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Monday, 27 May 2013

Definitely Recommended Content

Hi there people,

For once this post isn't anything about me really. This time I'm going to be making sure you guys check out some wicked talent. For those of you who don't know, haven't noticed or haven't bothered, I have a "Definitely Recommended Reading" Section at the side of the screen and directly underneath is "Quality Youtube Channels"

These sections are fairly self explanatory and I've not just put them there for fun or recognition. They are there because they have a lot of VERY good content and things that most of you would be interested in. My fiancé's (Mallynista) blog is the only one that would be considered an exception, but there are many girl gamers on my twitter friends so i think even that is relevant, plus she does awesome reviews and tips for makeup.

I aim to get more and more content in those sections over the coming days & months so PLEASE make sure you check it out regularly.

I'll not go into each specific link but they are ALL worth checking out.

As of this moment the two that are updated most regularly are:

Mallynista's blog
Chris Brennan's blog & Youtube Channel

Thursday, 23 May 2013

Things like this don't need to happen #Woolwich

My thoughts and prayers are with the victim of yesterdays vile, disgusting attack and i hope they get all the help and support they need right now.

After reading a few articles and watching a few videos about the attack, also after watching a video of the attacker speaking to someone's smartphone, it got me thinking. Things like this should NOT be happening to our brave and loyal soldiers, these people follow orders, there's no two ways about it, they do what they are told to do. Soldiers are tools (not in the nasty sense, the literal sense) for governments, soldiers are ordered by governments to do their bidding basically, so in no way should a soldier, who is back on his home soil after surviving what was most likely a brutal tour somewhere be getting attacked/killed.

The attacker did make me think, i mean he did have a point (don't all start attacking me because i DO NOT agree with his actions and i am disgusted by him and what he did) but if our government stopped sending our troops to other countries and interfering with their own internal problems (probably for our own gain in some way) and or just pulled our troops out of these countries, innocent people here and in America would possibly stop getting killed. Our government has ordered bombings and attacks on places and it is allowed to get away with it, you'd be a fool to think that innocent people in these countries aren't getting killed because of our government's actions. But in this point my previous point comes into play, if you have a problem with our government, aim your attacks at the government! Don't slaughter innocent people in the streets! Don't kill soldiers who have no choice but to follow orders. Or even better than any more blood being spilled at all... Stop all the terrorist attacks, here and in your own countries and maybe our government will feel like the countries are stable enough and pull our troops out! Peaceful resolution.

I despair at the state of the world when innocent people are getting caught up in political chess games involving real people and real countries. I think it boils down to a few things:

  • We should stop getting involved in other countries problems
  • We have enough problems of our own, sort them out first
  • Let our troops defend our own country, not die needlessly in other countries or over here because of the actions of a government.
I really feel like we would be better off dealing with our own problems as a country instead of getting involved with other countries issues. I feel really sorry for all the innocent people on both sides of the coin who have died needlessly because of the actions of governments or terrorist organisations & i feel for their families.

Why in this day and age do we still need to slaughter each other?
Why do we need to get involved in other countries business?
Why can't we all just sodding well help each other to survive what is already a tough enough life for a lot of people?

I know i have written on a very sensitive subject and i am in no way agreeing with what the people in question did yesterday and i will say yet again that i think it is disgusting and it should never have happened. But at the very same time i don't think innocent people & families should have to die in other countries either. We need to stop getting involved in other countries affairs and maybe things like this won't be brought back to our own doorstep, poor innocent people dying for some asshole's idea of justice.

What a world.

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

#Gamers May end up bringing "Big Brother" into their homes... #XboxOne #PS4

I'm going to try and keep this fairly short, because i could go into this for hours and hours likely. Basically I've spotted something that i find a little bit disturbing about both the Xbox One and the PS4. They both (well at least one of them) seem to be adding cameras to their consoles (not built in obviously) but they seem like they may be necessary to actually use the console. Which i find just a little bit strange, i can understand that things move on and technology moves on, but what happened to the cameras being an accessory? Something you don't have to use if you don't want to? Now both Sony and Microsoft, at the same time, are almost making it compulsory to have a camera. (I can't say for sure about PS4 because it's yet to be revealed properly)

With the Xbox one, not only is it a necessary thing, the console itself seems to "require" an internet connection & it's been said that it needs to be connected to the internet at least once a day... WHY? Can we not just get updates as and when we need them? Why once a day? Not only that, but i've read that the camera doesn't actually go off, it's in a "standby" state waiting a command... I'm sure!

