Anime
Review
Hellsing
Gonzo/Pioneer
By
Lancer
There are vampire
movies with gore, action and style to satisfactorily and peremptorily
squash just about anyone's tastes into the back seat. Even if one
hasn't been sunk in the plethora of vampire anime that's out there
(Vampire Hunter D, Bloodlust, Blood the last vampire, Vampire Princess
Miyu, and company) with the likes of the Blade series, or Underworld,
anyone with a penchant for watching blood-sucking monsters get vanquished
with the effects and choreography to make Die-hard look tame has likely
got their cravings satisfied.
So
why try another one?
If you're trying Hellsing, then there are plenty of reasons to do
so. So, sure, the vampire-who-hunts-vampires concept has been done
to death; even then, for style and originality, Hellsing stands head
and shoulders above anything you're likely to have seen. This is not
your average Dracula-esque vampire story; while the premise is adequately
dark, it feels more grunge-rock than chilling in the way it is presented.
Characters have style by the truckloads, and the attitude to go with
it; visuals are crisp, and the action sequences are gloriously impressive.
That, and the fact that the lead character Alucard is far from your
average protect-the-innocent breed of hero; put bluntly, he is a monster
of the most convincingly creepy kind, which makes him just the coolest
thing since Iron Maiden.
The
soundtrack is fantastic; a blend of jazzy rock that blends perfectly
with gun-toting snazzy-suited vampire-busters who infallibly have
the twisted, dark kind of humor that makes Hellsing so original and
satisfying. Everything, in fact, holds together perfectly… until one
gets to the plot. Assuming one ever does, because it's not really
there; action sequence after action sequence tie together a string
of events but leave the viewer wanting more, with woefully short time
given to background or conclusion. There are hints to a grand conspiracy
that could undoubtedly have been used to great effect, but Hellsing's
single greatest pitfall is that the hints never become anything more
than that.
Despite the unfulfilled
feel you get when you're done with it, Hellsing remains a must-see
for the cool factor and the suave, swank style. While it fails to
live up to what it might have been, for sheer attitude, Hellsing's
nigh on impossible to beat.
Gizmondo
By
Niloy
Gizmondo
has taken the wraps off a portable gaming device that's seems to be
the Swiss Army Knife among handheld consoles. The device, which is
now available in Europe, is meant to go head-to-head with the PlayStation
Portable and the Nintendo DS.
The
Gizmondo combines gaming with an excess of multimedia functionsvideo,
music, Web, GPS tracking, and a digital camera. But games won't be
reduced into unworthy status: "We know that the handheld market
will be driven by content and functionality, and the Gizmondo will
deliver on both," says founder Carl Freer. A recently announced
partnership with Microsoft will surely help....
It
runs the Windows CE operating system with Media Player 9, which means
it can play MP3s, plus MPEG-4 and WMV video imported via an SD slot
or USB 2.0. It can also sync with Outlook to store contacts, which
doesn't sound useful until you find that it comes with a SIM card
and the ability to send MMS messages (but not make calls). Plus there
is GPRS, WAP, a 0.3-megapixel camera… And to maximize gaming capabilities,
it features the Nvidia GeForce 3D 4500 graphics solution. Gizmondo
says that 12 games will be available at launch; so far, the company
has agreements with Electronic Arts, Activision, Sega, and Microsoft.
The
Basics:
Publisher: Tiger
Price: $459.99
TFT screen, 240 x 320 pixels
Samsung400 Mhz ARM9 Processor
64 MB RAM
128-bit 3D Nvidia Graphics
Media: Proprietary cartridges, games can also be downloaded
Online: Bluetooth technology for both local and wide-area multiplayer
gaming
Notable games:
COLORS
Release date: Spring 2006
If
you liked reclaiming turf in the gang-war bits of Grand Theft Auto,
just think how much fun gamers will have when they'll be fighting
for actual territory against other human beings. In Colors, gamers
can wirelessly link up with some peeps, form a gang, and then attempt
to invade rival ganglands in gritty action-packed shootouts. And that
land they're occupying is real, thanks to the Gizmondo's built-in
GPS: Gamers will mark off their area with a GPS geo-fence, so If anyone
intrudes, they'll be summoned to protect their piece of the city.
CITY
Release date: Spring 2005
Apparently the Gizmondo's killer app, this ambitious title uses the
handheld's GPS features to place gamers within a virtual city modelled
after the one they're already occupying in real life. So what do they
do once they're virtually where they are? That part's a bit vague
gamers will apparently be given small missions that encourage them
to explore their urban environs and interact with fellow Gizmondo
users afoot in their general vicinity. It all sounds a bit Ike a crazy
New Age scavenger hunt… but a potentially fun one.
CONFLICT:
DESERT STORM
Release date: Spring 2005
This port of the console hit puts the players behind enemy lines with
a squad of four soldiers during the 1991 Iraq invasion. Ten missions
are available for the portable edition, starting with eliminating
the chemical weapons and Scud missiles white battling the Republican
Guard, and ending with leading the charge in a mission to liberate
Kuwait City. Up to four players can participate via wireless connection.
Given
its expansive capabilities, cool design, and support from major gaming
publishers, the Gizmondo just might be the console to beat this year.
