New Gundam Shows Announced

As a big Gundam fan, hearing about the news about new Gundam shows gets me really excited.  I like the games, build the Gunpla and watch the shows.  While there's only one show confirmed, the other one is still not confirmed but is heavily talked about in Japan just right after its 10th anniversary.

Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative  This show is set to release in episodes similar to how Gundam UC OVA set were released, movie episodes that were done once per 6 months.  While we do not know when the next ones do come out, the first part will be released in November 2018 at cinemas in Japan.  When Gundam UC was being screened at cinemas in Japan, we did get a similar screening event here in the Philippines which was a limited one day screening in which tickets can't be purchased but can be obtained when you buy model kits from shops supplied by Bankee Trading (Toy Kingdom, Toys R Us, Toy Town) this is also the time when I got hooked with model kits as we had to buy a kit to watch the show.  This happened for the whole 7 episodes of the show, I'm not sure if we are going to get the same thing for the new Gundam NT show as foreign films, Japanese Anime and Live action films now do get better screening than 6 years ago.  The quality of the animation, music and the art of this kind of show is very much different than the regular tv released Gundam tv shows due to the budget and the time it takes to finish one episode.  

Planning / production: Sunrise

Original work: Hajime Yaechi 　Yoshiyuki Tomino

directed by: Shunichi Yoshizawa

Screenplay: Harukoshi Fukui

Original Character Draft: Kumiko Takahashi

Character Design: Kim Satoshi

Mechanical design: Hajime Katoki    Eiji Komatsu

Color design: Suzuki Takako

Director of Photography: Akitaro Asaka

Art Director: Yukiko Maruyama Yoshimi Mine

Special Director: Kumiko Taniguchi

Sound Director: Eriko Kimura

Edit: Daisuke Imai

Music: Hiroyuki Sawano

The production cast is similar to Gundam UC, being a big fan of Hiroyuki Sawano's music and work done by Tomino this show is going to be fantastic.  Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative is set 1 year after the events of Gundam UC so if you haven't watched Gundam UC yet, make sure to watch that first.  While there are 2 formats for that show (OVA and Tv series)  I recommend watching the OVA instead (just my preference)   Universal Century fans will rejoice once again after this gets released.  They will surely release new model kits from this show as Bandai uses their new shows to release newer model kits. 

Gundam 00  There was an event during the Gundam 00 10th anniversary called Gundam 00 Festival 10 Re: Vision on which the voice actors conducted a live performance of a new story after the events of the movie Awakening of the Trailblazer.  While this was done as a live performance for the anniversary, there are rumors that this might become an actual sequel to the movie as it also includes new art, story and is being talked about in Japan.

Bandai likes money, so if they want more, they should just make this happen and sell more Gunpla with it.  Even if the 2nd season and the movie was not as good as the first season, I'm still looking forward for this concept to be made into a series or atleast an OVA for the fans.  We still don't have much Gundam 00 Master Grade kits aside from Setsuna's suits and that GN-X.  I hope this time they decide to make more than just Setsuna's suits.

Seven: The Days Long Gone 2018 Review

Seven: The Days long Gone is an open world isometric RPG set in a mix of post-apocalyptic cyberpunk environment and magic. You can think of it as Dishonored in 2D.

You play as the Master Thief Teriel tasked to investigate and explore ruins, dungeons, jungles, and fortresses. The main part of the game starts on The Prison island of Peh. The world is really huge, there are lots of areas to explore, hidden areas, hidden bosses, secrets, puzzles to uncover. The game doesn't really hold your hand and take you where you need to go. You're free to explore the map from the start of the main game. 

There's a lot of things going on in the game that wasn't explained so you really have to pay attention and struggle a bit when trying to figure out the use of the loots you find from enemies and crates. At first, I tried to get as many loot as I can but it didn't really matter since you have to get recipes first before you're able to craft something worthwhile. Another thing is the factions, there are several of them that you would encounter but there weren't much rewards to side with anyone of them. 

