Shinkan Crossing

Jeremy Lin: Linsanity

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:01:00 +0000

Unless you're a basement shut-in with no interest in sports, you've probably heard about the biggest thing in basketball right now. Jeremy Lin, a relative nobody who was undrafted, booted off two teams, and benched for the majority of his career, came exploding onto the scene as he helped the Knicks win 7 games in a row. Remember how the Knicks kind of sucked? Lin has single-handedly made them a relevant team again, and has increased NBA viewership like no one has ever done before. Anyway, what is so special about him, you ask?

Well first of all, Lin is the first ever to score at least 20 points and 7 assists in their first five starting games since the NBA we know today came into existence. He was averaging 27.3 points and 8.3 assists when he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week; those are almost all-star numbers. He outscored Kobe Bryant (38) in the Knicks' meeting with the Lakers, and scored a game-winning 3-pointer against the Raptors with less than a second left in the game. So far, they've won 9 out of their last 11 games.

This sort of phenomenon has seriously never happened before. Demand for his shirt is through the roof, and the NBA store's sales increased by 3000%. He has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated two times in a row, and has brought so much life back to Madison Square Garden that it has been stimulating the stock market. It's not just about his stats however. When you compare him to veteran stars like Kobe and Lebron, he may not seem like a big deal. This is not what has masses of people captivated, however. It's his amazing rags to riches story; the fact that he was given virtually no chance to show what he was capable until now. Everybody loves an underdog, and his story is truly entertaining.

Now, obviously I need to bring in my opinion and discuss the hottest aspect of Linsanity: race. He is the first Chinese-American to play in the league, and the first player of Asian descent to ever make such an impact on the NBA. Now, the big question is: "is race a factor in his fame?" Basically, its yes and no. Yes, it is a factor. Asians are so under-represented in sports in general, so its a huge deal when an Asian-American is the headliner in absolutely everything. But is it the only reason? Absolutely not. Remember, the record he set (20 points and 7 assists as a rookie) is out of every player in history, not just among Asians or undrafted players. Like I said, people love him for his underdog story.

I really love this guy, mainly because he is doing so much for the Asian community. He is really breaking barriers, and I have the utmost respect for him because of that. He's incredibly humble, and apparently a dedicated Christian. Also, he's a Harvard grad; he's pretty much the perfect Asian. Let's not forget his skills with the ball as well. I've become a huge Knicks fan ever since he made it big, and I really hope for the best, not just because I want the Knicks to win, but mostly because I want him to prove himself out there as a representative of all Asians.

And by the way, to the haters that can't help but try to put him down at every turn: shove it up your ass. It's true that the media is hyping him to death (he's making people incredible money), but he really deserves everything. He's been influential to so many people, so putting him down just for the sake of doing so is just a scumbag move. People keep trying to compare him to all-star players and take every chance to kill the hype whenever he makes a mistake. He's a god damn ROOKIE, give the guy a full season first. The media hype makes it seem like he has to be superman in every game, its obviously not fair in that sense. And it's not like he's the one throwing his face all over the media. He's a basketball player, and a great one at that.

Dog Meat is Not Korean Traditional Food

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:45:00 +0000

If you don't know by now, I'm Korean. If there is any negative stereotype Koreans are known for, it is that they eat dog meat. Now, is this a complete and utter lie? Of course not, its absolutely true. I remember walking through a street market when I was a kid, and there were slaughtered dogs ready to be sold. What you have to understand though, is that dog meat is NOT a common food. Just because it exists, doesn't mean people consume it regularly. Saying "all Koreans eat dogs" is like saying "all Americans are Latino gang members". Nowadays, its just as unpopular in Korea as any country in the world, mostly due to the younger generation being used to keeping dogs as pets.

Anyway, the only reason I'm bringing this up is because I am sick and tired of hearing ignorant, idiotic people complaining about how people consume dog meat. There is simply no reasonable reason why anyone would be against it. I don't care what your beliefs are, they are bias and ignorant. Here are some reasons why:

Meat (and food in general) was incredibly scarce in Korea. My parents and most of my friend's parents grew up poor and starving. When you live in that sort of condition, how can you possibly afford to be picky? Most families were lucky to have a piece of meat each year. That is why Koreans started eating dogs. It wasn't present-day USA, cows and pigs weren't everywhere. They had to eat whatever they could find. This also explains why Chinese people are also known for eating all kinds of "weird" things. Do you really think starving people get to choose what they eat? If that's the case, then you are painfully ignorant.

If you're one of those people that just doesn't like the idea of eating dogs and judge people for your own personal bias, then you are also incredibly ignorant (a huge majority of people hate dog consumption for this reason, sadly). "Oh my god, how can you eat dogs? That's so cruel", they say, as they munch on their chicken salad. You really have to ask yourself: what sets dogs apart from other animals? What makes dogs so much more deserving of compassion? People eat pigs and cows and chickens all day every day, but when its a dog, suddenly its the worst thing in the world.

Do you know why you hate the idea of eating dogs? Because they're cute, and you're used to petting them and keeping them as companions. That is the ONLY reason. It's a PERSONAL and CULTURAL bias. If it was normal for society to keep chickens as household pets, we would all be grossed out about eating chickens. Its as simple as that. Western society has this horrible habit of thinking they are the pinnacle of humanity, so it is only natural for them to look down on other cultures for doing things that they are not used to. "Some things are just morally wrong!" WRONG. I'm not even going to explain why that is an idiotic thing to say.

