Club Admiralty Blog
A blog about life in general, in as many languages as I can manage. Ενα ιστολόγιο περι ζωής, πολυγλωσσο - σε όσες γλωσσες εχω μεράκι να γράψω.
Battlefield 2: Bad Company | Done!
Tuesday, Feb 17 2015, 18:00 Academia, achievements, Battlefield, Entertainment, FPS, shootEmUp, XBOX PermalinkWell, in addition to having lots of extra time to do homework for my EDDE 802 Advanced Research Methods course I've also had a little more time for gaming, given that Massachusetts has been pounded by snow, snow, and more snow over the past 3 weeks. Back in the Fall, when I had xbox live for free for a few months I got Battlefield 2: Bad Company for free. I had been resistant to even getting into the Battlefield line of games because one look at the series tells me that these things are potentially all tied together and I would be missing plot lines if I just jumped into one game. That said, since this game was free, I said "what the heck" and decided to give it a try.
The game starts off with a team called Bad Company during World War 2, in one of the pacific islands occupied by Japan. The Japanese have some sort of uber-weapon and Bad Company tries to go get it. They failed, and the weapon was lost - so flash forward to today. The Russians have the game, so the newest members of Bad Company are sent, on what ultimately turns out to be a quest to get this weapon. The game was fun, fast paced, and the overall pace of the game reminded me of the Call of Duty games that I had played before. The game, just like CoD, was a little on the short side, but that's perhaps because I played it on regular difficulty and I breezed through it. The story was good, and I was really hoping for a game that had a neat, bow-tie-wrapped, ending - in other words I was looking for a "they all lived happily ever after" and the sarge enjoyed retirement on some tropical island. Well, that didn't happen, the Russian started invading at the end of the game - and that was it! No retirement for sarge! There isn't even a sequel to this game to wrap up the story! Argh! From what I gathered this was a sequel to Battlefield Bad Company but I really didn't feel like I was missing something by not having played the original game. Nice work!
I think the game has replay value, but I probably won't be touching it again soon - need to get back to studying. As far as achievements go I got 24 out of 72 achievements (33%) - so not bad at all considering that this was almost like a speed-run! I give the game 9/10!
The game starts off with a team called Bad Company during World War 2, in one of the pacific islands occupied by Japan. The Japanese have some sort of uber-weapon and Bad Company tries to go get it. They failed, and the weapon was lost - so flash forward to today. The Russians have the game, so the newest members of Bad Company are sent, on what ultimately turns out to be a quest to get this weapon. The game was fun, fast paced, and the overall pace of the game reminded me of the Call of Duty games that I had played before. The game, just like CoD, was a little on the short side, but that's perhaps because I played it on regular difficulty and I breezed through it. The story was good, and I was really hoping for a game that had a neat, bow-tie-wrapped, ending - in other words I was looking for a "they all lived happily ever after" and the sarge enjoyed retirement on some tropical island. Well, that didn't happen, the Russian started invading at the end of the game - and that was it! No retirement for sarge! There isn't even a sequel to this game to wrap up the story! Argh! From what I gathered this was a sequel to Battlefield Bad Company but I really didn't feel like I was missing something by not having played the original game. Nice work!
I think the game has replay value, but I probably won't be touching it again soon - need to get back to studying. As far as achievements go I got 24 out of 72 achievements (33%) - so not bad at all considering that this was almost like a speed-run! I give the game 9/10!
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | Done!
Thursday, Feb 5 2015, 05:00 achievements, Action, castlevania, dracula, Entertainment, fiction, Games, PhD, princeOfPersia, RPG, School, video games, VideoGames, XBOX PermalinkWith the storms that have hit over the past week came school closings, and with school closings came a little extra time on my hands. I did spend a considerable amount of this extra time catching forward with my readings for my research methods course, but I guess I also used the time "wisely" to complete another game on the xbox. Over the Christmas break Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was on sale on the xbox store so I decided to get the digital download. I am generally weary of just buying a download-only version since I cannot really back up the game on a DVD, but it was cheap enough to allay any fears of not being able to access the game. I enjoyed the first Castlevania Lord of Shadows (which was back in 2012! How time flies...) so I was looking forward to see how the story of Dracula unfolded.
In the sequel to this game you end up getting some more of the back story of Dracula and the Belmont clan, remember that Dracula is actually Gabriel Belmont turned into Dracula by defeating the lords of shadow. You get to learn that Trevor Belmont, another vampire hunter, is Gabriel's son, but he does not know it, so he kills him - only to find out while he is dying, so he turns him...into Alucard. Interesting. The thing that I didn't like about Alucard is his appearance - he looks like what a Japanese artist considers a European person to look - as an emo. Gabriel/Dracula at least passes for European, but Alucard is just weird looking.
