tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31706531704368241572024-02-08T09:41:38.435-08:00National Disaster in the PhilippinesNCR was understate of calamity and nearby provinces.BERNZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867875613109324291noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3170653170436824157.post-20218613517464166852009-09-27T02:23:00.000-07:002009-09-27T02:23:37.201-07:00National Disaster<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.gmanews.tv/evideo/48315/aerial-inspection-of-ondoys-damage-in-pasig-marikina-and-rizal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; display: block; height: 400px; width: 480px;">This page requires a higher version browser</iframe><br />
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Result of thyphoon "ondoy or KETSANA"<br />
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Reported at GMA-NewsBERNZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867875613109324291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3170653170436824157.post-81161137381280129772009-09-26T05:31:00.000-07:002009-09-26T19:22:26.223-07:00Resident Evil 5<div style="text-align: justify;">From the ashes of old conflicts, a new terror arises. The Umbrella Corporation and its crop of lethal viruses have been destroyed and contained. But a new, more dangerous threat has emerged. Years after surviving the events in Raccoon City, Chris Redfield has been fighting the scourge of bio-organic weapons all over the world. Now a member of the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSSA), Chris is sent to Africa to investigate a biological agent that is transforming the populace into aggressive and disturbing creatures. Joined by another local BSSA agent, Sheva Alomar, the two must work together to solve the truth behind the disturbing turn of events. Featuring a revolutionary new co-op mode of gameplay, Resident Evil 5 will let players experience fear together as terror moves out of the shadows and into the light of day. Co-producer and series veterans Jun Takeuchi (Lost Planet) and Masachika Kawata (Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles) unleash an unprecedented level of fear for the new generation in Resident Evil 5, the sequel to one of the highest-rated videogames in history according to Metacritic.com and Gamerankings.com. Promising to revolutionize the series by delivering an unbelievable level of detail, realism and control, Resident Evil 5 is certain to bring new fans to the series. Incredible changes to both the gameplay and world of Resident Evil make this a must-have game for gamers across the globe.</div>BERNZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867875613109324291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3170653170436824157.post-3609825305947797742009-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:002009-09-26T03:23:46.118-07:00Order of War RELEASED: September 22, 2009<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Square <span class="SpellE">Enix</span> has been celebrated throughout the years as one of the top Japanese development studios in the world. Their latest production treads down the well-worn path of World War II games, a move that some would consider inherently risky, given the high probability that any WWII game will be compared to all others within its genre. Even so, the lure is a strong one. People are perhaps more familiar with World War II than any other major conflict, so the universal appeal of a familiar subject matter perpetuates its popularity among game developers.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" > <img style="margin: 4px;" src="http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/37/9/43/s37943_pc_4.jpg" width="450" border="0" height="281" /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Unfortunately, using such a well-known premise does kill a bit of the excitement of seeing the war play out. Even so, Order of War manages to achieve what few WWII RTS games accomplish. The Allied campaign begins predictably with the invasion of Normandy, and the player is tasked with advancing the American forces further inland, capturing point after point until Berlin has fallen. The modern and perhaps slightly daring approach with Order of War can be found in the scope of its campaign, which does not simply settle for being grand in scale, but offers a look at events through the eyes of the German war machine. While Order of War is not the first game to offer a German campaign, it is certainly among the best attempts to be found in the genre.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" > <img style="margin: 4px;" src="http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/37/9/43/s37943_pc_8.jpg" width="450" border="0" height="281" /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Like many other war strategy titles, Order of War focuses on point-to-point capturing and rewards fulfillment of objectives with additional reinforcements. This causes the player to carefully consider the risk versus reward in each combat scenario; taking a landmark might grant greater manpower to one’s forces, but is it worth risking the number of casualties as a consequence of the assault? Experience points can be used to upgrade the abilities of your units, rather like “Company of Heroes”, to improve everything from the efficiency of your infantry to the accuracy of your artillery. Strategic planning will be crucial if any campaign progress is to be made. Bonus objectives can also be carried out to earn extra rewards, which also serve to strengthen your army’s resources. This helps to extend the <span class="SpellE">replayability</span> of the game, and provides a nice treat for thorough and inquiring minds.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >The impressive scale of the battlefield itself can be a bit daunting, to say the least. While the large scale conflicts are impressive to gaze upon, the pace of the game generally discourages excessive feasting on eye-candy. This replaces the dull monotony of prolonged gameplay sessions with a sometimes profound sense of exhaustion; you will often need to think clearly and quickly under strained circumstances, rather authentically simulating how a real battlefield commander would need to operate. Fortunately, Order of War manages to successfully translate its thoughtful mechanics to the online multiplayer modes. These modes are extremely fun, and they run very smoothly with just a few players in each match. Unfilled slots can even be occupied with computer-controlled elements if need be.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" > <img style="margin: 4px;" src="http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/37/9/43/s37943_pc_12.jpg" width="450" border="0" height="281" /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >With a wide array of adjustable graphical settings, Order of War is an experience that should be compatible with most decent computer platforms. That being said, it becomes a real visual powerhouse when the settings are cranked up, with layers of foliage and water effects dazzling the eye. The audio is equally impressive, with sharp cues and thunderously percussive elements immersing the player in their own private war. There is always plenty going on, and the battlefield feels consistently believable and “alive”. Despite the obviously strong precedent set by previous WWII strategy titles, Order of War has little to complain about and will definitely appeal to the hardcore tactician.</span></p><a href="http://www.bernz-gamesupdates.blogspot.com"></a>BERNZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867875613109324291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3170653170436824157.post-2029226645531030672009-09-24T18:33:00.000-07:002009-09-24T18:48:15.828-07:00Diablo 3 Coming Soon<span style="font-size:100%;">AND THE HEAVENS</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">SHALL TREMBLE</span><br /><br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.coldheat.de/archiv/bilder/games/diablo-3-splash.