Virtua Fighter, the quintessential of 3D fighters. Those days, 2D figthers with their fireballs and shoryukens ruled the fighting genre. There were a gazillion 2D fighters ( Fighers History, Karnovs Revenge, Power Instinct) and most of them suck except for the Street Fighter series and King of Fighters series. Hence, 3D fighters broke into the domain in 1993 and the game that was leading the charge is Virtua Fighter, followed closely by Tekken.

It was kinda weird staring at fugly graphics with kindergarten quality background, and the most apparent thing is no fireball! At first, I was skeptical on a fighting game without fireball back then, but after a couple of games, it turned out to be quite all right. Hence, gamers received the shift from 2D to 3D with open arms.

Holy shit, wtf is this? From this to...

...this! Now, that's the power of texture mapping bitch!

I am a huge fan of How I Met Your Mother, and knowing that Jason Segel is acting in this movie compels me to go and watch it. I've watched his other performance on Forgetting Sarah Marshall and although his performance was average. the movie was good. So, how did I Love You Man fare? Carry on with this super short mini review to find out.

HIMYM is the new Friends!

Random screamings= Funny, as made famous by Jim Carrey.

Dear readers,
Here are a couple of announcements. Firstly, the series Why Do We Love will be put on hiatus and shall be temporarily replaced with a new section called Top 5 Fighting Games.

First of all, I am not a huge fan of cars. Never was, never am and never will be. Next, I am a huge fan of Vin Diesel. I've watched him in Boiler Room, Riddick and XXX, and yeah, he was okay. But he is definitely better than Dwanye Johnson in my book. Third, I've only watched the first 2 of the Fast and Furious series, and I've lost interest since. To me, the first one was the best because of...quite simply put, Vin Diesel. Eventhough I don't really like cars, given that I am a big fan of Vin Diesel, therefore in my opinion, what made the first movie so awesome was Vin Diesel. Imagine my disappointment when he wasn't in the main cast in the 2nd and 3rd Fast Furious movies. I didn't even bother watching the Fast Furious: Tokyo Drift. Dear friends, this is a review of the latest Fast and Furious.

Me during the premier of Fast and Furious.

Dude, who's the guy on the left? :p

And that's how I ended up this way.The way that I have always been. My phone rang and surprisingly, it was Ay08.
"Hi Jack, where are you?", she asked as usual.
"On the way back. What's up?"
"I have a very bad news....", she said in a serious tone.
"What is it?", I asked in concern.
Deep down in my heart, I was hoping that she had broken up on Valentine's Day. I mean, what else would happen on Valentine's Day, right? However, sadly, I was far from right.

So, during the Easter Holiday, me and a friend, spontaneously decided to visit Brighton. After reading up on Wikipedia, we were hyped up on going. According to Wiki, Brighton beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in United Kingdom. Furthermore, it is also mentioned that the beach is well known for the Gay, Lesbian and Transvestite community. Ho yeaahh, lesbians. That should be awesomee! If that's not a motivation factor, I don't know what is.

We woke up at 5am and traveled to London Bridge Station to board our train at 7.40 am. Me, being NOT an early bird, am pretty much out of the loop. Lucky for me that my travel partner is attentive in the morning. Keep in mind that this will not be a massive picture dump as I do not own a camera. You read it right, I do not own a camera. All I have is a measly camera phone for blog updates and a handy camcorder for...personal usage. :p

When we first arrived, we got ourself the map of Brigthon and then began to plan our journey. Funny thing is that Brighton sort of reminds me of Dublin. I guess it's because Brighton is more rural as compared to London.

First place that we visited was the beach. Yeah, I was disappointed because I was expecting sandy beaches like in Malaysia but instead what I found was a man made beaches full of rocks. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the view while eating our packed breakfast. The funny thing is that while we were eating, there is some random photographer dude asking our permission to take a photo of us. The feeling was quite awkward though, feels like we were models, lovers or something. Anyhow, the guy thanked us and apparently he works for some local newspaper or something. Whatever.

The Brighton bitc...I mean, beach.

Next place we went to is the shopping district. Sorry that I can't elaborate much on this because I was sleepy, tired and most important of all, uninterested. My travelling partner on the other hand, went on a window shopping frenzy. I just followed her around while she brought me to shops unbeknown to me.

