Appreciate the Toilet!

Toilets are the most important, but neglected part of the household, you can basically gauge a person by looking at the state of his/her toilet at home. The Japanese have always known how important this part of the family is and have therefore created the loveable, if not somewhat bizarre Mr. Toilet.

Like the Toro stools we used to have in stock, the big Mr. Toilet is a TV seat you can place in front of the sofa to rest your feet on, if you are too big to sit on it. Compared to the cats, these seats are softer and lighter, so it works just as well as a plush doll.

But then, who really wants to hold a toilet when they sleep? How about a Mr. toilet under the Christmas tree?

The small Mr. Toilet is definitely not for sitting on, however, you can hang it on your toilet door to tell your guests where they can relieve themselves. Or if your Christmas tree is really big and the branches really strong, you can hang them up. They'd make some very unique ornaments.


Enough with the words, a picture speaks a thousand words, and we have quite a few:

Garden of Sinners - Kara no Kyoukai

Ryougi Shiki is one of the most stylish action heroines. Actually, it might not be right to call her a heroine as there is a man residing within her, either way, women with a masculine side is cool, and most importantly, characters voiced by Maaya Sakamoto could do no wrong.

Set in a dystopic, futuristic world, Kara no Kyoukai shows the other side of Tsukihime. The vampire princess deals with the socialites, Shiki deals with paranormal and violent activities hidden in the darkest crevices in the city. There's nothing more fun to watch than a girl beat thugs up in a kimono!

Of course there are peaceful moments, but the movie series is hardly pure light and fun, it explores fully the darkside of humanity. Sometimes the killed deserves what happened to them and the killers are the true victims, this is especially true with Fujino in the third movie.

There's quite a bit of blood gore and graphic scenes, and many more excitement. The animations are beautiful, the soundtrack is haunting, although there are confusing plotlines, Ryougi Shiki alone makes up for everything.

Or let's say, Maaya Sakamoto makes up for everything.



We get a glimpse of the power of Ryougi Shiki and her powers in the first movie, we get to know how Shiki and Mikiya met in highschool in the second. We fall deeper into the darker depths of the society in the third movie. From then onwards, everything gets darker.

The fourth movie is about Shiki's recovery from her fatal accident and her discovery of her powers. Aosaki Tohko shows us her stuff here. She is another one of my personal favourites, not only is she a powerful magician, she is two faced. When she wears her glasses, she is like an office lady, although quite a bit more forceful than the rest, when she took her glasses off, she is the reincarnation of a demon lord.

The fifth movie was a complete confusion to me. Others might have better luck, but the amount of high speed action that involves Shiki and Tohko is enough to make me a happy watcher. Blood and gore level goes pretty high in this installment too.

The sixth movie is the last one I have seen and is perhaps one of the lighter and sweeter movies in the whole series. Kokuto Mikiya's sister Asaka steals the show in this one. Shiki and Asaka, rivals for Mikiya's affections, teamed together to solve the mystery in the all girls catholic school. The whole of class of 2-D gets amnesia, fairies are robbing people of their memories. Fairies are very much in vogue these days, let's see them crushed.


Shiki is too cool, Nendoroid makers decide to make her cuter, softer. Although shortened and rounded the kimono clad girl still shows that she is not to be messed with, especially when her package comes with her dagger and her lighted up eyes. Those who are more interested in quirky comedy, though, could put her cat ears on her and have her pose with cat Arcuied.

Call of Duty: Classic (the first one) available this week at PSN and XBL

The re-release of the first game that started one of the biggest franchises ever will be available this week on PSN and XBL. I started my journey with Call of Duty 2, which is still my favorite, so I'd like to play this one and see what I missed out on.

Graphics have been improved, although I'm sure the difference won't be that big. The re-release also contains a multiplayer mode, but only for 8 players at a time. My only major complaint is the price, at $14.99 or 1200 MS points, it's not an essential purchase.

Happy birthday, cup noodles

No food is quite as convenient as cup noodles. To celebrate the product's birthday, fans get a fun, even somewhat bizzare birthday gift. Turn the wheel at the bottom of the cup to set the time, press on the kettle and do all you can to return the noodle pieces into a neat circle within three minutes, otherwise, everything will burst out of the cup.

Putting everthing back is deceptively easy, afterall, there aren't that many pieces ot put together in the first place, yet you really need an eye for detail if you are to follow the curve of each of the noodles.

You can choose between three flavours, seafood, plain and curry. Seafood is the easiest, plain is normal and curry is the most difficult. Try out the different flavours and see what side dishes you can put into your noodle cups. As shown in the picture, shrimps, corn and barbequed pork goes quite well with plain noodles.

You can make use of the timing device in these toys. Pour hot water into your edible cup noodle and use the three minutes to play the puzzle. When the pieces exploded all over the table, you'd know that your noodle is ready to serve.

For those who are more interested in the food than the puzzle, please check here for the full list flavors available.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 possible spin-off title

With Modern Warfare 2 sales exploding around the world and breaking records in various countries, I guess it doesn't come as much of a surprise that there's already talk of a new spin-off title based off the character "Ghost" in the game. He's the guy with the skull mask, just like in Army of Two.

Voice actor Craig Fairbass let slip that Ghost will be getting his own comic book and possibly another game to go with it. Considering the popularity of the series, it's surprising it hadn't been exploited more until this point. But it's happening now, so prepare to see a whole lot of Call of Duty spin-offs in the future, especially if this one becomes a success. Looks like Grand Theft Auto is no longer the king on the block.

"I did in the last game a voice for a character called Gaz and in this game I’m now voicing a guy called Ghost, who now just got a spin-off comic of his own and they’re talking about another little game to go with it, so, I’m quite excited about it. It’s grown and grown and grown."

Source

From Battle Royale to Death Note to Kaiji

Kaiji is one of the newest and hottest Japanese films in the cinemas right now. Starring Fujiwara Tatsuya and the former Takaratsuka top star Amami Yuki, this is one film that movie fans cannot miss, especially those who enjoyed Battle Royale and Death Note.

Ito Kaiji was his friend's guarantor, so when his friend bolted, the loan shark Endo Rinko came to him for the money (2.02 million yen, with interest piling up by the minute as they talked). Without the money to pay and intimidated by the violence this lady is capable of, Kaiji agreed to board the gamble cruise Espoir, to earn his freedom and a fortune...

Or to fall into the depths of hell.

Everyone who has watched any movie about gambling knew that the games on the ship or in the rest of the movie are not about luck, it's about cheating. After being the game master in Death Note, Fujiwara now plays the pawn and is just as convincing as ever.

Perhaps even more so, since Kaiji is a much more human character, it gives Fujiwara more opportunities to display his acting talents and portray his growth as an actor. He is one of those actors who could play any role and bring out the essence of his character.

