Winning Wars, Losing Battles

IGN PC had put up a poll last Thursday, a Grudge Match between Warhammer Online and World of Warcraft. The winner, of course, was a no brainer. I mean, how can WAR, a game less than a year old with waning subscriptions, stand up against WoW, a game of 5 years with 11 million subscribers? It was a stupid poll, and the comments were even less intelligent. I voted for WAR, of course. WoW may be a more polished game with a bigger world and lots of people to play with or against. But WAR's gameplay mechanics is just much more action packed and exciting than WoW's. Plus, I always like underdogs.

Speaking of underdogs, the Order's side in WAR (Phoenix Throne server) seems to be swelling in number these days. Destruction is just nowhere to be found ever since we got into Invevitable City a month ago. Everytime I log in with my Knight or White Lion, every keep and battle objectives in the RvR lake are blue. Back when I joined this game, almost 4 months ago, everything were red and Destruction were just steam rolling us in every direction. Yeah, were losing a lot back then but it was more active and fun. Now, it's getting boring. I don't know if the rumors are true -that a lot Destruction guilds are cancelling their WAR subscriptions and are moving to Aion- But I hope Destro picks up their pace soon.

Jungle heat in Far Cry 2.

In the meantime, however, I decided not to play WAR when there's no open RvR activity. It's just a waste of time. Instead, I installed Far Cry 2 on my PC to keep me occupied. I bought this game a couple months ago when Steam slashed its price off by 50% ($40 to $20) but I've never played it. Far Cry is one of my few FPS favorites. I just like its gameplay and the atmosphere a lot. But Far Cry 2 is a far cry from its predecessor. The graphics is so realistic and cinematic. I like the lighting especially. I swear you can almost feel the jungle heat around noon time in game. The story and setting is also cool and original. It has a Blood Diamond feel to it. The freeform gameplay is awesome too. The immersion it gives you is so total. It almost feels like a RPG.

Anyways, I do hope that RvR activity in WAR will pick up soon. If not, then I might probably move to Champions Online or wherever my guild moves (our guild leader and some members are checking out Runes of Magic right now). For now, however, I'll just enjoy Far Cry 2.

Film Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
8.0 of 10
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson





I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books. Not because I don't like it. I just prefer my fantasy to be rife with political and mature tones rather than with magical and wondrous elements. I did enjoy the films, however. Although it wasn't until the 5th installment that I actually took some interest in the franchise's lore. The Order of the Phoenix was just brillant. Its plot -where paranoia turns the Ministry of Magic into a totalitarian authority- was an eye opener for me. All of a sudden, I realized that Harry Potter isn't just a kid's book anymore. All of a sudden, I couldn't get enough of Harry Potter. That's why, after I left from work last night, I hurried to catch the last show of The Half-Blood Prince.

However, I found the 6th film to be a bit of a lackluster. It just didn't have a strong plot if compared to other Harry Potter films. Instead, it presented a series of dull sub stories, back stories and plot build ups. Nonetheless, as boring as it was, this installment is still a vital part of the film franchise. If there's anything The Half-Blood Prince was set to accomplish then it was probably to construct a stage for the grand finale (which will be a two-part film due in 11/2010 and 07/2011).

The visuals in the movie, however, were just tantalizing. It pretty much did its job too well in letting people know that this isn't a happy kid/teen movie anymore. The atmosphere is gloomy and ominous from the very moment the film rolled in with Harry sitting alone in an austere cafe. Even Hogwart's, a bastion for light and wonder, its walls have turned from golden brown to gray. But the ending shots were probably the saddest of all. It was just so dark that even with the Phoenix flying -a symbol of hope and rebirth- there's no foreseeable hope the future for our heroes.

But the film isn't entirely covered with the dark and dejected stuff. Audiences will have a little bit of respite as romance develop between characters, Ron/Hermoine and Harry/Ginny, amidst the depressing elements. There are bits and pieces of comedic scenes as well, mostly during conversations between Harry and Ron in regards to girls. Then there's Luna Lovegood, probably the only character who retained her colorfulness and funkiness, who happens to slip in and out during scenes. She never failed to surprise me on her entrances, from the funky sunglasses, the lion hat, and the 80's Madonna prom dress. I wish they gave her more face time.

