December 2008 – the Top Five Computer Games Involving Lorries

The Top Five Computer Games Involving Lorries

Lorries are an every day sight on our roads and motorways, ubiquitous in modern life and a common sight (and sometimes annoyance) for drivers. A lorry in the next lane is as much a part of road life as cat’s eyes or yellow speed cameras. But these haulage giants have become more than just a part of our road life – they are a cultural symbol and are frequently seen on our cinema and PC screens. We take a look at the latter, and count down the top five uses of lorries, lorry drivers and general purpose road haulage vehicles in computer games.

5. Silent Hill

In the fifth instalment of this popular first person horror game, our hero drives his lorry into a very unfriendly neighbourhood. Players take the role of Travis Grady, an ordinary lorry driver in the wrong place at the wrong time, confronted with – as so often happens – hordes of undead zombies and mutilated monsters. Not after his lorry, they see him as a tasty snack, and he has to defend himself while saving the town and the few innocents left there.

4. Blast Corps

The first of two games in our list where haulage is a problem, Blast Corps had a novel way of explaining the chaos you were supposed to unleash. A lorry carrying two nuclear missiles started leaking, and the computerised lorry driver in the cab switched to autopilot in an attempt to get the radioactive material to the disposal silo as soon as possible. The problem was, this means taking the lorry by a direct, straight line, as-the-crow-flies route. Through buildings and ditches and, on one occasion, over a river with no bridge. Averting a crash and the ensuing meltdown was, of course, your patriotic duty and you were tasked with blowing up, filling in or ramming aside anything that would get in the lorry’s way. Damn. And we were so hoping to leave that town standing.

3. Frogger 3D

A sad parable about the dangers of involvement with road haulage, Frogger was fun if you won or lost. Several types of road haulage (moving at improbably high speeds) were some of the nastier hazards encountered while guiding your little green frog across what could only have been the M4, M25 and Route 66 laid side by side. Of course, the lorry driver probably felt a little sorry for you after he cleaned the green smear from his wheels at the next lorry stop, but by then it was too late. Frogs take note: using pedestrian bridges is the way to a longer, less car-filled life.

2. The Grand Theft Auto Series

In stark contrast to the possible regret of any lorry drivers in Frogger 3D, it’s much more likely that the population of the Grand Theft Auto (AKA GTA) series would have swerved towards anything small and defenceless on the roads. Taking the role of a hard as nails Mafioso/ hit man/ east European ex-army man/ gang leader doesn’t really leave room for subtlety on the roads. Tankers, lorries, freight trucks and baggage handler trucks all made an appearance in the games, though few were used to solve your commercial haulage needs. Employed as mobile bombs or needed to ram someone else off the road, using lorries in GTA was about as far removed from the life of normal haulage contractors as it’s possible to get.

1. Transformers

What’s better than being the lorry driver? Being the lorry itself. Or, in fact, being a transforming car that has a lorry as it’s a boss. Nothing is quite as fun as receiving orders from a large, red, robot lorry named Optimus Prime. Think conversations with a road haulage vehicle would be boring? Possibly, if it couldn’t help you create huge weapons and fight other transforming robots. Today’s lorries are clearly letting the side down on the explosions front.

Honourable mention – Big Rigs

It is worth looking at a game that – supposedly – centres around racing lorries; Big Rigs. While the game purports to let you “race lorries across the country, with police chasing you”, it does nothing of the sort. Almost universally acknowledged as the worst computer game of all time, the lorries involved travel on a flat plain, with nothing interacting with them and no police in sight. Boring, awful and possibly felonious in its blurb, Big Rigs is an unfortunate stain on the otherwise entertaining use of lorries and road haulage in computer games.

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An Analysis Of Lenox (LNX)

Below is a letter from Mr. John L. Morgan, beneficial owner of approximately 7% of Lenox (LNX), to Ms. Susan E. Engel, Chairwoman and CEO of Lenox.

Dear Susan,

When your board offered me a directorship on September 18, 2006, we discussed the reasons that made it unacceptable. At that time, I reiterated that I could best serve the shareholders of Lenox Group by assuming a leadership role on the Board of Directors and playing an active role in formulating and guiding the strategic direction of the Company. Furthermore, I expressed my intention to not make changes in the management or Board of Directors. My views were based on information I had at that time.

