erin cahill/alexia barlier/andrew w walker--dir. axel sand

Replica germana la seria "Fast & Furious" . Imi place genul, asha ca m-am hotarat sa-l vad, pana fac rost de " Speed Racer" (varianta buna,nu aia trasa din sala:) ).....Deshi povestea e dea dreptul stupida( se invarte in jurul unor curse ilegale de mashini si a unor jafuri-deci e copiata identic din seria americana mai sus pomenita), filmul nu dezamageshte, pt ca are combinatzia perfecta cu care de obicei n-ai cum sa dai gresh: mashini super-tunate si nishte gagici super-bucatzi( d-alea de pui stop cadru, ca sa nu zic acuma alceva:)) ) !!! Plus ca din punct de vedere tehnic, e filmat si realizat ireprosabil, si cu toate ca-s conshtientzi ca n-o sa aiba parte de vreo nominalizare la oscar, actorii incearca sa dea tot ce-i mai bun aici. Deci, iata cateva atuuri care reusesc sa faca din "Fast Track" un film plin de adrenalina si femei frumoase( ma repet:)) ) pe care, sincer vorbind, nu regretzi ca l-ai vazut !!!        VIEW TRAILER 

"Fast and Furious 4" sur Allociné

Above we have the first look at The Fast and the Furious 4...or more confusingly known simply as Fast and Furious. Directed by Justin Lin, he behind FF3 Tokyo Drift, for this we see the return of pretty much  all the stars of the original, and by far the best, of the trilogy. Vin Diesel who mad his name in the original made a very brief cameo in Tokyo Drift and returns here in the starring role once again. His reason for returning in his own words is "I saw how people related to the characters' stories as much as the cars and action."

 Something tells me it has more to do with his waning star power and severe lack of anything approaching a hit since, well, FF1...we will have to see come next summer (2009) if he is still capable of opening a film, though until then we have the oft. delayed (surely a sign of yet another flop) Babylon A.D. currently due out in August.

Vitoria, Spain was our last stop on the tour and certainly the LIVEST spot. The picture above reveals a somewhat "Fast and Furious" cult-like privacy. As a matter of fact, the "Fast and Furious" comparison is pretty accurate now that I think about it in hindsight. This club location was soooo hidden and nondescript that we were RIGHT in front of it and had no clue as to the directions that the Club owner was trying to convey on the Promoters' speaker phone. So here we are, finally in Vitoria after a 5 hour ride, right on time for sound check, sitting in a truck parked at the curb of an obviously and regularly busy street lined with high, wired fences with unmarked factory buildings on each side for as long as you could see, only broken by traffic light intersections. We tell the Club owner that we aren't moving until he comes to get us, for it was way too confusing to follow his directions in risks that we would miss the rehearsal (sound). So literally in less than 2 minutes or even less, this white, tricked out civic comes speeding in the traffic lane going opposite of where we are pointing and "drifts" or whips towards our truck in a quick-turn about (180 degree) and stops a few feet short of the curb. It was the club promoter, (definitely "Fast and Furious" insipired)... He put his hand out the window and hinted that we follow. Within seconds we were winding through alleys that he knew like the back of his hand, and BAMM!!, we were at the club in no time at all, just like he said.

This was a private club with members only like a motorcycle gang, but this place was Hip-Hop Cultured to "death..or Def!! Crazy graffiti and great music throughout the night. And guess what?? NO violence or fighting. While here in the states, we tend to associate hip hop with violence, ALL the time...so as Don King would say "Only in America!!"

So the news on Transformers 2 has been kicking up.  Most of the original cast is back with a few extras.  Truthfully I don't care.  I just want more giant fucking robots.  Nothing else.  Supposedly according to numerous sources, that's what we're getting.  Pictures of Ironhide holding a motorcycle (Arcee?) in his truck bed have shown up in PA where they are filming.  Also a three-wheeled bike has shown up as well on the same trailer (speculations say Ravage).  My feeling is that as long as things go boom more, there are less humans, and Peter Cullen makes a return, then I'm good.  I had huge doubts as many are away of for the first one.  Not this time.  In Michael Bay I trust.  I'll post pictures if I get more.  I got some of Ironhide and the 2 bikes in my e-mail a few days ago, but they are everywhere on the net (or here www.seibertron.com).

Now, for a movie I'm concerned about is Fast and Furious (The Fast and the Furious 4).  Supposedly Dom (Vin Diesal) is rocking a new Mustang and Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is rolling a Subaru Impreza Outback Sport.  Yeah, a damn station wagon.  Whatever.  Looks lame, but like Transformers, I'll go see it.  I've seen the other 3 and I'm a sucker for cars and their movies.  Especially cars I can afford in my lifetime.

Lots of new games coming out.  Far Cry 2, the sequel to Beyond Good and Evil, Metal Gear 4, etc.... The list goes on.  Tom Clancy's HAWX and Splinter Cell: Conviction are on the top of my lists.  They both look great and I need my Clancy fix.  Vegas 2 is finished and really, I need my realistic killing/stealth action.  I've missed Splinter Cell, since Double Agent kinda stunk it up with a crappy story.  At least the other 3 tried to tell a story.  Double Agent went off the deep end.  Plus it was still realy clunky.  This is next-gen people.  Smooth and realistic movements/physics is the future.  Better graphics no longer cut it.  Just ask Tony Hawk.