To make things even more interesting, Matsuyama Kenichi, L in Death Note, also makes a brief appearance. Those who live in Japan or any where near a cinema which is showing the film, go get a ticket today, those who are not, the DVD or Blu-ray disc will surely come soon, we'll keep you posted.

Spoilers from this point onwards, click at your own expense.


Without watching the film, Yui's It's All Too Much probably won't make that much sense. You actually feel the indestructible force of Hyoudou Kazutaka, the emperor who controls Teiai. No matter how much you want to stick a knife into that hateful old man, you'd feel that he won't die, because he is JUST SO RICH.

And you know, money just might be more important than life in such a society.

Still, after ripping a huge chunk (500 million yen) out of that old man, he didn't seem all that invincible anymore. But if you have read the manga, you'd know that 500 million have merely made a dent in his pride, he's still the super antagonist, the dictator with absolute power.

Because of his dictator, the embodiment of all the bad things in a capitalistic society, people are split into the group of winners and the group of losers (or the junks), we lesser humans, of course, are in the junk group.

So welcome, junkies, here is a trailer of the movie, enjoy.

30 minutes - impression on P3 PSP

With Memento Mori as its theme, Persona 3 is one dark, stylish treat and one of the games that breaks the Shin Megami Tensei/ Persona title from a niche series into to a big commercial title.

All those who have played the old P3 on the PlayStation 2 should be familiar with the game, those who are not, get the game, play it and post your impressions on your own blog or some message board!

This PSP port has a new OP and the pictures are still as attractive as ever, the song has a bit more 'fire' than the last one, which is both good. However, I could not help but miss the opening animations in the old PS2 version! I remembered feeling Yukari's fear when she first held the Evoker to her head. There are no texts and no dialogue, but that brief sequence of her sweating and trembling and dropping the gun already explains everything.

Another thing about the animation is that it gives you such a deep impression of the game world and the trendy people who live there. Just seeing how the girls' school bag accessories jingle as they giggle and the MP3 screen flash already remind gamers of urban Japan.

Now, instead of the animations, we have some stills that are visibly brightened and contained more visual details. The sequence with Yukari is replaced by a picture with the voice over saying something like "I can do it... (sob)... no I can't..." It's very explicit, but I like the old representation better.

I need to play on to see how many animations survive the cut, and before I lament on about how much I miss the old PS2 version, I have to say that the battle system of the PSP Port makes P3 so much more playable.

I'll admit that I have never finished the old PS2 version, the highest floor I have gone up to was 5 or 6 (pathetic, isn't it?). Party Characters get exhausted easily and the AI, although quite intelligent (or so I've heard), wastes SP, which makes the battling aspect very difficult.

Now that I have control over all my characters, the battles aren't as annoying and I am so much more willing to go on. Even if I get a game-over at the end, I've only got myself to blame.

Actually, there are more reasons I can't finish the old PS2 version, click "read more" to be spoiled. Or leave it to order, or even better, play your game now.


Memento Mori - remember that you will die... means that you will die no matter what. There are three ways of dying, gameover during a battle, selecting a wrong path during a game event and... well, winning the game.

You just, die.

Actually, this is a selling point, I don't remember where I've read it, but on some guide/art book, the director said that parting is a big thing that teenagers are going through and this is one of the games that gives you the most realistic experience. (take this with a grain of salt, as I've read it a year ago and I no longer have the book near me.)

Going through all that trouble, battling all those shadows just so you can die (or fall into a coma) on a pretty girl's lap just doesn't add up. If its about death and rebirth, fine. However, it's not, in P3 FES, you're officially dead and the spotlight goes to Aegis (the pretty girl whose lap you fall "asleep" on).

I don't mind sad endings, I do read some tragedies, I just like to have a choice to live if I could.

Now I'm not sure if the girl-MC route in P3 PSP will give me this choice, but I'd like to try it out after I beat the game in the original guy-MC route. And at the mean time, I'll stop reading any spoilerific material.

Uncharted 2 - As good as it gets?

So yeah, I'm a big Uncharted fan and I've managed to have some time to play the sequel lately, and it is superb. It does top everything from the first game. Graphics, story, music, gameplay, you name it! Not an easy job when the first game was so good. I remember when I played the first Uncharted, I thought it was the closest thing to playing a Hollywood movie and the bit with the German U-boat really amazed me and not many games do. Well, the sequel is even better and you have the added bonus of multiplayer added into the mix when the single player game alone is worth the admission price.

Modern Warfare 2 will really need to impress to dethrone Uncharted 2 as my game of the year. And please don't forget to pick up the first Uncharted if you haven't already, it's a classic at a budget price. I wonder if they'll be able to top this one with another sequel...it's gonna be tough. I thought Gears of War had a better single player experience than the first game, but if anyone can keep churning out better games, you can count on Naughty Dog to do it!

Rocket Knight Retro Game Sequel

It's great to see some classic retro games getting remakes or sequels with updated graphics and sound on Xbox Live and PSN. Apart from the new sonic game which looks to possibly be a real direct sequel to Sonic & Knuckles on the Genesis, we now have Sparkster from Rocket Knight Adventures to look forward to, 15 years after the original sequel. The game is set 15 years later and you'll enter the Kingdom of Zephyrus once more. The gameplay looks good, but the art style is a little different of the new game, I prefer the retro look. Anyway, check out the trailer and prepare for a 2010 release!

Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Demo Follow up

I've mentioned I don't play online much if at all. There are the rare exceptions such as Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Motorstorm 2 and of course Uncharted 2 (hah, all sequels!). Anyway, after my brief play previously with the demo, I've now had a couple of hours worth of gaming time with it and I have to say it's really fun stuff. Well, three of the four modes are, there's one I got bored of quickly.

Deathmatch is excellent, but I'm a fan of team deathmatch and since I was in a party, I was automatically put in a team with my party members. First team to get the set number of kills, wins. Simple and fun.

Next on the list is objective. Again, being in a party led me to be in a team objective match, I'm not sure if this can be played with everyone being independent, I'm guessing not. There are two different types of objectives that I encountered, but there may be more in the full game. One is to capture nodes on the map. You need to stand at a node until it is captured with no enemies within range of the nod. This is the same as in Battlefield games. If your team captures all nodes, you win. It's a fun tug of war type objective. The other objective is capturing treasure and bringing it back to your treasure chest at your respective base. This is basically capture the flag and was very fun to play. You can throw the treasure (like a grenade or propane tank) if you need it to get across a gap or to a higher level and of course, you can't shoot if you're carrying it. But unlike capture the flag, where there are two flags (one for each team), the treasure is neutral and gunning down the carrier doesn't mean you can run up to the treasure and return it to it's original post. It lies on the ground waiting to be picked up again.

