Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2

With the time I've had waiting for Phase 4 of Final Fantasy XIV the itch to play a Final Fantasy title was there and I decided to play the Final Fantasy XII and XII-2 since i never got through them. In the past I had started XII but really didn't enjoy the first few hours and decided with all the hate around the game i wouldn't go any further in but this month I decided to give it another shot. To say the least I was pleasantly surprised. The combat system that i had originally thought was bland and stupid really impressed me later on when i really started seeing all the option I really had. Now that being said ya you could get through the game without really utilizing the system to its full extent which I think was it's down fall. There were characters I like and some i didn't but then again at the beginning of the game i disliked snow greatly now I rather enjoy him. Overall the game definitely was not as bad as the haters made it seem to be and once being in that group myself i can say that  I feel pretty stupid now. So with XIII under my belt I ventured into XIII-2 . XIII-2 was great short but i liked that about it it didn't overstay its welcome which i think going back to previous Final Fantasy titles that happened often. Now that I can look at it without being biased, the direction square has taken actually pleases me. I no longer want to spend 80+ hours in a single player rpg like I use to I just want some fun side quest a cool story to eat up 30 hours of my time without it being a chore or a grind and Final Fantasy XIII-2  did that and presented in an appealing way with it not feeling like a lack of content I even found my self playing the dlc battles I had enjoyed it so much. Well I guess to summarize I urge people to take another look at the XIII series without the view of new is bad and this isn't Final Fantasy 6 or 7 so it's bad. Look at the games for what they are and you never know you just may end up enjoying them. I know i did and am excited for Lightning Returns.

"Lightning... It Flashes Bright, Then Fades Away. It Can't Protect. It Only Destroys."

Final Fantasy XIV ARR

It been awhile since my last entry but with Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn coming out and with  my growing excitement I figured I would make an entry. Final Fantasy XIV ARR launches august 27th and I will be playing a lot probably too much to be honest. The Game is shaping up to be a solid title unlike its predecessor version 1.0 which was horrible but i wont get into that. I was in phase 3 of the beta and couldn't believe how different the game was from my initial expectation. I felt right at home in Eorzea and it brought back a flood of nostalgia. The interface was fluid and easy to navigate. Job system was really well done.(I will be going Paladin) Overall I can see the care they put into making ARR the game that Final Fantasy XIV should have been with its initial launch. The amount of fan service from enemies to allies such as Cid, Biggs and Wedge was great I have been excited for an mmorpg since Final Fantasy XI launch. Now I play WoW and Aion from time to time but i have dropped those titles for XIV. This is the game I been waiting for to get me really back to the mmo genre. Hope to see you all in Eorzea.

Ai Like Tigers now

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Gaming: Blaz Blue CP Izayoi

News of Tsubaki's true form as a playable character for me is pretty exciting. I'm a Tsubaki player in Blaz Blue though recently I've been dabbling in some platinum trying to see what i want to do for BBCP. I found Tsubaki to be a little weak by the end of the continuum shift line of games and didn't want to switch character because she is my favorite character in that game. Now I feel I'm all set i get to play Tsubaki the character and get a whole new move set and character design. The character design is really cool in my opinion i like the giant beam saber and the fact she no longer has the hat. I'm sure many people have issues with this design and the fact that so many of the new characters in BBCP are female. Also I know many of you are Blaz Blue haters(and yes I am a Capcom Fighter personally but i do love Arcsys games as well) and most of you for probably all the wrong reasons no this isn't Guilty Gear no its not suppose to be but its a great game in its own right and i wish people would give it a true shot before bashing it. Many of the changes to the system in Chrono Phantasma seem to change it close to Persona 4 Arena which sold very well. Hopefully we will see a console release in the U.S.A. but for now Japanese Arcade Release is next Week. Other than that a PS3 Japanese release is confirmed so at least we'll be able to import it. Anyway I'm done rambling check it out I'm sure more BBCP info will be flooding the internet withing the next month.

