Discovering Linux

 

I used to always be intimidated whenever someone would mention Linux, as I foolishly would assume and conclude that it is too difficult to operate, manage and develop for. While that thought is partially still true, luckily nowadays, there are hundreds of friendly variations of Linux available.

Finally, I decided to discover Linux by starting with Ubuntu like many others before me, based on Southern African philosophy, it´s a simple GUI based operating system with as promised in general when speaking of Linux, or Unix like systems, free software, free development, free control.

Forgive me, for I do not fully understand the difference between Linux and Unix yet. There is still a lot to learn from these uncharted territories for me, and Ubuntu is just a start. It´s easy to operate and fast with loading times, but sometimes it would indeed crash unexpected with simple tasks.

The GNU distributions, or also known as Distros, vary by the hundreds, and it´s an overwhelming thought. Luckily, there are articles and lists available describing the distros in short for what they offer. Currently, my eyes are set at Fedora and Gentoo, two of which I have heard curious features about.

I think that these 3 named distributions are a good indication of the differences between challenge and style between them. Linux is no longer isolated towards a group of elite developers as I previously thought, and I wonder what else I will learn upon taking this discovery further.

And I know that there are more versions than just GUI systems, and that OS´s on smart devices are based on Linux/Unix architecture, just like macOS. Let's see what my next step will be in this rich world of computing.

Further First Impressions of the Switch

I just saw the Tokyo press conference as anticipated by everyone around the world, and I must say that in overall I am pretty excited for the potential of the new Joy Con´s flexibility and diversity most of all!

The release date of March the 3th is earlier than I expected, and the suggested price of 299 dollars, or about 300 euro´s, is pretty fair, considering that Wii U and Wii were around the same price range as well.

I´m not bothered by the paid online service Nintendo has decided on, as I am used towards it with Sony already, as long as the connection stays stable at the least, then I won´t complain. What´s much better news to hear is that the regional lock is almost entirely gone from what I could tell!

The 3 perspective styles of Nintendo Switch, TV, Tabletop and Handheld modes will make sure that this system will be the most versatile in it´s hybrid presentation. I´m in particular excited for Tabletop mode providing for a middle ground personally.

Some of the system aspects include a battery being charged between 2.5 to 6.5 hours, AC adapter and USB Type C, Wi-Fi, up to 8 Switches performing local multiplayer, a square button being able to capture videos and screenshots and share them socially, and independent gyro/acceleratormeters per Joy Con.

The Joy Con's design philosophy includes to Share the Joy, meaning that each 2 controllers per Switch can act as a sole individual depending on the game, and they have been designed in such a way to be a best of controller layouts Nintendo used to do in the previous gaming generations.

Finish off these Joy Con's with infrared camera's and HD editions of the rumble effect, and then you're looking at something very exciting!

As far as video games themselves, honestly, there are no true surprises. Splatoon 2 as a sequel and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the definitive edition had been shown previously, as was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of Wild, landing with a tempting launch date release on March the 3rd.

1, 2 Switch seems like the new Wii Sports, or rather Wii Play, as it obviously is a mini game compilation, except that the theme tends to invite you with the controllers towards social events, as the game has been designed to avoid using a screen to look at.

I am the most excited for Super Mario Odyssey! This time, Mario will travel towards foreign countries with different settings, including what seems to be portions of Tokyo and New York City, while Nintendo has promised that the game design itself will be sandbox based again, just like 64 and Sunshine. Unfortunately, the release date will take a while, as Q4 2017 was listed.

Fire Emblem Warriors is nothing special for me, as the musou spin-offs by Koei Tecmo/Team Ninja tend to be summarized with 1 word from me, which is "repetitive". The boxing game Arms seems mildy entertaining, although I am worried about the replay value.

Xenoblade 2 is perhaps the only mild surprise, considering not only that we previously got Xenoblade Chronicles X which we all assumed was 2, considering the short development time, and considering the mood to be rather more happy go around, although I am still interested by this very much for the world building and gameplay alone.

It's nice to see the revival of Bomberman in the form of Super Bomberman R, and I hope that Konami will really, really start working on all of it's own dead IP's minus Metal Gear Solid, and I am talking about Castlevania, Contra, Silent Hill and more then.