The third mode is my favorite. It's three player co-op in which you need to get to a certain area to find treasure and you'll fight bad guys together and do simple puzzles. It's like playing the singleplayer game and is excellent.

The final mode is the weakest of the lot. It's another three player co-op mode with an objective. As with the capture the treasure mode, you'll need to find the treasure and bring it back to your chest to complete the round. Waves of bad guys try to stop you from reaching your goal and each round gets progressively more difficult, but I find it much to repetitive and it gets boring quickly. It's a mode that I wouldn't bother playing ever again. In the co-op modes, you can also heal your partners if they've been mortally wounded, but you have a limited time to do so.

My only complaint is that unlike Killzone 2, players can't just jump in mid game if there are spots open from people quitting or there not being a full amount for that particular match. You need to wait to find and join a fresh game everytime, just like in Resistance 2. This wouldn't be so bad if there was something to do while you wait, but there isn't. And wait you will (at least in the demo), sometimes up to a few minutes before you join a match, but it's not too bad and maybe it will be shorter times in the full game. So there you have it, all the multiplayer modes in more detail.

All Japanese Music CDs are discounted at 10% in Play-Asia.com

This is as good a chance to try out some new music genres as ever. All Japanese music CDs on Play-Asia.com are available at a 10% discount. So get the new Arashi CD or try out some exotic Enka music. Who knows? you could be addicted to it after your first go.

All products that are available, including those that are currently , are discounted. As long as it's not a sold out Limited Edition, you can enjoy the price cut. Don't worry if you cannot grab the last Limited Edition of your favourite artist, you can preorder the next one, this deal applies to all preorders as well.

Browse around for things you like, to help you distinguish the products that are discounted, we will place a 10% off logo on the product page. Get the best out of the deal, use the credit card that gives you the most points and your Play-Asia coupons. No strings attached.

Please be aware, however, that the discount does not apply to shipments to Japan.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Multiplayer Demo

I tried the demo of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on PSN. It's multiplayer only but is very generous with what you get to try out. There are four different modes and all of them were fun. My favorite being the co-op mode where you need to find treasure. It's like playing the actual game, except you've got two other players and need to work together to take out the bad guys and get past certain places. There's deathmatch in there too of course. The game looks fantastic and the multiplayer mode is excellent from what I've played.

I highly recommend downloading the demo. I'm sure it will be a purchase for most PS3 owners.


"Fortune hunter Nathan Drake returns in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves™, a pulse-pounding third-person action-adventure/shooter created by award-winning developer Naughty Dog. Down on his luck, Drake is lured back into the treacherous world of thieves and mercenary treasure-seekers he had sought to leave behind. When a mysterious artifact propels Drake on an expedition to find the legendary Himalayan valley of Shambhala, he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse against a fugitive war criminal who’s after more than just the fabled riches of the lost city. Caught in a web of deception and plunged into an increasingly deadly pursuit that tests the limits of his endurance, Drake will be forced to risk everything – but has his luck finally run out?"

Weekly Special - Terminator Salvation for Xbox 360

Did everyone see the movie? It wasn't the glorious return of Terminator people were hoping for, but I guess it was better than the crappy Terminator 3. Anyway, now's your chance to play as John Conner for the first time in a video game and at a bargain price to boot! Get it now for the low price of $24.90, that's a whole $20 saving!

It's region free and will work on all Xbox consoles and includes English, French, German, Italian and Spanish languages, so you can kick Skynet's ass in your own native language of choice. So get to it and start taking down those terminators. Oh and it's limited to two copies, so you can buy one for a friend to join the fight against our biggest threat.


"In Terminator Salvation the videogame, based on the upcoming Terminator Salvation film from Warner Bros. Pictures and Sony Pictures, players assume the role of John Connor, a soldier in the resistance, battling for survival against the far superior forces of Skynet.

Terminator Salvation the videogame is an intense action-packed third-person shooter featuring concentrated armed combat against all of the Skynet enemies from the film and new killer machines specifically designed for the game. Taking place two years before the events of the upcoming film set in a post apocalyptic, decimated Los Angeles, players will be lead through a visceral, story and character driven gaming experience.

Featuring intense third-person action, Terminator Salvation the videogame will take combat to the next level with iconic enemies, cinematic fight sequences and advanced weaponry, drawn directly from the film, as well as an innovative, multi-layered cover mechanic."

Xbox 360 HDD

Yep, until today, I didn't have a hard drive for my 360. In my opinion there was no need, I don't play online and I had 256MB of memory with the arcade pack I bought, it was plenty for save games. That all seemed to change when my 360 came up with a read error. I keep my discs clean, but it might have been the extreme heat and length of time it was on, which cause it.

Another factor is the noise from the DVD drive, it's pretty loud, don't you think? While the PS3 is almost silent, the 360 sounds like a mini lawnmower. It's loudest when it's loading data off the disc at full speed. It started to annoy me while playing Guitar Hero, it's distracting and doesn't make the music sound better. Then I heard that with a hard drive you can install the whole game from the disc and it the 360 reads it off the hard drive.

There, I kill two birds with one stone. By installing the games onto the hard drive, I'll be saving the lens of the DVD drive, and yes, they do wear out over time. Instead of the drive reading the disc for hours on end, I just need to install the current game I'm playing and after it copies the files to the hard drive, I only need to insert the game disc into the drive to start the game. Once I've booted up the game though, the drive is silent and the disc is never read. It's excellent, you'll be surprised by how quiet the 360 is without the DVD drive going nuts. But not only that, the game was loading much faster, bonus!

The game I installed took up about 5gb, so it's best to get at least a 60GB HDD or higher if possible, but of course a 20GB one will suffice for two or three games. Did I mention that installation is quite quick too? It's a very nice feature on the Xbox 360

PS3 Slim - To upgrade or not to upgrade?

I think I'm in a unique position when it comes to the PS3 slim. I'd say I have mixed feeling about it. On one hand, I'm happy that it's been slimmed down, weighs less and is double as power efficient (an important point this one). On the other, I don't play my PS3 much at all these days and even though I'm a sucker for the latest technology, I don't think it's worth the money and effort to trade for the new slim.

One reason I don't play it much is because I don't have much time these days, I don't play online and the final reason is that I was tired of getting the short end of the stick with multi-platform games. I've got an Xbox 360 too, which I'm quite fond of.

Many games that are available on both systems are almost always better on the 360 than on the PS3. This isn't always the case, but 95% of the time it is. Usually the Xbox 360 version has better graphics, faster loading times, more polished and has no massive GB's install before you can play the game! If the Xbox version is better, I grab it instead. So I only play the PS3 exclusives (the good ones) and my PS3 doesn't get much love. I'm looking forward to Uncharted 2 though, it looks amazing.

