Thursday 9 September 2010

Back to College and REACH!

I'm finally back in college...just great. But I suppose things aren't too bad. My college has recently completed its new building, so I've got a new place to explore. At first I thought it would be an effort to find my way around, but the layout is rather simple! Different areas (West, northeast etc.) are clearly signposted and make it easier to find your way around. It's even easier for me since I only need to get to the East and West areas for lessons. The whole look and feel of the college is fresh and slightly reminds me of those high schools/colleges you see on American TV shows. Whether that's a good or bad thing, I'm not sure, but either way I like the new college.

I'm especially like the new college year because of my timetable. Last year, I was faced with long days that usually had one or two lessons early, a one or two hour break and a lesson last. It was very long because during that time, I usually had nothing to do. Not even homework, since I finished it too soon. I couldn't go home either, since by the time I got back home, I'd have to leave for college again! But this year is totally different. I have one early start on a Monday, then the entire Tuesday off! The rest of the week consists of late starts, early leaving, and minimal breaks! I'm actually in one of those breaks now, writing this up at college. The timetable is a lot more forgiving this year, so that may help with the harder work I have to face.

On the note of games, Halo: Reach is out next week!! It comes out on the 14th September, a Tuesday, which I now have off! Seeing as this is the last Halo game by Bungie, I felt that I wanted the whole package, so I forked out the cash for the Legendary edition. The price? £100. I know, very steep, especially for a college student, but this is something I have wanted for so long! The contents of the Legendary Edition are:
  • Exclusive Noble Team statue from McFarlane Toys. Individually moulded, hand-painted and numbered
  • UNSC-themed custom packaging
  • An exclusive in-game Spartan armour effect- a flaming helmet

  • Game disc and manual in custom case modelled after a recovered ONI data module
  • A custom in-game Elite armour set for use in Reach's multiplayer modes
  • Artifact Bag containing a brand-new piece of the extended Halo universe - the personal notes and documents of the creator of the SPARTAN program: Dr. Catherine Halsey.
  • Dr. Halsey's ONI Security Badge
  • Embroidered Spartan II Patch
There is a lot of gear there that's simply awesome for any Halo fan! But I must say the price is steep, and should only be bought if you are a big fan of Halo. There is also the limited edition for £60 which includes everything in the second set of bullet points. Then of course there is just the game for £40. Make your choice.

I have to say the main thing I'm excited about in Reach is not the competitive multiplayer, but the Campaign. It looks to be a lot darker than the rest of the Halo series, and more explosive! There's also the very cool feature of making the main character you play as, Noble-6, look exactly like your online Spartan. So all the awesome gear you buy in-game with your credits can shine not only online, but in the Campaign (including in the cut-scenes). This same character model is used in every aspect of the game, from Campaign, to Firefight, to Forge and Online! It really makes you feel that YOU are Noble-6. A small feature, yes. But an effective one.

The Firefight is also a really fun mode I look forward to. Basically, waves of enemies are thrown at you and you have to fight through them, all while 'Skulls' are activated, making the game play harder (e.g. less ammo, stronger enemy shields). This was a popular mode introduced in Halo 3: ODST, but it has returned for Reach. The main appeal of the mode to me this time around is the customisation implemented into the mode. You can change which enemies appear, their weapons and behaviour, which skulls activated, what skulls actually do, time limits, number of waves....I could go on for hours. The depth of customisation is immense and will keep Firefight fresh for years!

I could talk about Reach for days, but I'll spare you. If you have an Xbox 360, buy Halo: Reach!! Ok, that's me done for this post.

...

Buy Halo: Reach.

Thursday 2 September 2010

Anime / Manga list

This week has just been so....meh. More so than usual. So instead of a post with actual meaning, I'm just going to post my Anime and Manga list. Be warned, it is a VERY long list! See you all next week, hopefully got something meaningful to say when college starts again.

Also some notes about the list:
An OVA is an Original Video Animation, made by the animators outside of the week-to-week releases. Also known as a "Special" episode.
Episodes usually last around 24 mintues. Just think about all the hours of Anime I have watched!
Chapters can vary in number of pages per chapter, but it is usually around 20-30 pages.

