Category: My Good Life

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Diary

So I Bought A dSLR That Defies All That I Was Advised Upon

It is probably one of the most breathtaking decisions I have made lately when I got myself an early Christmas present for the next 5 years combined: an entry level full frame camera.  To my dear friends whom I have been bugging for months asking the same set of questions in 101 different ways, thank you for your patience.  I really appreciate it.  Though my final decision is probably not what you would have imagined, your consistent answers have lent me much clarification.  Or so it seems.  I am certainly not as rational as what some friends of mine would think.

OK.  I am most definitely not the smartest dude in town.  I got a shock when I saw the 70-liter dry cabinet delivered to my office.  It is bloody huge!  Big enough to fit a baby inside!  I swear I thought I’ve ordered a 60-liter.  And I got a shock when I held my camera.  So bloody heavy!  Unlike my friend Mark who has also got himself a Nikon camera on the same day (how excited and productive he was!), my accomplishment for day 1 was as follows.

  1. Fully charged the battery!
  2. Took me a long time to tie the stripe.  Really, Nikon should just attach these stripes for us.
  3. Took me a long time to figure out how to attach the bloody heavy lens to the rather heavy body.  I swear I saw virtual dust going into the body while I was holding my breath throughout the nerve-racking process.
  4. Spent a long time staring at that heavy beast pondering: What shall I do next?
  5. Took a picture of Cynthia while she was sleeping.  Then decided against keeping that photo.

This morning I woke up and made some progress.  I managed to set the time zone, date, and time and … time to go to work.

So, why a Nikon D700?  Here is the secret dream world of a simple guy.  The irrational bits first.

  • I love a bigger size, a hand full.  One friend of mine suggested that I should try these bodies before putting down my hard earned cash.  I would agree with her.  Not sure why I trusted my visual instinct so much.
  • Somehow the point-and-shoot picture control dial bugs me.  The one that comes with the landscape, portrait, night scene, and etc. icons.  So I picked D700 as it doesn’t have that dial.  To me, I want the hard way.  Except, now it is so darn hard that I don’t even know how to take a picture.

I know I know … what can I say?!  OK.  Now comes the less irrational bits.

  • I know wise man says “invest in the lenses and not the body”.  I am certainly investing on lenses (got myself a decent Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8) but I am also very hung up on one obscure and basic requirement of mine ever since the day one I started to research on which camera to get: full frame. 
  • This is a baseline requirement for me because I can safely say that I will keep this body for quite some time.  I am not into the mega pixel race.  That is silly to me because it is highly unlikely that I want my photographs to be printed in an exhibition size.  Not now, not for the next decade.  And since I am happy with the mega pixel and the full frame sensor size, what else would I want from the future upgrades?  Perhaps a video function?  Perhaps a better frame-per-second?  Perhaps a Wi-fi connectivity?  Nah, not for me.
  • I don’t see camera sensors can be larger than the 35mm full frame ones that I have.  Lenses will have to be much bigger than what they already are today.  Nor do I see that sub-frame will be the de facto standard for the professionals.  Hence, I prefer to collect lenses that are made for full frame cameras and not to think of the crop ratio that keeps screwing up my brain.
  • I am aware that sub-frame camera has a perceived farther reach due to the crop ratio.  But I am also aware the advantages of a full-frame that I am happy with.

I am so glad that the days of debat is over.  Next step, figure out how to take pictures!  Stay tuned.

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Action & Thriller Diary Movie Reviews

Prefer Casino Royale to Quantum of Solace – My Quantum of Mad Rush from 1450 to 1658

I think I had my fair share of action packed excitement prior to the five o’clock movie “Quantum of Solace”.  At 1450 (timestamp from one of my messages to M), I stepped into my Aston Martin (OK, more like a … whatever) with one hand on my Nokia phone doing last minute checking on my GPS ordinates (I did turn on my Nokia Map because I couldn’t afford to make any error and you will see why) …

OK.  If you are here for the movie review, please skip to the next section.  

