Yeap. I got caught in Fallout 3. Being a fan of the series, I jumped on the third game. As said by many, it is Oblivion With Guns. Like Oblivion, you have a main quest and a bucketload of sidequests, you are free to progress in the main quest at the rythm you wish. Having heard of the impossibility to continue after the ending of the main quest, I decided to take on the sidequests, to savor the game and appreciate the whole game setting. Like Morrowind, you sooner or later have a bunch of assholes out to get your head for some reasons. In Fallout 3, those are the Talon Company mercenaries, apparently the fact that my character did some good deeds did not sit well with them.

Of Fallout, Fallout 3 have the game setting, its famous post-nuclear holocaust (Mad Max: the Road Warrior, AND Hokuto no Ken comes in mind) with a twist of 1950s flair in term of imagery, music and design (this decade having the sweet scent of terror by uranium, plutonium and hydrogen). From the two first games, it also have the S.P.E.C.I.A.L attribute system and the VATS.

From the Elder Scrolls games, especially Oblivion, Fallout 3 have firstly the playable character creation that involves you in building up your character, being a pen and paper RPG veteran I do care more for a video game character when I build it myself and not getting spoonfed a background story, especially in a genre pretending to emulate the likes of Dungeons & Dragons or Shadowrun. Secondly, like in Oblivion, you have the mini-games, when you try to lockpick or hack. Then you have the crafting, I am enjoying making bottlecap mines; sadly, unlike Oblivion and Morrowind, you are limited to crafting weapons, whereas in Morrowind and Oblivion, you craft potions, or magical items. Finally, you have the degradation of weapons and armors, picking up weapons off dead raiders for the spare parts, so you can repair them IS crucial if you fight a lot.

This game had gotten a lot of complains from fans, like the weakness of the main quest (that’s why I am taking my sweet time to do sidequests). However, it is not a game without its own merits. If I can credit Beteshda’s work for one thing, here it is: Fallout 3 is the most immersive game ever, a dozen of Squarenix wankfest cutscenes cannot go up against the way the Wastelands suck you in and grab you in its deadly beauty. Personally, I am enjoying my time scavenging loot and roaming the ruins to kill random raiders, or supermutants like a Serbian sniper.

Is Fallout 3 a good game compared to the two first? It is in no way worse than Fallout 1 & 2 as fans made it to be. True, some elements ought to be improved; however, parts of this game makes it a bit more enjoyable than the two first games. Weren’t you annoyed to not being able to run the fuck away from Deathclaws when the fight turned against you because you had no more action points? In Fallout 3, due to its FPS-like nature, you can hope to escape from them or walk back while raining bullets from your chinese assault rifle or gatling. Let’s not forget the editors and mods that are bound to be released by Beteshda and fans.

There are one thing I regret about Beteshda’s take on Fallout universe: if only there was a MMORPG set in this universe. Maybe it will provide an excellent alternative to Azeroth I never found compelling to begin with. And let’s say it frankly, I am sick and tired of seeing WoW everywhere. I am sick and tired of seeing MMO publishers not being daring enough to explore other genres; and when they does, it is overshadowed by WoW anyway. We can argue that the console RPG scene is also dominated by the Squarenix hegemony, and ought to have a bit of fresh air.

Ennio Morricone!

The legendary Italian composer of modern times, my personal favorite, celebrated his 80th birthday.

It looks like Komachi Onozuka slacked off, for the good of the world of music.

Some music from him

That idealist that still have not died: “Yaaaaay.”

My more pessimistic jaded self: “Countdown before a white power nutcase decide to pull a Lee Harvey Oswald on the new prez…”

If in term of social the election of Obama marked a turning point in History, the hardest have yet to come. Not just on the international level, the challenges to overcome are also in the economic level. When one think about it, the fatal blow on the Republicans may have been this ongoing crisis. It’s not like Obama’s take is flawless. However, a majority of US citizens had been fed up with eight years of Bush. They called for a change, it is not certain that McCain could bring it.
True, McCain should not bear the blame of Bush’s doings. However, I feel that it is Dubya’s policy and legacy that weighted against McCain. After eight years banking on a polarized america and world (us vs them, good christian vs evil arabs), maybe people had enough, perhaps they wanted a more positive outlook at the world, so they chose that guy who have not as much political experience as MCCain or Hillary, and is yet untouched by the rampant cynicism in political circles. By 2012, the Republicans will have to show a less ultra facade if they want to win, and this is not counting the results of Obama’s politics (I do wish success for Obama tho).

