Archive for June, 2007

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Nintendo DS celebrity ads

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on June 29, 2007 by mdjasrie

Right now im really psyche about the Nintendo DS and the buzz that has been generating for the past 2 years of so. I was browsing through youtube and decided to do a little investigation. I wanted to know the celebrities around the world that have been advertising for the Nintendo DS. Here are a few:

First off we have Nanako Matsushima, an actress that acted in the popular japanese horror flick, The Ring. She was also the highest paid actor when she acted in Great Teacher Onizuka. She represented the commercial for the Japanese market.

Next we have Sawai Miyuu, another rather popular actress who acted in Pretty Guardian Sailormoon TV show, and also voiced in Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerer of Shamballa. She also represented the commercial for the Japanese market

We then have Jang Dong-Gun, and actor and musician, promoting English Training and Brain Age for the South Korean Market.

Opps, i forgot, another celebrity from Japan, but this is totally different! He is a real attorney, Kazuya Maruyama! And a popular one in Japan as well, being a celebrity appearing in Japanese talk shows offering council to citizens on interpreting the legal code. Naturally, he is promoting Ace Attorney.

And Nintendo has also snagged one of the biggest celebrities in Japan. Utada Hikaru!!! All her ads are featured in one neat video.

On the western front, you have the latest ad for Nintendo DS, promoting the upcoming Brain Age 2 in the UK. None other than Nicole Kidman, promoting the product itself! Pretty impressive!

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Creative way to mobilise the police faster and more efficient

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on June 29, 2007 by mdjasrie

You just gotta read this:

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What’s My Blog Rated

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on June 28, 2007 by mdjasrie

Just as you see film ratings, you can now give you websites, profiles and blogs a film rating, based on the text content on you site.

So whats my blog rating? ~Drumroll Please~

Online Dating

Mingle2 – Online Dating

WHAT?! Why am i given and R rating? Apparently i was told that i used the following words such as sex, anal, knife. So… now you know.. all those kids out there… theres nothing to fear about reading my blog trust me!

Click on the image to give you site a rating.

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on June 27, 2007 by mdjasrie

So far ive got another 2 games secured for my nintendo DS. The list just keeps on coming! Ive secured second hand games of the popular Phoenix Wright Series and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! And i cant wait to play!!!

Lets start with the Phoenix Wright Series.

The Phoenix Wright, or Ace attorney series is originally from a GBA handheld. It was originally known in japanese as Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten and ever since its release, it has caught the nintendo world by storm! You play a role of Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney, who must solve crimes and mysteries in court. Its more of a visual novel and its a heavily text based game. You get to talk to the witnesses, present evidence, cross examine stuff and make analysis and report your findings before the court to prove the person innocent and weed out the real culprit. There are a total of 5 trials in the first installment of the game.

Sequels have already been released in the name of :

Ace Attorney: Justice for All

Ace Attorney: Trial And Tribulations

and the Japan only version currently: Ace Attorney 4

Im really interested in playing this game. Im kinda used to visual novels and text based games, as long as the story is engaging and fresh. Hotel dusk was one good example of a visual novel and i love the way the story unfolds. This game, allows you to be a lawyer, instead of a surgeon or detective.

In fact, it was so popular that i couldnt find them in any stores that ive been to in Singapore! Especially the first installment of the game. This is due to the fact that Capcom had difficulty meeting with the demands, since its surging popularity has sold faster than you can say “Objection!” Reports from punchjump.com states that Phoenix Wright is still rare till today. Following the announcement that Capcom plans to make a new Phoenix Wright game, “Phoenix Wright received restock at online stores like Walmart.com and JR.com for a limited time this week. The game quickly sold out within days.” To add further to the delays, Capcom’s next reprint is scheduled for mid-August.

True enough, copies of the game from ebay were way more expensive than an average DS game, and stores here were empty of the title.

(surgeon.. check! Detective…check! …lawyer…… check!)

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OSU! TATAKAE! OUENDAN!!!!!

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is a music rhythm game which literally stands for “Hey! Fight! Cheer Squad! Simply put, you play through the storyline of male cheerleaders trying to save everyday people’s problem through cheering, and the success is based on how you play the game. The game is a music rythm game where you tap the appropriate markers while the music is being played. If you are accurate in the beats and rhythm, you will succeed the mission.

Tatakae is the Japanese version of the game, featuring unique japanese cultural references and humor based on that. The music selections also features Japanese songs and artists. A spiritual successor of the game was also created for the Western Market and its called Elite Beat Agents.

