Hexakill

If you have been playing league recently, then you know that there is a new format called Hexakill. Instead of there being five champions on each team, there is now an extra person making it six vs six. I admit, when I heard about it, I was excited to try it out due to hey something other than Classic Summoners' Rift or ARAM, even though Hexakill is played on Summoners Rift. However, just because something is shiney and new does not mean that is all fun and games: Hexakill is sometimes annoying to play.


With there being an extra champion, that means there is a couple of options to dividing up the champions between lanes. You could do two at top lane, two at bottom lane, and two at middle lane, or you could go two top, two bottom, one middle and a jungle. During champion select during normal matches, especially with queuing in with random people, it is sometimes a mess calling positions, but everything can work itself out by the time champion select is over.In Hexakill however, the mess continues up until the game actually starts because half of the team favors the two in every lane and the other half goes with there being a jungler. While I have found in my experience that sending two in every lane is usually efficient, there is also great power in there being a jungle.

Another problem I have had with Hexakill is what type of champion to send where. In normal game mode, you send your tanks or bruisers top lane, like Nassus, Riven and Tryndmere;you send your Assassins middle lane, like Ahri,Fizz, and Katarina; and you send your Attack Damage Carry,or ADC, such as Sivir, Ashe and Caitlyn and your Support bottom lane, such as Soraka, Thresh or Leona. In that mix you could have a jungler, like Vi or Fiddlesticks, but it almost optional. However, in Hexakill, I have seen them send a tank and an Assassin top lane to disrupt the top lane and them to send tanks bot lane to give the ADC some support. I admit, the main problem is people keep trying to play it like they play Classic Rift during Hexakill due to the fact Hexakill is not classic Rift; Hexakill does not have a clear defined meta, which is also a good quality because it allows people to experiment. I admit, the combo of Nassus and Ahri top would have never happened in classic, but it an awesome combination due to Ahri charming and Nassus farming for the kill.

One of the fun things bout it though is experiment with different champion combos, like the Nassus-Ahri combo. For example if you do pick to have two middle lane champions, you can see how different champions interact with each other. It is kind of funny how mid just starts spamming combos and eventually gets there.

Speaking of experimenting, I feel a greater ease experimenting with different champions. I admit to experimenting with Syndra and Orianna the whole time while I do Hexakill. While you can experiment on Rift, people will flame you if you do bad, but in Hexakill, while there is flaming, the thing that makes it better is the fact that it's not a "real" format, meaning while you do get IP and EXP, its a fun format.It not competitive like it is on rift;it just exists,sorta like ARAM.

Overall, while I have had some bad experience trying to figure out Hexakill, I hope in the coming days, I will continue having fun playing League. I hope Riot can keep giving us these fun formats, such as Hexakill, All for One, Showdown, etc, and maybe keep them a bit longer.

Halo 4

Novemeber brings us a lot of good things such as Thanksgiving, hot new movies such as Skyfall, or in the case of this November, the next game in the well known series called Halo. Halo 4 was released Tuesday, and video game lovers from all over were anticipating the release of this game, many with high hopes. So, did it live up to anticipation?

In some ways yes, in some ways no.

The story still centers around our silent hero, Master Chief and his A.I companion, Cortana, and their quest to save the galaxy once again. However, his companion is having issues with an A.I degenerative condition called Rampancy, a condtion known to sging A.I where they think themselves to death. While Master Chief is trying to save Cortana, the Forrunners are making their presence through the galaxy and Master Chief must save the galaxy as well.

Story wise, if you have not read the books (which I have not yet) the story on the Forerunners will be a complete mystery. They could have easily done more with the story of the Forerunners or at least expanded on the story or had them tie in with Cortana's story. Cortana's story was great due to the fact that they help expand on the A.I and their workings and Master Chief's relationship. However, I am not satisfied by the end of the story. I will not spoil anything, but they should have made a better ending and intertwined the stories and made them more fleshed out. I hate super long games due to a short atttention span, I would have gladly accepted a few more hours to the campaign rather than have the end.