I'm not one of those people who think that absolutely everything is a conspiracy, i don't think reptiles are taking over the planet, but i do my research into things that really happen in the world and i know that it's a dark place.

 Has nobody else noticed that nowadays nearly EVERYONE is on Facebook or Twitter? All advertising their daily doings, their likes, dislikes, information is put on these sites either without realising or because it is necessary that people can gather about you and build a profile. Nowadays if the government want to find something out (or police), they'll probably look for you online first, see if they can build up a picture.

I find it funny just how many people have fallen into the trap of airing all their business to the world. All because most people are sheep.

You may be thinking "yeah but you have twitter" or "rich coming from someone who blogs" but i think you'll find I'm very careful about what i let people know about my private life. Funnily enough I have nothing to hide, i don't do drugs, i barely ever drink, i don't do anything illegal to my knowledge. But i still don't like the idea of people knowing more than i want/need them to know about me.

Now, with the mandatory cameras with the new consoles and at least for the Xbox, the mandatory internet connection, oh and just as i type that another thought about the PS4, a mode where you don't turn the console off and it "gets updates" while you're not using it... that just screams to me that someone wants the majority of households to have cameras, what is stopping Microsoft, Sony or whoever they're in league with from tapping into the cameras on our consoles, especially since they're aiming at our consoles being constantly connecting to the net...

I know I'm going to get called all sorts and people are going to think I'm just another conspiracy theorist, but just think about it for a little while, stop thinking stuff like that is impossible or stupid and just think about it... it's quite a creepy prospect.

Friday, 17 May 2013

Re-Live Your Favourite GTA Vice City Moments!

With GTA V getting ever nearer i've found myself remembering some of my favourite moments from previous GTA Games. Vice City being my favourite of the series so far. I loved being able to cruise around in my favourite cars listening to some quality tunes.

These are some things i think that a lot of us probably did, some of them might just be me being bored and stupid however.

  • Cruise around listening to your favourite radio station/songs.
  • Stayed in the car until you've either finished listening to you're favourite song, even if you're just about to finish a mission.
  • Got a nice shiny car in the colour you want it, then cruised around stopping at all the lights, until some fool plows into your car, at which point you calmly get out and shoot the fucker in the face, then return to your motor like nothing happened. (or something similar)
  • Immediately cycled the radio stations when getting into a new vehicle to find your favourite tunes, even if time is of the essence.
  • Stolen the police car of the cop that tried to arrest you, either or tried to steal a police car while he cops are inside. 
  • Used a spawn vehicle cheat on the highest building you could find, then driving it over the edge.
  • I remember once (On San Andreas) driving over the top of the tallest building while the parachute was on my back, then bailing out of the car while it was in the air and deploying the parachute, just like some James Bond stunt. I never manged to do it again though!
  • Again on San Andreas, stealing the Jumbo Jet and then seeing how many barrel rolls i could pull off without crashing the plane.
  • On Vice City, getting suited up in the best looking outfit and then taking the helicopter on the roof of your mansion to go around all of your businesses and pick up the profits.
  • Whacking anyone who gave you lip.
  • Doing the Vigilante missions in a Tank or the Army Helicopter (Brown Thunder?), that was fun.
  • Outfitting your car with a bomb and then intentionally leaving it somewhere to get stolen.
  • Outfitting your car with a remote bomb and then driving it really fast at a crossing, jumping out while it's moving and then detonating the car at the point of most destruction.
  • Stole the Invincible car and keeping it for yourself during one of the Early VC missions, storing it in a garage for later use. (It's an admiral i think)
Those are just some of the things i can think of, let me know some of your favourite memories from the GTA series. I reckon we have all done similar things!

