Kare Kare

Kare Kare is a famous Filipino dish. Its main ingredients are ground peanut, meat and vegetables. Usually, people from the Philippines use peanut butter. Depending on the quality of the peanut butter used, the Kare Kare’s taste and texture depends solely on the peanut butter. Some use well grounded peanuts, now this is usually the best option if you want it pure or authentic but like I said, peanut butter will do. People use pork for the meat, but you can also use beef or fish depending on your diet but traditionally oxtail is used. The vegetables include banana bud or “puso ng saging” in tagalog. You can also use other vegetables as well. Kare Kare is always present at parties in the Philippines. This delicacy is common in events and is very delicious. The rich texture of the peanut compliments the meat and the vegetables. It is also often eaten with Fish paste or “bagoong” . If you’re looking for some Filipino food, then this will certainly satisfy your appetite. It’s a culture in the Philippines to prepare Kare Kare during important occasions.

Kare Kare is a yummy delicacy. A lot of foreigners who tried it also loved its taste. Some even order it each time they visit the Philippines. Its growing popularity among foreigners is very strong and they really love to eat Kare Kare. If you haven’t tried this famous dish then perhaps you may want to try this recipe. If you’re not in the Philippines, you can get the ingredients online and watch or read some tutorials on how to cook it. It’s really good and you will really be satisfied with its unique flavor and taste. Your palate will surely love it.

Ingredients for Kare Kare:

  • 2 1/2 lbs Pork or Beef hocks or Ox tail ,cut into 2″ lengths ( I used beef hocks). You can also use pork belly or pork thighs.
  • 6 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 bundle sitaw or long beans (cut 3″ length)
  • 2 bundles bokchoy
  • 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
  • 1 medium onion (sliced)
  • 1 tsp achuete powder for coloring
  • 1 medium eggplant (cut into 6 pieces)
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • bagoong or shrimp paste

Watch Dogs and the Sound of Anticipation

All gamers are excited for the upcoming high tech open world game by Ubisoft. Watch Dogs is just around the corner and it’s going to be big of a hype as gamers from all around the world prepare for this new intellectual property. Whether you own a console or a PC, Watch Dogs will be available in every platform. The game’s gameplay is all there is and the open world adventure is surprisingly traditional based on some preview videos, and that’s a good thing. We all want a well polished game and we hope that this game does that on game one.

The sheer ambition of Watch Dogs is off the charts and it lets gamers think whether it will succeed or not. Positively speaking, all the videos and demos that’s been given out to the public does that. It let us explore the great and vast world of Watch Dogs and it is evidently beautiful and is really good. If you own a Ps3 or an Xbox 360 then you’ll be able to play this but it would be always better if you play this on the PC or with the PS4 if you want better graphics and performance. Having an edge to hardware is always great but we can always appreciate that Ubisoft is releasing the game for the current gen as well. This makes everybody happy because all gamers can play the game.

Watch Dogs will be out in a few weeks and pre orders are stacking up as we speak. Everybody’s excited and we sure hope that this game delivers. It’s going to be a high standard game, with GTA V’s release it’s inevitable that we compare this two games in their “open world” gameplays. For sure, Watch Dogs will be a technically challenged game but that won’t stop Ubisoft from creating a new IP. Personally, I’m glad that we are getting new IP’s because this will let gamers experience something fresh, something new, and that’s pretty much what gamers would love to do. Watch Dogs is certainly one of the most anticipated games this year and there’s no denying that many people will try this game out.

The Last Guardian is not Dead

It has been long while since we saw “The Last Guardian” and Yoshida from Sony said that the game is still in production. He wants to correct or verify that The Last Guardian is not on hiatus, as Jack Tretton has stated in some of his interviews. Yoshida said that the game is being developed and “re engineered”. Sony also apologizes as they are not yet ready to show the current state of the game. The Last Guardian has always been on people’s mind for awhile.

Many people were waiting for the release of the Last Guardian last 2011 but it seems that it was a “no show”. Many fans speculate that it became vaporware but after all of these hunches, it was officially confirmed that the Last Guardian is still in development. Fumito Ueda its director is well known for his past game titles such as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. So there’s a very high expectation of this game. There were also other speculations that The Last Guardian was moved from PS3 to PS4. They say that the “re engineering” that Sony said might be the real reason as to why they can’t show the game yet in public.

