I have been playing Modern Warfare 2 every night (It's fighting with Dragon Age Origins over my attention). I'll probably get around to finishing the campaign and play some SpecOps one day but for now, MW2 is all about the multiplayer.
It's just like CoD4 all over again but somehow, I feel that the magic is somewhat lost. Does MW2 live up to all the hype? For me, it's a Yes and No.
I) Maps Maps Maps
The maps in CoD4 were very well done and fun to play. In MW2? Not so.
The map choices mostly consist of run-down urban areas with many buildings and tons of little hiding spots. Up till now, I still don't know some of them by name because they look rather similar. And then there is Wasteland which is possibly the worst map ever designed in any FPS. I think you can see what I am getting at. The way the maps are designed actually encourage way too much camping. I used to refer to CoD4 jokingly as "Camp of Duty 4" and it looks like it has come true!
A few gems stand out, though. My favorites are Terminal, Highrise, Sub-Base and a few of the smaller, non-camping ones. Even so, they are nowhere near the polish of the CoD4 maps.
II) Whatever Happened to Green Bars?
Throughout my 2+ weeks of playing, I have only been dropped into a grand total of 3 Asian servers via the public matchmaking system. It seems to think that players on the other side of the globe are a good match for me and 1-2 bar connections are perfectly okay.
In CoD4, the matchmaking system would prioritize matching me with Japanese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese and other Asian players. Something needs to be fixed.
III) You've Got Your RNG in my FPS
In my opinion, the Care Package/Emergency Air-Drop killstreaks are somewhat imbalanced and out of place. Sure, a bit of randomness is fun. But in an FPS? A competitive FPS? Something is terribly wrong. What were they thinking?
It's still a good game, though. I am sure Infinity Ward can fix things with a patching and some DLC maps.
Notice
I have moved to Wordpress:
http://penguinsnest.wordpress.com/
However, this Blogspot will still be used to try out new template designs and serve as a back-up.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Back from ICT 2009
My ICT is finally over. Other than being deprived of sleep, it was actually not as bad as I thought. It has been years since I was forced to wake up as early as 6 am.
The training programme ended up being completely different from what was uploaded online. During the in-pro briefing, they actually warned us not to post any sensitive material regarding our ICT on our Facebook, blogs, Twitter and whatever social networking sites we had nowadays. I'll just be briefly posting my own personal experiences and feelings about this year's ICT.
- Right on the first day, my feet were hurting like mad. I thought I had worn my brother's boots by accident so I went to buy a new pair of size 11s from the E-Mart using army credit. When I got home that night, I realized that I did outgrow my boots after all. I never thought I would still be growing at my age. It must be my feet getting fatter.
- My uniform was lacking a lot of the new badges because I was unaware of the recent changes. With the help of my guardian, I managed to have everything ready before the last day as there was a spot check before we out-processed. They also told us that there will be another new SAF uniform coming up and we have to buy that next time (it's not the crappy-looking pixelated green one).
- Most annoying thing about this ICT to me was the outfield exercise. Thankfully, it was short & sweet and, once it was over, the rest of the ICT went by rather quickly.
- Went to Jurong Superbowl on Thursday for unit cohesion programme. That was the first time I ever touched a bowling ball and probably the last time as well. I took a cab home after that and it costed $41 thanks to the peak hour charges. It was my most expensive cab ride ever.
- Watched the movie "We Were Soldiers" as it was aired after one of the lectures. Very nice. It feels so different when you watch a war movie in an army camp while in uniform. lol
Well, that's it for this year. We were informed that our next ICT is in 2011. It seems that other people get called back every year but we get it once every 2-3 years.
1 High Key, 1 Low Key down. 6 High Key, 2 Low Key to go.
The training programme ended up being completely different from what was uploaded online. During the in-pro briefing, they actually warned us not to post any sensitive material regarding our ICT on our Facebook, blogs, Twitter and whatever social networking sites we had nowadays. I'll just be briefly posting my own personal experiences and feelings about this year's ICT.
- Right on the first day, my feet were hurting like mad. I thought I had worn my brother's boots by accident so I went to buy a new pair of size 11s from the E-Mart using army credit. When I got home that night, I realized that I did outgrow my boots after all. I never thought I would still be growing at my age. It must be my feet getting fatter.
