Candy Crush Levels

It's actually possible to get an infinitely high score in level 252. It's a timer-based level with only 4 colours, so you can get +5 bonuses faster than once every 5 seconds, extending the game indefinitely. My max score is 3.5 million+.

In the iOS version, levels 609 and 619 are the same. So are levels 608 and 623. I'm not sure exactly how much the same, just the layout or even the type of level, target score and number of moves. This is really stupid design. If you're going to copy levels, DON'T PUT THEM SO CLOSE TOGETHER! It's even worse because 608 is also used as one of the quest levels in the jump between 608 and 623, so you see it 3 times. They say they've since changed it, but I don't think they'll change the iOS version.

SteamOS

I don't see how SteamOS can succeed, but they've probably thought this out better than me.

1. What is their target audience? The subset of PC gamers who are so dedicated and technically-inclined to install an entire OS just to game? They keep hyping "PC in the living room" - I'm just pointing out that it's not like ANY PC sold in the past year couldn't connect to a TV; even if it couldn't, this isn't something an OS can fix. Even if you have a desktop and can't run a HDMI cable, the solution is wireless HDMI or the Chromecast, not to buy a new PC.
2. SteamOS will not replace Windows. Saying you can save the cost of Windows on a gaming PC is like saying I'll buy a Ferrari, but I'm going to save money by not buying wheels.
3. So since people are still using Windows, what advantage, exactly, does SteamOS have? It needs to have HUGE performance improvements to be worth installing and maintaining a separate OS for.
4. People are not going to restart just to play games. I've tried. It doesn't work. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself - restart your computer before and after each time you run a game. See how long you can keep it up for. In theory, you could run Windows in a virtual machine. Apple uses this as a selling point all the time. In practice - it's much slower and has more hassles than people realise (e.g. copying and pasting between OSes is no trivial matter).
5. Saying you have a catalog of a million games is misleading and irrelevant. I spent $1000 on a gaming PC; I want to make use of my hardware, not play 1000 variants of Klondike solitaire.
6. Are they expecting enough support to get all hardware manufacturers to write drivers? I know, for big companies like Nvidia, Intel and AMD it's no problem, but how about other components? Networking? Keyboard? Mouse? USB headsets? SSDs?
7. We're living in a world where economies of scale are not only convenient - they're necessary. For this to succeed, this needs to not only catch on, but catch on in a big way. Do they think there are enough people out there technical enough to do this?

I sure hope they're putting more effort into Half-Life Episode 3 than this.

Similarities Between Bioshock Infinite And Iron Man 3

• Clean slate
• The Patriot

Bioshock Infinite

Some thoughts after I finished the game. I won't post any spoilers.

This is one of the few PC games I've finished recently, so it must be quite good. (I didn't finish the original Bioshock) Things I liked:

• Interesting plot. If people are debating what really happened, that's a good sign.
• Immersive environment

Things I didn't like:

• The save system (or lack of it), as mentioned by everyone. There were many things I wanted to try out in the game, but couldn't for lack of save points. Tips: if you try and exit the game, it'll tell you when you last saved before exiting. Some doors save whenever you go past them, in either direction, so you can use them as a physical save point.
• Lack of destructible environments. I played my first run at very low graphics settings, but even on medium, there are very few things you can destroy. It feels odd. Counter-Strike had destroyable chickens even while it was still in beta. The birds in Columbia are hardier and bulletproof.
• Perhaps partially due to this, the game feels very scripted. This is particularly so when they ask you to "Press F to pick up the piece of paper". "Press F to pass the paper to character".
• The facial expressions are severely limited, like everyone's been botoxed. At the start of the game, the kids playing and the couples having some alone time look like they're wearing masks. Elizabeth has slightly more expressions, but I think the expressions are comparable to Half Life 2's. They certainly aren't 9 years ahead. I wonder if this is because they're on the verge of the uncanny valley, and making things more realistic would make them worse. Maybe we'll only emerge on the other side when technology advances.

