Mirror’s Edge First Impressions
Friday, December 19, 2008There was a substantial amount of hype when Mirror’s Edge was being developed. I, too, was taken in by the beautiful trailer when it first came out and was pretty psyched to get my hands on the game.
So the game came out and reviews were written. Surprisingly, they weren’t as high as I had hoped, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to play it.
Fast forward to the present, Marv gave me Mirror’s Edge as an early Christmas present and I couldn’t wait to try it out! Here’s my first impression of it after playing it for 4 hours so far (no, I haven’t ended it yet).
I won’t elaborate much of the story for now, I just want to focus on the gameplay and don’t want to make this a very long post.
Mirror’s Edge is, at its core, a platforming game. You play a runner called Faith who gets around the city via parkour. You run, leap and vault across buildings, scaffolding, pipes, etc. What makes it significantly different from platforming games of old is that it’s played in First Person view with beautifully detailed graphics in full 3D. And I tell you, the environment is GAW-JUSS!
Getting right down to it, the game is fun. Not only is it fun, it’s damn addictive. I played it until my thumb felt like it was starting to blister. I didn’t care that I had to do things over and over again until I got it right. I didn’t find the combat system that awkward, nor did I find disarming the cops of their weapons tough. Are reviewers becoming sissies or something?
Also, the game is about running. Expecting it to perform like an FPS is completely missing the point. This is not Counter Strike or Call of Duty, people. If it performed as such, it would become an entirely different game.
Granted, there are points in the game where you have to confront cops and can’t run from them lest you find yourself riddled with bullets, but you just have to stop and press the right button in time to disarm them one by one. Have patience, and it will reward you.
Jumping around the city is not only fun, it’s really quite an experience. Once you get to the point where she’s running at full speed and you’re stringing moves one after another; leaping, climbing and bouncing off walls; it just feels so…perfect. It’s like a well-choreographed dance, alebit way more dizzying (in a good way). From time to time you may find yourself stuck but that’s where the challenge lies. Once you overcome a roadblock, it feels so rewarding.
The only thing that I have a gripe about are the 2D cutscenes. I know that it’s stylized and all that but I’ve seen cartoons look better, and I expected it to actually look like the in-game graphics. But that’s just my personal taste. Oh, and what’s up with always depicting asian chicks with bob cuts? Look at Gi from Captain Planet or Grace Nakamura from the Gabriel Knight series. Either way, Faith’s character design is still awesome:
I suppose it all just boils down to taste. It just saddens me that people see the review score then decide to not pick up the game at all. In fact, sales of Mirror’s Edge aren’t that high.
There is no other game out there like this and it’s a shame that so many people are missing out on it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get back to playing the game.
Early X-mas Presents!
Just a short, happy post:
Marv and Kei and I exchanged presents yesterday! Whee! I got stuff from my wishlist. From Kei, I got the Lip and Lid Primer from Smashbox (haha! I’m so excited to try it out later when I get to work!)…
…and from Marv, I not only got the “Mirror’s Edge” game for the PS3, but two “Mirror’s Edge” comics and a coupon where I can download some “Mirror’s Edge” music from the Net (thanks sooooo much, sweetie, for the extra goodies!).
YAY!
Left 4 Dead
Thursday, December 18, 2008
“Left 4 Dead” by Valve is one awesome FPS. Think “Counter Strike” meets “28 Days Later”. The single player mode in itself is quite fun but the game truly shines when you’re playing co-op mode with friends. There is more emphasis on teamwork with you having to heal and protect each other from the rampaging hordes of zombies that run after you to rip you to shreds. Plus, it’s great fun and roars of laughter ensue when you start having screaming matches at each other for not sticking together or helping each other out.
If playing the survivors gets a bit ho-hum for you, you could always try playing the infected for a different change of pace. There are different zombie classes to choose from, each with a different “skill”, so to speak. Unfortunately you can’t choose which zombie to play as it seems to be randomly generated (if I am wrong, please let me know how to choose which class to play. kthx.)
BOOMER
The Boomer is pretty much an obese zombie covered with disgusting boils and lumps. His specialty? Throwing up on his victims. While that may sound pretty harmless, his bile actually attracts an army of screeching zombies that will start rushing towards whoever gets thrown up on. If you are playing a survivor, don’t shoot him up close. Doing so will make him explode and his blood/bile will splatter on you, thus attracting his undead brothers and sisters.
SMOKER
This freak of nature has a very, very, very long tongue which he uses to grab, drag, strangle and/or slowly poison his victim. When a survivor gets attacked by a Smoker, he is utterly helpless and the only way he could escape its grasp is if his/her teammates would help him out. A Smoker is vulnerable while using his tongue attack.
HUNTER
The Hunter pounces on his victims and continuously rips them to shreds. I find him quite boring, to tell you the truth. So, yeah. That’s all I can say about him.
TANK
If you’re lucky, you’ll get to play the Tank. He’s the strongest zombie both in defense and offense, and can lift debris/cars and hurl it at the Survivors. It takes a shit load of ammo (and alot of teamwork) to take a Tank down. Did I forget to mention he’s huge? Because he is, you know.
