In a society that is driven by cinema we are only exposed to a very limited spectrum of visual art. As the title states this is the Asian Invasion, in an attempt to broaden some readers horizons these articles will explore the cinema of mainly Japan, China and South Korea.
To start this edition off I am pleased to introduce to you a film called Duelist (형사 (Hyeong-sa)) which was released by Korea Pictures in 2005. This is a rare gem to find as legitimate copies it no longer appear to be avaliable in Region 1 or 9 coding, which is unfortunate for those of us in N America, hopefully in the the future this will change. That or a person purchases a Region Free DVD player, but this diverts us from our main story.
Set years ago in the era of th Josean Dynasty, Nam Sun (Ha Ji-Wan - Heroine) and Detective Ahn (Ahn Sung-kee) are Father-daughter cops who are trying to break up a counterfeiting ring. A ring that is not only printing their own money but plan to use it to destroy the economy and lead to the eventual over throwing of the Government. This Coup d’etat is secretly being directed by the Defense Minister. During their investigation, these officers encounter an Assassin (employed by the Minister) several times along the way whom they call Sad Eyes (Kang Dong-wan - Villain) who definately has the skills to pay the bills. Through these encounter Nam Sun and Sad Eyes fall in love. But when it is crunch time will love or duty prevail?! This is basically you age old story of Girl tries to Ninja kick the Crap outta Boy, Girl falls in love with Boy from the wrong side of the tracks, Boy helps Girl bring down the Defense Ministers Plot for Global Domination…..well Global Domination of Korea.
I rather enjoyed the way this movie flowed. The martial arts and sword play through out are phenominal and there is plenty of it. It is not over the top like some movies, I found it to be quite balanced. This movie seems to have everything Romance, Action and even a little bit of Comedy provided by everones favorite Agent of the People, Detective Ahn. Seeing as I cannot figure out how to add a video clip I will include the URL for the trailers via Youtube @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8opyOVs9kE
Congrats to Ronin again for the correct guess. I see the beginnings of a streak.
Mama Goose lives in So Cal with her husband Goose, her two daughters and young son. Since we know lots about her because she is so chatty and fun on the forums, I decided to tell you some of the quirky things about MG. Did you know she has a thing for counting, stairs that is? It’s true. She can tell you the number of stairs in every house/apartment she has lived in. I guess if someone tries to steal one of her stairs, she’d be the first to know. She used to be a SIMS addict years ago and to this day she can’t shake the urge to say things like “parlay frevola” or “Araikit” and “Anda wobinunsa” in public. (I just smile and nod at these times.) She loves getting packages in the mail and will even order stuff online and pay the shipping just to have something to open. And did you know she always puts her makeup on in the car? Well, regardless, we love MG to death. <3 Enjoy her picture.
Short, sweet, to the point - and oh, so cool! R6V delivers a second map pack to Rainbow Six players. . .right NOW.
Here’s the official description:
Not to be outdone by the Red Edition, the award winning development team for Rainbow Six Vegas continues to raise the stakes on the game TeamXbox called the “Multiplayer Game of the year” with the all new Player’s pack: Black Edition. This pack includes 5 maps; 3 new never before seen maps like Red Lotus and Wartown, a reduxed version of Streets, and a very special appearance by an original classic, PRESIDIO from the award-winning Rainbow Six 3. Place your bets on the Player’s Packs: Black Edition to complete the ultimate Vegas experience.
Sounds pretty cool. The only potential negative to this is that in this “official” description, the Black Edition COMPLETES the Vegas experience. . .does that mean this is it for R6V DLC? Well, for now - enjoy the new maps - especially Presidio. . .an all-time great!
Last week, a representative for SouthPeak (creators of Two Worlds) told GamingTalkHQ that Two Worlds would be available for the Xbox 360 and PC on July 31st. Amazon, Gamestop/EB Games, and other online retailers have since updated their release dates to that day. So it looks like SoL will have its crack at Two Worlds before August (the last release date mentioned). . .barely, anyway.
Also of note is that Collector’s Editions of Two Worlds were announced for both the PC and the 360. While all the 360 has right now is cover art, the extras for the PC have been revealed. Check them out after the break: (more…)
Major Nelson recently updated his blog with this past week’s Xbox LIVE Activity. The usual hits are there: Gears of War is still the #1 played game overall, Halo 2 is still the top title for the original Xbox and Prince of Persia held onto its XBLA crown for another week. What is news is the slow emergence of Shadowrun, which after seeing its demo released to the public, managed to finally find its way to the LIVE Top Ten list. The big question now is how long it can sustain its ascension. Certainly Microsoft is hoping it will, hoping it might silence some of the games many critics. What’s interesting is that the Shadowun demo is still so highly played.
