Back to Ivalice

I've gotten my hands on a copy of Final Fantasy XII. The latest Final Fantasy is pretty different from past recent installments in the series. Instead of the usual anime-laced sci-fantasy soap operas, we get a more midieval/sci-fi setting charged with political intrigue and machinations aplenty.
In the land of Ivalice, the small kingdom of Dalmasca is in the midst of a war between two great empires. One of the empires, Archadia, advances and takes control of Dalmasca after some drama and the shedding of royal blood. Two years after the Archadian occupation of Dalmasca, various individuals within the kingdom come together in order to free their land and people.

FFXII boasts not only a new graphic style but new gameplay as well. Gone are the random encounters of previous FF's; the game now plays similar to an MMORPG, with your characters running around engaging visible enemies in pseudo realtime/turn-base combat. Other new systems govern levelling up, acquiring spells and skills, and using weapons. It's all new and shiny, and goes with the new graphic style and music (which is more FF Tactics than the RPGs) and some decent english voice acting.

I have to say though that the art style and the characters so far strike me as stiff. The story and overall feel though also reminds me uncomfortably of Star Wars Episode One. You have a tiny kingdom oppressed by a greater force, you have a spunky princess and a would-be young hero... you even have a 'Watto' character! To be fair though, the plot will surely get better as I get into the game more.
Unfortunately, my first two hours or so with the game has me running around doing some errands, which while plot-driven, are pretty bland and boring. I eventually put the game down and went with the more instantly-gratifying ninja action of another new game I have, Tenchu Senran for the Xbox360.

Anyway, it's only a matter of time before I get into FFXII deeper soon enough. Perhaps I'm just getting out of the Oblivion mindset and getting myself back into the Final Fantasy groove. Expect a fuller review then.

300



Here's the official trailer for 300, inspired by the graphic novel by Frank Miller. Depicting the battle of Thermopylae between a small force of Spartans versus the massive might of the Persian Empire. The sights within this short trailer are quite fascinating. Lots of immense battle scenes, intricate costumes and scenery, fantastic costumes and glorious carnage in slow motion.
Brings to mind the Battle of Pelennor Fields, from Return of the King... at least there, the good guys numbered at least 6,000... and they had horses and eventual relief in the form of an undead army. At Thermopylae, there were 300 Spartans against more than a hundred thousand enemy troops (granted, historically there were other Greek troops, but hey, this is the movies). Awesome stuff. Check the trailer out and get ready to pick your jaw up from the floor. This film looks like something to look forward to early next year.

Call me Insidio. Or Doctor Wallflower. Or maybe... Mister Whisper. GRAHAHAHA.

According to this, I'm Evil Lite. Which also may be Evil Might. GRAHAHAHA.

You Are 26% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

Lips to Ips

After all the talk about storms and shit, how about something funny and silly and gross to lighten the mood?

A couple of weeks ago, I went over one night to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I open the light and go for my toothbrush, which was placed along with my Mom's sticking inside a cup on top of a raised platform area above the toilet. As I drew up my toothbrush, an IPIS or cockroach skittered out of the cup. I recoiled in horror and imagined that the thing may have been all over our dental care stuff, it's dirty antennae probing all over. I told my Mom about this and just resolved to buy another toothbrush.

A couple of days later, I entered the bathroom again to brush my teeth. I looked up and was about to grab my new toothbrush when- I once again recoiled in HORROR. A fricking Ipis was perched right on my toothbrush, on the bristles where you put toothpaste. The creepy little bugger was sitting pretty no doubt sucking in whatever he could from the brush. The raised position of the platform prevented me from squashing the blasted bug, but I shooed it away and then threw away the brush. This had to stop.

This was weird, of course. We were pretty tidy. The bathroom was a bathroom, but it was generally very clean. But for some reason the recent weeks saw roaches frequenting the area where we put our brushes. Perhaps it was a freak chance that I walked in and saw what I did. But now that I knew that roaches were among stuff we put in our mouths, I couldn't just stand and do nothing.
I bought a new brush with a brush head cover, and resolved to NOT put it in the cup any more. I set it aside farther away from the platform, where roaches seemed to have taken to haunting a lot.

A couple of days later, I came in to brush my teeth. I got my brush... and then ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, RECOILED IN HORROR as I saw a roach perched on the lid of the tube of toothpaste!

WHAT THE HELL?!! It was fascinating in a filthy, horrid way though, so instead of shooing the insect away, the first thing I did was grab my digicam and snap the disgusting sight (too bad I erased it, but darn it was gross) and then show my Mom just what I was talking about.

Well, since then we've taken to putting all our toothbrushes and toothpaste in personal containers (fashioned by my Dad from empty dish detergent containers) with lids to keep roaches out. My Mom has also killed a couple of roaches in the area, but we knew it was useless to kill 'em. There will always be roaches there, but at least now we've made sure we won't be french-kissing the buggers everytime we brush.

So... are your toothbrushes in a good, clean place?

The Longest Weekend

Since my last post, a lot of time had passed. I went home and came to a dark house. I had to contend with going to bed soon after taking a bath (water is one luxury we still had despite it all) Friday night. Saturday morning gave no respite, and despite all my instincts screaming for me to run off to some mall and just kill time there, I stayed at home. I stayed and slept several hours... several sweaty hours... until I realized that if I slept all day, I'd be awake all night. So I got up and walked around, read some magazines and comics from the rapidly-rising pile of unread issues. Literally, I was feeling every second tick by, and I could see the sun slowly waning and night unfurling its curtain. Thankfully, a battery-operated radio was available, so as the evening finally came in full I listened to TV Patrol Sabado and news of Milenyo's legacy and the odd murder.

Early evening found me walking outside, shirtless in the dark and sweating (darn, I felt like Rambo), staring up at the unlit lamp posts one moment, and to the lit residences of Quezon City in the distance. One thing though, that I appreciate from the time in the dark, was that I finally saw my first fireflies.

