The past few days had been nothing but pure excitement for me as the WOW TCG was finally released. We shared a case of booster boxes and drafted over the weekend. I had some savings for a rainy day such as this but never expected a storm instead. I practically blew most of my month's expenses on this newfound hobby.
The release celebration held at FunZ Centre was pretty much a success as seen by the overwhelming turn-out (well, 22 participants seemed like a lot). Other than some slight complications and the fact that matches took waaay too long, it was a lot of fun. In addition to close friends, the crowd consisted of familiar VS System players and a few of the regular M:TG guys.
Having played the WOW TCG at last, I was quite delighted about its overall feel. UDE certainly has a winner on their hands. The Warcraft license is well-known and any gamer will at recognize it in one way or another. The gameplay is a mish-mash of various other TCGs and most importantly of all, the card effects have very good flavour. There are even official multiplayer formats for this game. My only complaint is that the game might be quite expensive due to its hard-to-get cards and rather extreme rarity ratios.
I can't wait for the Onyxia Raid Deck coming next.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
WOW @ ComicsMart
I was so anxious about this weekend's WOW release that I decided to write to ComicsMart to confirm the event. This is the reply:
I didn't like the sound of the last line. But it looks like I may want to make a trip to Orchard Cineleisure this Saturday before dropping by at FunZ. The earlier the better~ :)This Saturday, the WoW will be at our branch at Orchard Cineleisure (tel 68369069) beginning at 1 p.m. On Sunday, it'll start at 12 noon at Serene Centre (tel 64664213). (Complete address details may be found at www.comicsmart.com) The person in charge is Kevin Heng.
We have the kits, but are waiting for the cards proper to arrive for play. There is a slight chance that the goods may not reach here in time, so please call us on the day of the tournament so that we may confirm that the tourney is still on. Thank you very much!
Carol Tan
Comics Mart
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Waiting for Warcraft
The weekends have been fun. I watched Death Note with the rest. The series had always been popular amongst anime/manga fans so I am sure it needs no introduction. I didn't read the manga to the end so I was looking forward to the movie. The show was two hours long and was very enjoyable. There are little differences between the movie and that of the comic to keep things fresh. Watching 'L' was pretty amusing since his strange antics in the manga are a lot more funny in real life. Can't wait for the sequel.
Mondays and Tuesdays were holidays for most people (it's Hari Raya, right?). I stayed home on both days, eagerly awaiting my two favourite weekly shows (Scrubs and CSI Miami) but they were showing holiday night movies on the TV instead. *sigh*
Like most people, I can't wait for the World of Warcraft TCG release celebration this weekend. I don't even know how I am going to get through the next few days.
Mondays and Tuesdays were holidays for most people (it's Hari Raya, right?). I stayed home on both days, eagerly awaiting my two favourite weekly shows (Scrubs and CSI Miami) but they were showing holiday night movies on the TV instead. *sigh*
Like most people, I can't wait for the World of Warcraft TCG release celebration this weekend. I don't even know how I am going to get through the next few days.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Solitaire Owns Me~
I have been playing a video game where Solitaire is one of the challenges. I've never played Solitaire until now. I've only known it as "that single-player card game that comes with every PC".
After reading the rules thoroughly and a few trial games (that were never completed), I sat down one night to play Solitaire in my game. I began playing at 12 midnight and must have retried it tons of times. I looked at the clock and realized that it was 3 am already. My mind was like, "This **** is ball-bustingly hard™!!!" I hopped on MSN for help. Realized that Solitaire wasn't meant to be such a long game. It was just me. >_< I got some small tips and went back to play. I finally managed to get it done by 5 am. Wow, I took all night. Good thing I had no work the next day.