If you're thinking "Okay, it was okay a long time ago because people were starving, but why continue to eat them?" Well, I answered that question earlier. People DON'T eat dogs these days. You'd have to look really hard, in the poorer areas of South Korea to really find any sellers of dog meat. So please, enough with the ignorance, there is simply no excuse for speaking out against something you don't understand.

Have Games Become Too Easy?

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:33:00 +0000

This is apparently a much-talked about issue, but I actually just realized that. I really thought I was the only one that was feeling this, and I wasn't even sure of it until I saw that other people had the same opinions. The question is this, are modern games too easy? Has the difficulty been toned down too much? Are developers too liberal with constant auto-saves? In a way, this is true. Games have definitely been made more accessible because it appeals to a much broader audience than before.

This isn't to say that all new games are just cake-walks. It's just that most serious gamers today grew up with games from the late '80's and '90's. Back then, almost every game was freaking torture. Remember the original Ninja Gaiden? Or the Contra series? Pretty much every classic platformer had it's ridiculous frustrations. Blind turns and pit-falls, limited lives, and you had to start over from the beginning if you died. There were no auto-save points. Remember how everyone made a fuss about how hard Devil May Cry 3 was? It was mainly because there were no save points. But if you stop and think...that's how EVERY game was in the 8-bit and 16-bit era.

One important point that I have to mention is that this isn't necessarily a bad thing either. A lot of people don't like it, but it's not an obvious flaw in the industry. In fact, the "easiness" is just a result of video games improving. Making tons of progress then having to restart is frustrating, so automatic save points take all of that frustration out. "Impossible" levels from the classic era were really just levels with design flaws, riddled with things like pin-point accurate jumps and totally blind turns. The same goes for boss fights. Basically, they're not technically making games "easier". They're more...fixing game design.

But anyway, I do agree that games have definitely changed in terms of general difficulty. Back when I was playing on my Super NES, every game required you to master all the gameplay mechanics and memorize every part of a level if you wanted to beat it. There was plenty of trial and error, but by the end of it, you felt incredibly satisfied. It was a long, hard fought battle. And that's precisely what modern games are missing. That sense of satisfaction. I don't remember the last time I played a game through, and really felt satisfied at the end. Every game has just been "do this, auto-save, do that, auto-save, quick-time event, auto-save". The game holds your hand for so long that by the end of this smooth ride, you think "huh? It's over?"

To name of few great games that were really just cake-walks: Assassin's Creed series, God of War 3, Vanquish, inFamous, Uncharted series. If you've noticed, these are some of the most highly rated games of this generation. That says a lot. And again, they're not bad games. Just...maybe not so challenging by the end of the day. But there's another issue here. Normal is basically easy mode now, but when you switch it to hard, it's suddenly completed unbalanced and ridiculous. I thought God of War 3 was easy, so it switched to Hard mode. My god, I was dying in 3 hits. What's with this imbalance?

What do y'all think? Are games too easy these days? If so, is it a bad thing?

Megaupload Shut Down

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:07:00 +0000

This place (the United States) is supposed to be the most freedom loving place on Earth. Well, recently I feel like I'm living in a place that's secretly trying to turn into a police-state. If you haven't been living in a cave in Afghanistan, then you obviously know about SOPA and PIPA. There's no need for me to talk about that. Just know that at the moment, SOPA has been pulled back due to the internet's incredible backlash. PIPA is in a similar circumstance as well. So for now, we've won. For now.

The current buzz is the shutting down of Megaupload. It's not SOPA related, but it definitely gives me the same Nazi vibe. Basically, the FBI shut it down due to it being involved in illegal activities. That's basically what SOPA was trying to do, wasn't it? It was trying to shut down entire websites for what a few individuals were doing. Well it looks like the government can do that anyway! Megaupload is one of the biggest download sites, and my personal favorite. How the hell are they supposed to control and monitor what EVERY fucking person puts on the site? I'd normally give a more intelligent argument, but I'm just furious. No need for holding back. These people are FUCKING.NAZI'S.

Though, you can rest easy because our revenge has already been taken care of. The internet's freedom fighters, Anonymous, took down at least a dozen government websites including justice.gov and every major website tied to the music industry. That was a moment of triumph. But still, Megaupload is no more. That means a ton of things I've hosted on that site will be gone forever. That includes some links I have on this blog. Sigh...I don't know what to say. I guess I just wanted to talk about the big current event. I have nothing else to say. Just keep aware of the events that follow, and support any protests that arise again. And don't worry, they'll NEVER win. It's a few asshole politicians against this ENTIRE generation.

As a side note...anyone else find it funny that nobody gives a shit about starving children or raising awareness for diseases on a daily basis, yet when the internet is threatened, every fucking person alive jumps on the bandwagon. I mean, its understandable. Nobody cares about anything that doesn't directly affect them. I'll be honest; I walk past homeless people, and I really, really, really don't care about any starving people overseas. And don't be a hypocrite and tell me I'm horrible, because YOU don't care either. Be honest with yourself. Either do something, or admit that you don't care. Don't be a fake.

Bear Grylls is Fake!

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:01:00 +0000

Actually I love the guy, and I respect his abilities quite a lot. This utterance, "Bear Grylls is fake", is probably one of the stupidest things anyone can say. I mean, its even stupid for the internet, and that's a huge deal. Seriously though, if you don't know who Bear Grylls is, you probably haven't watched Man vs. Wild. It's a show on the Discovery Channel, and what happens is, Grylls jumps into the middle of a particularly unforgiving area, like a jungle or a desert, and he shows you how to survive in that area.

