Taxi Heaven

A couple of days ago, I saw this feature about taxi cabs in Japan. Apparently, even there in the Land of the Rising Sun, hard times in the economy are causing people to scrimp a bit. To attract people back to using taxis, several operators have decided to offer additional services aside from the standard 'take me from point A to B' service.

One big new service is the use of prepaid cards for use with taxis. The cards can be used with pay phones to call a cab, and then used to pay for the cab itself. No more hassle about exact change! Boy, would that be a big help here.

Another operator specializes in providing taxi drivers who also function as your personal bodyguard. The police-trained cabbies carry large, powerful stun guns (rifle-shaped tasers) and will escort their fares right to their door. This is supposedly very popular among single women who have to go out in late hours.

But the coup de grace is a special 'Nanny Cabbie' who services senior citizens. Not only will the cabbie drive the people to the mall, he'll also recommend the best places to go, show you around to the sights and make sure everything you need is provided for.

All these services are provided at the same usual taxi fare.

DAMN! That's a first-world nation for you. Here in the good ol' RP, we'd find as many cabbies who would put one over on you as there are good, honest taxi drivers. But them's the breaks I guess. Man, I could use one of those big stun guns...

Like Water for Avatar



My Avatar snippet series continues... you gotta love Youtube.

One of the coolest things about Avatar is that as the series goes along, the characters develop and grow stronger. Katara, the series' lead female heroine starts off as your usual sidekick (along with her brother Sokka) to the main hero, Aang. In many other shows, she'd probably stay that way forever- always a cheerleader or sideline support. But not here in Avatar. An aspiring Waterbender at the start of the series, Katara has little power or skill when we first see her. But towards the end of the first Season, she learns more stuff and DARN... becomes a force to be reckoned with in Season 2. The things she can do with water are simply awesome.

The clip above is from the later Season 1 episode, "The Waterbending Master", and has Katara challenging the somewhat chauvanistic Master Paku to a duel when the latter refuses to teach her since she's a girl. More amazing elemental action that is just a taste of the awesomeness that is Avatar.

X-cessive

I don't know if it was the success of Discovery Channel's Mythbusters (which is on it's 3rd season at least) that spawned the X-testers. This new Discovery Channel show has another pair of Special Effects wizards going around and looking for various supernatural phenomenon. Their goal is to look for evidence of UFOs, ghosts and monsters and then try to replicate the supposed proof- in order to show whether it's possible that the supposed supernatural event is a hoax or not.

It's an interesting premise, I have to say. I love the supernatural and these things just keep me glued to the screen. However, I find the two leads in X-testers to be a bit over the top in terms of humor- or attempted humor. Both guys try so hard to be goofy and funny and hilarious with every single line they say, and it just comes off as annoying. Very annoying. One thing is for sure, the X-testers aren't as good or as interesting as the Mythbusters' Jamie and Adam- I don't even remember their names. All I know is one of them seems to have come from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and the other looks like a thinner, dorkier version of James Cameron. I hope that as the show goes on they just tone down the jokes a bit and act more naturally. Or if that's the way they really are, that they tone down and try practicing being less talky. Heh.

Also a bit much are recent episodes of A Haunting, another Discovery Channel show which re-enacts various encounters of the supernatural experienced in small town America. Where the first episodes were low key haunts which were quite creepy, recent episodes have graduated to encounters with demonic apparitions that seem to have stepped through a Gate to Mordor. And every new episode seems to end with an exorcism now. I know there's a need to dramatize stuff, but come on... a lot of the things shown onscreen are just made to scare the viewer... cheap scares that just seem off for a serious supernatural show based on real-life events.

Still, complaints aside I'm still hooked on these shows. There's not enough good stuff to see on the box, so I'll take what I can. Flaws included. Oh well.

Sweet Nothing

Yesterday, me and my college bud Pot went on our usual post-payday gallivanting in Greenhills. Both of us kinda felt under the weather, but we went on the motions as we did in past trips- going around V-mall, heading towards Theater Mall, milling with the crowds at Bridgeway, then going to our pre-ordained circles in Shoppesville. Still, I wasn't as hyped up on this trip since I didn't really have anything in mind to shop for on this particular week.