The Board’s rejection of my offer to help the Company create a successful strategy has given me a different perspective. I now feel that the Board has decided to pursue a course of action that is not in the best interests of the shareholders and is a continuation of the strategies that have failed to create value over the past ten years.

The management team and Board of Directors continue to behave like the Company is a large, successful Company that has margin for making more mistakes. I do not agree. My offer to assist the Company in changing its strategy to benefit shareholders has been rejected although I proposed to work with the existing management and Board of Directors. You have made your position clear and I hope this letter will do the same for me and other likeminded shareholders.

Very truly yours,

John L. Morgan

The Ownership Situation

First, let me explain the ownership situation. The reporting persons are John L. Morgan, Kirk A. MacKenzie, Jack A. Norqual, and Rush River Group. Rush River Group is a limited liability corporation (LLC) of which Morgan, MacKenzie, and Norqual are members.

Rush River was formed in December 1998 in Minnesota and “its principal business activities involve investing in equity securities of privately owned and publicly traded companies, as well as other types of securities.” As far as I can tell, the only members of Rush River are the three aforementioned men: Morgan, MacKenzie, and Norqual.

According to a recent SEC filing, Morgan beneficially owned 6.1% of the outstanding shares of common stock in Lenox, Rush River owned 0.79%, MacKenzie owned 0.07%, and Norqual owned 0.07%.

Please keep in mind that this 7% stake in Lenox is controlled by Mr. Morgan; but, not Winmark Corporation (WINA), a publicly-held franchisor of retail stores. This is an important distinction to keep in mind (especially since Winmark is a public company).

Morgan is the Chairman and CEO of Winmark; MacKenzie is the Vice Chairman. However, their stake in Lenox has nothing to do with Winmark. In fact, last time I checked, Winmark did not have any material investments in marketable securities.

The reported position amounts to 989,300 shares of Lenox. Shares of Lenox last closed at $6.23 a share. So, the position would be worth a little over $6.16 million. Since Winmark only has a market cap of $126 million, I want to make it clear Winmark does not have a position in Lenox – Morgan does. He just happens to be the Chairman and CEO of Winmark. I hope this clears up any possible confusion about Winmark.

Lenox

Now, I can move on to discussing the truly interesting aspect of this news, Lenox itself.

Lenox is the result of a September 2005 merger between Department 56 and Lenox Incorporated. Prior to the merger, Department 56 was known for its “Village Series of collectible, handcrafted, lighted ceramic and porcelain houses, buildings and related accessories that depict nostalgic scenes”. That last sentence was taken directly from the company’s 10-K, simply because I couldn’t write a better description myself. I assume most of you have seen the series. Even if you haven’t, I’m sure you can imagine the concept of a little porcelain Christmas scene.

Obviously, the Lenox name is much better known than the Department 56 name. Therefore, when Department 56 acquired Lenox, it changed its name to Lenox.

In its 10-K, the company calls the Lenox acquisition a “transformational event”. This term is too often applied to mergers that are far from transformational. In this case, however, it’s a perfectly accurate description.

Whether the transformation is for better or worse is debatable; however, the fact that the merger has transformed the company is not debatable. To put the size of this transaction in perspective, consider this: Today, Lenox (the combined company) has a market cap of $88 million. In September 2005, Department 56 paid $204 million to acquire Lenox Group. Immediately, this should tell you two things. One, the acquisition was probably quite large relative to the existing business. Two, the combined company’s stock price has tanked.

Both of these statements are true. Even when shares of Department 56 were a lot more expensive, the Lenox acquisition was very large relative to the existing business when considered from the perspective of market cap, enterprise value, sales, and just about any other meaningful measure of the size of a business.

Obviously, the combined company’s stock price has been falling hard since the merger. After all, the enterprise value of the entire company is not much greater than the amount Department 56 paid for the Lenox business.

The market is assigning a value of close to zero to the newly acquired Lenox business. This is remarkable considering the fact that Department 56 rarely traded at a lofty multiple when it was a stand alone business. In fact, the company’s shares often traded at a P/E multiple in the high single digits or low double digits throughout the past decade.

