Coming soon - Sidewinder, War of the Lions review and Aurvana Day 4+.

I made an in-faction promise evaluate Sidewinder, the greatsword veteran stance, after I acquired it on my stock fighter, Undine, seeing that I am the wielder of a Big Bang +7. It will be analyzed in an unusual manner, combining a meticulous attention to detail with a sensational splash of purple. If you don't gag from it, then we should be bed-mates.

War of the Lions

I haven't finished the game yet, so don't expect a review. Instead, impressions will be thrown into your face.

First of all, Final Fantasy Tactics is an amazing game. War of the Lions is a remake of the title, so it's already worth your money if you haven't played it. If you have, then still consider buying it for the two new classes, the impressive multiplayer modes, rewritten scripts and excellent stylized animations.

However, WotL is not a perfect translation to those with fat PSPs. There is slowdown, a considerable amount of it. The basic formula for calculating the time it will take to complete a skill with a particle effect is (N)ormal time x 1.5 = (L)ion War time. The sound is also poorly executed. Some notes, such as the party selection screen, drawl and cut abruptly. The sound of lightning striking resembles a cat filtered through a square-wave wah-wah. If you've experienced the original Tactics, you'll be frustrated. Even more so if you've played the converted PSX iso on your PSP, which has no slowdown, in comparison to original, and very little sound disruption. Still, you. . . might get used to it.

That being said, the rest of the game the FFT I know and love with a little extra difficulty thrown in. Most classes take one more job level to unlock, which is a pain when dealing with thief or classes that you don't have weapons for. (Lancer, much?) As far as I can see, nothing has been changed for the worst.

I'll cut myself there. As this is being written, I am level 40+ before heading to the waterfall, practically destroying the game with three stock characters and Ramza. All my old tricks still work. It'll take a week before I get level 99 with all masters.

Creative AURVANA DJ - Day 4+

I have one gripe about my headset. The plug is huge. It's so long that it can create enough leverage in a pocket to actually bend the pin. At one point, the end of my Aurvana was at a 45' angle and on the verge of self destruction. Luckily, I reset the pin to a mere <2' point without losing any sound quality. However, I caution owners of pockets and runners that you can ruin your set if you apply enough pressure. Still, my headset still sounds amazing and remains quite comfortable, so I suppose it's good it suffered a crooked situation. (I shall be much more cautious in the future, hah!)

At the moment, I've been picking up on more Chillout. A very complex and thoughtful style of electronic music, comforting as smooth jazz with a futuristic feel. Good for photoshop inspiration and directly responsible for the image above.

P.S.

Anyway, that's a good, fat blog post for ya', no? Also, if you're into giant robots and forum roleplay, go to Mobile Suit Awesome and fire up a character. It's well-concieved and managed by my good friend, Geomaster, and I shall also participate there as an Armored Core pilot. It's fresh, new and damn sexy.

Sinwhat? - The everything post!

I didn't quit GE - Isle of Sacred Sins just, well, has priority on the stack.

Alright, you all might have noticed that I have taken a hiatus from GE since a couple weeks ago. At the moment, role-playing is taking top priority and, unfortunately, the Granado Espadan role-play base is not up to my standards. Don't worry, I'll be back! Especially since I really want to win some Divine Angel wings for the art-pick of the week.

As GE's momentary replacement, I'm enjoying Isle of Sacred Sins, a fresh, new Neverwinter Nights 'social' server with a level 5 cap, small but functional map and a dead sexy premise. I was one of the beta testers back in the day, but the module fell out of grace after experiencing miserably low attendance and, well, me as an failing advertiser. ((I'm frequently tired and laconic, so I usually don't give the best impressions.)) Anyhow, Isle has acquired a strong and friendly player base that, if you're not into Sacred Kingdoms, RoR, Eternal Beauty, Phoenix Rising, you better go check out. It's very hak light and has a body-modder in the OOC areas, so you never, ever have to worry about head overrides. The module is minimalist but does not cut out the fun, but instead concentrates all the aspects of a strong module into efficient clusters. Hey, just like GE at times?

Creative Aurvana DJ - Day 2

Concerning my Aurvana headphones, I took them out in public and enjoyed every second of it. For the first time in a quite a while, I experienced a full-on portable aural experience, losing myself in a large happy hardcore compilation while walking to class. After it concluded, I went to the school arcade to test how much sound I could ignore within the cacophonous cage of body odor, watered-down testosterone and electical noise-makers. Not only did I block out most of the sound of the room, but I even got absorbed in a near-cinematic experience in Gundam Battle Chronicle, which has an excellent soundtrack to accompany the good ol' mech action. My positive opinion toward the Aurvana still stands firmly, grounded in today's exceptional experience.

Lorwyn - Yowch.

I've had the rare pleasure to talk some serious meta with other people in my school. We centralized on Doran, he being lukewarm toward it while I find the GWB legend to be explosive outside of aggro. His points concerning Doran focused on his weakness as an aggro card because you cannot drop him on third turn on a consistent basis, which I wholly agree upon. I merely shed some positive light on our favorite tree by noting how explosive he is as a creature, making Forbidding Watchtowers win-conditions and whatnot.