Next stop is the Brighton Pier. Would you believe it, there is a carnival and a casino on the pier. We went for a walk, and obviously the place was jam packed. We checked out the seafood in a cup thingy and I bought lobster in a cup for us. Not too shabby. We went into the games room and the casinos, well...nothing too impressive but it's all right.

Brighton Pier

After that, we checked on the rides. They have a couple of awesome rides, like the "spinning tea cup thingy", or the pendulum but my traveling partner was too scared to get on one of those. Hence, we settled for a game of basketball shooting in the end. The best part while playing the shooting game is that all eyes are on you. For me, I felt like Michael Jordan and managed to hit a basket. My traveling partner on the other hand... well, let's just say that she is Shaq.

The expression on my traveling partner's face when she misses her shot.

Next, we ate our dinner at a fish and chips restaurant. Mind you that there are a gazillion fish and chips restaurant at Brighton and choosing one is a totally random and monumental task. Okay, gazillion is exaggerating, but there should be at least 20, I kid you not. So we just entered this random fish and chips restaurant and began having our dinner. What can I say about the fish and chips? Hmmm...it's fish and chips, how good can it get? I'll take a Nasi Dagang any day of the week.

Now, this is food!

Later on at night, we just went around the city. Nothing much to see as it does not contain any architectural marvel. Then, by around 8.30pm, it's time to head back and we boarded the train. All and all, it's okay... but traveling is not exactly my kind of thing. And, I was disappointed that I did not see any HOT lesbians making out on the beach, just some OLD lesbian couple. There goes my motivaton factor. Damn!

I waited for Ay08 at the staircase, eagerly. She was not late, it's just that I was a little bit early. In fact, she is rarely late. After around 5 minutes of waiting, finally she came down the steps as graceful as a swan. I was taken aback by the moment. After regaining my inner stability, I then asked her,
"Same place Ay08?"
She nodded in agreement.

Ay08 loves to eat breakfast. To her, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whenever we went for breakfast, she has this systematic way of eating. She would make sure that the ratio between rice and the side dishes is always fixed. Truly a technicality in which in itself is a sight to behold.

"Jack, thanks."
"For what Ay08?"
"For inviting me to breakfast today. I thought you don't want to be friends anymore."
"Of course I would love for us to remain as friends. I will try my best to make it happen. "
I smiled, and she smiled back.

Upon reaching the restaurant, we sat down and quickly ordered Nasi Lemak. I watched as Ay08 began to eat like an engineer was about to analyze a problem. She meticulously divided her rice , sambal, kacang , cucumber and anchovies into a fixed ratio. I am marveled at its intricacy just as if I saw it for the first time. Ay08, realizing that I wasn't eating began to speak.
"Err, Jack, what are you doing?"
"Sorry, I was just admiring your rice to sambal ratio. It is truly impeccable."
She blushed.
"Stop it, I feel uncomfortable as you watch me eat. Finish your meal old man," she said in a humorous manner.

I finished my food first, as usual. Due to the high level of technicality require to perform the task at hand, Ay08 was still eating. Then suddenly, she spouts out some random nonsense.
"You!"
"What?"
"I wonder, recently it snowed right? Did the pond at Hyde Park freeze?"
"I don't know."
"Wanna go and take a look? I went back to Malaysia so I didn't have the chance to see it."
Actually, deep down in my heart, I wanted to say,"Yes, let's go,". But I didn't. Why? Because I don't want to hurt myself again. I don't want to be where I was 2 months ago. I have changed. Therefore, I said,
"Sorry, not today. Some other day Ay08."

She looked at me with her puppy dog eyes and began to pout. I know she wanted to go to Hyde Park to see the frozen pond. Despite all these, my will is adamant.
"Ay08, if you want to see it, why don't you go by yourself? I can walk you there, but I won't be neither sending you all the way to the pond nor home. Hyde Park is on the way to my college anyway."
"It's okay Jack, but no thanks."
I then walked her home. Throughout, the 15 minutes walk, we stayed quiet. I didn't know what to say to her and she noticed that things are different now. What can I say, this is the right thing to do.

I bid her farewell and embarked on my journey to college. But, along the way, I can't seem to forget about Ay08'S request. So, finally, I've decided,
"Okay, I'll just go to the pond, and if it's frozen, then I'll call Ay08 and invite her to appreciate the sight."
Hence, there I was, doing something stupid again. I took a 20 minutes detour and headed for the pond. Along the way, it can be seen that the tracks were still covered snow, which was a good sign. So, I walked, and on the way, I thought of nothing than the frozen pond and the smile on Ay08's face when she sees it.