For me, the graphics were the best selling part of this game. Requiem, the planet where most of the game takes place, is amazingly beautiful. The trees were well detailed and the other places the game takes place is bizarrely beautiful. The new enemies, the Prometheans, have unique designs. The Crawlers looked like insect dogs and the Knights, although hard to kill, had something interesting going for them. Cortana's design was also updated, giving her more of a bobbed haircut and you could see the circuitry in her design where her clothes were supposed to be. Chief's armor has also been updated again, making it a bit more detailed. Along with  hat, they have made the gameplay seem like it more through the point of chief, giving the helmet interface and when Cortana starts to go a bit rampant, they show the red in the visor, which to  me scored points in my book. (In case you're wondering, Chief looks sexy in 1080p.)

 Sound wise, the OST is amazing. I will admit to buying the OST before playing the game, but the real test was could the match the OST with the mood of the game. Honestly, they mixed it very well and the music matched the mood of the moment very well. I will give them credit, I was very surprised when they brought back some of the first Halo music. It was nostalgic and made me happy from the bottom of my heart.

Overall, I am a little dissapointed by the game, but it makes me want to play Halo 5 and Halo 6 ironically. Maybe it's the quest to know what happens next, or maybe it's the wanting to know more about Master Chief, who knows.   I will admit, the game had its good points, but also its bad, but for good or bad, I enjoyed the game.

Special thanks to Mike who did campaign with me and for lending me the book Cryptum!!

Spring Anime Season: Halfway Report

It's here: the Spring Season, filled with blooming flowers, chirping birds, and of course, lots and lots of anime, This spring, the anime industry brought anime fans a lot of various anime, from Idol Moe, to High School romance, to even Zombies. No matter the genre, the spring anime season has brought a lot of good anime, and I honestly hope for some of these to be anime classics soon.

Accel World 

Personally, thus far in the anime season, this has to be one of my favorites I have picked up. The story follows a plain old boy named Arita Haruyuki, who meets up with the school's princess, Kuroyukihime through an online game. She then introduces him to "Brain Burst," which enhances the mind to enter the world known as Accel World, where people fight each other with avatars. Haruyuki becomes Silver Crow, and together with Kuroyukihime, they fight the enemies and hopefully become the strongest.

This anime has great characters, great story line, and is well planned out. The characters are memorable, even though the main character is a bit on the chubby side, and the girl is a bit too perfect, but those quelms aside, they are probably some of the best characters I have ever seen. The Accel World so far is pretty well explained, though a few things still remain unaswered, but as seeing we are only on episode 6, I can forgive that. Along with that, the animation is fluid, and polished and very pleasing to the eyes. I can only have high expectation for this anime, due the promising start, and I pray it does not crash and burn like some anime.


Acchi Kocchi 
The story for this anime is simple but sweet: Tsumiki has a bit of a crush on her classmate, Io, and Io has some feelings for Tsumiki as well, but neither one is aware of the other's feelings. Their friends try as hard as they can to get the two together, but so far, it has been failing. Hopefully one day, these two will realize each other's feelings, and get together.

I have a confession to make about this anime: I fell in love with it in the first five minutes of the first episode. The art style was adorable, and Tsumiki is such a loli, and she kind of reminds me of Konata from Lucky Star, but that's not all: the opening song was absolutely adorable, It's catchy, upbeat, and probably will give you sugar shock. Besides that, the characters are great, the animation is fluid, and the situations they get into might be a bit slice of life like,but still hilarious.


AKB0048

Imagine a future in which all music is banned. Secret idol groups have to give underground concerts, and those who are caught giving or attending these concerts are subject to punishment. The story follows an idol group called AKB0048, who give concerts, and the young girls who attend their concerts in hopes of joining the group.

One thing you should know about this anime is the fact it is based off an real-life band based in Akihabara called AKB48. I have never heard of this band before watching hte anime, but knowledge of the band is not needed in order to understand this anime. Since this is a musical anime, of course they put high emphasis on the music, and they do well with that. The artwork is super moe, and the little hilights in the hair are hearts, which I find adorable. The story outline is a bit dark, but they do put light into it, such as when the police show up to fight the group, their hairbows and stage props are actually weapons. Overall, can't wait to see more.


Hyouka

This anime's story can simply be described as slice of life with mystery. Our story follows Oreki Houtarou, a high schooler who was ordered to join the literature club by his sister in order to keep it alive, even as a ghost member. When he arrives at the club room, he finds a first year girl named Chitanda Eru asks him to solve the mystery of why the club door was locked. From there, when ever she asks about a mystery, he usually solves it, with the help of his friends.

