E3 '10: Microsoft fails to Kinect.

From forced excitement to awkward Wii Sports rip-offs, Microsoft really put up a rather underwhelming E3 conference, touting a look at the future of gaming.

If you don't want to hear me rambling about it though, you can just watch the whole thing for yourself.

It all starts... with Black Ops.

(Not the E3 trailer.)

Now that Infinity Ward has been dissolved, it's up to Treyarch to maintain the series' integrity. Yes, they've had cracks at it in the past, but none of them have really been as critically acclaimed. Still, the stage set for Black Ops is not the World War II anymore, which is promisingly fresh, because now we're on Vietnam. Yes, it's the 70's in this new go-around.

Unfortunately, I suffer from a lot of nausea when playing a lot of FPS games, so even if I were actually interested in this new installment, I wouldn't be able to last 20 seconds with it.

Next, Senior Vice President Don Mattrick is reading the teleprompter badly. Seriously.

He announces an exclusivity deal for Black Ops DLC, and moves on to mention the Xbox's 10 year anniversary. He segueways a bit into Project Natal- now dubbed "Kinect"- and it's "all about showing, not telling".

He calls Hideo Kojima on to the stage and, as last year's E3 announcement for MGS Rising promised, he delivers some actual gameplay footage. Shigenobu Matsuyama, producer of the game, is called on to provide a slightly clearer English-language explanation. "Zan-Datsu" - to cut and to take- is a driving force behind the awesome-looking multiplatform game.

The only question is: are there cutscenes?

Other than that, this title looks extremely hardcore. That is so badass. Come on though, watermelon cutting simulator? Lol.

Phil Spencer, Corporate VP, comes on stage. He's a better speaker.

He goes on to name drop some high-profile titles, but then goes on about Kinect's ability to connect people. But whatever, it's Gears of War 3 time. 4 player Locust ass-kicking.

Did anybody say Left 4 Dead?

OK, OK, I confess: it looks pretty fun.

Cliffy B.: "Now that's our demo. Try out Beast mode later."

Wait, he forgot to mention about how much he'll be ranting more about bird poop on TV.

Peter Molyneux, expert British rambler and legendary game designer, is called on stage. Fable III to be covered.

Looks exciting. And the dog returns.

Next, Microsoft Game Studios presents a new game from a new partner: Crytek.

Now that God of War has come to an end, there should be something that fills the void. These Spartans in Codename: Kingdoms may just be the thing, and what better developer to handle a graphically astounding epic than Crytek?

Next is Halo: Reach, which I have zero interest in.

All I know is that there are space battles.

Next exec to be called is Marc Whitten.

Time to demo Kinect. I'm very compelled with the navigation controls because it does voice and face recognition, which is very cool.

Fast forward to about 20 minutes to see how cool the navigation interface is.

"Xbox! Pron!"

Also, Justin Bieber? Demo? Gamers? Seriously?

Now it's time for FaceTime, I mean, VideoKinect. It's great that you can chat with people who are on Windows Live Messenger instead of just Xbox to Xbox. Why does Apple's demo feel cooler for some reason?

I like how you can watch videos together. But the really forced (scripted?) conversation stifles the mood, even when the camera follows your face which is a very good touch (although I hope it also follows colored people's faces, unlike some HP computers).

Next, ESPN streaming for Xbox 360 is announced. I imagine a lot of sports fans are cheering right now, but of course, your network provider must be supported by ESPN.

The two guys from SportsCenter "commute in just seconds to E3". I don't particularly care, still it looks like a great implementation of an "ultimate sports experience".

Now it's time to demo the Kinect library, and Kudo Tsunoda is back to "deliver on last year's promises".

A family-friendly derivative of Nintendogs is announced, and it's called Kinectimals. That little girl pretending to be licked at is so... ughhhh...

Bright side: you're taking care of a tiger!

Next is, well, the uninspired Kinect Sports. Ubisoft also announced a Kinect sports compilation and... I'm kind of sick of them.

Well, if I wanted to run like a running dumbass, I would've bought that old NES Track and Field game. At least, you can play soccer. Ping pong without a controller though is gonna be tricky.

Next: Kinect Joy Ride.

"Here we go..."

Wow, worst feigned enthusiasm ever.

You know that game show Wipeout? Well, Kinect Adventures is kind of like that... I guess. But seriously, are they actually faking fun?

"Look at the water!"

I hate you people.

Sims are more convincing in faking their fun.

Ubisoft demos their Kinect game. A fitness game called Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.

Hmm, looks like an actual attempt at a decent fitness game. They actual demo this game, but I'm too lazy to look for the demo video.

Interestingly, the Kinect is actually made for these games. Dude, this is the new Wii Fit craze. This thing will sell because of Your Shape.

Next for Kinect is Harmonix's dance game Dance Central. I love Harmonix, but...

...oh. Interesting. This actually looks badass given the right presentation. Alex Rigopoulos goes on stage to announce some tracks from Lady Gaga, No Doubt, etc. and Harmonix has worked with "actual dancers so the game lets you do the real deal". Otherwise known as "not looking as stupid as it really should be".

That said, there is still a lot of opportunity to look dumb regardless.

