Ahh yes!! the first summer session has finally ended!! and just when I thought I’d get to relax and take a short break, the second session starts immediately the day after (goddamn fucking summer schedule). anyway, a lot of disturbing things have been going on in my mind, so in order to ignore and forget abt ‘em, I’ve been keeping myself occupied with lotsa games. specifically card games and video games.
ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved playing games, from the good ol’ Micro Genius to favorite board games like the Malaysian-Monopoly-clone Sahibba or Snakes & Ladders. being the clear opposite of my bro’, I wasn’t exactly a sports buff hence why I spend most of my time in the house playin’ indoor games (esp video games). in my 21 years of life, I’ve owned 7 different video game consoles, starting with the aforementioned Micro Genius (remember Super Mario Bros. anyone?), the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Street Fighter madness) back in 1993, the Game Boy Color (Pokèmon ahoy!) in 1999, the Game Boy Advance in 2001, and the PS2, Game Boy Advance SP and Game Cube just last year. crazy no? now the only thing I’ll need is the Xbox and I’m all complete.
yeah, I know I have an incredibly unhealthy obsession for video games but what the heck. it’s just that in video games, I get to explore my wildest imaginations, traveling in fantasy worlds slaying dragons and casting spells in RPGs, or pitting my tactical capabilities against others in RTS games(real time strategy) and many other stuff. it’s also feels nice to have a buddy or two and play multiplayer games and then bragging how I own their asses at WWE SmackDown! or Need for Speed Underground for the PS2 or how I really enjoy screwing them over in a race in Mario Kart Double Dash for the Game Cube. seriously speaking, gloating has never been so much fun since the introduction of multiplayer games.
recently, after spending some time with my GBA SP going through River City Ransom (a classic Double Dragon-like beat-em’-up with a blend of RPG elements and loadsa humorous Japanese wackiness) I’ve decided to go online and square off against the strangers on the net with Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne on Battle.net. although at first, the idea of probably being squashed and beaten by a stranger doesn’t seem too appealing for me (let’s just say I have some serious issues abt losing), after a while I’ve gotten used to it and nowadays I take every opportunity to do the same to others. while some players out there on Battle.net are genuinely nice, there are freakin’ SOBs out there who should be shot repeatedly in the head and their asses sodomized by mechanical bulls. some of these morons will try to psyche you out by spying on what you’re doing and then typing a message declaring that he knows exactly what you’re trying to do. some use ruthless harassing tactics while others will try to distract you by asking stupid questions while they take the time to set up a strategy to crush your army. to add salt to the injury of a losing battle, some pricks even type smilies at their opponents when they win. the worst is when you realize your fucking retarded teammate is backstabbing you in a team game, killing off your units at the base while you were busy fending off the enemies. shitty, yes? I know. the world is full off assholes, even when you’re playing computer games on the net’. but even in your everyday life ppl do the same thing so you shouldn’t be surprised if someone pisses you off in a game.
anyhow, here’s a list of terms I picked up from the many hours of playing on Battle.net:
-newb: this is what most players are in the beginning. it stands for “newbie”, someone who is new to the game or is still not familiar with the game mechanics or the normal strategies employed by other regulars of Battle.net. usually, newbs say ‘hi’ at the beginning of a game and they even take some time to ask your age and where you’re from (friendly chaps, aren’t they?) although there have been instances where skilled players disguise themselves as newbs before unleashing a deadly attack onto their unsuspecting opponents.
-gg: means ‘good game’. this can function in 2 ways: either when you’re losing and you admit that your opponent was better than you and so you say it as a compliment, or when you devastate the base of your opponent completely, and you say it as a sign that they should prolly quit since chances are slim for them to win in any case.
-stfu: this is self-explanatory. if you’re too naïve or just plain dumb, it means ‘shut the fuck up’. usually said when you’re annoyed by the constant meaningless messages sent by your opponent.
-gosu: supposedly a term of Korean-origin. it means you have unmatched skills at playing Warcraft or any other RTS games. gosu players could crush any single strategy literally in minutes with their mad skillz. fortunately, the new opponent-matching system in the latest Frozen Throne patch only allow gosus to go against others of their own skill level. they’re definitely the Warcraft players you do not want to mess with.
-pwned: originally a typo of the word ‘owned’. it means that some person got his arse kicked so badly (e.g. ‘Killjoy got pwned by Raxxtor’ means the former got some ass whuppin’ by the latter)
-micro: short for ‘micro-management’. unlike in Command & Conquer where your probability of winning becomes very high when you start massing the strongest units, in Warcraft players are forced to properly manage their units, using each abilities to their full potential and finding ways and strategies to launch an attack before your opponent could start their own assault. micro-management is an integral part of playing the game because you must think of the quickest ways to gather resources, cut time to produce units, manage the spells and abilities of your Heroes & units and know how, what and when to respond to your opponent’s tactics. even the largest of armies can easily be vanquished by a smaller band of troops controlled by a player with good micro.