Ok, before I check out, I think I'm going to add in classic reviews of games that may be old, but you should check out, or really avoid.  I go through periods where I play older games and this has made me want to write up a few reviews.  I think I will.  Drop me a line if this is a bad idea but I think it would be cool and would expand the blog.  I may do classic movies and albums too.  Not sure.  Depends on how much time I have in the coming weeks.

Anyway, I'll check in a few times this week and then after I get back from training.  Lates.

Yup, that just about says it all.

For my generation, it’s obvious…stimulation, over-stimulation, hyper-stimulation…

Remember Atari? It was cool. I got in on the gaming revolution way to late, but it was really cool. There was this one game, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, with its synthesizer theme “music” and brick-like pixel snakes to be avoided, I was completely amused. But then came the Sega-Genesis and Sonic the Hedgehog, always moving, and if you weren’t moving then you lost the game. So, my mind had to speed up in order to keep up. Skip a decade (because I did) and suddenly there is the multiplayer James Bond phenomenon…again, constantly moving, frantically fast paced. My eyes actually started to hurt after playing it for a while. Then X-Box came and with it we got, Halo…big…better…faster…more painful for my eyes…

But that’s just talking about games…

Movies are the same way…I remember watching Chariots of Fire when I was about 10 years old, one of the first movies I ever saw…I was riveted; the characters, the plot line, the breathtaking melody…Funny thing, recently I tried to watch it again, I barely made it through the first hour…slow, monotone, bland colors…nothing like the blockbuster Pirate extravaganza Hollywood had just put out for summer consumption. Our cinema is a thing of booming, exploding, crashing, flashing, and constant excitement.

And then, there are slogans… A good politician used to be memorable by his speeches; leaders were immortalized by their exquisite oration…now it’s all about catchphrases, blips, and even single watchwords. The former British Prime Minister Tony Blair began one of his addresses by saying, “Now is not the time for sound-bites. I can feel the hand of history on my shoulder”…Hellooo?!?! That’s one of the most amazing sound bites I have ever heard! But, even that feels a bit wordy. Today on the political front whole campaigns have been reduced from a pithy slogan to solitary names that say it all… “BUSH”…or equally to the point “GORE”. It’s ironic that in this age of mass marketing and advertising extraordinaire a really good point can’t actually even be made…no time…no patience…no toleration for the long winded explanation…so just flash a face in front of me, wave a color next to their head, and say their name clearly and deliberately so it can be understood…now that is a successful political canvassing.

The iPod has allowed us to create the portable soundtrack for our life…My friends make fun of me that the first thing I do when I get into my car is turn it to the day’s fresh Playlist. But they are the same way…ear buds always in…sound on.

Do you see what I’m getting at?

Our culture, like the movie, is fast and furious…our need for speed is farther reaching than just in the car world. Say it fast, think it fast…and make sure it keeps my attention!

Christianity isn’t much different than the world around it in this respect.

Die Story ist so egal wie austauschbar: Toretto und Brian treffen sich in L.A. wieder und müssen sich gegen einen gemeinsamen Gegner zusammentun.

Naja. Hier gibts n Video mit schicken Autos zum Film. Und am 5.06.09 in Amerikas Kinos.

Das alles fand sich natürlich auch alles schon hier. Aber hey - hier steht was zur Story... und der offizielle Filmtitel *g*

Mostrato il trailer 3 del Cavaliere Oscuro
Il terzo trailer del Cavaliere Oscuro è stato mostrato al Comic-Con di New York: ecco la descrizione! Inoltre, continua il virale del film, che probabilmente porterà alla pubblicazione del trailer...

Prima immagine di Street Fighter
Il blog ufficiale di Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li è stato aggiornato con la primissima immagine del film: si tratta di una foto di Robin Shou nel ruolo di Gen, un nuovo personaggio...

Ecco titolo e trama di Fast and Furious 4
Il quarto episodio di Fast and Furious, che riunisce Vin Diesel e Paul Walker, ha ora un titolo e una sinossi ufficiali...

Ecco il teaser trailer di The Spirit!
Ecco finalmente online l'accattivante teaser trailer di The Spirit: realizzato nello stesso stile di 300 e Sin City dal loro creatore Frank Miller, il film è un adattamento del fumetto di Will Eisner...

Michael Stahl-David parla di Cloverfield 2
Michael Stahl-David, star di Cloverfield, ha parlato del possibile sequel del film, nel quale è praticamente sicuro di non comparire. Sembra comunque che le prime idee già ci siano...

Arriva Ghost in the Shell... dal vivo in 3D
La DreamWorks SKG ha ottenuto i diritti di produzione di Ghost in the Shell, e ha intenzione di realizzare il remake con attori dal vivo girando il film in Digitale 3D, la tecnologia del futuro...

Spoiler dal casting call di Angeli e Demoni!
Inizieranno a giugno le riprese di Angeli e Demoni, l'atteso adattamento dal romanzo di Dan Brown: ecco il casting call del film, con tutti i personaggi che appariranno, le loro scene e la loro descrizione!

At ASI it was confirmed that Raw Thrills' would release a conversion kit for their racer Tokyo Drift and now we have the official word that the kits are now available. As we have stated before, the kits will go for a little over $2000 (price depends on the distributor but expect between $2200 and $2600) and can go into any Crusin' USA/World/Exotica, California Speed or Off Road Challenge cabinet. I was also told that they can go into SF Rush 2049 cabinets but that is not in the press release. From what I saw at ASI, as long as the person who does the conversion does a good job at fitting everything correctly and cleaning the cabinets up properly, it can appear to the untrained eye that these are new cabinets but your results will vary from one arcade to the other obviously. Hit the post break for the full release.

