Greater Evil


Leon takes out a cellphone thief with an appropriate level of force.

Capcom gives you another reason to pick up a Gamecube with Resident Evil 4.

Of all the consoles of the current generation, the Nintendo Gamecube is the only one I don't have. This is pretty much since I don't really like the 'kiddy' and 'cutesy' flavor of most of the Big N's franchises, such as Mario, Zelda and so forth. They don't even have great fighting games on the roster! The only games that I like on the GC are the few mature titles, often being creepy games such as Eternal Darkness.
Well, THE creepy game of them all, Resident Evil, will be coming out soon on the Cube with the latest chapter, Resident Evil 4. The game looks incredible, with really detailed character models, and apparently some fairly considerable leaps in gameplay and story.

RE4 stars Leon Kennedy, the former cop from Raccoon City-turned Special Agent. From what has been revealed, it seems that Leon has put the past behind him- the T-Virus, Umbrella, Raccoon City and zombies... all of this plays absolutely no part in this game and story (well, actually not totally no part- a certain female agent from Leon's past just may be appearing in the game as well). Leon has arrived in the mysterious European village of Pueblo to find and rescue the President's missing daughter. But of course, we all know that nothing will be simple or straightforward.

Soon after arriving in Pueblo, Leon finds that the villagers are not ordinary country folk... in fact, they're downright homicidal, burning his companions on a stake, and then later coming after Leon himself in frenzied, scythe and hatchet-wielding mobs. Leon has to use everything in his arsenal and skills to survive this rural nightmare. According to Capcom, these villagers are NOT zombies... but we think that they're not totally human either. Anyway, even being Un-Undead doesn't keep these hicks from getting blown away with Leon's available firepower, making for some pretty gruesome shootouts (clearly, this is going to be an M-rated game).
Resident Evil 4's gameplay now includes the ability to target specific parts of the body- arms, legs, body, head- and doing so will have various effects on your enemies. Enemies also sometimes drop items, or even money which you can use to purchase ammo and new guns from a mysterious merchant. The various menus, including the item menus, have been modified. In fact, it looks a lot like in Diablo's, where you have to manage your items to fit in an inventory with finite space. Pretty cool.

While RE4 really looks great, I have to say that there's pretty much no way that I am buying a Gamecube just for it. I hope that the rumors of PS2 and Xbox ports of the latest RE games is true... I'm bored with mowing down guards and commandos with guns. Wanna try the firepower on some townspeople for a change. Heh. Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube will hit stores in early 2005.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

I learned yesterday that a friend of mine lost her brand-new cellphone to a thief over the weekend. This pisses me off to no end, since she really liked and deserved the upgrade. The theft occured right in Megamall, which is really not surprising since our malls are fairly crawling with these bastards (another friend of mine had his phone stolen right from the counter in front of him by thieves who posed as customers).

We're not safe anywhere; not really in our own homes, yet doubly more so wherever strangers and outsiders have access. The nicer our gadgets and toys get, the more expensive they become. And so, it's inescapable that we have to be a lot more vigilant. It's better to be a paranoid than to be a victim, that's what I say.

I really wish though that this event does not make my friend fearful of upgrading or getting good phones in the future. It's bad enough that you get victimized and lose a great gadget. For you to become traumatized and then make do with lesser stuff for fear of getting victimized again is adding insult to injury. Had a nice phone stolen? Get a nicer one. Just be a lot more careful next time though.
We should never let these blasted criminals make us change our ways because of them. We work hard to earn the things we want, so we should be able to enjoy them. We just have to be aware that in this day and age, extra-care is needed for us to keep our valuables out of scummy hands.

FUCK all these thieves. If I had my way, I'd bash their heads in with a gold baseball bat. All of them. The whole filthy lot. BAH.

Rut

I have to admit it, I've been stuck in one for some time now. I have to deal with these things every now and then, so it's really not a big deal. In terms of comics, I've been mainly just buying and not creating for quite some time now- K.I.A. is in a bit of production limbo, as I wait for the last few pages to be sent in, and then trouble over production. Whatever happens, the Kai anthology special is a go for 2005, but I really have to do something else. I haven't really drawn stuff in months. Over the weekend I worked on a nice little racket, which involved drawing a bunch of characters, and it really amazed me at how my hands have degraded thanks to inaction. I NEED to start drawing again, start thinking and creating. Inactivity is death for creativity, so I have to get busy.

Last night, I sat down and got a piece of paper, and set down the startings of a page. I stared at it for awhile and nothing happened. No, it won't be as easy as that. I've already got tons of pencilled pages just waiting to be actualized- in particular, a whole issue of Angel Ace. That will have its due time, like K.I.A. But apart from my bread-and-butter projects, I think I need something totally new to challenge my neurons and photons.

So I got to thinking about something new. Something totally unlike anything I've done yet. Well, probably not entirely new- it will still probably have a sexy female lead or two... but we'll see what happens as I think up something. Heeeey. I guess watching Paranoia Agent may have knocked something loose in the ol' noodle. Let's see what happens.

Coming Very Soon


Stretching your way before Christmas.

Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4, 4PM on December 14. Written by Gerry Alanguilan, with art by Arnold Arre and Edgar Tadeo. Scuttlebutt has been saying that the Lastikman pages are among Arnold's best ever. Can't wait to see it. Let's all meet there when it happens. Or at least get a copy of this obra when it comes out.

My Creepy Anime Fix of the Year


Forget everything you knew about anime and take a whack at Paranoia Agent.

If there’s one good thing that happened last stormy Thursday, it was that I was able to watch the trippy anime Paranoia Agent, and boy what a mind-trip that was. This 13-episode series is yet another nail in the coffin of the statement that anime is just for kids.

From the twisted mind of anime maestro Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress), Paranoia Agent is a title that resists being placed easily into any category. Part murder-mystery psychological thriller, part black comedy, party Ringu/The Grudge-esque horror, part social commentary and urban legend, Paranoia Agent would feel right at home with anime like Serial Experiments Lain.
The story begins with a young woman named Sagi, a famous character designer in Japan. She had just created a popular cute mascot, and is now under intense pressure to come up with something even better. One night, while heading home, she is suddenly attacked by a mysterious assailant. Later, when she is interviewed by the police, she relates that the attacker was a little boy, armed with a bent golden baseball bat, and wearing golden rollerblades.
While the account of a boy rampaging in the streets striking people down sounds absurd to the police at first, things suddenly take a bizarre turn when ANOTHER victim falls to the bat-wielding attacker. Now dubbed Shonen Bat (Bat Boy), the elusive suspect soon begins to strike with alarming frequency and increasing violence. Who is Shonen Bat? Does he really exist? And who will be his next target…? Is that the sound of rollerblades that I hear..?

This is one creepy anime, and you can pretty much tell that from the opening animation/credits, where you see the various characters standing before you in a myriad of locales and settings, just staring at you and laughing, while the haunting (and catchy) opening song plays. The show itself is animated excellently, with a pseudo-realistic/caricaturist visual style that is anything but wide-eyed cutesy anime. Each episode seems to focus on a prospective victim, and we see their life spiraling out of control little by little through the show. At the point when all seems darkest, Bat Boy appears like some grim reaper, dispensing pain and… relief? But as his appearances become more and more frequent, Shonen Bat’s attacks also become more vicious and sinister. What is he? Is he real or not? Can he be stopped? And who will be his next victim?

This is also a pretty mature show- there’s sex, nudity, violence and other stuff that marks this as off-limits for kiddies (as are most of director Kon’s shows). But these elements are never gratuitous, and the heaviest stuff concerns things that relate to society (particularly Japanese society), such as topics of bullying, the blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality, the need to belong and simply the terrible stress of modern life.
Not what you’d think someone like me would like, but before I knew it, I was hooked into this offbeat show. And I think a lot of you out there will be too, if you give Paranoid Agent a try. A little madness never hurt anyone. Well, a hit to the head with a bat would, but it’s only an anime. Right? RIGHT?

Just remember to always watch your back. And when you hear rollerblades, don’t forget to DUCK. Heh.

Dark Day

Stayed home today because of Typhoon Yoyong. The office sent everyone off after lunch anyway, so it was a good decision. The skies were dark and gloomy the whole day, but only now is the rain and wind gaining strength as the storm finally reaches us. Nothing to do but hunker down, stay dry and weather it out. Let’s hope tomorrow’s a brighter day, in every sense of the word.

Dark Cravings


Temptation and chocolate are one and the same.

I missed out on the gang's Max Brenner night out last week, and as if by some strange coincidence I encounter the gourmet chocolate name again right at my building. There's a much-publicized tiangge (flea market) being held today, the event sponsored by HDTV. Me and my officemates trooped up to see what all the fuss was all about at the 40th floor of the nearby adjoining tower. I turns out that the 'tiangge' is a showcase of various brands supported or advertised by HDTV, and as such the prices of all the items are nowhere near a real tiangge's level. There were high-class brands like PRADA and TEFAL on display, with most items going for at least several hundred pesos apiece. A tiangge? This was more a fair rather than anything else. Anyway, the otherwise empty 40th floor had been converted into a makeshift mall and shoppers were eating it up.
Fighting back the temptation to look through a table of VCDs, I found myself in front of the Max Brenner's chocolate stand. There were gourmet chocolates with various mixes of spices, pecans and nuts aplenty, along with piles of colored boxes and tins. I had a small sample, left, then returned for a second look. The cheapest thing they had cost almost two hundred pesos, so the miser in me bristled. Eventually though, when one of my friends bought a bar, I relented and got myself a box of the dark pleasures. THREE HUNDRED PESOS FOR CHOCOLATE! DAMMMN!!!

Anyway, as another friend of mine always says, 'Live a little.' Let's have a taste of something different and new for a change. One of these days I'll make it a point to eat lunch or something at the Max Brenner's resto, and finally lay my craving to rest.

