LG 42PA4520 Plasma TV Review

The TV is huge and the back part is made of metal which made it really heavy. I wasn’t able to remove it from the box without help. The stand requires some assembly since it has a tilting mechanism. I was thinking of buying a TV rack with a mount but now I’m not sure if there’s a mount that can support this TV hehe. Buttons are located at the lower left part. I haven’t tried them yet and there is no reason to use them since you can do everything with the remote. Most of the reviews I read said that the screen is reflective and it should be located in a dark room to lessen the reflection. My TV is located just besides the window and I can see the picture just fine. The only reflection I see is when the screen is black and I see myself hahaha. The bottom part of the bezel has a red accent to it which I think is the only difference from the regular PA4500 model.

The UI is very LG with white, silver and pink accents. It is very easy to calibrate since it has a Picture Wizard which helps you fine tune the settings. Connecting the TV with standard definition cable box was easy but you need to buy a quick connect converter since it doesn’t include one. Coaxial is superior to RCA, so using coaxial cable from the cable box to the TV is a must.

TVs nowadays play movies via USB. This TV supports mosts formats but playing large movies requires loading for at least 30+ seconds. We have an Xtreamer Elvira which is faster so we use that instead. HD Movies still look HD even at 720p. I haven’t tried the TV with a PS3 or XBox 360 yet.

Overall, the TV works great and we’re just waiting for the electric bill to come in and give the final verdict 😀

Persona 4 Golden Review

Any PSVita user should play this game and I mean it! This game is so huge and so complex that I never played a game like this in my life.

Persona 4 Golden is a remastered PS2 game for the PSVita. It even cost less than the regular Vita game and IT IS SO AWESOME!

The game starts a mysterious velvet car with a freaky man and a pretty woman and they’ll introduce themselves as witness and assistance to your destiny. Persona 4 Golden is like a TV show which lets you somewhat control the story.

The game plays on a per day basis which lets you spend time in events or people in your social link. A social link is needed for you to become strnger. If you’re OC like me, this game will freak you out. You need to schedule what you want to do for future days but sometimes the game introduces a new feature, event or person that you need to take care off. You need to pick which event or person you want to spend time with most of the time and I always choose women first hahaha.

Character development is extreme in this game. I promise you that you’ll care for most of the characters in Persona 4 Golden. I’m almost half in the game and I still need to max out about 60% of the social links I have.

The game has two worlds. The real world and the TV world. The real world has mostly all social links and events and the TV world has the dungeons and Teddie.

Dungeon crawling are sometimes dragging since mostly you’re looking for chests and golden hands. Golden hand monsters are rich in EXP and Money and they are plenty per floor. You’re not required to finish the dungeon in one go. The game will let you go back to the real world if you need to replenish supplies and heath.

Most players have timed in 100+ hours before finishing. I think I’ll reach that time or more because I want to max out the social links before the New Game+. I’ll update this post once I finish the game.

Merry Christmas to all!

While everyone is fast asleep. I’m fixing my dad’s laptop. From cleaning the hardware to installing Windows 7. I’ll be selling the laptop at work and hopefully make enough money to make a smile to dad’s face.

Asus 2.2ghz pentium duo, 2,5gb ram and 300gb hdd. any buyers?

We have been busy all weekend. We visited dad and our grandmothers at Tarlac. That was the first time we drove there and it was very tiring but the look on Geoff’s face when he saw the farm animals was worth it. Also, good news to Geoff because he’ll have a new yaya for the new year courtesy of Ate Sang. Hopefully she’ll last longer than 6 months. Please please please…

Merry Christmas to all!

Old Skul Games

Me and my wife watched Wreck It Ralph last month and it was awesome. For a gamer, that movie showed a lot of reference from past games. It even has the phrase “Aeris is alive!!” in one of the scenes. That movie will make you want to play Mario Bros. 2 in your big old NES.

I wish I still have my old game consoles. I wasn’t the type of kid that collects stuff. I used to have NES, Gameboy, Super Family Computer, Gameboy Advance, PSX, PS2 and PS3. All of them were the first version of the hardware.