[Discuss on the forum]

The Fast and The Furious DRIFT Conversion Kit Announced

CARLSTADT, NJ, April 15, 2008 –Betson Enterprises is pleased to announce that the #1 Driver in the industry, The Fast and The Furious DRIFT, is now available as a full conversion kit. This full conversion kit featuring a Dell PC with pre-loaded software will allow operators to convert some of their tired older driving games into high earning, revenue producers.

With just a screwdriver and drill, operators can easily convert any Cruis’n USA, Cruis’n World, Cruis’n Exotica, California Speed and Off Road Challenge into a DRIFT! A full Graphic package included in the kit, will give that old cabinet a brand new look! With a small investment and minimal conversion time, operators will enjoy increased revenue while their players will enjoy the best driver on the market.

“The DRIFT conversion kit will allow operators to inject new life into their out-of-date driving games.” Said Bob Boals, Executive VP of Betson Enterprises. Betson would like to thank the Raw Thrills team for their efforts in designing this much anticipated conversion kit!!! Please contact your local Betson Raw Thrills distributor for product availability. For more information on the conversion kit, please contact us at 800-524-2343 or visit our web site at www.betson.com to find your local distributor.

About Raw Thrills

Former Midway game designer Eugene Jarvis founded Raw Thrills Inc. in 2001 to create the next generation of arcade game entertainment. After creating content for IGT, Raw Thrills has gone on to design and release the best selling titles Target: Terror, The Fast and the Furious, The Fast and the Furious Super Bikes and The Fast and the Furious Drift.

About Betson Enterprises

Headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, Betson Enterprises is the leading coin operated distributor of amusement and vending equipment, coin operated parts, and service in the United States. With over 70 years of experience and leadership in the coin-operated industry, we will help you make informed decisions that are best for your business.

Betson offers entertainment and vending solutions for your business through our relationships with the operator community. For locations looking for a simple and profitable solution or vendors looking for equipment that fits any situation, Betson Enterprises can help you. Betson Enterprises has an industry proven reputation for quality and customer focus

Now known as X-Files: I Want To Believe.

And in the blue corner, previously known as 4 Fast 4 Furious, 2 Fast 4 Fury and and merely The Fast & The Furious 4.

Now titled Fast And Furious.

We think the Diesel/Walker moniker gets it, if only because the title will cause soooo much confusion to stupid people once its part of the 4-disc box set. Which we will all want for Christmas 2009.

They are filming again tonight in downtown LA. Base camp is 1st and Beaudry and it looks like they will be filming around 1st, 2nd, Beverly and Glendale Blvds. I just saw LA traffic starting to block the streets. Again, not a fan of the series but I just thought the fans of the series would like to know.

Another stunning effort from rookie Jorge Lorenzo put him on pole for the race making it 3 poles from 3 attempts from the ultra-talented young Spaniard. Compatriot and arch rival Dani Pedrosa qualified in second with Valentino Rossi completing the front row. Curiously, this was Rossi's first front row start on Bridgestone tyres with the next Bridgestone shod bike being Casey Stoner back in 9th spot. Stoner had a pre-race to forget as Ducati continue to struggle with set-up issues.

                                             Jorge Lorenzo takes his maiden Moto GP win!

With all eyes on the weather light rain began to fall as the riders were making their way around for the warm-up lap with Rossi pointing to the sky. With the mechanics in the pits frantically preparing wet set-up spare bikes Loris Capirossi managed to line up in Casey Stoner's grid spot causing both riders to dismount their machines and push their bikes to the correct position while the whole field waited. After Casey Stoner's latest string of woes he must have been wondering what else could go wrong!

When the lights finally went out it was Dani Pedrosa who led the pack into the first lap with Lorenzo and Rossi hard on his tail. A cracking battle raged between the trio with Dovizioso in tow in fourth. The Honda rider was soon taken by both Yamahas with Rossi leading briefly until Lorenzo made an audaciously brave move at the uphill chicane to take Rossi. The Doctor had no remedy for Lorenzo's pace and dropped back to be hauled in and passed by Pedrosa soon after and fading to a distant third.

                                                  The action was fast and furious.

Pedrosa mounted challenge after challenge on Lorenzo but the rookie had an answer for every gain his bitter arch rival made. Pedrosa would pull Lorenzo back by a tenth and Jorge would reply by setting  new fastest laps and pulling out 2 tenths. He went on to comfortable victory with Pedrosa second and Rossi third. Dovizioso crashed out of fourth as did Nicky hayden with Colin Edwards taking that spot.

It was an eventful race for Casey Stoner for all the wrong reasons. Something had come loose on the bike around the left handlebar and was flapping in the wind with Stoner seen grabbing it several times and stuffing it back into the bodywork. It was later reported to be one of the onboard cameras that all bikes are obliged to carry by Dorna. Stoner clearly unhappy said later that the loose component was getting caught up in his clutch lever and was interfering with the bikes steering. Not what you need while racing at over 300 kph! He finished a credible 6th after languising around in 11th for most of the race. Needless to say Stoner and the Ducati team will be hoping for better fortune for the next round.

                   The patience of a saint. Casey Stoner must be wondering what else can go wrong!

