GAME SPOILERS AHEAD. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T COMPLETED THE GAME
So I finally completed this gem of a game by the beautiful company, Bioware. Man, what a journey. What a beautiful, just super beautiful setting. I love China :D Loved the game, and I hope the developers are still thinking of a sequel, would love that.
Anyways, the game also reminded me of a beautiful movie, THE LAST SAMURAI, and I thought I'd cover the whole story of the game, and the events, and make a tribute for the game, with various OSTs from the movie. Man it fits beautifully! Enjoy!
I love this game a lot. And I love it for reasons not shared by most people. People would usually like the game for... I dunno, it's side quests, it's story, gameplay, character progression etc etc. I love all of that too, but there's some other reason why I keep returning to this game year after year.
The game is just beautiful in every aspect. The music, the landscapes, the books, there's ... something which sets this game apart from ALL other games, however great they may be.
So today I somehow stumbled upon one of the game's beautiful OSTs, and reading the comments, I realized I was not alone in how I felt for the game. (beautiful comments on YT are rare and refreshing, btw)
So here are some of the tracks, and some REALLY awesome, poetic comments. MAN I gotta go back and play this game.
"This song expresses something that can't be written in words. Something about riding out on a long and lonely journey....I'm at a loss."
kungfubellydancer
hlvrn :
This clip reminds me of traveling in the great wilderness of Cyrodiil. The stars shimmer above me, like diamonds in the dark, endless firmament. Accompanied are the moons of Secunda and Masser, illuminating the environment with their mystical moonlight.
I am alone, yet I do not feel alone. I feel safe and peaceful, as I run through the countless of trees, to finally reach a hill - looking down at the mighty Empire of Cyrodiil.
This song reminds me of melancholy, loss and grief. It's the feeling (especially at time when the song uplifts from the sorrow) that everything is always changing, what is lost is perhaps lost forever and for good or ill we must be strong and move on without it, hopefully into a new, yet different golden age of peace or happiness. This is what this song reminds me of, its so beautiful. I was in love with it as soon as I first heard it, far above the other songs for me.
Standuble 2 ^
This brilliant heart warming piece of music, most definately reflects on the losses weve suffered throughout war, the soldiers that risks thier lives for use, the familys torn apart, the marriages split, the children without parents, desctruction and chaos. Although the world is far from peace, this song reminds us of what peace is and to never give up, it always brings a tear to my eye.
hamjee01
How i would love to live in these times. Hunting with my brothers, Searching Unknown lands, Drinking ale with my Friends after a hard Days work, hiking mountains and hunting deers. Has anyone else looked up at the night sky in oblivion and seen its beauty and wished for a world just like it?
ForzaAguero12
I have so many flashbacks when I hear this piece...walking in a Count's presence, exploring the countryside, jumping off dive rock, hunting...walking through the Imperial City,,
roundedhalo 2
I always liked the solitary feeling of traveling while the music played. I love the moments you make for yourself in Oblivion.
InuRyutheDiegron
I don't know what to say about all this, but I felt I just had to write something down and see whether other people feel the same.
One of the unique things in this game is, even though it's very open world and can be played in any way, there are somethings that all Oblivion players share and can laugh about. Like how the music suddenly changes, and you turn around, looking for enemies, but don't see anyone. The battle music increases your tension, and suddenly you look down, and see a mudcrab slowly making his way towards you.
Mudcrab 1- Look, it's the Hero of Kvatch.
Mudcrab 2- Oh ya. We should go say hi.
Mudcrab 1- Oh my God dude, Your going to try to attack him aren't you?
Mudcrab 2- Hehehe. Yes.
Mudcrab 1- You're such an idiot. You're a fucking crab. He'll kill you.
Mudcrab 2- I can't help it. I was created for this.
Mudcrab 1- To annoy the living shit out of every person who approaches a body of water, and to get yourself killed in the process?
Mudcrab 2- It's why we're here!
Mudcrab 1- OPEN YOUR EYES!!!
darthgueedo
So tell me what your thoughts are on these aspects of the game! Do you live the game the way some of us do, or did you just rush through and fast travel your way to the end (My cousin did that. Murder, in my opinion)
So here's my latest music video tribute for the latest game that I just finished - CoD : Blops.
The SP campaign was alright, but the end was pretty interesting, especially the Fight Club - ish parts. Still, CoD 4 : MW remains my favorite. Anyways, here's the vid, and if I say so myself, it's pretty good :) Definitely one of my favorites actually.
