Dec 30 2008
Despite it debut back in 2006, I find this Playstation 3 ad rather “melebih-lebih” (in Malay) or kua cheong (in Chinese), or in English, rather hype-ish. Resistance:FOM is hyper-realism? You.Are.Kidding.Me.
Dec 29 2008
Just in case you are easily confused, the title doesn’t refer to a new Biohazard game subtitled Port of a Remake, but instead refers to the GameCube remake of the original Biohazard (a.k.a Resident Evil) game for the Sony Playstation, now ported over to the Nintendo Wii.
Still with me? Good. The remake was recently released in Japan on Christmas Day, and is now available on popular import website Play-Asia for owners of NTSC-J (Asian) Nintendo Wiis. Check it out here.
Dec 29 2008
I didn’t know that Nine Over Ten 9/10 is linking to an emo-blog. Teenagers these days, complaining about what they can’t get, in this case a laptop. I used to lug around a 5 kilo laptop with a RM 13,000 price tag back in college. I didn’t complain as having a laptop was sheer convenience (when it came to presentations, and doing assignments when the labs were full) to begin with.
Anyways. Here’s a throwback to times when things were a bit simpler, the latest iteration of the Puzzle Bobble series, Space Puzzle Bobble. Which could mean one thing, the cute dinosaurs are back.
If you haven’t guessed from the title, Space Puzzle Bobble is a puzzle game; you shoot bubbles of different kinds upwards into a formation of overhanging bubbles. Somewhat like Tetris, shooting a bubble into a collection of 2 or more bubbles of the same type will cause the collection of bubbles to disappear.
The bubble launcher is controlled by the D-pad and you can use the walls to bounce your bubble shot into hard to reach places in the bubble formation.
The objective of the game is pretty simple for the story and versus AI modes; just clear out the formation of bubbles. Should the formation reach the bottom of the screen, it’s game over.
For Those Who Take “Casual” Seriously
There’s also an endless mode which is pretty much self-explainatory; play until you get overwhelmed by bubbles. Just be sure to switch the background music off, it WILL drive you crazy. To keep things interesting, there are also 3-minute and 5-minute challenge mode, where the player will have to work to best the previous high-scores set within the aforementioned time limit.
Being a Taito published game, I’m glad that they stuck with having all the action in the one screen, eliminating the problems caused by the gap in between the screens like in Arkanoid DS where it was considered an area in play!
Look and Feel
Graphics wise, there are not many frills in this 2D game. Even the special effects are muted. The game supports both local WiFi play and WFC connectivity.
The Bottom Line
Being a Japanese import, Space Puzzle Bobble is a little on the import friendly side. The menu text are in Japanese (don’t be fooled by the Press Start text), but once you know which is for what game mode, you are all set to go.
The game is a good time-killer, like the Tetris clone that you like playing on your phone while waiting for your girlfriend/spouse trying on clothes in the store. And it certainly beats reading some emo-kid’s blog.
Where to Buy?
Interested in getting a copy of Space Puzzle Bobble? Click here for purchasing details.
Dec 29 2008
I had a good go at Fallout 3 earlier tonight. The game didn’t crash, but did had some weird slow-downs which I thought were better than crashing outright. In any case, I chalked up one trophy by completing the Those! quest. Those fire ant can sure burn the house down and I really need to get more ammo.
Dec 28 2008
Have you installed the Fallout 3 (PS3) Trophies update? Well, I did and having restarted the game from the point of escaping Vault 101 (yay..I has trophy for Escape!), I didn’t really notice anything different aside from the game seems a little sluggish. Emphasize on “a little”.
But things came to a halt when the game literally crashed/froze/became not responsive….take your pick, it’s all of ‘em. I was shooting a raider in the head while raiding (pun not intended, I can’t find a better word) the Springvale School. I know VATS has this slo-mo thing going on, but I didn’t know it had game-stopping abilities.
Good thing I did a save seconds before that crap (not referring to the raider surprising me and him getting shot in the head, but to the game crashing) happened. Have you faced the same problem post-patch?
I haven’t been playing the game since (it was 2 days ago) since the demo version of Lord of the Rings: Conquest has been a fun (but ugly-looking) distraction. Will be playing FO3 later after lunch.
Dec 28 2008
At the rate Play-Asia is putting stuff into the bargain bin, one could not be faulted for thinking that this is a precursor to a grand sale of sorts. In any case, keep this site bookmarked.
Despite even myself having trouble keeping track of notable games going into the bargain bin (one of them being Sonic Chronicles:The Dark Brotherhood ~ NDS ~ USD 29.90). And then there’s Infinite Undiscovery (Asian/English version) for the Xbox 360, going for just USD 19.90.
Not to mention Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Xbox 360, USD 34.90) and many more.
