Browser Benchmarking Windows 7

Browser Benchmarking in Windows 7
Using Furturemark's Peacekeeper.
System Specifications
CPU: Intel Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
RAM: 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 Mhz
GPU: ATI Radeon 4850 512MB (2 in Crossfire)
HDD: 500GB Seagate 7200.11
Motherboard: Asus P5E
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate X64

Firefox 3.6

Firefox 3.7 (Minefield)

Chrome

Safari

Adventures on Play-Asia (pictures)

Donkey Kong Country 3, Death Note Figure (Ryuk) 

Game Texts: Volume 1.

Friend: Did you play Hitman?

Me: Which one?

F: Blood Money.

M: Yes

F: Remember the golden masked devil? Well there is a kid that looks like him in my class.

M: Haha really? Awesome... Fiber wire his ass!

F: Lmao. I can't! I need to get the janitor's suit first!

M: No, fuck that, the security guard suit can get you more places.

F: Fuck my rating!, I'm just gonna kill everyone!

F: Yeah I died. Waiting on that long ass dying scene to restart.

Review of Play-Asia

Review of Service: Play-Asia


by Samuel Contreras
Contreramanjaro


Like a new Japanese RPG, ordering online is exactly what you'd expect but not necessarily what you want. I had heard about this site some time ago, but was always weary about ordering from them just because of how it's not an American business. I'm not saying there's anything thing wrong with not being American, but to me, that's a long way to sent personal information. Especially to a region like Asia which is so full of computer hackers and one of the main sources of malware.

After sufficient research, these fears were alleviated when I saw just how many people reported a good experience with this company. There were a few bad reviews, but people are much more moved to report a bad experience rather than an OK to good experience. These are the items I ordered.

Figure
Game
Both are no longer available. I'll put a Play-Asia banner at the bottom of the page in case you want to shop around.

The order was Sunday, January 31, 2010. The package was shipped on February 1, 2010 according to an email from Play-Asia. I received the package 10-11 business days later on February 16, 2010. I selected the cheapest 5-10 day Airmail shipping option. They pretty much hit their mark on the shipping time, especially considering the time of year for China and that my county received a foot of snow.

The condition of the box was OK at best. The game was wrapped in bubble paper and the figure box was only surrounded by foam peanuts on four sides. The box had one corner that was smashed down about 1/2 inch. This caused a bit of damage on the figure box but the game box was fine. The figure within was also fine, the only issue being the box was no longer "collector quality;" however, if you are a hardcore collector, you should choose FedEx instead of airmail.

In the end, I give Play-Asia.com a B+
+ Good stock
+ Quick service and shipping
+ Great prices
+ Good support
- Packing could be better

Buy Video Games for Consoles and PC - From Japan, Korea and other Regions at Play-Asia.com

Awesome Good Things

Windows Phone 7 Series looks amazing and I can't wait.

The Orange Box Review for Xbox 360

Review for The Orange Box for Xbox 360

Contreramanjaro

Samuel Contreras

Part 1: Half-life 2

Contents:

1. Up front presentation - out of the box, what do I think.

2. Menus - Navigations, both in and out of game

3. Save system - Save points, section based, auto, free

4. Control - Options, ease, learning, success of default

5. Artistic presentation (graphics) - A game doesn't need the sharpest textures and most detailed environments to visually carry a message. This is for the graphics presentation not based on comparison.

6. Story -Was it interesting, can I hear it again?

7. Emotional effect - Goose bumps, tears, laughter (appropriate or not)

8. Summary and recommendations - wrap up

Up Front Presentation:

            The box for this game can’t have been done worse. It is ugly, unappealing and looks like it was designed with the bargain bin in mind. The fact is, the Orange Box contains some of the highest quality games with some of the greatest production values on the market. If you know this, then the buy is a no brainer for you, but if I knew nothing of Valve and their great development, I’m sure I’d let this one pass me by.

            The way the manual and game disc are set up is nice though. With a little extra work, Valve managed to port the original Half-life 2 to the Half-life 2: Episode 2 engine and was able to fit the entire thing on a single dual layer DVD. More will be said about the graphics triumphs and faults later on.