So I just finished the SP campaign a day before, and thought that though it was short, the story was pretty much worth it. Focusing on realism, the ending really got to me. As always, MoH chose to pay tribute to the soldiers rather than just make them action movie superstars. So here's a tribute to the fallen hero - Rabbit. The first video shows the build up to the rescue operation from the last 3 missions, with OST from INCEPTION!
And it fits in really well :D Here's the description from the video:
SPOILERS IN VIDEO AND DESCRIPTION
This video is focused on the last three missions - Compromised, Neptune net and Rescuing the rescuers, where Rabbit and Mother leave after disobeying orders in order to rescue Voodoo and Preacher, but in turn get captured and need rescuing themself. The build up to the situation and the end are shown (along with Inception OST - Time)
Hope you enjoy!
Software used - Sony Vegas pro9 Music - Inception OST - Time
I do not own the rights to any of the content, all rights are the property of their respective owners
This is a different kind of video than I usually make, so please give feedback!
And I also made a more traditional music video, the kind I usually make. Music is Apocalypse Please (MUSE). Goes really well with the game :D And it's not just random scenes while the music plays, I always try to match the video with lyrics! (I'm writing all this cuz I don't get a lot of views on my vids :( )
So I'd asked the GB community for a song to make a music vid with for BF:BC2, and one of the suggestions that caught my attention was A night to remember by Shalamar (recommended by eroticfishcake)
So HERE it is! You won't be disappointed! (I hope)
and as a sidenote, 1:16 is probably my favorite moment. It's fucking hilarious XD
So I FINALLY got around to finishing the SP campaign of Battlefield Bad Company 2, and you know what? I loved it! I don't know why it was criticized for the SP campaign in the reviews, because I found it varied, engrossing and a little different from what I'd expected. And being used to CoD campaigns, the length was a welcome surprise.
I also enjoyed the take on story, with a lot of focus on the four main characters, with a lot of cutscenes (which even showed your character), and the movie-esque feel the game went for. There was also a kind of sci - fi and mysterious twist in the plot, which was something that I'd not expected before I'd started playing the game.
So here's another ( HD ) music video tribute from me, this time to Battlefield : Bad Company 2. Note that the clips are only from the SP campaign, and it's more cutscenes, less gameplay.
Hope you enjoy!
SPOILER WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS
No not for the game itself, just to be able to get into all the inside jokes about the game.
This game, is beautiful. It's art. It needs to be played cause it's so retarded. I'd played the game in 2008 or early 2009 I think, and though it took a lot of effort, I adjusted to the bad parts of the game, and slowly even began to enjoy it! (Yes, it's true) I guess I was halfway through the game, when the difficulty level just curved up like crazy. It was a tough encounter for me to fight of two trolls at a time, and at that sort of level, quests which required me to kill about 30 bad guys (forgot what they were called. Orcs I guess) and and 3-4 trolls at the same time started cropping up.
That just broke my heart as I couldn't continue playing this game, which for some funny reason, I had even secretly started loving. I remember, in one of my last attempts, I was at their base camp, running in circles, chased by ALL 30 or something orcs at the same time, and whenever I'd gain just a little space, laying out a bomb quickly in hopes to get some damage on them.
Yes. This game is that retarded.
I was pretty sad I couldn't carry on, but by then I'd also grown sick of the game. Everything had become much harder, and for some reason there was a lot of fog all over the world. Yeah weird.
But then only some months ago, I stumbled upon some hilarious Youtube videos which brought back hilarious and sweet memories of the game, often picking on the terrible dialouges. They often go like: (Random dialogue, just made it up right now) "Aye, It is time" "mayhap we should wait a little longer" "NAY, that would be unwise" "NAY, it is not time to argue" "AYE" "AYE"
...
Here's probably my favorite one (A highly recommended watch) :
There are a million others, and they're all just... beautiful.
On the other hand, I heard Two Worlds 2 has been getting great reviews, and I'm getting pretty excited to play that. No, not to witness some more retardedness (that's only a trademark of the first) , but to have some actual RPG fun - experience.
Guess I'll start with a little backstory about me- First of all, I live in India. I don't think that really affects any of the stuff ahead, but anyways, I thought you ought to know.