My thought as a frenchman? This election have come about fourty years after Martin Luther King’s assassination. If it is not poetic justice, I don’t know what else is. Sure, there are a bit of hope coming with this election. However, don’t get this hope too high, or the fall and wake up to reality will be very hard.

On the other hand, Obama can look at the bright side: he does NOT have to rule Frenchmen!

For a more interesting link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/e-a-hanks/gop-rip_b_141155.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/obama-wins-why-all-americ_b_141159.html

1.　1037　Hiiragi Kagami
2.　976　Hiiragi Tsukasa

The fight, in despite of its lower vote turnout, have been very tight. If the last rush tells anything, Kagami was very close to lose while Tsukasa had many opportunities to win.

Thoughts

Before it started, I admit I have given up on Saimoe. I was mentally prepared to see ARIA girls being helpless, Clannad and L*S to be mercilessly wiped out (Kanon 2006’s performance, and L*S’s was quite telling). I expected Fate to finally grab her title since Rozen, for the first time in three years, is not in the tournament. However, against my beliefs, Clannad and L*S were doing waaaaay better than I ever expected. HnG have proven that they were still a force to count on, while the Minami sisters have confirmed they could make it very far with a little more support, yet they were not strong enough. The biggest surprises were Nagisa Furukawa, performing well better than Tomoyo and Kyou in despite of her lower popularity in her own fanbase, Fuuko who beat the big favorite, Fate Testarossa AND the Bamboo Blade Girls, Tamaki and Kirino who managed to make it to the top 8. Some lamented the lack of variety. However, I interpret it in another way. The fanbases of the characters who are usually the big targets of tactical voting have grown a bit wiser and more dedicated. The more telling example are without a doubt Kagami fans and Hinagiku fans. While their vote graphs seems to be boring for most of people (dominating all the way and not giving the opponent a chance), it just shows that, for Hinagiku and Kagami, overkill is not enough.
I had low expectations for this Saimoé. However, it have gone against my expectations and have followed my dimmest hopes and wishes. For a change, it was the KYoAni fans who have gotten their funs and I say, it is about fucking time. Enjoy your victory, guys. It’s only a one time thing. This will not happen ever again.

My Expectation: Fate grab the title and is Saimoé Queen 2008.

My Hope: For a change, a KyoAni make it to the final and maybe win it.

Just as Planned of Saimoe 2008: Hinagiku and the Hiiragi twins irresistible ascension.

Not As Planned of Saimoe 2008 : Fate losing to Fuuko.

Not as Expected of Saimoe 2008: Nagisa, Tamaki and Kirino.

The Dark Horse of Saimoe 2008: Fuuko Ibuki.

I’ll just try to look into the elements of the arc.

The Characters

Sunohara Youhei

While not the lead of the series, he is the focus of this arc, with his sister. From how I see it, Youhei somehow ran away from the main issue during most of the arc. He distanced himself from his sister, under the “I don’t care” mask. I could relate in some ways to him, I did have this issue with my siblings during my teenager years, and yes, teenagers are dumb. When you are the elder of the family, you have this overwhelming feeling of responsibility over your shoulder while your younger siblings are looking up to you. Some suck it up and will work hard to make their siblings proud. Others, like me, basically dropped it and let them find their own ways (not really the wisest thing to do). What do they do when they fuck it up (like, when Sunohara left the football team), some will try harder or move to try their luck in something new. Finally, some will just drop the ball, and grow apathetic. If you are this big brother or this big sister, you all one day had this overwhelming feeling and fear, “what should I do if I fail and do not live up to my siblings’ expectation?”
How you deal with the problem is a matter of personality, circumstances, education and experiences of life.
In Sunohara’s case, this is how we see in the anime. He was a clown, true, the audience in general liked him for that. However, it comes to a point that the clown doesn’t want to entertain anymore or loses his mojo. We see in this arc a less pleasant side of Sunohara. Sunohara the clown left his place to Sunohara grown apathetic, due to circumstances of the past. In the western european point of view, by fighting back he did something right. In america, this may have ended with school shooting. In the japanese context, he not only paid for himself, but he also paid for the group. Sunohara’s apathy had been shown in its worst light when Tomoya pretended to date Mei. Anyone in his right mind would have gone postal on Tomoya at that point. This scene was truly putting me at unease. If KeyKyoAni wanted me to dislike Tomoya and Sunohara, they did it right.
However, he is not beyond salvation and still have a part of him that want to protect his sister. This is where I have gained a little more respect for the character. It also illustrate one thing, no matter how much you have distanced yourself from you siblings or parents, there are still this little bit of you that worry about them deep inside your guts. It’s in the blood.
In the end of the arc, it seems we are back to square one with Sunohara being victim again of Tomoya’s pranks, however the relationship between the siblings have gotten better. Now, how the events of the arc will affect Sunohara in the long run is still in the air.

