"Siri, call me maybe." Yes, Maybe...

I have never really tried using Siri before but I always get a good laugh watching my friends attempting to communicate with Skynet... I mean Siri.

Just a short one with some stats about Siri and its users.

Click to Enlarge

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So many Movies, so little time...

Just a short post about the latest buzz on Comic related movies and some upcoming movies based on famous game titles.

Latest updates about more Marvel movie heading our way:

• The Wolverine  -  2013
• Superman: Man of Steel (reboot)  -  2013
• The Amazing Spider 2  -  2014
• X-Men: First Class 2  -  2014
• Guardians of the Galaxy  -  2014 

Unconfirmed release dates (but might already have directors/producers/writers)

• Fantastic Four (possible reboot)
• Venom (Spider Man's villain)
• Ant Man (might not end up as a movie on it's own)
• The Flash
• Green Lantern 2

Some unconfirmed comic book titles that will be made into big screen movies:

• Doctor Strange
• Silver Surfer

And lastly, some movies that are in the making, which are based on PC or Console games:

• Assassin's Creed
• Splinter Cell
• Shadow of the Colossus
• God of War
• Deus Ex

At the end of the day, I am still hoping for a Marvel vs. DC movie...

Sale & Discounts are all a lie?!?!

" 70% Discount Sale! "

" Best Bargain Buy! "

" Buy 2, FREE 1! "

This are just some of the strategies used to attract customers to shop at their outlets. 

What so bad about that since we (the shoppers) will be getting items at a discounted price?

Well, it isn't as simple as that but "they" want it to look just that simple and make us feel good when we shop and get the best bargains. There is a lot of science going on behind giving out a discounted sale to customers.

Generally, we (the shoppers) feel good when we manage to snag a good buy or deal such as buying something expensive for less or getting some more by paying less. This is what the large companies cash in on, by manipulating the shoppers mind.

So I found a great article by Derek Thompson of The Atlantic that writes about a number of ways consumer gets a quick one pulled over their eyes making them think they got a good deal, when in the end, the consumer ends up being the loser again.

A simple example that he describes is about 2 offers:

• A $1 cup of 300ml Coffee with 33% more (making it 400ml), or

• A $1 cup of 300ml Coffee with 33% discount (making it $0.67)

The discounts / offer above seems similar, 33% more or 33% cheaper. But that is not the full picture. With a simple breakdown, at $1 for 300ml ($0.33 per 100ml),

• The first deal yields 400ml for $1 ($0.25 per 100ml)

• While the second deal yields 300ml for only $1 ($0.22 per 100ml)

This trick basically plays to trick buyers as buyers generally feel better when they get something more when paying the same price instead of paying less for the same.

With the above in mind, notice how discounts, bargains and sale seem to love giving more for the same price rather then giving the same amount for less? Evil businessmen...

Anyway, it is a very interesting article to read up on since it is sale time all over the country and would hurt to equip yourself with some of the tricks that "they" employ to make away with our hard earned cash. Below is the original article courtesy of The Atlantic.

Here are 10 more ways consumers are bad at math, with an assist from historian and author William Poundstone.

(2) We're heavily influenced by the first number.

 You walk into a high-end store, let's say it's Hermès, and you see a $7,000 bag. "Haha, that's so stupid!" you tell your friend. "Seven grand for a bag!" Then you spot an awesome watch for $367. Compared to a Timex, that's wildly over-expensive. But compared to the $7,000 price tag you just put to memory, it's a steal. In this way, stores can massage or "anchor" your expectations for spending.

(3) We're terrified of extremes. 

We don't like feeling cheap, and we don't like feeling duped. Since we're not sure what things are worth, we shy away from prices that appear too high or too low. Stores can employ our bias for moderation against us. Here's a great story: 

People were offered 2 kinds of beer: premium beer for $2.50 and bargain beer for $1.80. Around 80% chose the more expensive beer. Now a third beer was introduced, a super bargain beer for $1.60 in addition to the previous two. Now 80% bought the $1.80 beer and the rest $2.50 beer. Nobody bought the cheapest option.

Third time around, they removed the $1.60 beer and replaced with a super premium $3.40 beer. Most people chose the $2.50 beer, a small number $1.80 beer and around 10% opted for the most expensive $3.40 beer.

In short: We are all Goldilocks.

(4) We're in love with stories. 

In his book Priceless, William Poundstone explains what happened when Williams-Sonoma added a $429 breadmaker next to their $279 model: Sales of the cheaper model doubled even though practically nobody bought the $429 machine. Lesson: If you can't sell a product, try putting something nearly identical, but twice as expensive, next to it. It'll make the first product look like a gotta-have-it bargain. One explanation for why this tactic works is that people like stories or justifications. Since it's terribly hard to know the true value of things, we need narratives to explain our decisions to ourselves. Price differences give us a story and a motive: The $279 breadmaker was, like, 40 percent cheaper than the other model -- we got a great deal! Good story.

(5) We do what we're told. 

Behavioral economists love experimenting in schools, where they've found that shining a light on fruit and placing a salad bar in the way of the candy makes kids eat more fruit and salad. But adults are equally susceptible to these simple games. Savvy restaurants, for example, design their menus to draw our eyes to the most profitable items by things as simple as pictures and boxes. Good rule of thumb: If you see a course on the menu that's highlighted, boxed, illustrated, or paired with a really expensive item, it's probably a high-margin product that the restaurant hopes you'll see and consider. 

(6) We let our emotions get the best of us. 