Playing through a second time, I'm noticing a lot more new things.

Skyrim

I tried to get into Skyrim, but I still prefer WoW.

• Skyrim is a bit too realistic. Shops open and close, they don't buy everything, and can run out of money.
• Inventory management is poor. You can't see what items you have while crafting, for instance.
• Items are sorted alphabetically, which isn't very useful - e.g. potion of healing and potion of minor healing. They should at least be sorted by kind first.
• If you have several of the same item, you can't choose which to use (regarding stolen items).
• It loads ALL THE TIME. Enter a shop? Load. Enter your house? Load.
• Casters are overpowered. Those who disagree, I challenge you to complete the Azura's Star quest on a warrior.
• Speaking of that, you can't see the level of enemies. They say it scales up with your level? What's the point of having levels then?

But the main problem is: it's not epic enough. What do I mean? I'll compare it with WoW. The last expansion, Cataclysm, was about Deathwing, a mad dragon aspect about to Destroy The World. To destroy Deathwing, there was a long period of preparation culminating in an epic final battle. Throughout the preparation, you see how dangerous and powerful Deathwing is.

How would it feel if, at the start of the expansion at level 80, you already kill Deathwing? Underwhelmed - that's what happens in Skyrim. Right at the start of the game, you, with a bunch of rag-tag guards, kill a dragon. Within the first hour, you do it again, outside Whiterun. Not far into the game, you're killing dragons BY YOURSELF (maybe with the help of your horse). What's the big deal about dragons if they're so easy to kill? There's not much excitement in the game if the whole premise behind the story gets killed twice in the first hour.

Temple Run 2 Guide

In case you don't understand the non-existent instructions.

Difference between Powerups and Abilities

• Powerups are what you use when the green bar on the top left fills. In TR1 it was always Mega Coin (I think).
• You start with the Shield, when you hit level 5 you get the Coin Magnet, when you buy Scarlett Fox you get the Boost.
• You can only choose 1 Powerup at a time.
• The "Lasts longer with Gems" part seems to be single-use upgrades valid for only one run. i.e. if you buy it only once, it only lasts the next time you use it. If you buy it twice, it lasts the next 2 times etc. But it's only valid for the next run. If you buy 4 gems and only use two, there still won't be any left after you die. Unused ones seem to remain after you die. Only the active Powerup will be upgraded.
• You can use any available Powerup with any available character.
• Abilities are passive upgrades.

• "Invisibility" from TR1 seems to have been replaced by the shield. They both protect against obstacles, but not from running in the wrong direction.
• No need to buy angel wings any more, every time you die, you get a chance to resurrect at the cost of 1 gem. The cost doubles every time you die. So if you're willing to spend money, there's no limit to your score, I guess.
• The flashing checkered flag and arrow at the beginning is the game offering you to use a Head Start at 2500 coins. Tap it to use.
• The goal, run x meters without tripping, still allows resurrections. If you die by running into something.
• The goal, x points without Powerups, refers to both powerups you pick up and those you use from filling the green bar.

Update 3 Jun 13

• Reduced the difficulty of the Narrows
• Fixed a glitch that caused you to fall through narrow paths after jumping or sliding
• Removed the river / grinder double obstacle combination from the forest

I love this update. I was getting sick of the game before, because my only 2 objectives were 10,000,000 meters and 1,000,000 coins. I thought the river / grinder combo was intentional, so I'm really glad they removed it. There didn't seem to be any way to get past it, now you can potentially survive indefinitely if you don't make mistakes.