-turtling: from ‘turtle’. it’s a strategy where a player just sits in his base and reinforces his defenses, only coming out every once in a while. a coward’s strategy but quite useful in some cases. can be used to protect yourself while you prepare for a heavy air assault.
-noob: the idiots of the Warcraft universe. unlike newbs who realize they’re new to the game and should be humble abt their own skills, noobs (pronounced ‘nübs’) are intellectually-impaired morons who will say many stupid things to you when they lose in a game. they may accuse you for being a hacker, say that the race you’re using is imbalanced/over-powered, complain that you’re using a cheap strategy or just plainly insult you for their loss. here’s a simple fact for you noobs abt playing on Battle.net: if you lose, then it’s probably your own fault. quit complaining you crybaby pussies. first of all, not everyone hacks because if they do, a report can be sent to Blizzard (makers of the game) to ban that player. second, with each patch released by Blizzard, each race has been made more balanced to their own strengths and weaknesses so it’s your responsibility to know and take full advantage of their pros and cons. third, even in real life THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CHEAP STRATEGY. ppl will do anything to attain their objectives (like winning) so don’t complain if they’ve found a successful way to reach their goal. I myself don’t like some of the tactics my opponents employ, but I very well know it’s not their problem if I can’t beat them in a game. and more importantly, if you know your skills at Warcraft is not good enough, don’t start insulting ppl. it makes you look stupid. you’re a noob so just accept it and get on with life. once, some idiot once called me a “ball-sucking bastard” when I clearly pwned him by completely ravaging his base into oblivion. I simply typed back “shut up you noob” and then put a smiley which made him leave the game (heh, heh, heh). as someone once said, “a human uses his intellect to know when it’s time to quit. animals rely on their instincts. but some blame their failures on the victors, not realizing their time was up. they’re worse than animals”.
video & computer games aside, since I got here I’ve also grown addicted to Kazuki Takahashi’s Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG (trading card game) which is based on the hit anime/manga of the same name. although less complex compared to Wizards of the Coast’s Magic the Gathering (another popular TCG), the card game is incredibly addictive and a snap to play since it’s so easy to follow and understand. in fact, it’s been only a few years since the Yu-Gi-Oh! craze stormed the US and today, kids are seen playing the goddamn thing almost everywhere!! (a movie is even scheduled for a release this August too).
just recently I’ve already signed up to participate in a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament at a local game shop (actually I wanted to enter the Game Boy version of the official tournament but I’m 7 years over the age limit--damn Konami & Upper Deck). it’s been years since I left the debating scene (for reasons that I might explain some other day) but I thought I still wanted some challenge so I decided to be a part of the tournie. distressing as it may sound, but I clearly know the odds of me actually winning the tournament are not really high, but I’ll just go to have some fun and sharpen my dueling skills. maybe when the opportunity arises, I’ll finally go and participate in an official tournament and who knows…maybe I’ll start making a name for myself in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world someday.
I’ve been practicing my card duels with the guys over here for quite some time. I know there are kids in my area who also play Yu-Gi-Oh!, but maybe I’ll just wait until I’m slightly better with my dueling skills before I start crushing them (we don’t want a 21 yr old college student getting pwned by a 7 yr old now, do we?) . one of the best things abt playing the game is that you know quite a bit abt your opponent, from the way how his mind works, how resourceful is he thinking, how he devises & prepare plans and perhaps some personality traits based on the strategies employed. for one, I’m known by some of my close buddies as a sly, conniving and devious person. usually, the guys take note of the way I play, what are the cards I use and try to figure out why I make certain, puzzling moves because they know I’m always up to something. and it’s usually sth not nice.
anyway, there are 5 Malaysian guys over here who dig Yu-Gi-Oh! (including myself) and each of us have our own theme decks fitting for our personalities. they are:
-Ajeep (aka ‘Bob’) Deck: Ultimate Darkness Deck my senior of 1 year in IU. a nice, jovial fellow, Ajeep uses Dark-type monsters that have unique abilities which can frustrate any opponent he duels against. powerful monsters in his deck include the deadly Red Eyes Black Dragon (atk:2400 def:2000) which can be fused with Summoned Skull (atk:2500 def:1200) by using the Polymerization magic card to produce the horrifying Black Skull Dragon (atk:3200 def:2500), and the monster-absorbing Relinquished (Atk:0 Def:0, but it can ‘absorb’ one opponent’s monster and gain its attack and defense points) and its deadlier fusion counterpart Thousand Eyes Restrict (same as Relinquished, but no monsters on the field can attack except the TER itself--creating a ‘lockdown effect’). equipping the trap card Metalmorph on the Red Eyes Black Dragon and sacrificing both also enables Ajeep to special summon a slightly deadlier, mechanical version of the dark dragon from his deck: the Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon (atk: 2800 def:2400, is considered a Machine-type monster).