In a brilliant experiment from Poundstone's book, volunteers are offered a certain number of dollars out of $10. Offers seen as "unfair" ($1, let's say) activated the insula cortex, "which is otherwise triggered by pain and foul odors." When we feel like we're being ripped off, we literally feel disgusted -- even when it's a good deal. Poundstone equates this to the minibar experience. It's late, you're hungry, there's a Snickers right there, but you're so turned off by the price, that you starve yourself to avoid the feeling of being ripped off. The flip-side is that bargains literally make us feel good about ourselves. Even the most useless junk in the world is appealing if the price feels like a steal.

(7) We're easily made dumber by alcohol, time, decisions. 

When you're young and drunk at a bar, you're more likely to do stupid things with strangers. "Am I fully assessing this complex romantic situation?" is a difficult question to answer on seven glasses of wine, so we're more likely to ask ourselves a simpler question: "Is s/he hot?" When we're drunk, stressed, tired, and otherwise inattentive, we're more likely to ask and answer simple questions about buying things. Cheap candy bars and gum are situated near the check-out at grocery stores because that's where exhausted shoppers are most likely to indulge cravings without paying attention to price. Boozy lunches are good for deal-making because alcohol narrows the range of complicating factors we can hold in our heads at once. If you want somebody to take an under-examined risk, get him boozed, tired, or ego-depleted.

(8) We're pained by transaction costs... 

In a personal finance column here, Megan McArdle implored her readers to give up recurring payments like gym memberships and subscriptions to papers and services they don't use. "Don't buy stuff you don't consume" seems like obvious enough advice, but Megan had a great point. We're drawn to subscriptions and memberships and bundles partially because we seek to avoid transaction costs. We'd rather overpay a little than suffer the psychological pain of pulling out a wallet and watching our money go to each gym season/movie/etc.

(9) ... but we're weird about rebates and warranties. 

Now that I've just told you that consumers try to avoid additional payments, I should add that there are two additional payments we love: rebates and warranties. The first buys the illusion of wealth ("I'm being paid money to spend money!"). The second buys peace of mind ("Now I can own this thing forever without worrying about it!"). Both are basically tricks. "Instead of buying something and getting a rebate," Poundstone writes, "why not just pay a lower price in the first place?' 

"[Warranties] make no rational sense," Harvard economist David Cutler told the Washington Post. "The implied probability that [a product] will break has to be substantially greater than the risk that you can't afford to fix it or replace it. If you're buying a $400 item, for the overwhelming number of consumers that level of spending is not a risk you need to insure under any circumstances."

(10) We're obsessed with the number 9. 

Up to 65 percent of all retail prices end in the number 9. Why? Everybody knows that $20 and $19.99 are the same thing. But the number 9 tells us something simple: This thing is discounted. This thing is cheap. This thing was priced by somebody who knows you like things discounted and cheap. In other words, 9 has transcended the status of charm price to become a cable of silent understanding between buyer and seller that a product is being priced competitively and fairly. Putting a 9 on a shell-fish platter at a high-end restaurant is ridiculous. Nobody spending $170 on lobster is looking for a discount. But the same person shopping for underwear is (research has shown, again and again) more likely to buy a product that ends in 9. Remember: Shopping is an attention game. Consumers aren't just hunting for products. They're hunting for clues that products are worth buying. In the number 9, the bargain-hunter/discount-gatherer corner of our brain spots a pluckable deal.

(11) We're compelled by a strong sense of fairness. 

I've already explained how our brains light up differently based on seeing a bargain vs. a rip-off. The shopper's brain is motivated by a sense of fairness. Again, it comes back to the idea that we don't know what things should cost, and so we use cues to tell us what we ought to pay for them. An experiment by the economist Dan Ariely tells the story beautifully. Ariely pretended he was giving a poetry recital. He told one group of students that the tickets cost money and another group that they would be paid to attend. Then he revealed to both groups that the recital was free. The first group was anxious to attend, believing they were getting something of value for free. The second group mostly declined, believing they were being forced to volunteer for the same event without compensation. 

Well then, Happy Shopping!

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Marvel has plenty more movies lined up.

If you though the recent THE AVENGERS movie was good, Marvel has plenty more installed for us comic book fan boys and superhero lovers.

Marvel is anything but done with bringing our favorite childhood superhero to the cinema screens. With so many characters, teams and villains to choose from, it is anyone's guess what we will be getting next.

So the latest confirmation on some Marvel films:

• IRON MAN 3   -   3 May 2013

• THOR 2   -   8 November 2013

• CAPTAIN AMERICA 2   -   2 April 2014

• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY    -  1 August 2014

• THE AVENGERS 2   -   Sometime in 2015

Well, that is just the tip of the iceberg it seems as Marvel has more up it sleeve:

* May contain spoilers, read at your own risk, but if you are a bad enough fan, it wouldn't matter.

• Ant Man - is in the pipeworks and should eventually end up in of the movies above or possibly even a movie on its own before The Avengers 2.

• Black Panther - has been confirmed to be a hoax and not in production (but we never know right? haha...)

• Guardians of the Galaxy will be released on 1 August 2014

• A movie of its own as it has an group of characters and storyline.
• Adam Warlock, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, etc.

• Will tie in with The Avengers (in The Avengers 2 or 3?)

• Will work together with The Avengers to deal with Thanos (Thanos is the bad-ass revealed in the after credits of The Avengers 2012)

• Additional things you will want to read up on to get more info about this:

** Click to jump to link

• Guardians of the Galaxy - Star-Lord, Rocket, Gamora, Drax, and Bug later reform the Guardians to aid the Avengers in a battle against Thanos.

