iPhone Show & Tell: Chicken Battle
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hkFashionGeek
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Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Gone Cuckoo
Pac Rat
I have this habit of buying notebooks thinking that I will eventually write in them. And I do go through quite a lot being a former journo and one of those girls who still enjoy writing in journals. However, I didn’t realize how MANY notebooks I have until I just went through the hassle of packing up my belongings to move to a new apartment. I literally have about 30 to 40 quality notebooks just hanging around in my apartment waiting for me to write. Of course, the point of this entry is not to tell you how many notebooks I have but rather that I covet even more since I just discovered this series of limited edition Moleskine Pac-Man notebooks.
This series of Pac-Man Moleskine celebrates 30 years of the iconic 8-bit game with individual notebooks and a gift set. Choose from ones that features a classic screen image of Pac-Man on a black hard front cover with the text 'HIGH SCORE, 10.957 days' on the back, Pac-Man and Ghost on a hard black front cover with the yellow text 'Game Over' on the back, Pac-Man on a yellow hard front cover with UV lacquer silk screen print on the front and back or fun fruits on a hard yellow front cover with the text 'Insert Coin' on the back. The gift set features limited edition Volant notebooks presented in a black bespoke folder including 4 Volant notebooks in yellow, blue, fuchsia or red, each printed with a silver character from the game including 'Pac-Man', 'Ghosts' and 'Cherries'.
All are enclosed with a black band showing the vast array of characters and the official Pac-Man Logo with 30th Anniversary text in both English and French.
Get it at Amazon
It's a Mall World After All
If you know me in person, then my addiction to facebook and iphone games shouldn't be news. They don't call us Geeks for nuttin'. But... a game that combines addictive online play with addictive materialistic joy... I mean, it's a recipe for disaster. Don't expect me to get any work done, ever again. I'll be covertly stocking up my shop in Facebook's Mall World with the Miu Miu clogs I was unable to get this weekend because they are sold out... The Dior saddle, the green McQueen Elvie, the Balenciaga Holiday and the killer Proenza outfit that would look so much better on the cyber version of ShoeGeek than on Kristen Stewart.
Thanks to my favourite SocialGeek Michelle for screenshots of her shop. Your demi shorts are now sold out though!
Product images: Net-a-porter, Buy Design Online, Neiman Marcus, Red Carpet Fashion Awards, Purse Blog.
Geek Spy: Gloom
At the time of writing, it’s a gloomy day where the sky is gray and my tea is cold and I‘m reminded of this storytelling card game called Gloom. The game has been around for a while but it’s so wonderfully twisted that I felt the need to spread the gospel of Gloom a little further by sharing it with you my dear readers.
So the premise: “The world of Gloom is a sad and benighted place. The sky is gray, the tea is cold, and a new tragedy lies around every corner. Debt, disease, heartache, and packs of rabid flesh-eating mice -- just when it seems like things can't get any worse, they do.”
Depressing right? Designed for 2 to 4 players, the game puts you in control of the fate of an eccentric family. The goal of the game is simple. You want this family to suffer the greatest tragedies before allowing them to die. You'll inflict them with mishaps like was beaten by beggars or was pursued by poodles to lower their self-worth, while cheering your opponents' families with marriages and other happy occasions. The player with the lowest total Family Value wins.
Where does the story telling come in? For example, Mister Giggles, the demented clown can be driven to drink but was popular in parliament then beaten by beggars only to be devoured by the weasels. So the rules suggest you take this opportunity to tell stories as you play cards, for example explaining how after Mister Giggles was driven to drink by the death of his porcupine, he ran for parliament in a drunken fit only to find his bill unpopular by beggars so they set weasels onto him.
The artwork of the cards is all produced in the etching style of Edward Gorey by Scott Reeves, which is pretty evocative of the mood of the game. The beauty not only lies in the premise but rather in the snarky copy written on each card. For example, if your character was mocked by midgets the side comment is “it’s the little things that hurt the most.”
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find this game in Hong Kong but you can always buy it online here.
iPhone Show & Tell: Football – Real Kick
How's this for a cool use of the iPhone? The app Football- Real Kick uses sound blasts to move a styrofoam football and allows you to essentially create your own foosball table with the help of a sheet of paper and another iPhone. Check out the video to see it in action
iPhone Show & Tell: Plants vs Zombies
If you’re looking for a strangely addictive, fun casual game for your iPhone or iTouch, PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies will do just the trick. Taking the traditional tower defense game model (and admittedly one of the easiest tower defense games I’ve ever played), Plants vs Zombies’ appeal is in the cute graphics, giggle inducing descriptions and innovative concept. The premise is that a mob of zombies are about to invade your house to eat your brains and your only defense are these plants that zap these zombies.
