Wednesday 30 December 2015

UbiCollectibles announces Ezio Auditore - Leap of Faith figurine

Some blog updates after a long time..

UbiCollectibles just announced a new Ezio figurine; a diorama of the famous Leap of Faith action from the games.

Looks great! Amazed at how long it took for a 'Leap of Faith' diorama to turn up, but it's finally here. It's great to see UbiCollectibles releasing new figures of the Assassins, apart from the standard releases in the Collector's Editions. The Syndicate diorama and this Ezio shows that they are willing to be a bit more creative in their poses.

Just a little worried how this statue will hold up after a couple of months, with a leaning pose like this. Hopefully they will be able to get it right or this will have to be re-named 'Leap of Tragedy'.

I believe this is something in UbiCollectibles' line of dioramas after the Altair Bell one.

We already have the Ezio Bust and now this diorama.. Hoping to see what they come up with next! 
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Friday 18 December 2015

Trying out GTA Online's Low Riders update

Just trying out one of the new additions to GTA Online.. The Low Riders update featuring Benny's Motorworks..

Here's a video detailing some of the customization options which are unique to this garage..



Quite a lot of cool stuff to add.. Tried some myself with the limited budget I had and this is what I came up with..



Not bad eh?
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Thursday 17 December 2015

Transferring to GTA Online on PS4..

And finally! After almost a year since GTA V came to PS4, I finally transferred over!

The revival of the crew I manage, Temasek Thugs on the PS3 platform, was a reason why I had been putting it on hold for a long time. However, with some the members slowly porting over to the newer console, it was time to go ahead.

Oh and of course, the Limited Edition Halloween Surprise Vehicles which were only on the new consoles was another major reason why I couldn't wait any longer, haha!


Oh and it was the last weekend where I could redeem some in-game bonus cash for pre-ordering GTA V.. For some reason, I was thinking the code was valid till the end of the year, lucky me!

I actually thought the whole transfer process was actually quite cool. The transfer of your character's saved data was delivered in a way that it was meant to be a prison transfer. It wasn't very elaborate but it was a nice touch to give you that feel. 

You can check out the process in the videos below, along with some of my personal details like how much I have in my bank and who my parents are..






Oh yea for some reason, a lot of the completed in-game achievements popped up again giving me more RP. No complaints there! Along with some Special T-Shirts which were in my inventory upon transfer.

So what do I think after the transfer to PS4?

Same game but a whole lot of difference. The visual upgrade is definitely obvious once you enter into the open-world but there's several additional features and modes as well. 




First person-mode alone would be worth getting this game all over again. I can't get used to the First-person mode on GTA so I haven't tried much of it, but it's a new experience that I would have to get my hands on, while playing story mode all over again.

Because of the First-person mode, we can now see the interiors of our vehicles.. and with that, we can now even customize the interiors of vehicles that we own. Most developers would have saved themselves the trouble by cutting back to Normal view once you enter a vehicle..but not Rockstar Games.

With this kind of fan service and additional content, who needs to sell DLC when you can sell 54 million copies of the game?!

Finally, for my recruitment talk..
With new and free updates coming to GTA Online, every month or so, Temasek Thugs' crew is growing with old members making the jump to PS4 and new members joining us regularly. If you are from Singapore, come join us at our Facebook Page. or request an invite to our crew at Social Club

Or if these are too troublesome for you, come join our PS4 Community and we will send you an invite!



We even have a Whatsapp group for 24/7 communication, if you don't mind your privacy being invaded...

So, come on and join Singapore's largest and most active GTA crew!
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Monday 7 December 2015

Syco Collectibles' Scorpion 1:2 Bust Collection Pics

Had this for quite a while already so can't believe I'm only post pics now. 

This 1:2 Scorpion Bust was produced by the now-defunct Syco Collectibles. I think it was the only Bust that they released. They had a Shao Kahn one in production but as far as I know, it wasn't publicly released.

Anyway some pics of the Scorpion Bust..


Pretty awesome! Some closeup pics..


and some pics of the base..


Looking at it again after so long just makes me want to keep it. I also have the PCS Collectibles' 1:1 Scorpion Bust but still love this piece. I have got a couple of offers for this so I had to take pics of it, for the buyer but if the deal doesn't go through, I would be glad to keep him after all. Let's see how it goes..
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Friday 4 December 2015

Far Cry Primal Gameplay Videos and Bonus Digital Content Revealed

Some new gameplay videos have emerged from The Game Awards show earlier this morning.


Here's the Beast Master Trailer




and here's a Developer Walkthrough of the weapons, animal companions & combat..



Looks like a lot of fun, calling on the help of the different beasts in the game. I didn't know these cavemen could actually talk.. thought all they said was Ugga Ugga!