I, like millions of other kids, want to break into the game industry (as an artist). It's a dream I've had since I was a kid, and I'm an absolute lover of games. I've done a lot of research about it, and even though it's a daunting and difficult task, I know it's what I want to do. So I'd planned to take Fine Arts in order to better my chances and get a good backup incase I didn't make it in the first attempt. But then being told that the scope for FA students is kinda small, and it's not a very safe thing to go for, I thought about architecture, and without knowing much about it, I went for it.
Life's hell now.
I never knew what a horrifying field it is. Thinking that it was a light field close to arts, I'd planned to work on my game art skills while I got my degree. What I didn't know was that Architecture's known for eating up all your time. I rarely sleep before 2am, as I'm always working, and I haven't sketched or touched any game from a month!
I'm sure this is not what I want, as even after college, this lifestyle continues. You never have time for anything except work, and on top of that, you don't even make money!! I'm sure it's great for those guys who are passionate about it, but guess what? I hate it. I came home to research about it, and typed "life of an" on google, and the second result on the drop down completed my sentence "...architect". (try it! :P)
Seniors also keep telling the first years that if anyone's not sure about it, they should leave now, and take up something else, as architecture's not worth it if you don't like it. You should see their state, they're all pretty fk'd up. That's no way to live! And in the end you get no time or money, so what's the use? There's no way I can break into the game industry if I'm so busy with this work, and since I don't even enjoy it, there's no reason I should go on.
So I've been thinking of switching to something else, where i'd get enough time to practice my art stuff, be in an environment of people who'd be interested in games and mod making, and a degree which would provide me with a strong backup. And engineering, which I never thought of doing, pretty much fits the bill. My sister and a lot of friends have done it, and they seem to have a LOT of time to do a lot of other stuff. And it seems even the weakest of students can somehow get through the 4 years. Plus, living in India, I'd have a lot of job opportunities in case the game thing doesnt work out. Also, I could do a short service in the army after graduation.
What do you think? Should I switch? Should I go for engg and should I consider FA too? Help me out people I can't take Arch anymore!! Oh, and give me tips on how I should break it to my parents, who think I'm liking arch :P
I haven't been very active on Giantbomb lately, the reason probably being that I was locked out of my account. My Yahoo account had been hacked so I just deleted it as I was too lazy to ask for help. So in turn I ended up locking myself out of my MP, and had to create a new account. Luckily, I was able to get that Yahoo account back, but MP still had problems, so I asked for help on GB help and got my account back and here I am!
So stuffs been going on in my life, some good, most not so good. I joined an Architecture college in July, and I've pretty much been getting butt raped by work and the seniors for the past few months. My aim is to actually get into the gaming industry as an artist, and I thought I'd be able to work on that side by side with my arch work, but MAN! I have to stay up almost every night completing my work so I have NO time to just draw. Also, I've got no time for games either. That makes me sad :(
As for the seniors, they kind of hate our class and I seem to be the target for most of the butt rape as I'm a little more interactive with them. Also, I stayed in the hostel last night, and got screwed by them for hours. It got me pretty stressed out, but then I guess they'll get better once they've had their fill. Just got to hang on till then (I hope I can!)
Then I've got some girl troubles. There's this girl who I like in my class, and I was pretty sure she liked me as well (Cuz she kind of indirectly said it). But now she's gone all cold towards me. She replies to my texts straight to the point and her behavior towards me in class is just like that of a normal friend.(anyone have any idea what's going on?) I can never understand girls! Also, it seems like the whole college is after her, so I guess that's got her thinking that she's too good for me. And the seniors talk pretty dirtily about her, so yeah, I've currently put her out of my mind. oh and then there's another girl who makes hearts in my notebook and stuff, and really seems to like me but I'm pretty sure not in that way. I've stopped keeping my expectations high, as I always seem to misread girls. Also, she's waaay out of my league :D
Now about gaming, I've been playing an old awesome game - Jade Empire! Dunno how I missed out on that, but i'm really loving the experience so far. First of all, it's Bioware, second, it's based in Japan, and I love all that Japanese music, martial arts and old Jap guys giving out wisdom in every sentence stuff. <3 I'll be making a music video tribute to the game with The Last Samurai soundtrack, so watch out for that! (Though that will take a long time as I only get to play once in a week or two :'( ) This game is awesome. I'm planning to get married to it.