When we passed by the Promenade, I saw the Bizu gourmet cafe and suddenly was in the mood for some hot chocolate. Bizu's pretty pricey- in fact, it's downright expensive. But I really just needed a cup of choco- and you don't get is much creamier or richer than at Bizu. So, I prodded Pot in and offered to treat him to the place since it was my craving. The funny thing is, I guess we got a bit of confusion... he ordered the exact cake and cup of hot chocolate I did, while I had intended only getting one cake to split between us. In the end, I ended up paying 800 pesos for a couple of tiny cakes and two cups of hot chocolate. OUCH! You'd think I was on a frickin' date to impress some girl rather than just having a lakwatsa with an old college friend.

Well, to be fair the cakes were rich and lovely, and the chocolate was really rich, thick and creamy... and I think it did both of us good since we were both infused with liquid feelgood after that. I'll just have to make sure to avoid such a thing next time to keep my wallet from hurting. In any case, I got several relatively new Xbox magazines (with DVDs) for cheap so that kinda balanced it out. A short drizzle that followed in the early evening cooled down the stuffy air and that was nice.

What a way to start the week. Heh.

Avatar ROCKS



Avatar: The Last Airbender is my favorite animated show right now, and one of the reasons why is shown in the video above. Since local Nickelodeon still only shows re-runs of like, five or six episodes of Season One: Book of Water, many Filipino viewers don't realize how awesome this show is, and just how more cool it gets in Season Two: Book of Earth. So I just wanted to share this cool video of some Season 2 action.
Well into Season Two, we get introduced to a new member of the main cast, Toph, a 12-year old blind girl who also just happens to be one of the strongest Earthbenders on the planet. The scenes above are from her debut episode and shows some amazing elemental action. Toph just ROCKS. Enjoy!

Genesis

The monumental, iconic Neon Genesis Evangelion is a vital part of my anime history. A true classic, this 26-episode series had it all; everything that is good with anime. Awesome action, a complex plot with sinister conspiracies and gripping mystery, likeable and deep characters and quite a bit of fan service. Unfortunately, I can say that I only truly liked this series from the start to the middle; the ending started killing off characters seemingly without sense and the psychosis that gnawed at each cast members' minds seemed to just eat them into destruction; soon, beloved characters were dying left and right, and everything literally being broken down into a wet mess. The endings of both the actual TV series and the resulting 2 'movies' were inconclusive at best, horrid and messy collision crashes at worst. What the fuck was the point of it all? Was Shinji one spineless jerk-off after all?

Well, the series gets another try in the near future. Apparently the NGE franchise will be revived in two ways- one, of course, is via the still-in-development live-action film (of which I have absolutely no idea of the condition of). The other way, which I just found out about, is through FOUR new feature animated movies.

Of the four, the first two will supposedly re-tell the classic original series, re-using the old footage but with slick editing and perhaps new backgrounds to make all the old stuff look new again.
The last two anime movies will supposedly be all-new, and will give a more decisive and FINAL finale to this title.

So, who will still die or live at the end of the next Evangelion? We'll just have to wait and see.

Pinoy Big Brother

"The Animal", Dave Batista was here in Manila for a few days to promote the upcoming WWE Smackdown Survivor Series Tour in Manila. The big but soft-spoken superstar no doubt captured the hearts of Filipinos with his friendly demeanor and his pride in his motherland, shown by his recent tattoo of the Philippine flag, added alongside the Greek flag tattoo on his left shoulder.
It's really a shame for me that Batista's rise to face had to slow down due to injury months ago; he was really on a roll then and could have, in another world, become a truly memorable WWE Heavyweight Champion (currently, the WWE title holder is King Booker). Still, his fame is strong among fans, and hopefully he'll continue to rise once again in the WWE's power ladder.

