Electronic Arts dando liberdade criativa a roteiristas da animação The Sims

Desenho animado será inspirado em MySims

Além do filme live-action, em produção por John Davis para a 20th Century Fox, a Electronic Arts pretende levar The Sims para uma nova mídia: a televisão.

O Film Roman, estúdio atuante há duas décadas, conhecido por Os Simpsons e inúmeros desenhos como X-Men Evolution, Garfield, Uma Família da Pesada e O Crítico, está trabalhando há algum tempo em um desenho animado inspirado na franquia dos games. Mais especificamente, na série de jogos MySims.

A novidade é que a Electronic Arts não está simplesmente licenciando o título, mas atuando como coprodutora – de forma a manter algum controle sobre o produto acabado. Segundo a Variety, para suas adaptações, a EA está dando liberdade total aos roteiristas, incentivando ideias próprias e apenas explicando as eles as regras e objetivos do universo estabelecido. Para a produtora de games, foi a busca extrema da fidelidade o que tornou ruins as adaptações ao cinema de jogos do passado.

Não há cronograma de lançamento divulgado do desenho ou do filme de The Sims. Fonte: Omelete.

vendo nintendo DS lite Bianco funzionante ottime condizioni con custodia protettiva e 3 giochi originali.

clicca l’immagine o QUI per vedere l’inserzione su SUBITO.IT

P.S:  solo rittiro diretto Bergamo.

180 euro 140 euro

It’s amazing that Web 2.0 will go up on me before buying the domain blog, but here’s this:

Three years ago after the “Chuck Taylor All-Stars” incident, I had changed to Adidas Superstars. Last month I wrote about the Chuck Taylor incident about violating social networking sites’ policies and guidelines isn’t a good idea. It’s good to read the bible instead of being violent (You know my father told me this).

Then I noticed that screenshot #2 of MySims Agents was marked as [this is good] on the Vox homepage when I was playing that game on the Wii during that story. Computer and video game screenshots shouldn’t be marked as [this is good] on the Vox homepage, but I’ll keep that in mind.

Then I decided to manage only the sites that I am on: The new blog (http://coryrobertsintokyo.net), Vox (not much updated), Last.fm, Plurk, Flickr, and the Amazon wish list.

“EA’s hyper-cutesy MySims franchise continues to expand and branch out in new directions, offering a bubbly alternative to the more mature-minded life micromanagement simulation in The Sims. Recent excursions into party mini-games and racing territory have yielded mixed results, and up to this point the series seems to be at its strongest when sticking closely to the core building and socializing-focused experience found in the original. MySims Agents is the exception. It deviates pretty substantially from the gameplay of the first two titles, but that actually works in its favor.”

Check out the full review here at Cheat Code Central.

MySims Agents – Gameover.gr
Όπως υποδηλώνει και ο τίτλος, το νέο παιχνίδι στην αρκετά επιτυχημένη σειρά καταπιάνεται με το κόσμο της κατασκοπίας και πιο συγκεκριμένα με τους πράκτορες. Αποστολή μας είναι να πιάσουμε τον ληστή “V”, ο οποίος απειλεί να κλέψει τον ιστορικό θησαυρό της πόλης που θα καλούμαστε να επισκεφθούμε.[next]

I admit, I was sceptical about MySims: Agents the moment I saw the case. “Oh great,” I thought, “I need to review an obviously terrible game.” Well, first impressions aren’t always correct. My scepticism continued until about 15 minutes after I’d fired up the game. From that point on, my inner child (never very far from the surface) came out to see what was up. Below are his findings, which I found strewn about the room when I regained consciousness; they were written on sheets of toilet paper in yellow crayon. MySims: Agents was gone, and so were my pants.

Pros

Once you get beyond its goofy exterior that most kids will appreciate, even an adult can have fun with this game. Even men. Even MANLY men. The game plays like a point-and-click Sierra game without the pointing and clicking; you walk around and find things, not for using on other things but for solving heinous crimes. You can run, jump, and even use your trusty agent’s tools (like a crowbar) to bring mysteries to their conclusion. Apart from investigating, you’ll also participate in some surprisingly fun minigames when you hack computers ‘n’ such. In short, the gameplay is smooth and offers a variety of activities that should be more than enough to keep the player interested.

While the story arcs themselves aren’t very imaginative and wouldn’t appeal to many gamers who have already hit puberty, the dialogue contains all sorts of surprises for every age group. Most of it is simple and silly enough to appeal to kids, but a few more complex jokes are thrown in that could draw an unexpected chuckle from the lips of an older gamer. The real comedy gold is in the hilarious situations characters occasionally find themselves in, usually involving the nefarious plans of the game’s villains. It’s these parts of the plot that are truly innovative, even if the main story looks dull from a broader perspective.

The thing that keeps my interested in this game is definitely the level of customization available. You can make your agent look a number of different ways (like Isaac from Dead Space!!!1!), and you collect new clothes and other accessories as you progress. Aside from this, you can also customize your multi-level hideout with a huge selection of paint and furniture. The amount of stuff you get for customization’s sake is pretty impressive, and I took great pleasure in watching Agent Isaac decorating his hideout with cow-patterned wallpaper.

Cons

This is a rather small and unnecessary part of the game, but it bugs me. Dispatch missions. Your agent can recruit other agents to carry out missions for you, and their chance of success relies on their skills. Unfortunately, no matter how good they are you’re going to get a number of annoying text messages about their progress even if you’re busy with other things. If you don’t check them, you run the risk of not being able to instruct your bonehead employees on how to do their job. If I dispatch someone else to do a job that I could do myself, I should be able to tell him to not talk to me until the job is done. If he fails, suicide. It’s that simple… Or at least it SHOULD be.