Progression in this game isn't tied with experience points or levels. After progressing the main quests, Nectars will be introduced and you will be able to detect them when you're near one which will allow you to equip passives and active skills to your slots. There are very few selection of equipment which made me think if they really need equipment loots. The default armor was the same set I had equipped all throughout the whole game. Armor sets with higher defenses lower your movespeed and enemies doesnt really hurt that much even bosses. You could carry full armor sets of enemies and use it as a disguise but I find it tedious so I went thru the regular sneaky tactics. 

Side quests are quite intriguing at times but some would require you to go from end to another end of the map just to speak to an NPC for a sec and ask you to go to the other end of the map. Some of the quests were bugged and you have to deal with it displayed on your quest log for the whole game.

Overall a great game and worth your time. Exploring sci-fi cyberpunk magic-infused ruins are something you won't see from popular RPGs and the story is not from a generic template which will also take your actions or decisions into account. 

Upcoming 2018 Games on PC I'm Looking Forward to Play

Aside from the big games that will be showcased on E3 for multiple platforms, here are some PC Games I'm looking forward to

1. Battle Princess Madelyn  - Release date TBA hopefully in 2018

A unique Indie Action Adventure game that takes inspiration from the classic Ghouls N' Ghosts and Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon's Trap.  The hand drawn art is great, just like how the older games from the SNES era were made.  You can play the game in Arcade mode rushing through the levels or complete the story by taking quests and helping the people.  Along with hidden collectibles, 10 types of weaponry to use and a ghost companion that has unique abilities that evolves through your progress that can help you with puzzles and unlocking different areas in the game.  If you miss playing games from the Golden Age of gaming this is one game you will surely look forward to.

2. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -  Release Date 2018 Exact date will be announced on or before E3.

This is pretty popular to fans of Castlevania but some might have forgotten about it due to its long absence after Konami shifted its focus on mobile games and Pachinko machines.   If you enjoyed the Castlevania games like Symphony of the Night and the following ones from the Nintendo Handheld ones like Portrait of Ruin and Aria of Sorrows you will surely enjoy this when it gets released.  While this is no longer Castlevania, everything else that made it the series we enjoy is here.  Some of the key makers of the previous Castlevania games are also here with Koji Igarashi as Producer and Writer, Michiru Yamane with the Music and Yuji Natsume on the art, sadly Ayami Kojima who previously did the art for SOTN will only help with the packaging artwork for physical copies of the game.  There have been several updates throughout the development of this game which just makes me more hyped to play this with the same progress style of Castlevania games, multiple characters available to use, boss rush mode, equipment and abilities. 

3. Chasm - Release Date June 2018

An upcoming 2D Adventure RPG Indie game releasing soon this June.  The game is similar to the previous 2D Castlevania games with different equipments, the backdash, dodging enemy projectiles and exploration.  Unlock new areas with different abilities and a touch of procedural styled dungeons for multiple playthroughs making your next game restart a new adventure.  Make sure to watch the vid to see how butter smooth the gameplay is.

4. Sword of Ditto - Release Date Late April 2018

A fun top down adventure game that can be played solo or multiplayer.  You can use melee and ranged weapons.  This game is enjoyable even on multiple playthroughs as your previous adventure's success, great deeds and failures can be discovered by the next one you play as.  You can also complete any dungeon in any order with main quests and side quests along with it.  This game is releasing soon with a special discount for pre orders, for those who are still on the fence, just check out the reviews once the game gets released.  The price is good enough to dip in early but in any case, feel free to wait for the release date instead.

5 Useful Mobile Apps for Lazy People (Android)

Having a mobile device now gives you more than just call and text.  While most just use their mobile devices for occasional browsing, playing music and watching videos here are some apps available on Android that we recommend that may make your life easier.

