Battlefield 3

Ok, here’s where my nerdy side shows. I’m a recreational gamer. I love to pick up a controller and waste some precious time in the digital world of entertainment. It’s one of my hobbies, I suppose one could say. I’m pretty up to date on all the current gaming news, and while many games attract my attention, it takes either a really great game or a really good deal for me to buy one. Well, I gave in, and so far I’m happy that I did.

To say that Battlefield 3 hyped up this launch is like saying that soap is slippery, or that fire is hot. I have yet to see a more vamped-up, crazed launch than this. Halo 3 had some really classy, cool ads that became very popular, but Battlefield has been at it for months. And it wasn’t the calm, methodical, awe-inspiring ads that Bungie put out for their Master Chief. It was seemingly done haphazardly. Fans and haters alike were pelted with commercials and gameplay quite often until the release. There was so much gameplay involved that people almost felt like they played the game weeks before they ever got the game in their hands. At least, I did. The advertising team at EA didn’t let people get a coherent thought in before they threw another ad or game feature. This looks awesome, and gains a whole bunch of publicity, which is what DICE (the development team behind Battlefield 3) needs. However, the repercussions for such great fame and publicity is that they have built for themselves a tower of high expectations that could crumble if the game doesn’t hold up to its advertising word. It almost does.

Alright, campaign mode first. It’s my philosophy whenever I get any new game to complete the campaign before I touch the multiplayer. You know why? Because if I don’t, it never gets done. It’s also a great way to become associated with a game so one doesn’t get slaughtered in multiplayer as a newbie. Campaign is to me what vegetables are before dessert. Good for you, but not necessarily desired. And for this game, the vegetables were a tad underdone.

I’m not computer wizard or genius. I tip my hats to those who know such wizardry. So I have absolutely no idea what kind of work and effort goes into building a game back up from a new engine. (Frostbite 2, which is what Battlefield 3 uses) But this engine could definitely use a little bit of ironing out. It’s still got the factory wrinkles in it. Perhaps another one of my issues is the use of a console (xbox 360) instead of the platform-intended PC. But this game was, for the budget and time used to create it, pretty glitch heavy. Floating guns, light glare, furniture, and the like all made the otherwise beautiful graphics a tad sketchy. How can one take shooting an enemy from behind the cover of a hovering sofa seriously? It makes for a nice laugh, but when the glitches get ugly and start to turn on you it’s anything but funny.  I remember restarting a checkpoint because I died, (if you play it on hard like I did the first time through, plan on doing that A LOT) and the two AI members of my squad ran right through the closed door they were supposed to open. OK. Another time, I was right about to close upon an objective and my character decided walking was for mortals and simply floated right up to the checkpoint. He also seemed to get a mind of his own because I could no longer switch to any weapons. It’s a good thing a cutscene arrived or he might have just gone all skynet on me and begin shooting through the TV. Those were some of the more comedic ones…

Alright, its got some glitch marks. But that can be forgiven due to the enormity of the game. Wait… what? *Ahem* the campaign is only six hours long. Give or take. And about an hour of those have you punching enemies in interactive cutscenes. I happen to be a fan of those parts because I like the fact that I probably won’t be dying and it offers a reprieve from the normal humdrum hide-and-shoot. But I’m a percentage of the very few. Most gamers will be complaining that there were far too many of those particular scenarios. Also, Battlefield has a very unique flair to their game visuals. The entire game looks like a painting or movie. Smooth textures, flowing physics and whatnot. Unfortunately, this makes enemies outrageously hard to see, especially in the forest levels. I spent probably around 35% of my time in the campaign in the prone position crawling around and looking like a complete goober trying to find these enemies with my iron sights who are hitting me with pinpoint accuracy from 200 yards away from behind a rock and shooting over their shoulder. The lack of personal visibility will drive you bonkers, especially on a higher difficulty. It’s like they took all their time of the visuals of the environment, they forgot to make people the priority.