Elite Beat Agents is almost the same as the original counterpart, except with some added features and an all new music tracks, more suited for the western market. The franchise was incredibly popular and the popularity was mainly started not in Japan but in the America through word of mouth. Initial sales of the original game werent very good, but the demand of the Japanese import soared in the western market, prompting to create the western version of the game and a second installment of Tatakae.

Again, the Japanese import, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is nowhere to be seen. But i managed to get hold of a second hand copy due this weekend.It could probably be due to the fact that is a relatively old game and its an import, so its not easy getting hold of it. Though the game is in Japanese, there is little you need to understand to play the game. The manga styled animation is enough to laugh your ass out, coupled with male cheerleaders dancing in the background, a sure recipe for success!

(surgeon.. check! Detective…check! …lawyer…… check!…Rhythm Master… CHECK! )

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Bold the statements that are true to you

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on June 26, 2007 by mdjasrie

Bold the statements that are true to you.
Italicize the statements that you WISH are true.
Leave the fibs alone.

I do not watch tv these days.
I wear glasses or contact lenses. – Since 16 years of age.
I love to play video games. – Nintendo DS FTW
I have tried marijuana.
I have been in a threesome.
I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
I have changed mentally over the last year. – Well not last year, maybe 5 years ago.
I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.
I curse. – It’s the fact of life nowadays.
I’m totally smart. – Not really, but I try to J
I’ve broken someone’s bones…. Nope not at all.
I’m paranoid sometimes. – Im taking my life easy.
I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free. – I don’t mind at all!

I need money right now. – Let me say this again: I need money right now. RIGHT NOW!!!
I love sushi. – Hmm yumm….
I talk really, really fast.
I have long hair.
I have lost money in Las Vegas. –

I have at least one sibling. – Nope. Single child all the way.

I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past. –NEVER!

I couldn’t survive without Caller ID. –

I like the way I look. – I have no complains actually.
I am usually pessimistic. – Not all the time.
I have a lot of mood swings. – Nah…

I have a hidden talent. – Maybe…
I’m always hyper. – How I wish!
I have a lot of friends. – I have a fair number that im comfortable with.

I am currently single.
I have pecked someone of the same sex. –Yeah.. some maniac!

I enjoy talking on the phone.
I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants. – NOOO!!
I love to shop. – It depends on your company.
Enjoy window shopping. – Sometimes its more depressing brooding on stuff you cant afford.
I would rather shop than eat. – EAT EAT EAT Life’s greatest pleasure after sex!!
I don’t hate anyone. – Im cool with anyone and everyone.
I’m completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
I have a cell phone. – Uhh.. yeah?
I believe in God.
I watch MTV on a daily basis… – Yucks! Their shows are getting crappier.
I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months. I don’t drink

I’ve rejected someone before. – Surprisingly I have done it once.
I want to have children in the future… – Cant imagine myself having kids at the moment.
I have changed a diaper before.
I’ve called the cops on a friend before. – Im in good company.
I’m not allergic to anything. – Believe or not, Bird’s Nest.

I have a lot to learn. – Lifelong learning…
I’m shy around members of the opposite sex..- Not really.
I have made a move on a friend’s significant other or crush in the past.
I have tried alcohol before.
I own the South Park movie.
I would die for my best friend. – It depends on what youre dying for than the person youre dying for. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice myself to save my friend’s pet…..

I think that Pizza Hut has the best pizza. –Ive tasted better…
I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
I love Michael Jackson, scandals and all. – His songs only.
Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.
I watch Spongebob Squarepants and I like it. – Who lives in the pineapple under the sea?! SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!!!

I am happy at this moment. – Im very content thank you (except financially)
I’m obsessed with girls.- Heh…
I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I’ve ever met.
I study for tests most of the time. – Looking back, yeah I do…
I am comfortable with who I am right now.

I have more than just my ears pierced.
I walk barefoot whenever i can. – At home only.
I have jumped off a bridge. – Id love to do that one day…
I love sea turtles. – They are nice.
I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup. Sheesh..
Plan on achieving a major goal/dream….
I’m proficient in a musical instrument. Trombone

I hate office jobs…. Who doesn’t?
I love sci-fi movies.
I think water rules.
I went college out of state. – What a redundant question…
I like sausages.
I love kisses.

I fall for the worst people. Nah… im good at making judgements.
I adore bright colours. – Neutral earthy colours to be more precise.
I can’t live without black eyeliner.  Har?
I don’t know why the hell I just did this stupid thing. Yeah im like “WTF” right now..
I usually like covers better than originals. – depends.
I can pick up things with my toes.
I can whistle. – Strangely.. I cant…
I can move my tongue in waves, much like a snake’s slither.
I have ridden/owned a horse. – Does a pony counts?
I still have every journal I’ve written in. – Online yeah. Now I can just remember the url…

I can’t stick to a diet. – Don’t need one J
I talk in my sleep. – sometimes!
I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions.