Last Hurrah

Within this month, the final charge of the Lord of the Rings films by Peter Jackson and company will be sounded, with the release of the Extended DVD Set of The Return of the King. As mentioned before, this 3rd volume of easily one of the best DVD packages of all time will contain an additional 50 minutes of new scenes and footage, plus more than 20 hours of material on ROTK, which is more than enough for any fan or film enthusiast. That's a whole DAY of stuff to watch! Anyone who's seen the previous two sets can attest that the featurettes, making-of's and audio commentaries are well worth the price of admission.
I can't wait to get my hands on this final set. Anyone who's interested should try and ask if your favorite video shop accepts orders or reservations (most do). Once I get mine, can you say, 'LOTR Marathon'? Heh.

In the meantime, you can check out the new 6-minute trailer to the ROTK Extended DVD Set, by clicking here.

Sluggish

That's how I felt the whole of yesterday.

The rains of Typhoon Winnie (EH?) pattered outside non-stop, and it was hypnotic. The air was cool enough that I kept The Sanctum's climate control off. Just wanted to curl up on the bed in the cool mattress and sheets and pillows and just sleep. Sleep the whole day. And listen to the rain with the lights off.

Well, I did pretty much that. Yeah, storms are pretty crappy... unless you're safe and snug at home that is. Heh.

Snake in the Grass

Yesterday, I did something that I haven't done in months. Perhaps even in a year or two. I stayed at home and played a videogame the whole day. Back in the days of the PS1 and the halcyon days of gaming, these marathons were rife in the Sanctum. In recent years though, with mediocre games aplenty (despite often having great graphics) and the hectic pace of life muscling in, it's been hard to devote any large amount of time to any game.

That is, unless the game is something really special. Something like a new Final Fantasy. A new Dead or Alive, Tekken or Virtua Fighter game. Or, a Metal Gear Solid game.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater once again puts intrepid gamers into the sneaking suit of Snake, a one-man army and stealth commando working for the U.S.A. Unlike previous MGS games though, the hero of the third game lives in the 1960s, during the height of the Cold War. A group of power-hungry Russian soldiers, allied with some key defectors, is plotting to change the balance of power in the Soviet Union, using a powerful new weapon known as The Shagohod. Snake is sent in to extract the scientist in charge of the project and stop the villains' plot for world domination.
However, since this IS a Metal Gear game, you just know that nothing will go as planned. Snake has to deal with double crosses, double-dealings, a twisting plot and LOTS of historical references (and oddly enough, lots of old movie references too). He'll also face squads and squads of heavily-armed guards, booby traps and yet another crew of oddball bosses to deal with before all the drama is over.

I started playing just after lunch, and got right into the sneaking. MGS3 controls pretty much like the previous games, though it seems to be a lot easier now. There's still a bit of irritating lag time between switching from a crouched position back to standing, but perhaps that's just me. Otherwise, controlling Snake is pretty precised and slick.

Whereas the first two MGS games were set primarily in industrial, indoor areas, the majority of Snake Eater's story and gameplay takes place outdoors, in jungles, forests and swamps. As you have been dropped behind enemy lines, the game takes great pains to dramatize the need to 'survive' in a hostile environment. This includes the need to forage and hunt for food- which is basically anything organic that has the misfortune of walking or crawling in a hungry commando's way (this does not, thankfully, include the enemy guards). Stick an animal or edible-looking plant with your knife, and it's turn into a nice canned ration for you to eat. And you WILL eat, since MGS3 now has a 'Stamina' meter along with your usual Life gauge. The life meter needs to be kept up and high or your performance will be impeded, and healing with not come as quick. You'll eat everything from bugs to rabbits to mushrooms- in fact, after a while you'll be carrying a whole ZOO in your backpack to munch on.
Aside from the more detailed eating mechanic, healing has also been given a more detailed treatment. Often when you're injured, the injuries need to be 'treated' in the Cure menu- you have to use supplies like Sutures, Bandages, Disinfectants and other medicine to treat your wounds. It's a nice mechanic at first, but in the end it kinda slows the action down (since you can do it anytime). I guess in the 60s they didn't have Instant-Heal Rations yet. While it dramatizes the gritty need to survive well, in the end it's pretty tedious and I hope they streamline it better next time.

Otherwise, the game moves with gamer-friendly pacing. This also seems to be one of the more forgiving MGS games- though there is a constant need to be stealthy and invisible, you CAN actually fight your way out of most encounters if you're too clumsy (like me). Snake seems to have an incredible capacity to withstand torrents of bullets, and ammo and weaponry is in abundant supply. Guards usually aren't inexhaustible, so there's really nothing stopping you from mowing down the hapless sentinels in your way.
The Boss fights are still the high points of MGS3's gameplay. Snake Eater's band of misfit bosses are members of the Cobra Unit, each of whom seems to be named after the emotion they sow in combat; The Pain, The Fear, The End, The Fury... these guys are pretty weird even for MGS standards, but they're actually pretty fun to fight. The most unusual just HAS to be The End- a hundred-year old sniper (who looks like Santa Claus in combat gear) who engages you in a lethal game of tag in a forest stage.

LIke the past games, MGS3 also presents a long, involved storyline... as I've always said, producer Hideo Kojima has aspirations for cinema, and his latest game reflects this once again. Complete with a James Bond-like theme song, love interests, and long, long cut scenes presenting the convoluted story, MGS3 is pretty much an interactive movie you watch as much as play. While this may turn off some gamers, it suits me just fine... though some of the exposition parts are just too hokey (Yeah, let's talk about old movies while I'm in the middle of a firefight with some KGB troops!). In fact, the game doesn't really take itself too seriously, even ribbing itself with some references to elements of ill-repute from the previous chapter.

Before I knew it, the clock was at 4 AM... THE HELL??! I had been playing over 13 hours. And I haven't finished yet. This game definitely warrants a second playing, to enjoy it more thoroughly and discover stuff I missed on the way. I have to say that the old magic is still here, and the franchise is still alive and well. MGS fans will eat this up like... well, a nice snake steak, bloody raw and yummy tasty. And we'll probably be hungry for more.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is available now for the PS2. Go get it!

Long Break

By virtue of Monday being a public holiday, the coming weekend is going to be a bit longer and a bit more restful. Got a game or two I have lined up to play, a bunch of anime and movies to convert to mobile format and hours of sleep to catch up to. Of course, there are some odd chores to catch up on, like pages of art and stuff that will earn me a pretty penny. Hopefully I'll be able to make the most of the break, so I'll free up the rest of my time for the inevitably hectic task of holiday shopping. Ah, just one more day to bliss...

Me Got Game

Three new games for The Sanctum's pleasure. These include the latest tactical-stealth action title, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the swashbuckling run-and-jump adventure sequel Prince of Persia 2: The Warrior Within and the blatant titillation all-female wrestling game, Rumble Roses.

I've played and finished both previous MGS titles, so I'm fully intending on playing and finishing MGS3 as a matter of course. The reviews have been good, and I am dying to get back into Snake's boots again. The story and the new characters look great- there's a whole new crop of freaky villains to take on, which once again reinforces my view of Metal Gear as the Ninja Scroll of military action games. That's something to get into over the long weekend.
I'm not really a big fan of run-and-jump titles- my coordination and attention span is pretty limited- but the cool visuals and storyline of POP:TWW is intriguing. The new Prince of Persia takes up the story a few years after the end of the first game, with the embattled Prince still being pursued by death, this time in the form of a mysterious island swarming with deadly foes. His only hope- to slay the mysterious Empress of Time. Ooh. With Ninja Gaiden-esque play, maybe I can get through this game and see the saucy stuff. Like actress Monica Bellucci's sexy onscreen NPC, Khardreena. Yum.

Finally, Rumble Roses. Let me say that as a DOA fan, I appreciate fan service and beautiful girls doing martial arts onscreen. That said, RR basically stuffs your face into the proverbial crotch. This game is pretty much interested in one thing- and that's to make gamers play with their joysticks. Not that there's anything I dislike about that... this really takes guilty pleasure to a whole new level.

Well! Lots of stuff to occupy myself. Anyway, there's stuff to do as well, so I'll try to keep some hours productive before I dive into these new distractions. Heh.

Upgrade Complete


Pocket PC Full Plate Mail+3

For the past few days since I got my XDA II, my brother and I have been pretty much regularly meeting late in the night when we're both at home. Since we both have the same device, our favorite thing to do now is to show off the newest thing we've discovered, the latest app or game we've installed, or the latest accessory we've added. I guess I was right to convince my bro to keep his XDA instead of going for the P910i. He'd probably be soooo green with envy and bored with the P9 when he sees me tinkering away on my Pocket PC phone.

The last couple of days saw us installing several games, including a version of the classic Ms. Pac Man, the excellent shooter Sky Force and the incredibly addictive Bejeweled. We also installed the demo version of Age of Empires for the PC, which amazingly seems true to the PC original, except for the size of the screen. I am fully intending to get the full version of this great title. I have to say though that I will keep gaming down to a minimum, since it is such a power hog. With minimal use of games and apps and just texting, the XDA II will easily last the whole day on a full charge. With normal use, you may probably reduce the power to about a third by the end of the day (late night). To remedy this, I got an extra charger for the office, so that should keep me powered up no matter what.

The next upgrade is a 1 Gigabyte SD Card, which pretty much lets me stuff hours of anime, action scenes, game and movie trailers and R-rated clips for anytime, anywhere viewing. My old 256 MMC card is now dedicated to music, and I've stuffed that full of tunes long enough for any road trip.

The last addition to my XDA II's arsenal is... armor! Yep. I decided that the leather case included with the phone was just too bulky, and the beltclip was not securely fastened enough for my liking. So I got a metal case that fits the phone like a... well, a metal glove. The effect now is that my XDA II looks like a liquor flask, which is kinda cool. The fit is perfect- there are orifices for all the buttons and connections, and the whole shell is snug and pretty slick. There's even a cool little slot for holding back-up memory cards in the inside. Excellent! But of course, the most important part of the metal shell is the belt clip, which is much more secure and resistant to removal than the simple clips of most other holsters. I tried it out, liked and it, and took it. Excellent!