The New Business

You probably already know what Lenox does. If you don’t, a quote from the company’s 10-K does a good job of explaining what the newly acquired business does:

“The company sells dinnerware, crystal stemware and giftware, stainless steel flatware, and silver-plated and metal giftware under the Lenox and Gorham brands. Dansk is the company’s contemporary tabletop, houseware and giftware brand. The company sells premium causal dinnerware and fine china dinnerware, giftware and collectibles under the Lenox trademark, and sterling silver flatware and sterling silver giftware under the Gorham and Kirk Stieff trademarks. The company believes that it is the largest domestic marketer of fine tabletop products.”

I’m sure you noticed a bad omen in the above paragraph. One of the company’s brands (Dansk) is described as the company’s “contemporary” brand to differentiate it from the other two brands. Obviously, having fine products that are not considered contemporary is a bit of a problem.

In fact, it may be a very large problem in the years ahead. Overall, it seems the market is moving away from formal dinning and towards more upscale casual dinning. This is not a new phenomenon; nor, is it likely to be a short-lived one.

On the other side of the scales, you do have the simple, undeniable fact that the company has one of the best brand names in its industry. It is also a big player in a very small industry. Those are both advantages that are difficult (if not impossible) to duplicate. For a $200 million business, Lenox has a lot of history – and perhaps, a lot of potential.

The Old Business

A big part of the problem with the performance of the company’s shares (both over the short-term and the long-term) has been the performance of Department 56. In 2005, sales from Department 56’s Village Series declined 21%, “which was consistent with the longer term trend” according to the company’s 10-K. In fact, sales had clearly been declining each and every year from 1999-2005. Furthermore, sales in 2004 were substantially less than sales in 1996. So, even though there wasn’t a continuous, straight-line decline in sales over the past ten years, the general trend for sales of the Village series has been decidedly negative for a full decade now.

To combat the “substantial attrition of the Gift and Specialty channel” the company has settled on two strategies intended to both “offset the decline of the Village business” and “to grow revenues long term”. Those strategies are “expanding the company’s channels of distribution outside its traditional Gift and Specialty channel” and “expanding the company’s product offering to include year-round gift products.” The former strategy sounds promising; the latter strategy sounds implausible.

Lenox is already moving to implement both strategies. In fact, the company made a small acquisition that should help expand Lenox’s year-round product offerings. But, I remain highly skeptical of attempts to transform the gift products business into anything other than a highly seasonal business.

The Acquisition

At the time it was announced, I thought the Lenox acquisition sounded like an interesting move for the company. Department 56’s operations looked lean; the operations at Lenox did not. Furthermore, the price paid for Lenox didn’t look unreasonable, especially when compared to the kinds of prices many public companies have often paid to make such large (“transformational”) acquisitions.

In September 2005, Department 56 acquired Lenox in a $204 million deal (including $7.6 million in transaction costs). Department 56 funded the acquisition “through a $275 million senior secured credit facility consisting of a $175 million revolving credit facility and a $100 million term loan”.

As mentioned earlier, the combined company adopted the more recognizable Lenox name.

Restructuring

As a result of the merger, the company closed approximately half of the stores belonging to its new Lenox subsidiary. In total, the company closed 31 Lenox retail stores. As of February 1st, 2006, this left the company with only 36 retail stores. Six stores were operated under the Department 56 name; the remaining 30 stores were operated under the Lenox name.

After the merger, the company consolidated some of its operations. For instance, Lenox sold its Langhorne, Pennsylvannia facility when it moved certain operations to Bristol, Pennsylvannia. The company has used the cash proceeds of such sales to pay down debt incurred in the Lenox acquisition.

New Concept Stores

Lenox plans to launch a new mall-based chain of stores that will sell all of the company’s brands (Department 56, Lenox, Gorham, and Dansk). The company plans to open three “All The Hoopla” stores during 2006. A fourth store will be opened in 2007.