He has a film crew him, who are also survival experts, and these guys are amazing because they do everything Grylls does but with camera equipment. Now, what a lot of dumbasses, or "trolls", like to do is, they like to call Bear Grylls out on a lot of stuff, and accuse him of being a fraud. There are a billion things wrong with this, so I'll run through them.

First of all, EVERYTHING you need to know is stated in a disclaimer that comes up at the beginning of EVERY episode, but obviously most people are too busy stuffing their faces to be bothered to read anything. Anyway, it says: "Bear Grylls and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life threatening situations, as required by health and safety regulations. On some occasions, situations are presented to Bear so he can demonstrate survival techniques. Professional advice should always be sought before entering any dangerous environment."

Read that first sentence. Understand? Of course not. Alright, this is television show, right? So on a television show that they broadcast all over the country, they can't just sit back and let someone starve to death or get eaten by a lion because they're sleeping on an open field. There are these things called 'laws' that forbid that kind of bat-shit insanity. If Bear ate a grub, but he's starving by the end of the day, they gotta give him some food. He's WORKING, he doesn't do this shit for fun. People bitch and moan about their short lunch breaks, but you won't even a guy who eats BUGS a fucking break? PISS OFF.

That brings us to the most important point. Some idiots, for god knows why, seem to be under the impression that Man vs. Wild is a survival show. Well it fucking isn't. It's meant to show you HOW to survive in certain environments. Its educational. Now, there's a show called Survivorman that a lot of people compare this to. In that show, the guy actually survives by himself for a few days. But that doesn't make him any better than Bear Grylls, that's the point of his damn show. It's completely different from Man vs. Wild. Bear walks around, tells you about the resources, shows you what you can eat, then moseys on out of there. He's not trying to survive and prove a point.

Really though, all you need to do is understand that last paragraph. There's nothing fake about what Bear Grylls does. He's jumped into arctic waters just to show how to get out of it. He's squeezed liquid out of elephant shit just to get a drink. He can climb just about anything that you couldn't even get near with your fat greasy hands. He's Bear fucking Grylls.

$1000 Gold Cake

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:25:00 +0000

I was watching a special on the Travel channel, it was something like "Forbes top 11 indulgent foods", where it counted down the most fancy, decadent, expensive foods in the world. Among this list was a desert in a fancy restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey.

This...is a GOLD cake. And that's not just a fancy food coloring. That's REAL gold. 24k gold to be exact. And as you would expect, that little slice is $1000. It's called the Sultan's Golden Cake, and it's pretty much something out of an ancient king's ridiculous menu.

Yeah, this pissed me off a bit. I mean, really? A cake covered in gold? Is that really necessary? Is gold tasty? Its a fucking mineral. I thought it was just decoration too, but I think they actually eat the gold. WHY?! But yeah, this is why I have no respect for the wealthy. That sort of money can feed a small third world village for years, but rich people can just mosey over to a restaurant and throw it away on a fucking cake.

So to the wealthy, 1%....

Duodecim 012 Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Sigh~ I really love this blog, even if it doesn't serve much of a purpose in my life and even if its not booming with comments or content. I just wish I had more time to work on it. As soon as school starts, you can pretty much forget about posts. Though, I'd like to report that...

I've been playing Dissidia 012 Duodecim, and its damn ADDICTIVE. I got this game a loong time ago, but for some reason I just never got around to playing it. Well, I randomly decided to start it up, and suddenly I found myself glued to my PSP for entire days, just playing this damn game.

It's not just the awesome, fast-paced action or the super fan-service selection of characters. Duodecim maintains that RPG element from Final Fantasy, so there's a lot of leveling up, mastering a HUGE list of battle skills, and farming for items so you can craft the best equipment. I literally spent hours just trying to get the rare components you need to get each character's ultimate weapon.

There's so much to spend your time on, and the story mode is long as hell too. I've pretty much decked out Tifa, Yuna, Lightning, and Cloud with mastered everything at Lv.100. That's how much I've been playing. It has much more content than the first game, and the new characters are great, so just pick up and play this game. If you're a Final Fantasy fan, it would be a crime not to play it.

Aiiiiiir~

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:34:00 +0000

Yes, I haven't updated in weeks. My average pageviews have definitely taken a huge dip. As usual, real life is taking a toll on my blogging. School work, demanding girlfriend and what not. Anyway, I've decided to post because I've fallen in love. Not with a person, but with MATERIAL (the best thing in the world).

Every now and then, I'll have a thing that I want more than anything in the world, and I focus everything in my life towards that thing so I can get it. A few years back it was the PS3, and I got that little bastard. But now, its something several times more expensive. Ready....its the MACBOOK AIR.

Now before you barrage me with insults, let me tell you that I don't know anyone who hated on Mac's as much as mwah. But this little machine is just too sleak to ignore. My laptop is really old (pushing 4 years), and it's getting to that time where I have to start looking for a replacement. As a traveling college student, I need something I can carry around campus, back home, and to class everyday. So obviously, I've been looking into this new line of "ultra portables". Unfortunately, there really aren't that many choices out there at this time.

As much as I hate the Mac OS, there really isn't anything that comes close to the Macbook Air in terms of power, speed, and sexiness. I have taken notice of the Samsung Series 9, but its very expensive and still doesn't quite beat the Air. So yeah, time to start pushing all of my finances towards affording this monstrous Apple product.