So with Lorenzo and Pedrosa joint leaders in the championship and Rossi in third the Moto GP circus heads to Shanghai in China. A fantastic sweeping track with that 1.2 km back straight will perhaps suit the Ducati more than the last two venues. Will Lorenzo continue his dream run? Will The Doctor regain his winning ways or will Pedrosa and Honda top the podium? We'll find out on May 4th when hopefully we here at Gadget Freaks will have recovered sufficiently from last nights race!

                               Get used to this! Jorge Lorenzo celebrates his "Dream" victory.

The story has Vin and Paul teaming up with the Feds to take down som heroin dealers blah, blah, blah, and probably fighting freedom haters everywhere.  PT Anderson has to find funding for "There Will Be Blood" but we're throwing money at another FF flick? Nice. Does this mean Vin will be returning for another stab at the "XXX" franchise? I can only hope.

Although the PlayStation has literally had hundreds of racing games, it too has it's Big Three that stand head and shoulders above the competition; Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer, and The Need For Speed franchise. Each of these series have been landmarks for video game racing on the PlayStation family. Gran Turismo, even though it almost was not released here in the United States and has only had three versions grace our shores, has become the exclusive "be all and end all" to simulation racing throughout the gaming world. Ridge Racer is the Granddaddy to all racers, as it was there at the very beginning blowing away PlayStation owners on its launch day back in 1995 and has continued this trend of grand arcade racing excellence through the five different versions spread across two generations (R:Racing Evolution is not part of the RR universe) of gaming systems. The most prolific of the three would be none other than the Need For Speed franchise with ten unique entries (seven alone for the PSOne) that gave gamers an opportunity to experience the best of both worlds with their authentically licensed vehicles while still incorporating an arcade handling style to these exotic racers.

Need For Speed Underground is the ninth iteration to be seen upon the PlayStation gaming family (Underground 2 was just released this holiday season) and our friends above the border have decided to take the series in a completely new direction. Gone are the exotic vehicles of yesterday. They now have been replaced with more common rides that racers can see on the streets everyday and are even more likely to have actually sitting in their driveway. Does this change affect the status of the series and reduce it to being just another racer or does it take the franchise into virgin territory to be explored and exploited? The only way to find out is to read on and take this baby out on the road for an extensive test drive. So, let's kick the tires and light the fires and see what EA Canada has created.

Gameplay
One of the most popular new cult fascinations in Japan, and also here in the states, is the world of underground street racing. Tuners, as they have become to be known as, have taken normal everyday rides that you see on the streets and have converted them to unstoppable four and six-cylinder street monsters built to rival the heavy horsepower beasts of the 60s and 70s. With the fitting of aftermarket parts and a heavy dose of bling-bling, these four-wheeled rockets can reach speeds in excess of a hundred miles an hours while barely breaking a sweat. Since the advent of Rockstar's Midnight Club, this select group has begun to receive more and more exposure in the gaming industry and has erupted onto the scene as the preferred method of racing for developers across the spectrum.

Customization is the main attractor for games of this style, and Underground seems to have taken this aspect to a completely new level. Each and every part that can be bolted on is officially licensed from the manufacturer. Whether it's brake parts or engine upgrades, everybody who is anybody seemingly has gotten their name into the game. It is here where Underground excels. The hundreds of parts, not to mention the custom decals and paint schemes, insures that ever player will be able to add their personal touch to their rides and stand out from the crowd. Each of these add-ons increases your rep meter with the adoring fans and makes it easier to acquire newer and wilder paint jobs and even unique decal schemes.

The amount of customization that a player is capable of is simply staggering. Between the multiple paint schemes, various decals and interchangeable parts, you can expect to have hours of fun putting your ride together then ripping it all back apart again. Even though I'm not usually one to dwell on the outward appearances of my vehicle, I found myself completely remaking my ride each and every time I unlocked a new decal or accessory. With all of the options available, one would be hard pressed to find an identical ride when taking the game onto the Internet. Everything from the color of neon underneath your car to the degree of tint for your windows has been covered with multiple choices. Although the best pieces have to be unlocked by progressing through the career mode, once you have moved through about a quarter of the game, the personality of your ride will easily be recognized.

Underground offers a decent selection of vehicles; however gamers expecting to have a huge selection at their fingertips will sorely be disappointed. Players will have the opportunity to try out any of the 20+ vehicles in the game from the ever impressive Skyline to the more popular Eclipse and even the ever reliable Civic. Most of these will have to be unlocked also, but you do have a decent group to start with from the very beginning. All of your rides must be purchased and, unfortunately, players can only have one vehicle at a time when working through the career mode. However all of your rides can be used in the quick race mode, but it just isn't the same as having a garage full of sweet rides to show off to your friends when they stop over for some quality racing. Also, any of your upgrades and established paint schemes will automatically be switched when you change vehicles, which also was a distracter for me personally. I would have preferred to give each car a separate personality and this is only possible by reworking any new vehicle acquired, which eats into your actual racing time extensively.

Speaking of racing time, players will have to set aside a bunch of time if you are looking to complete the entire career section. With over 110 different races, and three available difficulty levels, you will be pushing aside quite a few games to just work your way to the end of the career. One bad thing was that each race allowed you to change up the difficulty so there was no set challenge to force you to improve. In fact, the major difference between the different settings seemed to be the amount of traffic one would encounter during a street race. Higher settings gives players more cash to use for buying new parts, but you will never seem strapped for accessible funds even if you stick to the easiest settings. Another bad thing was that once a race was completed, there was no way to go back and try your skills at a higher difficulty setting. So basically, you are driving down a one way street with no way to turn around.

