Dream Smells

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

My cousin the cosplayer


Jeremy and his girl Kathy strike a pose.

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

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

Got it.


Finally.

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

Gaming Bits and Bytes

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

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

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

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

Next Attraction

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

Lost Soul

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

Biggie Size Me

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

Nail Biter


Buffy is no match for Japanese ghosts.

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

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

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

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

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

Malloween

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

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

Diabolical Pokemon


Sights like this abound in Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.

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

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

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

Ultimate Longing

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

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

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

Escape

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

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

Invasion of the Mini-Monsters

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

Retro Refreshed

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

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

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

My next pho- er, gadget.



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

Trick or Treat


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

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


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

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

It's OUT.


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

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

Homecoming

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

Welcome back, Dean and Gig!

Eve

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

Deceived


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

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

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

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

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

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

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