Game review: Persona 4 Golden

Persona 4 Golden 

Platform: PS Vita

Now, I may be late to the party, but I have recently finished this wonderful game. Initially I started this game on the PS2. Yes it was released on the PS2 first but I never finished it. When I heard that they re-released the game with new content to the Vita I decided that I had to finish it! The story revolves around a small town called Inaba and you are a transfer student staying there for a year with your uncle. This small town eventually becomes an area of murderous crimes and it is up to you and your team to discover why and who the culprit is. With the use of your Personas, you defeat monsters whilst trying to find answers. It also has a pokemon-esque style of playing with its turn based attacks and finding new personas (or Pokemons).

So after many hours of it, I finally finished it. I have to admit, it has got to be one of the best games I have ever played in my life. For starters, it wasn't just about fighting or killing the end boss of each level. This game integrates a beautiful story line, with fighting, socialising, hanging out with friends, romance and even  exams!

What makes the game so good? It's the story and the feels you get when you play through it, you will come to love each and everyone of the characters that you meet. You find out more about them , you talk to them, you hang out with them and you can romance them.

The music is fantastic as well , although you may get sick of some of the repetitiveness of a particular song (heartbeat...heartbeat...heartbeat).

Overall, this game is a masterpiece and I wish I had finished it sooner. The dungeons are very linear and the monsters do not vary much except in colour and levels haha. Also some people may find the social aspect to be tedious, but I certainly enjoyed the banter with other characters and the feels when you come together.

There is also an animated version of this as well. But do play the game first before watching as it will spoil the story!

+ Amazing story
+ lots of content
+ Great music and combat
+ Personas are cool
+ Long game

- Dungeons are linear
- repetitiveness
- not much variety of monsters

Rating: 9.5/10

A tip to make your Android faster!

Just a quick tip to make your Android faster

Did you know that you can turn off animation? - Well you can! It's really simple and it'll make your older android phones much faster.

Here's how to do it:

Step 1:

Go into settings of your chosen Android Device.

Step 2:

Now you may have already have the developer option enabled but if not do not fret! It is really simple to enable!

Scroll down until you find  the ABOUT tab.

Click on the tab then click software and find the build number (this could be in more)

Tap the build number (7) times and around the 3rd time it will say tap four more times to enable developer options. 

Tap it four more times and voilà! You have enabled developer edition!

Step 3:

Now go back and tap of developer options. Scroll down to find advanced - then find animation!

Here you can either uncheck the animation to make it very zippy or you can just reduce it like I do (Around .5).

This is a really simple way to make your older phone faster! This should work with most android phones! I did this with my HTC ONE (M7).


I hope this helps!

Game review: Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragments

SAO: Hollow Fragments

Platform: PS Vita

If you have watched the anime then you will know what this game is about. Of course, it is about the world of SAO! This game was localised and released digitally last month of the PS Vita and it would be classed as an offline MMORPG action game.

You play as Kirito or the main protagonist of Sword art online. This game takes place after level 75 ( where the anime stops) but instead of being released from the death game, they are in fact stuck in the game still and have to complete the last 25 levels. For the  fans of the anime, this game will be a great buy, but for the ones that haven't seen it,  I would suggest watching the anime up to episode 14, just so you know some story and the characters that appear in the game.

The combat in this game, is like an MMORPG, you have skills and you can press buttons to perform these skills. The combat isn't terribly difficult, but it does take time getting used to. There are many skills to learn and many weapons to try out. You fight monsters, you level up, you gain  skill points to use for new skills.

Now the story has two sides, there is completing the 25 floors of Aincrad or you can go into the hollow area where you will meet a new character called Philia. This hollow area is the new content added and is not in the anime. Again, in this area you have to find out about the place and explore around just like an MMORPG.

This game is very fun, the combat feels slow but it is very fun once you get used to it. The story doesn't really exist from where I am now currently. But it's being  a fan of SAO I can appreciate the little bits of the game such as the characters, the sword skills and the environment and UI of the game. Similarly, I think non-fans will also enjoy it as it is a different type of game that you get on the PS Vita.

