Richard Knaak is one of the few resident Warcraft series writers. His storytelling style is visibly different from others, more so towards the traditional fantasy genre. Written in 2001, Day of the Dragon is considered as the first book of the Warcraft series. It is also the first book of the Warcraft: Archive four-book series. Warcraft is a fantasy universe I am fond of, dearly. Hence, I read Day of the Dragon with a high anticipation over my holiday in Bandung, devouring every bit of the lore within.
For those who are familiar with the recent lore development, reading Day of the Dragon is real treat. Never have we been so close to some of the key figures in recent days. Imagine reading Deathwing in human form, the Old Horde corrupted by demonic power, and the general mistrust of the use of magic – just to name a few.
Back to the era whereby the day of the dragon has passed, dragonqueen Alexstrasza – one of the five great Aspects of the dragon flights – is captured by the orcs from the Dragonmaw clan and is imprisoned within the caves of Khaz Modan. Deeply weakened by an artifact called Demon Soul, she resigns to her fate of birthing red dragons only to be trained by the orcs to do evil deeds.
Her consort, Korialstrasz also known as Krasus in his human form, must find a way to free his beloved queen. And it is no easy task. Uniting the rest of the weakened dragon Aspects seems impossible. Malygos has gone mad; Nozdormu is obsessed with collecting artifacts throughout the timeline; and Ysera is lost in her dream world. Only Deathwing the Destroyer – the black dragon flight Aspect – is not weakened by the Demon Soul. And he is plotting his sinister moves in bringing the world to an end (you could say again, but this event happens before Cataclysm).
Hope is now placed upon a human mage Rhonin from Kirin Tor of Dalaran. Krasus sends Rhonin on an observatory mission to Khaz Modan escorted by an elvan ranger Vereesa Windrunner. During their journey, they have recruited the help of the human paladins as well as the dwarves and their quest has changed. But is it enough to face the adversities of the orcs, trolls, and goblins? With the Horde losing ground and the Alliance gathering its forces under a mysterious character called Lord Prestor, how would this ultimate battle play out?
Day of the Dragon answers a lot of questions I used to have. Locations and characters such as island kingdom of Tol Barad, Gemm Greymane, and Gilneas are not featured in World of Warcraft until 2011. It appears to me that Day of the Dragon was well ahead of time. Lore development these days are tightly coupled with the game development. Deep inside, I am wishing that Blizzard would release new lore that will not be seen in the game till, say, a decade later. This will give the fans something to look forward to, something beyond what we have anticipated today.
Traditionally, Cynthia and I take leave on our own birthdays. This year, we take leave on each other’s birthday as well. I mean, who would want to face the ever exciting work items and hyper friendly colleagues on our birthdays? This year, my wife chose to spend her birthday in Sentosa, with the family. Her mother from Indonesia happens to be in town. As always, I am the designated transporter and photographer. And I tugged along for the adventure.
Over the years, Sentosa has changed quite a fair bit. There is a new casino, or rather integrated resort and there are so many more tourist attractions these days. The Sentosa I remember of has a musical fountain, a pier, a Merlion statue, a beach, and an Underwater World. Today, I don’t even know half of the attractions in the island. The tram service that runs along the southern coast of the island seems to have received an upgrade too. It now looks more like a long bus. As an avid F1 fan, I was eager to try the gravity powered go kart. Then I divide the ticket price with the game duration. I think I would rather have some Chinese dumplings for lunch, which we did.
Maybe my gigantic camera appears to be intimidating. Or maybe my mother-in-law is not used to being photographed. Capturing her smile requires patience. At times, patience pays off.
What a blast! 20 days into Diablo III and I have clocked in 80 played hours. On top of that, Ihave finally defeated the ultimate evil for one of my five characters. One down. Four more characters to go. And then onto the next difficulty level.
Note: Did you know the Diablo III runs in both PC and Mac platform? Once you purchase a game key, you can download and install the game to either platform as many times as you wish. Do check minimal system requirement though. To purchase the game, click here to create an account and head to Blizzard Store. If you are a Android or iPhone user, don’t forget to download the free Battle.net Mobile Authenticator app (or you can purchase a physical one online at Blizzard Store). Also, you may wish to turn on the SMS verification feature in your account management for extra security.