What's great though is something that resembles a bit of drop-in-drop-out, or maybe it's just me.

Kinect will be launching worldwide on November 4, 2010 with 15 titles set for launch. Yes, there's a Sonic game.

Lol, what?

No demoes for that, but I'm interested in how it'll actually happen.

But what they do show a demo for is a freaking Star Wars game. It may or may note come with something tangible.

Hit detection looks iffy though.

Afterwards is a demo for Forza Motorsport for Kinect, and I don't really care much for that game because I really don't like the idea of a non-tangible steering wheel. Maybe for car creation though.

Will Kinect hold up to the demands of precision that a racing simulation demands?

Don Mattrick comes back on stage and from here on I'm feeling a bit indifferent.

He recaps whatever the teleprompter says, and definitely tries hard to appeal to Nintendo's blue ocean. To be honest, some games look good, but some games just look stupid.

Aside from that, he announces the completely redesigned Xbox 360 Slim. 250GB HDD, built-in Wi-Fi, Kinect-ready. $299. That's a pretty competitive price against the PS3.

It's shipping today.

And the audience is getting one.

They just got OPRAH'D!

"That was really fun," says Mattrick. Yeah, a fun bribe. An otherwise lackluster conference can only be made good with a stunt like this.

Truth be told, I'd really love to have one of those for free...

P.S.

Google unveils WebM

Google, known for having deep pockets and a stance on open-source code, unveiled a new video codec for the web called WebM in its annual I/O conference.

Basically, it's a video format that does not demand royalties from content distributors- amateur or commercial- and enables free and easy distribution of video and audio content through the products of the (several) companies that support the new standard Google is pushing.

The standard is based on V8, which Google acquired from On2 Technologies, and the company is releasing the source openly for everyone to tinker and incorporate into their products.

Notably, a lot of major companies (Mozilla, Opera, Adobe, AMD, ARM, Logitech, nVidia, Skype, etc.) are expressing support over the open codec, and Google is even going as far as wanting to incorporate it into "internet-connected TVs".

Windows Mobile is dead

Remember when I said Nokia's Mameo could potentially be the next killer smartphone OS? Well, screw that. Windows Phone 7 is here to stay.

In the wake of the iPhone, Windows Mobile suddenly seemed to become some of the most unwieldy user experiences ever put to a phone. But today's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona had Microsoft showing off its radically redefined OS. Like Windows 7 for the PC, Windows Phone 7 makes the Windows name attractive for mobile phones again.

(Of course, that's not to say that "Windows Phone 7" is an attractive name though)

I really love the interface, it seems so playful and alive- maybe moreso than the iPhone. The Start page is centered around what you want, and they are composed of tiles (that can have their colors changed) that give you information at a glance. You can instantly access the functions that matter from that home screen, and you can even pin specific people on it. Meaning that if you want to stalk someone's Facebook status or whatever, you can have instant one-tap access.

Using the same "panoramic" sensibilities of the Zune, the Windows Phone 7's native apps are powered by apps that have multi-layered functions that can be accessed with a simple swipe. While you don't have a sort of "page indicator" like in the iPhone, you do get a small arrow encouraging your finger to swipe to a direction. The redefined Contacts app of the phone, called "People", not only contain the most recent contacts you've dialed, you can also swipe to view all of the contacts, and swipe again to view their latest updates. As of now, the updates are only for Windows Live and Facebook, but I suspect Twitter, maybe even Google Buzz, is in the works.

Even in the Photos section, the Windows Phone 7 focuses very much on the people in your life. It will fetch the latest uploads of your contacts from, yes, Facebook and Windows Live again, and you can comment on those photos right from the get-go. Hell, you can upload your own photos as well with a simple tap.

The killer feature of the Windows Phone 7, however, is probably in the form of Xbox Live. You can see your avatar, your gamerscore, your friends list... you can even play some Windows Phone games or something and your Xbox Live profile will probably be used in these games. This actually makes for less user confusion, I mean, the iPhone has a few Xbox Live style apps in games, but Microsoft's offering is much more centralized and unified. Still, you must also remember that Xbox Live is a paid service.

The Music and Videos app of the phone is likely the entire Zune HD, so to speak. The phone will also be powered by universal Bing search, which can be accessed by a specified Bing button.

The phone will also sync your contacts, mail, etc. wirelessly over Wi-Fi, so there's no need for that USB cord, except for when you want to put music and videos as well, which requires the Zune software. Probably the biggest downside of the new OS is Microsoft's stubbornness to the Mac; basically, Microsoft still doesn't want to expand its market of users by supporting its syncing software with the Mac, and that is simply the biggest shame of all. Still, I'm glad that Microsoft's taking a stricter stance on hardware makers, so they won't be able to rape the user experience. Only limited hardware makers have access to the OS, and skinning is not allowed unlike the Google Android.

Seriously, you have to see a video of this OS to believe it.

The iPhone has forced Microsoft to rethink its mobile strategy, and look what the folks at Redmond have conjured up! Now, it's Apple's turn to impress. Will iPhone 4.0, please stand up?

