For the Master- Sifu Review

 

 This game- Sifu, and IP that was released originally on PC and PS4, I did not expect to make it to the Nintendo Switch.  It was developed by Sloclap originally in 2022. Like WarFrame and other PC games, it receives the usual idiotic designation of unplayable on the handheld. It consistently annoys me hearing this label thrown around because of people's fixation on the 90's era of handheld gaming. As I've said many times, no matter how powerful handhelds become, people in general will still expect, and accept no more than incomplete minigames on the platform.

  This story follows a protagonist, who's master was murdered by a rogue student. This student has a large following of gangs, spreading across a corporation that has amassed large wealth. The rogue student- Yang, led an attack on the dojo after being disgraced and ends up taking out the sifu and the protagonist, who is just a child at the time. A talisman heals him just in time, and imbues him with the power to survive fatal attacks at the cost of many years to his life. He vows revenge, and goes after the henchmen, gaining information to track down Yang and avenge the sifu.

  This game uses a button sequence combo system similar to what Shenmue 3 attempted with directional input. It does this very well and has a very clever counter system and defensive options, which I always say is essential in group brawlers. So many games miss this mark and end up being mashers with no strategy, or just unfair enemy oppression with no defensive options. This game also has a takedown feature that you can used on stunned enemies that many of you might recognize from games in the early 2000's. It is not able to be abused, as enemies will read it and power up while reversing it, gaining health, if you do it too much. I loved that addition. You also have a very nuanced dodging mechanic that is the heart of your defense in later levels of the game, as just blocking will not be enough. In fact, you have an integrity meter that can be broken if you block excessively. It is similar in that way to Nioh, where you have to vary your style and approach. There is some exploration, but really it's to find secrets to open areas. Finding keys allows you to unlock doors and shortcuts in earlier levels which you need to a degree. When you reach the later point of levels and the game, you will earn, through unlockables, the ability to fast track to or near the boss of the stage.

 On the matter of bosses, this deserves its own discussion. I am a very big snob with bosses in games, for a reason. They make or break a title, and sometimes, being too easy, too few or simplistic in design, can bring down an otherwise amazing game. I remember playing Wind Waker for the Gamecube and shaking my head to how a great game had such an underwhelming final boss. I used to praise Monster Hunter for its bosses, but honestly, some of the games in the series can tend to have very repetitive and easy bosses that only get slightly annoying when they rage, due to the speed and health buffs. I think Sifu does and awesome job meeting this balance. I watched a streamer play Elden Ring, which I think sets the benchmark for what boss design should be in games. Many of the Souls games meet this mark. These are bosses that adapt and change, and force you to use your entire arsenal of skills and knowledge. Nioh did this as well. Sifu executes this very well. However, the curve for learning the early boss patterns was very steep, and it wasn't until near the end of the game that I began to get the ability to fight through the stages and bosses with some repetition. The girl with the staff and old woman boss with the whip were highly annoying, but in an overall good way. You had to use your directional dodges, which called for utilization of reflexes. It was always extremely satisfying to beat a boss in that game, and even some mid bosses, who could be tough.

  The final boss, Yang, had  several forms and is a very defensive fighter. You can't wail on him like you usually can at first with last bosses. It brought back memories of the last boss in Earth Wars, where he was hard from the very beginning, and had you wondering how you would make it to his other forms. You have to use every skill in your arsenal. I really marveled at the way they make you have to both block, and parry in this fight. You can't lean on any one skill. You will also be directional dodging. You do not have takedowns available to you in this fight in the conventional sense, but you can access pivotal takedown maneuvers by ultimately breaking his countenance, which is essentially the goal of that fight. You are given a way of sparing him, which I thought about during the fight, as he tries to reason with the hero, saying that he has spent the last decades since his assault on the dojo atoning for his wrongdoings. However, the fight was so hard I didn't even think to try it. You  would have to break his countenance twice, letting him reset twice, in  his final form. I had no intention of tackling that. It has a satisfying ending, and you unlock some great extras and missions that have meaning, and are more than fluff. I found myself playing those missions, in order to unlock different outfits. I would also welcome playing this game on the harder difficulties in the future. 