• Check out Thanos Imperative - Everything from the above seems to point to this

• Expect Nova 

• Expect Nova Corp

• Big Heroes 6 is in the making with a target release of 2013 / 2014.

With such a good run with The Avengers 2012, they will have plenty of budget and more experience in handling Marvel movies on a larger scale. Lets hope everything works out and we get to watch all this awesomeness in the next couple of years.

And here is a new photo from the upcoming RIDDICK movie

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Nexus 7 Tablet: Mega Value for your money

Along with the revealing of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, there was loads of other goodies that Google took time to share and discuss with its developers and users.

One of them that should not be missed is the unveiling of an awesome tablet, Google Nexus 7 Tablet.


This is one monster of a tablet for a fraction of the price you would have to pay for other tablets near similar specs. Not only that, this bad puppy will also run on 4.1 Jelly Bean, fully taking advantage of the latest updates.

All you have to pay for this great piece of technology is:

• USD199 for 8GB (internal storage) version

• USD 249 for 16GB  (internal storage) version

That would be like 700-800 Ringgit only! Take my money now!!!

Just try comparing this to the local tablet which a local maker is trying to sell for 999 Ringgit known as 1Malaysia Pad (click to view specs)

Here is a quick rundown on the specs for Google Nexus 7 Tablet:

• 7 inch IPS display - 1280 x 800 pixels

• 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3

• 1GB Ram

• 12 core ultra-low voltage Nvidia GeForce GPU

• 8GB or 16GB internal storage

• WiFi, Bluetooth & NFC (Google Wallet enabled)

• No 3G model (yet, probably in the near future)

• Front facing 1.2MP camera

• No rear camera :(

• Dimensions: 198.5 x 120 x 10.5 mm

• Weigh - 340 grams

• Battery - 4325 mAh 

How can someone not love all that sexiness squeezed into a 7 inch tablet for a couple of hundred bucks?

Promo video for the tablet:

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Time to have some Jelly Bean!

While were busy sleeping an all last nigh, Google I/O 2012 kicked off and revealed loads of goodies that will come in the near future. Google introduced it's latest sweet treat mobile OS, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.


In a nutshell, Jelly Bean will offer Android users:

• Framerate has been increased to 60 FPS

• Vsync is enabled

• Triple Buffering is enabled.

• Text Input improvement

• Voice Typing no longer requires network connection

• Improved Voice search - time for Siri to hide?

• Resizeable Widgets - finally, I have been waiting for so long...

• Improvement to predictive keyboard

• 18 new input languages

• Improved CPU utilization - faster is better!

• Improved Accessibility for the blind

• Camera App update - pinch to view in film strip

• Android Beam update- Video sharing via NFC and NFC pairing by just bumping with NFC enabled device

• Notifications update - now able to make phone calls, view multiple emails, able to expand apps all within the notification shade overlay

• Revamped mobile search

• Google Now - gives you search result information at the right time.

• eg. map/direction searches gives you directions now with how much time to get there, estimated arrival time, etc.

4.1 update will be pushed to some devices like Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S by mid July 2012, so expect it to hit the rest of the newer devices running on ICS after that.

Just some numbers from Google boasting about Android; 1 million Android users are activated everyday up from 400,000.

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Apple iOS 6 : There won't be changes?

So Apple announced not long about it's new flagship Operating System (OS) that will run on some of its current products in the future and the newer products that are yet to be released.

I may not be a fan of Apple and their products but I am a fan of technological advancements and what Apple used to dish out always fascinated me in many ways due to its innovation and creativity.


Instead of jumping straight to the bad, I think I will start of with the Goods about iOS 6.

• A better Siri - Siri gets an update (does everything get updated once a while?)

• Integrated Facebook (every other mobile OS has this?)

• Photo Steams (and this is suppose to be new when every other OS has it?)

• Overall App enhancement (standard with new versions of OS, things get updated...)

• Better Maps (got tired of paying Google and decided to make their own maps)

5 out of 5 recycled with 0 new innovations. Good job Apple cause millions will still end up buying your products thanks to millions of dollars spent on marketing and advertising, sigh...

But iOS 6 was a total bore and barely introduced anything outstandingly new at all. It was merely recycling what was readily available on other platforms and added a hint of Apple touch to it (not even improvement I might say) to make it look Apple-ish.

It like being sold Windows 2000 which is 95% the same Windows 98. Sad...


So, here is a nifty little article from Jaime Rivera that writes about Five Disappointments of iOS6.

1.    As of this year, it's no longer "ahead of its time

Back when Steve Jobs released the original iPhone in 2007, he said that the operating system was “at least five years ahead of its time”. If any of you were using the Motorola Q9h or BlackBerry Pearl that I was using back then, you’d agree with me in the fact that the guy was right. Sadly it seems that nobody at Apple remembers that any more. Those five years are up, and sadly nothing that was released at WWDC has prepared iOS to leap ahead of its time again. Today, a natural user interface is no longer a feature. It became mainstream years ago. Even feature phones have flick scrolling, Opera Mini for improved web browsing, and yeah, they’ve been doing music for a while now.

iOS 6 should’ve been about where the puck is going to be next. Siri, while superior in many ways to whatever other platforms currently do, is still half-baked. iPhone OS 1 made the phrase “ease-of-use” change in meaning half a decade ago, but today, the concept is no longer a selling point. So my question is, what’s next Apple? Your reluctance to change a legacy UI makes you, not look like you.