I don't think I'll be watching the WWE show in Araneta this October- it's a bit late to get tickets and I really don't have anyone to go there with, but I'm sure it will be a cool show and Batista will be embraced fully by the local wrestling fans. Take care, Big Dave! I'll be watching Jack TV on the meantime as always for my WWE fix.

Hiniranga

After my long Avatar gush, I would like to say that the adventures of Aang is a model or a standard by which I wish to place my new comic concept/idea against. It's called Hiniranga (pronounced "Hinirang-gah"), which is basically and literally, a manga comic based on the Comic Quest gang's shared Filipino-themed fantasy world setting of Hinirang.

To reiterate, Hinirang was created a few years ago by the group (the concept was originally hastily put together by myself and Nikki Alfar during one moment of hectic creativity)- a fantasy world based on Spanish-era Philippines, with mythical indigenous creatures and magic mixing with the local conflict of native Filipinos and tribes against foreign occupational forces. There have been many contributions and attempts to bring Hinirang to life- mostly through prose fiction from the group writers, and through a pretty cool but ultimately doomed website. Comics based in Hinirang were often thought out, but rarely ever materialized, except maybe through an Immacolata webcomic. Aside from that though, nothing yet.

That should be remedied by Hiniranga.

What do I see in Hiniranga? It's not really an anthology, though multiple side stories may be installed, if need be. Basically I want to tackle one adventure in particular. Simple enough- a band of heroes must come together for a cause. This cause must transcend their individual pasts and backgrounds. I am seeing a diverse cast of protagonists- a party of adventurers that kick ass. Almost assuredly in the book will be Immacolata, the super-powered heroine created by Dean Alfar. I am not sure though it the "Fury of Hinirang" will be an actual part of the party, or just an ally/occasional comrade. The rest of the roster is as yet undecided, but shadows of images are already in my mind. A disgraced man of faith. A wealthy scion with a secret. A rebel warrior. An elite Ispancialo soldier. A half-breed. A sorceress. They're there, beckoning, but as yet are awaiting to be formed.

Hiniranga will, obviously have manga-style art and storytelling to keep it updated to the times and because that's how I work. What am I thinking of seeing? I am seeing skirmishes between armored Conquistadores backed by warrior-prayles (friars) engaging with acrobatic, ninja-like Kali-Arnis rebel warriors aided by mangkukulam hexers. I want to see Tikbalang cavalry and flying vintas. I want to see magic cannons and pistolas, walking bahay-kubos and Higantes bashing against the Ispancialo's Great Fortresses. I want to see expeditions into haunted caves, lost barangays and mysterious ruins. AWESOME. I want to see Hinirang as its never been seen before.

Is it possible? Who knows. It's still very early but I want to have stuff ready. At the very least, I may have something ready for the Komik Kon. I'll also want to study the work of artists who are more versed into doing local-themed stuff, like Andong Agimat's Arnold Arre, or perhaps Gerry Alanguilan. I'll also see about getting inputs from the rest of the creators of Hinirang. It'll be interesting to see how far this can go.

It begins here.

More Avatar Gushing

It's been almost a month since the last new Avatar: The Last Airbender installment, and I'm pretty much starved for the next episodes. The Fury of Aang left off with a big cliffhanger and white-out, but hopefully the upcoming Secret of the Fire Nation will fill that void in quite nicely. The story picks up soon after Fury with the Aang Gang heading off to the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, that mysterious place that has recently been glimpsed at through videos of the Avatar exhibit/showing during the recent San Diego Comic Con. Similar to the grandness of Imperial China, Ba Sing Se is almost a character in itself after all the times it has been mentioned or referred to by various characters in the series so far. It will be awesome to see it in motion and how the cast interacts within it's high walls.

Also headed for the capital are the series anti-heroes, exiled Prince Zuko and his uncle, General Iroh (who was voiced by the late Mako). On their separate route to Ba Sing Se, they meet up with a returning character- but is this familiar face a new friend, or enemy?
On top of all this, the evil Fire Nation continues it's relentless attack on the Earth Kingdom, led by the ruthless Princess Azula. This time, they're armed with a terrifying new weapon that may change the course of the war. What is it? Well, we'll just have to wait till next week, September 15, to find out everything about The Secret of the Fire Nation.

