Poor Windows Mobile users (like mua) had to watch with envy as there was no news that the game would be re-developed to cater to WinMo users. Sigh.

Well, fret no more. A similar game was recently released by Touch Dimensions called Huff and Puff. Here’s the much touted video demo of the game which you should be view before I proceed with my review.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGYaWJBtNZM

In brief, it has relatively simple gameplay where the objective is for the user to play as the wolf to destroy the pigs (poor animals) using his arsenal of breath. Yeah, seriously. There are apparently over 40 levels of challenges to master, and I believe there is longevity in this in the sense that most users would want to replay every level to score the total destruction in one attempt thingy.

In terms of display, I think the developers have done good in making the characters large enough to be seen and ‘felt’. In Angry Birds, all the characters really look so tiny that it seemed that it was actually built for the iPad. For difficulty, I believe the game has enough challenging puzzles to last you for a while. Like I mentioned, even though you could sometimes get through the level with 3 breaths, you’d want to REPLAY the level to try to pass it on ONE try. Trust me.

The developers have also managed to add in some spice to the Wolf’s weaponry with an assortment of stuff like eating chillies would enable the wolf to burn straw and wood objects, eating garlic would give the wolf powers of bad breath that could suffocate and kill the pigs oh most gruesomely, and I have not even seen what ice-cream can do yet!

But perhaps one of the more innovative moves of Huff and Puff is the dual mode of gameplay. You could use the basic tapping on your touchscreen to aim and blow your big bad breath, OR you might want to LITERALLY blow your own breath into the phone mic. It works as well too!

So, whilst WinMo7 users may finally get their Angry Birds, if the rumors are true, I personally think Huff and Puff is one WinMo game that closely rivals it in terms of playability and addictiveness. Highly recommended. Get it today from Windows Marketplace!

Mobile Requirements: Touch Screen WVGA Phone, supports Windows Mobile 6.1, 6.5

Huff and Puff
Graphics & Sound
Simple 2D animations with catchy sounds!
Gameplay
Innovative use of mic to literally BLOW your own breath. Seriously addictive and engaging too!
Replayability
Plenty of chances for replay due to human nature of wanting to hit the highest scores with ONE try!
Difficulty
Nice progression of difficulty levels with plenty of spices thrown in like chilli, garlic and wind movement!
Price
Lite version available for FREE on Windows Marketplace

Overall
Addictive and appealing game that is comparatively as good, if not better than Angry Birds

Much anticipation was in the air before the album Speak Now was released. How would Taylor Swift follow-up or even measure up to the unbelievable success of her Fearless album? In short, pretty darn good, actually.

There have been many critics who say she can’t really sing. In a way, that has some truth to it. I’ve seen some of her stage performances and she didn’t sound very good. However, she can still carry a tune and besides, when you listen to Taylor Swift, you’d really want to listen to the words of her music. Time and time again, she has proven that she can write really good music – mature, thought-provoking, and most importantly, fun! She has somehow discovered the correct formula for songs that can connect with the people and subsequently become a hit.

Take a look at some of the lyrics that this talented singer/songwriter can some up with in Speak Now (lyrics extracted from Lyricsmode.com:

I remember how we felt sittin’ by the water/And every time I look at you it’s like the first time (Mine)

You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard/Calling me out when I’m wounded/You picking on the weaker man (Mean)

You are an expert at “sorry”/And keeping lines blurry/Never impressed by me acing your tests/All the girls that you’ve run dry have tired, lifeless eyes/Cause you burned them out/But I took your matches before fire could catch me/So don’t look now/I’m shining like fireworks over your sad empty town…(Dear John)

You’re in the car on the way to the movies/And you’re mortified your mom’s dropping you off/At 14 there’s just so much you can’t do/And you can’t wait to move out someday and call your own shots/But don’t make her drop you off around the block/Remember that she’s getting older too/And don’t lose the way that you dance around in your pj’s getting ready for school (Never Grow Up)

Wasn’t it easy in your firefly catching days/Everything out of reach, someone bigger brought down to you/Wasn’t it beautiful running wild till you fell asleep/Before the monsters caught up to you (Innocent)

So, is Speak Now better than Fearless? Personally, I felt Fearless was a better album. It had more hit-potential songs and was sweetly pleasing overall. But Speak Now has Swift all grown up (ok, maybe a bit..) and has its strengths too. The tone and theme of her songs has somewhat matured from Fearless and that is a good thing! The songs in Speak Now has an independent, confident ring to it which should carry it well to the top of the album charts.

