Archives - April 2010
April 29th, 2010 - On Video Game Shops Run By Bengs
I now have in my possession
something deemed "impossible"
to get.
It all started a month ago
when I was asking around
for the Monster Hunter Tri package
that includes the CCPro.
Like all video game enthusiasts,
I asked around a lot of places.
Some of these places include
the ones run by bengs.
Apparently, their storytelling skills
(or lack thereof) are still intact
after 20 odd years on this island.
Here's a conversation I had with
one of these creatures.
..........
Beng: Hi, looking for game?
Me: Yeah, I'm game for game.
Beng: Huh?
Me: Forget it. Do you know when
the Monster Hunter Tri bundle will arrive?
Beng: Orh, that one ah. You want to
pre-order?
Me: Um, I just want to know the price and ETA.
Beng: About $70-80 lah.
Me: Yeah, that's the price of the standalone
game. I want to find out about the bundle.
Beng: Bundle...?
Me: OK, nevermind. Thanks anyway.
Beng: Orh, orh! The bundle! I thought what.
Comes with the extra, right? That one not
coming into Singapore.
Me: Why not?
Beng: (Pauses) The distributor say Capcom
not making the bundle for Singapore.
Me: Only Singapore? Wow. That's pretty
discriminatory.
(Beng 2 appears from the shadows of the
hidden room behind counter)
Beng 2: No lah, not just Singapore. Asia.
Me: Woah. Then how do I get it.
Beng 2: Must buy them separately lor. You
want to pre-order the game? You can get the
controller now first.
Me: No, thanks. I'll find a way.
..........
Last week when MH3 was released,
I found myself asking around some
other shops for the special package.
Just for kicks, I went to another
beng-run video game shop.
Beng: Hello. Looking for what game?
Me: Do you have the Monster Hunter Tri bundle?
Beng: Oh, that one not coming in.
Me (who loves feeding the monkeys): Really?
So the rumors are true that Capcom
is not releasing it to us.
Beng: Orh, uh...yah. Asia don't have.
Me: Shit.
Beng: You buy the game from me lah.
I give you good price with the controller.
Me: Um, thanks. But I'll wait for the bundle.
Beng: It won't come.
Me: I'll take my chances.
Beng: Eh, I tell you a secret lah. It will
be impossible to get. I hear from someone ah,
that Singapore did something that make Capcom
unhappy. So that's why, we won't get these
special editions. That's why you should just
get the game. I sell you with the controller
for good price lah.
..........
This is the part where I try not
to burst out laughing. I mean, seriously,
are these bozos for real?
A few months back, I was on the verge
of buying a Xbox 360 Arcade and had
difficulty finding one available,
until I spotted one in, you guessed it,
a beng shop. I almost caved and bought
it from them if not for their
ridiculous storytelling skills.
In an attempt to retain me as
I was walking out, they claimed
that Microsoft was no longer making
Xbox 360 Arcade units coz Bill Gates
deemed them unprofitable.
And get this, theirs was
the LAST 360 Arcade in Asia.
Yes. ASIA!!!!
I mean, wow-fucking-wow.
So the Monster Hunter Tri bundle
is now mine and it saddens me
that this entire post will not
reach the intended recipients
because these folks don't seem
to know of this thing called
the Internet.
Hey, it's just not for J-porn, ok?
April 26th, 2010 - Mixtape Episode 17
Some progressive updates
to classic tracks
slide in and out
of this mix.
April 24th, 2010 - The Middle Is The End Is The Middle
And here we are.
The last chapter
of Loti Volume 2.
I can't believe
I've managed to
maintain this daily
after all this time!
Now to go make
another mixtape.
Work never ends
here in the
studio!
April 19th, 2010 - Mixtape Episode 16
As the pace
quickens,
we return
to our regular
trance
rhythm.
April 17th, 2010 - On Catharsis
As I embark on
the various projects
this year, I realize
how much BS I have
endured over the
past few years.
BS like, well,
you'll find out
someday.
Recently, in a
meeting with some
folks interested to
find out more about
my work, we touched
upon the subject of
catharsis.
Do I experience it
via drawing comics,
telling stories or
producing music?
The short answer is no.
Mostly because I define
catharsis within the
boundaries of short,
sporadic, psychotic
episodes. And the above
activities take too
damn long.
Games provide catharsis.
But not games like
Grand Theft Auto IV
(despite being famous for
its cathartic qualities...
for miscreant wannabies, that is).
I mean, to kill some dude,
I have to steal a motorbike,
do an insane jump across
the river and shoot my way
up a building using
dodgy controls?
Please. I just want to
punch somebody in the face
NOW.
Which is why I am
so very glad Capcom has
re-released Final Fight (pic)
on the PSN. The wonder years
of side scrolling two button
brawlers. I get to land a
punch every second, ploughing
my way through an army of
recurring minor enemies,
eating occasional beef roasts
found in drum cans or chewing gum
that restores full health (!),
smashing up a car just to make
a grown thug cry. Yeah.
That will teach the Mad Gear Gang
a thing or two about abducting
my chio bu girlfriend.
It's all very politically incorrect.
This re-release also comes
packed with Magic Sword.
So if anybody wants some catharsis,
just go online and you may
find me on the streets of
Metro City, beating the
shit out of random strangers
with 1 coin.
April 12th, 2010 - Mixtape Episode 15
One more set
of 80s tunes
before we head
into 90s territory
the next time we
do retro week.
April 5th, 2010 - Mixtape Episode 14
Oh,
the drums,
the drums,
the drums!
Turn this one up!