  It was quite the ride, and was quite poetic in nature. I am a longtime practitioner and appreciator of martial arts, and this game pays good homage to the arts, and has an extensive movelist and techniques. It focuses more on the story than it does the principles of martial arts, but it pays more tribue than Shenmue 3 did. I would actually say I love the game. I had a concept for a martial arts movie based on a real argument of principles I had with my own master years ago, which ends similar to this game, where the villain is not so obviously a villain. I thought of it when I got to the end of this game. This is tribute to you, master. 9/10

2 New Albums- The Opera and Ever Full

 I've dropped 2 new albums. One is from a 2010 opera that I have not yet completed, titled, "The Ink in Me." This was a project I ended up stretching out over a few subsequent albums including the Magnum Opus series. I rerecorded a few takes, but this album contains all of the original takes and dialogue. The new album is "To Be Ever Full." This is a passionate project I have contemplated for the past year, as I completed my schooling and my Computer Science degree, wondering if I had it in me to rise again with an experimental album, returning to drums. I was very aprehensive, but did get the job done, I'm proud to say. Here they are. Look the works up on Spotify or ITunes.

Cyber Security Case Study 2

 New Scam Tactics

Here is another update of Social Engineering techniques used by people using Door dash. There have been several scams on the app over the past year, but I encountered a new one while dashing the other night after a long shift of work.

  I would be remised to skip the back story in this event. I have just had a whirlwind of a year, with several housing changes and employment surprises, having started travel agency work late in 2023, and had a contract ended suddenly by a company due to discrimination reasons in North Carolina, while in the process of trying to financially recover. This spawned the opening of an EEOC case that would not be heard for another 6 months. In the meantime, I was in an employment gap, that thankfully, my agency was able to lessen and get me reassigned, prematurely albeit to the North East region. As you already know, travel and re-establishment of housing is in itself a huge expense. I took this on in the middle of financial crisis and relocated for the impromptu assignment. I  was needless to say, behind behind the 8 ball. Being that there is a delay before getting the first payment of your assignment naturally, the recurring bills I have piled up to the sky in the process, to the point where side jobs and gigging became necessary to provide daily food needs and get by. I had a few contracts come up with my business, but they were from contacts still assuming I was in the NC area, so I had to decline. At that point, the first check would probably not get me ahead at all, or even on track, but just close the gap. I turned, during this time to the Dash app, having no idea what I was in store for.....

I have to start paying more attention to the texts and the orders themselves. There's a lot of dialogue and text on the screen to unpack, and I tend to do this while multitasking at my main job. I have found a new scam which was embarrassing for me because I am cyber security. Apparently, door dash knows about it and puts the exclaimer in the authentication text then send, but if you are flying around like I was, you likely won't read it. These people put in an order, watch for when you arrive, and call you from a number listed as Door Dash. When you answer the phone, you are asked several authentication questions, to verify your account. Right there, because this is common practice when you call Door Dash, it is the first concealed flag. After taking this information, they confirm that you will get paid for the canceled dash, and to confirm the last 8 digits of your dasher direct card. They carefully craft the dialogue they use, because if they asked slightly more or less, even though flustered and busy, I likely would have caught them.

 They generate a few codes to be sent to authenticate your account, and ask that you read the code to them, another thing that many companies do in fact do. After this, they tell you to check the app and that the balance should have increased to reflect pay for the canceled job. It doesn't show anything, and then they say to proceed, and that the change should reflect within the next few minutes. At this point, it is highly likely that you have not read the messages in full yet. And then there are the people that were under attack before Door Dash caught it.

 Honestly, these kinds of issues can be further mitigated with self-authentication on the client side. Your token should be self-generated and acknowledged on your device. This can eliminate the need to differentiate the devices and ensure they are the actual user. A phone number is its own token and points to the holder of the authentic device. You should never be in scenarios at all where you are asked for authentication information at any point. And by conditioning users to do this on occasion, you lower their guard. Now it seems like a legitimate approach. I've always had an issue with this in general because it's sloppy protocol.

  One thing I noted was that when I called customer support after I was very suspicious at the call, the call intakes mirrored each other, and I noted this to the agent. I commend the fact that they released messages to alert the scam activity, but there should be protocol changes made. A few months ago, a woman was murdered because the Dash app did not protect from a malicious user who set her up to be shot trying to retrieve money from a customer for a ransom. She was in the dark, and the scam artist was effectively in the dark themself. All they do is use the app as a customer and use that to launch the scam. You should not be able to authenticate absent the phone device that you use. That is your token. And it is a good idea to implement mandatory biometrics. It would be all too possible in the near future to intercept key information and authenticate on another device. If a phone number is used as a tag, a connection should be established between the phone device to complete authentication. With that strategy alone, the attack I fell victim to would have never worked.

 Going forward, I personally will, and encourage others to always read the dialogue of any message carefully, no matter how long it takes. Consider all information you are asked for as sensitive. Many companies will act irritated with you for doing due diligence, but that is because they are ignorant to the cyber security dangers. Ignore that and slow it down. Your money, and even life can be at risk.