Street Fighter 4 for the iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad just came out last March 10, 2010. In just a few days, it has already hit the top 10 best selling apps. While it has yet to beat Plants VS Zombies, it does indeed make a reputation for itself. The game itself is not for everyone but anybody who likes fighting games or has been reminiscing their arcade days should try this out.

Characters

The iPhone version of the game is a simplified version from the PS3 one. It just has 8 characters and 7 stages. The characters are:

1. Ryu
2. Ken
3. Guile
4. Blanka
5. Dhalsim
6. Chun-li
7. M. Bison
8. Abel

Sadly, I am missing my bosses from Street Fighter 2 like Balrog, Vega, and Sagat. The game simply jumps to M. Bison for the final boss.

The game features 4 levels of difficulty and several game modes like tournament, versus play over bluetooth, free sparring, and training. It comes with all the moves, special attacks and combos.

Graphics

The graphics of the game is amazing. It is one of the most beautiful designs I have seen on the iPhone. Here are some samples:

Sounds

The music and sounds are also wonderful. While the iPhone/iPoud Touch speakers can be a bit weak, it sounds better if you play it through earphones or when hooked up to external speakers.

Gameplay and Performance

This was where I was really hesitant. How can a game made for arcade controls work on a touch screen properly? How could a button smasher game work on a device with no buttons? It turns out that it works just fine. The design had simplified the controls to the simulated joystick and 4 on-screen buttons. There is one button for punch, another for kick, one for special attacks, and one for focus attacks. You can also customize the controls on where you want them placed on the screen as well as their opacity.

It was simplified but it works. The response is very fast and the movement is very fluid. I was able to play it on a 2nd gen iPod touch and it works just fine. The only dismay is the drain on the battery. I guess something has to give with all the performance, graphics, and sound.

Here is a short video from slide toPlay to demostrate:

Price

This is also where I had some gripe. At $10 on the appstore, it is a bit pricey. It is the most expensive game I have bought on the appstore to date but I did not regret it. I had fun playing it and I guess its worth it just for the nostalgia for me. The game performing well and giving hours of fun is just extra gravy. It is really a rare find on the appstore for a game that you can have fun that is action oriented and not some puzzle, trivia, or tower defense kind of game. I just wish there was more content for my $10.

Overall

It is a must-buy recommendation for anyone who likes fighting games and has enjoyed Street Fighter 2. This has none of the craziness that comes later with ridiculous million hadokens and almost flying characters. Beware of the 200mb download as it comes with a few movie previews of something called “Super Street Fighter 4″. Maybe a sequel…?

Anyway, I hope you found this article helpful. Feel free to share your own thoughts and comments.

The long and short of it is NO. Eating fats does not make you fat. That doesn’t mean though that you have a free pass to all the fatty things you like. Read on to know more about the practical do’s and don’ts on eating fat.

What makes you gain or lose weight is calories. Its simple math that if you eat more calories than you burn them, you gain weight. If you burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight. However, Fats have a high energy density. This means that on a gram per gram basis, Fats will have more calories than carbs or protein. For example, a teaspoon of butter is the equivalent of 2 cups of broccoli. So if you eat foods that has more fat content, it is very likely it will contain more calories than eating other less fatty foods of the same portion.

There are basically three kinds of fats in general:

There is the Unsaturated Fats (good fats) which are mostly plant and vegetable based fats that does not clog up your arteries and pass through the bloodstream easily. Unsaturated Fats sources are like canola oil and corn oil.

Then there is the Saturated Fats (bad fats) which are mostly animal meat and animal products. These could be from steaks, dairy products like cheese and butter. Alot of baked goods also contain this as they use butter and milk usually at to some point in time. These are not good because they are usually high in cholesterol and can contribute to clogging the arteries and increasing your chances at heart diseases.

Lastly, there is the Trans Fats (bad fats) or Hydrogenated Fats which are man-made. These are created to help extend the shelf-life of processed foods like fries, donuts, cakes, and cookies. Trans Fats are the worst kind because not only do they raise higher cholesterol, they also deplete any good cholesterol (HDL) you may have. So while your body does not need any of these, many manufacturers use this so their products can last on the shelves longer. A key ingredient to watch out or is “hydrogenated oil”. Stay away!

Recent awareness campaigns have already started to take effect and people are now more conscious and food labels are now promoting 0% trans fat in their labels. So next time you choose your products, it pays to read the nutritional label.

