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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the film adaptation of C. S. Lewis’ fantasy novel and was released in 2005 after years of production. The story tells of a group of four children stumbling into a magical world called Narnia and become embroiled in its power struggle between factions of good and evil. This was well-received at the box office, managing to attain significant success and is the first of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ films. The second episode of the saga, titled ‘Prince Caspian’, was released recently to mixed reviews.

The story revolves around the English quartet of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie and their adventures in Narnia. Set during the Second World War, the four children were sent to the countryside to stay with Professor Kirke to take refuge from the German Blitz assailing London. One day, Lucy accidentally stumbles upon the mysterious world of Narnia while hiding in a wardrobe. She meets Mr Tumnus, a faun, who shelters her from the harsh winter and goes on to tell her about Narnia. Narnia was under the rule of the oppressive White Witch, bringing about an eternal winter. She is sent back to England through the wardrobe, however, she was met with disbelief when she tried to tell her siblings about Narnia.

Edmund eventually chances upon this world with Lucy. He meets the White Witch, who offered to appoint him King of Narnia if he cooperated in surrendering his siblings to her. Not long after, all four siblings stumble into Narnia. They soon learn of Aslan, the creator of Narnia, and his plan to rid Narnia of the White Witch and banish the winter. Edmund sneaked off to see the White Witch but soon realizes his mistake. After reconciliation with his siblings at Aslan’s encampment, the White Witch demanded that Edmund be surrendered. Aslan nobly offered his life in exchange for Edmund’s and was savagely struck down by the White Witch. However, he is magically resurrected and joins Peter and the other children to fight against the White Witch’s army. In the ensuing battle, Aslan and Peter managed to overpower the Witch and Aslan knocked her over a cliff, killing her in the process.

After her demise, the long winter in Narnia ended and the Pevensie children are crowned as Kings and Queens of Narnia. They remained in Narnia for a long period of time, before one day, they stumbled upon the wardrobe again. They slipped through the portal, only to realize that hardly any time has passed in their own world as if it was a dream. Yet, only the four of them know that what happened was real and they await the next chance that they will be able to return to Narnia.

My first impression was that this was a ‘kiddy movie’ – a fantasy movie laden with special effects to wow kids. Much to my surprise, I found this film genuinely enjoyable. It was the good old story of a ragtag bunch of oppressed citizens who rally together to fight for their freedom. In this case, the oppressed citizens include half-man and half-horse centaurs and talking beavers. This does not lend much to the credibility of this being a blockbuster, but this comes close to establishing itself as an epic fantasy.

The special effects were glorious to behold. Aslan the Lion was perfectly sculpted by CGI while arcane sorcery and magics of the Witch were crafted to bewildering effect. This was an infallible storyline, insured by the success and popularity of the novels. I am glad that the movie did not flop like some text-to-film adaptations in recent times. I believe the children actors had not much experience acting in movies, but they did credibly well. Georgie Henley deserved exceptional mention for her role as the lovable and inquisitive Lucy, portraying the youngest Pevensie as being sensible beyond her years but having that headstrong attitude when challenged.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) would be a perfect family movie, filled with actions for the adults and enough of talking animals to mesmerize the young.

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Plantronics is a California-based electronics hardware company that is renowned for its electronic communication headsets, known for their dexterity and portability. You might not have heard of Plantronics, but the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" said by Neil Armstrong were transmitted through a Plantronics headset. Plantronics equipped the first astronaut to land on the moon with their advanced lightweight headset. As such, it would not be unreasonable to expect quality sound and performance from its Gamecom 1 Gaming Headset.

When I first got the Plantronics Gamecom 1 Gaming Headset, I had high hopes for it, since Plantronics is a global market leader in audio peripheral. The looks itself certainly did not disappoint. The Gamecom 1 has a sleek metallic and matte finishing, with large ear cups surrounded by generous rubber padding. It is equipped with a very basic volume control that allows adjusting of volume and a simplistic bass control. Although nothing as refined as a Razer or Logitech product, this headset is still pleasing to the eye. Also, wearing the headset is rather comfortable, with an adjustable double head strap.

The most immediate feature about the Gamecom 1 you will realize after donning one is how remarkably lightweight it is. After using the Razer Barracuda for some time, this headset felt almost weightless. It fits snugly and provides satisfactory noise-reducing capabilities from the background. Due to it being so lightweight, it is very comfortable to wear. Sometimes, during gaming, I do not even recall that I am actually wearing a headset. The headset features a microphone that is fully extended. I actually prefer this over shorter versions of microphones found in other headsets, as I do want that reassuring feel that the mic is directly in front of my mouth so I would not have to yell unnecessarily.

For a headset that costs only about US$20, the Gamecom 1 produces a surprisingly good quality of sound. Under normal usage conditions, sounds are clear and crisp and I was pleasantly surprised to note that there was not much discernible difference in quality with expensive headsets like the Barracuda (a good US$100 more). However, unlike the multiple drivers present in the Barracuda, the Gamecom 1 sounds distorted and scratchy at high levels of volume. Furthermore, the bass sounds weak and lacks the resounding quality that a good bass should possess. The microphone, though, transmits clearly and audible, much thanks to the noise-cancellation feature as well. Do note though, that the microphone has known compatibility issues with games like Battlefield 2. Installation is a breeze; it's simply plug-and-play via one USB port. The Gamecom 1 however, is not compatible with most sound cards as it is considered a plug-and-play headset.