Some cool stuff that has been so far revealed online about Avatar- because it IS one of the most popular and acclaiimed animation shows these days, the third season has already been confirmed. This third chapter, perhaps the "Book of Fire", will follow Aang's adventures as Aang faces his destiny and his greatest enemy- the Fire Lord Ozai- with the fate of the world at stake.
A very tantalizing tidbit was mentioned on Newsarama recently that there has been talk of further seasons. Supposedly, any further adventures of Aang will continue after the end of the war with the Fire Nation. As a fan it's just awesome for me to imagine what could be done after, what other characters can be seen, what lands can be explored or stories to be told. Will Aang try to revive his race of Airbenders? What will become of his relationship with Katara? Will he and Zuko ever be friends? Avatar is, in my humble opinion, one of the best animated shows I have ever seen... if it can go on indefinitely, I would be overjoyed. This show just deserves to go on. And on. And on.

Avatar: Secret of the Fire Nation, a 2-part one hour special, will premiere next week on September 15. Once again, too bad local Nickelodeon STILL hasn't gone beyond Season 1 re-runs of Avatar. I recommend several ways to get your hands on this awesome title- buy the US Dvds (A full set of Season 1 is coming), look for it in local anime shops or download the show online via bittorrent. Avatar is worth the effort hunting down, people. It's that great.

Darn. September 15 can't come soon enough.

Retro Animation Action


"Demon Dogs!!!"

One of the coolest cartoon shows I enjoyed during my youth was the Ruby-Spears cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian, an action-packed series set in a bleak future. As mentioned in the show's opener, a rogue comet passes between Earth and the Moon, causing worldwide destruction (of course, since this is a US cartoon, death isn't actually shown though obviously BILLIONS surely died). Centuries later, humans exist alongside mutants and other weird creatures in a new, violent and dangerous pre-historic/midieval world built on the bones of our time. Rising to power in this era are men and women calling themselves Wizards, capable of wielding sorcery, super-science (as per the show's literature) or a combination of both. Typically, these Wizards are evil and oppressive, enslaving any humans or innocent sentient beings unlucky enough to fall into their domains.

Emerging from a Wizard's slave pits is the titular Thundarr, a barbarian warrior who for one reason or another pledges himself to ridding the world of Wizards and protecting the remnants of mankind. Accompanied only by two other allies- the Chewbacca-like Ookla the Mok and the knowledgeable and beautiful Princess Ariel, Thundarr is off to fight for the freedom of mankind. It's unavoidable to mention Thundarr's uber-cool weapon of choice- the Sun Sword, a lightsabre-like weapon which allows Thundarr to kick Wizardly butt. The Sun Sword had one of the most awesome sound effects ever, and it's just a pity that there were never any Thundarr toys back then- I would have loved a Sun Sword toy. Darn.

Thundarr himself was your typical barbarian hero- course, rough and fearless and suitably LOUD. Chewie- I mean, Ookla speaks only in his growly language, so most of the articulate lines are said by the culture-savvy Ariel, who seems pretty well-versed in ancient customs and technology (modern-day stuff to us). A lot of the show's scant humor is taken from the ignorance of the main heroes to stuff we take for granted today. But then, Thundarr isn't a gag show- it's all about heroes battling monsters and magical villains in a post-apocalyptic earth.
Every episode saw Thundarr and friends battle a Wizard-of-the-Week. There is, in my recollection, only one actual recurring villain, the Wizard Gemini, who is actually one of the freakiest character designs in the show (and there were a TON of freaky designs for both characters and monsters in this show). For the most part, the animation of Thundarr were of high quality for the time. Comic fans will note that Thundarr's art and character designs bring to mind the art of comics legend Jack Kirby, and is similar in tone, mood and setting as Kirby's Kamandi, Last Boy on Earth. This is because Kirby DID actually work on the series, taking over with production design on Thundarr after the original artist, Alex Toth, left the project. Comic fans will then notice that the Wizard Gemini has a distinct resemblance to Darkseid, one of Kirby's creations.