Haha! I was just able to successfully meet my personal goal of running the 5K at the Century Tuna Superbods Run 2010. I was so out of shape last year that I could only perform the 3K but I was able to work my way up now to 5K. While I am not satisfied with my finishing time of 40 mins (average between 30-45 mins for beginners). I plan to make up better time in future 5K runs. This was my first 5K and my second running event experience. My next goals would be to hit the 5K with a better time and then move on to the 10K.

Last Sunday’s run was indeed a successful event by Century Tuna. It was held in cooperation with alot of sponsors and more notably, it is the 1st leg of the RunRio trilogy. 11,000 people participated in the run making this the largest run of 2010 so far. The youngest runner I heard was 2 years old (poor child) and the oldest was 75 years old. It was great but there had been some room for improvements as the gun started 10 mins early causing mixup of people. The roads were also not closed off well enough that we caused some traffic.

It was also nice to see friends during the event and many thanks to my brother for being supportive. I guess this is my first blog entry that tells you that I am sort of into running. I will be posting useful running articles here in the future as I learn more about the sport. Please check back weekly for updates!

Image Credits to Morris

Most salesmen today forget what it is like to be sincere. I am talking about genuine care for the need of the customer. Not that fake enthusiasm or that nice smile, pleasant comments just to get your business.

I believe that sincerity is one of the most important factors when doing any business transaction. The sincere salesman will take the time to understand your need, identify your problem, and present you with options best suited to your interest. Sometimes, the solution does not involve the product the salesman is selling at all. When this happens, don’t you just so appreciate the sincerity and honesty that you will likely purchase from that same person next time you need something he is selling?

Call me old school but I prefer this way of doing business. While this may not land you the most sales in the short-term, it will most likely build customer loyalty in the long-term.

Just to share a recent experience, the fitness club I go to is heavy on selling their “personal training sessions”. The personal trainers in the gym often fake sincerity by coming up to you to helping you with your workout.  After a while, they will try to “sell” you on getting their services for personal training. Once they realize you will not sign up. they’ll drop you like a hot potato and would much rather spend time by the water cooler than provide the assistance they were so eager to just minutes ago.

Regardless of the product you are selling, be sincere. Think of it as helping another human being if customer loyalty is not yet enough motivation. The world needs more sincere salesmen.

Everyone has heard of the doctor’s saying “An apple a day keeps the doctors away”. So if you are wondering truly how good is an apple for you, read on.

The apple is a wonderful fruit. It is a very inexpensive way to get good vitamins to your body. While you certainly need more than an apple to maintain good health, it is definitely a must-have in your diet. Here are some reasons why:

1. Apples are rich in fiber. Apples have both soluble and insoluble fiber. The soluble fiber helps prevent the buildup of cholesterol thus preventing heart disease. The insoluble fiber helps the digestive system in holding water and cleansing your body. At the same time, fiber makes you feel more full and thus makes your food cravings less– Excellent if you are looking to lose a few pounds.

2. Low in Calories. High in Nutrition. For the amount of calories per apple (approx 80 calories). You get a good return on the nutrients. You have to eat the apple with the skin though as half of the Vitamin C is just below the skin. Here’s an approximated nutritional fact of a medium sized apple.

Calcium 10 mg
Calories 81
Carbohydrate 21 grams
Dietary fiber 4 grams
Folate 4 µg
Insoluble fiber
Iron .25mg
Phosphorus 10 mg
Potassium 159 mg
Sodium 0.00 mg
Soluble Fiber
Vitamin A 73 IU
Vitamin C 8 mg

Apples for Weight Loss
So if you are looking to lose weight, try adding 3 apples to your daily diet for 2-3 months. You should see the difference. While it may not seem like much, the 3 daily apples will up your fiber intake and thus making you eat less since you will feel more full often. It is essentially replacing what you may have eaten otherwise that may have higher calorie content in place of that food that will make you feel full.

It will also help cleanse your body and give you more vitamins and nutrients than that ‘other food’. This will let your body clean out its system and turn you into a healthier you. So next time you’re at the grocer, drop by the fruit section and get an apple.

Here are some of my favorite videos, enjoy.

Its a Martin Scorsese movie so its sorta interesting. It stars Leonardo Di Caprio in a story about two U.S. Marshalls sent to a federal institution for the criminally insane located in Boston’s Outer Harbor to capture a violent female escapee.