The game has so much to offer and it does feel like I am playing an MMORPG. The max level currently is 200 and I am only at 117 with so many hours played. The new patch coming soon will bump this up to 250! I have hardly advanced floors as I always get side tracked doing other stuff. You can unlock costumes for you partners and you can romance them as well. You can hold their hands, you can hang out with them and in doing so, you will unlock achievements. You can also customise Kirito if you don't want to look like him too. ( I prefer him as  default Kirito)

However, there is a big flaw with this game. The English translation or localisation is abysmal. Although I can understand it, the standard is not up to scratch. But I can live with that. The game sometimes feels really grindy too and areas feel very similar.

+ Great for SAO fans
+ Lots of content
+ Lots of levels
+ Cool Sword skills

- Bad translation
- Grindy

Rating: 8/10

MMORPG review: Wildstar

Platform: PC only

As a player that had almost given up on all MMORPGs, this game made me rediscover why I spent so much time on them. The game still has the familiar feeling other games but it does so in such a unique and humorous way. Since this is not based on a novel or any past IP, it has limitless potential. When I mean limitless it means it is not restricted by lore or content with the name such as World of Warcraft.

It can create anything without restriction. It has been out for a a good few months now and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. What's even more incredible is that you do not even have to pay subscription if you earn enough in-game currency where you can actually purchase game time! If you are on the fence about this, I'd say just try it! They've already released a lot of patches for the game to squash the bugs and everything else.

Combat is very fun, you can sprint, dodge and although the mechanics of skills seem familiar they have spiced things up by making nearly every skills castable while moving. Although it is not innovative, it is certainly fun and improved on the old traditional ways. It feels fast paced, a sense of achievement when you dodge away from skills and just feels super slick to play.

The Sci-fi style is a much needed change from the traditional mmorpg's such as knights/wizards/priests etc and I think this is what made people interested in it. The humour really makes the levelling and content fun. There isn't just fighting x amount of mobs, there's also challenges and little easter eggs to find. For example, I was questing near the Aurin's place and discovered what looks to be the Mad hatter having a tea party. I was thoroughly laughing at this. 

This game caters towards the hardcore gamers and also try to incorporate casualness in it. Now while this is a good idea, it did fail to cater towards both. For a casual once you level up to the maximum level ( which isn't very hard), there really isn't much to do for  a casual. You can try to do the dungeons or adventures, but they are much harder than before. To get better gear, you had to do these. To get even better gear, you had to do them but on harder levels. Now this game gave a developed a bit of elitism as it used a medalling system where you get better loot as you do the dungeon better. 

For me, I enjoyed the levelling but I did not enjoy the dungeon aspects. Thus, there wasn't much to do after except dailies. Now I know this might have changed since I wrote this but it is a good game and enjoyable to play. Class balance also needed as some classes were broken and others were too overpowered.

+ Good MMORPG to play
+ Humorous
+ Limitless potential
+ Fun combat

- Elitism at end levels
- Not much to do at end levels
- Class balance

Rating - 7.5/10

Mauritius 3

The beautiful country of Mauritius and people

Mauritius is a beautiful place. Now, the north and the south of the country are actually quite different. The North generally has the sandiest beaches with the area packed with more tourists. The capital is also located there called Port Louis.

The South is actually quite different. Although there are nice beaches, the areas are less developed and slightly more naturalistic. I would urge you to see both areas as they are very different. The people are very nice here, they shake your hand to greet you and generally everyone around. A lot can if not most, can speak English, so language would not be a problem especially in touristy areas.

Port Louis Capital

The Beaches of Mauritius

The Beaches of Mauritius

My friend Walking on the Seabed! Amazing

This is a house made out of Coral

South of Mauritius! Nothing like the advertisement!

One of the Natural wonders of the world - Seven coloured Earth

Mauritius waterfalls in the South!

Food is generally cheap if you know where to go and if you are on a tight budget. It can get very expensive if you go to restaurants around tourists areas. If you go to local places and food stands, they are very cheap! The cuisines can vary but there are a lot of Indian style cuisines but it is very delicious! You must try the Roti and Briyani there. It is cheap and amazing!

My Mauritius Journey 2

It's funny, my flight was late for the introduction and I did not realise that most people had already arrived. I was the last to arrive. My flight was delayed so I landed late and when I came out of the airport, no one was there to pick me up (someone was supposed to).

It was hot and I was aware that I was rather alone. Luckily, I met a nice fellow who helped me. He rang up the number I was given and was told that the driver would be coming now. So I waited and had a good banter with the nice chap. Eventually, the driver arrived and I said my thanks and was on my way.  I was feeling rather nervous since I was late, everyone was there already and must have introduced themselves. So many thoughts were racing through my mind at the time.