Now, my biggest gripe. The AI. If real life was like Battlefield 3, the Taliban, Russians, and any other group of people that I shot as an enemy as this game would have long since taken over America due to how ignorant American soldiers are, or how freaking awesome they are. Probably a combination of the two. The AI on any given ally in this game will by default: A) Expect you to do everything for them. And B) Get in your way as much as possible while you try to do it. It seems like the designers were more conserned about their computer friends than they were the intended player. If you play a mission with a squad setting, good luck trying to find decent cover, the AI takes all the good spots for themselves and has you crouching behind the milk cartons in the corner. And of course, due to the game’s cutting edge physics, it won’t let you push your darn teammates out of the way! Your teammates almost become invulnerable bunkers themselves as they hog and push their way through the fighting. And here’s a good one too. If they are scripted to run into a certain spot and you are standing there while in the middle of an outrageous firefight, too bad! They pummel you out into the open for the enemy’s target practice and then yell at you some more for not doing what they told you to do.

The saving points really stink sometimes as well. They seemed to have reserved the hardest parts for the longest save gaps. I swear I could do some parts of some levels with my eyes closed.

Weapons are great and diverse. There are many along the campaign road with loads of attachments that you can switch from any deceased enemy should you not like what you’re given. (And you probably won’t) Watch your cover though… just because you see someone in your sights doesn’t mean you barrel is clear of debris and your shots won’t go anywhere. The only way to shoot someone in this game is to put yourself in danger of getting shot by them. No freebies.

Sound is beautiful. Every scream, shout, and bullet whizzing by is crisp, and sounds exactly like what it should. Echoes in buildings and thuds after a bomb or grenade are all dead-on. My favorite part sound-wise was the fighter sequence. The take-off and radio chatter sounded awesome through the noise-muffled headphones of the pilot.

The story was a tad disappointing. It felt very generic and didn’t meet my expectations. The end was mediocre. The bad guy gets what’s his and the good guy… well… the good guy doesn’t fare a whole lot better… Nothing happened in the story that made me feel what I was doing was terribly important. At the very end I was asking if that was it, I mean, for the emphasis they placed on the game, I was expecting to save the universe…

Beware the profanity. Seriously. There’s enough to the point of tackiness.

The multiplayer is this game’s saving grace. Whatever points were lost for the campaign are gained back and more for the multiplayer, which is the real meat of this game. Maps are huge and there are more to choose from. The return of controllable jets have old-school Battlefield fans rejoicing. The combat is smooth and of course, the visuals are amazing. Knifing someone and taking their dog tag never felt so good as in this game does. I like the fact that one has to take out their knife rather than it just materialize in their hand. It doesn’t differ too much from its predessecors, but the tiny differences that it made like the ability to more customize one’s weapons and choose their load outs is great! Also, the classes change to better accommodate team play. It’s an even more rounded and exciting experience which challenges and rewards the player. It is a step above the rest in that nobody can really get large-scale warfare right like DICE can. The multiplayer is a victory and just one game of it helps me forget the somewhat forgettable campaign.

Another cool feature is Battlelog. It’s like facebook for gamers. It lets you know where your friends are at, what they’re playing and how well you stack up against them. Clans, and platoons can all be created and edited through an online account and seen through gameplay. The transfer is pretty cool.

Overall, the game does just what it’s meant to. Entertain. The multiplayer that is… I will most definitely be returning for more many times. The campaign however, is something that will be gathering cyberdust. Because it will most likely never be played again. My score is 7/10.

5/10 Campaign- Glitchy, AI annoyance/cause for rage, relatively short, shallow. However lifelike, awesome visuals, amazing sound.
9/10 Multiplayer- Immersive, massive, balanced, all the good benefits of campaign… without the campaign. Some long load times though.

Danger Zone

It’s what we live for. We may not know it, but it’s true. There’s an adventurer in all of us men, no matter how deep it may be hidden. It comes in all shapes, the danger zone. It could be a conference room, a living room, a football field, a stretch of open road, or possibly a space in the sky. We all have the places where we dance with the unknown in marvelous delight. Where the line between safety and disaster is razor thin and the most minute error is catastrophic but we continue to push the boundaries. We soak in the risk and thrive on the possibilities. Of course, we play it safe most of the time… MOST of the time.