“You dare to judge me?!”
Games are certainly more fun played with friends. In general, that is true – physical and virtual world alike. So I have played with Cynthia mostly, when she is online. Sanctuary seems less lonely that way, and less scary for sure. She can go head-to-head with the mobs at the frontline while I, well, I heroically shoot the enemies from a safe distance. Now you know who wear the pants at our home. We have played with our real life friends too. It is mindless zerging, destroying all things that move, all things that don’t. It is an insane fun, in a therapeutic kind of way. Though at times I wonder if we are holding our friends up by too obsessively exploring every corner of the map and smashing every jar we see (there is an achievement for 1,000 jars destroyed for the OCD ones, like me). At times, we join the public games just to repeat some of the memorable boss fights. Getting a random group is super fast compares to, say, World of Warcraft. In that online game, we could end up waiting for up to half an hour or more for a group to be assembled. In Diablo III, it is instant. As our party size increases (up to four), so is the strength of our foes. When one is leaving, no problem. Our foes will scale down accordingly. I like this dynamic aspect. It keeps the encounters challenging and from the social interaction point of view, the more the merrier. Almost always.
The game in Normal setting does not require 30 hours to beat, which we eventually did. Typically, it can be done in 20 hours, or even less. Cynthia and I are the thorough ones. We enjoy opening up unexplored areas to hunt for treasure and face the seemingly formidable foes. I take one step further that drives Cynthia nuts. I listen to all the dialog, again and again. My only complain with the public games is that most random players would choose to skip the cut scenes and dialog. That is totally understandable. But as for me, I am in for the full experience. Discovering the little stories my in-game companions have to tell, pieces of lore, trivial dialog that keeps the game alive, and more. To that end, I solo the contents as well.
Scoundrel (my rogue companion in-game when I have no one to group with): Sometimes I wish that when we’d met, you’d taken one look at me and fallen desperately in love. But then I think of all the gold I’ve gotten with you.
Kasumi (my demon huntress): You know that that it won’t end that way, right?
Scoundrel: Right.
Upon completion of Normal difficulty setting, characters are typically around level 30. After which, the entire game play can be repeated in a higher difficulty setting called Nightmare. That boosts character level from 30 to 50. To reach the level cap of 60, Hell difficulty awaits. Beyond that is Inferno setting that is tailored for those who demand the ultimate challenge. If you are seeking for a deeper thrill and a sense of purpose, Diablo III offers a Hardcore mode whereby all deaths are permanent. That is pretty hardcore. It is like play Tetris with one life and you want to see how far you can go before getting beaten. My goal is to reach the level cap for all my 5 characters covering all 5 different classes. Inferno is likely not my cup of tea. If and when I reach there, I would love to take a holiday for a well deserved break. Hawaii would be nice. How many times must we save Heavens and Sanctuary? As many times as we defend Azeroth from Deathwing I suppose.
“Cartoon-ish? Perhaps. But the level of detail is astonishing.”
Some asked me if this game is any good. It is an incredibly easy game to pick up. In the initial stage of the game, you can simply hack and slash your way using the two mouse buttons. As you progress, you can use the four extended skills that are mapped to the numeric keys 1 to 4. 6 buttons are all you need to master this game. You get to choose 6 active skills from a total of 22 at any time of your game play. Each skill can be augmented with one of the 5 different runes (6 if you count the no rune option). That in turn changes how the skill works. On top of that, you get to pick 3 passive skills from an array of 15. You can do the mathematics and work out the potential number of combinations. It is rare to see two players picking up the same configuration. Individual build shapes one’s play style. Coupled that with the individual’s gear stats preference, there is much depth in Diablo III. Now, while I cannot vouch for what happens in the Inferno setting, I am pretty sure that it is Blizzard’s interest to avoid cookie-cutting builds that make everyone alike.