And so, my little mobile warrior is prepped up and girded for any battle. All I have to do now is take care of it, and see that I take special care from now on, even weeks from now. That is, of course, assuming that I don't find another super phone in the next few weeks. Heh. Kidding... No, really. Gah.

Battle Angel

James "I'm the King of the World!" Cameron has gone on record that his next film will be an adaptation of the Yukito Kishiro manga/anime Battle Angel Alita. In order to fully capture the image of a lethally-cute cyborg-sprite with octopus lips, Alita aka Gally the Battle Angel will be a fully-CG character. Will the whole film be in CG, ala the Pixar films, or will it be like Who Framed Roger Rabbit with real settings?

Anyway, this should be pretty cool to wait for. The film is supposedly in pre-production already. Still a ways off, this one is. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait.

19 years of bloodshed

Yesterday, Comic Quest, my favorite blood bank, turned 19.

I remember my first experiences with CQ, as a student in my white polo and khakis. I'd go over to the branch in Greenhills to ogle at the colorful rows of comics, graphic novels, toys and other goodies I could only dream of holding and affording. I remember asking the shopkeeper to let me look at the books... and I'd remember them covered totally in plastic, with the man hovering over me, knowing that I could not afford them and just itching to snatch them back from my hands.

Yep, my experiences early on with CQ weren't the best. But thanks to the fact that Vin is nowhere near as hostile as his short-sighted old man was then (Don't displease your young customers, merchants- they grow up to become your valued clients) I buy pretty much ALL my comics at Comic Quest. Doesn't hurt that it's cool to browse and see the stuff you're spending your hard-earned blood on.
Anyway, CQ's my second home, the oasis amidst the chaos that is Megamall, tambayan for the gang and domain of the Time Twister himself, Vin. May it see more comics, fantasies, toys, fun, friendship and bloodletting for decades more to come.

Test Run

Okay!

I woke up LATE and had to rush. I clicked on my XDA II to the belt clip, packed my bag and was off.

Rode the MRT, arrived at Cubao. As I entered Farmer's Plaza, there was a hubbub as a female shoplifter was apparently caught and surrounded by a crowd of angry shopkeepers and cashier girls. A guard came running and collared the sullen bitch, who was defiantly snarling 'My relative is a policeman! A Major!' (In tagalog, of course) even as she was led away (no doubt to be put in stocks).
Rode the second MRT, arrived at Buendia. Rode the FX.

One slight mishap- the belt clip actually LET GO, so I'll be thinking of either putting the XDA in my pocket on commutes, instead of on my belt. Either that or I have to find a more secure belt holster.

Anyway, looked at the power supply. After the night's initial charge, it's half a day and the main power is still at just below 90 percent. We'll see how much it lasts to the end of the day. WOOHOO!!! Looks good and things went smoothly. And even in a hectic commute, I didn't lose my new toy! Yay! Now, back to work.

Um...


Where's my laptop..?

Kidding.

Crash, Crash. Crumble, Crumble.

I got my brand-new O2 XDA II today. My brother eventually decided to keep his XDA since I reasoned that he'd probably feel limited if he got my P910i. So, we went to Greenhills and switched from Sony Ericsson to O2. After an early pizza dinner, we were off home again to charge up my new toy.
It took some time (and one CRASH), but I was able to synch the XDA to my PC and install a couple of apps, including my favorite Smartmovie. I never thought I'd find myself using Microsoft Outlook, but then again, a couple of years ago I never thought I'd find myself using cellphones. Heh.

I was able to text right away, but it still remains to be seen how it performs on a working day. The larger size is also something I have to get used to. I am thinking of getting a metal shell/jacket accessory. Also want to find by hook or by crook a copy of Age of Empires for the PPC. Conquering civilizations in real time on the MRT.... DAAAAAMN!!!! I'm also planning to buy a Gig-size SD or MMC card... perhaps for Christmas. Well, the holidays came early this year... TWICE now.

Well, with no superphone likely to come out before Christmas, I guess this is it. I've run the gamut, from a crappy walkie-talkie Motorola to a portable computer that was at one time the most expensive phone device around (48K, down to these days at about 43K in proper shops). There really is nowhere else to go from here.

Is that a tear in my eye? Oh well.

To Kat: Yep, the O2 XDA II's pretty awesome, but it IS a computer, with computer tendencies and faults (like occasional crashes). But otherwise, it's DAMN cool. It WILL take quite a bit of time for me to get used to this new OS, way of communicating, the various options and the stuff the thing can do.
To Apostle: Thanks for the warning. Anyway, I'm pretty used to charging my phone daily. If the battery lasts me a full day, It's fine with me. We'll see.

Beyond Phone Whoredom


Life beyond my P910i.

When the MADman acquired his P910i, he wept for there were no more phones to conquer.

He was wrong.

To update you all, a week or two ago, my older brother won himself a Nokia 7610 in a raffle (which leads me to believe that our family has finally broken our lifelong curse of raffle-unluckiness). Of course, while most people will probably be overjoyed and be satisfied with the megapixel-fashion phone, my bro wasn't. In fact, a couple of days after he got it he was already thinking of selling it along with his 2-month old K700 and getting a P910i. However, the Sony Ericsson PDA-phone was still to expensive, and in the end he found instead a great alternative in the O2 XDA II, for which he traded in both his phones in a straight swap.
Well, after two days I finally got to look at the XDA II, and I have to say, I'm in LOVE. Or heavily infatuated.

While the P910i is a PDA-Phone, which is basically a phone that has PDA functions, the XDA II is a Phone-PDA... a PDA with phone functions. Which means that it is pretty much a mini-computer you bring around, powered by a hefty 400 MHz processor, 128 MB of ram, Windows programs and compatibility, and the ability to use more mainstrean (non-Memory Stick) memory expansion. In english terms, I can play videos and music with no problems at all, even Windows media and MPEGs (along with my favorite Smartmovie), have tons of apps and games. All this plus I can do Word and Excel documents, surf the web completely (even use my ISP Bonanza cards with it), enjoy WiFi, and Gosh knows what else. Oh, and watch my Smartmovies. TONS and TONS of them since I can load up a Gigabyte-size SD or MMC memory card anytime. WWWWWOOOOOOHHHH!!!!

Which begs the question, why didn't I get the XDA before, instead of spending a bundle on the P910? Well, I wasn't too hot with PDAs before, and it was just too big a risk to take. I also thought it would be too big (it's even bigger than the P910i, but not unmanageable for me). But seeing the XDA now, and feeling it in my hand and seeing what it can do... My gosh. Just the screen- the HUGE screen that dwarfs even my P910's... is mesmerizing...

I have half a mind to march off to Greenhills and get a brand-new XDA II (But I will surely get shortchanged). Or better yet, trade my P910i for my bro's XDA II. It depends on how we go about it. It's not final, but seeing as how gung-ho about these things I am, it's almost a done deal. Maybe. We'll see. Heh.

Marvelous Team Ups


Read the adventures of Crystal for free right now!

Jason Banico of Baylans and Dynatica has put up a cool site with all the recent comic projects he has done alongside various artists. These include Carlo Vergara (Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah), Armand Roy Canlas (Armor Troopers), Honoel Ibardolaza (Homanga, Gomanga), Ner Pedrina (Sanduguan) and Jake Bilbao. Oh, and there's a guy named Marco Dimaano too! Jason works with a lot of people.

The stories are mostly action-fantasy or sci-fi, including Baylans Prologue, Crystal and the Sorority of Light, Bagani, Mystic Machine Maharlika, Tikbalang Nation and The Pact. To ever see these stories, you either have to buy the indie comics at Comic Quest, or wait for the (eternally delayed) Cherry Blossom High. So, take a hint and read them NOW NOW NOW for FREE FREE FREE!

Click here for pages and pages of comics!

Tekken it to the Next Level

The newest King of Iron Fist Tournament game, Tekken 5, is now in arcades in Japan and Asia (though not yet here, I guess). The game shipped out on November 16, and by now fighting gamers starved for a good arcade brawler are probably swarming all over it.
The end bosses of Tekken 5 are Devil Jin and Jinpachi Mishima. Similar to Devil in Tekken 2, the diabolical form of Jin Kazama comes complete with flapping black wings and lazer eyebeams. Jinpachi is actually the father of the late Heihachi, though those familiar with Tekken lore and backstory will already know this. The elder Mishima appears as an even older version of Heihachi, and he transforms into a fiery, demonic incarnation for battle- which kinda looks like a cross between Heihachi and Soul Edge. Monstrously powerful, Jinpachi may or may not be playable, though if he isn't, that would be a first since past end bosses have always been unlockable.

Tekken fan that I am, I'll be keeping my eyes out for this one in the major arcades (those that are left, anyway). The home versions for Tekken 5 are expected in early to mid-2005.

10 Signs that You've Been Reading Too Much George R.R. Martin

1. Your dream pet is a dire wolf.

2. You say 'ser' instead of 'sir'.

3. You find yourself making up cast lists for a Game of Thrones movie.

4. When in restaurants, you often order lamprey pie.

5. You feel very uncomfortable at weddings.

6. You have a soft spot for dwarves.

7. You enjoy laughing at a good jape.

8. You often name your pets after dead relatives.

9. You find villains a lot cooler than heroes.

10. You wish you could shit gold.

Date with a She-Devil


The She-devil strikes in the month of hearts.

FINALLY! The 8-issue Shanna the She-Devil mini-series has been given a February 2005 release date. A comic about a gorgeous leather bikini-clad vixen taking on dinosaurs and evildoers in steamy jungles? What's not to love??? Of course, the best part of this is that it's being drawn by Frank Cho, one of my favorite artists and one guy who just draws sexy babes right. Mr. Cho has already stated in interviews that he's reinventing the character from the ground up, with little of the baggage (Ka-zar, environmental schtick) and more of the sexy good stuff you'd want to see in a jungle girl comic. Sexist? Without a doubt. But DAMN it should look incredible.
Shanna the She-Devil will be part of Marvel's MAX line, so expect it to be rated mature and have a bit of nudity in the pages. We'll all see when the comic comes out early next year.

