Android Game – Little Empire

Recently, I picked up Little Empire, and while it does have a few technical issues, I can't seem to put it down. In fact, I normally get bored of new games pretty quickly, but I've probably logged a solid 5 hours of gameplay within the last 2 days. Being a ruthless king is hard work, you know.

Camel Games describes this game as the "World's first LBS (Location Based Services) mobile MMO." While I can't be entirely sure this is actually a world first, it definitely is worth mention. In Little Empire you'll take control over your own kingdom, or empire as the title would suggest, and conquer the rest of the Little world with an army you build from the ground up. What's interesting is that this world is filled with other real players who are out to do the same, all in real-time.

Gameplay

Little Empire is extremely fun to play, really hard to quit, and offers seemingly endless gameplay. It also has some really pleasing visuals and a really clean UI, which scores vital first impression points in my book. In my opinion, if a game lacks the aesthetic appeal I'm expecting, it'll take a massive blow to overall rating.

To start off, you'll have to choose the hero you believe will drive your kingdom to victory. These are basic, run-of-the-mill character options we see in every game that shares the same genre as this one. This leads me to believe that you won't be overly excited when I say the options are:

1.       A troll that has tank-like attributes.

2.       A warrior that has... warrior-like attributes.

3.       A winged, elf magic thing with horns that has mage-like attributes.

Once a hero is chosen you'll be taken to your kingdom. On the home screen there are several different options, I'll introduce and explain them individually.

Task List

The task menu is where most of the story-based (and I use that term lightly) missions will be. They include claiming target amounts of resources, helping friends, stealing from friends, winning battles, making key advancements, and a plethora of other simple tasks.

Arena

This is where you will meet actual enemy players for the first time. You can go knocking on the castle doors of anyone in the arena, but I would watch out because you can't see their unit setup until you start. Once the match begins, you'll be given the option to strategically place your army against the enemy lines, then a variation of tower defense battle ensues. Kill off every member of the enemy army or demolish the opposing castle first and you win.

Mail

Watch this area closely because it is where notifications of impending attacks will appear, allowing you to rally your troops. Mail regarding friend requests and other types of memos will also be here.

Friends

The friends feature in this game is a little off to me. You can extend invites to and accept them from anyone you come across, and making friends is important because they can help you fight off an enemy attack if they see you're in distress. However, what's odd is that friends can also steal your resources if left uncollected and attack your castle if left unprotected. It just seems like those would be enemy tactics to me, but I digress.

Build Mode

This is where anything and everything that can be added to your kingdom will be found. Build gold or crystal mines, houses for troops, unit training camps, plants and trees, prisons, and much more.

Other options include Setting and Daily Challenges, which are pretty straightforward and don't really need much explaining. In addition to all of that, you can also interact with your kingdom. Would you rather have an ocean front view from your penthouse tower bedroom? Move your castle. If you feel like you need a tranquil garden to reflect on all of the chaos you've been causing, then add some greenery. Plants and shrubs also have benefits like randomly tossing out coins and crystals. Cha-Ching!

Currency System

Most things can be purchased with coins or crystals, and many things will require a combination of the two. In fact, everything needed to advance in the game can be purchased with those two forms of currency. However, you have the option to buy (yes, with real money) MOJO, which appears to be some type of jarred blue liquid. MOJO will allow you speed up the time it takes to harvest resources and will also allow you to purchase upgrades for your hero like weapons, spells, and armor. Now, you will receive some free MOJO when you complete missions or level-up, but it won’t be nearly enough to get you that sweet stave for your winged elf magic thing. It is unfortunate that you have to actually buy in game currency to get some upgrades, but it is entirely possible to continue on without doing so. Just keep in mind that the game will move slowly at times and that's the devs' way of reminding you of the MOJO option.

Current Bugs

I understand that this game is new, but there are quite a few technical issues that are really frustrating. The game will constantly lose connection and either ask you to log back in or force close altogether. It will force close at random times during gameplay as well. In addition, after presumably quitting the game, the app’s soundtrack can be heard over other applications, even phone calls. With that being said, during the past few days there have been two updates that fixed a few of the force close issues. On top of the technical issues, grammar is completely negated throughout the app - some sentences don’t even make any sense. While that isn’t much of an issue, it just really bothers me.