Anyway. As Vice City is my favourite one of the series, mainly due to the music, i have found my favourite radio station to share with you. I tried uploading this myself, but youtube decided that it was copyright infringement, so i deleted the video that took about 6 hours to upload. Yet somehow this guy, with the exact same video & music, has managed to keep it on youtube. So here it is!

FEVER 105!


If you would like to download this Radio Station or ANY of the other Radio Stations in Vice City, please visit my Download Page

So get in touch! Let me know your favourite memories & favourite radio station/s!

Saturday, 11 May 2013

Bioshock Infinite PS3 Premium Edition & Limited Edition Guide

Well, i got a bit of money for my Birthday and hadn't purchased myself a new game for a while. I had a couple of games in mind, I wanted to get Star Trek, but i read a really bad review about it and saw some video, the review seemed to be quite correct. So i decided to wait until it's a lot cheaper.

That left me with Dead Island Riptide (which i got a normal copy of) and Bioshock Infinite. I could have purchased this brand new for around £35 from Amazon, but i decided to get the Premium edition for an extra £15. The premium edition contains (description following stolen from Amazon)

ART BOOK
This 64-page collectible mini-edition of The Art of BioShock Infinite provides a substantial look at the full version, published by Dark Horse Comics. This special-edition art book offers an exclusive peek at the development of the game’s unique art style, and features a handdistressed linen cover, early designs, and concept art.
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
Digital Soundtrack: Downloadable soundtrack features music from BioShock Infinite and is exclusive to the Premium and Ultimate Songbird Editions.
Gear Pack: Start the game with three exclusive Gear power-ups:
• Bull Rush: Melee strikes from a sprint have a chance to knock the
enemy down.
• Extra! Extra!: Audio logs also grant a bounty of “Silver Eagles” – ingame
currency.
• Betrayer: Killing your possessed enemies causes them to explode in a fireball that deals damage.
PlayStation 3 players get BioShock Infinite themes.
LITHOGRAPHIC PRINT
A real-life piece of propaganda from BioShock Infi nite’s world of Columbia, this heavy-stock lithograph print, an ad for the Devil’s Kiss vigor, was designed by Jorge Lacera, concept artist at Irrational Games.
HANDYMAN FIGURINE
Get ready to play the upcoming BioShock Infi nite board game, BioShock Infi nite: The Siege of Columbia, created and published by Plaid Hat Games. With this exclusive, 25mm resin-cast Handyman figure, you’ll have a head start.
MURDER OF CROWS KEYCHAIN
This follow-up to the highly-demanded, full-size Murder of Crows replica bottle is an exclusive 3” keychain. It is fully 3-dimensional, hand-painted and distressed, and features a sturdy brass ring.
Well when it came in i was a little underwhelmed by the packaging, even though it was sealed up, the box was slightly mis-shapen due to no care being taken handling the box (i think) with a few scuffs and creases and one side being bent outward.



 
Aside from the outer packaging, the contents were a little better. The handyman figure is very, very small and not particularly well detailed, but i didn't really expect anything different. I like the box it comes in though.




 The Keychain is not bad, i don't use keychains so i personally just kept it in it's individual wrapping. Looks quite nice though. Definately plastic.

 
The lithographic print is pretty cool and you see the very same poster much bigger in the game. I have mine blu tacked to the side of my games tower (which sits right next to my seat), so i can see it all the time.


 The PS3 Theme is not too bad as themes go, but i tend not to use them because there's usually something i don't like about the theme. At the moment I'm using it, but only because I've technically paid for it!

I've downloaded all the extra content, some of it is quite helpful (especially "Extra! Extra!" this is quite useful, i put it on just before i pick up a voxophone and take it back off for something more combat worthy after picking it up), the other items I've not really taken much notice of.

 
The soundtrack has also been downloaded, it's nothing special presentation wise, it kinda feels a little bit un-organised, i've not listened to it yet but i'm sure it'll be good.

My favourite part is the Art Book, it feels really well made and the glossy pages inside show some lovely high quality artwork from the game. Although I've not looked all the way through it yet because I don't want to see anything I've not already seen in the game. Also (like other artbooks) I'm scared of opening it out too much haha.


