Uncharted - The Nathan Drake Collection Giveaway

Many of my friends have been asking me if the time is right for them to get a Sony Playstation 4 especially for casual gamers who did not spend much time on the Sony Playstation 2 or 3.  One of the most common questions I get is;

“Are there enough games to play?”

I have no idea how fast you guys usually take to complete 1 game but my mantra with my consoles all these years has always been

“Too many games, too little time.”

Not only are there new games all the time but to make things better, Naughty Dog and Sony has just brought back “Uncharted, The Nathan Drake Collection.”

What is Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection?

If you are unfamiliar with Uncharted series, it is about Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter and his adventures. It was 1^st introduced on the Sony PS3 in 2007 and since then we have had 3 different installations.

Besides the gameplay and the engaging storyline, one of the things that I really like about Uncharted series is its controls. There are a lot of interesting games out there but awkward controls can really piss me off. This is not the case for the Uncharted Series.

Uncharted is really one of those series that can keep you at the edge of your sofa for a very long time since it is actually 3 games in 1. #BestBuyEver

So basically I am paying for some old games?

Graphics improvement over the years. I can’t wait for the 4^th game. But first, let us play part 1-3 again. Image from topshelfgaming.net

I don’t know about you but playing vintage games is one of those things I enjoy doing. Moreover for this series, I actually started on Uncharted 2 which means I totally missed part 1. So it is all good for me to start from Uncharted 1 this time round.

That’s not all. For Nathan Drake Collection, there are actually some improvements as well as new modes for those who have already played it.

In addition to the upgraded 1080p/60fps detail, there are 3 new modes in the game:

Explorer Mode: For beginners and casual gamers to step into Nathan’s shoes comfortably, where combat difficulty is reduced

Speed Run Mode: With a timer slapped on the game, speed runners can track how quickly they are making it through the game

Brutal Difficulty Mode: Unlocked only after finishing the game on Crushing mode, it is the toughest difficulty setting available to play on the game on. Recommended only for Uncharted pros. (Do you think you can handle it?)

Photo Mode: Using Photo Mode, freeze, edit, and share photos of your favorite Nathan Drake exploits and share them with friends using the PlayStation 4 share functionality. This is really one of my favourite modes. I love using this to take pictures and uploading them onto FB or Instagram later as well!



EXCLUSIVE Uncharted 4 BETA Access: Those who purchase the UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection receives exclusive access to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End multiplayer Beta version (while the Beta lasts).

New Trophies: Brand-new trophies created exclusively for UNCHARTED’s debut on the PS4 system.

Join Me!

Join me and Nathan [WS(-S1] in this adventure! You can get the downloadable version off PSN at $62.90 or at the nearest game store at the RRP for $74.90.

Giveaway

Since Uncharted is all about treasure, the good people at Playstation Asia have some treasure of their own to share!

There are 3 sets of limited edition premiums from Uncharted’ s Collection Premium Edition to be won. There are only 50 sets allocated for the entire SEA region and it consists of maps from the game, a compass and a telescope. Have I got your attention yet?

Here’s how you can win!

1) Like https://www.facebook.com/PlayStationAsia

2) Like https://www.facebook.com/smithankyou

3) Share the giveaway picture on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/smithankyou/posts/435917936594756)

4) Tag PlayStation Asia on the post

5) Comment on it and tell us why you deserve this treasure!

6) Keep your fingers crossed and pray to be one of the 3 lucky winners!

This contest is open to Singapore only. 

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Ugly Pokemons are Ugly

No thanks to the sister's bf I got lured back into the whole Pokemon world. I started playing pokemon when I was 16. I thought I was already too old for this but little did I guess that I am still doing it at the age of 30 but I must say Pokemon did a big big advancement over the years.

 What I played in the year 2000

What I am playing now in 2014

After 14 years of graphics and game play advancement with my favourite being the fact that you can actually trade pokemon online instead of what we did in year 2000 where we needed a silly cable to do it.

But I am going to tell you why Smith is not that happy. The newer pokemons are UGLY!

Dragon Pokemons are one of those that I really like. Being a Chinese, Dragons are cool and after watching GOT, Dragons got even cooler.

Dragon from my childhood (All images from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/) Not exactly fierce looking but this is one of my favourite Pokemon.

Dragon from year 2014 Pokemon X

YOU CALL THIS A DRAGON?? THIS LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING I DREW AFTER I HAD WHISKEYS. A LOT OF THEM!

Fighting Pokemon from my childhood - model after Bruce Lee

And this is the shit I saw the other day...

Wah Biang. What is this? What is this?

