Roderick

Let's just all not forget that with Pepsi, the emotive forces shape the gestalt of the brand identity.

I enjoyed watching that movie. Eastwood can carry that stuff. But I'll admit, I did watch it in a sort of 'go get 'em, Clint!' way, not like I would any other movie. Let me put it like this: if Clint hadn't been in it, I wouldn't have cared two bits. But now it had a growling, scowling old man who does nothign but grunt for the first five minutes. And that's pretty awesome.

That was exactly the reason why I turned it on. For some reason, Resi5 fails on the a couple of really basic, important interface communication. Take also the quicktime events where you'll see an X button on the screen, but no indication whatsoever if you have to hold it or tap it repeatedly. It WILL display the performed action however, such as 'grab', further confusing the whole thing. Do I have to 'grab' the X-button? Weiiiirrrrd. I finally unlocked infinite ammo on the biggest Magnum available. Now to get the remaining achievements and collectibles.

Ahahaha I hadn't even seen the big orange nipple on top of the thing! Now that's just ridiculous.

That, sir, is a DEAL

Sounds like you've turned on the 'partner reacts on attack' option at the beginning of play. Don't do that. It's awful because, yes, bullets hit you and your partner (even if it doesn't take away health). If you turn it off, bullets shoot through Sheva and you only have to put up with her constantly blocking your view.

Christopher Lloyd is scary as shit! He terrified me as that judge character in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He'd be great in this role.

It wasn't that tour, unfortunately! They DID have the Dirty Shame Dick Valentine solo album, but I forgot to buy it in the end because I was just too smitten with the concert. Maybe there'll be another opportunity next year. They promised they wouldn't wait as long as the first time to return

Last Tuesday, for the first time in five years, ELECTRIC SIX were in The Netherlands, giving a single concert in Eindhoven. And it was _AMAZING_, I love that band! Huge energy, delightful songs, crowds jumping up and down... here's a couple of videos I made with my camera during the show, for those interested! http://www.captainaugust.com/01flashyman.mov (FLASHY MAAAAAAN! Leaving all his troubles in a trashcan!) http://www.captainaugust.com/02highvoltage.mov (Danger! Danger! The classic) http://www.captainaugust.com/03gaybar2.mov http://www.captainaugust.com/04mytechno.mov Yes!

Your avatar always reminds me of a young Forest Gump.

Goddamn that's nasty. But maybe it's a 'Wii' thing?

I was actually trying to start a flame war on the best Beatles album, but

Surely, surely Abbey Road...

Well done, BBX. Well done!

Yeah, I meant the instruments. Whether or not the game works with the regular Rock Band (or Guitar Hero, for that matter) kit.

Ahh, very nice. A bit too much explosition at the end (such a poetic film doesn't need to be so obvious, it was already implied well enough), but fine nonetheless.

It's not the AI persé that's particularly awful, it's the very concept of an npc partner. Admittedly, the execution has a lot to do with it, because the inventory management is just badly made. But the whole idea of 'let's create an npc that takes away cool gameplay from the player (shooting zombies in a scary, lonely setting), and in return gives him trite gameplay back (inventory management, visual obstacles, partner dying through no fault of your own)' sounds like such a bad idea that I can't imagine why Capcom would've gone with it. Somebody patch that bitch out of the game. I understand the co-op experience is very interesting, but they should've made a pure singleplayer version instead of this garbage. I'm really frustrated about it because it could've been an absolutely stellar singleplayer experience, easily on par with part 4. Now, however, as a singleplayer game I would rate the game no higher than an 8. It's a solid game, but has some serious issues that actively detract from the experience in a bad way. [ADDED] The frustration with Sheva has the amusing effect of making Fable 2's dog that much more impressive. Now here's a npc partner that works perfectly, never blocks the way or view, knows when he's needed or not, actually ADDS to the game by offering unique gameplay like digging up treasures... they should've hired Molyneux to do Sheva.

I can't wait to sing to all those songs. It works with regular Rock Band too, right?

Yeah, I'm still looking for the 'hide in a barrel' command. It's gotta be there somewhere... I need to tuck her away somewhere in the beginning of the game and then only call her for the occasional artificial obstacle.

I've been playing the game for a couple of days now and it's pretty obvious that it's more of the same, like Resident Evil 4. But it's damn pretty though, with wild cinematic flair and great visuals. For some reason I don't mind at all that they've used lots of the stuff from 4. In a way, it makes the world more cohesive. Of course there's another El Gigante; it's only logical that the Las Plagas could replicate such a mutation. And there's always enough of a twist to keep it interesting. What I really like is that the game provides much more of a context this time around. Via library documents the Resident Evil backstory is illuminated, which gives the events of the game much more appeal. What I don't like is the addition of a coop character running around "helping" you. Despite some bits that couldn't have been done without it, like pulling chains and doing synchronized movements (which actually could have been done as well with a non-fighting character like Ashley from 4), she's a major pain in the ass. She frequently blocks my vision or my movement, she steals away stuff I wanted to grab and she's hardly useful in combat. Yet she DOES make the game a whole lot less scary because you're never alone and you can take a breather because she'll shoot for you. I hate the cumbersome inventory management, which seems very contrived, an 'added' obstacle just to make the game more difficult (and less fun). And the inventory is a frustrating mess anyway (for instance; you can't combine stuff between the two, which becomes horrible if you have a lack of space (which is always)). Still, there is lots to enjoy too. Some of the setpieces are great and atmospheric, the bosses have been generally cool and the ingame cinematics kick ass. Even though it's not very scary, I like the quite original Africa setting, and the story seems to have a lot more heart than the previous game (saving some nondescript president's daughter is a lot less empathic than going on a suicide mission to save your assumed-dead partner).

Reviewing games is pretty hard. I do it for a couple of magazines in the Netherlands and sometimes I'm completely at a loss at what the standards are I should judge the game by (and so they will differ at times). To my great shame, I gave Twilight Princess a 10, which was utterly undeserved. The error made me a better reviewer after that. I would like to disagree with Remo about production values. They do matter. They don't make game mechanics better, but they can make the overall experience much more enjoyable. One rarely likes a game for the complete package. There are always some elements that pop out and a player latches onto. Sometimes a well-polished setting and super-smooth animations and controls make all the difference. Case in point: Assassin's Creed. By itself not a great game (because: marred with flaws), but the unique and well-executed environments and polish on that front elevate it to almost must-play levels. I also take objection to the mention of GTA4 in the first post. It's very obvious why reviewers all around downplayed the crappy save system. It's because in the grand scheme of GTA it IS irrelevant. The game has so much to offer it's stupid to give it a lower score because of the save system. It genuinely is a nibble, a nitpick. GTA4 isn't a mediocre game saved by its high production values, it's a landmark title in terms of scope, gameplay, vision, etc. Your point still stands of course, but GTA4 was the wrong example.

That was just Toblix cursing Steam again, as per usual.

Great blogpost, by the way. Thanks for sharing.

Umbrella Chronicles 2!! That is GREAT news. Are we going to see the Resident Evil 4 storyline? I'd love that.

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