The game follows Dracula as he is brought by Zobek to fight various followers of Satan who are creating a virus to make humans into demons and to eventually resurrect the dark lord. That said, this is all a plot, you see, for Dracula needed to go into hibernation for a few centuries to let the devil worshipers come out and think that they had clear run of the field. Only then could he really eradicate them and Satan. For this to work, Dracula needed to lose all (or most) of his powers so that they couldn't sense him. Part of the game, thus, entails you going to get all your powers back. I honestly to not like this mechanic. Dracula is a monumental bad-ass - why can he lose his powers? Despite this the game was enjoyable, just like the first one. Both Dracula's castle and modern day whereverTheHeckTheyAre are in crumbling disrepair which really pays nice homage to the classic games (at least the part that I know of for having played for 10 minutes). I also enjoyed the Prince of Persia feel of the game, using environmental puzzles to move through the game, and being able to come back as you regain your powers to claim additional bonuses that were previously unreachable.
I know that this timeline is a parallel universe (or something), because the "main" timeline seems quite convoluted and it spans many games, on many game systems, that I have not played. I guess it might be time for an emulator or something. That said, I do like this "universe" because it's an opportunity to reboot and rebuild the lore without the previous baggage - I don't see myself going back and playing all those games any time soon - not unless I get a Retron5 and hit the flea markets anyway. I can't wait to see what the next installment will be. Dracula went from being a monumental bad guy to being a monumental wild card.
Finally, as far as achievements go, I ended up earning 21 our of 56 achievements (38%). Not bad for a game that I basically speed-played through ;-). I would give this game an 8 our of 10.
In the sequel to this game you end up getting some more of the back story of Dracula and the Belmont clan, remember that Dracula is actually Gabriel Belmont turned into Dracula by defeating the lords of shadow. You get to learn that Trevor Belmont, another vampire hunter, is Gabriel's son, but he does not know it, so he kills him - only to find out while he is dying, so he turns him...into Alucard. Interesting. The thing that I didn't like about Alucard is his appearance - he looks like what a Japanese artist considers a European person to look - as an emo. Gabriel/Dracula at least passes for European, but Alucard is just weird looking.
The game follows Dracula as he is brought by Zobek to fight various followers of Satan who are creating a virus to make humans into demons and to eventually resurrect the dark lord. That said, this is all a plot, you see, for Dracula needed to go into hibernation for a few centuries to let the devil worshipers come out and think that they had clear run of the field. Only then could he really eradicate them and Satan. For this to work, Dracula needed to lose all (or most) of his powers so that they couldn't sense him. Part of the game, thus, entails you going to get all your powers back. I honestly to not like this mechanic. Dracula is a monumental bad-ass - why can he lose his powers? Despite this the game was enjoyable, just like the first one. Both Dracula's castle and modern day whereverTheHeckTheyAre are in crumbling disrepair which really pays nice homage to the classic games (at least the part that I know of for having played for 10 minutes). I also enjoyed the Prince of Persia feel of the game, using environmental puzzles to move through the game, and being able to come back as you regain your powers to claim additional bonuses that were previously unreachable.
I know that this timeline is a parallel universe (or something), because the "main" timeline seems quite convoluted and it spans many games, on many game systems, that I have not played. I guess it might be time for an emulator or something. That said, I do like this "universe" because it's an opportunity to reboot and rebuild the lore without the previous baggage - I don't see myself going back and playing all those games any time soon - not unless I get a Retron5 and hit the flea markets anyway. I can't wait to see what the next installment will be. Dracula went from being a monumental bad guy to being a monumental wild card.
Finally, as far as achievements go, I ended up earning 21 our of 56 achievements (38%). Not bad for a game that I basically speed-played through ;-). I would give this game an 8 our of 10.

Καλός τα χιόνια!
Monday, Feb 2 2015, 05:00 #metanastis, Ελληνικά, Ιστορικά, Σχολείο, οδήγηση, χειμώνας, χιόνι Permalink![]() |
Το πάρκινγκ στο σπίτι του πατέρα, Ιαν. 2015 |
Εκεί που στην Ελλάδα λέγαμε πως κρυώναμε όταν πήγαινε μηδέν Κελσίου, εδώ το θερμόμετρο πήγαινε στα αρνητικά . Μερικοί έχουν εσωτερικά γκαράζ, οπότε δεν χρειάζεται να κάνει και πολύ δουλειά να ξεχιονήσεις. Εκεί που μέναμε με τον πατέρα μου το πάρκινγκ ήταν έξω, οπότε όταν έριχνε χιόνι βγαίναμε έξω με τα φτυάρια για να ξεχιονήσουμε το αυτοκίνητο, έτσι ώστε να μπορούμε να το μετακινήσουμε λίγο για να έρθει το εκχιονιστικό να καθαρίσει το πάρκινγκ. Πολλές φορές όταν έκανε κρύο δεν άνοιγε ούτε η πόρτα του αυτοκινήτου, οπότε βράζαμε νερό για να ανοίξουμε σιγά σιγά την πόρτα από την πλευρά του οδηγού για να το βάλουμε προς Λέω σιγά σιγά επειδή το ζεστό νερό έπρεπε να πάει μόνο στο μέταλλο και όχι στο τζάμι. Άμα πήγαινε στο τζάμι...πάει! Με την διαφορά θερμοκρασίας θα είχες όχι μόνο κρύο, αλλά και σπασμένα τζάμια!
