Castle of Shikigami III, previously an arcade manic shooter released in 2005, was also release on the Nintendo Wii (US version) back in May 2008. It is now selling at a discount price of USD 19.90. Those of you familiar with the genre (and own a Wii) might be interested to check this bargain out! Click here for details.

I’m pretty sure that Fallout 3 fans everywhere (those owning a PS3) would find this a real bargain. Play-Asia is selling the Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition (which comes with a Bobblehead, a hardcover art book, all packed within a Vault-Tec Launch Box) along with an Vault Boy t-shirt at a discounted price of USD 49.90.

Try beating that with Amazon’s price of USD 105 (with no t-shirt)! Take advantage of this deal now! There’s no telling how much stock is left, so get yours today. Click here for details.

Up and coming rock band Peanut|Butte took no prisoners and were hotter than hot in their gig at the Phi Psi Kappa frat house last night. Playing a three song set, they had the crowd rocking in no time. This was in contrast to the first time we heard them play a cover of Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer.

Lead guitarist t-spoon had this to say: “The first time you heard us, you know..it was awful. The critics said so, even we bought into that. But hey, we’ve learned from that. The most important thing is that we came away with that with inspiration to do better! We’ll be performing tonight at the Pang Tay Bay tonight, so catch us there!”

There you have it. Get ready to have your faces melted with Peanut|Butte’s very own brand of rock at the Pang Tay Bay tonight, 10.30 p.m.

What’s the size of a manga tankobon but brimming with Japanese Arcade goodness? It’s “Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan’s Game Centers” by Brian Ashcraft (of Kotaku) with Jean Snow (previously with the now dead Pingmag).

Compact in size the book nevertheless remains an eye opening experience on Japanese arcades, known there as game centers. If you thought that arcades are all about Street Fighter and DDR, you are seriously mistaken.

From crane games to shmups and then over the beat-em-ups and card games, Arcade Mania rises above the din of arcades to bring you not only both old and new Japanese arcade trends but also the personalities in the respective trends.

Among those featured are the Beast himself, Daigo Umehara, shmup game creators, a DDR-playing gaijin (who is very good with it), sticker booth model Sakurina and many more. The book is also chokeful with little known but very interesting facts. Did you know that Sega and Taito were not formed by Japanese, even though they are now identified as Japanese video game companies?

This book, is a must have for arcade fans or anyone curious about Japanese gaming culture. I bought mine over at Acmamall after failling to find the book at both Kinokuniya and MPH.

I came really early to the office this morning, and took a couple of my colleagues out for breakfast. On the way back, I saw a road rage incident on the stretch from Taman Bahagia to SS2. The guy actually stopped traffic by parking his Saga across both lanes, stepped out and went to have a chat with the driver right behind him! Brr. Pity those folks heading towards SS2. To the bald guy driving the Saga, chill man.

This is one cool rap music video from Dan Bull, titled Generation Gaming. Quoting an e-mail I received this morning, it’s an epic rap documentary of the history of gaming from the early 90′s to the present day. Listen out for the witty lyrics:

Dan Bull’s critically acclaimed album, Safe, is available for free at his MySpace page, so do check it out: http://www.myspace.com/danbull. Thanks Freshnut Promotions for dropping a line.

We all know that the new NDSi comes equipped cameras, but what about us Nintendo DS/DS Lite owners? Well, there’s no need to feel left out as your little Nintendo money-makers can be equipped with cameras as well.

First up, you’ll need a NDS/NDSL console. Mine is an old phat NDS, yup, it’s old-school but that’s the way we roll here at NineOverTen. Next up, you’ll need a camera attachment. Where to get one you ask? Why, by purchasing a copy of Face Training DS. LOL.

Ok, before you start throwing bricks at me (especially those expecting a real guide), here’s a little bit of background. Otona no DS Kao Training, otherwise known as Face Training DS is a part of Nintendo’s Touch Generations Japanese line, and features a Slot-2 camera attachment that takes pictures of you to help you exercise your face and other upper body muscles.