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Gaming: League of Legends End of Season 2 Thoughts

Season 2 is about to be over we had LoL world championship a lot of changes over the season many new players some of this was for the good some bad. First things I'd like to say about season 2 now that its over is a big thanks to Riot for investing a lot of money back into the community and starting to work on some of the major issues in league of legends mainly the trolling and bad manners of players. I'll start with the new tribunal system now this is great to see LoL need more discipline and i don't blame this all on Riot i blame this on the community and most people in it are internet griefers and trolls in fact some you you reading this are and probably don't think you are. This insane issue everyone needs to work on because honestly i think the state of the community online is bad. I also play Starcraft 2 and Fighting games obviously more of a fighting game player overall. This being said i think LoL community is the worst of the 3 as far as online behavior goes Starcraft is a Gentlemen's game and doesn't really have many trolls online and overall good mannered players. Fighting games have some trolls but a lot of the trolling is in good fun and is part of the culture and adds to the experience. League of Legends is just full of cry babies and  tryhards and everyone needs to stop this . I do think a lot of this comes from the fact that so many people play it and a more diverse age range so there is a lot more immature behavior due to the high volume of teenagers playing the game. So please next time you play try to be nice explain to a bad player what they re doing wrong in an encouraging way and try to help them not make then rage quit and you still lose. Next subject Riot needs to pump out less champions and allow the game to stabilize i bit more in current builds although they have slowed down and i do get that its there main source of income new champs it needs to slow down more. Riot has put more incentive in the game for player some of the season 2 ending idea are good lower cool down on flash making new items for support jungle tweaks all excellent idea's and are much needed I believe.  Overall good job to Riot with trying to address a lot of issues and supporting the competitive scene its getting there but i still feel a lot for can be done and i look forward to seeing what season 3 has in store for us all.
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Two Ai s are better than one

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Daily Comic: Avengers vs. X-men Round #1

Been wanting to read this for awhile now and see what all the hype is about and it was worth the wait. For those of you wondering about the variant cover in the picture that was the Midtown comics variant so unless you live or visited NYC during June you probably haven't seen it but its a pretty cool variant. From page one i new I'd be enjoying this why you ask? Phoenix Force need i say more. OK so the phoenix force is back and I love me some Jean Grey but don't expect to see her in this arc. So story goes Hope Summers is the next host for the Phoenix Force make sense she looks like mini Jean and if you've followed hope in the past its all been leading up to this. The avengers get warned by Nova that the phoenix force is on its way to earth. Naturally the avengers plan to stop it so they need Hope right? Well that's where the conflict begins. Captain america asks nicely if they can take Hope into custody but Cyclops doesn't respond in a respectful manner, meaning he blasts him with his optic blast. Scott seems to now act much more like magneto of the past now that he feels the burden of the entire mutant race rest upon him which i really like. Anyway of course the Avengers assemble and thus begins the Avengers vs. X men free for all. So i want to harp on the art a bit was pretty disappointed in the art direction for this book a little to cheesy and childish for something as serious as Avengers vs X men, just would have like a more epic kind of art style maybe something similar to civil war. Overall a great read tho 9/10 and i expect every issue to get better and better and who doesn't want to see dream fights like Cap vs Cyclops (Magneto vs Thor hope that happens lol). If you haven't read this arc by now its a good time to start now that its complete you ll have no waiting read it straight through.


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Gaming: Assassin's Creed 3

I have finally started playing Assassin's creed 3 and to be quite honest I'm not all that impressed. The game is overall pretty good, combat is improved beautiful looking game with great play ability  But you just said you weren't impressed but your saying nothing but good things about it? Ya Ya i know well let me explain. Although this game has many good aspects i don't think its really added anything to the franchise just more of the same Assassin's creed you've already played in the previous four titles. One other of my main complaints is that New England in during the revolution isn't exactly a great place for platforming i feel the open frontier and trees just are boring compared to Rome and feels kind of forced. I am from Boston so it was fun to see it as it was in colonial times but all together its pretty bland. If your a fan of the Assassin's series then go grab it, but if your just looking to get into the games now I'd play through the second game seeing how its probably the best game of the series and then if you like that give 3 a shot. Overall 7.5/10 well made game with a good story and a lot of fun historical missions such as Paul Revere's ride, battle of Bunker Hill and battle of Lexington and Concord just not enough changes for it to be groundbreaking(Naval Battles are the best part of the game).

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Ai want this in my kitchen

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Daily Comic: Ironman #1

Lately it probably seems I've neglected the Marvel side of thing to be honest i am a bigger fan of D.C. but this doesn't mean I don't enjoy most of Marvels books too. So today I will be showing some love to one of my favorite heroes from Marvel none other than Ironman. So Marvel has done something that drives me crazy restarting with issue number one. I understand its easier to get new people to read if they see a one on the cover of the issue but it really isn't a new beginning for Ironman (that happened a few years back). Anyway to get to the point if your expecting to pick this up and get reintroduced to Tony's back story your going to be in for a rude awakening, this new arc actually brings back one of my favorite arc in the more recent Ironman Extremis. If you guys haven't read it have no fear Marvel put that story into a animated comic that you can watch and i do recommend you check that out its very cool. So overall this issue was a good read you get some of Tony's usual playboy alcoholic self and you get a little of Ironman. This issue doesn't do anything special really but its got some good art some decent pacing and sets up for the new few issues. I rate this 7/10 worth reading but you wont be blown away by it. If your a fan of Iron man you'll definitely want to pick this up because I believe this arc will be very good overall just may take a few more issues.