Having an ambitious game like this may be difficult to develop but we all know that Fumito Ueda knows what he’s doing and he’s definitely the only person and the Ico team that can pull this off. We don’t know when we will see the The Last Guardian but atleast we officially know that it’s still being developed. A lot of people are excited perhaps waiting a bit more won’t hurt. This is a similar situation that happened in Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3, but unlike The Last Guardian, FFXV and Kingdom Hearts 3 were finally announced last June at E3 2013. We saw new clips and short videos of these games. Sadly, The Last Guardian remains quiet but hopefully the guys at Sony will reveal to us soon enough. In reality, we can’t do anything but wait and hope for the best.

The Garden of Words

We are treated with another breathe taking anime movie, and is once again directed by the award winning director, Makoto Shinkai. Makoto Shinkai is known for his past film works like the critically acclaimed 5cm Per Second. He also had other films in the past that won various awards. These anime films are Children who chase lost voices, Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in our Early Days. Now he has a new anime film entitled “Garden of Words”. This 45 minute film talks about a teenage boy who loves the rain and skips his first class each time it rains.

He also loves to make shoes, specifically shoes for women. He goes to a Japanese Garden and sits at a gazebo. He also meets a girl and she also goes to the Japanese Garden every time it rains. They share the same gazebo. Then they start to know each other and evidently they fall in love. That’s it for the plot, if you want to know more, then watch the movie. When you watch the film you’ll notice that the level of detail is very high and the lighting is superbly amazing. Makoto Shinkai never fails when it comes to the visual prowess in his films.

The garden is very well presented, the colors of the leaves,pond and the trees are amazing. The green colors are prominent and indeed, pleasing to the eyes. The rain effects are amazing and it’s not only the garden that looks stunning, even the urban areas are well detailed. Truly, everything is eye candy. Makoto Shinkai has his own style and it’s absolutely well crafted. You will see quality here. The story may be simple at first but as you watch the film you’ll be sucked into it’s narrative. The love story of this film is absolutely amazing and heart  touching. It talks about a love that binds two people despite their age difference and prejudice. The touching story will make you realize the values of life and you’ll certainly learn a thing or two by the end of the film.

Presentation and quality are really one of Makoto Shinkai’s strengths. If you’re into a great anime film then you need to watch this work of art. If you love anime then you don’t have any reason not to watch this. The film is touching, engaging, moving and inspiring. There are a lot of people who may also be able to relate to the film in a way. Better check this movie out and have some quality time with yourself or with the one you love.

Beyond: Two Souls

We all know that Quantic Dream has created a lot of creative heavily narrated games. From Indigo Prophecy to Heavy Rain, each game shows a strong narrative and unique gameplay. Heavy Rain was well received by most gamers including myself. It showed a sense of choice and on how far you’ll go for the one you loved, and the ending was great, it had a twist. Now Quantic has a new game recently released and it’s called Beyond: Two Souls. In this game you control a girl that possesses or is accompanied by a supernatural being called Aiden and because of this the girl doesn’t live like an “ordinary” girl.

Ever since she was a little kid she’s been a sort of “test subject” for some experiments. Some people tried to adopt her but in the end the stupid husband wanted her out of the house. I won’t give too much away of the plot. Now, the gameplay is almost like heavy rain, in which you interact with your environment with a simple press of a button. However, there are some changes here and there. An example of that is when you trigger a fighting scene, the game suddenly goes slow mow and you have to move the right stick on the direction of the attacker. Now, having changes is good but if it breaks the game then this approach should be avoided. It’s like the saying, ” if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it”.

The fighting aspect in Beyond: Two Souls is perhaps the weakest element in the game. I would rather have the battle system of Heavy Rain, in which you press certain quick time events. A quick time event can be a pain if it’s not done properly but in the case of Heavy Rain, it was done correctly. It’s a shame that Beyond: Two Souls wasn’t able to do well in terms of combat gameplay. However, when it comes to the narrative, Beyond: Two Souls works like a charm. It projects a sense of realism with today’s society. It lets you feel the world around you as it goes by day by day. You’ll also be able to know the story of the relationship with the girl and her spirit companion, Aiden.

If you love cinematic gameplay, then you’ll definitely love this game, but if you love games that you want to “play” right away or do some “gameplay” elements on the bat, then this game would be not for you. Quantic Dream is known for its cinematic core gameplay. This unique approach to gameplay may attract or detract gamers. Some gamers dig this kind of gameplay while others simply hate it. Overall, the game is an “ok” game for me. The game’s graphics are awesome for a ps3. It sure did push the PS3’s hardware in terms of visuals.

