It’s a pretty large issue today, so I shall not say anything here.

Just… thanks for staying with Gamer Girl Friday for over a year now! =)

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Table of Contents

1. The Secret of Monkey Island
2. Time Wasters by Swordplay
3. PopCap makes fun of Evony
4. Engage in real-life FPS
5. Win an Xbox 360 Pro + Halo 3 Legendary!
6. I want this: DJ Hero
7. Results of last week’s contest
8. Win three NERF N-Strike Recon CS-6 Blasters!!

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The Secret of Monkey Island

I’m shocked that I never played a single Monkey Island game.

I vaguely heard of it back in the 90s but the title never interested me enough. I mean, like, monkeys on an island? An island full of monkeys? No magic or elves or dragons?

Yawn.

But the recent remake, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, got me.

All thanks to the Goonfather, who made me spend my last Microsoft Point card to download the game on Xbox LIVE. He said Monkey Island is a must-play because it’s, like, “the funniest game ever”.

He had played the original and apparently laughed his ass off. (He’s still looking for it today, last I heard.)

So we downloaded the game, then he spent 15 minutes playing it, then he started to fall asleep.

(Of course, I must state for the record that it was past midnight and past his bedtime. And the game does start out pretty slow.)

That was two weeks ago. After that first play, he never touched the game again. Instead, I took over because I realised it was kinda fun.

I love old-school adventure games filled with puzzles every step of the way, forcing you to try out all kinds of silly things like load yourself into a cannon to fire yourself onto an island.

It does get annoying when you get stuck in games like this, which is why I love Monkey Island. I don’t know if this was a feature in the original version, but this one gives you hints on demand.

Press and hold X (for the Xbox 360 version) when you’re stuck and you get a subtle hint. If that doesn’t work, do it again for a stronger hint. If you’re a bit thick in the head and need the solution to be hammered into your skull, ask for a third.

It will say something like “Go to X and grab Y to do Z” and you’d be, like, doh!

I try not to ask for hints if I can help it, but they are quite helpful for a busy gamer who doesn’t have time to try out a zillion solutions in situations where anything could be possible.

When I can’t have the satisfaction of solving a puzzle myself, I derive joy from the humorous dialogue and funny plot twists.

In this remake, diehard fans of the original version can get nostalgic by switching to original old-school mode with the press of a button.

New:

Old:

The transformation is actually entertaining to watch. Fancy graphics morph seamlessly into 8-bit graphics, even mid-animation. Even the music morphs, two versions fading in and out of each other, and you can play the entire game in either version.

Besides the spruced-up graphics and music (with added voicovers), everything else remains the same.

New:

Old:

Maybe that’s why I feel that the game gets a bit draggy at times. Requirements change over time. Gamers now want more action and less talk. So, now, we have a spiffy-looking game with a 20-year-old storyboard. The game characters talk too much.

You could fast forward dialogues, but you’d miss out on the story.

To enjoy the game, You’ll really need to appreciate puzzles and figuring things out, witty dialogue, voice acting and random English humour, in order to overlook its outdated gameplay.

One of the random funny things: A grog vending machine that looks suspiciously like a Coca Cola machine.

The Secret of Monkey Island is a pretty short game. I haven’t completed it, though. It took me about four hours to get to 66%. But I tend to go AFK… uh, AFTV… quite a lot because my PC constantly distracts me with e-mail notifications and whatnot.

But, according to talk around the Internet, the total play time averages six hours. It could be more or less depending on how fast you solve the puzzles and whether you skip through dialogues.

That’s pretty decent for a game priced at 800 MS Points (about $16). I’m not sure about the PC version, though. I just love playing games on my Xbox 360 because of the achievements!

Oh, yeah, in case you’ve never heard of Monkey Island, the game follows this pirate wannabe called Guybrush Threepwood (lots of jokes about his name) who accidentally gets caught up in battle with a fearsome ghost pirate who wants to conquer the world or something like that.

Classic hapless hero kind of thing.

I think I might have enjoyed it more back then, than I’m enjoying it now.

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Time Wasters by Swordplay

Swordplay is my pesky li’l bro who spends all his time playing time-wasting games. To make him a little bit more useful, I’m sitting on him and making him recommend one fun and simple web-based game each week.

This week: Bunni Game: How we first met

This was how it happened:

Then I tried loading up the game but somehow it wouldn’t load up for me. Swordplay tested it again and it was fine.

