Botanicula, the Indie Adventure

So there I was browsing through the games that Steam had to offer and this game popped right into my view. Botanicula is an indie game by Jaromir Plachy and Amanita Design Studios. This little fella is more than meets the eye.

You point and click your way through a world full of wonders. Five tree friends are the heroes of the game and their goal is to plant the last seed of their tree manifested by parasites. The animation is amazing in a different way. The characters and the monster are very detailed and I loved the sounds they make.

Even the music takes you to this botanical place. Although the game didn't last that long (3 hours) I'd say it was fun and entertaining. It's something an adult and a child could play.
Let me just show what I mean with the screenshots ;)

Dishonored.... What a Surprise!

So this will be the first game to review using my beloved geforce gtx670. I bought this game on a whim.... Didn't think at all. Just looked at the Amazon reviews and thought I'd have to take it. It just came out and it has received praise although the cover doesn't reveal much (but which cover does anyway?!).

After seeing this....

and this.... I thought ok, now THAT doesn't look to shabby. It was described as a steampunk adventure and since I've not had anything to do with that genre I thought what the hell. Then I did press some key to continue and what pop up looked something like this....

I couldn't believe my eyes and my head was screaming "oh no you didn't" while snapping at me from left to right. It was a freaking ego-shooter-adventure game!!! You guys have no idea how much I hate ego-shooters and it all goes back to that one moment when I was around 8 years old and the first installment of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider came out. I was in something close to the ego perspective and suddenly a freaking tiger jumped at me from nowhere! It scared me shitless and I guess it's sort of a trauma that I got from that experience. Anyways, I gave myself a push and just freaking finished the tutorial, let it sit for a couple of days, until today.... It was like BOOM! It hit me.... This game is freaking amazing!

You start out somewhere in prison because you have been falsely accused of murdering the empress. You then belong to a sort of rebel outlaw group trying to rescue the empress' daughter and reinstating the empire. You do not only get a sword as your weapon, you get to choose from many options for your left hand. Use guns, crossbows, traps or grenades. And what would the world be without magic?! You have been chosen by a magic organisation and you've been granted powers. Your character Carvo equips these spells/ abilities on the left hand too. Special powers range from slowing time to summoning rats to kill for you.

Your character becomes an assassin an the game is getting more fun to play by the minute. Once you start mastering all the hotkeys, settings and moves... believe me, this game uses far more keys than I'm used to.

You also have the option to upgrade your equiptment and learn new special abilities by collecting runes. This game has charmed me and is so much more than just some ego-shooter adventure. The devil lays in the details and satan did a really good job here!

Now, here are some screenshots for you! Enjoy and have fun gaming!

Back in the Game!

I just realized that my last post has been a while.... almost a year now... I will make up for the lost time though ;)

I am finally a proud parent of my new baby the Asus Geforce GTX 670!

After having to upgrade my power supply as well, I am now running games at the highest posible resolution! I've been waiting so long for this and now I can share the results with you! So be excited about better screenshots and hopefully better reviews that are not tainted by lags or hang ups.

The Wedding

Nicholas Sparks has done it again... He has suprised me with a heart-warming story about long-term love and life.
Whenever I pick up a Nicholas Sparks book, I am always looking forward to the little secrets the characters harbor and the little twists and turns along the way until fate puts everything into place to create big droplets coming out of my eyes.

The Wedding is exactly that, a seemingly ordinary love story with a big bang at the end.
The story revolves around one of Allie and Noah Calhoun's children named Jane. She has been married to Wilson Lewis for 30 years and their marriage has turned rocky over the years.
To top the whole situation off, Wilson even forgot their Anniversay and as a result, Jane started to emotionally disconnect form him.

Wilson startet seeking help from Noah, who was known to be a true romantic. Wilson soon starts to make daily efforts in getting back together emotionally and physically. It takes him one year to prepare for the
biggest surprise that Jane will ever receive and in the end he succeeds and wins back the heart of his wife.