Τα πρώτα χιόνια ήταν ενδιαφέρων. Τα εκχιονιστικά του δήμου δημιουργούσαν τεράστια βουνά από χιόνια στο πλάι του χρόνου όταν καθάριζαν τους κεντρικούς δρόμους, οπότε και μόνος που ήμουν είχε πλάκα να πάω να τα σκαρφαλώνω. Θα είχε πιο πολύ πλάκα άμα είχα και τα φιλαράκια από την Ελλάδα, αλλά λέμε τώρα. Ο συγκεκριμένος δήμος δεν τα αφήνει τα χιόνια στα πεζοδρόμια. Μόλις τελείωσε να πέφτει το χιόνι, ερχόντουσαν νταλίκες και μπουλντόζες και τα μετέφεραν. Που τα πήγαιναν, δεν ξέρω, αλλά το μπίπ-μπιπ-μπιπ της μπουλντόζας όταν έκανε όπισθεν ήταν πολύ σπαστικό την νύχτα.
Το άλλο που έμαθα πολύ γρήγορα εδώ ήταν το snow day. Όταν ρίχνει πολύ χιόνι ο δήμος κλείνει τα σχολεία. Έτσι λοιπόν κάθε φορά που έκανε κακοκαιρία, σαν παιδάκι που περιμένει τον Άι Βασίλη, έτσι και εγώ σηκωνόμουν πρωί πρωί να δω τα νέα που έκαναν ανακοίνωση και έλεγα ποιος δήμος είχε κλείσει τα σχολεία του! Όχι πως ήμουν μακριά από το σχολείο, 10 λεπτά με τα πόδια ήταν (χωρίς χιόνι και με καλό καιρό) αλλά ήταν κάπως σαν να την έλεγες στους καθηγητές σου όταν το σχολείο ήταν κλειστό. Αρχικά δεν θυμάμαι τι έκανα όταν είχα snow day, μάλλον θα πήγαινα με τον πατέρα μου στην Βοστόνη στην δουλειά του. Αργότερα, όταν είχα υπολογιστή μάλλον θα έπαιζα βιντεοπαιχνίδια όλη την ημέρα.
Άλλη μια λέξη που γνωρίζουν αυτοί τα κρύα κλήματα είναι το black ice. Black ice είναι όταν ο δρόμος έχει πιάσει πάγο και ο πάγος είναι διάφανος, οπότε αυτό που βλέπεις είναι η άσφαλτος, ή το πεζοδρόμιο. Οπότε περπατάς, ή οδηγάς, κανονικά και από εκεί που δεν το περιμένεις τα φρένα δεν πιάνουν, ή εκεί που περπατάς τρως τούμπα. Τα πρώτα χρόνια στην Βοστόνη την πάτησα αρκετές φορές, οπότε έφαγα πολλές τούμπες. Ενταξ’ ‘ αφού δεν έσπασα και τίποτα πάλι καλά! Το κακό με αυτό τον διάφανο πάγο ήταν ότι το λύκειο μου ήταν σε ανηφόρα, οπότε έκανε το περπάτημα προς, και από, το σχολείο λίγο πιο δύσκολο.
Τελικός, με την κακοκαιρία και τον διάφανο πάγο, ας γράψουμε και για το πρώτο μου ατύχημα με το αυτοκίνητο του πατέρα μου. Το πάρκινγκ στο διαμέρισμα ήταν σε ανηφόρα. Όταν είχα πάρει το μαθητικό δίπλωμα οδήγησης, και όταν έριξε αρκετό χιόνι και είχε πιάσει πάγο, ήταν ευκαιρία για τον πατέρα μου να μου μάθει πως να οδηγό στον πάγο - δηλαδή τι να κάνω άμα τα φρένα δεν πιάνουν - άμα μου τύχει και είμαι σε στρώμα πάγου και οι ρόδες κλειδώσουν. Κάναμε λοιπόν τα θεωρητικά (πως να πατάω το φρένο - με πιέσεις μικρές και πολλαπλές) και ήρθε η ώρα για τα πρακτικά. Πατάω λοιπόν το φρένο και το κρατάω πατημένο και στρίβω το τιμόνι ‘ είχα λίγο πανικό γιατί το αυτοκίνητο δεν έκανε αυτό που του έλεγα. Ο πατέρας να λέει συνέχεια να πιέσω τα φρένα αλλά εγώ τίποτα! Είχα κολλήσει να στρίβω μόνο το τιμόνι - χα χα χα. Τελικά με πολύ στιλ slow motion χτύπησα ένα άλλο παρκαρισμένο αμάξι εκεί στο πάρκινγκ που ήταν λίγο πιο κάτω στον λόφο. Ο πατέρας τα είχε πάρει στο κρανίο. Ευτυχώς το άλλο αυτοκίνητο δεν είχε πάθει τίποτα. Τον προφυλακτήρα χτύπησα λίγο και αυτός όλο πλαστικό ήταν. Του πατέρα μου όμως ήθελε λίγη δουλειά στο μέταλλο και ήθελε λίγη μπογιά. Έχω την εντύπωση πως μετά από αυτό το συμβάν κάναμε και άλλα μαθήματα οδήγησης υπό κακές συνθήκες.

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