Free Game: Every Day The Same Dream

The Internet has a lot of Flash-based games, and while this specific game is not an exception (which is actually good since it's basically compatible with Mac, Linux, Windows, and some mobile phones), this game is the type of interactive story that makes you think deeply about life, to the point of actually adding to the argument of "games being art".

But enough about that bullcrap, let's discuss this free game.

Basically, this visually striking game is about the daily life of a man who leads a life purely based on routine. If the player plays it in a linear fashion, he/she only ends up repeating this cycle for hours on end. However, make a turn in the opposite direction and you might just encounter a few surprises along the way.

The game, while short and sweet, is also very thought-provoking and meaningful, as it tests your view in life. It's up to the player to see if this person will live the same dull life over and over again, or become a new person altogether. Every single step that deviates from the normal day is a step to seeing the ending, and it's just surreal.

Playing only involves the directional pad, and the Spacebar. Pressing on the Spacebar lets the character interact with specific objects in the environment.

After finishing the game (which didn't really take too long for me), I suddenly got to thinking about my own life; reflecting upon choices and decisions and the future. There has never been a game that has done this to me before, and this is only a free Flash game.

If you go to this link (http://www.molleindustria.org/everydaythesamedream/everydaythesamedream.html), you'll be able to play the game right now. It won't appeal to everyone, but damn it, it's strikingly thought-provoking.

Windows 7 Shakes Excess Windows

I have to admit, I wasn't really that up-to-date with the new features of Windows 7, so while I was traversing the Windows site because I was helping Catherine find the function that displays Wi-Fi networks (for I do not have a Windows 7 laptop) I was looking for instructions. Then something in the Videos section caught my eye: Shake.

SHAKE? What does that do?

So I opened the video and to my amazement, I found this rather awesome feature:

Simple, but daaamn impressive.

If you didn't bother watching the FIFTEEN SECOND video (you cheap duck), then it's basically a dude showing people how to use a feature called Shake. Basically, if you have a lot of windows open, and you want to minimize all other windows except for one window in a snap, all you need to do is click the title bar of the window you want to keep maximized, and shake it with your mouse.

Pure genius. I seriously think Apple will duplicate this functionality.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Eidos, Rocksteady Studios
2009

When I think of a licensed video game, I think of a toilet. I think of my bowel movement. Did I take my sh*t for today? Because I'd really prefer to do that while hanging from a wall blindfolded and chained to a porcupine instead of playing a modern day version of Superman 64.

Alas, Batman: Arkham Asylum defies all expectations one would typically have for a licensed game, because it is far, far, far, far from terrible. In fact, it is a master class. An avant-garde interactive version of what could've been a 30-minute episode of the classic animated series from the 90s, and for good reason: the animated series is basically the foundation for the game.

Instead of Christian Bale's Internet meme worthy (in a bad way) version, the developers actually got out of their way to reunite the old voice actors, who do a very good job, as well as hire the old writer, Paul Dini (Lost Season 1), to formulate a story specifically for the film. Obviously, Dini is no stranger to the Batman world, so little nods to characters who are lesser-known to the general public are to be expected, and much appreciated.

Going back to the voice actors, Mark Hamill is an obvious standout with his portrayal of Joker, and Batman, Harley Quinn, Bane, and everyone else is just pitch perfect. Heck, even the attention of detail reaches to the voices and lines of the guards and the henchmen. The latter, especially. It's like, before you, as Batman, go in to kick their socks off, they actually engage in conversation. I mean, since when did you ever hear henchmen talk about anything in any game that actually sheds a backstory in a subtle way? And if the player does get in to engage in combat, the henchmen are even smart enough to pick up the weapons of a fallen comrade, and of course attack you with it. If it's a stealth sequence you're engaged in (more on that later), henchmen respond to fallen allies and say something like, "Man down! Man down! Are you okay, buddy?", and if you trim the number of henchmen down, the remaining ones start to visibly get scared. Anything they hear will get shot, and the tension just progressively gets higher like that. Everyone and everything in this game has personality, which is why getting patient interview tapes, and Arkham Chronicles are so addictive and riveting: you'll care about the backstory, the characters, hell, maybe even the henchmen.

Impressively enough, Rocksteady made the world reminiscent to the mood and atmosphere of the old, if not surprisingly mature, animated series, and even though it's just confined to one space, which is the titular mental facility, it doesn't feel too cramped to make you think that it's extremely limited, yet it isn't a true open world that, at first, daunts you like in the Grand Theft Auto series. I just can't get over the atmosphere of the game, it makes everything effective, particularly the outstanding motion capture of the characters, as well as the personality of said characters- even the objects.

Not only that, the graphics, even in a Medium setting if you're using a PC, look mighty fine. Everything feels real, but not real enough to become uncomfortable. If anything's unsettling, it has to be the audio prompts that Joker makes from time to time. Sure, some of them are darkly humorous, but it all becomes rather creepy especially when you think about the fact that Joker's almost omnipresent- watching your every move, calculating the next scheme.

And the sound design is also nothing short of marvelous. The batarang feels that much more like a batarang because of the sound it makes-it just never gets old.

So I've already typed 630 words about the atmosphere, aesthetic, graphics, sound design, and voice acting, yet I've said nary a word about gameplay?! Surely, you already know the next game you'll want to play regardless?