A few days back, I had to attempt that same Solitaire challenge again. I thought I would be able to make quick work of the game since I had like hours of experience. I started at 12 midnight again. This time, I finished at around 5 am. Five hours!!! Now I know why my campmates were always playing Solitaire on the computer during long work hours back in NS. Anyone here actually good at this game that was obviously designed to inflict self-torture? <_<
After reading the rules thoroughly and a few trial games (that were never completed), I sat down one night to play Solitaire in my game. I began playing at 12 midnight and must have retried it tons of times. I looked at the clock and realized that it was 3 am already. My mind was like, "This **** is ball-bustingly hard™!!!" I hopped on MSN for help. Realized that Solitaire wasn't meant to be such a long game. It was just me. >_< I got some small tips and went back to play. I finally managed to get it done by 5 am. Wow, I took all night. Good thing I had no work the next day.
A few days back, I had to attempt that same Solitaire challenge again. I thought I would be able to make quick work of the game since I had like hours of experience. I started at 12 midnight again. This time, I finished at around 5 am. Five hours!!! Now I know why my campmates were always playing Solitaire on the computer during long work hours back in NS. Anyone here actually good at this game that was obviously designed to inflict self-torture? <_<
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Weekends Again - No More RT
Hooray, my RT has finally ended. Yesterday was the first Saturday I could stay up late and it felt good.
I decided to stay home on Sunday because of the haze but it actually cleared up. Oh, well. I spent the day cleaning my room and tossing away junk. It was quite hard deciding what to throw and what to keep but I am working on it. My mother had already replaced the furniture in the living room already and it looks pretty nice now. It will probably be my room next in a couple months.
As I was browsing for torrents, I came across one new episode for South Park entitled "Make Love, Not Warcraft". I don't usually watch it but the title was interesting enough to make me want to check it out. Surprisingly, I managed to find the full episode on GameTrailers (someone uploaded it; it might be taken down, so catch it quick). In-game WOW graphics were actually used for more than half the episode! It's quite amazing to think that Blizzard helped in developing this episode (unless it was not developed in-house).
I decided to stay home on Sunday because of the haze but it actually cleared up. Oh, well. I spent the day cleaning my room and tossing away junk. It was quite hard deciding what to throw and what to keep but I am working on it. My mother had already replaced the furniture in the living room already and it looks pretty nice now. It will probably be my room next in a couple months.
As I was browsing for torrents, I came across one new episode for South Park entitled "Make Love, Not Warcraft". I don't usually watch it but the title was interesting enough to make me want to check it out. Surprisingly, I managed to find the full episode on GameTrailers (someone uploaded it; it might be taken down, so catch it quick). In-game WOW graphics were actually used for more than half the episode! It's quite amazing to think that Blizzard helped in developing this episode (unless it was not developed in-house).
Monday, October 02, 2006
Another Week Had Gone By
... and it's October already! We're pretty close to the end of the year, aren't we?
The past week went by without much interesting developments. I got pretty sick of my current job and got a recommendation to work for Chan Brothers. I spent a great deal of the week updating my resume. I had a lot of work on my hands cos' last time, I sent out over 20 applications and only got 3 replies, so my resume probably sucked a lot. I asked around for friends' resume samples. I tried to make mine less "IT'ish" by removing the technical stuff that I had written about my experience in computing. I didn't want them to think that I wanted a job in their IT department or something. That left me with a lot of space, though. Good thing I could now include my current job into my resume and it no longer looks so lame and miserable. I haven't received a reply yet so I guess I'll just have to wait.
The 'new' maid arrived yesterday. Her name is Gigi and she had actually worked for our family before a few years back. I still remember my mother had fired her cos' she made $1000 worth of overseas phonecall every month. Let's hope she has changed for the better. Anyway, Gigi was rather happy to be back here as she had trouble finding a good job in the Philippines. She remarked that I had graduated already when she saw my graduation photo. I didn't realize it had been that long.
Coming up: the usual highlights of the week for me.
Stay Alive (Movie)
I watched "Stay Alive" with Orchi & friends, Darrell and Yonghao. The trailer was shown several months back but it was delayed till now. It is a typical slasher movie where people die horrible deaths. The story is about a group of friends who started dying one-by-one after playing a video game named "Staying Alive". The characters would die in the same way that they died within the game. As with such movies, the plot was nonexistent and the ending was abrupt.