Sadly, Thundarr lasted only for about a couple of seasons, with the second season being a bit shorter than the first. There was never really any closure. All we can assume is that Thundarr continues on his Wizardfighting days indefinitely... at least, until the time that he became a King by his own Hand. Perhaps someday, this tale will also be told. Hmm...

I'm glad to be able to find episodes online thanks to Bittorrent, so now I am able to rewatch Thundarr's adventures. Truly a cool relic of my youth that I should store and cherish even in these days of anime and CG-epics. Sometimes, it's just good to kick back and watch something from the good ol' days. Now, if only I could find episodes of Super Seven and Mighty Man and Yukk...

The Next Final Fantasy

It seems like an eternity since the last good Final Fantasy game- Final Fantasy X, as I remember (No, the X-2 spinoff doesn't really count). Since then, we've seen Square-Enix embark on their MMORPG-esque Final Fantasy XI, which is pretty worthless to console solo artists like me. The next true FF, Final Fantasy XII, has seemingly been in development forever, seeing almost cataclysmic changes in designers/producers, delays and re-dos with every update. Well, finally at long last the Japanese version was released in Nippon with flying reviews. The english version is coming and I've read some stuff about the latest FF adventure.

Final Fantasy XII is set in the world of Ivalice, a world gamers familiar with all things Square should know; it's the setting for the classic strategy title, Final Fantasy Tactics. However, this similarity is apparently in name only. You probably won't find much reference to the adventures of Ramza and Delita in this magical/sci-fi world, home to fleets of flying airships and more races of humanoid creatures than a Star Wars cantina. The main story basically deals with a war between the country of Dalmasca and the Empire of Arcadia; Dalmasca's princess, Ashe, marries the prince of a neighboring country in order to forge an alliance. However, when the Empire attacks, the smaller nations' forces are quashed and the princess forced to go into hiding. Eventually, Princess Ashe will meet up with a disparate group of individuals including Vaan, a wannabee Sky Pirate, a disgraced general and more to try and fight for the freedom of their occupied land.

The character designs have that FF-bent... lots of incongruous ruffles and doo-dads all over. However, I have to say that the characters, mainly the human characters, have a blandness which brings to mind... an MMORPG. Gone are the radical designs from previous FF's, replaced by seemingly more generic faces. Perhaps once I actually play the game and get to know these new kids on the block, my impression will prove unfounded. Maybe.
FFXII also features a radically new way of combat, with real-time and strategic elements being melded. No longer will there be random encounters as you will see enemies far-off. There will be new ways to do things like levelling up skills and using summons. Wild stuff for a title that has always been strong with its traditional traits.

Final Fantasy XII seems to be a ways off- it's expected in October. Despite my initial misgivings with character designs, I'm actually quite intrigued wtih the latest FF. Some mags have actually called it the best Final Fantasy yet. We'll see for ourselves when we actually get the game later this year.

Thus Endeth the Hunt



It's a sad day when you find out that an icon is no more, and today qualifies as that kind of day. Steve Irwin, AKA "The Crocodile Hunter", died while diving off the north coast of Australia. The dive was with normally-docile stingrays, but in this instance Irwin was stabbed by a barb through the heart, and he died before paramedics could bring him to the hospital. It's a shocking bit of news to read. Mr. Irwin has always been crazy and a risk-taker on his animal forays, but we've all thought that somehow, someway he'd always come through anything safely, and with a smile. I've been endlessly entertained by his over-the-top enthusiasm to give us humans more understanding for nature's creatures. He will indeed be missed.

Rest in peace, Crocodile Hunter. May impressions of your distinct speech and enthusiasm keep your memory alive for years and years to come.

DOA: Dead or Alive International Trailer



Here's the official trailer for the Dead or Alive movie. The first teaser trailer wasn't well-received by viewers, especially fans of the game. The second however, seems to be doing a good job in making people look at this film a second time and considering that it may not be the crapola everyone is assuming it to be.