Now, back to my quantum of mad rush … I am usually quite good at working backward and estimating what time we shall leave our doorsteps.  Today, so much needed to be done and … I gave up planning.  1450 was terribly late, that much I knew.  Tailgated the first car I saw on the quiet road of our neighborhood, I overtook it over a hump.  My car’s engine went vroom vroom vroom and … oops, the car belongs to the Colonel whom I just greeted at the lobby, whom was my client back in my consulting life, whom must have thought who this mad man on the road was.  He must have been shocked that I was that mad man on the road.

Sir, sorry Sir!  It was mad rush time!

I am terrible in road direction and I relied on my Nokia Map in times like this.  Spun the car to YCK Road, drove up the Lornie Road, turned right into Holland Road, exited into Holland Avenue, and as I negotiated a sharp right turn into the car park, I was greeted by the sign …

Car park full.

Uh-huh.  Parachuted Cynthia out of the car with an encrypted message “6 Dim Sum Dishes, Crystal Jade”, I patiently waited at the entrance with a path that slopped upwards.  My phone rang just when that dude from the Mercedes-Benz CLS in front of me let go his brake and gravity pulled this huge German machine towards my car.  NO!  I furiously slammed my honk while Cynthia was on the phone asking me which of the two Crystal Jade restaurants we were supposed to meet.

Handbrake Sir … please!  How would the insurance agencies know who hits who in situation like this?!

As I was waiting for our dishes to arrive, I was so happy to see the ATM machine right opposite the road.  In such a high tech city like Singapore, you would have thought that cashless payment is the way to go.  Apparently not for where I was going to visit, Sim Lim Square (amongst many places here).  One time, I literally withdrew S$1,000 notes over-the-counter so that I don’t need to bring a briefcase of S$50 notes to buy electronic gadgets.  Paid by Credit Cards I will need to add 3%.  Paid by NETS I will still need to add 2%.  You know what?  Our supermarkets should follow suit.  Imagine a 2% discount on grocery bills if we pay by cash.  Why not?  I would.  Especially now that we are in recession.  Any saving counts.

I had a vague memory on where M’s client site is at, theoretically a 5 minutes drive from Holland Vee.  I did get lost and I managed to get back on track thanks to Cynthia and Nokia Map.  M must have forgotten how impressive my driving skill is and as I was waiting and waiting for M to appear, I calculated the route to my next destination, Sim Lim Square.

If all go according to plan, mid next week, M and I would be two very happy men on Earth with our two new cameras.  So today, we went for an accessory shopping trip.  To help some of you to relate, imagine you have ordered a beautiful pair of earrings together with a matching necklace from Tiffany & Co.  While waiting for these lovely items to arrive, what would you do?  Yes, go shopping for some new dresses to go along, correct?

We entered into Singapore River area and have to pay S$2 ERP road charges (on a Saturday?!).  We turned into Rocher Road and paid another S$2 ERP road charges.  Good gracious me!  No wonder I love to stay at home during weekends.  And when we reached Sim Lim Square, we saw the sign …

Car park full.

Uh-huh.  Parachuted M out of the car to kick start the purchase process and when we reached the basement, I parachuted myself out of the car and handed Cynthia the car key.  Time was 1620 and it was running out.  Ran up to Alan Photo and M was happily holding his new lens.  I asked for the UV filter, no stock.  Battery, no stock.  Dry cabinet, no stock but I could place an order that comes with free home delivery.  OK, at least I got myself a rather expensive memory card.

Jumped back into the car at 1640, I paid another S$1 ERP for entering the Orchard area.  By the time we arrived at the 6th floor of Cineleisure, it was 1658.  TK greeted us with the popcorn set that Cynthia has been talking about for the whole day and … time for “Quantum of Solace”!

Quantum of Solace     

To the character James Bond, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace” are separated by merely an hour.  To some of the audience who have caught the previous installment, that is a 2 years wait.  If I was to watch “Casino Royale” right before “Quantum of Solace”, I think I may be more sympathetic over Bond’s grievance towards the quite possibly love of his life Vesper’s betrayal and death.  This chapter of James Bond starring Daniel Craig seems like part of a trilogy.  I made such a guess because there are some loose ends and in the end credits, it says something like “James Bond will be back again soon”.  If so, that may explain this mid episode syndrome when the majority of the plot is to provide answers to the lingering questions from “Casino Royale” but yet, the climax has to come from the next episode.