Storm of Reading

Over the prolonged break, I started AND finished reading A Storm of Swords, the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire trilogy by George R.R. Martin. Let's just say that I was left at a precipice by the second book, and could not help but be drawn into a snowballing session of more midieval fantasy, high-level political power plays, duels and battles to the death, conquest, journeys and more power plays. The third book sees more crowned heads rolling, leaving the many-sided war started in Clash of Kings pretty much over. But death doesn't seem to be that much of an obstacle for some characters, as the power to resurrect the dead has come back to the world courtesy of the power of a new god; Rh'llor, the lord of light.

Secrets have been revealed, yet more questions, particularly about the futures of characters we follow addictively (whether we hate or love them) have arisen. The power of the books so far come from the way this epic is told from multiple viewpoints, from various sides of the battle. This volume showed us that even the so-called villains of the saga- specifically members of the powerful Lannister family- can be seen with a sympathetic eye and even become 'good'. Which is great since the so-called "good guys" have an irritating way of walking into bloody deathtraps with impunity.

Well, that's it then. I had wanted to save SOS for reading this Christmas, but I just couldn't resist. NOW that I've finished, there's nothing more to do except perhaps track down the side-stories or other stuff by George R.R. Martin. The next book, A Feast For Crows, has yet to get a firm release date, so it's all waiting from here on it. Darn! Oh well, I guess I could just read the books AGAIN. What's an addict to do? Heh.

Ninja Anime


Ninja enthusiasts need no other anime series aside from Naruto.

With the Inu Yasha anime over for now, I've been looking for new titles to get into. One of them is Naruto, which can probably be described as the definitive ninja anime. Set in a world where ninja and their skills are commonplace and large towns or even villages populated entirely of ninja exist, Naruto combines cool animation, long and complex battles, interesting characters and the ninja mystique to form one of the most popular anime out there right now.
In the Hidden Leaf Village of ninja, young Uzumaki Naruto is an outcast; many years ago, a powerful and dangerous fox spirit was sealed into the boy's body. Being a prison for a demon has not made life easy at all for the orphan, but despite it all, Naruto grew up as a good-natured and fun-loving youth, if a bit loud-mouthed and brash. His goal is to one day become the Hokage- the greatest ninja in the village. Naruto's closest comrades include Sasuke, a taciturn young genius who immediately becomes his closest rival, and Sakura, a lovely ninja girl whom Naruto has a crush on. Complicating matters is the fact that Sakura has eyes only for Sasuke, and has an opinion that Naruto is a good-for-nothing windbag.
Naruto's animation is pretty good, and places a big emphasis on the characters' use of jutse, or ninja magic. Along with these powerful special techniques, Naruto and company's battles with enemy ninja are fought with shuriken and kunai- more traditional ninja weapons.

So far, I've watched almost twenty episodes of the series, and I have to say that it's a very leisurely-paced series. A story arc- with Naruto and his friends going on their first serious job- lasts more than 13 episodes, with one major battle between the heroes and two enemy ninja lasting over 8 episodes! The episodes, as it turns out, are pretty short at just a little over twenty minutes each, and often the first several minutes are devoted to flashbacks or scenes from the previous chapter.

Despite this, the series is pretty addictive and cool to watch- and with over a hundred episodes already out, that's a LOT of ninja fighting action to check out. Well, I guess I'm hooked, ninja fan that I am. Fans of ninja action and cool comedy and action would do well to check Naruto out.

Back into the War

After reading a cool article in Dragon Magazine, I finally got back into reading the second book of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire saga. Continuing the saga of noble houses, knights, assassins, warriors and warfare in the midieval land of Westeros started in A Game of Thrones, the second book, A Clash of Kings, sees the land divided among no less than five would-be monarchs. But as is the way with war, there are cullings and crowned heads are laid low. Meanwhile, far in the north, the faltering strength of the Night Watch prepares for a deadly battle with the Wildling army of Mance Rayder, and whatever strength the bandit lord is gathering.
As before, following this multi-faceted fantasy/political/midieval epic unfold through the eyes of various individuals has its ups and downs- ups when you follow characters that totally capture your interest (Tyrion, Catelyn, Jon, Daenerys), down when you are forced to look away and focus on other, less likeable or interesting plots (Theon, Bran). Still, the whole reading experience is absorbing and irritatingly addictive- I have to read it in the late hours, and before I know it, it's MORNING and I still want to move to-the-next-chapter... Aaaah...

I really should slow down. The fourth book, A Feast of Crows, isn't out yet, and I have only the third book, A Storm of Swords, after Clash of Kings. I hate the idea of being left at a precipice waiting for the saga's continuation, but that seems to be inevitable. Oh well.

Change

After a pretty exhausting week full of mad scrambling, we can all finally look forward to a long weekend break. It's with a bit of pain that I found out that my favorite shopping place for games, gadgets and videos, Virra Mall in Greenhills, is going to be renovated, or worse, torn down to make way for a new mall. It was inevitable, given that the main Virra Mall building has been there since I was a little kid.

I remember several years ago, Virra Mall on the 3rd Floor was THE hub for electronic gaming and entertainment, with all the major and always updated game shops and arcades present in force. Every week was Christmas with new games. It was cool to just watch gamers have at it with the latest Tekken, Streetfighter or other new brawler released. Heaven.
That all changed with a fire that gutted the nearby Jollibee, and drove all happiness from the floor. It would take a long time for things to become regular again- in many ways, the old world and the glory was lost forever. Nowadays, Virral Mall is still rife with bootleg videos, games and dvds. The pirates are irritating in their intrusive persistence, and the place literally stinks of decay sometimes. Yeah, it's about time for change I guess. At least make the place cleaner, better lit and less shady-looking. Will it also entail the place be more expensive? Part of Virra's appeal was the rock-bottom prices of goods, but perhaps even that is something that we cannot bank on forever.

Tomorrow, I'll try to pass by and see what's left, or what's happening to a place I both love and hate. It's gonna hurt to say goodbye to it, but not too much. Well, nothing a trip to other Black Markets won't fix. Heh.

Snake Eater


Snake’s back in MGS3. Or is he?

The latest Metal Gear game is almost upon us. Once again, players will be injected into the combat boots of super agent Solid Snake as he once again takes on a mission of utmost importance, international espionage, impenetrable conspiracy gobbledygook, eccentric villains and the titular giant mech waiting in the wings.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater takes some different roads from the past MGS games. For one, the game is set mostly in the outdoors, specifically in some pretty thick jungles. In addition to battling balaclava-clad soldiers, Snake has to deal with the local wildlife, deadly booby traps and the challenge of keeping alive and regaining health by hunting and eating some of the local fauna.
But of course, despite having new gameplay mechanics gleaned from some survivalist handbook, MGS3 still has your requisite heavy-handed plot, complete with hours of codec communications, non-interactive cinematics and dramatic dialogue.


The beautiful and mysterious Boss.

There’s a new cast of characters, including new main villain Volgin, a beautiful but cold female soldier known as The Boss (who seems to be Snake’s former mentor), new love interest Eva and the token scientist in peril, Sokolov. Snake Eater’s equivalent to Foxhound is Cobra group, an odd group of misfit characters which include guys with names like The Fear, The End, The Sorrow, The Pain and The Fury. The HELL? Who does these names? Well, lucky for us ol’ Revolver Ocelot makes an appearance, as his younger self. Yep, since MGS3 is set in the 60s, Ocelot is a young, arrogant Soviet soldier who has a particular affinity for pistols. How he eventually starts liking six-shooters and cowboy boots may be explained in this game.

Now, with the game being set in the 60s (with Snake being sent in to stop a planned coup by Volgin and The Boss to upset the balance of power in Russia with nukes and the new/old Metal Gear), we therefore are wondering WHY Snake is there. Is the Snake in Snake Eater the same Solid Snake in the previous MGS games? Or is the main character actually Big Boss, the father of good ol’ Solid, Liquid and Solidus Snake?

I am thinking perhaps Time Travel may have something to do with the whole thing. Or maybe I could be wrong. Well, anything is possible with MGS, that’s for sure. The only way to find out is to play the game when it comes out on PS2 in the next couple of weeks.

Low-budget meal, big-budget dream

I had another fantasy/action movie-quality dream this morning. Perhaps it had something to do with me eating a Fat Dog and a Chicken Teriyaki Crispy Pao from a Mini-Stop in the wee hours of the morning.

Anyway, the dream starts off with a red-headed femme fatale dressed in D&D-style leathers emerging from a cavern with a pre-teen male companion and a donkey. She tells the kid to stay behind and hide himself while she goes off to finish whatever it is she has to finish. I am then treated to a quite lovely panoramic view of a vast forested mountain realm. Pretty cool and grand in a Discovery Channel sort of way. Anyway, it doesn't last and soon the dream cuts to a pretty austere ancient Japanese-style midieval fortress, complete with long lines of soldiers dressed in maroon overcoats and pennants marching here and there.
Our heroine entered the fortress without being challenged by the guards, and inside she met with her contact and discussed their plans, while smoking an odd pipe tabacco. It is here that I learn that the maroon-coats are soldiers of a corrupt regime Red Sonja and friends are attempting to unseat.
Later, there's some action as our heroine starts sneaking through the fortress interior, dodging guards and patrols as she makes her way closer to her goal. Finally though, as she enters a crucial hallway, there's a sudden noise and alarm, and I hear... The Green Hornet theme?!?

Argh. I wake up to the daily alarm of my cellphone, the Green Hornet score from Kill Bill shaking me from sleep, dreams and the kingdom of the maroon tyrant. As much as I tried to get back to sleep, the dream did not come back. Oh well. I'm sure Red Sonja can handle herself without my prying eyes. Maybe if I eat at Mini-Stop again I'll find my way back to that dream. Maybe.