Steve Jobs Was a Great Man, Not God

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:32:00 +0000

The biggest news as of late is obviously the death of Steve Jobs. Now, I respected this man greatly and acknowledge all of the incredible contributions he's made to society. However, it scares me to see where people seem to place their values. Society worshiped this man for giving them iPhone's and Macbooks, and yet no one seems to even think about the scientists, doctors, mathematicians, engineers, and artists that have been contributing to society and dying for centuries.

I understand that it's perfectly understandable for the current generation to know only about Steve Jobs; the Apple brand almost defines the times. But that's exactly what's wrong here. What was the front page news, the top head line, the most popular google search, the most repeated tweet and Facebook status, and the latest internet meme in the past 3 days. It's like Steve was our God. I remember former presidents dying in the past few years, and that news never lasted more than a few hours.

I'm not breaking new ground here; everyone already knows that we worship celebrities and place our values on meaningless things. I guess it just took this death to realize just how far it has ingrained itself in our culture.

(PS3) All Future Online will Require PSN Pass

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:49:00 +0000

Sony recently confirmed that Uncharted 3 will require an online pass for multiplayer, and now it seems that this will be the case for ALL future releases with online play. Basically, games with online multiplayer with come with PSN codes, kind of like CD-keys for PC games. Read the source article here: http://www.gamesradar.com/sony-confirms-all-future-online-games-will-utilize-psn-passes/

I'm not really sure how I should feel about this. I mean, in general, it sucks. We're going to have to type in 12 digit codes every time we get a new game, but we'll only have to do it once so it's really no big deal. However, it's going to be near impossible to lend people games and expect them to enjoy online. Also, if you buy the game used, you'll have to pay a small fee to get a new code.

It is a bit of a let-down, but then again, I rarely ever play online multiplayer, and I always get my games new, so it won't bother me as much. The gaming community is obviously riled up, but that's to be expected when something changes I guess. The point of this is to encourage people to buy games new, but honestly, if games weren't so bloody expensive more people would be buying them new. I don't ever buy used games, but I rarely buy them when they just come out either. I mean come on, $60 for a 12 hour experience? I've spent less money on dinner and a movie.

Square Enix Wants to Redo FFXIV...

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:22:00 +0000

As most of the gaming community already knows, Final Fantasy XIV was pretty much one of the biggest flops in recent years. It was almost as if the game were only 20 percent done, but they decided to just throw it out into the public anyway. I mean, it only as a score of 49 on metacritic. For a Final Fantasy game, or any game for that matter, that's just depressingly awful. But it seems Square Enix is still trying to make it work, even after doing as much as they can do.

Here's the juicy part. Square Enix's CEO, Yoichi Wada, recently stated that FFXIV's studio is willing to start again from scratch, fully re-doing the game. You can read some more about that here: http://www.gamesradar.com/square-enix-determined-redo-ffxiv-defends-dragon-quest-x/

I understand that the game was piss-poor, but those are some drastic measures. I guess its mostly a big deal because the Final Fantasy brand is so well-established and respected around the world, and each of its games has brought in critical acclaim and millions of dollars. For a flagship title to do so poorly is certainly very embarrassing and damaging to their name. But I'm gonna have to support their decision on this one. There's nothing more they can do for FFXIV in its current state; the best course of action is definitely to start an entirely new game.

Anyway, the real point I wanted to make is, I feel like this could have been less of a disaster if the online games were NOT a part of the main series! I feel like they could have easily made it into a sub-series and called it Final Fantasy Online. Even Final Fantasy XI was only half-decent and I really feel like it doesn't belong with the other flagship titles, considering it is an MMORPG. It really breaks the flow of Square's line of amazing RPG's. Now look what they did with FFXIV, it tanked and hurt the brand even more. Remember Dirge of Cerberus? That got lukewarm reviews, but it wasn't a big deal because it was just a spin-off title. All they need to do is keep these MMO's out of the main series. Quit taking up precious space that belongs to our beloved Final Fantasy games, ok?

3D Gaming is...just annoying?

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:48:00 +0000

A recent study showed that nearly 30 percent of players thought that the 3D feature on the 3DS actually detracted from the gaming experience. You can read more about the study here: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/24/3d-gamings-approval-rating-low-blamed-on-inherited-wars-and-ec/

I've always hated this sudden 3D trend, but I hadn't realized that a good percentage of people actually thought the 3D feature on the 3DS is just distracting and unnecessary. I mean, the whole "3D without glasses" thing was the selling point of the 3DS. However! I've feared from the beginning that people would just be ignoring the 3D, turning it off completely while playing games.

Developers keep ignoring the fact that people just want to play GAMES. They want to sit back, relax during their free time, hold a controller, and look at a normal television screen. This obsession with new trends has gone far enough. Motion controls are an unnecessary trend that should be dying very soon too, but that's another story. 3D, however, is just silly. Why is it that a stupidly simplistic technology that we've had around for DECADES is suddenly becoming the biggest thing in media? We don't need 3D for movies, and we certainly don't need it for video games. Moving around to play games is stupid enough, I don't need eye-strain to go with it.

Times are tough for the 3DS. It was selling poorly to begin with, but now its entire concept is meaningless. Nintendo needs to get with the times, and fast.

