Friday, October 3, 2014

30 NES Games From My Childhood [Listicle]

Credit: Wikipedia
Gaming made up a big part of my childhood. Alongside Saturday cartoon binge-watching sessions and playing with an assortment of toys, I was lucky enough to have gotten a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES for most people) as a kid growing up.

I spent hours a day playing on that console when school was out. Fun times. The graphics were far from the spectacular imagery kids of today probably take for granted (to be fair, I also took for granted the relatively spectacular graphics of my time as a kid) and the sounds weren't exactly orchestral quality, but they were memorable. I'd even go so far to say that there exists a charm to them that many of today's games routinely utilize pixelated graphics and chiptune music even when even the most basic of today's smartphones can push Playstation 1-level graphics (i.e. full 3D with bells and whistles).

Monday, August 11, 2014

"Holy Bootleg, Batman!" [Sheng Yuan Batman Set]

With the exception of Superman, Batman, and Zod, most of the Super Heroes sets we've seen so far in this small corner of the internet mostly contained Marvel characters. Whether that's indicative of bootleg makers' view of the market, in that they think they'd sell more units with Marvel characters than DC characters, is a good topic for discussion.

There's no doubt, though, that DC characters have a solid following, and their long and storied publication history means that at least some of DC's staples will resonate with people from all walks of life. Batman is one of those characters, and Sheng Yuan is looking to capitalize on that.

Friday, July 25, 2014

The Super Heroes Set We Don't Deserve [Lele Super Heroes Set]

Because superheroes are absolutely in vogue lately, it's hardly surprising to see another bootleg minifig maker enter the scene, hot on the heels of Decool and SY. Today we're looking at Lele's own Super Heroes set. Is it any good? What secrets lie hidden in these small paperback-sized boxes? The answers will surprise you! (Not really, I just wanted to try my hand at a viral post-style lede.)

Monday, July 7, 2014

Decool Super Heroes Set 1 [Toy Impressions]

Here's Decool's answer to SY's Super Heroes set. If I recall correctly, these two sets came to our shores within days of each other. Fierce competition between bootleg makers, who would'a thunk it, eh? I ain't complaining, though, competition is good, the more options there are, the better.

Pricing is still at PhP 30 (USD 0.69) per minifig when bought as a set. That's a bit higher than the SY minifigs that retails for as low as PhP 25 (USD 0.57) per minifig. These are, again, Divisoria prices. If you plan to buy each separately, the prices bump up to PhP 50 (USD 1.15) per piece.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Decool Iron Man Set 1 [Toy Impressions]

If you need proof of how great and charismatic an actor Robert Downey Jr. is, the Iron Man movie is it. Before that film, only comic geeks are familiar with the character. Even in movie media circles, the general consensus is that Marvel Studios took a big risk in making that movie, knowing full well that Iron Man isn't as popular to the general public as, say, Wolverine or Spider-man.

Not only did RDJ fully embrace and own the role, he turned Iron Man into a household name, as well as a heavy merchandise-selling machine. Today we'll be looking at Decool's Iron Man-themed minifig set.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Decool (Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles Set [Toy Impressions]

Talk about a comeback. As a kid, I enjoyed watching the original TMNT, though the series itself, looking at it today from a non-nostalgic perspective, feels a bit dated. Must be the lingo Michelangelo used. I can't recall the last time I heard "cowabunga" used in everyday conversation.

But the basic concept is solid enough that producers thought it might still be a hit today, they just need to update the visuals and feel for today's generation. Boy were they right. Not only did the rebooted TMNT become a hit among kids (my nephews are all over that stuff), it's such a hit that Lego gave it their own stamp of approval and acquired the license to create sets based off of it.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Quick and Dirty Streaming From Computer To Your Android or iOS Device [Tips]

Credit: The Guardian
Sometimes you just want to lie down and watch movies from the comfort of your bed instead of sitting down in front of your computer. If you have a laptop, go nuts, bring over the laptop to your bed and watch away. If you have a desktop, though, good luck with that. If you have a mobile device, just load it up with your movies and you're set, right?

But sometimes you simply just run out of space on your device. Sometimes people opt to be more economical and choose say, an 8 GB model and pocket the savings. Or it could simply be that you have more content you want to put in your device than what it could hold. Between apps and music alone, your device could already be reaching its max capacity, and you still want to shoehorn in a whole season of Game of Thrones to watch before you go to sleep.

Why not stream those bad boys and save space instead of reshuffling your device's files over and over? If you have a Wi-Fi router in place, then you're almost there.