Another thing I've been planning to do is the "Great Paranormal Suicidal Self Experiment", by playing Amnesia alone after 12 AM! I know a lot of you must have done that already, but Duders! I scare easy. (I couldn't complete Bioshock as I was terrified of the game) But all this college and seniors stress coupled with the girl troubles is kind of pushing me to do something like this to de-stress. I'll probably be starting that by Monday, so if anyone's interested in hearing about the reactions of a wimp, lemme know! ( I might even take a video of the game+my reactions)
EDIT: Ooh ooh and I played football/soccer for my college! and we lost 5-0! Woo! (I blame the extremely mucky ground) Yeah the flying dude's me!
So anyways, any experience with rough seniors who make life miserable? or any girl advice? Lemme know!
This is a question that's probably been asked a million times before, and a question that hardly ever gets a proper answer : Which is your favorite game?
How can you possibly choose one game over the many hundred games that you've played in your lifetime? Well, I think I have my answer to that question. It is a game that has remained at the top of my list of favorite RPGs since the time I played it and has since refused to move away from the top. And since RPGs are my favorite genre, it makes sense that my favorite RPG is my favorite game.
Sure, it may not be the best game out there, but it's become the game that I am the most emotionally attached to.
Which game is it you ask? Well, it goes by the name - The Witcher (note that I'm discussing the Enhanced Edition as that is the one I'd played)
The Witcher is a beautiful game. I cannot think of another game that didn't sacrifice it's story, atmosphere or plot just for the sake of making it more accessible to a wider audience. If games are a form of art, this is mother - effing it.
The story of how I got to play the game in itself is pretty interesting. I got the game after reading a bit about it two years after the release of the original, and just after the released of the EE - in the summer holidays of 2009. I started up the game pretty excited, but was heartbroken when I saw the gameplay. Hoping to get into some action - heavy sword fighting and magic wielding, I felt cheated when I saw that it was a point and click type RPG. The first thought that came into my mind was - "Why on earth would any IDIOT use this sort of a gameplay?! What sense does it make to click to fight?!"
I soon got over that disappointment and continued over to the second area in the game (The Rural outskirts) Things started getting better, but I felt that the game was too light and happy, and there was not much going on. I eventually got BORED and quit the game. I didn't touch it for about a month. Luckily, my holidays were still going on, and one fateful day I was just sitting at my PC, staring at the icons of the 3-4 games I had installed at that time. I had no intentions of clicking on The Witcher, but I did. I thought, "what the hell am I doing? I don't wanna play that game!" But I did, and I was finally hooked. Man! What a day that was. It was raining outside and also inside the game, I was finally getting out of the Outskirts, and I even began enjoying the combat.
The adventures and the ride that I rode after that in the game was something I could never have imagined. The very fact that the game had a slow start, gave it a base that was perfect for a game with this setting. By the end of the game, the world just turns upside down, and you are left trying to catch your breath. For a week after completing the game, all I could do was try to go over everything that happened in the game
(Might be minor spoilers ahead, but I've avoided writing anything of the sort)
How on earth could all that have happened? The setting and the plot is perfect - It starts out in the outskirts, where all you know is from the rumors that you hear from the locals and a few informed people you come across. You hear about things like the plague, the lockdown of the main city, and you come across very little information of something else - a terrorist type group called the Scoiatel. A large group of Elves and Dwarves united against the humans to fight against the injustices shown to their people. Who on EARTH has EVER thought of making ELVES and DWARVES in such a MOTHER EFFING new way!? This conflict between the humans and the Scoiatel slowly develops into one of the best and most mind blowing parts of the plot. And sets up the setting for the most difficult decisions that you'll have to make in the game.
Which brings me to my next favorite part of the game: CHOICES. Let me start by saying - This game has the most difficult choices to be made in the HISTORY of games (at least IMO) Unlike other games, which provide a good, a neutral, and a bad choice, this game provides you three choices which are: 1. Fucked up 2. Fucked up 3. Fucked up
The choice that you are gonna make WILL be morally fucked up in whichever way you look at it, it's just your choice in which way you prefer to screw yourself or others in.
The choices are usually in the form of whether you want to support the humans, Scoiatel, or be neutral as a witcher should be. The best part is that you can support any side till about the end, and then switch over to any other side right in the last level. And my friend, if you're involved heavily in the game, decision making takes TIME. There was a point in the game in which I had to finally choose between the two females I had been romancing, and give her the orphan child, Alvin, who is an extremely powerful kid. What to do I think about? What's best for the kid? Who do I love more? Who loves me more? Think about the female who i'll choose? And the one I'd reject? What's best for the rest of the world? And let me tell you, the answers to each of these questions WILL have a BIG impact on the rest of the game. And you know what? It took me THREE HOURS to make that decision. Went over forum topics, researched, and then went with one girl, then finally reloaded, and went with the other one.
