Gimme a break----- literally, i need one

Yes, I know it has been forever since I have written a decent post. Unlike Ben, I can't blog about anything and everything. Maybe that is why he is doing journalism and I am not. =P

This has been one heck of a week once more. 6 days of class including today's Calculus 2 replacement class. The day started out with all my daily routine over and over again. Sometime I can't help but feel dejavu-ish that every single day I am doing the same thing repeatedly. I forgot today is a Saturday, and well I left home at about the same time I usually do but reached at about 7 am. 1 hour before my class started, I almost felt like slapping the back of my head as I could have slept for an extra half an hour today. Class was alright and surprisingly I did not feel tired at all although I have only been sleeping for 6-7 hours per day for the past week.

To think that I only have one day off tomorrow, (and even then I have to study for next week's Micro test) is really sad and depressing. I can foresee already what I will be doing for the next couple of weeks and well it just adds to the already solemn mood in me. I forgot whether it was during this week (or maybe last week) that my application to Wichita State University is accepted. I would say they are very efficient unlike the other 2. Talking about the others, the admission office at UNL is having a slight problem with my application. Apparently, they need a Statement of Support from me that has the values return in but I am quite sure that I have written in all the necessary info for them before sending it. Troublesome lar~ The University of Wisconsin- Madison on the other hand is the one which has no updates or whatsoever on my application. Till date, I have only received one email from them. Whats even more annoying is that they actually sent it to my alternate email address instead of my preferred one. =.="

Besides studies, this week I did not really have much activities. The only time I spent with my girlfriend, besides the time sending her back from her University, is probably going to the Tian Hou Gong Temple yesterday. My girlfriend wanted to go pray and ask about some stuff so I naturally accompanied her and at the same time prayed together-gether. It is kinda ironic though as I usually do not go to the temple besides during the Chinese New Year, but I only went there the day after CNY officially ended. I am unsure of whether I have been to that place or not, I've heard of the place numerous time but have no fond memory of ever being there.

Let's see what else, err yeah, Game Developer's Conference was recently held, one of those big events in the gaming industry. A number of sequels were announced and quite a number of it are actually games that I have finished playing. Gears of War 2 definitely pique my interest, although the teaser trailer was just showing off Marcus Fenix vs-ing a Locust, what is more important is the fact that they will be chainsaw counter in the sequel (I hate it when the one getting chainsawed is my character instead). One word, "Awesome". In the tech demo we can see that there is an upgrade to what the engine could do and all. The environment are destructible, the water ripples like it is supposed to, and the blob of ........what the, MEAT?!? jiggles like its suppose to?? Sadly, for now the game is only announced for the 360 (XBOX)





Other game sequels announced are like Portal 2, the game with the AI which IMO is not that good in persuading a person. "THE CAKE IS A LIE!" or maybe not. The concept behind the gameplay is really creative and also unique. Something which is very rare in the gaming world right now. The part I love the most about the game is probably the credits, the AI actually sang the song. LoL, here's the video clip. P.S. If you have the time go look up its lyrics.



Okie, I'm bored of writing my post already. Time to stop now. *Yawns*

Busy lar~

What a week it has been, up until now this must be the busiest college week for me. It has been such a long time since I had 6 days of classes a week (the last time was at Alif College). Well, Saturday was a replacement class for Cal 2. Although my assignments are still manageable, it is the University application stuf that is bugging me a lot. Good news is that I have some recyclable documents which I had prepared when I was applying to the University of Maryland last year. This time, I am officially applying to 3 Universities at the same time; University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and also Wichita State University.

I have already ordered extra copies of my TOEFL results to be sent to the three Universities. Each piece cost USD 17, which means the total money that I have spent on the results alone is USD 51 = RM160+. I am probably gonna send my application form to University of Wisconsin first because their application deadline for Fall 2008 is on February 2008 (freaking early). Even though today is supposed to be the day off from the entire week I am still preparing the necessary application materials for the universities. Glad to say, that I have just finished and have the time to finally write something decent in my post after a couple of days. Now, I have only a couple of hours more before the beginning of another (possibly) busy week.

Tomorrow I am planning to go to Alif College to apply for the official college transcript together with the course syllabus during my 2 hours break that I have between classes. I wonder if Ben will want to follow...... Let's see if I can "persuade" him into following. Hopefully I can make it back in time for my class, I don't want to miss any of Miss Shanta's class. For me, the momentum is finally picking up after that 2 months holiday, Calculus 2 FTW.

Okie nuff said about the boring week, now onto anime, Bleach Episode 156 "Ishida & Pesshe, the United Attack of Friendship?". Ishida is still fighting the lady Privaron Espada with the big yoyo, and suddenly Pesshe (one of the friendly hollows) comes to his aid? or is he really the one needing the help? As weak as Pesshe seems, he has this attack called "Infinite Slick" which causes anything it touches to become super slippery. The attack even caused the Privaron Espada to injure herself. That attack provoked her, so she released her sword and transformed. Initially Ishida and Pesshe had some trouble fighting her but eventually Ishida revealed his own trump card, a Reiatsu Saber (it was named by me, after the Light Saber). The saber cut through the Privaron Espada's attack and with that it ended the episode. In my opinion, this fight was rather boring, I prefer watching the fight between Rukia and the 9th Espada. Finally some screenshots.