If you are into or open to hack-and-slash role playing games, Diablo III is the benchmark. The game play is fluid. The artwork and soundtrack is beautiful. Each time you level, you feel more powerful as more skill options are available at your disposal. Within the virtual world of Diablo III, you are always gold hungry, loot hungry. All items’ stats are randomly generated making it unlikely that two gears are identical. Blizzard, unlike other developers, continues to improve the game based on community feedback. Other developers more often than not de-prioritize the fixing of their games after they have taken your money. Instead, their first priority is to build new DLC (downloadable contents) and new expansions. Not Blizzard.
In this new era, no man is an island. Collaboration and trading for mutual benefits trump working on your own. You may hate the concept of the in-game Auction House that facilitates the trading of game items using either in-game currency or real currency. But it is a good way to help each other in order to fasten the pace and overcome challenges. Items that you no longer need can be offloaded into the Auction House so that someone else may find a use of it. Or you may pick up an item from the Auction House that others do not need. If you are not the type who spends real currency to acquire virtual items, you can stick with the in-game currency. If you do, Blizzard provides a safe environment for real money trading to occur. Is Blizzard charging too much as a middle man? I do not have a benchmark for comparison. Besides, I hope Blizzard can continue to make money somewhere so that the servers can be funded – free of charge for us folks – for many months or even years to come.
Any downside? Sure. It is called weekly scheduled maintenance that happens during our prime evening hours. Something some of us have been bearing since the launch of World of Warcraft. It is worse than Error 37 if you were to ask me.
To continue reading my adventure of 140 hours with the game, click here.
My Indonesian born now a Singaporean wife Cynthia has been asking me out for a movie date for the past three weeks. She wants to watch the new Indonesian movie The Raid: Redemption that is very popular back home and in US. Yet, five minutes into the show when a line of captives were brutally executed by the gangsters, I was not sure if she would stay till the end. It is bloody. The execution is so in-your-face such that at one point, even I had the urge to look away. The opening scene has set the bar. The audience is warned. This is no child play. Blood will be shed, in a big and realistic way. Bone will be cracked. People will die. When it comes to urban warfare and close quarter combat, the key to survival is to eliminate your opponents. The Raid: Redeemption is a 100 minutes movie that guarantees to entertain from the beginning to the end, if you have the stomach for it that is. Surprisingly, Cynthia stayed till end. And our friend TK did not fall asleep.
Here are a few interesting points to share, courtesy of my wife who understands the language and has been reading all the news on this movie. I have added a few based on my research too.
The main actor Iko Uwais has won a National Silat Championship. Silat is a traditional Indonesian martial art. Iko is one of the two choreographers of this movie. The other one is Yayan Ruhian who plays the deadly Mad Dog character in The Raid.
The Raid or Serbuan Maut as locally known was hugely popular in Indonesia during Cynthia’s recent visit to her birth town. It has also gained popularity in US.
The translator has apparently taken the artistic liberty to spice up the violence of the movie by adding a lot more vulgarity than what is spoken in its original Bahasa Indonesia language. I suppose that is to cater for the Western audience because violence is not really violence with a lot of swearing?
It is common to see a praying scene in an Indonesia movie. After all, Indonesia is a Islamic country. It should come as no surprise that those who pray will prevail.
The Raid is likely to have a sequel.
At the end of the movie, I felt utterly confused by the story line. Maybe it is lost in translation. So I asked Cynthia and TK for their understandings. Looks like the three of us have a different version of what we think the story is. Cynthia insisted that this is an Indonesian action movie. There is no story. We pay to watch the action instead.
True. There are tons of action. Twenty cops raid a 30-story building heavily guarded by a notorious crime lord and his gang. The show starts with an urban warfare stealth mission that turns horribly wrong. I suppose sooner or later, the characters would be out of ammunition. Hence, I was not that surprised when halfway through the movie, it turns into close quarter combat with knives and fists and a rare usage of pistols. The fight choreography flows beautifully (again, beauty in the context of violence). The filmmakers must have involved quite a number of professionals for this show because the fight looks authentic and there are many different faces that appear for that few second of glory. There is one old guy who cannot fight – as demanded by the plot I guess – and he stands out like a sore thumb. It is through contrast like this do we realize how professional the rest of the actors are.
The Raid: Redemption is intense. It is an entertaining, eye-opening movie provided that your heart can take the violence, blood, and more.