And I was satisfied. I had sacrificed my happiness for what was best for the child. Also, she was not that bad, she looked like a shady character, but Geralt and her actually had history together. She did love him, and he loved her back. It wasn't fair to judge her badly just because she had a strong personality.
Now tell me, which game has made you think in this way and in such detail? This is the first one for me, especially because the choices you make DO com back to you.
And in the most spectacular and memorable ways. Which is my next favorite part of the game - consequences. And how they hit you after you've played a good many hours of the game and have completely forgotten about it. And then suddenly a cutscene pops up, Geralt narrates his feelings about the decision, and how it has come back to affect his present, and you're left staring at the screen, with you mouth slightly open, and all you can say is - fuuuuck..!
Like in ACT IV, something you did in ACT I comes back and hits you, and it's obviously too late to change anything at this point. Luckily, I was happy with my decision, and was one of the best things that i'd ever seen :
Also, this game obviously loves sex. It loves sex so bad that it almost distracted me from the fun of the game itself. It almost felt like a mission to go and do every woman in the land whenever I got the time. And the sex cards aren't anything to laugh at:
[ MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. ONLY FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMPLETED THE GAME]
Now the ending. WOW. What an end! You come back from that isolated island, to which you were hurriedly sent to avoid the political tensions that were about to break. That too at a point when you are so close to the end. Anyways, you're sent to that island, dealing with very different, and in comparison, much smaller problems. Suddenly, you are forced to come back to Vizima, and the sight you are met with blows you away.
All that you had worked for, all the people you had tried to protect, laid to waste. And you realize [SPOILER!!] that the Order of the Flaming Rose (humans) are not just fanatics, but are using means of terror as well. Until that point, I had stuck with the humans all thanks to Seigfreid (Whose a GREATLY made character btw) but when my dwarf friend (Zoltan) told me something like " When the order started killing innocent women and children" I was like WHHHAAT!?? vid: (skip to 6:20 )
And I knew what I had to do.
I reloaded a ten minute earlier game. Chose the path of NEUTRALITY, and even though they said that I wouldn't be able to remain neutral forever, I did. And was rewarded with another MIND BLOWING cutscene later on.
Running through burning Vizima, being attacked by BOTH sides, was.. crazy.
But wait! There's MORE! (I'll keep it really short now) In the end, you go to Vizima in the FUTURE!! It's buried under snow and is a dead place, and you come to know - The grandmaster of the Order of the Flaming Rose, (who you realized is the leader of Salamandra) Basically, from a wiki site:
From this point, no matter which path Geralt has chosen, he goes on alone. When Geralt finds the Grand Master, it is revealed that everything he has done was to save humanity from the inevitable "Great White Frost", Ithlinne's Prophecy. All his life, he was plagued by visions of what the future of humanity would look like if nothing was done. His solution was simple, he would become their saviour.
To achieve this, he created mutants: Greater Brothers, who had all the strength and skill of a witcher, but without the sentimentality. These mutants would shepherd Believers on an exodus to the south, thereby saving them from the dire predictions. Geralt quite rightly remarks at that point that every megalomaniac speaks of a "higher purpose". And with the help of the friends he has made during the course of the story, Geralt makes it through the Grand Master's vision and ends his plans.
Gerail's final choice involves a demand from the King of the Wild Hunt for the Grand Master's soul.
Choice 1: Deny the King of the Wild Hunt's demand, thus freeing himself from his destiny of leaving only destruction behind him. or
Choice 2: Allow the King of the Wild Hunt's demand, thus avoiding the fight and learning that the Grand Master was known to him by another name.
PLOT TWISTS give me orgasms. This one gave me a big one.
Ok this blog has gone MUCH longer than I'd planned, but what can I do? I'm pouring all my love and passion for my favorite game into a single page! My head is currently spinning from all the writing, and I spent a lot of time writing all this, so PLEASE try to read as much of the above as possible :)
Random related terms of things I love about the game that I couldn't fit inside the blog: Taverns, politics, fist fighting, atmosphere, story, the detective part, music, bribery, dark theme, your mother sucks dwarf cock,sex cards etc etc
OH GOD THAT WAS THE LONGEST BLOG I'VE EVER WRITTEN!!
Please make it worth it by trying to read through it, especially if you've completed and loved the game :)
Thank you, have fun, and play some mother - effing Witcher! (EE)
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