Playing Beyond: Two Souls is a treat. It all depends if you love this kind of gameplay. Some people love it and some people don’t but I’m sure that it’s a fun and beautiful game over all, aside from it’s flawed combat system. The story may quite be confusing to some at first since it doesn’t present it in chronological order. If you have a spare time you may play this game if you want and judge it for yourself. Quantic Dream is always pushing itself in the narrative aspect of games. When the medium of the game is like his then one may always ask, “Is this really a game?”. As for me, as long as it’s interactive and you need to do something in order to progress the story then this is definitely a game. As long as you enjoy games the  it’s all worthy of your time and effort.

Playstation 4 is Leading against the Xbox One

As we draw near to the launch dates of the next gen consoles, it seems that the Playstation 4 is taking the lead. Well, it’s expected because we all know that the “Xbone” or Xbox One blew it. Microsoft is mostly doing everything they can just to redeem themselves. The things that happened last E3 2013 certainly took its toll on the Xbox One, and today they are just reaping what they sow. Microsoft had restrictive policies and have become power and money hungry. Don’t get me wrong, all companies do what they can to boost up sales and make profit, but Microsoft’s mistake was they were not clear with their messaging and did a lot of stupid and restrictive policies with their next gen console. Fortunately, when they realized that the Xbone or Xbox one was losing to Sony in terms of the early pre orders, they have no choice but to trash those restrictive policies. Even so, they weren’t able to defeat Sony in the pre order list. Sony’s Playstation 4 pre orders are doing great during post E3.  Hence, it is safe to say that the Playstation 4 won the gaming community’s hearts. It is now October and Playstation 4 is still on the lead. Many gaming websites confirmed that the lead platform is the Playstation 4. They also did some research and the results showed that most people plan to buy a ps4 because of its “sheer power”. Technically, the Playstation 4 is more powerful than the Xbox One. Its memory is more superior than the Xbox one. The games for Playstation 4 are also more “pretty” looking than the Xbox One. There are a lot of gamers that prefer the PS4 because of that aspect alone. This just shows that Microsoft became too arrogant in the past few months and made a realization that they must not forcing or choking their customers with those stupid and redundant polices. Now, they were able to reverse all that because if they don’t then I believe they will shut down as a company.

 There’s no denying that Sony’s Playstation 4 is more beautiful, powerful, and cheaper than the “Xbone”or Xbox One. Plus, Sony supports gamers, unlike Microsoft who wants to milk out every single penny out of their consumers. If you’re a smart gamer or a person who has common sense, then you will certainly choose the PS4. Microsoft’s Xbox One is much more “weaker” of a console and it’s a lot more expensive. No doubt about it, the Playstation 4 will certainly be the leading console in this coming generation.  -Anton Lagda

The Playstation 4 is always the better one. People who have pre ordered the console will certainly be excited on launch date. The PS4 is scehduled to be out this Novemeber, so you fans should be pretty excited about that. Sony is known for delivering its customers high quality products. Rest assured that the Playstation 4 will give you the best gaming experience ever.

The Best Android Tablets under $300

Tablets are quite popular nowadays and it’s expanding more as we know it. Androids are smaller than your typical Ipad. People sometimes prefer smaller for many reasons and perhaps it’s safe to say portability. Tablets get thinner and smaller, if you’re on a look out for these cool gadgets especially for the upcoming holidays, then this would be a good “guide” for you.

Earlier this week, Amazon finally unveiled its latest line of tablets, dubbed Kindle Fire HDX. While the 8.9-inch model does offer a higher resolution display, the 7-inch Fire HDX is still on-par with the Nexus 7, thanks to its 1920×1200 screen. Amazon is boasting about the gaming prowess of the Fire HDX, as the Adreno 330 GPU is reportedly four times faster than the Kindle Fire HD. And despite its extremely fast–for a tablet–2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, the Fire HDX still offers 11 hours of battery life (17 hours if you’re just reading). Other new features include a 720p front-facing camera and Amazon’s Fire 3.0 operating system.

The 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX ships October 18 for $229 (16GB) and $269 (32GB).

While there’s obviously plenty of reasons to go with Amazon’s newly announced tablet, don’t forget about the new Kindle Fire HD. The updated version of the last-gen tablet features a 1280×800 resolution display, 1GB of RAM, and 10 hours of battery life. The 8GB Kindle FIre HD has an MSRP of $139, while the 16GB model will set you back $169. Both versions ship on October 2.

So if you have already made up your mind, then we hope you’ll choose the best one that would apply to your needs and budget.