After a hurried dinner of McDonald's, I went back to bed (after a second bath) but couldn't sleep. I looked at my options for entertainment; my PSP, unused for the past week, was down to 10 percent power, so was not usable. DAMN! KEEP IT CHARGED...KEEP IT CHARGED... My Archos 700 was fully charged, but unfortunately had NOTHING in the hard drive that was watchable... KEEP IT FULL, KEEP IT FULL... And so, it fell to my sidekick Pocket PC to kill my boredom. There was still about 50 percent power left, and for a while I was choosing between conserving that power in case the next few days still saw me without a chance to recharge... or using what power I had to watch the latest episodes of Avatar. I chose to live, dammit. But luckily, in the middle of the first episode, my watch was disturbed by a familiar, yet long-missed artificial glow. LIGHT was back. I let out a yell and was jumping up and down. Alive. We're alive again.

Unfortunately, the phone lines are still dead, as is my broadband connection. So I'll be posting from the Salt Mines from now. Still, having electricity for light, PC use, DVDs and gaming is good enough for now. I can live without cable and broadband internet... for a while.

Man, I'm a fricking addict. What can you do.

Juiced

The last couple of days has proven that we only truly realize how valuable something is when we lose it. Electricity, for instance. Countless millions of Filipinos are lacking in this one basic thing right now, and it's enough to drive you nuts. Malls are crowded to overflowing by masses seeking to escape their dark, hot and electricity-lacking homes. Staying and working in the office powered by generators is much preferable than just sitting around slavering in the shadows without anything to do. Electricity powers or supports our senses to enjoy things- from being able to read a book or magazine to powering our television sets, computers and appliances. It's at the center of all the things we do, so it's not surprising that now that it's gone, we're all scurrying like ants left without a scent trail to follow.

I am loathe to leave the office right now to go back to home to the prehistoric cave The Sanctum has become. But what the heck... home is home, and at least you can rest and recollect your thoughts. Perhaps this is better. Perhaps I can learn to meditate on my actions and see where I could have done better, done more. In the end, maybe this was all for the best and I will be a better person for seeing that I am an electricity addict (as are we all), and should work on looking inward instead of outward at the brightness given by electric power.

...

Ah, screw that. I want to frickin' play Xbox360 and surf. PLEASE let there be frickin' electricity back when I go home. PUH-LEEEEEZEE...

Stormswept

I spent the whole day in the office, working and keeping my eyes firmly set on my job. It helped to kill the hours which I had to spend here in the Salt Mines instead of at home. On the bright side, I guess it was better to be in the office and actually be productive. It was also better to be in a place with electricity and a working internet connection, instead of being cooped up in the cold but dark confines of The Sanctum. Nothing's more impotent than a fully-wired electronic entertainment pad without current.
Anyway, it was surreal to just stare out into the storm-swept metropolis, seeing the wind eventually die down to a whisper. However, signs of Milenyo's fury could be seen everywhere. Downed trees and plants were everywhere, and the sight of pedestrians just walking haphazardly this way or that on the streets of Ayala Avenue just showed you that not all was right in the world. We watched the news in the Main Conference Room and through all the various sights of storm-stricken provinces and news of people being displaced and victimized by the weather, there were two things that surfaced to be quite significant over it all. One, that large advertising billboards are pretty much now recognized as public safety menaces during storms seeing as over a dozen of these large commercial signs fell over (and at least one caused the death of a person). The other thing is the annoying and pretty embarrassing way that in each of these billboard-crash sites, there are always these hooligans who swarm over like vultures to grab the scrap metal to sell for a quick buck.

Dinner was a bit of a trick, since the nearby restaurants were almost all crowded with hungry people. Eventually we were able to find a place in Jollibee and satisfy our cravings. The whole atmosphere of the place had this weird, 'calamity-stricken' feel... there were huge gaps of out-of-stock items in the menu, and periodically you'd see attendants drag out these huge bags of take-out or delivery orders (without a doubt bound for some office or call center full of starving people).

It's still blacked out in most residential places- I'll probably try to stay and wait it out until things get more stable. It would be so cool if, when dawn strikes tomorrow, it will find a Metro Manila seemingly unscathed and good as new. Of course, that won't happen.

But life goes on anyway.

Life's a Pitch

The typhoon Milenyo is set to arrive in Metro Manila today, packing winds of up to 130 miles an hour. Since yesterday, it has been announced that all classes in all levels would be cancelled. Flights have been grounded. Work suspended in many offices and workplaces. But darn, I'm here in the office for some reason. Well, the reason was that we have a pitch- which is basically us competing with other agencies for a new account... and we can't just lay down because of some, oh, storm.

So I headed off and got a cab (MRTs tend to suck or totally jam in storms), which thankfully wasn't too hard. As we went on the usual route to Makati, you could see the signs of the Storm's coming. Uprooted trees, downed signs and stripped billboards, and the odd tumbling umbrella (in place of tumbleweeds). Once we got to Makati, the wind seemed even stronger. There were still surprisingly a lot of people clustered in the entrances of buildings, huddled to keep from the rain and the wind.
I got to the taxi drop-off and as I opened the taxi's door, it was immediately flung open by the wind. I jumped off without even bothering to open my useless umbrella. Once inside the building, I saw more signs of the storm's fury- like the statue in the middle of the building's courtyard, tumbled to the ground by the wind. Yikes. Depending on what happens from now on, it'll either be very easy or very hard to get home. Well, what can you do but do work while you're here.

Oh, and the pitch date was postponed. Gah.

Going LIVE

I've had my Xbox360 for several months now, but it was only recently, in fact, only over the weekend, that I was able to experience the most the console has to offer- namely, going online on Xbox Live. For the uninitiated, Xbox Live is Microsoft's exclusive online component for their entertainment consoles (both the original Xbox and Xbox360). All you need is a broadband internet connection, some know-how and bam! You're online.
Xbox Live has quite a few treats- you can go to the Xbox Live Marketplace to download demos of upcoming games, videos and trailers, and even chat or converse with other gamers (whether they're in the country or halfway across the world). Of course, you can also go and compete with other human players in various Xbox Live-enabled games.