2.    Most of what it'll do, it won't do any better than others

When they’re timely, Apple is famous for launching products that define new standards. When they’re late, they usually leapfrog over competition with something dramatically better. iOS 6 is sadly nothing like that. Prettier maps are not necessarily the same as better maps. It doesn’t challenge the system to be any better than it already is. It’s just a late catch-up that’s great to have, but that won’t give you a reason to choose iOS over a competing platform.

Facebook Integration? Been there, done that with Windows Phone 7 or HTC Sense. FaceTime over cellular? Third party apps have been offering video calls over cellular long before the iPhone’s own manufacturer figured it out. These reasons are no longer big enough to stir any customer away from the competition.

3.    It still looks the same

Surely the wheel can evolve, but overall, it’s still just a wheel. With operating systems, that’s a different story. Can you imagine Microsoft launching a Windows Vista that still looked like Windows XP? The age difference between them is just five years, and still the user interface evolved for better or worse. The age difference between iPhone OS 1 and iOS 6 is exactly that, five years. Functionality has changed here and there, but eating chicken every day for the last half-a-decade must drive even some Apple employees crazy by now.

Even though I carry an iPhone 4S as one of my two daily drivers, I’ll admit that I’ve spent more time using HTC Sense on the One X that arrived on my doorstep a week ago, than this beta of iOS 6. I know this remark isn’t fair to all of you, since I know that for some people, what’s not broken shouldn’t be fixed, but my honest impression of iOS 6 is that I’m bored.

I do understand Apple’s purpose in keeping the grid of icons all over, but why not figure out some way to have UI profiles. If you’re a first-time user, you get the grid, and if you’re a power user, you can customize it differently. Hey, if Cydia could figure that out, I’m sure all those thousands of Apple Engineers can do better.

4.    It brings more fragmentation

I’ve got to hand it to Apple here. Users of legacy devices probably don’t get everything in future updates due to hardware limitations, but they at least get some of them. The problem is when this fragmentation is not justified by hardware limitations. For example, as of beta 1, Siri is not supported by the iPad 2, whose guts are almost identical to what we find powering the iPhone 4S. And if the iPhone 4 and 3GS are getting iOS 6, why isn’t the first-generation iPad getting it? None of these technical decisions make logical sense, unless you add dollars into the equation.

We have seen Apple change their minds as betas keep coming to developers, so let’s hope this is just another phase where they’ll lighten-up sooner or later.

5.    We’re stuck with it for at least another 18 months

Using a device that’s no longer ahead of its time, boring or no better than competitors isn’t easy in our times, but knowing that it won’t change for another 18 months is torture. Even if Apple released a new iPhone in the fall, which runs iOS 6 with some minor enhancements, nobody can switch phones every couple of months in this economy. Apple has slowly pushed users into adopting newer hardware just to get this new feature or that one, and it’s really not a good way to drive additional loyalty towards the platform.

It used to be exciting finding out what Apple has installed for the world and for competitors to follow/improve upon. But for the case of iOS 6, it seems to be a total flop selling recycled products to helpless Apple fans.

and No, I am not condemning Apple, I just expected more from the so call mobile/simplicity/innovative leader in the field.

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Microsoft Surface: A Comparison

For those that live in a cave with no internet connection, Microsoft has just recently revealed their new Tablet / Ultrabook called Surface.


It looks totally sexy and after going through the specs, I started throwing my money at the screen and sticking my credit card into the CD slot in hopes of purchasing one NOW! but sadly...

Anyway, quite a few people has been asking what is so great about it, looks like just another tablet, blah blah blah. Well, instead great wall of text, I have made a nice little mashup comparison table.

The Tablet / Ultrabook mashup comparison takes a look at Surface against the top current models available.

Hope the about help put things about Surface in better perspective.

To close things off, here is a video of the product unveiling that took place recently.

Max Payne 3: 28GB worth of Pain Killers

If you have not been following Max Payne 3, it was just recently released on PC on June 1, 2012 and is now available on Steam or your nearest game store for a standard price of USD59.90 (around RM190)

Buying the DVD will save you a lot of downloading time as the game is an astounding 28GB in total file size. Yes, you saw it right, 28 crazy GBs. Even with high speed broadbands, it will take quite a while to download.

But worry not as the game is worth the money and download time taken as it pays homage to Max Payne 1 and 2 well enough. As a worthy successor, the game brings back good memories filled with Bullet Time and Pain Killer addictions.

Much like the previous titles, there is certainly no shortage of slap stick comments when Max is involved and the game is filled with awesome quotes from Max that could easily fill up a phone book. While being showered with bullet fire from all directions, grenades and molotov being tossed at him or even while shooting out of a chopper, Max will surely keep you well entertained with him snarky remarks.

Like before, the game provides max with an assortment of guns (Max almost always starts of with a pistol in the beginning of any map) to choose from for massacring his enemies. Coupled with a decent dose of Bullet Time, the day almost feels complete as you land bullet after bullet into squishy heads.

Now to move on with the newer stuff that has been introduced along with this game:

• You are playing a movie, not a game.

• Max Payne 3 introduces a new concept of gaming that ties in player gameplay with seamless cinematic cutscenes making the it a "movie playing" experience instead of the usual 3rd person gun shooter.
• It is done very well with no loading time between stages/chapters and transition between gameplay and cutscene. This seamless experience is a pure winner.
• However, I do feel that the cinematic cutscenes are a little too much as it feels like I am watching the story of the game unfold more then me actually playing max and killing baddies. Some may like this but some might find it a little less tasty. 
• But all in all, it is something new from the gaming world and I give them credit for pulling it off rather well.