Conclusion

What makes this game so addictive is the fact that you have to keep coming back to check on several different time intensive aspects. You’ll have to make sure other players haven't stolen precious resources, freed your prisoners, or attacked your castle. Once you've done that, you figure it wouldn’t hurt to make some improvements to your kingdom and dominate some other players while you're at it, and before you know it, quite a bit of time has passed.

I noticed I began to get really angry when other players stole things from me, driving me to demolish their forces and enslave them for payback (I rule my kingdom with an iron fist). Ultimately, this made me check back even more to make sure other players weren’t coming to free my prisoners or attack my castle while my defenses were abroad. So I started training more attack units (further involving me in the game...) so I could keep my home front defended while I was off flexing my king-sized muscles on the front lines.

On another note, I feel that the LBS (Location Based Service) feature could be implemented more throughout the game. Currently, the only functional role it seems to play is defining the distance and time it takes to march your army to other players' kingdoms. Personally, I would like to see things like location based factions or clans. The entire LBS system just seems lackluster, especially considering that the game description puts so much emphasis on it.

Other than the lack of LBS integration, technical and grammatical issues, and the MOJO factor, this game is pretty cool. It's addictive, fun to play, and aesthetically appealing. Who wouldn't want to own their own castle and dominate the world?

This could all be yours if you check out the link below. Other than MOJO purchases in-game, it's free to install.

Roller Coaster Creator

A beautifully crafted drawing lines like puzzle game, you need to design the perfect roller coaster the route, collecting all the coins to be considered the perfect way to cross the border. Click to draw the line between the start and end points, and then click the PLAY button, use the bottom of the screen a variety of flexible track, they can help you do the hard points. The construction of a special track, click and drag to create a longer track.

Draw a track and add roller coaster elements to guide your passengers to the flag. Collect the target number of coins to complete each level.

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Alice Poon - An Estranged Hong Kong

http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4149&Itemid=334

I’ve just learned from the HK Golden Forum that my favorite wonton noodle haunt Sum Kee (森記) on Percival Street has just closed shop. The reason? The shop landlord has asked to increase the monthly rent from HK$100,000 to HK$400,000, the last straw on the camel’s back. For a modest wonton noodle and congee shop like Sum Kee, which has been selling a bowl of wonton noodle for HK$21.00 for the last three years, paying HK$100,000 rent is already quite ridiculous, not to mention four times the amount. Only I didn’t realize that my last visit in December would be the last.

Each year I visit Hong Kong, the place seems a little more distant than the last. In Causeway Bay, streets are packed to the point that it’s easy to feel claustrophobic. Mainland shoppers towing big and small suitcases jostling with locals. Self-important, curtained Guangdong-licensed cars competing for roadways with local cars. Strange faces. Unfamiliar Putonghua. Forever changing shop facades in the vicinity of Time Square.

Sum Kee, which has been around for twenty years, is the last victim of crazy shop rents. The next is predicted to be another old-timer: snack shop Yiu Fung (么鳳). Replacing Sum Kee will be a luxury watch shop that is the love of mainlanders. Of course, their love takes precedence over mine and that of other Hong Kongers, because in the eyes of big businesses and developer landlords, these outsiders are the much coveted big spenders. They can afford anything that ranges from obscenely expensive luxury apartments, ludicrously overpriced European luxury brand-name clothes and shoes, to private hospital baby-delivery services, university places reserved for mainland students and everyday necessities like baby formula milk powder and sundries. It is probably an understatement that these people are the cause of greedy shop rent hikes that lead to the surmise of many small old-time businesses and of consumer price inflation in Hong Kong.

The D & G protest that has ultimately forced a belated apology out of the shop is only one detonator that ignited Hong Kong people’s long repressed fury over the dire consequences of Hong Kong’s too laxly managed border. Wealthy mainland tourists have spoiled the big businesses so much that they don’t even realize they are stepping over the line by discriminating against locals.