Now for gaming, seriously this week alone there are a ton loads of news on some of the triple A title which is going to be released for the year. Lets start off by saying that the official website for Devil May Cry 4 is up and running, there are 2 links to it, but I think the both of them lead to the same site. I will post both up either ways www.betrayerbetrayed.com and also www.deceiverdeceived.com , I myself have yet to checked them out thoroughly but I recalled that there is a trailer before you enter the site. I envy those who have a PS3, this is probably the year to get it also. The value of the US Dollar has also dropped by a bit and this would probably mean a cheaper PS3 too. At its current price USD 400 x 3.2 = RM1280, too bad I would still have to wait till I arrive at US to decide whether to get one or not. It is so very tempting yet the only friend I know which have a PS3 is Leon from school. I KILL YOU!!! Lucky fella T.T

Next, we have another new PSP bundle, this time it is for the Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G that is going to be released in Japan soon. The PSP design is very nice and personally I would love to have it but no money, no talk eh. It is selling for 25,800 Yen which is close to RM800, but just like the Crisis Core bundle, I have a feeling that dealers will be jacking the price up to about RM1000. If I had that kinda money, I would rather be getting a PS3. Damn, but it sure looks good.

There are still quite a lot of news out there which are still unsaid, but I have to go out for dinner now. From what I can see though, 2008 is definitely going to be the rise of the PS3. This is probably a good news, as I am quite a Playstation fanboy (note: I am not a SONY fanboy mainly because their stuff are mainly overrated). Well, time to enjoy what is left of my week. Buh bye~

Wah sai sian arr

Okie now, most of the stuff regarding this semester is settled, not in the most favorable manner but at least it is the best I can settle for. Next up, will be the matter regarding the application and such. There will be a seminar at college on the US Universities application stuff and most likely I will be attending it. That will be all that I will be talking about studies in today's post. It's the end of the week after all.

After 2 weeks, Bleach episode 155 is out " Rukia Retaliates! Release the Desperate Kidou", no idea why they will say anything about a desperate kidou.... Lousy direct translation I guess. This time the fight between Rukia and Kaien continues, and there were some new flashy moves in it. For one, Kaien has finally shown us his Zanpakutoh( which is actually a trident named Nejibana, and the translation being screw flower, like OMGWTH gay name ), and Rukia also featured some of her trademark skills together with a couple of Kidou ( spells ). Eventually, the Espada's disguise of Kaien got dispeled and revealed the true face of the 9th Espada (freaking hard to say or even spell his name, Aru-something Are-something). It was during then that Rukia gained the confidence to fight without hesitation, knowing that the "person" is not her senpai ( senior ). The episode ended with Mr. 9th Espada's Zanpakutoh release, and revealing what seems to be a giant blob of hollow. Personally, I think that it looks really lame, but well, I'm not the artist. Look at the screenshots, the fake Kaien looks really alike Ichigo, except for the hair color that is.



Speaking of anime, I've been watching a lot of Naruto lately, and I came to this decision. It is a funny anime, the storyline is just okie, and the action is quite mild. Sometimes, I can even feel that Naruto isn't even the main character in the anime, although the anime is named after him. The storyline jumps around a lot, and they can really drag a scene over a course of four to five episodes ( I swear). Overall, it isn't bad, but it isn't really good either. No offense to Naruto fans out there, I still like Bleach more. XD

Recently, there isn't much gaming news but at least I know a couple of release date for some of 2008's triple A title already. For example DMC 4 will be out at the end of the month, if i only had a PS3 to play that. Next, there is MGS4, which is speculated to be out during quarter 2 of 2008. Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core will be released on March 25, and also for the PSP, God of Wars: Chain of Olympus's release date will be March 4. The above mentioned are just the games which is sure to be on my list. There are still lots of other great games and if you did notice, the above games are just the one which will be out by the 1st half of 2008.

Let's see what other games are there, oh yeah, Far Cry 2 has the same release date as FF7:CC , Battlefield: Bad Company, possibly within the 1st quarter of 2008, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the DS will be released in the month of March also.

Once again, thats all for the post. Tired and sian wei......*Yawn*

Important Gaming Post

Okie this is probably the first, not even half an hour after I have written the first post, I am already working on the 2nd. Okie less talk more stuff to see for urself why this is so the "must share" news.

First look at this video clip.


Next, look at this bundle.

Okie good. Thats all for this post. If you are a true gamer, you will salivate over the video and next you will wish to take your wallet out and start saving up for that very very tempting PS3 bundle.

What's been happening......

