Category: Personal

Day-to-day life of the Leaf. Like a form of diary then?

Heading back to Vice City with Grand Theft Auto VI

admin 3 Comments

Following years of hype and expectations from video game players, the long-awaited next Grand Theft Auto has been confirmed by Rockstar Games. This is Grand Theft Auto VI. See the impressive trailer with this YouTube link.

Must admit, this trailer reveal so much detail and graphical improvements over the previous game which came out ten years ago! In fact, Grand Theft Auto V originally appeared on the seventh generation consoles on the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360. It has been ported to many different platforms since then and yet, I remember playing this to death – literally – on my original Xbox 360 back in 2013 as it was so addictive that my machine suffered the awful red ring of death!

I have posted my original thoughts on the appeal of the Grand Theft Auto series on the blog many years ago and you can read it again here as a reminder of how far we have progressed in terms of story development, visuals and music.

I am not surprised by the amount of attention with the new GTA VI as over the past few months various leaks appeared online featuring very rough game work from the developer which was posted by impatient gamers who want a piece of the action to draw clicks. In the end, Rockstar Games confirm it was happening and yet disappointed by the leaked data but are still working on this exciting title to become the biggest and most successful game in the history of this interactive medium.

Grand Theft Auto VI will be the sixteenth entry in the extremely popular series and it is set within a fictional open world state of Leonida, based on Florida, and its Miami-inspired Vice City. The story will follow the criminal duo of Lucia and her partner.

Have to say, heading back to Vice City is fantastic news. As I love the 1980s vibe and feel of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which was originally released back on the PlayStation 2 in 2002. The classic radio stations, music and visual style was the highlight and to return back to this area decades later is a treat.

Sure, times have changed since the 80s with social media and hip trends dominating the culture lifestyle but I will embrace the developer’s satire and amusing commentary in this current era that this new game is set. I am so looking forward to this immersion and yet cannot wait to create so much wreckage and havoc in the new Vice City! Yes, the 2025 release window is a long way since this trailer has just dropped but two years will fly by and once it will be available on sale, million of players will enjoy the experience. Roll on 2025!

Nintendo Wii U review

admin 6 Comments

Wii U

Six years after Nintendo unveiled the unique Wii console to the world with its fancy motion sensor controller dubbed the Wii Remote, the Japanese games manufacturer has devised a new way of interacting with video games by enhancing the user experience with the new Wii U.

The GamePad controller, featuring a large 6.2-inch display, camera, speakers and motion sensors feels like a chunky iPad. And yet it’s very comfortable to hold and use, as it’s not too heavy thanks to the Nintendo’s approach to ergonomic design.

The game playing features are taken directly from the popular DS and 3DS handheld consoles, whereby you have physical buttons (like the D-pad) and a touch screen to interact with.

Super Mario Wii U

Playing games with the GamePad is a joy as it brings a new sense of perspective and experience. Nintendo Land in particular shows off the many features on the controller by tilting, rotating and touching the screen to aid the fun and addictive game play.

While survival horror game ZombiU uses the GamePad as a form of a scanner to look for items as a way of staying alive from the zombies.

Super Mario Wii U game

As for the Wii U, this is the first time that Nintendo has gone for the High Definition route and games now look absolutely breathtaking on a HDTV. New Super Mario Bros. U is a great example, as the environments look even more immense and lively thanks to the gorgeous visuals.

And yet the feature I love the most about the Wii U is the social network. The Miiverse reminds me of a combination of Facebook, Twitter and an online forum.

Miiverse v2

You can post status updates on games with text messages or drawings that everybody on the Nintendo Network can see. Players can ‘follow’ one another and rate status updates with ‘Yeah!’ approval. In addition, if you are having a difficult time on a level, just post a message on Miiverse about your troubles and a solution on how to complete it is given by the helpful players online.

This social interaction makes the Wii U really unique. Instead of the usual online competition to be the best against the rest, there is a sense of networking and embracing your online friends. It feels friendlier and you get to see the different personalities thanks to the witty messages and drawings.

Is this Nintendo’s finest console? The HD visuals do make the games look fantastic and thanks to the powerful processors, the Wii U can finally match the capability of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft.

As for GamePad, the touch screen elements work very well in the games on offer in particular Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition. Although it will be fascinating to see developers creating new and exciting ways to harness the GamePad and the system’s other unique options to deliver one-of-a-kind experiences in the years ahead.