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.coldheat.de/archiv/bilder/games/diablo-3-splash.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /> <br /><span style="font-size:180%;">T</span>wo decades have passed since the demonic lords, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, set out across the world of Sanctuary on a vicious rampage, twisting humanity to their unholy will. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils, the memory fades slowly.<br /><br /> <br />When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram Cathedral seeking clues to defeat new stirrings of evil, a fiery harbinger of doom falls from the heavens, striking the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. This fire from the sky reawakens ancient evils and calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells once again.BERNZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867875613109324291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3170653170436824157.post-54165299011987391132009-09-24T18:19:00.000-07:002009-10-04T07:51:07.463-07:00Supreme Commander Forged Aliance<div style="text-align: justify;">t's hard to come up with a real-time strategy game that's as large and ambitious as Supreme Commander, which came out at the beginning of this year. The spiritual successor to 1997's famed Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander is a sci-fi strategy game that occurs on a scale far larger than regular RTS games. With battlefields that are as large as 40-by-40 square kilometers (or even 81-by-81 in skirmish and multiplayer), the game offers a lot of flexibility and room. When you flash forward to the end of the year, we get Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance. What's impressive is the amount of stuff that developer Gas Powered Games has managed to squeeze into the standalone expansion in relatively little time. <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Forged Alliance delivers six massive new single-player missions, as well as a slew of welcome improvements and enhancements. These include a new user interface, a graphical upgrade, and a fourth playable faction. The game continues the story of the 1,000-year old Infinite War, where three warring factions of humanity have slugged it out against one another. There are the regular humans in the United Earth Federation, the cybernetic humans in the Cybran Nation, and the alien-influenced humans in the Aeon Illuminate. The end of Supreme Commander showed the "end" of the Infinite War. Depending on which faction you played as, you seized control of the Black Sun superweapon, fired it, and won the war for your side. But if you stayed and watched the end of the credits, Supreme Commander hinted at something else. A rift opened, unleashing an alien horde known as the Seraphim. Forged Alliance picks up a couple of years later, with the surviving human factions trying to fend off extinction. You can play as any of the human factions in the six-mission campaign, and your choice will affect the dialogue that you hear, as well as some of the secondary missions, but the core objectives remain the same in all cases. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If the three single-player campaigns in Supreme Commander have a weakness, it's that each one ramps up slowly. The first mission gives you access to the most basic of units and buildings, then each successive mission unlocks new toys with which you can play. But it isn't until the final mission that the game unlocks all of your units and buildings. By that point, there isn't a lot of opportunity to play with the really cool stuff, like mighty experimental units, which are gigantic war machines that can turn the tide of battle. Sure, you can always play a skirmish or multiplayer game and get access to everything, but the single-player story always feels a bit lacking in that regard. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That problem is solved with Forged Alliance, which assumes that you've played through Supreme Commander and are ready to remove the training wheels. Each of Forged Alliance's six missions gives you access to almost everything from the get-go, with a handful of new units introduced during the course of the campaign. There's no ramp-up here because each battle is far bigger than anything seen in the original game. The warfare is much more epic and the battles are that much fiercer. You'll finally be able to unleash navies, air forces, and armies on huge maps. Opponents will throw masses of advanced and experimental units at you, which you'll need to respond to in kind. The average mission will take at least an hour and a half or so, although some will take longer. There's a nice variety of missions, including a large, naval battle set amid frigid seas; a desperate last stand against overwhelming odds; and a struggle among three sizeable foes. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can't play as the alien Seraphim in the campaign; they're only available in skirmish or multiplayer. Skirmish mode introduces a nice new adaptive artificial intelligence personality that alternates between offense and defense. There are also a slew of new maps to beef up the overall number considerably. Multiplayer over Gas Powered Games' excellent GPGNet service is excellent because it makes matchmaking a breeze. You can also check statistics, watch replays, and track the geographical location of your opponents. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On top of the epic campaign, Gas Powered found time to completely redo the user interface, making it slightly more informative and a lot more attractive. Supreme Commander's interface always seemed bland and dated, but this new UI is sharper and more colorful. The interface improvements are nothing compared to the graphical upgrade. For example, polygon counts on units, textures, and shaders have been improved; thus, the difference between Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance is almost startling. However, this comes at a slight price because performance seems to bog down a bit more on midrange machines, but you can tweak the settings down to what they were before. On high-end rigs, the graphics are a very nice improvement. <br />
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</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Forged Alliance does feature some balance tweaks that aren't quite as welcome. One of the most notable is how nuclear weapons have basically been taken out of the picture. Nukes now take a ridiculously long time to construct. In fact, they take so long that they're almost useless because almost any game can be resolved before a nuke is even constructed. For instance, the UEF's mighty and superexpensive Mavor artillery gun, which can launch an unending barrage of shells anywhere on the biggest maps, is a lot faster to build than a single nuke, as well as a lot more valuable. As it is right now, nukes seem like a red herring. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from the nuke quibble, there's a lot to like in Forged Alliance because it makes an already gargantuan game bigger and better. Supreme Commander fans will finally get to experience campaign missions that let them unleash the full weight of their arsenals, while the size and scope of the game remains far beyond almost anything else on the market. When we look back at 2007 in terms of strategy gaming, it may very well be remembered as the year of Supreme Commander. <br />
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