Ever wondered what the AsiaOne team would love to get its hands on? Here are some of the games and gadgets that inspired oohs and ahhs this year.
AsiaOne's Editor Adrian Tay wants to indulge his inner child with "Heroes of Might & Magic: Complete Edition"
'I used to play past versions of Heroes of Might and Magic when I had more time, so I would love to get started again.
The thing I like about this game is that it combines turn-based strategy with a touch of RPG. The graphics are amazing and if I'm not mistaken, this bonus set comes with a few 'episodes'.'
Businessand Education's Tan Chye Luan penned the following note to Santa:
'Dear Santa
I would like a laptop, please. Why? Because I don't want a digicam, Xbox, Wii, mobile phone, etc.
Yes, I want a good, 'old-fashioned' laptop. And, if you don't mind, can my laptop be equipped with the following:
latest, stable processor
at least 2GB DDR-2 SDRAM
Genuine Windows Vista Business (no bugs, please!)
at least 320GB hard drive & CD/DVD ROM
integrated broadband, WIFI
multi-card reader
respectable graphics card
webcam, enhanced multimedia finery (optional but welcomed!)
If I've missed out any vital accessory, please feel free to soup up the machine for me.
Oh yes, can my laptop come in flaming red or sunny yellow?'
Health's Raymond Poon wants a home speaker system from BOSE
'Then every night, I'll let myself be transported to a surreal soundscape - far from the madding crowd. Booming rock music when I need a pick-me-up, quiet instrumental tunes when I need to let my mind wander. Like they say, music soothes the savage beast. And how cool it would be to tell everyone you have a top-notch speaker system at home.'
Just Woman's Cynthia Loh is dreaming of a HD LCD TV:
"My dream gadget is the Philips Ambilight HDTV. I think the latest model Aurea comes with a halo of light surrounding its screen for that added glow and makes pictures look like they float. I think it will look absolutely fantastic hanging on my wall at home, and what's more - it's a space saver too! What more can I say - I like functionality with aesthetics! I'm totally bought over by the ads! *drool*"
Just wonder what the payload is, so I can send stuff to colleagues when that I'm too lazy to get off my chair.'
Self-confessed Apple junkie Geraldine Teo of Multimedia declares:
'All I want for Christmas is a Leopard to pat and an iPhone to finger. Why? There's no logic when you talk to Apple fanatics, take it from a person who owns four iPods!'
Adrian Lim of Travel wants a virtual escape with Xbox 360 and Halo 3:
'My friend recently loaned me his original Xbox and got me hooked on playing Halo - this futuristic first-person-shooter. Besides the addictive gameplay, the Halo series also boasts a fairly intriguing plot which contains thematic traces of religion, conspiracy, good-evil, and the ever-blurry man-machine distinction.
I have not touched video games of any sort for sometime, so this is a hark back to some of my childhood whims and fancies. So much effort is invested into creating video games nowadays - playing through one is almost like sitting through a movie.'
'There is something about this US$399 (S$577) gadget that appeals to my inner geek. It would free up at least one entire floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and its 6 inch screen would allow me to read without squinting. A PDA is just too small to read an entire novel on - take this from someone who read all 4193 electronic pages of Middlemarch on a miniscule 2.7 inch screen. Kindle even has a built-in Wikipedia and The New Oxford American Dictionary. Sounds like a book geek's dream come true.'
'I used to play past versions of Heroes of Might and Magic when I had more time, so I would love to get started again.
I would like a laptop, please. Why? Because I don't want a digicam, Xbox, Wii, mobile phone, etc.
'Then every night, I'll let myself be transported to a surreal soundscape - far from the madding crowd. Booming rock music when I need a pick-me-up, quiet instrumental tunes when I need to let my mind wander. Like they say, music soothes the savage beast. And how cool it would be to tell everyone you have a top-notch speaker system at home.'
I've considered the practical - a GPS car navigation system - but skyscrapers downtown can render them redundant, given their need for open spaces.
'My friend recently loaned me his original Xbox and got me hooked on playing Halo - this futuristic first-person-shooter. Besides the addictive gameplay, the Halo series also boasts a fairly intriguing plot which contains thematic traces of religion, conspiracy, good-evil, and the ever-blurry man-machine distinction.
'There is something about this US$399 (S$577) gadget that appeals to my inner geek. It would free up at least one entire floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and its 6 inch screen would allow me to read without squinting. A PDA is just too small to read an entire novel on - take this from someone who read all 4193 electronic pages of Middlemarch on a miniscule 2.7 inch screen. Kindle even has a built-in Wikipedia and The New Oxford American Dictionary. Sounds like a book geek's dream come true.'