Where to begin with this....the animation is fluid, cute and the sceneries are well designed. The story, the characters, and all...not so good. The set up for this anime is very episodic, though there is a continuing underlying continuing story. The mysteries in this anime are mundane, but yet the solutions to them are always pulled out of Oreki's ass. To  make matters worse, his solutions are always taken as the right solution to the "mysteries." I guess I can hope that the anime will get better with time, but I can only hope.


Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Of the Dead

This anime is pure shenanigans. The characters are pure crack, the situations even more so. We have the return of our lead zombie, Aikawa Ayumu, along with the masou shoujo Haruna, and the adorable, but silent necromancer, Eucliwood Hellscythe, and the vampire ninja, Seraphim. The new situations they are put in are nothing short of funny, and what new adventures await them this season?

This is a continuation off the first season of Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? and whteht or not I'm amused is really up in the air. I love the characters, sure, but I think some of that odd-ball effect has sort of run dry due to the first season, and perhaps the fact they have almost run out of jokes. For some reason, I was hoping for a more serious side of it, like the first season was just exposition, however, what ever the case may be, I still enjoy this anime for all of its guilty pleasures.


Kuro Majo-san ga Tooru

Our story here is simple, but yet complex: Kurotori Chiyoko, an young girl interested in the occult, is asked by her classmates to summon the angel of love, Cupid. However, due a stuffy nose, she accidentally summons Gyubid, a black witch who engages Chiyoko in training to become a black witch.

Personally, I think this anime is actually pretty good, even though each episode is only seven minutes long. They manage decent character development, and make me laugh in that time span. The opening song is also catchy (not Acchi Kocchi catchy though) and animation is actually pretty decent. I honestly cannot wait for more of this anime, alhtough I wish they would make it longer.


Medaka Box

For some reason ever since The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, there has been an obsession with making the main girl a god-like figure. The case still remains here in Medaka Box, even down to the point they both follow a club, or a student council with this girl in said group, and he cohorts helping her make everything the way she wants it. With Medaka Box, however, it is directly implied that she might a bit too perfect. Our story follows Medaka in her running the student council and making everything right as she sees fit.

Overall, this anime is not bad, but it isn't good either. The art work and animation is fine, and the characters are ok as well, but something about it irks me. It feels incomplete, which I blame on the format of the show; which divides each episode into two mini-episodes. Usually, due to my attention span, it works for me, but with this anime, it actually epically fails because they cannot get anything established.


Nazo no Kanojou X

We all have our addictions in life, whether it be alcohol, drugs, caffiene, and perhaps even stranger stuff. But, imagine if you're a man, and then somehow got addicted to a girl's saliva. That's exactly what happens to Tsubaki Akira when he he stays after school one day and finds the mysterious transfer student, Urabe Mikoto drooling on the desk. Curious, he tries a sample of the spit, not knowing that her saliva is somewhat addictive, and after getting sick for a week, she reveals to him that he was going through withdrawals and that  he had to have some everyday, or else they would happen. As the relationship  that started based off a boy trying a girl's saliva, romance will surely develop, won't it?

This anime, even though it has an oldish art style that would usually distract me, it works for me. The scenario is a bit weird, but they know how to make the best of the situation that is. The characters are also developed nicely, and each character has a distinct boundary so far, and with some of the other characters being introduced so far, I can only hope for a good end.


Saki-Ageha-hen-Episode of Side A
Remember a while back there was an anime about mahjong named Saki? Remember how good it was? Yeah, they decided it was so good they decided to do a spin off on it, centering around a group of girls Nodoka used to hang out with when she was younger, and their journey to the national championships.

My only response to this anime is basically why do you exist?! Seriously, if you're gonna do a spin off, least do one of the more threatening schools, or least have more interesting characters. The animation is the anime's strong poimt, and even that is average, due to the fact that none of the girls really stand out looks wise. The characters are so flat, I can't even remember their names honestly. Honestly, this is not worth the watch, and because I have a policy about dropping anime...forward we go.


Sankarea

It seems lately, Hollywood has become fascinated with zombies, and that trend is actually catching on in anime. When Furuya's cat, Babu, dies, he attempted to resurrect it using a potion he found in a book. While trying to resurrect his cat, he meets a girl named Sanka Rea, who is a seemingly perfect girl, except for the fact that she wishes to die and be reborn as someone else. With Furuya's help, it might be possible to obtain her wish.