 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Indie games are quite popular because of its simplistic nature and level of quality it brings to gamers, and that’s a good thing. To be frank, some indie games are even better than some triple A budgeted game. There are a lot of people who love indie games because they get to experience quality gaming. Recently, I was able to play Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, now this game certainly rocks. This shows that you don’t need a long game to make a great game. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons defines what it means of quality over quantity. You’ll really enjoy the gameplay of this game. Basically, you control both brothers with the left and right analog stick. Then you press the shoulder button that corresponds with each brother. These shoulder buttons does the “action” command in the game. The graphics are also amazing. Using the unreal engine 3, the world of Brothers: A Tale of Two sons becomes more vibrant. When you play this game, you’ll notice the simple but beautiful scenery and locations.

This game does a great job with the pacing and it lets you improve as you embark your quest in obtaining a cure for your dying father. What’s great about this game is that it’s not a mindless shooter nor a boring third person slasher. It’s more of a puzzle solver game, although the puzzles are not that difficult it makes up with its fun mechanics in solving puzzles. This game is indeed worthy of your time and money. There are  a lot of triple A games out their but I have never experienced such a wonderful and emotional game. I highly recommend this game for those who are not afraid of trying something new. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons shows not only puzzles but also a grand adventure and it mirrors a sense of “mistake” in human reality. Better try this game out, it’s available on the Playstation store. Spending time with this game is totally worth it.

Drakengard 3

Square Enix just announced a surprising news, Drakengard 3 is coming to the west in 2014. The Drakengard series has attracted a lot of fans both in the East and West side of the world. It’s been awhile since Drakengard 2, hearing this great news on having a new game in the series is indeed a love letter to all the fans. Drakengard 3 will be a prequel to Drakengard and Drakengard 2. The game will be available for Playstation 3. This is a good swan song for the console. The game is set in a medieval world where six sister goddesses hold dominion over the world. The world however, is thrown into disarray when the eldest sister attempts to murder the others with the help of her dragon companion. This is some information about the plot in the game. Hopefully, we will be able to get more news as we approach 2014. If you love dragons then you will certainly love this game. This is a hack and slash game and if you are fan of that, then it’s safe to say that you’ll enjoy this game.

Fighting alongside your dragon is always a treat in this game. Based on some of the images and footage of the game, we were able to see all the sisters. Many fans are excited about this game and they can certainly wait and hope for the best. Based on what we know so far, this game is indeed interesting. Set in the world of goddesses and dragons, you’ll definitely be intrigued with the story, especially because the main protagonist is the eldest sister “Zero”. She intends to kill all her sisters of which is not yet fully explained as to why or what is her reason for this, but we are sure on one thing, that she is aided by Mikhail, a great dragon. If you’re a fan of this type of games, then better check this one out when it comes out. This is great news indeed and gamers out their and fans of the series will have fun with it.

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag

Assassin’s Creed has always been a popular franchise. Now, with its latest game just around the corner, Ubisoft is ready to let the fans of the franchise explore a new world. Indeed, this will be a “new” experience because the new game focuses on pirates and exploring the sea. This new game is called Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. Set to be released at the end of October and November 2013, gamers will be able to experience on how to become a pirate and rule the seven seas. Even though this is a pirate themed game, there will always be the “classic” Assassin’s Creed gameplay, such as, doing side missions and stealth missions. Players will be able to land on islands and do all the required or side quest missions. This new “pirate” gameplay is very engaging indeed. You’ll be able to control your very own ship and also engage skirmishes with other pirate ships. You’ll be controlling Edward Kenway, he’s the grandfather of Connor, the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed 3 and he is also the father of the antagonist, Haytham Kenway also in Assassin’s Creed 3.

Unlike the ship gameplay in Assassin’s Creed 3, this game is open world and you can freely explore the high seas with your ship. Ubisoft’s team made sure that you’ll be able to explore these elements in the game right on the bat. You’ll be able to do hunting as well in this game. Much like Assassin’s Creed 3, hunting is included but in Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag, hunting is better and bigger. You can also harpoon sharks and whales in this game. Exploring the world and having an adventure in Assassin’s Creed 4 Black flag is definitely different than its predecessor. It’s more vast and the pirate ship battles are pretty fun. You can also dive beneath the ocean depths and discover hidden treasures. Fans of the series are definitely excited with all these “new” gameplay elements. There are demos available for the game via youtube and other gaming websites. Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag is schduled to be released in October and November 2013.