Well, my parents are finally back from their Vietnam/ China vacation and I am glad they all came home safely. What I heard from my mom was that it wasn't fun, so thank goodness I did not go. I can't argue that I missed my mom's cooking after so many days of eating food outside.

Let's see what else..... Well nothing actually. I find it very weird how my days can pass that quickly when the only thing I am doing is playing my PSP. There was something different though, I am not playing Monster Hunster but instead I am now indulging myself in a remake of Final Fantasy Tactics for the PS1. The name of the game FF Tactics: War of the Lions. I can't say that I am a big fan of turn base strategy RPG but this game is another one of those "good but not the best" type of games for the PSP. In my opinion, one of the best part about it is that, every fight poses some kind of challenge regardless of your level. Since enemies level up at the same pace as you, no fight is an easy fight. One thing I didn't like though is the horoscope system. Unless you are very familiar with what star sign is compatible/ incompatible with which, it can be very frustrating to figure out which character is best used to fight whichever opponent.



Lastly, another episode of Bleach has been released. Episode 151 "The Raging Storm! Encounter with the Dancing Arrancar". This episode starts out funny but ends with a slight "wanting more" feeling. This episode introduces another group of Espada known as the Privaron and Ichigo and his friends each met up with a member of this Privaron. The next episode would probably show a lot of kick ass action but still the much anticipated fight with the real Espadas is what I am awaiting, but that would probably still be a long way more. ( I read the manga too, so I know the plot more or less). Will be uploading pictures for this week's episode as soon as I finish downloading the VLC player for taking screenshots.



Another day, another post. Before the end of today's post I would like to say, tomorrow is somebody's birthday =D . Okie not just anybody, but my somebody, and another somebody, for someone else. The sentence that came before this would have probably caused me to fail any English exam but that's not the point eh? ^^

Irony

I'm talking about my college transcript, just when I was planning to go to college to get it one of these days, the enveloped which contain my transcript was delivered to my house just this afternoon. At least that save me a trip of going to college or does it? I would still have to go register for the next semester's subjects that I am going to be taking. About the results, I got an A+ for Intro to Psych, but sadly my American History subject has a "W' ( which stands for a withdraw) beside it. Well, I just have to do better next semester. I am actually quite happy because my results were better than what I had expected.

Moving on, my family will be leaving for Vietnam tomorrow morning (way, way early in the morning) to go on vacation and leave me home alone to rust. Okie maybe I was the one who has chosen not to go. Vietnam gives me a feeling that it is really boring and I know better than to go on a boring trip. I wish my parents would pick a better vacation location. Every year its either China, China, or if we are lucky somewhere not China (but still within South East Asia). I wish they would go to places such as US or Europe. Bah, they are so unadventurous. =X

On a side note, since my girlfriend is free now, I can just spend that entire family vacation time with her instead.* Happy face* =D. We already have plans for tomorrow but still do not know where we will be going, but probably to that new shopping center, Pavilion. No idea how to get there but I have a car and the petrol, so that means its' time to explore. Finally I have some time to pak toh after a very very dreadful and long month.

Lastly, one of my favorite topics, Games. Crysis is awesome, its not like any other first person shooter mainly because you have to use your brains instead of just blindly rushing into a camp and go trigger happy. I spent some time with it, and found myself dying 90% of the time if I did just that. Rather you have to make use of what your nano-suits can do. I just love it when you switch to another mode and they say " Maximum Speed" or "Maximum Armor". One thing which sets this game apart from others, is physics and realism. For example, when your sight is blocked by some leaves on a coconut tree or something. Just shoot it and the leaf will actually react as though it is being shot at. What's more, if you shoot the trunk of that coconut tree long enough, the thing will come crashing down on your enemies or perhaps even yourself depending on where you stand. Everything in the game reacts to you just the way it should. Tyres of jeeps will go kaboom if you shoot at it. All these comes at a price though of course. Crysis is a system killer, because regardless of how recent you have bought your PC. It is impossible to achieve the best graphic settings, unless you are filthy rich and can afford the best of the best hardwares. Go take a look at the price of a stick of DDR3 RAM. Be amazed. For those who are still unconvinced just look at this.

Games galore

There seems to be a lot of triple A titles out this couple of weeks. Gears of War, Crysis and Call of Duty 4 (all for the PC) just to name a few. Of course I would like to try for myself each and everyone of these games but since there are all on the PC, hardware is always a restriction. Despite lacking the necessary hardwares, I got myself a copy of Crysis and installed it on my laptop. Just when you thought the graphics of Bioshock could not get any better, Crysis comes along and immediately redefine the possibilities of gaming graphics. While the laptop is not the ideal piece of hardware to game on, it is a better option over my desktop. This are the following specs for my laptop:

(1) 2GB ram
(2) 512 MB Nvidia 8600M GT
(3) 2.0GHz C2D processor

Regardless of these specs, it did not prepare my laptop for the incoming graphics onslaught that is Crysis. From the very 1st cutscene, the framerate started to drop but was still acceptable. During gameplay the framerate increased, and it played a bit smoother. I had only played it for about 10 minutes but I can say that the game is rather well done, guns are customizable and your suit can switch between a few modes which would alter how you play the game. This is truly the game to switch your entire desktop for. Even if you are not doing it for this game, I am pretty sure that future games would still require a high end graphic card.