Sunohara Mei

Mei’s worries are legitimate. From experience, I know younger siblings DOES worry about you when you lost your way. Now was she doing it right? Not always. Let’s tell it frankly, unlike the previous arcs where sports seemed to solve shit, here it brought in the open one of the roots of Youhei’s problems, something that Mei never knew. What could we have expected from her if her own brother did not have told her about it? Not much, and not things done right. To be fair with Youhei, boys especially the ones in elder position have too much pride and refuse, out of fear to lose sibling respect, to tell their problems; often, they’ll try to hide them under the carpet and put on the “reliable” or “not caring” mask, it will be until the problem can not be managed anymore and where the elder is stuck in a dead end. Mei’s intents are to avoid this thing to happen to her big brother. However, being a children, her options were limited and she was painfully confronted to the cruelty of highschool boys, the ones who bullies.

The others

From a cold point of view, they fullfilled their roles. Pushing the Sibling Arc plot along until its resolution. They provided the situations and the circumstances. Tomoya, at times, was needlessly cruel and petty; then again, he was never a saint, and never had the pretention to be the most noble. However, as he voiced his concerns and ended up in that fight, he have shown that he was, at least, able to care for people. Do remember that not every male in anime have to be flawlessly noble, or idiotically heroic, or arrogant with successful deeds in his sleeve. Sometimes, it is needed to see something less pleasant from them. Otherwise, they’d be cardboard character templates in the vast ocean of cardboard character templates.

I don’t have much to say about the other characters, it is as I said, they brought their brick into building the relationship between the siblings.

The Story

The substance of the story

Mutual trust between siblings brings happiness? To me, it seems to be the point of the arc. By refusing to communicate with his sister, Youhei dug himself into a hole. And only dire circumstances could slap him hard in the face and awaken what we thought he have lost. Of course, given his circumstances and his position as the elder, it was hard for him to break that wall between himself and Mei. It’s hard enough for one man to admit one failure, especially when it is related to his passion (football in Youhei’s case), it is harder to get over it and move, and do it right. It’s the hardest when you have younger brothers and sisters looking at you, and telling them why you screwed up.

How the story unfold

Starting on a comedy note, we were given a full treat of Sunohara comedy. Sanae posing as Youhei’s girlfriend iced the cake. However, in the comedy scale, the true killer was Mei Sunohara’s “oniichan” attack. This is where Yukari Tamura truly delivered. I always thought there were four kinds of loli or imouto in the world of anime, the deadpans (Chiaki Minami), the objects of desire (plenty and too many to name), the tricksters (Mikan) and the ones voiced by Yukari Tamura. She voices little sisters or lolitas like no one else. And one can notice that Mei in episode 3 was given the Lucky*Star sugary moé treatment (not to mention it was directed by one of those involved in L*S).

However, comedy should and is expected to have an equal amount of drama. I was angry at Youhei’s apathy, but can somewhat relate to it and yet know what kind of consequences it could have. I was equally angry at Tomoya, just like I was angry at some friends pulling jokes or pranks at times when they really should not. And if people thought that Kyou beating up Sunohara was fun, the events with the football team brought this feeling of unease and anger. Putting this thing into perspective, when one of your friends does the Gibbs Slap on another of your friends, it may bring smirks and chuckles. But when a stranger does it on the same friend, you may feel upset. Well, that’s how I see it.