What I loved about this story aside from the climax were the little things that Wilson tried to do to get closer to Jane. Nicholas Sparks had written it with great care, elaborating how difficult the process of reclaiming a relationship really is. I felt this book, that is the only way I can explain how the book touched me. This book taught me patience and repairing the seeminlgy irreparable.


Excerpt from The Wedding:

"Okay," Jane said as we stood in the drive. "I guess that's it."
Anna was waiting in the car.
"You'll call, right? I mean, if anything comes up."
"I promise," I said. "And say hey to Leslie for me."
As I opened the car door for her, I could already feel the heat of the day bearing down on me.
The air was thick and heavy, making the homes up the street look hazy.
Another scorcher, I thought. "Have a good time today," I said, missing her already.
Jane nodded and took a step toward the open door. Watching her, I knew she could still turn the head of any man. How had I become middle-aged while the ravages of time ignored her?
I didn't know and didn't care, and before I could stop then, the words were already out.
"You're beautiful," I murmured.
Jane turned back with a look of faint surprise. By her expression, I knew she was trying to figure out
whether she'd heard me correctly. I suppose I could have waited for her to respond, but instead I did what was once as natural to me as breathing. Moving close before she could turn away, I kissed her gently, her lips soft against my own. 
This wasn't like any of the other kisses we'd shared recently, quick and perfunctory, like acquaintances greeting each other. I didn't pull back and neither did she, and the kiss took on a life of its own. And when we finally drew apart and I saw her expression, I knew with certainty that I'd done exactly the right thing.

Skyrim: My Game of the Year 2011

I've been waiting quite a while for Skyrim to arrive. I've travelled with my Dunmer through the plains and dungeons of Morrowind, fought the Oblivion in Cyrodiil and now my Dunmer has inflicted some serious Dragon damage!

Skyrim is the province in the north ruled by the nord. It is located in between Hammerfell, Cyrodiil and Morrowind. This is also the place where dragons were said to have lived, and will now relive again. You are a Dragonborn also known as Dovahkin, a person born with a dragon soul and a person who is able to use the dragon's language called Dragon Shouts. You are able to kill dragons and absorb their spirits, which can be used to learn more Dragon Shouts.

The World Eater or commonly called Alduin has returned to Skyrim and this malevolent dragon has to be killed. This is where you come in as the Dragonborn. The legends say that only the Dragonborn can kill Alduin. Alduin was once banished by an Elder Scroll and now you have to use such a scroll in order to gain knowledge of the past and how to kill Alduin,

In the end you are the Hero of Skyrim and all is well. You are then left with a number of side- and miniquests you could do. You could buy yourself a nice shack or become the archimage of the Academy of Winterhold (Mages). The world is open for your conquests and hopefully open to new expansion packs from Bethesda.

I thank the Bethesda Team a million times in my head every day for having created this epic game. The graphics are so real that they are even better than reality. You get absorbed into the game and forget that for once you actually have a life outside too. The combat modes are much better now than in the predecessor Oblivion. You can now combine attacks such as two spells or magic and melee etc. The third person view also improved and it doesn't seem like you don't have control over your character anymore.

The classes are still the same, but the levelling has changed. While you work on levelling skills in order to gain a level up, you can now distribute Talent Points in which you can choose a skill such as Destruction and level a certain Talent such as Fire Damage which will allow you a 30% higher damage rate or such. This makes levelling extra fun and the skills are shown in form or Zodiac Signs.

There are plenty more additions and improvements such as the alchemy lab and blacksmith equipment. You can now mine raw materials such as coal or mercury and smelt them into ebony or mercury bars and then again smith them into armor, weapons or jewelry. There is just so much time that you could spend in this game and you will never regret a second. Skyrim is my personal favorite of 2011. I don't even think it can top other games that are to come out except a new Elder Scrolls adventure.

As always, let the pictures talk. (Game is in German)

Alduin

Dragon Shout

Alduins defeat

Paarthurnax, brother of Alduin