Monster Good TIme

Not long after splashing out on an expensive japanese import like Fatal Frame IV, the hole in the my pocket gets bigger with yet another big third-party Wii exclusive on the horizons. That's right Monster Hunter Tri is almost upon us and if you are a big fan of Capcom games and Wii exclusive like myself then you have to get this game, nevermind the fact you know almost next to nothing about the world of Monster Hunter.

Part of the problem with Monster Hunter is if you don't have a band of hunters to hunt with, you stand almost no chance against some of the latter monster you will meet in the game. Fortunately there is an active community of gamers willing to commit time and effort to this game so i'm less fearful of this problem. The bigger problem is the world of Monster Hunter can seems so daunting to newcomers, this is truly a game for the hardcore gamers and expects a big commitment from the gamer in order to get the most out of it. This is probably also my last chance to get acquainted with the Monster Hunter series having missed the first two installment on the PS2 and PSP. Being a Capcom fanboy, I felt like I had to be a fan of the Monster Hunter series with it rising rapidly among ranks of Capcom other franchise.

The Rule of Four

Capcom's rule of four seems to suggest that by the time a franchise reaches the fourth installment. a major rehash is in order. Tecmo may have took this theory to heart when they were developing the fourth installment of the Fatal Frame series. Collaborating with Grasshoppers and Nintendo on a new platform, a change of things was definitely in order.

Visually the game looks and plays a lot like the Ashley chapter in Resident Evil 4, completed with all the lighting effects that made the Gamecube version incomparable during its time. The control takes a bit of getting used to with a combination of classic and motion controls blended together but i liked to think it adds tension to the game much like the archaic controls of the early Resident Evil games. Many series veterans have lamented that this new installment on the Nintendo Wii has been dumbed down to cater a new audience but i didn't really get that feeling. There were plenty of cheap scares early on and the game generally feels creepy, it's definitely been a while since i had the hair on the back of my neck standing.

When Grasshoppers and Ninjas Collide

You really have to tip your hat off to the translation team behind the Fatal Frame 4 english patch, they are clearly well-versed enough to enjoy the game in its original form but decided to produce a patch for everyone to have a chance to experience this great game. My japanese import of Fatal Frame 4 arrived promptly yesterday and since the only other game i'm busy with happens to be a bit of a slow-burner, i decided to play Fatal Frame 4.

Part of the eagerness was for the game itself and part of it was curiosity of how it all works with the patch installed onto the system. Thankfully after a quick restart, everything began to run smoothly as you hoped in fact, the translation work is so seamlessly you probably think it was an official localization of the game rather than fan-made. I have read that pretty much everything was already in placed and all that was required was a good understanding of the Japanese language and then it was just a matter of replacing the hiragana and kanjis with the ABCs. The fonts of the English text doesn't look awkwardly out of place or 'burnt-on' save perhaps for some of the menu but i have yet to load the game in its original form so i don't know for sure if the above statement is true. A huge thanks to the guys who made this possible, it's the stuff that fans always talk and dream of but rather ever happens. You guys have certainly prove it is possible, this game feels like such a quality product that i can't possible cram all my impressions into this one post.

Intercooler Impressions

The last time i bought anything from Nyko I ended up not using it much as there is only so much lightgun games one can play. I have kept the perfectshot back in its box since my early plays of Umbrella Chronicles and have yet to even dust off them for my recent Darkside Chronicles run.

The Intercooler TS is an entirely different matter, fitted onto my Playstation3 it will form part of my console and function as much as the system. It has to be up to speed and frankly if it cost a bit more it would be worth the money too. Thankfully the price of Intercooler is on par with the other third-party brand I saw in Singapore, in fact its worth every dollar considering how much it will be used and how well it works. The common complaint i often hear of the product when reading up on it was the loud noise emitted by the fans when operating. That much is true but the noise doesn't bother me much as i'm used to the noise of the built-in cooling fan of the ps3 by now. The intercooler fits on to the back of the playstation3 where the vents are, a big difference considering all USB-powered fans fit onto the front vents of the playstation3. At first i didn't understand how the Intercooler could work placed onto the back vent with all the exhaust vent blowing out from there but i think that's where its temperature sensor could come into play. The sensor senses the temperature of the playstation3 from the exhaust air emitted and regulate the Intercooler fan speed accordingly. The four fans of the Intercooler works together with the in-built fan to improve the air circulation inside the system by blowing into the system and exhausting the hot air out of the system. This is achieved with one pair of fan blowing in one direction and another pair blowing in the other, at least from what i can tell studying the fans at work since the fans only run when placed in right position and temperature. I rarely hear the built-in fan running anymore since installing the intercooler, not because the Intercooler is so damn loud but because it does such a good job that the in-built fan doesn't even kick in.

Black Humour

I'm not very demanding when it comes to action movie or action game plots, usually even the cliche works for me so when i heard that Platinum Games had roped in Final Fantasy XII's Yasumi Matsumi to pen Madworld scenario, i wasn't sure what to expect. Sure enough Madworld made little sense at the end but the cutscenes are slick and exciting enough to keep things interesting. The final boss is a bit of a joke but fitting considering the game's dark humour, in the end i'm not even sure who the real villain is. The game is just long enough so things don't become too repetitive but Madworld still works best when played in short bursts rather than one long sitting.

