With perseverance, a slug can indeed become a snake

11:47 PM by Bryan

Being absent from my blog for quite a while, a friend asked me to blog about his favourite game, Metal Gear Solid 4: The patriot strikes back (MGS4).

Why would I want to blog about his favourite game perplexes me. I haven’t even blogged about my favourite food, favourite drink, my favourite fruit, my favourite song or my favourite vegetable. Nah, the last one doesn’t exist.

After playing that game and in tandem with rave reviews, perfect score and high recommendations from one person, here I am, giving my own very review on this game.

Being an avid PS3 fan since a couple of months ago, my experience in PS3 games are of a wide range. It ranges from racing (Need For Speed), Combat (Street Fighter), Adventure (Naruto) and even sports (PES 2008). In fact, those are the only games I’ve played in PS3 prior to MGS4. In addition, I have not in any way completed any of those games yet.

Thus, in a way, MGS4 is the only game I found complete-able, or short.

First look into MGS4

Wow, what is this game? It sounds amazing. Is it a continuation of Metal Slug X? Boy, I loved that game. This is going to be epic.

*Turn on game*

Oooh, dark graphics compared to its predecessor, Metal Slug series. But still looks epic. I just can’t contain my excitement and want to…….installation screen.

Maaaan, 3-5 minutes..

Installation

Apparently, everytime restart the console, I have to go through this installation. And to make things worse, it comes back at every Act. I didn’t use to see that in Metal Slug. I wonder why they implemented this. Hopefully the story rocks!

Story

Here comes the good part. My friend loves the story of the game. First and foremost, I was introduced to old snake. Interesting guy. A senior citizen fighting in a war and is pretty good at it (because I was controlling him). Too bad he didn’t have a ‘Mulan’ to fight the war for him.

Then he meets up with another team, RAT PATROL 1. This blew my mind. You see, the previous Metal Slug game was about the Peregrine Falcon (PF) Squad serving under the Regular Army Team.

Don’t you see?

Regular Army Team. It reappears as RAT Patrol!! Amazing!!

What an ingenious way to show how teams used to be named after bird predators to be named after their prey, RAT for now. It is a smart allusion to the fact that RAT is no longer as big as it was and now just a small team used for other purposes.

The gameplay matched well with the story. They managed to overcome the weakness of Metal Slug series by implementing stronger melee capabilities. In Metal Slug, losing a weapon means reliance on small T-rex sized hands. However, this new sequel of MGS4 even had a Mortal Combat class fighting scene at the end.

I finished the game on a high, with loads of questions. That is where I found out….

MGS4 has nothing to do with the Metal Slug series. It even has 3 other games before it.

This renders my review useless. So, the only thing you should take away from this review is to know what game you are playing before you actually, you know, play it.

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Will the grass be greener if there isn't a fence?

6:26 AM by Bryan

The most stressful period of time for me is approaching. At least since I started studying in Brisbane, Australia. So, that would explain the fact that I am still in my office situated on campus at 11pm at night. I realise the time on my blog is drastically different from the time zone I’m actually in.

With so much work to do, why am I blogging? Well, I am taking a break from all this work right now. I still have a lot to do but I don’t plan to sleep tonight, so, I do have time for this short break. Life isn’t good for me at this moment. As every day passes by, my thesis is starting to look mediocrerer and mediocrerer. *Nope, that isn’t a real word*

But still, I’m still convinced I can complete it albeit not expecting to do as well as I thought I would. In fact, my expectations seem to dwindle every single time I write anything into my thesis.

As of now, I’m waiting for the rain to stop so I can walk home. Writing my thesis would be so much more comfortable at home. But as I look around from where I’m sitting, I realise I am pretty well equip here. Armed with half a packet of fried rice, a bottle of Bundaberg Sarsaparilla and a portion of cheesecake in my fridge, this isn’t so bad. And yes, I do have a fridge in my office.

But still, I am not feeling too glad over my whole situation. I still can’t see the end of this tunnel.

I do, however take comfort on what’s to come next week. Wednesday would be the day I hand in my thesis however inept it will be and it will be the week I await the release of a new episode of Running Man. It is a Korean urban variety show that shows every Sunday in Korea.

But what is so special about this particular episode? The guests.

The guests are several girls from several Kpop groups. They are all my favourite members of their respective groups. Two of which was featured in my blog before.