It is certainly no coincidence that a recent survey finds that more Hong Kong people choose to identify themselves first as Hong Kongers. It is becoming clear that the basic divide between Hong Kongers and mainlanders is one of civic values, as this latest incident shows:-

http://blog.martinoei.com/2012/01/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%B7%B1%E7%B6%93%E5%8E%BB%E5%88%B0%E9%97%9C%E9%8D%B5%E6%99%82%E5%88%BB/

[Some mainlanders were eating cup noodles and made a mess on the seats of an MTR train. A Hong Konger told them it’s against the rules to eat in the train and immediately got angry and vociferous rebuttals. A couple of other Hong Kongers joined the fray. Security was called in. The mainlanders insisted they had done nothing wrong.]

Such kind of rude behavior is already less obnoxious than that of some who unashamedly use public space inside shopping malls as toilets.

On a deeper level, the unbridgeable gap seems to be between (Hong Kongers’) acceptance and (most mainlanders’) rejection of or aversion to universal values like rule of law, democracy, equality and liberty. It is not through the latter’s fault that they find these values alien; it’s just because they have been living under a political system that has infiltrated them with the idea that those are not Chinese values and therefore no good for them. The system has taught people that all they need worry about is the economy and how to make money and practically nothing else. Morals aren’t important. Corruption can be tolerated. There is of course no lack of intellectuals in China who have refused to be brainwashed and who truly embrace universal values, but most of them unfortunately are rewarded with either political exile or incarceration.

It goes without saying that the only Hong Kong people who welcome mainland tourists, immigrants and shoppers are developers and their cronies (real estate agents, contractors etc.), especially those who are large shopping mall landlords. Even for retailers, whether or not they can benefit from the influx depends on whether the products they sell are mainlanders’ favorites. As for the rest of Hong Kongers, all they can feel towards the swamping inflow is resentment.

At the end of the day, Hong Kong society has its own unique cultural characteristics, which are different from those of other mainland cities or regions. It should be every Hong Konger’s duty to try to preserve those characteristics for posterity. And it would be dead wrong to try to supplant or dilute Hong Kong core values which coincide with universal values.

I only visit once a year. Yet I can feel how dispossessed many Hong Kongers must feel. It’s time to act now to protect that border, before the city becomes a totally alien place.

Android Game - PES 2012 Pro Evolution Soccer

PES 2012 Android game is the new game after the one which is launched some time ago. This gameplays have the smooth play across large pitches. Through the ball, your shooting and headers all feel just as natural, even the developer has already made the sprinting option to be far better, because when you are controlling a decent player, you will be able to smoothly change your direction and then stop with a lot of control than what you have before. This is a great thing which is added to this game. Stroking the ball around the pitch also is satisfying, with a pretty tricky goals to score on the more higher settings of difficulty.

The player A.I might be the same with the old one, which is very good as the players will intelligently run off the ball and cover quite well in defence while you are playing the game. The graphics might have some minor face-lift, which appearing sharper all round. There is still no commentary during the game that you played.

The game features is also the same with the last version of this game, you can have Exhibition, league/cup, and the two European leagues to play in. There will also be a quick match which puts you in a random match inside of a minute. You can also have the new Super Challenge and Challenge modes on the game. These are both community based, so you can play with someone from your Facebook or your contacts lists.

Pro Evolution Soccer PES 2012 the unrivalled football experience on the Android platform!
Live the PES 2012 experience with your friends in the most connected edition of the best football game on smartphones! With two brand new games modes and full social networks integration: you will never play alone again.

Android Game
DISCOVER THE BRAND NEW SUPER CHALLENGE MODE
Build your very own dream-team by purchasing the most wanted players in an on-going league. Want Ronaldo in your team? In PES 2012 you can!

VICTORY IS SWEETER WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR RIVAL
Defy your friends by downloading their Super Challenge teams online to play against on your phone and post the score on your Facebook to claim bragging rights.

