Earlier in the week I was invited to be the special correspondent for FUTURELOOKS‘ special coverage of Bungie’s latest release in the Halo series of video games.

Halo 3: ODST takes place during the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, in the Covenant ravaged New Mombasa, East Africa.

You play the Rookie, the newest member of your ODST squad.  Dropped behind enemy lines, you try to reunite with the rest of your squad.

Much more than an expansion, Halo 3: ODST allows players to explore dangerous new ground, search the dark, abandoned streets of New Mombasa for clues, and fight back against the Covenant invasion from multiple perspectives. Dropping in as “the rookie,” a new member of an elite squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers sent into New Mombasa on a classified recon mission, you’ll be armed with specialized weaponry and upgraded technology, including silenced weapons and a VISR enhanced vision mode.

Separated from your squad, you’ll have to scour the city for clues in order to learn what happened to Buck, Dare, Dutch, Mickey, and Romeo. As you collect new clues, you’ll experience the story from their perspectives, fighting through the occupied city hours earlier.

Xbox Canada held a launch party in Vancouver and we have a sneak peek of what to expect prior to the game’s official release tomorrow.

Here’s also the latest live-action commercial, it gives us a good idea of how awesome the feature film will be if it ever gets made.

Following on the success of Bungie’s Halo 3 and Halo wars, the long awaited Halo 3: ODST (previously known as Halo 3: Recon) is set to arrive in stores this fall.

ODST stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper and represent the elite special forces arm of the UNSC Marines.

You play the Rookie dropped onto Covenant occupied Earth and separated from your squad. Apparently they are going for a more non-linear, open world game play experience much like Fallout 3. I hope.  As of yet I’m not sure if there will be a co-op option in the retail release.

Purchase of the game will also get you a chance to participate in the beta for Halo Reach.

Videos are courtesy of my friends at Futurelooks DOT COM who have just returned from E3 with a bunch of sneak previews. Check it out!

This meal cost me NT$180, which is roughly $6 CDN.

I find it abundantly amazing that a place with the population density of Taipei,  currently approaching 3 million people, not including Taipei County, with the relatively expensive standards of living that the food and beverage costs can be so low.

Approximately a total of 23 million people populate the island of Taiwan, which is about the size of Vancouver Island.

It would not be difficult to live life here simply and spending less than $10 CDN per day.

Cheap eats are available in a variety of roadside vendors and small, alleyway shops.

Part of the fun of Taipei is visiting the various shops and eateries which reside in the old alleyways that criss-cross this large metropolis.  The Japanese occupied Taiwan from 1895 to 1945 and the Japanese influence is still readily apparent in the design and layout of the old city and particularly in the narrow alleys.

The above pictured sugar cane is roasted to caramelize the sugars, then pressed through a giant juicer.  Fresh ginger extract is an optional addition for addition goodness. A healthy juice snack and the smell is amazing.

Hot pots are popular here in Taipei.  We visited one that gave you a choice of your own hot pot, a bowl of rice and unlimited soft drinks and ice cream for only NT$100 per person, that works out to about $3 CDN.

Let’s not forget desserts.  A Taiwanese favorite is shaved iced with various toppings.  A delicious treat especially during Taiwan’s very hot, tropical climate.  A genuine coffee from Mr. Coffee is also a must, forget about Starbucks.

If you ever get the chance to visit Taipei, follow your nose, you may be pleased with what you find.

Naruwan!

I believe it means “Welcome” in aboriginal Taiwanese and the spokesperson for Tourism Taiwan is aboriginal Taiwanese singing star named A-Mei.

It’s been a couple of hectic weeks here in Taiwan, everyday has been spent with friends and family.  Life in Taiwan really revolves around the food here.

From the very simple street vendors to the very finest in upscale cuisine the goal of socializing with others is ever present.  I think that’s why Chinese dining tables are round to reflect this cultural distinction.

Chinese New Years was celebrated this year on February 26th, 2009, bringing in the Year of the Ox.  Chinese New Year is by far the most important holiday for the Chinese people and most family-based, and some larger commercial-based to a lesser extent, close shop for up to a week or more to visit family and celebrate with food and drink.

Another common pastime during the Lunar New Year is to visit Buddhist temples to pray for good luck and prosperity in the New Year.

As luck would have it, I was in the area when Taiwan President Ma’s motorcade raced by as I was strolling near a major monestary.  It is customary for the president to visit the more prominent monestaries to hand out red Lucky Envelopes to the droves of visitors.

Taiwan President Ma’s Motorcade during New Years 2009 from Leo Chiang on Vimeo.

Hello All!

I write this belated update from sunny, tropical Taipei, Taiwan.

I’ve been here for a couple of weeks already to attend my sister’s wedding and visiting family and friends for Chinese New Years. Happy Year of the Ox!