There is a decent selection of racing styles for players to enjoy. Along with the standard circuit (set number of laps), lap knockout (just like the circuit, but the last place car gets removed at the completion of each lap until only one car remains), and sprint (a point-to-point race), racers will also get to enjoy different versions of drag and drift (in the simplest terms, you get points for how well you slide your car around the track) racing. These last two definitely add some flavor to the standard racing scheme and do help to break up the staleness. A downside to the races is that you will only go up against three additional vehicles, which means you will spend quite a bit of time finishing your races in fourth place until you learn the ins and outs of the track. Now I consider myself to be a pretty decent racer, but with only having a 33% win factor (I have a 78% win factor for GT3) I really was forced to redo many of the races over and over again, usually because of bumping a wall at the wrong time and having the entire pack scream past me with little to no chance to catch up before the finish line. Each race will have ways for players to up their style meter, whether it's drafting off of one of the cars in front of you, powersliding around corners, hang time on jumps or even leading laps, but the best way to get styling points is to take multiple runs through the drift races and top out your meter time and time again before moving on to the next series of races.

Nevertheless, all of the different tracks are variations based in a single city and just doesn't keep one's attention for very long. After progressing through about a quarter of the game, I noticed my attention beginning to wander away and was searching for some fresh alternatives. There are also hidden shortcuts on each track, which also give you points for your rep meter, but these didn't seem to help much in gaining time on the leader. In fact, taking then usually resulted in losing time because of the tight maneuvering required or the jumps sending my vehicle off in an unexpected direction. Even by using them with no error didn't seem to give me a quality increase in my distance over the pack or allowed me to close the gap on the leader.

One of the most important aspects of any racer is in how the cars handle out on the road. The Need For Speed franchise has always been one to offer players a solid feel behind the controller, even though it is more based in the arcade category rather than being a sim-styled racer. I will say if you were expecting there to be a great variation in how the different models handle, you are in for a big disappointment. Whether you are driving a FWD, AWD or RWD vehicle, they all seem to suffer from the same handicap of tightness that one would expect from a FWD vehicle. Moreover, the cars do not handle in the same excellent tradition that the series has been known for throughout its existence. Cars do launch off the starting line and radiate that special sensation of speed, especially when you trip off the NOS system, but they all refuse to slow down upon command. In fact, you might as well get used to using the walls of the track to bounce you back into the thick of the gasoline-powered battles, as your vehicle just seems to refuse to traverse anything but the laziest of corners. Most of the time I found it better to barrel my way through a course than try to finesse my car through the tight turns. I'm really not sure upon which factor I should blame the lack of control, but the combination of a tight racetrack and non-responsive vehicles spells out a frustrating mixture of racing.

Another thing that seems to have been lost in the transition from Hot Pursuit 2 is the signature real-time damage modeling. Even through the most vicious of collisions, your ride will remain squeaky clean and in the same condition it was when it rolled off of the showroom floor. Collisions are visually impressive, as your point of view shifts to a completely different camera angle to give the player the best perspective on what your vehicle is going through, however this can be incredibly distracting when in the thick of a battle and you end up pointing in the wrong direction when all the tumbling is completed. Players do have control over the throttle and steering during these camera shifts and it is very easy to forget that you do have the ability to steer through the crashes to keep your car in the thick of the hunt. Also, it seems that computer-controlled cars do not react as severely as your ride when confronting oncoming traffic, which does stack the difficulty chips in their favor during the many races you will have to progress through.

EA Canada has done a great job with the visual presentation. All of the car models accurately represent their real-life counterparts. There are no slowdown, clipping or draw-in issues that I have noticed. There is a tiny collision detection problem, but this can be overcome by compensating and the issue is so minor that you easily bring the reins under control with minimal thought. The wet roads look exceptionally realistic and the environments are partially interactive. By that I mean there are some small objects that will scatter when they encounter your vehicle but larger items, like street lights, won't budge in the least when they are hit, even at excessive speeds. Any of the camera angles will work for a player and it is solely at your discretion upon which one you prefer to use. Moreover, even though each of the races happen at night, you will always have a clear view of the track and are not hampered by the darkness in the least, which has been an issue for me personally in the past, even with great titles like Gran Turismo and its SS 5 and 11 courses. EA has also added some great visual assistance with moving arrows for all of the corners, so setting yourself up to take the turns is easy and simplistic. With all these great options, it's really a shame that the control factor couldn't have been better so you could actually enjoy the excellent scenery.

Unfortunately, they didn't do the same with the audio tracks. Sure, the THX certification, along with the Dolby Surround Pro Logic II makes for an impressive foundation, but there really isn't that much of a difference between the engine sounds of the different vehicles. Also the music tracks all revolved around the modern era, with little to nothing for us older gamers to sink our teeth into. The tracks are all selectable, which does allow a player to only have certain pieces running in different areas of the game, but I found that I enjoyed the game more with all of them turned completely off. This is all just reflective in personal taste, as I'm sure that the music was specifically targeted towards the younger tuner audience. None of the tracks were terrible. Mostly they were simply not my personal cup of tea.

Extras

EA does offer PlayStation 2 gamers online play, even though it does only support the broadband users in the bunch. Each of the racing modes are available, along with the ability to take your personal ride onto the Net to show off your customization skills. Match-ups will put you into the thick of the battle with three other racers, but there are no additional tracks or vehicles for gamers to acquire through downloadable content. I didn't experience any new hardships with this mode and it seemed as if I was playing with a bunch of other gamers who were sitting right beside me instead of scattered across the United States.