2. Iron Man 2 (May 7, 2010)

How can we not watch this?

3. Robin Hood (May 14, 2010)

When Ridley Scott (director of Gladiator) teams up with Russel Crowe again to make an epic movie of Robin Hood, it becomes a must-watch.

4. Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time (May 28, 2010)

Remember the PC game way back to all the newer renditions? I hope the movie doesn’t fail the franchise. I heard that the release date has been moved for better effects and refinements.

5. The Last Airbender (July 2, 2010)

I think this should be an interesting movie. I haven’t watched any of the animated series but it has been quite a hit. Its a movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan too so it should be interesting to say the least.

I’m gonna reserve judgement for the last 5 movies I’d recommend. Some considerations at the moment are Expendables, Harry Potter, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and the Book of Eli. We’ll See..

Welcome to the second part of my tips and strategies guide to Cafe World. If you missed out reading the first one, you can find it here.

I’ve actually gotten tired of the game after some time as it gets repetitive but its good fun while it lasted. But that’s just me. Try it out, I’ve friends that have found this game utterly captivating even after a while. Without more delay, here are the tips:

STACK UP YOUR DISHES

You have limited counters depending on your level. Thus, you are limited to the kind of dishes you can serve. However, there is no limit to the quantity you can stack up on one counter of the same dish. So say that you have 4 counters. It is best that you keep cooking the same 4 kinds of dishes. Plan ahead if you want to change a dish being served so you can swap a new dish with an old dish that’s about to run out. You don’t want to delete either dishes on the counter or on the stove as its wasted coins and time. A common mistake is getting excited about the choices of dishes you can make and then ending up with no space on the counters to place ready dishes.

ADD NEIGHBORS AND GIFTS

You need neighbors to expand your cafe. Also, you can visit each neighbor everyday and get free coins and exp by tasting their dishes. Its irrelevant what dish and you just have to click accept for that free exp and coin. You can do this once per day. Also, remember to always send and receive free gifts. Its just free stuff for everyone. You will likely be getting gifts in return if you start giving too.

EXPANDING YOUR CAFE

As you level up and can serve more dishes, your cafe’s popularity should have grown too if you have been following my tips. It is now time to expand as customers that has to wait too long will leave your cafe and bring down your buzz rating.  You cannot ‘jump’ ahead in expanding and you can only upgrade to the next level of cafe.

Expanding will require neighbors and coins. You can also use cafe world cash but that’s real money and I don’t recommend it. Its easy enough to do with coins anyway. Here is a list of the requirements and sizes of cafe expansions.

MAXIMIZE STOVES AND COUNTER UTILIZATION

You always want to keep your stoves and counters busy. So plan ahead is the key to this game in almost every aspect. Make sure your stoves are always cooking and your counters filled with food. You can also make clicking easier as the commands can be queued. For example, you can buy all the dishes you want to cook first and then just click on each counter. You don’t have to wait for the progress bar to finish on one counter before clicking the next.

SAVE MONEY ON DECORATIONS AND ALL STOVES/COUNTERS WORK THE SAME

At the start, be frugal. Do not splurge on decorations until you really have extra coins. Save up your coins for ingredients, basic equipment and expanding your cafe. All tables, chairs, doors, stoves, counters work the same. The most expensive stove and the cheapest one work the same. You are just paying for looks. Avoid this if you want to progress up quickly.

DID YOU KNOW: You can save on cleaning up stoves by putting dirty stoves back into your inventory and then putting them back out? They will come out as clean. You don’t get the exp for cleaning up the stove though so its up to you if you want more exp or saving up on the coins.

CAFE POINTS TABLE

Each dish has its corresponding cafe points that you can make from preparing and serving it. Here is an list sorted according to total Cafe Points.

CHEF’S SPECIAL!

When you cook one dish often enough, you can get awarded with extra servings of the dish as a Chef’s Special. So it pays off to be consistent too. Since the priority should always still be planning what you cook around your playtime, it helps if you have a ’set’ of dishes you cook according to the cooking time.

Leave a comment, submit your ideas!

This is it for now. I hope you have enjoyed Cafe World and my guide has helped you play it much better. Feel free to give comments, say thanks, or add your own tips. I’d love to hear from you and I am sure others would benefit from our input too.