My results are still not uploaded online yet but I heard that the transcript can be collected in college already. I think that I might be going on next week to get it, while doing some research on the University that I would like to go to. Programming C is not that bad since I have already learned the basics from Kok Hoong before. For those newer topics though, I am still trying to understand what I am doing but there can be times where you really have to crack your head trying to understand how all this works. I think that I am a slow learner, because some parts where Kok Hoong said was easy, I still took a long time to understand. Sad really, but I won't give up on doing this = ).

Motion sickness

Has anyone ever experienced motion sickness without even moving an inch? Well, I did, what actually cause motion sickness for me is not sitting in a car, ship, plane or any transportation at all. It was all simply playing a game, more specifically Half Life 2. I am feeling so nauseous right now even as I am writing this post. I literally threw up my entire dinner due to it. This wasn't the first time I have experienced it, but this time was probably the worst. Since I have been playing lots of FPS(first person shooter) games for the past who-knows-how-many years, I have only experienced motion sickness on 2 games. 1 being Half Life 2 and another was Far Cry (the previous game made by Crytek, which is also the developer of Crysis).

Seeing as it had occur a couple of times, I went online to see if anyone else was experiencing the same problem and to my surprise a couple of forums has mentioned the same problem I was experiencing. All for the value of Orange Box. Whats the use of having 5 games for the price of 1, when you can't play 3 of it. Damn, feeling so sick right now, I am not even looking at the monitor when I am typing the post.

Well, other than that this week's Bleach is out. No screenshot this week, I don't want to look at any colorful stuff for the rest of the night. This week's episode is called "Ashido, the Shinigami who came from the Past". Long story short, still trapped in the menos forest, everybody tried to look for one another, learn about Ashido's(the shinigami from before) past, and the episode ended with a little suspense.

Another quickie

There seems to be some way TM is finding out the time when I want to write a post, and decides to slow down my bandwidth. Every time I plan to write one, the connection would become really sucky and make it hard for me to upload pics.

Okie anyways, just to make it short. This is already the last week of the semester, next Wednesday is going to be the finals for Psychology. Studying hard but gaming harder. I am soooo in trouble.

So anyways while reading the online newspaper, I found this article "Older Gen. going Next Gen". So, obviously I made up that title, but this is seriously some really "informative" news. Time to convince my grandpa to get a PS3.

Besides that this week, I am also awaiting from the admission review by the University of Maryland. Cross my fingers and hope that I will be accepted. XD

Lastly, Bioshock gooood, finally managed to install it on my lappy after installing a new driver for my graphic card. The game is really exhilarating, keeps you on your toe all the time. Scared the living hell out of me a couple of time. Yet, leaving me thirsting for more.

Devil May Cry 4

Here's a new trailer of Devil May Cry 4 which is scheduled to be release next February. Simply looks amazing, mouth watering even.

End of the week

Hey all who have been reading my blog, I know I haven't been updating it for quite some time, but I was "kinda" busy this week. We had a quiz on Wednesday, which was really tough IMO. I did not really do really well on it, 33/40 bugger was hoping for 35 and above. Then on that same day, I receive my Dean's Honor Roll for scoring over 3.5 CGPA last semester. Well it was nice and all but I was really aiming for the president's list(perfect 4.0 CGPA). Oh yeah, and being me, I accidentally got some oil smudges on the certificate (=.="). All that aside, it was really a very dull week, nothing much happening.

Well, for some of you, Hari Raya's holiday would be the whole of next week. For me it's just Monday, yes...... ONE bloody day. What's worse, our Psych teacher will not be coming to class and she will be replaced by none other than our previous lecturer. Holy @#!$...... Don't really feel like attend her class but two things are holding me back from doing so. 1) Ben was right, we should give face to her ( after all it was because of us that she had to go sit at other lecturer's classes) 2) The more important factor, ATTENDANCE. Fortunately there might only be two classes next week, depending on whether she can finish the syllabus, and for me I have an excuse to skip class on Wednesday already. So hopefully, there will only be one class next week(for me at least).

Over with the daily chit-chat, and now on to the most active topic in my blog, games. Well, well, this week, I manage to get my hands on a "Jack Sparrow" copy of Bioshock. On the down side, the DVD could not be installed on my computer (probably due to my disc drive). I have been wanting to get this game for quite some time. Temptations, temptations.... I just had to play it and so I went and download the demo version of the game. You guys can get the demo here if you want it "Bioshock Demo". Well from the demo alone, I know I just had to play this game. The game looks really beautiful, in the starting scene, I did not know that I was playing the game until I notice that the cutscene has stopped. The water details are beautiful, the fire effect is realistic. As you move through the game, you will constantly doubt that the graphic artist can do any better than they already have, but you will soon come to realize that this is not true.

