-Epic Hot Cheese
Friday, August 26, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Five important lessons in life.
-- Author Unknown
1. First Important Lesson - "Know The Cleaning Lady"
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
2. Second Important Lesson - "Pickup In The Rain"
One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.
A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3. Third Important Lesson - "Remember Those Who Serve"
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "50¢," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "35¢!" she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.
When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4. Fourth Important Lesson - "The Obstacles In Our Path"
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand - "Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition."
5. Fifth Important Lesson - "Giving When It Counts"
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?".
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Top 33 PC games from 2000 to 2011 (Part 2)
Check out Part 1 here or here Damn it! Part 2 is really hard to make since there's simply too many great games.
Year 2006:
Company of Heroes
One of the greatest RTS ever made, introduced heavy micro management and good cover system in a RTS. Encourage players to move out and secure new area as resources. Awesome character animations, destructible buildings, epic explosions. It's like pretty much a play-able "Band of Brothers" and "Saving Private Ryan" game. The developers really should ditch the Warhammer series and make a "Modern Warfare" RTS.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
It's already a great RPG and it's even better with tons of awesome mods. Skip the fast travel feature and just roam around the wilderness looking for stuff to kill is awesome. Not many games allows you to play as an angry ORC with a huge axe that blocks half of your screen and still able to buy stuff in a shop.
RACE: The WTCC Game
Closest racing simulation to the Gran Tourismo series on the PlayStation. Get a decent racing wheel and you'll be hooked for a long long time. The advanced tuning option requires an actual degree in mechanical engineering.
Other great games from 2006:
Xpand Rally
Hitman: Blood Money
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Year 2007: (Crazy good year for the PC gamer)
Crysis
A hard lesson to people who think they have a good "gaming PC". Not a person in the world can run this game at max detail back then. This game really helped in the "PC hardware development" of our era.
Portal
Just when you thought video games can not get anymore creative and Portal comes out. Game developers around the world were scratching their head trying to figure out how the valve genius pulled this one off. It's simply a technical marvel at the time. Also, "the cake is a lie" community quickly turned into a cult.
BioShock
Simply the best atmosphere and immersive environment ever created. I don't even need to mention the awesome use of genetics alteration and awesome weapons. Also gave the word "Big Daddy" a whole new meaning.
Other great games from 2007:
The Orange Box
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Half Life 2: Episode 2
Gears of War
Supreme Commander
Peggle
Puzzle Quest
DiRT
Unreal Tournament III
RACE 07
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl
The Wticher
Aquaria
Test Drive Unlimited
Year 2008: (Another crazy good year for the PC gamer)
Dead Space
In the future, a mere plasma cutting tool might just be the most powerful weapon in the universe. Also the first shooter that ignored "headshot", you wanna kill an alien? Cut off their limbs and stomp on them like a boss. Grab an engineer tool and go save the entire universe.
Left 4 Dead
The first shooter that really pulled off the multiplayer co-op elements. The in game "Director" system works so well to keep the game's perfect pacing. Each campaign is perfect in length and surviving a chapter at the end is extremely satisfying.
Sins of a Solar Empire
A easy to learn but hard to master space RTS. The scale of this game is just epic, hundreds of planets and thousands of units on screen at the same time. The one and only game that defines "epic space battle". Zoom from the window of a small spaceship to a view of the entire universe with a flick of your mouse wheel.
Other great games from 2008:
World of Goo
Grand Theft Auto IV
Mass Effect
Grid
Bionic Commando Rearmed
Far Cry 2
AudioSurf
Crysis Warhead
Year 2009: (Yet another good year for a PC gamer)
Plants vs. zombies
Some dude sitting in an office and just thought: "Hmm... I have an idea for a new game, I want zombies and plants in it". That dude's crazy idea turns out to be one of the best video game ever created. If you haven't play this game or played it but didn't enjoy it, please end yourself now.
Dragon Age: Origins
The developers promise it's the replacement of Baldur's gate II. Enough Said.
