toblix

Okay, a while back I got some Dean Koontz books because someone recommended them, I don't know who. The books I got were Odd Thomas, Forever Odd (the sequel) and Intensity. I just read Intensity and it was absolutely awful. Have I been had? Is Dean Koontz a horrible author, or did I just happen to get his one horrible book.

That's actually good to hear. I always kept asking myself if I should've chosen normal, but not having to try that boss fight ten or more times is, to me, a plus. I feel I got a very nice flow throughout the game.

Just finished this on easy, and the credits are rolling (currently Korea). What a fine game. Although I think these games, together with the Tomb Raiders, have pretty much done everything there is to do with jungles, temples and tombs, there were still lots of impressive stuff here. I guess just the sheer amount of graphics power in the new consoles allow for even more impressive underground chambers that still manage to blow me away somewhat. Still, I was hoping for more involved puzzles, but I guess that's really Tomb Raider's forte. To me, the most impressive levels were the urban ones. Climbing around on buildings and signposts feels fresher to me than crumbling ledges and collapsed statues. There were no ultra-frustrating combat sequences like there were in Uncharted 1 (although I can't remember what difficulty I played that one on), and the game was just hard enough for me on easy not to get frustrated with. I guess that means I'm just a big pussy, and that I've lost my edge, but it also means that my new "rule" of always choosing an easy setting (in action games) works, and that it lets me enjoy games more. I agree with James that the post-boss sequence was the real boss (as in the real finale), since the boss fight wasn't anything special. I'm just glad it wasn't stupid and impossible. Already looking forward to the next game (which I guess is inevitable), or whatever thing Naughty Dog decides to do next. Clearly they've started to figure out the PS3. And I will miss that arse.

Tanukitsune!

It's not available most places, though, right? At least I don't think it's available here. I tried finding a listing of where it was available, but failed.

That's okay. Speaking of okay, another huge resolution that just hit me, is that I will try not to swear at all in my posts. It's not because I think swearing is wrong or lame (it's fucking awesome), but because for some reason it's gotten completely out of hand when I write on the internet, and it's dumb and stupid. I wonder if it's because I never actually swear when speaking, and I'm channelling it all to here. Also, I'll try to post less (because I rarely have anything to say) and less negatively. I think I've improved on the whin(g)ing side quite a bit since back when I was banned for it, but I'm not quite there yet.

Right at the city part where you're following some dude or something. Then a bunch of soldiers appear and kill you.

Yeah, that reminds me. There's no reason I shouldn't have made at least one stupid little flash game before I die. I know how, so it's just a matter of not being lazy and giving up too soon on every endeavour.

Absolutely. They're great adventures.

Just started playing Rise of the Pirate God, and two things: Directed by Some Other Guy and Jake Rodkin? Is this new, or was he credited with this on some other other games as well? Regardless, that's awesome. Thing two: The intro. What a FUCKING AWESOME intro. Just the whole silent zooming out transitioning into gameplay. Even though it was totally mellow it blew me the fuck away. The intros in these games have been awesome and well animated, etc. but this was completely the opposite and worked just as well, if not weller. Don't know if it was supposed to be that low-key, or if it was a case of limited resources, but Jesus Christ, just those opening seconds. Holy shit. Bonus thing: The thief guy is totally cool. I haven't figured out his deal yet, but the voice acting is really great.

I know. I was just trying to do the thing that people do, where they write "mother fucker", "good bye", etc. I guess I failed.

Or both of us have, or none of us have.

Safe? Clearly, 200X is Araboromeral for the year 2010!

If you havent played it yet, Commandos 2.

Kingzjester!

I'm assuming he's referring to the various parts where you enter an area where the camera is fixed in a 2D-like perspective, and you're basically playing a 2D platformer. For example, most of the areas where the gravity is flipped are 2D areas.

Don't know if it's what you're after, but there's this.

