a timeless literary classic, a fantastic computer game with old school roots, a cartoon series with a cult following, and a comic book character who deserves a movie of his own.

vicarious living couldn’t get any better than this.

1. alice in wonderland directed by tim burton

when i found out last year that my favorite fantasy story was going to be recreated on-screen by tim burton himself, i thought i was dreaming. when i found out that johnny depp is playing the mad hatter, i had to pinch myself. my cinema dream has finally come true.

does anyone know who would provide the musical score for the film? i certainly hope it’s danny elfman, the usual composer for burton films. he’s the only composer in the universe who can capture burton’s vision through music.

2. prince of persia: sands of time produced by jerry bruckheimer

from the mega-bucks producer of swashbuckling adventure epics comes another game-to-movie production in prince of persia: sands of time. the game has come a long, long way from the pixelated adventurer we have known and loved in our bulky pc’s.

jake gyllenhall plays the smoking hot title role (orlando bloom was once rumored to play it). and you have to admit, gyllenhall does look persian. wait, the prince of persia is persian, right? it’s not just a figurative nationality for his figurative title?

3. the last airbender directed by m. night shyamalan

one thing shyamalan has to be grateful for is the loyalty of his raveous fans. no matter how badly his movies are criticized, his followers would still troop to the cinemas to patronize his work. personally, i still think he is a genius. so despite the heated controversy behind the casting of the last airbender and the predictions that it will be a flop like dragonball z, i am still beyond myself with excitement to see this movie.

ok, i admit, i agree with the arguments offered by the detractors of the movie’s cast and, being asian, even sympathize with many of the fanatic haters. but please, imho, noah ringer is a dead-ringer for aang. ok, bad pun, but you know what i mean.

4. deadpool produced by lauren shuler donner and marvel

after his turn as a villainous assassin to wolverine’s hero, deadpool finally gets his solo movie. and about time! the “merc with a mouth” will bear the movie title and reports claim that the movie is going to be faithful to the comic books this time. meaning, no more weapon xi, as shown in the x-men origins. which, i suppose, means the deadpool movie will not be taking off from where wolverine left. i sure hope this is true.

ok, so we’ve seen ryan reynolds play deadpool in x-men origins and many have been convinced that he can carve a place in the comic-turned-movie genre. do you know that he is rumored to also play the title role in the green lantern movie? which means that, like his co-star halle berry, he’s another talent who gets to portray characters from marvel and dc. fanboys, please verify this rumor…

Having the power of the Playstation 3 at my disposal and constantly looking for a game that uses the full potential of a high def system frequently sets me out on a mission to find a visually breathtaking game.

Don’t get me wrong, game-play factor is important, let us not forget, but sometimes a game with stunning visuals can just blow your mind. Have you and your friends tripping out for hours, throw in fantastic game-play and you will be garbling about it for ages (e.g., LittleBigPlanet).

Katamari Damacy, a game I came across with a while back on PS2, did this for me. At first glance, I thought of it as another retarded weird Japanese collage of color and weird tunes. Eventually, it totally flipped me 360 and never again did i judge so quickly. The complexity of visuals and the fantastic game-play just wowed me. Who thought a game which involved a star rolling through a a landscape, like your bedroom, collecting everything from spiders to erasers a la snowball effect to create a world of its own would be so damn amusing? Since then, I have been hooked on the creatively weird.

Weird yet Wonderful

Now you have visually stunning games like Bio-Shock, Prince of Persia and so on. But action-based games usually are for the ultra-visual, and with the power of PS3 and XBox 360, this should come as no surprise at all. But what about the other quirky titles? Well, with that technology on their side, it just got a whole lot more interesting.

PS3 is still due to release Katamari Forever, so we will just wait for that with bated breath…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDBksi0g-Us

Lets move on, shall we.

Enter, Flower

At first glance, serious male gamers might get discouraged as it looks girly and poofy (i said that once), but upon closer look, I was amazed at how the game unfolds. Who would have thought?

The story line is a little complex, however you look at it…  it is a poem within a dream. And you start as a petal flying through a colorless landscape. As you progress, you collect more petals in a ribbon train, bringing color and life to the landscape, thus changing the dreamscape and allowing the poem to move on… Confused? Well i was, until i went on.

Playstation's Flower

After seeing the game-play and learning that the control system is not basic, I realized that the game is precise and seamless:  if you turn your controller upside down, in comes your tom cruise top gun moment and your flower petal team does a full-blown barrel roll. Friggin’ mind-blowing!

Visually Breathtaking

Visit full review at www.ign.com.

I could write more about this game, but it is best seen to be believed. From the world of FPS and MMORPG and all the yadda yadda, a game like this will take you away from violence and gore, and bring about a sense of peace. The hippie in me is telling me to consume herbals and drift away in the beauty and tranquility of Flower…

* Thanks to IGN and all respective copyright holders for the visuals and videos.

