Gizmos | Sony NGP

Sony's successor to their PlayStation Portable or PSP system was probably the worst kept secret in recent months; everyone already knew it was coming even though Sony kept denying it. Last January 27, during their "PlayStation Meeting 2011" press event, Sony finally relented and officially unveiled their new handheld.


Except that it wasn't called a PSP. True to Sony's penchant for making up fancy-shmancy tech terms and acronyms, the new handheld was dubbed the Next Generation Portable, or NGP for short--go figure. The NGP looks similar to the PSP but with a more oval formfactor. But that's where the similarity ends, as the NGP's innards boasts an impressive array of hardware.

In a first for any handheld gaming system, the NGP features a large 5" OLED multitouch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 960 x 544 pixels, approximately 4 times as much as the current PSP, and capable of displaying 16 million colors. There's also an odd multitouch pad on the back side, as well as two cameras, one on the front and another on the rear side.

While gamers were initially dismayed at the PSP's single analog nub, they're bound to cheer the two full analog sticks prominently featured on the front side. The NGP also has a six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, and three-axis accelerometer), along with a three-axis electronic compass plus a built-in GPS.

Powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor and quad-core PowerVR SGX534MP4+ GPU, the NGP is also enabled for 3G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. And just like the PSP Go, the clunky UMD drive is gone, replaced with a slot for game flash cards very similar to the ones used by the Nintendo DS.

Despite the cheesy name, I have to admit I was impressed by the NGP's specs, and was thankful that it's not the slider type of device that was rendered in so many concept drawings. I was also baffled at Sony's no mention whatsoever about battery life. While OLED screens are more energy efficient than LCD screens and can consume less power, the quad core and GPU processors look like they need a lot of power.

No price was announced during the NGP launch or a definite release date, just "Holiday 2011." Which means that it'll be out just around Christmas in Japan. And the long wait begins...

Music | 808 State - Plan 9

If I had to pick a favorite decade in which I think had the best music, I'd pick the 90's. This was the decade where I learned to appreciate other genres besides pop--acid jazz, chill out, trip hop, ambient, electronica, downtempo, and more, fueled by bands that usually came from the U.K.


808 State was one such group; they were from Manchester and dabbled with a diverse range of electronic music. They originally formed during the late 80's, but achieved commercial success during the 90's, with hits like Pacific State, Cubik, and In Yer Face.

My favorite 808 State song though is Plan 9, because of its unique and distinctive sound that blends laid back Latin guitars with electronic break beats. Plan 9 wasn't a big hit, but I liked it the first time I heard it, and it still holds up rather well today.

Hello Kitties

Who knew that Hello Kitty would look good as Doraemon? Or even as C-3PO from Star Wars? New Zealand illustrator Joseph Senior thought of the iconic ribboned feline with the missing mouth as a customizable model kit, resulting in some awesome renderings.

Hello Kitty as Buzz Lightyear, C-3PO, and Doraemon

Joseph's illustrations showcasing Kitty's versatility have this superb 3D-like feel to them that they look almost real; in fact, some people thought they were actual model kits, heh. A Star Wars fan, he says he started these illustrations as a tribute to George Lucas, and it shows--lots of Star Wars characters comprise this Kitty collection, including superheroes and well-known figures from pop culture.

Hello Kitty as Hit-Girl, Mickey Mouse, and a Maneki Neko

The Hello Kitty drawings are being compiled into a coffee table book that Joseph is thinking of getting published. His plan is to create a total of 101 Kitty illustrations, and from the looks of it, is doing a spectacular job. You can see most of his work in his flickr album, where he's known as yodaflicker. Awesome job, Joseph! Can't wait to see more.

Hello Kitty as Garfield, Tintin with Snowy, and the Flash

The St. Francis Shangri-La Place

I remember several years ago when the steel skeleton of The St. Francis Shangri-La Place towers started to emerge; one moment they were just a few floors, the next months or so they started to stretch ever upwards, with no seeming end in sight. Years later, the finished towers have become one of Ortigas Center's most prominent landmarks, and one of the city's tallest buildings.