All in all, I was a bit disappointed with the film. Mostly because I was expecting a bit too much of it due to what happened in the previous installment. It was very anti-climatic to sit through a 150 minute long movie watching nothing but a series of back stories and plot build-ups. If not for the awesome shots, visuals and the teeny romance in this film I would've fallen asleep. But this part shouldn't be missed, especially by those who haven't read the book, since it's a vital part of the franchise.

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My Essential WAR Addons

I've been playing Warhammer Online for months now. While I'm not a master of WAR, yet, I'm very comfortable with my skills when it comes to the game. Although, I must admit, my skills would still be in the noob level without the help of some addons.

Addons (if you're non-gamer reader of this blog) are third-party applications that you can "add on" to your game and make your life much easier. Some hardcore elitist players refer to some these applications as "cheats". Fine. They can call it whatever they want to call it. But as long as Mythic does not tell me to stop using these "cheats". I will still continue using them.

There are plenty of addons for WAR out there, and searching for the right one can be ardous sometimes. So, to help you out, I've decided to post all the addons that I can't live without.

TargetRing - A simple addon that puts a ring around your friendly and hostile targets. It may not sound useful but, trust me, it's really helps you find your target amongst a sea of destro players.

LoyalPet - An addon allows you to access certain pet commands -like turning off auto pet abilities or binding pet attacks to one of your hotkeys- that aren't native to the game, making it easier for you to micromanage lion. This mod is a must have for White Lions.

Dammaz Kron - Also known as The Book of Grudges, Dammaz Kron is a Tome of Knowledge addon that lists all the players that you've killed, or players who killed you, in player vs. player combat. If you play PvP a lot, this addon is great to have so you'd know players to avoid and players to chase.

State of Realm - Probably the most used addon in the game, and there's a reason for that. It shows you a lot of things like your realm's victory points, which zone is about to lock, which keeps and battle objectives your realm still holds or being attacked by Destruction. This is a vital mod to have if you play a lot in open realm vs. realm.

Twister - an addon designed to let Knights of the Blazing Sun easily twist three of their auras while reducing the risks of getting carpal tunnel syndrome or other wrist injuries. I use it, I love it and my groupmates love me for it.

Miracle Grow Remix - A mod that transforms your Cultivating interface into a small box that you can put on the edge of your screen. This addon is really useful for Cultivators because it lets you plant and harvest conveniently. Cultivating with it is so convenient you can even plant/harvest your seeds while fending of a train of Choppas.

Squared - a unit frame addon that was specifically designed to give you a better view of your group or warband member's health. This is a must have for all healer archetype (yes, that includes the shammies too).

Calling - This is definitely the most fun addon I've ever used. This mod will make assist trains much more effeciently. Almost all players on my guild uses this addon during RvR, and I've never seen enemy players die so fast due to being focus fired by an entire guild. So if you're guilded or play with a permanent group, I suggest you and your guildmates/friends get Calling. It's fun and you'll be more organized in combat.

So these are my favorite Warhammer Online addons. I love them and, if you haven't got any of these yet, I suggest you get them. If you have a good or favorite addon that's not on this list. Then share them with me.

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The 'Plan B' Event

It's already July, 25 more days until Lollapalooza. But, due to unexpected necessary expenses (like changing my car's brittle fan belt and two of its bald tires), I wasn't able to raise enough money to buy that $200 ticket and some extra beer/food cash. It totally sucks and I'm sorely disheartened. But, before I go down and wallow in dejection, I used what money I was able to save to get tickets for Chicago Comic-Con.

The Chicago Comic-Con's guest list, however, isn't as good as NYCC 2009. But it'll do. Some of my favorite comic book writers such as Mark Millar and Brian Azzarello will be there. Artists like JG Jones, Frank Cho, and George Perez will also attend as guests. So I'll definitely bring a lot of my books and have them signed by these people. Then there's the actors and actresses -which I don't really care about. But I do like to see Rhona Mitra and Michelle Rodriguez in persons.

I bet Chicago Comic-Con won't be as fun as Lollapalooza. But it's the next best event, and also the cheapest, in this city. I won't see Tool live but at least I'll have my comic books signed, adding more value to them. Plus, I might be able to get all the comic back issues that I don't have for a bargain. So, to all those who are going, see you there.

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