ThunderPeel2001

I'm surprised nobody here has mentioned the asteroids bit? A friend of mine has just about rage quit this thing because of it... I've not played it myself, but I'm kind of surprised not to see anyone else mention it.

Why do their ports always come out so badly? (I'm reminded of the GTAIV PC port, too -- does anyone know what that's like at the moment? Did they release any patches to fix the complaints?)

The shorter speedruns let you figure out some of the bigger time savings (if that's any use?). Also, apparently it's possible to complete the game in under 30 mins, which is pretty damned impressive... but it gave me hope that I didn't have to be "perfect" in order to make it.

What? You mean you weren't even prepared to pay for things you've been requesting? I thought it was an issue with your locale and Steam. Well, somebody already gifted you Torchlight, so I think you've done ok. But now it would be best if you stopped asking for free games.

I personally wouldn't rate Koontz as anything other than a moderate Stephen King clone... and we all know how hit and miss Mr. King is. The only author I've heard consistently good things about in the "horror" realm is Clive Barker... but that whole genre isn't really my cup of tea, and I'm sure I've heard negative things about his more recent work.

Stars? And yes, but they're exceptionally well hidden.

I think I showed admirable restraint (Note: GTAIV was actually gifted to someone else on the forum, so it's even less!)

I think, if I'm not mistaken, what they're TRYING to say is: "Can someone buy Game X for me, I'll pay them back via PayPal. It's just not available in my country for that price. Thanks!" But instead they post things like "Man I'd like to write [pretty eyes] here, but I'd look like ***** since one prety nice person gifted me Torchlight already(which I'd be playing right now not to be mistaken if there wouldn't be so much work for school).....[pretty eyes]" Which I can barely understand.

It's weird because the only American response I've seen to that episode was along the lines of: "Oh right! And how would YOU react if we came to London and started yelling 'Limey' at YOU?!" To which any British person would tell you: Laugh.

That wasn't my suggestion for how I'd improve things, it was just an example of a game doing exactly the same scene, with the same tone, much better.

I've actually already answered that question in the link above... but I don't think you'd like my answer. Well, I watched it again, , and it works better than I remember, which might mean that it just didn't sit well (for me) in the context of the story, but it's still not as good as this.Edit: I think it was more of a case of being so blown away by other aspects of the series that this bit (which could have really been a highlight across all the episodes) was just very generic. A bit like Kirk's death in Star Trek 7.

No, it was just one of the many things in that scene that didn't work: The sword coming "out" of the character and being pristine just felt confusing and jarring. Also, Guybrush mentions the floor being covered in blood (if memory serves), but it clearly wasn't. I actually don't know if having blood would work or not... it doesn't seem very Monkey Island-ish, but then again, we've never had a death in MI before, either. I think the fact that most people thought that the character wasn't actually dead is a pretty clear sign that things didn't work. There was a ton of drama that could have been milked from that scene, seeing how they were actually dead, but it felt like a badly done fake-out.

Did anyone ever watch much of TV's Angel? I'm currently on Season 3, and I've been struggling with it a bit. It's supposed to be watched after Season 6 of Buffy (which was a gruelling season with lots of misery, but ultimately worth it) and going back Angel -- it just feels so... childish. I guess Season 6 of Buffy really put me through the mill, but it had so much to say about growing up, taking responsibilities and how life isn't always a bunch of roses -- and how to deal with the fact that it isn't always a bunch of roses -- that Angel just seems like "back to fantasy land -- with all the one-liners and two dimensional baddies who always turn good by the end". I'm guessing no-one can remember going through this, even if they did stay with both series for so long... but I just needed to post about it. Also, I've managed to avoid spoilers thus far, so I'd appreciate it if any replies were careful not to spoil anything. Thanks!

No, it was a little awkward on first playthrough... and exchange awkward for "hopelessly amateurish and ineffective". Sorry, I guess it's pretty obvious what I thought of that scene, but regardless of how bad you thought it was, it certainly wasn't up to the usual TellTale standards.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to sound really uncool when I say this... but! I'm really enjoying playing this at the moment. Has anyone else checked it out?

Yeah, that could be good, although I'm not sure how it would work. You CAN have speech in the game, but I've never heard anyone use it... I can only assume that microphones are turned off once the multiple choice answers appear? Or maybe not? Plus, I'm always sent to "Great Britain" (which the British host and British based questions), not sure how it would work with international players?

Definitely. Considering they were racing around the map by month three (apparently), couldn't they have implemented some sort of two wheel drive physics by the end of their development?? The driving/racing in the game feels so fake and disconnected, even after playing something non-racey, like GTAIV. It's like Mario Kart physics or something. Quite unsatisfying.

What? That's crazy talk! (Also, when were you banned??) I have to say that I always found your "whin(g)ing" to be highly amusing and presumed it was done with your tongue in your cheek (at least, partially). I also loved the hilarious "toblix complains" tag (I think it's still the most featured tag on the site), and our own little Idle Thumbs meme (before the podcast created a ton more). I certainly enjoyed putting it in every post you started, whether you were "complaining" or not. In short: I've never found you to be excessively negative and enjoy hearing your thoughts on things... even if you don't like them. And if I rib you for it, then it's nothing more than ribbing. Now quit your complaining, already

Really interesting article in Game Developer this month... http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2009/12/postmortem_behind_the_scenes_o_1.php

Yeah, it's kind of hidden and doesn't show up in your games library. Bit silly, really. You can find it in one of the sub-menus (like Inside XBox or whatever) if you scroll along. Once you click on it you get a list of games which should be, but sometimes aren't, in chronological order. There's a new game every 30 mins, but you can join midway through, too. They're mainly just in the evenings (around 7+pm, I think). Someone should really improve the interface, shouldn't they? (Know any industry insiders you can nudge into doing something?) I can imagine it would be great fun with a bunch of friends sitting around shouting out answers, too. Kind of like a pub quiz.

That's just where I'm up to... I hate games that have things leaping out at me, and I could sense that that's what was coming, so I stopped playing. I do intend to go back, though.

Happy birthday!!!

I think it's part of the Indo-Madeuporean language phylum.

It's almost identical. Also: The Original Space Asshole is only £3.25GBP! And, as someone has already pointed out, every episode of Sam & Max (that's Season 1 AND 2) for only £8.25GBP! A massive steal for anyone who doesn't already own them.

Totally, it was freaking awesome. I was really impressed. Also, Jake, what was with that infamous death scene in ep4? Was there some last second changes where Ron Gilbert said "there's no blood in Monkey Island!" or some internal politics about how dramatic MI should be?