The St. Francis Shangri-La Place sign before the main entrance

The St. Francis Shangri-La Place are two residential condominium towers that were built adjacent to the huge Shangri-La Plaza mall, and is right across the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. The entire complex is owned by Shang Properties, which is in turn owned by the Kuok Group, the international conglomerate that operates the renowned Shangri-La Hotels worldwide.

Looking up at the twin towers of The St. Francis Shangri-La Place

Now, the Shangri-La Plaza is one of my favorite malls due to its unique design that incorporates huge, spacious corridors and unconventional layout, and I've been to the two Shangri-La Hotels here (EDSA and Makati) and liked their design as well. So naturally I was curious about the interiors of the St. Francis Shangri-La Place, and wondered if the design was just as good as the other Shang Properties buildings.

Thanks to a friend who was renting a studio unit there, I finally got the chance to see the interiors for myself sometime last month. We entered through the accessways from the mall, and first visited the Clubhouse, which is located on the 8th and 9th floors and is the top level of the main structure that connects the two towers. The Clubhouse has most of the amenities offered to residents--a lounge with Wi-Fi, fitness center, function rooms, kiddie playrooms, adult game rooms, and a swimming pool on an outdoor deck.

The Clubhouse on the 8th floor...

...that looks out to an incredible view of the Ortigas Center area

A nice little nook in the lounge area of the Clubhouse

The lounge area was cozy and comfortable, with nice little nooks here and there; it's that type of place where you can still get a sense of privacy even when there are other people around. The view was also incredible, showing the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel right across and parts of Ortigas Center beyond.

The view from the Clubhouse, showing the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel
and Chi Spa across the street

Another look at the Ortigas Center cityscape from the Clubhouse

The spiral staircase on the Clubhouse level

The Clubhouse swimming pool

Considering that the tall spindly towers of the St. Francis Shangri-La Place are located in an area near an earthquake fault, the structure features a revolutionary damping system that act as energy absorbers and damp out vibrations, minimizing wobble.

The studio unit that my friend was renting out was actually nice, and was spacious compared to the more cramped interiors of other condo units that I've been to. I found the sparse layout and minimalist furnishing great--I'd live there if I could, but sadly I can't afford the monthly 30K rent, LOL.

Studio unit kitchen and dining area

Studio unit sleeping area

Studio unit living area

Speaking of rent, that's probably the only option now if you want to stay there, as all the studio and single bedroom units are sold out. Only the two-bedroom and special units are still available for purchase, and those are well in the 11 to 100 million price range--yikes!

Cuisine | Yakimix

When my sister suggested sometime last month that we try out Yakimix for their eat-all-you-can buffet, I was hesitant at first because of the P580 cost (P499 on weekdays). But when we did get to actually try it out, it wasn't what I expected at all--it was much, much better.

The buffet area of Yakimix Tomas Morato

Yakimix's buffet consists of Japanese, Korean, and Cantonese cuisine, but I noticed that it was mostly Japanese, with an entire row of sushi for those who love it. The sushi area looked very appetizing, with sushi of all kinds piled and arranged neatly on containers that resembled little transparent stairways--I've never seen so much sushi in one place at one time, LOL.

There were three soups available, with one of those being sukiyaki that you can assemble yourself--select the ingredients first, then pour the steaming soup base over it. The other dishes available were shrimp tempura, which tended to disappear quickly because people usually hoarded tons of them on their plates (shame on those people, really); numerous Cantonese dishes which I didn't really try; plus some Pinoy staples that really didn't fit the cuisine like crispy pata and lechon kawali.

Two kinds of rice were also available: one plain steamed, the other fried, as well as numerous greens and salads--the kani salad was my favorite. And for dessert, there were many cakes, pies, pastries, fresh fruit, and an entire freezer with ice cream and frozen desserts, complete with lots of candy toppings for the ice cream.

But the best thing about Yakimix that made the dining experience more awesome was the smokeless grill set in the center of each table; I thought it was just a buffet, so having the grill there was an unexpected surprise. There was a lot of raw stuff available for grilling: an assortment of marinated meat and seafood, including Japanese spicy bacon, Korean peppered pork, red wine beef, garlic chicken, speared meat and veggies, shrimp, squid, and my favorites, asparagus spears rolled with pork and carrots rolled in beef strips.