Since my flight to Taiwan left on the day of my actual birthday I decided to celebrate with my Vancouver friends over the last weekend before my departure.

Since Darla’s birthday is only a few days after mine I celebrated with the Exit Gear beauty first.

The following night I celebrated at a buddy’s house while we watched UFC!

On Sunday, the big shindig was held at The New Bohemian and stayed until closing where we finished off at a local nightclub called Republic.

I promise a few more updates before I leave Taiwan but my time has been sparse since I’ve been eating my way across the island. Free internet is available everywhere but I’m trying to travel light and keeping my laptop at home. Expect LOTS of food photos in the upcoming posts.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos from the birthday parties!

I had to watch UFC 92 at home alone today due to the fact that I can’t get my car out of my driveway.

We’ve had about two weeks of snow and sub-zero temperatures in the Greater Vancouver Area.  It doesn’t help that the city workers had neglected to plow the roads around my condo.  The layers of snow have been compacted and a dangerous layer of ice is left on the bottom.

To worsen the situation my rear-wheel drive Mustang is shoed with summer performance tires, which effectively turn into hockey pucks in these icy conditions.  Vancouver is simply not used to this kind of adverse weather conditions and is not properly staffed nor equipped to deal with the aftermath of such a prolonged exposure.

The Vancouver International Airport measured 41 centimetres (just over 16 inches) of snow.  The Vancouver Airport is located in the city of Richmond, which is at sea level. My home in Burnaby is at a much higher elevation so I estimate we have about two feet of snow accumulated over the last two weeks.  The bad news is that it’s supposed to snow again throughout the next week.

I can’t wait for the rain to come back.

At any rate, I missed out on another UFC party and had to watch it at home alone.

Just about every fighter I had expected to win had lost.  Good thing I’m not a gambling man.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson pummeled Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva to a Knock Out victory 3:21 in the 1st Round.

In the co-Main Event Frank Mir looked his best ever with an impressive TKO victory, 1:54 in the 2nd Round over Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.  After the TKO Mir ran to the side of the cage and faced Brock Lesnar yelling, “You’ve got MY belt!”  Clearly indicating that Mir is confident he will once again defeat Lesnar for the coveted UFC Championship title that Lesnar holds after defeating Randy Couture.

Fan favorite Forrest Griffin suffered a disappointing loss to Rashad “Sugar” Evans in the Main Event, a TKO at 2:46 in the 3rd round, even after dominating the first two rounds.  Gracious in defeat as he is in victory, Forrest Griffin was full of praise for Evans.  How can you not like the guy?

My Blackberry Pearl has served me well over the last two years.

The ease of use and no-frills usefulness of the BB Pearl’s trackball has given me the best, and problem free, mobile phone experience since my first cell phone fifteen years ago (remember those brick phones by Motolora?).

However, I’ve been enviously looking over the shoulders of all my friends who now have iPhones.  The sleek multimedia images and touchscreen browsing made my Pearl feel like a fossil.  For a time, I was content just texting and calling. Plus, I hate Apple and everything that hippie/yuppie, marketing genius of a corporation stands for.  Alas, the urge to get something with more multimedia features was too strong and I almost settled for an iPhone.

Now, with the Storm, I hope I can have the best of both worlds.  I don’t usually like to get new technology when it first comes out.  I try to get the 2nd or 3rd generation when they manage to work out the kinks.  Oh well, call this an early Christmas gift for myself.

At first glance, the Storm is a sleek, sexy device.  It is a nice compact size but carries some weight due to its metal construction.  No cheap plastic parts here.  It’s about the size of the Blackberry Curve, big enough for a good sized display and still compact enough to fit in your pocket.

The touch screen is unique in that it acts much like a computer mouse.  Touching the screen selects items and depressing the screen (yes the whole screen goes in) initiates the icon selected.  Although it is a neat enough feature, I found myself missing the simple trackball technology and I think most people familiar with the trackball will agree that the touch screen takes some getting used to.  There is definitely a greater learning curve associated with the Storm than any other Blackberry predecessor.  The keyboard changes orientation from portrait to landscape, depending on how you’re holding the device.  People with big fingers will have trouble with the keyboard.

The high resolution screen is amazing and turning the phone sideways for a landscape screen allows for better multimedia viewing.

The speaker is LOUD.  The loudest speaker I have ever heard on a phone.  A nice change from the muffled Pearl speaker that was hidden behind the battery cover.

The 3.2 megapixel camera and video camera is a nice addition and the flash/LED video light  is very bright.  So bright is the LED it actually comes in handy as a mini flashlight.

Applications are few, expect that number to increase as the Storm gains in popularity, but don’t expect iPhone levels of application madness.  It is still a business phone after all.