You know what’s scary? When we cross the line. When we red-bar the gauges and the pressure watches click ominously. And then we go farther. The cabin creaks, the gauges break and steam hisses from release valves. And farther. Our chest gets tighter and the glass cracks as we push the limits to their utmost. The danger so real, the risk so great and yet the rewards so amazing. To brave the deepest unknown and survive is our calling. To emerge the victor, head held high is our passion. To fight, to win.

Or perhaps, not to win. Perhaps that does not matter. Winning does not prove anything. It proves that you have conquered, yes. But to fail, that is to learn. Failing is what shows the extent of one’s abilities, not winning. Winning limits us. It marks our abilities to succeed at a certain point and no further. Failure is what captures our hardest efforts. It pushes us to our utmost and determines our mettle. Failure does not know limits, and it can never be outdone. The bar can always be raised higher to fail for. And once that bar is reached and conquered, it is raised again, to be failed at until someone succeeds. Failure is the unreachable goal which pushes our success. If I fail, it means I’m going somewhere.

A man pushes towards his previous failure with the hopes of success, but only does so with the knowledge that all of his past failures allowed him to be where he is now. A man does not become discouraged with failure, but rather encouraged as he has now set the bar for his future success. His fall is now his footstep. His mistake, his mark. And he uses the wisdom from his past defeats to gain victory. If we are a soldier, and knowledge is our weapon, then failure is certainly our ammunition.

A man is not perfect, but strives for perfection by using his imperfection. A man is not one who appears good, but rather someone who is true to himself, and strives for what is right. A man who falls is wiser for it. A man that fails, stronger. A man who is stronger, victorious.

Who are we?

God is SO good! He continues to blow my mind in the ways that He comforts and holds our hearts! There are no words that could appropriately describe the joy and peace which He washes over us with His perfect timing. I cannot imagine, cannot think about, and cannot fathom falling away from my Creator Whose love wraps me in its splendor. The beauty and majesty of His glory, the Truth, and the message that He has given to us and for us to share is incomprehensible. The promises that are given us are amazing. The hope that we have is unsurpassable. His mercy is mind-boggling. How could One so powerful, so holy, so just, love with a fervent, unconditional love something as flawed and as imperfect as us? It is inexplainable. It cannot be touched with our minds the vastness of God’s reasoning and timeless design. Who are we? Who are we? Who are we?

The right that we are given to praise, to worship, to fall before our Master is a right that should not be ours. In the chaos, God saw something in us that was worth loving. I want to know, I crave the answer to why He loves us the way He does. It should not be. And to think that He does all this not out of obligation, not out of holy duty, but because He simply loves. Not only that, but He cares as well. From every lost soul to every tear shed there is nothing that escapes the notice of God. Just as He molded the earth, He weaves the very fabric of existence into being and puts every perfect bit of care into every strand of fiber. Not a breath is taken without God’s touch.

God is big enough for us to rediscover every day. The endless facets of His character could each take a lifetime of devotion to appreciate. One day, we will be exposed to the raw glory of Himself. With every facet of God revealed, we will be overwhelmed. Speechless. Awestruck. Utterly lost in the beauty of Him. I cannot imagine.

Oh, if only we could comprehend. If only we knew what we had in store. If only we could see. Until then, we live, we watch, and we wait for the endless tranquility that will envelope our souls.

“I can see light that is coming for the heart that holds on.

I can see an end to these troubles, but until that day comes.

Still I will paraise You, still I will praise You.”

Humility.

I was reading about humility today. I find myself needing lessons in this more than I should. Humility is not a great friends of mine, at least, not sincere humility. The humility that I can portray at times is less real, genuine humbleness and more reserve for fear of looking prideful. This causes an interesting phenomenon. In my efforts to appear humble and avoiding arrogance I succeed and therefore make myself more arrogant in my success. Building a reputations as a humble person is a dangerous line to walk. But even being recognized as humble almost defeats the purpose in the first place because should a really humble person be recognized at all? Hm?

For those of you who know me, humility might not be the first thing to come across one’s mind after meeting me. As I get older and (hopefully I’m getting wiser) I see that most of what I do is self-focused. Not always bad, only if always done. Even in treating other people, I found that some of my actions all had purposes that would, even if there was a chance, affect me positively in the end. There was and is an ulterior motive in most of what I do to benefit me. Now I wasn’t always consciously thinking about it, and there were many times of sincere charity in my actions. But looking back shocked me of how many times I did something to bring about my own success with the disguise of giving. You crafty boy, you.

