Well, we’re a little late this week but it can’t be helped, can it? Better late than dead!

So, this week was E3 week, which obviously means that I got swamped with E3 material to sort through and report on, which kind of is a major bummer because I also received three brand new games to play (and review) since Thursday but haven’t even had time to free them from their wrappers yet.

It’s been a crazy busy week!

By the way, I am right now sitting at J.Co (Tampines 1) having a frozen yoghurt while working on this column. But that’s a long story which has no bearing on games.

So… onward with the goodies!

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Table of Contents

1. Project Natal – Changing the face of gaming
2. Facebook and Twitter on Xbox LIVE
3. Xbox 360 exclusive games announced at E3
4. More Xbox 360 games coming up
5. Cute, mini PSPgo!
6. Results of last week’s contest
7. Win a silly looking mouse!!

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Project Natal – Changing the face of gaming

The most exciting announcement made at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo, June 2-4) this year came from Microsoft – the revolutionary Project Natal!

Now, this is very, very important. Natal is pronounced nuh-TALL. Please say it right because you don’t want to sound silly saying it wrong.

Utilising a sensor which combines a camera, depth sensor, microphone and custom processor, Project Natal is virtual reality as we’ve never seen it before. Without clunky equipment!

In layman’s term, Project Natal is playing video games without a controller because YOU are the controller.

Besides being able to detect full body movements and voice commands, the AI is so advanced that it can even detect changes in our facial emotions and respond accordingly. Cool, ne?

Watch the demo videos OMG OMG OMG watch them.

Steven Spielberg was at E3 2009 to present Project Natal.

“The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear,” he said. “With ‘Project Natal’, we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognises us.”

Don Mattrick, head of Xbox 360 (left) with visionary filmmaker Steven Spielberg

There is no ETA on a release date yet. Microsoft is keeping very mum.

But Project Natal pwns!

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Facebook and Twitter on Xbox LIVE

Social networking is coming to our TV screens!

Xbox LIVE has teamed up with Facebook and Twitter to bring both applications to the TV through the Xbox 360 console.

Seems like this is going to give us more reasons to be couch potatoes.

Twitter:

Facebook:

Should be happening by the end of the year!

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Xbox 360 exclusive games announced at E3

Alan Wake (Mar 2010)

An intense psychological action thriller from the developers of the Max Payne series. Riveting plot, cinematic, engaging and suspenseful, twists, innovative combat, realistic environment. I’ve got my eye on this!! But it’s a darn long wait.

Crackdown 2 (2010)

Sequel to the award-winning Crackdown. Be the judge, jury and executioner for a vast, infected city. Multiplayer co-op and versus (up to 16 players) available and better than ever!

Forza Motorsport 3 (Oct 2009)

Drive your dream car in this definitive racing game that allows you to experience the most realistic racing experience ever. From an Audi R8 V10 to a Nissan 370Z, there’s a car waiting for every enthusiast!

Gears of War 2: Dark Corners (Jul 28, 2009)

Expansion pack to the best-selling Gears of War 2, which has already sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Dark Corners features a new campaign chapter as well as seven brand new multiplayer maps.

Halo 3: ODST (Sep 22, 2009)

Experience the events leading up to the epic story in Halo 3 through the eyes of a special forces ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper). Includes a brand new campaign and three new Halo 3 multiplayer maps.

Left 4 Dead 2 (Nov 2009)

After the success of the critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead, this sequel looks set to raise the benchmark for co-op action games. Left 4 Dead 2 introduces a different set of survivors, new boss zombies and weapons, and melee combat.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction (Sep 2009)

Sam Fisher has been betrayed! And he must race against time to thwart a deadly terrorist plot! Well, that’s you. Expect improved features, interactivity, immersion and brand new multiplayer modes with this latest instalment of the multimillion selling franchise.

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More Xbox 360 games coming up

Final Fantasy XIII

Apparently, this eagerly anticipated title will only be released in North America and Europe. What??!

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

MGS comes to the Xbox 360 for the first time! Woohoo. Welcome!

Modern Warfare 2 (Nov 10, 2009)

Sequel to the ever-popular Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Xbox LIVE gamers will be the first to get their hands on two MW2 map packs.

The Beatles: Rock Band (Sep 9, 2009)

The world’s leading music game meets the greatest band in history! Well, that’s what the official website says, anyway. I’m inclined to be very excited about this release.

Tony Hawk: RIDE (Sep 2009)

This game uses a skateboard controller with full motion sensor so you get to physically do your skateboard stunts. Woo! Broken furniture, anyone?

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Cute, mini PSPgo!

