Tag Archives: Michael De Kock blog

Drake’s Review

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So a few months ago, I bought the Nathan Drake Collection on the Playstation 4. It is essentially the first three Uncharted games remastered and sold for the price of one. Now, I have played the first two so far and a bit of the third one. The graphics are okay in Drake’s Fortune, except that when aiming, Nathan holds the firearm at an angle, yet the bullet still manages to hit its target. This annoyed me a lot. Luckily, it was fixed in Among Thieves.

The stories of Drake’s Fortune and Among Thieves were pretty good. The goblin zombies and Shambhala-enhanced warriors were really unnecessary and honestly quite cliché. If it was just normal people, then the game would have been better. It needed to be supernatural enemies. I hate that in videogames. The Uncharted series is such a good exploration series and I feel they ruined it in a few ways.

Firstly, the positives. I like Nathan Drake and Sullivan for that matter. The supporting characters such as Chloe and Alena are brilliant as well. The romance between Nathan and Alena is well written and the voice acting is up to par. The facial expressions are nicely done and movement in cut-scenes are quite good.

Now the negative and, oh boy, there are a bunch. Firstly, why the heck did Naughty Dog think it was smart to put in this many combat zones in a game about solving ancient mysteries? Seriously! There were like two actual puzzles to solve in Among Thieves and the rest was sneaking and shooting. I looked forward to the bits where I actually had to open Nathan’s journal and solve the puzzles. The good thing about Uncharted is that the textures don’t really give away the answers. You actually have to look around for the answers. That went a bit off the point, but anyway.

Secondly, the movement of Nathan Drake has the same problems as Edward Kenway had in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. You want him to do that and go that way, but instead he goes and jumps off a cliff or let go of a pipe. It is really annoying. I felt it was worse in Among Thieves than it was in Drake’s Fortune. In the twenty-odd percent that I have played Drake’s Deception, it seems to have improved significantly, as did the shooting mechanics. And the graphics.

Thirdly, I believe that, since the Middle-East is involved, there will be ‘undead’ mummies that I have to shoot at some point. I include this prediction in my list of problems because I assume it will probably happen.

With all this negativity, you would probably be wondering why I even bother to play it any further. The reason is, I actually like it. Yes there is too much emphasis on combat and too little on puzzles, but I enjoy the story. Plus Nathan Drake can be quite a badass sometimes.

So would I recommend the Uncharted series to anyone? Yes, I would.

Why?

Because it is actually worth the money. Looking at you, No Man’s Sky…

Technological Progress

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I want to talk about technology. Over the past few years, technological progress has increased by quite a margin, compared to 50 years ago. We are able to talk to someone on the other side of the planet and it is as if they are sitting next to you. It is incredible!

Sometimes though, I wonder, how much more technologically advanced we can get. There is this game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, where humans get dramatically altered. It started out all well and true, with a disabled scientist wanting to be able to  walk again. So he engineered prosthesis that embeds itself in his nervous system. It didn’t take and he remained a cripple for the rest of his life. But he didn’t give up. He created more advanced prosthesis for other disabled people and created a multi-million dollar company.

Unfortunately, someone thought, “Hmm, why do only disabled people get to have augments?” And that is what I am afraid of – normal people being forced to get high-tech gadgets and stuff they do not need, or want.

Anyway, for us ‘normal people’, we can only wait and see where technology takes us. The fact that I typed this post on my PlayStation 4 both intrigues me and scares me…

Ho to Become a Motoring Journalist

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I absolutely love cars since I can remember. My mom told me to get other interests too, because she said I would bore people if that was the only topic I could talk about. Then she changed her mind and told me to look for a career involving cars, seeing that it is my passion and that she wants me to do something that makes me happy to go to work one day. So, I started thinking and one morning, when I was about 11, I told her that I was 51% sure that I would want to become a motoring journalist.

Lately I am rethinking my choice, but I would still love to do something involving cars – if it is full time or just as a hobby. Here are a few thoughts about becoming a motoring journalist.

Probably the best known TV motoring journalists today are those three musketeers from the BBC’s Top Gear. For the past ten years and 19 seasons, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond and The Stig entertained us with their adventures and mischief. Together they had set the standard for motoring journalism on TV. They not only test cars, but push motoring journalism’s boundaries past the limits. (Ask the poor BBC boss!)

They crash cars for fun and sometimes do very thorough road tests – involving stupid questions, like: Can you fit an eel next to very reactive sodium cubes in the bookt of a KIA? Or Can you fit Cienna miller into the glove compartment of a Skoda?  Yes, I know.