Once I realized the more options offered by the grill, I ditched the rest of the buffet and concentrated solely on grilling, heh. The pork, beef, and chicken cooked quickly, almost had no oil, and best of all, they tasted incredible. Yakimix even had numerous sauces and garnishes that you could mix and match to make your own dipping sauce. Cooking with the grill is highly recommended and the Yakimix experience won't be complete without it.

I've read many horror stories about the terrible service of other Yakimix branches near the SM Mall of Asia and their newly-opened branch at TriNoma. The service may be bad elsewhere, but not here at the Tomas Morato branch--the service is great, and the staff is alert and very accommodating, constantly refilling drinks and clearing used dishes even without being asked.

We've gone back to Yakimix Tomas Morato several times since last month, and it's become our new favorite buffet place. Hopefully the yummy food and commendable service don't change any time soon.

Gaming | The Best of 2010

I've changed my Best of Gaming list to the games I've played the most in 2010, rather than being limited to the games released in 2010 only. I take a lot of time with games nowadays; instead of buying the latest and just end up shelving it for later, I try to finish the games that I have now, and don't really care any more if it's old or new. After all, it's gaming time that matters the most to me, and if I don't spend a lot of time playing a particular game, then that game isn't really worth playing, LOL.

1. Fallout 3 [PS3]
My Game of the Year, never mind if it was released back in 2008. I usually avoid first-person shooters because they make me dizzy and nauseous but Fallout 3 changed all that; it actually cured me of my FPS motion sickness problem. Damned if I know what took me so long to play this game. Yup, the game has tons of glitches but everything else about it--the concept and story, plus the awesome 1940's-1950's music was compelling enough to keep me playing for hours on end, even coming to work with only about an hour's sleep in the process, heh. And then there's Dogmeat, which further took this game into the realm of pure awesomeness.

2. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable [PSP]
The PSP version of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 keeps almost everything from the PS2 version intact, and adds a new character that opens up additional possibilities. The result is an excellent portable translation that makes the experience more streamlined while retaining all the complex Persona gameplay of the original.
3. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver [DS]
This is the definitive Pokemon game available for the Nintendo DS. With 493 Pokemon and a chance to revisit the Johto and Kanto regions, the games have more new features that make them practically almost endless, as well as an included Pokewalker accessory that literally lets you take your favorite Pokemon with you anywhere.

4. Fallout: New Vegas [PS3]
Not a true sequel to Fallout 3, but more like a supplementary adventure, Fallout: New Vegas uses the same engine and offers more new options. And as expected, it's as glitchy as Fallout 3 but has tons of content and the promise of upcoming material to keep you going through the Mojave Wasteland. No complaints here, heh.
5. Super Scribblenauts [DS]
The original Scribblenauts was brilliant, but was horribly flawed when it came to gameplay controls. This sequel corrected all the control issues and adds adjectives to its already huge database of words, and the result is a superb game that Scribblenauts was truly meant to be.

6. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition [PS3]
This Gold Edition of Resident Evil 5 contains the same basic story, but it's the additional episodes and bonus content that stand out. Both of the new episodes feature the original RE heroine, Jill Valentine, and the extra features contain multiplayer modes and new costumes, making this the must-have version of the game.

7. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX [PS3]
Having played the original arcade version during the goldern era of vidoegaming, Pac-Man has earned its place as one of my all-time favorite games. This enhanced version adds plenty of features and different visual styles, but still has that arcade feel and gives plenty of incentive for playing again and again.
8. Picross 3D [DS]
Picross was one of my best games of 2007, and remains a favorite to this day. This time around, Nintendo added a third dimension, resulting in even more complex-looking puzzles, yet still surprisingly simple and logical once you get the hang of it. Very addictive as always.

9. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game [PS3]
It's the game that was everything the movie wasn't, mainly because it was fun. This glorious tribute to 2D side-scrolling battlers has amazing chiptune music and loads of cartoony violence, including bonus features that will make you want to play "just one more time"

10. 3D Dot Game Heroes [PS3]
A great homage to 8-bit dungeon crawlers of the past, 3D Dot Game Heroes has a unique visual style of its own. Resembling a medieval RPG built entirely with LEGO bricks, the game lets you customize your own character and even lets you download character designs from other gamers.