» 2008 » October

Dead Space is out in less than a week, we are presented with yet another impressive animated comic movie trailer from Gametrailers.com. This month is going to be one busy AND expensive month for me with all these great games coming out.

I recently found this site that sells all kinds of cables from HDMI cables for your HD TV, COAX cables, digital camera cables, computer monitors’ cables and the list goes on. Aside from cables, the site also sells cable racks, cabinets, surge protectors and shelves as well as tools and equipments to deal with the cables like cable cutters, electrical tape & tie wraps. I can surely say that this site is all you need to go to with all the cable related needs. The list of products that you can purchase is extensive.

As a full HD TV owner, first thing I looked at was the HDMI product page that range from HDMI female/female coupler which connects the two male ends of two HDMI cables to make a longer cable and HDMI female/HDMI male right-angle adapter which I have never seen. It would complete the HDMI product page if it had the HDMI selector, a device with similar similar concept as a multi-port USB hub which you can connect multiple HDMI sources like PlayStation 3, Blu-ray player and satellite systems to one single HD display device (HD TV for example), was available for purchase as well.

In terms of the site design, showmecables isn’t the flashiest site out there. But it is very easy to navigate through different categories/pages. I recommend this site to anyone who are looking for cables, and I mean any types of cables, I’m pretty sure showmecables has them!

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I was reading Futureshop’s flyer today (yes I know it comes out on Friday but I’ve been too busy to bother reading them) and found out you get the Nariko in-game costume if you pre order the game which comes out on Oct 21. On the other hand, if you are in the States, you get the Kratos in-game costume from God of War. I’m not sure if you get Kratos costume as well in Canadian EBGames store. I will check it out tomorrow after work and post an update here.

If I had to choose between the two, I would definitely choose Nariko, she’s just so sexy!

16 more days people!

Oct 6 update: I asked the EBGame store sales today after work, he said yes there is a promotion going on if you pre order this game and you do get a bonus costume. Unfortunately he doesn’t know anymore as to which costume we get. Looks like I will stick to Futureshop.

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Speaking of the devil! I recently just wrote something about Halo War’s cinematic trailer from Gametrailers.com that made me drool all over and wish I had an XBox360. Two more game play trailers were released a few hours ago and let’s just say after watching the all impressive cinematic trailer, the actual game play didn’t really live up to my expectation. I mean the graphics are ok, the buildings and vehicles are pretty detailed actually. But the “play” feel is kind of dull and somewhat boring.

I think Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 and Starcraft 2 are looking more promising than Halo Wars. Maybe some games are just better off to be first person shooter only than a real time strategy game.

What do you think?

Here are the two game play trailers from Gametrailers.com:

I apologize if some of you had problem viewing my blog this afternoon because I’ve been playing with this new layout Nano Theme designed by NET-TEC Hosting. I think the orange font color really stands out from the dark grey background. I thought the black/grey/white style is getting a little bit boring so I thought the orange would spice it up a bit. The layout overall is also cleaner and more organized, the old one was a little too crowded.

Hope you guys like this new layout!

Gametrailers.com has just released this amazing 3+ minutes long movie clip, probably an intro or some cut scenes? The clip is really realistic and tells the story behind Halo Wars, which is the first RTS or real time strategy game of the series. I am very happy that they have decided to come up with something different other than yet another Halo first person shooter, not that I’m bashing the games mind you. I just think that this release will attract more gamers, specifically the RTS gamers to the Halo series as well.

Unfortunately this game is for XBox360 only and maybe for the PC as well. PlayStation 3 users will either have to drool over it, like me. Or get yourself the XBox360 or hope the game will come out for PC.

In the mean time, check this 3+ minutes long movie clip out from Gametrailers.com

Silent Hill 2 was the first SH series I played for the Sony PlayStation 2. And to be honest, I didn’t like it, back then I was childish and I stopped playing after an hour or so just because of the crappy graphics. Childish huh? I thought so too.

When Silent Hill 3 came out, again for the PS2, my impression of the series went a complete 360. Partly because I grew up a bit more and partly because both the game play as well as the graphics were improved. I actually beat the game three times just to unlock costumes and the mighty light saber! Then came Silent Hill 4: The Room in 2004 and it was another hit. I can’t really say the graphics were improved much over SH3 but the game play was certainly different because you were basically stuck in your own “room” and the alternate world.

 

Finally, Silent Hill: Homecoming or somtimes I call it Silent Hill 5, is the first Silent Hill game to be released for the next-gen consoles. Is Silent Hill:Homecoming really a homecoming? Or is it a shortcoming?

