didn’t have enough money to get the best items though – not a big deal too (might consider to cheat a bit just to get the strongest equips in the game. Remember that phrase: cheating on money is not cheating.). Boss missed: High dragon and ganxx (don’t remember what’s the right name though). I’ll try to destroy them on the second run.

8. On next round play. The idea of playing it again is still attractive. Already started a female rouge aiming for DPS. This time I wanted to be a ‘bad’ person. Party member should contains Morrigan, Wynne, me and Allistar. Morrigan will be a DPS and CC mage; while Wynne still focus on healing magic, I might also develop her CC skills a bit. 2 fine tuned mages should be good enough.

9. On skills. Most skills are not useful. I’ll try poison making for my rogue character on second run. Trap making? Not sure where it will lead me to.

10. On romance. Leliana is an interesting character and has lesbian tendency. I’ll try to develop some romance with her first and then (ditch her and) checkout Allistar. I don’t like Zervan at all. Won’t touch him this time around (maybe just ‘kill’ him?).

11. On origin stories. I might consider create another 4 characters just to try out the origin stories (dwarf noble, dwarf common, city elf, Danish elf).

12. On perspective. Another interesting part of the game is the perspective. I’ll come across several major NPCs (not party member) in the game. Depending on your origin, you may be deeply involve with them or doesn’t know them at all. It’s interesting to see things from different perspectives. That’s another reason to try out all 6 origins, just to see how the character’s background will affect their story.

13. On party members (that I have rarely used): I didn’t bother to get warm with them at all. Probably it will remain the same on my second run through, too.

Demon's Souls - Hardcore ARPG

Many hardcore gamers think this game as one of the greatest RPG of all time.

The game is really hard. You have to know the level, enemies in the game by heart in order to survive. However, it is its unforgiven difficulty that makes the game really shines. It helps you remember the game better.

Another great thing of the game is, its online play feature. It is an RPG, however, you are not alone in your journey. Once you are online, you know there are lots of people playing the same game. They have their own trouble, how they died, what's the recommendation from them etc. The online play experience is simply a 'stranger' system. Stranger helps stranger, stranger vs stranger.

I just played 10 hours, and I am already addicted.

重玩Dragon Age: Origins的13个理由

1. 创建一个更帅（更美），更性感的主角。第一次做了个精灵族的男法师，外形不是很满意。这次要做个漂亮女人玩玩看。不过就是不想做矮人——骨子里我还是个美形派。
2. 选不同的职业。第一次选的是男法师，这一次我要做个女盗贼。很喜欢看背刺的粗体伤害数值蹦个不停的感觉。
3. 探索不同的人物技能。单独法师一个职业就有很多不同的风格。第一次玩的时候法师选了几个废技能，很不爽。这次要好好发展Morrigan。可能把她的变形术升满？
4. 选一个更好的专精（Specialization）职业。
5. 选一个不同的Party。一战一盗两法师？还是一战三法师？还是一战两盗一法师？或者干脆来个4战士？
6. 跟不同的人睡觉。上次睡了女巫Morrigan，这次轮到小王子Allistar了。还想看看拉拉Leliana在床上的表现（希望到时候已经有无上装的补丁……很不喜欢现在那老土的黑色胸罩）……
7. 做不同的选择，看看结局有什么不一样。尽管结尾只有文字性描述，还是对几个地方不太满意——法师塔和红崖堡还算不错，矮人王国的命运似乎就不怎么样。很想看看如果选了狼人，杀了精灵族会怎么样。
8. 把错过的地方补上。第一次没有收到狗狗，也没买到Ostagar的背包；High Dragon也没杀死，号称最强Boss的Ganxxx（忘记怎么拼了）也没打到。
9. 改满金钱，买最强的装备。虽然装备在这个游戏里面不是很重要，还是很想当个暴发户，给每个人身上都穿上几百金币的装备。
10. 体验高难度？第一次玩的是Normal，这次或许尝试一下Difficult?
    
11. 体会一下不同的Origin故事。有时间每个Origin都建个人物，体会一下不同的故事。
12. 做个坏人。听厌了老太太的唠叨，这次想做个坏孩子。
13. 跟更多的人聊天。第一次为了通关，Party里面只跟几个人比较熟。这次慢慢玩，好好跟大家聊聊。
    

Dragon Age: Origins

Just finished playing Dragon Age: Origins.

I bought this game in November, 2 weeks after its release, from Direct2Drive.com.