Here and here.

I would be extremely glad to post their pictures here, but I do need to get back to work in my currently quite downcasted setting.

Rain rain go away~

Toodles.

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I'm not crazy, I'm just going sane in a crazy world

8:34 PM by Bryan
He looked around but he sees nothing. He swore he could hear footsteps trailing him.

His pace quickens. At times, he could feel someone breathing down his neck. He turned around once more. The alley was too dark to see far. The clouds were thick that night covering the moon’s shimmer.

But he wasn’t scared. He was a big guy, tough even. People feared him. He wasn’t one who would fear.

His hand reached for a sharp silver in his pocket. Boy, has that silver dagger been with him forever. It was his companion, his friend who scared people out of their wits till they gave him whatever he wanted be it money, food or even just for the frightened eyes.

Gripping his dagger tight, he swung it backwards hoping to surprise his mysterious stalker. But there was no one there, not even a shadow.

At this moment, the clouds cleared. The glimmer reflected on his dagger and right in front of him, he saw a face.

“You!!” but before he could say anymore, the end of a heavy wooden bat met his face. Crouched on the ground, he lifted his head to see the assailant once more, but what met him was another swing of the bat to his head.

This time, he was gone.

“Wa Ha Ha Ha Ha,” laughter filled the alley. “This will teach you to mess with me.”

Bryan yawned and tiringly he clicked submit. One more story for his blog after a terrible day.

“There,” he said, “Now I can sleep.” And soundly did he sleep.

The next morning, he walked to work a usual routine. But on his way there, there was a crowd at the side of the road. Curiosity got the better of him. He went to take a look. Despite not getting a clear view due to the crowd, he could see a body lying by the alleyway.

The body was cladded in clothes familiar to him. And beside the body was a baseball bat. Shrouded in blood. He recognised the dead man but he wasn’t sure.

He felt a shiver going up his spine. His hair stood up and goose bumps abound. The scene repeatedly flashed through his mind the whole day.

At work, he couldn’t concentrate. He messed up on the accounts, gave customers the wrong change and gave wrong price tags to items. As he was arranging a couple of glass jars, he accidently dropped one. In an attempt to catch that jar, he knocked down the whole shelf.

That was the last straw. “Get out, you good for nothing fool,” screamed his boss. “You are fired, GET OUT NOW!”

Bryan pleaded and begged, but to no avail. He left the store down casted. Perhaps he could come back tomorrow when his boss has cooled down.

The next day, he went to work. But before he could enter the store, his boss saw him.

“Get out! Didn’t I fire you yesterday? We need no fools here!”

Bryan dragged his feet hope, not knowing what he was going to do with his life.

At home, he switched on his computer to take his mind off things. He went to his blog page and clicked ‘Write a New Post’. With a mind of their own, his hand started typing.

“Please, don’t do it. I beg you. I’ll take you back, I promise. Please don’t kill me,” begged a middle aged Asian man. “What would my family do if I’m dead?”

“It is too late. You had your chance yesterday. All you can do is hope you have enough money left for your family,” and he checked if the victim was tightly fastened to a primary shelf in the store. He dowsed the man with gasoline and proceeded to pour the rest all over the store.

“This way, I wouldn’t need to come back to this store anyway,” he said as he lit up a match and threw it into the store.

The next morning, Bryan woke up and went to the store once more to beg for his job. To his surprise, the store was barricaded by the cops and crowd. When finally did he get a clear view of the store, it was charred black. He heard from the crowd that the owner died in the building.

Bryan walked home. Shocked and blanked. Two coincidences? What is happening in his life?

He slumped on his bed and took a foetal position mulling on recent happenings. Everything was confusing, dark and senseless.

Suddenly, he was jolted up from his thoughts by furious banging on his door. It was his landlord.

“Hey Bryan, open up!” As soon as he opened the door, “So, where is the rent from three months ago? Where is my money!”

“I’m sorry sir,” Bryan explained. “I was robbed the other day and I just got fired. I can’t…”

“That is it! If you can’t pay up, you have to leave by tomorrow. No buts. Someone wants to take your place here. Get out by tomorrow!”

This time, he was at the lowest point of his life. He crouched down at the corner by his door as his landlord walked briskly away.

