Roderick

Well, I just returned from the convention where I wore this headsweatbox of a costume for two days straight. The act we did was kinda cool, I hope they caught it on videoo and will release it on Youtube soon. Otherwise I might have to bribe some people. As soon as some nice pics from the whole troupe appear I'll put them here. We had a good Franziska von Karma too, and Phoenix, Dick Gumshoe and Maya.

The more I play it, the more I crave it, excitingly enough =) But I don't agree with you on the shallow part, netmonkey. What do you mean by shallow? The missions are scripted yes, but they're superbly set up with great feeling and direction. Within the context of GTA gameplay they've managed to load up fantastic bits of character development and oftentimes sharp commentary on the American dream. Especially if you get two people in a car, on a date or guy-date, they'll frequently begin to converse on really good stuff. Especially Roman and Nico are a dream team; Roman will start to rave about the land of opportunities, and Nico gives a shadow side and complains about it. It works because the game never tells you to take either side, but just puts it out there as a hovering query for you to discover yourself. The people you meet are amazing too; very rich and satirical. They're all exaggerated stereotypes, but they find their place in Liberty City brilliantly. It's top comedy. I'd say I know plenty of games that are shallower than this. That's not saying lots of stuff wasn't already present in San Andreas, but apparently a level of perfection has been closed in on here, that warrants people to get really excited.

The chainsaw guy (Dr. Salvador) in the village only comes when you've entered a house with a shotgun on the wall above the stairs. In all frankness, it'll be rough to kill this sonbitch just yet, so your best bet is to escape him as quickly as possible. Do not let him get close

I just came back from Iron Man. It's great; it's basically one big origin story. The film is absolutely carried by the charismatic Robert Downey Jr (and the special effects). He plays Iron Man with such enthusiasm and pleasure, great to see.

Goddamn, Snow Storm is hard

I was wondering, do any of you guys know if there are media out there that criticize the lack of a checkpoint system I described above? Or perhaps even some insight on why they might have chosen not to use it, like an interview?

Melting plastic over a candle to coat the visor took two years off my life (what with the noxious fumes and all), but it was worth it

Also, don't forget that by holding X for a second (on the 360) gives you stronger fog lights that really help.

Alright, I've got a big fucking complaint here. I've been playing for quite a while now, and as the missions are getting bigger and more difficult, a huge flaw is coming to the surface: the preposterously non-existent checkpoint system. Case in point: I had to take Brucie to a street race and become number one. That meant I first had to drive halfway across the city to get a sports car, then go to the start of the race and then win. Obviously, with the unpredictable slip-n-slide quality of the racing in GTA4 and the fact that you can't properly race until you know the track, this meant I lost time after time. This would've been OK -and the mission challenging and encouraging- if you could start the race over afterwards from the start. But instead, GTA throws you aaaaall the way back Brucie's garage, expecting you to pick up the car again and drive along, etc. And all the way, you get the same fantastically voice acted, but nonetheless grating now, conversation while in the car. For five excruciating, boring minutes. Then to start the race again and only lose -again- because you were arbitrarily clipped and sent into a spin while going 200mph. When it got to the fourth time, I seethingly muted the TV rather than having to hear Brucie go through his routine again. But it was to no avail. When I spinned off course at the first turn, I was so sick of it that I put a bullet in Brucie's fugly head (and unfortunately you can't kill the bastard -I was really prepared to kill off all the other jobs he had to offer because I so hated this one), knowing it'd be a long time before I attempted this goddamn mission again. WHAT. UTTER. CRAP. DESIGN.

Ah yes, Firefly... I watched Jumper too, a few days back, and it was sooooo horrible. Just... so... childish and juvenile in its portrayal of what could possibly have been a relatively interesting idea. Darth Vader is horrible in it, and the movie as a whole has the same problem Transformers had: there isn't a single sympathetic character in it. You hate them all, you wish all of them bad things. And then that last bit

Hahaha, when you score with your first date you get the 'warm coffee' achievement. That's comedy

I've been playing for some 6 hours now today and it's pretty cool! It looks really nice and the carjacking and driving (and dicking) around is as always super. The cutscenes are brilliantly done and acted and the story has an unprecedented amount of pathos -Nico is a really sympathetic guy, not like the unlikeable punks of the previous three games. He's incredibly charming with his lacking English and straightforward, non-sarcastic way of thinking. I do wonder if the game is really that revolutionary though. It seems to me at first (6 hour) glance that it's basically the same as San Andreas, but prettier and more polished. Are there going to be surprises for me yet? And Marek, do tell me about your new job in the UK! I didn't know you were quitting Woedend!. Did they get angry?

I think it's because of the Oscars, because whenever I mention There Will Be Blood, people mention No Country. I'll watch that too, but it is already less good because it doesn't have Blood in the title.

Opinion is pretty divided on Mario Kart Wii. There are some who hate it for its lack of true innovation (it's basically a clone of Double Dash with motors thrown in and tricks). Others (like myself) like it because it's just another great fun Mario Kart. If you can look past the dated graphics and the lack of options and -dare I say- polish (at least, in contrast to Smash Bros Brawl which has so much options and care poured into it it's ridiculous), you'll like it. Just don't expect something revolutionary, or even evolutionary. It's just Mario Kart.

Just went to see There Will Be Blood in the local film house and it was terrific. Especially the brooding music is so all-encompassing that you're sucked in right away. The opening scene alone is worth going for. It's a long ride, but full of wonderful stuff!

Ooh, this might actually become really good, with Del Toro's imaginitive use of creatures. Did you see the stuff he's cooked up for Hellboy 2? Amazing things there.

And therein lay its flaw; it was a better movie than Apocalypse, and because of that also slightly less good. Apocalypse is pulp I can watch all the time, it's hilarious and awful. Extinction is better, and therefore also worse. But still lovely trash, even if they should've made Wesker enormously more gay.

Hey I watched that a few days ago; Extinction. I liked it, knowing exactly what it would be. It's horribly bad pulp, so you pretty much know if you're gonna like it or not =)

You know, I'm doing quite the impression of Boll nowadays. I've really nailed his voice, I think.

(Hey I have Mario Kart Wii )

Though Mario Kart has cool new motorbikes, it's basically the same thing you've seen in Double Dash!!. This is going to be the obvious thing: there is simply no game that will beat GTAIV when it comes to bang for your buck. I'm with Pachter on that one.

Wow, that totally sucks. Perhaps the only reason this didn't happen to Double Fine was because of Tim's relative renown in the industry. Pathetic.

Actually, that was goddamned high brow compared to your other works. Cheers to you

Alright, I wasn't kidding, but I wasn't sure if you were kidding. I love Earnest, both the play and the pretty recent movie with Rupert Everett and Judi Dench. It perfectly embodies the whimsical quality of the play; definitely recommendationworthy! It's cheap on play.com.