MineCraft
In my humble opinion... This is definitely one of the best game in the world. It's not even released yet! The game is still in beta but more than 3 million copies are sold already, the company did it without spending a penny on advertisement. It's all word of mouth by the awesome community and play through videos on YouTube. I don't even know where to start with this game... There's just too many things to cover, there's endless amount of mods, texture packs and multiplayer servers out there. Just go to YouTube a watch some minecraft video to find out why it's so awesome. (I recommend BlueXephos's channel)
Other great games from 2009:
Braid
Street Fighter IV
Left 4 Dead 2
Osmos
DiRT 2
Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Sims 3
EVE Online
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Machinarium
Torchlight
Borderlands
Mirror's Edge
Trine
Year 2010:
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Poker is already a legit international sport. I swear soon or later Starcraft will be a legit sport in the Olympic. It's already a legit national sport and profession in South Korea and parts of United States. You don't even have to play the game to enjoy it's awesomeness. Just watch some tournament cast online and you'll know why. (Try HDstarcraft, LAG TV and Husky on YouTube)
Just Cause 2
Most people might not agree with me on this game. However, this is a perfect example for excellent game developing. This game is so well coded and optimized it will run extremely smooth even on an older PC. (Thanks to the talented software engineers at Square Enix) Over the top action, crazy stunts and a HUGE environment to explore. The developers even included the island from "LOST" in the game just for you to mess around. I tried sky diving from the very top and it took me a good 15 minutes to get to the ground, that pretty much sums up the game. There's also endless amount of stuff to do, getting 100% in this game is impossible in one life time.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
The one and only fun Lara Croft game ever. Great control, beautiful visual, innovative puzzle and very good pacing. The co-op mode is a must play if you like games in general. If they added online mode, RPG elements and randomly generated map, this will be better than Diablo 3. Yeah, it's that good.
Other great games from 2010:
BioShock 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Mass Effect 2
Fallout: New Vegas
Assassin's Creed II
Darksiders
Super Meat Boy
Call of Duty: Black Ops (for the single player only)
Toki Tori
Year 2011 so far:
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
For serious gamer only. If you're a causal gamer you probably couldn't even get pass the prologue. This is a very well made action RPG, could use a bit more optimization and better menu design but other than that, it's about perfect.
LIMBO
I don't have the PC version but I played it on the PS3 and I assumed they are exactly the same. This is honestly the best side scroller/platformer I've even played, better than Braid, little big planet and even Mario in my opinion. You just pick up the game and starts playing, no introduction, no tutorial, just pick up your controller and try to figure things out. It gets better and better, I don't wanna spoiled it, just go play. (Warning, the game can be hard but fair and it might be a little bit short for some gamers.)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
The most intense and scariest game I've played since Silent Hill and fatal frame. The fact that you don't know what happened and who's after you is the best part. Turn off the lights, put on your headphone and enjoy the ride.
Other great games from 2011:
Shogun 2: Total War
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Portal 2
Dead Space 2
Crysis 2
DiRT 3
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
Terraria
Bulletstorm
Frozen Synapse
-Epic Hot Cheese
Year 2006:
Company of Heroes
One of the greatest RTS ever made, introduced heavy micro management and good cover system in a RTS. Encourage players to move out and secure new area as resources. Awesome character animations, destructible buildings, epic explosions. It's like pretty much a play-able "Band of Brothers" and "Saving Private Ryan" game. The developers really should ditch the Warhammer series and make a "Modern Warfare" RTS.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
It's already a great RPG and it's even better with tons of awesome mods. Skip the fast travel feature and just roam around the wilderness looking for stuff to kill is awesome. Not many games allows you to play as an angry ORC with a huge axe that blocks half of your screen and still able to buy stuff in a shop.
RACE: The WTCC Game
Closest racing simulation to the Gran Tourismo series on the PlayStation. Get a decent racing wheel and you'll be hooked for a long long time. The advanced tuning option requires an actual degree in mechanical engineering.
Xpand Rally
Hitman: Blood Money
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Year 2007: (Crazy good year for the PC gamer)
Crysis
A hard lesson to people who think they have a good "gaming PC". Not a person in the world can run this game at max detail back then. This game really helped in the "PC hardware development" of our era.
Portal
Just when you thought video games can not get anymore creative and Portal comes out. Game developers around the world were scratching their head trying to figure out how the valve genius pulled this one off. It's simply a technical marvel at the time. Also, "the cake is a lie" community quickly turned into a cult.
BioShock
Simply the best atmosphere and immersive environment ever created. I don't even need to mention the awesome use of genetics alteration and awesome weapons. Also gave the word "Big Daddy" a whole new meaning.
