Game Review: Build-a-lot

Last night, I decided to break out of my video game rut. I've been playing way too many time management and hidden object games. So I downloaded Build-a-lot from Big Fish Games. The description reads: Become a real estate mogul and take over the housing market as you construct, upgrade and sell houses for huge profits! You can flip houses for quick cash or sit back and watch the rental income pile up. Travel to scenic towns and perform special tasks for the local mayors. Buy blue prints of new buildings to build bigger and better neighborhoods! Can you build an ice rink for the Olympics? A new cinema for the local movie star? Find out in the new strategy game, Build-a-lot!

I usually suck at strategy games but what the heck. It won't kill me to play an hour demo. The game actually turned out to be quite fun! I played through the first three towns. Well, I shouldn't really count the first town since that is the tutorial. In each town, you are given a list of goals to accomplish. They vary from things like 'Build 3 Colonial Houses' to 'Build A Library' to 'Hire 5 Workers.' While each of these sounds like really easy goals, you quickly find that you have to do some financial juggling in order to accomplish them. You start out with three workers, one housing blueprint and you need to purchase materials. To accomplish the 'Build A Library' goal, you need to juggle your finances enough to buy the library blueprint, hire two more workers and purchase 1500 units of building materials. In order to get the finances going, you need to build enough houses to generate enough rental income to buy everything you need. And, of course, there is a timer. If you accomplish all your goals fast enough, you get a blue ribbon for that section.

I know that I haven't really made the game sound as fun as it is. It plays a lot like a time management game but it's more than that. I found it to be a really enjoyable game and I just might purchase the full version so I can play some more.

Playstation 3 virtual world delayed

Taking place this week is Tokyo Game Show, one of the largest video game conventions in the world. Sony president, Hirai Kazuo, announced on Thursday that they will be delaying the launch of 'Home,' the Playstation 3 virtual world service. While the service was originally intended to be released this year, it is now pushed pack to spring 2008. "Home" is an interactive world where players create an avatar in order to do a variety of things, such as setting up their own rooms, playing games with other users and watching movie trailers. Sony hopes that the service will bring about new forms of advertising as well as electronic shopping.

Source: Mainichi

Music review: Barenaked Ladies - Christmas Time (Oh Yeah)

Artist: Barenaked Ladies Members: Steven Page (vocals), Ed Robertson (guitar), Tyler Stewart (drums), Jim Creegan (bass), Kevin Hearn (keyboards & more) Album: Barenaked For The Holidays Release date: 10/5/04

Lyrics: Now that all the snow has fallen It's crunching in below my feet And all the Christmas lights are shining On houses up and down my street And I can see the happy families inside If only for a moment, it's Christmas time

I think I see the children down the street Here they come caroling Now we can hear them, they sing "Oh yeah"

Mr. Johnson bought a Christmas tree He set it up with his family They're opening their presents big and small Mr. Johnson got a big, brown, bowling ball And Sally got a pair of brand new skates And Jimmy got a box of frosty flakes He knows that there's a special little prize inside What a happy moment, it's Christmas time

The carolers are standing in line They sing, "Oh yeah" Oh yeah About the song: I'm not usually a big fan of Christmas music. However, this is one of my favorite songs about the holiday. I particularly love the harmony on the "Oh yeah" parts. In my opinion, Kevin is the weakest singer of the band but his nasally sounding voice is appropriate for a song about family. This song isn't about being a great singer. It's just about enjoying the holidays with your family, even if you only get Frosted Flakes as a present.

TV review: Cory in the House

Cory in the House is the third live action Disney Channel series, along with The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Hannah Montana, aimed at "tweens." A spin-off of That's So Raven, the show revolves around Cory Baxter (Kyle Massey) moving into the White House when his father, Victor (Rondell Sheridan), gets hired as the personal chef for President Richard Martinez (John D'Aquino). President Martinez has a young daughter named Sophie (Madison Pettis), who is usually the foil for Cory's money-making schemes.

I've found that this show isn't as terrible as The Suite Life but it's not as good as Hannah Montana. In most of the episodes that I've seen, Cory thinks up some scheme to make tons of money quickly before he's found out and punished by his father. However, most of the punishments end up as mere slaps on the wrist and do nothing to deter Cory from concocting yet another scheme. Meanwhile, Sophie may be cute but she is extremely spoiled. Nothing will turn me off faster than an obnoxious spoiled child in a series. So while I can sit through the show for a little while, the novelty of the "new kid in the White House" theme wears off quickly.

