| Tis the Season |
[Monday . November 30th, 2009 @ 2:12pm] |
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Spoony's Review of New Moon - Hilarious! |
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So, it's the last day of November today. Tomorrow is the first day of December, and when the Christmas spirit is let loose upon the human race. I know that the radio has already started playing Christmas tracks, London is flooded with the festive lights and the TV channels have already put up the Xmas graphics; but I personally don't get into the xmas spirit until we're officially in December. This is hard to achieve as part of my role is in scheduling, meaning that we're always working about a month in advance, so several press offices have been nagging for the Christmas schedule since the beginning of November (and I tell them to fuck off and they'll get it when it's goddamn ready!) But I manage to keep my cool and not get in the festive mood until it seems appropriate.
Saying that though; I have done 99% of my Christmas shopping, all I need to get is my secret santa (for work) and a gift for Landa. I'm actually quite proud of myself, yes my bank account has reach nil this month but it means that I won't be spending that much in December and I can relax, rather than being part of the crowd during the last week of December panicing that I haven't got everything!
So what have I got planned for Christmas? I'm not going anywhere but I have booked 2 weeks off. Just to relax, see friends/family. I'm having Christmas dinner at Brian's house, half worried as I haven't trusted him to cook for me in years but I think mum deserves to have a day where she's isn't running around the kitchen. Boxing Day will be with Andy (as always). New Years is likely to be quiet, and that's it really!
What are you doing for the holiday season?
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| Review: LIT |
[Monday . November 23rd, 2009 @ 12:09pm] |
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Title: LIT
Genre: Puzzle/Horror
Platform: WiiWare (Nintendo Wii)
Cost: 800 Wii Points
Certificate: 12+
Rating: 4/5
When it comes to owning various media, I always prefer the physical copy. Whether it’s a CD, DVD, book or video game – if I can hold it in my hands, I’m happy. But whether I like it or not, we’re heading into a world of downloads; where physical copies will be obsolete, everything is at a click of a mouse and saved on a hard drive. For some (like the music and anime industry) it’s a bad thing, for others it’s an opportunity to be creative without worries of forking out cash for packaging and advertising. This has particularly affected the video games industry and it’s allowed games, such as LIT, to be created and available to the public without the company going bankrupt. LIT is the first WiiWare game that I’ve played and the only game I currently own that’s download only. So how does it fare?
( Lit Review )
To see my other reviews on livejournal click here.
To find my old reviews check my MSN Space site here
And finally, see and rate my amazon reviews here
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| t.A.T.u's 3rd English album gets a release date. |
[Thursday . November 19th, 2009 @ 10:32am] |
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220 - t.A.T.u. |
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So the International version of t.A.T.u's third russian album, Happy Smiles, is FINALLY due for release on 15th December with the title; Waste Management...the catch is that it'll only the released in Brazil, Argentina and Chile...no word on the UK and USA releases as of yet. Why? How the hell should I know?! Maybe they love them over there! I'm hoping that the International version will at least be avaliable via t.A.T.u's internet shop, so I can buy it via there if it's not going to be sold in my local HMV.
The track list is the same as it's Russian counterpart, will all the songs being in English (besides Marthian Eye, which will be in Russian), some bonus remixes and no interludes being a separate track. But the songs will flow into one another.
Here's the press release for all the details.
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| New Final Fantasy XIII Video and Info |
[Friday . November 13th, 2009 @ 10:29pm] |
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An important video has been released for Final Fantasy XIII, which includes new information
I am NOT happy!!
1) I didn't like the fact that most of the dialogue and selling points were towards the graphics. Yes, they look fantastic, but they don't make a game. The story, characters and plot make a good RPG. Plus, Lightning is the strongest girl in the series? What's that suppose to mean?
2) The release date. March 9th. It's great that it's close to the Japan release, but there's so many games I want in February, I'm not going to have enough cash for everything!