Opportunities

The combination of Department 56 and Lenox presents several interesting opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, there’s the hope that Lenox will become a leaner operation. Aside from any cost-savings made possible by the merger, there is also the simple fact that Department 56 was always a leaner operation than Lenox, and that the management at the new company might be more adept (or more determined) to keep costs down.

There is also some promise to the idea of selling all of the company’s brands together. To a large extent, the distribution channels are similar. The “All The Hoopla” concept proves the company is committed to this bundling of its products. However, it’s hard to see how the company’s products are going to be much of a draw on their own. Is there really enough demand for these Lenox operated retail stores? The company’s current plans call for a very limited launch. So, the price of failure would not be very great. Obviously, a success here would greatly benefit the company in the long run.

Conclusion

Lenox is an interesting opportunity. The business looks very cheap based on averages of past sales, EBIT, pre-tax earnings, etc. However, Lenox is now an entirely different company. The old Department 56 business faces rapidly declining sales. Neither Lenox nor Department 56 looked like a very promising business at the time of the merger. Today, they don’t look a whole lot more promising together.

On the other hand, it’s important to look past the company’s recent results (which include a large write-off). It will take time to see the full effects of the merger. At present, it’s difficult to judge either company independently, because of the acquisition.

Still, this is clearly a cheap business by most measures. There are problems at Lenox (as there were problems at Department 56). But, if the business can be run right, it should reward shareholders who buy at today’s extraordinarily low levels.

Morgan’s letter presents both the hope that there will be change and the realization that such change will not be easy. Clearly, the company’s past performance has been unacceptable. The stock has never been as cheap as it is today; but, the problems have been just as bad.

Lenox offers an interesting opportunity for patient investors. Nonetheless, being a Lenox shareholder is certain to frustrate you even if it does eventually reward you.

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Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 69

Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure

Director: Michael Bay

Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson

Running time: 144 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Distributors: Paramount, Dreamworks

Earth’s fate hangs in the balance as two robotic races that can transform into various vehicles duke it out. A high school student named Sam Witwicki holds the key that can save the planet. The secret is a mysterious cube called the Allspark which can turn mechanical objects into living creatures. “Transformers” is a movie that fans of the eighties cartoon series, teen girls in love with Shia LaBeouf, science fiction fans and adventure fans will love. This combination “Independence Day”, “Small Soldiers”, and “Holes” works well, despite the long running time.

LaBeouf still makes me think of his annoying character in “Even Stevens”, but after his performances in “Disturbia” and this movie, I have to admit that he is a good actor. Megan Fox, the mean girl in “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”, plays a beautiful alpha female. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are good as tough Air Force special ops commandos. And the great Jon Voight plays the common-sense Secretary of Defense.

Director Michael Bay definitely knows how to put on a show. He has shown this time and again in movies like “Pearl Harbor” and “Armaggedan”, and in this movie which he co-produced with Steven Spielberg. Here he has gathered an army of visual effects experts to bring the Transformers to life. Bay combines a decent story with the effects to smoothly move the plot along. Kudos go to the editing team for what had to be a challenging job. Best of all, Bay and his cast and crew make “Transformers” fun. The film could have been shorter but what the heck?

In sum, “Transformers” is a very entertaining science fiction adventure that is fun. Highly recommended!

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Remembering the 80s cartoons – Part 1

I grew up watching the cartoons of the 80’s. One of the earliest cartoons I remember watching was the Smurfs. Everybody should know something about the Smurfs, but if you don’t, then they’re little blue creatures that are three apples high and live in mushroom houses. The evil Gargamel kept trying to capture them. The show was pretty good for a few years, but the last couple of seasons or so of the series were very forced; the final straw was the last season, when they had the Smurfs time traveling. Some other Saturday morning cartoons I remember watching and enjoying on network television in the 1980s included Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Snorks, and Shirt Tales.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a major 1980s cartoon milestone. It earned its place in 80s cartoon history by being one of the first animated programs released to help promote a toy line. It was released in 1983, and was very successful. It was successful enough that a spin-off series, She-Ra: Princess of Power was also produced. Both shows featured a character (Prince Adam in He-Man, Princess Adora in She-Ra), that possessed super strength which they could harness by holding up their sword and saying certain words.

