Battle of the "Snakes"

You might notice something about my title for this blog. You might think about snakes like anacondas, pythons, cobras, etc. I won't be talking about these kind of snakes but the "snakes" from the Metal Gear series. (Note: I would emphasize this game on my next game review.)



You might be wondering about the "snakes". What are they?? or Who are they??
There are four "snakes" from the video game series.

1.Naked Snake

2.Solid Snake


3.Liquid Snake


4.Solidus Snake

For this blog entry about structuralism, I'm going to talk about Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. You might be wondering why I chose these 2 snakes. Well, Solid Snake and Liquid Snake are clones of Naked Snake. Same goes to Solidus Snake. Solid and Liquid has a huge rivalry. Solid is the protagonist while Liquid is the antagonist.
Their rivalry started in "Metal Gear Solid". Liquid resembles Snake in terms of facial appearance and physique coz they are clones. One of Liquid's motivations is his hatred towards Solid Snake, as Liquid believes that Solid received all of Naked Snake's superior genes, and that he, Liquid, was destined to be inferior. It is revealed after the credits, that Liquid was intentionally deceived in order to drive him to carry on Naked Snake's legacy. This is in line with the game's interpretation of the nature versus nurture debate. As the greater experience that Solid has on the battlefield enables him to defeat Liquid, despite his supposed "genetic superiority" and his personal grudge with Solid, due to him thinking Solid is in fact the superior one. Their rivalry ended in Metal Gear Solid 4 when Solid finally defeats Liquid via CQC (Close-Quarters Combat). The CQC battle between the two is very memorable and climatic because its show flashbacks between the two brothers during the battle. This emphasizes the the huge clash between the twin brothers.

The Twin Snakes




(I WILL FURTHER EXPLAIN THIS ON MY NEXT BLOG ENTRY ABOUT GAME REVIEWS)

Grand Theft Auto IV Review (Playstation 3)

"Welcome to America"-Niko Bellic

The American Dream. What does the American dream mean today? This is what Niko Bellic (protagonist) first thought about when he arrived to Liberty City (based on New York City). The Grand Theft Auto series,in my opinion, is one of the best! They redefined the sand-box genre or in other words Open World gameplay. The third chronological title, Grand Theft Auto III, was widely acclaimed as it brought the series to a 3D setting and more better experience, and is considered a landmark title that has subsequently influenced many other open world action games and lead to the label "Grand Theft Auto clone" on similar games. Games like Mafia,Saint's Row, Driver series, etc. are considered as a "GTA clone". The series gives you so much freedom, it got lots of controversy. The character you control can kill,steal , and rob. The series is very influential. There has been many cases of teenagers trying to imitate the character in the series. However, even though the series received many controversies, the series has been a major success, both critically and financially. Grand Theft Auto IV is the biggest game ever in the series.


The game is set yet again to Liberty City(Liberty City first appeared in the first Grand Theft Auto and second in Grand Theft Auto III).

The Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City features a more striking resemblance to New York City.
City's Motto: "Worst Place in America."


This time the game stars Niko Bellic. He moved to Liberty City to forget his past and pursue the "American Dream". He was persuaded to move by his cousin Roman. During his stay in Liberty City, he was exposed to the city's criminal underground.
Niko Bellic

He started working for the Russian Mafia, Jimmy Pegorino (a mobster), corrupt deputy commissioner, drug dealers, Dimitri Rascalov (Game's antagonist) and the like. The good thing about Niko is that he is very down-to-business person, and is very protective when it comes to his family and loved ones, especially Roman. He even said during the game that if someone messes with Roman, he will be there to protect him. The game has two endings. The first ending is where Niko's girlfriend, Kate McReary, was killed Pegorino because of Niko's "Betrayal" to him. This made Niko furious. As the result, Niko killed Pegorino in Happiness Island. The second ending shows the death of Roman by the hands of Dimitri. Similar to Pegorino's, Niko killed Dimitri in Happiness Island.
Happiness Island: The game's version of real-life Liberty Island


The Verdict:
Rating: 6/5
Why 6/5? The game is truly outstanding! There is no other game like this. You have the freedom to do anything.