R/C Helicopter - Syma S107G

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Man, I just turned 20 but I gotta say, remote-controlled helicopters are fun as hell. I've been wanting one for a long time, so I went ahead and bought one that was cheap and highly recommended. Searching through countless products, I gotta say, there's no better chopper than the Syma S107. I'm no expert on RC helicopters, but I've tried a few other models, and this one is almost flawless and flies great.

Again, I'm no expert so I'm not about to turn this into a review. I just want to say, I could definitely get into this hobby. Flying RC helicopters is no kid's hobby, these things are definitely adult toys. Most of the other models on sale are extraordinarily more expensive than the S107, so I'm going to need a lot of money as usual~

Now Playing: Final Fantasy Tactics

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:04:00 +0000

I've been COMPLETELY obsessed with Final Fantasy Tactics lately, its the strangest thing. I've had a weird relationship with this game. I bought it way back in 2003, when they were still selling PS1 games. My first play-through was painful; I had such a hard time with this game. I didn't know much about the strategies and character skill setups, so I just kept getting owned. I remember I got to one battle filled with summoners, and I kept losing so badly that I stopped playing the game for over a year.

I randomly decided to start playing again after like a year and a half of neglecting it, and I finally managed to beat it. Its weird that after literally YEARS of not touching it (went through all of high school and half of college without re-playing it) I started my second play-through. This time around, I learned absolutely everything there is to know about the game, and I discovered how freaking easy the game gets when you raise super powerful characters. I went through all of Deep Dungeon, equipped each character with the best equipment, setup their skills properly, and leveled past 80. Now, its just rude how easy the final battles become.

But my point is, I have a new-found love for this game. It took this long for me realize how deep and fun this game can get. It doesn't get the love that the mainstream Final Fantasy titles get, but I can see why it has such a strong cult following. I encourage you to give it a try too, there's always the re-make on the PSP too.

Xbox 360 being phased out in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:14:00 +0000

Apparently, the Xbox 360 is officially becoming history and stores will no longer stock them in Japan. I was aware that the 360 was already doing extremely poorly in Japan, but I didn't expect them to just do away with it completely. You can read the rest of the article here: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/118/1188829p1.html

I think this is an interesting example of the differences in demographics and culture between the east and west. The Xbox and its sole reliance on western brands is understandably unappealing to the Japanese market. On the flip side, you may have noticed the millions of anime games that come out in Japan every year but never make it to the U.S. Still, I think this shows how limited the Xbox 360 is in terms of appeal.

Note that I'm not saying any of this out of fanboy bias; everything I've observed is purely logical. I've always felt that the Xbox 360's appeal is too narrow and limited to extremely western gamers. This is proven by the fact that the PS3 has still outsold the 360 in every region except the United States (Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada). The 360's sales are strong, but its clearly concentrated greatly within its own territory. This is what it owes its already minuscule 3 million unit lead over the PS3 to (and of course, the one year head start).

This is why I have always stuck by the Playstation 3. Brand familiarity was a part of the reason, but it was mainly the exclusives I was looking at. The only exclusive titles worth noting on the 360 are the Gears of War and Halo series, and I don't care for either of them. As I've said, they rely too much on the western preference for shooters. On the other hand, the PS3 had Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, inFamous, Uncharted, God of War 3, the upcoming release of FF Versus XIII, and a few lesser titles like Heavy Rain and Valkyria Chronicles. Note that half of those titles are from western developers, so no one can argue that western developers are all on the 360's side, as all the best ones seem to be with Sony.

Couple its game library with its blu-ray capability (no contest here, since blu-ray is technically the current format king and HD-DVD is considered obsolete) and superior hardware, and it was no wonder I preferred Sony's machine. Again, I'm trying to be unbiased here. All I considered were the plain facts, and the fact was that the Playstation 3 was more appealing to me in every way. This is why I think it has always been the superior choice, and why the rest of the world seems to embrace it over the 360.

Ecchi CG Set: Catherine

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 05:07:00 +0000

As is the custom on Shinkan Crossing, everytime I have an obsession that involves an awesome female character, I dedicate a CG set to her. This was probably pretty expected judging from all the recent posts. The super sexy Catherine is the star this time. Even though she's technically not a human, her succubus charm is undeniable! Cute, thin, blonde, and wearing a lingerie-dress, no wonder she manages to lure men in like moths to a flame.

Gamer Completist Syndrome

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:56:00 +0000

Even after 2 weeks, I'm still in love with Catherine. I haven't spent this much time on a game in a LONG time; probably the last time was Final Fantasy XIII which was the first PS3 game I ever bought. I've seriously done almost everything I can with the game; I've gotten all the endings, gotten all the minor trophies, completed all 128 stages of Rapunzel, gotten gold on all Normal stages, and beaten 2 Babel stages. Basically, the only things I can do in this game now is beat the last 2 Babel stages and get gold on the Hard mode stages.

I'm completely obsessed with doing a complete 100% of this game. What is it that pushes us to complete a game so...completely? I feel like its a mild OCD for me, though I know plenty of gamers are influenced to do the same and I'm sure they don't share the same OCD feelings as me. Is it just because the game itself is addictive? Some of the accomplishments are so ridiculously frustrating that that might not always be the case. Or maybe it's just because they love the game so much; that's pretty much the other half of why I've been pushing to get all the trophies in Catherine. What influences you?

(PS3 Review) Catherine

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:25:00 +0000

I want to keep this review short and concise, because the point I want to make is that I love this amazingly unique game and I want everybody to realize that. There's been a serious lack of truly memorable games coming out of Japan recently, but my need for that J-style experience I've been a fan of for so long was immediately satisfied with Catherine. I knew I could rely on Atlus to produce a great game too, since the Persona series is similarly unique and great in its own stylish fashion. But enough about that...