Prelude


Cape Manipulation is one of the Siths' more obscure skills.

All together now... Evil... is... Good!

Well, not really. But you'd be fooled into thinking that with how much everyone seems to be finding the newly-evil Anakin Skywalker so cool in the upcoming Star Wars Episode Three: Rise of the Sith. Now armed with an even more sullen expression and yellow contacts, the former Jedi Padawan and soon to be Dark Lord of the Sith is set to exterminate his goodie-two shoes brethren in 2005. The teaser trailer for the last SW film (or so it has been said) is already online and ready for download in numerous sites.

The short but sweet trailer fittingly enough starts with footage from the original Star Wars: A New Hope, with Obi Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness) telling young moisture farmer Luke Skywalker about his pupil, Darth Vader, and how this dark jedi led the Empire in destroying the Jedi Knights. What follows then is a storm of footage crammed with space battles, lightsabers, wookies and... the Black Suit. Oooh.

Okay, the first two Prequel Star Wars were more hype that anything else, and here we are at the end. It's a given that we'll be all watching the finale, but lowering expectations should be in order to prevent the backlash that inevitably followed after watching Episodes One and Two. Let's see if Mr. Lucas can at least end his flawed saga with a reasonably cool final foray into the Galaxy of Far, Far Away.

Unfinished Business


Urge to kill lazy MADman rising...

With 2004 fast coming to a close, there is one thing I have on my plate to polish off before closing my book on this year.

K.I.A. has been delayed for quite some time, but considering that I started the project just early this year I don't think it's that straying far from the path... especially when you consider that many comic projects have been in development for years and years yet have yet to see the light of day! Well, K.I.A. will see print very soon. There are two remaining hurdles to be overcome- one, to finish the last remaining artworks, and two, to bring together the funds to pay for the book. Both of these stumbling blocks can be handled with some time and careful bartering. In the end, once it's all done, we'll have a 160+ page anthology with some of the top names in local comics... not bad for several months' worth of running around like a headless chicken (as El would say), enlisting artists and writers, chasing up pages and pinups, and saving money like a miser (in between indulging in my Phone Whoredom). Heh.

Anyway, I am looking to concentrate all my efforts on this book by this weekend. Fates willing, we'll have it to the printers late November or early December. Then we'll be working on getting the word out, fixing up a spiffy new webpage for Kai and preparing to unleash our deadly new heroine.

Wait for it. She's coming soon. Promise.

Best. Superhero Movie. Ever.


The Incredibles pose a storm in Pixar's latest blockbuster.

Last night, the gang (Vin, Dean and Gig, Carl, Andrew, Ralph and Yours Truly) trooped to The Podium to watch a special screening of The Incredibles, the latest Pixar animated film. What can I say? All of us agree on one thing- that the Incredibles is simply the Best Superhero Movie we've seen to date. Forget those X-men. Forget Spiderman. Forget Batman. Pixar and director Brad Bird (Iron Giant, The Simpson) shows the big franchises just how it's done.
Telling the story of washed-up superheroes trying to relive former glory after being forced into obscurity, The Incredibles focuses on the adventures of Bob Parr, AKA Mr. Incredible. When he is called back into action by a mysterious woman named Mirage, it launches an action-packed, danger-filled adventure for Bob and his whole family that is nothing short of... INCREDIBLE.
From the character designs to the awesome animations, the locales and settings, the many action sequences, the story and the voice performances, The Incredibles just hits perfectly in all the right places. Not only does this film expertly parody and pay homage to the superhero genre... in several ultra-cool sequences it BLOWS IT OUT OF THE WATER. Director Brad Bird, Pixar and the Incredible cast (Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Samuel Jackson, Elizabeth Peña, Sarah Vowell and Spencer Fox) have done an awesome job here. A modern masterpiece and instant classic in every way.
The Incredibles marks many firsts for Pixar- it's their first film to star all-human (or superhuman) characters, and is their most mature film (with a PG rating) to date. It's long and often leisurely at 2 hours, which may tax younger viewers. The film though does not lack in action, laughs, thrills and spills. This is a superhero fan's wet dream movie, so you can tell we were all ecstatic.

I can't wait to see this film again in theaters. And then to find the DVD. Easily one of my favorite films of all time now, right up there with the LOTR Trilogy and the Indiana Jones films.

Weekend Warriors

Thanks to an upcoming business pitch, we've had to come in to the office on a Saturday. At the very least though, we were able to come in after lunch. I think it's vital to have a bit of rest before a bout of overtime like this, for sanity's sake. Anyway, I wasn't able to log in any DOAU game time last night... too tired. After work, I'll try to meet up with the gang and hopefully we'll be able to watch a special screening of The Incredibles. That should be a nice reward for a day's work.

Indrid Cold

Last night, while I was playing DOA Ultimate on my Xbox, I noticed high up on a wall in the corner of The Sanctum was a moth. It was a big, yellow moth. Not your usual brown, wide-winged mariposa, but it was an insect nonetheless. It sat there, unmoving as moths do, or don't as the case may be. This is a sign that I have been letting the upkeep of my realm a bit awry. I'm really a stickler for clean, believe it or not. And I regularly do try to keep things tidy and organized and neat. However, the past couple of weeks has my VCDs in a jumble, games and doo-hickies all about, and mags piled up where I should be drawing artwork. I think the moth's a sign that I should schedule a clean-up this weekend in between DOA gameplay and KIA pages or something bad's going to happen.
BTW, Indrid Cold is the name of "The Mothman", an urban legend and contemporary mythical monster that appeared in America up to recent years- an eight-foot tall, shadowy winged humanoid with burning red eyes that seemed to enjoy peeking into houses and disturbing couples making out in shadowy fields. The Mothman was the subject of the Richard Gere movie The Mothman Prophecies. The film was pretty cluttered and heavy-handed, giving the obscure myth the power to read minds and cause disasters while on the side tormenting a Washington Post reporter (Gere) with visions of his dead wife. I actually liked the quirky film, urban legends and monster film buff that I am.

Anyway, in the morning the moth was gone. Was it a figment of my DOA-infused imagination, or was it a true portent of the future? We may never know...

Dream Smells

In dreams, sight is often blurred, and sound is more often felt rather than actually heard. Touch and taste are almost non-existent. But smell... DAMN smell seems to strike at you full force.
My dream last night had me going down a walkway which seemed to be a cross between the area outside my high school's auditorium and some street in Cubao. For some reason, dog shit and other charnal material littered the concrete, and I swear I could SMELL it. It almost makes me want to take a shower immediately after I wake up (which I do, anyway). What was the dream about? Can't remember. But the smell stays, strangely enough. Weird.

My cousin the cosplayer


Jeremy and his girl Kathy strike a pose.

Jeremy is not only my cousin and a regular in contributing art to my comics; he's also a crazy cosplayer! Well, having someone who likes dressing up as cartoon characters may be something a lot of people wouldn't want to trumpet around... but in this case, it's pretty cool. Recently, Jeremy and his friends went off to an event dressed us as members of the Crazy 88 from Kill Bill Volume 1. Since Jeremy's Asian, he pulls it off- though he kinda looks like the kid who gets spanked by The Bride at the end of the battle. Meanwhile, his girl Kathy isn't Go Go Yubari with an eyepatch- she's dressed up as Ryomou Shimei, the cold and deadly schoolgirl grappler from the anime Ikki Tousen (aka Battle Vixens) who's a cross between Sakura from Streetfighter and Royce Gracie from the UFC. And she really looks the part, too!

Just keep having fun, Jeremy! And keep the great art coming.

Got it.


Finally.

WOOHOO!!!
At long last, I finally have my copy of DOA Ultimate. The 2-disc set comes in a neat paper sleeve that doesn't feel all too durable, but it looks nice. Each disc (DOA1 and DOA2 Ultimate) comes in its own DVD case, and has nice funky artwork all about. Included in the set are a couple of trading cards with ninja girls Ayane and Kasumi on them. Coolness.
I've been waiting for this game forever. Korea and US got the game last week, and now I have it, several days later. The game shop pulled through and I got my grubby hands on the game just after lunch. Right now it's taking all my professional expertise to keep me from running home and playing till my eyes bleed. I'll try to have a review up soon, maybe after I unlock a couple of dozen costumes. Heh.

Gaming Bits and Bytes

Resident Evil 4 is coming to PS2! Though announced some time ago that their flagship survival-horror title would be exclusive to Nintendo, Capcom has announced the PS2 version of the latest RE game. Perhaps it's in no small part to the fact that the partnership between Capcom and the Big 'N' hasn't been stellar in terms of profits, and has been rife with cancelled titles. I haven't played a good RE title in years since Code Veronica... can't wait for the RE4. The latest title, which is still unreleased, stars RE2 hero and former cop-turned-special agent Leon Kennedy as he goes on a mission to find a mysterious girl in a creepy, hostile village. He soon finds himself neck-deep in ruthless, murderous villagers, giant monsters, dark cultists and more blood and gore than you can shake a pitchfork at. Looks yummy! The PS2 version of RE4 is set for a late 2005 release.

Nobuo Uematsu, the musical maestro behind the tunes of Final Fantasy, has left Square of Japan, joining a new musical enterprise called Smile, Please. The new company creates music for various videogame companies.

The first Final Fantasy title for the PSP has been announced! It's titled Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, and it's an action RPG and the 4th entry in the 'Compilation of FFVII' series. Wow, Square is going all-out in their retro-revolution with FFVII. Just goes to show how sucky all the succeeding FFs (with the exception perhaps of FFX) were compared to FFVII. It's not yet known what the game mechanics are, or which FFVII characters will be starring in Crisis Core. Previously announced games/titles in the Compilation of FFVII series are the PS2 game FFVII: Dirge of Cerebus, the cellphone network game FFVII Before Crisis and of course, the CG movie FFVII: Advent Children.

