Just started (sort of): Dragon Age II

I didn't really like Dragon Age: Origins - And yet I've started playing the sequel. Bad move.

Ok, technically I haven't "just started" playing Dragon Age II. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm over the halfway point. But I figured that I should at least make a post saying that I am in fact playing it. A big reason as to why I want to state that I'm playing it is because it has been eating up a whole lot of my time. Time better spent elsewhere to be honest. Mainly because I have so damn much I SHOULD do. Like watching anime, writing reviews, studying for my C# class, continue studying C++ or for the CCENT, or looking for actual work.

But no, instead of doing any those actually important and useful things I'm playing this mediocre RPG. So why do I do it even though I think it's mediocre? Because one thing it has gotten right is the addictive aspect. It's easy to think "I can play a little while longer" every time I beat a group of enemies or finish a quest - even if I didn't really enjoy doing those things. This is what I like to call "braindead gaming".

However, I'm not sure wether it's better or worse than Dragon Age: Origins yet.

Game review: Bayonetta (Xbox 360)

Killing angels have never felt - and looked so good!

Bayonetta is a third person shooter centering around a sexy four-gun wielding witch named Bayonetta who spends her days killing all kinds of angels in the most stylish manners.

What did I expect from Bayonetta before I began playing it?

I had heard that the game's pace was very fast, the visuals were cool and the heroine - Bayonetta herself was smokin' hot. That's about it.

Did it deliver on these aspects? Hell yeah it did! That and more!

One thing I hadn't heard about it that I love is the immensely entertaining "combo fighting style" the game uses, which I consider to be a mix of a fighting game and a hack n' slash. Or maybe most hack n' slash - like God of War and Devil May Cry - are like this. I haven't played many games in this genre. But if they're like Bayonetta, then consider me a future fan of those two franchises :)

Dishonored live preview

I'm watching a live streaming preview of the first-person stealth assassin game Dishonored at gamespot.com.

I have read a few articles about Dishonored in LEVEL (a Swedish gaming magazine), and from those articles, it seemed like a pretty badass game. My impression of it has only strengthened from watching bits of this preview. Generally I'm not too fond of sneaking games. I did somewhat enjoy Deus Ex: Human Revolutions - which I stealthed myself through. But besides that one... nah.
Dishonored however looks really fun, intense and challenging. I am definitely going to play this (although it's gonna be a while until I do that because of othergames I still haven't played) when I get the chance.

Just started: Bayonetta

I recently started playing Bayonetta - the game where you're a witch (who is a total babe) that hunt angels and demons. 

What I had heard about it before I started playing it was that it was a very high-paced and stylistic action game. That description is completely spot on! The story and characters may not be anything to cheer for. But the game oozes style from every part of it's being. And the speedy arcade style battles are furiously entertaining and addictive. Despite that I've only played through four chapters so far, my need to improve my own score and increase my halos (the game's currency) has gotten me to re-play those chapters several times.

I just hope that I won't get sick of this game before it ends. But right now I absolutely love this game!

Anime review: Ben-To

While innocently reaching for some half priced bento, You Satou finds himself beaten up on the floor of a supermarket. He soon learns that getting half-priced bento is an all-out brawl between customers. Satou is invited to the Half-Priced Food Lovers Club by one of the top fighters, Sen Yarizui (a.k.a. The Ice Witch), in order to train to compete in these battles.

Movie review: Looper

In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe. But Joe makes the biggest of mistakes when his older self gets sent back and manages to escape.

I went into Looper with extremely high hopes. I'm not fully sure where these expectations came from, but ever since I've heard about this movie, I've wanted to see it. And the more I noticed people and critics praising, the more I wanted to see it. I was so eager to see it I nearly wet myself. So it's no surprise why I came out of the theater a tad let down.

That's not to say that it was a bad movie. Not at all. In fact, it was a good sci-fi sction thriller. It had suspense, action, good characters, human drama, and even some comedy, and it didn't get tied up in the whole time travelling aspect.

Review: Invisible Worlds

Invisible Worlds is a BBC documentary mini series about things in our world that or eyes don't have the capacity to see. Too fast movements, infrared light, microscopic activities are some subjects these three episodes discuss.

The actual title (on IMDB at least) is "Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds". Richard Hammond is the narrator/presenter of the three episodes. And that's all he has to do with this series. Which is why I don't want to classify this series by that name. If he had been the main producer and/or the director, THEN I might have felt comfortable calling the series by that name.

Anyway, on to the actual documentary.