• It is like a walk in the park, filled with armies of thugs ready to kill you.

• If you though the previous Max Payne titles were tough on the harder difficulties, then Max Payne 3 on Hard just brought up the notch a few more levels up.
• Not too sure about Easy and Medium difficulty, but playing on Hard will surely get your blood flowing as you will easily die from 1 bullet right to the head (Yes, the AI aims for your squishy brains and Yes, they hit it often enough too).
• The AI is relatively smart as they know how to flank and take cover, have decent accuracy and will know when to swarm you.
• You might have seen some Youtube videos of people finishing the game on Hardcore, but don't forget it is on console with auto-aim or aim assist that makes it sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much more easier.

• Pain Killer Addict

• I guess Panama isn't treating Max too well even with a hefty paycheck as players barely get a couple of Pain Killers at any point of time per map.
• Most of the time you start out with 0 to 2 Pain Killers and there are a couple of them to pick up around the map but it is nothing like before where you can easily complete a map hording Pain Killers and not using any.
• With the enemy scoring head shots rather often on Max's seemingly extra large head (and body), only a Pain Killers can save you by granting Max a few seconds to kill the person that dealt the mortal shot to Max. Successfully killing that enemy lets Max rise up again to continue slaughtering. (this process consumes a Pain Killer and puts Max lying on the floor but still able to aim)

• Out of shape and short on Bullet Time.

• Why is Max's hair gone? Well this is explained in the game
• Why is Max fat now? Booze, Pain Killers and Chinese take outs.
• Why is there less Bullet Time? Cause Max needs to work out.
• With seemingly less Bullet Time compared to Max Payne 1 & 2, players will have to use it more strategically, knowing when to turn it on and off once you are done to not waste it. Even the regenerating of Bullet Time is seems slower then before.

• Max Payne, the new cover guy.

• This sequel introduces the use of cover to help Max survive long enough to put a bullet in every head.
• Hiding behind waist height walls, corners of the wall or behind barrels, it provide the seemingly more vulnerable Max with that extra sustainability.
• However, the enemy uses this too so it creates a new dynamic of "trench fights" which is rather fun. 
• Oh, and you can do blind fire behind cover too.

• And everything else

• Max gets to aim down sights for increase accuracy but reducing move speed.
• Diving into objects stops your dive and stutters your aim (gets you kill easily if you dive recklessly)
• You can still shoot 360 degrees after landing on the floor from a dive.
• A lot of things explodes and are great for killing groups of baddies so keep an eye out of those well colored yellow/red barrels/propane tanks.
• Time to bash some skulls! Max can now punch the daylights out of enemy if you go near enough and click attack before they do punching them to the ground (does not work on all types of enemies)
• Why keep switching to my pistol?!!??! Every time you are about to enter a cut scene, you will pull out of your pistol. When you continue fighting after a cut scene, it defaults your armed weapon as the pistol instead of what you held before entering the cut scene... This is quite irritating when you need to start popping heads right after a cut scene.
• Don't worry too much about lower Bullet Time as there are quite a number of special, free, lengthy Bullet Time events that lets you enjoy those special moments.

That is all for now as I have yet to finish the game and have not got a chance to try out the Multiplayer. My final verdict will be posted later on once I get a more detailed feel of this bullet filled madness.

Torchlight 2

Finally, the real sequel of Diablo is here, and no this isn't some torchlight app for your smartphone...

From the original makers of Diablo 1 and 2, comes the epic sequel filled with monster killing, loot hording, item enchanting and explosive fishing.

Torchlight2 is bound to get your ARPG taste buds all tingly and yearning for more button mashing action. Don't worry about Auction Houses, overly easy gameplay, cookie-cut builds and uncostumoziable classes, cause none of them are available in Torchlight2.

An Outlander (physical, range attack class) in action & a shot of the inventory.

Instead, you will be treated to:

• Value for money - game will only cost you $19.90 ($59.90 for 4 copy bundle on Steam) for months of gameplay (lack of sleep is part of the package)

• Stat point distribution when leveling up (place them as you damn well like)

• Skill point distribution when leveling up 
• An NPC in town allowed players to reset for free till level 10 (in beta, not sure about release)
• You can be anything you want and builds are not restricted by the class selected.
• eg. Staff wielding, melee Embermage with short range spells
• Dual wielding, melee Outlander with poison and summons
• Beefy, cannon master Engineer and so on...

• All 4 classes have a unique charge bar that grants specific bonuses either when it is full or at certain points.
• Attack speed, Crit Chance, More magic damage, empower spells, etc.

• Item enchanting that can make low level gear as awesome as higher ones and more powerful gear even more awesome.
• Enchanting is done at NPC enchanters that appears in random maps (dungeons only from what I experience, can enchant above 1 enchantment) or NPC enchanter in town (you save them from a dungeon, but only enchant items to 1 enchantment)

• Take time to away from the hustle and bustle of monster bashing and partake in some relaxing fishing at your nearest water hole

• Categorized Inventory system
• 1 for normal loot
• 1 for potions, scrolls and fishes
• 1 for learn-able spells
• spell scrolls are consumed once learned (by yourself or pet, each can hold up to 4 spells)
• can remove a learnt spell to learn new ones

• NPC vendors that actually sell useful stuff

Berserker (melee, physical attack class) engaging a Giant Spider mini-boss in its lair.