To be frank, I am not a devout Catholic. Yes, I go to Church almost every Sunday and attend every Day of Obligation that falls on a weekday if I can. In between the weekly Masses, I seldom think about spirituality and divinity. Sure, I say a little prayer of thanks before my meals. Most of the time, I am distracted by so many things out there. I do not even have time for self-reflection. How then would I have time to listen to the divine whisper? Like in this very moment, I would rather play some video games, or join my family and watch TV. Where is my self-control? Temptation is everywhere.
Last Sunday was the Pentecost Sunday. It is a day of Solemnity according to my faith. A celebration of the descend of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples and over a hundred others thousands of years ago. The same fire that spreads to all corners of the world today. Some describe Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. To my surprise, the second reading during last week’s Mass has left a deep impression upon me, as though the passage talks to me. A Biblical passage that was written many years ago and yet, still relevant today. Regardless of your tradition or faith, I urge you to take a look, with an open mind.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
If you read the above passage with an open mind, you would see a list of negative attributes alongside with another list of positive attributes. It does not matter where you come from, you should – I hope – agree that our world can be a better place if more of us are on that positive list, rather than on the negative list. Yet, if you look around, you may see people being selfish or in anger. If you look inside and be totally honest, you may even see more of those negative attributes lying within. Why is it so?
The answer lies in the desire of flesh. Our body naturally desires to lean towards those negative states. If we let our bodies go on an autopilot, we will be consumed by those desires. Temptation as some may observe. It seems so right, yet so wrong. Opposition of such negative desires takes great effort and it has to come before our Spirit bears fruit. We cannot love others if we do not first cast away selfishness. We cannot attain the state of joy and peace if we are overwhelm by envy and jealousy.
Perhaps, the path to holiness is that the next time our bodies desire us to do something, we should pause and ask ourselves: Is this what the Spirit desires? Fighting off our bodily desire is hard. But the good news my friends is that the Holy Spirit dwells within us.
Chick-lit can be extremely entertaining, even for guys. None of my guy friends seems to believe me though. Oh, whatever. When I saw Kinsella’s new book selling at the airport during my Malaysia business trip, I almost impulsively grabbed a copy. Almost. I resisted and reserved a copy at my library online instead. My patience has been handsomely rewarded and I’ve Got Your Number arrived right before my trip to Bandung, Indonesia. Hooray!
Note: As you can see, this entry has been written quite some time ago.
At times I wonder: how many different plots one can spin out of women crisis, wedding and engagement, issues with guys and guys’ family, and falling in and out of love. Surprisingly, the Sophie Kinsella formula still sells.
Poppy, a physiotherapist, loses her engagement ring at a charity party. To make things worse, she loses her phone too. How can one live without a phone these days? Out of nowhere, she has found a phone in a bin, still in working condition. She then shares this new number with the hotel staff, in case someone finds her ring. Just when Poppy thinks that she can now focus on recovering her ring, the phone rings. The phone belongs to the PA of a businessman called Sam and he wants it back.
Poppy does not want to return the phone, yet. And she makes a bargain to forward any corporate emails and messages to Sam as soon as they arrive. On several counts, Poppy has proven to be quite a helpful assistant and Sam tolerates this temporary arrangement until Poppy’s ring is found. Needless to say, this situation turns out to be quite a mess with Poppy’s personal messages mixed with Sam’s corporate messages and the correspondence between the two. How far can one resist not reading into other people’s messages? (Not far) How much can one know about a person by reading others responses about him or her? (Not much in fact)
I’ve Got Your Number is a fun and light read. There is a contrast between Poppy’s warm and helpful character to Sam’s curt and business-like character. Sophie Kinsella’s secret recipe, I believe, is her ability to create an intelligent plot and characters and yet bring it down to a level whereby everyone can relate and laugh about. This book is slightly different from her previous standalone books in a way that it is full of emails and messages going to and fro between the characters. It is certainly relevant to our current mode of communication. I wonder how the readers in the future – say 100 years from now – would react when texts and emails are no longer the norm of communication. Sophie Kinsella has not fully embraced social networking in her stories yet. It is going to be a matter of time, I reckon, now that she is pretty active in Facebook. One of my previous comments about Kinsella’s works is that there is hardly any character development on the male characters. This book seems to have done a better job in that regard.
