BattlePage Ultra Edition

Well, just had to share this piece of nice CMV with everyone, though I seriously doubt the number of people who will actually bother anyway. Haha. A production from Battlepage, which features many well-known Korean players.

Combo makers of the team: Q.zero (video editor), ALEXS, RubberJ.Clay, SARATA, Elixir, Sawachika, Buki, Howard, G.Farmer, Man_shen, KOFA, Varong, HolyCross and CoolDragon.

Games covered: KOF98, 2000-2003, XI

Many interesting combos, with nice setups which aren’t seen around in other videos, though some of them contain similar ideas. But it’s kinda a different experience see such things. Many of them require very precise co-operation of the 2nd player as well (hey, it’s a combo video, not tips on how to win in VS match) so I guess so form of help is used, but still it’s the creativity and uniqueness of the stuff that count more than the means of execution. Very nicely done here.

Video editing wise, it’s of a different feel from many other CMVs though this one also attempts to integrate much visual effects and stuff. The music chosen is also somewhat different, at least it ain’t something over-used. Heh, I could only recognise the ending song which would be part of Good Luck!! (Jap Drama) OST. Quite a refreshing edit, though it’s the kind where this group of CMV viewers hate since quite a bit of time is spent on editing and presentation rather than the combo content of it. Hehz.

Do watch this if you’re a KOF fan~

File information:
File Size: 219MB
Format: WMV
Duration: 12 minutes 6 seconds

Some URL links for download, all the same just different free hosting.
1) Megaupload
2) Rapidshare (3 links): 1 2 3
3) Zshare (3 links): 1 2 3
4) Ultracombos

Oh well, as a bonus, here’s the 1st volume titled BattlePage Special Edition, youtube version of course.

Vexille

Japanese title: ベクシル 2077日本鎖国

Rating: NC-16 (some violence)
Running time: 109 minutes
Opens: 27 December 2007, Now showing EXCLUSIVELY at The Cathay PictureHouse

Some info:
1) ANN
2) Wiki
3) Official Page (Japanese)

Let’s see, before I start on the review proper, I’d like to mention a few things. It’s the first time I’ve been to the PictureHouse theatre, and it’s small, and the seats aren’t exactly very big (compared to the other Cathay seats), with the arm rest seemingly wider than the usual Cathay seats, probably the reason for it being “smaller”.

Also, I have not much idea why it has to be shown exclusively at the PictureHouse since I think the small theatre may not be enough for all the potential viewers (yeah the theatre is nearly fully taken up). Perhaps it’s to make sure other theatres can screen the festive blockbusters and rig in more revenue than an anime movie I guess, since after all the anime market in Singapore is still smaller than the blockbusters market (like I am Legend etc).

Last thing before I start on the review - not bad that Singapore cinemas are actually screening this before the DVD comes out in Japan, barely making it some 1 month before 25 Jan 08 release of DVD (normal edition)/HD-DVD in Japan. Past movies like Paprika, BraveStory, Doraemon (and the dino) have been good examples of Japanese animated movies making to Singapore’s shores a tad too late. Well done? Lol.

All right, finally to the review proper. Ok, first up, the violence shown in the movie, in my opinion isn’t too bad what, considering other more explicit (live-action mainly) movies can also be given the same rating of NC-16. Sigh, sometimes I have no idea how the censorship boards (or whoever is in charge of these) decide on the rating to give.

Well, this movie turned out to be one of the kinds of story that’s not so common in anime titles. I’m not saying it’s rare, but usually Japan will somehow be “salvaged” or saved, but in this movie, it seems that the fate of a futuristic Japan is rather tragic. Heh. Oops, was that a major spoiler? Maybe, and maybe not, since the details weren’t exactly something I had expected prior to watching the show either. Haha.

The anime style is 3D CG, similar to that of Appleseed. After all, I think the production team have very similar member make-up (lazy to double check). I’m sure this style is still quite strange and unfamiliar to many, even myself, since it’s not seen often in anime titles, even recent ones. Honestly, the overall feel is still quite nice, though some parts don’t seem very nice to me (or maybe it’s just me).