Choose from a selection of 49 plants including the Cherry Bombs (“I wanna explode,” says Cherry #1. “No, let’s detonate instead!” says his brother, Cherry #2. After intense consultation they agree to explodonate) or the Wall-nut (“People wonder how I feel about getting constantly chewed on by zombies,” says Wall-nut. “What they don‘t realize is that with my limited senses all I can feel is a kind of tingling, like a relaxing back rub.”)
The zombies have their own quirks too. From the Michael Jackson-equse Dancing Zombie (where they claim any resemblance between Dancing Zombie and persons living or dead is purely coincidental), to the Football Zombie that is a team player who delivers both offensively and defensively and gives 110 percent while not knowing what a football is. Simply reading all the descriptions gave me quite a chuckle. And if that’s not reason enough, check out the Plants vs Zombies music video. Anything this cute and catchy can’t be bad!
Oh Baby
Much like any typical girl, I like reading romance novels but Harlequin books are such cheesy romance novels with standardised plots that I imagine the creative process is kind of like magnetic poetry where the powers that be shuffle plot aspects around, choose some with closed eyes and some poor writer has to churn out the story. Now they are expanding out of their zone into the world of gaming. Yes you read right, Harlequin romance novels will be transformed into online games for your pleasure.
Harlequin has teamed up with casual gaming developer Big Fish to give you a game called Harlequin Presents: Hidden Object of Desire. Of course, my mind immediately goes to the gutter and simply on the name alone I can go one for quite a while so I am going to refrain from that. Let's talk about the premise of the game instead.
"Allie`s on a quest to find some breaking news in the Kingdom of Adamas, but must now choose between her friend`s well-being and true love! The bachelor Prince of Aristo is the most enchanting man she has ever met, but she must fend off his charming advances long enough to figure out what is going on. Help Allie find valuable clues in Harlequin Presents: Hidden Object of Desire, an exciting Hidden Object game."
Oh my, having to choose between a friend and true love where the lover is a bachelor prince. My pity goes out to the copywriter who had to write the content of the game. The game is all yours for US$6.99 and can be downloaded here.
Lightning Strikes
What does J Lo, Paris Hilton, Hello Kitty and Lightning (the protagonist in the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII) have in common? Their own signature scents. Taking video game marketing to the next level, Square Enix will be releasing Lighting's Eau de Toilette one month after the game's launch in March. So what does a video game heroine smell like? The scent is described as having notes of peach, followed by rose and a feminine musk. It'll be all yours for about US$80. Some might say that's a bit pricey but judging from the early buzz of the upcoming game, it might be money better spent than on the actual game itself. Of course, coming from a family of Final Fantasy fans, it'll still be making its way to my home when it's out. We'll see if it's as bad as they say. In the meantime, I'm trying out Final Fantasy VI which my brother swears is a classic.
Side note: When I first saw Lightening, there was something oddly familiar about her yet I couldn't pinpoint it. Then it hit me. Doesn't she look like a tranny version of Cloud Strife?
Geek Spy: In a Twist
Twister is always one of those games that sound innocuous but somehow someone always ends up inadvertently displaying ungainly body parts to the rest of the world in an attempt to reach that darn red spot. For those super confident in their bodies, you can now play the game on the beach in itty bitty bikinis with the Twister Beach Towel Game. A beach towel that is set up like Twister, it even comes with inflatable dice for you to play the game. Get some sun while indulging in old school fun. Gorgeous players with fit bodies not included. Play at your own risk.
Available at http://www.paramountzone.com/twister-beach-towel-game.htm
Geek Chic
How ridiculous/cute are these accessories by Emma Ferguson? They're all handmade by madame herself, and sold at a craft market on the weekends, or for us Hong Kongers, via I Don't Like Mondays, which is both a great name for a store and an apt description of my mood today. As a child of the 80s who grew up with two brothers who played video-games copiously (we're Asian, after all) I'm getting a little nostalgic looking at the game boy and space invader badges, and I'm loving how the cross-stitching makes it look all pixelated like video games did in those days. That said, I'm more of a Tetris girl -- challenge me, I dare you -- and more importantly, I'm wondering what the hell do people actually do with badges once they've outgrown the Eastpak/Manhattan Portage decoration phase? Man, what I'd give to stick these on my Trapper Keeper.
iPhone Show & Tell: Dr. Awesome
The game is simple. You are Dr. Awesome (resident virus killer and all around mighty surgeon.) What you have to do is cut away blobs of cells while avoiding viruses. Doesn't sound that interesting right? Well the beauty of the game lies not in its game play but rather in its ability to go through your address book and assign your contacts as patients. So essentially, each time you play, you are saving or killing someone you know. We must admit that at Geek Central here, we feel a tinge of guilty pleasure each time we kill someone that we don't particularly like. In fact, the other day, Shoe Geek received the phone contact of Mr. X and after inputting it in, the first thing she did was turn to me, grin and say "Now I can kill him!" Killing people on your black list for only US$0.99? We're sold.