Stop Texting me!! These roaming charges are killing me!!

One of the high points of this game is somewhat crippled by loading screens; specifically the wardrobe. So you want to change how your character looks, eh? Well, be prepared for a loading screen whenever you want to switch between the 5 sections of your wardrobe. One thing is for sure, the frequent wait times will prevent you from wanting to fiddle with your agent’s looks as much as you would otherwise… And with all the new accessories you’ll be getting throughout the game, there’s a LOT of fiddling to be done.

Here’s the deal

This game is much more of a gem than I expected. Even though it’s clearly a game for the younger generation, certain aspects still enchanted me enough to steal away several hours of my life. Kids will have a blast as long as they can hang in there when the investigations start getting tougher, and older gamers will come due to curiosity, become interested by the solid gameplay and snappy dialogue, and stay for the wide range of options for customizing their agents and headquarters. If you give MySims: Agents a chance, you won’t be disappointed. Mike D. 7/10

Redwood City, Calif., – September 21, 2009 – DSi owners get ready to download. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced MySims™ Camera and SUDOKU are available for download from the Nintendo DSi Shop. LITTLEST PET SHOP and SCRABBLE (in the U.S. and Canada) licensed by Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), along with original EA titles are also in development and will release later this fall.

“EA has fully embraced the Wii and the Nintendo DS, bringing custom-built DSiWare games to the Nintendo consumer is an exciting opportunity for us to reach DSi owners with easy to play games that they can download and play whenever they want,” said Rod Humble, Head of the EA Play Label. “The lineup of games we have in development will appeal across the diverse DSi consumer base so whether players want to showcase their creativity and humor using MySims Camera or sharpen their math and word skills with SUDOKU or SCRABBLE – our first games in the DSi Shop will deliver a quick and fun experience.”

MySims Camera is a camera application that utilizes popular MySims characters. You can take photos and overlay 3D MySims characters to bring them into the real world. The 3D characters can be animated, moved, scaled, rotated and cropped. You can also draw on the photos with the stylus pen or use the stamp tool to add more art and style. Create a unique frame and save the photos to the DSi photo album to share with friends. With MySims Camera, you make picture taking with MySims a fun creative experience for the entire family.

SUDOKU offers hundreds of number-crunching puzzles that will stretch your brain to the limit! Play the exclusive Newspaper Mode, adding puzzles from your favorite black & white and starting your own collection! SUDOKU features a host of grid designs, stat tracking and an in-game timer to test your reaction time. Play on 5 different levels from Easy to Insane. This engaging game has been polished to perfection and renders a sleek design that’s easy on the eyes.

LITTLEST PET SHOP allows you to experience your favorite LITTLEST PET SHOP pets in a whole new way! Collect lots of pets, each with unique personalities and new, super cute animations. Interact with your pets and watch their adorable reactions to their favorite toys and activities and dress them up in fun accessories. You can also throw a dance party for your pets and watch them groove to a cool song.

SCRABBLE comes to DSi with several unique gameplay experiences such as SCRABBLE Classic, which is the original crossword game that fans know and love as well as SCRABBLE Tools, which helps players hone their skills by strengthening their vocabulary, pattern recognition, and score strategies through fun and interactive training exercises. Each version will be sold separately.

Additional EA titles in development including: Downtown Texas Hold’em and unannounced original titles will be available later this fall. Pricing has not yet been announced.

After several months, I can finally tell the world that I’ve really tested The Sims 3 well enough to post about it here. I’ve already mentioned this game in a previous post, so I won’t  The game is extremely huge and I haven’t had enough time to actually play anything this summer (I have a life to live too, you know!), but I have managed to get enough sparetime to make a decent judgement.

Let’s start with Create-A-Sim, the part where you create the household. In the beginning it looks really complicated at first, but then you start looking carefully and start noticing what EA had promised – everything can be edited to suit the player’s demand. The face, the eyebrows, the clothing… well done indeed. I don’t even have to worry about matching clothes anymore. The players can even choose the shoes now! That’s an issue that’s been bothering me for a long time. I’m also glad that they started with jewlery already, but what about the piercings? So far, the ears are the only thing you can pierce. Where’s the rest? And what about the chest size? I understand if EA want to keep the game friendly for young teens, but they don’t have to make the game that unrealistic. There are plenty of D-cups in my family with average wastes and no plastic surgeries, so why can’t I make my sims look like them? I’m not asking for the silicon revolution, I just want to make some sims who look like the people I know. At least you can make young adults from the start now. That option didn’t exist before and I was happy to find out that they could get married and become pregnant. College? Nope, I saw no signs of that being in the game. It’s like playing with the bullies I used to go to gradeschool with, only I’m the one who’s in charge of their lives and ready for revenge. Apart from that, the sims’ personalities have also got a more accurate way to be specified in. For every sim, you can pick a certain amount of traits (2 for toddlers, 3 for children, 4 for teens and 5 for young adults and up), favourit food, favourit music and favourit colour. Even the sims’ voices and lifetime wishes can be picked here, although the voices doesn’t sound that different from each other and the lifetime wishes don’t always match the kind of sim the player intended to make sometimes (the lifetime wishes are generated after choosing traits, then the player gets to pick 1 of 5 lifetime wishes for the sim).

Next up, it was time to pick the new home for the newly-made sims. Not only could you choose between an empty lot or a lot with a house, you also get to choose between a furnished house and an empty house, leaving room for some personal decorations inside the house. My issue was that I couldn’t see an option for building a house without making a household for it. Instead I saw an option for editing a neighbourhood, but I think you need a save-file to do that. By editing the neighbourhood, you could move households around, splitting them up or putting them together no matter if it was sims you’ve played with or sims you’ve created before that you haven’t placed in a home yet. The only thing that the player had to keep in mind was the 8-sim-per-household-only-limit (which bugs me to the core, I’m used to huge families). Even though they’ve made it very complicated to switch the family you control in the save-file, I like the idea of being able to edit every household this way.

