NKDS

Some old favourites return, while some turn into…something else. Note the NOD Crawler in the picture.

So, the reason why I have not been posting for the past few days is the multiplayer beta of Command and Conquer 4, which I have been lucky enough to participate in. Between CnC4, my work and my anime commitments, I have more than enough to preoccupy myself throughout my long Chinese New Year holidays.

Longtime fans take note, CnC4 is a CnC game only in name. Gone are the base building and the harvesting of Tiberium, the substance that the CnC universe has revolved around since the first game. Gone are the construction of massive armies with which you would steamroll your opponent. In their place are new MCVs called Crawlers that serve as your mobile all-in-one base, and the Offense, Defense and Support game classes that will determine the role you play in the battlefield. You build your units and defensive structures from your Crawlers, and move around the map capturing Tiberium Control Network Nodes with your army. Whichever team manages to capture and hold on to the most TCN nodes will eventually win. Oh, and Kane is still around. He will never die, just like the legions of Westwood and old-school CnC fanboys who are crying bitter and impotent tears over how “their game” has mutated into something unrecognizable.

If the gameplay sounds familiar, that’s because it probably is. This gameplay is lifted directly from the Dawn of War series, but its fun and fast paced. Team play and coordination is important here, as a coordinated team will always beat a uncoordinated team. I had a game where the opposing GDI team tried to overrun my NOD team’s defenses in the middle of the map. I simply told the rest of my team to hang in there and soak up the assault while I flanked the GDI forces, moving behind their lines to capture their TCN Nodes. The GDI players did not know what hit them and the game went downhill for them from there. And yes, games consist of only GDI vs NOD as players are not allowed to mix GDI and NOD in one team, at least in the beta. Funny logic, but the wisdom of this decision becomes apparent once you play the game for a few rounds.

Projectile and guns are rare in this game. Lasers, energy weapons and railguns are common. Misaka would be proud.

Other significant new features include things like a population cap, and the unlocking of new units via a level-up system. So the more you fight, the faster you will unlock the juicy stuff like Avatars and Mammoth Tanks. However, I think the biggest change compared to past CnCs has to be the pace of the game. In past games it usually takes a few minutes before the bullets and missiles start to fly, as players take time to build up their armies. Now it takes barely a minute before the first confrontation takes place, with both teams scrambling for as many TCN Nodes as possible within the shortest amount of time. The action in CnC4 is usually over within 15 minutes, but its 15 minutes of high-paced gameplay that will keep you on your toes as you create strategies on the fly. Compare that to previous games where it often takes a longer time to resolve a winner.

There are other changes, such as the command point and upgrade point system that replaced the old resource gathering routine. But at the end of the day, only the following three questions mattered. Is this the CnC game that I knew and loved? Nope, it is not. Is it fun? Yeah, it sure is, if the beta is anything to go by. Will I buy it? Hell yeah. I feel sorry for the old CnC diehards who refuse to touch this game with a 10-foot pole. They have no idea what they are missing out on.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off from Temple Prime, Sarajevo. Peace through power.

Brought to you by Ryukishi7 and Peach Pit, I present to you Nemuru-chan.

If you have been watching so far, you will notice that the people in this show are not normal. More akin to wolves than reinwolf Akaiwolf peanut. Even crazier than higurashi and umineko.
To end this random post, if you like the town, please kindly join me here.

Yes, Im bored.

 Picture heavily related to this post.

So I have recently fallen into the addictive trading card game that is Weiβ Schwarz, otherwise known as WS. I can’t help it, it is just about the only game that allows me to use an entire deck full of Fate Testarossa cards, and kick ass with her. It’s a fun game, and I’ve fought the temptation for ages only to be done in by the recent release of  the Nanoha Movie 1st expansion pack. Loli Feito is just too moe to resist.

Anyways, if you are in Singapore and you want to try out or learn the game, feel free to drop by TCG, a shop that specializes in games such as WS, Chaos and Victory Spark. That’s where our group of friends play regularly, and the address is 91 Bencoolen Street Sunshine Plaza #01-77. Or you can drop by WS@NK-DS, which is a WS information site set-up some time back by Mycstea.