• Spotify  While this music streamer is popular, I know people that plays music the old way on their phones.  They either play them from Youtube or download mp3 files on their computers then transfer it to their sd cards which has now become tedious specially if you have a lot of genres and playlists which you will have to sort out and add separately.  Spotify makes playing music more convenient as you can search for the daily top music, weekly charts, search artists and albums then create your own playlist.  Gone are the days when people will ask you if you have this song saved on your phone as you can simply search it on the app.  Even OPM songs are added as soon as the artist launches their soundtrack or album.  While the app is free, the difference between the paid version (which is still cheap) is there are no ads and you can select what you want to play instead of getting your music list on shuffled play.

• Gboard The best Android keyboard available on Android.  Built in keyboards from your Android device is usually enough but this one does it even better with the added Google search feature removing the need for you to switch to a different window to search for something and paste it on your conversation.  Voice typing is even better specially if you are very lazy to use your fingers to type in your responses.  Heck you can even include gifs in your conversation even on sms.

• Grab This is already popular but I still see people at work making the effort to hail cabs.  Seriously people, some of them still rant about their taxi driver asking for added fare or refuse them service if they don't like the drop off location.  Just learn to use the app, its smart enough to know where to pick you up and where to drop you off.  The drivers are nicer, cars smell nice and looks neat.  You even earn points for frequently using the app that you can use as discount for your succeeding trips or discount for stuff they offer.  Some of my friends that usually drive to work even chose to use this service as they are too lazy to drive to work and to look for parking space.

• Honestbee  This one got recently popular in the country due to the convenience it gives its customers.  I know somebody at work who is tasked to order us fruits on a weekly basis, what he usually does is go to the mall to buy them in boxes worth 10k php of fruits, bring them over the taxi bay and bring them over to work.  I told him, why not use Honestbee instead since you can order from Robinsons Supermarket and get them delivered directly to work without the hassle.  He was hesitant at first as he won't be able to select the fruits directly as some might be rotten or such.  I told him that I doubt he inspects 10k php worth of fruits when he buys them directly and you can refuse complain or refuse the order if they delivered it incorrectly or deliver a bad batch.   You can even use this app to buy tickets, get restaurant food delivered and laundry.

• Eatigo  Do you eat out a lot with friends, family or your significant other?  Want to save money while enjoying good food? Hate roaming around malls and restaurants just to check if there is a vacant table for you?  Forget the pre historic method of dining out and use Eatigo.  Aside from being able to reserve tables on mobile, this app notifies you of promos and discounts for specific restaurants.  There's no need for you to pre pay when you reserve for restaurants you plan to eat at and you will receive an email and sms for your reservation. 

Pacific Rim Uprising: An Awesome and Entertaining Mess.

45%. Forty five freakin' percent. THIS is what movie critics think of Pacific Rim Uprising. With a crushingly low score and low Box-office record (in the United States), people are under the impression that Pacific Rim Uprising is hot garbage. Let me assure you that it is decidedly NOT. 

"Hu u", you ask? Well, I'm JJ: a regular dude with both regular and irregular tastes. I'm a corporate slave--- I mean employee who enjoys anime, video games and movies. I am a consumer of pop culture, a cog in the machine, a denizen of the interwebs and a flat-out geek who like every single male my age, grew up watching giant robots punch each other to death.

"But JJ, why should your opinion count? Where are your credentials proving your authority and knowledge about movies?" That's the point. I'm just an average Joe who likes watching movies and at the same time, I'm also *that* dude who geeks out on Gundams AND Go Nagai Super-robots (Voltes V etc). 

In short, I am you, only angrier. 

I'm not saying that the critics are wrong. Their "complaints" were valid. Pacific Rim Uprising is an inferior movie to the original. The writing was sub-par, the dialogue felt awkward at times, and the overall cinematography was simply WORSE than the original.

In the first Pacific Rim, the audience gets a feel of just how massive and destructive the Jaegers and Kaijus were. Their movements had momentum and weight and the surroundings did not feel like props but real-world locations being deliciously crushed to bits by massive brawling titans. In the second movie, the plot was a cliche color-by-numbers Power Rangers script that was aimed at an older audience but written for (or if you're being mean, BY) 10-year-old kids. But this is where I want to put my two-cents: It MAY BE mediocre but it was definitely NOT the dungheap critics would warn you about.