Jmovie review: Nana 2

Title: Nana 2 Release date: 12/9/06 Genre: Romance, Slice of Life Cast: Nakashima Mika, Ichikawa Yui, Kyo Nobuo, Tamayama Tetsuji, Narimiya Hiroki, Hongo Kanata, Maruyama Tomomi Plot: Komatsu Nana/Hachiko (Ichikawa Yui) finds herself trapped in a love triangle with Trapnest's Takumi (Tamayama Tetsuji) and Black Stones' Nobu (Narimiya Hiroki). When she finds out she is pregnant, it devastates her best friend and roommate, Osaki Nana (Nakashima Mika). Can any of them find happiness in their lives after this? What is good: Nakashima Mika is still the perfect choice to play Osaki Nana. What is bad: The actors for Hachi, Shin and Ren were all replaced. Letter rating: B- Overall: I was really looking forward to seeing how the movie would handle a lot of the issues in this part of the storyline. The script seemed to be very good but the change in casting was a big distraction. In my opinion, Miyazaki Aoi was perfect as Hachi. Ichikawa Yui wasn't able to bring the same naviete and innocence to the character. I understand that Miyazaki Aoi didn't want to tarnish her image with the delicate issues dealt with in the second movie. However, she should have read through the manga to see what the future of her character was before accepting the role in the first movie. Considering how popular the NANA franchise is, I don't understand why she would have thought that the story would have stopped with the first movie. I also understand that the change in Shin's actor was due to Matsuyama Ken'ichi being too old for the role. While this is more understandable, since Shin has a larger role in this movie, it was difficult to accept the new actor as Shin.

While this wasn't a terrible movie by any means, it wasn't nearly as good as the first one. You're left expecting more from the actors, more from the two bands and more from the characters. If you watched the first movie, you'll probably want to watch the second movie to finish the experience. Just don't expect a whole lot from it.

Rest In Peace: Robert Jordan

At 2:34 PM on September 16, 2007, Robert Jordan passed away. He was diagnosed with primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy early last year. Shortly thereafter, he began chemotherapy. While the final book in his Wheel of Time series has not been completed yet, it is understood that his wife, Harriet, and his cousin, Wilson, will finish it.

The blog post from Dragonmount.com: Sometimes even when you’ve fought your best….

Posted by Wilson on September 16th, 2007 in the Robert Jordan's Blog category It is with great sadness that I tell you that the Dragon is gone. RJ left us today at 2:45 PM. He fought a valiant fight against this most horrid disease. In the end, he left peacefully and in no pain. In the years he had fought this, he taught me much about living and about facing death. He never wavered in his faith, nor questioned our God’s timing. I could not possibly be more proud of anyone. I am eternally grateful for the time that I had with him on this earth and look forward to our reunion, though as I told him this afternoon, not yet. I love you bubba.

Our beloved Harriet was at his side through the entire fight and to the end. The last words from his mouth were to tell her that he loved her.

Thank each and everyone of you for your prayers and support through this ordeal. He knew you were there. Harriet reminded him today that she was very proud of the many lives he had touched through his work. We’ve all felt the love that you’ve been sending my brother/cousin. Please keep it coming as our Harriet could use the support.

Jason will be posting funeral arrangements.

My sincerest thanks.

Peace and Light be with each of you,

Wilson Brother/Cousin 4th of 3

To Catalyst: Never, never loose faith. RJ did not. Harriet hasn’t. I haven’t. Going through what we have, our faith is only strengthened. Besides, if God didn’t exist, we would have never had Jim. We did. God does. Remember my Brother/Cousin, my friend, think of him fondly and glorify God’s name.

Editor’s Note: The entire staff of Dragonmount.com would like to extend its most deepest sympathies to Robert Jordan’s family. He touched all of our lives in some way and we wish him the rest and peace he deserves. We will be posting information in the near future about where you can send condolences. Please check the News Section for these updates.

Music review: Rie Fu - decay

Artist: Rie Fu Album: Rie Fu Release date: 1/19/05 Video link: On YouTube

English translation: You could’ve said a word but you turned away Why do you always act such a passive way? Now don’t you ever think that I would suck up to you But I still believe in you

Great men that live mysteriously – they are always out of reach, out of reach The scene I completely shut the door on – I always detour, detour around it Thus day after day passes, without any big jumps What are you doing here? Waiting for guidance, withering away blue, all the way to the end

The growing extinction of passion is bad – even under the sun, even under fluorescent lamps Pale cold emotions are illuminated, illuminated in that light Thus day after day passes, without any big jumps What are you doing here? Waiting for guidance, withering away blue, all the way to the end

In the interval between irritations, my negligent body slowly gets up

Just with illusions is meaningless already; empty time draws us towards the blue sky When I follow the road until my goal, it feels as if I’m helpless inside water... Thus day after day passes, without any big jumps What are you doing here? Waiting for guidance, withering away blue, all the way to the end I’m just waiting for you to stand up to it What are you waiting for?

You could’ve said a word but you turned away Why do you always act such a passive way? Now don’t you ever think that I would suck up to you But I still believe in you About the song: Rie Fu is a Japanese singer-songwriter who spent a couple years of her childhood living in the United States. I believe she's currently going to university in London. So a lot of her songs feature English lyrics. decay is one of those songs. There is an English language version of the song but the lyrics are quite different. It's a sweet little ballad but it's a little too slow for my tastes. I can listen to it once or twice and that's it.