Dec 28 2008
To all Nintendo DS fans who love importing Japanese games, here’s a couple of noteworthy titles, both of which are now priced at bargain bin prices, for your consideration.
First up, the Japanese version of Metal Slug 7 is going for USD 29.90, down from its previous selling price of USD 48.90. The game is really import-friendly. I managed to finish the game despite being a n00b on the Japanese language. Click here for details.
Secondly, Blue Dragon Plus is now selling at a really cheap price of USD 19.90, down 30 bucks from its previous price of USD 49.90. Click here for details.
Dec 27 2008
I killed Sauron, you know, the big bad baddie from Lord of the Rings, today. No, I was not participating in some real life re-enactment of that battle between the combined forces of Men and Elves against Sauron in Middle-Earth’s second age, but rather, I was playing the demo version of EA’s up and coming Lord of the Rings: Conquest.
The game states that it supports 16 player multiplayer online, and I guess this online approach is going to be a key highlight of the game, judging that it is place higher than the single player option. But 16 players..come on.
Anyways, I had trouble connecting to the servers for a match and I ended up going through the single player training mode. But before I start talking about the single player experience, lets talk about what LOTRC is about. Think of it as one of Dynastry Warrior games, crossed with J.R.R Tolkien, rather Weta Digital’s take on LOTR material.
The tutorial lets you experience 4 different classes in the good guys’ army, namely the warrior, archer, scout and mage, all of which have distinct combat styles and rather un-Tolkien-like moves/abilities. The warrior comes with a flaming sword ability and can dash (Rurouni Kenshin style) and even spin like a top, blade ablaze. Some one in Pandemic Studios (the guys making this game) must really love Dynasty Warriors.
On the other hand, the scout can cloak like the Predator from the AvP movies and the mage, well, he pwns Gandalf in terms of abilities, and the mage is definitely not magic shy.
The inspiration from Dynasty Warriors doesn’t stop there, there’s also a hit counter, and also a combo movelist.
At the end of the training mode, the player is given the option to use Ilsidur instead of the normal classes of characters. He shares a lot in common with the Warrior class and if there’s one thing I noticed, Sauron automatically locks on to the player’s character, regardless of what he or she had chosen. So..run!
While the game tries to convey a sense of “epic-ness”, I can’t hep but feel like it is one of those PS2 LOTR games, and indeed it does look the part! Puzzling eh?
In any case, “16 player multiplayer mode” should be a key attraction, lets just hope that the battlefield is persistent. Looking forward to Lord of the Rings: Conquest? Click here to pre-order. It wouldn’t be long now, the game is due mid-January 2009.
Dec 26 2008
Yup, you read that right. There are three kinds of responses when a title like Motorstorm II hits the bargain bin: regret (Dang, I’ve should have waited), joy (Yay! I can buy it now), and indifference (So what? I don’t care/I don’t mind paying premium).
In any case, I’m under “joy”, and I hope you are too as this is a time limited offer. Click here to purchase Motorstorm II for the PS3 at a bargain price of USD 24.90. Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed for more highlights on bargains and discounts!
Dec 26 2008
The 100 Classic Book Collection reminds me of a balance scale whereby the pros weigh the same as the cons. Let’s start out with the cons first. I don’t think I would be the first to highlight that the books on offer in this software are most, if not all, in public domain.
Reading them at no cost at all would involve downloading them from a website such as Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org), and reading it on a PC, or sticking the files into a flashkart and reading then with a homebrew e-reader software.
Just Browsing
On the other hand, the 100 Classic Book Collection has an interface on a class of its own. Holding the DS sideways to support either hand preferences, browsing through the books is like browsing through a book shelf, and it’s presented really nicely.
Slide the stylus left or right to go through the books on the shelf or tap the left and right buttons (tap too much sends the software to run through the shelf really fast, and pick a random title!). You can even sort the titles based on title or the author’s name.
Don’t like browsing? Use the search function or have the software recommend some titles by answering a brief, if not slightly disjointed questionaire in the Book Guide. Besides reading the book, tapping the spine of a book on the shelf allows you to find out more about the book and its author.
Reading, DND
Reading utilises both screens and the sliding of the stylus turns pages back and forth. There’s a handy slider which you can utilise to skip to a certain page. The ability to add bookmarks and read footnotes makes for an even more enriching reading experience.
Further adding to this experience are the reading options. You can set the font-size, the reading background music and assign the DS buttons as hot-keys.
Book Hoarding?
WFC connectivity is provided and with that, you can download an additional 10 e-books. You can also send and receive books from friends via the local wireless.
The Bottom Line
In summary, 100 Classic Book Collection is an accomplished piece of software but pity the books on offer. Fans of classic books should find themselves pretty comfortable with this software. 100 Classic Book Collection for the Nintendo DS is currently available at Amazon UK, click here for details.
Glossary
Here’s the list of books in 100 Classic Book Collection for the Nintendo DS:
