Ben

Moderators
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    1131

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Ben

  11. Posted

    Yeah, having just watched it the hate is a bit out of proportion (if understandable considering how much everyone loves the show and how consistently good that was). Basically it was average and suffered because of the length; but there were some funny moments and it was by no means terrible as a standalone. It's all relative.

  12. Posted

    Is it now impossible to get a PS3 with backwards compatibility in the UK? That was one of the biggest reasons I was thinking of getting one. I never had either of the other two.

    It's not impossible yet no (i've seen a few online stores that still have it for sale), though it will soon be quite difficult if not impossible to find a first-hand one. I imagine it will always be possible to track down a second-hand one.

  14. Posted

    While everyone was playing CoD4 online on the 360, the PS3 version was having troubles because their servers weren't expecting the load and choked.

    To be fair that only happened the first couple of days, it was all fine after that. When you consider it was exactly the same problem faced on the 360 during the beta period (and the PS3 lacked a pre-release beta) it's not surprising.

    As for my opinion on which to get, I think as most people have expressed the best thing to do is wait and see if you're unsure right now. Both machines have pros and cons and even those aspects shift depending on your needs.

  15. Posted

    Hmm? I not sure that Sony, a member of the DVD Consortium, have made the PS3 DVD region free... Does anyone know about this?

    I think Spaff meant for Blu-Rays, which are about 90% region free (certain distributors, I think Disney and Fox are region locked) so most Blu-Rays are playable regardless of the region of the disc or the machine. The DVD player, is still region locked though.

    Edit: Beaten to it!

  16. Posted

    Just out of curiosity, why isn't this article linked on the main page? Seems like now that there's new content you'd want to flaunt it.

    That would just get peoples hopes up wouldn't it? As much as we revel in the inevitable disappointment of not providing regular content I think we'll save you all from it this time.

    What am I saying! It's always been there... ¬¬

  17. Posted

    It is rather silly to postulate that all game journalists are idiots who don't know what they're doing. Are they, now? If all of them come to some conclusion, say, they found Portal too short and would have liked to see more, could it be that this is actually what they felt at the end of it?

    It's not silly to postulate they're all idiots, no :P. Anyway, I didn't say they don't or couldn't feel that way; nor that I didn't understand why they do. I said that it shouldn't be a something to hang a game by and reduce its value as a game (rather than as a product). There is a difference.

    In response to Ben's little bit at the end, I actually do have some songs that I would have wanted to be longer, and I am of the opinion that they would not have suffered from it.

    That's cool. The song analogy was just a random example I raised while Alex and I were discussing his article, I stuck it in without really thinking about it in great depth, hehe. But I think it's a valid comparison. I'm not surprised when people say they wish a song or game was longer. Again, the same thing applies - I'm not suggesting that it being longer is necessarilly a bad thing (I go out of my way to explicitly state so: "Sure, it might have been cool if it had been longer...";i'm simply saying that its value as a form of art (as something that emotionally resonates) is not intrinsically linked to length as reviewers would have you believe. And thus something that is good being short does not necessarilly mean it's of less value artistically, in the same way that being longer does not make it of more worth artistically. It simply is what it is and you either relate and appreciate it for those reasons or you also apply external values like cost (which is the reason that length is often raised in these reviews, and the reason I don't consider it a genuine or valuable objective criteria for a review of a game in and of itself).

  19. Posted

    Nice write-up n0wak. I love that E4’s primary game mode actually integrates a rhythm element relating to the BPM: it really substantiates the game play in a way that it didn't before and as you say moves it closer to the Kandisky-inspired experience that you find in Rez. The timed element creates a very enjoyable dialectic too as you have to balance the scoring drive with keeping the clock full. It's all very simple essentially, but it’s also (as you've pointed out) extremely addictive.

    There’s really no describing Mizguchi’s game experiences in words; attempting to do so makes one either sound like a hopeless fanboy or a pretentious twat. Suffice it to say that even if you aren’t great at the game, E4 is thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s accessible enough that anyone can attain some level of visible skill.

  20. Posted

    Rephrasing my thoughts (massive, massive spoilers):

    In Aperture, you're isolated from the outside, tucked away safe from the combine invasion. Winning your freedom only boots you out into an alien military state. So it's a case of trading an immediate threat for a larger, more dangerous one.

    Yeah, and I'm not debating that

    she's not a threat or that her intentions are "pure" so to speak.

    Rather I'm just pointing out that it was an external threat being referred to.

  21. Posted

    My interpretation:

    The way it was phrased, I thought she said that she was the only one keeping *you* away from them. As in, to get to *them* you need to go through her first.

    Hmm, possibly. But having listened to it again i'm pretty certain it's

    the external threat ("them") she is emphasizing.

    Here's what she says: http://n1nj4.net/~ferrio/random/halflife_tie_in.mp3 (Obviously do not click... blah blah blah.)

  22. Posted

    I want to play the end again so I can hear more of the monologue, since it was often cut short by my "activities"

    Yeah me too. I did manage to catch an interesting line that possibly alludes to the HL universe (aside from the Black Mesa stuff)...

    During the final battle GLaDOS mentions that you don't want to leave, because you don't want to see what's happening outside right now. Also that you don't want to destroy the her since she's the only thing keeping them away. Of course, considering how much she lies throughout the game this could just be another one.

    Also, while there are too many funny lines to pick out one as my favourite; this one just came to mind: "I didn't even need that unit. That unit was for making shoes for orphans. I'm glad you destroyed it."

  23. Posted

    Yeah, it's in...

    test area 15 i think, there's a little gap in the second part of the area where you can see a bunch of photos of the companion cube

    (DO NOT HIGHLIGHT TEXT IF YOU WANT TO DISCOVER IT YOURSELF!)

    It also contains some random writing on the wall including the login details. Here's a screenshot (again don't click on link if you don't want to see): http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2j1ubvc&s=2

  25. Posted

    Ooooh! Me! Me! I don't have them! I don't have them! Hang on, let me find my Steam information...

    EDIT: I'm lobotomy42 on Steam as well, fortunately. So I think I need to friend someone first? How does this work?

    Just send a PM to one of the guys who are offering the games and get their Steam ID. You can probably find their details on the Steam Community thread as well but PM would probably be easier.