The wait is over

Square Enix has just released the first official global trailer for Final Fantasy XIII. Check out the trailer here.


The release date for the English version of FFXIII is April 2010. As with previous FF trailers, the cut scenes are epic, the English translation of the dialogue is dodgy and it unveils a new fighting engine (the street fighter looking combos are interesting). I'm looking forward to seeing a more polished trailer for this game later in the year.

Hong Kong Clubbing needs you!

(HKClubbing)

恭喜發財

新年快樂 - Happy Chinese New Year!

(The Big Picture)

Drank, 'cause that's how I roll

The Giant Bomb guys were talking about Drank on their latest Bombcast. Drank is another terrible sounding addition to the already saturated 'lifestyle' drink market.

So what's the deal with Drank? According to its website it's "[t]he first EXTREME RELAXATION drink to hit the market."


And now for the drink's tag line: "Just slow your roll." Amazing, I got to get me some of this stuff.

Worst Idea Ever: Jackie Chan to Play Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid Remake

Noooooo! Hollywood, please stop trying to remake 80s films!

I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the deal. Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, has been cast in a “refashioned” remake of the 1980’s classic 'The Karate Kid'. The film will be set in Beijing and, according to Entertainment Weekly, Jackie Chan will play Mr Miyagi and Harold Zwart (Pink Panther 2) will direct the movie. Read more about it at /Film.

I agree with /Film that this is the worst idea ever. 'Karate Kid' has already had to endure three terrible sequels. Why now subject it to such a horrifying remake?

Calendars

While scrolling through Super Punch today, a humorous blog title caught my eye: Hot Blogger Calender. I was about to click on the link, when I noticed this totally awesome link near the bottom of the post: *Previously: Animals that will kill yo a$$ calendar.


This has got to be the coolest calendar ever. If only I had found this before Christmas. It would have made the ultimate stocking filler.

I was so distracted by the Animals that will kill yo a$$ calendar, I never made it to Hot Blogger. Shame.

The Piano

Ambrose Bierce defined the piano as: "PIANO, n. A parlor utensil for subduing the impenitent visitor. It is operated by depressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of the audience." Mr Bierce clearly had never experienced this piano.


I came across this glorious specimen today in Times Square, as I was on my way to Page One.


With its red disposition and golden horse on the lid, it is clearly trying to compare itself to greater things.


Unfortunately, the only marquee car this piano reminds me of is CR7's after its interchange with the Manchester airport tunnel.

How about a bit of Ben Franklin?

Super Punch is always full of such cool stuff. Check out these two great Benjamin Franklin images.

Ben Franklin as Michael Jackson in Thriller, dancing with zombie Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt


Link via Super Punch

Ben Franklin with a power fist


Future Ben Franklin by Eamon Dougherty via Super Punch

A bit of this and a bit of that

Here are a few cool things and a few not so cool things I think are worthy of a wider audience.

First up, the not so cool

1. In the spirit of Silights' new colour scheme, these headphones, which Gizmodo described as "one pacifier short of a personal rave."


2. The Trailer for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li ... terrible.



3. Hokkaido Rice Pizza and the crazy shop girl who came screaming out of the restaurant to stop me taking a photo.


4. This sweatshirt. The accompanying article is hilarious, I recommend reading it. (Via Super Punch)

5. The John McCain toy I found in my local comic shop.


The cool

1. Graffiti Creator is totally cool. I used it to create the Silights header (the poor quality is due to my technical ineptitude and is no fault of Graffiti Creator).

2. Apple finally axes DRM. Read more about the MacWorld announcements at Gizmodo.

3. My new Nike ACG Storm-Fit jacket. So '08s and so cool. Well I think so anyway.


4. The MacBook Wheel. Thank you Onion News Network.


Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

5. These limited edition Obama action figures at Jailbreaktoys.com. (Via Super Punch)

09 - here we go

Here are a few self-indulgent and largely materialistic things I'm looking forward to in '09.

1. Traveling. I currently have plans to visit Seoul in April and the UK in August. I also hope to make it to Tokyo and Beijing this year. So much exciting travel to be done, I can't wait!