I think between my regular anime purchases, WS and the upcoming Warhammer 40K release of the Blood Angels codex in April, I won’t have any money left for anything but the most basic of necessities. T_T

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

Here it is Gents, the moment we’ve all been waiting for so long, the sequel to one of the, if not best first person shooters the decade has seen. The unveiling of Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare 2. A game so mind-blowingly spectacular, that even Chuck Norris would have a hard time comprehending the vicious amounts of testosterone this game is assured to spurt all over the gaming audience for this, and most probably the next generation.

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Hey there, the release of the new Space Wolves codex has reignited the flickering flame of fenris in the night, and has replaced it with a bonfire worthy of Space Wolves chapter master Logan Grimnar himself.  And it seems we have to congratulate our resident blogger Bjorn for joining us at the Warhammer 40,000 gaming table and (appropriately) picking up the new Space Wolves, though some might argue that his decision to do so was ‘cheezy’ or ‘haphazard’ we assure you, Bjorn is one of the only gamers capable of rolling a 7 on a D6. Trust me, we never want to play Space Hulk with him anymore.

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It’s a hectic time around the office and something just brightened up my day by a lot. A new SRW game has been announced. Okay, it’s a Mugen Frontier spinoff so it’s not really an SRW per se. But what got me really interested are the seiyuu for the leads.

Thank you, Terada. Thank you, Terada. Etc, etc

Seki Tomokazu will be doing the male lead. At long bloody last he gets a OG character. And the female is…. Mai moe moe waifu. Yes, Nana-chan will be doing the female lead. But this being a DS means that the voicing will be rather limited.  But who the hell cares!

And it’s a given she will be the doing the theme song.

As a blonde teenager, no less. Chances of her dying seem pretty high, judging from herback ground. Debuting alongside her in the Metal Gear series will be Tomokazu Sugita as Miller (WTF), Romi Paku as Amanda and Yu Kobayshi as Cecile.

And yes, Akio Ohtsuka will be doing Snake, as per the previous games. Kikuko Inoue is now doing what seems to be a male child soldier.

MSG: Peace Walker will be on the PSP it seems. And they want to launch GT5 in March next year. Meaning, probably a year from now. AND WHERE IS SRW FOR THE PS3 ANNOUNCEMENT, TEREDA.

Edit: Trailer added. You can hear her sweet, sweet voice at about 2.10.

Edit by Julius: And of course, you might have heard of Nana providing the voice for the Windows 7 mascot character, a lass by the name of Nanami Madobe. In addition, there will be Nana voice packs that are shipped with the Japanese version of Windows 7 Ultimate. Pics here:

 MUST. BUY.

Original source from ANN, though I heard it first from Senti at Bonkurasu.

Damn you Bill Gates. Now, where do I preorder my copy?

What’s better than Kugyuu, the God Finger from God Gundam and Char Aznable? Kugyuu doing a God Finger on Char Aznable, that’s what!

I love the “Bye Bye!” that Kugyuu said at the end of the attack. I was expecting something like “HEATOOO ENDOOOOO!”, but that “Bye Bye!” is arguably better!

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

Singapore will be hosting it’s very 1st Offical WS trading card game tournament at the event A Cartain Magical Event!

A Certain Magical Event, or A.C.M.E, will be the first event jointly organised by the following partners: Kareshi Kanojyo no Mise, watzART, Hobby Art Gallery, The Card Geeks and Genesis Frontier. Here is the official website.

This tournament will be the first offically recognised WS tournament in Singapore. It is organized by The Card Geeks and fully supported by Bushiroad Company. Read more for details!

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Finally…

No kidding, man. The Nanoha franchise takes its first step into the world of console gaming, with a release for the PSP! Now we can have hot Fate on Nanoha action on the move! 

Interesting note… this game is made by Namco, which is now merged with Bandai to form Bandai-Namco. So the Nanoha franchise is now backed by the largest toy and games company in Japan. Not bad at all. 

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