Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; GAME OVER

Yes, I have finally finished Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Game time: over 94 hours (and that is because I rushed through the last 2 missions in the main quest. All you people who think the Steed is useless; AH!). Super game! This is one I highly recommend to any RPG fan.

The last quest was great! (Spoiler here) You helped Martin Septim turned into the dragon god Akatosh and has a front row seat as he fight the demon god Mehrunes Dagon. (Spoiler end) You barely reached the toe of Akatosh. So you looked up as two huge gods duke it out right above your head. You see the scene and you WILL go: WOW!

The main theme of the series is "Live another life, in another world." The developers are very successful in this. You could really believe that you are in another world and the world was filled with characters you felt for. Some of whom will die, some of whom you have to kill. I still can't believe I had to kill my brothers in the Cheydinhal sanctuary during the Dark Brotherhood Quests. I really liked some of them. But just like real life, sometimes it can't be helped. One of the best game I have ever played, and I have played a lot of them. So do yourself a favour; get a copy of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

You will love it!

Review of 300

Just watch 300 today. I went into the cinema 10 mins before the starting time and...it was empty! Yes I was the first person in the cinema and it stayed that way till 3 mins before starting time when at last some other people started coming in. Are Singaporeans cool or what?

First thing I must say is that I've never seem the comics, so I was going in with an open mind. Bloods, guts, gore, lots of action, everything was there for a great movie. Unfortunately they could have used a better director. There were a lot of slow-motion scenes. Wait, there was a slow-motion scene of a guy riding a horse, now a slow-motion scene of someone walking in a wheat field, then a slow-motion scene of the 300 fighting, then a slow-motion scene of someone getting his head cut off...you get the picture? Now think of a movie littered with slow-motion scenes from start to finish? That is the 300.

Another thing I do not like is when the movie moved from the 300 to Sparta. The scenes there were totally useless. It was as if the director, Zack Snyder, was under orders to give Lena Headey screen time because all the screen time with Queen Gorgo were just wasted. The time could be better serve showing Xerxes. The main bad guy showed up for all of 15 mins...IN TOTAL! Rodrigo Santoro must be a hell of an actor because he made Xerxes the most interesting character in the show despite limited screen time.

The action was great! Gerard Bulter as King Leonidas was perfect. You can believe people dying for the man and everytime the action and fights start, the show was great. Like I said earlier, blood, guts, gore; everything was there. Too bad about the uneven directing.

After 85 hours of Oblivion

85 hours in and I am not even close to the finish! Yes, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is huge! I started playing the game in Jan, after over a month (and 85 hours of playtime) I 'm still at it.
Don't let that fool you. The exact game and storyline is really quite short, but there are just that many side-quests in the game. The countless side-quests will have you going all over the place and the stories are exactly better than the main quest. I especially enjoy the Dark Brotherhood quests. In the game, you can join the various factions/guilds in the world and complete their quests. The Dark Brotherhood is the assassins' guild, and it is an evil guild. You know in other games, most of the time you can only join the good guys or they are just a misunderstood faction who are trying to do good or they are a Robin Hood type faction...not these guys. They are EVIL! More importantly, they are FUN to play.
There are 4 major factions in the game, and I have just finished 2 of them. Guess that is another 85 hours.

The Monster is DEAD!

A record-breaking 12 million copies will be prepared for the first U.S. printing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The release of the seventh and FINAL book in the popular series by British author J.K. Rowling' will also be backed by a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign. Hooray, it is gone!

I must say, I am sick and tired of all the press Harry Potter has been getting everytime a book comes out. Don't get me wrong, I like the movies well enough and it (along with LOTR) has given fantasy books some much needed clout but enough is enough. How about giving some of that attention to other series like the Song of Ice & Fire (The Game of Thrones etc) or The Malazan Books of the Fallen (Deadhouse Gates etc), these are great series as well. How about showing some love to them?

MAKE UP YOUR MINDS

It was always going to happen. Viacom Inc., the owner of MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and other cable networks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Youtube and it's corporate owner Google.

When Google bought Youtube for $1.76 billion there were people who said that they were buying millions of dollars in lawsuits. It seems that they were right. In the lawsuit, Viacom says YouTube "harnessed technology to willfully infringe copyrights on a huge scale" and had "brazen disregard" of intellectual property laws (whatever that means).

I find it amazing that companies are suing Youtube when they (like Viacom) are selling such programs on the net. And when Youtube air things such as trailers for upcoming movies, they are great giving a big promotional boost for its shows. But when Youtube air the shows, then suddenly they are not 'respecting' the content. The companies openly admit this. I say MAKE UP YOUR MINDS! Either you are for Youtube for airing clips without permission or you are againest Youtube for airing clips without permission. That's simple right? MAKE UP YOUR MINDS

Consoles War in Singapore

The console wars has began in Singapore! With the official lauch of the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console, all 3 consoles are now in play in Singapore. Wii and X360 has a head start but PS3 has more fans in Singapore, so it will be interesting to see who will win this one. My bet is that the first console to get a blockbuster/must-have game will win.

Parallel importers at Lucky Plaza and other places however will be taking a hit. No more selling PS3 at a premium. How my heart bleed for those people! Stores were selling PS3 at around S$1,000. However, the official price is $799 so the price will have to go down. Like I said; my heart bleed for those people!

Sony's latest game console comes with many hi-tech features like an ability to connect up to seven wireless controllers, ability to download high definition movie and game content from Sony's online portal and an ability to playing Blu-ray disc. But Sony seem to have forgotten one thing. Where are the GAMES? Their starting PSP3 games are weak! If they want to win the war, they better come out with better (and more) games in a hurry.

Shaking Singapore

Singapore is shaking! Singapore swing? That's nothing compare to the shaking due to an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale. The earthquake struck Padang, Indonesia at about 11.50am and my office shake, shake, shake.

Amazing that an earthquake 430 km from Singapore can still be felt here but tremors were reported in Beach Road, Jalan Besar, Robinson Road, Shunfu and Toa Payoh among others. Some buildings, like the Concourse at Beach Road, Capital Square and Centennial Tower in the city, and even Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Clementi, were evacuated but not MINE! So sad...