The game is fantastic. I am not a fan of Baldur's Gate games, however, I enjoyed a lot playing through this 'spiritual successor' of Baldur's Gate II game.

There are lots of good things to say about this game:

1. NPC. You could dig deeper for the story behind every party member you have (except for the dog). You'll realize after some time that you are emotionally attached to some of them - you'll think twice before making a decision in the game - what he/she will comment on this? Do I want to piss him/her off by doing this?

2. Story. The game's story really shines. You simply want to learn more and more.

3. Battle system. The real time pause system is still intact. You could define tactics for each member and if you do it right, you'll find most of your battles very easy.

4. Authentic background. BioWare spends lots of efforts to build the epic background for the story. The codex system is build for players to know more about the continent, the history. You are playing the game in a well 'educated' context.

5. Perspectives. Depend on your origin (there are 6 origins to choose from), you will get to know things from different perspective. You'll learn more stories about dwarf society if you are from dwarf origin; and you will know more about the mage tower if you are one of the mages.

6. Tons of conversations. A game like this needs tons of conversations. I could not even imagine how BioWare did the quality work for the game.

After playing the first round, I still want to do more. The game receives overwhelming great critics reviews and user reviews. It is a must have if you are a RPG gamer.

DMC4 again

Playing the game makes me frustrated. However, I enjoy it more after playing it. Strange. This is the glamor of Devil may Cry series.
Aiming to complete DMD difficulty of DMC4, I start to play the game again last week.

A memory of Devil My Cry
Still remember how excited/exhausted I was when I was playing DMC - the masterpiece original on PS2 in Athens.
I breezed through the easier modes and then got nailed down constantly by devils in DMD mode. After visiting gamefaqs.com in searching of a guide, I found some great tips about how to play DMC in DMD mode. I practiced again and again the skills, forging the perfect strategy for each type of enemy.
The guide covers the strategy of dealing with EVERY single enemy appears in DMD mode. Also some other guides have covered how to play through each mission for an S rank. It was a time without high speed internet so no video walkthrough was available. However I still found the process of beating the game so exciting and I still think as of today the DMC is the greatest game ever made.

DMC4 - A brief review
So how does DMC4 performs?
I'll try to give some comments on the following topics: graphics, cut-scene, character design, storyline, style, action, etc.

Graphics - Great
As a game released for PS3/Xbox360/PC, it matches the highest standard for graphics, in my opinion. Levels are impressive in terms of color, style, detail. Scenes I loved most was the forest, with bright green color and beautiful shade of sunshine.

Cut-scene - Cool
Way too cool, overkill.

Character design - Fair
Hero, enemy and the beauty
Hero - great
Design of Nero and Dante was great. Although they look similar, their controls are quite different.
Enemy - fine
I don't quite like the fly like enemy, and I am not a fan of huge sized enemy. But overall, the enemy design is fine.
Beauty - ugly
Just don't understand why Tracy and Lady are sooooo ugly.
Not to mention the other girl - Nero's girl friend: I wouldn't risk my life at all in order to save such an ugly girl.
The Tracy in disguised mode, though, was hot.

Storyline - Fair
We always know that the DMC series are not good at telling story. Or, to put it fairly: The story is not the strong point of DMC.

Style - Great
Capcom has created another game with stylish actions.

Action - Great
The control of your character;

Level Design - Fair
If only there was no repetitive levels and bosses, the level design would be great. Other than that, some areas are too large - which makes fighting experience not so intensive. I still remember how excited I am in the first several levels of DMC3 - you have to dodge and fight all the time in order not to get hit by enemy.

Overall
Overall, the game experience is great. However, the repeating levels and boss fight makes it not a 'must have' title.
If you simply want to enjoy some stylish actions, this is the game for you.

What's going on next?
Now I have stopped playing it for a while. Haven't played through the hard mode yet. Maybe I'll come back to it when I am in the right mood.

Galcon - Great Strategy game on iPhone (iPod Touch)

Bought this game 2 weeks ago when it was on promotion, but haven't really tried it yet. Galcon stands for 'Galactic Conquest'.
See this article on touchArcade for a review.

2 tips I learned today by playing it:
1. Double tap on any of your planet to select all planet you own. Then all your planet could be mobilized to attack one target.
2. Eye on your enemy: target your enemy's target. By doing this you are picking up your enemy's battle fruit easily.