Initially, Catherine may seem like a glorified puzzle game, and I had fears about that in the beginning too. However, what one will discover is that the puzzles are incredibly addictive, difficult, and deeply layered in technique. There is also a great sense of satisfaction in completing them, not only because of their hair-pulling difficulty, but because they almost serve as challenges to thwart in order to continue watching the story unfold. Speaking of which, the peculiar tale of Catherine is definitely the focal point of this game.

You play as Vincent Brooks, a 32 year old who's a bit lacking in the passion needed to commit to his long-term girlfriend Katherine. He's stuck in a rut; too hesitant about being chained down by marriage but unable to let go of his responsibilities. Life decides to kick Vincent in the ass, however, after a drunken night at the bar, when he finds himself in bed next to a blonde beauty who is ironically named Catherine. All this happens while Vincent experiences reoccurring nightmares where he is a sheep climbing a tower, which, rumor has it, is a curse on unfaithful men.

The game is separated by time periods, much like the Persona games. During the day, you'll watch the story unfold at places like Vincent's apartment, a cafe, and Vincent's work lavatory. Then, at night, you'll be at the Stray Sheep, the local bar and hangout. This was personally my favorite part of the game. You will be able to walk around and converse with the bar patrons, which is important because listening to their problems can determine their fates. Dotdotdot. You can also drink your choice of alcoholic beverage (Rum & Cola for me), change the music on the jukebox, and play a mini-game called Rapunzel. Finally, you'll occasionally receive text messages from both Catherine's, which you can reply to with a set of pre-written sentences.

This talk of texting brings us to an important aspect of the game: the morality meter. Basically, the things you say to people, the way to respond to texts, and the responses you give to important questions in the nightmares tilt the meter towards whichever alignment their associated with. If its what a selfish cheater would say, the meter hand goes to pink. If its a general goody-goody response, you'll get a point in blue. To sum it up in a semi-spoilerish fashion, you'll be determining which Catherine you want to end up with (pink is Catherine, blue is Katherine). Its a pretty simplistic system because the alignment of the choices you make are really obvious, and you can pretty much max the meter towards one side blind-folded. Despite this, responding questions from your own heart is undeniably fun and adds a nice role-playing touch to the game.

And finally, we come to nightmares stages and the puzzles themselves. As I mentioned earlier, they are layered in technique and require stressful amounts of thinking in order to solve, which is made more intense by the time pressure imposed by the scoring system. The hubub surrounding this game is true; the puzzles are freaking difficult. Even on easy mode, you'll often find yourself stumped. With bomb blocks, spike blocks, cracked blocks, random enemies, and slowly disappearing floors, there's no end to the possibilities in which this game can cause you to tear your hair out. But as I've said, you'll soon find yourself addicted, and the amazingly rewarding feeling you'll feel will be worth it.

To top things off, Catherine looks and sounds great. I love the anime style cel-shaded graphics, they are very stylish and look amazing in HD. The character designs are great as well, especially the sexy Catherine. The visuals were the reason I was drawn to this game in the first place. Every now and then, cutscenes will be replaced with animated scenes, which are just as good and move seamlessly with the game. I loved the funky soundtrack too; it has that familiar jazzy hip-hop feel that the Persona games had.

The game may seem a bit short when completing your first playthrough, since it won't take you any more than 10 hours. Fortunately, there's plenty of replay value to be had. There are actually 8 endings in total, so it will take you two additional playthroughs to view them all. You can focus on the other Catherine, pay more attention to different people at the bar, and if the puzzles are frustrating you, note that you can skip them once you score a gold trophy on a specific level. I worked furiously to get gold on every level so my next playthroughs would be made easier for me. I clocked in 26 hours by the end of it, and I hadn't even completed the extra "Babel" levels you can unlock. That's showing you that there's actually quite a lot to this game, and there's plenty of fun to be had when the main story is over.

Catherine is definitely more for experienced gamers, who know how to appreciate a great story and a challenge. Casual gamers may be turned off by the sheer difficulty of some of the puzzles and the deep focus on plot, so that is a fair warning. But, if you're craving that peculiar air of uniqueness that Japanese games have been known for, and just plain love video games, you simply cannot overlook Catherine.

C.Jin's Overall Score: 8.5/10

[Pre-order] figma "Vocaloid" Hatsune Miku Append Ver.

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:49:00 +0000

Yep, I'm looking at figures again. I don't know if anyone remembers, but I got into figures not too long ago and pre-ordered two figures, but I never bought them when the time came because of financial issues. My interest died after that, but here I am again. This is the latest figma of Hatsune Miku Append Version from Max Factory. It looks amazing, the design and the colors are just really pleasing. Its set to release on August 25, and is within my price range so I've already pre-ordered! Hopefully I actually get it this time~

Pre-ordered Catherine!

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:43:00 +0000

Yep, I've made my first legit game purchase in a looong time and pre-ordered Catherine! I was a bit iffy at first because of the complaints about its difficulty, but I found that Gamespot and IGN had both given it great scores (8.5 and 9 respectively), so that calmed my worries almost immediately. The pre-order means I get a soundtrack and a nice artbook, which is a definite plus. Definitely excited, I'll post a review in a few weeks too!