For a price of S$20, this counts as one of the best in the market of budget gaming/music headsets. Sound quality is sufficient for light gaming and music that is not bass-intensive. However, this headset is not high on versatility and should be used solely for light gaming/music purposes. Do not bother trying to watch an action movie with the Plantronics Gamecom 1 Gaming Headset.

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Aston Kutcher is back, dating yet another considerably older woman, this time on-screen. Cameron Diaz is his on-screen love interest in 'What Happens In Vegas (2008)', a romantic-comedy about two persons with absolutely different personalities meeting by chance in Las Vegas. Both have recently suffered personal setbacks – in Jack Fuller’s (Ashton Kutcher) case, he was fired by his father-boss from his construction firm while Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) is seeking respite from her hectic working life and the traumatic experience of being scorned by her fiancé in front of all his friends.

Jack and Joy meet each other through a series of coincidences, and eventually they agree to go on a night of wild partying together with friends Jeffrey ‘Hater’ Lewis (Rob Corddry) and Toni ‘Tipper’ Saxson (Lake Bell). They ultimately wed, unknowingly, in a Vegas chapel in a drunken haze. The next morning, sober once more, the couple decided to split once they return to New York and reverse that impulsive wedding decision. An argument ensues and at which time Jack angrily slots in a quarter from Joy into a jackpot machine. To the shock of the both of them, Jack’s machine hits a $3 million jackpot.

They return to New York and meets in court to finally divorce after the shotgun wedding and to fight for possession of the $3 million. Contrary to each of their expectations, they meet a conservative judge with an old-fashioned, romantic belief about matrimony and instead of granting a divorce, the judge sentences the both of them to six months of ‘hard marriage’, freezing their prize money, forcing them to make the marriage work or face with losing the cash reward entirely. This is where the story really starts, as the audience is treated to Jack’s and Joy’s hilarious and ridiculous attempts at trying to undermine each other to snatch the prize money away from the other.

This is not a ground-breaking, creative and refreshing plot – in fact, it’s been used in numerous romantic comedies. While it’s nothing out of the ordinary, it is still a tried and tested recipe, and the choices of Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz have sparked life into this comedy. You will see them trying to outwit each other, often to hilarious effect. The stark contrast in lifestyles and personalities lead to many showdowns and heated confrontations and this produces several memorable moments in the movie. In the end, they find themselves falling for each other, helping each other out of the rut that they were stuck in. As mentioned, it was a predictable plot, but it is not an immediate disappointment.

That being said, I felt Aston Kutcher’s theatrics were exaggerated at times. His mannerisms and gesticulation were greatly exaggerated, giving the audience them impression of the movie being very ‘forced’ and unnatural. Cameron Diaz, on the other hand, was a gem. Despite the awkward pairing of the two, she manages to put in a very professional act and is a very accurate representation of the high-strung, worrisome workaholic Joy McNally.

Through the course of this show, there were a few moments of dry humour that really made me roll my eyes. What Happens In Vegas (2008) is far from being sophisticated, however, it is still a very entertaining chick-flick that might make you go smile and go ‘awwwww’ at the end.

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With much anticipation, I installed the PC version of the highly-rated Assassin’s Creed into my computer, after weeks of watching my friends play on the Xbox 360 console. My first impression was that Assassin’s Creed was a very brilliantly-detailed game but the impression I got after hours of game time is that it lacks the muscle in gameplay and content to compete with the very best of its genre.

The storyline revolves around a bartender called Desmond who was kidnapped by a shadowy high-tech organization who forces him to make use of a device called Animus to relive his ancestor’s ‘genetic memory’. Desmond’s ancestor is Altair, a skillful assassin of the time of the Crusades and players will assume control of Altair in the ancient cities of Damascus, Jerusalem and Acre. Altair will receive orders from the leader of his order, the enigmatic Al Mualim and, over the course of the game, plan and escape from numerous assassinations. Along the way, you will occasionally assume control of Desmond during his breaks from the Animus and gradually you will learn about the agenda of the organization and what they intend to do with Desmond’s memories.

In the first city of Damascus, you will undoubtedly have plenty of fun, performing pre-assassination preparatory tasks. Prior to any assassination attempts, you will have to gather some intelligence about the target, location, escape routes and so on. These can be obtained through interrogation of civilians, pickpocketing information and maps or performing tasks for informers in exchange for information. After these are completed, Altair will proceed with the assassination.

This is where the flaws of this game start to be apparent. Despite having an assortment of weapons like the short blade, sword, throwing knifes and a hidden wrist-blade, players will find themselves often using only the wrist-blade for assassination as it guarantees a kill. The assassinations become much of a chore after the first few as majority are routine. Blend into the crowd, gather information, assassinate target, run away. It is horrendously routine and repetitive, so much so that gameplay becomes hopelessly boring.