After that we have the part where you get to play with the sims. If feels great to be able to move around outside the house for a change, even though the curfews for the youngsters took a bit to get used to. It really shows that MySims had something to do with The Sims 3, because there are stuff for the sims to find around the neighbourhood. Stones and seeds can be found, fruit and vegetables can be picked and fish can be fished in every community lot the player can find. I don’t know about the stones, but the rest can be found a little here and there depending on what’s on the lot, like fish can only be found in the lakes. But if the player doesn’t feel like getting their sims to go fishing or picking stuff up from the ground or the trees, everything edible can be found at the grocery store to eat, cook, plant or fertilize the plants with. Yes, planting food’s now an option from the start! No expansions needed for that! The sims’ interactions with each other has also changed compared to the prequels. When the sims interact with each other, the type of interactions are more sorted than before. Do you want your sims to act friendly? Use friendly interactions. Flirty? Romantic interactions. There are several of those to choose from and even unique options for every trait the sims have, like “Talk about self” for snobs and “Coo over children” for family-oriented. Even objects have new interactions depending on the sims’ traits and skills and what kind of objects they are. A teddybear, for example, can be kept in a sim-toddler’s inventory and then be seen in the crib while it’s sleeping at night or be clicked on while it’s still in the inventory to be played with when the sim-toddler is awake. That way, the player doesn’t have to look for the object to make the sim use it. If the sim is carrying it, just check the inventory and use it from there. It doesn’t work with all objects, but it’s nice to know what’s possible with the stuff people normally carry with them everywhere, like cellphones and the like. If the sims’ got some handiness skills, they can even upgrade some of the stuff around the house, like plumming, appliances or electronic devices. Keep in mind that only some of them can be upgraded.

Last, but not least, we have the build and buy modes, where all the stuff for the interior and the exterior design of the house can be found. Both modes seemed like a total disappointment at first until I discovered the icon with the paintbrush. If the player clicks on that and then on whatever colour they wish to modify, the player can alter the colour and material of the object. The player can even use hexcodes to get just the right shade they want, which impressed me a lot. With the hexcode, I could copy and paste the exact colour on other objects, making them match with ease, no matter what material I used! This colour-matching trick worked great on all the object including clothing, items and parts of the house.

In all, I’m very impressed with The Sims 3, even though it failed to exceed my expectations. There’s plenty of things in the game that disappointed me, like how they removed what was already realistic in the previous games (like changing diapers on a changing-table and shop for clothing). I’m also a bit disappointed in that the sims can’t visit all buildings without disappearing inside them. I don’t have to watch them work or study, but if I take my sims out on their spare time, I would like to see what they’re doing inside everyone of the buildings and join them on their adventures, even when they’re on a tour. As much as I love the new personality system, I know that EA could have done a better job on that front, because the traits need to be better sorted than they were in Create-A-Sim. You can’t just pick 2-5 of all the options there are to create a proper individual, it doesn’t work like that. Not only should there be more traits per sim, the traits should also be sorted into more categories, like skill traits and mental traits.

Before I end this blog, leaving you with questionmarks about the screenshots and the movie-making, I’ll be honest and mention that I haven’t tried those yet. Why? Lack of time, that’s my excuse. Besides, I enjoy playing the game more than doing movies with it.

MySims Agents jest kolejną grą z serii MySims autorstwa firmy Maxis, powstałą na zlecenie koncernu Electronic Arts. Mamy tutaj do czynienia z połączeniem dynamicznej walki z zagadkami logicznymi.

Główny wątek fabularny opisywanej produkcji dotyczy ochrony pewnego skarbu, który muszą ochronić tytułowi agenci przez złoczyńcami. Gracz, kierując nimi, ma za zadanie wykorzystać poszczególne umiejętności postaci tak, by wzajemnie się one uzupełniały i miały swój wkład w powodzenie danej misji. Zatem musimy szukać, grzebać, dopytywać się, badać ślady, a nawet włamywać.

W grze nie zabrakło zadań pobocznych, które są dostępne w postaci mini – gier. Po ich zaliczeniu do naszej dyspozycji oddana zostaje możliwość ulepszenia wybranej umiejętności jednego z agentów.

Dostępna w sprzedaży: od 25 września 2009

Sugerowana cena wydawcy: brak danych

Gatunek: akcja / przygodowa

Kategoria wiekowa: od 3 lat

Wersja językowa: w całości po angielsku

Nośnik i ilość: 1 Cartridge

Wydanie / seria: edycja premierowa

Ein Spiel für jeden, der bei den Sims schon immer am meisten Spaß beim Bauen hatte.

Bei MySims dreht sich alles um das Herstellen von Möbeln und Häusern mithilfe von sogenannten Essenzen, die man sammeln muss. Ihr findet, dass sich das langweilig anhört? Das ist es ganz und gar nicht. Denn das alles ist einfach unheimlich toll verpackt. Allein in die Figuren wird man sich sofort verlieben. Es ist alles auf eine sehr niedliche Art gestaltet und die verschiedenen Charaktere sind wirklich toll.

Auch die Steuerung ist sehr angenehm. Der einzige Minuspunkt ist die Ladezeit, wenn man ein Gebäude betritt oder verlässt. Das stört ein wenig. Allerdings macht mir persönlich das Spiel so viel Spaß, dass ich das in Kauf nehme.