It's November, so expect Tekken 5 soon in arcades. Actually, it's not sure whether the latest King of Iron Fist tournament will reach our shores' gaming pubs, but one can always hope, right?

Next Attraction

Next week, I'm going to march into a theater and watch The Incredibles from Pixar. I've been wanting to see this ever since the first brilliant teaser trailer, and it's almost here. Reviews have been raving, and I am pumped. This is the first Pixar flick to actually star real humans (it's always been animals before), and the superhero angle is just SOOOOOO me. I'm hoping to watch this with the gang, perhaps on a Friday. Hey everyone! Lock out your weekend, okay? Heh.

Lost Soul

Today is November 2, All Souls' Day here in Manila. Whereas in previous years, All Souls was once as much a holiday as All Saints' Day (November 1), this year it's just another working day. Still, many of our countrymen will still be visiting their departed loved ones on this day; something shown by the greatly reduced traffic in the metropolis. For many, this year's Todos Los Santos holiday was a bit short, but for the daily wage earner it's just another day to earn more money.
Me? Of course I'd say I'm outraged that we have cut the time in which we can visit our dead in half. But then again, I'm just pissed that we lost one day off. GAH. Oh well. There's November 15 for another vacation (in observance of Ramadan) so that's something. Well, back to work...

Biggie Size Me

I just watched the documentary film Super Size Me by indie filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. I've been meaning to watch this feature about the effects of a month-long McDonald's diet, and tonight I finally got the chance. It was an interesting watch, though I have to say that watching it actually made me HUNGRY for a Big Mac. Darn. Well, the film raised a lot of points, basically that fast food is bad and all that jazz. It was pretty heady stuff, and I have to say that I want to try some ways to shear off the pounds- perhaps by replacing regular Coke with Diet Coke, and giving up the weekend sodas. Well, the battle against the bulge is a never-ending quest... will this film be the turning point of my life? Probably not. But it was a good watch. Man, I could use a burger right now...

Nail Biter


Buffy is no match for Japanese ghosts.

I spent my Halloween night fittingly watching a scary movie to end the day. The movie is The Grudge, the U.S. remake of the original Ju On by Takashi Shimizu. Unlike The Ring, which was also remade from a Japanese film but megged by a Hollywood director (Gore Verbinski), The Grudge retains the original director for it's translation. Another difference is, while The Ring was literally transplanted and translated into an American setting and storyline, The Grudge is basically the same story with American characters replacing the leads from the original story.

So, in addition to the main premise of a terrible, death-dealing curse and malignant spirits, the remake also gives a sense of the fear, alienation and insecurity of foreigners trying to live in xenophobic, non-english Japan.
For the most part, it works, I think. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who plays the lead female character Kare Davis, is fairly good in her part, though I half-expected her to tear into the ghosts with martial arts moves several times. The rest of the cast of American and Japanese actors carry out their roles adequately.

Except for some changes to the script (which serve to make the plot tighter), a bit of exposition towards the end and the ending itself, The Grudge is pretty faithful to the original, if only for the reason that the actors who play the roles of the Saeki family (Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji, Takashi Matsuyama) are THE same performers from the original Ju On films (and still as freaky as before)! Despite my knowing what happens, I still found myself biting my fingers, gritting my teeth or holding my breath. The music, the situations, the growing feeling of dread and anticipation... it's all here. In my book, that means a good translation. And a good way to celebrate Halloween.

Watch The Grudge in theaters when you can. If you dare.

Eeeeee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e--e-e-e-e-e--e-e-ee----eeee

Malloween

I left the house just past lunch yesterday on a quest for a copy of DOA Ultimate, and whatever else I can scrounge for the Todos Los Santos holiday. It was a bit of a trick to catch a cab when the traffic going into Marikina and the nearby Loyola Cemetary is non-stop, but I did it. From there on though, it was clear sailing since the roads were pretty much clear of traffic thanks to the absence of a good portion of the population.
Greenhills, the 'dibidi' black market seems stinkier than ever, and the pirates noisier and just as intrusive as ever. I looked and searched and asked but to no avail... DOA Ultimate isn't here yet. Excuse me for a moment while I shed a tear.

Okay. I head off to Megamall after my fruitless Greenhills foray, but with a brief stop at The Podium. I found the classy mall filled with young trick-or-treaters. Apparently, the major malls have made Halloween a bonafide kiddie event for the year. This is the first time I have seen the foreign pagan festival celebrated with such hubbub. I spent some time eyeing the costumes even as I went to the Podium's video store, still looking for DOAU. After I saw a grown man in a Zorro outfit though, I resolved to head off.
Megamall is much larger than Podium, and so had exponentially far more trick-or-treaters tramping about, asking for candy and giveaways from the many stores. Vin was there at Comic Quest, doubtlessly finding some pleasure in seeing the funny costumes. After my search for DOAU at the Cyber Zone proved in vain, I decided not to let the day be a complete waste by watching The Grudge (US remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar). Afterwards, Vin and I had dinner at Rai Rai Ken (The BEST katsu-curry rice meal) and then it was off to home.

Diabolical Pokemon


Sights like this abound in Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.

Last night I started playing the unusual PS2 RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. I say unusual because Nocturne is just the latest in a series known for using religious lore and imagery as well as some disturbing themes of the apocalypse in its stories. Well, using angels and seeing the one god as the ultimate enemy is something the Japanese often do (as we saw in Shaider where the enemy often uses crosses and crucifixes as symbols). They're not satanists... they're just Japanese. Hmm.
Anyway, the story in Nocturne concerns the adventures of a student (whom you name) who is called to a mysterious hospital by his beautiful teacher. Once there, he witnesses some fairly unsettling things, including the End of the World as we know it. Yep, in the first ten minutes of the game, the world ends. What happens after though, is what Nocturne is all about. Soon after mankind goes bye-bye, you are injected with an insect by a mysterious child (shades of Matrix) and turned into a demon. Now equipped to survive in the new world, you go forth and seek your destiny.
Now, to aid you in your quest you will have to bring together a party. This isn't Final Fantasy, so you won't find martial artists in mini-skirts hanging around in bars waiting to join you. Nope, instead you can get semi-naked goddesses, floating spirits, wild goblins and pretty much any of the hundreds of mythological denizens of the new world to fight for you by good negotiation, talking and a bit of bribing. As you gather your minions, they level up with you and you can even create new demons by fusing two together. As I said, kinda like Pokemon since you are pretty much encouraged to 'catch them all!'.

Combat is turn-based, and there's a lot of running around in various stages, fighting random encounters and trying to make heads or tails of your new world. The story seems fairly complex and long, and I haven't gotten into a fourth of it, so it looks like I'm in for a long saga. Which is fine, since the game's pretty cool. In a demonic sort of way.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is out now for the PS2. Recommended for mature players.

Ultimate Longing

GAH. Dead or Alive Ultimate for the Xbox is out but I have to WAIT. I frickin' hate waiting.

Well, I actually tried to order it online, but eventually I decided to cancel the order due to some difficulty with completing the payment. BAH. Another reason why I cancelled is there may be a chance that a copy will arrive in the next week or so. I've already reserved a copy, so that would be a waste if I didn't avail of it. Plus, bootleg copies of DOAU may arrive as early as this week or the next weekend.
So, while I'm waiting for my game to arrive, all I can do is content myself with visiting forums and message boards- despite the totally INFURIATING way a lot of posters can be so BRAIN DEAD.

A restored and enhanced version of the original Dead or Alive. Gorgeous new graphics and improved animation, 21 awesome new interactive stages, almost 200 costumes to unlock, moves and tricks aplenty... all this and 60 frames per second bikini fights. Yes, I can wait. For a little while longer.

Escape

I arrived at Megamall to the horrible sight of hordes and hordes of jologs gathering for the Octoberfest. The numbers of rowdy, loud, surly, ill-mannered, irritating black T-shirt wearing chupankers made the walk to Comic Quest a harrowing affair, what with razor-sharp goatees and glaring satanic symbols gleaming at you every which way. Today is pay day, a Friday, a Sale at Megamall and the Octoberfest concert night... NOT A GOOD MIX.
So, after dinner with Vin, Charles and Pointyman (Jason managed to catch up right near the end), I hied off onto the MRT and home.

The long weekend looms before me. It's a time to rest. It's also a time to work on K.I.A. And to try and see if copies of DOAU have made it to the pirate game stocks. Don't get me wrong- I am going to get an original copy, but the sooner I get and play it, the better. Heh. Anyway, I'm glad to be home relatively early so I can get some rest for a headstart into the weekend.

Invasion of the Mini-Monsters

This afternoon a mob of tiny ghouls and goblins ravaged the office, in a storm of ruffles, masks, spandex and plastic. Yep, the Halloween celebration finally arrived and we all readied our collected treats, toys and candies to give away. The kids came in their funny costumes ranging from a bloodied little guy to a cute bumblebee fairy. Along with the many bags of candy and fun stuff from each department, there was a cotton-candy machine and a cart of dirty ice cream waiting to take the kids' orders.
It was loud and fun and loud. Hopefully once the kids go home we can finally take down all the Shelob-goo webbing that's covering the place. Whew. Happy Halloween, everyone.

Retro Refreshed

The last time I saw the RPG The Bard's Tale was on my old, old, old PC when I was a kid. It was a turn-based RPG, where you form a party of adventurers to explore the monster-filled streets of the city of Skara Brae. It was pretty cool since it had nice (for the time) animated images for the monsters and characters you encountered, and the fighting was cool since you could really kick ass with some of the more powerful spells (Mangar's Mind Blade ROCKS for killing armies of nomads). The Bard was simply one of the many character classes you could choose to form your party- their songs aided your fight by upping your stats, healing you or whatever. Well, the Bard gets to be the hero in the recently-released update/successor game to the Bard's Tale name... or actually, he gets to be the anti-hero.

