In the wild, mouse at the ready, hunting down links
I finally got my hands on a copy of Knights of the Old Republic. The PC version of the highly-rated game was released last November but as is my wont, I waited until BioWare put out a couple of patches before getting it. (It also took me this long to get over my Prequel-caused aversion to All Things Star Wars.)
I had quite a bit of trouble finding the game locally. There are only a few local retailers that sell original copies of games and most had sold out their stocks of KotOR. I was close to getting one of those Thai-packaged versions on eBay when I managed to find a local retailer with stocks of the game. I ordered the game from Klang-based retailer PCGame Dotcom on Thursday, deposited the amount due (RM119, fact fans) into the company’s bank account on Friday morning and got the game the very next evening.
The game comes in a compact box. Being something of a packrat, I keep everything — I have quite a collection of twist ties — so I appreciate the fact this doesn’t take much space.
The back of the package has the following blurb:
Choose Your Path
It is four thousand years before the Galactic Empire and hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith. You are the last hope of the Jedi Order. Can you master the awesome power of the Force on your quest to save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side? Hero or villain, savior or conqueror … you alone will determine the destiny of the entire galaxy!”
What goes unmentioned is that no matter what you do, no matter which path you take, one thing remains the same: Han no longer shoots Greedo first.
The lower left-hand corner has the following statement:
Asia Pacific Edition
Not for Sale in North America, South America, Europe or Japan.
The statement goes on to sternly warn:
Any attempt to export or sell this product in America or Europe will result in criminal and/or civil action under applicable laws.
Ominously, they don’t specify whether the threatened civil action includes George Lucas making further revisions to the original Star Wars trilogy.
The bottom of the package lists the minimum and recommended system requirements along with the supported graphic chipsets. There’s also this message:
I don’t really see the point of that notice since it doesn’t state a) what copy protection technology is being used — it’s SecuROM — and more importantly, b) what hardware or software is incompatible with that copy protection scheme. That would go a long way in preventing this sort of situation.
I’ll post more about the game once I’ve installed all 4GB of it.
Assuming, of course, SecuROM doesn’t screw me.
Posted in Games.
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– Sunday, September 12, 2004
United scored another late goal to draw 2-2 with Bolton at the Reebok Stadium. (Reports: BBC, ManUtd.com, Soccernet.)
Van Nistelrooy and Brown both played their first matches of the season while summer signing Gabriel Heinze finally made his debut. (The Daily Mirror tut-tuted that the Argentinian defender had cost United over half a million pounds in wages before playing this match.) Van Nistelrooy wasn’t as sharp as he usually is but I suppose that’s understandable considering he was rushed back into action. Both Heinze and Brown fared well, though.
The match itself would have been forgettable but for two remarkable goals in the final minutes. United once again had a lot of possession but couldn’t get any penetration in the final third of the field. Indeed, United barely tested the Bolton keeper in the first half. Scholes had a shot charged down in the 34th minute but otherwise most of United’s attacks petered out when passes went astray or one-twos went one without the two.
United finally broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute when Silvestre headed Giggs’ corner invitingly into the six-yard box for Heinze to hook into the net (pix). (Gary Neville will no doubt feel his status as United’s highest-scoring fullback will now be under serious threat.)
The lead didn’t last long as Bolton levelled six minutes after the break. An Okocha pass found its way to Nolan who scored with his head after his first attempt was saved by Howard. United’s defenders were left claiming in vain for offside but I don’t think they had a case.
Defence that offends
United’s defence just went to pieces after the goal with Silvestre being the main culprit. Ferguson should keep a videotape of the Frenchman’s horrible second-half performance to use as leverage during contract renegotiations. The defender gave the ball away in dangerous positions twice and then had a hand in one of the most farcical goals United have ever conceded.
Ferdinand, challenging Heinze for a header in the United box, clattered into Howard when the keeper tried to collect the ball. Silvestre tried to clear the resulting loose ball but he was inadvertently dispossessed when Howard instinctively swatted the ball away. Ferdinand reacted the quickest to that comedy of errors to gleefully score one of the easiest goals of his 17-year professional career. Howard was left pounding the ground in frustration with his fists while Silvestre could only stare in disbelief at the ball nestling in the back of the net.
Game over? No, Bolton managed to come up with something equally farcical to gift United the equaliser in the final moments of injury-time. A short corner by Giggs led to a Ronaldo cross and Smith dove to head the ball into the middle of the packed six-yard area. The ball rebounded off Bellion’s arm and this led to another comical piece of defending. Bolton defender Hunt, shielding the loose ball from Bellion, was expecting his keeper to collect the ball while his keeper was expecting his defender to clear it. Both were left nonplussed when the ball spun, hit Hunt and rebounded into the net.
United snatched a point but worryingly, this is one of the worst starts the team has made. I know, I know. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. But United aren’t playing well right now and the league leaders, Arsenal, look absolutely rampant. The gap is now nine points and you have to keep in mind Arsenal went undefeated last season and they’re thus far unbeaten in this campaign as well. United meet Arsenal on October 24 and I think the result of that match will be absolutely crucial.
Hair apparent
One final note: Ronaldo was the only United player to stand out in this match (and not just for his attacking verve). The kid from Madeira came on in the 63th minute and earned ooh-aahs 10 minutes later. He displayed his repertoire of tricks to sucker Campo into a futile tackle then cut inside to smash a shot which Jaaskelainen did brilliantly to save (with an assist from the crossbar). ManUtd.com reports that piece of skill was sufficiently sublime to earn applause even from Bolton fans and I could understand why they were thus moved. It’s a pity ESPN’s Football Focus doesn’t have an Almost Goal of the Week award.
The other notable thing about Ronaldo today was his hairstyle. Having taken Beckham’s number and position, Ronaldo has apparently taken it upon himself to outdo Beckham’s various exotic hairstyles as well. I’m not sure what the Portuguese teenager’s current hairstyle is called but it was very … “challenging.”
(That’s the word art critics use when they don’t get it, right?)
Posted in Football.
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– Sunday, September 12, 2004
It’s about 12cm by 9cm and easily fits in a pocket. It certainly beats carrying around a hefty paper-based dictionary.
Hit the button on the side and a latch springs open to reveal a monochrome LCD screen, a keypad and navigation buttons.
Interestingly, there’s also digitized speech.
Some of my students have another model which has both Chinese and English definitions as well as additional features such as stylus input, voice recorder (to record pronunciation or to play tricks on an English tutor) and an expansion slot. The price tag? RM1000.
Ten-year-olds walking around packing a grand’s worth of hardware.
Posted in Hardware.
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– Saturday, September 11, 2004
Quotes (1, 2) from the Baldur’s Gate series. (There are spoilers so be sure to cover your eyes when you read them. Or something.)
Unsurprisingly, the best lines come from Minsc. It’s not just the words; it’s the delivery as well. But don’t just take my word for it. Sorcerer’s Place has a zipped file with 43 non-spoiler Minsc WAV files so download away and judge for yourself.
And when you’re done listening to those, be sure to check out the Xzar, Tiax and Lilacor’s voicesets as well.
“Great fun! Heh heh! Right, Boo? *squeak*”
Posted in Games.
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– Saturday, September 11, 2004