Also, haven't seen any crazy villain, like Vaas or Pagan Min..

By the way, I saw a Ubisoft Community Manager also stating that there will be no Multiplayer in this game, so that's a bit of downer. Who wouldn't want to have a Multiplayer deathmatch between 2 tribes??



The Far Cry Primal Deluxe Edition was also announced.

"Packaged neatly in an exclusive SteelBook case, you’ll get a copy of Far Cry Primal, a map of Oros and the game’s official soundtrack."

Plus the following Bonus Digital Content:

Legend of the Mammoth missions – In three bonus missions you’ll see the world through the eyes of Oros’ largest beast: the mammoth.
  1. Duel of Beasts – Prove that you are the mightiest creature in Oros as you battle a powerful rhino spirit and his herd.
  2. The Trapped Elder – Hunters have captured your leader and you must break into their camp and free him, smashing everything that gets in your way.
  3. Hunt the Hunter – Lead your herd into battle and crush those who threaten you.


Blood Shasti Club – Once wielded by Ull, the leader of the bloodthirsty Udam tribe, this bloody club is unbreakable and cannot be destroyed by fire.

Four enhancement packs – Get early access to rare resources and unique customization options.


Far Cry Primal is one of my most anticipated games of 2016 even though I haven't touched all the previous Far Cry games. I really need to clear some of my backlog!
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PlayAsia's Holiday Deals - A New Deal each day

The Holiday Season always brings up some nice deals. PlayAsia has their own deals, with a new one revealed everyday.

Starting on Dec 1 and ending on Dec 20, a new deal will be revealed each day. Here are the deals and affiliate links revealed so far.


Dec 1

Fallout 4 [Pip-Boy Edition] (English & Chinese Subs)  - US$149.99





Dec 2




Dec 3

 -PSVXMASDEAL- USD$40 off PS Vita



More to come in the next few weeks!

Not the most amazing deals but you might be able to save a bit on certain items. Hope to see some better deals in the coming days..
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Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pack 2 Revealed!

Kombat Pack 2, also known as Season Pass 2, has been revealed for Mortal Kombat X

Featuring 4 new Kombatants;
Bo Rai Cho
Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre series (Guest Character)
Xenomorph from Alien  (Guest Character)
Tri-Borg

I'm going to start with a downer.. not too excited about more guest characters in the game, which dampens the realism for me. They are definitely cool characters and we can can get the Jason vs Leatherface & Alien vs Predator match-ups, that we have all been waiting for. Cool stuff but I would have swapped them for more actual MK characters, without any hesitation. 

Tri-Borg is actually a new form of the series' 3 cyborgs - Cyrax, Sektor & Smoke. I'm guessing they will use the 3 variations to feature each of the different Cyborg? So, looks like we won't get the fully-fledged Cyborgs with 3 variations each but this will do. Actually, it's a cool idea to add in all 3 Cyborgs into the roster, rather than leaving out some of them.

Bo Rai Cho isn't my favourite, out of the 'missing characters' list but he will be an interesting character to play. 

Here's the reveal trailer. 



I really liked this trailer. More story-like instead of solely revealing the 4 characters at the end. Hmm.. so is the Xenomorph a Tarkatan-hybrid?

Hopefully, they will throw in lots more free klassic skins, fatalities and arenas, with each release like they did with the Kombat Pack 1 characters.

Looks like no Spawn then? Perhaps in Kombat Pack 3?
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Thursday 3 December 2015

PlayStation Plus' December Free Games Lineup (All Regions)

December's PS Plus line-up has been revealed!

US PSN

Gauntlet: Slayer Edition (PS4)
King’s Quest — Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember (PS4)
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PS3)
SSX (PS3)
Freedom Wars (PS Vita)
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (PS Vita)





Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon, one of the games that is in my must-buy list but just never came around to getting it. In fact, I thought I already had it. Definitely very happy to see this added to the line-up, saving me some cash.



Gauntlet: Slayer Edition looks rather fun, very Diablo-esque style of gameplay. Might be giving it a try if there's others playing these as well. Co-op will be fun if I can get a few friends. (All 3 regions will be getting this in December, so anyone looking for a co-op partner, drop me a message!)


Asia PSN

Gauntlet: Slayer Edition (PS4)
King’s Quest — Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember (PS4)
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PS3)
SSX (PS3)
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (PS3, PS Vita)
Freedom Wars (PS Vita)




EU PSN

Gauntlet: Slayer Edition (PS4)
King’s Quest — Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember (PS4)
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PS3)
SSX (PS3)
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (PS Vita)
Freedom Wars (PS Vita)




Same lineup for all 3 regions in December. Some cool games to finish off the year!
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Wednesday 25 November 2015

Where to buy Bloodborne Old Hunters Edition?