Third party lineup in overall seems promising, including titles like Shin Megami Tensei 25th Anniversary, Dragon Quest X+XI(region lock is pretty much gone), Project Sonic 2017 and an untitled No More Heroes revival, but can Nintendo really bring third party assistance back for the entire run of the Nintendo Switch? I hope so.

Despite that I am again pretty much excited, I have decided that for the first time, I will not buy a Nintendo console at launch, simply because there is not much to sell me over yet(Nintendo's other IP's will have to do that for me), plus I am too occupied with what is coming up for Sony's PS4 library.

Upcoming Promising Games in 2017

Bring on these upcoming games full of hype and anticipation!

Yooka Laylee

It´s quite a miracle that the majority of Rare´s former developer team during the N64 era has come together to collaborate on Yooka Laylee, a spiritual successor to the Banjo Kazooie platformer games. Even the soundtrack, the voice acting and the mechanics are spiritual reminders! And if you look at those 2 facts, then you can be damn sure that the gameplay will turn up just fine too.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

No, this legendary series does not go open world for the first time, because technically and arguably, that feature would have been present in the original Legend of Zelda on the NES, because the order of the dungeons and such does not necessarily have to be linear. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild nonetheless sounds more interesting than the artstyle to me, as it apparently will be the biggest game content wise the series has seen so far.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

I am a massive Resident Evil fan, as I have beaten all of the main games, plus I really just appreciate the lore and the characters behind it, despite how wacky and over the top it can get. With the first person direction and a true return towards the fundamentals of the original game in regards to survival and management, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is my most anticipated video game of 2017 so far, and I really hope that it will deliver, as it will no doubt blur the line between what makes Resident Evil survival horror further.

Gravity Rush 2

After beating the Remastered version last year, I constantly reminded myself of how addictive the great gameplay is, next towards the endless amounts of objects to collect. With a charming fun soundtrack to accompany Kat's adventure, Gravity Rush 2 promises to be bigger and better, as it is designed as a console video game this time.

Nioh

A new IP, it promises to be a mixture of all the good features of a Dark Souls and a hack and slashing game, combined with deeper amounts of tactical options available. Nioh takes an interesting samurai and akuma setting, and I wish it good luck with the overall reception.

Horizon Zero Dawn

The upcoming pride of Dutch development from Guerilla Games, admittedly, I have not played any of their games so far. But because Horizon: Zero Dawn as a new IP looks so aesthetically beautiful, combined with third person action in a theme of robotic dinosaurs, I too wish this the best of luck.

Mass Effect Andromeda

Interesting Flok fact; The Mass Effect trilogy are the only games so far where I became nauseous and vomitted twice in total at part 2 & 3 because of the motion sickness during the third person shooting. Nevertheless, I absolutely got immersed by the lore and the rich dialogue they provided, and it just might be my favorite space epos universe next to Star Wars.

Super Mario Switch

With the reveal of the Nintendo Switch's first look at it's game lineup and launch window soon to happen, Super Mario Switch as I have named the work in progress 3D Mario, just might be the only project needed to make the console hybrid a succes for this year alone. With people hopefully deducing that the sneak peak of the gameplay footage happens to be more oriented towards Super Mario 64 and Sunshine, as well as having a theme playing of visiting various different cultures, Super Mario Switch just might be the sole reason for me to decide to buy a Nintendo Switch.

Upcoming Promising Movies in 2017

It's time for another of these articles!

There's a few more big movies releasing this year, but the ones listed below are those I am excitingly awaiting the most:

John Wick 2

Keanu Reeves proved without a doubt with the first one that he was a badass on a vengeance towards those who hurt his little doggy, having an uncountable killing spree of uncountable amounts of headshots, Similar to Taken(2008), John Wick is a guilty unrealistic pleasure, and the sequel should follow suit.