Finally the resolution. As I have said, it was when things looked dire that Sunohara broke out of his shell. We can say about time. Things are now alright between the siblings, yet Sunohara can still fall to Tomoya’s pranks. You can be the best buddies of the world, nothing can stop you from going Tom & Jerry over each others. The question is what will Sunohara do when drama will knock on Tomoya’s door; and how much the events of his arc will weight in the future.

The execution

At times, it felt that Kyoto Animation needlessly stretched some events or plot points, like the one where Mei did not know who is Youhei’s girlfriend (mitigated later when she said she pretended to not know); or the bullying by the football team, well done in a way it conjures a feeling of rightful anger from the viewers, but feeling played out more than necessary (then again it is difficult, from a storytelling point of view, to show bullying), to be fair we are supposed to feel smpathy for Mei, not to see that bullies can be human and should be expected to receive equal sympathy.

In term of execution and storytelling, while Kyoto Animation proved they can deliver, it still shows that they are still learning.

Overall

This was a story arc I liked. I could relate to it, as far as the sibling relationship topic is concerned. It was not too long, always a good thing after the criticism regarding the lenghts of Makoto arc (Kanon 2006) and the Fuuko arc (Clannad S1). While I thought that the studio delivered, I can’t help but think there are things that needs to be improved. I can only hope that they continue to improve as more episodes are made.

Well, you should not. Celts believed that on this night, and just for this night, the border between the living world and the other world becomes thinner, to the point that dead could walk by people’s side and share a bit of fun with us.

Amusingly, Celts have a more positive view on death. Not only, it is a brighter vision than in other religions, but it is also not at the expense of life (seriously, how many times you have heard in religious speeches, “life sucks”, “life is horrible”, “let’s prepare for the next and better life”?). The both sides were to be celebrated with the same joy and enthusiasm.

I think this is something interesting to think over. While you walk around dressed up as a tentacle monster or Pedobear to scare off lolitas.

No. It’s not Suwako Moriya. It is the Balsamiko. I was looking for a decent picture of Tsukasa in my hard drive. However, I realized that since my former PC died and I have gotten a new one back in January… I was more busy filling up my Touhou pictures folder than anything else. Therefore, I have next to no Lucky*Star pictures.

Now, my thought over the results and the scheduled finale:

“I love the smell of nerd rage in the morning. Smelled like… revenge.”

What are you going to pretend to be in Halloween? I just gonna sit in front of my TV with a beer and enjoy some horror movies, like the orginal Dawn of the Dead, Dog Soldiers and Dagon. I’d recommend you Dagon. Especially for the Lovecraft fans.

I don’t know what to say about Kagami making it to the final. Should I have said, “Just as Planned”? Or “Wow”? Let me tell you frankly, I welcomed this new edition of Saimoe with a skeptical and jaded mindset. I expected the characters from Kyoto Animation productions to be mercilessly wiped out of the tournament, in the name of a “No KyoAni in the final, let alone be crowned as champion” ‘tradition’. I say ‘tradition’ because there seems to be a portion in boards well determined to kick them all. This time, and so far, their efforts were fruitless. To have Kagami, hell it could have been Nagisa Furukawa, making it so far is already giving the kyoani faction a sweet glint of revenge.

This Saimoe was full of surprises and non-surprises. The big surprise of this year? Fuuko Ibuki. Who would have guessed that she would win over Fate Testarossa, one of the big favorites? I mean, with the dolls gone, Fate was expected to grab the crown she had been denied for so long. We can argue that maybe the 2ch folk had grown weary to see one of the Big Ones making it to the sweet 8 or even the Top 4. Another surprise is Nagisa Furukawa. Booed by angry fans as “weak”, having “no personality”, she still managed better than Tomoyo and Kyou, arguably the two of the most popular ones. One last surprise would be Bamboo Blade girls, especially Tamaki and Kirino.

Among the non-surprises is the helplessness of the Aria faction, for their last appearance in the tournament, against the Big Guns. Or Kagami’s and Hinagiku’s performances. They were strong the last year, and this year they have grown stronger.

People can argue that the absence of Rozen made their ascension easier. I cannot deny it.

