ThunderPeel2001

I was really let down by Midtown Madness 2... After playing the first one so much, and hearing about how accurately it represented Chicago, I finally got to play London only to realise that it looked NOTHING like London. Making me wonder if I'd been lied to about Chicago. Still, Midtown Madness was a fun game.

But... that's... impossible! *head explodes from Miffy's impossible awesomeness*

And that's also why The Movies sucked so hard. God, I hated that interface!

Agreed

Adventure Gamers also claimed that Grim Fandango's music "fails to create much ambience or atmosphere" and "often proves distracting and bothersome". They also rated Escape from Monkey Island as better than Curse. Their opinion means nothing to me. Seriously though, if you want a very straight, and pretty, Agatha Christie mystery, I don't think you can fault it. (The entire game takes place on a boat, and it takes around 5 hours to complete, IIRC.) Will YOU know who the killer is by the end...?

I enjoyed the IT Crowd out of the gate, but Series 2 and 3 were the best so far.

Surely it's a real guitar trying hard to be a peripheral? http://www.rockband.com/blog/fender-squier-pictures

Ooh, you should check out BloodNet. Sure the RPG elements were awful, but the writing was top-notch.

Ahhh... Delphine. If it's lovely graphics you're after, then their Cruise for a Corpse was a wonderful Agatha Christie throwback. Charming! I always wanted to play Future Wars, but I never found a copy back in the day. Fun fact: Delphine were a French music studio who got into games. As a result, their sound was always fantastic.

The facial acting is definitely great!

Yes, and his son was the same.

Jeez, this probably before all your time, but one that leaps to mind was in DarkSeed (the HR Giger inspired adventure game). In the graveyard there's tombstones and, as we all know, tombstones in games = injokes. Guess who's buried there? Why, Guybrush Threepwood, of course, because CyberDreams were about to overtake LucasArts... (Note to self: If you're making your first ever game, don't get too cocky about how you think it'll be received.)

I think it definitely says something that I'm downloading Octodad right now It looks stupid, unique and fun (at least the trailer was those things)... Although perhaps not necessarily to play (I imagine it's like controlling Drunken Niko Bellic for the entire game -- irritating). Still: Ha!

Happy Spaffday!

As I said, it's not about being "totally original", it's about creating something compelling. One reason why LA Noire's trailer, to me, does not looking compelling, is because it's a direct imitation of things I've seen a million times before*. Not only that, but it's a pale imitation of those things. It's noteworthy because it ironically tries to make itself look like an exciting film, but by doing so it, (to me, at least), only highlights these flaws. Also, I don't think "pastiche" can be applied to genres like that, but even if it can, and I'm wrong (which is certainly possible); what's so bad about that? It's certainly an improvement on pale and direct imitation! * So to clarify: Compelling != originality

I look forward to your reviews!

Sick of them, more like. At least, I am. See above Grim Fandango trailer. It has cliches, but uses them playfully and has tons of originality, too. It's not just about originality, though, it has to be compelling... Something LA Noire is not (at least in the trailer), IMHO. If the LA Noire was a film... would you be in the least bit interested in watching it? Would you be eagerly awaiting its cinema release? Would you go and rent it on DVD? I certainly wouldn't. It sells itself like a movie, but it looks like the most mediocre film... I don't know, but I do know that there's trailers for things that DO look compelling and original, and those things make me want to watch/play them. It's not about being "totally original", but if you're not going to try and anything new to the mix, then why bother? Grim Fandango, LA Confidential, hell, even Discworld Noir, all took the "film noir" setting and did something clever or different with it. I can't see any elements of originality in the trailer, only attempts at imitation. Nothing more.

Ahhh... now THERE'S a trailer. Something you've never seen before that's also immediately compelling... What a setting!

Ah!

Yes Oh god, yes. Forgetting that they don't show gameplay, if this was a trailer for a movie (which is how they're trying to sell it: "This is as gripping as real movie!") I would give it a wide berth. It should be called LA Cliche. Here's the trailer broken down: Case cliches Police Chief: "A case that makes you, or a case that breaks you." (epic case!) Police Chief: "The case you never solve. The one that keeps you awake at night." (dark case!) Police Chief: "It takes a certain animal cunning, lad. Do you think you might be ready for that?" (tricky case!) Police Chief: "This is your chance... don't fail me." (career case!) Lead character cliches Young detective: "LA PD, could we have a word?" (he's decent!) Young detective: "You shot a man in cold blood, you're going to have to pay for that." (he's idealistic!) Young detective: "What do we got?" (he's no nonsense!) Young detective: "Spill it! Or we take you out in the alley and we knock it out of you!" (he's ready to break the rules!) Young detective: "You needed the money, so you killed her..." (he's tough!) Generic detective: "I thought you'd been under fire before..." (he's not perfect!) Young detective: "So I'm supposed to believe that you don't know what happened?" (he's takes no crap!) Young detective: "We're done for now." (he's in control!) Generic genre cliches Woman: *screams* (there's drama!) Veteran detective: "Two stiffs, overdosed ... Victim was dead before the car hit him" (blasé cops!) Accused man: "That's not true, goddamit!" (more drama!) Mafia guy: "I expect you... to draw your own conclusions." (a sinister mystery!) Gun-toting criminal: "Not gonna happen, fellas!" (there's crazy gangsters!) Is there anything we haven't seen before a million times? I don't even know what this epic case is about, who the characters are, what makes this a compelling story in any way. It's almost deliberately bad. I wonder if he'll uncover "corruption that goes all the way to the top!" or maybe find that the "whole system's is rotten from the inside!". Somebody hire someone talented to do game writing... pleeeeeeeeease.