While a lot of stuff like demos and videos are free, you WILL need to spend real money to get credits (or Microsoft Points) to get some stuff, like expansions for games (new maps, areas, characters, etc), and to play online with other players. Luckily, despite the fact that the Philippines isn't officially a supported region, Filipinos CAN actually go online on Xbox Live and enjoy their consoles to the fullest. Thanks to Pinoy Xbox, I am now one of these gamers.

It's quite amazing; I have so far downloaded several demos and videos, and even gotten to play some rounds of Dead or Alive 4 against some players in Japan (got my butt kicked though). It's fun and I do see myself using the service from now on, whether I spend to keep subscribed to the Gold Membership or not. Once you go on Live, you can't go back. The future or gaming right there. Awesome stuff.

Not So Final

Most of us Final Fantasy VII fans have probably watched and re-watched Final Fantasy VII Advent Children and gone back to our everyday lives, happy and secure that Cloud Strife has found peace and Aerith is alive and well in the Afterlife. We can finally close the book one this chapter of our videogame lives, right? WRONG. At the recently-held Tokyo Game Show, Sony has revealed a NEW itineration of the popular CG movie.
Called Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete, this 'director's cut' version will be released on Sony's new Blu-ray format and have additional scenes. What scenes, you may ask? Well, so far only one has been reported, that of big baddie Sephiroth stabbing Cloud through the chest with his Masamune and hoisting Emo-boy overhead like a gutted fish. Will there be other scenes? There probably will, but I really don't think the story will be significantly different.
Still, completists will probably want to invest in a PS3 or a Blu-ray player to see the next Final Fantasy flick. Articles indicate FFVII ACC will be due out next year. Enough time to save the centavos, I guess.

DOA: Dead or Alive


Fighting and Fanservice.

Okay, I've finally gotten to see what all the fuss has been about. I saw DOA: Dead or Alive in a theater here in Manila, and so far it seems the movie is doing well (a print ad for the film has DOA being "The No.1 Movie in Manila"). That's not surprising since we love beautiful and sexy people here in the Philippines, and the movie has more or less an Asian flavor thanks to the HK director Corey Yuen.

As I've no doubt explained in tons of earlier posts, DOA follows the time-tested, If-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it plot of "Shady organization holds martial arts tournament, attracting various fighters". In this case, the DOA Tournament is set up by the smarmy Victor Donovan (Eric Roberts), who took over from the previous administrator. Of course since this is Eric Roberts, you know something bad is behind all the precedings. Dead or Alive's schtick is the abundance of hot lady competitors in the cast, and the movie wisely focuses on this. Charlie's Angels meets Enter the Dragon, indeed. For the most part, the film version follows the source material closely, save for quite a few liberties with some characters.

Kasumi, for example, is played by Asian model/actress Devon Aoki, whose main facial expression is looking bored out of her head. Whether you accept her as the character or not depends on whether you like the actress or not. Luckily for me, I do find her fetching so what the heck. On the other hand, her slightly aloof manner lends well to her character as some sort of ninja royalty. And her bored look CAN be accepted as 'looking focused' (It worked in Sin City). In terms of action scenes, she does have some nice moves in the film, having the most wire-fu stunts of the girls.

Christie, played by gorgeous Aussie star Holly Valance is the most radically changed from the game. Instead of the cold-blooded assassin from the game, we get a more benign but still deadly femme fatale, but with a more playful side. Otherwise, Miss Valance gets the look down and the feel that this is one dangerous but hot lady.

But the one who really gets her character down is 'My Name is Earl's' Jaime Pressly, who plays Tina Armstrong. The movie version of Tina has the big sister/tough cowboy babe personality without the obnoxious star complex from the game, so she's likeable off the bat. That Miss Pressley has a killer physique makes her even more believable that she can kick your butt.

There are two more main girls- Sarah Carter's Helena Douglas is a simplified version from the game... she isn't French, nor is she an opera singer. But she's hot and classy and plays the role well, acquiting herself well especially in the fight scenes. Finally, Natassia Malthe plays Ayane, Kasumi's rival, and has the dubious pleasure of going through the movie in a purple wig. To be fair, she's quite easy on the eyes and has the vicious glare and cool poses with katanas down pat. It would not have hurt to have given her a bit more screentime.

The rest of the supporting cast do well- real-life wrestler Kevin Nash as Bass and Brian White as Zack are note perfect. Kane Kosugi seems a little young for Hayabusa, but otherwise he's great in his fight scenes. The Matrix's Colin Chou makes a late appearance as Hayate, but he's pretty awesome while he's there. The rest of the DOA character have to make do with little cameos; Bayman and Leon at least have good exposure as Donovan's henchmen, though lose their backgrounds and become mainly villain muscle. Lei Fang and Gen Fu are seen up close in some scenes and share a short fight. Other than that, the rest pass by in flashes that you will miss if you blink. Brad Wong is seen getting smashed by Bayman. Jann-Lee falls to Christie. Eliot is seen briefly in a fight with Hayabusa. Karate kid Hitomi is in the credits but I never see her. It'll be fun to pause through the opening fights on the DVD to see the cameos in full.

Well, after all that, the fighting action makes up most of the movie, with the plot developments happening in between- kinda like cutscenes in the game. It's fast and at the very least- never boring. I only wish that some of the fights were longer. Director Corey Yuen clearly knows what he's doing, borrowing imagery and stunts from some of the best recent martial arts flicks such as Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers. There's wirework and CG stuff but still you do see that the stars, the girls in particular, put a lot of work to make the fights look good.