Unfortunately for us Singaporeans, I found out that the movie was heavily censored. I learnt from a local forum that people who downloaded the show say that the death scenes were shown in full gory detail (there was one where a guy's jaw was ripped off) as opposed to the split-second deaths I had witnessed in the cinemas. The uneditted movie was supposedly 15 minutes longer. No wonder Stay Alive had a 'friendly' PG rating in local cinemas.
On a side-note, there was a movie poster of a new computer-animated penguin movie at the cinemas. It's called "Happy Feet" and seems to be about, uh... singing penguins. It seems somewhat goofy and made my hair stand. The videos can be found on YouTube if you want to have a look.
Legion of Super Heroes (Animated Series)
Just when I thought the new Fantastic Four animated series was pretty cool (the story got better beginning with the 4th episode), cartoon fans got another surprise in the form of Legion of SuperHeroes. Only two episodes out so far but it is already quite fun to watch. Is this a coincidence or are they releasing new cartoons to coincide with VS System releases?
The catchy opening movie can be found here at YouTube.
God Hand (PS2)
I recently bought the long-awaited God Hand for the PS2. The promotional videos got me so hyped up over the past few months that I was glad the game lived up to my expectations. It's pretty good but short and a little simplistic. The story is interesting. The bosses are stylish. The dialogue is humourous and very witty. The rock/heavy metal music is simply awesome. The game was touted as being 'ball-bustingly hard but fair' and it is exactly that. It feels freakishly difficulty but it's darn cool. Even regular enemies can kill you in a few hits so the game is all about twitch reaction.
Since the PS2 is near the end of its life cycle, most US games are now priced like budget titles, so do yourself a favour and pick up the US version of God Hand at a mere USD$30 (according to online sites) when it releases this month.
I'll leave everyone with a sample of one of the game's more famous soundtrack. It's the one that plays in all the game's trailers.
Yet... Oh See Mind <- click here
(According to the composers, Grasshopper Manufacture Inc., the song's name is actually a pun of a Japanese phrase I can't read. 'Yatte-oshimai' or something.)
The past week went by without much interesting developments. I got pretty sick of my current job and got a recommendation to work for Chan Brothers. I spent a great deal of the week updating my resume. I had a lot of work on my hands cos' last time, I sent out over 20 applications and only got 3 replies, so my resume probably sucked a lot. I asked around for friends' resume samples. I tried to make mine less "IT'ish" by removing the technical stuff that I had written about my experience in computing. I didn't want them to think that I wanted a job in their IT department or something. That left me with a lot of space, though. Good thing I could now include my current job into my resume and it no longer looks so lame and miserable. I haven't received a reply yet so I guess I'll just have to wait.
The 'new' maid arrived yesterday. Her name is Gigi and she had actually worked for our family before a few years back. I still remember my mother had fired her cos' she made $1000 worth of overseas phonecall every month. Let's hope she has changed for the better. Anyway, Gigi was rather happy to be back here as she had trouble finding a good job in the Philippines. She remarked that I had graduated already when she saw my graduation photo. I didn't realize it had been that long.
Coming up: the usual highlights of the week for me.
Stay Alive (Movie)
I watched "Stay Alive" with Orchi & friends, Darrell and Yonghao. The trailer was shown several months back but it was delayed till now. It is a typical slasher movie where people die horrible deaths. The story is about a group of friends who started dying one-by-one after playing a video game named "Staying Alive". The characters would die in the same way that they died within the game. As with such movies, the plot was nonexistent and the ending was abrupt.
Unfortunately for us Singaporeans, I found out that the movie was heavily censored. I learnt from a local forum that people who downloaded the show say that the death scenes were shown in full gory detail (there was one where a guy's jaw was ripped off) as opposed to the split-second deaths I had witnessed in the cinemas. The uneditted movie was supposedly 15 minutes longer. No wonder Stay Alive had a 'friendly' PG rating in local cinemas.