The game is really fun as it keeps you in suspense all the time, the setting is dark, enemies can suddenly pop out of nowhere. Although it might sound scary, but if I dare to play it, most other people would not have any problem with it. As you can see from the pictures in my post, there is this giant aquanaut monster thingy with a little girl at its side. Well, it isn't necessary to fight even one of these beast but you have to do so in order to gather the resources needed to buy new skills. Although the demo did not feature a fight with one of this pairs, but there was a scene where they show how destructive this guy could be. There was this scene where one of the dumber enemy comes into the room where that little girl (known as Little Sister) was and attempt to assault her. That was all it took to trigger a chain of bonebreaking events for that fool(Splicer). Firstly the aquanaut monster thingy( known as Big Daddy) jumps down from the second floor, throws a chair at the Splicer. BD then body slams him after that, holds him up, drills a hole in his stomach, grab his skull, and smash his puny head through a bulletproof glass(the glass only fractured the first couple of time he smashed the Splicer's head).

Senseless violence is just so fun to look at (in game, mind you). So, in the demo we were given the choice of using a couple of weapons which are a wrench, a revolver, and a machine gun. For the secondary weapon/ skill , we had an electric bolt attack and another immolating skill.

I must admit, I found the fire skill to be really cool. If you had ever like how cool it was for the fire alchemist(Mustang) in Fullmetal Alchemist to show off his skill at the snap of his fingers. Well, this is exactly the same! It looks damn cool when you snap your finger and your enemies just lights up like a matchstick. Even better is the fact that there are sure to run to the closest water puddle to cool off, only to be zap by the electric bolt skill. The water does conduct electricity like in real life! (unlike Oblivion where the lightning bolt simply disappears).

So on a final note, for anyone who already has this game. Could you kindly contact me cause I would really like to play the full game as soon as possible.( leave a message in the chatbox please)

End of the Tokyo Game Show 2007

Today is day 4 of TGS and also the final day. I know I did not provide any news on TGS last night but it can't be helped, there was nothing much happening. Only thing was that the showroom was opened to the public yesterday and today. I was really hoping that there would be more awesome video clip but unfortunately there isn't. But all I have now are some picture of people cosplaying (pictures taken from http://www.gamespot.com/).

Although they has been little hot news about this. I'm still going to wrap up on the popular games which have been on display at the TGS. For the Playstation 3, we have games like FF XIII, FF Versus XIII, Devil May Cry 4, Assassin's Creed, Metal Gear Solid 4, Metal Gear Online, and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destrucion.

For the Playstation Portable, there is the Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter Freedom 2, Secret Agent Clank, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

For the Wii, we have Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Chocobo Dungeon: Toki Wasure No Meikyuu, whereas for the DS, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fate, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Bleach: The 3rd Phantom.

For Microsoft's console the XBox 360, Halo 3, Ninja Gaiden 2, Assassin's Creed, and Devil May Cry 4. Last but not least the PC, which has games like World in Conflict, Crysis, Gear of War, Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry 4, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Well, from that short summary, it is quite obvious that the handheld consoles are getting quite a range of awesome games. For those who are looking forward to getting a game console, do take note. XD

Below is a slideshow of pictures I have taken of the PSP Slim and also the Monster Hunter Freedom 2 game which I've recently bought.

Review : Playstation Portable Slim

As promised last night, I will be talking about the newest addition to my collection of gadgets, the Playstation Portable 2000 or better known as the PSP Slim. Well, I will be judging a few aspects, which are the Design, Function, and Price.

Part 1: Design
At the first glance, the PSP Slim seems to be similar in every way to its predecessor, the PSP Phat. But with careful concentration you will see that they have been quite a number of changes to its design. The more obvious being the holes of the speaker which have been moved to the top of the buttons on both sides, where the previous PSP's speaker were located below. Besides that, the WLAN switch has also been moved from the left side to the top of the new PSP Slim. This is probably one of the more helpful changes, mainly because it is likely that you will accidentally turn on/off the WLAN switch while playing on the PSP Phat. SONY has also removed the IR port which was present on the PSP Phat, but since there is hardly any use for it, it is probably a good idea to do so.

Other changes to design which SONY has made include the rounded edge of the new PSP. The Phat PSP comes with angular edges at the side and this will some times cause some minor pain while playing on it after a long period of time. With the PSP slim, the PSP fits nicely onto your palm and is sure to provide comfort. The buttons feels more responsive on the Slim if compared with the Phat.