He has lost everything. It doesn’t seem like there is a solution for his. It is hopeless. Or not.

“Write it”

“I know you want to”

There were voices in his head. He remained there motionless for a while. By its own, his hands went up to his keyboard. They trembled slightly, not out of fear, but out of excitement not unlike a magnificent pianist right before a great masterpiece.

But slowly, his raised his hands. His fingers curled back into a fist. He proceeded to shut down his computer and left his worktable.



No, he thought, blogging wasn’t going to solve his problems. He knew that blogging isn’t any solution. He needed to get his life together, not blog. He wasn’t going to let blogging solve this problem.





It would take far too long.
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Coffee, Tea or Me?

11:58 PM by Bryan

It was a cold afternoon. There seemed to be a chill in the air. Bryan has never been there before, at least not in these circumstances. As soon as he stepped out of the white car with tinted windows, he could sense that something was out of place. He had no idea how he got there, but he knew it was for a reason.

Bryan took a glance at a watch on the wrist of his accomplice. This time wasn’t a time he was familiar with threading this part of town. He may have been there before, once, maybe twice. But never at this time and day, not for this reason.

He had to be there.

So, Bryan and his compatriots trudged through suspicious faces. No one knew what they were there for; no one was supposed to know besides them. Bryan had no idea how he was going to make it home, but that wasn’t important. Heading home was the last thing on his mind then, not without getting what they came here for.

They continued their walk, sheepishly but cautiously. His eyes darted everywhere looking for signs and sights which were described to them prior to this mission. His eyes darted for the target too. Bryan has no idea what they were supposed to find, but all he knew was that he will know when he sees it.

All of a sudden, the group split to two. Was it a good idea? Bryan wasn’t sure. But he prefers it this way. Sometimes, he works better in smaller groups. Too many cooks ruin the broth. Here, he wants to be the MasterChef™.

He thought hard about ways to obtain clues because clearly, wandering around aimlessly wasn’t helping with the situation. He phoned an agent for advice; it was someone he trusted in any situation, even life and death. In fact, that someone would be a person he would trust if he was having a heart attack.

So, he called. All he got was a number. Nothing specific, just a to digit number. Even so, he was glad. That would be plenty of help for him. At least that was what he thought.

After an hour searching, they were still clueless. Then, something strange started to occur. The number of people around started to dwindle. Common folk started to hide in their abode, covering their blinds, locking up gates and doors. Little did he know, he was running out of time.

Just then, he spotted two people attempting to close their shutters. It tingled his gut. Quickly, he dragged one of his men with him to thwart their plans. After exchanging words, not suspicious arise.
So, they left. But Bryan wasn’t sure. With the time ticking away, it was jittery moments. Bryan trusted his gut feelings. Once again, he ran back to where they were before. But he was there alone with just another partner. There wasn’t much they could do. But they did enough. They stopped the place from closing.

Quickly, they called for backup. As his team started to flood the place, one of his friend, Jia Rong asked, “This one smell nice ar?”

They decided on it as it even fits with the number Bryan had gotten from his friend earlier, $60.
Finally, they managed to buy Joyce’s birthday present.
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Sometimes I pull, when the sign on the door says push

10:53 PM by Bryan

My blog was closed for a couple of days or weeks. I can’t remember.

Several people have asked me for the reason and I gave them several half-baked reasons. Well, truth is, the past month hasn’t been easy for me, and things aren’t getting easier either.

I’ve been struggling over several things that I shouldn’t be struggling on anymore. Thus, I have become slightly reliant on my blog as an outlet. Several blog drafts have been drafted but not publish in fear that this will be the beginning of using blog posts as outlets for my problematic life.

So why do I blog now? Cause I’m bored.

Yes, that is right reason for me to blog. Boredom, not to release tension.

That and recently, a good friend has given me some encouragement and also I had a dreamt of flying. Nice.

I have had dreams of flying before, lots of times. But most of them include uncontrollable falling. It was mostly scary till I would flinch in my sleep.

But no, not this time. This time I had control over myself. It was so fun and unreal, I woke up exhausted but afresh.

It was a unique dream. The feeling of having control was ecstatic. Losing control was devastating. Even in the real life.

When things spiral out of control, I always thought that I would be able to take the hits nonchalantly. Well, not exactly, I knew I would fall, but I always thought getting up would be easy to me.