Although this anime might seem a bit strange at first, I like it personally. It has good characters, and good character designs, ie, Furuyua looks like an adorable cat. The characters are also pretty good, and the cat's meow is unique, but adorable. Rea probably has to be the flattest of the main cast personality wise, but either way, she is still an excellent character.


Sengoku Collection
In anime, there seems to be a fascination with the era of the warring states in Japan like there is WWII fascination in the West. It seems there is a bunch of anime having to deal with the warring states of Japan, and lately, they seem to be marketing them as if all the leaders were school girls, instead of men. Sengoku collection follows some of the leaders as they somehow come to the modern day world, and their journey of trying to get back to their home.

Since my knowledge of this time period is limited, I can't properly judge the historical accuracy of this anime, but judging by characters and such, I'm a bit mixed about this. the art style looks low budget, and its mediocre all around, but it seems pretty decent far.


Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan

Our story for this is simple: Kaguya is washed up on shore, not remembering who she is or any type of emotions Rick, along with his baking assistants at the local bread shoppe try and help her remember who she is and help her regain some of her emotions.

Ok, basic slice of like with a bit of amnesia, things I actually like in an anime. How wrong can this anime go? Answer: very.Kaguya doesn't even come in until the third episode, which I would forgive if it was twenty-four episodes or so, but this anime moves way too slow, and with the amnesiac girl being a promised main character, and with most of the anime focusing around bread, this is a let down.The only slightly redemption for for this anime is the end song, which is adorable.


Upotte!!
Imagine if a gun was a person. What type of personality would it have? Hpw would act around others who were also guns? And finally, what if they all went to school together? Such is the situation in Upotte!!, each girl is the personification of a gun, such as the M16A1 from America, FNC from Belgium, L85A1 from England.

This is my guilty pleasure. Of course with making all the guns chicks, they add moe and all that stuff. However, this is not meant for kids; its meant for basically military/gun fanatic otaku, and mostly for men (see episode five). The art style is great, and the characters fit not only the stereo-types of the gun, but also nationality. For example, the M16 is a hyper girl, like Americans are stereo-typically portrayed, and she tired are a short time, due to the three round burst limit. According to my military friend its very accurate portrayal of the M16.

Overall, this season has brought its share of good anime, and bad anime but regardless the case, I highly recommend you to check these out.

Flight From Fame

Traveling can be stressful for a lot of people. Everyday people, hoping aboard a plane, the people you have to deal with, the stress of not being bored to death while traveling are all essential, but stressful things that most people have to deal with. Even celeberties aren't exempt from this process. Although they are treated like royalty when they travel, it seems that they feel they are exempt from normal regulations, and throw a fit when they actually have to follow regulations that are for the plane's safety, not because they want them to be bored out of their mind. Alec Baldwin is most recent example of a celeberty going off because he was forced to do something that was necessary for the planes safety, and then caused an uproar over it.

In the case of Alec Baldwin, he was forced to get off a plane when a flight attendant asked him to put away his iPad because the plane was taking off. Alec, who was busy playing a game on the iPad, refused to put the device up, though it is not clear why the flight attendants kicked him off the flight, though some passengers on the flight claim that he was being rather rude to the attendants.Baldwin later took the scandal to Twitter, stating that the flight attendants were basically 1950's Catholic school teachers that had started working in the air line industry, and that he would never fly the airline again.

I think the problem here is that the Baldwin took the problem too far. He basically refused to comply with airline regulations that are in place to protect the flight, the passengers, and radar safety, due to the wireless interactions of the devices actually interfering with functions. Also, now a days, if stuff goes to Twitter, then it's "serious business," though I think he is over reacting to the whole thing. Just because he is a celeberty doesn't mean he is exempt from flight rules. If someone asks him to put up the device for safety reasons, then he should have put it up, not take it to the world for everyone to read.

What worse in my mind is the media attention that this has received. I'm pretty sure people get kicked off flights all the time for not complying, and yet you never hear about them. Only in extreme cases does the average person getting kicked off the flight gain media attention, and even then, it isn't as instantaneous as celeberty cases.  If the average person posted on Twitter about getting kicked off, I think that it would have to gain such an outrage or make people double take on what they said, or press a law suit. Alec Baldwin posted about it, and even though it is sort of outrageous, if said by any regular Average Joe, I don't think that it would have garnered so much attention.