Es gibt mittlerweile auch noch einige weitere MySims-Games für die Wii. Doch die habe ich noch nicht ausprobiert. Falls jemand von euch welche kennt, fände ich es super, mal zu hören, was ihr davon haltet.

La mia Facebook mania è durata poco. O forse non è neanche mai cominciata. Il social network è utile per gestire al meglio le amicizie e le conoscenze e, sebbene la chat sia oscena, la comodità di avere tutti i contatti assieme, senza bisogno di cercare dietro assurdi e fantasiosi nickname, è innegabile. Le applicazioni – alcune veramente carine, ma mai particolarmente utili – fanno il resto: Facebook è il luogo ideale dove passare qualche minuto in completa spensieratezza, ma non certo intere giornate. Le mie ultime sessioni sono quindi state all’insegna soltanto di Restaurant City a cui, ultimamente, si è aggiunto BuddyPoke. Ricordate quando nel post su Restaurant City citavo – come punto di forza – la possibilità di creare un avatar in 3d? Bene, elevate quella possibilità all’ennesima potenza e otterrete BuddyPoke. Come una sorta di social network nel social network, l’applicazione permette di creare non soltanto uno stilosissimo alterego, ma pure di farlo interagire con quelli dei nostri amici mediante una cospicua lista di animazioni. Anche in questo caso l’utilità è uguale a zero, però è possibile esportare tutte le animazioni in gif ed usarle un po’ ovunque, come in cima a questo post. Considerando che BuddyPoke è disponibile per la maggior parte dei social network (andando sul sito ufficiale, c’è la lista di tutti i siti supportati, da MySpace a Badoo), non ci sono proprio scuse per non creare la propria controparte digitale!

* E che centra MySims? direte voi. Date un’occhiata a queste immagini e ditemi se i personaggi di BuddyPoke non sono misteriosamente simili a quelli di MySims… Semplice ispirazione?

Here’s some news for Sims fans! First we’ve got a look at a brand new spin-off, and then a long-awaited update (okay, not VERY long…) for the Sims 3!

Bill O’Keefe reviews MySims Racing for KansasCity.com. . .

MySims Racing
Reviewed for: Nintendo Wii
Alternate version available for: Nintendo DS
From: EA
ESRB Rating: Everyone (comic mischief)

When EA started spinning off “The Sims” beyond its original intentions, jokes invariably were made about when, not if, the brand would succumb to its inevitable kart racer incarnation.

All joking aside, now we know.

But while “MySims Racing” most assuredly owes no small thanks to “Mario Kart” for its existence, it sidesteps most of the pratfalls that sank so many “Kart” rip-offs over the years. More importantly, it adds a few things to the experience that not only justify the franchise’s move into this arena, but also give the game some legs even “Mario Kart Wii” lacks.

“Racing” leaves little to chance in terms of its basic racing component, which looks like “Kart,” moves like “Kart” and follows the same blueprint in terms of controls, drifting techniques and the implementation of power-ups on the track. Like “Kart’s” Wii incarnation, “Racing” lets you choose between multiple control schemes, supporting motion steering with the Wii remote and more traditional play via the Gamecube controller and Classic or nunchuck attachments.

Generally, it does a sufficient job of mimicry. The handling is a touch more unwieldy than in “Kart,” but “Racing’s” drift mechanic compensates adequately with a little practice. The power-ups are similarly mixed: Some are clever and funny, while others feel either like useless throwaways or less effective imitations of “Kart’s” more iconic offerings.

“Racing’s” lone tweak to the formula – collectable on-track gems that build up your cart’s turbo capability – isn’t particularly ingenious in the realm of racing games. But those gems’ secondary purpose – as off-track currency – is a bit more interesting, and it opens the door for those aforementioned new ideas.

As any “Sims”-branded game should, “Racing” allows you to design your character, which goes a long way toward mitigating the game’s lack of identity when compared to kart racers that are stocked with familiar mascot characters. But “Racing” also lets you design and modify three carts – normal, large and toy-sized – with upgrades, accessories and paint/decal jobs. The customization tools can’t hold a candle to the likes of “Need For Speed” or “Forza,” but they fulfill their purpose in giving “Racing” enough tools to keep the experience reasonably fresh and tailor it to individual player tastes. They also, along with the surprising presence of a nonsensical but rather entertaining storyline, give the game a steady stream of rewards to achieve beyond the usual cup trophies “Kart” trots out game after game.

“Racing” falls back to earth with its multiplayer (four players, offline only), which doesn’t even attempt to match “Kart’s” exquisite online component. The four-player splitscreen works fine, though, and it serves as a nice alternative to (though not necessarily a replacement for) “Kart” when a change of tracks and power-ups is in order.

And then, in even better knews, Sims 3 players will be pleased to know that the new patch has arrived to fix some of the game’s pesky little issues. From GamersHell.com. . .

Electronic Arts has issued a new patch for The Sims 3, updating to v1.2.7 the latest installment in The Sims series developed by Electronic Arts Redwood Shores. Thanks: The Patches Scrolls. The Sims 3 allows you to immerse your unique Sims in an open living neighborhood right outside their door. The initial feature-set unveiled includes the new seamless, open neighborhood, new Create A Sim, new realistic personalities and new unlimited customization. The new seamless neighborhood architecture allows your Sims to roam freely around the neighborhood and visit their loved one and friends or foes.

Download the Sims 3 patch here

Buy your DSi Backups at ConsoleSource.com

Er is een korte trailer van MySims Agents verschenen, zelf vind ik de trailer niet heel erg interesant, maar jullie kunnen hem bekijken door op de onderstaande reclame screen te klikken.