In the wake of He-Man, other cartoons with ties to toys were also produced. There was Transformers (about robots that could transform into other items, such as cars, cassette players, dinosaurs, insects, and other things). G.I. Joe featured a counter-terrorist team, who defended human freedom from Cobra (a ruthless terrorist organization). For the girls, there was Jem; Jerrica Benton could transform into glamorous rock star Jem by using her computer Synergy and her JemStar earrings (which served as microprojectors for Synergy). Jem and her group had to deal with a rival group of “bad girls,” known as The Misfits.

Anime also made its mark in the 1980s. The two biggest anime properties of the 1980s had to be Voltron and Robotech. Some could also argue that Star Blazers belongs in this list (although the first season, where they go to Iscandar to obtain the Cosmo DNA, actually aired in the late 1970s; the second season aired in 1980, and the show continued on syndicated television for a few years in the early 1980s).

There were also attempts to turn popular video games into Saturday morning cartoons. The most memorable of these were Pac-Man and Dragon’s Lair. And there was also Saturday Supercade, which features shorts of several videogames: Frogger, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Pitfall, Q*Bert, Space Ace, and Kangaroo. Generally, these particular cartoons were not very well produced.

There were other cartoons in the ’80s as well, but to me, these are some of the most memorable.

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Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 71

Transformers have been my cartoon favorite when I was a kid. Hence, I was so amazed watching them realistically in this new movie. Thanks to the advancement of the graphics and the sound effects. This movie is definitely unachievable without these stuffs!

Although there were some changes in terms with the story of the cartoon versus that of the movie,still, the sequence of events brought my mouth fully wide open. With Bumblebee as a Chevrolet Camaro rather than the cartoon’s Volkswagen Beetle, his new image portrays a much more detailed, robust and fashionably sound robot. How I reminisce Optimus Prime the cartoon versus this realistic Optimus Prime the movie. Seeing him “real” sealed my childhood imagination on how he would looked like in the real world. As regards with Magnetron’s image, several items have been changed.In particular, his transformation from robot to a fighter plane. He was a gun upon transformation in the cartoon series. But this change somewhat provided a much more reasonable logic as compared to a gun soaring up in the sky!

As a whole, the movie was a success! It helped me in reminiscing my childhood days. It enlightened the new kids in the block about the stuffs that their seniors once enjoyed in their childhood.

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Video game series reviews: Sonic the Hedgehog – Part 1

The famous Hedgehog and most famous for being Sega’s mascot, the intention was to be Sega’s answer to Nintendo’s Mario. This is what was going on when I was younger and it was mainly Nintendo and Sega as the prime competitors. Over the years the Blue Hedgehog has been in existence, there have been video games, and TV series’ based off the popular character. The ones I remember most are the original Sonic games that were originally on the Sega Genesis, also called the Mega Drive in other regions. I am going to review 5 Sonic games that stand out to me in different lights and of course the ones I’ve played the most. I’m aware there were many Sonic games but if I haven’t played, I can’t talk about them. Anyhow, it’s time to look at a few of them.

Sonic: The game that started the craze Sonic debuted into the video game world in a great 1st impression. The plot was pretty simple and you had to collect the Chaos Emeralds to get the best ending in the game. You had to stop Dr. Robotnik or as he is also known in later games as Dr. Eggman from taking over the world. There are 3 parts to each stage and the fastest time gets the higher score. In short, the faster the time, the better your score is. It is also available on the Sonic Mega Collection, the Virtual Console, and the Xbox Live Arcade. If you are curious on Sonic and want to try how he originally looks, then go for this game. This is the one to play to get you started on the Sonic franchise.

Sonic 2: Always trying to be different, Sonic got updated with a new sidekick that would be famous as well in some ways being Tails. There is also the ability to transform as well if collecting all 7 of the Chaos Emeralds into Super Sonic. Super Sonic is more or less like a Super Saiyan character. Though Dragonball Z didn’t come into the United States until later, it was out in Japan I believe before Sonic so it would be somewhat of a tribute. This game is also available on the Sonic Mega Collection, Virtual Console, and Xbox Live Arcade. It is also possible by activating the passthrough cartridge in Sonic & Knuckles to be able to play as Knuckles. Speaking of Knuckles, he was introduced in Sonic 3 and also the same way as Sonic 2.