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Ai just can't control it!

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Gaming:Replaying a Classic The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time

I recently start replaying one of my favorite games of all time if not my number 1.......The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time on the Nintendo 64. This is truly one of the greatest games ever made its not everyday i can say I've beaten a game over 20 times and with 100% completion at least five of them. I think i spent the better half of my childhood playing this game it was so enthralling with all the mini games side quest and funny thing you could do in it. I can recall being young and spending hours just harassing chickens at Lon Lon ranch. Fishing for hours and trying to do stupid things like trying to get over places i needed hover boots without them and replaying to beat it with only 3 hearts ect. So i probably haven't picked this game up in at least 2 years and i was thinking hey i need to play this again and see if its still as good as i remember. It is. Man this game is great playing it is one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I've had in a single player game in years. I think all companies including Nintendo themselves need to take note of gems like this in gaming history. This game just has something that modern titles lack i mean there are plenty of good games out there nowadays but they all lack that magical feeling you get when u play a title like Ocarina of time. If you haven't played it in awhile many of you probably have due to 3DS release but if you haven't please do you wont regret one more play through.


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Ai Ai Ai!

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Annual Review : BatGirl Annual #1

Well i know I haven't been very current in many things but this is one of the books I am current in. Now if you all don't know me BatGirl is one of my favorite characters in the D.C. universe but also let me explain Stephanie Brown BatGirl is one of my favorite characters in the D.C. universe(wait did i just repeat myself?). So before you all flame me for saying Barbara isn't the best BatGirl(I know a lot of you want to hurt me right now) you have to understand that Stephanie Brown is more nostalgic for me. Growing up Tim drake as Robin was my favorite hero probably in part to the teen titans cartoon I really enjoyed Robin with a Bo staff and I've read so many of those books. And of course where Tim Drake is Stephanie Brown at that time spoiler is. I guess i can stop rambling now but I hope this helps explain why I was extremely skeptical of the new BatGirl run bringing back Barbara and removing Stephanie. In the end I ended up enjoying the new run may not be Stephanie but Barbara as BatGirl does remind me of her a bit. Her attitude seems to have changed from her Oracle personality. The first Annual of Batgirl was a pleasant surprise and definitely a good read, bringing together a trio of female character CatWoman The Female Talon(see previous issues) and of course Batgirl herself. Basically this issue Batgirl learns that the Court of Owls in still pulling strings in Gotham and is plotting against Bruce Wayne. Through all this a new friendship seems to form between the three unlikely allies. Overall this issue gets a 9/10 excellent pacing ,great art and  Gail Simone is an excellent writer and has plenty of experience writing Barbara from her previous run on Birds of Prey. This issues also setup up for some interesting plot and story lines for not only BatGirl but the rest of the BatFamily as well. A must read go to your local comic store and pick it up.

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Daily Comic: Aquaman #7

Aquaman, I guess you wouldn't really say he's a household name. Everyone knows who he is but generally just thinks of him as lame as did I until Blackest Night. Geoff Johns has reinvented Aquaman as one of the coolest heroes around. Starting off in new 52 I think this was probably one of the strongest book for the reboot of the D.C. universe.
Now instead of a lame guy that can talk to fish Arthur is more of a Superman type but without the lame Clark Kent personality. Geoff even goes into giving the impression the the civilians think he's lame in the new run but slowly through the first few issues the civilians as well as us readers have come to realize he's a lot more interesting than we originally had thought. After the first intro arc down we finally get to see Arthur's long time arch enemy Black Manta. Black Manta is one of the most bad-ass dudes in all of the D.C. universe even if you still can't get yourself to like Aquaman you should still read it just for Black Manta. All that aside lets get down into the meat of this issue. Issues 7 has great pacing plenty of action and establishes some new characters in Aquaman's life. We get some lore on Atlantis and are introduced to a form of alliance between Stephen Shin and Black Manta. The art in this book is phenomenal and has been in previous issues and issues to come I'm sure. Overall i give this issue a 8/10. If you haven't already started then i encourage you to read the new run of Aquaman if there is any book you should be reading in the new 52 its this.