Bron: Simsdomination

Op de site simfans.de vond ik een trailer van MySims Racing. De trailer ging erover dat het nu in de winkels lag. En omdat ik niet zeker wist of dit oud of nieuw nieuws was heb ik het toch maar even gepost. Om de trailer te bekijken kan je klikken op de onderstaande banner. Dan kom je vanzelf op YouTube.

Klik op te kijken
Bron: SimFans

Op de braziliaanse fansite Simdomination vonden we het nieuwsartikel met de nieuwe cover voor MySims Agents DS. De Cover ziet er best mooi uit maar is wel wat kleurloos in vergelijking met vorige MySims Covers.  Maar dat ligt uiteraard aan het thema van het spel. Bekijk hieronder de screen:

Als de Wii Cover er is posten wij die uiteraard ook gelijk.

So June’s Monthly Mania is finally here~ Gomen! I said I’d get the post in by last week but I’ll consider Sunday still apart of last week so it’ll be on time! >.< (?) Oh how I am so eager for my summer updates. *Ahem* Anyways, the second issue will include a movie, drama series, video game, and an anime. As usual, I rate to softly (and I had face the consequences), so…yeah. I found it a little more challenging than I thought to find features, but I guess I’m in some sort of a brain block right now. Next month I think will be easier…

Movie

Idiocracy

Cast:

Luke Wilson as Luke Bauers
Maya Rudolph as Rita
Dax Shepard as Frito Pendejo

Summary:

The film tells the story of two ordinary people who are taken into a top-secret military hibernation experiment that goes awry, and awaken 500 years in the future. They discover that the world has degenerated into a dystopia where advertising, commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualism run rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of individual responsibility or consequences.

Source–Wikipedia

When a man wakes up 500 years in the future, he discovers that world is so dumbed down that he’s the smartest person on earth.

Source–Flixter

Thoughts:

Well, as I mentioned before, I was going to add some American movies into Blossom Blabber, so I felt like doing one for this issue. I was debating with myself on whether I should do this movie or not because of the type of movie and genre it is but I just decided to anyways, mainly because I all other movies have disappeared from my head for some reason. Idiocracy is a movie that didn’t get as much publicity as it should’ve, mainly because of issues with the film release. It’s rated R, just to let everyone know (I usually ignore ratings, but just so no one complains…however, there is a clean version), since it has some unsuitable content and language, etc. But anyways, Idiocracy was a movie that I found at Blockbusters xD but it looked so interesting, I decided to rent it.

It’s a comedy (black comedy) with an interesting plot, that made me laugh at the stupidity of the characters. This isn’t probably a movie that fit many people reading this’ preferences, and doesn’t really “fit” with what I’m usually doing, but oh well, I like the movie! The movie was really enjoyable and doesn’t get old. I guess to others it’s sort of a love/hate thing, but I loved the comedy, and the main character because of how average he is (average blood pressure, intelligence, too average, and his name is Joe). Especially one scene when he’s trying to explain Brawndo (an energy drink) won’t help crops grow (electrolytes~), they are so stupidly funny. However, the scary part is if that movie might actually be true with their theory of human evolution~ Here’s a quote from the film:

As the 21st century began, human evolution was at a turning point. Natural selection, the process by which the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, reproduced in greater numbers than the rest, a process which had once favored the noblest traits of man, now began to favor different traits. Most science fiction of the day predicted a future that was more civilized and more intelligent. But as time went on, things seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. A dumbing down.

There are some flaws with the movie though, like how it seemed that technology actually got better, which contradicts with the movie’s theme. Or sometimes the stupidity can get annoying, but that’s the point of the movie. They are so stupid that they make you want to hit your head against a desk. O_o

But anyways, a really funny, good, stupid movie, yet with a pretty serious undertone in it. It’s deserves more attention that it gets…But probably won’t be appealing to readers of this blog (since it’s targetted at guys), but I decided to give it a shot (make sure you don’t let go of your intelligence!).

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [8] 9 10

Drama Series

Absolute Boyfriend (Zettai Kareshi)

Cast:

Aibu Saki as Izawa Riiko
Mokomichi Hayami as Tenjou Night
Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soushi

Summary:

Izawa Riiko is a temp worker in search of a boyfriend, and she ends up in possession of a “robot” known as Night Tenjo, who is programmed to be the perfect boyfriend. However, this creates a love triangle with a distinguished young man at her company who has feelings for her.

Source–mysoju

Thoughts:

Ah…I read the manga once before when my dad was selling it (he used to sell books online), and I did not like it. There were good parts, but then there were other parts that I did not find appealing AT ALL. So when I was going through the mysoju list I noticed Absolute Boyfriend, but I quickly left it alone. However, I couldn’t help but notice it get such a high rating, and it made me curious why. So I decided to check out some stuff about the drama and…more Hiro Mizushima! I just happen to like any dramas he’s in, whether he’s a main or not. It just so happen that he was the other guy in the love triangle, which put me in a little dilemma. But then I checked out the drama…and I was actually interested.

I think the reason was that they changed the drama adaptation so much, but I just happened to like the changes better. The character relationships and such are so much different, such as Soushi being her boss instead of being her childhood friend, Riiko being dragged to do the project instead of signing up, etc. But I happened to like the way the drama adapted it, in fact, I loved the series. The ending song “Okaeri” by Ayaka is really a soothing song and goes well with the show. The characters were almost all pretty lovable. The bad characters do a good job at being evil and such. I wasn’t really fond of Night at first until later. He was able to grow so much as a robot and was able to let his love for Riiko show despite all of the obstacles which may but a bit corny, but made him oh so lovable for me. I liked Soushi mainly because he was always helping Riiko with her dream to be a patisseur. I was still a SoushixRiiko supporter *gets killed* for the drama. If it was the manga, I’d probably be for Night. But it was mainly because Soushi was a person, and was real (and the drama made me like him a lot for his development). I guess his actor gave made me a bit biased as well. But to be honest, I liked both pairings by the end of the series and was okay with either. It’s one of those rare instances where I’m fine with anyone. Oh well, but it was a good drama that made me cry several times, and one that any shoujo lover should check out.