Electronic Arts has also included the DNAS (Dynamic Network Authentication System) which seems to keep cheaters to a minimum. Also, in an interview, EA did acknowledge that their anti-hacker system was good, but not perfect, as hackers seem to find new ways all the time to beat the system. However, their protection was versatile enough to compensate against new, unique invasions and they would keep a close eye on new innovations for getting around the established system. So far, I would have to declare their system a success.

Conclusion
Need For Speed: Underground was nothing but a continuous exposure to disappointment for my personal tastes. Once you take away the novelty of customization for your vehicles and get past the eyecandy, you are left with a title wanting for more. For most series, I would not have been so excessively disappointed, but when you attach the history of such a momentous franchise to a new game, one expects the version to be head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. Perhaps if EA Canada had spent as much time working on the control of the vehicles as they did for the customization aspect we might have a completely different story to tell. Furthermore, you would expect the largest third-party software producer to be leading the pack in gaming innovation instead of falling in line with the current trends of less established companies. That is what made the Need For Speed series one of the must-have games previously, even though new titles were coming out twice as often as the competition. For those that might be interested in the tuner aspect, this will be a must-have for your gaming library, but for racing purists I would have to suggest looking at either picking up a copy of Hot Pursuit 2 or looking in a totally different direction until EA can return to what the series was originally all about.

Final Score: 7.5

Not much really in the racing section but i gotta tell you Vin Diesel looks like the fucking man rippin a butt with a bottle of Vitamin water under his seat and kickin some game with that tight little hardbody which i'm guessing could be miss Jordana Brewster?  Anyhew, he's joined with returning Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Michelle Rodriguez with a slated release date sometime in 2009.  Honestly i'm really looking forward to seeing this next installment to racing franchise.  You guys excited?

Desta vez, o nitro é o esforço humano, e os veículos são portentosas carroças, num ambiente de S. João, onde estas serviram para transportar vasos da população de Benquerença para a igreja, tal como manda a tradição, e este ano os responsáveis são a Malta de 89.

See more in the USA Today article.

Fast and Furious is set to hit theaters on June 5th, 2009.

We flew out to LA and had wanted to treat him to lunch at some swanky Japanese restaurant but it ended up him inviting us to his own restaurant, Saketini, in Brentwood. It was pretty immediate that we knew we were speaking with the right person to represent the brand. We shared with him our history: our beginnings in Asia, how the brand has since traveled to over 30 countries and our vision for the US market. We discussed our brand philosophy driven by family values and how we wanted to transcend the realm of mere shoes but to extend the brand to other aspects of culture and global consciousness. We left lunch feeling not only extremely satisfied and full (his food, by the way, is exquisite) but also feeling great about the partnership. It felt like he had already become one of the Jump family. We had some great ideas on the table and from there we knew it would only burgeon into something bigger.

Man, did he feed us. We must've gone through like 10 courses.

After our return to New York, we began brainstorming. I soon discovered that contrary to what you might think of most actors, Sung could do a lot more than just act. I suppose the fact that he owned a restaurant and built his own original menu was already a testament to that. He'd become our Hollywood ambassador, wearing our shoes in all his films including Fast and Furious 4 directed by Justin Lin, the prequel to Tokyo Drift that tells the story of Han and Dom, played by Vin Diesel also starring Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster. In Berlin, he introduced the Wachowski Brothers (Matrix) and Rain to Jump while shooting Ninja Assassin.

But one of the things that impressed me the most was that he owned a high degree of innate creativity and self-awareness of his talents and was able to tap into it to help us formulate some really great ideas; things we would've never come up with!

Internally, we had developed a dossier to help us categorize our wide breadth of product. We decided that in order to make this palatable and understandable both internally and for our customers, we should categorize it. We decided that the best way to do it was to create a character or a persona for each category, then write a story about each one. Here's what one very creative weekend yielded us.

We had a great time writing these. We wanted to make each of these characters cool but hilarious at the same time. Who would you identify with?

With these characters and Sung's talents as an actor, we now had the tools to create some really cool stuff. But what? We began throwing ideas back and forth and came up with two really good ones. The first would be a series of short films produced by Arowana Films starring Sung playing each of the characters we'd come up with. The next would involve traveling half way around the world to Taiwan to work with my old friend Jeff Wang, owner of the creative agency, Blanq to create a collection pieces that would serve as our premier brand campaign. The stage was set for a host of exciting developments. Stay tuned.

Here's my top 10 list of most annoying people, complete with no pictures because I am lazy tonight:

10) People who give their babies names that are from TV shows or are stupid surfer/OC California names

What's the deal with these assholes? They think they are all progressive and give their kids names like Rider, Logan, or worse yet, I've heard of people calling their kids "Ashton" now. Seriously..........ASHTON? As in, Ashton Kutcher, the stupidest and most annoying fuckhole on TV? Parents, please don't disgrace your children by giving them such horrible names. Give them some dignity, and just settle for Mike or Matt or something like that.
9) Guys that are either named "Jesse" or "Jamie"

Maybe this is just a regional occurrence, but it seems as though every guy with either of these names is always a huge piece of white trash. It's almost as if their mothers were too worried about their crack habits to actually notice that their babies were males, so they just left them with their female names. I've known of several guys named Jamie, and they were ALL big time fuck-ups. Same goes for the guys named Jesse. I've always wondered if a guy is named Jesse, does his full name read "Jessica" on his birth certificate?
8 Fans of Philadelphia sports teams

Since I live in a college town in PA, I have to deal with the unfortunate presence of sub-human beings from Filthadelphia infesting my town. The worst part about them is that when you see a group of say, white dudes with Philadelphia Eagles jerseys on, gold chains and sideways hats at a bar, they are the biggest cocksuckers in the world and always try to talk like violent gangsters to us about why the Eagles are better than the Steelers. The standard response is telling them: "Oh yeah? Well, perhaps we should do the math: Steelers, 5 Super Bowl wins (then you show them 5 fingers); Eagles, ZERO Super Bowl wins (then give them the middle finger)".

