Kwatog Nonsense

How To Kill Orochi of Samurai II

kwatog — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:43:03 +0000

The last chapter/stage of Samurai II: Vengeance is quite challenging. The final boss, Orochi, is incredibly difficult to kill. It took lots and lots of tries before I finally defeated the monster. There’s a lot of trial and error and volleys and volleys of archers to kill. But in the end, Orochi is finally down. But how, you ask? I’m listing down the things that I think allowed me to ultimately bring down Orochi.

First the Archers, then the Master

At this stage, the archers are annoyingly accurate with their arrows. The moment they appear on screen, roll to them and cut them into pieces. The most effective way to kill them is via OXO combo and if they are still alive, follow it up with a series of X. Immediately roll/move to the next archer after you cut one to death.

Hit The Monster’s Back

Like most of the villains in the game, Orochi’s weakness is his back. Let’s just say that his inability to turn on this back is his Achille’s heel. That’s not entirely surprising given that he is too big and full of armor(and flags?!???!) lest, he is slow to move. Having said that, Orochi can suck your life in you in one fell swoop of his weapon. That sweep can come few and far between but they are deadly.

The best way to bring Orochi down on his knees is via a series of O or X. Roll to the sides when he starts to stand up because he’ll sweep his weapon around the moment he stands up.

Bring in the Combo

When Orochi is on his knees, deal him with a deadly combo of your choice. Since I always bring him down to his knees with a series of O, I just press a couple of X to bring him the Cloud Cutting. If I hit him with a series of X, I press one O to send him a Raising Wave. Powerful combos can make the fight a little bit shorter. I chose those two combos because they are only one or two button presses from a series.of either X or O. The faster you send the combo when he’s on his knees, the better.

However, be careful when sending combos if he is about to stand up. It starts when he hit his weapon to the ground to help him stand up. The roundhouse wallop comes immediately after that and if your character is not yet rolling out at that time, chances are your life will be cut in half or worse, you’ll need to ‘try again’.

Roll and Kill

Avoid Orochi’s wallop by rolling to the side. He does this when he stands up from his knees. When he’s standing up, he can track and hit you with his long sword.

It must be remembered at all times to be at the back side of Orochi. Be patient to roll and wait for the right time to attack.

When He’s Down, Wait for the Comics

Seriously, it may happen that Orochi is already dead but his archers are not. It happened to me and since my character has only about 10% life that time, it didn’t take long before one of the archers finished me. I ended up retrying to kill Orochi again which I must say is not easy.

The fight is finished only when the comics comes out. I’m not gonna tell you what happens after that. At least, not now. But basically, the game ends there.

Generally, Samurai II is an awesome game. It’s one of the best hack-and-slash games I ever played. It’s not boring to play. Add to that is an excellent story and amazingly elaborate death traps. I can’t wait for the next version.

Update:
I found a video in youtube on how to beat Orochi. As you can see, it’s a matter of positioning yourself on his back and quickly eliminating the archers.

Tiny Robots Final Boss

kwatog — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:00:12 +0000

I already said that I abandoned Tiny Robots mostly due to the feeling like the bosses fights are not supposed to be finished unless you buy some stuffs in the game store. Apparently, RunnerGames, Tiny Robot’s developer heard the gripes of the players and decided to add upgrades and power-ups to entice the players into coming back and make the bosses beatable, albeit still hard. Maybe they decided to do that because they realized (or was informed) that most players are stucked on the first boss level and that the level is so hard and frustrating. So back then, most players will just abandon the game due to frustration.

Suffice to say that the power-ups is really the carrot that dangled me back into the game. It made dealing with the bosses in each level easier. That’s not to say that the game is easy. The power-ups just brought back the fun in playing the game mostly because of the hope that you’ll be able to kill the boss. It has even become addicting to the point that my wife and I play it all the time in the train ride to and from home.