That's so awesome. Man, I really feel like mailing something. If only there was an international freighting service that was only a click away.

Did you guys play both parts, or just part one?

Brutal Legend was release worldwide around the same time (yes, I know you were joking), but it DID sell approx 1 million+ units... PS3 = 530,000 units : http://gamrreview.vgchartz.com/sales/12323/brutal-legend/ 360 = 690,000 units : http://gamrreview.vgchartz.com/sales/12324/brutal-legend/ How that adds up in terms of profit, I don't know. Here's what I imagine went down: Activision funded the game. They went behind schedule and the game didn't look great, so they dropped it... but they forgot that the deal they made meant Double Fine owned the game. DF said, "Hey everybody, we've got this almost complete game going really cheap! Come buy it!". EA said, "Haha, stupid Activision, we can pay a little to finish this game off and get a bargain!". Activison sues. Double Fine counter sues. They all settle out of court. EA releases the game. They make a small profit, based on the fact that they paid so little for it (although they did promote it like crazy). Everybody wins, but narrowly. I wonder if my little fantasy is close to the truth? ------------------ Either way, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Tim Schafer's talent is in his writing, he's NOT a wonderfully gifted game maker. He's not Miyamoto. Even the other "big name" game designers tend to specialise in specific genres... you don't see Sid Meier making a Mario clones. You don't see Hideo Kojima making Call of Duty clones. You don't see Cliffy B making episodic adventure games. If Shafer must insist on making a game-games (and not just a graphic adventures that requires much less balancing and tweaking), then he should team up with someone who's actually good at it, and flesh out the world, storyline and characters. I feel that with Psychonauts they got by by the skin of their teeth, and for many people "Meat Circus" is synonymous with bad level design/poor gameplay balancing. (Although I didn't find it all that hard ) And of course Brutal Legend felt like two separate games... Oh to have something as fun to play as Gears of War, but with a Tim Schafer script!

There's also instances of lines being skipped or not played correctly... Last time I played it, I put the subtitles on... woah! More dialogue! Then it crashed and I lost my progress and I gave up

Simple stuff GC. It sounds like you're probably not doing anything wrong, you're just not meeting enough new people? Being yourself. Check. Not just trying to get into her pants. Check. Are you genuinely taking an interest in what she has to say and who she is? (Genuinely, not faking it.) Taking a real interest in someone you find interesting is definitely important, and if it's right, then it'll feel comfortable and easy between the two of you. Don't bother pushing something that clearly isn't working... you'll get discouraged and disheartened, and it's pointless. Existential subjects are okay, but they're not very personal. They don't show that you're someone who's actually interested in who she is... and if you're not, how will you discover if you like her not? (Maybe she strangles kitten as a hobby?? Maybe she helps the homeless on the weekends...) Making someone laugh is great, but it's more important to be genuinely interested in them. If she seems cool, and you're getting on, she probably has a boyfriend. Lol. (Sorry, just a joke - but it does happen a lot.) If there's some sparks after getting to know her a bit (ie. you get on and she seems like a cool person) suggest going for a drink sometime. Doesn't have to be more than as friends. Suggesting going for a drink with some you've just had a cool conversation with isn't really a big deal (although it can feel like one when you build it up in your head). She'll probably give you her number, or Facebook or something, and you've just made yourself a new friend. Cool. A few days later, or whatever, suggest going for a drink or something casual like that (maybe invite her to a party?). If she says yes, just go and have fun, and see how you get on. If there's still a mutual interest, it'll be obvious. If it's not obvious, then there probably isn't one, and you've just made a new friend. Great, friends are good - and you might meet more people through her. Cool. If it feels right, it'll be more and more obvious and not confusing, and it gets easier from there. Eventually you'll meet someone who you click with, and it'll feel totally natural. Good luck Don't be afraid of failure. Don't get disheartened. Every step is a lesson, and you'll definitely get there and wonder why you didn't do it sooner.