Menus:

When you start up the game, a selection screen for the five games included in the box greets you.  As you highlight each game selection tile, the static picture plays a trailer for the game and the overall background changes accordingly. One thing to note is that the Half-life 2 trailer that plays immediately is very loud and somewhat annoying.

After selecting Half-life 2, you are brought to another menu that gives you options to start a new game, load a saved game, adjust options, or see your achievement progress. The options are fairly standard offering controls for the controller, audio volume and some button reassignment.  The most notable addition is the achievement tracker, which after playing this game, I believe, should be mandatory in every game.

Save System:

The save system for this game is perfect, not only can you save anytime you want, but it also has a competent autosave that can save you when you forget to save. Saving the game can be accessed simply through the start menu, and when you die, you are given the option to start from the last autosave or any one of your personal saves. The game can also be resumed from any of these points.

Control:

            The control scheme for this game is pretty typical for an FPS. If you played the Xbox version of Half-Life 2, this is very different from that. The buttons have been changed and refined and work very well. You can adjust the vertical and horizontal turn speeds as well as reassigning some buttons. The controls work very well and are an excellent port of the PC game.

Artistic Presentation:

            This is the only place where the game starts to show it's age. Even though this game looks better than its PC or Xbox  counterpart, it is a bit bland. The game was rebuilt on the Half-Life 2: Episode 2 engine, the same engine as the other games on the disc. This allows for much better lighting including HDR. While being rebuilt on the new engine makes the game look good, it does not maintain as high of a frame rate as it would seem a game from 2004 should.

            Despite this, it looks excellent even by today's standards. The textures are very detailed and the geometries, while sometimes quite simple, are very well done. One of the things that still really impresses me about this is the way the character's animate. It looks very realistic and facial expressions help build relationships with characters. This is really shown off on the character Alyx Vance who joins you for a portion of the game. I often found myself just watching her expressions during events.

            The game is in first person and remains that way... forever. This game is also a physics showcase. It was one of the first games to utilize Havok physics as a part of game play. Havok adds a lot to the game, however it has severely varying accuracy. Sometime an object may decide that it is suddenly traveling 200 miles per hour out of the map. Havok though is adjusted by the developers on accuracy to only take up a portion of CPU and GPU horsepower. The original Xbox version of this game had much more simple physics with less interaction and less animations per second. The PC version is the most accurate and the Xbox 360 version is a bit more simplified for the sake of preserving a solid frame rate.

            That being said, Valve has used their resources very well for some truly awe inspiring scenes including giant enemies and huge moving walls. Things being blown apart and excellent balance between water quality and its physical animation.

            This game looks excellent on the Xbox 360, possible the best it ever has, and runs in 1080p. If you aren't impressed by the visuals, just remember, the game is six years old at this point. It looks really good to me.

Story:

            The story is continued from Half-Life as you are woken up years after the Black Mesa incident. You are woken by a mysterious man and you are told to "wake up and smell the ashes." While the story isn't entirely clear, there is a clear enemy. The Combine. The Combine are taking over Earth and wasting the resources. They convert remaining humans into stalkers which are mindless slaves.

            You are tasked with fighting your way through a wrecked world and through miles of countryside filled with Combine patrols and roadblocks. You meet several characters including Alyx Vance, Eli Vance, Dr. Judith Mossman, Barney Calhoun, and of course, Dr. Breen. Dr. Breen quickly becomes one of your hated enemies that has become the Combine's human spokesperson.

            Somehow, you manage to feel very connected to Gordon Freeman even though he never speaks, however, this may actually increase the connection. It feels as if every character is speaking directly to you. The story is very driven by the dialogue of other characters and their implied emotions. I've played through this game multiple times and I am still learning things about the game world from it. This is one of the best told stories in games ever told.

Emotional Effect:

            This is the greatest part of this game. You seem to be affected by the game's story and characters in ways you wouldn't expect. You think about the characters as real people at times rather than fictional. With so many game, when it comes to secondary characters, I could not care less if they lived or died, but in this game, I found myself caring about them and their wellbeing.

            I found myself being scared and worried during scenes. Gritting my teeth and gripping my controller tight enough to have numb hands. The best way to describe the feeling is actual. The realism makes it feel like you could be in Gordon's position.