IN SPITE of all my grievances, I was utterly and thoroughly entertained. Sure, it was stupid. But you're not watching Pacific Rim Uprising for the plot, you're there for what the trailer promised: ROBOTS AND MONSTERS! And Pacific Rim Uprising spared no expense to bring you that.

The fight scenes were epic, colorful and satisfyingly CLEAR, much like watching Ultraman or Voltes V fight against the episode's requisite monster. Sure, the movements looked more like human-sized robots fighting monsters in a prop city, but few people would notice it right there and then, much less your average movie-goer.There were enough cool moments and tension-building portions of the fight scenes to entertain any fan of robot-vs-robot-vs-monster action while retaining that coherence sorely lacking in the Transformers franchise. Name ONE movie (excluding the original) that isn't an animated cartoon that can boast such a feat. No, the Transformers franchise does not count, unless you consider angry junkyard robot sex as fight scenes. 

Plot-wise it felt more like your typical B-movie; a thinly veiled excuse to start a robot-versus-monster fight. It was very similar to your typical mecha anime plot, with maybe a bit of super-sentai/power-rangers "YAY TEAMWORK" elements. Which is again not necessarily a bad thing: Chances are, you're interested in watching Pacific Rim Uprising because you were a fan of the first movie. And like any fan, you were looking for an excuse to see Jaegers fight against other Jaegers. WELL HERE YOU GO! Let's introduce rogue Jaegers! Let's introduce a new type of threat!. Point is, the simplicity of the plot had a purpose: To deliver what the audience came for in the shortest time possible. It needed to move the story forward while justifying the need for character subplots to provide the motivation for the MAIN EVENT. It was created so we can watch Voltes V team up with Mazinger Z and Daimos to punch Godzilla to death. 

Pacific Rim Uprising was a mess. The plot was a mess. The characters were bland (but had good chemistry). The cinematography was inferior to the original. BUT IT WAS FANBOY WISH  FULFILLMENT. It was beyond a doubt, an awesome and entertaining mess.

Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius 2018 Season 2 review

Are you a Final Fantasy fan ever since you were a kid? Do you still remember the day when freeing the World from Kefka's tyranny was the most important mission you have to accomplish? Wanted to use Bellatrix from FF9 for your party but she was just a temporary character? or Tidus and co. doesnt have to proceed with the pilgrimage up to its tragic end? Real life has caught up and you don't have much time to relive those moments.

Don't worry fam, I gotchu.

Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius (FFBE) is a free-to-play turn-based role-playing game for Android and iOS developed by ALIM and published by Square Enix itself. The Global version is maintained by GUMI. Released June 29, 2016 and still going strong with Season 2 of the story.

New mobile games nowadays have incredible graphics better than PS1 and PS2 but FFBE's charm is with it's retro looks and pixel art. There are lots of collaboration with other Square Enix games like Neir: Automata, Tomb raider, Secret of Mana, and many more. 

Gameplay

Most mobile games like FFBE have dungeons where you battle series of enemies in different stages until you reach the boss at the end. One of the unique features of the game is the ability to explore dungeons, towns, castles, forests and other terrains. You can interact with townspeople to buy potions or they will ask you to complete a task or quest. 

The game also uses concepts from other Final Fantasy games like magic, limit bursts and summoning Espers. 










Battle System

Zidane, Orlandeau, Terra, Lightning,
2B(Nier Automata) and Yuna fighting against Ultros

You will have to create a team of 5 characters that can be obtained via the Gacha system. You can add a 6th member from your Friend list. The battle system is similar to Valkyrie Profile where you have to press the button of one of your team members with the correct timing to perform a chain which increases the damage output of your combo.


The game will be easy at first but there are Trials which will test your team's strength.Another difficult content called Chamber of Arms which consists of 12 Legendary weapons and you have to battle the Guardians with 10 characters to obtain one of the weapon.