Another delight unveiled at E3. The pocket-sized PSPgo is the next-gen PlayStation Portable which promises to make our gaming lives even more convenient.

For the download happy, the PSP’s UMB drive has been replaced with a 16GB flash memory to store all your digital entertainment needs, which can be downloaded from the PlayStation Network.

It’s smaller and lighter and has an easy sliding display panel.

The PSPgo will be available from Oct 1, 2009, at a recommended retail price of US$249. Comes in Piano Black and Pearl White. I don’t mind having a white one! =)

Hmm… but they neber gimme me peekture of the white one.

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Results of last week’s contest

Sorry for the overdueness of this, but we have two winners for the inFAMOUS postcards and posters!

ahtiong wins himself an inFAMOUS poster AND a set of grungy postcards!

Sacrelicious wins a set of postcards!

Awesome blossom! Thanks for particpating in this giveaway. Please e-mail me to claim your prize, okay guys? =)

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Win a silly looking mouse!!

Well, you won’t quite believe this, but someone won this mouse last year but was too shy to collect his prize, so it’s been sitting around in my home for more than half a year now, looking silly.

Recently, the winner requested to give it out as a prize again, so that’s what I’m doing.

If you would like to win this cute brinjal, please post a comment to sign up for the giveaway. A draw will take place and the brinjal will have a new owner.

It could be you!

Or not.

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In fact, what I’ve published today isn’t even half of what I’ve got for E3 but I’m not able to process everything, so maybe I’ll do a continuation next week.

Depends. Maybe no one will be interested anymore by next week.

Also depends on whether I have time to touch the new games I’ve got.

Life is so full of depends.

Advertorial

You read absolutely right.

Sheylara.com, in partnership with LG, is giving away a brand new LG GD900 Crystal, the world’s first transparent design phone.

It’s so gorgeous and totally cool, being a cutting-edge smartphone that also doubles up as a fashion accessory! We really need more of these in the world!

Made with tempered glass, the keypad slides open to reveal a bluish-white glow that illuminates the numbers so you can see what you’re dialling.

Sorry my photo is quite crappy but you get the rough idea.

The keypad basically acts like a laptop touchpad, used to navigate phone functions. You could even make your own shortcut symbols to instantly access favourite features.

For example, you might tell your phone that if you draw a circle on the keypad, it should open up an Internet browser. Or anything like that!

It’s really fun!

You could also navigate around the phone by using the 3-inch WVGA LCD touchscreen. Very flexible.

Here’s how it looks with the keypad slid home.

Check out this video to see how awesome it is!

Whee! And now…

Win an LG GD900 Crystal!!

It’s very simple!

Just provide a caption or title for this photo! =)

We’re looking for creative, funny, witty, clever, outstanding, interesting, or any combination of those.

The writer of the best caption, to be judged by LG, will win the phone!

Important:

1. Please e-mail your caption to lg@sheylara.com, together with your name and phone number.
2. Post a comment here about anything, using the same name.
3. Closing date is June 19, 2009, 11:59 pm.
4. Winner must self-collect phone.

All the best!

Advertorial

Have you ever wished you had been born later?

I have. All the time.

New technologies are being invented every day, making me lament the years I’ve had to live without them.

I am serious. I’m not just saying this because it seems a convenient way to start an article.

I really wish I had been born later. And I’ve never felt this more keenly than when I was introduced to this phone.

The HTC Touch Cruise 2009!

I wish it had been around back when I first started using mobile phones.

I’ll tell you why.

I’m always getting lost. And I’m always losing places.

Yes. You can bring me to a certain place, let’s say, a famous durian stall, maybe three times, and I’d still not know where it is and how to get there on my own the next time.

I’m really bad at recognising places and remembering roads and stuff.

In fact, I once lost a place I used to frequent with an ex and never found it again until seven years later.

So, what’s really amazing is that the HTC Touch Cruise 2009 seems like it was made for me and my crappy internal radar! Maybe the inventer is also someone who always gets lost and loses places, like me. Hur hur hur.

The two key features of this phone which I find immensely useful (and fun) are Footprints and Papago.

Footprints is a GPS-enabled photo album. Snap a photo (outdoors) and the GPS will save the photo together with the coordinates of your location!

See, I took this photo while I was at Leisure Park Kallang the other day.

The phone detects the location and stamps it onto the photo.

If you tap the photo (this is a touch screen phone, by the way, duh), a photo detail page will appear.

OMG!

See the GPS coordinates? If you tap the middle button, it will give you a map showing the exact spot where you took the photo!

You can also enter reminder notes about the place.

