Mutant DVD Player

It's not a name you'd normally associate with DVD players, but that didn't keep me from snagging a Sparkle DVD player with that very name just a couple of hours ago. My old DVD player-component set is about three to five years old, and it's been acting up lately. So I decided to enter the new year with a new player. And at just 2,500 pesos, it's a great package! Not only does the Sparkle player play any region DVDs, it can play either PAL or NTSC discs and has scads of options and output options. Best of all, unlike the more popular Next Base players, even if the remote gets busted, you won't have to go through life without being able to navigate through DVD menus since there are controls on the player itself. Great!

I'll still be keeping the components installed, and perhaps use the speakers to augment the new player's performance. And of course, the ol' Promac VCD players staying as well for episodic anime watches.

Speaking of anime, I picked up several new series to check out. Bleach is all about a hotheaded guy who suddenly finds out one day that invisible demons and demon hunters are battling it out in modern day Japan. He soon gets involved in this secret conflict when he suddenly finds himself wielding the powers of one of the demon hunters. Grenadier is a western-fantasy adventure, starring a busty blonde heroine who wields a mean gun. Slayers meets six-shooters? Looks like it. Finally, Beet the Vandel Buster looks like a swords-and-sorcery action title starring some young adventurers, led of course by the titular hero.
On the DVD movie front, picked up Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, an Asian film entitled City of Lost Children, and Mulan 2 for the kiddies. I'll be getting my copy of the extended cut set of Return of the King tomorrow, so that's something to look forward to. Yay!

The PSP has landed

... at least in Japan. Sales of Sony's first handheld, portable console have been brisk, and the initial stock of 200,000 units is expected to sell out pretty fast. Available along with the unit are several accessories and 6 launch games.

Haven't seen it yet here, though I am told that the new mini-Playstation is already available, selling at about 12,000 pesos (which is a great price for such a new kit). I'm fully intending on getting myself a PSP, if not this Christmas perhaps in early 2005. We'll see...

Christmas Quest

Last night was the Comic Quest Christmas Party. The gang got together in a rented condo with chips and dip, lots of drinks and then later, a feast of KFC chicken, savoury and spicy pasta courtesy of Andrew, barbecue and White Chocolate Mousse from me and balikbayan Camille.
The majority of the night was taken up by a series of trivia games on the subject of Marvel, DC, Indie/Local Comics and Anime. Later, during the wee hours of the morning, the group got to playing rounds of the drinking games Deprivation and Specialist, sans the liquor. It was still pretty fun despite us all being sober (though a bit sleepy). Let's do it again next year!

Prelude

Last night, Jason brought his copy of The Return of the King Extended DVD Set, which he got from a local dvd dealer. Thanks to the big demand for the set, Vin's supplier messed up and I've had to go elsewhere for my own set. I'll hopefully be getting mine on Sunday.
Anyway, last night we were able to watch several featurettes. As before in the two previous Extended Version sets, the usual cast of producers, designers and cast members narrate the development of the film. This one though has an air of saying farewell, or finality and moving on. It's sad, but gloriously so. I can't wait for Sunday.

Tekken 5 in the Home


Take Christie Montiero (and the rest of the Tekken crew) home with you in 2005.

The PS2 version of Tekken 5 will be arriving in early to mid-2005, according to Namco. The development team is shooting for an almost perfect conversion, and this should be possible given that the arcade version is powered by little more than slightly enhanced PS2 hardware.
Aside from arcade-perfect gameplay and graphics, the home version will feature new modes of play including a totally new side-game (ala Tekken Bowl in the past), a simplified custom mode where you can outfit your fighter with various duds and accessories, and a story mode oozing with CG movies. In fact, Tekken 5 will have the most CG cinematics of any Tekken game ever, according to the Namco representative. Each character will have a CG ending to tell his or her part in the continuing Iron Fist saga.
Several time-release characters have already been revealed in the arcade versions- Anna Williams, the sister of blonde bombshell Nina, taekwondo expert Baek Doo-San (who was feared dead prior to Tekken Tag Tournament), and Roger the kangaroo.

Holy Smoke!

There's a HUGE billowing cloud of smoke rising in the distance, easily visible from our office along Ayala Avenue in Makati. Speculations on what is burning range from a building being constructed, and a squatter area. Anyway, we haven't heard any sirens so the firemen must be taking a nap right now as Rome burns. Oh well.

Rut Busting

One of the directions I am considering for my new comic project is an Asian Horror-Suspense title. I've never done anything in comics even vaguely resembling horror... not even a Halloween special for Angel Ace. Some would say that K.C. Strange with Nikki Alfar or Crystal with Jason Banico would count, but these are more action titles.

A horror title would require that the main character be unprepared souls being drawn or snared by a mysterious supernatural force. No special fighting skills, no enemies to battle, no heroics or certainty that it will all end well.

This would be pretty interesting to do, and horror titles are just so 'in' right now, given the hordes of both local and foreign horror movies lurking into theaters, and the runaway success of even shows like Nginiig: The Hidden Files.

Darn this is something totally new to me. How I'll go about it is still unsure at this point. Maybe I'll listen to some of my dreams. Whatever. I'll try to start looking in the darkness and see if something answers.

