Archives

Cast Away
[ 12-24-00 ][ 7:10 a.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

"Ultimately Cast Away is saved by the acting of an Oscar veteran. Even Helen Hunt, who's screen time was limited, was excellent in playing her role. And Wilson... man, don't even get me started... best supporting actor nomination! Heh heh..."

--> Click! <--

Ack! Need... sleep... now...

Oni Demo Impressions
[ 12-23-00 ][ 8:47 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

I've decided to include PC demo impressions on my front page blurbs. I like trying out demo's, since they're free and they're games. The point a demo must get across to the end user is whether or not it makes him/her want to go out and get the full version, so that's what I'll judge it by. Today's demo feature is Oni.

"Oni is a third-person 3D action/adventure that emphasizes hand-to-hand combat as well as gunplay. Inspired by anime classics like Ghost in the Shell and action thrillers like La Femme Nikita, you play Konoko, an elite agent on a quest to infiltrate and destroy a ruthless crime syndicate."

--> Download here: Click! <--

Oni's the latest from elite development team Bungie, who's previous works have included the excellent but little publicized Myth series. They're actually more known for their future product, most notably Halo which is coming out on the X-Box (followed by PC and Mac ports). Oni's been sort of overshadowed by Halo all this time, sharing the spotlight in a small corner. After playing the demo, I can see why.

I can't say I'm eagerly looking foward to play Oni, although I believe I will acquire a copy once it comes out. It has an anime theme to it, as evident from the screenshot. The graphics are adequate, if somewhat plain. The storyline sounds generic, although I can't really judge that until I play through the full version. The voice acting is disappointing; it sounds like it's badly dubbed, except it ain't dubbed... it was English to begin with. To top it all off, the lips in the damn characters don't move when they speak. Argh! Pet peeve, pet peeve!

What saves the day is its unique blend of Street Fighter fighting combo's with the traditional FPS/TPS action. Not only do you get to use guns and stuff, but also your feet and arms. For example, in the demo you learn the "Willow Kick", which can be executed by pressing Back + Forward + Kick. It's sorta like Virtua Fighter or Soul Calibur, except you have a whole world to run around and kick ass in rather than a one-on-one opponent. It's fun! I found myself having my gun tucked away most of the time and instead engage in those hand to hand combo matchups.

Oomph! Hai... ya! Thwack! Pow!

Aside from the evolutionary style of action, there isn't much else to the game I would go back to. The demo's around 68 megs or so to download. Watch for a full review sometime in early 2001.

Hannibal
[ 12-22-00 ][ 4:09 a.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

What the devil am I doing up at this hour?... Sigh... I shouldn't have woken up so late today. You know when you're just about to wake up, except you're feeling a bit lazy, so you just lounge in bed a bit, and the next thing you know, "a bit" has turned into 4 hours asleep, except it's not really sleep, cuz the entire time you're having these really bizarre and chaotic dreams? What am I saying.... I don't even know what I'm blabbering about..... bah!

Anyways, I just saw Silence of the Lambs. What an absolutely brilliant film that was. It left me on the edge of my seat for two straight hours. I don't think I would've enjoyed the film as much if I had saw it a few years ago, but now with deeper appreciation for movie thematics, Silence of the Lambs has just made my all time favorite list.

Some of you guys may know that a sequel is already completed and will be released on Feb. 9th, 2K1. It's aptly titled "Hannibal". Check out the trailer here: click! It'll be on my server too when it goes back up Jan. 8th.

The thing about Hannibal is that neither Jodie Foster (who bagged an Oscar for Silence of the Lambs) nor director Jonathan Demme will be back. Instead, we've got Julianne Moore as Clarice Starling and Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Bladerunner) directing. Of course, Anthony Hopkins (also took home an Oscar) is back as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Now, I don't mind the change in directors, cuz I know Scott's an accomplished one. I'm a bit iffy about Moore replacing Foster, but I'll keep my mind open. "Hannibal" has got some big shoes to fill, but if anybody can carry a film, it's Hopkins.

Ooh, I can't wait. The way he slurs sentences and the ever present smug smile on his face sends chills down my spine.

American McGee's Alice
[ 12-21-00 ][ 11:58 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

"The one thing I've always stressed in my games is gameplay. Without gameplay, all the snazzy bells and whistles that come attached with the game is essentially useless. That's why Minesweeper is one of my all time favorites. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you with an exception to that rule: American McGee's Alice..."

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It's an open secret that the Lewis Carroll's Wonderland novels has a deeper, darker undercurrent dealing with violence and insanity. Hello? The Mad Hatter? "Alice" is American McGee's first project since leaving id after Quake 2. This game is so pretty... I included a ton of screenshots along with the review, so go check it out.

Technological Breakthrough!
[ 12-19-00 ][ 9:58 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

Addenum: 3:32 a.m., 12-19-00 -- I've re-opened the movie review section thanks to this monumental milestone. The Emperor's New Groove review has already been instated, so comment on that in there if you wish. =)

A longtime dream of Gerry and mine for Rice World has now become a reality. Ladies and gentlemen, I am extremely proud to present to you the ability for individual talkback for each article! That means for each article I put up, there will be a readers comment section at the bottom where you can dynamically add your comments! For example, check out the No One Lives Forever review and try it out!