On a side-note, there was a movie poster of a new computer-animated penguin movie at the cinemas. It's called "Happy Feet" and seems to be about, uh... singing penguins. It seems somewhat goofy and made my hair stand. The videos can be found on YouTube if you want to have a look.
Legion of Super Heroes (Animated Series)
Just when I thought the new Fantastic Four animated series was pretty cool (the story got better beginning with the 4th episode), cartoon fans got another surprise in the form of Legion of SuperHeroes. Only two episodes out so far but it is already quite fun to watch. Is this a coincidence or are they releasing new cartoons to coincide with VS System releases?
The catchy opening movie can be found here at YouTube.
God Hand (PS2)
I recently bought the long-awaited God Hand for the PS2. The promotional videos got me so hyped up over the past few months that I was glad the game lived up to my expectations. It's pretty good but short and a little simplistic. The story is interesting. The bosses are stylish. The dialogue is humourous and very witty. The rock/heavy metal music is simply awesome. The game was touted as being 'ball-bustingly hard but fair' and it is exactly that. It feels freakishly difficulty but it's darn cool. Even regular enemies can kill you in a few hits so the game is all about twitch reaction.
Since the PS2 is near the end of its life cycle, most US games are now priced like budget titles, so do yourself a favour and pick up the US version of God Hand at a mere USD$30 (according to online sites) when it releases this month.
I'll leave everyone with a sample of one of the game's more famous soundtrack. It's the one that plays in all the game's trailers.
Yet... Oh See Mind <- click here
(According to the composers, Grasshopper Manufacture Inc., the song's name is actually a pun of a Japanese phrase I can't read. 'Yatte-oshimai' or something.)
Monday, September 25, 2006
My Own Digital Camera
I got a new toy recently. It's the Kodak EasyShare C530.
My mother got it free from some discount or promotion from one of her shopping sprees. The thing is quite small and and fits in my hand. It's nice to finally have a proper camera though I still wished my handphone had a good built-in one instead.
Now I just need to go on a holiday or something to use it. I just missed the Tokyo Game Show.
My mother got it free from some discount or promotion from one of her shopping sprees. The thing is quite small and and fits in my hand. It's nice to finally have a proper camera though I still wished my handphone had a good built-in one instead.
Now I just need to go on a holiday or something to use it. I just missed the Tokyo Game Show.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Today Had Been Quite a B1tch
Bah, today had been one of those screwed up days.
I had been having insomnia so it is quite difficult for me to get to sleep. I went to bed at around 4 am but then I woke up to the sound of dripping water. It was my air-conditioner dripping again. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 7 am. I could not get back to sleep and it pissed me off real bad. I cursed, swore and shouted at the top of my lungs. No one was at home to hear me vent, though. I just got up and turned on the computer as usual while the aircon continued to noisily discharge water into the bucket below it.
When my mother came back, I quarrelled with her over my leaky air-conditioner (like why the heck did she get people to fix the toilet instead of my damn aircon). I was really cranky and blew things up by carrying on to express my unhappiness with my current crappy job at her friend's face (but to be fair, I kinda like it cos' it is so slack). Maybe I just felt like being a giant pr1ck for that moment.
I settled down a few hours later and went to sleep at around 11 am. I was supposed to meet a guy at 3 pm to sell him some PS2 games at Bugis Junction. I overslept and had to take a cab. As luck would have it, I got stuck in a freakin' traffic jam along the expressway from Paya Lebar to Kallang. It didn't help that the buyer constantly SMS'ed me and even called me while I anxiously watched the meter tick with every passing minute. The jam was due to a car accident and, as the cab drove pass the accident site, I glared furiously at culprits of the accident (it was 3-4 cars) for ruining my day. My hand was on the window lever and I so felt like opening the window and shouting at them, "F**k you all, don't know how to drive, all go accident and die lah". But of course, I didn't. I arrived at Bugis Junction 30 minutes late and closed the deal. It was late and I felt so lazy so... Oh, f**k it, I just took the cab again to Ang Mo Kio. There went half the money I earned from selling my games.