Game review: Cake Mania 2

In 2006, Sandlot Games came out with a new service-oriented time management game called Cake Mania. You play Jill, a culinary student trying to restore her grandparents' bakery. The game revolves around you baking cakes to the specifications of your patrons. With each new level, you get to purchase upgrades for your shop. This year we are treated to the game's sequel, Cake Mania 2. The customers are different, the locations are really different and there are new cake shapes with new frosting colors available. This time Jill has two friends in desperate need of her help. You choose which friend you wish to help first and off you go into the fabulous world of baking.

As much as I hate cooking in real life, I found myself enjoying Cake Mania so I had high hopes for the sequel. I was not disappointed! With games like this, you usually don't get a lot of new things. However, you not only get the frills of new cake shapes and new frostings and new cake toppers but you also get more difficult customers. Instead of always having a whole line of one-customer patrons, you now get paired patrons. With one customer, you get one type of cake to make them but for the paired-customers, you have to make two separate cakes. It makes the whole experience a little more interesting. Normally I can handle the one-cake-per-customer orders pretty well. I actually got confused once when they tossed in a two cake order and ended up having to throw away a two-tired cake as a result. That just made me more determined to not make any more mistakes.

If you like time management games like Wedding Dash or Snowy Lunch Rush, I think you'll really like Cake Mania 2. There are tons of choices for the player to make so you are never held back by the game's storyline. You get to choose where you go and what upgrades you purchase. I hope that more time management games learn from this upgrade in interactivity.

Unlucky with iPods

A couple of years ago, I had a great iPod. Then it was stolen. My husband bought a new iPod and one day, it just stopped working. We took it into the Apple Store to be replaced but they would not replace it. There was a dent on the back of the case when we bought it, which we reported to the store. It turns out this dent was what caused the failure but no one had noted the dent in their customer service system so the skin we had on it was blamed for the dent. This past Christmas, my husband bought me a Shuffle. Recently, it has been flashing the green-and-orange light while not working. It turns out that this is a fairly common problem with Shuffle users. For now, turning it on and off a couple of times seems to fix it. I'm sure that it will stop working completely within the next week. Most likely I am going to have to go back to the Apple Store to try to get them to replace my less-than-one-year-old Shuffle. I find it a little ridiculous that it's suddenly having problems. My Shuffle hasn't been dropped a lot - maybe once or twice. When I am at work, it sits on my computer tower playing music. It travels in the cell phone pouch in my purse then it gets popped onto the charger as soon as I sit down at my desk at home. I really hope that the Apple Store will replace my Shuffle. Otherwise I will never buy another Apple product.

Return of the Geek

Now that our house guest has left the state, we can get back to business. We did accomplish some semi-geeky things this weekend. That is, if you consider educational excursions geeky. On Saturday, the gang headed over to Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey. I hadn't been there since they made the big change from the Camden Aquarium to Adventure Aquarium. It was a neat trip. They have an area where you can touch some of the animals. I thought it was a little weird to have shrimp to handle but those that touched them said it felt cool. Unfortunately, the Swim With The Sharks area was closed. According to the sign, it will be back on September 22. We watched the seals getting fed and my daughter got her face painted like a Mermaid Princess, which took me forever to scrub the sparkles off her face. The only down side of the trip was that the previously free Children's Garden now costs a whopping $3.50 to get into. Otherwise we all had a great time and I can't wait to go back to see what Swimming With The Sharks is like.

For Sunday's adventure, we hit up two museums. First, we went to the Franklin Institute Science Museum. I've always loved visiting this place. My husband and I came here on our honeymoon. Sadly, most of the exhibits weren't functioning then. However, since there is currently a King Tut exhibit that brings in tons of people, the older exhibits have been retooled so they work properly. My personal favorite is the Giant Heart. It's basically a huge walk-through heart that shows you the path that your blood takes through the heart. When I was a kid, it used to be in a room all by itself. Now there is a huge health and wellness area around it with skeletons and x-ray machines and all sorts of neat gadgets. I think this may be my favorite room in the entire museum.

After we finished being science nerds, we headed over to The Academy of Natural Sciences. I think we mostly went for the butterflies. While we were watching the butterflies flying around us, the boys were lucky enough to have some land on their hair. (I believe this is because the boys have lighter hair while all the girls present had dark hair.) My daughter is currently on a bit of a dinosaur kick so she really enjoyed looking at the dinosaur bones and trying to identify the various types.

It was a really awesome weekend where everyone got to see and do something they enjoyed. Since my daughter just started kindergarten last week, this was a great opportunity to learn some things she probably won't learn for a couple of years. There were definitely enough geeks around to explain something to her if she didn't understand! Whether you are an adult or a child, if you are in the Philadelphia area, please try to take a day or two to visit some of these wonderful museums. I can pretty much guarantee you will have a good time.