It goes well beyond this though. Philadelphia fans are the only fans I've ever heard of to actually CHEER when a player on the opposing team sustains an injury, a very classy move in my opinion. Recently, there was the "Pennsylvania Cold War", where the state's 2 hockey teams, The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Filthadelphia Flyers, played one another in a best of 7 playoff series (which Pittsburgh won in 5 games). I saw some fan interviews on TV before one of the games. When asked their predictions for the game, Pittsburgh fans would say stuff like: "I look for a hard fought game, with the Penguins coming out on top in the end ". On the other hand, Philly fans would say stuff like: "I hope a bunch of the Penguins get all bloody and are taken off to the hospital on stretchers".

Good god, these people are full of spite and hatred! Perhaps due to Philly's geographic proximity to the state of New Jersey, some of that Jersey attitude has worn off on them. To be frank, both places are for the most part sewers, and the only discernable difference between the 2 is that Jersey smells like urine and B.O., while Philadelphia smells like poop.

7) Old people that vote in record numbers

They have a very strong influence on our elections, and their views are very conservative and resistant to change. The problem I have with this is how so many of these old people won't even live to deal with the consequences of the elections that they so strongly influence! Meanwhile, us youngins have to deal with the fact that they still think it's 1950, and vote accordingly. I call shenanigans! In my opinion, if you are 80 years old, you are already well set in your ways, and beyond needing health care, there really aren't too many issues that apply to you, as you just sit around all day and watch Matlock for a living. So ummmm, if you're living on a fixed income and sitting on more cash than you'll ever need, and you're probably going to die soon, why vote?

6) Young Republicans

Young people are supposed to question authority and rebel against the machine, but there are some certain preppie douchebaggy young people that buy into everything that Republicans say. Why is this? Because they listen to every single thing that their mommies and daddies tell them. When I think of the young republicans that I have known, they are always total straight-edged pussies that obey their parents' every command. A recent survey revealed that 80% of young republicans breastfeed until the age of 15. As for the other 20%, they are simply imbeciles. I remember a couple of times a few years back when I talked to a few of my conservative friends about why they were for invading Iraq. All of them said: "because they blew up the World Trade Center." Of course, these people were most likely under the assumption that all Muslims are terrorists. They were also all from Evangelical-esque religious fanatic families, which explains a lot. I really don't think I need to say more here. They suck, case closed.

5) Wiggers

I'll let white people that are actually from the ghetto slide here. I'm not from the ghetto, and neither are any of the wiggers that I've ever known. They are usually either rednecks from the sticks, or spoiled rich white kids. They embody absolutely nothing about being a thug from the hood. The worst part is, NONE of these guys are ever even remotely tough! They are always scrawny little pussies, yet they dress and talk like they are thugs. They wouldn't last in an actual ghetto for more than 30 minutes.

4) Frat Flamers, aka: Frat Boys, aka: Douchebags

Oh my FUCKING GOD do I hate frat flamers! These guys really take the fucking cake. They are characterized by a unique combination of trying to be both tough guys and pretty boys at the same time, just like Justin Timberlake. Ok, so not all frat guys piss me off, but most of them do. They are generally morons. From what I've seen in most cases, they are guys who were not really popular at all in high school, so they think that they'll get a chance to finally be "cool" in college. In other cases, they are the guys who were so hung up on being popular, that they feel as though they must continue on their perpetual path of maintaining coolness. Yeah, you're fucking cool alright......it's really cool to not only pay just to have friends, but to withstand homoerotic hazing as well. Yep, that's really fucking cool in my book (***the sarcasm meter has just exploded***).

They wear puffed up collars, gel, bleach, and spike their hair, and wear really stupid necklaces.

I wasn't trying to make a joke. They really do this.

I really could write a novel about how stupid these people are. For now, I'll just leave it at what I've already stated.

3) Fast and Furious Fags

I'm sorry if I offended anyone by using the word fag, especially homosexual people who would be insulted by the notion of having any sociocultural relation to Fast and Furious people, but "Fast and Furious Fags" is what these folks are called where I live. It's a fact of life. I'm not referring to gearheads in general. I'm referring specifically to the douchebags who are totally hardcore into buying "performance" parts to pimp out their Pontiac Sunfires and Acura Integras. These people don't actually know anything about cars, but will attempt to deceive you into believing otherwise by regularly using phrases such as "Catalytic Converter" and "Manifold".

They buy special mufflers to make their sporty subcompact Japanese cars sound like monster trucks. They use up all of their trunk space on expensive speakers so that they can blast their Insane Clown Posse and Eminem CD's while driving through areas with large amounts of pedestrians at 55 miles per hour in-between stop signs. They drink alcohol, but it's usually Mike's Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice. They smoke dope, but it's always schwag. Their fenders are never any higher than 3 inches off of the ground, unless they have hydraulics. They pass people on 2 lane roads at every chance they get because they are such badasses.