3) LEONA LEWIS IS SINGING THE NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEON THEME SONG???!!! WHAT. THE. FUCK!!
All previous theme songs for the English versions have either been English versions of the Japanese theme or been the original song (regardless of language). I am not happy about this at all! I don't like Leona Lewis, she bares no relation to Final Fantasy or the Japanese music industry. Her song wasn't specifically made for the game, or composed by Nobuo Uemastu like all previous games. This just reaks of 'cash in' to me!
Grr! I'll still buy the damn game but...LEONA FUCKING LEWIS???????
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[Friday . November 13th, 2009 @ 12:02pm] |
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I bought my Utada tickets! I'm seeing her live on Friday 12th February next year at the O2 Academty in Islington, London!!!! And it's part of my anniversary present, so Andy is paying and coming with me! So excited! Woah that's a lot of explanation marks...here's a Hikaru piccy!
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| New Calling Trailer and Vagrant Story comes to PSP & PS3 |
[Tuesday . November 10th, 2009 @ 11:30am] |
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( Calling Trailer )
When it first expressed my thoughts on the leaked game play footage a few months back I was impressed and looked forward to it, but also didn't get my hopes up as it wasn't confirmed at the time. A while has passed since then and it's now official, due for release next year is a new horror for the Wii (there's quite a lot of them these days, with Silent Hill on th way, Cursed Mountain and Ju-On out now). I thought the characters looked silly in the trailer, some of the acting was to be desired but I'll still take a look when its out, maybe not straight away - but it's on my list.
Also in gaming news; Vagrant Story comes to PSP and PS3 store on November 12th
I've heard of this game, it's apparently highly rated and one of the most unqiue RPGs on the Playstation, plus it's made by Squaresoft (now known as Square-enix). I personally don't tend to go for highly rated games; surrounding a game with hype and saying it's the best thing since sliced bread immediatly throws me off as I know it's not going to be as good as everyone makes it out to be. Besides, I like playing unknown, unrated games, finding hidden treasures, broading my horizons. Sure, I do have games in my 'favourites' lists that are popular (Sonic 3 + Knuckles, Final Fantasy VIII, etc) but lately I haven't been in a hurry to play games that everyone is rushing out to get. But I am curious about Vagrant Story, I've been meaning to try out downloading from the Playstation Store anyway.
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| Review: Shadow Hearts |
[Monday . November 9th, 2009 @ 10:10am] |
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She's Madonna - Robbie Williams |
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Title: Shadow Hearts
Genre: RPG, gothic, horror
Platform: Playstation 2
Certificate: 15+
Rating: 4/5
Like its predecessor, Koudelka, Shadow Hearts received mixed reviews and little fanfare when it was first released; mostly due to it being released 1 week before Final Fantasy X. But unlike Koudelka, which became a forgotten classic, Shadow Hearts developed a cult following, and gathered more fans after the release of its sequel, Covenant, many years later. So what exactly threw initial impressions off? What elements of the game made it fall by the way side? Or was it simply so blindingly great that it didn’t receive the love it deserved upon release?
( Shadow Hearts Review )
To see my other reviews on livejournal click here.
To find my old reviews check my MSN Space site here
And finally, see and rate my amazon reviews here
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| Comparison Time! |
[Tuesday . November 3rd, 2009 @ 2:22pm] |
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One Little Wish - Yoko Takahashi |
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Apparently, to co-side the release of the new Evangelion films, Yoko Takahashi (the voice behind the main TV theme; Cruel Angel's Thesis) re-recorded the famous anime theme as well as it's ending, Fly Me To The Moon. Let's take a gander!
( Cruel Angel's Thesis - Both Versions )
The song has been modernised in the 2009 version; it's slightly more techno, using less authentic instruments. If it wasn't for the new vocals; I would’ve thought that it was a remix rather than a 'new version'. Speaking of the vocals; she sounds a lot softer in the 2009 - I don't know if this is because she can't belt out the notes like she could back when the original was released (1995) or she was going for something different. Either way; the original still wins for being more passionate and the background music sounding like complicated, but the remake is nice. This song will also be one of my favourite Japanese songs - it's the first song I learned to sing along (without sounding too much like a prat!).