One of the first thoughts that raced through was the scenery, it was a lot different than I  had imagined and people a lot friendlier than I thought as well. Other thoughts included, I just got off a 13+ hour flight journey and I looked hideous and how I should approach everyone who have already settled there. As soon as I arrived I looked around  where we are. It was a very quaint village with hardly anything on either side. It was strange, I expected more to the place. I hastily carried my luggage out of the car and stared up at the building I was supposed to enter. I was greeted by another person that ushered me in. I took a deep breath and entered the building. Everyone's head turned as soon as I appeared. Curious faces and smiling individuals. My mind was blank, but I was asked to to first place my luggage on the stage. I did that and then I went back down to sit.

I was welcomed by one of the Aiesecers of Mauritus. His name was Chaman. I felt at ease when I spoke to him. He introduced himself and told me a few words to describe him. I was then asked to do the same. Afterwards ( since everyone was paired up) we had to stand up and introduce each other to the rest of the group. Following this, other ice-breakers ensued with chatting, presentations ( I forgot to send mine so I had to give a speech) and lunch. Here, I began to meet fellow individuals like me on this project and realised everyone was just as nervous as I was. Everyone was in the same situation. I had yet to realise that I would form such a special bond with them and memories that will last forever.

After the introduction, we were allowed to go back to the house. As I was chatting with my newly found friends, I didn't realise where we were going. It was only a short walk to our accommodation and it did not register that  I would be living upstairs to the landlord with 11 other people. As I saw the house, I believed that the whole house was for us, however, I was shocked that only the top half of the house was for us. I stood there and thought 'how could  possibly 12 people live here?'.

View from our accommodation

Since everyone was already settled, everyone went up first and I came last. Two guys from Pakistan immediately said that I could stay with them in their room. I realised that that the house was tiny and there was only 5 rooms for 12 people. however,  one room was the WIFI room and was not recommended for sleeping. There was a living room two shower rooms and a kitchen as well. Everything was basic, but I didn't mind. However, the place was rather unclean and a bit smelly. At first I said I would stay in the WIFI room but was convinced by Neeresh that it was not a good choice and eventually stayed with Bilal and Hasan in their room. This was the first time sleeping on the same bed as another guy and this was for 7 weeks haha.

The Wi-Fi room with super slow connection - Kind of missed this!

My fellow Aiesecers were very multicultural - The 12 of us included:

• 4 from Pakistan - Hasan, Bilal, Maria, 
• 2 from India - Sahil and Archit
• 1 from Taiwan - Melissa
• 1 from China - Winnie
• 1 from Poland - Ania
• 1 from France - Orphee
• 1 from Croatia - Veronika
• and me from the United Kingdom

My multicultural family whom I miss a lot still! The struggle and the joy we had for 7 weeks was awesome!

My Aiesec Journey in Mauritius

I know this is a very late post about this (A year after). I got lazy haha. But This journey really gave me a new insight and experience into life in a different country and I am grateful that I jumped into this opportunity.

So after my second year of University Shenanigans, I was trying to find an internship, but alas, I was unsuccessful. However, I did not want to waste my time moping and rolling around at home, I decided to look for alternatives. Remembering that my sister did volunteering in Taiwan, I sought an audience with her to find out more about Aiesec. With super enthusiasm, my sister assisted me in providing essential information and gave her opinion.

Once I was registered, I began to look through the large database of internships and volunteering abroad. At first, it was rather overwhelming, there were so many questions: Where should I go - What should I do - Will I enjoy it - How long will this last - What are my skills - Am I ready to go? I e-mailed numerous countries that I was interested including South Korea,  Brazil, Taiwan and many others. However, I was a bit disappointed to find that a lot of them did not reply, or were very slow at replying.

Eventually I stumbled upon Mauritius. Now I must admit that I had no idea where this country was, so I researched it and found it was like a small island just besides Madagascar. It was funny how this happened. I liked a post of a beach on the Aiesec exchange group and instantly someone messaged me. It came as a surprise as I just liked it for the photo. We got talking through Facebook messenger and was intrigued with the project called IT4ALL. Time was running out and I was very interested, so I decided to go for it. I had a Skype Interview and 30 minutes after I was accepted!

I was there for 7 weeks with 11 other people living in the same roof. It was daunting, It was exciting but best of all, I  did not know I was male incredible memories there.

My family for the next 7 weeks :)