So, I don’t know. How about you try it and tell me if it works and if it’s fun.

Swordplay says something risque happens near the end of the game.

How about that for a teaser?

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PopCap makes fun of Evony

Remember last week I talked about the Evony girl shedding clothes?

For weeks now, Evony has been receiving a lot of flak for its ultra-aggressive, irrelevant marketing campaign.

This week, PopCap one-upped everyone by actually creating a parody ad for Plants vs. Zombies and running it for real.

Undead Forever. Absolutely brilliant!

[via Destructoid]

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Engage in real-life FPS

Tag or be tagged! Says the tagline of the upcoming NERF Tournament 2009, the first to be held in Singapore.

Looks like it’s gonna be pretty fun. Suitable for kids and adults (8 – 55), the tournament will pit teams of four against each other in capture the flag missions, using NERF blasters and NERF darts. Points can also be scored by shooting opponents or at target boards.

Up for it?

I’m giving out three pieces of NERF N-Strike Recon CS-6 in this week’s contest! Get some practice shots before the tournament!

By the way, you don’t need to own a NEFF Blaster in order to take part in the tournament. Participants will be issued stock blasters.

I didn’t know there was a NERF community in Singapore. I kinda found it by searching for photos of the blaster cos I was lazy to take photos of my own, lol.

Well, how cool is that?

The NERF Tournament 2009 will be held on Aug 29-30, 2009, at Downtown East D’MARQUEE. Interested participants can sign up here.

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Win an Xbox 360 Pro + Halo 3 Legendary!

Whee! To celebrate the anticipated release of Halo 3 ODST, Xbox Singapore brings you two delicious deals!

The first being the sale of a bundle set including an Xbox 360 Pro and a Halo 3 game for only $499.

The second being WIN AN XBOX 360 JUST BY ANSWERING A SIMPLE QUESTION.

And it’s not just a console.

If you win, you’ll get an Xbox 360 Pro and a Halo 3 Legendary set which comes with the game and a Master Chief helmet!

What could you possibly lose by trying? Click here to join the contest!

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I want this: DJ Hero

Activision’s DJ Hero, which will launch late October this year, is tempting me with its Renegade Edition, which comes with an exclusive all-black turntable and a damn cool carrying case.

As well as a 2-disc CD set featuring unreleased tracks from Eminem and Jay-Z, which you’ll also get to spin and scratch in the game itself!

I am actually attracted to the case more than the turntable and the CDs. Shelling out US$200 for just a case is kinda dumb, I suppose. But I so want!

DJ Hero offers over 100 songs from different genres and featuring artists like Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Justice, Marvin Gaye, Beastie Boys and N.E.R.D.

Apparently, the game supports a guitar, too. That would be interesing. DJ vs. Guitar showdown!

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Results of last week’s contest

Someone was apparently psychic last week because he said, “I am so gonna win the contest :)!”

And he did!!

My, my.

Last week, I got readers to suggest actresses to star in video game movies, playing famous video game characters, to win this:

Mr Randomiser Dude picked plankton to win despite plankton kind of cheating in his entry by casting Amy Whitehouse in three different potential zombie game-movies.

Here’s his entry:

I want mouse! Here’s my epic contributions:

Resident Evil, Zombie —> Amy Winehouse
Dead Rising, Zombie —-> Amy Winehouse
House of the Dead, Zombie —-> Amy Winehouse
Lego Batman, Cat woman —-> Jocelyn Wildenstein

I am so gonna win the contest :)!

He also linked this photo of Amy Winehouse.

Okay, he didn’t really cheat. I said: “Suggest names, any number”, so one would have done it.

But I question his sanity for suggesting Jocelyn Wildenstein for anything.

Jocelyn Wildenstein is an obscenely rich socialite who is famous for having spent over US$4 million on plastic surgery over decades. She has been dubbed “The World’s Scariest Celebrity.”

This is her. In one of her better-looking photos.

Anyway, congratulations, plankton!

Maybe you deserve it.

Will you please drop me an e-mail to claim your prize? Thank you.

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Win NERF N-Strike Recon CS-6 Blasters!!

So, who wants one of these babies?

Hasbro and Sheylara.com are giving away three pieces, each worth $46.90. We want you to get excited about the NERF Tournament 2009 and sign up for it!