Hopefully Platinum Games will come up with a sequel without the Final Fantasy plot and introduce more new creative kills.

Does Everything (Except Keeping Cool)

While i was doing my usual game hunting earlier this month in singapore, my friend was hunting for a cooling fan for his playstation3 slim. Now this guy is a certified cooling geek, the type of guy who looks at the size of the cooling fan first and foremost before anything else when shopping for a PC. OK i may have stretch that part a little bit but the point was he instill a fear in me which i learnt to let go a long time ago. I remember back when i first got my ps3, i placed it in a vertical position at a confined area so the fear of overheating the unit was always there. I kept a standing fan turned on facing directly at my ps3 the whole time it was powered on that time. Later when i moved the ps3 downstairs to hook up with the LCD TV, i never really bother to cool down the unit anymore since it was in a horizontal position at a relatively open space.

After some friendly teasing from my friend, i became a little paranoid again and wonder why did i abandon my cooling habits a while back. The cooling fan which i could find in Singapore are mostly USB-powered made by third-party brand i have never heard of before, frankly they looked a little tacky and not the least bit reliable. Ultimately i came home without a cooling fan but still a lingering concern of this matter then i decided to see if there were reputable third-party labels dealing with these cooling fans gizmo. I found this Temp Smart Intercooler by Nyko which happens to be powered by its own external AC adapter and is available at most Gamestop outlets, all the hallmarks of a reliable product if you ask me. I immediately ask my sister to make a last-minute addition to my shopping list and here it is along with my other easter haul she brought back this week. Now the only thing remaining is to see how well it works when hooked up with the playstation3.

I Love This Game!

My next batch of Easter games are here, some highly acclaimed RPG games which were long overdue to be part of my collection. Silent Hill: Homecoming was originally supposed to be part of the mix but the game is fast disappearing be it at Asia region or US so the chances of finding the game brand new is pretty slim now.

Valkyria Chronicles is actually easier to find than Muramasa despite Muramasa being the newer game as it seems Sega is still pressing new copies of Valkyria, the new blu-ray case certainly seems to suggest so. Muramasa on the other hand is an old copy from when the game first debut in September 2009, i discovered this when i peel off the price tag to reveal the old original price underneath. Looks like Muramasa will be joining Silent Hill: Homecoming as part of this generation games that will be hard to find in the near future, you heard it here first folks so quickly grab your copy while you still can.

Fatal Fantasy

I have gone and done it again; despite all the savings and great deals i was able to find this past week it didn't take long for me to blown it all away with a costly deal on an import game. The japanese import of Fatal Frame IV has re-surfaced at the worst possible time when i'm at my most vulnerable state during my recent Wii craze and demand for the import is still high with the english patch reportedly working. I was considering between ordering it now or wait till my friend who's going to Japan later this year and ask him to track down a copy for me, hopefully at a lower price.

The fact that i'm still struggling to finish Fatal Frame III certainly doesn't bode well with the decision to commit now via Play-asia. This is quickly turning into another repeat of Yakuza as i move immediately from one installment to another and one generation of console to another. Hopefully these will ultimately all end well as i do have a penchant of fantasizing about playing games rather than actually playing them.

Different look, different voice

The first time i finished Shadow of Destiny, Eike gets run down by a bunch of drunk kids leaving me confused and unsure what the whole game was all about. Naturally i never played the game again after being disgusted by the ending i got until the game was recently ported to the PSP. I can't remember what i did differently this time but i got a much more satisfying ending where Eike loses his memory after defeating Homunculus and is trapped in the past. The special trailers which you unlocked after finishing the game appears to have been removed, perhaps Konami doesn't want unsuspecting gamers to know that this is a port of an old playstation2 game?

Come to think of it, i didn't see any of the staff involved with the PSP port listed on the ending credits either but i did read that this port contains all-new voicework and artwork. The artwork accompanying the opening menu does look new but i have to dust off my old playstation2 version to see if there is any truth regarding the new voiceovers.

Easter Hunting

I was doing my own Easter hunting this last weekend only it wasn't Easter eggs i was hunting for but video games. I was with a friend combing over all the game stores in singapore, big or small in search for bargains and rare games. Though i did managed to amass a nice haul of games this time, i could have gone for broke and grab the rare copy of Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations which i have a feeling i will regret later. I didn't prepare a list or have anything particular in mind this time around so i really wasn't expecting much especially since i have another haul of games arriving later this month.

The Metroid Trilogy is undoubtedly the highlight i wasn't interested in this collector's edition a while back having failed to be impressed with metroid prime hunters but after my friend started gushing about how great the series is (bar hunter) and even showing me his copy of the CE, i just knew i had to have it. I found the only copy in HMV City Link but still wasn't prepared to shell out full bucks, having just got Dead Rising and Uncharted during Gamescore Wii promotion earlier that day. As it turns out, i managed to snagged the Metroid Trilogy at stock clearance price the next day where i would least expect to find it but i supposed it all makes sense as most wouldn't go there to buy games. Notice the Uncharted happens to be the original black label packaging? Another nice find at Gamescore as these 're-packaged' Greatest Hits are a collector's dream come true, original black labels at Greatest Hits price though i was actually planning to get Uncharted 2 but prices for those were still too expensive. Despite all this new stuff, i still have more coming my way later this month which you should keep your eyes peeled for.