I thought wrong. I realise I am extremely weak inside. Much more that I initially thought.

In my dreams, I may fly like Superman, but I have no heart of steel.

An interesting month has flown by; I got to know more about myself while yet again discovering another imperfection that is in me.

But an imperfection that makes me, well, ME.
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Of tiny little things

9:02 PM by Bryan

He was a cold man, known for an icy heart.

Last night, he was killed. 

Tire tracks ran over his body.

This murder didn’t appear on the 8 o’clock news. It didn’t even get a tiny headline in the papers.

No one cares if a snowman died, right?

It was just a bunch of snow rolled up with some rocks or sticks, probably made by a kid.

Probably, that kid had nothing to do. 

Or maybe, this kid had waited all year for the first sign of snow.

Maybe he smiled from ear to ear when he saw the first snowflake fall.

Maybe he was trembling with glee waiting for his class to end.

Maybe he was the first one to run out of his classroom into his mom’s arms eager to go home.

A little kid, taking only a minute to rush in and out of his house clad with his winter attire.

Spending the entire day collecting, rolling and sculpting snow until it was perfect. 

He jumped with joy when he looked at his completed design.

At dinner, he couldn’t take his eyes of the window and spent all evening calling his friends and grandparents to tell them about his snowman.

They all came the next morning to see it.

When the kid woke up at the first call of dawn, he leaped off his bed, wore his winter attire and ran towards the door to see…

Maybe he sat there and cried.

Yes, a snowman was murdered last night.

Tire tracks ran over his body.

This murder didn’t appear on the 8 o’clock news. It didn’t even get a tiny headline in the papers.

No one cares if a snowman died, right?



While we are often told to take time to appreciate the little things in life that matters to us, we often 
ignore the little things that matters to others.

So, cheers to all the little things in life, while we inevitably face bigger things like global warming, solar flares and the Stop KONY movement.
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Of back to normal

11:58 PM by Bryan
Possibly in various stages of our lives, we often look back at the past regardless of the past in general or our past. In most of our schooling days, this practise is known as learning History.

So, what do we actually learn by ‘learning History’?

You see, we often highlight achievements of selfless people as the people who changed our world for the better like Jonas Salk, Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, Mahatma Gandhi and to some people, Steve Jobs. Besides this, another group of people often highlighted in the media are those for the opposite reasons. There are the ones who changed the world for the worse. Adolf Hitler for starters.

Now, all that we’ve heard of countless of times. How about a third group of people who are very special in their own way?

Today, in my blog, I’ll be putting the spotlight on these few selfless people who changed our world for the worst.

First up would be Dr Richard Gatling. Some of you may already see where this is going, but just bear with me. Back then, during the Civil War, Dr Richard noticed that a majority of soldiers died from diseases rather than the war itself. So, being the selfless man that he is, thought that if fewer men were required to go for war, fewer men would succumb to diseases and death. Thus, he created a device where one man can do the killing of many men.

The Gatling gun.


Saving lives like never before

Next, is a guy with even greater things in his mind, Robert Oppenheimer. Rather than save lives, he wanted to eradicate war. So, he thought that if he could create something so huge and powerful no one would dare challenge nor use, he would be able to prevent all future wars. That’s why he is known as the ‘father of atomic bombs’.


Got no idea for a caption

Up next is a rather animal loving guy, John Wesley Hyatt. You see, for many years, billiard balls were made of ivory or elephant tusks. So, after seeing that elephants are cruelly being killed and each tusk can barely make up to 8 balls, this guy made some sort of material to replace ivories for billiard balls.

This said material is now the major component of the world’s biggest landfill in the Pacific ocean. Behold, Plastic.


Mountain of plastic



Now for the last person. Rather than inventing something for the better, he stumbled upon this invention. Andy Hildebrand is an engineer, working on methods to detect incoming earthquakes by identifying sounds coming from the ground.

He does this by sending waves down into the ground and collecting reflected sounds. There were much unwanted noise and so, he developed a method to autocorrect the reflected sound by ways I’m not too sure of.

But what I’m sure of, this method has managed to correct various unwanted voices of this modern world. He created the AutoTune. 



Giving teens the fame they desire


Toodles!

It has been so long since I ended my post with 'Toodles'.

Crap, now my post won't end with 'Toodles' anymore.


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