As for the game, I'm really enjoying it, however like an absolute fool,  i went for Hard mode straight away and it's quite a challenge, mainly because I'm learning everything on Hard instead of already having knowledge of the game's weapons, characters, powers, levels and enemies having played an easier difficulty. But aside from going straight in at the deep-end it's really fun and looks amazing. I've just started going through the hall of the heroes with Elizabeth, on my way to get Shock Jockey. Also, before i forget, the cover for the game is reversable, so if you don't like the original cover you can change it to the reverse side.






I also purchased the Limited Edition Strategy Guide, the guide is Hardback and looks awesome, the pages are glossy/smooth with great information, maps, tips and tricks and pictures to help you navigate your way through the game. It's helped me a great deal so far, especially having gone in straight on Hard. It comes with a small playing Card and a Bird/Cage Key which is a replica of the key used in the game to free Elizabeth. The card is nice (but i'll have absolutely no use for it) and the Key looks great! It's a decent size and is sat it it's own housing that comes with the guide. Although I've not removed it from it's packaging because i have no reason to.






I'd definately reccomend getting this if you love the Bioshock games & it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the Songbird Edition. For only £15 more than the game itself, you can't go to far wrong with this! The guide was around £12 or something so that's also a bargain!

Final Fantasy XII - Mateus the Corrupt - Master Creatures 2

To continue with my Final Fantasy Master Creatures statues I'll now show you my Mateus the Corrupt figure from Final Fantasy XII, I'm ashamed to say i don't remember anything about Final Fantasy XII and i mean to dig it out soon and play it again. I have absolutely no idea why I don't remember anything about it but I'll have to remedy that.

Anyway, my wonderful fiancé purchased this statue for me as a surprise and i think it's absolutely fantastic. I actually think it looks better than the Diabolos statue that I have already reviewed. The colours on this statue are amazing and the detail is wonderful! I actually think the detail on this statue is even better than Diabolos, but i suppose there is more going on in this statue than with the other one.

I love the way the statue is positioned and how it comes out of the base. It looks like giant ice spikes have come out of the ground below it and it's hovering above them. The staff is removable, it has a small stopper at the base of the staff to make sure that it doesn't come out of Mateus' hand, not that it moves when slotted into the hand anyway. The base of the figure is around 3" at it's widest point and the actual statue at it's widest point is around 6". Mateus stands at around 8" tall, i measured this to the tip of the staff, as you can see in the pictures below, this could be taller depending on where the staff is held. I like it held where i have it (as pictured)

Again (as with Diabolos) the statue feels fragile and i would make sure it is positioned where it won't be knocked over or anything like that. It's very lightweight is a more accurate way of putting it, i mean it probably wouldn't break at the slightest knock but i think it wouldn't take a lot to snap something off of the statue.

The packaging for Mateus is the same as the Diabolos figure apart from the picture/s on the back and the nam on the front. In case you haven't read the Diabolos review, i basically said that i very much like the packaging, it is a Matt Black, professional looking design. There's no clutter on the box and it feels sturdy. It's not flimsy and cheap looking like the ART FX Advent Children packaging. On the back of the packaging are some pictures of the statue and some of the other ones in the series Diabolos is featured too.

Overall, once again i would reccomend this to any Final Fantasy Fan or collector. It looks absolutely amazing, the colours and the detail are stunning and i especially like the detail of the bound woman. It's a great piece and I'm very glad i have it! The Staff is awesome too! I nearly forgot about it, it looks great and isn't bendy, it's a sturdy one. Anyway, as i've mentioned in other reviews, the pictures will explain everything a lot better than i ever could! Take a look!











Final Fantasy VIII - Diabolos - Master Creatures 2

After getting plenty of Characters from Final Fantasy VII, i thought it would be good to get some creatures, summons and or baddies from the Final Fantasy Series. Now from Final Fantasy VIII this has to be one of my favourite summons. I don't know why really, it's just dark and cool. Maybe partly because its a bit Dragon-like and i like Dragons.