Sonic 3: In this one, you meet Knuckles who gets fooled thinking you’re the bad guys and Robotnik is the good guy. It’s up to you to prove him wrong and to save the world once again. Get the Chaos Emeralds and prove yourself that you are loyal. This is also available

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2008 Alfa Romeo Unica Series

The Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded in 1910 in Milan, Italy. Originally known as ALFA, which is an acronym meaning Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. Nicola Romeo purchased ALFA in 1915. His surname was used as the company name. G1 in 1920 was the first car designed by the company. Exclusiveness and personality has been a distinctive feature of the Alfa Romeo brand. This fact has been proved with options of the broad choice of bodies, engines, exterior outfits and interior furnishings. There are other options that enable customers to order the car that meets their needs yet makes it different.

To further extend this choice in response to the growing number of requests from the maker and also the reason of staying ahead than others, Alfa Romeo developed the “Unique Alfa” Customization Program. The purpose of this car was to enable customers to make their cars even more refined and exclusive.

The Alfa Romeo Customization program is now available on the entire range. Staying at par with the experience of the Alfa 8C Competizione, the model defines its strategies define precision and authority. One of the best features this customization plan is to cater for every competent and refined customer, state their personality with their car. And transform an already exclusive car into something unique. The “Unique Alfa” Program expresses the best Italian products. It now extends this opportunity to the other Alfa Romeo models. Known as one of the prestigious brands in motoring history, Alfa Romeo indubitably conjures up the art of Italian living. It is a perfect merge of tradition and modernity, heritage and the avant-garde, beauty and culture. To further develop this already comprehensive offer, Alfa Romeo has created the “Alfa Unica” Customization Program made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and will soon be available to buy. It allows sophisticated customers to transform a highly exclusive car into a unique expression of the “Made in Italy” ethos. The choice of body versions, engines, exterior trim, internal decor styling and options allow customers to order the car that best fits their needs. And most importantly have the desire to stand out from the crowd.

What this car features

Alfa Romeo offers its purchasers a new customization program that has been named Alfa Unica or Unique Alfa. This gives three different avenues for more exclusivity and individualization. The Alfa Unica program begins with the new 8C Competizione. This can be customized to every customer’s personal specifications. The main aim of Alfa was to offer that option to all of its products. It allows buyers to select one of three customization options as part of Alfa Unica. It features some of the best Italian products and allows customers to make cars more refined and exclusive. The ‘Unique Alfa’ Program breaks down into three main areas:

* Vintage, Collezione and TI. The Vintage has been described as a “reinterpretation” of Alfa Romeo tradition. The main focus is on colors, chromatic treatments, and hand-crafted upholstery. Along with elegance and modernity, they come in intriguing colors that conjure up victories on the world’s most prestigious racing circuits. The chromatic treatments have the timeless emotion of the prestigious finish. The upholstery is crafted care and precision typical of a craftsman’s workshop.

* The Collezione lays emphasis on the world of elegance and fashion. The multi-lacquered exterior paint designs and up level interiors have hand-stitched, perfumed leather and metallic. Interiors recreate a sensation of well-being and beauty. The underlined materials are finely chosen and give a feeling of sensory involvement. The leather seats are soft and perfumed with facia, and panels. The stitching is elegant and displays amazing shapes. The exterior has multi-layer lacquered paints which draws attention to these spectacular elements and alloys with luminous sparkle finish.

* The Turismo Internazionale or TI, recalls the brand’s motor sports heritage. Vehicle dynamics, enhanced brakes, alloy wheels, lower ride height, performance tires and, eventually, high-output engines. It is a trend in Europe and North America to opt for personal customization and Alfa Romeo has a desire to maintain the lead. The last line reinterprets Alfa Romeo’s history in motor sports. Sport and racing have a fundamental role in the development of cutting-edge technologies. They offer a low stance, boosted braking system, alloy wheels and great performance tires.