The new Xbox Action RPG, The Bard's Tale, is about as different from its old PC namesake as night and day. This one-player romp puts players in the boots of The Bard, a smarmy, snarky rascal who happens to be a pretty powerful adventurer with his creature-summoning songs. He's not a white knight or a crusader- the Bard is out to make a buck and get himself some coin and cleavage... if he saves the world along the way, it's a bonus.
Similar to games like Bioware's Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic, The Bard's Tale allows the player to choose branching paths through the game in his interactions with other characters. Depending on whether he elects to be decent or abrasive, the results vary... but are almost uniformly funny.

Reviews have so far commented on the refreshing nature of the game's story, which takes playful jabs at the conventions and cliches of RPGs and fantasy adventures. Also of note is the voice acting, which stars actor Cary Elwes as The Bard, and Tony Jay as the Narrator (who often verbally spars with the Bard along the way). I'm looking forward to this game... yep, DOAU has the cleavage quota down pat, but a cool RPG with a smarmy lead can't hurt. Heh.

My next pho- er, gadget.



Sony has officially announced PlayStation Portable launch information. The PSP will launch in Japan on December 12, for 19,800 yen (US$185). The PSP package includes the PSP system, AC Adapter and Battery Pack. The battery life has also been confirmed, the PSP uses rechargeable Li-Ion battery which can be used for 4-6 hours for playing games, and 4-5 hours for watching videos. 21 titles will be released throughout December 2004.

Trick or Treat


A real Jack o' Lantern graces our department on All Hallow's Eve.

Halloween only became a popular occasion here in the Philippines thanks to advertising and marketing. And of course, in no small part to the Filipino's love for the supernatural and the spooky. Every year, come late October and early November, pretty much every local TV show has their Halloween special. Talk and magazine shows take up topics about ghosts and ghouls (my favorite being the Magandang Gabi, Bayan show that features creepy indigenous Pinoy spooky stories like aswang and coffins that lurk around at night.
Subdivisions and villages have recently begun holding 'Trick or Treating' events, letting kids dress up in their costumes and go around collecting candy and other goodies from welcoming houses. It's also happening in offices, with our particular office inviting kids to come and show off their latest duds and spooky threads.
That's the reason why the office is pretty choked with faux cobwebs, pumpkin balloons and creepy posters. Ironically enough, the Creative Department is the most conservative in terms of decor... but we DO have a real Jack o' Lantern in the place (made from a real pumpkin and used in a print ad). And we're making it a point to get out and buy some treats so the kids will have fun in this ghoulish occassion.


We gave our janitors the month off in preparation for Halloween.

This weekend, I'll hope to kick back and relax, watch a spooky show or two, finish up K.I.A. and dream about DOA Ultimate. Happy Halloween, to one and all, and a solemn All Saints' Day on Monday.

It's OUT.


Some lucky bastard in Korea is playing DOA Ultimate right NOW.

Despite fears of another delay, the latest Dead or Alive seems to be on track. As the pic above shows, Korean gamers already have the game (along with some cool extras) and are by now probably playing to their hearts content on Xbox Live.
On the US front, several top gaming websites such as IGN, Gamespot and Gamespy have posted their DOAU reviews; almost uniformly citing the game's awesome graphics, animation, playability, easy-to-get-into-gameplay and online features. The only flaws so far mentioned are the exclusion of more extra or new characters and the moves and tweaks from DOA3.
The US should be getting their games by tomorrow, or in a few hours... as for us, I am crossing my fingers for late this week, or hopefully mid-next week. We'll see.

Homecoming

Last night, the gang celebrated the return of the Alfars from their three-week US vacation with a late dinner at Country Waffles.
Over good food and bottomless drinks we chatted the night away as Dean recounted their experiences in America, from travel travails to battles with high-class food and a wonderful visit to the Magic Kingdom.
On a sour note, Dean lost his cellphone to theft and now has to find a new one. Which is a great excuse for me to talk about phones again... heheh...

Welcome back, Dean and Gig!

Eve

Dead or Alive Ultimate arrives tomorrow in US stores. From all indications, there will be no more delays, and the game may be shipping as I write this. There have been several delays in the past that involved issues with the game's production, but with the game having gone GOLD already, it's all in the hands of marketing and distribution now. Unfortunately, while US gamers get it tomorrow, I am not sure when I'll get mine. Maybe later this week? Sometime next week? I've already reserved my copy at a store, and they have said that they have ordered the game already. Crossing fingers that I don't have to wait too long for DOA fighting bliss...

Deceived


"Baraka says, PLAY MORTAL KOMBAT, FOOLISH HUMANS!!!"

I just got myself a copy of the latest blood-fest from Midway, Mortal Kombat Deception for the Xbox. It's going to keep me occupied until Dead or Alive Ultimate arrives within the next couple of weeks.

The story of the game continues the events in the last game, Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance. When every other warrior has fallen in battle, Raiden the Thunder God confronts the two fiendish sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung himself. There is a terrific battle (shown quite spectacularly in Deception's opening cinema), but ultimately not even Earth's greatest ally can defeat the two villains. It seems that the Deadly Alliance has triumphed. However, right after they win, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung have a falling out, and start fighting among themselves.
The ruckus is suddenly joined by an ominous third party, with the arrival of the monstrous Dragon King, Onaga. Awakened by the sorcerers' machinations, Onaga has returned to claim his place as the ruler of Outworld. To stop the beast, all three former enemies rise up and join forces to fight Onaga. But it is all in vain as the Dragon King seems invincible. Raiden, in a last ditch effort to stop the monster, sacrifices himself in a massive explosion that destroys the entire fortress where they are all standing. But this final effort too is in vain.
Onaga lives, and now rules Outworld from his dark temple. It is only a matter of time before he extends his influence to the other realms. The scattered fighters of Mortal Kombat, both heroic and villainous, must battle and face Onaga in this latest, and most crucial fight.

Deception's roster of fighters is half-available at startup; you'll have to work at unlocking the majority of combatants through gameplay. The lineup includes a lot of veterans, and several new faces (none of which really stand out). Most of the characters seem to have gotten a bit of a design makeover, with intricate costumes and detailed character models. Like DOA, the many arenas often have multiple levels to which fighters can get thrown into. Unlike Dead or Alive though, there are also Death Traps which can end a round immediately once a fighter is thrown into them and crushed or burned. However, oddly enough, while it ends a round, it does not necessarily end a fight (EH?)- if a fighter gets impaled in the first round, he or she will still fight in the second round. ODD.
Aside from the regular fighting modes, there are three new modes of play- Chess Kombat is an Archon-like board game which mixes a bit of strategy with rounds of MK fighting. Puzzle Kombat is a Tetris clone with SD versions of the fighters, and Konquest Mode puts you in the shoes of Shujinko, a young fighter who will grow up to become a powerful martial artist. It's in Konquest that most of the game's secrets and unlockables are found (unfortunately). As before, secrets are either found or bought or unlocked in the Game's Krypt, mixed in with tons of fluff like production photos, video files, designs and other crap.

But even all the crap and extras can't help a clunky gaming engine. ULTIMATELY, MKD is all about dial-a-combo gameplay which basically favors you using the longest and best combo over and over, grotesque characters and gratuitous blood and gore (which is amazingly still being hyped up after all this time) and new minigames which really are more diversions than anything else. Not as clunky as the previous game- just more of the same with a couple of more waffle to pad things out. Bottom-line, if you liked the earlier Deadly Alliance, you'll probably go ga-ga over this. Otherwise, it's just more of the same.

I'll probably play through MKD to unlock the available fighters, but I'm pretty sure I'll set it aside once Ultimate arrives. For now though, it's playable but really not my bag. Give me Streetfighter, DOA, Tekken or Virtua Fighter anyday.

Mortal Kombat Deception is available for Xbox and PS2. A Gamecube version is scheduled for release early next year.

Game News

In the past couple of weeks, two much-anticipated and high-profile games in the US have been pirated before their release dates, the codes leaked into the Internet. The games include Halo 2 by Bungie for the Xbox and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PS2 by Rockstar Games.
Of course this has created a big hubbub in the US, with both companies announcing that they are going to pursue the thieves to the full extent of the law.
This brings the number of big-name pirated games to four- Halo and GTA join the company of Half Life 2 and Doom 3. This kind of occurence is a big issue in the US and Europe, where the authorities really enforce the intellectual property laws to the hilt. Well, that should teach game companies to hold onto their beta copies and master-ROMs a lot tighter.

I picked up several games recently- Dynasty Warriors: Empires is yet another game based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms tale of warlords and warriors in ancient China. This time however, the fighting extends to a bit of strategy and conquest as you take the role of various generals and seek to take over the whole of China one province at a time. It's still essentially the same game as every DW game, with the same cast of armoured guys and spunky gals duking it out in soldier-filled battlefields. It looks fun and when I get to have some real down time I might try to carve out an empire or two.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a PS2 RPG that's pretty quirky and unusual in storyline and design. Set in World War I, you take the role of a youth who can absorb demonic powers as he is attacked by a beautiful German agent and her allies. Soon though, enemies become allies and the heroes come together to expose an evil plot to take over the world. The unusual character designs (one of the playable characters is a pro-wrestling vampire!), superb translation and quick gameplay makes this almost an equal to the more high-profile Final Fantasy RPGs. I'll try to check this out when I can.

Only 5 days to the release of Dead or Alive Ultimate!!! There's still a chance for me to get the game before the Todos Los Santos holidays.... Crossing fingers... Crossing fingers!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!

"Brain... Braaaaiiiinnn...."

Budjette posted an interesting article about the health and upkeep of our biggest organ... THE BRAIN, gutterboys. Well, here it is...

10 Biggest Brain Damaging Habits
Yikes!

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
Uh-oh... I can probably count on my fingers the times I actually get to have breakfast in a week... And when I do, it's usually at McDonald's or Deli France...

2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
HEY! Damned if you don't, damned if you do...

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
YAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! One point...

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
Waaaahhh...