They – or rather Jeremy – also gets in trouble a lot for saying what he thinks, without thinking about the repercussions and then get fined. But all in all, they are the most entertaining lot in the motoring world today.

Not Every Car Enthusiast can become a Motoring Journalist

Fortunately or unfortunately, not every motoring journalist will end up being a TV celebrity. So, for the rest there is the less glamorous, but still very satisfying option of the printed media. There are hundreds of car publications to work for all over the world. A few examples are car and Driver, Top Gear Magazine, Top Car, Car, Rides, Classic Car etc. Here you see only a few examples of car magazines from different countries.

 Car mags

Another option in motoring journalism is blogging. There are many blogs available on the Internet.

These few sites are a good start: www.carmagblog.co.za, www.carblog.co.za, www.celebritycarsblog.com.

What skills do you need to become a motoring journalist?

To become a motoring journalist, you must at least have some important skills:

o   A love of cars and/or motorbikes and/or other vehicles is a necessity.

o   Secondly you must have a wide and in depth knowledge of the subject.

o   And of course, it would help if you can write.

o   (If you have ambitions to become a TV journalist, you’ll have to acquire some communication skills.)

Study journalism at a local university or internationally at a school of journalism.

Find work in the industry at either a newspaper or a magazine and then work your way up – who knows, maybe you will take over Jeremy Clarkson’s job one day when the BBC finally decides to kick him out! LOL!

In the Mean Time…

  • Read articles in motoring blogs and magazines to increase your knowledge and to learn how articles are written.
  • Read as many different magazines as possible to get different journalists’ views on different aspects of motoring.
  • Improve your writing skills by doing courses, writing regularly (or join my mom’s Writing Club).
  • Visit car shows or expo’s whenever you can.
  • Start you own blog. This will help you write regularly and it will also help you to get your name and views out there. This will also count in your favour when you apply for university.

Chronicles of a 21-year old Beamer

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I just love our old Beamer. It has a lot of good and funny memories. It also has a few bumps and scratches, but it is still going. It has a 1.6 liter, 4 cylinder engine and it was the base model, but it has a M-sports pack. It gives the car a bit more power, better handling and it has a little spoiler on the boot.

My parents bought the 1991* (this is still in dispute) BMW 3-series second-hand 19 years ago. (*According to Top Gear and some other resources it is not sure if there was a 1991 model. Chances are that it might be a 1988-1990 model.)

I love our old Beamer, because it has a lot of good memories. My parents told me that they drove it to Hermanus, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, with our young Labrador, Milo, sitting in the front with my dad, while my mom and I occupied the back seat – I still only three months old and travelling in my carry cot. They also changed my nappies on or in the boot of the car. Eeeow! Nowadays I sometimes sit on the boot and watch the neighbourhood go by…

Our Beamer has given us a lot of trouble over the years. I started pushing it at the age of five and kept going. (I am turning 16 in a few months’ time.) I always joked that, when we decide to buy a new car, I want to feel how heavy it is, before buying.

It has broken down countless times – on holidays and everywhere in Pretoria, the city where we live. Lately it refused to start on Fridays after grocery shopping at the local super market. It has broken down on an off ramp on the high way – fortunately just after my mom felt the power went while driving at 120km/h in the fast lane. She had just enough power left to change lanes in time. One (Friday) afternoon my mom and dad arrived home in a tow truck after a doctor’s appointment – both sitting on the only passenger seat, with our little blue Beamer catching a ride on the back. That was probably the day when my father realised that we needed a second, more reliable vehicle.

So, we went on a car hunt and four months later we came home with a (very heavy) bakkie. For those of you who don’t know what a bakkie is – it is a pick-up truck. We bought a 2005 Mazda Drifter double cab, which by the way, I fell in love with from the very first ride. Maybe, because so far, I didn’t have to push it yet!

I have had many a plan for that little Beamer of ours. My parents wanted to get rid of it, but I convinced them otherwise. I wanted to turn it into a 4X4 Jeep-like convertible. Another plan was to supercharge and turbo charge that little 1.6 liter engine. (I actually still want to.) And then I wanted to turn it into a grand ‘tourer’ – something like a four-door an Aston Martin DBS Volante. What will come of my plans, only time will tell.

We fixed one problem by replacing his battery, but there are still a few things to be fixed, such as the thermo stat, the braking pads, the brakes, the clutch, the exhaust pipe and who knows what else. So, for now, our little Beamer is still fighting, although not so fit anymore.

One thing is sure though, he is going nowhere. In a few years’ time I will get my licence (in South Africa that only happens at 18) and the Beamertjie will be my student car. Then he and I will start making our own memories together.