Roderick

Well I don't know shit about American television, so don't be too harsh on me ;

Sorry, but did I just read CNN actually announces news about GAMES? ,,A new bombing in Iraq has killed twenty soldiers. And in other news, an expansion pack is coming out for Doom 3. Also, they're rerunning The Flintstones on the Hannah-Barbera channel."

You mean they renamed it into another English name, or is it Zombies Party in Spanish? Either way I think it's stupid Shaun of the Dead is such a hilarious pun.

The Dwemer puzzle box is one of the most notorious items in the game to find I love Morrowind. I think I also love the dryness of the characters. And I love it exactly because you can pull stuff like that levitation schtick. It's so wonderfully open-ended, you can just find ways to do stuff that even the makers wouldn't have dreamed of. It's not without its flaws, but it's sure as heck one of the most charming games of recent years in my opinion.

Some five months ago I was all of a sudden really interested in this game. I remembered it getting some nice reviews, and I wanted to play it. Finally I had the chance to play it at a friend's on his Dreamcast. And what a horrible experience it was! I didn't play too much because the gameplay wasn't very well thought out. But what struck me most was the nauseating cinematic quality! What horrible voice-acting, what ill-chosen dialogue and utter absence of a sense of cinematic direction! It really blew away all my hopes for the game and made me realise there was a reason why everyone I know was saying to me what a lousy game it was when I told them I wanted to play it. I'm thankful I didn't buy it before I had the chance to try it, because it would've been awful, I think.

Aww, he's cute and heartwarming. Btw, Kluf, your avatar looks like it's from a cartoon, but I can't place that robot. Who is it?

I haven't heard anything yet. It's worrying me. They did do an update for the site recently, so maybe they're still bogged down with that. But I hope to get added soon!

So, would you recommend buying Rayman 3 if it were cheap?

You should make the fabled computergame out of it!

Up until I read the Thumb I never really thought about it, but I'm becoming more and more averse to scores. For all the reasons mentioned here, plus: how the heck could you fit something as big and complex as a game into one absolute score? That's like saying life itself in all its emotional complexity can be comprehended through abstract mathematics.

I don't think the grog would be drinkable Anyway, good work on the wacky food!

The psychodelic surfing really blew me away. The rest of the game (I played only a few hours) didn't live up to that, seemed pretty standard platformer. Not at all like Rayman 2, which felt much more slow-paced, concentrating on beauty and design instead of random wacky action madness. But the surfing is totally OK. I'd like to play that for an entire evening if I'm really feeling mellow.

I saw some bits about it here and there. But it all just failed to convince me. It didn't look particularly good, and the gameplay bits seemed so random and willy-nilly, and not really that interesting.

It's repulsive! It bears an uncanny resemblance to the babi pangan burger I just ate at Charlie Chiu's. I guess the next step is grog that makes your rusty mug desintegrate. Don't forget to include the most important battery acid.

,,That'll teach you to play our game!" Bah. I had just conquered one of the many challenging bosses from Metroid Prime. In the iclevel, this was a boss that took me over fifteen minutes to beat. I was very happy when I finally saw him fall down to the floor and I could claim my reward -a new upgrade. Now Metroid Prime is a game that practices the dubious art of putting savegames a bit in front of the bosses, so that you have to negotiate a few hardships before you get to it; making it more exciting, but also more frustrating if you die. So, I had finally defeated the icelevel behemoth. Still on my wits, but with the rush of victory in my body, I began to make my way back to the savepoint. I went through a door, and what do I see? COLD HARD DEATH. The game had placed two flying machinelike enemies (which weren't there before) just on the other end of the door. I couldn't get IN to the room, nor LOCK on to them to destroy them. But they were able to blast me to smithereens. And as leveldesign would have it; I had no place to hide or go back. I was a sitting fucking duck and it didn't take long before those otherwise harmless machines had destroyed me. This has NOTHING to do with providing the player with a challenge, but everything with punishing him by taking away his victory and kicking him in the face. You killed the boss we had so carefully put there? Good for you! Here's DEATH. Try again. That'll teach you to play our game. Now I know I'll be able to pummel that boss into submission again. I've learned the necessary skills. I know the moves. But it will take yet again some fifteen minutes. And there's nothing more frustrating than having to do something twice, through no fault of your own. This is just bad gamedesign, and although Metroid Prime is wonderful in a lot of respects, this is just

I had forgotten all about it, thanks! Outcast did have a pretty unique savemethod, a lot more integral to the game. In this case there weren't any quicksaves and the saving method was integrated. Pretty cool stuff. Why hasn't Outcast received more critical appeal?

I think the most common line in Japanese RPG's is ". . ." That's not a smily.

Ah, they've broadened the logo/name back to its old size again. Good, good. Not too many differences on the cover of course. I'm glad to see more columnist, as they're always interesting (but it remains to be seen if SIX columns won't be a bit too much of a good thing). And interviews with Reggie are always swell. Well, if I had a hundred euros to spare, I know what I'd buy. For now I'll just visit the media-library on school every month.

I voted yes because I've been indoctrinated by gajillions of adventuregames that monkeys are both helpful and funny. Strange thing is, whenever I'm in the zoo I don't give a joink.

I wouldn't really count on it. If you were, hypothetically, to freeze yourself in carbonite to be resurrected when the moon was fully colonised and such, I don't think you can bring forth your piece of paper and say: that bit belongs to me! Get your colonist asses off my property! That said, I WANT a Mr. T in my pocket!!

I think we have websites such as Idle Thumbs to inform us and prevent us from not buying those games. I certainly hope that in the nearby future we'll change the attitude that cheaper = worse. I've got the feeling that publishers are actually revelling in that excuse. ,,Look guys, we HAVE to make it expensive, otherwise you won't buy it". Let's steal that excuse away from them.

Agreed. PcGameplay is the best Dutch PC-magazine. I quit my PcZone subscription years and years ago because it became painfully obvious how pathetically they were trying to copy the attitude of the Power Unlimited, our longest-running gamesmag, whilst also trying to become glossy and 'artistique' with big pictures and such. Well, they've only succeeded as coming across as fucking posers. Anyone that's still buying into that garbage is really getting the pick of the litter. Expensive litter, at that.

Lies, LIES! You can only trust August! He is your only friend and compatriot! You Idle Thumbs fools have exactly 50 minutes to post the article before the clock strikes twelve and the stars will align and you will fail your contract and the world will be MIIIIINE!

And 'lo, where that treacherous Idle Thumbs has forsaken and disappointed you, Captain August has held true to his word! Such commendable behaviour must be rewarded with many loyal visits! Right now!

True in some ways. Humourously, I actually meant ,,tell me what you think... about the rant"