The Blind Side

invisiblekid 2 Comments

Well as you know, my reviews here are pretty much exclusive of older films. So with that in mind, here’s a film from 2009! Staring Quinton Aaron (Michael Oher) and Sandra Bullock (Leigh Anne Touhy) who won an Oscar for her leaden role in the film.

Based on a true story, the film follows the story of, big friendly and slow black giant from the projects in Memphis Tennessee. With little education in his life, does not know his father and his mom is a crack addict, life is not nice for Michael. By chance, he is given a a place at a Christian school by their football coach who sees Michael as their star defender.

Being a huge late teenager starting in a class with kids barely in their teens, life is at first hard for Michael at his new school. However little child, S.J Tuohysees the giant as a lost soul and make friends with the big guy. One wet, cold night, while making his way to the gym or as he knows it “home”, the child’s parents chance upon Michael and give him a roof for the night at their sizeable home.

One night turns into weeks and slowly but surely they build a bond between them and realise his talent for defending not only in football but in life itself. The key to his future though relies on him needing to graduate and so hires a private tutor (Kathy Bates), a role no doubt helped by that fact she was born in Tennessee.

At first though despite his size and protective nature, he does not do too well at football and his coach has no clue how to teach the giant bear how to play the game.

So in steps Leigh Anne and shows Michael what he needs to do in the only way he can relate to, from there on in football is his future.

He ends up being the the first draft pick for the NFL in 2009.

So that’s the basic outline and I have to say I love this film. I hate to use the term “feel good film”, because, well, in most cases it’s a film and people watch films as an escapism not as a guiding light.

But given that this is based (fairly strongly) on fact I can see this as a feel good film. Not that most can benefit from it and make a change for the better (that’s what I call a real “feel good film/documentary”); however it is a film that lifts the spirit and even shed a tear for sadness growing into joy.

As mentioned, Sandra Bullock won the leading actress for her role. I’m a HUGE Sandra fan, but she’s a very hard cause to fight for. Ever since Speed, much of her film career has been stinkers, but I can’t help but love her. However, in this she does play a blinder of a role, akin to Julia Roberts‘ role in Erin Brockovich though I think Julia did far better than Sandra.

There are big similarities, being a strong based-on-fact woman and a role vastly different from their norm. Both are incredibly good looking for their age, however Julia certainly pulls of the push-up bra better than Sandra does in this film (which must surely have been deliberate). But, and this is a big but, it was fantastic to see Sandra actually work for her money.

To see her in this role proves that she has been a wasted talent and I would assume she hasn’t had many roles like this given to her. I can only imagine she leapt at the chance to be in this film. Sadly it seems, it’s not been a case of a career revival and has been given more roles like this.

The big centre point in this film is the deep south of love, of God and with Christianity overcoming racism. At points the black card is played and is better dealt with in some scenes than others, but given that allegedly the real Tuohy’s applied a big part in this adaptation, time constraints played more than their part in this.

Credit has to go to the other members of the family who make this feel like a great household to depart of. Much credit has to go to Jae Head. His closeness to Michael looks and feel genuine as the whole family takes this stranger and make him instantly a part of the family. Their religion is never forced down are throats as actually Christianity per se, but having not read the book, this is possibly Hollywood glossing over a few aspects of the real events.

Overall I really liked this film, while it was obvious it was “Sandra’s time” at the Oscars she has not moved much from the rom-coms since, she played a great role as does Quinton in his. This makes for defending the Sandra Bullock Fan Club a harder cause to fight for. After the massive disappointment of Johnny English Reborn which was watched immediately preceding this, it was a great watch.

Reviewed by Invisiblekid

The iPhone 4S – one month on

invisiblekid 2 Comments


So how is it? Was it worth the upgrade? How is Siri? How’s the battery life? Camera any good? Phone fast enough? iOS 5 any good? Do I miss jailbreaking? Hopefully in the next few (or more) words, I’ll be able to explain my thoughts on Apple’s new phone, the iPhone 4S.

The major reason for me upgrading was that my contract with O2 was at an end and I wanted a change. 3G coverage with O2 is terrible (in my area at least). At work, 3 was the only one with a 3G signal and their all you can eat data plan with the ‘One Plan’ is the only plan on any network for non business users. Deal. So far they have been exceptional with the ability to stream content at work (useful for lunchtime entertainment) and great coverage and speeds. I get 4-5mb at work with a mate’s iPhone 4 getting at least 2mb less, so at least the HSDPA+ abilities of the 4s are a great bonus. In stronger areas I get 6-8mb, which is great for iTunes downloads on the fly. Not close to it’s max rated speeds, but that’s not Apple’s fault and we’re even less likely to reach those than the US.

Read More