Artist's Monolog... II

Day 2 
Who would have thought? A developer? On the beach? On top of it, it seems that I couldn’t shake this guy off, everywhere I went he soon followed. I tried to push him off gently (and not so gently), but it seems to create an opposite reaction and his demands were only getting more annoying and fairly personal.

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Artist's Monolog...

Day 96
I can’t put my finger on the exact time that it happened, but did it ever happened to you that you start a discussion on top and before you know it, you hit rock bottom? Well, it happened to me… It is not clear when the discussions went from:

EMH: Please do my art
SE: Nope
EMH: Please?
SE: No
EMH: Please!
SE: Na
EMH: Please!?
SE: Noooo!
EMH: Please.
SE: No!
EMH: Please?
SE: Ok
EMH: Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

To…

SE: I worked all night on this one, what do you think?
EMH: Sloppy. It is one pixel short, odd size, eyebrow is wrong color and frankly a bit spooky.
SE: I’m sorry, let me try again…
SE: This one?
EMH: Eyes should be half way; hand is looking weird and who told you to add a hat?
SE: Sorry

I decided to see if the community could help me understand how things got to this point. To do that I’ll need to take you 3 months back to a sunny day somewhere in Australia.

---

Day 1
I always saw it as a compliment that many developers approached me about doing art for their games. However, after getting so many daily emails wanting art I just had to take a break and refuel. So I took my surfboard and went to the one place that I could find peace, the beach – or so I thought.

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Need For Speed Most Wanted Review

Hi, my name is Nik and i am reviewing my favorite racing game:

Most Wanted is the crown jewel of the Need For Speed franchise, hopefully the newly announced Most Wanted 2, will live up to its predecessor's name.

The basic story starts with you arriving to Rockport City, finding that the best street racers, are is a group, known as The Black List. So you have to get to the top of the list, by doing that, you become the most wanted.

The characters are all, well know stereotypes. Sergeant Cross is the loud mouth cop, trying to stop all  illegal racing in the city. Razor is the asshole, on top of the Black List, that treats you like crap. And of course, there is a hot chick helping you, named Mia.

But the thing that matters in a racing game, is not the story, or the characters. Its the racing and running from the cops. The one thing standing out the most however, is the sense of speed. To achieve it, the developers used a lot of bloom and a ton of motion blur. This makes the game gorgeous, when you are moving at high speeds. However, if you slow down, you see that it is outdated, by today's standards. Luckily slowing down, or stopping are two things you really do.

So to top it all of Need For Seed Most Wanted is a true masterpiece, that will never get old for me.

I hope you liked my review of  Need For Seed Most Wanted.

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Magicka Review

Hi, my name is Nik and todays review is on:

Magicka - one of the best games of last year, winner of numerous rewards and a generally funny and fun game.

The story, of this action RPG, is simple. You are a good wizard send to battle the evil sorcerer, helping people on the way. On your journey you find noting less, then pure comedy gold. References from popular movies, games, stories, just waiting to be discovered.

But the greatest thing in Magicka, is the magic. You have control of eight elements - fire, water, cold, earth, lightning, arcane, life and shield. By combining them, you can cast powerful attacking, or defensive spells.

This game is best, when played with others. This is why it provides a co-op multiplayer, so you can share, all of the funny moments, with friends.

Playing in singleplayer is possible, but hard, because the enemies are not balanced for one player. 

So to top it all off, Magicka is a very satisfying action RPG, with lots of funny references and unique gameplay.

 I hope you liked my review of Magica.

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Max Payne 3 Review

Hi my name is Nik and todays review is:

Max Payne 3, the minute you start this game, a giant wave of nostalgia hits you. You are grated by a cinematic with music, from the original games, and a monologue from Max. The sad story of his life, after the second game, is that he wants to forget the past. This is why he is on the "very healthy" diet of drugs and drinks.

Max is working for a privet security company in São Paulo, Brazil. So your job is protecting the rich Branco family. Then while on duty, some street gang kidnaps Fabiana Branco.And job of saving her falls on Payne - a simple, but compelling story. 

The gameplay brings more nostalgia to the game. You still have bullet-time and the ability, to dual-wielded weapons, just like in the first games. The guns feel powerful and different, from one another, just like in the first games.

What is not like the old games, is cover-based combat like in Gears of War. This is a very controversial addition and i am not really sure, if i like it. Sometimes cover and bullet-time, give you are very powerful and diverse ways, to kill enemies. But you can get too defensive, witch is not fun. Either way, you aren't forced to use it. 

There are some big changes to the gun system. First you cant carry as much firepower as before, only two one-handed and one two-handed weapons. And second you can dual-wielded guns of different types. For example - M1911 (pistol) with M10 (SMG). Bout changes give the game more dynamic feel - you are always trying new combinations, in order to find the most effective, for the current situation.

Graphically the game is gorgeous, even on the close to high settings, which i use. The animation quality is amazingly realistic and lifelike . The texture quality is insanely detailed and beautiful.

The sound design is better then anything i heard in a third-person shooter. But easily, the best part is the music. It contains tracks from the first game and they will be instantly familiar, to people that played them.