+ Good Story
+ Awesome Characters
+ Gameplay is similar to previous games but better
+ GAME OF THE YEAR!
+ Must Have or Must Buy!


Reviews
by G4TV:
Video Review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcxcLld5cAV
Complete Review:
http://www.g4tv.com/games/ps3/35421/grand-theft-auto-iv/review/

by IGN:
Video Review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNYVh0lVeoE
Complete Review:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/869/869541p1.html

"Dead Men's Path" by Chinua Achebe

The "Dead Men's Path" is a short story about a bright and ambitious headmaster named Obi who soon finds that his ignorance over the ancestry of his people can bring about the worst of fates. Here, he totally ignores the culture and the tradition by closing the path. This "path" is very important to the villagers because the "path" leads to a somewhat like a burial ground. After closing the path, karma struck Obi when the villagers destroyed the school he's working on. The story is about tradition versus modern-day methods. This is what Chinua Achebe emphasizes on. Most of his writings is about Western customs taking over old tradition. In my opinion, even though modernization is very common nowadays, traditions are still traditions. the story illustrates the importance of respecting and remembering traditions that may seem odd and old-fashioned, but have lived long in the hearts of the people who follow them. There are some tradition that my family thought me that I'm still able to cope up with. Until now, I have to "Mano Po" to my parents and grandfather. This is a sign of respect to them. I could say that I'm very modernized but following some old tradition isn't bad coz it is a form of respect to those who made the tradition and those who are still following it until now.

The Story of an Hour Resolution

She died out of joy after seeing her husband alive from the railroad accident. She was brokenhearted as soon as she found out the "death" of her husband. However, she began to feel an unexpected sense of exhilaration. "Free! Body and soul free!" is what she believes is a benefit of his death. This probably stressed her out causing her heart problem to worsen. After seeing her husband, her heart probably exerted too much effort because of her happiness, causing her death.
In my opinion, the shifting of "Mrs. Mallard" to "Louise" emphasizes that she is now a widow coz her husband died.

God of War III Review (Playstation 3)

"The measure of a man is what he does with power"-Plato
Revenge. Vengeance. Chaos. Death. These words often symbolizes the God of War franchise. For those who doesn't what God of War is, the God of War franchise is one of the most well known game on the Playstation Brand. It uses ancient Greek mythological themes, and follows the adventures of a Spartan warrior known as Kratos.


His journey began as a mortal Spartan captain. Feared by his enemies for his ruthless tactics and stunning strategy. After the release of the franchise, Kratos became one of the most recognized character in video game history.


God of War III is the fifth installment in the series. This game serves as the final chapter in the saga. For the third game, Kratos' journey is about to conclude because his mission is to destroy Olympus! Impossible? IT'S POSSIBLE WHEN KRATOS IS AROUND. The story picks up where the God of War II ended. Kratos' wants his revenge towards his father, Zeus. Zeus betrayed him in the second game by killing him. However, Gaia and the other titans revived Kratos in order to avenge their defeat during the Titanomachy or The War of the Titans. In the third game, the second Titanomcahy is about to come forth with Kratos on the side of the Titans. The Gods did everything to stop Kratos. But in the end, Kratos did the unthinkable. Kratos was able to destroy Olympus and defeat all of the Gods. Even the omnipotent Zeus was not able to the mighty Kratos. In the end of the game, Kratos killed himself because his vengeance has ended. However, at the end of the credits, Kratos' body isn't seen and a trail of blood leading towards a cliff. Kratos' final fate is unknown. The reason why I bought this game is the Gore factor and its Storyline. There is no shortage of blood in this game. Kratos is very brutal, ruthless, merciless, and savage (e.g. Kratos killed Helios by ripping his head off with his bare hands). BeforeDuringAfterThis game made me like Greek Mythology. Even though Kratos isn't part of the Greek Mythology, he will be part of the gaming history and be remembered as the Biggest Bada**. The biggest praise I could give this game is its Graphics. The game's graphics is phenomenonal and outstanding. Kratos looked awesome in this game compared to the previous games. The game's gameplay is similar to the previous installments which is good. This game is highly recommended for gamers who wants action, brutality and amazing story.