But if you insist for me to soldier on, I will soldier on.

Gladly.

So the story goes on like this: Joker gets caught by Batman and he's sent to Arkham Asylum, a mental institution. Beforehand, an incident at the Blackgate Prison- a fire- occured, and the government was forced to transfer the hundreds of prisoners from that prison to the asylum. Coincidentally, most of the prisoners from Blackgate are all Joker's men, and even Batman notices how much 'easier' the Joker was caught. So instead of throwing Joker inside the asylum and leaving, Batman accompanies Joker to his cell because he feels that there's something wrong, and true enough, Joker attempts to escape the grasp of security and initiates a takeover plan months in the making. It's a classic 'jail takeover' story with a sci-fi twist that involves inside jobs, fake names, shady deals, and of course, science. And it works effectively with the existing Batman lore.

You, the player, will control Batman for the bulk of the game, and you'll be able to access his martial arts prowess with just a press of a button (or in the PC version's case, a click of the mouse). Initiating combos is as easy as clicking the left mouse button in conjunction to the direction of the enemy you want to attack (W, A, S, D, natch), while countering will only require you to press the right mouse button. When you press the right mouse button at the right time (you'll intuitively know when to do so because of the attack indicators of your enemies), you'll see a very well-animated counter attack unfold. Once the enemy is on the ground, you need to take him down, else he'll get back up. As the game progresses, you'll unlock special moves, Batarang combos, and critical hits as well.

But Batman wouldn't be Batman without his arsenal of gadgets: the Batarang, the explosive gel, the Batclaw, even some sort of hacking machine that initiates a little minigame, among others. Every single one of them is upgradeable, and using each one of them is just a ton of fun.

Speaking of upgrades, all 20 of them will require you to collect a certain amount of EXP or experience, which are also essential to your survival since instead of a "Potion" type item, your HP or life gets replenished through EXP which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but whatever. You get them either by engaging in combat, making men unconscious, discovering hidden Riddler trophies, solving riddles and scanning the Chronicles of Arkham, all of which are scattered in and around the island. The Riddler's challenges and trophies can sometimes get challenging if you have yet to find the Riddler's map which lists the locations of all his riddles. Some will require you to unlock a specific gadget before being able to collect/solve, while some will just require your eyes and ears. And of course, some are located in front of your face. Early on in the game, you'll have to watch for a riddle that requires you to listen to a radio even, so yes, the riddles are mostly visual and sometimes aural. But how to solve these riddles? You tap and hold the X button on your keyboard to initiate environmental scanning, although some riddles will require you to be in Detective Mode first.

Ahh, Detective Mode. A reviewer of this game would fail to the nth degree if he were not to mention Detective Mode. If you saw the movie The Dark Knight, you'll see that at the latter part of the film, Batman acquires a sort of night vision-esque sensor that reacts to soundwaves, basically a sonar. Detective mode is a bit like that, but definitely more capable than the movie's version. By tapping the X key lightly, you'll be able to activate the aforementioned vision mode, and you'll be able to strategize your combat methods as it'll differentiate armed men from unarmed men (especially since what Kryptonite is to Superman, is what bullets are to Batman... in this game, at least), obviate brittle walls that you can set explosives on, highlight special items, isolate a crime scene, and even scan fingerprints from a distance. Detective mode makes life easier to the point of it being a bit too easy. The graphics of the game will degrade exponentially to tints of blue, black and a bit of green on the side in Detective mode, which is a shame, but it simply is essential for Batman to survive (and truth be told, the beauty of the graphics is the least of Batman's worries).

As said a few paragraphs before, mastery of the easy-to-learn, hard-to-master hand-to-hand combat is key to completing Batman, and if you max out your combo, you'll earn points and experience galore. But sometimes, full-frontal combat is not how you'll want to focus on every situation, as there'll be quite a few encounters wherein you'll have to dispatch henchmen in a stealthy manner without getting discovered. Otherwise, it's either someone gets killed, or you get killed, whichever goes first. You can take advantage of a series of stealthy moves that only Batman can pull like a silent takedown (an attack from behind), ledge takedown (an attack from a ledge), and even an inverted takedown (an attack from above that lets the enemy end up dangling from, say, a gargoyle). Speaking of gargoyles, as odd an interior design choice it is, are effective for your survival against bullets. They're usually scattered all over the expansive rooms, and you can grapple from gargoyle to gargoyle to escape bullets.

Make no mistake, the game will test your mastery of your skills and the environment, as it will put you in situations where the gargoyles are not there to save your ass, and you'll have to think fast... like a fox (it's a reference) in order to dispatch the henchmen and move on.

The game, as it is, already has much variety, but there's much more of that than you'd think. Now, I won't divulge more details about this, you'll just have to play it for yourself.

If the past 1700 words weren't enough to make my point extremely crystal clear, let me shorten it for you: the game makes you feel like Batman, as if you are Batman. You are the world's greatest detective, and your ego will thank you for it.

I am madly in love with this game and obsessed with getting a full hundred percent with the riddles and stuff, and chances are, you will too.

