Comics this week

Irredeemable #7- After the weakness of last issue, writer Mark Waid crank up the story this time. We find an important reason for Plutonian's rampage and the Paradigm found some very interesting things in his very cool-looking home base. Another interesting thing we get is that we finally got someone who can last a second against Plutonian without getting his head crushed like a grape. Irredeemable seems to be kicking in gear...and not a moment too soon.

What will it take?

Last week, there is a massive earthquake in Indonesia, a tsunami hit Samoa, massive floods in India due to heavy rain, floods in Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan due to tropical storms (and Japan will be joining them in a few days time), and snow hit New Zealand…in the middle of spring.

All these disasters in one week and what happened? Nothing! Talks in Bangkok right now on climate change is going nowhere, just like what happened in the recent talks in New York and at the G20 meeting.

No one is even questioning that climate change is seriously affecting the world now, but is anyone willing to do anything about the matter. No! You have to wonder if there is any hope for mankind when nothing changes even after the week of disasters.

Mini-Bernies

It’s seems Ponzi is more famous than I thought. I mean I only knew of the man and his Ponzi scheme last year when Bernie Madoff became famous but he was known to certain Singaporeans before that.

3 directors of Sunshine Empire, a multi—level marketing firm in Singapore, are on trial for running a giant Ponzi scheme that may have came to more than S$180 million. Small fry compare to what good old Bernie did but the 3 directors still faced 37 charges for falsifying accounts, making false capital declarations and running a fraudulent trading company.

A $180 million Ponzi scheme in Singapore? Yes, you know Singapore has made it when we have our own mini-Bernies.

Enough With the Complaining Already

Since SingTel won the rights to broadcast English Premier League (EPL) matches, most Singaporeans have been crying bloody murder. Currently EPL matches are broadcasted on Starcable cable and with the switch to Singtel, football fans will now have to subscribe to SingTel's mio TV.

Not only do Singaporeans have to fork out money to get a new system, we also have to pay more for the football as there is a likely price increase. Rumors are that Singtel is likely to charge $40 for the football channel as they are rumored to have paid $400 million for a 3 year right to show the EPL. That’s $133 million per year!

So it’s highly likely Singtel will charge a high price for the football channel and football-mad Singaporeans will either have to pay the price or give up watching soccer. Even in money-mad Singapore, I believe most football-mad Singaporeans will foot the bill to get their football fix.

SingTel won the rights to broadcast the EPL matches. To watch Singaporeans need to get SingTel's mio TV. And the reason SingTel was willing to pay such a high price for the rights to broadcast the EPL matches is because they believe that in the end most Singaporeans will pay whatever the price they set to watch their beloved football.

I believe they are right.

So Singaporeans should stop complaining already. If you are that upset about the price increase, then you should do what I will be doing; forgoing EPL from next season onwards. Yes, there will not be any monthly EPL review from next season onwards as I will not be getting mio TV. I have Starhub and I’m not changing because mio TV is lousy. My sister and her husband actually had a free mio subscription, but they gave it up after a few months because they say it wasn’t user-friendly and there’s wasn’t much programs on it.

So for Singaporeans angry about SingTel winning the rights to broadcast EPL matches, stop complaining already. Your choice is clear. Either pay the new fees to see your football or forgo the EPL. Stop whining and make your decision.

Overlord 2

The first Overlord game was a fun, if slightly flawed, game. There’s just something fun about being an evil overlord bringing darkness to the world. You do it by ordering your goblin-like minions about and building a Dark Tower to spread your evil. There were some problems in targeting and camera controls but ultimately it was a fun game.

I was looking forward to Overlord 2 and after playing it; I will have to say that Overlord 2 is fun but like the first Overlord, slightly disappointing.

All the fun aspects of Overlord are here. You start off weak and as the game progresses…you stay that way! The minions are the ones who do all the work and like the first game, the minions are funny and fun to control. You do missions, built up you Netherworld Tower, collect mistresses (3 of them), and destroy the Glorious Empire, bringing evil back to the land.