( Fly Me To The Moon - Both Versions )
The original version up above of Fly Me to the Moon wasn't use as the main 'ending' theme, the version that was used for TV broadcast was by Claire Littley. Yoko Takahashi just used the backing track and added a bit here and there to make it her version. Her English isn't brilliant but at least it’s coherent, unlike earlier Koda Kumi and BoA attempts at English!
I don't like the 2009 version; again they've 'techno' it up a bit but the backing singers were too much! They sung over the main vocalist and in the process; lost the emotion behind the song. On the plus side; Yoko has improved on her English!
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| Halloween festivities |
[Sunday . November 1st, 2009 @ 9:49pm] |
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Silence is golden |
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Despite having gone through a goth phase in my teen years and being a fan of the darker side of the media; I've never been into Halloween. Maybe because I'm not into dressing up, I don't have a sweet tooth, or I think it's too commercialised, whatever the reason is, I've never made a deal out of it.
But this year I did do several things do get me into the mood this weekend.
1) I read the Stephen King novel; Misery.
If there's 3 things you must know about my mum, it's these; she's a little crazy, she's a great cook, and she loves Stephen King. She's been trying to get me to read a book of his for years. None of his books appealed to me - apart from Misery. I remember her telling me about it many moons ago and I was fascinated with the story. So I started to read on on Monday 26th, and finished it this evening. Overall I really enjoyed it, I want to see the film rendition now, but Annie...my god...what a fucking crazy loon! I wasn't scared at any point but, I wouldn't want to meet ANYONE like Annie in my life...ever!
2) I carved a pumpkin!
Ok I've done this with my mum and bro for the past 3 years (its now our little tradition) but its still fun to do! Wanna see them? Mines the middle one!
3) I went to The London Bridge Experience
Andy currently works there and had asked me to come visit for weeks now, but I decided to hold out till Halloween! I went with mum and Daniel; Katy was meant to come too but that plan fell through in the end for several reasons. Anyway; we went just before 6pm, before the main rush started, and we enjoyed it! All the actors performed well (I would say Andy was the best, but that would be biased wouldn't it?), we had a laugh, heard several people scream and I bought a skull moneybox and candle stick from the gift shop! I personally didn't get scared at any point, but it does take a lot to scare me! When we finished; Andy was on his break, so the timing worked brilliantly as we had a quick drink before he went back to work, and we came home to have dinner.
4) I watched John and Edward the X Factor
Did you see their performance? Missing their cue in the 2nd bridge, bad dancing and singing...I don't find them as arrogent as I initially thought but... *shudders*
5) I purchased and played LIT
I wrote my thoughts on the trailer for this game a while back and it FINALLY had a UK release on Friday 30th, I purchased it this morning. Overall it's good! I'm enjoying the puzzles and the music mostly. It excels more as a puzzle than a horror game but it's a nifty little title considering it only cost me 800 Wii points! I'll be writing the full review upon completion.
So that was my halloween, did you guys have a fun time too?
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| New Toonattik Website |
[Thursday . October 29th, 2009 @ 3:25pm] |
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On Monday 26th October, the new Toonattik website launched! What does this have to do with me? I'll tell you after the promo!
( Toonattik Website Promo )
Before you ask, no I didn't make the promo - I wish I did though as it is fuckin' awesome! It's made by the talented David Kangas (who does the VO on this promo).
My part in the website is all about text. Pretty much all the text in the site I wrote, or at least co-edited. There's more sections to come that I also wrote (such as quizzes and horoscopes) but take a gander at what's on offer so far - such as games, videos (including a heck of a lot of my promos), create your own Spy ID & avatar, plus the cartoon info.
See it here: http://www.toonattik.tv/
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