Roderick

You gave the gift of having to spend more money. Fortunately, on impeccable hardware.

I felt the same about the switch (also in the upcoming Phoenix Wright games), but now that I see it it's pretty faithfully done and has a charm of its own. Don't fear.

I started Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. On the on hand, it's a good upgrade. The polygonal models are a lot better and less jarring than I had feared, and scanning the 3D environments is pretty impressive, visually. On the other hands, I've been playing for 1,5 hour and I've only done six puzzles so far. It feels a lot slower in pace and more explanatory than earlier games, which is frightening. Coming from the eminently amazing Unwound Future, it'll have to sweat to prove itself.

Downton Abbey season 3: Shawshank Abbey. It gets pretty ludicrous.

I feel there's a modicum of attention lost at this point. 22 Cans couldn't predict that of course, it's hard to look into how hypes might develop and how long they'll last, but my gut feeling says the cueb should've been chipped up about now.

Yesterday I tried the demo of Harmo Knight (by Gamefreak, their next project that isn't Pokemon), and it took me less than five minutes to understand I was going to buy this delicious, well-constructed, fun game. What an entirely convincing experience! Will be in the eShop this week, I'm guessing for a price of around 15 Euro Zone Cash.

Honestly, the game costs 20 dollars at this point, and discovering the stories for yourself is a massive joy. You shouldn't even be debating this, 999 is that good.

I meant the reviews of the reviews. OK alright, I'll get it already.

In essence it's a self-contained story set in the same world as 999, but obviously there are some references and character cross-overs. I would recommend scouting out 999 (not too hard to import, especially after the cheap rerelease) and playing that before VLR, for maximum enjoyment. (I also enjoyed 999 better, though other think the reverse.)

I'll let the reviews decide whether Luigi's Mansion 2 is something I need to have or not. It's definitely the sort of curious Nintendo title that I want them to be developing right now, rather than another New Super Mario Bros.

Downton Abbey starts out really good (first season), but then painfully quickly dwindles into soapiness, in my opinion. The first season foremost, and the second a tiny bit, feel like they're actually heading towards something, but then I started to realize it doesn't. At this point (end of season three), to me the series feels like 'let's see what more we can pile onto these characters, for no other reason than that we have to continue the series'. Events get increasingly random and overly dramatic. The atmosphere and everything is grand, and the moment to moment scenes and writing are good (the dowager countess is always good for a chuckle), but I feel the promise of the show has not been met, which is to me: bringing a relevant historical tale with purpose to it.

Good review, Thunder.

Joaquin Phoenix seemed almost too much at any time. I mean, wow. So gritty. The smirks, the smiles, the mumbling, the way he holds himself like there's another body trapped inside him that's just a little larger than the outer one.

I feel fortunate in having seen The Master in the cinema last week, since I thought it was already way out. I can't find any discussion on the forums though, apart from the mention of the early teaser trailer. What gives?

Prrrrobably should play Omikron because of David Bowie. Steam?

Oh right, just like we in EU had a 'buy a 3DS before January and download any of these fine games'. Makes sense. I just ordered Layton And His Miracle Mask from an online shop (along with Heart of the Swarm CE and the book 1822). I'm effectively skipping the fourth Layton game, but there's no getting round that, it's still crazy expensive (45 euros, whereas MM is costing me 30). Weird.

Is that a US offer only? The only specials I heard about in the EU region are the Pikachu edition and the upcoming Fire Emblem and Monster Hunter bundles. If there was a cool 3DS XL with Luigi and Mario in the same package for a reasonable price, I'd go for it. On the other hand, perhaps waiting for E3 to see if Nintendo unveils a new iteration of the machine might the prudent choice. After all, for me it's merely an upgrade, I can wait.

Damn that Pikachu edition is cute. Should I pay 60 European Cashmoneys more for it? What a perfectly decadent ponderance.

I am more enthralled by the chance positioning of the flashlight. You know, after a nazi pope, anything's kinda bland, really =/

Yeah, it seems if you want any chance at earning decently in Vid Gams, programming is the way to go. Besides being super interesting of course and enabling you to MAKE STUFF. Games. I'd love to have like, a good year without anything else, to just learn programming. Where's my Groundhog Day?

There's a pretty good deal for a 3DS XL in a Dutch store right now. I can get one for 150 euros - cheapest I've seen so far. I'm tempted, if the original line-up of primary colors wasn't so entirely unappealing. Where's my lime green? I'm telling you, lime green is the best color for any handheld. It just works and is so fresh.

WEHEHEEEEH! The Pokemon thing is disappointing: Rumble is hardly the best thing the franchise has ever put forth. Another dreary spin-off. /not impressed

Uncertain of his Sister’s Fate, a Boy enters LIMBO OF THE LOST… Cranny Faggot – 5/5

Wow, that really is a huge difference, between III and IV. I found the music in III so off-putting that I switched it off, which must've robbed the experience of some pleasantness. The reason the music doesn't work for me to a huge degree is that it doesn't fit my definition of 'atmospheric adventuring'. I found it to be ill-advised, generic J-pop, going for 'hyper skippy bouncy anime girls', rather than 'exciting exploration'. Consider the tone of Elder Scrolls music: that puts me in the mood, draws me into a world. Perhaps the level of orchestration I hear in IV would appeal more to me. But I do agree with you, tberton, that EO is probably just not for me, since no matter how wonderful the embellishments, I'm not getting a lot of joy out of the core systems in the first place, and they take center stage here. No biggie. Tons of other games to play that appeal more to me.

I hear you, I really do. The fun and surprising stuff they do with FOE's, also in 3, is the best part of the game. I'm wondering how much the music does for this, because honestly, the music in 3 is SUPER bad. Really horrible, generic shit. Maybe if the music is really good, it becomes much less of a slog? It's entirely possible. I could just check out the demo of 4 to see. Who knows? I bear the game no grudges.