Anime [episodes]
• Naruto [220]
• Five Naruto OVAs (specials)
• Naruto Shippūden [176 ongoing]
• One Naruto Shippūden OVA
• Bleach [286 ongoing]
• Darker Than Black [25]
• One Darker Than Black OVA
• Darker Than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini [12]
• Four Darker Than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini OVAs
• Dragon Ball Z [276]
• Two Dragon Ball Z OVAs
• Dragon Ball GT [64]
• 11 Eyes [13]
• Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni [26]
• Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai [24]
• Wolf’s Rain [26]
• Candy Boy [7 + prologue]
• School Days [12]
• Deathnote [37]
• Canvas [2]
• Fullmetal Alchemist [51]
• Five Fullmetal Alchemist OVAs
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood [64]
• Three Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OVAs
• He’s My Master [12]
• K-ON! [14]
• One K-ON! OVA
• K-ON! Season 2 [22 ongoing]
• Loveless [12]
• Sonic X [78]
• Tenjou Tenge [24]
• One Tenjou Tenge OVA
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya [14]
• The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya [15]
• Vampire Knight [13]
• Vampire Knight Guilty [13]
• Fruits Basket [26]
• Chu-Bra!!! [12]
• The Legend of Koizumi [3]
• Working! [13]
• Mayoi Neko Overrun [13]
• Kaicho wa Maid-sama [22 ongoing]
• KissXSis [12]
• Three KissXSis OVAs
• Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-Chan [8]
• Elfed Lied [13]
• One Efled Lied OVA
• Angel Beats! [13]
• Highschool of the Dead [9 ongoing]
• Asobi ni Ikuyo [8 ongoing]
• Seitokai Yakuindomo [9 ongoing]
• Cat Shit One [1 ongoing]
• Black Rock Shooter [1 ongoing]
• Amagai SS [9 ongoing]

Movies
• Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
• Naruto: Legend of the Stone of Gelel
• Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
• Naruto Shippūden The Movie
• Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds
• Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire
• Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
• Ghost In The Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
• Ghost In The Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society
• Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa
• Bleach: Memories of Nobody
• Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion
• Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name
• Deathnote: Rewrite [LIVE ACTION]
• Deathnote: Rewrite 2 [LIVE ACTION]
• Battle Royale [LIVE ACTION]
• Battle Royale 2: Requiem [LIVE ACTION]
• Ten Dragon Ball Z/GT Movies
• The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Manga [chapters]
• Naruto [508 ongoing]
• Bleach [418 ongoing]
• Deathnote [108]
• Fullmetal Alchemist [108]
• Bloody Monday [96]
• Bloody Monday Season 2 [32 ongoing]
• White Cloud [1]
• 7th Period Is A Secret [3]
• Absolute Boyfriend [33]
• Alive! [10]
• Bitter Virgin [32]
• Liar Game [138 ongoing]
• It’s Not Like That, Darling [14]
• Love Strip [3]
• Battle Royale [119]
• School Days [12]
• Seishun Pop [7 ongoing]
• GE – Good Ending [46 ongoing]
• Are you Alice? [8 ongoing]
• Mysterious Girlfriend X [46 ongoing]
• Boyfriend [11]
• Lock-on [18]
• Hajime no Ippo [905 ongoing]
• Loop [1]
• No Bra [31]
• Highschool of the Dead [26 ongoing]
• Go! Tenba Cheerleaders! [22 ongoing]
• Ayu Mayu [29]
• Heads [9 ongoing]
• Kaicho wa Maid-sama [53 ongoing]
• Mirai Nikki [55 ongoing]
• Angel Beats – Heaven’s Door [5 ongoing]
• SWOT [8 ongoing]
• Akkan Baby [3]
• Always Together [1]
• 24 Colors – Hatsukoi No Palette [5]
• Futagami Double [1]
• Aoi Kiseki [5]
• Karakuchi Kakumei [1]