However just as the fun parts of Overlord are in the game, the faults of the first game are here too. At times, it is still a pain to target objects. When there are a lot of enemies around, the best way is just call your minions to destroy and kill everything. Targeting specific objects or enemies at those times are just a waste of time. The developers did improve the camera but at times I still can’t move the camera to the direction I want to look at. There also no differences conquering through domination or destruction. Very disappointing as I was hoping to conquer the elves and sent them against the humans of the Glorious Empire; what could be cooler than sending one enemy against another.

However my biggest complain about Overlord 2 is that it is just too similar to Overlord. So similar that at times I feel like I was playing an expansion and not a sequel. Despite my misgivings, I will still recommend Overlord 2. The missions are for the most part fun to play (the mission to collect the green hive was the best in my view) and at certain points you even play as a minion to complete the mission. Overlord 2 is flawed but it is still fun. Afterall, how many games out there allow you to collect a harem and spread evil?

If you are still wondering about Overlord 2, then I suggest you can get the first Overlord game. If you love the first game, you will love Overlord 2. If you hate the first game, nothing in Overlord 2 will change your mind. That ultimately is the best, and the worst, part about Overlord 2.

Comics this week

Dark Reign: The Hood #5- An interesting mini-series that ended on a whimper. That in essence is Dark Reign: The Hood. I can understand that at the end Parker Robbins is further down the magical path than ever before but what the hell happened at the end. That showdown with Force makes no sense. The action jumped all over the place and when did Force and White Fang start having feelings for each other? Didn’t they just meet in this issue? I can’t help but feel there was a rush to clamp everything in one issue and that the series would have been better served if there was 1 more issue in the series.

Astro City: Astra #1- Although I never reviewed it, I did collect Astro City: Dark Age Book 3. It was sadly the first disappointing Astro City series I ever collected (and I have them all) but Astro City: Astra #1 is a return to form. The issue is about Astra Furst who last we saw was entering school; this issue we see her graduating from collage. Yes, the little girl is all grownup. Astro City works best in this format, showing the ordinary lives of the heroes and civilians in Astro City and again this is gold. Thanks Kurt for returning Astro City back to greatness.

EPL this Month

Anyone who question there is a gap in the EPL can just look at the league table. The season has barely started and Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea are in the top 3 spots of the league. And the only reason why Arsenal didn’t make it 4 out of 4 is because they played a game less than everyone else. Frankly I think this is very bad for the EPL but unless they put in some sort of salary or transfer cap, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

Top Teams this Month
Manchester United – They haven’t been lighting up the league but they are leading the EPL. With grit, luck and referee’s help, Man Utd has been scoring 3 points game after game. Winning while not playing well is the mark of champions, so that’s a good sign for Sir Alex Ferguson.

Chelsea- Yes, they just lost at Wigan but I think that’s just a small hump on the road to success for manager Carlo Ancelotti. Chelsea has the look of a winning team with the best midfield in the league. They even have luck on their side. Ashly Cole is out injured but Yuri Zhikov has just returned from injury. It’s a straight like-for-like replacement. Now that’s luck.

Sunderland- Manager Steve Bruce has always proved that he has a good eye for talent but in Darren Bent, he might have done his best bit of business ever. The striker looked like a misfit at Spurs, but at Sunderland he is scoring goals for fun. You add that to a competent midfield and a solid backline; Sunderland is looking good.

Surprise Team this month
Liverpool- Why is Liverpool the surprise team of the month? Because Rafa Benitez has finally got rid of his rotation policy! Never thought I’ll see the day but Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are scoring goals and Liverpool seems to have a settled look about them at last. Rafa is even putting out a team that attacks! That’s amazing!

Disappointing Teams this month
Portsmouth- They got a new owner and went on a mini spending spree just before the transfer dateline. Manager Paul Hart has got his (new) team fighting and scraping but Portsmouth just can’t get a break. They were the far better team in a few games (the Everton game spring to mind) but they just can’t buy a point at the moment. They look almost certain for the drop.

Hull City- I thought Hull has a great chance of getting relegated at the start of the season and so far, they are proving me right. Manager Phil Brown is in danger of getting the sack and that may not be a bad thing as he seems to have lost the locker room. However I still have to wonder if that will be enough for Hull to stay up.