I prefer “Casino Royale” because I like the storyline better, because the Bond girl is more intelligent, has more air time, and because I get to see James Bond having fun, falling in love, rather than feeling so heartbroken.  Besides, I think the villain of “Casino Royale” is a lot cooler.

If you like Daniel Craig role in the Bond franchise (like me), you would enjoy “Quantum of Solace”.  There are some breathtaking action sequences and certainly, refresh your mind with “Casino Royale” prior to watching this one will help to understand James Bond’s state of mind better.

PS. I like Olga Kurylenko better in Hitman.

Categories
For the Geeks

Nokia N-Gage Games Night – I Was There (How Video Games Have Evolved)

How video games have evolved, how they have not.  After attended several of their press / blogger events, this time I was as close to where their home in Singapore is as I can be – the Nokia HQ.  When I arrived at the lobby, I gasped at the grandeur of modernity, perhaps a bit too quiet after office hour, nevertheless a strong statement of what the 5th most valuable global brand is to be ($36 billion).

There is a little corner of a posh retail store setup, there is another little area of some secret prototyping workshop going on, a booth for the N-Gage mobile gaming station next to the retail booth, and I peeped into the heart of the office through the floor-to-ceiling glass door and saw another beautiful lobby area behind the public reception area.  I joked if I could take a look inside and the friendly Nokia staff told me that it is strictly for staff only.  Judging at some of the funky unmarked Nokia devices that some of them are carrying, I reckon there must be quite a few top secret next-next generation wireless phones inside the restricted zone.

In My Days of the Arcade

Previously, I was with the Nokia N-Gage development team and have checked out some of their upcoming N-Gage hits.  Last evening, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with some of their upcoming titles.  And how video games have evolved, how they have not.  As I was staring at the video screens, looking at how two players battle each other in the fighting game “One”, I had flashbacks of my University days in UK, when I often hang out at the social center, admired at how my best mate flair when he played the “Street Fighter” and the “Mortal Kombat” at the arcade video stations.  He is a physicist, and I often joked that the knowledge of quantum physics must have got him far to the games.  I am a computer scientist, and I couldn’t even beat the computer character in those arcade video stations.

Neither could I beat my opponents in the Nokia N-Gage Games Night.  The game play of a fighting game has not evolved that much since the days of the arcade – basic navigation on movements, a set of buttons to execute a combo move, a set of timed counter moves, and a health bar hanging on top of each character’s head.  Yet, gone are the bulky arcade video stations and they are magically shrunk into a tiny device that fits onto our hands – a device that is always switched on in our waking hours and follows us wherever we go.  Finding an opponent is as simple as making an Internet or Bluetooth connection using our mobile devices that in today’s world, it is largely affordable and in many instances, free.  How video games have evolved.

Game with Your Built-in Camera

How video games have evolved that the way we play our game is no longer constrained by what happens inside this tiny mobile device, but we take the environment around us into the game.  “Metal Gear Solid Mobile” for instance enables players to take advantage of the external environment to advance our game progress.  Using the camera that comes with the wireless phone, the game allows you to navigate precisely by how you physically move your phone.  Not only that, you can take a picture of your surrounding area and use that as a pattern to camouflage the suit of your character that helps your stealth mission.  If you need a dark suit, take a picture of a dark object around you.  If you need something light, take a picture of the sky perhaps.

In Love with Racing

One friendly Nokia staff was passionately showcasing the new “DChoc Café Solitaire 12pack” to me and for those who are into solitaire type of games, you would love this one.  As for me, I was literally glued to the upcoming racing title “Asphalt 4 – Elite Racing”.  It is fast pace, taxing on concentration (initially at least), when after a few rounds of virtual racing on the street of Paris, my head was spinning.  I must be experiencing a virtual G force of some sort (too much F1!).  To skip to the end of the story, yes, I did get a rank 1 (I swear I would have kept the entire Nokia and Text100 team locked inside this booth till I get there), with one hand (playing with two hands is not a mandatory), and I could watch the “One” tournament of how the rest of the gamers face off each other live while I raced in my Mini.