Other great games from 2007:
The Orange Box
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Half Life 2: Episode 2
Gears of War
Supreme Commander
Peggle
Puzzle Quest
DiRT
Unreal Tournament III
RACE 07
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl
The Wticher
Aquaria
Test Drive Unlimited
Year 2008: (Another crazy good year for the PC gamer)
Dead Space
In the future, a mere plasma cutting tool might just be the most powerful weapon in the universe. Also the first shooter that ignored "headshot", you wanna kill an alien? Cut off their limbs and stomp on them like a boss. Grab an engineer tool and go save the entire universe.
Left 4 Dead
The first shooter that really pulled off the multiplayer co-op elements. The in game "Director" system works so well to keep the game's perfect pacing. Each campaign is perfect in length and surviving a chapter at the end is extremely satisfying.
Sins of a Solar Empire
A easy to learn but hard to master space RTS. The scale of this game is just epic, hundreds of planets and thousands of units on screen at the same time. The one and only game that defines "epic space battle". Zoom from the window of a small spaceship to a view of the entire universe with a flick of your mouse wheel.
Other great games from 2008:
World of Goo
Grand Theft Auto IV
Mass Effect
Grid
Bionic Commando Rearmed
Far Cry 2
AudioSurf
Crysis Warhead
Year 2009: (Yet another good year for a PC gamer)
Plants vs. zombies
Some dude sitting in an office and just thought: "Hmm... I have an idea for a new game, I want zombies and plants in it". That dude's crazy idea turns out to be one of the best video game ever created. If you haven't play this game or played it but didn't enjoy it, please end yourself now.
Dragon Age: Origins
The developers promise it's the replacement of Baldur's gate II. Enough Said.
MineCraft
In my humble opinion... This is definitely one of the best game in the world. It's not even released yet! The game is still in beta but more than 3 million copies are sold already, the company did it without spending a penny on advertisement. It's all word of mouth by the awesome community and play through videos on YouTube. I don't even know where to start with this game... There's just too many things to cover, there's endless amount of mods, texture packs and multiplayer servers out there. Just go to YouTube a watch some minecraft video to find out why it's so awesome. (I recommend BlueXephos's channel)
Other great games from 2009:
Braid
Street Fighter IV
Left 4 Dead 2
Osmos
DiRT 2
Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Sims 3
EVE Online
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Machinarium
Torchlight
Borderlands
Mirror's Edge
Trine
Year 2010:
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Poker is already a legit international sport. I swear soon or later Starcraft will be a legit sport in the Olympic. It's already a legit national sport and profession in South Korea and parts of United States. You don't even have to play the game to enjoy it's awesomeness. Just watch some tournament cast online and you'll know why. (Try HDstarcraft, LAG TV and Husky on YouTube)
Just Cause 2
Most people might not agree with me on this game. However, this is a perfect example for excellent game developing. This game is so well coded and optimized it will run extremely smooth even on an older PC. (Thanks to the talented software engineers at Square Enix) Over the top action, crazy stunts and a HUGE environment to explore. The developers even included the island from "LOST" in the game just for you to mess around. I tried sky diving from the very top and it took me a good 15 minutes to get to the ground, that pretty much sums up the game. There's also endless amount of stuff to do, getting 100% in this game is impossible in one life time.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
The one and only fun Lara Croft game ever. Great control, beautiful visual, innovative puzzle and very good pacing. The co-op mode is a must play if you like games in general. If they added online mode, RPG elements and randomly generated map, this will be better than Diablo 3. Yeah, it's that good.
Other great games from 2010:
BioShock 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Mass Effect 2
Fallout: New Vegas
Assassin's Creed II
Darksiders
Super Meat Boy
Call of Duty: Black Ops (for the single player only)
Toki Tori
Year 2011 so far:
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
For serious gamer only. If you're a causal gamer you probably couldn't even get pass the prologue. This is a very well made action RPG, could use a bit more optimization and better menu design but other than that, it's about perfect.
LIMBO
I don't have the PC version but I played it on the PS3 and I assumed they are exactly the same. This is honestly the best side scroller/platformer I've even played, better than Braid, little big planet and even Mario in my opinion. You just pick up the game and starts playing, no introduction, no tutorial, just pick up your controller and try to figure things out. It gets better and better, I don't wanna spoiled it, just go play. (Warning, the game can be hard but fair and it might be a little bit short for some gamers.)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
The most intense and scariest game I've played since Silent Hill and fatal frame. The fact that you don't know what happened and who's after you is the best part. Turn off the lights, put on your headphone and enjoy the ride.