I’ve been playing “Left 4 Dead” for 2 days now with friends and I’m itching to get back to playing it again. This is definitely one of my favorite games of the year. Check out videos of the game in Youtube. Some are quite funny, especially when you can hear the players scream, cry, laugh at each other while playing.
ACV: An All-Natural Toner!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008For the past few days, I’ve been trying out some homemade organic recipes with some rather interesting ingredients. Guess what I’ve been using lately as a toner at night?
Ok, before you think I’m nuts, read on to find out the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar as a toner for the face.
Vitamins, Minerals, Etc.
ACV is anti-bacterial in nature and is chock-filled with vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin, A, vitamin P, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and vitamin B6) and minerals/nutrients such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, chlorine, sodium, sulfur, copper, iron, silicon and fluorine. It also contains AHAs. I’m sure you girls know that AHA stands for Alpha Hydroxy Acids which is a common ingredient found in various manufactured products such as creams, toners, etc. AHAs promote skin renewal and reduce the signs of skin aging such as age spots and wrinkles. They are also present in chemical peels which your friendly neighborhood dermatologist would administer to your face to reduce hyperpigmentation and acne scars.
Preparation & Application
If you decide to use ACV as toner, make sure that you buy the organic, unfiltered kind to enjoy the benefits of all it’s raw nutrients. Check out Healthy Options for BRAGG Apple Cider Vinegar (pictured above) for pure ACV goodness. I have to say that this is pretty potent stuff. So do not apply ACV to your face without diluting it with water first! I usually mix one part ACV to two parts water. You can adjust the measurements to your liking, depending on how tough your skin is, but mine is pretty sensitive. Also, it’s best to use it at night because you wouldn’t want to be stinking like vinegar during the day.
Review
I’ve been using it since Sunday evening and I’m liking the results so far. It dried up my pimples and my blemishes are slowly fading away. I’m not sure if this is because of the toner alone, or if it’s also because of the facial clay mask that I’m using on my face as well. Either way, I’m sticking to this regimen. My face feels smoother and it has a nice healthy pink tinge to it. Take note that it is a bit drying so be sure to apply moisturizer afterwards.
Read other reviews of using a ACV as a toner here.
Apple Cider Vinegar has many other benefits when taken as part of your diet. It aids in weight loss and digestion, to name a few. Check out the full list of benefits here.
Bentonite Facial Clay Mask
Friday, December 12, 2008Are facial clay masks part of your beauty regimen? They should be! Clay has been used for thousands of years for deep skin cleansing and detoxification. In fact, animals and people in some cultures actually eat clay to heal internal ailments and neutralize poisons (I, personally, wouldn’t go that far, though).
It is best that you buy clay when it is in it’s pure, powdered form rather than when it is manufactured and comes in a ready-to-use form in a tube. This is to ensure that the clay does not contain any fillers and preservatives. So off I went to Healthy Options in Serendra. They are, after all, known for their organic products. I asked them if they had any clay masks and I ended up buying this:
The packaging doesn’t look all that great but it is made out of 100% pure Calcium Bentonite clay. The instructions read that you have to mix it with either water or apple cider vinegar. Damage was P400+for 1 lb. of the product.
When I got home I didn’t have apple cider vinegar on hand so I just mixed the powdered clay with water in a small plastic bowl. Take note that you shouldn’t use a metal bowl. It took a while before I got it at the right consistency. The trick is to stir it up a bit then let the globs of clay powder sit in the water to absorb it for a while. Then keep on mixing it until it becomes a smooth paste. I didn’t have a brush with me so I used my hands to gently smooth it over my face. Your face will look like this (pic taken from the product’s website):
While waiting for the mask to dry, I felt my skin warm up, tighten and pulsate. Oddly enough, it felt quite nice and I wanted to nod off and fall asleep with my mask on. After 15 minutes of waiting, my face was so tight that I couldn’t talk at all so I washed it off with warm water. Reddening of the skin is common when using this product because it draws circulation to your face and is part of the skin renewal process. So what was the result?
The mask is amazing! It exfoliates, cleanses and tightens the pores and my skin felt baby smooth. My white heads were loosened and fell off and my skin felt really, really clean. It is quite drying so it is advisable to follow up with a moisturizer afterwards. I used Celeteque’s Moisturizer (water-based and oil free!) then when to bed.
The next morning my face still felt really smooth and supple. Some tiny zits that I had were dried up and I kept touching my face because it felt so soft. I decided to read up on reviews of this product and it turned out I wasn’t the only one who was amazed at the results. Using apple cider vinegar instead of water, however, makes it a very potent acne remedy. In fact, I read that using apple cider vinegar as a toner effectively clears your face of blemishes. Once I get my hand on that vinegar, I’ll make a follow-up post about it’s effectiveness with the clay mask.
I highly recommend this product! Try it out yourself and let me know what you think about it. More info about this clay could be found here.