Got a few questions coming in from friends overseas on where they can purchase the physical disc for the Asia-only Bloodborne Old Hunters Edition. (The edition with the original Bloodborne game packed with the Old Hunters Expansion).

So yea, just to share with you guys.. You can get it from Play-Asia. (Affiliate Links below, for those who wanna say thanks! ;) So shameful of me.. ) 

Bloodborne The Old Hunters Edition (Chinese & English Subs)



and for those looking for the Japan-Exclusive Limited Edition, which comes with the Old Hunters Edition as above, Guide Book & Mini-Soundtrack CD.



There won't be a problem using different region discs as all PlayStation 4 Consoles can play any Region discs. They are also having a sale for the US Region disc for the orignal game at US$25.99 if you prefer that.


Bloodborne 


I have purchased lots of games from them myself, so I can vouch that they are a reliable site. Have fun Monster-Hunting, friends!

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Tuesday 24 November 2015

GameStart 2015 Overall Thoughts

Just some GameStart 2015 thoughts after the dust has settled..

2K's BattleBorn was my surprise 'Game of GameStart'. It didn't have the presence of Evolve last year with a mega booth and neither did it have the crazy queues. Just 2 stations at the PlayStation booth, it was a quiet game which you could have missed

But, like Evolve last year, I went into GameStart with barely any prior knowledge about the game and almost zero interest in buying it. After trying it, that has changed. 

As a Borderlands fan, this game feels so comfortable. At GameStart 2015, I was only able to try the Solo Campaign mode, which feels so, very similar to Borderlands. The level design, the way the loot drops from defeating an enemy and even the style that enemy bosses are introduced, make this look like a re-skinned Borderlands.

So why am I so excited? 
25 playable heroes man! 25! I only tried out 3 and each one feels remarkably different. Hopefully, that will be the case for all 25 heroes, with their various skills and abilities. 

The game also looks to be set for a more fast-paced one, as compared to it's "spiritual predecessor". New abilities earned, as you level up, are chosen in a pop-up screen, rather than a pause menu. You hold the 'up' button to bring up the pop-up screen and choose L1 or R1, depending on which of 2 skills that you wish to add.

In Borderlands, I had to tell my friends to hold on, while I add a new skill each time I level up. A lot faster here in BattleBorn, which should be useful in whatever multiplayer modes they have planned. 

However, BattleBorn won't be having a zillion guns to play around with.. What a pity!

Definitely, looking forward to more announcements from this game but my only concern is, if there will be enough people playing this. Still.. this is something to look forward to, next year!

I played quite a number of games at GameStart 2015, but none of the rest stood out for me. There wasn't that 1 big game that everyone wanted to try or had enormous queues like Evolve last year.

But there were other highlights!

The Star Wars Battle Pod always had a queue though but the play time wasn't worth the wait. It was over pretty fast. So, was fortunate enough to try it on the first day with a shorter wait time.

However, it was PlayStation VR that stole the show this year. Taking up the entire 2nd level of the Playstation Arena, everyone wanted a piece of VR action. 

So.. yea that pretty much sums it up.. GameStart 2015 was less about games. There was a good number of games to try out but most of them were games that had already been released. I was hoping to see more playable demos of unreleased games. Uncharted 4, The Division, Overwatch to name a few.

Initially, I thought the timing of the event wasn't in favour. Held in Mid-November, GameStart 2015 comes just after the release of several big titles. Perhaps, playable demos for the upcoming releases be too early? 

Actually not.. a friend who attended PAX Australia just a week before GameStart 2015 had the opportunity to try out Uncharted 4 Multiplayer, The Division & Rainbow Six Siege. So, I'm curious as to why these games weren't available over here.


Crowd Management

The queues were crazy last year. Even several hours after the event started, there were long queues waiting outside to go in. Credit to the organisers, this issue was a lot better on the 2nd day itself. Guess they didn't expect the turnout to be that huge, but I thought it was very well-managed after the first day.

This year, was even better. I wasn't there early but I didn't see any long queues waiting outside. Apart from a few hiccups, everything looked pretty smooth. (I had a VIP ticket and on the first day I was allowed to walk right in, since I already had the tag. 2nd day however, I had to queue for the stamp even though I showed my tag so that was weird.)

Using 2 halls instead of one, probably did help. Additionally, queues at each booth also weren't as bad. Wait times looked pretty reasonable. The total number of visitors this year was more than last year's, so it was definitely much better-managed.

Another decision that helped could be due to the fact that the lucky draw wasn't held at the event. Conducting the lucky draw at the end of each day was a major boost to the overall excitement and it was something to look forward to.. 