Card draw became a nice central topic as well. Blue lost a lot of exceptional card-drawing power with the loss of Ravnica block, ditching staples like Compulsive Research and Perilous Research. Viable replacements, given the environment, are Jace, Ponder, and MAYBE clash style decks with Sylvan Echoes. (Okay, I jest, clash as a card engine is not entirely wise.) However, he did bring up that Howling Mine is an exceptional way to draw cards, especially when ramping for turn-walking spells and drawing like a beast with Jace to lessen the repercussions of letting your opponent draw like mad. I like his deck idea very, very much to be honest. Creative and very playable indeed.

I'll be rolling a few decks soon, I might post them if my play testing goes, well, wanky.

Music - Creative Aurvana DJ Earphones - Day 1.

I haven't broken in my headset just yet, but from what I can tell, they're a lot more sensitive than Sony MDR-150s. The second I plugged them into my computer, I jumped to the conclusion that they sucked due to a nasaly sound. Before I threw a fit, I remembered that I set up my treble to get a crisper sound on my old set. Aurvana's do a great job at being delightfully clean on the first try.

These headphones do a good job of sealing off the outside world without causing much discomfort, wearing them for two straight hours with minor fiddling to get them just right on my skull. They won't automatically feel good, but once you've found a sweet spot, the 13 ounces of plastic, cushion and speakers apply a firm but reassuring pressure, expected from a set of heavy full earphones.

As far as cosmetics go, they won't make you pretty, but they're not overtly ugly. They're more like classy accents than a magical faerie grandmother. In a world where most full headphones are hideous as your neighborhood chimera, it's refreshing to see some sexy brushed-metal and rounded rectangles.

In my experience, I haven't had the funds or the joy to listen to Sennheiser 595s or Shure earbuds. I'm a cheap disciple of rhythm, but I know a good pair of earphones when I hear one. I can't make any "real" judgments on the sound quality other than they're much better than MDR-150s and a number of earbuds that I've smashed through, even before I've really broken in my Aurvanas.

Give me a week, by then I've probably given 140+ hours into these.

Music - Celebraiting 'core.

I love all variants of break beat. If it has 'core in the name, I probably listen and lust after the sound. It's unfortunate that modern music has no place in the fantasy role-play settings that I frequent, but I'm working on justifying the use of 'magical synths' and whatnot in order to convey the gripping euphoria to other characters. I'm in the process of creating a 'core-based bard too.

Of course, what does music matter? I've labeled myself a drug-factory. Not because I do any substances, but I'm exceptionally comfortable and euphoric when I have music thudding in my ears. Luckily, my brain gets that essential 'high' without killing itself.

My ears are currently turned toward di.fm's DnB and Hard Core channel. Ever since I started looking into buying a pair of Creative Aurvana DJ headphones, the desire to act like a disciple of rhythm was pounding. Granted, I've read reviews and they say the bass isn't too great, but I'm certain they're better than Sony MDR-V150s. Granted, I really want a pair of Shure earbuds or Sennheiser 595's, but since I'm head-phone fashion whore and a guy who likes going on a limb for $60, Aurvana's will be getting my bills. Yes, I can get new Aurvana DJs for $60. I'll be looking forward to breaking them in, experiencing the thrill of new, unchartered merchandise and writing about it.

RNPCs Are Love - Catherine of Strength

Catherine of Strength is my choice. When I was originally exposed to Granado Espada, I was under the impression that Catherine was a tall, older woman with a frozen face and a bitter demeanor. As time progressed, I began to notice that a majority of the Catherine models were small children with eerie faces, nothing like I had imagined her. Later and much to my delight, I saw Catherine of Strength, whose form accurately matched her mature facial features. Ah, but her character, or lack thereof, is what makes her truly exquisite.

As a role-player who takes the craft with great seriousness, I find myself shying away from other RNPCs. Their personality is pre-made, which leads to potential conflicts between canon and play in general, something that all role-players should do well to avoid. They are essentially constrictive. In comparison, Catherine offers a unique role-playing opportunity. Unlike other characters who have already developed their own flavor, Catherine is a clean slate that is influenced entirely by her surrounding family, evidenced by Torsche's request a few moments before you acquire her card. She is essentially a child without the physical inadequacy, a creature whose flavor is almost entirely under control of the mind that plays her.

The concept of a 'grown' child is further reaffirmed by her exceptionally large skill list. She does practically everything, although her magical and ranged capabilities are somewhat limited. Nonetheless, the number of skills she can learn loudly proclaims that she is a character unstained by a past defined by rigorous training or studying. It becomes your family's duty to teach Catherine and develop her personality, or perhaps she learns by herself through exploring. Either way, you personally get to make your Catherine a character worth remembering, whether it's through being delightfully well-written or just plain deadly.

Catherine of Strength is simply awesome. A unique look combined with a unique flavor and incredible versatility makes her a must-have for any role-playing family. For a demonstration of my take on Catherine, reference the Doriane's Army story or visit the original thread if you don't like Futanari repeated over and over again.

((And yes, I am aware that the contest is practically a raffle, but hey, I might as well explain myself and try to win some decent goodies, no?))