Legendary Pokemons are the coolest because there's only 1 per game and you need to play like X hours before you can catch one. And this is my favourite Legend because it looks like Dragonball's Frieza who is my favourite Villain of all time.

And even the new legendary pokemon looks like.. I don't even know what it looks like.

Seriously, did they like go out of budget and just ask a random kid to design all the pokemons? As much as I am very unhappy with the newer pokemons, I am still playing the game because I need to catch'em ALL!

And below are some other random Pokemon that I really dislike because they are ugly. There are a lot more but I do not want to spoilt your day as well.

P.S. Anyway, I haven't been very myself since the trip. I guess I'm having hangover. I am also too lazy to blog about my trip here since I am doing it on OMY's blog. Check it out there! http://blog.omy.sg/cebu-bohol-getaway/

I really like how we photobomb Mr.SeriouslyMan while he was working and we were just erm... Posing. LOL! 

Mr.Smith, I wanna be the very best!

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Game Review + Tips - NBA2K15

13 days before NBA tipoff but NBA fever has already hit me hard! My life is basically

Eat. NBA. Sleep. Repeat. I actually missed gym last night because of the game! ROAR!

As a Lakers fan, I'm happy I traded for Davis, Gasol and Durant. Yes! FACIAL! EAT THIS HOWARD!

Besides the fact that I really love NBA and NBA2k15, there are some things about this game which really pissed me off when I first started playing it. I break it down a little here.

Review

The Good 

Graphics - The last game I played was NBA2k14 on the PS3 so the PS4 graphics is a big jump for me. I love how the Jersey moves around when the players run!

Movement - The movement of the players are getting more and more realistic. Shake and Bake, post up. SMOOOOTH!

MyTeam - I really love the MyTeam game mode. MyTeam allows you to play through the game facing off different teams and doing different challenges. You can play a normal league game and create a dream team but it's just not as addictive as winning the cards. I guess being a CCG player really got me addicted with this game mode. Buying, and selling it off the auction house adds so much life to the game. Usually I will only play the MyPlayer and the normal league mode but this just blows me away. It's not exactly a new mode but this mode is way more smoother as compared to the previous instalment.

MyPlayer - Instead of playing through a player that gets drafted like the few previous game, you actually get to play a life of someone who didn't get drafted at all. Your agent (Jerry Maguire) will try his best to land you in a team with a start of 10 days contract. Stay alive kid! It's an interesting new storyline!

Sharing - This ain't exactly the game, it is more PS4 but I have to say this, THE SHARING FUNCTION IS FUCKING AWESOMEEEE!!! Print screens and Video! W000t!

The Bad 

Server - The server is a mess. Unbelievable bad. I had a pre-order bonus pack which I didn't managed claim until almost a week into the game which actually wasted me a lot of time. I will touch on this on the "tips" segment.

Playstation Plus - I guess this is more of a Playstation direction kinda thing. Online games now requires you to sign-up with Playstation Plus before you can play it. You can't play a few game modes unless you sign up for this and pays a monthly subscription fee.

AI - The AI in this game sucks. I am not too sure if fiddling with the playbook will help much because it doesn't seems like it did for me. Pick and Roll makes thing very easy for the opponent as switching of your AI teammates are very badly programmed. They hardly boxout, crash board and they just allows the opponent's backcourt to run pass the paint easily.

MyPark - To be honest.. I still have no idea where is MyPark game home and what is it. I can't find it, I can't connect to it but I am not really complaining now since MyTeam is keeping me entertained.

Post by Smith Leong.

Here's a video of me stealing a ball and making a random 3 point! 

Tips

Pre-order pack

If you have a pre-order pack, always redeem it. You will be given a few overseas players to select from and add to MyTeam. Players includes Dirk, Rookie Durant, Parker, Manu and etc. 

Image from YouTube screen shot 

Early game in the MyTeam mode can be pretty much a pain in the ass as you are only given a bunch of common cards, (Players with low stats) and a Uncommon card and you are put up to face some really tough guys. So getting a boast with this pre-order player will really help. Choice was pretty easy for me and I went with Dirk as front court is a very big problem in this game as mentioned earlier.

MyTeam Game Mode 

Within MyTeam, there are a few ways to play. Domination and Challenge are readily available without the need to sign up for Playstation Plus unlike the Playoffs and "Play with Friends" mode. I got mislead by the game that the Challenge mode is the easier mode because the very 1st game you will be asked to complete is the challenge game mode but the domination mode is actually the easier game mode to both earn some MT Credits as well as additional bonus packs. I actually wasted so much time losing at the challenges and losing "contracts". Each players have certain contract which can be refilled using contract cards. Contract cards comes in Gold, Silver and Bronze as well. +5, +4 and +3 games respectively and is usually obtainable in each pack. So do not worry that your favourite player will run out of contract and be unplayable because you will always get some contract cards. Save your credits, do not buy contracts card from the Auction house. 