After 15 minutes of walking, I have finally reached the destination. I sat down on the bench right in front of it.
"It would be a waste of time for her to come anyway."
The pond was not frozen. And with that, the thought of Ay08's smile vanishes. Guess it is God's way of telling me that we should not be together.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I picked it up and Ay08 is on the other end.
"Jack, where are you?"
I was unsure whether to tell her the truth.
"I am at the university. What's up?" A blatant lie obviously.
"Ohh, ermm...are you free tomorrow, want to do something together?"
Basically, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. What is Ay08 thinking? What should I say? Does she still like me? I stood up from the bench thinking of my reply.
"I must do what must be done. I must do the right thing."

So, I've organized my first friendly with Dz. Dz is a Street Fighter and King of Fighter player and has participated in many 2D fighting games tournament. He isn't into any of the 3D fighters, and considered himself as a hardcore 2D fighting purist. I've met him during the IC Tournament, and he was pretty outstanding. At that time I was maining Ken, and so was he. We had time only for 2 matches and it's 1-1.

Tekken who?

Dz's Ken skills are mad awesome. He loves to do a wakeup cross up and is pretty bloody good at pulling off awesome combos. His Ryu's and Akuma's skills are decent as well while his Gen and Zangief are improving termendously. As for the rest of the characters, he is pretty much at an average level.

An accurate depiction of Dz's mad Ken skills.

So basically, here is my report card for the end of the session:

1. Ryu - I was dissapointed by my lack of skills. I've been practicing Ryu so hard, trying to pull of his Ultra setup, but failed miserably most of the time. We had 10 matches of Ryu vs Ken, and I only won 2 of them. Hence, I need to perfect Ryu's skills before I could consider him to be my main in Street Fighter 4 in order to replace Ken. (Rating: ***)
2. Ken- Eventhough I wasn't maining him, I managed to beat Dz's Ryu 3-1. I even managed to pull of an Ultra as a reversal for his Shinku, which hit him awesomely, twice. Damnnn, looks like my 3S skills are still intact. Maybe I should still consider Ken as my main? (Rating:*****)
3. Gouken- Not bad. The fruits of my practice has finally paid of. Eventhough I lost to his Ken and Akuma a couple of times, but I did gave him a run for his money. The awesomest scene is when I hit him with a Shin Shoryuken after a miss Shinryuken. Totally epic. (Rating:****)
4. Zangief- As I mentioned before, Zangief is a cheap bastard in this game. He is highly overpowered. The only problem is that he is freaking slow. Anyway, Zangief is awesome and carries a high potential to be my next main. (Rating:****)
5. Abel- Again, I was dissapointed with my Abel. My winning ratio with him is below 50% yet I've practiced so hard with him. I just can't get his fighthing style down. Bah, back to the drawing board for Abel. (Rating:***)
6. Rufus- Suprisingly good. He has a good mix up game and I've managed to chain into an Ultra at the corner. I guess with Rufus, getting your opponent into a corner is the main stratergy. I like using him...a lot. However, this do not prove that fat people are awesome. Nope, not at all. (Rating:****)
7. Akuma- Well, what can I say, Akuma is Akuma. Overpowered yet he takes much more damage than any other character. He is one hell of a character and I've been using since the Alpha series. Buffering a Raging Demon from your HK makes you look awesome. (Rating:****)

Potential for a new main?

And here I was, just released a Ryu's guide in setting up Ultra, but then got my ass handed off to me. The irony. Guess I should now make a general guide for Ken.

Ryu is consumed by the Dark Hadou!

Meet Ryu.

Say hello to my little friend.

1. When the opponent crumbles to the floor after being hit by FA
2. Air juggles
   

FA that shit!

1. ShoryukenxxFADCxxMetsu
   
2. (corner)EX HadoukenxxMetsu
3. (corner)EX TatsumakixxMetsu

1. LP ShoryukenxxMetsu
2. J+MPxxMetsu

Ryu getting bitch slapped by his sensei.

So, guess what, Easter Holiday is on and I have 6 days off... plus I've just gotten myself a new PS3 controller and Resistance 2, finally. Get ready for an awesome Street Fighter 4 tournament in the future, and if you are invited, be prepared to get raped and feast your eyes at the sight of:

Akuma had it coming.