Browsing is a little slower than expected and you still can’t view a lot of online movies because there are no Flash or Quicktime drivers for the Storm.  I hope that changes soon because most download sites have an option for iPods and iPhones.

Overall, it’s a great phone for people like me who detest iPhones and want the basic functionality of a business Blackberry but would like the expanded multimedia features of the iPhone.  The Storm is a good first attempt by Blackberry to compete in the iPhone dominated segment and I’m sure subsequent models will bear more improvements.  I still wish it had a trackball though.

What BlackBerry Storm 9530 comes with:

• 3G Blackberry Storm 9530 Smartphone
• Li-ion battery
• Travel charger
• User guide
• 8 GB microSD card (yup, that’s a good size)
• Charging data cable
• Premium stereo headphones
• SIM card (which technically means you can unlock this phone and use it on any GSM network)
• Quick reference guide
• Blackberry user tools CD
• International travel guide
• Pocket carrying case

I think the last time that Vancouver was this cold, for this long a period, was way back in 1983 when I vaguely remember blizzard-like conditions.

However, I was a small kid then and I loved it because schools were closed and I couldn’t drive anyways. Nowadays, I hate it.

Especially with my Mustang being terrible in the snow I simply can’t do anything.  The summer performance tires turn into hockey pucks, further worsening my car’s winter handling capabilities.

I took it out yesterday afternoon and the Stang’s rear end was pretty loose on acceleration.

The sub-zero temperatures are supposed to stick around until next week, but we’re getting another dump of snow this weekend.  With a daily high of -1 degrees Celsius I’m looking forward to rain and anything above zero.

The many fountains in my neighborhood have almost frozen up and some have turned into mini ice volcanoes.

Such a change from just two months ago.  Brrrrrr!

Yeah, the title says it all.  So that’s my excuse for the lack of updates.  Sorry.

In between work and my Xbox 360 I just haven’t had any time to work on anything else.  It hasn’t been crazy busy in the film industry as of late, but Eureka and 2012 (aka: Farewell Atlantis) has called me in a few times. Here’s a teaser trailer:

The Fallout franchise has had a favorite place in my heart since I first played the original Fallout on my PC over a decade ago.  I loved the follow-up Fallout 2 and the spin-off Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel.

Gears of War 2 pretty much sells itself.  After the the phenomenal performance of the original GoW everyone has been waiting for the sequel.  I picked up my copy at the midnight release and got a limited edition comic book and gold rifle download for my troubles.

I also got duped into getting Fable 2.  Much like Fallout 3, Fable 2 is a vast world with an open-ended storyline where you can be bad or good or anything in between. The intro looks like a Disney film!

Yesterday, John Chow (with his wife Sarah), Ed Lau and Stephen Fung and myself checked out the media kick-off party for the 4th Annual Taste of Yaletown.

The event runs through October 14-26 and features a list of twenty-two participating restaurants. Much like the Taste of Vancouver the restaurants offer special three-course menus at fixed prices of $25, $35 and $45, but the Taste of Yaletown features only restaurants within this trendy Vancouver district.

Yaletown used to be a light industrial zone and now the old warehouses have all been converted to modern lofts with retail and restaurants anchoring the ground floors.

Taste of Yaletown is sponsored by American Express, who will donate 5% of purchases charged to its cards during the event to the Canadian Association of Food Banks.  In addition, each restaurant will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

The media party was held at the cozy, little Tequila Kitchen.  Kind of a small venue for a media event but the invitations to the party were scarce, so the attendees managed to comfortably pack the place in nicely.  Nice enough that Ed knocked my red wine all over me and he almost backed into the servers and guests a few times.  Can’t take that guy anywhere, I guess he’s just too use to Richmond

We sampled various dishes from the participating restaurants, my favorites being the Peking Duck Clubhouse and a wonderful chocolate mousse/peanut butter brittle dessert.  Both were concoctions of Rob Feenie, who came over to our table to explain the dessert in detail as he is now working with Cactus Club.

I look forward to taking advantage of the Taste of Yaletown to sample some more restaurants and reviewing them here.  But I was still hungry and couldn’t wait, so Ed, Stephen and myself headed down the street to Pinkys Steakhouse.  What can I say?  I felt like having a steak

That is until I saw their menu.  The Kobe Beef Smoked Cheddar BBQ burger sounded too good to pass up.  At $18 with onion rings and a side of fries (your choice of regular potato or yam) it was reasonable considering Kobe beef often goes for about $3 an ounce.  Ed settled on a Jumbo Prawn appy (and they were huge prawns!) and Stephen went with a boring fettucine carbonara.  However, it must have been good because Stephen Hoovered those noodles up.

I expected my Kobe beef burger to be rich and a little greasy but it was surprisingly, well, regular.  It was delicious but didn’t taste different from any other gourmet beef burger I’ve tasted at other fine establishments.