First things first; I loved this documentary. I loved it because it's gorgeous (duh, it's BBC), informative, interesting, cool, and really entertaining. I never felt bored while watching this. In fact, I was glued to the screen from the very first minute to the very last. I saw with some friends and we marveled at some incredible sequences and laughed because of some other ones.

Just Started: Ben-To

CHAAAAAARGE!!!

Ben-to: One day a poor freshman high school student named Satou You discovers a bento (boxed meal) on sale at half price at the local supermarket. Only to find out about the extreme fighting that breaks out over those half-priced bentos.

Expectations: Many annoyingly clichéd moments and stereotypical characters, but still filled with funny and silly stuff (hopefully at least).

First ep: Turned out to be somewhat better than that. No annoying clichéd moments, characters aren't very entertaining though, everything is silly - but not portrayed silly enough, and the humor wasn't 'lol' funny - just 'chuckle' funny.

Seems decent enough, with room for improvement.

Anime review: Another

In the spring of 1998, a 15 year old boy named Sakakibara Kouichi transfers to the countryside town Yamiyama. He soon grows suspicious of the fearful atmosphere surrounding his classroom - class 3. In particular, there is a strange girl named Misaki Mei who wears an eyepatch and is always alone drawing pictures.

Another is in many aspects a classic horror tale.The music, the setting, the mysterious and secretive inhabitants, and death. These aspects are nothing new, but used right it can result in an effective scary story.
Surprisingly, the end result turned out quite well.

The first half of the series was honestly very creepy. Now, while it wasn't actually downright scary, it is still among the scariest anime I've seen. And that is ...kinda sad actually when you think about it.

However, it's not just some creepy and gory scenes spread out over 12 episodes. There's also a mystery, a couple of romantic moments and some decent character development.

...But it's mainly creepy and gory scenes.

Just started: Another

It began with a very classic horror story vibe. Dark visuals, slow piano background music, a strange young girl, a new person in small town in the country side where the inhabitants all act secretive, and there seems to have been a horrible murder there years ago.
None of these aspects are anything new, but if they're handled right, the end result could be very good. However, horror stories usually end disappointingly, and this anime somehow seems like it's gonna fall into some "harem pitfalls". It just has that kind of appearance.

So, I'm hopeful, yet hesitant.

Anime review: Bakuman 2

Bakuman 2. the second season revolving around a pair of manga authors - Mashiro Moritaka and Takagi Akito - and their peers, as they try to make a name for themselves in the intense business world of manga publishing.

This was a terrific choice for my "return to anime", because it's so easily digestible and thus easy to marathon. I blasted through it in two days, and it didn't feel like a chore for a single second. When a series hooks you in in such a way that you just don't wanna stop watching it, you know they're doing something right.

One of the main reasons why I love this series so much is because of it's fantastic cast. Every single character is well written. They each have their own distinct personality, no one is perfect and we constantly get to see things from their perspective. I love how characters can be complete assholes at one moment, and very likable people in the next moment. Now that's what I call life-like :)

The cast is - to be honest - one of the overall best anime casts I've come across. And I've seen quite a bit of anime - or TV series all together. That is because every character is great by themselves, but also have very entertaining interactions with each other. Even minor aspects like Miura's and Yamahisa's rivalry is very entertaining, despite not amounting to much story-wise.

As for the negatives of this season; I feel that some may consider this to be TOO similar to the first season, because there is A LOT that is very similar. Personally, I just consider it to be more of the good stuff :)

Then there's also the OPs and EDs. They're not terrible, but they are definitely boring and I skipped them nearly every time. Granted, it's not a big thing and has nothing to do with the actual story, but for a series that's all about creating stuff the public will like, they sure dropped the ball in this aspect.

Also, I wasn't very fond of the whole "Takagi might cheat on Miyoshi" subplot, but fortunately,  it resolved itself both fast and satisfyingly. By the way, this seems like a good time to mention that Miyoshi is one of my favorite characters in the whole series. While not actually doing all that much, she is one of the strongest supporting pillars in the entire show.

The biggest minus I give it is that it is very childish/cheesy at times with some overly dramatic speeches and statements here and there. It may sound like a minor thing, but it's stuff like this that makes me weary of recommending many anime to my non-anime watching friends (i.e. all my friends). This is however nothing that detracted much of my overall enjoyment of it.

Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just another day in the manga business.

I'll end with saying thatI found this season be just as good as the first season. If you liked the first season then you'll almost definitely like this one as well. If you didn't like the first season, then you may as well stay away from this one.

"More of the same" has never rung so true and yet been so fulfilling.

8/9

More Gintama!

 

THIS IS THE GREATEST NEWS EVER!!!1!11oneon!