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Daily Comic:Supergirl #3

Today's comic is Supergirl issue #3 of new 52 technically volume 6 for Supergirl on a whole. I'm a pretty big fan of the previous run of Supergirl i thought it was phenomenal, so you can imagine I was pretty disappointed to see her rebooted so soon after i felt she was finally becoming a well rounded character. This issue is your basic hero getting to know their new found powers story. Issue start out with Superman explaining what has happened to krypton and that he is her only living relative. For the most part the core of the story is intact minus Batman finding her pod and the whole Darkseid arc. I mean they even made an animated movie about that arc it was awesome so why remove it form the D.C. universe. Well all that aside to be fair this issue was not all that bad, not very eventful but i do have hope for the future of Supergirl. It seems that for the most part they plan to keep Kara's personality similar to her previous incarnation. So story-wise we'll wait and see what D.C. has planned in later issues but all around i plan to keep reading. The art style in this book is pretty cool one of the more unique styles I've seen. Although i do prefer Supergirl with a more modern flair to her this vintage look i guess you d call it is a nice change a pace from the norm. Overall 7/10 for this issue but id expect to see bigger and better things form this book in the future(well its probably already happened but im really behind right now :p)

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Ai + Chun two of my favorites collide

Just found this again on my comp figured I'd post it some cool photo shop of the amazing Ai Shinozaki turned into Chun-li.

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Gaming: Epic Mickey 2

Earlier today I had a chance to check out the recently release demo for Epic Mickey 2 on the PS3. I had always wanted to check out the first game in the series but had long removed myself from the Wii by the time it was released. This time around though with it being multi-console seeing a PS3 and Xbox 360 release i had to give it a shot. Right away i knew i would be enjoying this game controls are fluid (would like to point i played on controller not PS move my experience is based on standard dual shock controller)and classic Disney story. Although the AI wasn't bad I would still recommend playing coop with a friend if not for game play reason it probably is just even more fun. Graphically the game is beautiful has CGI and hand drawn cut scenes the worlds are amazingly detailed. All around all i want to do is play this game it was a blast and can't wait for more. Day one purchase in my book but hey if you don't trust me try for your self demo is live on psn and xbox live.
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Anime Analysis : Steins Gate OMG!!!!!

I really don't know where to start with this review or really just praise. Last night i started watching Stein Gate the anime adaptation and i was glued to it till the early hours of the next morning. Now I'm only 12 episodes in but i mean come on for one day? I don't usually get that into things but man did this suck me in. Stein gate follows a self proclaimed "mad scientist" although really just a guy who out of touch with reality as he witnesses a murder, but soon find out that the girl is still alive. Eventually coming to the conclusion that he has figured out how to manipulate time and is creating new world line through his telephone microwave (temporary name). Although this all seems a little cheesy and over the top there is this underlying haunting tone in the series that causes the comedy and lightheartedness to not overwhelm you. Throughout all the episodes i had this feeling that something horrible is actually going on and that no character can be trusted. Eventually the series started to get extremely serious and makes you really think about what your perception of reality really is. Now i haven't finished it so i cant say anything for the ending but if it more of the safe I'm sure ill be glued to my seat the whole way through. This has show has an amazing score and really just the feeling it gives you is unlike piece of media ever has. That being said i will be soon checking out the visual novel as well. Overall 9/10(even a bad ending wouldn't bring it lower). I encourage any anime fan or even those who don't enjoy anime to check this out its an amazing piece of art.

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Daily Comic: Deathstroke #1

After many bad reviews and a little over a year I've finally decided to check out Death Stroke's new ongoing series in new 52. I've only read the first issue at this point but most of what i gather from it is probably going to be mediocre at best. It follows death stroke on his mercenary missions. Issue 1 setups a this idea that people think Slade has lost a step he is given a mission with a group of teenage "up and comers". While they track down and assassinate a German scientist who is supposedly moving weapons. Death stroke and the team proceed to high jack his play and soon find out its biological weapons with little effort Slade destroys them at and blows up the plane. Then returning home Slade proceeds to kill the team of young mercenary's and set out to make sure people will still fear him and his skills. Overall this issue was fairly weak just kind of what you'd expect with Death stroke violence and a big ego. The book doesn't do much to go deeper into Slade Wilson's psyche and really doesn't leave you wanting more. The art work is pretty standard not bad but not the best I have seen. Overall I give it a 6/10 will i continue reading maybe but chances are i rather spend my time reading another book that DC has to offer.


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