Sell unwanted players and be patient at the Auction House 

One of the best thing about this MyTeam game mode is the Auction house. You can use two types of credits, MT credits and VC credits. VC can be purchased over at the Playstation store, earned from MyLeague, MyPlayer, MyGM and even mobile app where else MT credits can only be earned via MT game mode. You will need some good players to help you to win the game and opening random packs over and over might not be the best thing to do with the MT Credits. The random packs can be purchased using both MT and VC Credits but you can only spend MT at the auction house. You know what I mean, save MT for auction house. 

Collecting players and items might be fun but it might not be the best thing to do early game. Selling players you do not need to earn credits and buy a better player is totally worth it as it helps you earn more credits. I sold away a bunch of common and uncommon players and bought a cheap rare card and it totally changed the game! 

Auction house cards can be pretty much over priced as everyone wanna earn those MT credits so always be patient and look for a card for the best priced. I got Paul Pierce at 5000 MT which I thought it's pretty cheap and it totally changed my game. 

Once you have 1 or 2 decent players you can start to keep some of those common and uncommon players and try to collect more cards.

Take Jump Shots

The new NBA game comes with a new jump shot bar as compared to the previous game and turning it on makes thing way easier. Going to the basket is not exactly the easiest thing to do in the game and neither is passing into the lay. You will stack up too many turnovers before you know it. Take those jump shots. Which also means if you are going to spend your MT credits, spend it on a good mid range shooter. 

Download the Mobile App 

The mobile app game might not be the most fun but it gives you daily VC Credits. Daily lucky pick credits which is pure luck and also daily game credits up to 500.  

Conclusion

I hope this review gives you some insights about the game and can help you better plan and spend your MT, VC and also time. 

All in all I will rate this game 7/10. I really hope they can solve the server and AI issues in the next game. 

I might be wrong about somethings and you might have some other insights to share too. Feel free to comment, send me an email or drop me a tweet at @Smithankyou 

Mr.Smith, YAKEEM!!!

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NBA 2K15 - YAKEEM!

Are you ready for the new league? Are you ready to play as Lebron and Love at Cavs? Paul Pierce at Wizards? Kobe,  Lin and "the others" from Lakers? I sure hope the Lakers can get some win this season and not just happening on NBA2K15. October, please come quick!

I just can't wait for it to be here! YAKEEM!

P.S. - was watching classic games LA Lakers vs Kings 2000/01 game. I can only say Shaq is dominating, a bully and what I call the REAL Centre.

Sorry Chris Dudley, I had to use this gif. gif-erized

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Diablo 3 Rant.

It was one of those run and oh! look what i found - A plan!

Plan: Demon's Hide.

So I decided why not? After crafting the easier to achieve Demon's Restraint I thought, so, let's get the Armour since my armour ain't the best. So Demon's Marrow it should be.

BUT

there was a very big problem : The Flawless Royal Amethyst. 

In order to craft this,

I needed 3 Royal Amethysts

which means

I needed 9 Flawless Imperial Amethysts

which means

I needed 27 Imperial Amethysts

which means

I needed 81 Marquise Amethysts

Which means I paid

27 x 200,000 = 5,400,000

9 x 300,000 = 2,700,000

3 x 400,000 = 1,200,000

1 x 500,000 = 500,000

to get to the gem I spent 9,800,000. Almost 10 Million. And I got this.

MEHHHH...

UPDATED: 1 day after rant...

on 9th April... The patch did this to me..

REALLY?? TWO DAYS AFTER I CRAFTED IT?? REALLY!!! 

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Lego Diablo 3

You know how brands like to cross each other to combine their fan base? Over the years we have brands like Marvel Vs Capcom, G.I.Joe vs Transformers or simply a mashup of brands like these.

And of course there's also on that rumoured to be happening really soon which is everyone's favourite hero that lives on 221B Baker Street - Sherlock Holmes. 

And with the latest Lego movie, we do know that multiple brand clashing into one Lego show ain't impossible. For the benefit of those who didn't watch The Lego Movie, they have a massive mashup of characters from DC, Harry Potter, TMNT, Starwars and even my favourite NBA - Shaq!

From www.bustle.com

So with Diablo 3 expansion ROS on the way, I started thinking ahead. What about a mash up of a game instead of just movies?

The battle against Diablo never stops!

And introducing the cast!  