The Verdict:
Rating: 5/5
+ Awesome Graphics
+ Amazing Storyline
+ Epic Boss Battles

RECOMMENDATION:
Watch this Documentary about the God of War Series
Title: God of War: Unearthing the Legend
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUShdKXps-k
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrrXG-6moEs
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86QdpkLOh84
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMe-sPtv22E
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1nak7gBJKs
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icmb9kwk5ZA
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmgNG_EvHTk

Review made by IGN:
Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UatNNZQASyI
Complete Review: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/107/1075014p1.html

Review made by Gamespot:
Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDhXxbJkXjg
Complete Review: http://asia.gamespot.com/ps3/action/godofwariii/review.html

Review made by X-Play(G4TV):
Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwnbiXN5rfs
Complete Review: http://www.g4tv.com/games/ps3/44695/god-of-war-iii/

Resident Evil 5 Review (Playstation 3)

Resident Evil. One of the most iconic franchise in video game history. The franchise redefined the Survival Horror genre. Every one in the gaming universe knows Resident Evil. Zombies. Zombies made the game series very memorable. Who knew zombies will be scary? But for the new installment (Resident Evil 5), it became a Survival Action game instead of the usual Survival Horror. Why? It wasn't that scary compared to the previous games. The new Zombies, the "Majinis", doesn't look scary coz their outward appearance is similar to ordinary people only with glowing red eyes. And there are no night sequences in the game so this greatly reduced the scare factor of the game. On the bright side, the story, gameplay, and the graphics are outstanding. These three are the reason why I bought the game. The game's story is a direct sequel to the Resident Evil series, and continues chronologically after Resident Evil 4. The game stars Chris Redfield (from the first Resident Evil) who is now a member of Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) and Sheva Alomar.
The game took place in Africa. Their mission is to prevent bio-organic weapon (BOW) being on the black market. Chris and Sheva found out that Albert Wesker (the main antagonist of the first Resident Evil) is behind all of this. They also found out that Wesker is controlling Jill Valentine (partner of Chris in the first game, presumed dead after pushing Wesker out of the building).


(Left)Jill Valentine (Right)Albert Wesker















After fighting their way through waves of Majinis, large bat-like creature, and many Majini variation, they were able to catch up to Wesker. The battle began. They were able to release Jill from Wesker's control. However, Wesker escaped and rode in a stealth jet. Chris and Sheva was able to make it. The fight continues until the jet crashed to a nearby volcano. The battle ended when the duo fired a RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) to Wesker. And that's it. Now for the gameplay. The gameplay is very similar to Rresident Evil 4 which is good in my opinion. (Left) Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Right) Resident Evil 5 (360/PS3)
And finally the graphics. Graphics is top-notch. The only problem is that I can't fully describe the game's graphics coz I don't have a HDTV. :(



The Verdict:
I will rate the game a 4 out of 5.

+ Top-Notch Graphics
+ Story
+ Cooperative Multiplayer
- Not Scary

This review was made by ME!


Review made by IGN:

Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRShlPAC_iM
Complete Review: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/960/960212p1.html

Review made by Gamespot:

Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FYFXo33-Wo
Complete Review: http://asia.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/residentevil5/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary%3Bread-review

"The Use of Force" Plot

The Plot

The doctor narrates the whole story. The Olsons called the doctor to report their daughter,Mathilda Olson, about her illness. They are willing to pay the three dollar fee for his visit. Mathilda Olson is an unusually attractive child who clearly has a high fever, and the doctor sets out in his best professional manner to discover the cause. The doctor discovered that Mathilda is hiding her sore throat for three days. Mathilda was furious and ran away from her father's lap.

My Reaction

The Story is long but the main part of the story is very short. I was expecting something different when I was read the title. When I read the story, I found out that the use of force involves a doctor opening a girl's mouth. So I was kinda disappointed. But, Overall the story is good that shows the love of the parents to their daughter.