Last Post of 2008

Well, Last post of 2008, its been a fun year. I have no idea why its fun, but it's what I should say right? Look fondly to the last years and bravely to the front? Ah well...

Buh Bye 2008. Its been a good year. But we got to part! I shall never see you again but remember fondly of the time we had together!

-Because I Can-

Review: Elebits - The Adventures of Kai and Zero (DS)

Think Pokemon! 493 Pocket Monster to be caught at last count, utterly cute monster that just screams to be hugged and evolution chart that will boggle your mind. Well.. Not really...

May the adventure BEGIN!

Elebits first appeared in 2006 at Wii console as a search and capture game where gamer uses the Wii Remote to move objects around to look for the Elebits. Fast forward to 2008, we have Elebits 2; continuing the adventure of Kai and Zero from last season. The gameplay is utterly simple to follow. Go in, capture the elebits, shake the tree/stone, capture more elebits, beat the boss, walk around, talk to everyone else, find more elebits.

You can run! But you can't hide!

The learning curve is soooooo easy. But the puzzle is a bit out of grasp for me. This might be an individual case but I have been having trouble solving the puzzle. Case in point, I was stuck in front of a barrier for more than 2 hours, trying various elebits power to open the barrier when I finally gave up and ask online forums for help, then I found out I am supposed to get in from another map.... What The....

Gotta Catch Em All!

Now I found myself stuck in the same world but different map. The solution is ridiculously easy but I know for a fact that it will still eludes me in the end. Which begs the question, is the game easy or am I just plain old st.... (lets leave it at that)

I choose you!

(p/s: I am using too much Pokemon quotes...)

Conclusion
Irregardless, I am in love with this game. Elebits DS is a well designed game with great soundtrack, good graphic, easy learning curve but heck of a headache inducing puzzle (for me). It's no pokemon game as you don't go around capturing pokemon or having a fight in the middle of bushes. This is a game of exploration, puzzle, elebits capture and just plain ole enjoying the music and scenery. I am really looking forward for the english version of this game which was SUPPOSED to be out in Jannuary 6th 2009. Last I heard, it has been postponed.

I prefer the Japan Cover for Elebits, they are a lot more cuter than the US version....
Check it out!

If you are interested in purchasing this game, head over to HERE and make your pre-order now.



-Because I Can-

Play-Asia Bad Customer Service

So I placed an order over a week or so ago on Play-Asia for a One-Piece Flash Keychain, a very nice piece of addition to my collections of assorted toys and what not. Mind you, the One-Piece Flash Keychain is anything BUT cheap, I also bought a PSP USB cable. Anyway, I received the package last weekend and the package was opened to reveal... only one item, Yeap. Its NOT the Keychain. So I mailed Play-Asia enquiring about my purchase and this is what they replied:

Dear (removed),

Thank you for contacting Play-Asia.com.

I am very sorry about this it must have been forgotten to be included in
the parcel accidently. Please accept our apology as we were really busy
around this busy X'mas time so it might have been missed out by mistake.

As the key chain is out of stock now would you like us to refund it as
store credit for you?

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.


Best regards,

(removed)
Play-Asia.com

What the hell? FORGOTTEN?MISSED OUT BY MISTAKE? I was pissed and I got to admit, I was not gentle when I replied them:
 

 Out of stock? I am disappointed. I ordered the keychain on the day it was
launched at Play-Asia and I was looking forward to receving it. And now
you are telling me that the item was accidently 'forgotten' to put in?

I understand that considering now is the busy session due to christmas but I
still feel that this mistake is unwaranted.

And the fellow cooly replied me this:

Thank you for contacting Play-Asia.com.

We are very sorry for the mistake. However, the keychain is no longer
available from our supplier, we cannot get any extra stock for you. Would
you like to refund the product price in form of our store credit?

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

The person in charged ask me Would I like to refund the product price in form of our store credit after telling me that the keychain is no longer available. Making it sound as if I have another choice! What the hell! I fired off another reply:

Would I like to refund the product price in form of your store credit?

Are you saying I have another choice?

This is the part where Play-Asia become rude. Personally I felt it is rude, don't know bout you guys

Thank you for contacting Play-Asia.com.

We have sent you a store credit of $6.49 for the missed order.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

What the... This is the second time that I encountered a problem with my product purchased, the first problem was resolved with much help from them but as for this encounter, it leaves a really bad taste on my tongue. Have you guys ever encounter something like this?

-Because I Can-

DS Fan Translation: Ragnarok Online

What do you do if there is a game that you really really want to play yet you have no idea what the heck they are going on about in the game? Some case in point would be the new Ragnarok Online DS (which I have a bone to pick in the naming of the game but that is for another post) 

What do you do then? Do you go online and look for the gamefaq translation (which takes the fun out of the game, literally) Do you go buy the guide book (which is non-existence)? Or if you are those studious type, you might grab a dictionary and proceed to check the words against the dictionary one by one (Which is either very stupid or very smart) or you can go online and hope/pray/beg well, maybe not beg for a fan translation of the game.

Anyway, I did a bit of a search online for the said game and see if there are any crazed fan boy that will do the translation and after a bit of tree shaking, digging and shifting through lots of post, I came upon this site yet again
GBATEMP, a site that covers anything and everything that even remotely spells Nintendo.

And one particular thread caught my tired eyes. RAGNAROK ONLINE DS TRANSLATION. Yes! The translation there is ongoing and they barely have the patch running but the point of the matter is this. ITS THERE! Keep an eye out on the thread if you want a translation but PLEASE! PLEASE! Do not ask anything stupid there as everything you need to know is already there. Just read.

-Because I Can-

Christmas in Singapore 2008 - Pictures

As promised, this are some of the pictures I took in Singapore on Orchard road. We were lucky that night as we reach there not knowing that there are going to be road parade, free open top bus ride and free popcorn & candy! Still, I am still quite disappointed with their deco for this year... Its.. Subpar? Sub-Standard?

Singapore Visitors Centre

(The place to get FREE open top bus ride!)

Parade Car on Orchard Road

(All the models on the car has seen too many summers [OLD])

Christmas Tree on Orchard Road

(Looks more like a lot of rubbish dumped together)

Christmas Tree

(This one is a lot prettier)

Orchard Road

(Chinese Proverb: Mountain people, mountain sea)

Orchard Road Arch

(Looks nice from far but not THAT nice when you are near)

Decorations on Orchard Road

Yeap, same decoration
(Seriously, It looks...)

-Because I Can-

Play Gear Pocket Slim Skin: Okami

So I was doing a bit of research here and there yesterday in regard about the PGP Slim and I stumbled upon the US playstation site with a thread just for The Logitech PGP skinning. Read the 1.4k over pages (well not all of it) and found quite a few people asking others to do PGP skin for them.

Then I noticed a gem out of the many stones. EJ_Ink, one of the forumer there posted a guide on how to make your very own PGP skin. You can find the link HERE. I followed his instruction and manage to churn out a few Okami like skin. Added a bit of Soul Eater into it and the last one resulted on one of my own personalized PGP skin.

I only have one problem, when printed out. The size is a lot more bigger than my PSP. I need to find the correct size/printing ways...

 

 

-Because I Can-