Club Bing

I had a topic to write about....and then I forgot it. So today I will talk about one of my current obsessions: Club Bing. Club Bing is a website run by the Microsoft search engine, Bing. I haven't spent a whole lot of time using the search engine side of things. Instead I have spent my time playing games and earning "tickets." There is a pretty wide variety of games to play. There's a crossword puzzle, a word search, a couple hidden objects, and some other original games. (One of my favorites is CrossWire, where you have to match items from one column with an item in the second column.) Each time you complete a game, you win a number of tickets. Then you can use your tickets to purchase prizes or you can donate them to a local school. I purchased a Net Ball game, which is kinda like lacrosse, but I haven't had a chance to play it with my daughter since school started recently. I'm currently trying to save up my tickets to buy a new Zune.

There is a daily limit on how many tickets you can earn each day. (1,000) But that doesn't make the games any less fun. Come win stuff with me!

Dungeons & Dragons Online

There has been a Dungeons & Dragons MMO for awhile now. It used to have the 'normal' fee schedule where you'd pay $15 per month to play as much as you want. Recently, the game has decided to change that. Now you can play for free. You can pay for upgrades or extra quests if you want, but a majority of the game is free. I've been playing it on and off for the past week or so. Some of the original quests from the pay version of the game have changed but it's still the same feel. It is a little odd to see the same dungeons with different quests in them though. All in all, if you liked DDO before, you'll like just as much now. Only you won't have to pay for it!

Jdorama review: Ping Pong

Title: Ping Pong Release date: 7/20/02 Genre: Sports comedy Cast: Kubozuka Yosuke, Arata, Sam Lee, Nakamura Shido, Okura Koji, Takenaka Naoto, Natsuki Mari Plot: Peco (Kubozuka), a really good table tennis player, meets his match against a player from China (Lee), but there is another talented player Peco must face. Will he meet the challenge or give up his lifelong dream of being the world's best table tennis player? What is good: Kubozuka Yosuke once again pulls off an amazing character. What is bad: I can't think of anything that really detracts from the movie. Letter rating: A Overall: I really love Kubozuka's acting and his skills shine here. The rest of the cast supports him well, even though I did find myself giggling a little bit about all the drama that takes place around ping pong. This is definitely a movie that every jdorama lover should watch at least once.

Game review: Magic Encyclopedia: Moon Light

Over the weekend, I took some time out to play Magic Encyclopedia: Moon Light. I figured it would be a typical hidden object game that wouldn't require a lot of thought. Man, was I wrong! Each hidden object in the game comes in pieces. You have to find all of the pieces for each object. Then, where normal games would just mark off that you found that item, you have to use the item to find the rest of the list. For example, you have to find all the pieces of a key to open a chest that will hold a piece of another item. It makes the gameplay a lot more interesting since you have to figure out which is the first object you need to find all the pieces for and where to use it. I had tons of fun playing this game. I think I'll be buying it in the near future.

Music review: Gackt - Koakuma Heaven

In June and July, Gackt released a slew of singles. "Koakuma Heaven" came out on June 10, 2009. It is a fast-paced dive into the seedy world of club hostesses and prostitutes. Yet it is really catchy and difficult to get out of your head once you hear it. It's not my absolute favorite from his recent releases, but it's a close second.

Game review: Wedding Dash: Ready, Aim, Love

Almost exactly one year ago, I talked about Wedding Dash 2: Rings Around The World. Another sequel, Wedding Dash 3: Ready, Aim, Love, has appeared on the scene. This time around, Quinn pairs up with Cupid to plan some weddings in some interesting settings. Unfortunately, this game is exactly like its predecessor. There have only been tiny changes, which barely make a dent in the gameplay. For example, you have the option to hire a few of Cupid's angels to help Flo serve the guests. (Yes, instead of a stand-alone waitress, it's poor Flo doing the hard work for you.) Quinn still has to pay attention to the guests themselves as one will frequently lose her yappy dog and Cupid has a tendency to knock over the presents. So, if you enjoyed the second edition of the Wedding Dash family, you'll definitely enjoy this one.