2. Where the Wild Things Are. I am looking forward to Spike Jonze’s big screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic book 'Where The Wild Things Are'. There is a heap of controversy going around about the film, but lot of people are speaking out in support of Spike's vision, so I'm optimistic about its chances. 'Where The Wild Things Are' hits theaters on October 16th 2009.


3. Final Fantasy XIII. I'm a big fan to the Final Fantasy series and the latest instalment looks very promising. Read more about FFXIII here.


4. Getting some new threads, like these cool Jango-Pope t-shirts by 2once. (via Super Punch via Changethethought)





5. Picking up a few cool toys. I'm hoping to get my hands on these totally cool Metal Gear Solid 4 1/6 size figures of Snake and Raiden. Read more about them here and here.

Closing off 08

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had enjoyable New Year celebrations.

I was lucky enough to be on a boat in the middle of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour as we saw off '08 and welcomed '09. In keeping with tradition, this was done in an appropriately inebriated fashion. Life is tough sometimes.


I'm not usually a fan of New Year's resolutions, but I decided to make a couple this time around. First up, is improving my woeful attempts at keeping in touch with friends. One email a year is pretty lousy. My aim for '09 is to send out at least two emails to everyone, so watch out. Second, is joining a football team and improving my fitness. I haven't really done any exercise since arriving in Hong Kong. If I don't watch out, I'm going to need to rename my blog Pielights.

Ok, I thought I would close out '08 with a quick note on what floated my boat in December:

1. Metal Gear Solid 4. Wow! This game blew me away. I rank MGS4 second only to FFVII in terms of Best Games Ever. My only regret with MGS4, was not being able to play this game with the boys, as the story is so good and completely ties up the threads of the old games. I have fond memories of all the boys gathering on the couch in our old flat on T-street to play Metal Gear Solid. We spent hours working our way through Shadow Moses and the game spawned a few nicknames as well.

It's strange to say this about a video game, but I found it very unsettling in MGS4 when you return to Shadow Moses. As you walk around the old base, the game feeds you lines from MGS and when you come to a security camera you had to avoid at the beginning of MGS, it falls off the wall from rust. I think anyone who invested hours in MGS will find this part of the game very eerie.

The game play in MGS4 is top draw stealth/action. It's enjoyable and challenging to play, and it gives you the flexibility to play it as a guns blazing, take-no-prisoners game, or as a stealth, don't be seen and don't kill anyone game. What really makes this game for me, is the rich story. I'm sure a lot of action game fans will find all the cut scenes irritating, but I enjoyed them. It does mean that at times you are doing more watching than playing, but in terms of an overall entertainment experience, I think the balance between action and story work very well. Hideo Kojima and his team have done a great job.


To sum up, MGS4 is a top draw stealth game, with a kick-arse story, wrapped together into a total entertainment experience. Trust me, check it out, though I recommend brushing up on the back story. If you're a bit rusty on the background, you can refresh you memory here.

2. Hot pot. The weather has turned cold here in Hong Kong (thank goodness, I found summer almost unbearable). It's been a pleasure to unpack my hoodies, jackets and scarves - there is nothing quite as comfortable as a hoodie. During winter, it's traditional here in Hong Kong to go out for hot pot (often referred to as steamboat). I love hot pot. For those that have not had the joy of hot pot, it consists of a simmering metal pot of stock (best with chili), which is kept in the center of the table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings and seafood. An array of dipping sauces is also provided, so you can combine your freshly cooked goodies with whatever flavoured condiment you desire. Yum!


3. The Dark Knight DVD. As I mentioned previously, I got the 2 disc set for Christmas, which I recommend. The movie is awesome and the extra DVD is packed full of fun, if not somewhat sycophantic, features about the making of the film.


4. Speedracer. My surprise film for the month was Speedracer. It was rubbished by most reviewers, so I gave it a miss at the cinema. I picked up the DVD on sale the other day at HMV and was pleasantly surprised when I watched it. I really liked the cartoony look and feel the film has, with over saturated colours and action scenes that are more about giving you an impression of what's going on, than conveying any real coherent sequence. If you gave Speedracer a miss an cinema like I did, I recommend checking it out on DVD.