Are there any faults? Yeah, quite a few. I really dislike the characters of Maximillian Marsh (Mathew Marsden) and Weatherby (Steve Howey)... both are pretty irritating (Marsh is a smarmy scoundrel who gets by totally with luck while Weatherby is a creepy computer geek) and really, unnecessary to the precedings. Perhaps a way to please the supposed gamer market? Please.
I also dislike the way that the 'Ultimate Weapon' is a pair of skill-enhancing sunglasses that can be removed so easily... why not goggles? They won't fall off. Or how about getting some straps to keep your ace-in-the-hole from falling off your face, Donovan? Oh well.

In the end, the movie's a fun, enjoyable watch. It's not an Oscar wannabee but there's a fun, playful tone to the whole thing that makes it pretty clear that it's not really taking itself too seriously, and that's refreshing. It also certainly doesn't hurt to see so much hot bodies around in the film, though I've read so many reviews seeing this as a negative. It's FUN, people. Turn off the serious brain side and just enjoy the action and the beautiful people.

So, when's the DVD coming out?

Cast 10



The latest issue of Nautilus Comics' Cast is out. Even if you haven't been following this comic about the trials and travails of a group of friends trying to put together a play from issue 1, if you're a local comics enthusiast, this is something to check out. Why? Simply because the art chores for this particular issue are by Arnold Arre, that's why. And if getting this issue initially just for the art gets you interested in the story, then all the better, right?

Cast is available in magazine stands, comic shops and bookstores all over the Metro. Check it out!

Never Say Die

The next and perhaps last entry in the popular Die Hard series of films is coming. As expected, Bruce Willis will reprise his role as John McClane, a New York cop who has a knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was up against Euro-terrorists/hi-tech crooks in the first one, renegade US military troops in the second and an army of rogue German special forces in the third. What has the fourth film have to offer to McClane? ALIENS. McClane will be riding the space shuttle and battling an evil presence which has taken residence in a newly-opened space station.

Just kidding.

Nope, the only space that Die Hard 4 will be entering will be Cyberspace- McClane will be taking on Internet Terrorists who are out to destroy the United States's electronic superstructure. Of course, while they're classified as hackers, the baddies will no doubt have real-world nasties to throw into McClane's way. Also slated to star with Bruce Willis is Hong Kong beauty Maggie Q., last seen alongside Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III. Q will play a world-class hacker who will be at odds with McClane.

The 4th Die Hard film will be titled Live Free or Die Hard, and will come out sometime in 2007.

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.

Weekend

Ah. I've been waiting for this. A three-day weekend is always a great time. It's been a particularly exhausting week, not just because of the actual loads of work but the pace. My body clock has been odd lately and it seems that I'm lethargic and sleepy ALL the time... which is dangerous for a commuter since I really shouldn't be snoring my head off in a bus or cab.
In any case, I've been making it SOP to kick back on weekends... I don't really go out on Saturdays anymore, using the time instead to just recharge at home, to just watch TV or play games and maybe order out some sumptuous fast food feast. I'll probably go out with a friend tomorrow and shop around Greenhills for something. That's made all the more attractive by the fact that I won't be waking up early Monday for work. Darn, that feels so nice. Heh.

Work continues on Project Kris, which I have been told has had the first several issues distributed. I'm once again deciding on what actual title to work on for the upcoming Komikon this October. Whatever happens, I want to have SOMETHING ready.
On other projects, Project HERO 2 is hustling along, with a script and designs required for submission by next weekend. Aside from that, nothing is as yet on stone.

Which is good in some ways, bad in others. But whatever. I'm just glad for the weekend right now.

Femme Fatales


If looks could kill...

Here's the movie poster for the upcoming DOA: Dead or Alive movie. Aside from this group shot, there are about five individual character posters each centering on one of the five heroines- Christie the Master Thief, Helena the Fighter, Kasumi the Ninja Princess, Tina the Pro-Fighter and Ayane the Assassin. The main poster though obviously gives the role of main heroine to Christie (played by Holly Valance) who was, strangely enough, the most villainous of the DOA girls in the actual game (though she was also arguably the sexiest of the sexy videogame vixens). Anyway, the poster actually looks pretty awesome, to be honest.

Up to now, there seems to be nothing but bad will towards this game-to-movie adaptation, most vocally it seems from fans of the game, who are complaining about everything from the casting to irrational stuff like the movie not staying faithful to the source material.

It's pretty ridiculous, if you ask me... the game actually has a pretty run-of-the-mill story... the same tripe that has been used and re-used from Street Fighter to Tekken to Fighting Bujutsu... evil organization holds tournament, attracts fighters of varying backgrounds and fighting styles. Hilarity ensues. Not Oscar material, but in this case, the overabundance of gorgeous babes should make for pleasing spectacles. My only hope is that the fights are well-choreographed, with actual resolutions and victories instead of all build-up for nothing (which happens in a lot of fighting game movies, from the Tekken anime to the Street Fighter live-action film to the Mortal Kombat movies). In any case, the director (Corey Yuen) isn't a newbie to great action and hot babes (he directed So Close) and the girls look dynamite. It's all a matter of them making the best of what really is just a thin plot and lots of excuses for action and fan service.

DOA the Movie starts showing early September. I hope to see this on Bittorrent or on DVD bins by then, since I don't see this coming out in theaters anytime soon. We'll see how this one goes when it finally hits.

Semper Fi

Today I would have wanted nothing more than to just stay at home as the rain drizzled on outside. But go to work I had to, so I trudged out to the MRT to make my 10AM meeting. Unfortunately, as has happened at least once before, the Katipunan MRT branch was closed for some reason, most probably due to the rain. The security guard suggested that I head to the Anonas station, which was operational. This was pretty ridiculous given the thick traffic headed for Cubao, so I decided to just try and get a cab somehow.
It didn't look good- rain reduced my chances of getting a cabbie willing to go all the way to Makati to a very small percentage. Plus, some woman was also hailing cabs in front of me. It didn't look good.