1.2

• Watch your step in The Narrows, a treacherous new terrain!
• Spinning saw blades!
• Think fast! The path may crumble to the abyss right before your eyes!
• Don't miss a chance to earn free coins and gems under Free Stuff in the menu!
• Many other bug fixes and performance issues

1.3

• Now run as Zach Wonder, Francisco Montoya and Montana Smith! These characters don't have any new powerups.
• Added quick access to the current objectives, daily / weekly challenges, and player stats from the pause menu.
• Many other bug fixes and performance issues

1.4 (1 August 2013)

Announcing the first guest star in Temple Run history - Usain Bolt! That's right, you can now run as the fastest man on Earth to escape from your favorite Evil Demon Monkey! And you're going to love your unique Bolt powerup!
You can buy Bolt for a limited time, but hurry, he goes fast!
Usain Bolt available for $0.99 (on the Australian App Store), not purchasable using gems or coins. His powerup seems to be a combination of Boost and Coin Magnet. Not sure if it lasts longer than the normal Boost.

Holder text

Nintendo 3DS XL

I think buying game consoles depends more on their games available than their features, so there's not much point reviewing them. Ok this version comes with an AC adapter (the American one doesn't), SD card, and some AR (Augmented Reality) cards (just normal cards with a special pattern on them. You can print new ones.)

The most interesting thing is the 3D capability. Does it take 3D pictures? YES it saves a 2D jpg version and 3D mpo version. Interesting note: the Vaio has built-in software to view 3D files (it can open them, but can't display 3D on its own, you need a 3D display.)

One of the problems is battery life, especially during flights. The battery is not removable. Since I have USB batteries, I found this USB charging cable (it seems to work) for $2 from Daiso. It's at least $10 on eBay and I couldn't find any in games stores.

Paper Mario Sticker Star Notes

Some notes on this Nintendo 3DS game. It seems rather new so there aren't any guides on it.

• To load your last saved game without saving, press Home, then quit the game. This is useful to test stickers.
• The Sticker Museum doesn't seem to be of much use, takes a while to walk to and walk around in, and it requires you to sacrifice your stickers. 
• One of the toads outside the 3 houses in Decalburg seems to remind you if you've missed any bonuses in the levels, e.g. +5 HP hearts.

Battle Stickers

• The Poison Mushroom poisons you, which then poisons enemies that attack you. Not recommended. But it IS needed somewhere in World 2...
• The Spike Helmet is very useful against enemies that jump on you, like goombas. It does about 12 damage each to an unlimited number of enemies, and doesn't seem to require you to press A on time. Ok pressing A helps.

Thing/Special Stickers

• These are the stickers made from 3D things in the world, or you pick up.
• If you're low on space in your Sticker Album, leave the things as things and only convert them to stickers when you know you want to use them.
• All special stickers seem to do some kind of damage. Specifically: fortune cat, scissors, fan, trumpet, faucet. Not sure if they have any other uses.
• If you've used these, they seem to respawn in their original location, so you can pick them up again. Seems you can use them for special weapons, or sell them for coins, or put them in the Museum. They respawn even if you've used them in Paperize mode. Ok sometimes they stop respawning. Anyway, it doesn't matter because:
• You can buy them from the shady shop once you've found them!

I'm making a list of where they are found/used, both to avoid spoilers and since it will be too big to put here. There doesn't seem to be any other such list right now.

Opinions

• I'm not a big fan of turn-based games (e.g. Pokemon)
• A normal encounter which should be settled with 1 jump (e.g. those skeleton turtles) now takes 30 seconds or more, so I usually end up running from enemies instead of fighting.
• It's irritating to have to keep track of ammo in a Mario game, especially when the maximum amount of stickers is so small
• Also, there are no instructions on the proper timing for stickers
• The most frustrating thing is the Thing Stickers. They occupy space, they're hard to find, you don't know whether you'll need them so you can't use them, and when you DO know you need to use them, you don't know which one to use - a complaint I've found in all the reviews I've seen. At least they seem to respawn so you won't be stuck if you use one in the wrong place. At least you can easily buy them again.