Of course not to be forgotten is how the PSP Slim actually got it's name. The PSP Slim is 19% thinner than the Phat and what's more interesting is that the entire weight of the PSP has been cut down by a staggering 33%. With some observation, the difference in the thickness of the two PSP can be seen in the following picture( the Black PSP is the Phat, and silver is Slim). I for one was amazed at how light the PSP Slim was when I first held it yesterday. It really feels like the PSP Slim is actually empty on the inside.

With the new PSP Slim. I find it much easier and comfortable to hold the PSP in hand as it provides a better grip and since it is only about 2/3 the weight of the PSP Phat, one can hold the PSP all day long and will not feel tired. Of course with the reduction in size, some changes to the battery and UMD slot had to be made. The PSP Slim is using a 1200 mAh battery whereas the Phat is using a 1800 mAh model. Despite that, the PSP Slim actually has about the same battery life as the Phat. But the PSP Slim is actually able to usethe PSP Phat battery and if so, the PSP Slim can last about 8-10 hours with a slight catch, you will have no way of closing the cover of the battery, until Sony releases some accessory in order to do so.

Besides that the UMD "door" mechanism has also received a new makeover but this is probably the only change which I did not like. The PSP Slim use to have a switch for opening this door but now you have to open it manually. Since this is necessary in order to achieve the current form factor, I have little to complain about it because I usually run the games from my Memory Stick Pro Duo. One last change is to the previous port for the earphone w/ remote control has been changed so that one of the best function could be included ( I will be talking about it in the next section).

For the design, I would give the PSP Slim a 9.5/10 for the ergonomically perfect new design

Part 2: Function

The single most important improvement which SONY has given to the PSP Slim is probably the capability to allow TV output through the help of the PSP component cable. With that, you can play your favorite movie on a 32" LCD TV with DVD quality video, provided the movie is of that certain resolution. But playing games on the big screen is probably one of the cooler uses of this TV Output capability. There is still a slight requirement that you have to meet in order to play games on the TV, you have to have a LCD TV with progressive scan support. But other than that, you can still view pictures and listen to music on any ordinary TV which has the component cable ports.

Besides that, SONY has also provided a 32 MB upgrade to the inner memory cache which theoretically would speed up the total speed of the Slim, and guess what? It really does ! It is immediately noticable that some games which had had long loading times are now done loading within a shorter period of time.

For those of you who do not know what the PSP can do I will explain to you some of the existing and newer functions which had been included. Currently the PSP can be use for music, video, games, camera, GPS (only in Japan for now), an Internet browser, a remote play function which allows you to treat the PSP as the PS3's controller. From what I heard, I even learned that you can play PS3 games from your PSP as long as you have the PS3 on and running, and regardless of where you are, you would still be able to play it. Although the PSP has a web browser, it is not exactly the most user friendly one around, which probably make it less appealing to those who would use their mobile phone to surf the net while travelling around places.

Another function which is sighted to be released in the near future is watching the TV from your PSP. There has also been news that there might be a voice call, VOIP, video call and also a text messaging service for the PSP in the future but I myself is still highly skeptical on how they are going to do that. All in all, the PSP has a lot of really cool function, all packed into a gadget which is about the size of your Casio fx-350ms calculator.

I will give the PSP Slim a 9.0/10.0 for a job well done in creating a portable gadget which is well equipped with all these capabilities.

Part 3:Pricing

For the price of this gadget, I would say that it is definitely a bang for your buck. The current PSP Slim can be bought for RM800±. In the US one could get an even better bargain because for only 200 USD( slightly more than RM 700) you get a PSP Slim together with a UMD Game and a 1GB MSPD.

Feel free to name another gadget which has more functions and is cheaper than this. You will get to realize that, it is worth every cent in your pocket. Just look at the handphone, it probably has a slight upperhand for being able to make calls, sms and such. But most mid range phone cost an average of RM1000±. Even so, at that price, the phone has its limitations of watching short video clips, playing simple games, and etc. Look at the iPod, its price is the same as the PSP Slim in the US but it lack many of the function which the PSP has.

I would say that the PSP is really a bargain if you would compare it with other gadgets which you might have at home. For that, I give it a 9.0/10.0, mainly because it is affordable for most people (although they might still be some who might beg to differ).

So the final score for the PSP Slim is 9.2/10.0 for this portable home entertainment system. I would say it is stylish and it still has much potential to grow. Personally, I think it is a good investment as the PSP would definitely be future-proof and for those who is looking for a portable gadget, do consider the SONY PSP Slim. For any enquiry on further details, please feel free to leave a msg in my chatbox and I will attend to it as soon as possible.

OMG OMG OMG~~!!!!

OMG! This is one of those "Happiest Day of My Life" day. I have been waiting the whole day for this, and finally at exactly 10.53 PM, 21 September 2007, IT arrived. Okie if by now you still do not get what I was referring to. Well, you did not miss anything. I think a picture should do all the talking for me.

Words cannot express my feelings. This is just the most amazing thing. It's really too too gorgeous. If anyone notice the time I added this post, it is already really late. But this is just too good that I must share with you people out there. I will be giving a review on the PSP slim and comparison with the old fat PSP by tomorrow hopefully.