Summary

Alfa Romeo has always reflected the Italian art of living life to the full. It reflects the perfect blend of tradition and modernity, of heritage and forward thinking, of beauty and culture. This passion has lead to the development of the “Alfa Unica” Customization Program. The inspiration for the development comes with the need to emphasize the Brand’s unique values through an art of intricate car designing and to establish a unique relationship with customers. It is ‘one to one’ communication mode which the company uses to reach out to its customers. Their customers like them, identify status with the car they use and have the desire to stand out from the crowd as per each ones need.

Extra features can be added to the car. The usual seat belt pre-tensioners and side impact bars can be added. A navigation system available with a display in either monochrome or color, like other 2008 versions, can be added. There are various options is sound systems. For example the Bose sound system comes with a six-channel amp and subwoofer and many other latest variations in the same range. Quality with beauty makes this Alpha Unica as unique as the name suggests. . It features some of the best Italian products and allows customers to make cars more refined and exclusive. There are other options that enable customers to order the car that meets their needs yet makes it different.

The best feature of this customization plan is to cater for every competent and refined customer, state their personality with their car. And transform an already exclusive car into something unique. Each car will be unique from the other. It will cater to every detailed demand of the customer. You can choose from Vintage, Collezione and TI and show your style to the world.

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Anime reviews: D.N. Angel – Part 1

Daisuke is your typical fourteen year old. As a young man who is trying to find his place in the world, he has the tendency to be a bit awkward, especially around his crush, Risa Harada. Despite this, Daisuke is able to muster up the courage to give Risa a love letter on his fourteenth birthday. Everything seems to be going perfect when the two are together until Risa calls Daisuke the worse possible thing any boy could be called by the object of his affection: “a friend.” And to make matters worse, for his fourteen birthday Daisuke receives the very “special” gift of transforming into the phantom thief known as Dark due to his special DNA. His DNA reacts to the feelings of love, which ultimately transform him in the bishounen with vibrant purple hair and a taller physique, so whenever Daisuke even looks at his crush, he has the chance of transforming into Dark against his will. The only way, Daisuke can prevent himself from transforming into Dark ever again is to get his beloved to fall in love with him. However, the moment Risa lays her eyes on Dark, she becomes infatuated with him instead.

The title of this anime originally caught my eye as I found it to be quite catchy and befitting of the anime. Romance is a prevalent theme, as the series seems to focus on Daisuke and how he suddenly begins to develops feelings for his initial crush’s sister, Riku. The series can also be described as being very lighthearted and comical at times. There is also a good portion of action, particularly in the latter episodes. However, it can be considered a bit superficial as it lacks real depth. Many of the early episodes are repetitive as Dark goes around stealing artifacts so he is not doomed to remain in the form of a theft permanently all the while the police and others pursue him. It may become boring and tedious for viewers to keep up the series, but it does get better towards the end. Some of the situations and concepts are somewhat

trite such as the overused concept of dark versus light.’ But despite these things, I am still a fan of shoujo anime and I feel this anime is entertaining despite its shortcomings.

I felt the storyline was intriguing but I did not feel that D.N. Angel had a cast of particularly novel and memorable characters. Although Dark is appealing to the female audience, being a bishounen and having that bad boy demeanor, Daisuke is rather boring. His crush, Risa also seems to fall into the category of the typical anime love interest: young,

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Anime reviews: Guyver, The Bioboosted Armor

“Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor” is a twenty-six episode Japanese anime series that has been directed by Katsuhito Akiyama and produced by OLM with its original run starting from 2005 to 2006. This is an anime series that is based on the long-running and ongoing manga authored by Yoshiki Takaya. In a sense, this is like a remake of the twelve part OVA that was released back in 1989. However, the OVA is loosely based on the manga.

In the case of Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, that series keeps true to the manga.

A company known as the Chronos Corporation has been genetically modifying humans to become creatures known as Zoanoids. Zoanoids are superhuman and monstrous soldiers. However, they are considered to be cannon-fodder throughout the series. Chronos has found the technology to transform humans into Zoanoids along with a way of covering things up.

A prototype Zoanoid ends up escaping with a bag with three Guyver units. The Guyvers are mysterious symbiotic bio-mechanisms that bond with a host and can enhance the host’s own capabilities. These units are very powerful when bond with a human life. The Guyver units play an important role in the series.