Finally, there seems to be less spite voting and tactical voting compared to last year. Of course, we cannot deny a rampant hypocrisy on the both sides of the fence, the pro-Kyo-ani and the anti-Kyo-ani. The same anti who were rooting and wishing for a repeat of 2006 are now crying fail because the tournament have gone against their wishes. The pro who should not be gloating are gloating. But who would not resist the urge to gloat after being the one being gloated over in 2007 and 2006? The tables have turned, maybe it is about time for a Hiiragi to grab the crown.

A woman has been arrested in Japan after she allegedly killed her virtual husband in a popular video game.

The 43-year-old was reportedly furious at finding herself suddenly divorced in the online game Maplestory.

Police say she illegally accessed log-in details of the man playing her husband, and killed off his character.

The woman, a piano teacher, is in jail in Sapporo waiting to learn if she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

She was arrested on Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000 km) from her home in southern Miyazaki to Sapporo - where her “husband”, a 33-year-old office worker lives.

If charged with the offences, and convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

‘So angry’

A Sapporo police official, according to the Associated Press news agency, said the woman had used the man’s ID and password to log in to the game last May to carry out the virtual murder.

“I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry,” she was quoted by the official as telling investigators.

Maplestory is a Korean-made game, which has grown in popularity around the world but has a strong fan base in the Far East.

The game centres on defeating monsters, but players can also engage in social activities and relationships - including marriages - through their digital characters, called avatars.

Source

Comment:

If Maple Story can get one imprisoned. I don’t know what ninjaing shit in WoW could do for you. Pleeeeeaaaase!

Another Topic

Saimoe’s best of eight have started. Let’s say that a lot went as planned and others went not as planned (Especially Hayate and Nagisa).

Today, it is Tomoyo vs Kagami.

One can argue that the current domination of girls from Kyoto Animation production was due to the absence of Rozen, and Nanoha losing its steam. Or maybe the voters had grown weary of the blind tactical and spite votes. I do expect that the semi finals will have at most ONE girl from Clannad or Lucky Star.

This Saimoé was yet again full of despair, nice surprises and NERD RAGE. For the first time in three years, it is the first Saimoé without Rozen Maiden. Imo, for the greater good. Kurogane can tell you about it, he who had gotten desutards spamming the cursed words in his blog after the victory in 2006.

It is a year where Fate Testarossa yet again failed. Against Fuuko Ibuki of all people. Either Fuuko is an unexpected powerhouse of the dark horse kind, either Fate had tactical voting playing against her.
This Saimoe is the swan song for the Aria fans, Akari Mizunashi being the their last stand. Higurashi still have their planned series, so does Seto no Hanayome, with its new OAV. Clannad have another shot to the title with After Story. However, we know how most of the returning characters performs, thus, Clannad better hit nice and HARD in this Saimoé.

This is a saimoé best of 16 full of new heads. With the exception of Hayate Yagami who managed to hit again her best position since 2006, and, of course, Shana.

Hayate no Gotoku have proved to be strong challengers. Aria still felt powerless against the big guns. The power of Nanoha and Higurashi factions seems to waver, while Bamboo Blade have shown to be surprisingly strong (having one character or more to this phase of the tournament is no small feat). The biggest winner of this round is nothing more than the Clannad faction. However, they are likely going to pay; 2ch, 4chan and some of asuki folks are making sure it shall be. So, at one point, I can expect only one Clannad girl to make it.

Here the different matches, with my opinion, my choices and expectations.

A Final

Fuuko vs Hanyuu

Ah, Fuuko, one of the dark horses of the tournament. I had the surprise to hear that she is #1 clannad girl in Japan. In some way, it could explain her rather surprising performance. Earning her an everlasting hate from /a/ and many in asuki. However, Hanyuu is not going down easily. Indeed, with Rena swallowed whole by Miyako and out of the picture, the Higurashi fans are likely all going to rally behind the horned miko. If she loses, Fuuko is likely going down in the next round, due to revenge votes.

My vote: Hanyuu. Unlike some people from Asuki, I have nothing personal against Fuuko, I have always stated that Fate had the tendency to perform well then fails in the most unexpected times, this year had proved it right AGAIN.

My prediction: Meh fuck me.

B Final

Kirino vs Miikan

Lion-tan vs Imouto. Unfortunately I have not seen a lot of the both show. I could not stand Xebec slaugthering another anime again.