And as mentioned, I will be keeping you guys updated on the latest TGS 2007 news from Day 2. Well, Devil May Cry has been made available to be played by the public since yesterday. And personally I downlaoded some trailers of it and find it absolutely astonishing. The graphics look like pre-rendered CG. Lighting and all is superb. After all, the MGS franchise is the trump card of Konami. Besides that, another expansion pack(sort of) is going to be released for the Monster Hunter Portable 2 game (PSP) featuring more monsters, equipments and so on, but currently there are no news for an English version release. Both from Capcom.

There are aslo a couple of hands-on news about the next game in the Final Fantasy series. Both Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Hopefully in the next few days, some video clip could be released, together with Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep too. *Cross fingers*. Not to mention other of Square Enix's title such as Dissidia: Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of The Lion.

For Konami, there are also news circulating about another Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops game for the PSP. Since the first game was a success it is no wonder that they are making another. And the Metal Gear Online which is going to be released for the PS3, is definitely a must have for those who already own a PS3.

That's it for today I guess. Good night people.

Tokyo Game Show:- Day 1

Hey, I might not be in Japan but thanks to Gamespot , I am constantly being updated with the latest news. Probably one of the bigger news in this year's TGS is the new PS3 controller which is fitted with the rumble feature which was a key trait of the previous DualShock2 controller for the PS2. Some games like Metal Gear Solid 4 will be using the force feedback feature to make games more realistic.

Speaking of MGS4, a new trailer has been released. This time featuring more new characters and a couple of brief scenes with characters from the previous games. Here's the video clip of that trailer.



This year's TGS will last for 4 days instead of the usual 3 days event from the previous years. This would probably mean that more news will be announced for all gaming consoles. Of course, I will be listing the "juicier" news in my later posts.

Okie while writing today's post, I suddenly came up to this interesting news "Kingdom Hearts game for the PSP", another reason why I should cherish my PSP more. Shouting like a lil girl in my mind right now. XD

I swear, once I have the money and ability to travel around the world, I would be visiting these gaming conventions annually. E3, Leipzig, and TGS just to name a few.

Also, Bleach 141 has been released on Wednesday, and I've just watched it today afternoon. Not giving out too much spoiler but it basically talks about Orihime Inoue before she is "escorted" to Hueco Mundo. No cool fights in this episode though.

Week 2 ::Done::

Hell of a boring week. Glad it's over with, and now three days of holiday (kinda). The good news is today is the 13th of September which means the FF7: Crisis Core PSP is released. Holy crap~~~! I've even downloaded the game ady. Although it is in Japanese but I really feel the urge to play it. The starting cut scene is already making me drool (this time figuratively XD). I'm holding myself back though, games like this come once in a millenium (okie just exaggerating, mayb 2-3 times a year). I read somewhere that this game used up almost the entire UMD disc storage space. And it is true, this game is 1.7GB in size, and the total storage space of a UMD is 1.8GB. Probably packed with beautiful cutscenes (O.o). Just look at the main menu, look at the boootiful lights......

Hehe, besides that, there is also Bleach's new episode today, action packed just like the previous episodes. Damn cool. My brother watched one of the naruto episode today, and I can say Bleach pwn Naruto. I'm not trying to start a flame war, but I really like Bleach much more. No offense to Naruto fans out there, you have your ninja, I have my shinigami XD.

This weeks Devil May Cry is still pending, but from comment I read through forum, it seems to be great. Now, just have to look for the torrent. Anyone who knows please pm me the link.

And now come's the bad news. Okie not really related to me. But this is for my girlfriend. She has this really bitchy teacher, his a guy btw, but behavior wise not really 100% guy, if u get the drift. Just because of a certain misunderstanding, he just goes around telling others bout how bad my gf is and all. Serve him right to be a gay dude, sissy ..... Feeling really angry just talking about him. @#$! Hope he would just go disturb someone else and leave my girl alone.

Repetition

It's only one and a half week after this semester had started but I am already feeling days are becoming really repetitive and boring. Both the noob and newb are seriously r-tards, they can't teach properly and their classes are a waste of time.

And as promised here's a picture of the ring ......kinda. It was really hard to get a decent picture. It was either too blur or overexposed . This was the best that could have been done though. All thanks to my girlfriend. There is a heart shape designed form when both rings are connected. ^^

So after studying all day long, I managed to spend a little time watching the Bleach 1st movie which I downloaded. I have actually watched a really bad quality version of it earlier with no subs so one can expect the experience to be the worst. It is a decent side story kinda movie with introduction of a new group of people called the dark ones which is trying to destroy the real world and soul society. There is a new character within this anime which is also a shinigami ( more or less...) named Senna and here's a picture of her.