Sket Dance "handing over the baton" to Gintama

Yes, for those who are late to get this month-old news - like me - you can now rejoice, because according to Anime News Network, Gintama will start airing new episodes on October 4th. Gintama will be returning. Sket Dance will be handing over it's time slot to Gintama.Which really makes me wanna check out Sket Dance. But this post is about Gintama!

For those who don't know about Gintama, I feel sorry for you, because the parody/comedy goldmine that is Gintama is easily the series (anime or not) that I have laughed the most and the hardest to. I must have laughed myself to tears at least two dozen times while watching this. I wouldn't call it the "best" comedy, because they do have some episodes here and there that either focus on serious action (episodes I don't like at all) or touching drama (which is really moving sometimes and really boring other times). But it is without a shred of doubt the funniest series I've ever seen with it's character's outrageous reactions, deformed facial expressions, out-of-the-blue parodies, meta jokes, toilet humor, and constant fake-outs that they're getting cancelled.

Watch to episode 25 at least, dammit!

Now, if you haven't seen it but is planning to, keep in my mind that the first 15 to 20 episodes are among the worst of the entire series. I know, it's pretty inconveniant. But the way I view it is as some sort of test: "Get through these 'meh' episodes and you'll be rewarded with over 200 episodes of pure gold".

I remember once a few years ago when I felt really blue over a certain thing and nothing seemed to help. I felt down the entire day. Then I began watching the latest Gintama episode and I didn't even make it through the opening sequence before I had a huge grin on my face. It's truly the best 'pick me up' there is :)

I usually try not to overhype things I think are really good. But I just can't help it in this case, I love this series THAT much. And if you don't like it, well that's your opinion - but it's a stupid opinion. How can you not love stuff like this?

Let's go people-sledding!

Movie review: The Invention of Lying

I caught The Invention of Lying on TV yesterday. It started out great, the basic idea for it is really interesting. The world they live in where everyone tells the truth without holding anything back is hilarious in a refreshing, yet horrible way. This hilarity factor is of course greatly aided by Ricky Gervais' comic timing.

However, it does become quite a bit less entertaining the way it unfolds. That's not to say that it becomes terrible - just less enjoyable. But while it does take that route, the development of the main characters, and even this entire world is both well done and believable. The ending was also better than I expected.

All in all it's a decent and comfortable film.

6/9

More studying

In my previous post I wrote about how I'm studying for Cisco's CCENT certificate. That has however been put on a slight backburner (a couple of days before I even wrote that post - which was written just a few minutes ago ^^).

Why?

Because I've started a short course about how to use social medias for marketing. I figured that this class would be a much better way to get a decent job at least until I get my CCENT, but preferrably all the way until I get my CCNA.

Either way things go, Im pretty sure I'll also sign up for a certain IT education in a University. I'm taking it because then I'll learn more things than just the stuff the CCENT exam takes up (although that is quite a lot), and because I'll be able to study this even if I do have a job at the same time. Plus, if I have both a CCENT (and maybe a CCNA) AND a degree from this university, I'll surely find a well paying IT job pretty easily.

Now, this could (and mostly likely will) not happen until after quite a few months. So it's nothing I'll see pay off right this moment.

Oh, btw, the class I'm currently taking is being taught by a Swedish company called "MiROi".

CCENT

I have recently started studying for Cisco's CCENT certificate - "Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician". I mainly began doing this so that I could have an "advantage" when looking for entry level IT jobs. And if I want higher than entry level positions I'll try to go for Cisco's higher level certificate - CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate).

I used to think I was pretty good at this kind of stuff. But after having seen a few video lectures on this stuff, I realized just how poor my knowledge on this stuff is :)

Which is one reason why I really love studying for this stuff. Another reason is that this subject simply really interests me. I really want to know more about this subject. And I want to be able to do this for a living, or even as something I can brag about being able to do :P

Not to mention how many different kinds of jobs one's able to find with these kinds of certificates. And of course, the higher certificate 'levels' one has, the more different kinds - and higher payed - jobs one can find.

A minor downside to taking this certificate is that I need a job to be able to take because I need to travel to Stockholm - which costs a bit of money - and pay about $150 to take the exam. There's of course no certainty that I'll pass it on my first try either.

In the future I would really like to be able to take their highest certificate - the CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) - which has been said to be the equivalent of getting a Ph.D and is generally reported as the highest salaried certification in IT.

No Lawless in Luleå

Live in Luleå and want to see Lawless in the theaters? Haha, f*ck you!