Summary and Recommendations:

            At the end of it all, Half-Life 2 is one of my favorite games of all times and its inclusion in the Orange Box was a great choice. For a game that can be found in most bargain bins for under 20 dollars, it has tons of extremely high quality. Buying the Orange Box for Half-Life 2 alone would be worth it.

            If  you are still not sure of this purchase, wait for my  part 2 review, which will include the Half-Life 2 episodes. At this point though, I really encourage anyone to buy this game. It can be enjoyed by both male and female at any age over about twelve years. The game is rated mature but compared to many modern M games it seems pretty Teen.

--------------------------

Out of 100:

Presentation: 94

Menus: 95

Save System: 98

Control: 90

Artistic Presentation: 96

Story: 88

Emotional Effect: 96

Total:  94/100

Muscle March for Nintendo Wii: Review

Review for Muscle March on the Nintendo Wii

By: Samuel Contreras
Contreramanjaro

Contents:
1. Up front presentation - out of the box, what do I think.
2. Menus - Navigations, both in and out of game
3. Save system - Save points, section based, auto, free
4. Control - Options, ease, learning, success of default
5. Artistic presentation (graphics) - A game doesn't need the sharpest textures and most detailed environments to visually carry a message. This is for the graphics presentation not based on comparison.
6. Story -Was it interesting, can I hear it again?
7. Emotional effect - Goose bumps, tears, laughter (appropriate or not)
8. Summary and recommendations - wrap up

Up Front Presentation:

This is a downloadable game on the Nintendo Shop Channel for Nintendo Wii, the DSi has a shop channel, but that channel doesn’t have this game. This is one of those games that have an appeal based on seeming ridiculous. I first saw the game on Four Player Podcast it was the Japanese version. I knew that you needed only use the Wii remote and Nunchuck to run through walls and I knew that this game, in no way, takes itself seriously. Which is a nice change from the serious blockbusters like Halo, Call of Duty, Half-Life, and Gears of War. A fun simple game, this is what I’d been led to expect.

Menus:

The menus work well. There are virtually no options and the most choice you have is what character you want to be. This is ok though, the menus are almost more complicated than the game itself.

Save System:

There is a leaderboard for endless march scores. That's it.

Control

You use the Wii remote and Nunchuck attachment to control the game. There are four positions to move and you use the Wii remote to run. The only thing buttons are used for is the menu [A]. The controls are very easy to do and the motions are mimicked nearly always accurately. Good solid control system; this game feels like the Wii was built for it.

Artistic Presentation:

The graphics in this game are about the caliber of the PS2, but you don't want this game for high end realistic, borderline sexually attractive visuals, you got it for good old fun. That being said, the graphics are done stylishly... very stylishly. The backgrounds and scenes are extremely funny and makes you think of games like Katamari Damacy, which is the point you realize it's a Namco Bandai game. Considering that, the frame rate always keeps stable even when the rate of speed gets quite high.

Story:

I'm going to try to sum it up in one sentence.

You play a group of body builders who has there bottle stolen and then you chase characters to get it back.

I didn't even run on!

Emotional Effect:

Extremely hilarious, if you are watching this game on the sidelines, the ongoing events will crack you up. Also watching your friends doing ridiculous motions in your room is also pretty entertaining. If you are playing, it is another story entirely. You find yourself surprisingly out of breath and worn out from your march. You can get frustrated at particularly tough sections of the game, but the light mood always leaves you feeling happy. There is just no shame in being beat by someone like Mech Muscle. Who I think may be like Muscle Jesus, by the way, there is a Muscle God that makes you chase Mech Muscle.

Summary and Recommendations:

For five dollars, I can't recommend this game enough. This is majorly a game played with friends. The story and themes are ridiculously awesome and fun. Controls can be done by a two year old I'm sure as well as an eighty year old. I have to recommend this game to anyone who enjoys games that are just for fun and not necessarily epic. Don't expect Modern Warfare 2 graphics, but at one twelfth the cost, it's worth it.


My thoughts:
Price to buy: 5 bucks, 500 points
Rent or buy: Buy
Time to complete: Two hours
Hardcore or Casual: Both
Console: Built around motion controls
Male or Female: Both
Age: 5 years or older

-------------------------

Out of 100:
Presentation: 90
Menus: 60
Save System: 90
Control: 95
Artistic Presentation: 70
Story: 75
Emotional Effect: 92

Total: 82/100