Play-Asia was selling the game at a heavily discounted price of USD 19.90 (the price has since went back to USD 48.90) last week, and I promptly ordered a copy. The package arrived yesterday, very fast indeed.  The camera is like one of those cheap webcams you can get at the local computer store. Whatever that’ was showing on the touchscreen was grainy but what can you expect from something that costs (along with the game) USD 50.

The game itself is pretty fun, it had me doing pretty strenuous, not to mention awkward facial expressions (and you’re supposed to hold ‘em for 5 seconds) in no time. The game shows a montage of your expressions after every session, not something you want to show err..your girlfriend, for instance. It also had me doing some neck and shoulder exercise. Cool stuff, trust the Japanese to come up with this sort of things.

Here are some pictures:

Play too much video games and you might end up with “Playstation palmar hidradenitis”, a form of “idiopathic eccrine hidradenitis”. In one particular patient, she, a regular console gamer, had “intensively painful sores on the palms of her hands”. Thankfully she recovered after 10 days of abstinence.

Read all about it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7907489.stm

Here’s your chance to own HellBoy: Science of Evil for the Playstation 3 at a hugely discounted price of USD 12.90. If you don’t mind a Korean manual, but English game, Play-Asia is selling the Korean version of the game (the game is still in English) at that price. Check it out here!

Lone Wanderer’s Bad Conscience: Draw straws?! Fiddlesticks. Why not we draw a gun at her head and have her march into that irridiated death trap and switch the damn purifier on.

Lone Wanderer’s Neutral Conscience: Yay, straws! I like straws! Come on, BC, we are all going to die anyways/ So let’s draw straws with her and see who gets to die first.

Lone Wanderer’s Good Conscience: Hush the two of you. I somehow feel that I’m destined to do this…that Dad wouldn’t want more than me going into that chamber to switch on the purifier and bring a change in this God forsaken land.

BC: You are so full of yourself GC. Last, Best Hope of Humanity my foot. I suggest we blow this joint, there’s a good ole chunk of Wasteland yet to be explored. Think about it, places to loot, raiders to kill, people to enslave… heck, I think I’ll setup an Ultra Jet lab and take over that posh pad of Tenpenny’s. Now, get with the program and TELL her to switch on that damned thing. If she ends up dead, we’ll just tell her pop she died a heroine.

GC: No, I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be appropriate to impose someone else to finish what Dad started. Only I can do this, it’s destiny….preordained you might add. The end is here boys, and we are going to do it.

NC: Like I said…We’re gonna die anyway.

BC (mutters): I knew I should have blew up Megaton when I have the chance. Now I won’t get to see Miss Yappati-Wasteland-Survivors-Guide-Yap turn into a ghoul. Damn you GC.

And so it was that the Lone Wanderer ventured forth from Vault 101 intent on discovering the fate of a father who has once sacrificed the future of humanity for that of his own child.

But it was not until the end of this long road that the Lone Wanderer learned the true meaning of that greatest of virtues – sacrifice. Stepping into the irradiated control chamber of Project Purity, the child followed the example of the father sacrificing life itself for the greater good of mankind.

Thankfully, when selected by the sinister president to be his instrument of annihilation, the Wanderer refused. Humanity with all its flaws was deemed worthy of preservation. The waters of life flowed at last – free and pure, for any and all. The Capital Wasteland at long last was saved.

So ends the story of the Lone Wanderer, who stepped through the great door of Vault 101 and into the annals of legend. But the tale of humanity will never come to a close, for the struggle of survival is a war without end, and war – war never change.

The Capital Wasteland proved a cruel inhospitable place, but the Lone Wanderer refused to surrender to the vices that had claimed so many others. The values passed on from father to child – selflessness, compassion, honor – guided this noble soul through countless trials and triumphs.