Yikes.

Left Field

One of my officemates got herself a Nokia N-Gage QD recently. Actually, she started off buying one as a gift for someone else, then suddenly found herself totally crazy over the Finnish gaming phone. So now, she's installing games and apps up the wazoo, and having fun. This from a person who previously owned very business-like phone models. It's great to be able to let go and do unexpected every now and then. Like me wearing boots suddenly one day. Or having green hair. Or eating veggies. Right...

Hmm. Boots... Mmmm...

Crabby

I had to wake up extra-early today, thanks to a 9 AM appointment at work. Took a cold shower, hied off to the MRT and Cubao. On my way to the EDSA MRT, I decided I had time for breakfast at the nearby Dunkin' Donuts. Aside from myself, there was only one other customer at the counter. There were three DD personnel manning the place. There were no other people at the place at the time.
The counter-monkey attending the lady before me was taking a looooooooong time. This lady customer herself was asking for everything as well. They were taking their time. All this while, the other DD personnel were doing something else in the back room. I started thumping my fingers on the counter.

Still, the customer and the counter monkey continued their rambling. How long does it take to order coffee and a muffin?

After some minutes of thumping my fingers and looking expectantly at the other DD crew without response, I pulled up a chair from the nearby table and sat.

STILL the counter monkey and the customer weren't finished. From the time I entered to the time I pulled up a chair, it was four minutes.

One of the Dunkin Donuts crew came out finally from the back room and started polishing the tables, never mind that I was there waiting and not being attended. Five Minutes.

I snapped.

In the calmest voice I could manage, I spoke to the second crewperson, asking if it was standard procedure to have only ONE person handling the counter when there are other customers waiting. She looked at me blankly, not knowing what to do. I had to spell it out for her. SERVE ME, WENCH!!! Well, actually I didn't say that, I just motioned for her to go to the counter and get my order. VERY calmly. Finally, she jotted down my order and got to fixing up my stuff.

STILL the other counter monkey and the other customer weren't finished. After I finished giving my order, it was only then that the other customer left with her muffin and coffee. SEVEN MINUTES to order FUCKING COFFEE AND A MUFFIN. The counter monkey finally takes my money.

This early and I'm crabby. Well, I had a horrible ride on the MRT to deal with right after. The early morning MRT crowd was present in legion, with solid walls of enemy humans waiting for trains to arrive. Even before you get on board you are squeezed into a tight mass with sweaty, smelly Others. Three trains pass by, and none of us can get in. There's space in the last two, but the people standing by the train doors won't budge- it's a greed thing, really. By the time the fourth train comes by, the waiting crowd had enough. There was easily space in the cars, but AGAIN the sentinels at the doors don't budge. The waiting throng surges forward, totally pushing forward and forcing the way into the car. I spend the first half of the ride standing in the middle of the train, hands at my sides. I don't need to hang onto the safety rails- I am squeezed in so tight I couldn't move, much less fall over even if I wanted to. Just huddled in tight as cheese with smelly, sweaty masses. Gah.

It's times like these that make me hate early morning commutes. Someday I hope to have a car to go to work everyday. But I guess I have to get a driver to do the work for me. If I get this crabby just commuting, imagine my road rage if I get behind a steering wheel.

Scary.

War in the Pocket

I've been able to acquire a CD with tons of apps and games for my O2 XDA II Pocket PC Phone. Of course, my favorite is the full version of Age of Empires, which lets me go midieval on enemy kingdoms arses. Having such a classic and brilliant RTS game playable anywhere I go is simply mind-blowing, though I have to admit that playing it for prolonged periods of time would drain my battery pretty fast. Other games include the classic Battleship, Ms. Pac Man, Seven Seas and a simple but cool stylus-powered game called Reckless Thief- basically you just guide a dot through a maze while avoiding touching the walls or any of the moving obstacles. It's cool and strangely addictive to make it throught the maze in the given time limit, and it's great stylus training. Heh.

On the multimedia front, I've fallen in love with Pocket TV, a PPC app that lets you play MPEGs on your PDA. I've been so used to seeing the reduced-frame run of Smartmovie, that the clearer, more fluid movement of actual MPEGs totally blew me away. The only problem is that MPEGs are a lot bigger in size than Smartmovie AVIs, so a full movie would probably take up a huge chunk of even my gigabyte storage space. As it is, I've decided to retain full movies and episodes in Smartmovie, while special clips and shorts that I want to see in quality will be reserved for Pocket TV viewing.

So far I've gotten used to using the XDA II quite well, and so far I'm in bliss with it. Yep, three weeks almost and no temptations yet. Looks like the PDA Phone is it for me. Hope, hope.

Greater Evil


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

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

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

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

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

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

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

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

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

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

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

Rut

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

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

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

Coming Very Soon


Stretching your way before Christmas.

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

My Creepy Anime Fix of the Year


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

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

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

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

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

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

Dark Day

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

Dark Cravings


Temptation and chocolate are one and the same.

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

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

Last Hurrah

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

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

Sluggish

That's how I felt the whole of yesterday.

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

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

Snake in the Grass

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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