FOOTBALL GAMEPLAY AT ITS FINEST
With an improved AI and goalkeepers behaviours, you will soon find out why expensive players are worth every penny with dedicated high-end animations and a complete set of stats.

DIVE INTO THE FIELD IN COMPLETE IMMERSION
With added crowd jeers and cheers, all new stadium, official UEFA Champions league™ and Europa League™, Liga BBVA, Ligue 1 and much, much more!

DID YOU JUST SAY MORE?
With a flurry of content such classic national teams, 24 different balls, 6 varied environmental combinations such as rain and snow, exhibition mode and 3 different controls configurations: tinkering the perfect setup will never have been so fun.

YOU WILL NEVER BE BORED AGAIN
Two special modes dedicated for these moments when you just have a few minutes to kill, in Quick Play you’ll be kicking in less than a minute, and in the brand new Free Kick Challenge you’ll be able to surpass your shooting skills with effects and touchscreen accuracy!

Stop Using Simplified Chinese Characters in Public Notices and Signboards. Help Conserve the Endangered Orthodox Chinese Language in Hong Kong

The simplified Chinese writing system was created in the 1950s and imposed upon the Chinese public by the communist government of China through legislation, media control and publication laws. The set of simplified characters were derived from popular shorthands and synonyms or designed by government linguists. The changes made are analogous to merging such syllables as "key-", "quay-", "kea-", "cay-" and "kee-" into “ki-”, spreading it through the press and the education system, and then banning the original spellings from all public spaces.

The simplified Chinese writing system was created largely without regard to the expressiveness and structural aesthetics of Chinese characters in use since the Han dynasty (206 BC -220AD). The cultured consider it a crude set of shorthands. Most linguists outside Mainland China consider it a political tool for cutting the link of Chinese people from their historical roots, rendering historical accounts and ancient literature confusing if not incomprehensible, just as Shakespeare would appear if it were littered with “thru”, “ki” and the like.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are two major Chinese societies that use the orthodox Chinese writing system and free from direct communist rule (so far!). Hong Kongers (and their neighbours from Macau) speak Cantonese whose metre is close to their ancestors' in the Tang dynasty a millenium ago. But same as the mainlanders, the Taiwanese people speak Mandarin ("Putonghua"), which is a form of spoken Chinese mixed with Mongolian and Manchu languages in the recent dynasties. If you don't know what that means, imagine Britain being taken over by invaders and the English word “thrust” considered too difficult and thus "reduced" to “fuss”.

That is to say, Hong Kong is the only place in the world that preserves both orthodox spoken Chinese and written Chinese. Yet some shops and organizations have started to use simplified Chinese in public signboards and instructions in reaction to the influx of tourists from China. We ask these shops and organisations to switch back to orthodox Chinese as a respect to the endangered languages of Hong Kong. In fact, Mainland Chinese tourists do read traditional Chinese, sometimes with the help of contextual cues and intelligent guessing, as it has always been.

Stop Using Simplified Chinese Characters in Public Notices and Signboards. Help Conserve the Endangered Orthodox Chinese Language in Hong Kong

Macbeth

Macbeth is the one and only one Shakespeare play I study when I was in high school.

Although this is a few years ago, I still remember some lines of Macbeth Act Two Scene 1.

Macbeth Act Two Scene 1 (Partial)

 33   Is this a dagger which I see before me,
 34   The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
 35   I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
 36   Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
 37   To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
 38   A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
 39   Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
 40   I see thee yet, in form as palpable
 41   As this which now I draw.
 42   Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
 43   And such an instrument I was to use.
 44   Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
 45   Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
 46   And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
 47   Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
 48   It is the bloody business which informs
 49   Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one half-world
 50   Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
 51   The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
 52   Pale Hecat's off'rings; and wither'd Murder,
 53   Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
 54   Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,
 55   With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
 56   Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
 57   Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
 58   Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
 59   And take the present horror from the time,
 60   Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
 61   Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.

 62   I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
 63   Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
 64   That summons thee to heaven or to hell.