If I played the PS3 a lot, I could probably earn my dollars back on the electricity bill, but really, it's practically gathering dust. While I like the slim, there's no reason to upgrade for me, my PS3 works just fine, even if it is power hungry. But if you've been holding out on buying a PS3, there's never been a better time to get one, so grab one now if you don't have one, there's plenty of excellent exclusives to play through.

Weekly Special - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for Xbox 360

Here we go again! An Xbox 360 special for everybody (yep it's region free too!). If you're wanting a game with robots that transform into cars, planes and tanks (among other things), look no further! Join Optimus Prime and his gang of Autobots as they fight the evil decepticons over earth...or was it something else? Anyway, you can pick this game up for the very nice price of half price. How much is that you ask? Just $29.90! This time you're not limited to one copy but three, so buy you everyone in your family a copy or your car, I bet it transforms at night and wages war with other robots. It's based on the live action movie and not the 80's cartoon, so if you're wondering, no, there aren't that many similarities between the two.

"The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game, based on the upcoming live-action feature film from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures in association with Hasbro, lets players take on the role of their favourite AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS, picking from the largest, most diverse range of playable Transformers – each with their own distinct abilities and weaponry.

Set in unique environments across the globe such as Cairo and Shanghai, the game allows players to instantly switch between vehicle and robot modes as they drive, fly, fight and blast their way through intense, pressure-packed levels. After engaging in single player action, for the first time ever players will be able to go online and battle friends in all-new multiplayer modes."

Play-Asia Affiliate Program

So, you like Play-Asia and you want to grab a bunch of cool stuff from the site, but in these pressing economic times, you wish you had some free money in your Play-Asia account. Well, maybe I can help. Let's look at how you can use Play-Asia's Affiliate Program to earn some extra buying power.

First of all, if you're already using Play-Asia's affiliate program, this article won't help you out much. In a later article, I will get more into tips on how to work the system a bit, but for now, I'll just detail the process of getting started with the program.

I am going to assume that you already have an account at Play-Asia.com. If you don't, that's step 0. Head over to Play-Asia, and look at the top of the browser. You should see a link to create a new account.

Step 1 would be to browse to the Play-Asia affiliate program page and sign up for an affiliate account. It should be hard to miss. Just click on the big button that says "Sign up here!" Actually, to tell you the truth, I think that if you didn't have an account already, it would ask you to create a new account before signing up for the affiliate program.

Well, that was entirely too easy. I suppose we could talk about what to do now that you're an affiliate. I suppose if Step 1 was signing up, then Step 2 can be making a profit. It's even easier than the underpants gnomes 3-phase process.

When you're logged in to Play-Asia.com, take a look at the very bottom of any of their pages. You should see a little block labeled "Your personal affiliate link to this page." This is set up for you to easily copy and paste anywhere you like. You could use it in an email, your own personal website, a web forum, a bulletin board, or whatever.

For example, if you were on a forum that was talking about Pokemon, you could mention Pokemon Heart Gold and paste in the BBCode found at the bottom of Play-Asia's Pokemon Heart Gold product page. It would look something like this.

[url=http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-e-71-hk-49-en-84-j-70-3guk.html]Buy Pokemon Heart Gold (Nintendo DS) at Play-Asia.com>[/url]

If the forum accepts BBCode, then that's all you'd have to do. Then, when someone clicked on the link, they would be using your affiliate version of the Play-Asia page for the product. Then, if they bought anything, your account would receive a credit based on the following commission rates.

It really is that simple. You can even track your affiliate links and products that people buy from them under your Play-Asia "my account" "my affiliation" page. It's quite slick.

Once you have earned some commission, you can cash out the money if you want, but better yet, you can use the funds to purchase products from Play-Asia. I say "better yet" because if you use the funds at Play-Asia instead of transferring them to PayPal, then you will automatically receive a bonus of 5% on top of your balance when using your affiliate funds as store credit at Play-Asia.com.

What are you waiting for? Give it a try.

Need for Speed Shift returns NFS to fomer glory?

When did Need for Speed fall to the depths of mediocrity? Was it with Most Wanted, Carbon or maybe even further back with Underground or even Hot Pursuit 2? I actually like Need for Speed Underground, it was a nice change from the previous games and I thought the sequel was even better, so I think the downward spiral started around Most Wanted, which was still pretty fun, but not as good as Underground 1 & 2.

NFS Carbon was even worse and the whole "Let's copy Midnight Club's open world setting" blew up in its face. The open world sucked and so did the tracks. What's wrong with regular tracks, why did it need to go open world like Midnight Club (great games, by the way). The Burnout franchise went the same route and I think it was much worse than the very awesome Burnout 3: Takedown and Burnout: Revenge. If you haven't played Burnout: Revenge, you owe it to yourself to find a copy and play it, it's one of the best and most fun arcade racing games ever.

But I'm getting off-topic. After crappy Carbon (hehe), came piss poor Pro Street (see what I did there?). Now Pro Street was offensively bad, it was the lowest point of Need for Speed EVER. It tried to be all Street and cool, but was lame and lacked in the gameplay department. Mainly because of the terrible handling of the cars. They didn't feel much like cars, but more like boats. Did I mention the tracks were poor too? No? Well, they were. Still, it sold really well. I don't know why, but it did. GRID and Dirt were much better driving games in everyway.

Anyway moving on, NFS reached the bottom of the barrel with Undercover. A terrible plot about an underground cop being a street racer to stop some drug shipment or something, I dunno, I wasn't paying attention. Terrible c-grade acting in the live-action videos telling the story and again the actual driving wasn't satisfying or much fun. Also, it was open world again and the tracks were (you guessed it), not much fun.

I have no love for EA, that much is true, but I've always been a fan of the Need for Speed series. Seeing it butchered more and more with each release was very dissapointing. Interestingly, EA decided it was time for some quality control and this was due to bad reviews and not sales figures. Yep, Undercover sold well even though it wasn't worth wasting time on. For NFS Shift, EA handed the development to a new studio (good move) and with a little quality control have brought back the series from a near brink of death with hardcore gamers. I will post what I think of it as soon as I give it a go, but sites like IGN and Gamespot have given it a 9 out of 10, so it must be a huge improvement over the previous titles. Stay tuned.

Weekly Special - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS

We've had a whole bunch of Xbox 360 specials, but this week it's onto a new Nintendo DS special. Zelda fans will be happy to pick this one up, it's the Japanese version of Zelda Phantom Hourglass slashed to less than half price for just $19.90. A very cool saving of $29! So if you haven't got it already, now's your chance to grab a bargain. Yes it continues the story of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which was one of the more controversial titles around, due to the cutesy cartoon type look. Well it's back here again!