Honestly now... it has hot babes, hot martial arts action, hot babes in hot bikinis doing hot martial arts action... HOW CAN IT NOT BE GOOD? Seriously though, the movie looks pretty fun and it doesn't, unlike many past fighting game translations to film, seem to take itself too seriously. Can't wait to see this Ultimate Guilty Pleasure movie. The Aussies and Brits get to see it earlier than most everyone else this September, while the US has to wait till October for their DOA Movie fix. As for us in Asia... who knows. I'll just let DVD bins or Bittorrent be my guide. Heh.

A Passionate Victory



In spite of countless delays and heartbreak and a hundred adventures in between, Siglo: Passion ended up winning Best Comic Book of the Year at the Manila Critics Circle Book Awards. This bit of comics news care of El who attended this year's Book Fair at the World Trade Center in Manila. Congratulations to the many artists, writers and creatives who threw in their talent and effort into this endeavor. This deserves a passionate WOOHOO!

Superman Returns Remakes

Before I left the house today, my parents were watching Superman Returns on dvd. I'll be the first to say that I don't think that Brian Singer exactly got Superman Returns right. But I do admit that the guy had love for the project, and that showed in the end product. Yeah, a bit too much love, but what the heck- it sold and will hopefully bear fruit with better sequels.

It got me thinking though- what if OTHER directors got their hands on the Man of Steel? How would it have turned out differently?

George Lucas
Can you say Prequel? We'd see Krypton at the peak of their civilization. We'd see a young Jor-el, a Knight of Knowledge whose belief in justice and true science eventually puts him at odds with his best friend, the ambitious Lieutenant Zod. There will be crystal sword fights, crystal skating races and a cantina scene with lots of aliens! Oh, we'll get to Kal-el by the, oh, third film. At least, NO KID. Superman, like Jedi, should be celibate. Lex Luthor will continually try to get Superman to turn to... the Dark Side...

Michael Bay
We would have seen a blow-by-blow account of the last day of Krypton, complete with a hundred Kryptonian characters whom we will try to care for but really shouldn't because they all eventually end up as space debris. We'll see hyper-realistic scenes of carnage as those weird crystal buildings collapse into huge, gaping chasms. When we finally get to Superman, expect LOTS of the trademark slow motion walking towards the camera, and lots of glorious pans. Luthor's plot will involve crashing a meteor into the planet! Glorious stuff.

Ang Lee
This three-hour epic will feature two hours solid on young Clark Kent's growth; from his days as an infant and how Ma and Pa Kent developed metal pacifiers and milk bottles to counter his super-teeth, to his early days in elementary school, befriending bullies and going on meaningful trips to the museum. We'll discover the psychology of a superhero is developed through long scenes of gravity and emotion- all before Clark turns 10. Then we'll gloss over the teens and morph into adult Clark and move into martial arts-themed action as Superman leaps (he can't fly, but skim over trees) into action versus his nemesis, Lex Mu Bai, armed with the Green Destiny, a sword forged from Kryptonite!

Peter Jackson
We can look forward to a visual masterpiece, care of WETA Digital. Expect armies of giant robots, fully designed down to their inner circuit boards. Expect Kryptonite to be redesigned ala elven jewelry, and have ten different variants and colors (all of this will be featured in hour-long featurettes on the DVD release). Oh, and aside from Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel's 'face', the actual animations for Superman's movements will be motion-captured and performed by Andy Serkis.

Darn... that Ang Lee treatment actually sounds good... well, at least the last sentence did. What could have been, in another world, in another life. Oh well.

Heroism

During the weekend, the Quest Gang came together to talk about the next Project: Hero release. As with the first issue, PH is an anthology of various original superhero comics, all one-shot stories told in the classic comics style. There are returning titles from the first issue (such as my own Samurai Sis) and all-new stories from both veteran and new creators to the project. After dinner at Peri Peri Chicken (which I loved for the spicy sauce, though I usually like my chicken crispy rather than juicy), the group headed off to UCC Coffee to show off scripts, character designs, artworks and talk about the project. Aside from my own title, I'll be doing the story of another creator, and the concept is very interesting. I hope to do the comic justice.
It's been a long time since we met like this, over a common cause with everyone raring to go, and it was good. The deadline for Project: Hero as well as other stuff I'm working is pretty tight, but somehow I'll find a way to get it all in. Have to. There is no try, only DO. Heh.