In essence, Fast and Furious Fags are a clan who have subscribed to a lifestyle that's based around the primary activities of pimping out their car so it goes really fast even though there are things called speed limits that prevent them from driving as fast as they can without losing their licenses, and they all have murals of Paul Walker in their closets that they ritualistically masturbate to 5 times a day just like a Muslim praying to Mecca.

2) People named "Tom Green"

I know of one person named Tom Green, and he is the single most annoying fuckbag piece of shit that I've ever seen in my life. I was once forced to watch "Freddie Got Fingered" with people who thought that the movie was actually funny. I have never been so close to killing myself in my entire life, and thankfully have never seen any Tom Green movie or talked to those people in at least 5 years.

Wow, so I've really went off on a lot of people. But who could actually be worse than Tom Green, or wiggers, Fast and Furious Fags, and Frat boys?

I'll tell you who, but this one might just hit a little too close to home for a lot of you, so be warned..........................................

1) Any female who has ever married, dated, fucked, sucked, kissed, or given any sign of positive encouragement whatsoever to Tom Green, Wiggers, Fast and Furious Fuckbags, or Frat Flamers

Call be a chauvinist pig all you want, but...................WHY exactly do you think that these fucking assholes behave in the fucktarded manner that they do?

It's because some girls actually LIKE them! They dress the way they do, drive the nice cars and drive them fast, act like complete fucking dipshits, and paddle each other's asses because they think that it gives them a better shot at getting laid, and there are a lot females who re-enforce this theory by actually fucking these scumbags.

The above groups of males are generally the type who hit on every single female in sight when they are out in public, and there's always eventually some poor, unintelligent and confused girl with no self-esteem to facilitate their needs. Hell, I can remember a time when I was hanging out with a girl that was my friend, and a wigger came up to her and hit on her. She talked to him for at least 20 minutes, with a fake smile on the entire time. I asked her why she didn't tell him to fuck off. She replied by saying "Well, he seemed nice, and I didn't want to look like a bitch."

To that I say: LOOK LIKE A BITCH! BE A BITCH! DO NOT GIVE THESE DOUCHEBAGS ANY IMPRESSION THAT YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN THEM AT ALL!

How the fuck else are we to put a stop to their behavior? If they were put in their place by females more often, they would cease their douchebaggery!

Well, I think my work is done here. Which of my stated groups do you agree or disagree with? Do you have any groups that you'd like to add in?

It is test time at school.  I must read listening scripts into the school intercom and hope the students understand.

Sample 1^st grade sentences:

“Are you Masahiro?”

“No I’m not.  I’m Shingo.”

This sentence reminded me of my pal Shingo.  He plays on my football team and is by Japanese standards, raucous.  His car looks like Kit but has a big flame motif on the bonnet.  Inside there are speedometers and valve gauges that are straight out of ‘The Fast and the Furious.’

Last Sunday I saw him at the local skate park (a few portable rails, a metal sided box and a self made ramp in a car park).  Him and his mates were practicing.  It was hot so I sat in the shade with some of the others who were not skating.  They had a bunch of tools lying around including an electric drill, a saw and a crowbar - they are predominantly tradesmen.  

Shingo took a break from kickflipping and pick upped the saw and began cutting branches from the vines shading the benches.  He asked how one would describe his actions in English.  He shouted “Tree saw,” until I left.  

I thought of tree saw as I read the 1^st grade test and did not laugh.

P.D: A mí aparte de risas, me provoca meterle la  patada del segundo 51 en sus mismísimos.

Fast and Furious. FAF. Three words.

It sounds a bit odd coming off the tongue, especially since most have known it as the 'Fast and THE Furious' franchise.

Anyway, IGN Movies reports that it's all about Diesel and Walker's characters not liking each other and united against a common enemy! WOAH! How innovative!

What a stretch of the imagination there, huh!? Well, let's hope there's a bit more depth to the plot.

Okay, okay, I know the, uhh... FAF/FATF franchise is all about speed and cars, but please... I'd like a bit of a plot this time. The first one is a classic, it started this thing off and launched tuner culture into the mainstream. The second was okay, highlight was Eva Mendes personally, but that Eclipse Spyder was as sexy as her. Almost.

Third... well... I don't know how you get a muscle car to drift. Let's just leave it at that.

They're looking to rake it in with the cast of the first movie though, so let's see if Fast and Furious can live up to the original.

Centerville Dragway is awesome. We took our family last Friday night and had a blast. Anyone can race and you can race your family car or minivan if that is what you want to do. Every now and then someone does just for fun, I am sure they never expect to win. All I heard from my husband is how much he would like to buy a something he can fix up to race. I wouldn't mind I think I would be a rush to speed down the track. A full-size Blazer races there but it is modified and suprisingly fast. I was surprised by all the different types of vehicles there to drag.    

There are many different catagories to enter and lots trophies to be won. There is also motorcycle racing too, some hit 130+ mph. The season just started but there were still many vehicles racing. Later on many more will come when the weather gets a little warmer. People from the neighboring states come to race here as well as from some of the distant states. We enjoy going when we can. Just wanted to share these pictures and to mention that it only cost $5.00 to get in the gate in case anyone is ever down this way.