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
Let's have no illusions. ALL of us in Manila have to cross this out. Hmm. Maybe I should start taking more walks in my Mom's garden.

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
Hmmm. My average sleeping time is 2AM... Gah...

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.
Actually, I sleep with most of the body covered except for the head. Just gotta keep the feet covered, so monsters can't suck me out of the bed.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
YAAAAAAAYYYY!!! Why am I cheering? I get points when I get sick!

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
Continuing to make comics is the best medicine for this.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain
Darn. I tend to be quiet at the end of the day since I'm so tired. Gotta start talking again, I guess.

WELL! According to this checklist, I should by all rights be BRAIN DEAD! YEEEEBAAA!!! I guess I'm actually a zombie, typing away at my terminal as my limbs atrophy and fall away. I guess my cologne is really good that my workmates can't detect the stench of decaying flesh. But soon, when we are many, we will take the living and rule this land... Hahahahaha....

Drained

That's what I did to my P910i's battery today. Instead of plugging in the charger during the afternoon, I let the power supply go on it's own. By about 10 PM, the redlight. This from a charge about 24 hours ago. I'll be leaving the phone on the Docking Station overnight, so we'll see if that affects the longevity of my phone's power supply. I've been told that draining the battery and then leaving it charging for prolonged times will improve the battery life. We'll see if that works. Or is it really just an urban legend?
Anyway, If this doesn't improve, I'm thinking of getting a new battery, perhaps a P900 battery, and try that out.
A day's power is fine- I have no problem with charging the phone nightly. But I'd rather it not be so stingy with energy... I bought the phone to use and enjoy the features, not to constantly worry about losing power because I want to watch a couple of videos or listen to some MP3s during the day.

Still, I have to feel lucky I guess... real PDAs don't last as long as cellphones do, from what I've read. Perhaps I am being too hard on my mobile.... Hmmm... Nah.

W.I.T.C.H Warrior


Who needs frickin' magic when you can kick butt like Orube?

I found a reason to start reading W.I.T.C.H. again. Her name is Orube, the newest member of the five heroines in Disney's magical-girl team comic zine. Replacing the rebellious Taranee, the exotic-looking young lady seems quite out of place among the elemental magic-wielding witches, with her gi-type costume and martial arts. And predictably, she's gonna step on some toes and cause a bit of trouble thanks to her lone wolf attitude. But of course, if there's a Will (pun intended), there's a way for Orube to eventually find her niche in the team. Whether or not Taranee ever returns as a full-duty guardian, I hope they keep Orube around as a member or ally of the Witches. I'm a sucker for martial arts babes, and her design is pretty cool. Finally at least, there's gonna be butt-kicking action in a Disney comic. Excellent.

The Return of the Return of the King


Something to look forward to this December.

This year has the dubious distinction of being the year that ends without a Lord of the Rings film to look forward to. Well, we're going to have to live with that, but take heart! On December 14, the final, final, final feather in director Peter Jackson and crew's collective cap will be added with the release of the Return of the King Extended DVD Set. This 4-disc collection contains TONS and TONS of stuff for the LOTR enthusiast or completist, or for any movie fan in general. Aside from the widescreen version of the ROTK film with 50 minutes of new footage, the set is bursting with over 20 hours of additional content- makings of, features, interviews and galleries aplenty. There will also be the four customary commentaries to enjoy while watching the film, from the Director and Writers (always great), the cast (which will include pretty much everyone including an exchange between Smeagol and Gollum!), the Production and the Special Effects crew of WETA Digital.
The LOTR Extended DVD Sets are truly among the best DVDs ever released in terms of production, content and quality- this final set will complete my collection. If you want to learn more about the dvds and stuff, go on to the official LOTR site, Lord of the Rings.Net. The official trailer to the DVD set is also online, so check it out for some cool peeks into the ROTK goodness coming this Christmas.

Good as Gold


DOA Ultimate is on the way.

WWWWOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Dead or Alive Ultimate has gone GOLD!!! This was revealed today by major gaming websites Gamespot and IGN, from an official announcement from Tecmo, the makers of the sexy fighting game. Whereas in the record industry 'going gold' probably refers to sales, in the videogame world it means that the production and development of the game has been finished, a 'master copy' of the final retail version is done and on the way to the presses to be duplicated into thousands and thousands of copies. Copies that will inevitably make their way into the grubby paws of slavering gamers like ME.
It's about time. The first time a bit of news on DOA Ultimate, formerly Dead or Alive Online, was revealed was more than a year ago. Initially announced as DOA2 with DOA3 graphics with online capability, DOAO changed quite a bit in the many months since the original news announcement following the release of the offshoot DOA game, DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Since then, development team Team Ninja has tantalized fans and gamers with screenshots of surpassing beauty, of huge, new interactive stages, flashy new moves and modes, a new CG movie intro (which ironically has already made the rounds on the Internet) and LOADS of alternate costumes for DOA's virtual femme fatales/fashion models. The wealth of extras dates back to the first home versions of the original DOA, for the Playstation One and the Sega Saturn. Since then, fans have clamored for extras but strangely enough, Team Ninja kept extras and fluff to a minimum in every game since... until now. DOAU marks a return to the more playful, fan-servicey DOAs, and hopefully will carry on into later versions of the game, set to appear on the next generation of gaming consoles.

For now though, DOA Ultimate is poised to make it big with gamers, with every DOA fan at fever's pitch right now in terms of excitement to grab the game. Some sites have reported a release THIS WEEK, while a couple venture an in-store presence of the game next week. The sooner it arrives, the sooner I get it here in Manila, so I'm crossing my fingers. Whatever happens though, I am looking forward to getting the game before or by the end of the month, so I can enjoy it during the Todos Los Santos this November. Crossing fingers... crossing fingers...

Anime Acquired

Over the weekend I got myself a bunch of new anime. Among them, the last 3 episodes of Inu Yasha, the rest of the episodes of Tenjou Tenge, a new disc for Samurai Champloo, and new stuff called School Rumble and Bleach. The lemon of the bunch turned out to be one of the most promising- a VCD copy of the new Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence movie. The copy was pretty horrible; it looked like a film-transfer, which gave me deja vu to the days when VCDs were being hawked on the streets and cheap DVDs were unheard of. I decided to set the copy aside and wait for a clear version that will do the film justice.
Anyway, watched the Inu Yasha finale, and felt a twinge of sadness. It's over. No more adventures with Dog-Boy for the near future. But it was nice to see the last three episodes, which contained events that I had only seen previously in the manga version. Tenjou Tenge has disappointed me as a series- it seems to dwell constantly in flashbacks, and not enough realtime action. I'll reserve final judgement when I watch several more episodes, but it's not as appealing to me as before.

With Inu Yasha done, I'm looking for a new adventure series to chew into- top of the list is the ninja title Naruto, which I already have about 20 episodes ready to watch (more than a hundred are already out though). I guess I have to eventually watch the rest of Scrapped Princess and Last Exile. Well, we'll see if I can squeeze them in as I work on K.I.A. in the next couple of weeks.

Gifting

Over the weekend, one of my pamangkins (niece or nephew for non-Filipino speakers) celebrated her birthday. Of course, I could have ventured to get her a game for her Gameboy SP on Friday, but I instead just contented myself with giving her cash. Cash rocks. No more problems of your gift not being liked, or being too big or too small, or not usable for the receiver. If they buy something and aren't satisfied with it, then it's all THEIR fault! Hehehehe. Too bad this can't do with grownups, though I have to admit I love receiving cash. Hoho...

Fly the Friendly Skies


Can Sky Captain and Polly Perkins save the world from certain DOOM??!

From the mind of filmmaker Kerry Conran comes the retro-futuristic action-adventure Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Conran, a first-time director, won the right to make his dream reality by the virtue of a 6-minute concept video he made himself on an old Mac. Ten years in the making, the film finally hits the big screen.
Set in an alternate-reality world in the 1930s or 40s, Sky Captain takes glamorous retro-fashion and camera angles, glossy sepia-toned visuals, old-style fade-ins and radio waves and mixes it with giant robots, underground empires, dashing fighter pilots, flying airbases, intrepid reporters and good ol' fashioned Doomsday Devices.
The world is under attack from mysterious war machines being sent by an unknown mastermind. On the story of her career is reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), who is contacted by a terrified scientist who mutters with his dying breath the name "Totenkopf". Ooooh.
Anyway, when giant robots attack, the only defense against them is a mercenary force led by the suave Sky Captain, Joe (Jude Law) who flies into battle in a souped-up, loaded-with-more-gadgets-than-James-Bond propeller-driven fighter plane. After the initial skirmishes, Joe and Polly soon find themselves in a desperate quest to stop Totenkopf's scheme to bring about THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.

If it all seems pretty far out and kinda corny, it is... but in a good way. Going into this movie I really felt I was watching an old serial. The visuals are quite a sight to see, and the retro designs are appealing, unusual and quite refreshing to see. On the strength of the visuals and feel alone, this movie is worth seeing.
The story is a bit leisurely in its pace, but is not short in action, and it manages to get Joe and Polly on a trek around the world and into various locales before their adventure reaches a sky-rocketing conclusion. I would have preferred that the script and overall pace of the film be a bit faster, and I would have liked that Sky Captain be more a two-fisted hero. Jude Law is quite likeable as the titular hero, but it would have been nice to have him do more fighting outside of his super-plane. He and Gwyneth Paltrow don't seem to evoke a romantic chemistry between their characters- perhaps this was intentional- but I liked the way that their relationship, and the involvement of a third party (Franky Cook, played by a sexy Angelina Jolie in an eyepatch) was played lightly as comic relief.
Sky Captain's not perfect, but I can honestly say that I was having fun watching the film. I've heard from Carl that the movie didn't do that well in the US... I sincerely hope that it does better in other markets, and on DVD- good enough to warrant another high-flying adventure. Sky Captain and the Invaders from Mars, anyone?

Watch it in theaters now!