The animated TV show is animated in Japan, and has all the qualities of proper Anime. It's originally written by a Finnish lady:

Holy shit this game is unpolished. Just played a couple of hours of co-op, and, while fun, parts of it seems like what you'd find in a amateur freeware game, shoddy Xbox 360 ports, or something made by a bunch of open source developers just adding shit wherever. What the hell is the deal with comparing items? Who do I have to fuck in order to unlock the mode that lets me just compare items in the store with whatever I'm currently carrying without having to click and scroll like the mouse was just invented? And the sound? Did they just use them directly from a horrible library of shitty sounds? I keep turning around in panic because I think the lady on my team is being raped, but every time it's just her jumping sound. And the combat feeling takes me back to Rainbow 6. Shooting an enemy and then not knowing if I hit it, if I killed it, or if it even noticed me. And the looting sucks. Shit is just everywhere and I have to run around and look at all the stuff. Also, what is this, the year intro movie clips were invented? Were the developers too busy removing anti-aliasing from the in-game text to enable me to skip their stupid intro clips with the annoying-as-shit robot fucking around with the Nvidia logo? A robot that dances and is goofy? BRILLIANT!

Except for Basterds, I've seen Jackie Brown, the Kill Bills and Death Proof. I had a plan to see both Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, a plan you just confirmed is a good one.Thanks for the other recommendations, I'll look into them.

Just watched Inglourious Basterds, and for the first time I found myself enjoying a Tarantino movie (not that I've watched all of them). It was the long dialogue scenes that did it for me (the opening one being especially magnificent), and I'm wondering if I should go back and review some of his older films and see if I can focus more on enjoying the dialogue. I also watched Dog Day Afternoon, which was awesome (Pacino playing an actual role, and not just parodying himself). Anyway, any other dialogue-heavy films you connoisseurs can recommend? 12 Angry Men is another one that comes to mind as awesome. Was film dialogue better in the sixties/seventies? Whenever I watch old films I find myself more interested in the dialogue than I can remember from any more recent films (except for Inglorious Basterds, of course, which may be attempting to recreate the style of older films, what do I know). Sorry for this unstructured post, but I thought I'd at least check if you guys could recommend some awesome talkies. I know nothing about film.

I thought about collecting the stars, but I seem to remember that they were hidden in such stupid ways I wouldn't bother. One of the stars requires waiting in a level for hours, or so I seem to remember.

In Uncharted 2, I'm pretty sure Drake says something at the end of each combat sequence. Something like "All right," and then the music changes pace.

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF JESUS YOU MATERIALISTIC ASS! A toaster New Super Mario Bros Wii A bunch of books A bunch of utensils and cutlery A wooden tray Glassware Linen A medikit A shovel A broom Ten Year Old Toblix would shiver at the very thought of a list filled with so much boring shit, but I consider it a sign of maturity that I can appreciate getting a nice, soft towel for Christmas. Before, I depended on Christmas to get the awesome stuff I wanted but couldn't afford (games, etc). Now that I can just buy these things, I've started to derive more pleasure from figuring out gifts for other people than getting gifts myself. It's always hard, but we usually figure something out in the end, even for people like Señor Grippage who, when asked what he would like for Christmas, lists stupid items like blank CDs and socks.

So, I'm about ten hours in now, and I've formed more of an opinion: Not as awesome as Partners in Time, but still great. Not a fan of the stylus stuff -- either it's pointless (like the giant fight sequences) or frustrating due to bad controls (the smelling mini-game). The main thing that is irking me though -- it feels as though I'm constantly being led to new areas, without really getting to explore each of them fully before moving further on. I'm obviously supposed to return to some places later on with new skills, but I'm wondering if I'm supposed to take some sort of initiative and stop progressing the story. The way I remember it, in PiT, I could just follow the story as it went, and it would lead me through areas, and I could go around and find everything before moving on. I'm worried I'll suddenly find myself at the final boss fight, with half of the loot and coins still in their floating boxes... On the plus side, the various fights are still super-cool and fun. All the enemies have their own custom attacks, with their different tells, and some of them have combo attacks, etc. It's great when, after being hit a couple of times by an attack seemingly impossible to dodge, you suddenly "get" the tell and can dodge it easily.