OMG I will never have to lose a durian stall ever again.

Of course, only directional losers like me will rave over using this in Singapore. I think Footprints was meant to be used for worldwide travelling.

Basically, it helps you keep a helpful record of all the places you’ve visited around the world. Use Footprints to invoke fond memories, or use it to find a spot you want to return to, possibly years later.

Very cool, huh?

The other important feature of the phone is Papago, the GPS system that has been pre-installed in the phone. It works in tandem with Footprints to help you find places, but it also works on its own to get you places.

I find most useful the voice that tells you to turn left or right when you’re driving.

The Goonfather, though, was very irritated when I used it while he was driving.

He was, like, “I don’t want to turn left lah, shuddup!” LOLOLOL.

Speaking of driving, the HTC Touch Cruise 2009 comes with a car kit which allows you to dock the phone while you’re driving, all the better to use the GPS navigation as well as charge your phone.

The HTC Touch Cruise 2009 runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. Well, it’s basically Windows. If you’re a PC user, you can navigate the phone with ease.

The touch screen detects both finger tip and fingernail, so that’s pretty useful. The touch screen sensitivity is pretty good. Stuff on the phone scrolls around fluidly. Comes with a stylus if you like that kinda thing.

There’s also an Internet browser, a 3.2 megapixel camera and an expansion slot that accepts microSD memory cards.

Full specs here.

That’s basically everything one could ask for in a phone.

Unless you’re the sort who wants your phone to make your coffee and bring the paper every morning. Then maybe you’ll have to wait a few more centuries.

Haha!

Okay, not very funny.

The HTC Touch Cruise 2009 retails at $858.

The ironic thing about working out at the gym is that it never gets easier as you get stronger. What it gets is exponentially harder.

I mean, I sort of understand why that is so. You can’t get stronger unless there is enough exertion. There’s no point in working out if it’s going to be a walk in the park.

But where is the motivation if you never get to feel stronger because your weights increase every session even before you can feel your strength difference?

I guess there’s only one way to feel motivated: Looking good at the gym.

HAH.

Even when I feel like keeling over, I can take comfort in the fact that if I really do keel over, at least I’d look good doing it.

I put a lot of care in selecting my gym outfits. I even have two different pairs of gloves to match different outfits. The gloves, by the way, aren’t purely vanity items.

I realised that I needed gloves after working with hardcore weights that attempted to burn holes through my skin.

Need to protect the little hands.

So, the workouts that I hate the most, in no particular order:

Lunges

I’ve mentioned this before. I’m mentioning it again because my trainer enjoys making me do them.

He’d be like, “OKAY~! Now, your favourite exercise! Woohoo!”

And I’d go, “Hey, I just remembered I have a meeting to go to!”

My lunging expressions:

Lunges are totally evil, I swear. Just like Eric Goh.

Next.

Leg Extensions

See the evil-looking red padded thing just above my feet? I’m supposed to lift it with my feet (or thereabouts). It weighs about the same as a HDB flat.

Before leg extensions:

After leg extensions:

This is like a frozen grimace, an expression I practise a lot while working out. It means “I just died and this is my dying expression frozen for posterity”.

Unfortunately, leg extensions don’t actually make our legs longer.

Fortunately, we’ve only done this twice so far. I hope I won’t be scheduled for it anymore within this millennium.

Ball Crunches

This is a lot harder than it looks!

It is a billion times harder than it looks. Cos you have to balance yourself on the ball while doing crunches, and the balancing act alone is harder than normal crunches.

This was the first time I did it and I hate it already.

Eric had to hold me in place because I kept rolling off the ball. Haha.

Look of abject misery disguised as false bravado:

(I meant on my face, not on Eric’s face, of course. Eric looks gleefully wicked, as always.)

To make up for giving me three of my most hated exercises all within a day, Eric offered me some verbal motivation at the end of day.

“You did well today! Very impressed with your handling of weights and your control!” he said.

Well, tell that to my dead muscles!!!

To be honest, though, I think I am getting stronger. I’ll tell you why next time.

An MSN conversation between myself and the Goonfather yesterday.

Heehee! <3

On a side note…

I just learned from Wang Wang and Minou that if you go heehee and <3 a lot in MMORPGs, you will get tons of free stuff from rich players. Of course, your avatar needs to also be female and have a cute name.

Hmm… I think Sheylara is not cute enough. She never gets free stuff from strangers and has to resort to actually killing monsters to earn money.

I shall have to reroll and call my new character Princess Cuteness or something sick like that and then proceed to making a lot of heehees and <3s.

Nice! I have a new project to look forward to!