As always, it's in Japanese so make sure you can read it or get by and it's region free, so it will work on all DS consoles worldwied. Well, start buying, only one per customer.

"he epic story of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker continues as Link finds himself lost and alone in unknown seas in a new adventure. Featuring intuitive touch-screen controls and innovative puzzles, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass offers new challenges for fans of the series and an easy-to-grasp introduction for gamers new to The Legend of Zelda. But time grows short, and only the Phantom Hourglass can buy Link the minutes he'll need to survive.

Many months have passed since the events of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Link, Tetra and Tetra's band of pirates have set sail in search of new lands. They come across a patch of ocean covered in a dense fog, in which they discover an abandoned ship. Tetra falls into danger when she explores the ship alone, and Link falls into the ocean when he attempts to rescue her. When he washes up unconscious on the shores of a mysterious island, he is awakened by the sound of a fairy's voice. With the aid of this fairy, he sets off to find Tetra – and his way back to the seas he once knew."

Weekly Special - Midnight Club Los Angelas for Xbox 360

The Visa sale at Play-Asia was extended until the 9th, so there's still one day left to grab yourself a 20% off bargain. In the meantime, we also have a new weekly special and it's another Xbox 360 title. Racing game fans will get a kick out of this one, as it's Midnight Club Los Angeles and it's quite a good racing game indeed. Certainly beats the pants off the Need For Speed releases lately.

Using the GTA IV Rage engine, Midnight Club lets you race in an open world environment, in true street racing fashion. Earn cash, buy new cars, bling them up and go for the top in this adrenaline fueled racer. All this for the astonishingly low price of just $18.90! That's a a whole $31 off!. But wait, there's more. It also qualifies for the Visa 20% off promotion. Need I say more? Your only excuse is if you own a North American Xbox 360, as this version only works on Japanese and Pal machines. It includes English, French, German, Spanish and Italian languages.

"The best way to see Los Angeles is at 245mph.

Race at breakneck speeds through the streets of modern-day L.A. recreated in stunning detail. Drive the hottest range of real-world tuners, muscle cars, exotics and superbikes on the streets today. Customize your vehicle with the best after-market performance parts and custom kits. Illegal street racing with no track, no load times, no rules: Welcome to the Midnight Club."

Weekly Special - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for Xbox 360

Apart from the great 20% off visa sale available at the moment, we also have a weekly special. And it looks like it also qualifies for the 20% off visa sale, how cool is that?

Another region free Xbox 360 game that will work on any console. I'm sure that anyone who's a fan of the Ice Age movies will want to grab this game right now. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is available as a $20 off the regular price bargain for only $24.90. If you add the extra 20% discount with a Visa card, it comes to under $20! It's got multiple language options and is limited to one copy per person. So what are you waiting for?

"Join Ice Age's unlikely herd of prehistoric pals for their most exciting adventure yet!

Embark on a rescue mission across melting snow to the mysterious Dinosaur World - an all new, fur-raising jungle of carnivorous plants, lush foliage and fierce dinosaurs!"

Play Asia Coupons: Who needs 'em?

Wow, with a sale like this, who needs coupons? Until Sept. 6th, items at Play-Asia (except the ones released in the last 30 days) are 20% off. Yeah, I said TWENTY, and not just for some clearance junk. This is just regular, in-stock items. What's the catch? The catch is that you have to use your VISA card. Yeah, you were probably going to do that anyway, so what's the problem?

I did steal some text from their site, so if you want to read more specifics, keep reading. Otherwise, if you want more details or just want to start shopping, head over to Play-Asia.com and claim the discount that is so rightfully yours!

In partnership with VISA, from now until September 6th, all in-stock items except those that have been released during the last 30 days, are discounted by 20%. Please be reminded that this is a VISA exclusive promotion, only valid for orders paid with your VISA card directly at Play-Asia.com. Make sure to watch out for the 20% off discount logo on the final payment page.

So go badger the bank or latch onto a friend who has a VISA card if you don't have one already! All products eligible for the discount will be marked with a VISA icon. The icon will remain on the product page for as long as the item is in stock. Some products are restocked steadily so the icon comes back every once in a while, others have limited availability and might not get restocked.

To avoid disappointment, have your VISA card ready and don't hesitate, you might be not the only bee out in the garden.

Weekly Special - Golden Axe: Beast Rider for Xbox 360

This week we have another great Xbox 360 special. Yes, it's a huge bargain like last week. Remember the Golden Axe games on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive? The first one being awesome and each one a bit worse than the last but still enjoyable? Then there was the spinoff title on the Sega Saturn, which I never had the chance to play unfortunately. I did have a Saturn, but never found the game, it was a rare launch title.

Anyway, the Golden Axe franchise was unfortunately ignored for many years and now returns with Beast Rider, which is also very different from the original brawler titles. You can grab yourself Beast rider for Xbox 360 for the bargain price of just $14.90. A whole 50% slash off the listing price. The game is region free and works on any 360 console worldwide. Only one per customer, so get in quick to grab yourself this special now.

"One of SEGA's most popular franchises storms onto the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system with Golden Axe: Beast Rider™. As the unstoppable Tyris Flare, engage in vicious melee combat both on foot and atop massive mythical beasts, savaging enemies with blades and magic on a quest for vengeance."

Weekly Special - Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 for Xbox 360

This week we have a great Xbox 360 special, which is a nice break from all the DS games. Now Real Time Strategy games have a tough time on the consoles, missing the keyboard and mouse and all, but Red Alert plays pretty well on the 360 and its a pretty darn fun RTS. It's always fun building a big army of troops and crushing the opposition and did I mention the B-grad live action movies inbetween? They're a whole lot of fun as well. It would be cool if more games used them.

You can grab yourself Red Alert 3 for Xbox 360 for the bargain price of just $14.90. A whole 50% slash off the listing price. The game is region free and works on any 360 console worldwide. Only one per customer, so get in quick to grab yourself this special now.

"The desperate leadership of a doomed Soviet Union travels back in time to change history and restore the glory of Mother Russia. The time travel mission goes awry, creating an alternate timeline where technology has followed an entirely different evolution, a new superpower has been thrust on to the world stage, and World War III is raging. The Empire of the Rising Sun has risen in the East, making World War III a three-way struggle between the Soviets, the Allies, and the Empire with armies fielding wacky and wonderful weapons and technologies like Tesla coils, heavily armed War Blimps, teleportation, armored bears, intelligent dolphins, floating island fortresses, and transforming tanks.
Limited to three copies per customer, while stocks last...you know the drill."

Optional Installs the Mandatory Standard?

