Dragons Age.

So finally, I found the nerve to put something up on my blog. I write a lot, but for some reason I don’t deem my writings as blog worthy.

I mean, who would want to read about inane topics? But, what the hell. I need to practice. And maybe (just maybe) someday, ill write about things that are more substantial than what I write about now. Things people would actually enjoy reading. Or might be thought provoking. Whatever.

Anyhow, I have dedicated today’s entry to this amazing video game called Dragons Age: Awakening. There were a lot of positive reviews about it all over the major gaming sites. So obviously that aroused my curiosity

.

I used to be a strategy games guy. I don’t know how many countless hours I have actually spent playing age of empires, starcraft etc. I really liked the historical / fantasy nature of those games. You could build up an army, outfit them with the most badass troops around, and clobber your enemies into submission.

I thought this was the pinnacle of gaming. Of course, I could not be more wrong.

Anyhow, around 2009, this game called Dragons age: Origins, was trending everywhere on the net. It had great reviews on almost all of the major gaming sites. The word of mouth amongst the gamers was pretty positive too. I was intrigued. What was this RPG game?

RPG stands for role playing game. Simply put, here you do not command armies. You are one of the troops, albeit you may be a major character.  The opportunity to actually live a character during a game was exciting.

I bought the game as soon as possible, installed it asap. Cleared out the day’s schedule and sat down in a plush chair, ready for the big date.

The first thing that came up when the game started was a pretty impressive dragon, breathing fire, dripping blood as it morphed into the dragons age logo. I was pretty impressed, and in hindsight this  put me in the mood for the game.

The first screen that I came across was the character creation screen. Here you create your virtual self, your avatar. Obviously I chose a warrior, put some impressive tattoo and piercings on him. And named him Aragorn (he was my favourite character from the lord of the rings).

Some people like to play as mages( magicians who throw fireballs from their staff and stuff). Others go for rogues (who are quick and use daggers and cheap little tricks to fight). I find these avatars to be to too gay (no disrespect). I mean you are in a video game, dude. Man up.

I noticed instantly that the graphics were stunning and the combat camera was adjustable as per your preference. Character models were a bit disappointing but the combat animations were breathtaking. Spells and special abilities when activated , burst upon the combat arena in vivid colours that impressed me a lot. The cut scene graphics were nice too. Armors and weapons were very cool.

The shortcut to inventory and special abilities were thoughtfully placed, I really appreciated the thought behind it.

The combat was excellent. It took some time getting used to though. I loved the whole concept of a tactical fight. You can pause during the fights, giving orders to your allies while also plotting the downfall of your enemies. Oh, and I forgot to mention! You can actually choose companions, people who fight alongside you.

These companions were not one dimensional characters. They had their own personalities, fighting styles, philosophies about life. They would often comment on in-game events. Even argue or crack jokes amongst one another. It made the game very enjoyable.

Some were downright assholes, like the grey warden( warrior) Alistair. That guy had a crappy personality. He used to whine about everything I did. I really wanted to kill him or at least make him stop, but he was an excellent warrior, so I had to put up with his bullshit.

Some were awesome, like Morrigan. More on that later. In this game, you could actually romance other characters. If you took actions they liked, and rubbed off them in a good way, there would be options to initiate a romance. I thought, fuck that! I would rather kill and conquer. I was happy raiding and pillaging.

Until I met Morrigan.

The first time I met her in the game, I literally wanted to kiss the game designer’s feet. She was sooooo hot! Morrigan was a witch, who due to some unfortunate circumstances, had to travel throughout the game with my character.

She had these really deep eyes and a very sexy voice. She had this amazing sense of humour( most of it sarcasm). She knew how to play her sexuality. Depending on the way you were with her (or what she wanted from you), she was either being a total bitch, or was giggling like a teenaged girl when you complimented her, or gave her gifts (a book of spells, obtained by killing her witch mother). She had some defined views on life and society, didn’t take shit from anybody. And that hot sarcasm. She could be putting you down, yet be playful. It was always a battle of wills and the mind with morrigan. (Sigh), if only there were girls like her in real life..

The point is, apart from my lame fascination with a video game character, is that the characters were beautifully etched out and made the game experience come alive.

Moving on, the game’s usp was it immense story. You were mankind’s savior against a very powerful and ancient enemy. Class struggles (Templars vs mages), societal divide and racism. Imperialism and religion, all were a part here. The game created a fascinating world which immersed you into it. In this game, you have the power to either misuse these events for personal gain, or be a true hero.

Personally, I did what felt right to me. Whatever option you chose, there was a certain tinge of regret. Every community or group you helped, there were some people who suffered some form of misfortune due to it. Your actions had a direct impact on the world around you.

The soundtrack was haunting and surreal. During battle it would be adrenaline pumping, but when you were exploring or trading, the music would turn soothing or chaotic appropriately. The characters’ voice acting was very well done. They made the dialogues come alive.