Unfortunately this game has problems. The first and biggest is the lack of any kind of save, its all checkpoints. I usually don't have a problem with them, but in this case i do, because sometimes they are too far apart. And its very frustrating, if you die five feet from the next checkpoint.

Another thing that i don't like, is that when you die several times, on the same section - you automatically get a pain killed. I don't like my game laughing  at me and making it easier to play, especially on "Hard". When i play on "Hard" i want a challenge, i want to push my skill to the limit, in order complete the section. I don't want pity, or whatever this is, from the game. 

So to top it all up Max Payne 3 is a game that stays true to its roots and comes close to masterpiece. It has some problems, just like any game. I recommend it to fans of the original games, and to people that like third-person shooters.

 I hope you liked my review of Max Payne 3 .
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WARP Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am taking a look at one very interesting game:

Warp has a classical start. Human scientists find an alien, take away its power source and put it in tests. As you probably figured out, you play this alien. His name is Zero and he is just an adorable, cute, little thing.

You pass several very simplistic tests and see your power source - a yellow disk like thing. And when you take it, you get access to warp. Warping is like teleportation basically - passing threw thick concrete walls, going in to objects, like barrels and humans. 

When you warp in to any object, you can start to expand and destroy it from the inside. This includes barrels and  humans mostly. 

This creates three possible play styles. Killing everyone you see. Sneaking past anyone you see. And of course - anything in between. The ending of the game depends on witch style you played, so the game has good replay value. 

The sound and graphics are good quality. They are not something special, just normal for this kind of game.

Now problems. The game is very hard to play with keyboard and mouse, so if you are planing to play it on PC, use some king of gamepad.

So to top it all of Warp is interesting game, with fun gameplay and its satisfying to play.

Gameplay video - coming soon.

 I hope you liked my review of Warp .

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Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am taking a look at a nice action RPG:

In Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning you start the best way possible - dead, on your way to a mass grave. And then something impossible happens - you wake up in a pile of bodies, and start searching for answers. It turns out that your body was part of some gnome's crazy experiments. The goal was to bring dead people, back to life and you where the first success. 

Shortly after that the crazy gnome is killed and you are left with the question of what is your purpose in life. In order to find that you go to a Fateweaver, people that can read the will of the gods and predict the future of any man. But what you find is very surprising - you have no fate, witch means you can do whatever you want and more importantly - change the fate of other around you.

The combat in  Kingdoms of Amalur is normal for an action RPG, so if you liked Fable 1, you will love this.

The fighting is polished to perfection - very dynamic, very satisfying and very solid in general. Just one problem i have with it, if you are not leveling as a warrior, your block is very slow.So if something is attacking you, good luck blocking at all.

You have three talent trees -  Might, Finesse and Sorcery. If you level on Sorcery you become a mage, who can be either range or melee focused and melee mage is one of the best things ever. Is you want to be a warrior, the Might three is for you. And Finesse is the sneaky, rogue tree.

But its not just that, you can get different bonuses, by leveling on two or even three trees at a time. So you can have a mage - warrior, or a warrior - rogue, witch is kind of unique and no other RPG i have seen does anything similar to this.

The creatures you encounter are also very unique and most of them are like nothing i have ever seen. You can find little tribal things, that will try to hit you with sticks. You can find fairy like stuff, that cast spells at you. And many more unique and interesting creatures that you have never seen before.

The crafting system is traditional, but again with a few twists. There are three professions in the game - Alchemy, Sagecraft and Blacksmithing. Sagecraft is similar to jewelcrafting in WOW, you basically make gems for sockets in your armor.  Alchemy is self-explanatory, you make potions and elixirs, using herbs.

Now blacksmithing is where most of the twists are. To get your materials, you must disassemble old weapons and armors, then you use the parts to make a new item. For example, you find two swords, one with really good blade, the other with a really good handle. You can destroy them and make a sword with  good blade and good handle.

Now for the problems. As a RPG this game should have interesting story, memorable characters and fun side quests. And Amalur unfortunately fails on all three the characters are forgettable, the main story is boring and the side quests feel like MMO quests - go collect 10 of this, go and kill 15 of that. So the driving force is not the story, like in most RPG's, but the combat, that isn't necessarily a bad thing,  its just different. Another problem is that dying is impossible. The enemies hit like little girls and die just as fast.

So to top it all of  Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning is a game with a very well polished combat, unique creatures and beautiful landscapes. The problem is that the story is not as good as it should be and the side quests are very boring.

Btw today is the first month birthday of this blod, so i thank to all of the people that read it. All five of you. :)

Gameplay video - coming soon.

I hope you liked my review of Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning .
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Mass Effect 3 Review

Hi my name is Nik and i am look at my favorite game, so far, of 2012:

The story of Mass Effect 3 starts with the Reapers invading Earth. Capitan Shepard escapes with one thing on his mind - finding help from any alien races, willing to fight against the Reapers. So your goal is to make, as many alliances as you can, in order to save the universe from the invaders.