It's certainly an impressive, sleek piece of hardware. A major challenge
will be whether the company can deliver a wide category of game titles
and how gamers will respond with it's too expensive price tag.
Surprisingly
Modern Bird
Vegavis,
lived in Antarctica 70 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.
Although birds clearly evolved by 150 million years ago, exactly when
the modern groups of birds arose has proved a subject of debate. Researchers
describing Vegavis in the current issue of Nature contend that it
is a relative of today's ducks and geese. If so, birds of modern aspect
emerged before the end of the Cretaceous, rather than in the Tertiary
period as some scholars have believed.
So,
you guys have been complaining why there wasn't the readers special
Sites Unseen. Well, guess what. There was a huge turnout of readers
sending links. But unfortunately, most of them were bad. I simply couldn't
get myself to write a Sites Unseen featuring that stuff. Anyway, here's
some of the better links.
Moin
came up with three good sites. The first one is an interesting educational
site, www.physics.org. It has lots of things for you to know, learn
and discover. All in all, this is a good site and worth exploring
out. Moin's second site points to something which is probably the
tiniest site in the internet,http://www.guimp.com/. It has some flash
animations and arcade games, all within area of 20X20 pixels! It's
very interesting just to see what the developer crammed into such
a tiny area.
I've
played Pong, Pac Man, Asteroids and a car game here, and surprisingly,
they are all playable! Moin's last link is of a site that has a huge
amount of flash animations, games and videos. http://gprime.net/ The
guy who manages this site searches all over the internet for cool
stuff and puts it up there. Not all of the stuff there are of good
quality, though.
Aiman
gave us some good useful links. The first one gives you unlimited
Gmail accounts! It's http://isnoop.net. Go here, and click on "Gmail
account invite spooler". Currently, they have 520,713 invites
available and have already distributed 565,113 invites since they
started. Although they say they have that many invites, they will
only give you about 10-20. Aiman's second link is http://www.vgmusic.com/.
It's a site with music from all kinds of games… from almost every
console! Check it out!
Asif
Iqbal emailed with two funny flash cartoons and a game. The first
one is a very funny cartoon showing different Olympic events.
http://tinyurl.com/3a7ql
(1.3 MB). The second cartoon is a satire describing the difference
between Italians and other Europeans. http://tinyurl.com/56247 (2
MB). Also, Asif recommended an interesting cricket game. Easy game
and if you practice, you can even
score
400 in just 15 overs! http://tinyurl.com/55wbz (400 kb). Also, Sayem
gave this link: http://www.smscountry.com/. It's a site that claims
to allow the users to send SMS to any country.
Also,
I've got my exams coming up. And even I gotta study at times. So I
guess I'll be a bit irregular about my columns. Bear with me till
the end of May. After that, I'll rule! (a lot more than I do now)
As
usual, the whole Sites Unseen and with all its links is available
at my blog niloywrites.blogspot.com
Chris
Barr is Available on Thursday
http://www.chrisbarr.net/projects/thursday/
So you think your calendar is full? (Mine's certainly full. And after
21 or so hours of gaming, I can't feel my teeth.) Anyway, at least
you don't have perfect strangers scheduling your time and planning
your whole day, every Thursday for two months. Chris Barr does. Calling
his temporary servitude "a collaborative live art and documentary
project," Chris invites you to ask him to do something, anything
-- as long as it can take place in or around Buffalo, New York, and
it isn't illegal, dangerous, or financially challenging. Chris has
been asked to stand on his hands, paint a picture, and photograph
attractive women holding an "I like Spike" sign. And he's
not above performing a little pedicure action or commandeering a hallway
desk. So, Chris will be busy on Thursdays, but that leaves him six
days a week to recover.
Uncyclopedia
http://mrpalmguru.com/uncyclopedia/
Taking a design cue from a certain user-created encyclopedia (wikipedia.org),
the Uncyclopedia is a unique experiment in public domain humor. A
self-professed collection of lies and disinformation, the Uncyclopedia
depends upon its readers for its goofy entries on the Cuban Missile
Crisis or Bands With Only One Song. But is it funny? Yes, in places.
Specially when Sauron is the Lord of Dance: a cute little girly boy
riding a Pegasus on rainbows. Okay, maybe not all the stuff over there
are funny… but you get the idea.
Interactive
buddy: the ultimate tool
http://tinyurl.com/55paa
The purpose of this cool game is for you to interact with the little
guy on screen in whatever way you would like (You've been handed grenades,
stun guns, shot guns and flame throwers, among other handy tools.
So be creative!)
Maybe
that doesn't sound grand, but it's just that I find that little wobbly
thing with Bush's face saying "I have misoverestimated my agile-ness!"
very soothing. It's also a joy to watch him exclaim "Was that
a nuc-ah-ler bomb?" or "You have misunderstimated my bravery!"
Also, watching Maddox cry out "I'm not as tough as I sound please
stop!" or "Okay! You were right and I was wrong." is
a nice change from his usual rants (Maddox.xmission.com). He still
rules, though. Bill Gates confesses "Self-esteem is a luxury
that I don't have." Anyway, the point is, this is a very fun
and innovative tool for punishing some popular people.
You
can visit my blog at niloywrties.blogspot.com or email me to [email protected]
By
Niloy