It was an epic feeling when I rode out into battle for the final time, wearing the most awesome armor and weapons I had painstakingly found, looted or forged myself. To be honest, there was a certain emptiness when the game finished.

The next installment of this game is scheduled to release in the fall of 2014. It seems to be amazing from what I have seen already. Its really hard to be patient and wait for it. I wish there was a time machine so I could travel through time and play it right now!

If you read this entry, and have some time to kill, I recommend this game to you. Gamer or not, I promise that you will not be disappointed.

p.s: This is not a review, but i want to give some ratings anyway.

Soundtrack: 8

Gameplay: 10

Story: 10

Graphics: 9

Overall: 10 ( Im obviously biased.)

I Hate Love

It was clear how much he loved her.

 His heart beat every second, hurting him in the process.

Every waking thought was of her.

She didn’t have any time for him.

She thought his attention was a deterrent.

In her own mind, she was off to see the stars.

So she dust him off her heels like dust.

He longed for her, pined for her.

She adored her new found freedom.

Him, not so much.

Love is a cruel mistress.

At times she is gentle and euphoric.

At times she will take pleasure in ripping out every piece of your soul.

A man can take on physical torment with varying degrees of success. But you atleast have a fighting chance.

How do u tackle that sly cunning bastard, emotion, who hides in your heart with pinpricks and daggers, stabbing you at inopportune times.

It is said that time heals. But why do we have to take this bullshit from that little bastard.

Why does it have to ruin his life, drain the pleasure from everything.

Make the mundane seem sad.

I hate love.

The first post

Well this is the first time i have decided to blog about things that i really feel strongly about.I guess i have had it with people around me being too immersed into popular culture and forgetting about the actual ground realities we live in(or may be stuff i just want to write about).

For example, last year during my management class, my teacher again started to rant about the fact that India has advanced by leaps and bounds, that we'll be a developed economy by 2025 and our workforce quality is such that good jobs are just flowing in from abroad etc.etc

I had not realised that subconsciously,this continued gloating had actually infuriated me.I mean, the small good that had happened due to economic liberalization was worth mentioning but the mass media, in its naivete had actually made the public believe that a large part of India had access to a better standard of living.

What really irked me is that the urban populace almost chose to forget about 70% of our country's population for whom a full belly is a luxury and many of which go hungry every night?
For our rural and urban poor, education and medical assistance are luxuries,let alone electricity and proper roads.

All the politicians try to claim that it was their clique or their party which is responsible for the benefits which the current economic boom has given us.They conveniently choose to forget that their work is not only to remove archaic laws but also ensure that that each strata of the society benefits from the this development.

So when my teacher again proudly chose to discuss this subject in class,i could not restrain myself and instead chose to tell him how hypocritical and shallow it was for us to completely focus on the increase in our economy's service sector instead of concentrating on the primary(including agriculture and mining) and industrial sectors, which will result in the creation of more jobs for the poor.I thought maybe some of my classmates shared my opinion,but they just appeared shocked and chose not to comment at all.Later i found them discussing Rakhi Sawant's antics in big boss.

I decided that maybe what i said was not actually that important and chose to forget whatever my subconscious had prompted me to say.This incident happened about 2 years ago and till a few weeks ago i was pretty much occupied with my life,without any guilt pangs bursting out at inopportune moments.

Anyhow,i regularly go to jog in a neighbouring park which is surrounded by a few jhuggis(huts).
Some small kids that stay there often come out and play in the park.Usually i don't differentiate between people just on the basis of their looks or background so i sat alongside them and played a little bit of cricket.Later while i was chatting with one of them i came to realize that he could count as well as do basic math.

I was surprised so i asked him whether he actually went to a school or not.He told me that the place where he lived earlier used to have a ngo-run school but now as his father had shifted here,he did'nt have much to do except loiter around and while away his time.

I looked at the boy who was about 10-11 years of age and suddenly felt a weird sense of empathy.Normally people say i am pretty emotionless but this time this small kid,with eager,bright eyes,an innocent smile and a polite demeanor stirred something in me.His father was a labourer and he was bound to follow in his footsteps.It was almost like it was planned as a course of nature or a mannerism of fate.Yet still, i thought that this boy could turn his life around
and gain access to a better life if only he had access to basic education.

Moved by something for the first time in my life, i tried to contact a few friends who worked in ngo's but it turned out that they were located really far away.I could not find a route through which the boy could attend school within the supervision of his parents.

It has been a few weeks since i tried to find a school for him and did not find anything.At times i feel like a hypocrite myself for pretending to care about others and when the opportunity to help someone came by me,i let it pass.

Nyhow whenever i see him around the park i do feel a bit sad for him and to ease my guilt,i play a little game of cricket with him.By letting him win,i guess my sense of guilt lessens by a great degree.

p.s:
1.I apologise for any grammatical errors,as i have spent too much time on facebook and instant messaging.Bad habits take some time to wear off.

2.Any comments any suggests are welcome.Please do help me out.