However, though the story’s somewhat original, there are quite a few badass errors in the movie. Jags seem to have a “food preference” for human bio-metal rather than your average metal-made objects. Jags also seem to be unable to invade the remaining G32 Beta camp (enclosed by WALLS) even though it can go underground. And metal seems to be way weaker than bricks, which is like kinda weird…

The music featured throughout the show gave me mixed feelings. Sometimes it sounded good, at other times it just sounds kinda weird and doesn’t suit the show. Ah well, maybe my appreciation for music isn’t up to mark (no pun intended ok). But overall I guess it’s still all right, since it’s quite hard to find a show that has all the music that’s to your liking. Hehz.

Well, since it’s an anime movie, I shan’t give it a score even though I watched this in a theatre. I think it’s pretty good, so do go watch if you’re into anime. =D

p.s. non-anime watchers may not find it as nice maybe? shrugs. do let me know ok?

p.p.s. added a new game to my records list. have fun.

A Marked Reunion

After not seeing Mark for a year, finally he’s back here in SG and finally managed to fix a day where the members of the mini (NJ) gang of ours are free. He’s flying off in a couple days, so it’s like we barely managed to grab hold of him before he flies back to his US university to continue his triple major (yes u read that right, and no, I dont think you can do that in NUS).

Well, the very, very first plan was to have some stingray at Jurong, which I think should be quite good considering how many times WK has been there in the past few years liao. However, due to Mark having another group outing later in the evening, there’s no choice but to postpone the stingray eating session (again…) to, hopefully, next April (actually May since NUS has exams until early May). So well, he decided on Manhattan Fish Market @ Plaza Singapura. Actually it’s my 2nd time there, so nothing too special for me, except that I normally don’t spend so much on a single meal outside when not treating anyone. Haha. The food’s still nice, and yes it’s still filling lehz, even though portion wise it’s less than last time I ate cos of the number of people sharing + number of dishes ordered. Then again my first visit was overly full and couldn’t finish the rice, so yah haha this time the portion’s more manageable =D

Well, I tried asking what to do after finishing the yummy meal, but generally Mark and us were kinda engrossed in talking stuff, mainly about his US life and stuff there, so didn’t really make any decision until we stepped out of the restaurant. Haha. Sadly, it just had to rain during that time and so we decided to detour to Zone X arcade for the time being before heading to Meridien to play pool (which Mark decided). Oh wells, end up Mark wanted to play the Spirits of Zeon (hope i got the name right), so I just tapped for him lor (haha, i so good right? =P) while I entertained myself with Arcana Hearts, laming around with Mei-fang (previously too paiseh to solo play while the others just stand around since they’re not arcade people. heh. excuses). Next, Mark wanted to try his hand at KOF98, so I challenged him using 3 random (lol, I do that all the time at home…). Honestly, though I had an easy time winning Mark (both games, oops), I was quite disappointed with my performance since I couldn’t do a lot of things which I ought to be able to even with a joystick. Ah well, maybe I was in a too relaxed mode liaoz, or maybe I just plain don’t have what it takes to be good =D

Yeah well, by then the rain has stopped (thankfully, felt bad going to arcade liao… haha) and so Meridien we headed for. Unfortunately, we seem to only find one shop with pool (wonder where the other(s) went… used to remember there were others) and it’s full house so Mark came up with plan B, which is going to Cine for his favourite Xbox360 playing. Didn’t try my hands on Halo 3 (on purpose actually) cos seeing the controls I know it’s not a game meant for me. My hand-eye co-ordination is weaker than you think, plus I’m not really into shooters, so might as well let the others enjoy (uh, enjoy being pwned by Mark? hmm…) since I had my fair share of fun in the arcade earlier liaoz. Haha. While they were Halo 3-ing away, I looked around at what other people played, with one of console stations having VF5, which is kinda rare in SG (or so I seem to observe), but mostly were playing some soccer game (don’t ask me what title…). There was also a clan meeting of sorts to review some replay of a game they played I supposed. Wow, these clans are actually that serious about the games. After the rest had enough of suffering under Mark’s 1 sided pwnage in Halo 3, the game switched to DoA4 (yay, fighting game, but grr it’s 3D). Learnt a few cheap tricks at Zihan’s house the previous day for the tag battle, so Dom and I were initially at an advantage, but the others got the hang of it soon too (it’s easy mah…). To be honest, I think Mark is the best player of the game, based on an individual effort since he’s probably the one who knows the game best among us even though I don’t think he plays it often. In response to WK’s entry (which I forgot to comment about), actually I’m basically button mashing too, just that I somehow try to take advantage of the tag system at probably at a somewhat more appropriate timing, which is kinda like the only “skill” from my experience in other 2D fighting games that can applicable to this 3D game.