How video games have evolved, how they have not.  Kudos to those who are so passionately developing and promoting the next generation of mobile gaming.  The device may be small, the outcome is anything but.

Related Links: Nokia events I have attended

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Diary

My 4th Book Review at McGraw-Hill Education

Thank you McGraw-Hill for posting my book review on “Crucibles of Leadership” to your website, unaltered.  Ever since April this year, it has been an exciting and rewarding journey.  Though I have been writing reviews of all sorts for years, writing for a much wider audience adds a whole new level of experience.  And to my readers, thanks for all the comments and support.  I am still holding onto two titles by McGraw-Hill and I aim to get the reviews out before the end of the year.  Stay tuned!

 

 

Meanwhile, please check out other book reviews listed at their Business & General Reference section.

Categories
Linguistic My Hobbies

We Leveled Up At Las LiLas School – Now Onto Spanish Class Round 2

Tres cosas importantes en la vida – which means 3 important things in life – to the Spanish are salud (health), dinero (money), and amor (love).  After our Spanish teacher Anna translated what salud means, I asked in all ignorance, “What about heaven?  ¿Cómo se dice “heaven” en español?  (How to say heaven in Spanish?)”  The entire class was silence and then bursted into laughter.  It was happy kind of laughter.  I soon joined them after realizing that salud means health, not hell.  Oh well.  I probably speak Spanish with a Singapore accent while Anna speaks English with a Spanish accent.  How come I was the only one who didn’t get it.

Now you get it?  By now you should.  You knew that I have enrolled the first Spanish lesson this July and since then, my journey has not been that smooth sailing.  If I was to redesign the Spanish curriculum for the English speaking people, I would list out a whole set of vocabulary that is common between Spanish and English (the word ‘curriculum’ is a good example).  And I would also create a list of words that are similar between the two languages.  Such as importantes versus important, vacaciones versus vacations, salario versus salary, familia versus family.  Imagine, all of a sudden, Spanish is not such a foreign language anymore.  Imagine, the level of confidence that I would have, that any English speaking person would have, after seeing that entire list of similarity.

Though I have missed the first class of this new season (because of that trip, you know which trip I am talking about), I am as determined as ever to do well and pass the examination with the rest of the class.  I love my class, I really do.  I don’t want to be left behind as the rest of the class continues to the next level.  These are fun people, people with interesting careers, and most importantly, people whom I look forward to meet every week.

This new season I am doing something different.  I think one way to learn a new language is to try it without thinking too hard about it.  Once again … ¿En la vida solo hay tres cosas importantes amor, salud y dinero?

Si, el mismo orden (yes, in that same order).

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Diary

I Picture Myself As a Surfer

In as much as I wish to follow closely the exciting world news these days, I feel isolated working in a city out of my home country.  Having to face a relatively large group of people – that if to double count the country of birth and of work, they whom literally come from all continents of the world – the interaction and the so-called rollercoaster politics is enough to make me forget about the third debate of Obama versus McCain.  Almost.

Menara Axis – where our workshop is – is merely a stone throw away from the hotel I am staying in.  Yet on the first day of work, my colleague and I were trying hard to figure out how to get to the other side of the highway.  Very much like The Amazing Race (see pictures above or click here for the slideshow).  Looking back, after spending the past four days trekking those concrete jungle trails, it is really not that harsh.  Just that, there is no zebra crossing (actually I told my overseas friends not to trust the zebra crossing here with their lives), no traffic light for the pedestrians, and we simply have to watch out for the motorists as we enter the mini-intersection above the highway.  The experience reminds me of that one time (and obviously last time) I was trying to take a public transport from PJ to KL via the new transit railway.  No wonder there are so many cars here in Malaysia.