Coming out of the closet
If you were born in the eighties and are female, then at some point in the nineties -- 1995 to be exact -- you probably watched Clueless (if you were anything like me, you probably saw it 30 times). Alicia Silverstone's Cher gave us so much to look up to: a dedication to daily learning (as opposed to "sporadic" learning), knowledge of classic English literature (that Polonius guy); the original gay best friend (Team Christian!) and the ability to wear plaid so abundantly and stylishly. But the thing that Cher had that we all wanted the most, had to be her electronic closet consultant.
Fast-forward 14 years, and this figment of fashion/film imagination has at long last come to fruition! TouchCloset is one a few iPhone apps (including a Sex and the City-themed one called Carrie's Closet) that allows you to catalog your clothing and archive your outfits. It will no doubt take some time to sort and shoot every item you own, but eventually, it will pay off because you can mix and match stuff to create "outfits" that are saved for those mornings you simply cannot decide what to wear (you can also tag them as "favourites", although normally one remembers one's favourite outfit). There's also a shopping option if you care for it. It's fairly user-friendly and free as well. Now all I need is someone to come and categorize my closet items for me...
Image source: TouchCloset.com and Catwalkqueen.tv
Mama's got a brand new garden
I’ve always had a penchant for plants. Thing is, I don’t merely have a black thumb. I have a black hand or maybe even a black arm. I kill plants with a disturbing amount of frequency to the point where when I try to purchase plants, my friends try to talk me out of it for the sake of the plant. The plant sitting on my desk right now has lasted over half a year so far and I’m increasingly beginning to suspect that it’s not really a plant but rather a rubber gadget that my friends gave me to placate my gardening desires. Well, today, something even better comes along. Gardening Mama! Yes, Mama is no longer content to stay in the house and cook after conquering the NDS, Wii and iPhone consoles. She is now moving on to gardening. Gardening Mama for the NDS comes out today and you can use your DS stylus to plant, prune, pick and landscape your garden. Gamers manage their gardens through the seeding, blooming and maturing phases and then make products out of it. For example, you can grow strawberries to make jam or pumpkins to carve lanterns. Now I can finally garden, guilt-free.
See IGN’s review here.
iPhone Show & Tell: Fish Tycoon
You’d be surprised at how addicting this game it. The goal is simple, you have to breed different fishes to discover the 7 magic fishes of Isola. You start out with some fish eggs in your tank and you have to feed them and wait for them to grow big enough for you to sell to make money. At the same time, you want to research the environment (so that rarer fish can thrive), food (so you don’t have to feed as often) and advertising (so you can make more money off your fish). The beauty of the game is that it’s in real time, i.e. if the game is not on, the fish continue to grow and starve so the addiction factor comes in quickly as you don’t want your fish to die. This game has been around for ages (have played it on my Palm Pilot, on the PC, etc) but it’s still addicting for some odd reason. Try Fish Tycoon Lite for a free trial. Trust me, you will be hooked (no pun intended).
Pata Pata Patapon
So I’ve been scouring the shops for Patapon 2 after having been completely addicted to Patapon for the PSP when it first came out. The European version came out on the 6th and when I rushed to 188 to buy it, every shop was sold out!
If you haven’t played this game before, then it’s definitely a title you should pick up. It's a great game for casual gamers (of course, once you get hooked it may not seem as casual when you are itching to play even when you are at work. But that's a story for another day.) When Patapon first came out, the designers at Rolito didn’t expect to develop such a cult following. The graphics are simple but the concept is brilliant. You are the ultimate deity in charge of a tribe of patapons. The premise is that you have to lead the tribe to victory. How to do so? By beating your drums in the correct rhythm that acts as battle calls. When I first start playing, I didn't think much of it but before long, the battle calls were stuck in my head and I would just start bobbing my head along with the game. The dialogue is cute and I can’t help but get a kick out of it when I see my patapons hails me as their all mighty ruler. Ranked 9.2/10 by IGN, 9/10 by GameSpot and an A from 1UP.com, expectations are high for Patapon 2. Now the question is, where can I find myself a copy??
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