Oh well, all fun (basically button mashing and seeing unexpected stuff happening) had to end, and it’s where we had to part ways. Mark headed for his 2nd outing, Dom went home, Zong went Wisma, I went to the Cathay to meet up for a movie, while Ken and WK proceeded to have dinner I suppose. I guess the next reunion will be in some 4.5 months’ time (omg, the semester is that short…stress ah…). Another fun day spent outside. It’s time to rest and recover some lost energy over the next 2 days or so (hopefully).

p.s. Yes, that means a movie review will be coming up some time soon.

斗剧07 Volume 2

I apologise for the not-so-big picture, but for those who are totally clueless this volume would be on Melty Blood Act Cadenza Ver.B. Before I start on anything, of course I’ll have to thank KOFIA (yes, I’ll probably do it for every entry in this series, assuming it goes on =D) for letting me have the opportunity to gain access to such material. =D

Well they battle in teams of 2, and it goes like this: Team A P1 vs Team B P1 and Team A P2 vs Team B P2. The side that gets 2 wins first will proceed. In the event of 1 win 1 loss per team, their winner will face-off in a 3rd round, deciding who goes further into the tournament. Oh and each round is also a race to 2 wins. Hehz.

Top 32-16: Well, though there’s a possible 3rd round, there are many matches whereby the contest is settled with 2 games alone. And some very 1 sided matches as well, resulting in a very quick KO + Perfect. Then again, the game is quite fast paced, so once you’re caught in your opponent’s pace and unable to predict where/when to guard correctly, expect some damage to your HP bar. Haha, how sad huh. I think it isn’t very easy a game to play =.=

Top 16-8: Hmm, there are still 1 sided rounds, which is kinda weird since I’d think by this stage the filtering should be rather good. I guess it’s those team’s luck, or perhaps they couldn’t take the pressure anymore. Lol. But oh well, can already see the stronger teams/players liao.

Top 8-winner: Somehow I found the matches here more exciting. Perhaps it’s partly due to the fact that I already know who the winning team is, so seeing how they make a comeback is certainly interesting. For a moment I really thought they were gonna lose, but of course that’s not happening because they’re to be crowned as champions eventually. Hehe. Nice effort by the other players too, seeing their gameplay, woo~

p.s. there will be a volume 3 coming soon. Stay tuned~

p.p.s. I really enjoyed myself today. thanks scheming dudes!!!!!!

National Treasure - The Book of Secrets

Rating: PG
Running time: 126 minutes
Opens: 20 December 2007, Now Showing

Wiki Article
Official Site
IMDB Profile
Moviemistakes Entry

Another sequel huh, but this time I didn’t watch the first one because back then I was busy with BMT. Hic, maybe I should try to take a look at the first National Treasures movie.

Well, the storyline summary is pretty much at Wikipedia, so shan’t really go into it. The movie tries to bring out a mystery-solving + treasure hunting (actually most of it is clue hunting) element, but sometimes it’s seemed quite forced and, erm, a bit too smooth and quick. Not sure if this corresponds to the style of the first movie. If it is, then probably people watching this sequel might find it a little uninteresting, or maybe even boring.

On top of that, sometimes certain things seem rather unrealistic, being quite obviously made to take place so that certain people can manage to complete certain objectives or just make the car-chase more exciting for example. But okay lah, have to let it be this way or I don’t see how the movie can proceed smoothly also. Lol.

I’m not sure if there are any factual errors in the show, but I’m guessing there should be a lot if you want to be super observant and picky about the details. Oh wells. Anyway, there are quite a few funny scenes in the movie, which oddly enough, appeared to be more enjoyable than the movie in general. That’s… quite sad isn’t it. Heh.

Oh and by the way, some scenes shown in trailers didn’t appear in the movie. I wonder if it got cut or something, or maybe it’ll appear in the Director’s Cut version when DVD (or Blu-ray) comes out.

My take: 6/10. Pretty average movie overall.

p.s. a bit screwed up entry. not exactly in the right state of mind to write decent entries now.