By the time I reached Ang Mo Kio, I had already lost all mood to do anything. Half of my day was pretty much ruined and my mother kept SMS'ing me to tell me to come home early cos' I had RT the next day. Now that was something I could not blame her for cos' I know it is for my own good. And so, I left Ang Mo Kio earlier than usual. I didn't really have the mood to do anything for the day.
I had been having insomnia so it is quite difficult for me to get to sleep. I went to bed at around 4 am but then I woke up to the sound of dripping water. It was my air-conditioner dripping again. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 7 am. I could not get back to sleep and it pissed me off real bad. I cursed, swore and shouted at the top of my lungs. No one was at home to hear me vent, though. I just got up and turned on the computer as usual while the aircon continued to noisily discharge water into the bucket below it.
When my mother came back, I quarrelled with her over my leaky air-conditioner (like why the heck did she get people to fix the toilet instead of my damn aircon). I was really cranky and blew things up by carrying on to express my unhappiness with my current crappy job at her friend's face (but to be fair, I kinda like it cos' it is so slack). Maybe I just felt like being a giant pr1ck for that moment.
I settled down a few hours later and went to sleep at around 11 am. I was supposed to meet a guy at 3 pm to sell him some PS2 games at Bugis Junction. I overslept and had to take a cab. As luck would have it, I got stuck in a freakin' traffic jam along the expressway from Paya Lebar to Kallang. It didn't help that the buyer constantly SMS'ed me and even called me while I anxiously watched the meter tick with every passing minute. The jam was due to a car accident and, as the cab drove pass the accident site, I glared furiously at culprits of the accident (it was 3-4 cars) for ruining my day. My hand was on the window lever and I so felt like opening the window and shouting at them, "F**k you all, don't know how to drive, all go accident and die lah". But of course, I didn't. I arrived at Bugis Junction 30 minutes late and closed the deal. It was late and I felt so lazy so... Oh, f**k it, I just took the cab again to Ang Mo Kio. There went half the money I earned from selling my games.
By the time I reached Ang Mo Kio, I had already lost all mood to do anything. Half of my day was pretty much ruined and my mother kept SMS'ing me to tell me to come home early cos' I had RT the next day. Now that was something I could not blame her for cos' I know it is for my own good. And so, I left Ang Mo Kio earlier than usual. I didn't really have the mood to do anything for the day.
Monday, September 18, 2006
I Love My DS Lite <3
I finally got my DS Lite after a week of contemplating . I just did not like any of the bundle games so every time I dropped by at FunZ Centre, I'd stare at the glass display and try to pick the least crappiest game of the bunch. I finally made up my mind last Sunday.
The brightness on the DS Lite is simply amazing. It makes all my old games look better with vibrant, well-defined colours. I can affirm that the reputed "kill-your-eyes" brightness setting is here (of course, I didn't try it for too long). I am quite delighted now since I can play the games the way they were meant to be. And no more getting funny looks when playing in public. Now I just got to sell off my old phat DS.
The brightness on the DS Lite is simply amazing. It makes all my old games look better with vibrant, well-defined colours. I can affirm that the reputed "kill-your-eyes" brightness setting is here (of course, I didn't try it for too long). I am quite delighted now since I can play the games the way they were meant to be. And no more getting funny looks when playing in public. Now I just got to sell off my old phat DS.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Welcome Back to the RT
I was a little depressed over the weekend as I was finally going to resume my RT again after a month of deferment. My foot had recovered at last. But I couldn't withstand Sunday's strenuous training. I had to fall out and concussed on the bed the moment I reached home. That's what I get for being out of shape. One more month to go; I want to get this over and done with.