The final boss, The Dragon, is too hard to beat. But with the right timing and strategy, it’s not impossible to kill it. Actually, we managed to kill it. You’ll need a lot of evading, shields, laser and the storm. As every Tiny Robot players know, the storm is given together with a shield once a day. That means you should be careful on unleashing the it so that it doesn’t go into waste. A laser would be a good help but since it comes every once in a blue moon, the storm and the shield is your best bet.

I was able to kill the dragon with a combination of laser, storm, shields and evasion. Even then, I was left with only one life after the dragon blew up into oblivion. However, my wife was able to top it by not getting killed for the final level. She also used shields (which by sheer luck was aplenty at that time) and storm.

***** SPOILER ALERT!!!!! ******
After the Dragon Boss, the game ends. The screen will show you a list of other games RunnerGames created. It’s also at that point that you realize how much time and productivity was lost due to playing the game. At least, we had fun.

Ciao!

Modern Combat 2 for Samsung Galaxy SII (Update: FREE)

kwatog — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:03:46 +0000

UPDATE: Game is now free for download at thw Samsung App Store. Hurry up if you haven’t downloaded it yet.

Modern combat 2: Black Pegasus is a first person shooter with amazing graphics reminiscent of an existing console title with similar name. It’s graphics is stunningly beautiful and is probably the best first-person shooter yet available for Android phones. The controls are responsive and the environments (desert towns, jungles, snowy wastes, oil rigs, etc) are very well designed. On top of that, this game allows online multi-player mode to add to the excitement.

As with other GameLoft HD games, Modern combat 2: Black Pegasus requires a huge download file. It’s around 450MB so you better be in a WiFi when you download the game. Otherwise, you’ll be charged dearly if you’re on a limited bandwidth. I know it very well because I mistakenly downloaded Brothers in Arms 2 HD on 3G/HSDPA+ and got charged. My current plan only allows 1GB. So be careful with that.

Another thing to note is that due to the higher level of detail in the graphics, the game has to pre-load the some parts of the game which slows each startup of a level. The AI of the enemies is also quite poor. Other games are also complaining about the uninspiring scripting and the patchy difficulty.

Here are some screenshots of the game.

I only played the first level of the campaign but I can already tell that it’s by far the best first person shooter. Yes, it is even better than Brothers in Arms 2 HD. And despite its flaws, it’s still a superb achievement for GameLoft to be to release this game. Black Pegasus delivers a complete experience in a first-person shooter game.

However as of now, I’m not buying the full game. It costs SGD8 chargeable to my StarHub line to buy the full game. For a casual gamer like me, that’s quite a steep price. So, I’m still thinking whether I’ll buy it or not. (Update : already downloaded the full game)Not that I can’t buy it but whether there’s a value in it. I downloaded all the Samsung Galaxy SII Free apps and I do not have the time to play with all games, yet. So now, I’ll pass.

Totes Store in Singapore

kwatog — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:58:23 +0000

A lot of people know that Totes umbrella is good and it appears that quite a number of people are searching the net to know where to buy one here in Singapore. That’s not really surprising because Totes Umbrellas are reliable and will not break in strong winds. That’s specially true if you buy their titanium series micro-automatic umbrella. The price may be a bit of a premium but if you consider similar umbrellas available here in Singapore, then you’ll understand why. Besides the price is only a bit higher. I found some automatic umbrellas in Robinson’s but they are mostly either auto-open or auto-close. There’s no auto-open/close. And even then, the price ranges from SGD35-SGD45.

So, where to buy Totes umbrella in Singapore? It’s a tough luck. The only choice is via Amazon or eBay. But between eBay and Amazon, I’ll go to the latter. It’s simply because I trust Amazon better than eBay sellers.

Unfortunately, shipping fee can be more expensive than the item itself. If you use vPost, it will charge you an initial SGD18 and then depending on the weight (remember, Totes umbrellas are a bit heavier than normal umbrellas), you’ll add more. At the very least, the shipping fee could be in the range of SGD20 to SGD35. The average cost of a titanium automatic micro umbrella is USD25 which is roughly SGD32.5. That may cost your umbrella to as high as SGD60.