Other great games from 2011:
Shogun 2: Total War
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Portal 2
Dead Space 2
Crysis 2
DiRT 3
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
Terraria
Bulletstorm
Frozen Synapse
-Epic Hot Cheese
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Top 33 PC games from 2000 to 2011 (Part 1)
Starting from the year 2000 to 2011, I'll list 3 of my favorite PC games each year. I know I'll miss out some games, there's no need to rage if you couldn't find your favorite games here. It's really just my humble opinion. Otherwise the list will go on forever.
Year 2000:
Baldur's Gate II: Shadow of Amn
Still one of my all time favorite RPG. One perfectly timed magic missile to the face was so satisfying. I recently started playing this game again on my netbook. I can't believe it's still so much funner and deeper than most of the modern games.
The Longest Journey
The best adventure game ever! The story of April Ryan is so good it changed my life in a good way. Too bad the dreamfall sequel isn't as good. I really want a re-mastered HD version of this game and I don't mind paying full price for it!!! Someone please make this happen.
The Operative - No One Live Forever
I've never played any first person shooting game like this before. Great story, funny and cheesy characters, amazing gun fights, just epic.
Other great games from the year 2000:
Deus Ex
Diablo II
Counter strike
Icewind Dale
Escape from Monkey island
Metal Gear Soild (Official PC version)
Year 2001:
Max Payne
Using the slow motion "bullet time" for the first time was amazing, It's a Hong Kong action movie you can play.
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
I didn't really play Diablo II until the first expansion but once I started, I can't stop. I got so addicted at the game I was actually selling items on ebay as a part time job. Believe it or not, I made thousands of dollars from those rare bows and rings lol
Clive Barker's undying
The most creative FPS at the time in my opinion, combining gun fights with magic abilities, Bioshock probably wouldn't exist without this game. It was so scary I could only play during the day time haha...
Other great games from the year 2001:
Black and white
Tribes 2
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Baldur's gate II: Throne of Bhaal
Tom Clancy's ghost recon
Year 2002:
Grand Theft Auto III
Roaming around the city in a stolen car is a lot of fun. Name one game that allows you to pick up hookers and kill her to get your money back. That's right, you can't!
Warcraft III
One of the most important game in human history. A RTS game that focus on Micro management instead of mass units, great story and the beginning of the World of Warcraft franchise and LoL, DoTA, HoN. Tower defense, etc... You name it....
Age of Mythology
Too bad this game came out in the same time as Warcraft III, it's one of the best RTS game ever. Perfect "Age of Empire" fomula with the use of crazy creatures and gods.
Other great games from the year 2002:
Neverwinter nights
Freedom force
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Battlefield 1942
Mafia
Unreal tournament 2003
Year 2003:
Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic
You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this epic RPG. It sets the standard for all RPG ever since.
Call of Duty
It remains the best selling FPS series in history. This is also the start of FPS on consoles. Who knew FPS will become so popular with a controller.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Define the standard of 3D platformer on PC and consoles. Perfect control, creative story telling and perfect pacing.
Other great games from the year 2003:
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne
SimCity 4
Beyond good and evil
Year 2004:
Half Life 2
Best FPS ever created, best pacing, best story, best physics, best weapon (the gravity gun) and the real beginning of "Steamworks". Will the new episode or Half life 3 ever comes out? Who knows...
World of Warcraft
Forever changed the formula of MMORPG. Ruins millions of life around the globe. Increased global warming or climate change by 20%.
Far Cry
Display the power and benefits of PC gaming. When this game came out, all the latest graphic cards and RAM were sold out in every computer store. This is also the only game you can buy on Newegg.com at the time hahaha...
Other great games from 2004:
Unreal Tournament 2004
Rome: Total War
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Counter Strike: Source
Doom 3
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Year 2005:
Guild Wars
Free MMORPG, easy party system, fun and addicting combat, beautiful environment.
F.E.A.R
"Bullet time" enabled survival horror FPS with scary little girl. Also, the only first person shooter that lets you pull off extremely satisfying melee attack like the slide kick. Also features the 2nd best weapon in a game ever (nail gun)
Psychonauts
One of the most creative and fun platformer ever created, proves that imagination and creativity is more important than realistic graphic.
Other great games in 2005:
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
SWAT 4
Darwinia
Logitech's cool new folding keyboard for the iPad...
Such a compact and smart design. Transform your iPad to a netbook for $130 USD. Is it worth it? Your call.
-Epic Hot Cheese
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