Zuma Blitz Kroakatoa Island

Zuma Blitz (Facebook game) just released Kroakatoa Island, and here are the changes I've observed so far:

• Looks like it's going to be a permanent, compulsory change, like FB's Timeline, unlike Farmville's other farms, where you can come and go.
• At first glance, scores seem to be lower.
• They've removed the score breakdown at the end of each game, so you can't tell what bonuses are the best!
• No more idols or mojo, now replaced by coins - WHICH YOU DON'T GET BY PLAYING, unlike mojo. You can only get coins by leveling up.

• Max lives seems to be 5? But there's no indicator so I can't tell.
• No more coconuts. Looks like they really want you to pay now.
• Besides power-ups, now they have "treats"
• Levels are now replaced by "stars". Every 10 stars, it looks like you get a new title.

This is the receipt for how they convert your old idols etc. into coins. I bet nobody thought to copy this. Conversion looks like:

• 1 coconut = 1 heart
• 1 idol = 1250 coins
• 1 mojo = 1.5 coins
• double xp potion remains the same

Powerups cost 3000-4000 coins now, while they used to cost 1000 mojo. From the conversion, they should only cost 1500 coins. So besides coins not being able to be won by playing (except when leveling up), the price has increased by at least 2x!

Infinity Blade 2 notes

Since my Infinity Blade guide is by far the most popular article on this site, I thought I'd write one for IB2. I'm not calling it a guide, just some things I've observed while playing.

• It's so much easier because you start with the Infinity Blade. No, you can't sell it, nor any of the other starting gear, even if you buy and equip others.
• There are lots more money bags around. Remember you can pan the camera around even during cutscenes.
• New - treasure chests and keys. Should you buy the keys? So far, I've gotten - more cash than the key's price, a gem not in the Store, and a health regen (worth $3500, same as the small key it cost). Looks like you won't lose money on them, but you might get stuff you don't want. However, I've noticed some items are blacked out in the Store, so you may only be able to get them from these chests.
• There doesn't seem to be any negative bloodlines, at least if you die at the beginning you restart Rebirth 1.

Weapons

IB2 now comes with 3 classes of weapons. I don't think there's any point talking which class is best, since you have to use all the weapons to get the most exp/stat points anyway.

Gems

• Gems are a new way to customise your items
• They say enemies in a rebirth tend to have the same kind of elemental attacks, so it's worth swapping gems
• You can't sell an item with gems in it, you have to remove the gems first. Costs money, the amount depends on the gem.
• Gem Forge - you drop 3 gems in it, and get to "lucky draw" a new gem. Only takes time, does not cost money. New gem is drawn at random. Only put gems you don't want in it. DO NOT PUT YOUR BEST GEMS IN IT EXPECTING A NEW GEM WITH ALL THEIR POWERS!

Light

• Sword + shield - dodges and blocks, just like IB1
• Combos - the same
• If you use Super, 3 stab points appear before the enemy is stunned.

Heavy

• Blocks, no dodges
• Combos - swipe twice in same direction, an arrow will appear telling you what direction to swipe next for the combo. Seems slower than Light.

Dual

• Dodges, no blocks
• Combos - do left, right, left, then every move after that is a combo, until the enemy blocks. Combos seem to do twice the damage of normal attacks, but are slower.
• If you use Super, stab points appear for a while, letting you get around 10 stabs before the enemy is stunned. I think this also happens if you do a perfect parry break. 
• Although you can't block, if you equip a shield with protection against certain kinds of attack, you still get that protection.

• Personally, I think Light is the easiest to use, since the blocks in Light aren't directional, while the blocks in Heavy and the dodges in Dual have to be in the correct direction.

Clash Mobs

Clash Mobs is the new multiplayer mode, where you combine with other players to take down giant bosses. It's not real-time though. You only get one attempt at each objective.

Battlefield 3 rant

I tried Battlefield 3, and it's a poorly made console port.

• It needs IE8 to find multiplayer games. So to play the game you have to start IE8, search for servers then actually start the program.
• In the server list, most servers don't have their ping listed. Sort by ping doesn't work.
• There is no simple way to refresh the server list! The only way I've found is to click "save settings and refresh"
• Counter-Strike, in the year 2000, had options "server not full" and "has users playing" i.e. not 0 or max players. BF3 has lost this function.
• Your own ping in game is displayed as "-". Really? So I'm the server?
• There are no tooltips for weapons in game so you don't know what each does until you try it out.