To win, just post a comment and convince me to give it to you! It’s up to your creativity and imagination how to convince me.

I will pick the three most convincing entries to win!

Winners will have to self-collect their prizes at a convenient location. Convenient for me, lol. Okay, it’s not that bad, really. I’ll tell you where after you win.

Closing date is August 6, 2009, 11:59 pm.

Post away!

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YESSSSSS! I made the deadline!

Hur hur. Five minutes to Saturday.

Happy weekend and happy gaming, as always!

I posted this photo in my old blog four years ago.

Decided to repost it here cos it’s still kinda funny.

Are our prisons overloaded yet?

So, the Goonfather just came back from a China holiday, all excited to show me the presents he’d gotten for me.

“Deardeardear!” he said, “I brought back a menu from a Chinese restaurant for you!”

“A menu!” I said, trying to look enthusiastic, “Imagine that!”

He smiled excitedly as he thrust a large piece of paper into my hands.

“Wow, a real-life menu!” I enthused, as I peeked at his luggage furtively to see if he had brought anything else back.

Of course, it turned out that the menu was the best present because it had me in stitches for a few minutes.

Chinese menu items translated into English to hilarious effect are nothing new. But to actually see one with your own eyes just kinda knocks the ground out under you.

I found myself reading every item carefully, savoring each lovingly-crafted dish name with relish.

“The Japan standing grain sauce burns the beefsteak” jumped out at me especially.

It was a toss up between that and “This large handcart Liu Ba”.

I’d be delighted to meet the person who names his handcarts and offers them up as delicacies at restaurants.

Or maybe not.

“The shredded pork fries the spaghetti!” announces item number five on the global food category.

Not to be outdone, “Assorted mushroom Bacon fries the spaghetti”, too.

But neither can hold a candle to “The Sauteed Beef Fillet with Black Pepper fries the spaghetti” because everyone knows that dead cows can fry spaghetti a lot better than dead pigs can.

Especially ones that have black pepper in possession.

Item number nine claims that “Singapore fries expensively tricky”.

Trust Singapore to try trumping everyone else by being expensive and tricky.

Because, a continent away, underprivileged livestock and seafood are still attempting to find their destiny.

“The lemon deep sea silver snow fish digs up” while a few hundred kilometres away, hopefully above sea level, “The onion citron pig digs up”.

I think the onion citron pig might find it easier going because it’s understandably easier to dig up on land than in sea.

Hey, but how about making an example of soup?

Don’t be fooled by the name. “Example soup” is actually very tasty.

I’ll forward you some as an enclosure to give you an example.

In the meantime, “The western-style pig digs up the food/spaghetti”.

A winner is you!!!

Peaceful-like chicken all over the world celebrate by eating!

“The peaceful-like chicken eats” and “The Hungarian chicken eats”! Triumph! Victory!

Because, just before that, Hungary attempted to eat its chicken by first braising it.

I wonder who won.

Well, whoever it was that won, it sure wasn’t Wu Dong.

Poor Wu Dong got fired. And over what?

Thirty-two yuan, presumably.

At least “The French vanilla burns Yang Ba” over 88 yuan, which is more than double Wu Dong’s retrenchment fee.

From all this, we can take away a very useful lesson.

Whatever you do, if you ever visit China, do not, for any reason whatsoever, upset the prawn salad.

Stay away from it as much as possible.

Because it is a “Sentiment deep crazy bean prawn salad” and it will not look kindly upon laughing tourists.

You have been warned.

Last Saturday evening.

Hand in hand, dressed in our elegant best, the Goonfather and I strolled into Marina Bay prepared to be treated to a $300 dinner onboard the Singapore Flyer, where we would be pampered with the world’s first full butler dining service in the sky.

The moment we arrived at the Bay, the succulent fragrance of fried chicken hit me.

My eyes took on a glazed expression.

I turned to the Goonfather and said, “Let’s go eat Popeyes, instead!”

What can I say? I’m a simple girl with simple wants.

Of course, we didn’t get to dine at Popeyes because our gracious hosts for the newly-launched Singapore Flyer Premium Sky Dining were expecting us at the VIP Lounge.

That’s where sky diners chill out while waiting to board the Flyer.

Boarding the Flyer is a pretty cool experience. The capsule doesn’t stop (it’s constantly in motion) so there’s only a small window of opportunity to board the capsule.

But the movement is slow enough to not require a diploma of stunt mastery.