 

Story and controls
You will be fighting through this hellish Silent Hill with by controlling a solider who is searching for his brother. At least this time your character has been trained to fight! One great feature added is the option to dodge and then perform a counter attack as well as “trading” your health for stronger attacks. Combo and charged attacks stay as is as from Silent Hill: Origin for the Sony PlayStation Portable. Again the radio and your ever-lasting flash light will help you fight your way through. Your radio will emit static noises when threats are close by and your flash light, well light your way obviously! And just like the previous series, you are always fighting between the real world and the alternate, more horrified world. The controls are somewhat different from the previous series which takes sometime to get used to, one obvious difference is the way to access your weapons/items menus. I accidentally wasted a healing item when I was meant to go into attack mode. The combat controls are aslo slightly different if I remember correctly, sorry its been a while since I played SH4. Overall nothing anyone cannot handle.

 

You start out in one of the common places in the SH series – the Hospital. I was really excited because I got to “reunite” with the sexy but deadly nurses! You get to fight your very first one as soon as you pick up your combat knife. There are now two buttons for two modes of attacks which you can chain/combo. One mode is the normal attack and the other is the heavy attack which can be charged to perform even heavier blows. I also think the character’s movement could have been a bit more agile, it feels a bit slow when navigating around.

 

Game play and graphics
You will continue to fight creatures that look horrible and terririfying most of the times just like previous series. But the good old nurses are sexier than ever! To be honest, the graphics is worse than what I was expecting, I was trying to compare with Metal Gear Solid 4. Maybe that’s not comparing apple to apple but the graphics don’t convince me of next-gen graphics. But the water actually looks pretty good though, and I’m only talking about when standing still because there are no splashes or ripples when walking/running through. There are many scenes that are just too bloody and gory for me to show them on my blog because I know not everyone can tolerate this kind of horror. I apologize for not being able to take pictures of when fighting enemies because they are just so quick and often fighting in tight spaces. And I did get a few scare here and there from my 2 hour play. The best one was when I was back home, one of the doors suddenly closed on its own which was totally unexpected when the environment was so peaceful. Ok no more spoilers!

 

There is little to no loading time unless you move from a completely different area or building which is great. I think this game is too dark, maybe its my TV, but I had to adjust the brightness to the max before I could see better. I know this game is meant to be in the dark but it was just too dark I could barely enjoy it before the adjustment. For those who wonder, this game runs only at 720p max.

So far I’ve also found something new which is health boosting item which permanently boosts your health. And once in a while you need to perform some button mashing be it cutting your way through or being attacked by bugs. The bugs are actually annoying I almost got half my health drained because it was so dark (before the brightness adjustment) and I couldn’t see the bug but my health was slowly going down non stop. Aside from the not too impressed graphics, two other thing I dislike, first is the fact that doors that you open will close themselves after a while, why is that? Second, bodies of dead enemeies disappear after a while as well. I like to use them as indicators that I’ve visited the rooms. (yes I’m really bad with directions even with maps)

 

Sound
Sound and music have always been one of the key elements to Silent Hill’s scariness. SH:Homecoming is no different. Within 15 minutes of playing the game, you will hear baby crying somewhere near you, but you will never know where. Though the background sound can be quite a headache in the alternate (nasty) world for some people its not a show stopper, eventually you will get used to it. There are also many music that are actually pleasant to the ears sort of give you a break from all the horror and a peace of mind, at least for a short period of time.

Final Verdict
I highly recommend this game for those that have been following the series. And for MAXIMUM satisfaction, play this game in COMPLETE darkness and ALONE! If you can crank up the volumn, that makes the game even scarier to experience! I think that’s the way survival horror games should be played. This game will most likely not for you if you are not into horror movies/games and get scared very easily (might get heart attacks at times). Although graphics don’t determine if the game is worth playing or not, I still expected them to be next-gen quality which they are not, I mean if Metal Gear Solid 4 could do it, why not Silent Hill? So don’t expect any stunning graphics. And last but not least, I do wish KONAMI can implement online co-op mode to the next series as it would be a great addition/feature to have, assuming there is a next series. Finally, I hope this review helps some of you in deciding if Silent Hill: Homecoming is worth buying or not.

8.0/10

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Ceatec which stands for Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies opened yesterday on September 30th. This anual exhibition shows the world, well those that can get in, all the gadgets of the future, I wish I had the opportunity to be there myself.

As reported by cnet. Sony continues to research and develope on its OLED technology. The company introduced an impressive 0.3mm thick prototype. I’m really curious as to what the cost would be to get one, with such thinness the TV can be placed virtually anywhere and I assume its pretty light as well. The sad news is OLED technology won’t be ready for mass-production anytime soon. I guess my 40 inches Sony W3000 will do for now.

Another company called KDDI introduced displays for mobile devices that will output 3D effect similar to wearing one of those paper 3D glasses. But I’m not sure if it is using OLED or just plain LCD as the picture from the source said its 3.1 inches OLED but the article said its 3.1 inches LCD display . Either way, its impressive to see all these new display technologies surfacing. NEC also showed off its own 9 inches 3D display.

Again I wish I was lucky enough to check out all these cool technology and gadgets.

For more info on other cool technology and gadgets that’s being showcased in Ceatec click here.