The most fun and creative aspect of the game is actually the escape from the guards after the assassination. The in-game dynamics and physics are very well modeled; in fact, it is one of the best thus far. The free-running Altair can be commanded to leap across rooftops, run and scale walls, jump from a foothold to another and even dive across merchant stalls in the marketplace. Soldiers will climb after you, throw rocks and shoot arrows at you. Yet even for its most original aspect, Assassin’s Creed falls short again, as there are only three fixed ways to totally elude capture – that is to seek refuge in either a stack of hay, rooftop terrace or to sit innocuously between civilians on a bench.

Fight scenes are decent, with the traditional swordfights being very engaging. However, players might lapse into a repetitive combination as there is a direct counter for sword attacks which could kill enemies in a single hit. Other than this, the set of fighting moves for Altair is really restricted. I often find myself killing the random civilian or guard scattered around in the city just for the sake of picking a fight.

One major inconvenience of Assassin’s Creed is the system requirements. If you thought that Crysis had some killer minimum requirements, Assassin’s Creed’s requirements would be considered mammoth. A dual-core computer setup is mandatory and preferably 512MB of graphic memory coupled with 2GB of RAM memory. All these are the bare minimum for playing and I believe that the demanding requirements would exclude many from enjoying this game.

I would have loved to see elements of Hitman or Crysis in Assassin’s Creed. I would very much prefer to see an improved version of stealth kills, allowing players to execute assassinations in more ways than just the old-fashioned walk-up-and-stab. Perhaps introduce disguises or long-ranged executions or even help of an accomplice. One thing that Assassin’s Creed can adapt from Crysis is the open-ended nature of both the story and environment. Enemies can be dispatched in countless ways and that would definitely add loads of fun to the game.

Do not expect much from Assassin’s Creed. It has a commendable gameplay concept, but the actual gameplay falls rather short of the expectations. This game would provide you maybe two hours of thrilling gameplay before proceeding to bore the living daylights out of you.

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It is a known fact that Razer has dominated the market for gaming mice, and they look poised to roll out yet another high-precision gaming mouse. However, they have attempted to cross over into another field of computer gaming hardware with the release of the Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones. This is a specialized headset for gaming and intended for use specifically with the Barracuda AC-1 Sound Card (but can be used separately).

Looks-wise, Razer products have never disappointed me. The recurring Razer theme is giving the products a mean and fearsome look, throwing in some slick and stylish finishing. The Barracuda is no exception. The headset is entirely black, down to cables and control, with the distinctive Razer snake trademark in blue LED on the outside of the muffs. The cables have a special Razer HD-DAI (High Definition-Dedicated Audio Interface) to fit only into the Barracuda sound card. Fortunately, Razer also equipped the headset with an adapter to function with other sound cards. The Barracuda sports a small microphone which is detachable when not in use.

The soft padded ear cups make wearing the Razer Barracuda a comfort. Even after long hours of wear while playing Warcraft III, there was totally no discomfort. The head strap is self-adjusting and fits snugly to the frame of your head. The Barracuda comes with an in-line remote control for adjusting volume. This volume control is similar to that found on speaker systems - you can control output from the front, rear, side, centre and bass. This opens up much freedom for users to explore and customize to fully enjoy the audio aspect of watching movies or gaming.

In the performance field, the Barracuda's sound quality is something Razer can be proud of. Though not known for products in the audio department, Razer has sculpted the Barracuda to be a fine gaming headset. When used during movies or games, the Barracuda produces clear and crisp sounds. The surround sound quality is evidently present and considerably realistic, especially during games. There is no distortion of sound even when the volume is tuned up significantly. One aspect that fell short was the bass. The bass makes a rather significant presence during usage, however, it lacks that oompf factor. Of course I was not expecting similar bass quality from a 5.1 speaker system, but the bass range was lower than I expected. Furthermore, playing dance and techno music at higher volumes, the bass did not have that resounding adrenaline-inducing effect and it sounded quite hollow. Good enough for gaming, but the Barracuda's bass will not provide a satisfactory listening experience when bass-intensive music is chosen. The detachable microphone does an excellent job of transmitting dialogue clearly, thanks to Razer's noise-cancellation technology. You will not need to be forced to yell into the mic at close range for this set of gear.

One thing to note is that, although the head strap is self-adjusting, you are not able to adjust it manually. The Barracuda resembles slip-on loafers in this respect. This means that some users will definitely face problems; those with a smaller head circumference will find it loose and unable to tighten to headset, while those with a bigger head width will find the headset too tight, pressing too hard on the ears. As usual, the downside of the Barracuda HP-1, like all other Razer products, is that hefty price tag. Retailing for approximately US$120, this is not something the casual gamer can afford. Furthermore, at US$120, one can actually get a set of above-average speaker systems from Creative or even Altec Lansing. The speaker sets may not guarantee better sound quality, but it will definitely product much better bass and eliminates the discomfort of having to wear a headset. If you are looking for a high-end headset for music, movies or gaming, and if you do not have any financial limitations, the Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headset would be a valuable asset.

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