Story 

There are times when you want to keep doing the story because the events are exciting but there are also fillers which are boring. 

There also Story missions which are time events which features back stories of other characters in FFBE that features Romance, tragedy, perseverance, and mystery. Some are very well written and some are just bland. 

Music

The BGM of this game is amazing. It's one of the reason why it doesn't feel like a mobile game but a legit Final Fantasy entry.  

I barely spent any money on this game and I was able to obtain the main protagonist of different Final Fantasy series, it just takes time. 
I've been playing this game for over a year and I'm still enjoying the difficult battles and the story progression which is the reason why we are playing games. 


Have fun everyone. 

Top 10 Recommended Hidden Gems on Steam

Searching some cheap good games on Steam may be a bit hard due to the amount of games being added to the platform weekly.

Here are some of our recommended games that you can enjoy alone with some that have multiplayer included.

1. Vagante An adventure game that can be played solo or multiplayer for both online and local. With several classes to choose from you can customize your character further along with skins and background. Unlock and collect items, classes, music and other secrets that will make the adventure even enjoyable. The game has decent difficulty enough to satisfy hardcore and experienced gamers with good replay value due to the procedural dungeon setup along with multiple classes available to choose from.

2. Dead Cells A Roguelike Metroidvania game that focuses heavily on combat, learn every time you fail or die like Dark Souls but on 2D. Very flashy combat despite its pixel art style. Make sure to check the page or watch the video as the images don't do the game justice to warrant our recommendation. Fair warning as the game is still in early access and will have more content on the way. 

3. Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition  A shoot em up game that looks like Metal Slug but plays like Monster Hunter in 2D format.  The game has different missions and craftable weapons.  If you like the grinding for crafting gear style of Monster Hunter, you will enjoy this.  You can play multiplayer online or on a shared screen as well as with other platforms.  Great music and smooth controls make this game enjoyable to play for hours.

4. The Escapist 2  A top down sandbox game set in prison.  The game can be played solo, team co op up to 3 players or versus mode for a race on who can escape prison faster.  Assemble a crew with your friends to build the ultimate prison escape team.  You will have to do your regular prison life with the rules inside prison, jobs, roll calls while planning and executing your escape.  A fun game with a different kind of goal, highly recommended playing with friends.

5. Valdis Story: Abyssal City  A great 2D Metroidvania game with focus on combos.  Multiple characters to choose from with different weapon sets to choose from and skill trees to select.  A decent side scrolling rpg adventure game with good replay value including unlocking other characters.  

6. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King  A top down adventure rpg that takes inspiration from Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past.  It has very similar gameplay and mechanics from its inspiration with collectible hearts, equipment, puzzles, big dungeons and side quests.  If you don't have a Nintendo device but miss playing a top down Zelda like game then this is a game you need to play.  

7. Axiom Verge  A side scrolling action adventure game that takes its inspiration from the 2D Metroid games.    Acquire abilities, weapons and items to complete puzzles in this game.  Well designed levels with emphasis on puzzle solving and exploration.  Metroid fans surely know this game but for those who haven't been into the console scene may have missed this great game.

8. Iconoclasts  Another Metroidvania game with a mix of Megaman X into it.  This game may not be that much known to most as it was recently released early 2018.  A 2D Platformer action adventure game with puzzles and a great story.  

9. Broforce A fun 2D action game that has multiplayer up to 4 people with cooperative mode and competitive deathmatch.  Its like the old Contra games but with humor.  A mix of Contra, Alien, Rambo, Predator with a lot of chararacters to choose from.  If you like playing co op multiplayer action games you'll definitely enjoy this one.

10. Enter the Gungeon  A roguelike dungeon crawler bullet hell game with multiplayer co op option.  Several classes with different equipment sets and passive skills to choose from.  Dodge roll and table flip your way to find the ultimate treasure that the gungeoneers seek.  Great game even when playing solo for its difficulty but also fun with friends.

The games listed here are available on Steam. While some are still on Early Access, every game listed is priced 500 php or lower.  Enjoy!