Gone are the days of begging mum or dad for coins so you could rush to the single arcade game that stood outside the corner store, so you could belt and mash the directional stick, hammer the buttons and take on all rivals and claim your prize as the neighborhood champion.

Kinda the same now? I don’t think so. Most time you sit at the arcade, it is feared that a person eye snipes you from the corner, sits down just as you swipe your game card, only to play one round until a Challenger comes along and PWNS! you (usually a young Asian kid ten years your junior).

That’s why I decided to purchase a Playstation 3 so I could sit in the comfort of High Definition glory and battle away like there’s no tomorrow.

With the advancement of technology, classic arcade games have gone through some major revamps, but now the memories of yesterday come flooding back with my latest purchase. With new graphics overhaul and in-game features, I am arcade-happy as I sit in my lounge and immerse myself in the true glory of STREET FIGHTER IV.

A New Beginning

 From the classic Street Fighter. And after a gazillion sequels, the classic is back with a host of new features all wrapped up in the stunning art of japanese ink painting, close to the PS2 marvel Okami.

Original characters like Ryu, Ken, Sagat and Guile from the SF II series make their appearance, as well as new characters who will provide a good challenge to any player.

Visually Stunning

IGN.com rates the game 9.3/10 and I agree with the verdict. I personally miss a few characters who are not in the game after Street Fighter Alpha 3, but something’s gotta give.

*From IGN*

Capcom has managed to strip away the baggage that has accumulated around the series over the years and returned to the franchise’s roots. The result is a game that plays very much like a purified, simple fighter — but
with several modern enhancements to enrich the combat. If you’ve been
playing Street Fighter for years, this game will feel like an old
friend. If you’re completely new to the scene, Street Fighter IV is a
great place to start.

Click here for full IGN review.

With new game systems like Focus Attacks, the Super meter and the Ultra meter. Classic gameheads and new game addicts can spend hours kicking butt, and with the online battle front, who knows, you could just be back to being the neighborhood legend you once were, but this time on a world-wide scale.

Happy Gaming, people.

Are you a world warrior?

Love, Peace and Inspiration

Mystik

P.S DOTA and WoW?? Puhleeease! you can stick that where the sun don’t shine.

…and that’s the first thing i learned about gaming.

yes, my first game entry, and i am extremely proud to make it LittleBigPlanet.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGzOKbVC2r8&hl=en&fs=1]

here’s the low-down: LittleBigPlanet or LBP was developed by the british studio media molecule and published by sony computer entertainment europe. it was first announced in march 2007 to a standing ovation at the game developers conference in los angeles. since its release, it has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from game critics. among its numerous achievements: it was the big winner in the 2009 AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards, bagging eight trophies including Overall Game of the Year.

in layman’s terms: lpb is made by a company called media molecule and can only be played on sony ps3. game developers and critics love it. it won eight, including the highest honor in the AIAS awards. you know, it’s like the oscar awards for video games.

now i don’t know much about the tiff going on between the xbox360 and ps3 fanboys, but i’m glad my husband’s a ps loyalist, otherwise i wouldn’t have known about this awesome game.

in lbp, you control a character affectionately called sackboy (or sackgirl, based on what appearance you make of it) in several platforming scenes. in my husband’s words, “it’s a 3D world played on a 2D platform,” meaning it’s like playing the old-school super mario bros. in more than one depth.

the game has a “story” of pre-constructed levels that you can complete (and in no time if you’re a real gamer), but its greatest characteristic is its future potential. it has the most customizable nature you can find in the gaming universe, enabling you to tailor-make everything from sackboy’s appearance to entirely new levels.

and what do you do with the objects and levels you have created, aside from play them yourself until you’re blue in the face? simple, that’s where the online feature comes handy. you share them with other lbp gamers through a huge online global community, very much like social networking sites, only this one is composed mostly of geeks (like us). and that’s where the competition is blown out of the water. the possibilities of this game is simply endless, it boggles the mind.

watch this trailer to see just how confounding its imaginative capacity is:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXp4ednGYcc&hl=en&fs=1]

this is the game that will certainly amplify your creativity to its limits. i hope more pinoys start to appreciate this game, i’d really like to see how many local gamers can “filipinize” their lbp levels.

the allure of lbp lies in the fact that it can be enjoyed by both the hard-core gamers and the casual players. i bought this as a gift for my husband last year, knowing it will provide him fun without end. guess who got addicted to it…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYNcaI1bMiU&hl=en&fs=1]

you can create levels like so (as shown in the european adverts):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOLbeLUN62M&hl=en&fs=1]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYGfYVCp6q8&hl=en&fs=1]

takes my breath away everytime.