You know how it is like that you are aware that something big and exciting is coming you way and you thought with all that you have seen and done in the past, you can do it.  Yet when that something big and exciting hits you, you have a challenging time trying to remain standing.  Imagine yourself on the surfboard with the blue sky as the backdrop.  Perhaps because no two waves are the same, the surfers love what they do waves after waves.  Perhaps to those who sunbath by the beach, looking at the surfers and the waves, it is just another surfer, another wave.  And to me, as the ”˜surfer’, in these couple of days, I see crucible moments.  One day I may look back, at a particular juncture in life, and say, “I am who I am because of those particular days.”

Passed the halfway mark today and four more working days to go in help handling this workshop, I am so looking forward to a restful weekend.  I wish to catch up on what I planned to do.  And my plan has not been carried out as planned, yet.

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Diary

With the Humdrum Sound Of the Unseen Rotors I Continued to Wait

I lost track of time waiting for the luggage to appear at the convey belt. The humdrum sound of the unseen rotors hidden underneath and the perpetual counterclockwise movement of the rubberized pieces stitched together for that one single purpose, it is as though even the mechanical being is waiting for something to happen. One airport staff wheeled out my Spanish classical guitar. The human being has won as I continued to wait for my luggage to appear.

I lost track of time waiting for my turn to purchase the taxi coupon and I lost track of time while driven in the dark from the airport to the hotel. The Malaysia airport seems so far away from town. Door-to-door from my home in the north to the Singapore airport in the east took 30 minutes. Add another 30 minutes, the bowl of warm Tom Yum soup appeared at the dinning table, in a restaurant inside the airport. 30 minutes later I was sitting on the plane, reviewing training pack that I am suppose to present.

I tipped the taxi driver and he was shocked at my tip; I was shocked by his reaction. At the hotel reception, I was told that there was a package waiting for me. What was the package about, naturally I asked. Over at the concierge you shall find out, he replied. Who sent it to me, I inquired. No idea, he replied. This is so double-o-seven. I like.

By the time I reached my room, it was near midnight. I felt hungry so I called for a light snack. The housekeeper arrived to take my shirts for pressing and before she left, she found that one of the windows was open. No wonder the street noise was so audible. I can’t imagine what a potential consequence would have been if I was a sleepwalker. Minutes later, the engineer arrived and fixed my floor-to-ceiling window.

Now feeling safe, warm, and well fed, it is time to go to sleep.

PS. Click here for photo slideshow.

Categories
Diary

Bringing Along My Spanish Guitar As I Fly Off For a 2 Weeks Business Trip

So I am bringing my Alhambra Spanish classical guitar for my overseas business trip, that surprises people around me – friends and colleagues.  Maybe unlike golf, there is no association to business with music hobby.  A golf set is bulkier, heavier, but not necessarily more expensive than my guitar, with case.  I have to change the world.  Business people should start to talk business over a music jamming session instead of playing with such a small ball in such a vast perimeter.  One day if I do rise above my rank of a corporate coffee boy to a see-what-oh, I will only sign deals inside a music studio.

This year has not been a productive year for me, in terms of my music creation journey.  12 is my target and I only have written one song this year.  Maybe I have been busy practicing for our live performance, maybe this year has been a busy years for me with these extra-extra-curriculum-activities, maybe I am less artistically inspired this year.  No more excuses.  I am bringing my guitar to PJ Malaysia as well as my handheld recording device for songwriting.  As an added bonus, I am going to meet with our drummer now guitarist to practice our set over the weekend.  She too is bringing her Yamaha guitar for her business trip.

When life hands you a durian, you hit people with it.  I wish I could as I have to sacrifice my Wednesday Spanish class for this trip.  Argh!  On a more positive note as in what to do with this lemon durian, I am going to …

  • Catch up with my old friends in Malaysia
  • Finish reading a non-fiction book
  • Write a book review for another non-fiction book (McGraw-Hill)
  • Read a fiction (yay … good to have indulgence at times)
  • Write a few music reviews that have been delayed for a long time
  • Complete that few blog ideas that have been in my mind for so long
  • Dream of what else to do within the 4 walls of PJ Hilton

Stay tuned friends.  It is business as usual here in my webbie.  Now, back to packing!