I spent the weekend at Ang Mo Kio as usual. I have been eating at the little restaurant called the "E-Inn". It's a very small place and located in a very deserted corner, surrounded by coffee-shops and hawker centres. I have no idea how they can make ends meet. What I do know is that I like baked rice and they serve it. It's a nice change cos' I was getting very sick of eating at Ang Mo Kio.
My maid had recently left and returned to the Phillippines. She had stolen money from us again despite being caught once before several months ago. My mom should've called the police but she didn't and chose to have her sent back tactfully. I am quite surprised that she would steal despite being with us for four years. I am gonna miss her, though. Just a little sorry that I didn't see her off.
I spent the weekend at Ang Mo Kio as usual. I have been eating at the little restaurant called the "E-Inn". It's a very small place and located in a very deserted corner, surrounded by coffee-shops and hawker centres. I have no idea how they can make ends meet. What I do know is that I like baked rice and they serve it. It's a nice change cos' I was getting very sick of eating at Ang Mo Kio.
My maid had recently left and returned to the Phillippines. She had stolen money from us again despite being caught once before several months ago. My mom should've called the police but she didn't and chose to have her sent back tactfully. I am quite surprised that she would steal despite being with us for four years. I am gonna miss her, though. Just a little sorry that I didn't see her off.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Fantastic Four 2k6 TV Series
The new Fantastic Four cartoon is being aired in the USA. The first episode was out just a few days ago and someone already uploaded it on YouTube. Check it out here. I hope it is still there; it got deleted once possibly due to copyright issues.
It's not great but it is fun to watch. The show promises a lot of cameos as synopses on various sites already hint at the Hulk, Iron Man and other Marvel characters appearing. Oh, well, we get the Kree for this episode. I can't wait for the next episode to see how Dr. Doom is portrayed.
It's not great but it is fun to watch. The show promises a lot of cameos as synopses on various sites already hint at the Hulk, Iron Man and other Marvel characters appearing. Oh, well, we get the Kree for this episode. I can't wait for the next episode to see how Dr. Doom is portrayed.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Food~ Food~
The weekends had been fun. On Saturday, I went to Simei to draft VS with the rest. It lasted longer than we expected. After that, we shared several cabs to Marina Square since Orchi and the CCK gang were having a meal to celebrate DS & Jeffrey's birthdays. However, we arrived too late; it was already 9 pm and Yuki Yaki was closing. We had to go to Suntec for steamboat at Joaquim instead. It was pretty good. When the thing was over, I wanted to go to the washroom but ended up going all the way to the 3rd-storey toilet outside the "PCQ room" (1st storey closed for cleaning, 2nd storey cordoned off possibly for IMF or IT show). In the end, I realized there is a toilet in the restaurant itself.
On Sunday, I just dropped by at Ang Mo Kio to check out games and have dinner with Hobbes, Brainy and Darrell. We ate at a very deserted shop named called the E-Inn near the old cinema/Raiders. It's not bad since it was different from all the usual junk.
Oh, yes. This post reminded me that I had forgotten to talk about the previous week's Galactus sneak preview. Oh, well, too late now. It was held at the Pan Pacific Hotel and ended so late that we had trouble finding a place for dinner because it was 10 pm. Fortunately, Cafe Cartel opens late.
It's September already. My long break is now over and my RT resumes this Sunday. It's back to time-wasting and torture.
On Sunday, I just dropped by at Ang Mo Kio to check out games and have dinner with Hobbes, Brainy and Darrell. We ate at a very deserted shop named called the E-Inn near the old cinema/Raiders. It's not bad since it was different from all the usual junk.
Oh, yes. This post reminded me that I had forgotten to talk about the previous week's Galactus sneak preview. Oh, well, too late now. It was held at the Pan Pacific Hotel and ended so late that we had trouble finding a place for dinner because it was 10 pm. Fortunately, Cafe Cartel opens late.
It's September already. My long break is now over and my RT resumes this Sunday. It's back to time-wasting and torture.
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