what you see is…

here’s another psp-related entry.

i stumbled upon a new game recently. it’s called echochrome. the graphics and gameplay are very simple: you have a 3d object just like the ones you see below, and you turn it around in any direction so that the mannequin that walks along its paths can reach its destination.

the point of this entry is not really the game. it’s this: in the world of echochrome there are 5 rules that apply:

1) perspective traveling - if you can make two disjointed paths seem like them are connected by rotating the object, then they are connected.
2) perspective absence - if you can hide a gap between two disjointed paths by rotating the object, then it does not exist.
3) perspective landing - if a hole seems to be above a path, then you will land on the path if you fall through the hole.
4) perspective jump - if a jump pad seems to be below a path, then jumping from the pad will boost you up to that path.
5) perspective existence - if you can hide a hole or a jump pad by rotating the object, then they do not exist.

it’s all about perception. it’s all about what you can see. what you see is what you get. if you can hide something, then it does not exist. if you can make something seem like what you want it to be, then it is what you want it to be.

fancy that.

yes, this is a psp-related entry.

for now

i haven’t been blogging a lot lately, though i have a lot of "drafts" in my head. i suppose i’ve been too lazy or uninspired to turn them into actual posts.

here’s one though…

i got me a psp.

yup, me, the person who has never played a console game since the good old days of the snes (chrono trigger ftw!!!)… me, who just let all those playstations and x-boxes pass by… i now have a psp. it’s actually over a couple of weeks old already, but it’s still news. hehehe.

mau was the first one to get a psp. she bought hers around half a year ago, and i honestly didn’t think that it was worth it. now that i think about it, it kindda actually is. as a video player and a portable gaming console, i’ve come to see that it has good value.

yun nga lang… bitin ang 4gb! there’s an 8gb memory stick available but i hear that it’s slower and less reliable so i don’t think i’ll gamble on that. pwede na for now yung 2gb for vids and 2gb for games (the operative phrase is "for now" =p).

so - for now - i’m able to fit around six 40-minute tv episodes (these are 1-hour episodes on tv due to commercial breaks) and i currently have several games loaded: crisis core:final fantasy vii, patapon, x-men 2:rise of the apocalypse, nba live 08 and echochrome.

i finished god of war:chains of olympus several days ago. major pwnage! uber kick-ass video game! blood… action… violence… adrenaline… wicked graphics… testosterone overload! the only problem with it is that it’s too friggin short! sobrang sobrang bitin. now i want to play gow and gow2… T_T …someone get me a ps2… hehehe. or maybe i’ll just play the game again on a higher difficulty level. ^_^

but gow isn’t my fave game on the psp. that distinction has to undoubtedly go to patapon. i don’t care if it’s a game that features cute little cartoonish eyeballs. it’s a strategy game and a rhythm game (like dance revo and the like) that is insanely addicting.

i’m a tad bit underwhelmed with crisis core: ff7 right now, so that’s all i’m gonna say about that.

so for now, that’s that. i could continue rambling and add how i’ll be able to catch up with my huge tv series backlog now, but i’ll save that for the next entry.

with or without 3d

The other night, we got to watch U2 3D on IMAX in MOA for a 500 peso ticket price. It. Is. Amazing. But no, not because it’s 3D. It’s because it’s U2.

Sure, when the camera gets that closeup of Bono reaching out to the audience, you feel a sense of intimacy that implores you to just reach out as well and grab his hand… and it sure feels like you can. Like you and the band can literally break through the so-called "fourth wall" and interact.

It’s mesmerizing, but after you get past the WOW moments, no amount of 3D experience can rival the raw feeling of the music surging through your soul. Especially with that good a set list and when it’s almost like the experience of watching a live concert - for just 500 pesos.

As the band closes their encore with "With Or Without You", there’s a part where the song kicks into high gear and the intensely lively crowd joins in right on cue. Goosebumps. With or without 3D, that would still give me goosebumps. The medium simply enhances the experience of it all. It’s as good a marriage of technology and raw emotion as you can get, but at the end of the day. A U2 concert is a U2 concert, and that’s what makes it so good to watch.

The only thing that got to me (well, aside from the fact that I didn’t like the 3D glasses) was that I couldn’t let loose inside a theater. I mean… it’s a rock concert for crying out loud!!! I wanted to jump! I wanted to stomp to the beat! I just wanted to move! You simply don’t just sit down and chill during a rock concert. You let loose.

God… I came out of that with so much pent up energy. Maybe that’s why I was still raring to go after 90 minutes on the treadmill last night… but that’s for another blog entry. ^_^

Anyway… the whole experience was just great. Sabi pa nung isa kong officemate: "Parang feeling mo, pwedeng-pwede mong punasan yung pawis ni Bono!"

After leaving the theater, there was a group of friends behind me who also came from the screening. One of the guys said to the other guy: "O ano pare, namamahalan ka pa ba??" To which the other answered, "Sulit!!!"

I can’t rave enough about it. It was exciting… exhilarating… intense.

Parang magandang ulitin… bago siya palitan ng Hannah Montana 3D concert in a week or so. LOL. ^_^

crush

na-aliw lang ako sa email conversation topic namin ng iilang kaibigan ko from office today.

question of the day:

"anong tingin nyo pag me crush sayo ang isang tao dahil sa ugali mo daw?"

hehehehe.

i didn’t give it much thought and just threw this answer:

"parang mas gusto ko kung may magkaka-crush sa akin dahil sa itsura ko nalang, pero kung may maiinlove sa akin, dahil sa ugali. hehehehe! =p"

i think about it now and parang tama naman yung sinabi ko. ^_^ that’s how it works for me as well anyway:

crush = looks/physique
love = personality/character

let’s get the party started

finally, the real NBA season begins: The Playoffs.

you just gotta get goosebumps with the fact that the Lakers top the west and the Celtics top the east this season. dreaming of the possiblity of another Laker-Celtic showdown after 2 decades is just pure fun for any basketball fan… it’s as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. book it.

and with the playoffs come the predictions. here are mine (just for the first round):

WEST:
LAL-DEN = Lakers in 5
NOH-DAL = Hornets in 6
SAS-PHO = Spurs in 7
HOU-UTA = Jazz in 6

EAST:
BOS-ATL = Celtics in 4
DET-PHI = Pistons in 5
ORL-TOR = Magic in 6
CLE-WAS = Cavs in 7