While the bulk of I’ve Got Your Number is fun and light, I must admit there is a high dosage of melodramatic moments that only girls can fully appreciate, especially towards the end. My brain was literally fried with an overwhelming amount of sweetness. Knowing what genre I am getting myself into, I am not going to complain, not even the slightest. If you like any of her previous books, especially the standalone ones, this one is not to be missed. As always, I am looking forward to reading her next book.
PS. What’s up with the footnotes appearing everywhere in the book? I actually quite like it. Cynthia is having a headache reading them though. Ha ha ha.
In a drastic turn of event, Cynthia shocked the world my world by submitting an application for Singapore citizenship, in her own right, couple of months ago. My first reaction was: Are you sure? Indonesia is a vast country rich in natural resources. From Papua in the east, to Aceh in the west, it is a land overflowed with cultural and biological diversity. Millions of years ago, when descendants of Adam and Eve left Africa, they did not head northwest to America. Instead, they headed east, arrived at where Indonesia is today, then moved up to today’s China, and etc. Two thousand years ago, Indians arrived in Java and constructed the magnificent Borobudur. With the money we earn in Singapore, we could possibly retire in Bali in a farm, overlooking the beautiful volcano with beer in my hands every day. My flock of animals would stare at me – their master – curiously while I would dream of roast lamb for dinner. All of a sudden, my wife wants to be a Singaporean?
Yesterday, inside the office of Commissioner for Oaths, my mother-in-law and I watched Cynthia proudly took up the citizenship in front of a Singapore flag. We clapped, or rather I clapped and then my mother-in-law followed, after the formality was concluded. Fourteen years ago, I was in the same office, taking up the oath alone. On that particular day, I wish someone was there for me. Witnessing Cynthia swore allegiance to Singapore led me to reliving my moment when I took up my citizenship. Memories juxtaposed. That piece of memory does not seem that lonely anymore.
“How do you feel?” asked Cynthia. Emigration is a personal journey. We emigrate for reasons that only we alone can fathom. It took her thirteen years to arrive at that decision. It took me much shorter than that. I guess, suddenly, things become very permanent. Previously, there was always this tiny element of doubt, every five years depending on current policy, whether or not Cynthia’s permanent resident status would be renewed. Now, we have the same home country. The feeling is overwhelming. And it is still sinking in, to be frank.
Cynthia’s journey to her new citizenship was not without hiccups. On the day of taking up the oath, which by the way, she was momentarily stateless for a week, the Customs ran into some fingerprint verification issues. Apparently, Cynthia’s fingerprints have changed! Is she who she claims to be? The same wife I married to? Can she modify her fingerprints at will? How well do you really know your wife?
And of course, there is this Family Card episode that we can now laugh about for many years to come. It was not funny while we were stuck in the process. To renounce an Indonesia citizenship, you would need to give up your Indonesian passport and IC, as well as the family card and certificate of citizenship of your father (if you are a Chinese I suppose). If you ask an Indonesian, I doubt he or she would know what a family card is for. Basically, it is a piece of paper that documents the family tree of a particular housing address. So if you are no longer an Indonesian citizen, your name should be taken away from the family card. That makes sense, I suppose. But what is a family card for? No idea. My mother-in-law in Indonesia had to send the family card via DHL, after sending Cynthia’s renewed IC also via DHL the day before (yet another stressful episode).
“Where shall we visit next?” asked Cynthia. Having a Singapore passport means visa application headache is gone for many countries.
My life could be in danger if I meet Jason Johnson in person. Mr. Johnson is a professional movie critic working with one of our local papers called The New Paper. He said on air in The Backseat With Maddy & Cheryl that anyone who does not like The Avengers shall be thrown at by the stones or drown in the sea. You either like the movie, or you shall die. I am unsure if it is OK to make death threat on air in Singapore, even as a joke. But I am scared.