However, things seemed to go my way. The woman eventually went off, giving up on getting a cab in the area (perhaps she also sensed my malevolent glare). Anyway, a few minutes later, a cab approached and seemed to slow before me. A passenger got off, and I asked the driver if he would take me to Makati. The man nodded in affirmative and I was overjoyed. We were off.

As we were headed into C-5 Highway, the cabbie started a conversation, which I was only glad to respond to... anything to keep the guy's mind off traffic and possibly losing interest in the fare. Eventually though, I warmed to the conversation earnestly given the driver's story. It turns out that my cabbie for the day was a MARINE. An honest-to-goodness, straight-and-narrow, death-before-dishonor marine, tested in battle in Mindanao and stationed everywhere from election guard duty in Cotabato, Presidential Security Details and a tour of duty with the UN in the African state of Liberia.

We talked at length about the recent politicizing of the Philippine military, and how the Marines themselves were in a battle to retain their identity and code of honor and principles even as the rest of the Chain of Command seems bought out by dirty politics and bribes. It tore my heart to hear such things, but at the same time I felt pride in knowing that there are a few soldiers... marines, who can't or won't be bought. I only hope that there were more of these upstanding warriors. In any case, the sad part is that the marines are fighting a losing battle, with their officers being systematically removed and the corps in danger of being abolished. We then continued talking about corruption in government, little stories each of us had heard, and about our frustrations and reasons why we, as a people, are both damned or lucky because of our inherent ease to forgive and forget. It would be easy (but definitely bloody) to remove the government by force, if people really wanted it out, but it seems that the Filipinos aren't THAT hungry yet. Who knows? Maybe it's just not the time. Maybe.

I got to Ayala Avenue, it turns out, pretty much on time. And I felt quite good at meeting a modern-day real soldier. I gave the cabbie his fare and a big extra, and I was on my way. Damn, if only there were more men like the Marine Taxi Driver, this country would go places. Literally and figuratively.

Rain, Rain...

It's getting old. Really.

I mean, all this frickin' RAIN that insists on falling early in the morning, drizzling the whole place and making the simple act of getting out of your bed an agonizing chore. The loud pitter-patter, the hypnotic applause of a million million raindrops just screams STAY INDOORS in countless tiny voices.

But when you have to go, you have to go. Even if the darn traffic always seems to multiply by 10 when it rains (as if people, like gremlins, multiplied when soaked), even if the blasted water seeps into your shoes, soddening your feet cold for the whole day.

Rain should only fall in the morning on weekends. When we can afford to stay home and follow it's commands.

There has to be a law. Feh.

Pocket Fighter

I've been playing quite a bit of Tekken: Dark Resurrection on my spiffy new PSP... pretty inevitable since it's as yet my only game on my new toy. Anyway, the beauty of a fighting game is that you they have, basically, some of the best replayability of any game genre. Well, at least the good ones do. There have been crappy fighters that you would hate a minute after playing it the first time, and there have been shallow brawlers that you get tired of in a day or two. Tekken, particularly the latest Tekken (Tekken 5 and PSP's DR included) is thankfully among the best fighters around. The fighting system is rock-solid and challenging, with awesome attacks and fighting styles, a ton of characters to choose from and gobs and gobs of extras.
Tekken: Dark Resurrection is a port of the arcade-only (so far) upgrade to the PS2 Tekken 5; all the available characters from T5 are available off the bat with no unlocking needed. As I've mentioned before, there are two brand new fighters, each of which fits into the general theme of things quite well: mash-friendly dancing lolita Lili and touchy-feely commando Dragunov. Then there's Armor King, who was supposed to be dead but somehow back and piledriving everyone in sight... perhaps that's why this game was given the 'Dark Resurrection' subtitle.

The many videos available online don't really do the game justice in terms of eye candy. Tekken DR looks positively smashing on the PSP screen. The crisp, detailed character models emulate their arcade and PS2 counterparts almost exactly, save for slight simplifications. Overall, the detail can't be faulted- hands have individual fingers and up close, faces are perfectly rendered. Animation-wise, the fighting action moves at a perfect 60 frames per second- translation, smooth as silk fighting that's as fast as lightning.

More eye candy is to be had with a brand new intro CG movie and tons more cinematics to unlock and enjoy (though you've probably seen most of them if you've played the PS2 game to death), and there are tons of modes to play with. As with the PS2 and arcade games, you can purchase items and colors to modify and customize your characters' looks using money earned by playing the game. It's no Character Creation Mode, but it'll do for now (at least until Tekken 6 or Soul Calibur III gets ported to the PSP...).
Aside from the obvious, I've noticed the occasional new animation and little tweaks that are pretty cool. Thankfully, the end boss Jinpachi has been toned down, so now he's not as cheap as before (playing this at Hard difficulty)... which is probably to keep casual gamers from throwing their PSPs into orbit. Noticing these little details every now and then just makes this title all the sweeter.

As a fighting game, Tekken DR ranks right up there among the best of the best in the genre, which makes it's portability even more awesome. Now you can actually have streetfights ON THE STREET (well, make sure you're in a nice neighborhood first) or on the beach or on the road. The challenging gameplay, tons of characters to learn and master ensure that I'll be playing this for a long time to come. This is a MUST-HAVE title for any PSP owner and fighting game fan... get it while it's HOT.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work unlocking that nurse outfit for Nina...

Black Beauty



Yesterday night, I finally went and got myself a Sony Playstation Portable, or PSP. I've been resisting getting one for months and months, but when a game on this fledgeling platform finally appeared that I really wanted, I guess the decision was made. Once I got the money for the new toy, it was just a matter of deciding where to get it and what version. It's a bit tricky for the PSP since there's a bit of a choice- do I get one with the earlier, infamous 1.5 firmware/OS, which allows for users to use downloaded game ISOs or do I just get one of the normal updated versions for use with normal UMD games.