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3)

Being a 10 points game on Gamespot, the graphics of the game is not as good as I have expected. But the rest of the game? I have to admit the game rocks.

It is my first PS3 game, and it will be the only one I possess for a while. Do I regret the purchasing decision? Not at all.

Here is the deal.
The video presentation is a little bit dark. I could barely see a thing on the screen till I maximize the contract and the brightness - although this is not the best intended video results from the developer, it is much better for my eyes.

The Liberty City is dark, dirty, yellow, but it is really charming in different weather conditions.
Generally I don't like night, but I like foggy days, as well as some rain goes on. I like some sunshine scattered on the road, too.

The conversation, cut scenes, personality of the main characters are great. I don't quite like the radio though. Probably because I haven't found a style I like.

The driving experience is good though, although it is not as smooth as some racing games. I have to keep an eye on the GPS while driving, that distracts me a lot.

It is not a game you could finish in 20 hours. It is a game to digest, to taste. Lots of details to be enjoyed. Given a block of 2 hours time, I could play about 5 missions. And that's slow, but a good ride.

Will post back more articles while I am progressing.

论MHP2G之显血

用了CM显示怪物的HP之后，画面的左下方就会有一行多出来的信息，显示怪物的血量。
从此以后，不管多么凶残的怪物，玩家对其血量都了如指掌。
好处：武器的伤害一目了然，何时适合捕捉（血量在10%左右）都能知道。单人打的时候很有帮助（心理上）
坏处：对此产生心理依赖，就如那“毒品”装一样，用上了这个就像吸了毒一样，无法自拔。

乱谈MHP2G

下述余狩猎历程，欲穷狩猎之趣而后弃之，如美味暴食而胃口大坏也。

2P时代，先村长而后集会，先太刀而后大椎。彼时新手，尝被怪鸟所苦，为电龙而呼；遇水龙而遭铁山靠，见角龙而被巨尾扫之。更为毒品装（千里眼，早食）而屡屡狭路相逢沙漠轰龙。尝因造鬼神而勤采矿，入手时如获至宝；又为村一对所折腰，后持大椎而虐之，甚爽；神卡入手后，联机不多，多为刷校服尔。犹记持苍鬼而单战
霸龙，苦战20几分而力尽三猫；还有雪山双轰之异常震域，至今仍心有余悸焉。

2G初入手，少彷徨，尝问于己：为何而狩？

为武器乎？装备乎？为狩技乎？HR乎？

为武器也，刷怪数只而求一怨念物，取而付工房造之。强兵入手，仗其杀怪也。然彼怪已克，此怪更强，何时而终？最强兵入手，而技不强，要强兵何用？

为装备也，盖求其好用之技也。刷怪数只而不得，团刷数十而获。套装造毕有混装；剑士套，枪炮套，弓装套；属攻套，特攻套，会心套，高耳套，激运套，采集套，拔刀套；美型套丑型套，海盗套三眼套男角龙套女内衣套……试问实际用时用哪套？如针对怪物而造装备亦可，然汝欲SOLO全怪物制霸乎？不然，团刷可也，何苦造数套装备而浪费之？

为狩技也，求速杀诸怪之法也。有依武器强攻而虐之，或攻其弱属而胜之；又有道具爆弹流，仗奇技淫巧而轻取之。有近身搏命者，有远战游击者。然团战之时，使怪之强如2G者亦浮云也。是以杀怪无定法，狩技无最强也。