To save from shipping, group buy is highly recommended. At least with that, you can spread the cost of the shipping. SingPost offers virtual address in the U.S. via vPost while Amazon offers free shipping for some of the Totes umbrellas. Take note that there are other sellers in Amazon other than Amazon itself. More often than not, third-party sellers in Amazon charge shipping fee.

Samsung Galaxy SII Free Apps Download

kwatog — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:25:10 +0000

Samsung is feeling Santa today. They are giving away free apps and games in their Apps store. The official list is listed below.

Air Penguin
Air Attack HD
Artillery Brigade
Bang Bang Racing
Bubble Fish
European War
Flip Flip Flip
Grow
Guru Planet
Paladog
Riptide GP HD
Roboto
Samurai II
Sprinkle
Trial Xtreme
Zixxby

However, the following games are also free. Not sure if it was free the whole time but I suggest you download them while they are free.

Bejeweled (TRIAL ONLY)
Modern Combat 2_Galaxy SII (TRIAL ONLY)
Assassin’s Creed Galaxy SII Free (TRIAL ONLY)
Asphalt 6 WCG_Galaxy SII (TRIAL ONLY)
UNO Galaxy SII
Brothers in Arms 2 (TRIAL ONLY)
Avatar
Zen Brush
Need for Speed
Dungeon Hunter

Some of these are high-quality games. The HD games are quite large but the graphics just looks awesome in my Samsung Galaxy SII. No mention on when this free download ends but if I were you, I’ll do it while I can. Honestly, I haven’t gone into the Samsung Apps Store until now.

via Engadget

WordPress for Android v2.0 Looks Awesome

kwatog — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 06:47:43 +0000

WordPress’s Android app just got a big UI update today. The previous version is already intuitive but this version takes it to the next kevel. The monochrome icons is simple and yet it’s beautiful. And the navigation is much, much simpler and intuitive. Hats off to Automattic.

Here’s the screenshot of the main menu.

I think the layout change and the use of icons make this version a winner. That’s a big suprise for a company which seems to be allergic to icons.

Totes Umbrella Store in Singapore

kwatog — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:12:22 +0000

I needed a replacement umbrella for my old Totes umbrella that did so well for so five years. It’s still working fine but I wanted a bigger one which can still auto-close and auto-open. I bought my first Totes umbrella in an outdoor shop in Taiwan so I thought it would also be available here in Singapore since I can see quite a number of outdoor shops here. It turns out that none of them carries Totes brand. They carry other brands but they just don’t cut the cake for me. In the end, I bought a new one from Amazon and have it shipped here in Singapore.

So what’s so special with this small umbrella? Totes umbrellas are compact and lightweight. If fits easily on your bag. The particular model that I have is the one pictured below (mine is gray color). It’s three-fold that automatically opens and close with a touch of a button. I didn’t find any other brand that has three-fold automatic umbrella with a nicely sized canopy. Mine opens to a 40-inch canopy which is large enough to keep me dry but small enough that it’s not too cumbersome to walk down a busy street with. It’s durable and does a pretty good job standing up to the gusty winds of Singapore. Before it, I was using my old Totes umbrella in the Philippines and it’s still working fine.

Totes Umbrella Warranty

Totes-Isotoner, as the company is called now, offers a lifetime warranty on their umbrella. However, the warranty is only available in the U.S. Since I live here in Singapore, I need to find an uncle to fix it suppose something happens to my umbrella. I’m using my previous Totes umbrella since 2007 so I’m hoping the same kind of durability comes with my new umbrella.

Taps for Pagudpud Resorts

Boogie Board Tablet in Singapore – Review

kwatog — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:02:21 +0000

I was at ~~Mini Toons~~ Action City store in Sengkang looking for gift ideas when I chance upon Boogie Board, a digital scratchpad. I got excited when I saw it and after a little waiting in the line, I was able to play with it. The tablet is amazingly thin and works as advertised. It’s beautiful and registers my every stroke instantly. And this device is too easy to use with only one button to operate which is the erase button.

