Apparently Sony is feeling the heat from Microsoft and is being
pressed to take desperate measures in the face of growing discontent and
rapid transition by gamers from the PS3 to the Xbox 360.
In face of this, Sony has announced that its flagship console will feature a
long overdue price cut of up to USD 100, bringing it to USD 299.99.
For gamers who own a Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360, you’ll be given an
option to trade in your existing console for a brand new PS3 and 2 selected
original titles from Sony (e.g. MLB 08 and NBA 09).
Long suffering gamers can click here for the press release.
I found it pretty strange that for the past 2 years, the only M-rated title I have in my 50+ Nintendo DS games library is Hokuto No Ken. Just two days ago, I received a parcel from a friend, containing game number 54 in my library and a M-rated one at that: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
While this comes as no surprise, the game after all is getting rave reviews from pratically everyone, I need to highlight the other reason why I bought this in the first place. Price. Specifically? RM 120. That’s pretty darn cheap and the simple reason is that this is the Asian edition of the game (for sale in the Asian region only).
The US Region version of the same game would set you back around RM 140+ and it would seem that only those with deeper wallets and a yearning for bragging rights (same like those who go for US Region PS3 games).
In any case, if you are looking for the Asian edition of Chinatown Wars in Malaysia, my friend here can be of help (he’s the chap that got me the game in the first place). Check out his blog at http://pureraver.blogspot.com
This is a bargain deal that is too hard to pass up, especially if you are a Playstation 3 owner. Play-Asia is selling LucasArts’ Fracture for the Playstation 3 for just USD 9.90. You read that right. USD 9.90. Click here for details.
You have now less than 16 hours to take advantage of the last day of Play-Asia’s Lucky Spring Sale. While some video game titles and toys have been sold out (or reverted to their normal prices by virtue of being new stock), there are plenty of video games, toys, collectible items and even music CDs and movie DVDs at hard to resist prices.
Here’s Nine Over Ten’s guide on what to pick up in the following categories on this last day of sales:
Nintendo DS – Look out for bargains on accessories such as cases, stylus, and also screen protectors for your NDSL/NDSi. Click here to start shopping
Gameboy – Be on the look out for Gameboy Advance titles such as the bit Generations series which can provide hours upon hours of fun for really cheap prices. Also, the soon-to-be-rare Famicom Mini games are the ones to snag here. Don’t miss this chance. Click here to check out the Gameboy section
Xbox 360 – There are plenty of Asian region (in English) games on sale below USD 20, and some of them even run on NTSC-U or even PAL consoles. Click here to start shopping for Xbox 360 games
Toys and Collectibles – Figurines, gashapons, and even trading card games are up for sale in this section. Looking to start your shooting game ship gashapon collection? Or build your killer Magic: The Gathering deck for less than USD 5 a theme deck? Start cheap at Play-Asia during this last day of sales! Click here to start your toy hunt.
Music - Soundtracks for video game franchises such as Final Fantasy are going for cheap here, couple this with free international shipping (to certain countries) and you’ll be hard pressed to find better bargains elsewhere. Click here to start shopping for stereo goodies.
Retro Games – Looking for a particular piece of nostalgia? The Lucky Spring Sale is bargains galore for retro consoles, accessories and that rare copy of an oldie but goldie game you are looking for. Click here and let the antique, I mean, retro buying begin!
And FYI, you are automatically entered into a lucky draw competition (with consoles as prizes) by virtue of buying on-sale items. Click here for further details.
I officially declare this to be my favourite hippie-era song…Rare Earth’s cover of Get Ready. Now wouldn’t it be cool on to have it on the next installment of Elite Beat Agents?
What songs would you like to have featured in the next EBA?
While you guys are busy playing virtual biker in “The Lost and the Damned” DLC for GTA IV on the Xbox 360 and re-enacting whatever stereotypes in mind, members of real biker gangs are busy killing each other Down Under.
A case of life imitating art? While bike gangs are already known for violence (mainly over territory and drug trade), this is the first time I’ve actually seen such coverage and the level of violence is well so shocking it might as well be in the video game (beating a gang member to dead in a busy airport terminal, drive by shootings).
I always admired the fact that some people can really relate to Premiership clubs. Anfield and the Emirates Stadium are playgrounds they visit with their like-minded friends on perhaps, once a week.
To them, Christiano is their boy, Gerrard is their neighbour, and Ferguson is someone they hang out with at the local pub. Nevermind that it’s Christiano Lee Kim Sai (buddy), Muthu “Stevie G” Kariapan (futsal kaki), Ahmad (call me Alex, as in Alex Ferguson…the boss who is always hollering at you) they are hanging out with, but I believe the appropriate term for them would be football fanatics.
They discuss tactics and what their players would do to their opponents, usually over their favourite tipple (be it beer or teh tarik). And if you so much as show up in opposing team colours in a place where the other team’s supporters are congregating, I would actually bid you Godspeed (fly you fools!). If you really, really need to watch the game (because the other mamak is showing the OTHER game), do make yourself scarce when your team is winning.
