The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Wii hands-on

Woo-hoo... not. There isn't a Wii to play on. It is still factory sealed if anyone wants it. I will play with the GameCube version instead and give a proper hands-on account then.

Since I haven't (can't) played it yet I will just describe the box. It is nice (apart from the white box that it came in - Wind Waker came in a golden coloured box) and the artwork is splendid. Link, in both his original humanoid form, and his wolf form in the Twilight Realm, appears on the box. The backside has no description on what the game is, apart from how to play the game with a WiiMote and a note on how this is the biggest Zelda adventure of all time. See most books, games and DVDs, and the back side is mainly populated by plot summary. I hope this won't be a norm on future Wii games, as I found it unnatural. Zelda games are popular for its narrative, not the way it's controlled!!!

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10 material Christmas wish list

Well since Richard has done one, I guess I should get going with mine.

1. Nintendo Wii
2. Kona Kula Supreme / Felt RXC Pro / Specialized Stuntjumper Expert
3. A new PC that actually uses less electrical power
4. Final Fantasy XII, for PAL
5. Nip/Tuck and Six Feet Under in High Definition
6. Authentic New York style cheese cake
7. Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book, in English
8. A new FPS/TPS game that doesn't have the usual generic aliens/monsters enemies, plot-lines, unrealistic heroes that doesnt wear helmets and cheesy voice acting
9. Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rose-Colored Rupee Land, in English
10. Complete 2007 Shimano XTR (and SRAM X.0 rear mech) groupset

My 10 wish list for Christmas later in the week.

Technology makes us dumb, apparently

"Technology isolation syndrome" is the reason that people are dumber than they use to be, according to research sponsored by Tesco (who plans to con people combat this by releasing an "internet phone technology" - which already exists in the form of VoiP). The research points out that teens have lower vocabulary than those in their mid 20s to mid 30s and games and music are to be blamed. Surprising isn't it, yes but, no but...?

via Guardian Gamesblog

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I was at a GameStation store yesterday and the guy in front of me was buying the following:

3x Wii Remotes
1x Wii Classic Controller
1x The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess for Wii
1x Madden 07 for Wii
1x Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz for Wii
1x The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess strategy book

Nothing wrong with wasting around £240 (though why bother with a strategy book when you can download free FAQs) especially if you can afford it, but this customer didn't have an actual Wii console. He was stocking up regardless. Nintendo, it must be great to have the amount of money coming your way, but for people to actually play those games that they bought, they must also own the console. Good luck to him, but I suspect that this guy's recent purchases will see no action before Christmas!

Technorati tags: Video Games Nintendo Nintendo Wii Wii

Sonic/Mario GAME gift cards / Dragon Quest IX on DS!

I don't normally go for GAME stuff but these gift cards are awesome. Great for any fans of Sonic and Mario. Too bad the new Sonic the Hedgehog game blows. Pokemon (Pikachu) and The Sims 2 (bleh!) cards are also available.



Anyone moaning the lack of RPG goodness on the DS platform should send letters to thankfulness to Yuji Horri. After one successful Dragon Quest spin-off and another one on the way, the creator of the series has decided to bring the next major installment (numbered) of the series, Dragon Quest IX, to the DS platform. And it won't be a spin-off either. The early build looks great. Combat will move from turn based to action orientated (ala Mana series), which may enrage some hardcore fans. But to me RPG isn't about the combat system, it is about role-playing. This is why the genre is called RPG (role-playing game).



The super deformed characters reminds me a whole lot of the SNES era and this wil solidify the DS as the new SNES. Fixed consoles like the Wii and PS3 may have better graphics than portables, but with people like me always on the move, bringing one of the best series to a (successful) portable platform may actually pay off for Squenix. By the way, it will be developed by Level 5, the developers who made the pretty Dragon Quest VIII.

Waiting for the inevitable special edition Dragon Quest DS Lite. My enamel navy DS Lite is getting seriously needing a replacement. I counted about six specks of dusts under the touch screen. Bloody annoying, especially in the sun.

Jenni's surprise birthday party

We held a surprise birthday party for Jenni yesterday. Had a great time. Here are some pictures:























Absolutely freezing today. Had to go back to London in minus temperature. The NatEx coach I took had a busted heater too.

Christmas controversy

India nuclear export okay according to US.

Bloody fucking hypocrite!

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Ooo... about 15 days to Christmas and we already have a Christian vs Seculars, Muslims Vs Christians, believers Vs non-believers etc. war of words going on through the mass media. With nothing like Jerry Springer: The Opera planned on the BBC, I thought we would have a boring December. But no... Let me say this, this Christmas will be a lively one.

First up, Muslim Association of Britain has decided that after the way the right wing media managed to kill of any possible release of Rule of Rose video game, they thought that they could do the same - this time on a crap game based on crap Christian books, titled Left Behind: Eternal Forces. In this RTS title you command a Christian army, out and about killing non-believers (apparently modeled after the UN). Wow. The Times reported (wrongly) that the game could be heading for the best seller chart (didn't they know how un-Christian Britain is?). They also failed to mention that progressive Christians in the US has already condemned the game. Even seculars are joining in, but fortunately stop short of calling a ban, instead respecting our rights to make decisions on our own.

Next up, Channel 4 has decided to drum up some kind of controversy, by inviting a veiled Muslim lady to deliver the 'alternative Christmas message' - which is kind of stupid, even by C4's standard. But it brings in the kind of irrelevant religious debate that we are hoping for. First strike by Christian Voice UK's Stephen Green: "The niqab is a veil of separation between Muslims and the indigenous Christian community. This will expose multi-culturalism for what it is – a bias against the indigenous Christian population". But nobody takes him seriously so nobody bothered to reply.

A Wii dilemma

I had a dream last night that I took the tube to Central London at 6am and walked into GAME's flagship store in Oxford Circus and purchased a Wii box (which isn't going to happen, because by 6am everything would be sold out), sans Twilight Princess. It is weird because up until then, I rather delay getting it until sometime next year when more quality games are available (It took half a year before developers started making good games on the DS). I still won't get it this weekend, but now the thought of getting it during the launch window will always be hanging over my head. Ah hell, at least I can look forward to the new Castlevania game this Christmas.

BTW always remove your socks when walking down a carpeted stairs. It really fucking hurts if you slipped...

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Christmas isn't that offensive

I love it when right-wingers whinge about the 'secularisation' of Christmas and hiding behind their favourite 'political correctness gone mad' sayings. I mean many of us non-believers love Christmas too. It gives us a chance to sample booze and looking forward to capitalism's greatest and only gift to us - the massive January sales, during which when we can laugh at the hundreds of Chinese girls queuing up in the cold for outdated Gucci bags.

Christmas to me is about sitting in front of the telly, putting on winter fat, while watching the endless re-runs and Doctor Who specials, and cringing at the latest Tim Allen bomb. Anyway it isn't like Christmas is the celebration of Christianity, when all they did was nicking the festival from the pagans.

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