Isn't it strange that both Microsoft and Sony don't have any rules when it comes to installations of game data on the hard drive? And isn't it even stanger that all games don't let you play the game with and without installations on the PS3, just like the Xbox 360? Why is it mandatory in some games on the PS3 to install usually GB's of data?

I can understand if for multiplayer the data isn't installed, then everyones game will load differently and require synching, but there's no excuse for the single player part of the game. I'm on the 40GB HDD PS3 and it's definately not much space to work with, I know that 80GB is the standard now, but even that can get filled up quick when many games install more than 4GB onto the HDD. Add in downloadables from the PSN store, some, like the ones you buy which take up permanent space on your hard drive and it will fill up quick. Bought a new game with a mandatory install and your hard drive not have enough space? Tough, you'll have to delete something to play it. Then wait while it installs and finally get to play the game. It reminds me back to the old days when I used to play PC games and the waiting for the new game to install...

So what if it takes longer to load? Let me install the game data if/when I want to. Then there's the opposite end of the spectrum, being unable to install any data to make the experience more enjoyable. Let's take Killzone 2 for example, what the hell is up with that? There's no manual install option and what's the result? When playing the single player game, the checkpoints often stutter and the game needs to load the next section off the disc. If installing data on the hard drive would have made it a seamless experience (which I'm sure it would!), then why wasn't the option there? I think this is even worse than a mandatory install. At least let us have the option, if we want faster install times.

Weekly Special - Shining Force Feather for Nintendo DS

There's been one Shining Force weekly special for the DS before and now here's another! Shining Force Feather is another RPG in the Shining Force series of games and as the wielders of the Shining Force, you'll be fighting hollows. Sounds a bit like Bleach eh?

It's a Japanese RPG and most likely has no english option, but as all DS games are region free, it will work on all systems. Only one copy per person and at the very big reduction of $33 to just $19.90, you're getting a real bargain so get in quick!
"The battles between the hollows and the wielders of the Shining Force were fierce eons back, however all power dissipates in the course of time, and soon the Shining Force is replaced by newer technology.

Although the wars between humans and hollows have ended, strife between countries never did. Within this chaos, treasure hunters reaped the benefits.

During an expedition in one of the Shining Force historical sites, the hero Jin unsealed the artificial life form Alfin from her sleep and gained her powers. Yet, he is not the only one, for the ambitious second prince of the empire has also awakened his own source of power.

To prevent the claws of evil sinking into the land, think strategically during battles and employ your forces wisely."

Weekly Special - Juushinden: Ultimate Beast Battlers for DS

Anyone else wanting a PSP special? Oh well, it's another Nintendo DS game special this week and it's quite a cool one ideed. Do you like card games? I do, I think some of them can be really fun to play (such as Magic: The Gathering) but cost a lot of money to buy all the cards and what not. Also finding people to play against and the time to actually finish a full game can be a problem. That's why card games work perfectly on handhelds, all those those factors are easily compensated for. With Juushinden: Ultimate Beast Battlers you'll take a half traditional and half digital approach to the card game. You'll recieve a deck of 40 cards to start with, which you place into the additional accessory included in the package and your card will be read and come to life on screen!

Note, it doesn't work on the DSi unfortunately, due to the missing GBA port and also, the game is in Japanese. Anyhow, this innovative game can be yours to own for the super low price of just $9.90, an astonishing saving of $55! Such a price reduction is unlikely to last very long, it's while stocks last and one per person, so grab it now!

"Think battle card games are over in this digital age? Think again.

Beast Battlers, the ultimate card action game is here. Slip the magic reader into the Nintendo DS and have it turn your 2D beast into breathing monster in your console. You don't have to take the beasts as they are, upgrade their power and other attributes through a power-up card. The bigger the deck you have, the better an edge you have over your opponents.

Each package comes with a pack of 40 cards and a battlefield card. Be sure to get to know other beast battlers to play in different battle fields and keep an eye out on booster packs for the better beast warriors.

Please bear in mind however, that the game does not work on Nintendo DSi as there was no slot on the new console for the magic reader."

Gamepark Wiz

If you've been reading along here, you'll know that I'm pretty into the Gamepark Wiz. If you haven't, that might mean that you're new here, so welcome. I'll do a bit of an overview of the Wiz for those of you that are new, then let's talk a bit about the state of things on the GP2X Wiz.


The Wiz is the new portable handheld from GamePark Holdings (GPH). GPH is the Korean company that produced and marketed the GP2X line of portables, and they were started by individuals that quit the company named "Gamepark." Gamepark was responsible for the GP32 hand held videogame console.

The most popular use of the Gamepark Wiz is open-source creations (mainly games but also some apps). The development environment is available free of charge, and there is an great online community supporting this open-source scene at GP32x.com.

Emulation has always seemed to be the most popular application of the Gamepark line (GP32, GP2X, and Wiz). This varies from emulation of older gamesystems like the Game Gear or the TurboGrafx 16 to computer systems such as the Commodore 64. It also includes emulators simulating a broad range of systems like the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (or MAME).

The most exciting recent news is that the Giana's Return freeware game has been released as a public beta on the Gamepark Wiz. If you remember the Great Giana Sisters, then you'll want to check this out. I've heard of people buying a Wiz just for this game.

Of course, emulators like Mame4All continue to get updated and run more games faster. The GameBoy Advance emulator "gpSP" is running well, and of course older systems such as NES, Genesis, and SNES are all emulating smooth. Ported games such as Quake, Rise of the Triad, X-COM, and Quake 2 are rather exciting for the old-school PC gamers. I feel like the Wiz is just hitting its stride, so now is the time to pick yourself up a Gamepark Wiz!

Weekly Special - Hakuna Matata for PS3

Grab yourself a PS3 bargain this week and get set to explore Africa as you accept missions from others armed with your trusty camera and camping gear. Yep, you're a photographer and what better place to take some nice pictures of wildlife? Using the might of the PS3 to provide some stunning imagery Hakuna Matata can be yours to own for the exceptionally low price of just $19.90, a huge saving of $30! Yep, that's less than half price folks.

You'll be happy to know that the game is completely in English and will of course work on any PS3 worldwide, like every PS3 game out there. Isn't Region Free the coolest? It's time to snap some pictures of wildlife and enjoy the scenery, only while stocks last and only one copy per person!

"You are a photographer stationed in Africa in this adventure, as a professional you will have the newest equipment such as camera lenses and computers.

Accept missions by viewing proposals via your email system, finding and tracking animals are only the start of your mission, you might be asked to take photos of them at unique angles, such as taking a close up shot of a giraffe's face. You'd realize you need a lot of skills to be an accomplished photographer.

