Allan Deonarine

When I first heard about this game, I was not excited. There have been countless Batman games over the years, and almost all of them have been terrible. As a Batman fan, I was resigned to the fact that there would never be a good video game of the character I loved.

Something was different about Arkham Asylum, though. As the game got closer to release you started seeing early reviews saying that this was not just another licensed tie-in game, this game was actually good! I had to check it out. Fast forward two years later, I had finally gotten my PS3 back after an extended loan period and I wanted to play something. I wanted to play Batman: Arkham Asylum.

First thing that hits you when you boot it up is the extremely high production value. This coming from a relatively new developer, RockSteady. The chunky, hyper-stylized art direction of the characters was something I hadn't see in the Batman universe before. Though I don't agree with all of their interpretations, the vast majority of the characters looked great. The voice work in Arkham Asylum is top notch. RockSteady were smart to get Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill(yes, Luke Skywalker) to reprise their roles as Batman and The Joker from the amazing early 90's animated series. The rest of the audio makes for a suitably creepy game.

The gameplay is a great mixture of stealth, beat'em-up, detective work and environmental traversal. You never feel board, there is always something new around the next corner. The story also keeps things moving. Your objectives are clearly defined, but you are allowed to veer off the path if you so choose. Being set at Arkham also allows for a cavalcade of Batman villains to make an appearance. The sections with The Scarecrow, which makes you feel as if you are actually going insane, were particularly well done. The game has loads of collectable and riddles posed by The Riddler. It became such a compulsion of mine to collect them, that even after the game was finished, I went back and found the ones I had missed.

This is not just a great Batman game, this is just a great game. I know I'm a few years too late to the party, but I encourage you to check this game out. I'll be eagerly waiting for the sequel.

Mark Hamill as The Joker

When I first heard about this app it sounded incredible. The fact that you could actually "paint light" and take a photo of it boggled the mind.  I really wanted to try it out, but I have this irrational fear of buying apps from the app store. 

This is how I feel about buying apps

A good friend of mine had a birthday coming up and I thought it would be cool to use the app to make her a birthday card. I decided to get the app, even if I just used it for this one occasion.  The app has a clear a easy to use tutorial. I understood right away what I needed to do. The problem was execution.  It was maddening trying to figure out the right settings for my small point-and-shoot to produce legible photos. I also kept getting my finger in the shot. At first I experimented with taking some test shots of a Chapters outside, but the lack of light control rendered the photos washed out and unusable. In the end I found a dark room with a half covered lamp and a dresser for camera stability worked the best. I wish it had more characters and not just capital letters and a few shapes. You also can't combine shapes and letters in one photo, which was annoying. The results, edited together in the video above, were okay, but I'm sure with a better camera that allows for more control and an iPad, you could produce far better images. 

This is what is possible:

masvaley @ deviantart.com

My brother has recently moved into a new place and wants to set-up a good home theater. As the tech guy in the family, he comes to me for advice. From LCD vs. Plasma to refresh rates to 3D to Blu-Ray and even the newest HDMI cable specifications. It has been a blast.

Usually when I render him advice on consumer electronics, computer problems or programs I try and keep it simple and to as few steps a possible. I ask him a few questions about what he wants to do with the product, make a decision and provide a recommendation to him. This creates less work for me, because if I lay out all the options there will be ten times as many questions about the right one. As with all advice, it helps to know the what the person wants out of your answer. If it had been one of my more tech savvy friends, I may have presented a few more options and had more of a discussion as to which path they wanted to take. In the case of this latest home theater query, he has surprised me a little in that he has done some research before asking my advice. This has resulted in a lot less work on my end, as he is already familiar with what's good and what's not.

My Brother is a smart fellow, he could find out this information himself. I think he consults me just to reinforce his decision. I generally like helping people with their tech problems because it's what I love to do. Sometimes however, there is a downside to being The Tech Guy as The Oatmeal comic below illustrates. Thankfully, in my experience, these have been few and far between.

Why It's Better To Pretend You Don't Know Anything About Computers - The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

Click through to read the entire comic.

Credit: Apple Inc.

I recently upgraded to my first smartphone, an iPhone 4, after much deliberation and I fear I've sealed my fate. There were several thing I required: Makes calls, great camera with a flash, and replace my iPod Touch.  My previous phone had a great camera, which is the main reason I bought it.  Someone once told me: What takes a better photo? the really expensive camera you left at home of the one you have on you? Since then I've always tried to have good camera on my phone. I also grew tired of having to carry around two devices all the time. Being the gadget nerd that I am, I can't bring myself to buy mediocre products. That left me with two choices available in my market. The iPhone 4 and the Nexus One. I ultimately went with the iPhone because of the warranty support and the familiarity with the iOS platform.  

Which brings me to the purpose of this post. Apps. One thing I got used to from my iPod Touch was the apps. I would wake up in the morning a usually check my twitter, facebook, RSS reader apps. I didn't want to have to start all over again with a new OS and not be able to use some of my favorite apps. Now, with the iPhone 4, I have many more apps that I love including Shazam, Geocaching, Justin.tv.

Apple and the other manufactures are making their own app store and the longer you use their products the harder it is to get out. It's like they are dealing drugs and I'm jonesin' for another hit.  Perhaps I need to go off the grid for a while and attend some tech rehab....Nahh.

Inception Poster

I haven't been this excited to see a movie for a long time. I had been looking forward to Inception ever since the first trailer was released all those months ago. It did hurt that Di Caprio, Gordon-Levitt, and Nolan were involved. I recall the feeling of awe after seeing The Prestige and wondered why no one had urged me to watch it sooner. After a game of football one evening I brought it up and was reminded that The Illusionist and also came out around the same period and had very similar themes.  I guess it was a victim of bad timing and just got lost in the confusion. I've subsequently watched The Illusionist, and have to say, I prefer The Prestige.

I rarely like see movies on opening weekend due to my dislike of crowded theaters, having long wait times, and being disappointed on several occasions. The early buzz on Inception, however looked promising and I decided that I needed to see this movie as soon as possible. I was super bummed when I was unable to catch it opening night.  I knew the plot was central to the movie, so I tried to avoid spoilers wherever I could, not an easy task for someone who spends as much time online as I do. Somehow I managed and was able to scrounge up some stragglers who had not seen the film yet and watched it the following weekend.

It was probably one of the best movies I've seen all year. Good acting, Great special effects (except for one perpendicular shot), imaginative set and costume design, and amazing practical effects. I always believe that of you can do some thing practically, do it. It makes a film so much more grounded in reality. 

Example of Practical Effects: Inception Hallway Scene

What I really like about this film and good Sci-Fi films in general is the establishment of clearly defined rules of the universe and the ways in which they try and play within and the bending of those the rules. I also liked that no one used computers and, other that the dream machine, very little tech in general. It's great that a film this dense can be understood if you pay attention the first time. The information is presented clearly, not dumbed down, just laid out for you to absorbed, and I was like a sponge.  The sprinkling of humor helped break-up an otherwise serious and tense movie. Also, can I just say, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the man! His cool guy badassery combined with his bits of deadpan humor was pitch perfect. I look forward to the special features when the Blu-Ray is released.