-Jimmy Deck: Legendary Seaman’s Deck one of my close buddies here, Jimmy uses Water-type monsters and deadly magic and trap cards to assist his sea creatures. his trump card is the A Legendary Ocean field magic card, which boosts the attack and defense points for all Water monsters by 200, and downgrades Water monsters by 1 level (monsters with higher levels require you to sacrifice another monster to summon them, so this card basically reduces the sacrificial requirement, thereby making Jimmy easier to summon his stronger, upper level monsters). deadly monsters at his disposal include the Legendary Fisherman (atk: 1850 def:1600, cannot be affected by magic cards and cannot be the target of an attack when A Legendary Ocean is on the field) and Levia-Dragon: Daedalus (atk:2600 def:1500) which has an ability that is activated by sending the Legendary Ocean from the playing field to the card Graveyard and then it destroys all monsters, magic cards and traps (both you and the opponent’s) except itself (Daedalus), creating a powerful ‘nuke’ effect.
-Nublie Deck: Blue Eyes Evolution Deck the computer expert in IU relies on the awe-inspiring Blue Eyes White Dragon (atk:3000 def:2500), one of the most feared monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh! since it has a solid, strong attack power and very few requirements to summon it (normally, you have to sacrifice 2 of your own monsters to summon this bugger, but you can always dump it in the Graveyard and use a magic card like Monster Reborn to special summon it back). to make things easier to summon the BEWD, Nublie has the Paladin of White Dragon (atk:1900 def:1200) which has the ability to special summon a Blue Eyes immediately from the deck by sacrificing the paladin to the Graveyard. even worse, most of the magic and traps in his deck enable him to call the BEWD incredibly fast. there have been times in some duels where Nublie even got to call all of the 3 Blue Eyes in his deck into the field in one single turn!!(9000 worth of damage!! definitely sth not to be scoffed at!!).
-Epul Deck: Field-Controlling Burner Deck a graduate senior who helped me a lot with my web programming skills. he basically runs a deck which ‘controls the field’, using magic and trap cards which halts any monster with an attack point higher than 1500 or prevents monsters of level 4 and above (the stronger ones) to attack. his Ojama Trio trap card creates 3 Ojama tokens on the opponent’s monster field (a monster field has 5 slots--you can only have up to 5 monsters at a time) and 300 damage points is dealt when the tokens are destroyed (sneaky eh?). since the tokens can’t be used by the player who has them on his field as sacrifices to summon higher levels monsters, the tokens somewhat take up the much needed space for other monsters. and with the field under his control, Epul uses monster effects and magic cards which deal direct damage to the opponent, creating the ‘life-burning’ effect of his deck. his major monster is the Lava Golem (atk:3000 def:2500) which can only be special summoned to the opponent’s field by sacrificing two of the opponent’s monsters. each turn a player controls the burning behemoth, a 1000 damage point is dealt directly to his life points and even with that massive attack power, the field-controlling techniques of Epul prevents the Lava Golem from attacking, consequently leaving the opponent with a strong monster which can’t be used but burns his life away.
and last but not least…
-IMCP Deck: Black Occult Deck using Dark, Fiend-type monsters, my primary strategy relies heavily on the Graveyard. though most of my monsters have weaker attack points compared to the other decks, its their effects and purposes that counts. by purposely dumping my monsters into the Graveyard, I get to pull off deadly effects and tactics to dominate my opponents. for instance, by having 3 fiend type monsters from the Graveyard removed from play (meaning that they’re totally eliminated from the match and can’t be revived), I am able to special summon Dark Necrofear (atk:2200 def:2800). the best part abt Necrofear is that when it is destroyed in a battle, or by the effect of another monster, a magic or trap card, at the end of the turn it returns to the field and “possesses” an opponent’s monster, meaning that I gain control of one of the opponent’s monster of my choosing. yep, a powerful monster indeed. and to make matters worse, I also use the Destiny Board, a trap card which produces spirit messages (letters to be exact) at the end of each of the opponent’s turn. when all 5 spirit messages are on the field (1 letter/spirit message from the board itself and the remaining 4 played from its effect) I automatically win the game. simple as that. a ruthless tactic? why yes indeed. of course that is sth naturally to be expected from someone like me… heh, heh, heh…
oh well, I’m done talking abt games for today. I’m gonna go practice s’more before the my highly anticipated tournie. maybe I’ll post an entry of what will happen then at the tournament…
trivia: Yugi-Oh in Japanese literally means: “King of Games”