You'll have a lot of equipment to choose from, from cameras to your camping gear. Of course these cost money, so be sure to accept as much missions as you can manage, besides, some organizations provide you with useful equipment such as tripods that you can use even after you have completed their request.

The game makes use of PS3's stunning graphical capabilities to render animations of animals to the most life-like degree. Remember how a clip from the game is used as a demonstration of the PlayStation3 prowess during the console's promotion? Now you can see why."

Tanabata Monogatari - Tegomass

Being the first temporary duo to release an album is prove enough that Tegoshi Yuuya and Masuda Takahisa's popularity. By debutting in Sweden with the English version of Miso Soup/ Chocolate, the group defined their exoticness.

Music from Johnny's production are pretty much bubble gum most of the time, with Kat-Tun being the spicier type and NEWS being slightly softer.

However, Tegomass does have pretty nice voices, although not extremely powerful, they sing very sweetly. Their hit singles Kiss Kaerimichi no Love Song, Aiai Gasa and Kataomoi no Chiisana Koi are perfect as theme songs for the shojo anime/TV series.

Of course they are perfect for shojo series. Johnny's boys always looked as if they walked out of a Shojo manga setting. That said, the PVs, live performance and fan event video clips are very much worth looking at, just see how they managed to create that sparkly, pastel colored fantasy world.


Aiai gasa was the first, and most sparkly PV I have seen. Sugar level of the song rocketed. But again, that was to be expected. As the theme song of Koei's Neo Angelique anime, what is better than something pastel and sparkly?

Next time the producers of Twilight wants to do apply glitter on vampires, watch the video first. There are things that are more aesthetic than sweat.

Their newest single Tanabata Matsuri was just as sweet, but comfortably less shoji-ish. Filmed with a team of children, dressed in yukatas, the two displayed how fun a Japanese festival is in an innocently traditional way.

Wish fulfillment is very big part of the Johnny's boys' charm. Get Kat-Tun if you prefer something with a dangerous edge, Hey! Say! Jump! if you prefer the bouncy energy and Tegomass if you prefer the sparkly sweet.

Giana Sisters Download

The Giana Sisters download is finally available for you GPH Wiz users. This is the recent release from the Giana's Return team. From what I understand, this will be the public beta release to find errors in the code and determine the next steps for releasing it to other platforms.

To be clear, though, this is the full game of Giana's Return. It's quality is that of a commercial GP2X Wiz game! It is being released under the "beta" tag because the team wants gamers to test the game out and submit their opinions. If you have a GP2X Wiz, I would suggest that you take this opportunity to check out this new Giana Sisters download which is hosted over at PDRoms.

If you don't already know about or have a Gamepark Wiz, I suggest that you check out our GP2X Wiz review.

Weekly Special - Slide Adventure: Mag Kid for Nintendo DS

Fancy a new DS game to keep you entertained? This weekly special should do the trick! A fun game with a wierd name for a bargain price. Get yourself a copy of Slide Adventure: Mag Kid for one of the biggest discounts since this blog started. How big? Slide Adventure will set you back a mere $9.90, a whopping $49 discount off the regular price! It doesn't get much better than this, really.

While it is the Japanese version, it will work on any DS console worldwide and many previous buyers say that the game is easy to navigate and play even without being able to read any Japanese. Join Mag Kid in this tilting adventure as you use the slide controller to move him into enemies to defeat them and solve puzzles. Only one per person, so get in quick to avoid dissapointment, this one's gonna sell fast!

"Follow the wacky adventures of Mag Kid as he slips and slides into enemies while solving puzzles. Use the slide controller peripheral to make a stand for your DS and slide it around a smooth surface, making Mag Kid move around the screen with it."

RC Submarine | Sub-Sonic XP

Let's face it, radio controlled submarines are just a cool concept. Silverlit Electronics' remote control submarine named "Sub-Sonic XP" is no exception. I recently got a chance to play with one for a couple of days. Check out the footage of a couple of my friends and me playing with it in a pool while on vacation to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

I should also mention that if you like the music in the above video, it's done by "Owl City" which is a guy named Adam Young. They have a new album coming out in less than a day. In fact, if you use iTunes, log on there because his new single, "Fireflys" will be the single of the week (meaning it's free to download for the week) starting July 14th.

For a small toy submarine, the Sub-Sonic XP is fairly complex. The controller has dual thumb-sticks, each of which control one of the rear propellers. To go straight, you push both up. To go backwards, you push both down. If you want to turn or spin, then you either only use a single thumb-stick or do a combination of one up and one down.

The two shoulder-buttons control the submerge and emerge of the remote control sub. Essentially, there are 3 propellers on the sub. Two control the horizontal direction of the sub, and one controls the vertical depth of the submarine.

The best way that I found to get it to dive was to let the sub come to rest, and then hit the submerge shoulder button. When it was under water about 1 foot, hit the emerge button once (which would stop the submerging). Then, you could start tooling around with the thumb sticks. If you kept submerging, you might get it to suction on to the bottom of the pool (which isn't a problem). We even got it suctioned to the side a couple times. You can drive around with the submerge or emerge propeller running, too. This makes for interesting and fun loops and flips.

The Sub-Sonic XP comes with the controller, the charging base, and the mini toy sub itself. The remote controller takes 1 9V battery, while the charging base needs 3 AA batteries. The RC submarine itself has it's own rechargeable battery, and to charge it, you place it on the charging base for about 3 minutes. Then, they say it's good to go for about 3 minutes. It seemed to me that it lasted much longer than 3 minutes, but I would say that after about 3 minutes it would start to get a bit touchy about how close it was to the controller. If you started getting too far away, it might stop functioning, and that range decreased when the battery got lower. After the battery started getting real low, it would start to behave erratically and do things like only operate one of the propellers at a time.

All-in-all, this RC submarine is well worth it's low price. If you like hobby style radio controlled submarines or you're just looking for a fun lake or pool toy, look no further. Play-Asia has the Sub-Sonic XP, and I think you'll find it to be quite impressive and enjoyable.

Some PS3 Fimware Updates Optional

A while ago, I complained about the annoyance of the regular mandatory firmware updates. If you didn't update, you couldn't play online or use the chat functions to contact your PSN buddies. Very annoying, especially if you want to play at that moment or talk to one of your friends. Of course if you hadn't played in a while and you finally did find some time for online gaming, you'd be required to do the update which sometimes was horrendously slow. In fact, I stopped downloading the firmware updates through the PS3 and instead used a download manager with multiple connections to get the update from the Sony site. From there, I would copy it to a USB stick and update, although the PS3 doesn't always recognize the contents properly, as I mentioned in the previous article.

This has changed with the 2.80 firmware. Did Sony read my post? Doesn't matter, either way 2.80 is not a mandatory update. Kudos to Sony for making the change.