She also has this knack of writing songs about people who have crossed her life, and it is very, very evident in Speak Now. Almost all of the songs were written about guys who have impacted her life, in good and bad ways too. Like Dear John which is like a blunt reference to her sad fling with John Mayer; or Back To December is an apology to Taylor Lautner; and who could forget Kanye West’s infamous interruption? Well, Innocent was written specially for him…

I felt like the only songs that suited her age were the title track, Speak Now, Mean and Mine. Look out for the brief giggle in the middle of Speak Now. Shows that she’s still young and having fun! But, surprisingly, the stronger numbers on this album IMHO would be her more matured songs like Dear John and Never Grow Up. Her versatility is really evident in the mix of songs she can write and deliver and to me, that is one plus point over most artistes in the market today.

My only complaint would be that her songs may seem overly personal at times. And since the songs were written for specific persons in Swift’s life, how would anyone else relate to those songs is another story. Perhaps if she could write more generic songs in the future?

Definitely highly recommended.

Standout Tracks: Back To December, Dear John, Never Grow Up

Music:****½ (4.5/5)

Lyrics:***** (5/5)

Vocals:****~ (4/5)

OVERALL:****½ (4.5/5)

I must admit I am very sceptical when some free stuff comes along – especially mobile games. Usually, the gameplay would be extremely lame and boring, or some cheap low grade animations and they flash some ad at you every five minutes or so.

So when I came across this mobile game called Droplets 2.0 by Ximad, that was being offered FREE on Windows Marketplace, I gave it a try without much expectations. Ihave to say this game totally blew me away…

First of all, it must have been specially designed for WVGA screens because it simply looked gorgeous on my Omnia 2. Throw in some soothing rainforest sounds, excellent graphics of the dew droplets and smooth user interface sliding of droplets, I have to admit this could be arguably one of the best games ever designed for touch screen mobile phones.

Now the overall objective of Droplets is to ‘fling’ the droplets on the screen on one another, eliminating one after another, until in the end ONE droplet is left. Sounds easy? Think again. It can become quite challenging in the more advanced stages where more and more droplets come your way. To make it more challenging, version 2.0 comes with two additional features – an ‘Eight-ball’ droplet, where it has to be the last droplet remaining, and ‘Ladybugs’, which could be placed anywhere on the screen where it blocks the path of any droplet.

In essence, Droplets 2.0 is a strategic thinking game that challenges you to work your brains out to think several steps ahead to solve the problem. It is certainly addictive and with more than 300 levels thrown in, it will be some time before you ‘d want to change this game.

Photo Credits

Mobile Requirements: Touch Screen WVGA Phone, supports Android and Windows Mobile 6.5 and above

Droplets 2.0
Graphics & Sound
Beautiful graphics and suitable rainforest sounds!
Gameplay
Excellent strategic thinking levels to work out your brain cells!
Replayability
More than 300 challenging levels provided. May bore some people who get stuck but definitely replayable for weeks, maybe months!
Difficulty
Every level presents a new challenge and with introduction of the 8-ball and ladybug, things just got tougher..
Price
Free download on Windows Marketplace!

Overall
Addictive, challenging strategic game that looks incredibly gorgeous on WVGA screens

If you have kids who are just terrified of barbers (like mine!), then this may be just the tool for you!

After checking out some of the models Philips has to offer, we decided to check out other models, preferably one that is wireless for ease of use. My wife spotted this hair care shop called Image Hair Care in Jusco Cheras Selatan and was pleasantly surprised to see that it sells a wide variety of professional hair care stuff! It is located on on the First Floor (Lot no. F29).