I have jazz in my blood. – I don’t like jazz.
Climbing trees is a brilliant pasttime.

I wear a toe ring.
I can’t stand at LEAST one person that I work with.

I am a caffeine junkie. You could say that..
I cosplay or know what cosplaying is. I don’t cosplay, but I know what it is.

I have been to over 15 conventions. –My whole life? I think so.
I will collect anything and the more nonsensical the better.

I’m an artist. –I wish!

I only clean my room when necessary. And that moment of necessity never comes.

I like a person of the same sex. – Erm…
I love being happy. – Im usually happy most of the time.
I am an adrenaline junkie. – No harm being one.

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Trauma Center Review

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on June 25, 2007 by mdjasrie

I just finished playing Trauma Center: Under The Knife and i must say, it was an incredible experience! Clocking slightly over 7 hours of gameplay from start to finish, so far ive had the most fun experience on the DS.

Though the storyline is a little bit shallow and sometimes cheesy, it never fails to at least bring the plot forward. The surgical missions are engaging, fast and sometimes a little stressful. Often times you are required to take your own initiatives in handling the procedures. Most missions require you to be on the ball and alert at all times fighting against time and the patients ailing conditinos, while at the same time maintaining the upmost precision in executing the surgery. This is the one game that you should not play while on a moving vehicle, such as on a train or bus.

There were several occasions where the missions get a little bit too difficult. Retries are common and i must admit, i had to refer to the walkthrough every now and then so as to know what to expect in the next phase of the surgery.

Controls are slick and after a few attempts, you stylus feels like the extension of your fingers. often times you can get tired because you need to switch back and forth the different surgical tools to handle the most difficult of patients.

One of my most hates procedures are the parasites called GUILT. They are sometimes hard to deal with and some are puzzle based problems, which i sorely lack in solving it efficiently. Others require many stages to the surgery procedure and you never know what the parasite will do next. Often times you are required to outpace, outskill and outlast the parasite to succeed.

Overall the gameplay is fluid and every mission is fresh and new, and you have to expect the unexpected and deal with it within a split second. There were several occasions where you almost feel like the surgeon, trying to save a dying patient, never giving up, always trying your best to keep him or her alive.

So overall, this is a good entertaining game, which allows you to play a role of a surgeon. Ive already played the role of a detective solving a crime.

Detective, Surgeon. Whats next?

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The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Review

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on June 23, 2007 by mdjasrie

I watched The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, or Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo at Cathay Cinema, Causeway Point yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised that this movie is better than i expected. With a good dose of humor, life’s lessons and romance, this movie has the perfect chemistry to deserve awards that it has received.

The story revolved around an ordinary, but active girl, Makoto Konno and her close circle of friends, namely, Kousuke Tsuda and Chiaki Mamiya.

One day by some twist of fate, Makoto realised that she could literally leapt through time, or more accurately, go back in time to make amends in history. Realizing her new found power, she started using it for her own personal, but rarely evil, gains, such as patching relationships, getting hold of her prized pudding, coming to school on time, acing exams and such. But little did she know, that as she time leapt, her friends around her paid the price. Without knowing the consequences of altering the past and thus affecting the future around them, it nearly costed her friends their lives. As she realizes her mistake and feeling the ultimate guilt seeing her friends’ final moments, one of her friends, Chiaki, managed to time leap for her and alter her history, thus saving them. Makoto couldnt time leap anymore because the power has limited charges. Chiaki then told her that he was from the future, and came back to her era, to check on a long lost painting that Makoto’s aunt was trying to restore in the museum. He also stayed in that era in the hopes of finding the lost chestnut shaped time travel device which Makoto found by chance.

But when Chiaki time leapt to save their friends, Chiaki revealed that he just used up his last chance at going back home. Toward the end, Chiaki dissapeared because he had broken the number one rule, forbidding him to reveal his true nature and origins.

Before watching this movie, i thought that this would be just an average anime film, with good animation but a little shallow on the story side. But i was so wrong. Such a simple plot involving minimal characters, yet it manages to make full use and scope of the characters and the environment to maximise the story. In my opinion, this story explores regret, hope, and the yearning of romance and friendship. It also emphasizes treasuring your loved ones no matter how distant they are. It also emphasizes how your actions can effect the lives of others in such profound ways that it can never be known to you.

To anime fans out there, and to general viewers, if you want to have a different experience in the cinema, i would strongly reccommend watching this film. Its not everyday that a Japanese anime film comes to singapore to have a local theatrical run. So before it ends, this movie is a must watch.