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10

Where to watch it: mysoju [Link to watch]

Video Game

MySims

Summary:

Explore a new world with MySims™—it’s your world to transform! Move to a town that has been struggling lately. With a little creativity and some help from the locals, you can make this place thrive. Improve the town to attract new characters, from Chef Gino Delicioso and DJ Candy Supergroove to arcade owner, Vic Vector and Cap’n Ginny, the town pirate. Discover what the residents want and need, so that you can help them enjoy life in your Sim’s new town. Design a hot tub or jukebox from scratch, build homes and businesses from the roof to the front door. Uncover special decorations and patterns as you explore the growing town. From the furniture and objects to the buildings to the town as a whole – each of your creations is unique. In MySims, what you make… makes all the difference!

Source–Official Site

Thoughts:

Well, ever since I’ve gotten MySims, they’ve released many new versions of it, but I’ll just stick with the original (since it’s all pretty much the same elements, just at different places). Honestly, the DS version wasn’t as great as the Wii version, even though I might not have given it a great chance. MySims is a spin-off of The Sims franchise, adding more of chibi-like characters and limiting specific options and giving it more of a plot and goal sort of thing. I enjoyed the game fairly well, however, I didn’t get to play with it often, and I think I got bored with it after awhile. It’s a fun game though, for those who like building things and enjoy a cutesy fluffy game. I enjoy games with building, so I guess that was what appealed to me. It isn’t as great as the normal Sims games, but it’s fun in its own way. I guess it’s more fun to relax with, without worrying about dying characters and grim reapers. Since I enjoy the chibi-ness and cute-ness of the characters, I enjoyed the character designer a little more than the Sims (at least 1 and 2, haven’t gotten 3 yet). The characters are all unique, and you get to discover more areas, but the main goal is to build things for people. I found it fun yet repetitive. I guess it can get boring real quickly, but overall pretty fun when it lasts. ^^;;

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7.5] 8 9 10
(Yeah, I like cheating with my scoring for video games xD)

Website: http://mysims.ea.com/home.php

Anime

Kaze no Stigma

Summary:

Yagami Kazuma was originally part of the Kannagi family, a respected family of fire users who have an affinity to fire. However, after being easily defeated by his cousin Ayano and having no talent whatsoever in fire magic, Kazuma is banished and casted out from his family. 4 years later, Kazuma finally returns to Japan, this time as an exceptionally powerful wind user. A series of murders on Kannagi family members have occurred with his arrival. While most of the family including Ayano is convinced Kazuma is the culprit, he honestly isn’t. These events begin an all out war against the Kannagi family, with Kazuma and Ayano right in the middle of it. Based on the novel by Takahiro Yamato.

Source–MAL

Thoughts:

Gosh, I love this show. It isn’t outstanding in either originality, plot, or story, but somehow I had grown to love it a lot after watching it. Maybe it’s the comedy, awesome action, or the slight hints of romance (I’ll get back to that later). I found this show when looking for characters like Ikuto *feels embarrassed* in which Yagami Kazuma was brought up. I looked at the show, and it seemed to have that magic action theme I like, yet it was placed into the romance and comedy genre I loved as well. So how could I resist? I checked it out, and it was a good show. I fangirled over Yagami a couple times, and I had moments where I laughed, cried, and everything in between. If only there was a second season…u_u

It’s a more serious show than last month’s feature, and had some drama in it, but I loved most parts. The story wasn’t bad. I guess you could say that there were funny moments, and the action wasn’t bad either. I guess the story was somewhat mediocre to me. The music was like a typical shounen-like opening, but it had that relaxing feel I guess you could say? The music for episode 12 just added so much more to the effect. Dx Ah yes, the characters. I like all of the characters, especially Kazuma. He was funny and a cool character who always made Ayano act so tsundere-ish, which was why I loved the character interactions so much. I enjoyed the romance scenes between the both of them…however, there was one thing that got me mad: they’re cousins. x.x Their chemistry was good and all, but sheesh, they could’ve been second cousins at least and I would’ve been okay, but they were cousins. You kinda forget about that later in the series though after all of those romance scenes. Katherine McDonald made me laugh at her terrible English (it seems like Eden of the East is the only show that actually gets Americans to speak English), but that’s how animes usually are when they try to get Japanese to speak English. Her misunderstanding of Japanese is hilarious as well. Ren is also such a great little brother, you can’t help but want to cuddle him at some moments. Overall, the characters are great, and so is the show. It has that perfect blend of comedy, romance, fantasy, and action all in one to make it great for a large audience. Although it can be forgettable, there is some sort of charm to it that makes me like it so much.

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10
It probably deserves an 8 on standard ratings, but I liked it a lot personally and so it gets a 9 from me.

—

I hope you all enjoyed this issue! I wasn’t really satisfied with how it turned out, so I have better ones planned for next month. Shugo Chara post is probably going to be posted tomorrow. ^_^ Sorry for the delay of this post too! >.<

A Electronic Arts revelou a produção de “MySims Agents”, uma aventura de agente secreto estrelada por personagens da série “MySims”. O game está sendo desenvolvido para Wii e Nintendo DS, e previsto para sair no quarto trimestre do ano.

Na edição para Wii, o jogador recruta um time de agentes MySims com diversas habilidades para frustrar os planos de Morcubus, líder de uma organização criminosa.