In the end, I got a regular PSP- I wouldn't be buying games left and right, but I would be choosing the titles I actually get. Of course, I got with my new console the title that finally sold the deal- Tekken: Dark Resurrection, a port of the arcade update to the brilliant PS2 fighter.
Well, what can I say? I got the usual black PSP (instead of the rarer white version prevalent in Japan) which is thankfully free of any dead pixels. The first accessories I got with it were a screen protector (it's not a touch screen but still easily scratchable hence the need for protection), a nice container pouch plus headphones/remote. The device looks DAMN sexy and lovely, I have to admit. It's one gadget which really makes you feel good about buying one, thanks to the nice, quality feel of the thing. It's not a brick, but is of substantial weight... I won't want to be having this on my waist all the time, but it shouldn't be a problem bringing along in any case.
Aside from being a gaming console, the PSP also serves well as a video and music player. Getting videos onto the inserted Memory Stick is pretty easy, and the big PSP screen makes for lovely viewing. So now, I have another portable video player aside from my XDAIIi. Heh.

Last night I was playing Tekken DR again and again. The graphics are lovely... pretty incredible the first time you see it, and still incredible several hours in. It's amazing how Namco was able to squeeze in this game into the PSP. Of course, TDR includes the whole King of Iron Fist Tournament's gang, plus three newcomers- Lili is the deadly dancing daughter of a tycoon fighting to 'free' her father's company from the Mishima Zaibatsu; Dragunov is a creepy undead soldier who uses even scarier Commando Sambo; and finally the returning Armor King is the long-lost master of evil wrestling.
The game is pretty brilliant, and the gameplay is appropriately and perfectly Tekken and the extras are abundant. Finally a true fighting game on the go! Best of all, this should last me for a while... at least, until I get a couple more titles. Fun stuff!

Conjugal Birthday

Today, my parents turn one year older each. It never ceases to amaze me that both my Mom and Dad were born on the same day. Anyway, I took half the day off to spend lunch with them and my sister and her husband. We had steak and spaghetti and paell and had a blast hearing my Mom talk about her days as a nurse while she worked under Dad (who was a doctor then) before they even got married. It was weird hearing that at that time, my Dad had other girlfriends and my Mom never even thought she could ever get hitched with him since the conservative hospital management forbade relationships between nurses and doctors. Well, obviously that didn't stick since I'm here. Hehe.
Anyway, instead of buying them the usual gifts I just gave in to my Mom's suggestion and gave them cash instead. After all these years, it's me who's giving back to my two most important people in the world. Hopefully, I'll have many, many more years to keep on giving to them. Happy birthday, Parents!

Xtreme


The next big thing in fighting games: Butt Boxing.

Right now, my Xbox360 is all about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Yeah, it's just total bliss to create your own bad-ass and build him or her up to the deadliest S.O.B. in all of Cyrodiil, explore every corner of the huge continent and strip fallen enemies down to their undies. But even so, I have no doubt in my mind that come late 2006/early 2007, when Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 comes onto the Xbox360, I'll be taking a bit of time off from Tamriel for some fun in the digital sun.

Team Ninja's bouncy sequel to their 'vacation' game is set to be bigger than the first one. DOAX2 this time around will feature not only improved beach volleyball as the main game, but also jet-skiing. The minigames will include a Photography Mode, Waterslides, the returning Pool Hopping game (this time now with two girls in a race), a Race-for-the-Flag beach race, Water Tug-of-War and, get this- Butt Boxing. Butt-boxing or 'The Flotation Device Game' has two DOA girls standing back-to-back on a floating platform, each trying their darndest to bump the other off using well-timed bumps with their behinds. The game will, according to Tomonobu Itagaki, use a similar system to the Rock-Paper-Scissors system used in the actual DOA fighting game, and so will be the closest to a 'fighting minigame' in DOAX2 (cheater...).

Aside from the main games, minigames and the casino activities, DOAX2 will also be featuring the return of the Gravure scenes- the non-interactive cinematics showing the girls in various poses and titillating vignettes. This time around, Team Ninja has invested a LOT of time into these cut scenes, with about 15 unique to each girl and totaling about 170 scenes. The girls however will be able to 'imitate' the scenes of other girls, so if you want to see nice girl Kasumi doing some of Christie's risque poses, you can. There will also be 'Pair Gravure' scenes, which will require you to build up the relationship of the two girls to compose the scene. Also available will be 'RARE' Gravure scenes... whatever that means. Mmmm.

Well anyway, the first DOAX game was solid fun, so having the bikini-clad DOA girls in next-gen splendour sounds pretty swell. Team Ninja hopes to have this game out by the end of 2006... let's see it. There's nothing quite like bikinis on Christmas. Heh.

Dark Knight

The sequel to last year's Batman Begins will be entitled Dark Knight, which is probably a nod to the now-classic Frank Miller graphic novel. Christian Bale will return as Bruce Wayne AKA Batman. This time around, the caped crusader will take on his comics nemesis, The Joker, who will be played by none other than Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale, Brothers Grimm). Now, the choice for the pivotal villain role may have some people scratching their heads, but he has already proven to be a bit of a chameleon when taking on roles, so who knows, he might just be an excellent Clown Prince of Crime. Look for Dark Night in theaters next year.

Avatar Update

The next chapter in Avatar: The Last Airbender will be another one-hour (2-episode arc) 'movie', entitled The Secret of the Fire Nation". While it's still a ways off, early previews were shown at the recent San Diego Comic Con. One was a 30-second trailer which showed the Aang Gang heading off to the Great City of Ba-Sing-Se, to try and find the missing Appa and tell the Earth Kingdom of their discovery made during the previous Avatar movie, The Fury of Aang. Along the way, the kids seem to have picked up several other refugees, taking them under their wing and protecting them as they make their way to civilization. It is confirmed here in the trailer that Sokka's girlfriend Suki from Kyoshi Island will be apppearing, and perhaps even more familiar faces will return.

