Saturday, April 30, 2005

The Rumor and the Sluice

Continuing where we left off, Tryptifaeris heard a rumor of a vampire hiding in the dungeons below the Chateau d 'Oraguille so being the maveric adventurer I am I immediately head over there to investigate...To the untrained eye San d 'Oria seems like your typical fuedal kingdom but if you look closer you'll see a kingdom being torn in two by the heirs of the kingdom, and an uneasy peace that is on the edge of colapse. Fear and paranoia is all about and any citizen thought to be a traitor to the kingdom can easily find themselves living out the rest of their days in a dank dark cell below the Chateau, but then there are some who choose to hide down there some like Novalmauge, I found him roaming the Bostaunieux Oubliette, when I was close enough to him my expectations of a fearsome beastman lurking in the shadows were shattered, there stood an elvaan man of similar stature to myself his robes were of a similar style to my own and his hood was drawn to hide his face, a few locks of silver hair could be seen from the edges of the hood.
He explained that he had been cursed and required a vile of beastmens blood but wouldn't explain why, he then asked me if I believed the rumors that he was a vampire. Well momma didn't raise no elvaan fool, so of my two choices I choose "Yes I do think you're a vampire". He took my response rather well considering. Lucky for me I just happened to have a vile of beastmen blood in my inventory from a recent kill. I handed it to the mysterious man and was rewarded with a scroll of drain....hmmmmm. With this spell I am able to "suck" the HP from my enemies. I left the dungeons with an uneasy feeling, and I was sure our paths would cross again.
And they did, later that afternoon I got word that Belgidiveau believed the water supply had been poisoned! Kefka.... that was my initial reaction, that somehow Kefka was alive and back to his evil ways. I was told there was a man who could be found down in the dungeons who was a scholar in the art of poisons who might be of assistance. Once again I found myself down in the San d "Orian dungeons alone with the mysterious Novalmauge. He explained that I needed to acquire a rare flower called a Dahlia and then he would be able to create a counteragent to the poison. So I ran to the Auction House and bought one then headed back so Novalmauge could create the counteragent. Once he had finished I rushed across the central square of Northern San d'Oria to Belgidiveau and gave it to him to test the water, but I was told it appeared to be a prank by some local kids thankfully. I recieved a Heavy Ax as a reward for my services and left San d'Oria in search of other's in need of my services.....

Monday, April 25, 2005

Game Review: God of War


What do you get when you put your VHS tape of Clash of the Titans and CastleVania in the blender and hit puree? You get served God of War! This action/adventure game looks promising the game engine looks inspired by Konomi's Vamp slayer in Rygars realm of Greek Mythos. God of War is like a great book, you find yourself unable to put the controller down because you want to find out what happens next. The story of Kratos plays out like a Tarantino film, the begining is the end is the begining. Speaking of Kratos, he one bad ass MFer! He'd give Snake a run for his money in the "coolest game character" catagory. The games starts off mercilessly with Kratos battling the minions of Ares in the Agean Sea, and the first boss fight seals the deal that this is no CastleVania clone! The game employs a fighting engine similar to Parappa the Rappa & DDR get the sequence/timing correct and you'll pull off some impressive kills. Kratos can acquire new attacks for the Blades of Chaos by collecting blood orbs which are obtained by killing monsters, breaking objects such as pottery and statues, and opening chests. And speaking of chests (ATTENTION PARENTS), GoW is the first game I've played where there is totally topless, women in bed together plain as day. This is not some "hot coffee" secret, it is at the beginning of the second chapter and if you want to get some "expirience" hop in bed with the ladies and give em some hot Spartan luvin.... After the story unfolds a little and you realize Kratos' motivation the game becomes even more enjoyable, the action never lets up but story is what drives this title from an average action platformer to an exceptional addition to your library, it doesn't hurt either that the main character is one badass anti hero. The graphics are above par and the level design is fantastic, some areas trully help redefine the typical platformer and the sense of scope reaches new hights literaly and figuratively. One instance that comes to mind is while scaling a wall on the Temple of Pandora you'll spot the Titan Cronus, you'll suddenly realize just how high up you are. God of War also has an air of exploration that is reminiscent of Tomb Raider that can payoff, and the puzzles in the game actually seem intelligent and serve a purpose. I just completed one last night that had me sacrafice an innocent man trapped in a cage, ever see Temple of Doom? Flame On indeed!God of War also has a fantastic soundtrack that adds to the drama within the game and makes the whole experience more cinematic. If you have a decent home theater this game will sound incredible.

9/10

Friday, April 15, 2005

Tryp's Tele Taxi

This past weekend Tryptifaeris the Grey reached level 37 as a White Mage! I now have the ability to teleport to the crags of Mea and Holla. After reaching 36 I read my Holla and Mea scrolls that I was able to buy for 130k & 80k gill respectively (thanks to the person who bought my tarut death card for 250k gill ) With those spells learned I headed to the bustling metropolis of Jeuno and began offering teleports to those in need of fast reliable and affordable travel.
My very first "fare" paid me 10,000 gill for a tele from the Valkurm dunes to Holla! The usual rate is 500 gill for Holla, Mea or Dem. So I started my travel agency on the right foot. At level 37 I bought the scroll of Shell 2 and joined a great PT with Vrtra aka Littlekiller in the Crawlers Nest. In order to get the map of the crawlers nest I need to complete the Selbina clay quest I have about 5 more locations to visit.