Categories
Concert I See I Write My Favorite

Nokia Remix: Singapore – Pictures from Lifehouse Concert and the Upcoming Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Will the new Nokia touch screen phone that comes with one year unlimited music download and more redefine what a phone can be?  I was holding one last Friday and I was thrilled by its potential.  And there is no event like a Nokia event.  Lifehouse was in the house, together with the local bands and my favorite radio DJs “The Muttons” too.  I took a picture with them.  It’s priceless.

I couldn’t attend the press conference during the day due to work commitment.  But the Nokia team was kind enough to give me a 1-hour personal demonstration on the upcoming Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  Again, I tried to distract them and see if I could slip one into my pocket.  Again, I failed like the last time.

Come With Music

When it comes down to functionalities and user-friendliness, Nokia is king.  No doubt about it.  What the world has been silently waiting for is Nokia’s answer to Apple’s iPhone and its clones.  I certainly do.  While Apple threatened to shutdown iTunes early this month due to royalties dispute (current model is 61-29-9 cents split between the record industry, iTunes, and artists respectively), Nokia has worked out a deal with four major labels – EMI, Universal, Sony, and Warner – and more to give Nokia users one year unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue across a range of devices.  Is this new service “Come With Music” too good to be true?  Looking at how Nokia gives away free maps to the users, I am pretty sure that the only catch is “go buy a Nokia phone”.  Allowing users to unlimitedly and legally download music is as close to the Internet user behavior as it can get.  I am holding my breath on what the cost structure may be.

Touch, Play, Share

The new phone is a beauty.  If you are familiar with the XpressMusic series, the design of 5800 is a big leap ahead.  Weighted less than an iPhone, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with a touch screen that supports wide-screen format and has an impressive resolution – best in its class.  I checked out a video clip played and the color is stunningly vibrant.  Another surprise is the quality of the internal speakers.  The music played out loud, really loud, and the sound is crisp clear.  These features alone are enough to put my beloved N95 to shame.  Can you visualize how badly I would drool to play the Ayumi music videos on this?

Unable to resist poking at this new baby, I am delighted that everything is literally at my fingertips including being able to put 4 of my top hot looking female contacts (with profile picture) onto the home-screen.  Maybe a bit too convenience.  Imagine one day Cynthia gets hold of my new 5800 while I was away and is able to track down my past communication and their respective blog updates with just a touch onto their profile pictures?!  Disastrous.

To be honest, I was skeptic on how this new touch screen phone handles my obsessive love in sending short messages, jotting down new blogging ideas, and drafting blog entries anytime, anywhere.  I asked for a demonstration and the enthusiastic product manager casually rotated the phone and the screen switched to landscape mode automatically.  Nice!  He then brought up the virtual QWERTY keyboard and I was like: though my fingers are not that fat, no way I can type a message with that!  Like a magician, he pulled out a stylus from nowhere (actually from behind the phone) and started typing.  Not bad.  Being a difficult consumer, I complained that QWERTY is not my cup of tea.

No problem at all, he said.  He then switched to a handwriting recognition mode that if you are from the Palm era, you would probably leap in joy (not to forget to mention the copy-and-paste function this new baby has).  Not bad.  But I am the type of guy who loves the old way of doing things.  The product manager did something to the phone and all of a sudden, I saw a life-size virtual alphanumeric keypad!  I pressed onto the virtual buttons and the phone vibrated in response.  Neat!  Lastly, for the musicians, the phone comes with a plectrum (see picture above … in my language, I call it a guitar pick) as an alternative to interact with the touch screen.  I know.  Who would have thought?

Final Thought

This entry is more like a preview than a review due to my limited time with the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  There are tons of other cool functionalities I am running out of space to write including the synchronization to the social networking sites such as Ovi by Nokia, Facebook, YouTube, and etc.  I would like to leave you with this final thought.  Towards the end of “Sex and the City” movie, Carrie wanted to call her missing groom and she asked for a phone.  Someone passed her a touch screen phone (that looked like an iPhone).  Her immediate response was like: don’t give me that, give me something I can use.  I can relate to her.  And I don’t think I will have a problem with this new Nokia phone.  It is that easy.