为HR也，有若为浮云。浮云之不留痕迹，吾等不予评论也……

停猎数天，遇同事七星，长枪猎人。尝与午后联机数次。同论猎人之道，兴大增，由此狩猎再开，一发而不可收也。

2G入手，仍择大椎而耍之。

出极锤后（采矿、捉虫，需升至HR8，森丘采集幻之蝶），虐苍火数只，获火龙天鳞数根，苍火Z素材齐备。

迅龙，2G封面人物也。单刷未试，团刷多次二十余只，入手天鳞一个。又造启蒙大剑——迅龙剑。斩味好，会心高，貌极丑，攻太低，弃之。

自此爱大剑。先造崩剑耍之，后因负会心弃之；崩龙单刷不能，请金先生相助。崩剑极酷，貌似崩龙大尾，拍蒜专用。

后考名剑榜，众推角王剑为大剑之首。无奈角龙难刷，血多皮厚爱钻地，难断角。请金先生相帮，买之。

尝从金先生处买数把上级弓箭，欲以之屠角龙。后因弓箭单刷费时而废之。弓装仅有上位霸苍混装而已。

曾借老金之助，屠古龙数只，索然无味。

某日于TG试论金先生之用处：欲削G级怪之HP而虐之。先半血而再半，后弃之不用。又曾向金先生借钱，批量采购易耗之狩猎素材。

金先生用以小娱可也，太过而夺己之乐趣。目下仍请金先生帮忙显示怪物之血量及位置，单刷G怪之好助手也。

曾刷金、银火龙几只，单人大椎20几分。因不喜费时而放弃。金火套据称除激运外尚有捕获见极，实乃居家旅行，团刷蹭素材之神装也。

后造两装备，高耳、匠、见切装，剑士专用；回避性能+2、防御性能+1、匠混装。至今未曾体会回避性能＋2之妙用，待造长枪试之。

日前曾为轰龙所苦，训练所苦练克敌之法，未果。后观网上达人夜羽之大剑虐轰视频，拜服而效之，甚好。现以角王剑虐上位村轰可也；G级未试。

尝倾羡金狮之拔刀集中装，欲求屠狮之法，数次尝试斗技场双金。苦武器差（雪狮王G太刀），屡试屡败。后请金先生助之，攻击略升而持角王剑蓄力击之，甚好。然此乃旁门左道，不足为外人道也。

游戏时间近百，又自问为何而狩。答曰：仍不知也。

昨夜妻10时欲睡，问吾几时睡。吾答：20分可也。然虐金狮至11时方睡。妻怒自睡，吾夜独起喂儿两次。后删2G之ISO，封盘不玩也。

近期游戏太过，有空则玩之，寝食思之。尝令母怒而妻不理，我心不忍。

晨问己可否将游戏之心用以其他任一正途，则吾之幸甚。

NDS - 忍者龙剑传-龙剑

放下MHP2G，昨晚又捡起中途停下来的这个游戏玩了一下。虽然游戏做得不错，充分利用了NDS的特点，可是我还是觉得玩起来不过瘾。也许难度过低？也许触摸屏的操作方法不熟悉？总之对比起战神PSP版，还是有很多差距。
NDS想做3D动作游戏还是差一点啊……

PSP交给老妈保管，狩猎中断

老妈几次抱怨我晚上睡得太晚，经过一番考虑以后，我主动向她交出了PSP，决定过几天健康的生活。
不再考虑MHP2G的晚上，空闲时间可以用来多陪陪儿子玩耍，看看美剧和电影。更可以用这点时间来看看书，学习一下。
退一步海阔天空……

崩龙大剑麒麟视频

崩龙大剑，三眼装，拔刀术。
预判麒麟回头。间或蓄力斩，背斩很赞……
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/4lKsG5jXoHs/
感觉如果金狮子装、角王剑加紫斩的话，可能更好一些。

Technorati Tags: MHP2G, game, PSP

3月份PSP大作

PATAPON还没有偃旗息鼓，3月大作的号角便已经吹响。

下面是gamefaqs.com上的游戏发售时间表

北美：

02/18	Need for Speed ProStreet
02/26	Blokus Portable: Steambot Champ...
	Patapon
	World Championship Cards
03/03	Major League Baseball 2K8
	MLB 08: The Show
03/04	God of War: Chains of Olympus
03/11	FlatOut: Head On
	Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
	Wild ARMs XF
03/17	DT Racer Refueled
03/25	Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
	Warriors Orochi

日本：

03/27	Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch...
	Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch...
	Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G
	Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (...
	Tomb Raider: Anniversary
04/02	Star Ocean: The Second Evolution

3月4日《战神：奥林巴斯之链》首先登场。从Demo的素质来看，这款游戏已经有很高的水准了。1UP的一次访谈中还提到，Demo发布以后开发小组决定提高CPU的频率，使得游戏的流畅性和画面都有很大的提升。试玩版的手感已经逼进PS2，相信只要容量也够大，这款游戏一定不会让人失望。

胜利足球08版也在3月11日登场，同一天面世的还有荒野兵器。

进入3月下旬，两个大作相继发售。美版的FFVII Crisis Core让我们这些不懂日文的玩家终于可以领略到这款PSP上最终幻想系列的正统新作；而3月27日日本玩家即将迎来MHP2的加强版——据说最近日本的PSP游戏销量榜上MHP2又再度出现——玩家们正在为新一轮的狩猎风暴预热。