Here are some of the features of Boogie Board Tablet.

The Boogie Board tablet’s LCD writing surface captures your every stroke without paper – or special writing instruments.
The Boogie Board tablet’s writing surface is pressure sensitive, displaying different line thicknesses based on the amount of pressure you apply
The Boogie Board tablet requires no software or other complex actions. Simply apply pressure with your instrument to create an image and erase
Write or draw with just about any non-marking, non-scratching instrument – even your finger nail – to create different visual effects, patterns
All ages will find the Boogie Board tablet hard to put down. It makes writing and drawing fun

Caveats

In the limited time that I played with the device, I saw at least two things that can be improved.

You sketches cannot be saved. The workaround here is to get your smartphone or camera to take a photo of your sketch on the Boogie Board Tablet.
50,000 erases limit. – That’s seems like a big number but in the few minutes of sketching, I think I pressed the erase button at least 20 times. Imagine if I have it for an hour. I can easily hit that button a hundred times a day.

But despite these shortcomings, the device is still makes an excellent gift item. Sure, it won’t replace your pen and paper but it is still a beautiful device. If you give this to a person who loves to draw/sketch, they’ll be in heaven. Okay, the price may not be very affordable at SGD59.90. At that price, only special people may receive it.
Here’s a review from YouTube.

UPDATE:
If you want to buy this in Singapore, you can go to Action City, not Mini Toons. Thanks to Fred for pointing that out. Also, the Boogie Board RIP is already available at Amazon. The RIP can save your sketches into a PDF.

Cotto-Margarito on StarHub

kwatog — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:50:32 +0000

So you were thinking that StarHub will only broadcast Pacquaio fights because of the Filipinos here in Singapore? You’re wrong because they also got the rights to show the Margarito-Cotto fight to their subscribers. Just like what they did for other special sporting events, this one is only available to Sports Group subscribers. It will be on the same channel, 202.

I will be out of town so I won’t be able to see it. But I’ll be recording it on StarHub’s digital settop box HD. As for the fight, I’ll go for Cotto. I just hope he doesn’t lose steam. That’s what beat him in their previous encounter.

No Cotto-Margarito streaming required.

Pacquiao-Marquez III on StarHub Channel 202

kwatog — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:30:00 +0000

In case you still don’t know, the trilogy mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will be shown on Channel 202 (SuperSports) on Sunday (Nov 13, Singapore Time). Of course, you have to be a StarHub Cable TV subscriber with Sports Group to be able to watch it. In case you are not yet subscribed to the the Sports Group, you can buy instantly using the remote of the settop-box or by calling 1633. I already bought it via Instant Buy (remote). I just hate looking for live streams. Try to search for PvM, PvM Free Live Stream, or Pacquiao-Marquez Live Stream and you’ll be terribly disappointed. You’ll usually get directed to a page full of ads and affiliate links. It makes you hate SEOs.

Sports Group costs $12 a month. That’s nothing compared to what people pay in the U.S. Take note that with your $12, you already have all the channels under Sports Group for one month and not just for the actual fight. It’s Sports Group, that’s a lot of sports channels!

Steps to Buy SportsGroup
1. Tune-in to channel 202
2. Press the blue button on the remote and wait until the screen refreshes.
3. Once the SportsGroup details is displayed, press the blue button again.
4. Wait for a minute until the channel is displayed.

*** note : if there’s any error is displayed, call 1633.

Truth be told, I plan to terminate the Sports Group after a month. I don’t really have time to watch TV though I always try to catch news on TFC.

Taps for BAcolod Masskara Festival. Yeah, nothing to do with the post.

UPDATE!!!!
No Starhub Cable and looking for free streaming? Maybe you would like to see this.

http://www.pacquiaoversusmosley.com/2011/05/28/pacquiao-vs-marqueaz-free-online-live-streaming/