Below are some of the pictures I have taken during the Nokia Remix: Singapore event with Lifehouse in the house with my point-and-shoot camera.  Enjoy!

PS. A big thanks to the Nokia team and the TEXT100 team!

Categories
For the Geeks Game Reviews

EA Sports FIFA Online 2 Closed Beta Test Hosted by IAHGames – First Look

Note: If you still have problem with Hotmail, click here to install a client-based Mail beta – Windows Live.

I have a love hate relationship with IAHGames.  As an avid online gamer, I love the idea of having a game server hosted in Asia.  And that the server maintenance observes the Asia’s off peak hours, unlike the World of Warcraft (WoW) server that goes down almost all the Tuesday evenings here in Asia.  It may be foreign to some of you but believe me when I say this, millions of WoW fans in Asia are lost every Tuesday.  If I had a business, I would have targeted these lost souls and created some ease-your-WoW-withdrawal-syndrome themes to my business.  And I would have earned big bucks, since 2004.

I sort of hated (strong word, sorry, but thanks for the closed beta test invite!) IAHGames because of the way they handled the hosting of Hellgate London (HG:L).  OK, the parent company Infocomm Asia Holdings did the right marketing and financing (how can you miss the signage and the decorated jeep outside Funan IT Mall?) but fell short on technology and management.  Our Asian server went live before IAHGames could apply the crucial patch and from then on, our patch updates were horribly late compared to the American counterparts leading to Asian online gamers having to suffer from the bugs for weeks and months.  In the end, IAHGames found a solution to apply the subsequent patches without wiping the game progress; in the end, I quited HG:L because playing a buggy game is really no fun.

Enough of history.  Is FIFA Online 2 fun to play?  It has some elements of Championship Manager as you play the manager role in managing your team.  Each of your player has a set of stats and as your players level up, you get to customize your players by enhancing their stats the way you want them to be.  And you gain level as you play the matches too – be it as win or lose (wining has more points than losing).  There are football players and items you can trade with other online gamers (I have yet to find out how) so all these elements play like a typical MMORPG.  And unlike Championship Manager, you get to play the match too!

I have to admit that using the keyboard to play the match is less than ideal.  I failed to use my XBox 360 Controller that works with other PC games.  Anyway, playing with the keyboard does make in-game text chatting a lot easier with other gamers.  I always like the social aspect of the online games.  Because the game pace is usually fast, you can’t really chat that much.  But still, the game is much alive.  And I have to say, the online gamers are a lot tougher to beat than playing against the computer team.  I guess that is where the fun is.

Each online game lasts for a couple of minutes and joining a “World Tour” 1×1 match with another online gamer picked by the server seems fast (“League” is you against the computer), thanks to the Asia timezone.  There is 2×2 match too that you can form a team with your buddy.  But the waiting time was too long so we gave up.

Graphically, it does support wide screen format with the football players look 3D enough from a distance.  The replay is fun to watch too.  The close-up on the players tend to look cartoon-ish but that doesn’t bother me.  The voice commentary does seem to follow the game well, sarcastic at times (maybe I suck badly).  But of course, if you are to play for hours, some of the lines may appear repetitive to you.  The game does feel random in nature, which is good.  One time, one of my players was fouled due to hand ball.  I was like … what?!  Then there was a close-up replay to see how the ball did bounce off my player’s hand as he tackled the ball.  Amazing.  And some of the goals look so random that got me marvelled at my own virtual ingenuity.

FIFA Online 2 seems like a stripped- down version of the established football related games out there.  But if fast pace online game with character progression is your cup of tea, you may wish to give it a try.  I reckon they may give out free trial period like most of the online games out there.  Who knows, FIFA Online 2 may be one of those subscription free games.

PS. Some of the soundtracks are pretty cute.