This is how you make a Batman game, and it was about time a licensed game came out and was regarded as much more than just 'respectable'. This is why Batman: Arkham Asylum is automatically my personal game of the year for 2009. Go play it, if you already haven't.

Rating: 9.8/10 [It doesn't take a perfect score because of teensy flaws... seriously, I'm just nitpicking]

Microsoft unveils HP tablet

CES is kicking off and as usual, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage to, well, boast about how awesome Windows 7 is performing in the market. While I can't really disagree with the awesomeness of the product, it's not exactly the real star of the show.

Aside from an ultrathin laptop with a 21.5" HD display courtesy of Lenovo and a VAIO all-in-one laptop that sports a 24-inch touchscreen (which, IMO, is overkill), the show-stealer ultimately comes in the form of an upcoming HP tablet.

Obviously a response to rumors of a massively "revolutionary" tablet product from Apple, this Windows 7 powered tablet looks pretty cool. Ultimately, HP has already done touch screen enabled Vista before, so really, it isn't that much of a surprise. If anything, it's a testament to the power of Apple hype. The rumored iSlate is still vaporware at this point, and the competitors are already crashing in.

EDIT:

A clearer picture of Ballmer holding the device...

(Really, Twilight?)

Up close, you might think that it's actually very suspiciously iPhone-like. I mean, the unmistakable silver edges and simple black glass screen makes the influence unmistakable.

While undeniably sexy, the only thing that'll distinguish it from the market, is well, a distinguishable design that stays sexy. Kinda like... the Nexus One.

The first Android phone that's truly lustworthy.

But that's not exactly related to anything about this news article now is it?

12 Days of Random Gift Ideas (Day 6)

If you think your computer needs a refresh or a drastic reformat, then you might want to consider getting Windows 7 to get this job done for you.

It's great, it's pretty, and best of all, it's damn fast, especially on a clean install. Just hope that you get anything but Starter or Home Basic, now that's just playing dirty.

Video Game Awards brings on the sequels

I don't usually care much for the makeshift "awards shows" that some of them Americans mount, but when there are game announcements as major as, say, a Batman Arkham Asylum sequel, you know that there must be something to video game awards shows that is of much commercial appeal.

Today's Spike Video Game Awards (VGA's) showed off quite a few major trailers. No gameplay demos, but still, confirmation of some pretty exciting games, if not sequels.

The one I'm most excited for?

Batman: Arkham Asylum... the sequel

Daaaaaamn! Hot off the heels from the blockbuster that was the first game, the VGA's best studio Rocksteady is crafting the sequel, and it looks damn good. While the Joker is still pretty much the boss, there might be a few new fan-favorites along the way. I haven't finished the first game so I can't see the connection between the release of the bad guys to Gotham (so don't spoil it), but one thing's for sure: the game's gonna be awesome.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

The first Force Unleashed was probably one of the most overblown games of '08, what with all the hype it got. While critics praised it for having a good story, the rest of its parts didn't really sum up a potentially good experience. But the beauty of the game industry is that unlike movies, sequels are things that enable game developers to improve upon an established formula, or some control issues, and fans are hoping that this will be the case with the sequel to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

And come on, there are probably gonna be some epic monster battles!

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

While I'm always game for a Prince of Persia, I'm not particularly fond of this new addition. It doesn't feature the 2008 edition's storyline, but it's more of a return to, yes, the Sands of Time. And this time, it's actually a Jake Gyllenhaal-ish Prince at the helm, and it feels rather weird. At one hand, it features the original rewind mechanic that was the distinctive feature of the old Sands of Time franchise, but on the other hand, it may just be a tie-in to the movie, which personally, sounds like a bad idea. Thankfully, Ubisoft is the one working on the game, and there doesn't seem to be a trace of any Disney-owned trademark in the trailer... not yet. Anyone betting on seeing Buena Vista Games in the next trailer? I am.

Green Day: Rock Band

Harmonix had an excuse to make a Beatles: Rock Band. It could take on any of those Guitar Hero artist games, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, Harmonix would just end the trend there. I mean, The Beatles: Rock Band is pretty much the be-all and the end-all of this type of franchise milking, but apparently, Harmonix is now succumbing to what is probably more of a command from the people high up at MTV, and it's hard not to blame them: if the Beatles: Rock Band got commercial success, why can't a Green Day: Rock Band?

Well, there's a number of reasons. But I can simply simplify it to this:

The Beatles = timeless.
Green Day = blatant promotion.

While The Beatles: Rock Band also promoted the re-released, remastered discography of the band which was released the same day as the game, Green Day doesn't have enough of that musical credibility for the promotion part to slide. 21st Century Breakdown was already promoted through Rock Band DLC, something I get, so I can't seriously understand the point behind Harmonix riding this bandwagon. I don't want Rock Band to become a Guitar Hero. I want Rock Band to stay Rock Band, and I'm just criticizing this decision to make this game because I love it too damn much.

For Chrissake, just release it as a track pack ala AC/DC. Better yet, an album on the Music Store. The Who has a whole album, Nirvana has a whole album, The Foo Fighters have a crapload of songs, so why can't Green Day just have the same treatment? Hell, The Who, I think, is more deserving of a single game than Green Day. It's not that I hate Green Day, I like some of their songs, but it just breaks my heart that something like this can pass through Harmonix's standards.