Chronos soldiers try to capture him and fail. The Zoanoid uses a grenade and kills himself while scattering the Guyver Units. A 17-year-old high school student named Sho Fukamachi discovers the first unit. It bonds with him just in time before getting attacked by Chonos soldiers that can also transform into Zoanoids. Then, it revolves around Chronos trying to take the unit back from him. Eventually, he gets drawn into the fight against Chronos which wishes to rule the world.

The Guyver Unit is an armor made of a living metal. This acts as an all-purpose battle suit which comes in handy for Sho. He has the following weapons on hand when in Guyver mode such as:

The Vibration Globe which are the two orbs at the Guyver’s mouth that can create highly dangerous and destructive sound waves known as the “Sonic Buster.”

The Mega-Smasher which is two high-powered particle beam cannons beneath the Guyver’s chest armor in which it can take out several Zoanoids at once. This is deemed to be the most powerful beam weapon in Earth’s existence.

There is a Head Beam that can be fired above the control metal on the Guyver’s head.

The Guyver’s forearms have high frequency blades that can cut through just about anything with relative ease.

A Gravity Control Orb that allows the Guyver to fly and unleash destructive gravity waves known as the “Pressure Cannon.”

The Guyver is nearly invincible and can regenerate itself. There is only one weak spot that is very fatal, the control metal. The control metal is the orb at the Guyver’s forehead, as it connects with the host’s brain. Removal of the control metal results in the armor dissolving and eating at the host alive.

Throughout the series, Sho makes friends and “allies.” Notable allies include Agito Makishima who is Guyver III, Aptom who is known as a “lost unit” who can replicate forms and powers of various Zoanoids he absorbs, and Masaki Murakami.

Throughout the series, Sho learns the truth about the human race, the Zoanoids, the Guyvers, and Chronos. In short, the truth is not pretty at all. I happened to enjoy watching this version than the OVA that was released back in 1989. This version is still as violent as the 1989 OVA. This version has many new things featured that have not been shown in the earlier OVA.

Still, Guyver remains one of my favorite anime series of all times. I have to say that the designs of the Guyvers look very sleek. Guyver really does live up to the title which means “out of control.”

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Book Reviews: Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer

A tale of star-crossed lovers is one that we are quite familiar with- except in the case of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series where a human and vampire are the controversial couple. To be honest, I first learned of Twilight from the media hype over the same-titled film that was released in November 2008. Scenes from the movie alongside footage of screaming teenage fans waiting on line for the midnight premiere made me curious, so I picked up the 500 page novel to see exactly what the big deal was. My life has never been the same.

This first book of the highly acclaimed four part series tells the story of Bella Swan’s decision to move to Forks, Washington, to live with her dad Chief Charlie Swan after her mother remarries. She expects to die of boredom and depression in the sleepy, rainy town, but is shocked to find herself part of the in-crowd at Forks High, a far cry from being virtually unnoticed all those years in sunny Arizona. Yet, despite all the guys who vie for her attention, she only has eyes for Edward Cullen and the rest of his beautiful, though socially outcast family. The only problem is that Edward cannot stand to be near Bella and makes this point very well known to her.

Confused by his obvious hatred for her, Bella tries to avoid him while also attempting to find out more about the mystery surrounding him. Her natural klutzy tendencies make the former all but impossible when Edward steps in to save her from an out of control car and then a group of strangers who corner her in a dark alleyway. She eventually guesses his secret- that he is a vampire- and admits much to his surprise that she does not fear him. He manages to control his thirst for her blood as they fall madly in love. Bella’s bad luck prevents this from being a happily ever after scenario when she becomes the target of an evil tracking vampire who will stop at nothing to kill her. When he does ultimately corner her alone, she has accepted that she will die, but of course that’s when Edward and his family arrive in the nick of time to rescue her. The story ends with the two at an impasse as she tries to persuade Edward to transform her so that they can be together, and she will no longer be a risk to anyone. Although he is willing to move heaven and earth for her, he does not want to cut her life short, promising in the final scene that he will never leave her.

I anticipated that I would roll my eyes A LOT while reading considering the supernatural subject

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