Having just summed up footie nut behaviour in like three paragraphs….wait, I forgot one thing. The typical Premiership football nut prides himself with his/her knowledge on the Premier League and even more so, the team he or she supports. It’s like a security blanket you see and it even has the effect as a shot of Dutch courage. I can imagine this conversation going on prior to the Liverpool vs Manchester United:
Man U Fan: We are gonna beat you so bad, you be running back to your mommies crying. Our boy Christiano will see to that!
Liverpool Fan: F*ck off..we got Stevie G! He gonna gut you good!
I’m actually writting all this stuff after a head splitting session with EA Games’ Football Academy for the Nintendo DS. 1 part footie-management sim, 1 part football player card collecting game and altogether an overwhelming experience for all but the most machosistic footie nuts, this game is not for the faint hearted.
The story is like this, you are enrolled into a Football Academy (which features Louis Scolari as the principal), where you get to manage your own team made up of player cards (lol) and in order to get better players (cards I tell you!) and challenge more teams, your football knowledge will be put to the test. Dominating the entire experience is an entire bunch of mini games which you can probably ace, if you are Shebby Singh.
The mini games range from locating where a club is on a map to arranging player names out of a bunch of jumbled out characters (and they are not necessarily from a team you support….try West Brom or Aston Villa), shooting practice, formations (e.g. you are supposed to judge whether a rightback would fit in a 5-4-1 formation) , etc etc. It’s like a coaching exam out there with no syllabus! Excelling in these games will improve your team, and as a reward you’ll get player packs containing player cards which you can add to your team or trade pile, or discard.
The Game Room from the main menu will allow you access to the mini games without having to go through the main game. And if you are really up to the challenge, try choosing the Bundesliga or the 3 other leagues available besides the Premier League and play the mini games. In the process, try not to throw the Nintendo DS out of the window.
As for playing matches, you really got to watch this video. It’s a cross between the old Championship Manager match mode with some elements grafted from CCGs like Magic: The Gathering.
I think I’m gonna keep that game on ice. What a headache.
I spent the entire day on Friday cooking for my dad’s birthday party, so naturally I was beat on Saturday morning. Feeling lazy to get out of bed, I had a brain wave there and then to come up with map of popular video game stores in the Klang Valley. The idea came from the fact that while there are popular stores that have good testimonies (we don’t have big chains like Best Buy, Gamestop, EB Games in Malaysia but instead rely on smaller, independent retailers), not many people know where they are located.
So here’s a map that I’ve created, thanks to the Google Maps service, of popular video game stores in Kuala Lumpur (KL, the capital city of Malyasia) and the surrounding area known as the Klang Valley. Criteria for addition into this map is pretty simple, good customer testimonies in the Lowyat.net Forum, perhaps the largest online community in Malaysia. Check it out:
Click here to view it on Google Maps. P/S: I’m not getting paid for this, it’s just something nice to do for the guys who work hard in providing for our gaming needs .
Another day, and it’s another look at the copy protection placed on yet another Square Enix game for the Nintendo DS. This time is the brand new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Now, rather than have you adrift a sea (download a copy of Dragon Quest to find out), the developers chose a two step approach should you choose to download the ROM and run it.
First up, the game will not allow you to save at the check point:
And if you actually try to be a smart-aleck and forgo saving altogether (with all due respect to those who can finish a Final Fantasy game on the DS in a single sitting, I think that is totally nuts and a damn good case of nothing better to do), the game will just stop, and right before you get a taste of combat too…so near but yet so far!
As always, if you really want to enjoy and appreciate a beautiful game like this, well, buy an original copy! It certainly saves the hassle of going through all this shit in the first place. Interested in purchasing the game? Click here for details.
In real life, the Dragon Dance is a traditional Chinese performance, not unlike the Lion Dance. However, a Dragon Dance may feature up to 50 dancers for one dragon, making it a sight to behold. Dragon Dance for the Nintendo DS combines two elements from two different puzzle games, namely Mahjong tile games, and Luxor, to create a brand new experience on the Nintendo DS.
The objective of each level is pretty simple. A Dragon dance (in is going on, traversing from one end of the top screen, to the other end). Each dancer is represented by a Mahjong tile which is also shown on the touch screen as a pile of Mahjong tiles. You are supposed to clear the Mahjong tiles on the touch screen by tapping on them whenever they appear as dancers on the top screen. Check out the following video to see how this is done:
It sounds pretty easy, but given that there are a variety of Mahjong tiles, a restriction of showing so many of them on a small screen (thus the tiles appear small), and also the speed in which the Dragon Dance moves from one end to another, the game is actually quite challenging. Just don’t stab your screen out of frustration.
Do note that the game is in Japanese, but with a little trial and error you should be able to navigate through the user interface. Dragon Dance is available now at Play-Asia, click here for purchase information.
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