The (Near) Future of Gaming

As we come into the 'Ber' months of the year, we're inching closer to the pivotal holiday season. On top of many a gamer's mind is the much-delayed Playstation 3, the Death Star of console gaming platforms. Yes, after all this time expectations have been somewhat lowered- Games won't look as great as the initial CG ads and demos first made them out to be; The next Tekken won't have photorealistic fighters or even anywhere near the graphic quality of the 'sweaty Jin Kazama' vid shown months and months ago. From all indications, PS3 games will at least look as good as Xbox360 games, if not slightly better, depending on the programmers and the individial games themselves.

In terms of fighting games, the PS3 has at least a couple of exclusive titles that beat 'em up fans would give their eye-teeth for. First, of course, is Tekken 6, which will at the very least still retain the cast of pugilists from the last couple of games (Tekken 5 and the Dark Resurrection upgrades). I predict pretty much the same animations but with upgraded graphics and the occasional new attack or move, coupled with hopefully a Character Creation Mode (borrowed from Soul Calibur) instead of the usual Customization options avalable from before. Of course, CG movies aplenty will tell the continuing story of the Iron Fist tournament, though in-game cutscenes will probably look almost as good.
The other big gun in the PS3's fighting library is Virtua Fighter 5. Virtua Fighter is the creme dela creme of fighters, pretty much the pinnacle of technique, timing and expert gameplay. The arcade version is already out in Japan and videos of fights are regularly on display online. The fighting is fluid, fast and awesome to see, with the VF crew looking better than they ever had before. Aside from the ultra-crisp graphics and animation, there are tons of options to customize your characters in terms of items, hair styles and clothes. I have as yet to see a bikini on any of the girls (I can dream, can't I?) but what is so far available is impressive. Hopefully the PS3 version will come with tons more options for customizing... the game is still a ways off, with a TBA 2007 release.

Aside from fighting, other big titles destined for PS3 that are worth salivating for include Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Put in control of a rapidly-aging Solid Snake (or OLD Snake, as he is now called), players must take on the forces of Liquid Ocelot (the former Revolver Ocelot now possessed by the grafted arm of the deceased Liquid Snake), who is attempting a worldwide coup de'tat. On Snake's side are the regular crew of suspects, with new looks and attitudes looks like- a spunkier, more formidable Meryl Silverburgh, an older Colonel Campbell, a more booky Otacon and a more bedraggled Naomi. Even the former girly-boy Raiden is back, now coated with a shiny new cyborg body and MAD killing skillz. Snake will need all the help he can get with armies of elite soldiers and herds of creepy moo-ing Metal Gears being lined up against him. Rumored to be Snake's last adventure, the story of this incredible-looking title is worth the price of admission alone.
Assassin's Creed is another intriguing title for the PS3. Set in what appears to be Crusades-era Jerusalem, players are put in control of Altair, a professional assassin working behind the scenes to influence the events in the carnage-filled time. The game touts groundbreaking A.I. for bystanders and never-before-seen interactivity between the player character and the environment. So missions will have to planned out carefully- from the lighting-fast kill to the prolonged escape from pursuing guards, one wrong move could spell capture and death... or worse. Prince of Persia meets Splinter Cell? Good stuff.

The present platforms also have cool games coming up. The Xbox360 of course has Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, which basically has sexier DOA babes doing even more sexy and cute stuff on an all-new island paradise. Not only volleyball but jetskiing is now on offer, plus a load of minigames, titillating sequences and... tan lines.