The second preview, shown live before an audience, lasts for about 2 minutes and starts with returning character Jet and Uncle Iroh (still voiced by the late, great Mako) at a campfire, talking about their mutual destination in Ba Sing Se. Apparently Jet has decided to atone for his darker ways from before, and seems intent fully on starting anew. Iroh supports hiim, saying that he believes in second chances- perhaps alluding to his and Zuko's own tragic pasts.
The preview then cuts to Aang and his party as they come to a what appears to be a large lake or river leading other refugees to Ba Sing Se. Katara tells the group to walk single file and then PARTS THE WATER (elicitng tremendous applause from the enthusiastic Avatar fans). As the water gets deeper, the party must 'cocoon' themselves in an air pocket as they walk under the sea. After some comedic antics from Momo, the troop is attacked by some beast which tries to break into the cocoon. The gang is saved by Toph, who earthbends the entire kit and caboodle on a small island above the water (another explosion of applause). The attacking creature is then revealed to be a gigantic sea serpent, which menacingly rears above the heroes...

And that's it! We'll all have to wait another month and a half for the full show. Still, this was pretty awesome and I just can't wait to get my Avatar fix again this September. To see the Avatar: Secret of the Fire Nation promos, just go to Youtube and search for "Secret of the Fire Nation".

MAKO



Mako Iwamatsu, or just Mako for short, passed away last Friday at the age of 72 from esophageal cancer. He's been around ever since I could remember, appearing in many films... though mostly I will probably remember him as Akiro the Wizard from Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan movies. Mako will be also be remembered mostly for his gravelly voice, heard a lot in animation series like Dexter's Laboratory (Narrator), Samurai Jack (where he played the villain Aku) and more recently, Avatar: The Last Airbender (as the wise Uncle Iroh). Mako's been around forever, so it really is a shame that his voice is now gone. But thankfully, his voice will be heard yet in the remaining 2nd Season episodes of Avatar and in next year's new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie (where he plays the role of Splinter).

Most assuredly, such a distinct voice can be imitated or emulated, but just knowing the man behind the character is gone leaves a mark on you. Rest in peace, Mako-san.

Living in Oblivion



It's been a while since my last post, since I was away on a trip. A trip to a far-away land called Cyrodiil. It's a beautiful place with lush forests, rolling hills, wonderful meadows, cloud-cloaked mountains and flowing rivers. It's paradise... well, that is, until you get waylaid by some half-lion/half-humanoid highwayman or get attacked by a pack of starving wolves. It's in these cases that martial arts training, swordplay, spellcasting and good ol' sneaking skillz come in handy. Oh, and there's the disturbing amount of fire-wreathed GATES TO HELL starting to pop up all over the place, spewing murderous demons. Aside from those little nitpicks though... paradise.

Don't worry, I've not lost touch with reality yet. And no, I haven't gotten roped into playing RagnaCrack Online. The schtick I'm into right now is the MMORPG (Massive, Magnificent Offline Role-playing Game) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the Xbox360, and I couldn't be happier with some of the best action/RPG gaming I've had in YEARS.

Bethesda Software's sequel to their previous hit Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (available on PC and the original Xbox) improves pretty much everything, from the combat to the graphics to the depth and richness of the story and world. In a nutshell, Oblivion is an open-ended single player RPG... a virtual fantasy realm sandbox where you are the center of the universe, where everything hinges on your actions and you create your own epic.

Everyone Has A Story
Of course, there is a main plot to all of the precedings. The title 'Oblivion' refers to Cyrodiil's version of Hell- a burning dimension filled with creatures that wouln't look out of place in Doom. Well, Oblivion has so far been kept at bay from the normal world by magical barriers- barriers held by the blood of Cyrodiil's Imperial family. But now, something is working to take out that obstacle, and as a result bad things are starting to happen. Your hero/heroine is cast as a hapless prisoner in the Imperial Prison who just happens to be sitting in the cell where a secret escape passage is located. One night, the Emperor himself, accompanied by his loyal bodyguards, The Blades, come through to escape some mysterious threat. You follow, of course. Soon the Emperor (voiced by Patrick Stewart) is no more, but he leaves behind for you a quest to save the realms and 'seal shut the doors of Oblivion'. And so, like the hero of destiny that you are, you readily take up the mantle of saviour of the realms.

Or not. Since the 'Main Quest' of saving Cyrodiil is really just a small part of the game. Apparently, according to the developers, the Oblivion storyline and all it's quests- which supposedly contain up to 60 hours of gameplay- comprises just TEN PERCENT of the overall game. WHOA! So if you just spend the whole time just flying through the main quest, you'll be missing most of the fun the game has to offer.

Aside from saving the world, there are tons of things to do. On your own as a masterless adventurer you could choose to explore the vast world, encountering whatever dangers cross your path, finding hidden dungeons, ruins, caves, mines and other dark places full of loot, enemies and magic. Or, you could join one or more of the several factions in the game. Become a sword for justice in the Fighters Guild. Engage in mystical intrigue in the Mage Guild. Ransack the riches of the land as part of the Thieves Guild. Walk the disturbingly dark and murderous path of the Dark Brotherhood. Engage in mortal combat for the cheers of the audience in the Imperial Arena. You can rise from a lowly apprentice to the highest levels of power in each of these many factions, through epic quests that are as rich and rewarding as the main storyline itself. And even then, at the top, you can go on and continue for other goals. That's a lot of stuff to do.