So after having a look around for some more figures and statues, i came across the Master Creatures range of Final Fantasy statues. Now these really are statues as there are no moving parts and are purely for display purposes. It looks absolutely stunning, the detail and quality of the statue are once again phenominal, it's full of colour and looks like it cost a small fortune.

I'm not entirely sure what it's made from but it is very light and looks like it's quite fragile. It's definately made of something like a plastic or a vinyl type thing once again, but it doesn't feel like it would take much force to snap something off of it. So best put it somewhere it's not likely to get knocked or fall.

The base of the statue is 2.5" at the widest and as it comes up from the base the size of the statue gets much bigger and wider. The statue at it's widest (wing tip to wing tip) is 8" and it stands at around 6.5" at it's highest point.

I like the packaging for the Diabolos statue, it is in a Matt Black colour and looks very well put together, it doesn't look or feel flimsy and is very direct, there's no fuss or clutter on the box, the front tells you what the statue is and who it's by and on the back are some very nice pictures of the figure and some of the other figures in the series. It's a hell of a lot better than the packaging for the Advent Children Play arts and ART FX figures. It also shows my one of my other statues on the back. (Which i'll review next)

There's not anything i can think of saying about it that the pictures that follow wouldn't explain much better than i ever could. I love the detail on the statue and especially love his face and wings. It's colourful and i would definately reccomend this statue to any collector. It's a great addition to any Final Fantasy collection.












Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children Shadow Creeper - ART FX - Kotobukiya

I've had this for a while now but I've been waiting to photograph my newer figures and statues until i had something better to take pictures with. Now that I have a better camera I'll continue documenting my small collection of Final Fantasy figures and statues.

This one as you can tell from the title, is the Shadow Creeper figure from Advent Children. It's more of a statue than a figure i think but as it has a couple of moving parts I'll call it a figure. As usual the quality and detail of the figure are amazing, it is around 8" long from the tip of it's face to the tail and stands around 5" high (top of it's tail).

It's made in soft vinyl just like the rest of the figures i have by Kotobukiya/Play Arts, it feels like a high quality figure and looks the part too! As i mentioned earlier the Shadow Creeper is more like a statue, this is because barely anything moves on this figure. The two arms at the front move a limited amount and the mouth opens a bit and as far as i can tell that's all that can be changed about it. If you wanted to pose the arms in a slightly different way you'll probably not be able to use the base, as the figure has two small holes in it's feet to fix it to the base, which measures in at roughly 7.5" by 5" (the figure slightly larger than the base but it makes sense when you look at it)

The packaging is fairly standard and there's not a whole lot i can say about it to be honest. It could be better but i guess it could be a lot worse too!

Overall as you'll see from the pictures, the figure looks fantastic and it's a great addition to any Final Fantasy Collection, it's nice to have another monster to break up the characters. Great Quality and very sturdy. It goes very well with the Bahamut Sin figure I've already reviewed.







Friday, 3 May 2013

My Birthday (29th April)

As you will have guessed from the title, it was my birthday on Monday (29th) and i had a fantastic day. I spent the day chilling with my fiancé Danielle, had a takeaway, cake and beers and still managed to find time to fix a problem with her Mum and Dad's PC. 

So other than getting a year older (25 now!) I got some cool prezzies and some money to buy some stuff with.

I got some cool games from Danielle, had a lot of fun on them already!



Danielle also got me the best film I've seen in ages, a film I've been waiting years and years for and my sister got me the latest Bond film. (not one of the best I've seen but i have all the others)



And finally my favourite present of the lot, you guessed it, from Danielle. My new camera that I've taken all these pictures with, what i'll be taking all of my pictures with from now on (the pictures in the last post i did were also taken with this camera)




So thankyou to everyone who gave me money and the amazing gifts and a massive , massive, special Thankyou to my darling Danielle for making the day so great and giving me such amazing gifts! I love you very much!

So now that I have a better camera to take pictures with, i can update this blog a bit more often. The next posts will likely be the pictures i have taken of my Final Fantasy figures, ones i got months ago. 

Thanks for reading!