Reading over humility in the Bible I discovered something. We can build ourselves up all we want, but it’s never very high. We can slave away and hold on to our pride keeping the status-quo of what our “social status” is. We can build our own castles of arrogance but they will only reach so high and their foundations are shaky. We can place our trust in our rickety fortress of false confidence and hide all of our security in that. It’s what we do. We trust the castle we build for ourselves. We know the face we’ve made, it’s familiar and safe. The cocky, arrogant Carl is much easier to maintain than the real one. It’s easy to be prideful, it takes courage to be humble. The lower we make ourselves, the higher God builds us. And God’s foundation is deep so He can build us as high as He wishes. (Not as high as we wish.) The goal is to humble ourselves so much that our foundation of false pride is removed to put our roots in God’s footing so that we are secure in Him. To be on the same page as God and take pride in the fact that we are His and we a part of His actions.

Humility makes serving God infinitely easier as well. It’s the flexibility which He is able to mold us. It’s the oil in the engine that makes things run smoothly and without friction. How could God use a prideful person to perform His will? They would bend and break due to the pressure that serving God can create. Humility is what God looks for because they are never too high to do God’s bidding. They are above nothing and will therefore serve God to the ends of the earth no matter where or what He has called them to do.

Something to think about. God also hears the humble’s cries. He would much rather help someone who is humble in their situation than someone who asks for help but then scoffs at how long it’s taking, the way He’s helping, or the effort He is asking to us give. I would too.

Some of the verses that I was reading which gave me these thoughts.

Psalm 10:17, 25:9, 147:6. Romans 12:16. James 4:10.

The Falling.

A query was sent to me by my cousin who think much like I do when it comes to this philosophical stuff. His question is posted below. And while I think he may have an answer for it already, I’m going to give it my best go!

*Query*

How can ignorance be so rampant when knowledge is available now more so than any other time in history? How has the spirit of apathy gained such a strangle hold on our culture? Why are crass and debased thoughts and actions exalted? Why do we settle for cheap banalities? What will it take for our people to be roused from their stupor?

Where are the true artists who inspire mankind to stretch, reach higher and be nobler in spirit and action? Must we always consume the mundane? Who are the great philosophers and warrior poets of our age? Have we become numb to reality? Has our lives of comfort and ease blinded us?

We have deluded ourselves with thoughts of security. The world has been perilous since the fall. Our ancestors knew that each moment of life was precious because they were so well acquainted with death, for disease, famine and war were common place.
Deep down we feel the wrongness of the world. We feel as though we should be more than we are. It’s as though we are pale reflections or a shadows of what we should be.

*Carlthefollower’s response*

Oh boy! What an awesome bunch of great questions! I’ve had these for a little while now but haven’t had the time to write about them due to the effort I have to devote thinking about them. Alright, I can already see an idea forming. So let’s try to put this down on paper. Here goes!

An object that has movement will be more likely to move. It’s called inertia! I believe that the same principle applies here. Ever since The Fall, people have been separated from God in a way that He did not originally intend. Due to this separation, we are vulnerable to sin. More than vulnerable, we are attacked by the Enemy who does his best to make us stumble every day. He has been given a playground on the Earth to bombard us with threats, lies, and death due to Man’s fall way back in the Garden of Eden. I think that when Adam ate the fruit and sealed the fate of the world, he not only fell, but started a domino effect that has gained momentum through time. Adam did not fall, he began the Falling.

It is our job to fight against the backwards inertia. It’s up to us to walk against the tide and push against the winds that are against us. It’s why it is so easy to sin, why it is so simple for some to blur the lines between good and evil if it suits their purposes. The whole of known time fights against our Truth to do what is right. As the world continues to age and “advance”, the epitome of reasoning and enlightenment becomes lower and lower on a moral standard. As the world gets worse, the fight becomes harder.