Flowchart for Scrubs.

I sat at the lounge looking at the ceiling. In front of me sat Ay08. We both kept quiet. A moment of awkward silence. Ever since she got back from Malaysia, things have gotten weird between us. We were fine during the snowball fight , but now I am just confused. Are we still friends? I don't know, only time will tell.

Suddenly, my phone rang. Thank God, a momentarily burst of noise that breaks the silence. I picked it up and a loud high pitch voice can be heard.
"Jaccckk, do you like....ummm...wanna have dinner?"
I looked at Ay08. I don't know, it just felt weird being asked to dinner by Hh in front of Ay08.
"Sure Hh, where do you wanna eat? Wait a minute...not Khan's, right?"
"What's that, Khan's? Sure, ok bye. See you in 15 minutes"
"Wait...I meant..."
Damn it, she hung up on me. Hh is always so impulsive.

I looked at Ay08 and she looked away, trying to break eye contact. She did not even said a word and I was too confused to open my mouth. Things with us, are so convoluted . This is the end I presumed. The fun times we had, it all boils down to this: an awkward silence.

After enduring almost an hour of silence, finally came Hh. Late and not punctual as usual.
"You are late Hh, very very late."
"Really? Really? I didn't notice," giving off her chipmunk-ish smile.
Yeah right, like that's gonna save her from the fact that she's....awww, so cute. What did she do again?

"Fine, fine. Let's go now, I am starving. Hold on, aren't you wearing a little too thin? It's like 3 degrees out there."
"Really? "
"Okay, right. Whatever. Let's get going."
I looked at Ay08 as I was contemplating whether to invite her or not. Come to think about it, since Hh invited me out and Hh knows Ay08, then Hh should invite her. Following by this analogy, I then make my way out and waited for Hh at the porch.

Out came Hh 15 minutes later with a huge smile on her face. She was looking directly at me with her chipmunk-ish smile. I ignored it and just walked towards Khan's.
"Come on Hh, you're late enough. And I am freaking hungry."
She followed behind me, and still with a huge smile carved on her face.

"Hh, you are freaking me out. Are you in audition for the next Joker or something?", I said jokingly, because everyone knows that I am the next Joker.
"So, I've talked to Ay08, seems like you guys are having problems."
"Really? That's news to me."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Umm..no. I just want to eat now."
Then Hh pulled a long face, a manifestation of her dissatisfaction I presumed.

Hh began sneezing.
"Told you that you are wearing a bit thin."
"Shut up. Let's just go to Khan's. Walk faster."
I then unbuttoned my jacket and put it on her.
She then looked at me and said,
"Now I know why she likes you. You are such a nice guy."

That line, it gave a direct hit to my emotional chord. It's true, I am a nice guy, and treating Ay08 like this, it's out of my character. This pains me. I can't find either logic or reasoning behind this. I then took out my phone and began calling someone.
"What are you doing Jack?"
"Being nice."

Dear readers,
Sorry for the long delay. I was about to write Season 3 Episode 7, but then something really important happened. It is imperative that I settle it first before I began writing again. To put it simply, I was addicted to it. Yes my fellow friends, you guessed it right....Street Fighter 4 is upon us.

This entry won't be a review of this awesome game, because, lets face it, everyone knows how awesome it is. I was practicing Shoryuken-->FADC-->MetsuHadoken like it was my religion. And Jack, you might be wondering..."That's a Ryu combo, fool...I thought you are a Ken player?". Sad to say, Ryu is way awesomer than Ken in this game due to the air juggle capabilities of his Ultra.

Ken is awesome as well, but his Ultra's range is horrible. And I can't use Gouken as I am not really familiar with his play style...yet. Anyway, the best new character in this game, IMO, is Abel. He sort of reminds me of Alex (SF3), you know, a grappler + striker character. Zangief is a killer in this game. The characters that I am currently playing are: Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Dan (shotos rulee!), Abel, Zangief and Rufus. I am trying to play as Gouken as he looks pretty awesome.

Oh wait, I just pulled off a HP Shoryuken(2hits)-->FADC-->Shinryuken on a reversal hit with Ken on Hard difficulty, damn, I am awesoommee. So, any match invitation anyone? :)

Keep in mind that the full review of Street Fighter 4 will come as soon as I feel like it. :p Oh yah, and Season 3 Episode 7 will be posted next week...I promise. Hadouken!