But this whole case kind of ourages me. Who is he to throw a temper tantrum over having to put up a game? A little kid I could understand. A grown man who people supposedly like, not a chance. People need to grow up and learn they have to do stuff they don't like. Just because a flight attendant asks you to put up a game or device because it might cause issues doesn't mean they are trying to be mean, they just want you to arrive there safely.

Team Fortress 2:Halloween Update

Its that time of year again. There is candy to be gotten, tricks to be played, and a time to be scared. Also, it's time for the Publisher Valve to put out their Halloween Update for the hit game Team Fortress 2. Now, I thoroughly enjoy the game on regular mode, but when i heard bout the update that would last untill Halloween, i was stoked. However, just like any update to a game, it has its downsides.

Now, this may be my first time playing the Halloween Update, since I just started playing extensively around March. The Halloween Update adds maps to the already extensive collections of maps on Team Fortress 2, but the map has a haunted house like feeling. The usual medi-packs or health restore kits (whatever you may call them) are now replaced with candy bars for the smaller heal kits and a pumpkin pie for the bigger ones. Along with the medi-kit changes, there are now pumpkins scattered around the map with explosive devices on them, and if you shoot them up close, will get hurt. Also, you can download "skins" for the engineers sentry gun, but I honestly don't know where to get these, but apparently is makes the mini-sentry look like it has a brain.
There is one problem i have with the Halloween Update: it is that it lags out HORRIBLY, which means for all you non-video game fans, that response time in between in put time and the reaction time are slightly off. At first, i thought it was the sever was lagging, but it turns out it lagged for my friend as well. Also, when trying to kill the Horseless Headless Horseman, a lagged out and it is almost impossible to kill him, though some people have killed him, and you get a special hat.
Its good that they made a Halloween Update for Team Fortress 2, but however, it could be less glitchy.

When In Doubt, Have the Plants Protect Your Yard

In the coming month, one can expect raids on their houses by zombies looking for their next meal of brains. There are a few options, though I find that planting pea shooters and other plants on my yard in order to protect my self against zombies. Why not a fire extinguisher? Because the plants can take down the zombies in seconds, leaving just the corpses of zombies piled up on my lawn. Also, don't forget e to spend your sunlight wisely, because the plants need sunlight to grow, and if you plant a plant in the wrong spot, your sunlight gets used up, increasing the chances of the zombies getting what they want. My personal advice is to have sunflowers produce sunlight, because there just isn't enough time in the day.

The Start Up Screen for Plants vs. Zombies

In the game, Plants vs. Zombies, your objective is to defend your house against the incoming zombie raid by using plants. The two mos basic plants are the pea shooters, which do damage to the zombies, and the sunflower, which produces the sun needed to get the plants. The plants require certain amount of sun to be planted, so plan out where you put your plants, because place them in the wrong place, the zombies could be munching on your brains. Also, in the game, you can plant wall-nuts, which block zombies for a bit, and you can plant all sorts of plants, each with different abilities.
At first, the game may seem childish and easy, but it has to be one of the most addictive games I have ever played. The levels start off easy, but as they add in more tpyes of zombies, such as there is a cone-head zombie which take longer to kill, and the disco zombie, which can summon back up dancers, they difficulty increased. I honestly can't count how many times I have had my brains eaten in that game. The levels also have a few different modes, such as day time, daytime with a pool, in which you have to plant lily pads to plant the plants on, night time, where you must use mushrooms in order to beat the zombies, night time with a pool, night time with fog, and finally, the roof. The roof is the hardest level because to roof slants, and the regular plants can't get over the slant, however, catapult plants can.
Along with the main game, there are little mini games that you can play. These vary from the defending the house from plant like zombies, to Wall'nut bowling, which involves using wall'nuts to knock down zombies like bowling pins. These little games are just plain amusing to play,  because it challenges the mind. It makes you think about the constraints you are under for each level. It makes you realize that you can´t just nuke the zombies, and that you must use strategy in order to defeat them.
The game play is suitable for all ages, which is rare for a zombie game. Usually, people associate zombies with rated T or M games, but Plants Vs. Zombies is playable by just about anyone that can use a computer mouse and play a game. I've known kids as young as five that are able to play it. It doesn't contain any scarey elements, but its actually light hearted in nature. If you're looking for a serious, blood and gore zombie game for Halloween, then I'm sorry to say that this isn't the game for you. However, if you love strategy, cute plants that can protect your home, then I must say, this is the game for you

Mata ne Chii~