Para conseguir sucesso na missão, é preciso realizar tarefas como abrir trancas, invadir computadores e seguir determinados alvos. Os agentes também podem explorar ruínas, a fim de conseguir objetos antigos para decorar o quartel-general. Já no Nintendo DS, os jogadores ajudam o prefeito a impedir o roubo de um artefato antigo de um notório ladrão. O título prevê dez minigames diferentes e interações com os personagens MySims.

Esse não é a única aventura dos MySims. Os personagens ainda protagonizam games como “MySims Kindgom” e ainda aparecerão em “MySims Party” e “MySims Racing”, que teve seu lançamento definido para 16 de junho.

From/De: EA

EA Goes Undercover in MySims Agents for the Wii and Nintendo DS

Join Your Favorite MySims On An Exciting Mystery-Solving Adventure This Fall!

MySims Agents

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Love mysteries, twisting plots and sinister villains? Love puzzles, adventure and high tech gadgets? Now players can enjoy the thrill of solving the mystery, while re-joining their MySims™ friends. EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced MySims™ Agents, an original IP, mystery-solving adventure game for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ where players are the heroic agents who must stop a sinister plot that threatens the fate of an entire city.

“We’re thrilled to bring you MySims Agents, the next game from MySims, and something completely different than any MySims game before,” said Tim LeTourneau, General Manager of the MySims franchise. “Its mystery-meets-adventure theme allows players to hone their problem-solving skills while still enjoying all of the beloved MySims charm; characters, customization and humor.”

MySims Agents for the Wii

In MySims Agents players take on the role of a special agent hired to foil the sinister plans of Morcubus, lord of the criminal underworld. By recruiting different MySims, each with their own special characteristics, players can build up their very own crime-busting dream team. From tracking footprints and using forensics to picking locks, hacking into computers, following leads and collecting clues, players must rely on their wits, skills and trusty gadgets to piece together the clues to solve the mystery. Jump aboard the jet to reach an ancient temple, a spooky mansion or an icy mountaintop chalet in search of clues that lead players closer to the sinister Morcubus. Return from the adventure with cool treasures that players can use to construct and customize their headquarters and make it their own.

MySims Agents for the Nintendo DS

In MySims Agents on the Nintendo DS players are agents assigned by their agency to help the mayor stop a notorious thief from stealing an ancient treasure. By searching for clues, solving intricate puzzles and matching wits with the thief, gamers can protect the treasure and the town! Along the way they can talk to their favorite MySims, sharpen their agent skills with 10 different mini-games, and search through underground caverns for clues to the thief’s undoing!

Developed by The Sims Studio in the EA Play Label, MySims Agents is scheduled to be available worldwide fall of 2009. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB or PEGI. For game artwork, visit http://www.info.ea.com. MySims Racing, the anticipated MySims title for the summer on the Wii and DS will be available June 16^th in North America.

About The Sims Franchise The Sims franchise celebrates an impressive over 100 million units sold since its launch in February 2000. Now translated into 22 different languages in 60 different countries, The Sims has quickly become a universal gaming and cultural phenomenon. For the latest information about The Sims and to check out the hottest creations for The Sims 2 made by our community members, please visit www.thesims2.com. To stay up-to-date on The Sims 3 news and information, check out www.thesims3.com. For information about the MySims franchise, visit www.mysims.com.

About Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS^TM, EA^TM, EA SPORTS Freestyle^TM and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, POGO, The Sims and MySims are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

El exitoso simulador de EA, que llevara el concepto de SimCity a un escalón superior y más profundo, llevándonos a la vida misma de los habitantes, hace de Wii su nueva casa, mostrando un estilo bastante similar al de Animal Crossing en relación al diseño de los personajes y escenarios.

Pantalla oculta de claves:
En este maravilloso simulador, tenemos un truco muy particular, porque hay un menú que se esconde, y a través del cual se pieden habilitar ciertos códigos especiales. Primero, veamos cómo desbloquear esta pantalla.

Cuando se está de paseo por el pueblo, hay que poner pausa con el -, y realizar, con el WiiMote: 2, 1, Pad Direccional (PadD) hacia abajo, PadD arriba, PadD abajo, PadD arriba, PadD Izquierda, PadD Izquierda, PadD Derecha, PadD Derecha.

Esto da lugar a un extra que facilita el ingreso de claves especiales (tengan en cuenta las mayúsculas y minúsculas en cada una):
- Ahvmrva: Para los más pequeños, con este truco se logra una cama ambientada de carreras de autor.
- l3hkdvs: Obtienes un traje de Kimono.
- F3nevr0: Otra cama bastante menos original, pero igualmente interesante porque viene de regalo.
- Tglg0ca: Traje Funky Hipster.

Logros en los escenarios:
A partir de cada nueva estrella para el mundo virtual que te rodea obtienes un pequeño ítem especial. En total, hay 4 estrellas que aguardan ser liberadas con tu habilidad estratégica.

Fuente

Dance, Board and Flip With Your Favorite MySims in MySims Party, Shipping This Week

MySims Party Provides Hours of Fun for the Whole Family on the Wii and Nintendo DS

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Mar 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), announced that MySims(TM) Party for Wii(TM) and Nintendo DS(TM) ships to retail outlets worldwide tomorrow. The next title from the MySims Franchise features a robust variety of fun and unique mini-games. Designed specifically for the Nintendo platforms, MySims Party offers something for every member of the family.

“We are very excited to deliver MySims Party and think that it will appeal to new and existing MySims fans with the engaging fun that it provides right from the start,” said Tim LeTourneau, General Manager of the MySims Franchise. “The game capitalizes on the universal appeal and trademark humor of the MySims characters, but also takes the franchise in a different direction providing a new way for players to interact through great multiplayer arcade gameplay.”

