Syed Ali, Author at The Orbital

6Apr

By Syed AliNo Comments

Features

PC Gamer Weekender 2017 – Review

The PC Gamer Weekender has appeared once more and was something of a surprise success. The marketing for the event was ever present and something Insanity Radio 103.2FM assisted with. However, the event’s success was due in part to the large amount of games on show, as well how well it was run with different talks and discussions occurring at regular intervals. The organisation of the event was done in way where you could weave in and out of different areas with ease, allowing you to know where certain places were and how to get to them. There were several virtual headset demos on display. I had the chance to try out the 'Killing Floor: Incursion' which is a game taking place in the Killing Floor universe and is a side story of sorts. However, they used the Oculus in way that allowed yo...

3Apr

By Syed AliNo Comments

Science & Technology

Clannad: A story about family

*DISCLAIMER, HEAVY SPOILERS FOR CLANNAD VIDEO GAME AND ANIME FRANCHISE* The first thing you may notice about this video-game-turned-anime-franchise is that the word 'Clannad' has its origin in the Irish Gaelic word meaning “family”. This would initially surprise as most Japanese franchises are either written in one of the many Japanese alphabets or in English. But the idea of family is something that is vital to understanding Clannad, as it not just about biological family or even the inner circle of friends you keep, but the community that the show takes place in. In terms of the games and the anime, this means that your purpose as the character Tomoyo Sakagami is to help people in different situations and certain arcs, in what is known as a 'visual novel'. This type of game is not see...

24Feb

By Syed AliNo Comments

Features

London Anime Game Con Feb 2017

London Anime Game Con has once again started the convention season off for me in 2017, and with a huge bang. The event was perhaps one of the best organised I have ever had the privilege to attend and, to my knowledge, the very first comic con-style event that the Orbital has had the pleasure of covering. I was able to enjoy this convention as, again seems like a first for me, it was sold out on the Saturday, something I had never seen happen in the number of years I have attended. For those that don’t know what London Anime Game Con is, it's an event that focuses more on providing people an opportunity to meet friends new and old, allowing them to have a fun few days out in London. Often this involves playing various arcade machines as provided by the Heart of Gaming, or listening to t...

7Feb

By Syed AliNo Comments

Features

Dune: Fear is the mind-killer

Syed Ali discusses why the RTS game series Dune, despite being hugely influential in its genre, has been forgotten by even the most seasoned gamers. Perhaps due to the recent announcement of a possible rebirth of a new Dune TV series or a movie, or just simply because I love Dune (1969) the novel, I wanted to discuss the game Dune and its impact. It's themes and ideas are something that hark back to the 60’s concept of understanding the relation of the mind and body, but yet dreaming of a future shaped by the events of the past. This lead me to look into the second Dune, 'Dune II: Battle for Arrakis', which is largely considered the grandfather of the real-time strategy genre (also called RTS). The story of Dune is odd given the game is based on the movie Dune (1984), not the actual ...