I don't think I'll buy any more EA games.

Xbox 360 with Kinect

My latest game console is the Xbox 360 with Kinect. Specifically, the "Xbox 360 S" (does that stand for speed or slim?) or Valhalla. More specifically, the new matte 250GB one (the old one was glossy). The 250GB version only comes with 2 games (one of which you have to download), while the 4GB comes with 3! I bought it together with my TH-L32C30S, as I didn't have a TV.

I chose the Xbox because of Kinect. To me, the leaps in game consoles have been:

• Wireless controllers
• Motion sensing controllers (Wii)
• Online connectivity
• Controllerless (Kinect)

Kinect is amazing. Not only can it distinguish people from the surroundings, it can also recognise people, and it only has a 640x480 camera! It's a little too smart though, and refuses to let you log on as someone else (must find solution to this). Kinect has a motorised stand. I thought it was just like the Wii sensor bar at first and tried to angle it myself.

I'm not going to review the Xbox since I don't have the experience and others have done it better. AnandTech has an interesting review. In particular, while the new version uses much less power, it still consumes 70W when idle! MacBooks only consume 85W max. Although the Xbox may be more powerful, it's inefficient to use it to watch YouTube. Speaking of YouTube, you need Xbox Live Gold to use Facebook and YouTube. I don't have any other uses for Xbox Live, so I'll stick to iPhone+HDMI for now.

The new Xbox 360 no longer has red LEDs around the power button, making it "immune" to the red ring of death. I seriously question Microsoft's solutions. Think Windows XP and onwards are much more immune to BSOD? That's because they're set to restart automatically when it occurs. Solving problems by hiding them, and making it harder to find out about them.

Some unboxing pictures:

Now doing some power measurements:

• Off, no background downloads - 2 W
• Home screen - 70+ W
• Playing Skyrim 70 - 90 W, max 90+ W (only tested for a few minutes)

Infinity Blade guide

I wrote this because the other guides online don't answer my questions, which is surprising considering how well written they are. Contains spoilers

How to play for fun and profit
I put this first because it's the most important. This idea is still in testing.

• The idea is to stay in negative bloodlines to gain levels, exiting occasionally to reset your gear
• Whatever stage your game is in now, switch to negative bloodlines
• Play until your gear is mastered (or most of your gear)
• Switch to normal bloodlines
• Get the Infinity Blade and other gear
• Kill the Deathless Kings and enter New Game +
• In bloodline 2^2, enter negative bloodlines again
• Repeat
• The problem with this method I see is that you lose out on stat points from mastering items
  

Bloodline

• Affected by: number of times you die/win at the hands of the boss
• Affects: difficulty of other monsters, amount of gold dropped

Level

• Affected by: XP
• Affects: your stats

Boss level

• Affected by: number of times you've killed him
• Affects: his difficulty

• If you're having difficulty killing the boss, level up first
• If you're having difficulty with the monsters, level up without increasing the bloodline (die and choose restart castle)
• If you want to earn more money, play at the highest bloodline you can manage (get killed by the boss)

Negative bloodlines

• Play negative bloodlines by dying during the tutorial (tap the shield, but don't hold)
• You continue with your gear, gold and level, and get a new set of dark gear
• You cannot change gear, you have to use the dark gear
• Dark gear is powerful and has lots of mastery points
• Don't stab people, it makes them stumble so you only get 1 hit in. Wait, then combo them when they're stunned >:)
• When you advance a bloodline, it decreases by 1 (-1 to -2)
• When you return to the positive bloodlines, you keep your XP, gold and gear, but lose the dark gear
• What this means is you can use this to level up when your gear is mastered / you can't afford new gear. When you return you'll keep your level, but you have to start from bloodline 1 again.
• If you enter, exit and re-enter negative bloodlines, it remembers your dark gear mastery and God King level, but I suspect starting a New Game + resets it
• Not sure if you enter negative bloodlines with the Infinity Blade, whether you can kill the Deathless Kings
• You can enter negative bloodlines from New Game +, same rules apply
• When you return, you're back to bloodline 1 (not 1^2), enemies are from bloodline 1, but your gear mastery is still remembered. God King is back to level 50. The game seems to have been reset, except for your level, stats and previous masteries.
  

