I hate importing. It’s a very stressful hobby. Tracking services are expensive and with regular airmail shipping, you have no idea where your package is located. There’s the problem of import taxes (add 26-28%) but there’s actually an even bigger problem when using EMS. This service, offered by the local post offices around the globe, should only take 4-5 days to arrive when ordering from the other side of the world. Pretty nice I’d say, if they didn’t send your package to customs to have them add a big amount of money for paper work.

You see, using UPS or Fedex, you will pay import taxes, which they calculate themselves. EMS however, who aren’t the very brightest in the world of delivery (believe me, we had the pleasure to talk to them on the phone), will not calculate it themselves but let customs do this for them, adding an extra 28 euro for the first 3 items, and 4 euro for each item extra. My package worth 70 euro, costed me 30 euro shipping (EMS), 30 euro import taxes plus 32 euro form filling (whatever). That’s a total of 90 euro for a 70 euro package. Easy money huh?

Anyway, I advice you all to never use EMS (certainly not when living in Belgium and ordering from Hong Kong). I learned my lesson and prefer to use UPS, Fedex or DHL. I’ll even use Airmail! You’ll have less surprises that way.

But I digress. The title doesn’t say Whining about EMS now does it? No it doesn’t, it says Electroplankton, which is one of the new Nintendo DS titles only available at Japan, so I had to import it. It’s probably never going to leave Japan either, so if you’re interested, I suggest you do import.

This game must be one of the weirdest Nintendo titles I have ever laid my eyes on. It’s not really a game either, but more like an interactive multimedia experience. You control these cute little sea creatures, each having certain sound abilities. You can move them around and touch them with your stylus, triggering all kinds of effects. With the included earphones, you can enjoy the beautiful sounds and music they create. One game will let you make remixes with old Nintendo samples, another will have you bouncing the cuties on leafs, each leaf making a different sound.

Two games will let you speak in the mic and do some fun effects with these samples. One actually says whatever you say backwards, although it works best with words also the Japanese can pronounce. Saying Lala or Tokyo will result in alal and oykot, which might sound silly and stupid, but it’s super cute.

As I said, it’s not really a game. You put on the headphones and just chill out, tapping the screen, creating music and sounds and discovering new ways of abusing your little water monsters. But it is a great experience and a nice change from the regular competitive games out there. There’s no goal, just music. And it works.

It’s doing great in it’s home country (there was even an Electroplankton exhibition in Japan) and it is a typical Japanese title, which might scare lots of people away. But it’s a great new concept and I’m really loving it. More play and less stress, I’d like to see that in more games.

Quitting Final Fantasy XI was a pretty good idea (although I’m still paying for it because I’m quite attached to my character), giving us suddenly plenty of spare time and breathing new life in our offline social life. Buying World of Warcraft doesn’t really sound like a smart thing to do then, does it…?

Too late.

The PSP is up to no good! You can take my word for it or you can just check out the cutest, most moving animation ever made about the fate of the consoles. Based on Final Fantasy VI, it tells the tale of the evil PSP wanting to destroy all consoles and take on the world with its big LCD screen and non-gaming abilities. Just click on “New game” and enjoy.

Thanks to kurisu.

They are back. As most of you don’t know, crop circles are still appearing yearly all over the world. This weekend the first known European crop (actually grass) circle of 2005 was found in the Netherlands and like every year, will probably be the first of many. These unexplained phenomena are still puzzling scientists as strange changes in the crop’s molecule structure and strong radiation can be found within the circles. Also, historical documents indicate that it’s crop circles were yet sighted in the 1600s.

Note: the picture is not the one in the Netherlands.

I said I wouldn’t buy any handheld anymore but the Nintendo DS however gave me a good excuse, with something only Nintendo does best: originality. This is not your typical console, not a pocket version of whatever it is you already play from your couch. It is a new game experience and one that shouldn’t be missed.

The lack of games at the moment is a big shame though, but the ones already available show off very well what the hardware is capable of. At this right moment, I only own one game and one demo, being Project Rub (or Feel the Magic XY/XX) and Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt. And these two are enough to show us that the future of gaming is going to be very interesting.

Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt is a first person shooter and gives you new ways of how consoles can handle these. I hate joysticks for FPS (see below) but the DS has given me new hope. One way of control is tapping the screen where you want to shoot. Nice, but silly. The better way, in my humble opinion, is using the thumb stylus. You attach it to your thumb and slide your finger across the screen like you would use a mouse. On-screen menu buttons allow you to, for example, change weapons. So the differences between PC and console FPS are finally disappearing, something I, for one, have been waiting for a long time.

And then there’s the originality in games. While Nintendo offers Wario Ware Touched!, Sega has a similar game with a more adult theme: Project Rub. The story is simple: You see a girl, you fall in love and you want to impress her. This results into a lot of mini games where the DS hardware is used in every possible way. You’ll be hitting scorpions of the girl’s back, rubbing obstacles out of the way, unbuttoning the girl’s dress (!), blowing a boat into the sea with your own breath and stopping missiles fired by a big mech (The pen IS mightier than the sword!). The game is great fun and not too hard, until you complete it and unlock hard mode at least. There’s a lot of extras too, as you can replay all the mini games for stars and search for bunnies in the main game. This unlocks new dresses and accessories for the girl, who you can admire in 360 degrees and even touch, although she tends to get angry if you do.