I'm sure you guys have seen this implemented elsewhere before. ZDNet's Jesse Berst has a TalkBack section, as does Ain't It Cool News. I spent an entire day coding the CGI script with Perl from scratch, which explains why I'm quite proud of how it's turned out. It's still very crude, but it serves its purpose. Plus, it ain't as if Rice World's got tons of visitors. If a glaring glitch or drawback comes up, I'll be right on top of it, and since I nurtured this code from its infancy, I know it quite well. =)

Onto other business:

Happy 21st birthday to our very own Gerry Wang! Finally... 21 is the true adult age in America. 18 is nothing but a title. Rice World booze parties at his place New Years Eve! Heh heh. Drop a quick happy birthday to him in the message board or a more private one to his e-mail address. =)

Seasons Greetings!
[ 12-18-00 ][ 5:48 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

Like the holiday theme? =)

For those frequent Blue Mountain visitors, you know where I got the background and the "Celebrate the Season!" banner from. Also, while modifying the Rice World banner on top, I must give props to AltaVista's excellent image search engine.

Okay guys, I'm off to decorate our family tree some more. Cheers. =)

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
[ 12-17-00 ][ 10:35 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

Square and Columbia has teamed up to bring you the first Final Fantasy to hit the silver screen. Tipped by a friend, I went ahead and checked out the trailer. Let me tell you something, LucasArts nor Pixar ain't got nuthin' on the competition anymore. When computer generated content starts to look more realistic than real life, you know you need to get out more. =P

Link to Apple.com's Quicktime trailer (Hi-Res): Click!
Want to keep it? Right click and choose "Save Target As..."

The Emperor's New Groove
[ 12-17-00 ][ 8:32 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

"Whenever you think Disney and movie, you think sappy love story with an acclaimed vocalist like Elton John or Phil Collins providing the bulk of the soundtrack. This movie, however, looks like it came straight out of the WB's Loony Toons bin..."

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No One Lives Forever
[ 12-17-00 ][ 4:48 a.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

"Imagine James Bond... in the 60's... as a woman. You have the basic premise of NOLF right there. What drives this game is (surprise!) the detailed storyline. Not particularly creative (save the world), and quite linear (complete clearly listed objectives), but very detailed..."

--> Click! <--

Ah, my first game review under version 5. I've evolved a bit this time. They're a lot more brief and to the point. I only mention stuff that I think jump out at me when I play the game, and of course, try to convey my opinion as persuasively as possible. Plus there are a lot more pictures and captions. So if anything, go check out the screenshots at least. =)

Love Shaq University
[ 12-16-00 ][ 5:21 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

Shaq's added another dimension, and it doesn't have to do with basketball. Yesterday, he got permission from the Lakers to skip the game against Vancouver in order to receive his Bachelor's Degree from LSU (Louisiana State University). This fulfills the promise he made to his coach and his mother that he would finish his college education after he left early to join the NBA.

Big Aristotle lives up to his name

I'm so proud of him. This is a man who is making an EIGHT digit income per year, has an NBA championship ring AND a MVP award, yet he still goes out of his way during the offseason to graduate. If there ever was a role model for young kids aspiring to be NBA stars, this is it.

I guess this is what his business card will look like from now on:

Shaquille O'Neal
NBA Most Valuable Player, 1999-2000
Member of NBA Champions L.A. Lakers, 1999-2000
Bachelor's Degree in General Studies, LSU

You go, Shaq! Not just an all-around basketball player, but an all around human being. Reach for the stars, big fella'.

Simplicity Is Beautiful
[ 12-15-00 ][ 9:35 p.m. pst ][ By Rice ]

New look, new attitude, baby! Rice World is back. This time we're slimmer, more simplistic, and as usual, content driven.

And by the way, we're starting over from scratch. I've saved only precious few articles from versions 1-4. From now on, the meat of the content will come from here, the main news page. Articles will only be dedicated to specific matters, i.e. my Building A Computer 101 guide. Note the reviews and gamers section, or rather lack thereof. It's all been merged into Articles.

You see, I'm gearing Rice World v5 to be more personal. Back into the days when I actually update the news page regularly to inform everyone of cool stuff I learned or neat links that I think is interesting, not just for plugging articles. I figure the less articles we have, the more time we can dedicate here, where we're more direct. I don't care as much about attracting new visitors as much as keeping the communal feeling between the existing visitors.

Afterall, without you guys, there's no meaning to Rice World.

Some of you already got sneak peeks, when I unintentionally left it online when I was working on it one night. Here's the final product, largely unchanged, now officially open. =)

I've changed the site address from http://riceworld.kansur.com to http://kansur.com/riceworld because CGI scripts absolutely refuse to work on the former. I've nagged the server's tech support to look into it, but they've been slower than molasses in providing a solution, so I said screw it... I'll work around it. As long as you stick with http://riceworld.tsx.org, you'll be fine.

Make sure you're using kansur.com/riceworld or riceworld.tsx.org, or else you'll get an error when viewing articles!!