I was able to play SNES, Sega Saturn, N64 and XBox in a rental shop. That shop consumed my life hahaha. I spent more time there than home. I watch other people play when I don’t have money. I even stole money from my Mom just to play there and I lost my first bike because I was busy playing. My dad said he will never buy me another bike hahaha. I played and finished Final Fantasy VI (I was FF3 before) at that shop and I finished a lot of RPGs there. That shop fueled my gaming needs back then.

Retro video games are awesome and should be experienced by everyone. The feel of adventure from those games are not found in most games today. Most games are into realism and money making features.

Before in Resident Evil (1 to 3). Finishing the game will open up new clothes for the player, new modes and infinite weapons. Now you have to buy them to unlock it. How crazy is that?

Now I have a DS, PSP and PSVita. Handhelds are what you need when you have a very active baby boy. I don’t have time to turn on the TV and setup a game console anymore. Maybe I’ll get back to consoles when Geoff turns 3 years old. 🙂

PSVita Review

My gift to myself is a Playstation Vita. The unit only cost Php 9,900 but I got the bundle for 14.4k with a free game and 16gb memory card.

Hardware:

The OLED screen looks amazing and I noticed the blotches that some Vita owners are complaining about. It doesn’t really effect gameplay or usage but it is noticable in a low lit room. I have come to accept this slight side effect since most of the game time this system is getting is at night in the master’s bedroom.

I have the brightness set to the lowest setting and it’s still bright. The colors are accurate and playing Persona 4 The Golden shows what the OLED screen can do. I’ll post my review of the game next post. 🙂

The face buttons feel different when you press them. It’s not like the soft press from the PSP and DS. It has a clicky feel which is weird since I got accustomed to Sony’s controllers since the first iteration of PS1.

The select and start buttons are too small for my fingers to press and I wish the next revision will have them below the screen.

The stereo jack is placed at the bottom which is sad since you have to remove it from the pouch or sleeve when listening to music.

My L button had a squeaky noise when pressing it. You’ll need to loosen a screw at the back near the button to release some tension from it. Once done, the squeakyness will be gone.

You’ll need to practice not to touch the back touch pad since most games and apps uses it. I’m thinking of buying a grip attachment for my PSVita since long use will strain your hands.

Overall the hardware is great and it has a premium feel to it. I feel the unit will stand a few years of abuse from me hehe.

Software:

The UI is 100% dependent to touch by default. A single option will enable face button controls that was introduced in firmware 1.80+.

If you are used to the XMB menu from the PSP and PS3 then you’ll have a fun time figuring out how to use the Bubble menu in the PSVita. Opening a bubble will go the LiveArea where it shows the start game/app, the website link, updates and recent accomplishments from you and your friends. You need to do a peeling gesture to close an app and be carefull since the system will not prompt you that it will close the app. So any unsaved game is just a peel away.

Pressing the home button while in the bubble menu will open a useless menu where all open apps are grouped into pages. This is helpful if you have a lot of apps opened but I said useless since swiping left and right in the bubble menu seems just as fast and you don’t need to press a button in the process.

The system will save your playthrough before shutting down due to low battery. Once charging, the system will load the same state is was before shutting down. I think it will only happen while it is in sleep state.

I’m having fun with my PSVita and if you guys are planning to buy one. Make sure to get a PS+ subscription to get 6 free games. I only have 1 physical game which is Persona 4 The Golden and the rest are all digital. Also, buy either a 16gb or 32gb memory card. 4gb and 8gb cards are not recommended if you have PS+ since will fill out with just a game or two. Uncharted Golden Abyss is almost 3gb and Gravity Rush is 1.5gb. Your tiny 4gb card can’t carry both those awesome games. 🙂

My game collection as of now:

Physical: Persona 4 The Golden

Digital: Uncharted Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, Mutant Blop Attacks!, Jet Set Radio and Final Fantasy Tastic

Hello world!

Welcome to my blog!

I’ll try my best to post news, previews and reviews of video games.

Most reviews will propably be more about PSVita. I’ll post my review of the hardware on my next post.

Thanks!