My first time on the Singapore Flyer. I hardly felt any movement the entire hour I was up there.

But, like, once in a while, you look up from your dinner and the scenary has changed. I suppose it’s a bit like dining at the Top of the M (Meritus Mandarin’s revolving restaurant).

Of course, dining on the Singapore Flyer is something else altogether. Because you’re stationed in a little glass capsule, you feel all the more connected to the, um, elements.

That is, assuming you do look out the capsule once in a while.

Considering that it was a butler service three-course fine dining thingy, I was up on my feet a lot, photographing stuff.

Being in the media, you get a lot of perks like free dinners and free 10km mounting climbing races, but they come with a different kind of price.

While you’re experiencing the event firsthand, you’re at the same time trying to experience the event vicariously through yourself. That’s a bit oxymoronic but that’s how it is. You need to experience it with a third-person perspective in order to better report it to your readers/viewers.

So, ironically, you kind of lose the firsthand experience a little. You’re always experiencing it through a camera, whether you’re taking stills or videos.

Well, I did take many photos.

Like, of the menu.

Of our welcome drink (fresh summer berries in ginger ale).

Which was really delicious and I could do with more of, by the way.

Of the National Day Parade rehearsal below us.

Of the night city skyline.

Of the food.

The food was quite excellent; immeasurably worth giving up Popeyes for.

I had the pan-seared fillet of Chilean sea bass with X.O. sauce. Ah, it was a killer, juicy, tender and almost milky with the flavourful burst of fish oils.

The Goonfather chose the roasted duck confit, which arrived looking like a tortoise.

Well, my photos don’t do the food justice since it was dark and I’m using a cheap compact camera, but I’m not a food blogger so it’s okay.

I’m a camwhore blogger!

But a failed one at that, since I only have one photo of myself (and it wasn’t even a solo shot) on the Flyer, as opposed to about a hundred photos of food and scenery.

The highlight of our evening was actually the NDP rehearsal but we didn’t manage to catch much of it because the lure of fine dining and good conversation was too strong.

But we did all stand up to ooh and aah at the fireworks display.

Fireworks are always nice!

You see the three little paper boat things on the river? They’re actually floating in air rather than cruising on the water. Very cute. I like them!

I took a video of the fireworks. Watch till the end to see the heart-shaped fireworks! They’re pretty!

More views through my camera. Our fabulous expressways:

A model of the upcoming Marina Bay Integrated Resort, perched somewhere atop the Singapore Flyer:

More fireworks:

Most people seem to love these huge mushroom cloud fireworks, but I find them messy and uninspired. I prefer the intricately-patterned, colourful ones. Like the heart-shaped ones. Now I want to attend the NDP just to see it again!

Our hour passed by really quickly. The Singapore Flyer had gone two rotations and it was time for us to head back to the VIP lounge for dessert.

Us:

Our dessert (chocolate souffle):

It was all very nice. I enjoyed myself so much that I even drank two cups of tea after my dessert, even though I don’t usually like drinking tea. Nor coffee, for that matter.

In fact, everything was so good that I even finished up the cured salmon they served us for starters, even though I normally hate cured/smoked salmon.

This one was quite appetising because of the sauce. The menu calls it “citrus herb dressing” but I thought it tasted like Thai chilli sauce, which I love.

In any case, I think it’s a worthy experience to try out, especially if you have a girl you want to impress. The Singapore Flyer Premium Sky Dining comes at a cost of $299+++ per couple but there is now an introductory price of $199+++ until July 31, 2009.

One day advanced booking is required.

Each capsule hosts up to 10 people. You could do a group booking or couple booking and the tables would be arranged accordingly. Find out everything you want at the Singapore Flyer website.

Worth considering also is the Formula One package, which comes at a hefty price tag of $688 per person but gives you three days access to unparalleled views of the F1 race.

I probably can’t afford that, but I’m going back there for Popeyes next time!

For the sake of simplicity, in this entry, I refer to “camwhores” as females but would like to state for the record that males can camwhore, too.

Now, camwhoring has evolved over the years to become the latest rage. There are many kinds of camwhores but they all have one purpose: To attract attention, mainly of the opposite gender.

In fact, camwhoring has evolved so that anyone can be a camwhore, anytime, anywhere. But can you recognise a camwhore when you see one? Read my guide and learn.

Continue reading…