The Box with a Big X, or How I was Driven to Buy a HDTV

Yup, I now have a Gamertag.

I bought a 2nd-hand Xbox 360 from Brainy (the one that he won from a lucky draw in December 2006). The thought of getting one has never occurred to me before (my SingNet promotion Wii is on its way) but Devil May Cry 4 was coming and Brainy's offer of $150 was really attractive for a no-warranty, pre-2007 set. I'll just buy it and set it aside for the release of DMC4 in February, I said to myself.

Then a few things happened.

First thing I realized was that my standard TV was too old to accomodate the Xbox 360. In-game text was squashed up and very blurry, making it near-impossible to read anything properly. I guess it was time I found out first-hand that all next-gen consoles require HDTVs. I went out and purchased a Samsung LCD TV (LA26R71) which arrived on Friday. It looks like my idea of actually saving money with a cheap 2nd-hand Xbox had backfired since I had to fork out a lot more for a HDTV (never mind, I would've probably needed it for the Wii, too).

Only then I could start playing properly. Despite my initial prejudice towards the Xbox (and all things Microsoft in general), I actually grew to love it. The Xbox's online connectivity, with its downloadable content, online community and achievements system (via Gamertags) changed the way I looked at console gaming. Now, I wished I had purchased a brand new Xbox 360 instead (this one is beginning to show its age with some minor freezes and system error every now and then). But then again, it's rather expensive and I would not have learnt that I actually enjoyed having an Xbox 360. haha.

By the way, my Xbox 360 can blog, too. It's alive... it's alive!

Team Fortress 2

I finally picked up The Orange Box last week. It was mainly for Team Fortress 2, a team-based multiplayer FPS. I decided to snap it up after reading a lot of positive reviews and asking for friends' recommendations.

It's a fun and awesome game with nine classes to learn and play as. Its cel-shaded graphics with memorable, cartoony characters make it stand out from most other FPS games, though in essence, it is still a serious shooter. In any case, I think its comedic theme is what makes the game extremely enjoyable for me.

The game is fast-paced and pretty intense.; it kinda reminds me of how I used to play Counterstrike in LAN shops. There are even local servers (by Starhub...) so the game runs smoothly with like 20+ ping. I am pretty much addicted to the game. I hope it will have more content soon. As of now, there are only six official maps to play which is frankly quite pathetic.

There is a funny Saving Private Ryan parody comprising of movie footage re-recorded with TF2 music, sound effects and voice samples. I exploded laughing when I watched it. It really made my day.

SingNet + Wii!

I went to sign up for SingNet's Nintendo Wii promotion on Thursday. It was the Nintendo Wii that swayed me over! I've always thought of getting a Wii. It's pretty pricey at the moment (around S$600+) so this package was quite attractive. At the very least, if my connection still lags after switching ISPs, I can live with the consolation that I got a Wii out of the deal.

I think what I have done might be a little extreme (I just want smoother, lag-free online gaming) but I guess if I let the promotion slip by, I would probably regret it and keep dwelling on it. My SingNet connection should be up and running on the 11th of January and I will be redeeming my Wii a week after activation.

Happy New Year 2008!

Happy New Year, everyone! This is my first post of 2008!

Monday was a normal working day for me. It was New Year's Eve and I had a dinner & movie outing at night. It was around 12 noon when the admin next door asked me if I had half-day off. She said that most of the staff could go home after 2 pm. My boss didn't mention anything about it so I kinda hoped she would bring it up before lunchtime. At around 1 pm, my boss left the office so I knew it was (sadly) just another full work day for me. By 3 pm, most people had left the office so I was all alone. At least I am free to do my own stuff till it was time to leave.

After work, I went straight to Bishan Junction 8 to shop around. I met up with Kyo, Akira, YongHao (trying not to call him 'Maggie' anymore) and Darrell, accompanied by Brainy who popped out of nowhere (Everyone now say F-O-E!). We had dinner at Cafe Cartel. I tried to eat something light like spaghetti so that I'd have room for nachos later but I was still very full.

We then caught Aliens vs. Predator 2 at around 9 pm. It was an okay action movie with a non-existent & rushed plot. I guess the violence was the highlight of the show. At least it was better than the first AvP which was pretty much rubbish.

When I got home at night, I caught a quick glimpse of the countdown at Vivocity on TV before carrying on with my Heroes DVDs. Sadly, I was on the 3rd-last episode. I completed it on Tuesday morning and got that same empty feeling that I get whenever I finish watching a good TV series. I can't wait for Season 2.

Anyway, here is a nice funny movie that Brainy mentioned:
Meet the Spartans (Trailer)
I guess it's by the makers of the Scary/Epic Movie series.