But if Harmonix is just gonna push with this anyway, I want to ask one thing: if the Beatles had harmonies, what'll Green Day have?

The Thing About Blogger

My local blog editor broke down so I had to log into the web interface through my browser. I hunted for some options since I had just recently changed my password, and then I found something curious.

If you scroll all the way down in the Settings page, you'll be able to find something called an "Updated editor". How long has Google been hiding this feature and letting people "suffer" with the old editor? Shouldn't services like these be automatically applied?

Chronicles of a Windows XP Upgrader #5: Yehey.

A trip to Hong Kong helped me clear my mind and take the load off, but now that I'm back in the Philippines and armed with a new hard drive, I can finally go on with my plan.

I opened PCMover and it did its thing... for 5 hours that is. Restarted my computer, opened up Windows 7, formatted my main hard drive, installed for less than 20 minutes, and voila!

I am at peace...

Oh wait a sec, I'll have to move all my files back.

Chronicles of a Windows XP Upgrader #4

Contrary to what I said last night, no, rollback is not my favorite Windows Vista feature anymore. Hell, even Vista screwed that up.

In case you were wondering, yes, that is my computer shot from my cellphone. Not bad, eh?

Coincidentally enough, the computer fixed itself after I uploaded this video. Or maybe it was due to other factors, although another run through Startup Repair didn't do crap... or maybe it was the Memory Diagnostic Tool... which didn't run.

But what's this? Windows 7 is suddenly... letting me upgrade directly from XP?!

SAY IT AIN'T SO!

Oh... too good to be true.

Chronicles of a Windows XP Upgrader #3

Today I decided to just experience 5 years of Windows history in one night. From XP to Vista, then 7.

Did it go well?

Let's say it stopped at Vista.

Before I finally gave this desperate measure a shot, I also desperately tried to format my external hard drive again, and again, and again. It was successful but transferring files was painful as it would only stop at 100MB. I have 130GB to transfer. FML.

So anyway, back to Vista. Started at 8, purportedly ended at 10. The upgrade seemed to have gone smoothly enough, but when push came to shove, the computer was stuck at the loading screen. Vista didn't even have a chance to rear its ugly head yet again for the second time in my life. I tried finding problems through the CD's Startup Repair to no avail, so I chose to just insert the Windows 7 CD and give it a try. Who knows? It might install and piggyback the failure that was Vista. Alas, it was all for naught. Windows 7 needed to be started from the desktop in order to retain my files so I had no choice but to try Startup Repair again, but the catch is, it's the one that comes with Windows 7.

Lo and behold, Windows 7 instantly found a problem, but it could not fix it anyway so I had no choice but to rollback the Vista installation.

Back to square one.

In consolation though, at least I finally found a feature I really dig in Vista: upgrade rollback.

Chronicles of a Windows XP Upgrader #2.1: Good Lord.

Does making an external USB hard drive just work have to be this hard?!

Looks easy to the untrained eye, because you don't know half the crap I had to get through just to make this USB drive of mine appear in My Computer.

First step: Connect the drive. Windows will say it's truly a USB drive, but go to My Computer and there's no trace of it.

Second step: Frantically google "Windows XP not detecting USB external drive".

Third step: Find this ad-ridden site.

Fourth step: Go to Control Panel, Administrator Tools, Computer Management.

Fifth step: Click Disk Management on the left corner.

Sixth step: Carefully find out which one is the USB drive because both drives have pretty much the same capacity.

Seventh step: Guessed the correct drive. Right clicked to Quick Format it.

Eighth step: Format failed. Unplugged automatically. Replugged it.

Ninth step: Get puzzled as to why my primary hard drive (in the system unit) has a second unused partition that doesn't want to go away. That's 29GB of space down the drain.

Tenth step: Found "Assign Drive Path" through a stroke of luck. Cannot reproduce it anymore for some reason.

Eleventh step: Assigned the hard drive letter, asked me to format it. Didn't click Quick Format. Taking forever.

Twelfth step: Hoping this works. Willing to bet that moving my files will be relegated to, like, tomorrow which sucks.

Chronicles of a Windows XP Upgrader #2: Wrong On All Levels

I just discovered that a semi-direct upgrade to Windows 7 was possible, and it would be like if you were to reinstall the Mac OS: your old files would be put into an old folder called "Old System" or something like that. But unlike Mac upgrades, Windows 7 will not retain all the Applications (or at least put them into the Applications folder automatically) and as such I'll still need to find all that software, which is such a pain.

Oh, and I just ran Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. It says I can't experience Aero. Seriously? The video card I upgraded from, an ATi, was able to do Aero on Vista (albeit slowly), so what am I missing? The minimum requirements include a 128MB video card that supports DirectX 9.0c. My video card does all that, so what's the problem?

Oh, and don't tell me about the hard drive I'm trying to back up all my data to using Laplink PC Mover. It doesn't read at all in my Windows PC, and it takes soooo long to reformat on my Mac. What the hell, seriously. I need a new one.