A friend of mine and I were gonna go see Lawless in the theater on the premier date. But to our devastating horror we found out that Lawless - for some so far unknown reason - isn't being shown in our city. Granted, we do live in quite a small city (Luleå) in Sweden. But still, it's not like Lawless is some minor independent film with no-name people attached to it. The director, John Hillcoat, has previously made The Road, and it contains such actors as Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Shia LaBeouf and Gary Oldman.

Not to mention that the big blockbusters of the summer either has stopped showing in the theaters or are in their last days. So a movie like Lawless should be quite a big attraction at this time of the year. Now, I'm glad that a movie like the French "Intouchables" gets shown, but is there really more of a need to show a romantic comedy such as "Hope Springs" or the latest Resident Evil flick - "Resident Evil: Retribution"?

I'm assuming that some people would argue that Hope Springs have just as much of an audience as Lawless has. But to them I ask: 'But does it have an equal amount of viewers who will see it in the theaters?'. Because the kind of people I know that would love to see a movie like Hope Springs barely goes to the theaters at all. And if they go, they go to see the more "major" films, like the upcoming James Bond movie - "Skyfall".

Perhaps this is simply the ramblings of an upset spoiled nerd who hae already seen some of his most anticipated movies of the year this summer (The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises & The Amazing Spider-Man), and still wants more. Or perhaps this is a justified outcry of a faithful costumer of cinema who has seen this abominous mistake for what it is and brings truth to the people!

...ok, it's the first one.

Movie review: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

A friend of mine and I felt in the mood to watch a really silly comedy, and since neither of us had seen Anchorman in at least 5 years, we decided to rewatch it. And it was most definitely worth it :)

I haven't laughed this hard in several weeks. I nearly keeled over laughing in the "fight scene" and the scene following that. Not only that, it's also one of the few times when I've seen that particular friend of mine laugh just as hard. So we certainly enjoyed the movie.

One thing I just have to say is that it was actually sillier than I remembered. And I remembered it to be pretty damn silly. So effectively - it was ultra-silly! So much of the entire movie seems to be adlibbed. There are entire scenes where I wouldn't be surprised if it was completely made up of us Will Ferrell adlibbing the entire thing. One example that comes into mind is when Ferrell is having a conversation with his dog, Baxter, quite early on in the film.

While this isn't a "good film" by my standards, it is exactly what it advertises that it is, and it works extremely well. And therefor, I feel no quarrel with giving Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy an;

8/9

And I willl now anxiously await Anchorman 2.

Webcomics

In the previous post I said I'm obsessed with memcenter.com. So it should come to no surprise that I love a kind of "cartoon-y" type of humor. Which brings me to something else I love to watch and laugh to;

Webcomics!

I've loved comics just about my entire life. I've read them from as far back as to when I first learned to read, and I spent at least an hour yesterday reading comics. Now, when I say comics I don't mean comic books like Batman, Spider-Man, Watchmen etc, but titles such as Calvin & Hobbes, Garfield, Nemi (Swedish comic), and Zits.

As for webcomics, the kind of stuff I mostly read are the more cynical and twisted, but still very silly and humorous. My biggest favorite is easily Cyanide & Happiness. Here's an example:

There are threee others I also love to read.

AmazingSuperPowers:

bug comic:

Penny Arcade:

Then there are some that I find to be pretty damn funny, but are either just not quite as good as the first four, or there's jst not enough of them for me to place them on that same pedestal. Some of those included are The Loading Artist, Whomp comic, and Awkward Zombie.

Obsession of the moment

I almost always have some sort of obsession - a certain movie, song, artist, website, excersice form or whatever. Sometimes I have several obsessions at a single time. This mostly happen when I have a certain obsession that have kept with me for a longer period of time. And this kind is currently my only obsession.
For a lot of people (most people?) that obsession would be Facebook. But for me, it's none other than memecenter. I go through this site several times a day and I go through each and every featured meme on this site. I still haven't gotten around to making memes myself though.

If you like humor (who doesn't?), check it out if you haven't already.

Googled myself

I just googled myself - with my real name - and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find any single thing about myself. It does have something to do with me having a very common name. But still, nothing? I'm guessing it's because I'm never called by my actual name by my friends IRL, but with a nickname I've had just about my entire life. Not to mention how I pretty much never use Facebook either. In fact, the only social media I use where my real name is written is my Twitter. And even there my username is "Kenikki_".

I do have to say that I don't find this to be negative at all. Sure, some may say that I don't turn up because I live such an event-less life, but I think it's merely because of the lack of Facebook usage and how I try to keep my online life seperate from my IRL life.
When I'm online I pretty much always use a couple of certain usernames. Mainly because of this exact thing. I don't want to be able to be tracked online. I'm quite paranoid about it. So in the end I'm pleased with the result.