The PS2 and Xbox will be receiving perhaps the last great MK before the next generation... Mortal Kombat Armageddon brings together pretty much every fighter who has ever appeared in an MK game, all set for a final showdown that will probably set what the next MK generation will look like. There will be blood- oh yes, there will be blood. Characters will die, but at least players will now be able to Kreate their own Kharacters in what may be the deepest and best Character Creation mode apart from wrestling games. Aside from looks and clothing, you will be able to create your character's move set, fighting style and fatality. Literally millions of possibilities for the ultimate bad-ass will be at your disposal, so this may be a reason to hold onto those PS2s and old Xboxes even when the next gen becomes now-gen.

Darn. Lots of stuff to play with, and so little cash. And time. Gamers however will have a grand time working out how to fit it all in. Heh.

Fantasy Movie



Here's the poster for the upcoming fantasy novel adaptation Eragon, set for theaters in December. Eragon is the first of a trilogy of novels by Christopher Paolini. Originally a self-published venture, the book was eventually picked up by a publisher and rose to the best-seller list. Among the actors cast for the film are Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich.
I haven't read the novels, but I have read about them online after seeing the poster. I remember the bibliophiles in the old gang talking not too fondly about Eragon, and it seems mostly because the novel seems quite derivative of sources like LOTR and Star Wars. In fact, some reviews have openly called it a "Tolkien Wannabee" (Entertainment Weekly apparently named Eragon the Worst Book of 2005). Still, good fantasy films are few and far between, so I'll be checking this out when it comes out later this year.

Lara Croft in my Pants

I finally went and bought a couple of new games for my PSP, so I finally have other things to play aside from Tekken: Dark Resurrection and MP4-encoded videos.
One game is Untold Legends: The Warrior’s Code, which is basically a Diablo-esque dungeon crawler. You choose from one of five playables and go on one monster-killing quest after another in the struggle to (shades of Oblivion) put the rightful heir of the emperor on the throne. The game looks good and the animation and action is solid, plus there’s that addictive factor that games of this type always has- how you just want to keep getting stronger, getting better gear and more powerful attacks. It looks to be a good title to just whittle away at downtime so I got it.

The other game I got is the PSP version of Tomb Raider: Legend, which makes a grand total of FOUR versions I have of the latest Lara Croft adventure (Crystal Dynamics and Eidos should give me a prize). Like all the other versions, Legends for the PSP puts you into the skimpy outfits of Miss Croft as she races across the world battling mercenaries and the odd wild animal to put together the pieces of an ancient relic of power.
Despite being on a portable, the PSP game is pretty much the same game as the other versions, albeit not as gorgeous as, say, the Xbox360 game. However, there are cutbacks- primarily on the controls. Moving Lara around is done primarily on the analog knob of the PSP (a smaller version of the Playstation controller’s analog sticks), and it can get a bit tricky, especially when you need to be VERY precise. Plus, you usually have to move the camera yourself (or constantly press the L trigger to re-center it) to see if you’re lined up correctly for a jump. Even with these minor control issues, the game is quite fun to play and the sounds are all here (though there are some delayed sound effects here and there) from the cool music to the excellent voice acting.

Overall, it’s awesome to have what I consider to be the best Tomb Raider game totally playable and intact on a portable. That, along with Tekken makes for an excellent way to battle boredom anywhere.
Since I have consigned myself to getting only legit games for my PSP (apparently, my PSP cannot be ‘modified’ to use downloaded game ISOs), I’m already thinking of other additions to my library. Maybe Streetfighter Alpha 3 Max or Valkyrie Profile Lenneth may be in order. We’ll see once I get some cash flowing again. If only Streetfighter III: Third Strike and Soul Calibur was coming to PSP. Then again, who knows? Maybe. One can always hope…

Ceasefire

So, after setting comic-lovers' worlds on fire with their Civil War event, Marvel Comics flubs the ball and has delayed the release of part four (and pretty much every other comic tie-in with it) back to November- about a month's delay. The reason, according to Marvel, is the need for more time to keep the integrity and quality of the comics intact. Yeah, someone fucked up bigtime.

Good to hear that even big comic companies and star artists suffer delays as well. Heheh.