I like to think of it on a line scale. Imagine with me that God is on one end of the spectrum and whatever else is on the other end. Obviously, God in all His glory and power is unobtainable, but we must strive to be more and more like His example. Now look at the other end, whatever is further away from God is less like Him and therefore closer to His opposite. When people try to find their answer in places other than God, they are working towards the opposite end of the spectrum. Whether it is science, religion, enlightenment, atheism, or whatever, the epitome of human reasoning no matter what the type, is running away from God in the other direction.

It’s an outrageous tug-of-war battle we are having with the world in our lives. And with the slippery-slope falling faster and faster into oblivion, the majority mindset of the population becomes even more corrupted. The “leaders, poets, philosophers, and artists” of our age are on the front lines of the march downwards. They are the leading edge of the path against the Truth. Crass, debased thoughts and actions are praised because they are mimicking what the world believes to be the top of our philosophy. What they do not realize is that they could not be further from the Truth. Unless of course, they keep on falling and continue down the path that they think is leading towards the ultimate way of thinking and acting which is ironically leading to God’s polar opposite.

The knowledge that is so abundant is many times full of the very lies that we want to avoid. Why do we wonder why there is so much crime, death, and evil in the world when “free thinking” and no moral absolutes are being taught even in early child development in school and in the home? We are teaching our future leaders to destroy themselves.

There are so many ways from Christ and the right side of the spectrum. Unfortunately, when people don’t want to follow that one way, any other path they choose will destroy them and help bring the morality of the world down with it. Why do we feel like pale shadows of what we should be? Because it’s what we are. And the further that people search in vain for answers that are not there, the paler they become. Switchfoot put it great in one of my favorites: “We were meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside.” We ARE yearning for something more and being God’s creation. We know that far inside, no matter how deep, the way is not to be found in any of our own knowledge, wisdom, our findings. But in something more, that is God.

Life without the loading bar.

I thought I had it. I probably still think I have it. Faith is something that seems to have eluded my grasp for the majority of my life. I don’t think it’s possible to fully understand what it is until one is forced to practice it. Like being told how to ride a bike, one never can master it until they experience the feeling, know how to balance, and keep their alignment. I have, for the most part, been given everything that I could have ever needed during my existence. Exceeding that of need, I have more than I could ask for and more than I deserve. Faith has never had the chance to be put to the test in my life. I have read the definition, know what it means, know that I need to have at least a basic amount to accept the Truth. But the faith that hurts, the faith that takes courage, and the trust that overcomes our very real danger is something that I have begun to experience for the first time. I’m a newbie in the world of gritty, hard faith.

I believe my perception of faith was wrong. I used to think that people with an extraordinary amount of faith had it easy because of their trust. I thought that individuals who overcame great obstacles using trust did it with a smirky grin on their face because they knew how it was going to turn out in the end. Their faith obviously was so incredibly strong that it gave them an almost super-human like confidence as they walked through trials with their heads held high as the world crashed and burned around them. No matter what, everything would be peachy in the end, the good guys win and the bad guys lose. This was the victory promised those who were strong in the art of faith. Have faith and win.

Faith was always a non-issue for me because I never knew I never used it. If someone was to ask me if I had it, I would indignantly answer back, “Of course I do!” Of course I did! I’m a Christian aren’t I? Comes with the name doesn’t it? Standard issue Christian faith. Comes with the Redeemed Package. *Limited Edition only.* But when the rubber meets the road, when the going gets tough, what happens? You have to make a decision on where you’re going to put that next step of yours. And with no lead on where to go, what do you do?

Ever download something on your computer? You know how it has the little loading bar that tells you your progress? Well, one of the most frustrating things to me when it comes to this kind of stuff is the lack of that little loading bar! Why is it so important? Because it tells you how close you are to the finish! It’s cheating! I will stay and watch that loading bar for fifteen minutes at my computer if it is there but get up and walk away in frustration if something doesn’t have a loading bar and takes more than two! It’s the unknown! You don’t know how long it’s going to take, so instead of risking waiting for it, you give it up altogether! “Ah, it’s frozen!” I’ll say. “This is taking forever!” No, it’s not. It’s almost done, now if you’ll just wait a couple more sec-*click*

I can just see God telling us this same thing. “No! No! Wait! Wait! I’m almost finished with you!” But then we think about the time it could take and how long God will keep us waiting and how we don’t know when it will end. All this is going through our minds as we wait on Him to complete His work in us and unfortunately, we want to unplug ourselves from His download because we see other programs we desire to save instead and His work in us might overwrite our own data. Heh, this sounds like a scene from Tron. (That movie wasn’t that great by the way, at least, the new one wasn’t. Not sure about the old one. Never saw it.) What we don’t know is that God is almost done, He’s right there on the finishing touches when we walk away. He’s always working on us, but we can be a great hindrance to ourselves if we don’t stick it out. Wait for those specific lessons and promises from God.

