toblix

I don't have much use for filler text, but when I do, I'm partial to Lorizzle.

About Norwegian Christmas, the main difference is that the main celebration takes place on the 24th. This is the day Norwegians do one or more of the following: Eat porridge (whomever finds the almond gets the marzipan pig) Attend the special Christmas church service Eat the traditional Christmas meal, which is one of (in order of popularity): Pork ribs roasted whole with the skin on, rather than spare ribs Salted, dried, and smoked lamb's ribs which are rehydrated and then steamed, traditionally over birch branches Something else, like cod, pizza or mexican food [*]Go around the tree singing carols [*]Open all the presents The 25th is for having a huge breakfast, relaxing, checking out your presents, taking walks, whatever. I don't know how common the 24th celebration is around the world, but I have the impression it's a Norwegian/Scandinavian thing.

I don't have an answer for this.

Nobody should feel bad for not sending anything or sending stuff too late. As I said before, I don't expect anything in return. Also, I sent all my stuff out too late too, and was quite surprised to hear some of you already got yours. I'll get around to the photo as soon as I've found a place for it and dug out my camera.

It's fun if you like having a good time.

If you want me to send you Bayonetta and Vanish or whatever it's called, both for Xbox 360 and whatever region I'm in, PM me your fucking address.

Being respectful of copyrights, patents and registered trademarks is the most important aspect of Christmas card makery.

Just bought BttF from Telltale's store. Jake, since I think you're still the UI man for the web site, you should start grouping all the purchases in the Your Games! section soon. The list is getting seriously long (good for you!) but it would probably make sense to at least group all the episodes in some way?

Thanks!

Seems there are ordinary weapons, like sword and axe, which just work like normal weapons. But then there are weapons with fancy names, purple backgrounds and chevrons that look like level-up things. Should I just run around with these instead of bothering with the "non-magical" stuff? Also, what is the downside to dying? Seems like I'm not losing any money or XP or anything. Will I be introduced to the combo stuff later, maybe? I've done the Heybenstance quest, so I figured I was supposed to know it all by now...

Having just misunderstood the inventory system, I just grinded both my crossbows. Is there any way I can get them back? Also, at first I thought the four weapon slots were reserved for special kinds of weapons, but it's starting to seem they're not. Is there a reason I should use more than two different weapons (melee and ranged) other than the cases where the enemies are resistant? What's the deal with the purple weapons? They charge up or something, and have chevrons?

Ah, Fringe. I started watching the first episodes, but got turned off by the reliance upon John Noble's crazy genius scientist character being so crazy genius scientist all the crazy genius scientist time. Also, I found it lame that just because he was a a genius scientist he could basically talk to dead people. So I stopped watching, but it's still going strong, no? And people like it? Maybe I should pick it up again.

I'm in. What do I do, who do I have to fuck?

Armchair wanted me to post a public announcement to the effect that I'm just kidding, and he has never stolen almost anything in his entire life. I'm truly sorry if I have offended him or his family with my cruel jokes about him, and hope his reputation hasn't been completely tarnished beyond his ability to slowly restore it by working hard and not stealing.

(which he steals)

Could Armchair's medication thing be worth pursuing? I mean, he's usually full of shit (and he steals), but sometimes he says useful things, like when he gave me his address. Also, not that it's helpful, but if it's related to stimulation from playing and not directly to the visuals, do you know if you get the same reaction if you just watch other people play? And from your last post it sounds like it's all computer use, like word processing. Could it be related to the display you're using, different lighting conditions, etc? Sorry if these are dumb questions.

Oh shit, Kingz, a smooth-talking Australian with sunglasses just talked his way into my living room and smuggled out your card disguised as a Lady Gaga CD.

I have so much stuff I have to do with all the cards and presents I've promised to send out I haven't gotten around to taking a picture yet. If it's all right by Kingz I'll take one and post it as soon as I get the chance.

That was terrible. I love the part where she says "oh, and she also has a dark past" about the obviously stereotyped bad-ass hot babe character. I'm expect it'll be a riveting revelation, and not at all trite. Also, saying that their main goal is "putting the fun back in FPS" sets the bar pretty high.

Everyone else's apparent ability to attach names and personalities to the various voices on podcasts and review videos, coupled with my inability to the same, makes me think I'm suffering from some mild antisocial disorder. I've seen tons of Giant Bomb videos, including about fifty of the Persona 4 thing, and I only know there's at least three people, and one of them sound like Jake sometimes. Wait a minute, is one of the guys the guy that got fired over the Gamespot Kane & Lynchgate?

Kingzjester, holy mother of god! You sent me the most awesome card! Seriously, it's beautiful – it's a fucking precious work of art! I feel so stupid now for giving the impression my cards are something worth keeping. My cards are just stupid and silly child-like drawings and I can't even draw! Your card is... holy shit, it's so sweet! I'm (almost) speechless.

Probably after having a talk with his manager.

Yeah, this isn't my kind of game. It's obvious that a million tons of love and care went into this thing, and I assume that it's a fantastic experience for people who like this particular kind of game, and while the design, animation and feeling of polish and joy kept me going for quite a while, I simply got bored by the constant fighting. I'm not the type to invest any time in getting good at one particular game, so it's button-mashing for me, and I assume that's the reason I find the battles becoming more and more boring, even with the constant introduction of new and crazy foes. I'm convinced, though, that if I took the time (and had the ability) to master the combat system, there would be plenty of nuance to the various enemies attack patterns and what have you. Does Vanquish have the same kind of combo-based fighting as Bayonetta?

Played it a bit more, killed some huge bosses, which was fun. However, the combat feels very floaty and imprecise at times, especially with the larger enemies, it reminds me of WoW combat in a way. Even though I've successfully killed everyone, I feel like it's more down to luck and button mashing than any skill at all. It's like every time a fight start, the typical cartoon fight cloud with fists sticking out of it appears and I just push all the buttons and hope for the best. I remember giving up on God of War for the same reason. On a positive note, when I died I was able to continue from right before, so that didn't make me rage quit.

About Zanthia, I just remember going through the voice files on the Hand of Fate CD right after playing it, and I hit upon an almost pornographic sequence of utterances. I tried searching for references, but it seems I'm the only one that noticed.