- My uniform was lacking a lot of the new badges because I was unaware of the recent changes. With the help of my guardian, I managed to have everything ready before the last day as there was a spot check before we out-processed. They also told us that there will be another new SAF uniform coming up and we have to buy that next time (it's not the crappy-looking pixelated green one).
- Most annoying thing about this ICT to me was the outfield exercise. Thankfully, it was short & sweet and, once it was over, the rest of the ICT went by rather quickly.
- Went to Jurong Superbowl on Thursday for unit cohesion programme. That was the first time I ever touched a bowling ball and probably the last time as well. I took a cab home after that and it costed $41 thanks to the peak hour charges. It was my most expensive cab ride ever.
- Watched the movie "We Were Soldiers" as it was aired after one of the lectures. Very nice. It feels so different when you watch a war movie in an army camp while in uniform. lol
Well, that's it for this year. We were informed that our next ICT is in 2011. It seems that other people get called back every year but we get it once every 2-3 years.
1 High Key, 1 Low Key down. 6 High Key, 2 Low Key to go.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
ICT 2009 Approaches
My reservist ICT begins next week and will last from the 9th to the 14th of November. This is actually only my second ICT. It has been 3 years since I was called up. I was hoping the SAF may have forgotten about me.
I have been rather sad about it for the past week and chose to drown my depression in Dragon Age: Origins, the new epic RPG by BioWare. It helps to take my mind off things.
Seeing that there is only one day left, I decided to read up on my ICT today. I actually had no idea what was in store for me until I checked the NS.sg website. Back then, the unit training schedules were never updated but this time, they actually bothered to uploaded it.
I was very relieved to learn that there would be no field camp this year. In fact, the only thing I found annoying was a TOPO exercise. Aside from that, it seemed to consist mostly of lectures & briefings. The schedule did not indicate whether if this was as stay-out ICT or not, but seeing that each day's activities end at 5:30 pm, it keeps my hopes high!
I have been rather sad about it for the past week and chose to drown my depression in Dragon Age: Origins, the new epic RPG by BioWare. It helps to take my mind off things.
Seeing that there is only one day left, I decided to read up on my ICT today. I actually had no idea what was in store for me until I checked the NS.sg website. Back then, the unit training schedules were never updated but this time, they actually bothered to uploaded it.
I was very relieved to learn that there would be no field camp this year. In fact, the only thing I found annoying was a TOPO exercise. Aside from that, it seemed to consist mostly of lectures & briefings. The schedule did not indicate whether if this was as stay-out ICT or not, but seeing that each day's activities end at 5:30 pm, it keeps my hopes high!
Sunday, November 01, 2009
More Holiday Titles
Continuing the crazy onslaught of holiday game titles, I picked up the new Ratchet & Clank game on Friday after work. I was planning to spend my weekend just gaming. Anything to take my mind off my upcoming ICT. I actually took leave next Tuesday to rest because it was getting me down.
Despite sleeping through most of the weekend, I still managed to spend over 15 hours on Magna Carta 2. At one point in the game, the story had me gripped and I kept on playing to see what happens next. It also helps that the battle system is actually fun. MC2 is shaping up to be one of my favourite JRPGs on the Xbox 360.
Ah, well. It's November. Titles that I am looking forward to this month:
03/11: Dragon Age Origins
- Massive RPG by Bioware.
10/11 : Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- It's like the whole world is waiting for this game. But my ICT... ugh.
19/11: Assassin's Creed II
- Enjoyed the first game and the sequel looks awesome.
Despite sleeping through most of the weekend, I still managed to spend over 15 hours on Magna Carta 2. At one point in the game, the story had me gripped and I kept on playing to see what happens next. It also helps that the battle system is actually fun. MC2 is shaping up to be one of my favourite JRPGs on the Xbox 360.
Ah, well. It's November. Titles that I am looking forward to this month:
03/11: Dragon Age Origins
- Massive RPG by Bioware.
10/11 : Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- It's like the whole world is waiting for this game. But my ICT... ugh.
19/11: Assassin's Creed II
- Enjoyed the first game and the sequel looks awesome.
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