• Quest item rewards which you will actually use (not all but most)

• Varied item tiering for near limitless loot table.
• Normal items (white) - No magical stats
• Magic items (green) - 1 to 2 magical stats (with low min-max values)
• Rare items (blues) - 1 to 5 magical stats (with average min-max values)
• Named rate items (blues, with special prefix/suffix) - 1 to 7 magical stats (with average min-max values)
• All rare items have a chance to be part of a set that is random (same rare item could be part of different sets).
• Sets grant extra bonus by wearing more pieces of gear with the same set name.
• Unique items (orange) - 1 to 7 magical stats (with high min-max values)
• There could be set unique items but after playing 5 characters in Beta to level 21 (max for beta), I have yet to acquire any.
• Be ready for trolling - some unique items are there to troll you.
• It will probably exceed 7 magical stats with higher level uniques
• On top of all this, ALL gear can be enchanted (whites, yours, pets, etc) with an enchanter NPC and gold.

• Loot drops at a variable and acceptable pace and rate
• The game does not deprive you of better loot to give you continuous character progression.
• Each character I played has given me a couple or more Unique items even at low levels, which I feel lets the players see how their can grow.

• Item socketing
• Gems (normal, magic, uniques) can be stuffed into items with sockets to further enhance its monster slaying powers.

• Anyone can wear anything as long as you meet the requirements
• Items have 2 to 3 requirements (only unique has 3 so far)
• One is a level requirement 
• Another is stat point requirement
• As long as you meet either, you can wield the item
• This means, you can eventually wear any item at some point in time.
• Only Uniques have class requirement as far as I played. 

• Have a pet without the trouble of cleaning up after them.
• Same as before, pets will join you in battle (8 total pets usable in beta)
• Pets sell and now buy consumable items (pots & scrolls)
• Extra storage place.
• Give pet spells like Heal All or Summon Zombies/ Skeletons to turn them into a mini support cleric / summoner

• Fame - Not sure how this works yet but completing Quest and killing quest mobs/boss grants you some fame points

• It can be difficult if you want it
• 4 difficulties available - from Easy to Elite
• Veteran gives a nice pace to those comfortable with a few ARPGs under their belt while Elite lets you have the fun of dying to bosses like a fly if you don't dodge their killing blows.
• I can only imagine the massacre that will take place in a 4 player elite. 

• NPC vendor buy back - just in case you sold the wrong stuff

• A nice mix of big open map to explore and pathways that guide you along your quest while dotted with a few dungeons that send you a few levels down to meet its boss
• Not all paths are shown on the map as there are hidden paths in the map that only appear as you go near them or trigger something
• eg. Going near the edge of a path triggers a bridge to be deployed opening a new area that is not shown on the map

• Secret doors, buttons, triggers and booty.
• They do not light up until your mouse hovers over them and you can click on it to open a secret room filled with booty!
• Some secret trigger requires a unique item to unlock which you will obtain if you are lucky enough and gives lots of sexy loot!

• A nice and detailed statistics page for all those AnaLytical players.

• Harder mode after game completion - not available in beta but it lets the player restart the game again with all monsters and difficulty set to match the level of the player or even higher for that extra challenge. (be ready for level 2 goblin gang rapes)

• The game never really ends
• Killing the last boss on the highest difficulty does mean its over.
• There will be mod tool for players to make their own maps, campaigns, scenarios, etc for endless hours of fun! 
• Willing to bet my shoes on a fishing competition mod map  :)

• Dummy!
• Not you, I meant practice dummy in town for players to bash senselessly.
• For a game with no PvP (or with) it is always good to have a damage sponge for players to test their damage, view debuff stacks on enemy and their effects, etc.

Inferno, Frost or Storm. The elements at your disposal as an Embermage (spell caster).

Hope the summary above helps to paint a clear picture of how this game, in almost every way, is more a successor of Diablo-ish francise then Diablo3 will ever be. And for those who are unaware, Blizzy has finally noticed that they are losing more and more players every single day from their juggernaut of a fail game. Now they have started to implement some of the fan suggestions and earlier game mechanics which they conveniently threw out the window after being clouded by lust for money. Just check for them on Blizzy's D3 forum.

Next up, is a rundown of the classes available and their skills as shown in the recent beta.

4 days till release. Take my money now!

*Update 29 May 2012

Celcom has finally unveiled their offer and promotions for this great phone.

Click HERE to jump on over to Celcom's direct S3 page.

________________________________________________________________________________

As mentioned in my earlier post, this awesome piece of smart phone is finally here, well almost that is (4 more days!). Just in time to empty that bank account of yours that should be filled with your hard earned month end salary.


What is confirmed so far?

• Will be released on 31 May 2012

• Samsung MY RRP price at RM2199.00

• DiGi is offering the phone for as low as RM999 for a 2 year contract.
• DiGi Info page
• DiGi Pre-order page 

• Based on the specs stated on DiGi's page, it seems Malaysians will be getting:
• 16GB internal memory with expandable microSDXC
• 4.8 inch Super AMOLED display instead of HD Super AMOLED.
• The rest of the specs seems as mentioned earlier during announcement.

• Available in 2 colours: 

• Marble White
• Pebble Blue (some sources claiming delay / shortage of this color)

(yup, there is nor standard black colour upon release which is a  very different direction from most phone releases. Might be released in the near future.)



Now, if all new phones were made with this level of innovation, I wouldn't be doing anything else but reading up on them and drooling over its release.

Action RPG: A comparison

*Updated 29 May 2012.

Just a little something that I did to get a better overall understanding of what Action RPGs (ARPG) have been offering to us for so many years.