I can’t wait to see the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS being exploited a bit more. The multiplayer in Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt works like a charm and Nintendo plans on bringing the DS online on the Internet by the end of the year. Nintendogs, Animal Crossing and Yoshi’s Touch & Go are all on my wishlist, but it’s taking ages for them to get to Europe. And with the PSP arriving anytime soon (now, tomorrow, 2007), all I can say is,… it’s a good time to be gaming.

As I hear lots of people asking me the same question over and over again, “Which handheld should I get?”, I will give you all the same answer: Get both. The DS will show you a new gaming experience, while the PSP will give you a sexy piece of hardware that you will just love showing off. There are some great titles coming to both consoles and you will be missing out on some amazing games if you own only one.

But I guess this doesn’t help most of you, so if cash is a problem (and isn’t it for all of us), then get whatever you need most. Do you spend a lot of time on the train and need an mp3 player, Playstation2 quality graphics and want to watch a nice movie on the road occasionally, get the PSP. If you never leave the house and always play indoor, if you need a refreshing new kind of gaming and care more about gameplay than graphics, get a DS.

What will I do? I think you already know… *sigh

Update: Check out this video to get an idea of the current/future games on Nintendo DS

I don’t like first person shooters on consoles. First of all, it doesn’t feel natural, actually you feel like controlling a plane of some sort instead of a character on two legs. The aiming is a pain and I quickly end up shooting the ceilings instead of anything else.

A mouse is more direct, where you just point to wherever you want to shoot. I know a joystick is analog, but the movement of a hand to a certain position on a desk is more accurate than any joystick movement.

Response with a mouse is much quicker as well. Although many people say it takes getting used to, I have yet to find a way to turn around with my character as fast as I can with a mouse, which is instantly. A joystick limits you to the maximum speed of pushing it completely down. A mouse is limited by how fast your hand moves around.

But I wasn’t planning on complaining how bad first person shooters are on consoles, I actually wanted to praise one. The first decent and probably still one of the best FPS on console, was Goldeneye on Nintendo 64. Anything after that failed miserably, until I got my hands on Timesplitters 2. Moving around was doable and since the enemy characters don’t really move very fast and don’t quickly draw their weapons like a PC FPS, you have a chance in aiming and winning the game. Cooperative mode was great fun and multiplayer was good except for the small screens you end up with.

And then there was Timesplitters Future Perfect, the third iteration of this crazy cartoon-like FPS with a twist. And this time they are bringing it online. There’s an immense amount of game types, including Death Match, Team Death Match, Shrink, Vampire etc. Every type of game is highly configurable and you can even create and share your own maps. Plus you can go online with up to four players, split screen, on one console and with a USB headset you can yell at the bastards that won’t leave you alone with his rocket launcher.

The rest of the game is funny as hell. Although my favourite gun remains the dual barrel shotgun, I get the most joy out of the injection gun, which blows your opponents up like balloons until they explode. There’s a stuffed cat racing game and Timeplitters 2’s excellent challenge, killing off zombies, returned in a more terrifying and nerve wrecking remake. Something to do with monkeys and dead cows. Scary, just the way we like it.

In my opinion, it’s the best FPS available for console, and although the game offers plenty of modes and challenges to keep you busy offline, it’s online where the game shines. Look for me in the Disco death matches if you plan to join the online slaughter.

Omg is that Elke playing on a Sony PSP? No it’s not ours… but the owner lives at 500m from our place so who cares! Kaato’s PSP arrived today and we just had to bother him and try it out. Although I am more of a Wipeout fan, Elke had a go on Lumines, already breaking tonight’s records with 24 minutes reaching level 21.

It’s a beautiful piece of hardware though… anyone want to buy me one?

Ghibli always makes beautiful movies and the last one we’ve bought is a very touching story as well. Although we must say, it wasn’t your typical Ghibli.

Heisei Tanuki Gassen Pompoko or Raccoon Wars, tells of a group of raccoons whose habitat is being invaded by humans. Contruction workers are building a new residential area which leaves the raccoons with little place to live.

The fact that during Spring the raccoons have a hard time controlling themselves and end up multiplying quite a bit, isn’t helping either so they plan to take back what’s rightfully theirs. And the way they do is pretty much out of the ordinary.

Raccoons can, for a fact, change shapes. They can morph into any object, animal or even human once they have managed the skills. And that’s where the story turns into a typical Ghibli. There are Japanese ghosts and gods, cute characters, a bit of sadness and happiness, in short, anything any other Ghibli has to offer.

But there is one major difference, being the testicles of these cute raccoons. Not only are they actually drawn and shown on screen, they have a way of using them too. Stretching their balls, they can morph them into carpets, bridges, parachutes or even turn them in giant balls to beat up humans. Maybe that’s why Disney never distributed the older Ghiblis.

It’s funny though, and the furry little balls don’t spoil the movie, but it is weird nonetheless. The movie is 2 hours long but keeps you quite amused all the way. Although it’s probably not going to please everyone, it’s a must-see at least once. It’s still child safe, although coming from me that doesn’t mean much, but let’s just say that it’s a special kind of Ghibli.