The storekeeper recommended this hair clipping wonder by the brand of Dingling. The quirky name aside, the gadget is apparently made in Japan (although the names sounds like it’s made in China) and used by pros! It is fairly light weight and not too complicated to use. Best of all, it is a wireless gadget – just what we were looking for!

Inside the box, we found the main hair clipping tool, it’s charging station, small bottle of oil (for maintenance), and about 8 units of plastic combs of various lengths that can be easily detached and attached onto the clipper head, and the manual, of course.

After the first charge, we tried it out on our son and was glad to see that the gadget works really well. The detachable combs ensures the hair is cut systematically (but I guess this requires some practice too), and the main clipper head is all metal coated so it is EXTREMELY safe. For example, you could run it against your skin without fear of injury as the clippers are well concealed within the head.

zoom in view of the hair clipper head with a detachable comb

The clipper also comes with customisable speeds of the blade for those who want shorter or longer cuts. Again, I must stress these features are good but need some regular practice before one can perform it properly. Nevertheless, as a basic snipping tool to trim off the hair, it works just fine!

customisable speeds makes for more fun!

Price? The price tag shows RM239, but you should be able to easily bargain it down below RM 200. May be a little on the expensive side, but considering the hours of fun you can have at home with it, it’s sure a good buy in my books!

Overall Rating:****½ (4.5/5)

What game is it? Assassin’s Creed II (Mobile version)

Developer: Gameloft

Type: 2D Platform arcade

Synopsis from Gameloft.com website:

Renaissance Italy, 1486. Ezio, the son of Florentine nobles, seeks vengeance for his family name that has been tainted by the powerful and corrupted families of Italy. Assassin’s Creed II is an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of Renaissance Italy. This sequel retains the core gameplay experience that made the first opus a resounding success and features new experiences that will surprise and challenge players.

Admittedly, platform arcade games aren’t really my cup of tea. The only notable ones that I enjoy are really dinosaur classics like Donkey Kong, Super Mario, Lode Runner, Astro Boy, Prince of Persia, Vikings, etc. Personally, I prefer word and puzzle games more.

However, I was totally hooked into this gem from Gameloft that worked perfectly on my Omnia 2, especially since the game can be viewed horizontally – whew! Although it comes only in 2D format, the graphics aren’t really bad at all. Movement is enabled thru a virtual keypad on the bottom left whilst the action buttons (attack, climb, weapon) can be found on the bottom right. The only complaint here is probably the sensitivity of the virtual keypad can be frustrating at times. I guess nothing beats the good ol’ joystick and colored buttons!

In terms of playability, Assassin’s Creed II offers varied challenges that kept me excited throughout. For example, you do not get to keep running on rooftops all day long. You get challenging levels of jumping on moving carriages, flying and bombing boats, swinging from sticks jutting out from the walls, patience crawling across masquerade parties (serious!) and chasing speedboats (of course!). Apart from the trusty blade, the game also offers a wide variety of weapons that has its uses at some point of time in the course of the game. They include the spear, boomerang, grappling chain hook and pistol (classic version that takes forever to reload!! realistic!!)

Another thing I liked about the game is that it autosaves in respectable levels that you have difficulties in passing. This certainly helps in reducing the stress of not having to start ALL OVER again when you fail at some stage in the game. There are about 9-10 levels in total, each level ending with a particular assassination that has to be completed as the story narrative takes you along your revenge mission. Simple plot with plenty of gore and action along the way. Cool!

The developers have also made ‘silent kills’ to score more points. This certainly makes the game more believable and requires some strategic planning (I like!) instead of just having the main character hacking and slashing his way to the end. Of course, one area I felt that could have been improved would be the inclusion of more logic puzzles, perhaps to unlock the chained doors and gates.

All in all, this is one mobile game that is really exciting to play and is addictive enough to keep you entertained till you finish it. Highly recommended. Here are some screenshots, all taken from Gameloft.com website:

hanging tough!

flying bomber? cool!!

swordfights on moving boats..

sneaking through a party!

silent kills....shhhhh...

Overall Rating:****½ (4.3/5)

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