Here's what Eric Lempel, Sony Director of Network operations had to say in an interview with PC World (Why PC world???): "We actually gave consumers the option to update. What I mean by that is, prior to 2.80 you had to update. So you'd turn on your PS3 and it would say, you know, if you want to to in the store, if you want to play an online game, or go into PlayStation Home, it would say there's an update available, please update before moving any further.

With 2.8 it was an option. Users didn't have to update when it released, and actually weren't prompted to do so because there weren't any costumer-specific functionality. I'd say a majority of consumers out there who just wait to get hit by these updates didn't even know about it. They might still not know about it."

About time, but better late than never. Let's have few mandatory updates please, only if they're significant!

Piano no mori

It's one of those anime that actually makes you feel the summer heat and smell the sweat on the characters. Makoto Isshiki is probably better known for his Hanada Shounen Shi, an urban fantasy(?) about a primary school boy who gained the power to see ghosts through his near death experience.

While Hanada portrays reality through the supernatural, Piano no Mori portrays magic through realistic settings. An unused piano dumped in the middle of a forest clearing alone calls up a picture from the fairy tales. How music transforms Kai's life and how Kai influences the young musicians' lives are nothing less magical.

There are no explosions, almost no violence (there are children and drunken brawls) a perfect movie for the summer and family time.


The main contrast in the film is the young pianists' different approaches to music. Kai portrays the ideal approach that parents want their children to have. Yet what emerges under parental "guidance" (read: pressures) is usually Shu. Both boys are serious about their music, yet Kai's love is simple while Shu's involved a little too much outside forces.

What Shu said at the end of the film "Without meeting you, I surely would have hated piano." resonated. I was one of the kids forced into piano classes. I didn't meet anyone like Kai. I hated the piano and ran away as soon as I saw a chance.

Everybody needs a Kai to remind them what genuine love for a craft means. Kai is available at Play-Asia.com. Come order a DVD and spend some quality time with your children, grandparents and friends you know from piano class.

Weekly Special - Battlestations Pacific for Xbox 360

We're back to a console special this week. Ready to experience World War II from different perspectives? In Battlestations Pacific you'll play a whole bunch of different units such as pilot, gunner, submarine captain and carrier fleet commander. Sound familiar? That's because it's the sequel to Battlestations: Midway, which allowed you also allowed you to play with those various different units as you fought the various battles in the campaign mode. It's all aerial and naval combat here folks. If you're tired of playing World War II first person shooters, this change of perpsective may be what you've been craving.

I'm happy to report the game is region free and will work on any Xbox 360 world wide! Grab it for the very low price of just $24.90, which is a half-price bargain, so get it now as its only while stocks last and only one per customer. It also includes the following language options: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish. I'd recommend picking up the first game too, but it's no longer in stock.

Games to Own #9: inFamous for PS3

I've been having immense fun with inFamous on PS3, it really is one of the best exclusive games available. Although Sony has quite a few stellar exclusives now. If you own a PS3 and haven't bought it yet, why not? While Killzone 2 may have not been everyone's cup of tea, I don't see how anyone could not enjoy this game. InFamous is an open-world game like GTA, you play in third person and you choose whether to be a super hero or a super villian. There's an interesting story, great voice acting and most importantly of all, great gameplay with minimal frustration. It's probably one of the first open world games that has caused me almost zero frustration due to the hard work of the developers. I hope but doubt that more games will follow inFamous in the things it has excelled in.

The first thing you'll notice is that inFamous has very quick loading times after you complete the initial mandatory install, which in itself is also quick. Did I saw loading times? The game loads only once when you start the game and it's very very quick. It's unbelievable what a difference this makes. First you see a sony logo, then the sucker punch logo video and finally the inFamous logo at the bottom of the screen as the game loads your latest save and puts you right there ingame in about...10 seconds. Yes, it's that quick. From then on, there is not a single load in the whole game, even when there's cutscene's and videos, well unless actually there is loads if you're in another city, but they're pretty quick. There isn't even a main menu! It really is an awesome feat. Grand Theft Auto IV on the other hand, had a very lengthy initial loading time. I like to be able to get into a game quickly and it's very annoying when you have to watch a whole heap of logo videos and being unable to skip them.

Secondly, Cole's (main character) agility is fantastic in the game. It's easy to scale walls, do jumping puzzles and leap from rooftop from rooftop because you don't have to be exactly perfect with your analog stick and jump button to get the right direction and distance, the computer knows most of the time where you want to jump to and will help you out. No massively frustrating moments like in GTA IV and Tomb Raider where you can't get the character to do what you want. The jumping and climbing in GTA IV still sucked, not a problem here though.

Finally, inFamous doesn't punish you by having you start from the beginning of each mission if you messed up or died and certainly doesn't require you to visit the mission spot again. No, inFamous has a checkpoint system within the missions and if you fail it, you'll instantly be transported back to the checkpoint with no load times, for a very unfrustrating experience.

These two factors contribute tremendously to making the game very enjoyable. It reminds me of the latest Prince of Persia actually, where the Prince is much more agile and easier to control. But, I think inFamous goes even further and controlling Cole is a pleasure and not a chore. A big thanks to Sucker Punch, for making such a polished product and enjoyable adventure. Try it and you'll be surprised how you could ever have put up with long load times, no checkpoints and crappy character movement. The bar has been raised.

Weekly Special - Super Robot Taisen K for DS

Last week's special sold out, don't miss out on this one! Another DS game and a strategy one at that. It's Super Robot Taisen K this week, a new game in the popular Super Robot Taisen series of games, also known as Super Robot Wars. It's available at the Super Robot Price (see what I did there?) of $24.90. You save a massive $40!

Please note that this is a Japanese strategy game, but will work on any DS and I'd assume there is no english language option. If I remember correctly, the Super Robot Taisen games are still easy to figure out and fun to play even if you can't read the language. It's kind of like Advance Wars, with Robots, but no building capabilities. What you've got is what you fight with. Limited to one copy per person, don't miss out!

"A large war is whipping the world into a whirlwind, destroying numerous planets and lives. Although civilization allowed people to live in cities scattered across the universe, violence never stopped.

50 years ago, the demon queen led her invasion, and later came the virtual beasts. Both menaces were taken care of, however, the troubles with humans carries on.

Science and technology allowed people to alter their off spring's genes. Coordinators are people who are genetically adjusted and seemed to have better physical or mental attributes than normal natural borns.

The differences in abilities set the two types of people apart and grudges, as well as envy is the source of current strife.

Each camp, the Naturals and the Coordinators, has their military force and war is about to start. Board your robot and get ready to enter battle. The mechas come from a multitude of series, from the relatively new classic Gundam Seed to King Geiner."