In other notable news, Crackdown began it’s rather abrupt drop in LIVE Activity, and Band of Bugs, despite a lot of raves from online gaming sites, didn’t debut so hot onto the XBLA. It will be very interesting to keep an eye on the Forza Motorsport/Rainbow Six battle. . .Rainbow Six has certainly shown great longevity, and DiRT will be likely rear its dirty ugly head into the list next week. We’ll have to see if Forza can hold on to its “first loser” status. Here’s the 360 top ten, be sure to check out the full list after the break:
Xbox 360 Top Live Titles 1 Gears of War
2 Forza Motorsport 2
3 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
4 Guitar Hero II
5 Shadowrun Demo
6 Call Of Duty 3
7 Tenchu Z Demo
8 Prince of Persia
9 Crackdown
10 Shadowrun (more…)
1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Haagen Daz Strawberry
2. Book genre you read the most. Legal Thrillers
3. Best subforum is. . .? SoL Survivor
4. Favorite founder and why? Goof…umm cuz he’s the ruller of the entire galaxy and if I say otherwise he’ll zap me!! (The lawyers will just sue or bore me with legal jargon and Heat will… well he’s so unpredictable!)
5. Bath or shower? Depends on how much time I have…
6. Do you prefer video games with guns, cars, piñatas, or martial arts weapons? Guns
7. If you were to play a video game for 24 hours straight what would it be? Depends…if I got to play with SoLers…Halo, but by myself? Something lame like Tetris or Hexic.
8. What color do you wear most often? Green
9. Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks? Salty
10. Is playing guitar hero while standing considered exercise? Only if you’re Vuel…and nobody’s watching.
Bioshock has yet to get much buzz within Sword of Laban, and with no multiplayer attached - perhaps deservedly so. But still, the game looks to revolutionize the FPS genre. The subject of this video is the open-ended nature of the gameplay. Enjoy! And be sure to discuss below what you think of the game from what you’ve heard and how you think it’ll fare coming out a month before Halo 3 and Half-Life: Orange Box.
Well, this week we’re checking out how those in SoL are faring in Forza Motorsport 2. To say the least, quite well.
Forza Motorsport 2 is filled with hardcore car enthusiasts, and so something’s to be said when all eight of SoL’s representatives to the game are currently ranked among the top 50 percentile in Career mode. Below is a list of current Forza 2 players along with their career rank. You can also check out their gamer tags on the Bar of Fame to the left!
Special recognitions definitely need to be handed out here. First off - BOO has been an unstoppable beast in the Forza community, and has represented SoL with grace! DT also deserves great recognition, as his career rank still holds up so well, though he’s been out of commission now for a couple weeks. WOW!
So that’s it for this week, kids! Keep playing hard and having fun. . .you never know when you’ll end up in an edition of Who’s Playing What!
It’s pretty. The animations are the smoothest you’ve ever seen. It’s not another WWII shooter. And now the biggest claim of all - it looks better than the Killzone “demo.” Yep, Call of Duty 4 looks to royally impress. Check out the video, then share your thoughts in the comments section.
Alrighty all you Geometry Wars nuts. . .now you can have the game on your laptop or home computer, wherever you go. . .because Geometry Wars is now available through Steam. (You can download it here.) Through June 22, you can download the game at the reduced price of $2.50. Not a bad bit of pocket change for such a great game! After June 22, the price will be $3.95. System Requirements are posted on the link above, along with fairly easy download instructions. Sorry, no achievements available for this game. . .still, though - enjoy!
In a society that is driven by cinema we are only exposed to a very limited spectrum of visual art. As the title states this is the Asian Invasion, in an attempt to broaden some readers horizons these articles will explore the cinema of mainly Japan, China and South Korea. 
Short, sweet, to the point - and oh, so cool! R6V delivers a second map pack to Rainbow Six players. . .right NOW.
Last week, a representative for SouthPeak (creators of Two Worlds) told GamingTalkHQ that Two Worlds would be available for the Xbox 360 and PC on July 31st. Amazon, Gamestop/EB Games, and other online retailers have since updated their release dates to that day. So it looks like SoL will have its crack at Two Worlds before August (the last release date mentioned). . .barely, anyway.
Major Nelson recently updated his blog with this past week’s Xbox LIVE Activity. The usual hits are there: Gears of War is still the #1 played game overall, Halo 2 is still the top title for the original Xbox and Prince of Persia held onto its XBLA crown for another week. What is news is the slow emergence of Shadowrun, which after seeing its demo released to the public, managed to finally find its way to the LIVE Top Ten list. The big question now is how long it can sustain its ascension. Certainly Microsoft is hoping it will, hoping it might silence some of the games many critics. What’s interesting is that the Shadowun demo is still so highly played.
Well, this week we’re checking out how those in SoL are faring in Forza Motorsport 2. To say the least, quite well.
Alrighty all you Geometry Wars nuts. . .now you can have the game on your laptop or home computer, wherever you go. . .because Geometry Wars is now available through Steam. (You can download it 