New Game +

• Buy the Infinity Blade and use it on the stone in the castle basement
• It opens the doors to 3 bosses, the "Deathless Kings"
• Their levels are 50, 100 and 150
• Defeating all 3 Deathless Kings opens the door to another boss, a level 200 robot (Zero Mech)
• After killing the robot, another character walks out to fight you (very easy compared to the robot)
• After killing that character, you've finally completed the game! You get the achievement "All good things... - Get to the final ending of the game".
• You have an option to start a New Game + or next bloodline
• If you start the next bloodline, you have to kill the robot again to start a New Game +
• In New Game +, you get a superscript number to your bloodline: first + is ^2
• Gear and gold are reset, level and stats are kept
• Purpose is to let you continue leveling up, but negative bloodlines may be better for this

• Save game files are compatible between iPhone and iPad! Use a file explorer, like iPhone Explorer, to copy the save files. It's a good idea to backup the save files as well.

Portal 2 off to a bad start

I bought the eagerly-anticipated PC game Portal 2, and my first impressions aren't so good:

• lousy packaging (like an envelope)
• my game didn't come with the DVD! Fortunately with the code I can register on Steam and download it myself.

These are somewhat made up for by the fact one copy includes Windows and Mac versions.

Wii is no more

Regarding video game consoles, I've had a Sega Megadrive, which I won, a Super Nintendo, which I mostly played Street Fighter on, a PS One (or PS slim), which I mostly played DDR on, and a Wii. For portables, I've had a Game Gear, Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket and GBA SP.

My Wii recently died, after 2.5 years. I was just about to play a game. It was showing the white screen telling you to wear your wrist strap, I looked down to adjust my chair, and when I looked up the screen was blue and the light on the Wii was red. I took it to a shop and they said the motherboard was dead. That's troublesome, it's the most expensive part and all my save games are on there. If you plug it in the red light turns on, and starts blinking after a while.

I always thought Nintendo products were well built. This is unusual since I haven't played with my Wii much, mistreated it or modified it in any way. It's definitely not worth repairing, and I don't think I'll buy a new one. I really wish I could finish playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 though. If I buy a new one I'll have to start all over again. I always ending up using my consoles much less than I should, so I'll try not to buy any more. Maybe I can spend my money on my computer instead.

Tornado Mania (iPod Touch)

Tornado Mania is a pretty fun game, but the instructions don't tell you how to place your buildings. Searching online, there are a lot of reviews, but none of them tell you either. It's hard to find out when you don't have much time to review the game. So, I decided to write what I know here. After finishing the game, you can continue playing without worrying about weeks, so I had a chance to experiment.

Residential buildings
Build the building that gives you the most happiness increase, considering the happiness per building and number of buildings you can pick up in 1 trip.

Commercial buildings
These buildings have a limited range. Ideally, every residence should be within range of every single type of commercial building.

Cultural buildings
The first few (community hall, school, sports park, leisure center) have a limited range and should be placed like the commercial buildings. The remaining ones (theater, civic center, opera house, university, stadium, uplifting effigy, glorious monument) have unlimited range and only one of each is needed in your utopia. I suspect you can only pick up one of these buildings a trip, so if you can only pick up 1 of a type of building per trip, that means you only need 1 in your city.

Industrial buildings
These also have limited range, but the range is very large. In my utopia I only have 1 bio-power plant and 1 solar power plant.