• Please know that I only selected the more successful and influential ARPGs and the list does not cover all available ARPGs.

• Also, I only cover more general game Features for comparison instead of mentioning those that are available only in 1 game.

Click on the table above to view in full size.
(Thanks to for the comments and I have made the adjustments)

Do let me know if there are any mistakes as some of the games are rather old and I haven't played them in a while so I might have missed out or recall incorrectly some of the details.

Diablo 4! Diablo 5! Not anytime soon...

After more then a week, most players that played during release would have slain poor ol' Diablo at least once (probably making his death count in the millions...), players are now buzzing over the fail end game content that they paid for.

1. Make a character
2. Kill mobs, level up & complete quests
3. Kill bosses and complete acts
4. Reach Diablo, slay the foul demon & advance to next difficulty
5. Rinse and repeat in higher game difficulty
6. and sell/buy junk on gold auction house

Essentially, players are now stuck in this loop that cost them $60 bucks. The end game content for max level 60 players are to load up a game in Inferno difficulty, roam around Act 3 & 4 killing Rare Boss Mobs for items, close the game and reload it again. I feel soooooooooooo excited for them...

Without any additional content coming soon (content will come every 3 months at the fastest as releasing them too often will give players the expectation that all new content will come out that fast), player are now locked in the eternal rinse and repeat cycle above.

With that in mind, there will be no sequel coming within the next couple of years but fret not, there will be at least 1 major expansion and maybe a couple of DLCs (that is if Blizzy goes into the DLC crap).

After going through the lore, stories, content, etc, I have provided some predictions (partially based on game facts) on what will take place in the coming expansions/DLC/sequel.

SPOILER ALERT, prepare your mind.

• Adria the Witch will be involved (yes, like duh!)

• Will involve Black Soul Stone once again
• Clearly shown in the ending cut-scene that it falls back to sanctuary.

• Leah is only physically dead and her soul resides within the Black Soul Stone

• The Evils within the  Black Soul Stone cannot be unleashed without a proper host.
• Either they will introduce a new host
• Or the  Black Soul Stone will be destroyed somehow (player has to seek for the  Black Soul Stone and destroy it at some location using some item)
• All the Evils is though to be destroyed with the Black Soul Stone gone but they are actually sent back to Black Abyss (place in Burning Hell that all demons spawn/respawn).
• Now all the evils are back and once again it repeats?

• Imperius is not shown or heard of after the Diamond Gate collapses on him.
• He has become a partially fallen Angel, feeling sad and weak he couldn't protect the heavens.
• He seeks for the Black Soul Stone and sticks it into himself
• Mutates into some Mega Angel Demon monster (I personally would like this to happen)

• There must always be a balance between Good and Evil.
• All the Evils cannot be destroyed unless all the Good (angels) is also gone.
• Angels all give up their powers and join Nephalems to destroy Evil and Sanctuary is the only world left where Nephalems and humans rule themselves without any Angels/Demons
• Or player finds out that there cannot be only Good or Evil alone and needs a balance, so the player plays the role of stopping and all out ending war between Good and Evil.

• Will feature Fallen/Mutilated Inarius and/or Lilith and their storyline.

• 1 to 2 new class will be introduced
• Sad but Blizzy will probably recycle at least 1 class from Diablo1 or 2.
• Druid is the highest possibility as the rest of the classes in Diablo 1 or 2 already has an equal in Diablo 3.
• Demon Hunter > Amazon / Assassin / Rogue / Druid (summons)
• Monk > Assassin / Paladin / Monk(D1: Hellfire)
• Witch Doctor > Necromancer / Sorceress
• Wizard > Sorceress
• Barbarian > Barbarian / Warrior
• New Class will
• focus more on summons
• use spears / pikes
• throwing weapons (less likely, but maybe)
• use shield (have skills that utilizes shield)

• Players will be introduced to new locations (if Blizzy once again keeps player looking at the same venues, they are truly condemning their own creativity)
• Skovos Isle - Amazon's place of origin
• Sharval Wilds / Entsteig - Druid's place of origin
• Druids were one Barbarians from the north/Arreat and they migrated south, etc etc
• Westmarch, Kingsport - Human city hub
• Xiansai, Frozen Sea - Wizard's place of origin
• Pandemonium Fotress - But this time controlled by Legions of Burning Hell
• Dreadlands - It is supposed to be filled with fun beast, demons, cute monsters, etc
• Eastern parts of Sanctuary - About Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye lore

Here is a nice map of Sanctuary locations that players have been through in the game.

Do know that all this are speculations based on what I manage to scour off the internet and through my reading on Diablo lore (I love their love, wish I could say the same for 3rd installation)

FPS lovers

Just a short one cause I am swarmed with work this week, sigh...

A recent video trailer of Medal of Honor: Warfighter

• Made with EA's awesome Frostbite 2 game engine that debuted in 2011.

Compared to the latest video of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

• While Black Ops 2 is the 7th game to use the outdated IW Engine that was released in 2005.

Which game would you pay $60 for?

The Future of Diablo 3

Based on what Blizzy has done with Diablo3, here are some of my predictions on how the game will continue to be developed in the coming months. Blizzy will have to continue to churn out new content every 2-3 months in order to keep players coming back so expect bits and pieces of updates every patch.

• PvP Arena
• Yes, this is common news, but what I meant is that it won't just be the standard 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4 arena. There will be variations and objective based arenas
• Large arena up to 8v8
• Free-for-all Coliseum arenas up to 40 players

• Custom Games
• This will surely happen in order to increase player with player interaction
• Capture the Flag
• Hold the point
• Hero Defense 
• DoTA / AoS styled maps (may not happen since Blizzy is making Blizzard Allstars) 
• There will be free basic custom maps and there will be more popular custom maps that players have to buy.