Ive included the theme song. You can listen to it here.

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Trauma Center: Under The Knife

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on June 23, 2007 by mdjasrie

So no that im done playing Hotel Dusk which i completed it with pride, im off to another innovative game that i have been dying to play this past year. It’s called, Trauma Center.

Trauma Center: Under the Knife is an innovative game created for the Nintendo DS to make full use of the stylus feature. You play the role of a surgeon named Dr Stiles and players will experience all the highs and lows of medical drama as they save patients and learn cutting-edge medical techniques. The stylus becomes more than just a piece of plastic; it serves as a scalpel, an ultrasound, antibiotic gel, and much more.

So far the storyline has been pretty good. As you go deeper you will realize that you have great potential to become a great surgeon as you have this ability called the Healing Touch. Using this ability (among yours as well as your play) you will face numerous surgical challenge, in which ultimately you will face Medical Terrorism called GUILT.

GUILT is a form of a disease created by terrorists and its up to you to treat patients infected with GUILT. Some of the missions arent easy, but that doesnt mean that the controls are clunky. You get to cut the person up, stitch them up, clean their wounds, do major heart operation, remove GUILT parasites and so on.

So far its been great, im about to complete the game soon. Ill report to ya and give my verdict soon!

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Hotel Dusk: Room 215 mystery solved!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on June 21, 2007 by mdjasrie

So I bought my new toy, the Nintendo DS a week back, and have been engrossed in Hotel Dusk ever since i bought it. Im glad i made the correct choice of the game, as this is truly a remarkable piece of adventure game on the market, especially on a handheld. And frankly, i think this is the second game EVER, that i managed to complete from beginning to end (for a handheld game). The first being Super Mario Bros., on the Nintendo Gameboy handheld.

As a fan of adventure gaming, it was natural that i picked up this game as my inaugural gaming experience on the Nintendo DS. Hotel Dusk is rarity, because you would rarely encounter another detective mystery, noir, comic-book styled game anywhere else. This what makes it truly unique.

Heres a synopsis:

“Los Angeles, 1979. Players take the role of Kyle Hyde, an ex-cop turned salesman trying to track down a missing friend. Clues lead to an eerie, old hotel rumoured to have one very strange room – a room where wishes are granted. Players check in and get ready for a night of surprises as they meet a cast of unusual characters and try to unravel the mystery in Hotel Dusk: Room 215.”

There are many aspects of gameplay which i really enjoyed throughout. Firstly, is the story. I was amazed at how deep the story was. As you progress through the game, it just gets deeper and deeper and it really motivates you to find out the truth behind all truths. Sometimes i do feel that the dialogs can be a little lengthy, but i always remind myself that this is an interactive novel, rather than a full fledged adventure game. Even playing this game forces you to play it vertically, like hold a book, rather than horizontally.

Sure there are puzzles and mysteries to solve, but the main engine that drives this game forward is the in depth interaction between characters. Character wise, i was again amazed at how 3D it was. Highly believable dialogs, makes you engaged with the characters thoroughly to a point that if you are an avid reader, you would certainly enjoy absorbing its highly captivating dialogs. The dialogs arent stale and monotonous like some other RPGs. This one’s got character in them, an a subtle layer to reality to it.

Graphical wise, i dont find it fantastic. But im prepared to face the fact that this is a DS, rather than the power pack PSP. Sure there are 3D animation where you can roam around the hotel in 3D as you move your characters using your stylus, but that isnt the main focus of the game.

Character art is interesting as well. I like the approach of the rough drawn black and white sketch of the characters. It really makes them gritty and it works, because it makes you feel that, hey these characters are believable. In doing so, it adds life to the characters making you feel that somehow there might be such a person out there. Rather than going for a clean, coloured approached to them, the black and white sketch makes it feel raw.

Its quite fascinating as well that throughout the game, the story revolves around the characters in the hotel and in the hotel only. In no part of the game do you venture out of the hotel. And with that, i really should commend the creators of the games in making such a compelling story behind such simple backdrop:- a hotel.

In short, I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who are love adventure, or just love story driven games.

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Lena Park, Inori [You Raise Me Up] Single out!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on June 20, 2007 by mdjasrie

For those of you who have heard of the beautiful song sung by Lena Park for the opening theme for Romeo x Juliet, look not further! I present you the full song of Inori, by Lena Park!

Just released today, her latest single Inori, was used as the opening theme song for the latest anime series, Romeo x Juliet. It’s the Japanese version of “You Raise Me Up” (originally from Brian Kennedy) commonly sung by recent artists like Westlife and Josh Groban

Click here to listen to the full song! (in Japanese)

Click here to listen to the full song! (in English)

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