Anticipation is a double edged sword. Now, if I am to tell you that I am not that crazy over The Avengers, would you think that I am nuts? One billion dollars, the film has made worldwide. One user in Google+ wrote an article: Just how does piracy kill the film industry when The Avengers made a billion? I do not know. Since the beginning of time, men steal or cheat, especially when we know that there is no consequence to our action. But, we are also willing to pay for an experience that worth the dough, especially when we cannot wait. Complex creature men are. Maybe the answer to privacy is advertisement. And it may lead to this eventually.
The Avengers is a true feast to the fans of the superheroes. It is like an all-star movie. Some female viewers may drool on Thor the God of Thunder, who is played by Chris Hemsworth. Can he really act? It is hard to tell. In a sci-fi setting whereby I presume actors are working with the blue screen most of the time, what is good acting when we are so overwhelmed by the mind boggling CGI? Then we have the talented Robert Downey, Jr. who plays the Iron Man. So much emphasis is on him and that is understandable. His script is lively and humorous. He is quite possibly the only true actor in The Avengers besides Samuel L. Jackson whose airtime is rather limited. 50 million is likely to be Downey’s salary with bonus when the rest of the actors get a single-digit million dollar check. Contrast to Tony Stark’s carefree personality is Captain Americawho prefers discipline and has the general awareness of public safety. Chris Evans is charming in his solo movie. He is charming in The Avengers too. I find Loki creepy so not much to say about the only villain in this movie. Hulk has a new face, again. For some strange reasons, I do prefer the new Hulk played by Mark Ruffalo. All of a suddenly, we have a loveable, still scary Hulk. I am still not convinced how those pants can fit the big green Hulk. Our movie buddy TK said that those are stretchable pants. Yet Dr. Bruce Banner was totally naked after waking up from a bad fall.
There are a bunch of noteworthy side kicks in The Avengers. Canadian actress of How I Met Your Mother – Cobie Smulders – is Nick Fury’s assistant. Maybe in my mind, Robin is a funny character in that TV series. It is hard to reconcile how she can be part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nevertheless, Cynthia seems cool with that. Hawkeye’s performance is a surprise to me. Little did I know that Jeremy Renner has also acted in The Hurt Locker. To be honest, I watch The Avengers because of Black Widow. This character should have her independent movie title. Why do we so seldom see female superhero films? I don’t know. Maybe it is a Western thing. Are the heroines in The Fifth Element, Resident Evil, or Ultraviolet count as superheroes? Is it just a Marvel thing? Scarlett Johansson is attractive and she plays a deadly and intelligent agent. I do not know what she means by too much blood in her ledger as I am not a comic book reader. I could only imagine.
The Avengers lacks the pace and intensity of The Hunger Games. And it is not as emotionally driven as, say, Daredevil. Some bits of the story do not seem to make sense. But, it is a hugely entertaining movie, a feast to the eyes – both in terms of CSG as well as star power. Each superhero has his chance to shine and be useful to the plot, in their capacity. The story is incredibly simple. Part one is about superheroes facing off with one and another, which to me is silly. Part two is about superheroes working together to fight off that one villain, which is exciting. I don’t see any clever strategy in place. The overarching story seems to be a continuation of Thor. Like many superhero movies, I would probably forget this one before the month turns June. There are some memorable moments though. And the award goes to Hulk.
Cynthia and I, to be frank, picked Cathedral of the Good Shepard due to convenience. A six thirty evening Mass in town on a weekday was just nice. Our Cathedral is the oldest Church in Singapore. It shows. Part of the ceiling is falling apart. There are cracks on the walls and there is no air conditioning, unlike the modernized neighborhood Churches. Maybe the crowd comprises of mainly tourists or short term visitors, I often find that there is a lack of passion in the community compares to the enthusiastic neighborhood crowd. The fans that regulate the airflow tend to be exceptionally noisy. So is the traffic outside. I can barely hear what the priest says through the mic. The echo does not help.
Today, we were pleasantly surprised. I arrived before Cynthia and was greeted by the students wearing Catholic banners ushering worshipers into the Cathedral. Seventh row seemed agreeable and so, I was seated close to the alter, next to the choir. Cynthia joined me shortly. Before the Mass began, the students who wear the banners handed us the song sheets. We saw music notes. This is so old school!
