Front Mission Evolved

I have been a long time fan of  Front Mission games since it started at the SNES and progressed up to the PS2. I have played Front Mission 1 to 4 and was disappointed that Front Mission 5 never had an English version. Now,  with Front Mission Evolved, another disappointment was the switch from a turn-based strategy game to a 3rd person shooter.

Front Mission isn’t for every gamer. It was in a niche of its own since it was sort of a cross breed between RPGs, Mech Games, and Terrain Strategy Games. No other video game maker produced a game quite like Front Mission. The closest RPG with mechs was probably Xenosaga. And the only competition in terms of mech games was probably Armored Core. But I’ve played Armored Core and never really liked the game play. Front Mission is a thinking man’s game, not a no-brainer side scroller. That’s what it was back then, and its a shame that the developers are trying to imitate Armored Core.

But I guess Square Enix is losing its touch as a premier game development company. Right now, I feel that they are merely leveraging the popularity of their past titles while they can, milking their cash cows, so to speak. But a time will come when gamers will see through the games they’ve been churning out and realize that Square Enix games are beginning to suck. FF XIII was the start, Nier was a disappointment, Star Ocean 4 was pathetic, and looks like Front Mission Evolved will flop. Among the four, only FF XIII was decent, but it is not even up to par in terms of gaming experience like FF 6, 7, 8, and 12. (I know, it will be tough to beat FF 7, but Square should at least try to churn out games that bring a close enough experience to it).

I hope that Square Enix does not mess up their Dragon Quest series. If ever they would like to redeem their status as a premier game development company, one start would be to drop the Front Mission Evolved concept and go back to the strength of the Front Mission franchise. Gamers should see through cheap imitations and in the gaming industry, originality and novelty are still keys to a game’s popularity and fan support.

Bayantel: Worst DSL Service

Its been two weeks now since Bayentel’s Internet service started disconnecting again. Went through the usual drill of calling their technical support line. Had me turn off the modem while they reset it from their side. No go. They sent a technician last week who replaced the modem, splitter, phone cables, and even spliced and re-spliced the phone wire. That solved the problem temporarily, but today, I’m experiencing disconnections again.

Imagine yourself on the verge of winning that Internet Chess match, or DOTA skirmish, or even just an online poker match, then suddenly, you see your modem’s light start blinking. Makes you wanna throw your modem out the window. Argh!!! Lost again, and not because of my skill, but because of my incompetent Internet service provider. If you’re considering an Internet connection for your business needs, you would want a reliable service, all the more reason to avoid Bayantel.

If you’re considering an Internet service provider, do yourself a favor and avoid Bayantel DSL, no matter how their representative tries to pitch the sale. You’ll avoid a lot of head-ache and wasted time troubleshooting.

Books Are Better During Thunderstorms

The rainy season has begun, and with the rains come lightning strikes and thunder claps. Many a time in my life have I ended up replacing computer parts due to current surges. A busted power supply (PS), or a fried network card, or worse, a destroyed mother board with all critical components – processor, memory, and PS.

This is the reason I have developed the habit of shutting down my computer during thunderstorms. It is better to be safe than sorry, and end up shelling out cash to repair a broken computer. My siblings have not inherited this habit, and still use their laptops, reasoning that there is no direct link (wiring) where the current surge can possibly pass through since their laptop is unplugged, and they access the internet through wi-fi. (I still think EMPs resulting from strong thunderstorms is possible and can damage electrical devices, but they are skeptical).

So how does one pass the time when one has grown accustomed to the Internet? Enter my old friends – books!!! Books don’t require batteries, are easier on the eyes, and keep you focused on the topic the material was written for. No distractions popping up every now and then, diverting your attention to a different site. No instant messages (IMs) taking away your attention. And it is easy to know where you left off since books use real book marks.

And books cost significantly lesser than PCs. You also don’t have to worry about electrical currents running through your book (unless its made of metal or any good conductor). I predict a time might come in the future when people are thrown back into an age without electricity where books will once again be the main source of information (a throne the Internet has currently displaced it from).

So hold on to those old books. Either they become antiques, or once again become the fads of tomorrow.

NBI Clearance Quality Control

Apologies but I have moved this article to http://nathanweisz.blogspot.com/2011/09/nbi-clearance-quality-control.html