Alien: Covenant

Not sure why they, or Ridley Scott dropped the Prometheus title with this new upcoming one, but I also wonder how far they can milk the origins of the xenomorphs we know and love from Alien(1979) and Aliens(1986)? Consider me interested, carefully though.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

If this second volume has the same tone and same amount of humor like the original, then I will definitely enjoy this very much. I still know nothing else about Guardians of the Galaxy other than the movie, but that doesn't matter, I can feel that Vol. 2 will rock our pants!

Blade Runner 2049

Another Ridley Scott IP, Blade Runner will finally get a sequel after it's remixed versions like the Director's and Final cuts, and it will star a new protagonist, who will most likely pick up where Harrison Ford ended. Frankly, I am not the biggest fan of the much acclaimed sci-fi, but the dystopian cyber punk setting is always interesting to have plots play in, and production values sure have changed since 1982.

Kong: Skull Island

The original King Kong from 1933 will always be groundbreaking, innovative and mind blowing for it's time and even now, and I really liked the 2005 remake as well. Considering that Godzilla has recently been rejuvenated, it wouldn't hurt to reboot the original kong again as well, and hopefully we can finally get a grand spectacle Kaiju VS. feature between the two iconic monsters.

The Dark Tower

  

Considered as Stephen King's biggest project, The Dark Tower is split up between several book chapters, and is often praised widely by the community. Honestly, those two reasons alone are enough to draw me in, except that I also know that the majority of King's movie adaptations have been received successfully as well. Considering that it's a sequel, I hope that I will understand it despite not having read the eight books.

War for the Planet of the Apes

This reboot series has been great so far, with two exceptional titles already out. Sure the title is a bit silly, but I'm sure that the battlefields between humans and apes will be stunning to see, as I know that these apes are not to be messed with, especially with Andy Serkis leading them.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

This was a surprise to me, Kingsman is like a modern James Bond take on the super spy agent formula, and I especially really liked the action sequences unfold, the British accents and Samuel L.Jackson goofing around.

Despicable Me 3

Gru and his minions have been great to witness during the previous entries and the spin-off, and Illumination Entertainment has made the competition and world of the current computer animation flicks more interesting. Bring on part 3!

Saw: Legacy

There used to be a time when a Saw movie would release anually. Now after 7 years, a new entry is finally coming out, and as a personal huge fan of all of them, I can't wait to see how they will interpret Saw's Legacy, literally as a franchise, and figuratively as the plot thickens further.

Star Wars Episode VIII

The biggest no-brainer of this whole list, what can I say about Episode VIII? The things I hope that the team will do is that they will give us original content and a new direction, and that it will dare to go even higher with it's overall quality, maybe perhaps reaching the legendary status of IV and V's objective receptions.

The Year of the RPG

I proclaim this for me personally, the Year of the RPG.

Why?

That's because I have yet to touch and start on numerous amounts of RPG series out there. Be it Western or Japanese RPG's, Turn based or Action based, Strategic or Tactical, there is much to experience out there still for me.

I will attempt to at least beat one RPG of any kind, of a new series each month this year. That means that the very first part of it would suffice for me under these conditions, even if that means that they were produced and released before my birth year of 1988.

Of course, I understand without a doubt that the RPG genre is the most time consuming out of all video game genres, but that won't stop me, as I will focus only on single player entries, or at best offline multiplayer entries.

Not much RPG series come to mind of the ones I have experienced already. These include from the top of my head Final Fantasy(I through XV minus XI and XIV), Seiken Densetsu(2 & 3), the Mario RPG's(all), Lufia(1 & 2), Mass Effect(1-3), Mother(1-3) Tales of (Phantasia, Symphonia, Zestiria), The Witcher(1-3) and Mega Man Battle Network(1-6). Keep in mind that I'm talking about series then, which I describe as those which have at least 3 titles.

And now comes a brief list on paper, but a huge list by it's entries, of RPG series I finally wish to experience this year:

-Dragon Quest
-Elder Scrolls
-Fallout
-Megami Tensei
-Persona
-Kingdom Hearts
-Front Mission
-Star Ocean
-Breath of Fire
-Golden Sun
-Suikoden
-Grandia
-Langrisser

That's a lot, huh? Wish me luck! If you have any recommendations and reasons for them, based upon my interests, feel free to comment.