The choir, was magnificent. Jaw dropping it was. The harmony, the dynamic range, and the tone accuracy. There were three organists. Church music is meant to inspire, giving us a feel of divinity. More often than not, Cynthia and I cringe hearing those who sing in Church. The pamphlet says the the resident choir is Cathedral Choir of the Risen Christ. Could this be that famous choir in Singapore? It could well be. The last time we heard their music was at Toa Payoh, Church of the Risen Christ. After the Mass, Cynthia turned to me and said, “Perhaps we shall from now on attend our Sunday Mass here?”
Perhaps.
This evening we Catholics celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. It is the the fortieth day of Easter, always on a Thursday. Jesus was ascended to Heaven on this day, thousands of years ago.
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” ~ Acts I 6-10
The priest who gave the sermon looks old. The little hair he has left was silvery in color. Yet, there is such energy and fire radiating from within. Instead of diving into Jesus’s ascension, he started with a rocket launch back in the sixties when everyone was glued to the television watching the lift off. Eventually, that rocket took the astronauts to the moon and back. There was excitement, and anticipation. It was a successful lift off. People screamed.
What about Jesus’s ascension? Are we excited, in a trumpet blast? Or are we dwelling too much with our worldly matter and have forgotten that with our love and bonding with God, we too are having a piece of Heaven on Earth? The priest then reminded us: Look up to Heaven as you walk!
It is a powerful reminder that wherever we go, God is with us. All we need to do is to gaze upon Heaven, with love.
Update: You can start to install the digital download on May 14 11.01pm GMT+8 and the server live date is May 15 3.01pm GMT+8.
For some, this has been a wait more than a decade long. It gets more excruciating as we approach May 15. Diablo III is featured on our local paper today. One couple has postponed their honeymoon to next year in anticipation of the game’s release. That is some kind of commitment! I am unsure if I would love Diablo III that much. Not even sure if Cynthia who gets the game free thanks to WoW annual pass would enjoy playing this game with me. I have faith in Blizzard. They make good games. And to my readers, here are nine things you should consider doing in getting yourself ready for this upcoming epic gaming journey.
1. Watch the Cinematic Trailer
Here is a little crash course for you. Mortals have been using Soulstones to trap the three Prime Evils from Hell. The bad guy you see in the video below is Azmodan, the Lord of Sin, who is also one of the four Lesser Evils. According to Book of Cain (which I will cover later), the Lord of Sin is a clever manipulator who trades in vice and coruption. He is passionate and plotting – both to very dangerous degrees. He is by far the most charismatic and seductive of all the Evils.
Little has been revealed about Azmodan, yet it is hinted that he is looking for a promotion to be a Prime. I suppose Diablo III may tell a deeper story on this Lesser Evil, who is by no means less evil.
2. Read Book of Cain
When I played Diablo II eons ago, I did not really get into the story. In fact, I did not complete the game. I have participated in the closed beta. It was a pleasant experience, with voice acting and etc. Still, I could not quite get the story. What I missed was the lore.
To fully enjoy Diablo III, you have to read the lore. There is one such book that fits the bill. It is Diablo III: Book of Cain. 148 pages only, with tons of artistic illustrations. The book tells the story of the beginning of time, before Heaven and Hell were created. It is a book of mythology that defines the universe of Diablo. In this realm, mortals as products of angels and demons are not powerless. That’s why we get to trap the Evils inside the Soulstones in previous episodes.
Evil is back in this third episode. Get acquainted with the lore today!
3. Pre-order the Game
Unlike Starcraft II, there will be no price difference between getting a local physical copy or downloading the game online via Battle.net. Either way, after online registration, you will be able to download the game client to any machine – PC or Mac – in the future. Getting a physical copy saves you the hassle of spending 6 to 12 hours downloading the game. Getting a virtual copy saves the environment (sort of), with one less packaging, and you get to download the game client in this very moment. The choice is yours.
Local copy of the game is marketed and distributed by Asiasoft here in Singapore. For pre-order information and more, visit this link.