The problem is that many races hate each other, the Krogan hate the Salarians and Turians for the genophage, the Quarians hate the Geth, the Batarians hate the Humans and the list goes on. And in the middle of all that, you have to forge alliances to help you win this war. Not an easy task, but very satisfying, if completed.

The gameplay has being improved from Mass Effect 2. For example you can do a combat roll, by holding any of the direction keys and double-clicking the use button. This makes the combat much more dynamic and engaging, compared to the previous games in the series. 

You have a bigger selection of weapons then before and the best part, is that the weapons are unique in there role and feel. Every assault rifle has different accuracy, fire rate and damage, so you can pick the one that suits your play style. Same goes for every other weapon type in the game.

Now for the problems - the ending is one big shit storm. In it BioWere include a new character in the last five minutes. The choices you have, make no sense and they have no impact on the ending. All of the 16 endings are the same, with very little difference from one another. But hopefully all of that will be fixed in the free DLC, that is coming out this summer.

Another major problem is the "From Ashes" DLC, witch for $10, adds a Prothean recruitment mission and a Prothean as a crew member.  And if you think this DLC is not very important, you are wrong, the Prothean tells you a lot of interesting things about the last Reaper invasion.  That is the most obvious cash milking i have ever seen and is the reason for people, like TotalBiscuit to boycott the game.  

So to top it all of Mass Effect 3 is a good game, with beautiful graphics, grate soundtrack, solid gameplay and a well written, engaging story. But with very bad, poorly taught ending and the DLC business its hard to give you a positive recommendation for this. If you haven't gotten the game yet, wait until the release of the free ending DLC, this summer. I hope it will make the game it better - not worst.  

Gameplay video - coming soon.

  I hope you liked my review of Mass Effect 3.

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Amnesia - The Dark Descent Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am taking a look and the scariest thing ever created:

The story of this horror-survival game is developing in the start of the nineteen century, in the creepy Brennenburg Castle. You play as Daniel, who remembers nothing more then his own name. His adventure starts at the first flour of the castle and there is only one way - down! 

Daniel has many question. How he got here? What is he supposed to do? What are all those monstrosities, stalking him, and where are they coming from? 

You find answers to all of them, but some of the answers are even more frightening, then the horrors lurking in the darkness...

One of the main mechanics is that you can go mad, if you stay in the darkness for too long. But if you stay in the light - the monsters see you. If you want to live, you must balance the time spend in the shadows or light.

Most of the monsters you encounter are the Gatherers, If they spot you - run fast, because those things run even faster. You can try to close doors or build barricades, but this will just slow them down - the freaks can brake them. If you want to stop the chase for good - hide ,or your body will forever stay in this freaky castle.

The atmosphere game achieves is amazing, even before you see the first monster. Amnesia has all the scary things you expect, but they are done better then ever before. Doors closing for no reason, pianos playing themselves, dark corridors and sounds, from the lower parts of the castle,  that can chill your blood.

Problems - the graphics are not the best i have ever seen, but that is all.

To top it all off Amnesia is the scariest, most intense horror game i have ever seen. So you like that sort of thing you will love Amnesia. If you don't consider this a challenge to complete it.

You can get it for Windows, Linux and Mac for about $10.

  I hope you liked my review of Amnesia - The Dark Descent.

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Proun Review

Hi my name is Nik and today is all about speed:

Proun - a abstract, racing game made by Joost van Dongen (music and sounds by Arno Landsbergen). This is not your typical racing game, as you probably figured out. In Proun you are not a car, but a ball. The track is not a road, its a tube. And the obstacles are not buildings, they are geometric shapes. So how does it work? Well you are a little white ball, stuck to the outside of a tube with other balls as your opponents. You can turn around the outer part of the tube, go forward and back, but you cant fall from it. Its like you are attracted to the tube by some invisible force. Your goals are simple - dodge obstacles, go fast and win.

Sounds simple, but its not, because going fast and avoiding obstacles are two things that, don't go well together. And when i say fast i mean fast, in fact "fast" is the slowest speed in the game. The other three are sonic , supersonic and speed of light. Very fitting names.

And if that was not fast enough you also have boost, witch you acquire, if you don't hit stuff or slow down for several seconds.

To top of that on almost every map has one speed ring, witch increases your speed by a lot. So if you are looking for something fast and skill based, this is a game for you.

This title has three championship mode maps, in witch you unlock the various speeds, tow more bonus tracks and most importantly - online highscores. And this is the addicting part of the game, you always try to get the perfect map run and get in the Top 10. And when you finally get there it's so satisfying as hell, and i know i am there. 

One of the nice features of Proun is that you can use 3D Studio MAX to make your own tracks. Also you can import tracks that other people made, and there are quite a few on the official website and in the forums. 

So problems. The only major i found is that my gamepad, a Genius Maxfire G-12U, makes the game crash to desktop. It works just fine with Xbox controller, witch most people use. The graphics are very basic, very abstract and kind of interesting. The music is jazz, witch is good for what it is, bit its just not my thing. And if you are like me you can always turn of  the music  and use winamp.   

To top it all off Proun is a very fun, addicting and unique game, with "pay what you want" system. Witch basically means that you can pay any price above € 1. If you are interested click here.

Gameplay video

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