Game review: Jane's Zoo

In late 2008, Realore Studios released a couple of "Jane" games. First there was Jane's Hotel, which kinda sucked. The company built upon that to make the sequel, Jane's Hotel; Family Hero much better. But then they took a step backwards with Jane's Realty. The latest Jane game, Jane's Zoo was released in June of this year. I took some time to play it last night to see how this version has changed dear Jane.

It's a little weird to see our hotel hero taking over caring for animals at a zoo, but people do make life changes every day. Maybe Jane got tired of the hotel/realty biz. Despite the weird setting, the gameplay is actually quite a lot of fun. The first level starts out really easy, which is as it should be. There are two animals that you need to feed and care for. Once you get the hang of things though, you get more animals and more things to do with the animals. By the end of the first level, you'll have four animals that will need feeding, bathing, exercise, and wellness visits. Not to mention that your handy helper has to water the grass in the enclosures, clean up the trash, and fix the animals' houses. While it sounds like a ton of stuff to do, you don't really get overwhelmed with the amount of work. The workload is nicely balance so the frustration level stays low.

In addition, there are mini-games where you are finding trash in forest locations. After you complete the mini-game, you have the option to upgrade your workers. Yes, the worker upgrades (how fast they can work, etc.) are completely separate from the zoo upgrades. You buy upgrades for the zoo with the money you win after completing each section of the main level. The worker upgrades come from the mini-games. And since the mini-games only come a couple of times each level, you aren't ending up with overpowered workers. They are gaining new skills at a decent pace.

I really enjoyed playing Jane's Zoo. Even more, I'm happy that the series has finally managed to find a good theme that is balanced and fun. I hope that Realore is able to keep it up!

Kago Ai - no hesitAtIon

On June 24, 2009, the infamous Kago Ai released her first solo single after the big scandals. (For those that don't know, she was caught smoking in 2006, when she was only 18. Then she was caught dating an older man AND smoking, which prompted her release from Hello!Project.) The title track, "no hesitAtIon," is a cute little ditty with lyrics that were written by Aibon herself. At first listen, the song seems like a fairly typical pop tune. However, after a few rotations, you can hear the "Kago-ness" come out. Lately, Aibon has kind of dubbed herself a spokesperson for teaching young people how to behave properly. (Meaning not smoking or having risky sex...things like that.) As such, this song has an uplifting message about starting over and being yourself. Granted, it's not quite as good as the B-side, "Children of the Night," but it is still a really great song. I hope she keeps going long enough to release a full album on her own.

JDorama review: Binbo Danshi

Title: Binbo Danshi Broadcast dates: 1/15/08 - 3/11/08 Number of episodes: 9 Genre: Comedy Cast: Oguri Shun, Yamada Yu, Yashima Norito, Yusuke Santamaria Plot: Koyama Kazumi (Shun), a cheerful college student, has found himself in debt. Soon, he finds out that his newfound friends are also deeply in debt. Despite everyone's pessimism, Kazumi works hard to get out of debt and inspire those around him. What is good: Oguri Shun can be more than a brooding boy! What is bad: Sometimes the optimism is a little too over the top. Letter rating: A Overall: I have been dying to see Shun get out of the quiet yet handsome roles that he's been in a lot. Not only does he accomplish that here, but the show is also really good! I was a little disappointed that Yamada Yu didn't sing the theme song. BENNIE K did a good job though. Otherwise, this is a great show that everyone should watch.

TV review: Torchwood: Children of Earth

Last week, BBC America aired the five-part Torchwood mini-series, Children of Earth. It begins a short while after season 2 ends. The team hasn't forgotten their fallen members, but they are moving on. As always, there is another alien force threatening the earth. This time around, it's the 456, an unknown alien race that appeared 44 years earlier and have returned, speaking through the children of the world.

The show is a lot grittier than what we are used to. Gwen loses hope. One of the team members dies. Jack is forced to do something pretty evil. Meanwhile, society around them is falling into ruin. I really did love the show, even though every episode feels like "how else can we screw over Jack..." and Jack doesn't come out of the ordeal unscathed. He comes out very broken. I would love to see another season of Torchwood, especially in light of everything they've gone through. However, it doesn't seem like it would be possible. Most of the team is dead and those that are left are scattered. Where can they go from here?