[PS3] Catherine Demo

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:57:00 +0000

I've been really interested in the American release of Catherine for awhile now, and I finally got to play the demo! Honestly, the demo is kind of lackluster. The majority of the demo is cutscenes, and the only gameplay we get is the puzzle sequences. What I'm hoping is that the puzzles aren't the main bulk of the game, mainly because I hate puzzles and it would be boring.

Though, the trailer that plays right after the demo shows a loooot more. There are sections of the weird dream world where you can control the main character (Vincent), and make some interesting role-playing decisions. You can even explore the bar, and play mini-games and probably interact with the people. I'm anticipating a deep role-playing aspect to this game, similar to how Atlus handled the Persona series. I really see a lot of Persona in this game, especially with the whole "make decisions to make or break a relationship". This interests me a little more because I'm in a relationship, pushing a year now, and all this discussion of commitment and relationships should be very interesting...

And of course, the graphics are gorgeous. This, along with Valkyria Chronicles, shows just how amazing cel-shaded anime graphics can look on current gen consoles. The character designs (yummy Catherine~) are a major pull-in for me as well. Hopefully, this game doesn't disappoint. If it were a little cheaper, I would have pre-ordered it, but I might just wait for a price drop. Still, I really do want this game. What do you think?

The Bystander Effect

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:27:00 +0000

So I was just surfing youtube, and I stumbled upon the video above. The video itself isn't interesting, but the comments below it got me a bit riled up. Almost every user was complaining about how the onlookers just stood there and did nothing. They called it disgusting, and cowardly. I used to think like this when I was immature too, but I don't bullshit anymore.

It's called the bystander effect. Everybody expects someone else in the crowd to act, and when this sort of mindset is the natural psychological response, nobody ends up acting. You can talk and judge people all you want, but if you were in that sort of situation, I almost guarantee that you would do the exact same thing. Not everybody is a military combat expert with the experience necessary to safely incapacitate a criminal willing to assault or rob someone in public. Nobody that isn't a cop should be expected to put themselves in danger like that. Sure, it's bad that someone's becoming a victim of crime in public, but its wrong to judge people for not acting.

Besides, its plain impulsive and stupid to risk your life by involving yourself in something that has nothing to do with you. Call it cowardice all you want, but its just idiotic.

Devil May Cry 4 for Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 01:30:00 +0000

I recently bought Devil May Cry 4 and needless to say...I was very disappointed. Sure, the combat system is just as awesome as it has always been, and I had plenty of fun with DMC3. But after playing such amazing games like inFamous, Assassin's Creed 2, and Vanquish, this game feels incredibly underwhelming. It feels like a game stuck in an older generation.

First of all, the visuals are up to par with current gen standards, but the textures and lighting aren't quite as impressive as a majority of games on the top ten list. Environments are bland, and you're stuck in the same old place for a long time. Not to mention, when you're done with half of the game, you're just forced to go through the SAME levels and boss fighta a second time but in reverse.

But its not the visuals that make this game feel dated. The game still plays like a simplistic horror survival game from ten years ago. You solve boring, inane puzzles, and just fight battle after battle to progress. In an age where auto-saving at frequent checkpoints has become the norm, its really frustrating when you're stuck with the arcane system that Devil May Cry has followed for a decade (especially considering the difficulty). Not to mention there are still FIXED CAMERA ANGLES. They live you limited control every now and then, but its fixed everywhere else.

Anyway, this was a wasted purchase and I don't want to finish the game, so I'm putting it up on ebay for sale. It'll be $15.00; its pretty much the same condition as when I opened it because I haven't bothered with it for awhile. Tell me if you want to make a purchase cause I'm willing to sell it for the minimum price, or you can just bid.

Link - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140576260079

(PSP Half-Review) Gundam Memories: Tatakai no Kioku

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:54:00 +0000

You may have noticed that I'm calling this a half-review. Well that's because I haven't completed the game, and I don't plan to. I can also summarize the entire game rather briefly because the game itself is barely a full game anyway. The game is in japanese, but menus are all in english and you don't need to know anything else because the game is as straight-forward as Tetris. Basically, its import-friendly.

I had very high hopes for this game, mainly because of the gorgeous cel-shaded graphics and the selection of playable Gundam. These things were obviously pretty easy to get right, and certainly they did. The cel-shaded Gundam 3D models are indeed pretty impressive, though its considerably fuzzier and lower resolution than the screenshots would have you believe. Unfortunately, that's as far as the pros for this game go.

Environments are bland; you'll mostly be seeing empty space, with nothing but black and stars. We get it, space is pretty black and empty, but god damn it, they use that as an excuse to put absolutely no effort into creating vivid environments. They could have created some pretty impressive cutscenes with those cel-shaded models, but they don't bother with that obviously. Story is just half-assed re-tellings of each featured Gundam series in Super Robot Wars style. What I mean by that is, its still-pictures of the characters chatting it up with never-ending dialogue. You'd best skip all this because its boring, a waste of time, and you probably can't read Japanese anyway.

Well, if the visuals are bland and the story is near non-existent, at least we have the variety in missions right? No you idiot, are you joking? Every single missions consists of "Destroy All Enemies! Mission Complete!". I'm not kidding. Start mission, shoot and slash mindlessly, end mission. This is why you don't need to read any Japanese; nothing ever changes. You turn the game on, go to the only game mode besides the multiplayer modes, and you'll find a list of missions. That's how straightforward it is. But that's enough of that.