Dumbledore the Wizard

Emmet the Barbarian

One of my favourite! WlydeStyle the Demon Hunter!

Lego Smith (That's Me!) as The Last Jedi! - #Shameless new class 

Random Japanese Ninja Old Man As The Monk! 

Comic Relief Team - Witch + Doctor = Witch Doctor! 

Benny The Spaceman as The new Reaper Of Soul Class - Crusader!! 

DIE DIABLO!! DIE! (But we secretly hope you don't so we have more instalment of this game.) 

You didn't ask me but...

Some people ask me why I love to play toys so much. Some people enjoy computer games, some people simply enjoy collecting the toys and put them in sealed box. As for me, I'm a little of a control freak. The reason why I like to play with toys is simply because you can create anything you want. The mashup, the storyline, the character development. It's just as good as making a movie of your own. Best part? The good don't always win in my stories. :)

Mr.Smith, CHEONG AHHHH!!!

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Back To Hell - Diablo 3 on PS3.

What have I been doing at home these days other than watching Breaking Bad?

I went to HELL.. AGAIN..

Despite spending hundred and hundreds of hours on Diablo 3 on the PC, I am doing it again on the console.

The Good: 

• You can play offline
• You can share screen with 4 other friends
• You have this Evade button which put the game to a whole new level. It's almost like playing a new game. It's not so level and item dependent as the PC version. You evade and roll around and beat it like how you would on Mega Man. 

I believe this is the thing many wish to find out.

• IT'S RAINING LEGENDARY ITEMS!!! (I probably have an answer for this.)

The Bad:

• There is no auction house. So you don't actually get to buy items and money seems secondary. Which is probably the reason why legendary items are easy obtained in single player mode. 
• There is no PVP mode.
• The long mins of waiting for your friends to change their gears or choose skill on the same screen. It's really time wasting especially when you are starting a new game together with 3 others. 
• The social element of it is very weak. Cause adding any new friends on the PS3 is simply adding them onto my PS3 account and not the Diablo 3 account. I wouldn't want to mix my PS3 friends with my Diablo 3 friends. and not everyone is on this game as compared to a year ago on the PC.  

And why am I still playing it? Comon, it's Diablo 3. You have no idea how many man hours I spend playing the same thing over and over again for Diablo 2. It's a classic!

Mr.Smith, for once, going to hell seems like a good thing. 

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Let's have a lick contest?! Challenge ACCEPTED!

When was the last time I turned down a challenge? Not that I can remember.

And when was the last time I was challenged to a lick contest? This I can remember but it's probably not what you are thinking.

Too long for my screen.

It's actually a challenge set by my "friend" Nick.



As kinky as a "lick contest" sounded, it actually more "yummy" than kinky.

The lick challenge is actually something you can do any where, at home, at the office or even in your car. But if you like to do it outdoor in the public, you may like to go to these places on the following dates and do it at the "lick booths"

Venue	Date	Time
Cineleisure Orchard (Beside Starbucks)	7-9 June	12pm – 8pm
Bugis Junction (Beside the fountain)	15-16 June	12pm – 8pm
Downtown East @ Level 3 E-hub	22-23 June	12pm – 8pm
Sentosa (Beach Station)	29-Jun	12pm – 8pm

So what is this Lick Challenge all about? It's a challenge set by our childhood favorite ice cream cone - Cornetto. It's an online game where you challenge Nick and try your best to lick up the whole ice cream cone in the fastest time! 

I was very turned on impressed by what Cornetto did here. As a mAD MAN (ADvertising MAN), we have seen younger brands trying to close the gap between their targeted crowd by having fun and bold taglines but you might not have realize that Cornetto has already been around for 50 years! It's not everyday thing that you see some brands coming to you daring you to do something this brave. This online licking contest is the very 1st of it's kind in the world! That's not all, what about their new product tagline? 

Enjoy the ride, love the happy ending. 

Or maybe the mass audience just look at the lick contest as it is as well as the tagline besides me. Tell me it's just me. Come on... Yeah.. it's me I guess. 

Yes, PLAY ME BABY!

And for those of you who are wondering, you do not need to lick your iPad physically. That would be too much to lick (even for me). You have no idea where your hand went before touching that iPad. 

And if you are interested, you may check out their Facebook page, Challenge site or just download the app on both your Android and iOs phones/tablet already!

Round 1 - LICK! 

And this picture has almost nothing to do with the post. I just thought we looked pretty nice in this picture taken during the launch of the Lick Booth. LOL.

Classic Cornetto, lick it before it gets all soft.

Hope you have a fun time licking and I'm signing out with an MTV for you!

Mr.Smith, you gotta lick it.

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