jp-30

So, as the last person on Earth not to have played the original Half-Life, how 'necesary' is it to have played prior to HL2 (for which I have a free voucher in an ATi card I picked up at work a month or two back). Will not having played HL1 hinder my enjoyment of the plot of HL2? In-jokes? Recurring themes etc?

Singstar.

Todays stupid 'lets sue over an outdated patent' story courtesy of theinquirer.net http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19426

And here is the offending patent. Star Wars Arcade. Mercenary. Elite. Battlezone... all prior to 1988, no?

MAME has shown me that classic coin-ops from my childhood are nowhere near as much fun as I remember them being.

The long-worked-on mod for Jedi Academy recreating LucasArts' fps classic Dark Forces is now available for download (well, the first 3 levels anyway). Official mod website Download link at lucasfiles.com Edit: Mirror up here (direct link), as some people are having problems with lucasfiles.com When you're out there blasting Stormies in the Talay level, be sure to admire my the lovely textures on the little objects.

Ahhh - the days when in-house LucasArts was cutting edge... those times are sorely missed.

Cue Trep...

Correct. Once they've completed the main story, most gamers will be out on the streets stealing BMX's, bonking hookers and smashing peoples skulls open with crowbars.

Well, today my life was a 5.7 (bad weather, hangover, car trouble, job insecurity). Next week I'm shooting for an 7.3.

Well, I clicked through from a spam email and thought I was signing up for generic viagara. Instead I'm left with "no Ron Part 2 on Wednesday". Or Thursday. Idle Thumb's premature exclamations, if you will.

I want my Idle Thumbs subscription refunded.

Of course he has, he's not impressed at this waiting around for part 2 either.

It's already 10:20am Thursday here. My life's on hold until I read part 2, and my employer's not impressed.

Yeah, jeez. Even without inflation being considered, I recall paying around NZ$150 each for Tie Fighter, DOTT & Rebel Assault back in the early 90s. Prices have dropped by 1/3 over the last 10-15 years (here at least), though maybe the markups at retail back then were huge, as it was a less competitive gaming environment and the software shops didn't need to worry about matching the big discount chains like they do these days.

Well, over here a movie is NZ$15 (at the cinema), NZ$40 on new release DVD, a CD is $NZ30 and a game is NZ$100. So if I look at a dollar / hour value, Movie - $7.50 hour for 2 hour movie DVD - $20 / hour for a 2 hour movie. (which I might watch once a year on average I guess) CD - $30 / hour (which I'll probably listen 2 three or 4 times, then the occasional song on 'random' on iTunes or my CD Changer. PC Game - well , it varies on title, but I'm not exactly 'leet' and have 3 small kids & a wife vying for my time, so an average game might take me anywhere from 10-50 hours to complete. Let's go the lowere extreme, 10 hours worth of gameplay before I finish or abandon it. That's $10/hour. Not bad value compared with other forms of entertainment. Also factor in a new book (hardcover) about NZ$50, paperback NZ$25. Concert Ticket NZ$75 - $120 for a 2-3 hour show. All in all PC games are probably as good value for money (if not better value for money) than most other types of comparable (music, movies, books) entertainment available. The issue with video games being expensive is the higher initial outlay, and the real risk your purchase may not be as much fun as you'd hoped.

All the LucasArts adventures (except the 2 Indiana Jones ones) would seem to fit under that category. And somewhat coincidentally Ron was involved in a number of them.

The one redeeming quality of LucasArts 'Phantom Menace' game was the killing sprees you could go on with your blaster & lightsaber. The best was in Mos Espa which was chock full of helpless civilians. Your character (Qui Gon?, Anakin?, I can't recall) could wipe out the entire community. It was always good for a laugh when you'd find Amidala and she'd say "This place is horrible,A vicious murderer has been killing inocent people all over town!!!". In fact there were a number of very funny things to do / see in The Phantom Menace game. Shooting that whiny bitch Amidala was one of the best. That game was universally panned, but for me was like Star Wars as told by Monty Python, but many of the people wanting an Authentic Star Wars Experience were somewhat put out. Idiots.

As part of the BBC's new Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy Website, the old infocom adventure has been spruced up with a funky "guide" interface (still text input though!), and (horror!) graphics. Though the graphics have been done by Rod Lord in the same style he used in the 'guide' sections of the BBC TV series, and are rather lovely. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game.shtml The radio play's been redone too, sniff around the site for more info... AND they're taking fan submissions for illustrations for parts of the game; Hooray!

Tried emulation?

Tell me about it. After my introduction to PC gaming via Infocom's Zork I- III, I've gotten soft in the interim years due to LucasArts 'no death' policy. It comes as quite a shock to my pampered self to get killed in an adventure game every 5 bloody minutes.

Well, "Alone in the Dark" scared the bejesus out of me back in the mid 90s. And that was 3rd person and distorted camer angles. I think the fixed cameras & 3rd person view made for a more cinematic feel.

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=509 So. Not that I'l ever play this game, but if I did, I think I'd be on the 'original series' server and learn to be a tailor who makes red shirt uniforms for starfleet.

Exxxactly.

The word you want is gaudy.