Faith is living without the loading bar. Faith is the gritty, tiring walk of everyday life. Faith is the act of I-have-no-idea-what-I’m-doing-but-I’m-doing-it-anyways-because-I-trust-You. At least, it’s a facet of faith. I’m sure- no, I know that there is SO much more for me to learn. And I would be lying if I said that I’m looking forward to all my future faith building. I’m not. Heh, but learn I shall!

Until next time!

First Impressions: The Flying Dog Cafe

This is my first review/impression summary. I have had the desire to put reviews on here of the things that I love because I enjoy talking about them and as I gain more knowledge, have a better ability to judge their qualities. What better place to start than a restaurant that I have never been to before? Understandably, it was my first time at this place and will therefore be less of a review and more of summary of what I observed.

The Flying Dog Cafe was discovered by me at school when I was searching for places of interest around my hometown (Bradenton, FL). I’m not one to impulsively go somewhere simply because I have not been there before and it would have probably slipped my mind and the thought fallen into oblivion had all the reviews (Google reviews) not been so outrageously positive. In fact, the only negative review was commented upon by the owner himself disclaiming it as a falsehood and personally guaranteeing one’s satisfaction during their stay. This was enough to warrant a visit over to the Flying Dog after I escaped my last class for the semester (yes!).

The cafe is located in a very subtle spot that one would not tend to look for a restaurant. I have been living here all my life and have driven past this building many times in the six years that it has been in operation and not one time did I ever discover this place. I missed the first entrance even when I was looking for it. Located about a mile east of 41 on Televast road in a warehouse-type building is the Flying Dog.

Upon approach, it didn’t look like much, but entering in one would find the decor very tastefully done with the exception of a few home-crafted children’s drawings tacked on varied walls. It had a mixture of a beach-aviation theme in a modern, coffee shop type atmosphere. It was clean, welcoming and casual. I was told to sit where I may and that someone would be with me shortly.

It did not take long to receive service although it was not very busy when I walked in, and it was cheerfully given. Not obligatory or rushed even though the server that was waiting upon me seemed to have plenty to do. I was the priority at the moment, which was nice. The sandwiches and salads were not cheap, but they weren’t expensive either. About the same that one would expect to pay at Panera, Crispers, Atlantic, and the like. The menu was full, but not extensive. Salads and sandwiches were the majority of items upon the ordering list. I believe they also had a limited selection of soup. Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages were available. I ordered a “Dog Pound”, a cold sandwich with one’s choice of three meats and two cheeses for $8 that came with one side and a water.

About ten minutes later I received my food. The portions were surprisingly large. Working at a sandwich restaurant myself, I was impressed with the volume of food on my plate. It was good and filling. The side potato salad was small but I don’t know if I would have desired much more than they gave me anyways. As far as I know, the meat was Boar’s Head as portrayed by the restaurant’s flaunting of their signs every few square feet of wall. It was a large sandwich, I could just barely finish it. For me, the amount of food per dollar is extremely important. This place gives the best of both worlds. Not only did it taste good, but there was a whole bunch of it. I walked out full.

The entire meal plus service cost me just north of ten bucks. Not horrible, not amazingly economical either. If one is looking for an outstanding bargain then McDonald’s dollar menu might be your best bet. But if one wants a chillax place to well… chill, while munching on a great sandwich then this is the place to go. I’m going to put this on my list of possible future visits.

Also, there were a few things that I was not able to participate in. I don’t know the exact times but there is live music playing at certain periods of the week and a nice-sized stage for the players. This might interest those of you who enjoy such. And watch out for the hours of operation. Come around lunch and you’ll be fine but the later hours are a little wacky during certain days and you want to make sure you come when it’s open. Huzzah.