Of course, all the depth, richness of setting and epic storylines don't mean shit if the gameplay isn't up to par (take the previous Elder Scrolls game). Thankfully, Oblivion's combat (which you will inevitably do a lot of) is fun and challenging. Instead of the dull slap matches from Morrowind, characters now lung, parry and attack with more animations as well as both visible and spoken reactions to attacks. Heavy hits will stagger opponents, enemies will taunt and berate you as they score hits. You can fight back with a variety of melee weapons or attack spells, and seeing enemies slump down lifeless thanks to the new rag-doll physics engine makes every kill satisfying. There's nothing more viscerally stress-relieving than taking out an evil enemy, stripping their corpses of all their valuables (and clothing) and then depositing their remains into a nearby ditch. Heheh...
Controlling your character is easy and intuitive, though the Xbox360 controller does present some kinks- it's hard to use the 'Hotkey' function fully thanks to the imprecision of the right joystick, and it's all too easy to put your character into 'sneak' mode (which is done by pressing down on the left joystick) during heated combat, which makes you slower and less maneuverable. Also, battles with multiple characters, including allies and good NPCs, becomes chaotic since it's very difficult for you tell if you're going to hit an enemy or a friend. Of course, it's more realistic to have combat where you can run and maneuver instead of just statically standing around hitting each other in turn... it just takes quite a bit of practice to master the timing of blocks with strikes, but you do get the hang of it. Once you do though, combat is fun and you'll be looking for foes to take on soon enough.

As for magic, there are many schools of magic spells you can master, with an arsenal of magic to throw at foes. You can even create your own spells with the right skills and equipment. Alchemy lets you create your own potions from a sundry of ingredients and reagents you can find all over the land, while Enchanting lets you make the magical weapon of your dreams (and enemies' nightmares).
Stealth is also handled quite excellently- almost Metal Gear-like excellence, and it makes stealth-based characters like thieves and assassins quite fun to use. It's great to take out enemies with single, precised hits (though often it's hard to kill enemies in just one blow) after you've snuck up behind them. Solid Snake would be proud.

Creating and customizing is a large part of Oblivion. As you begin a new game, you create your own hero/heroine by selecting race (from stock humans to several different nations of elves to orcs and reptilian Argonians), gender and sign (which governs what special powers you can get). You can customize your character's mug from hair color to face shape to eye color and nose bridge-width... it's neat, though you have to take care to keep your character from looking ugly. As for character classes, it's all customizable too. While a dullard can go with straight-on Fighters or Mages, you can choose pre-set template occupations like Nightblades and Battlemages, or Agents and Witchhunters. Or you can create your own class, selecting skills, specializations and naming the job as you please. Yes, now you can have your magic-using, sword-swinging fast-talking Orcish Headhunter of your dreams.

So far, my first character, a female Dark Elf Soul Walker (a stealthy mage-warrior) has gone on a couple of cool little quests, exterminated a couple of bandit gangs, found and joined the legendary Thieves Guild, become an associate of the Mage Guild and loves travelling on foot across the country and taking long swims in lakes (Hehe). She's got her eyes set on becoming the Mage Guild Archmage and is contemplating how to become a member of the mysterious Dark Brotherhood. She's a good girl with a naughty streak, ready to keep one foot in the light while another in the shadow. My kind of girl.

She probably won't be my last... Oblivion just screams replay value, so you can try any other race or class, try the many quests with different approaches or just to try and do things that you didn't before. Darn, you could probably play this game for months and months and still not fully uncover everything.

So I'm hooked. And totally loving every moment of it. See you all in Cyrodiil!

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is now available on Xbox360 and PC.

Change

Last night, an epiphany hit me as I sat down in The Sanctum and glanced at the corner of the room where I had my piles of anime VCDs.

It's been ages... perhaps even months... since I have just sat down and watched anime on the TV. My pace of living has changed so much that I don't seem to have the time, or even just the patience to just sit down and watch. These days, I just get my anime or even movies digitally from online, encode them in DIVX or XVID and load them into my mobile phone for viewing when the bug hits me. Seriously.

And so, I got up and started grabbing my VCDs, taking them out of their cases (which I can now reuse or sell at my leisure) and putting the lot into plastic bags for storing or disposing. It's kind of a waste, probably- I easily have dozens an dozens of VCDs (irritatingly enough, I have multiple copies of several titles)- but I guess it's good as well that from now on, I won't be buying anime from local dealers (who basically get them from online as well anyway). It's an end of an era, but something I am glad to be free of. No more dealing with irritating, anime-incompetent counter monkeys, and unresponsive geeky or smarmy anime shop owners. No more trudging all the way to an anime shop just to be told the title you're looking for is OUT OF STOCK.

Thanks be to Bittorrent, I can now get my anime and movies directly to my PC, and I couldn't be any happier.

In any case, I'll still retain my DVD collection and probably will buy the odd DVD, mainly for the rest of the household's viewing. I also will probably buy the occasional DVD from a dealer that sells anime in large quantities as DIVX files (which saves me on download times).

It's a weird feeling. Maybe I felt it before, when I got rid of the trusty Betamax and finally embraced VHS years and years ago. Gosh, who knows where technology will bring our entertainment in another decade or so. Direct-to-brain transfers? Wild, man. Simply Wild.

Perfect Killing Machine



I've decided that the next comic I'll be producing in the very near future will be another K.I.A. issue. Yeah, I know I said that The Last Angel Ace Story would be it, but I am not going to rush that one. I intend to have something ready for this year's KOMIKON, and realistically Angel Ace won't make it, given the time that remains.
In line with how the first K.I.A. book had a bit of a concept (anthology type with various creators/writers/artists), this one will have one as well. I'll be pitching the idea soon to the local comics gang and we'll see where this one goes.

On other things, I look to be quite busy in comics for the next few weeks. Project Kris is half done for me, so I'll hopefully be reaping rewards from that. Project HERO 2 is almost at hand, and this early I've already worked out the general storyline for my piece, which is another Samurai Sis story. The trick will be doing the art for another story that will be written by another creator.
Another comics project, where I will collaborate with Vin Simbulan, looks to start soon as well. The deadline's tight but I'm quite interested in the subject and title, so I'll probably jump into that.

Considering that I haven't really done any comics work for several months, this is probably pretty adventurous of me, but what the heck- in comics, I seem to work best under pressure so why not? Time to get back into the gutter again. Heh.