Who cares about all of this, ALL of this, if you have fun, flashy gameplay?! That mentality often flies, but not in this case! Somehow, they ACTUALLY managed to fuck up the gameplay too! The one thing it could have had going for it. The gameplay is the typical fly and shoot format you'll find in absolutely every Gundam game in existence. But unlike games like Another Century's Episode, where the gameplay is actually fun and responsive, the gameplay in Gundam Memories is stiff and just total bullshit. A classic strategy is to maneuver side to side while shooting, but in this game you are stopped dead when you shoot. This means your maneuvers are completely restricted, and you'll find yourself immobile and open to all kinds of damage while you're trying to shoot your RANGED weapon.

There is also a dedicated block button, for melee battles. But the whole concept is bullshit and it doesn't work at all. There's no way of detecting enemy movement, and it just becomes a total mash-fest that requires no skill whatsoever. Overall, the game is stiff and frustrating. You'll likely find yourself retrying missions over and over again because all of these stupid limitations will prevent you from playing the game properly. Oh, and I forgot to mention that there are quick time events! Yep, every now and then you'll enter a little quick time event and you have to time a button press. While they actually manage to show off the Gundam visuals, its completely unnecessary and just interrupts your flow.

Overall, Gundam Memories is a total disappointment and not worth your time at all. The first thing I noticed when I got this game was that it was only 300mb. Normally, proper PSP titles are at least 1gb, so it striked me as a bit odd. But now I understand why. There is no fucking content in this game. No cutscenes, no extra game modes, no expansive or remotely interesting environments, nothing. It's just a couple of pretty, cel-shaded Gundams, and that's about it. Ugh, I'm just so utterly disappointment. I guess I was expecting too much. Still, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Gundam Memories is just.plain.awful.

C.Jin's Overall Score: 4/10

Geico: Incompetent and Full of Shit

noreply@blogger.com (C.Jin) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:08:00 +0000

So my dad recently got into an accident; some idiot got too close to the trailer on the back of his truck so it fucked up the front of that puny car while it was turning. The trailer is sturdy so there was barely a dent on it, fortunately. In the end, it obviously ended up in my dad's favor and the other person's insurance company (Geico) offered to pay for the minor damages. We all knew they were barely gonna give us anything, so the rest of my family suggested not even bothering. But my dads pretty cheap, he wouldn't just let some free money go like that. That's where it started.

Turns out Geico is pretty fucking cheap as well. They don't bother setting up their own offices like other, better insurance companies, so you won't be able to find a physical representation of Geico within 100 miles of your home. They set up their agents at local body shops for repairs and damage inspections. They do not send out agents to inspect the damages like real professionals because hey, who cares about satisfying your customers. They require you to take time out of your day to leave your fucking car with them. My dad runs a landscaping business, and follows a very strict schedule, so this whole " Come to US and we'll bring you your convenience" was pretty shit.

So to start, they kept trying to make us schedule an appointment in the middle of the day on a weekday, when my dad would obviously be terribly busy. In the end, we had to sacrifice a few hours of the day to go to what we thought would just be a quick inspection. Here's where it really starts. The dumb bitch on the phone kept telling us to go to a dealership in a neighboring town. They gave us an ADDRESS and name, and we recognized it so we went and got there early. Couldn't find anything, and wasted a few minutes trying to find this Geico guy. So I had to call the claims office again, and the same stupid bitch is like "yeah the dealership, you have to go inside". So in I went.

The receptionist there tells me I need to be at a BODY SHOP, not the dealership. They didn't tell us very accurate directions, so we wasted some more time trying to find the damn place. Finally, we made it to the proper place, but we were already 20 minutes late by then. I went inside, and the Geico guy tells me he has customers back to back so I have to wait to get it inspected. He told me in this condescending tone that "there are other people who are here on time", even though it was their fucking fault we were late.

We still waited about 20 minutes, wasting more of my dad's valuable work day and making me late for plans I made with friends. It all fell apart from there. The Geico asshole finally finished with his customer after wasting time staring at a shit car, and he comes up to us and tells us we're gonna need to reschedule or come back later. My dad's english isn't very good, but he blew up on them. He was so frustrated because he had to get back to work, and for them to tell us we have to take the time to reschedule and come back AGAIN was just outrageous. Finally, the big finale of this story.

I fucking lost it. I literally, just absolutely lost my temper. I think it was mainly because my dad was yelling, so I felt like yelling too. But I didn't just yell, I flipped the fuck out. I yelled to the point where I couldn't even hear what he was saying. I kept telling him it was their fault we were late, but he gave us this fucking attitude and had the NERVE to tell us that we should've been on time. After yelling like I've NEVER yelled in public before, I just said forget it and yelled at my dad to just leave. That wasn't before I hurled terrible insults at the Geico fucker. He was seriously overweight, so I told him to go lose some weight and called him a fatass.

I guess I kind of regret losing it so badly, but whats done is done. I figured at the time that I had nothing to lose since we were just looking to grab a few bucks. I seriously couldn't believe it though, they just managed to push me so far. I've never, ever lost my temper like that in front of a stranger in my life. Americans have a SERIOUS lack of respect for customer service. In Korea, there is a STRICT code of conduct, and all employees dealing with customers are respectful and humble towards customers to the point where they seem like robot servants. But Americans could care less if they're respectful or not. But then again, respect as never been a part of American culture anyway.

All in all, I hate Geico now. We used to have them as our insurance company but for reasons I haven't been told yet, we dropped them a few years ago. Guess this isn't the first time they fucked us over.