My vote: Lion-tan. Just because of Megumi Toyoguchi. Yes, there are people who sometimes vote on seiyuu.

My prediction: Sorry, it gonna be Lion-tan.

C Final

Kagami vs Kyou

Both have K as initial letters. They are purple-haired and bipolars. It’s a full KyoAni match and one of the cruel matches. Lucky*Star OAV delivered what it usually delivers in its episode, especially with a full Konata x Kagami weeeeiiiiird dream scene, where she have gone through many cosplays. One can say she racked up the moémeter very high. However, the After Story section of Clannad is helping to refresh the voters’ memories about Clannad. I know lot of people who love Kyou, I also know an equal amount who like Kagami. It’s a big win for one, it’s a big loss for the other. One can call it an upcoming pyrrhic victory for the KyoAni old guard.

My vote: Hum… You people better try to find ways to sway me.

My prediction: Fuck it, I don’t care. It’s despair for both sides.

D Final

Tomoyo vs Miyako

Ah, the Wonder Woman of Clannad against the one who EAT. Tomoyo enjoys an enduring popularity among her fans, a spin-off game, doujin games and her own episode in the actual series sure helped to cement her strenght in the tournament. However, Miyako have beaten Rena, not a small feat. One can point to the tactical voters. However, will they pool behind Miyako to pull an upset against Tomoyo? Maybe this is going to be a test for the Chun Li of the VN.

My vote: Tomoyo, no question.

My prediction: Hard to tell. Strong challengers and favorites failed in the least expected times.

E Final

Shana vs Tamaki

Shana, the veteran, vs Tamaki, the newcomer. We can argue all we want, while Shana’s performance was expected, Tamaki had shown that she is more than flavor of the month moé. Something to factor about Shana could be some people growing weary of Rie Kugimiya’s loli tsundere roles. However, in Saimoe, tsundere is a BIG factor.

My vote: I usually vote Shana, this time it gonna be Tamaki.

My prediction: I will welcome whoever wins.

F Final

Hayate vs Nagisa

Ah. One did not deserve to be shafted in the third series. The other did not deserve the blind hate from fans who forgot to take off their Tomoyo and Kyou goggles and refused to see the Clannad heroine’s merits and why she came as the more natural end girl in ALL Key’s adaptations I have seen. They are both deserving to go in the next round, they are equally moé for different reasons. This match is another of the cruel ones.

My vote: Nagisa. I was leaning toward Hayate. However, all the rage and hate she receives gave me a reason to vote Nagisa. And when I hear the weak reasons why she is a “fail” female lead, I can only shake my head. Flash news for you guys, there are other personalities than *insert jpnsuffix*dere!!!!

My prediction: Hayate. Nagisa may ultimately fall on this one. It may be time for the Mistress to shine. If Hayate does it, I will support her until the end. If it is Nagisa, I may root for her for more rounds.

G Final

Akari vs Tsukasa

The Last Stand for ARIA. I don’t need to explain more about Akari, you have to watch the series. Tsukasa continue to tread her path and pull another victory against Nagi, where odds were not in her favor. For one, she was against a loli tsundere and veterans who follows it knows that it tends to tip the scale in favor of the one with these two traits. One cannot forget the bad vibes that L*S gets in two places, and let’s add Asuki to these two places since the amount of rage and hate directed against Tsukasa was sickening to say the least. However, Tsukasa is a powerhouse, who tended to overcome challenges that seemed impossible (namely the one against one of icons of the /b/tards and memetards). While Akari and the Aria group are not in Higurashi, L*S, Nanoha or Rozen tier.

My vote: Akari. Nothing against Tsukasa unlike some people. I just like Akari waaaay more, having seen Aria since 2006, ironically because of Saimoé, and I have read the manga too.

My prediction: Tsukasa. Her fans have likely learnt from last year about not slacking off after a victory and not be fooled by the very HIGH vote counts she may get in her interim vote counts. BTW, she had about 500 fake votes in her round against Nagi.

G Final

Hinagiku vs Noe

I don’t know Noe much. And seeing the huge amount of support behind Hinagiku. I think she have it in the bag, tactical votes or not.

My vote: Noe. This time, I root for the underdog.

My prediction: Hinagiku. She is stronger than I would admit.

Next round gonna be so full of rage and despair.