Chronicles of a Windows XP Upgrader #1

I excitedly opened up my copy of Windows 7 (yes, excitedly) and hastened to boot up my Windows XP rig. After waiting for the system to load and force uninstalling RK Launcher, I popped in the CD and clicked "Install Now".

I clicked "Next" a few times", but there was something that caught my eye: there was no straight-up "Upgrade" option.

I chose "Custom". It said that the my files wouldn't be moved, and Windows 7 can only be installed in a partition. It was like Microsoft was giving me the finger, and I was tempted to give one back.

So I exited the installer and searched the interwebs for a Windows XP to Windows 7 upgrade path-- or a lack of it.

Yeah, it seems a direct non-destructive upgrade from XP to 7 is night impossible, at least through Microsoft's own installer, so the only way for me to be able to simulate something near that would be to... update to Windows Vista.

Or maybe I can just use this.

Then again, I want to move my programs too, not just my files. I googled for another way, and found this.

This way, I can make a virtual copy of my hard drive, and just download the same software over to Windows 7. But I want to make a Clean Install for once, so I'll need an external hard drive... but the one we have is broken. Sigh.

If only Microsoft just put the damn "Upgrade" option in the first place for XP users! I haven't installed 7 yet and it's already making a bad first impression.

Games I Want: September Edition

NOTE: I've decided to start a new monthly blog post called "Games I Want" (as if there weren't enough of these), so technically, the games I will list monthly must excite me. Otherwise, even if the omission is glaring or not, I will not include them here. To note, I only have a Wii, a DS and a PC for gaming so there will definitely be some glaring omissions. You'll note that Final Fantasy: Dissidia will not be in the list below, but in my humble opinion, it still has enough multi-platform games to keep your interest.

This was originally intended for my other blog in Gamespot, but I found it to be something I wanted to share to everyone else instead. For now, I've copy and pasted the entire post verbatim. Enjoy.


I just noticed that I have a lot to be excited about in September, not only because my birthday strikes on the first, but also because of a lot of major game releases. Yes, people, fall season is almost here... consider the summer drought over.

So I'm gonna make a little recap of the exciting properties overseeing release throughout the month (that I'm excited about), so it will definitely be a bit more Nintendo-oriented since I only own a Wii and a decent gaming PC.

The major releases I'm looking forward to are:

Muramasa: The Demon Blade
This Wii game has a particularly stylish traditional look that reminds you of other games like Viewtiful Joe and Odin Sphere, and that's because the game's developer is the same as that of the latter. VanillaWare looks like it's gonna do a really good job with this Wii-exclusive button-mashing title, and I'm gonna be first in line to get this.


Guitar Hero 5
Granted, I prefer Rock Band 2 tons more, but any numerical Guitar Hero release is most likely major. I'm not likely to go buy this in an instant 'cause I'm gonna wait till people say "It's compatible with Rock Band 2 Wii instruments". I know, I should've bought the GH ones since they're more durable and stuff (ironically, there were quite a lot of issues last year which led me to buy Rock Band 2 in the first place) but hey, it's been 2 incompatible GH games since then, and I demand that Activision give this one some Rock Band instrumental love since Rock Band 2 already supports every GH instrument compatible with the Wii. If that happens, I might buy it... the drop-in drop-out system is actually quite compelling for me... the setlist is kind of okay too.


The Beatles: Rock Band
Speaking of rhythm games, I'm surprised at myself for being excited for this Beatles game. I never grew up with their music, I've only heard snippets, but somehow I feel compelled to buy it. When news of this came out, I would coincidentally hear their music all over the place, and I would in turn develop a strong appreciation for them, which must be the reason why. For fans, the Beatles and all the unreleased exclusive content coming along with the game are enough to justify what seems to be a really steep price for the special edition. Of course, I'm shelling out for the disc only so I can save money. 1 set of instruments is enough.


Wet
While it's only overseeing release in the Xbox and the PS3, I have no doubt that it will eventually come out in the PC since this is Bethesda we're talking about. Gameplay and art direction both look insanely great, but I feel that waiting for the reviews of the console editions is a bit more of a rational thing to do for now. I still have doubt if Rubi can manage to hold a gamer's attention for more than 30 minutes because quite frankly one can have the tendency to get sick of automatic Matrix-esque slow-mo shootouts.


Need for Speed: Shift
After a few underwhelming additions, EA is putting its famous Need for Speed franchise into the pit for a bit of a tuning. The product of this tuning? This game. It looks so pretty, damn it! It's been so long since I've last played a serious racing game too. Judging from what I've seen, it's gonna be pretty cool.


Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC Edition)
The Dark Knight has never really found a serious video game to call home, but Arkham Asylum may be it. I've only heard tremendously good feedback for the game so far, so I can safely say that I'm excited for it as well.


Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Loved the first one, second one looks awesome as hell, and... Stan Lee's in there. I didn't know why I said that. Anyway, while I'm not really much of a comic book fan (I have yet to read one. Ever.), I still love a lot of these characters, and believe me, there's quite a lot. I know it's just some beat-em-up but there's a lot of customization, a lot of RPG elements, and there will be quite possibly a pretty good story behind it. I mean, people are making a big deal about this "Civil War" thing. So yeah, a lot to expect, a lot to be excited about, and the best part is, you just know that they'll be able to deliver. Aah, if only it had a PC version.


Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
I love the Mario and Luigi RPG series, and it seems that it has yet to lose any of its charm. I don't think anything else new has been added though, but we may soon see when the game comes out. Come on, it's a full-fledged Mario RPG. Nothing will probably go wrong... except for the fact that maybe Bowser should've just eaten the whole Mushroom Kingdom in the first place instead of, you know, the same shtick he does over and over again. I mean, how do Mario, Luigi and Peach shrink anyway? Bowser's not that big (except for that last part).


Scribblenauts
When I first saw the God vs. the Kraken video on YouTube, I just said to myself, "I'm so gonna buy this," and for good reason: you put any noun you can think of in your head and it will possibly appear. Granted this is a rated E game so there's none of that stuff, but when you think about it, there's possibly nothing else like it. You're forced to use more creative ways to solve puzzles, and truly I like how they think.


PC versions of Red Faction: Guerilla and Resident Evil 5
I've put the two together for the reason that I don't know whether I'll buy them or not. I know for a fact that Red Faction does look like an awesome game, but I don't think it's compelling enough for me to buy yet. RE5 I might get when I actually get to finish RE4!

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
I am a fan of the KH series, I'm not ashamed to admit (but I'm not particularly a fanboy since I've become a bit lost on the lore), so I am very much looking forward to the DS installment of the franchise. While Chain of Memories on the original GBA was decent, this one doesn't look like it will feature that bullcrap card battle system (and thus, for me, will be very, very good). While the card battle system did offer a bit more strategy, I prefer the excessive real-time button mashing-ness of the series, it just feels "un-Kingdom Hearts" without it. I don't particularly care much about the story since it's become a tad convoluted for the sake of making more games for more money, but I don't know, it just looks too good to pass up. And hey, The World Ends With You was a perfectly awesome Square handheld RPG, so why not give it a chance?


Dead Space Extraction
I have yet to play some real Dead Space, but I've heard that it was an unexpectedly good time. Now that it's a name that's bankable, EA has gotten the same developing team to make a Wii-exclusive prequel. This would've sounded awesome if only they just let the player control the character! That's right, Extraction is apparently another on-rails shooter ala the Resident Evil Wii games. I'm not saying that on-rails on the Wii isn't fun-- far from that-- but it's getting a bit... tiresome, don't you think? I'd regret saying this but the graphics also make the atmosphere a bit less scary... but at least there's a flamethrower which is awesome! It's hard to say that I'm particularly optimistic about this title, but I'm giving it a chance and expecting it to offer at least a quarter of the greatness the full-fledged game was said to have. And come on, it has more strategy than the House of the Dead because of the dismemberment thing! Think about it!


I've saved the best for last, and that is...

Deca Sports 2
The holy grail of Wii sports games, Deca Sports is a franchise any gamer should ever miss... and yep, I'm saying it's underrated. Now that there's a sequel, I'm sure to join the frigging bandwagon 'cause it's so totally awesome!


NAH, just kidding. Just total BS, that game. If I wanted to play a compilation of sports games, I'd go back to Wii Sports Resort. It is fantastic (except for cycling, canooeing...)!

Seen and Heard: Search Engines

There's more to search than Google, and it's extremely apparent that they won't get picked up by the mainstream anytime soon. Still, it's good to know a few more sites you can try searching in when Googling just can't do the job.

Microsoft's Bing

Completely separate from MSN or Windows Live, Microsoft's new Bing basically is their latest competitor to Google.

Every day, Bing changes its picture and introduces some small facts on it- like Easter eggs. The home page looks very simple (taking a page from Google, perhaps?) but it's also more "warm" and "welcoming".

One of the more special features of Bing include a little sidebar that gives an overview of the page as well as keywords included within. On the left sidebar (not shown), related search terms are displayed.

Image search results are also displayed in a fashion where the image info is only displayed when you hover your cursor over the image. There are filters on the left side that let you narrow your search down to "size", "layout", "color", "style" and even the "people" contained within.

But if you're looking for something a bit more academic- basically a sort of calculator thingy- then there's something else for you called;

Wolfram Alpha

This search engine is not exactly a search engine but more of a "computational knowledge engine". It's home page is full of information that will help you clarify its purpose, as well as let you jumpstart the search process. It does not, however, search for images or videos like the other search engines.

What it does search is objective answers to questions like "the anagram of 'wolves'" or "Arccos 769 degreees" and more. It's more educational than anything, so if you want to satiate your need for say, Michael Jackson news, this is not the engine to go to.

Cuil

With an extremely minimalist home page, Cuil is also a comprehensive search engine that, while not new, also has a few stuff up its sleeve.

When you search for something, you are presented with a simple results screen with a tabs that will help you narrow down your search. The tabs are basically search suggestions and filters. You can also narrow it further by exploring through categories that are related to it.

As you can see (if you enlarge it, especially) the scroll bars don't seem to be placed right and that's because the buttons that will lead you to the next result page will remain at the bottom- unaffected by scrolling, which is personally a nice touch.