However, it would have definitely led to hundreds of people hanging around in the halls waiting for the lucky draw. With the lucky draw being held off-event, it allowed visitors to leave once they were done, without losing out at a winning chance. Good decision, I say!


PlayStation Domination

I don't the organisers would want to admit.. but GameStart is getting PlayStation-dominated. I don't think I can fully fault the organisers for this but if the other Console companies don't support the event, Singapore might turn into a PlayStation-only community in the future.. 

Ok.. I was just exaggerating. Deep down, as a PlayStation-gamer myself, I don't really care but I don't see it being good for the event. I don't have 'that friend' where I can go over to play Xbox games, so it's at events like these, that I can get an opportunity to try out what a Xbox or Nintendo DS offers. 

With Rise of the Tomb Raider just released as a timed exclusive for Xbox One, it could have been a nice marketing opportunity.


Supporting Local

What's a local gaming event without some local gaming companies? 

The Mother of all Singapore Gaming Studios - UbiSoft Singapore was missing in action but there were plenty of local startups that were exhibiting. The genres didn't appeal to me much but it was good seeing them getting lots of love from the fans and there were some interesting games on show.


Merchandise & Freebies

Not the most important, but it's always nice to take away some Memorabilia, Collectibles or just something to sell from a gaming event. 

They didn't seem to be giving away stuff as freely as last year, where some booths gave away some freebies just for playing the demo. This time, you had to complete a survey. Still, not so bad, I got some nice loot.

What was really awesome this year, was that they managed to bring in BlizzCon 2015 merchandise for sale. Quantities were limited but it was really cool for them to offer something that was exclusive. Hope to see more of these next year!


My VIP Ticket

Oh yea, I got asked this question a lot.. Was my VIP ticket worth it? I paid SGD$58 for 3-day access while the regular 2-day ticket was SGD$22.

Yes it was! Of course, if you looked in terms of monetary value, not so much.. but I still got this cool socks and tee with my VIP Goodie Bag.

I'm a person who hates queues. I can't stand waiting in lines for something, even though I'm born-and-bred Singaporean. 

I'll rather go some place else to eat, if the queues are long. Or come back another time to get it. Even if it means paying slightly more, I would just buy it off someone, rather than waiting like an idiot for people to hurry the hell up. In other words, I'm impatient.. :P

So, the exclusive access on the first day was a real blessing. Queues were much, much shorter. I didn't have to squeeze past people to get from 1 place to another. I got to try almost everything, the event had to offer, without much hassle. 

Though, it was definitely a whole lot more fun hanging out with friends, the first-day gave me time to move at my own pace, like a lone Zombie. Some of the really good deals were sold out on the 1st day itself, so it was worth paying more, even though I didn't make full use of it this time.

Will I buy a VIP ticket again next year? Sure! If work permits, I would like the slower-paced 1st-day experience before going back the net 2 days with all the excitement.


Overall

It was a more than decent GameStart, definitely some good stuff at the event. Plenty of PlayStation VR booths, the probably never-to-be-experienced-again Star Wars Battle Pod and exclusive merchandise were definitely highlights of this year's event.

However, it lacked that impact which GameStart 2014 had. The excitement level seems to have dropped a notch instead of improving on its success last year. I hope it's not a issue where exhibitors are a bit more cautious after last year's more extravagant spending (Perhaps?). After all, it's all about the money. 

2015 saw a bigger exhibition in terms of space but not so much in terms of exhibits. Lots of empty spaces meant it wasn't as clustered but would have liked to see more exhibits.

Whatever it is, it's really fantastic to have such an event in Singapore. It's been a while since individual preview events which saw the likes of Borderlands 2, The Last of Us and Beyond Two Souls organised, so GameStart looks like the place to go, in terms of local gaming previews.

The organisers, have more or less, confirmed a GameStart 2016 will happen, so I'm definitely going back without a doubt. Till, next year, GameStart!
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Saturday 21 November 2015

AC Syndicate London Launch Party Gin Bottles & Bank Notes Collection Pics

More AC Syndicate Promo Items!


Gin Bottles

According to the person who sold me these, these bottles were actually used to serve Gin to guests at the Assassin's Creed Syndicate London Launch Party. These were not given out to guests. Instead, all the bottles were apparently destroyed after the party, but the seller managed to grab a few; 3 pairs he said. (I have 2 sets here).

So, really rare stuff! I think I got a bit too excited and bought 2 sets and paid quite a bit. Might have to sell away 1 set if the price is right.


Dollar Notes

These were given out at the party, to exchange for drinks I believe.. Seller was nice enough to give me a few of these together with the bottles.

Very special stuff, adding to the AC Syndicate Collection. Definitely more coming in the coming weeks!
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