4. Attend the Launch Party
Like all Blizzard games, there will be a launch party at Funan DigitaLife Mall and it is held on May 15, 2012 from 9am to 9pm. For those who have pre-ordered the game, you may collect it from 3pm onwards. Marc Messenger, the lead developer of this game will be there. There will be cosplays, hourly giveaways, and lucky draw.
I wonder if the local cosplays standard will be as close as Tasha and Miyuko who are featured in the official Diablo site (see picture below). What do you think?
5. Create a Battle Tag
You will need a Battle Tag in order to play Diablo III. It is a name that represent you in Battle.net. So, choose wisely. Since it may take time for you to dream of a handle, start dreaming now.
From my experience, a short Battle Tag is much desired. You may wish to call yourself Iamawesome1337. Unfortunately there is a space constraint in the game interface. To others (and even to you), your portrait may show Iamawe… instead. This may frustrate you. Think of something short. It doesn’t have to be unique. Because Blizzard will tag a 4-digit random code behind your tag.
Diablo III is meant to be played with your friends online. It is built that way. Enemies scale up as more join the party. So, start socializing with your friends and sharing your Battle Tag. Mine is Lace#1115. See you in the game!
To create a Battle Tag, you will need to first create a Battle.net account. Head to http://battle.net for more information.
6. Pick a Class
At launch, there are five classes to choose from: barbarian, wizard, demon hunter, witch doctor, and monk. You will need to pick one to start your journey. The question is: Which one will you pick?
I have participated in the closed beta. I enjoy all five classes. With ten character slots and a shared stash for you to pass the items around, you are free to experiment what works for you.
Barbarian and monk are melee classes. You get to face the enemies up close. Barbarian is the traditional warrior class. You jump into the battle faster than any other classes. And you hack and slash your foes away, right to their faces.
Monk on the other hand is a nimble melee class. You get to jump in and out of the scene and to think how to deal damage without taking too much of it.
Witch doctor, demon hunter, and wizard destroy enemies from a distance. Witch doctor summon pets to assist you. Damage over time is the key strategy. Contrast to wizard, wizard deals direct damage. Initially I thought wizard would be boring to play, but it is not. As for demon hunter, first, know that this class does not come with a pet (somehow WoW players associate the word ‘hunter’ with pets). Second, this class gets to carry two bows that do some really funky stuffs. It is probably the most interesting class in this genre.
In short, pick your first based on your play style or even artistic preference. However, I suspect you will get to play all eventually, in different difficulty settings.
Still need more inspiration on which class is for you? Head to PC Gamer site and read how game developers may pick as their first.
Oh, when you first start the game, make sure you pick the correct geographical region. You are allowed to switch between the three regions. The game is not region locked like Starcraft II. However, characters created in different regions are not connected.
7. Know Your Resources
This may sound obvious. Official forum is the best place to get up-to-date information, contributed by the community as well as the developers. There will be discussion and sharing on how to play your classes better.
Character profiles will be available for the tracking of your and your friends’ progress. There is a skill calculator for those who enjoy fine tuning their characters’ abilities based on play style. Have you ever wondered what Diablo III is? The video below will have the answers for you.
8. Watch the Wrath Animation
For those who enjoy watching animation, this close to 7 minutes video clip depicting the conflict of High Heavens and Burning Hells is not to be missed. It is created by Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with renowned director Peter Chung and acclaimed animation studio Titmouse. This video does make more sense if you have read Book of Cain as recommended earlier.
9. What’s Your Excuse?
Come this May 15, you may find your colleagues disappear, your loved one disappear. Try to think of the annual Great Singapore Sale, or the upcoming Euro Cup. People do disappear for various reasons. Be sympathetic. Chances are, your friends are busy fighting demons in the Burning Hells.
If you are finding it hard to come up an excuse for your colleagues, or your loved ones, here is a fan-made website http://www.sorryformay15.com that may just do the job for you!
. 148 pages only, with tons of artistic illustrations. The book tells the story of the beginning of time, before Heaven and Hell were created. It is a book of mythology that defines the universe of Diablo. In this realm, mortals as products of angels and demons are not powerless. That’s why we get to trap the Evils inside the Soulstones in previous episodes.