*Since Blizzy plans to sell maps, I highly doubt they will provide any mods for players to make maps. If they did, players will be able to publish and sell their maps for other players to play and Blizzy will take a cut of the profit.

• Pets
• This is already available in WoW and will eventually be implemented in Diablo3.
• Pets will be used to help pick-up gold and loot.
• Pets will have pet based gear
• Able to level up and have skills.
• Pets cannot partake in PvE (Player vs Environment) but will be able to join in PvP and Pet vs. Pet activities.
• There will be Pet vs. Pet Arena where players pitch their pet against another players pet to get top ranking in ladder, etc.

*Introduction of Pet will increase the total number of types of item/gear in the game thus indirectly increase volume in Gold & Real Money Auction House resulting in more profits for Blizzy.

• Gambling / Betting / Stakes
• With PvP and Pet vs. Pet in place, this will follow next.
• There will be intense ranked ladders, weekly, monthly, seasonal, etc.
• You can watch live matches and place bets on a particular player, team, score, player that deals most damage, etc.
• This will be cash only using Blizzard Bucks.

*This may not be implemented in all countries as Blizzy will run into legal issues but if they manage to break the barriers, this will be huge and provide a steady flow of cash to their vaults.

• Improved Crafting
• On top of the current weapon and armor crafting, players will be able to make a variety of temporary buff items
• Scrolls - grants temporary aura or personal buff
• Resource Potions - 5 types of potion for each class
• Enchantments - Used on items to temporarily add effects 

• Vanity
• This is last on my list as it has the lowest chance of actually being implemented.
• Diablo3 has a immense selection of items which players can wear in order to look different and cool.
• But if they did, items like Diablo Horns, Angel Wings (already present in collector edition), Cowboy Hats, etc. could be sold in Real Money Auction House only.

That is all for now till my crystal ball reveals more to me. All the above is based on my observation of Blizzy's direction to continuously turn all their games into a cash cow in order to replace WoW that is scheduled to die in the new few years, my scouring of the internet for information and my years of playing a variety of MMOs.

If you have any predictions, just let me know :)

Only if...

Diablo, slayed for the millionth time.

*Update 20 May 2012

Only 5 days after released, Diablo has now been slain in Inferno Mode (Hardest Difficulty available).

Mind the static in the start, just skip to 2 minutes.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Armed with a Greatsword of Greed on the right hand and a Stalwart Shield of Avarice on the left, Activision Blizzard lays the finishing blow on Diablo, forever killing the once mighty lord of ARPG"

Greed, avarice, covetousness. Players around the world can claim that have slain Diablo once more and rid the world of Sanctuary of evil. But the true victor here is not the would be players but the corporate giants that stick their hands into the world of game publishing.

Like a nail to the coffin, Diablo's fate is forever sealed as players are getting wise to the con that Acti Bliz served them for $60. As players flooded the login servers upon released, the billion dollar gaming corporation somehow did not anticipated for the massive player swarm.

"As the players entered their username and password, every attempt to log in was like a punch to the might Server. Punch after punch, the machine could take no more and it fell cold on the ground denying millions a chance to face the legions of burning hell..."


With years of experience running the most played MMO in the world and they failed to foresee massive player log in due to DRM?

For this one problem, Acti Bliz has lost much customers that felt it was a waste of their time and money. Just looking at the reviews on Metacritic, I almost laughed myself off the chair. Negative fan reviews are more then double that of positive fan reviews. Of course, quite a large number are fans whining about how they failed to log in, lag/spikes, disconnects, followed by the hate for DRM and lastly are those who really looked into the game and provided critical review on the game itself.

From Metacritic: Behold how the cowardly gaming sites review Blizzy's child with awesome ratings while the truth is only spoken by the players

So it seems that most of my predictions are correct or near the target and here are the main gripes about the game that a lot of players are now finding out:

• Short game play
• Koreans finished normal mode in 6 hours? followed closely by Russian, EU, and American players... As of last night, players have completed Act 1 in Inferno difficulty (4th and hardest difficulty)

• Linear and Predictable storyline
• Straight forward story, directed story telling and predictable plot. What if I told you there was a plan since Diablo2 that actually sent the player venturing into the High Heavens and they are just reusing this 10 years later for Diablo3?

• As easy as A, B, C
• With players easily finishing normal mode and so on without death and some reaching Inferno difficulty on the second day of the game's release, says it all.

• Uncreative and Unimaginative
• After losing most of its core creative talent during Blizzard glorious era, they now lack the ability to lead in the innovative category and ends up creating a skill and stat system that allows zero customization. Stats and damage all revolves around gear as there is no other way to modify your stats and skills are given to you as you level without choice.

• Arcade
• They have manage to turn an ARPG game into an arcade game turning every boss fight into a battle of dodging boss's 1-hit-kill skills, timing of HP wells (fail pot system), Health globe, kitting and time consuming.

There is no need for me to mention too much a lot of it are now known issues and players start to notice what they actually end up getting after paying $60.

Click here to see my previous predictions and how scarily accurate it was.

Blizzy has also conveniently uploaded all their CGI cutscenes for Diablo3 on Youtube so you can enjoy stunning CGI without having to go through a broken game.

>> Link to Official Blizzard Diablo 3 Cinematics


>> Link to Official Blizzard Diablo 3 Class Opening