Besides that I managed to spend an hour playing monter hunter freedom 2, I think I am getting addicted to it. This game is much better than the 1st game with a lot of previous flaws fixed up. And talking about the PSP, Team M33 has came up with a custom firmware just days after the PSP slim is released. Awesome. These people really aspire me to be someone like them in the future. Imagine cracking up a software which is produced by a giant company (four letter, starts with S and ends with Y). I salute these people. If I earned my own money I would donate some to them because they allow people like us who cannot afford to play original games the capability to try a wide range of games.

Just to make sure it is really dead

Sunday and Monday

Hey honestly I do not like Sunday, at the end of the day. You have to go back to study mode. Ain't that boring. At least tomorrow's Psycho class has been canceled and so there will only be 2 hours of class from 10-12. From the morning till the middle of noon, was just reading American History. Not gonna comment since it's still the same.

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 after that till now, it has been a couple of days since I started playing this game. Really fun game in my opinion. I really wished I could play via Xlink Kai (no Ben, nothing related to you) since no one that I know has a PSP. Via Kai I can play this game through wifi, just like how PC gamers use Hamachi to play DOTA, Battlefield and etc. But in order to do so, I would need to get a wifi dongle first. Money, money.

You can see my character dancing really
gay-ly in this picture XD.

[Edited on Monday, 10th September 2007] Hey today's class was a total waste of time. The newb made each team present the same thing over and over again. And the thing is there were only 2 groups presenting today. Another 5 to go tomorrow. The best part about it is that we got another presentation on Thursday. If this keeps on, he can just sit his @ss down and past the 7 weeks without even teaching us. So y bother going to college at all.

At least I have something good to talk about today. Today is really special for me and my girlfriend, we got our wedd... ops couple ring today. Will be uploading a picture later. It's really nice as these two rings can join together to form a heart shape. Hehe^^ I really hope my girlfriend like it cause I personally do.

Temptation

I'm gonna explained about the title later on, but firstly wanted to say that the first day of the semester is fine. But one problem which I have already noticed is that, every week the lecturer would cover two chapters of History of America and 2-3 chapters of Psychology. So, daily revision is inevitable. At first, I really looked forward to reading the History of America 2 book. I was thinking it would likely be something like the Malaysian's Sejarah. Little did I know, when I first turned open the book, problem no. 2 arised. For every 2 or 3 lines which I read, I had to look for the meaning to a certain word. Worrying now ....(=.=")

Back to temptation (viewer discretion advised). Today, I went surfing online for the Crisis Core PSP and found a really nice picture which show the whole bundle which came with it and I found this picture.

One FF7: Crisis Core game, One PSP slim with the awesome decal at the back, & one Sword keychain/strap thingy

Later, I went to Play-Asia.com to take a look at the PSP again. While I was looking, all of a sudden I felt a drop of water on my shirt. Holy crap..... I was literally drooling while looking at this PSP. LoL. Fortunately, I did not flood my room with saliva. Man, I really wish to have it. It looks so beautiful that I kinda felt like trading off my current PSP for it.

The "Shoebox" which contains the limited edition bundle

Besides that, while looking around at the website, I found a new game to be waiting for. The Bleach: Blade Battlers 2 game will be coming out end of this month. XD Woot, more Shinigami vs Hollow action.

2 Days to Semester 2

The 2nd last day of my holiday. Another 2 months of study starting next week, then 2 months of holiday after that. But of course that holiday I would be doing all necessary preparation if I am admitted into the University of Maryland. Yet to hear from them though, quite worried now. Might not get admitted (><"). Today is really dull especially in the morning. In the evening, I drove my family to Leisure Mall to have dinner. While I was there, I decided to go around browsing for some new games and found Rayman: Raving Rabbids. Seems like a nice enough game. Although not my cup of tea, cause it is seriously a game with lots of mini game. I was thinking it might be a "Ratchet and Clank" type of game. But this game would be suited for all of you who own a PS2 but find it hard to invest hours into playing a game. Seriously for the casual gamers. Each mini games are a couple of minutes long, and each is as entertaining as watching a guy being chased after by a bunch of dogs.

Besides that, I got myself a couple of books by Trudi Canavan, it is actually a trilogy, which consists of The Magicians' Guild, The Novice, and The High Lord. I read the synopsis and it made me felt like reading it. I like this kind of Sword and Sorcery theme. Just look at Oblivion. XD


Talking about reading, I'm done with the Starcraft book which I mentioned in my earlier posts. It's talking about this Terran (human race) archeologist which is funded to research a recently discovered Protoss( alien with high technology) temple. After revealing the secret in the temple, the archeologist was kind of possessed by a dying Protoss Preserver. He acts something like a Core 2 Duo processor, one brain with two mind. He goes through a lot of betrayal and continuously escaping from each of these obstacles. The protoss in his brain throughout the story showed him memories of how the Protoss race was formed and how they evolve to become the species they are today. The first book is not really great IMHO, but on the other hand it is not bad also. Really wish I can get my hands on the second book soon, wonder when it will be released.