31/08/2013 - AIKa ZERO and General Procrastinating.

Two updates in a row! I think that might be a record... -shrugs-

Warning: Contains spoilers 

AIKa ZERO - Episode 1 Opening Card - Source: Personal Image/VLC Screenshot

Well as the title says, I've spent the evening watching AIKa ZERO. It's a fairly amusing ecchi anime that focuses on the life of a girl/woman called Aika Sumeragi. Nearly every single frame includes a panty-shot and every single character that is defeated or falls over lands on their face with their butt in the air... All the same unlike a lot of the anime in this genre, it actually has a plot.

The first series was released a longgg~ time ago (back in 1997, I was 6 haha)! In the original series Aika is a famous Salvager that works for a company hired to retrieve artifacts from the sea bed after the recent apocalypse. Aika boasts an S-Class Salvager license which makes her highly sought after by clients.The series is just 7 episodes and a single OVA, however the story progresses quite quickly and overall isn't that bad. I'd say if you're open-minded, you shouldn't turn your nose up at it. Maybe a 6/10

The second series is known as AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission (harhar, nice naming) focuses on the high school period of Aika's life. In this series she has only just achieved her C-Class license and is actively seeking work via posting bulletins on the school board. The story quickly turns the focus to a young girl called Karen, who is suspected to be something extraordinary. The series is even shorter than it's elder at just three episodes, however I actually found R-16 more enjoyable than the original, possibly due to the improved animation and more comedy-focused story. In my book, I rate the series a 7/10 overall.

AIKa ZERO is based three years after R-16 just as AIKa has become a significant part of the salvaging company in the first series. This series jumps in to the alien genre as attractive high school girls are being abducted and then reappearing with no memory of their abduction. The alien seems to take the form of a high school girl with glowing tentacles that tranquilises girls in an... 'interesting' way, you see where this is going, don't you? I'd rate this series at the same level as R-16, a solid 7/10.

Now... I'm no otaku, but I'd say if you're heavily interested in the ecchi anime genre or are just looking for something slightly different, definitely give the AIKa series a watch.

As far as fansubbers go, there are varying qualities available through niizk and Seto-Otaku are probably the highest standard with WHW bringing up the rear... See what I did there?

I would have actually played some more The Last of Us multiplayer today, but unfortunately we've spent the entire day downloading World of Warcraft on my girlfriend's laptop. Oh well, I'm sure my clan can live without me for one day... I hope...

Anyway, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of AIKa, do you like ecchi or completely dislike it? Feedback is always great, discussion normally leads to progression!

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30/08/2013 - The Last of Us Multiplayer

Well it's my first daily update and definitely not my last. The majority of the day has been spent playing The Last of Us online, specifically 'Survivors' mode.

Warning:  May contain spoilers!

Essentially today was my last day on the Firefly journey as I finished my 12th week with 72 clan members remaining at the end. Unfortunately it was not enough for me to receive the Skull Mask but it got me the gold trophy so I'm not particularly bothered.

Survivors mode is a great choice for when the high risk situations arise (60% and 100% population threats). Each game of Survivors typically lasts around 15-20 minutes and usually yields between 3000 and 5000 parts, so it is great for increasing your clan as well as completing the mission requirements.

I'd also advise for anyone wanting an easy ride through the 100% missions to take the Crafter 2/3 perk and select the gifting allies challenge, it's incredibly easy to get the tier 3 mission stage done in the three days allocated.

Although I enjoyed The Last of Us mutliplayer for the most part, I can't say I'll enjoy doing the same 84 matches again to finish the Hunter journey. Thankfully patch 1.03 released today has added a much needed third multiplayer mode, it's still kind of boring playing the same 6 or so maps, but I'll go into that on my platinum review which should arrive within the next week or so.

A big problem with this game is the matchmaking system. The 1.03 patch supposedly improved the situation, however the second game I entered I was placed in a team consisting of the following ranks: 0 - 9 - 13 - 11 while the opposing team consisted of 114 - 223 - 174 - 153 ... Seeing the problem? This just adds insult to injury when the players with extreme lag can shoot you through a wall with an arrow when you've been hiding for five seconds already.

The most worrying thing is, Naughty Dog's track record for breaking multiplayer games is certainly higher than their record for improving them (take Uncharted 3 as an example).

Anyways, another update tomorrow and I'll hopefully do something other than play The Last of Us... I have a fair few anime episodes to catch up on!

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Time to Take Blogging Seriously!

Hi guys!

Well after several failed attempts at taking blogging seriously (namely Wordpress and Tumblr, ugh) I've decided to create a Blogger account!

The posts on this blog will be varying from updates for my new website that is under development, 100%/Trophy reviews, discussions and general significant events that happen in my life... The last one is probably the least frequent!

Anyway, to further elaborate on these points, here goes:

- Website Updates

It has come to my attention that the various websites that gamers use for walkthroughs and information are starting to become rarer. The main genre that is taking a hit is RPGs, which seem to be confined almost entirely to Wikia sites or resource sites that have not been updated for several months or even years.

This struck me as a bit of a problem, since some of the most popular games are the older ones such as the Final Fantasy, Suikoden and Breath of Fire series. Based on this information I have decided to construct a website as a one-stop website that will contain all the information required to get the most out of these games. The information will be thoroughly analysed and tested before release with high-standard documentation, images and videos to help every visitor to the site.

- 100%/Trophy Reviews

This was another personal decision based on the current circulation of media around the internet. Too many people are buying games or formulating opinions generated by the larger gaming sites. To be blunt, this annoys me. I understand that analysing the information they have accumulated is great, but buying a game based solely on what someone else has said about it is ridiculous. Now, I know this covers the entire reviewing circle, but hear me out.

I will be providing in depth reviews of games only after I have achieved 100% of the trophies on PS3 and played both online (if applicable) and offline modes thoroughly. This should give players more of an insight into what to expect of the game if they are not buying it directly after release.

- Discussions

As you might have gathered from my Facebook, Twitter and Google+ profile, I'm quite a large fan of anime. A great concept with anime and manga is the huge amount of theories that the fans from all over the world formulate and post on the various forums around the internet. I find some of the theories to be incredibly interesting and exciting to read (even the crazy ones such as the ones surrounding Sabo in One Piece). So if possible I'd like to provide an area to discuss individual anime episodes and manga chapters as well as whole series and find out what you think about the current happenings in these crazy universes.

TL;DR - It's worth following this blog, so do it for me, please?