MySims Party for the Wii

In MySims Party players must pit their reflexes, strategy, smarts and speed against up to three friends in 50 different fast-paced, action-packed mini-games. Each MySim character possesses a unique combination of speed, luck, strength, and endurance, and by strategically hand picking their team of four MySims, players can gain an advantage over their opponents and crush the competition! Whether shaking their groove thing with DJ Candy in the Go Go Dancing mini-game, outrunning the giant robot in Robo-Assault or sticking the trick in the extreme snowboarding challenge, gamers will be off the couch and on their feet, because every gathering is an instant party with MySims Party!

MySims Party for the Nintendo DS

Now players can take the party with them anywhere! Using the stylus and touch screen, players can dig up fossils in Excavate-a-Saurus, join Goth Boy on a first-person shooter mission during Haunted Hunted, rock out with Air-Guitar-Star, and much more! With 40 different mini-games designed specifically for the Nintendo DS, there is bound to be a game for every member of the family. Additionally, using one game card, friends can wirelessly play against each other in Dream Festival Mode and Mini-game Mode.

About The Sims Franchise The Sims franchise celebrates an impressive over 100 million units sold since its launch in February 2000. Now translated into 22 different languages in 60 different countries, The Sims has quickly become a universal gaming and cultural phenomenon. For the latest information about The Sims and to check out the hottest creations for The Sims 2 made by our community members, please visit www.thesims2.com. To stay up-to-date on The Sims 3 news and information, check out www.thesims3.com. For information about the MySims franchise, visit www.mysims.com.

About Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS^TM, EA^TM, EA SPORTS Freestyle^TM and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, POGO, The Sims and MySims are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Sims 3 learns from MySims

MySims was originally a Wii game, so even though when it first came out I thought it looked pretty cool, I wasn’t able to play it till this past Fall, when it finally came out for PC. It’s not a deep game, but I’m not always a deep person, and I enjoyed it for about a week. MySims has straightforward gameplay: you collect objects called “essences”, take them to the woodshop, and use them to craft furniture, which you use to lure gullible visitors into making your town their home. OK that sounds weird, and it is

The weirdest part is the essences, which can be used as 3D objects (in which case they function as building blocks, and can be combined in the shop with boards of various shapes) or as paint (in which case each essence gives you a choice of two patterns and two solid colors that can be used to texture your furniture).

There are dozens of essences that have to be grown, mined or fished up at specific locations. For instance, in the Japanese forest there’s a grassy area where you can dig up, um, two kinds of cake, and bacon. (A fridge made out of bacon would surely attract that visiting glutton!) Ravens, textbooks and chess pieces grow on trees. Happy essences fly into the air after a cheerful conversation. Odd? Definitely! When I told my hardcore gamer friends about this, they told me it sounded “disturbing” (while they were killing ambulatory trees and skinning them for herbs in their “serious” game ).

MySims is a “kids” game, though, while the Sims series is played by all ages, so I was a bit surprised to read in the latest developer blog entry posted on the Sims 3 site about some very MySims-like features. [Update: apparently that blog has been taken off the public part of the Sims 3 site, but it can be read here.]

There are a number of different kinds of items you can collect or grow in the Sims 3, and several of them are just as surreal as anything you’d find in MySims.

Living off the land

This aspect of the game is not entirely new, mind you. Fishing and gardening for fruits and vegetables came with the Sims 2 Seasons expansion, and while the plants and seafood were mundane, the effects of juicing the produce weren’t (who knew drinking eggplant juice made you more skilled?) Bon Voyage let you dig for treasure (you could find rocks, random small sculptures, or maps to secret locations), and collect souvenirs which could have beneficial effects if shelved together. Free Time introduced bug collecting.

In Sims 3, this gameplay trend comes with the base game and is far more developed. There is fishing again, but the variety of fish you can catch is wider — including some oddball items like “the experimental robot fish” — and you can put them in an aquarium as well as eating them or mounting them on the wall. Sims 2 had exactly 6 vegetables and 3 fruits to grow, but in Sims 3 apparently there are many more, including plants that grow non-food items. The money tree was an aspiration reward object in Sims 2 but now it takes its rightful place in your garden, and the possibility of growing eggs or steak on a plant is right out of MySims.

And apparently (not mentioned in the blog entry linked above, but in several other sources): you now have to earn your garden seeds by collecting them from plants around town, rather than simply buying them from thin air. Since Sims 3 also has a much more elaborate cooking system than the previous PC games (oddly, some of the console versions fleshed this out much further), these should form the basis for some interesting dishes.

Pet bugs and rocks!

A lot of Sims players were disappointed that the Sims 3 base game would not include pets, but now we learn that the bugs you catch can be named and kept in terraria … call your cockroach “Spot” and you won’t miss your dog One hopes you can take them out and pet them! And the prospect of mining for minerals and even smelting the ore will make a lot of WoW players happy. (But can you craft a longsword of doom?)

There are two aspects of this system that I’m curious about: randomization and respawning. One presumes that fish are at least somewhat random (conditioned by your skill level), since, well, they are in all games with fishing. Will that precious gem or that rare bug always appear in the same spot, though? If so, it will be a delightful find the first time, but after that, each subsequent sim you play will simply go collect it. If not, the first family you play could well scoop up all the stuff, leaving the rest of the town with nothing.

I presume some thought has gone into spawn timers and randomization, and that a happy balance has been found.

Anyway… my guess is that realism-oriented Sims players may not be too happy with this set of features; but the young, young-at-heart and just plain immature will love it I’ve always liked collecting, harvesting and crafting in games, so count me in… one of those categories.

Now if we could just build our own furniture with this stuff, Sims 3 would be perfect