Roderick

I also liked The Unwound Future (De Verloren Toekomst in Dutch) best. The story and characters were just a lot more engaging than in earlier games. I liked the sense of urgency at the end and the time travel escapades. Future Luke was also just so much fun. A worthy 'end' to the first trilogy. As for The Eternal Diva, it was a while ago that I saw it. I believe I had fun while watching, but the overall experience wasn't what I want out of Layton.

I just picked up 'Zomerhuis met Zwembad' ('Summer house with pool') from Dutch author Herman Koch. This is the third book I'm reading from his hand and so far I'm loving everything he writes. It's just so competent and fun. His characters are all slightly on the nasty side, with fascinating inner lives (often more than a little debauche). Earlier in this thread I extolled the virtues of his 'The Dinner', which is still his best work. Do pick it up if you come across it.

Monkey Island 2 ramblings: After my initial success with besmirching Largo, I'm once again stumped at how to get his clothing for the voodoo doll. His dirty clothes are now at Maaaad Marty's laundry service, but he keeps saying I need a claim ticket for them. So that creates two options: either I steal the claim ticket from Largo, who I can only encounter in his room. I don't think I have to boobytrap the room again somehow, so that leaves option two: create a claim ticket of my own. The easiest thing would be to dirty my own clothes and hand them over, but Guybrush won't have it. I thought about ripping Largo's signature from the inn's guestbook, but that won't work either. I do have a blank piece of paper from Wally, but no one will write on it to counterfeit the document. So all that's left to me is enjoying the awesome way iMuse mixes up the Woodtick soundtrack as I enter the buildings and street.

As long as there's another surprise Tyrannosaurus Rex, we'll be fine. I say surprise since even though the thing was on the cover, it still came as this weird thing in the game. Beautiful.

Listen, GI Joe, I don't take orders from nobody!

We're putting you through the newbie ropes, Thyroid.

If they did a "HD" version of Outcast with nice textures, that would be swell - and not gratuitous like with many other games. The ony big thing (apart from the bugs) that was always Outcast's biggest flaw was that its ideas and engine were so ahead of their time, they got hamstringed by the technology of the day. Remedying that should uncover a game that's shockingly unique. Oh, wishful thinking.

The smorgasbord of Twig! I'd feel highly offensive not to take at least a courtesy title. I'm interested in DEFCON, Swords & Soldiers and Superbrothers: S-words & Swordcery.

OHHH this is the best, I totally worked it out. I was ready to go to bed and literally sitting on the toilet mulling it over, when a possibility hit me. Also, I love how especially in MI2, all the puzzles are based around goofy mischief Guybrush has to pull in order to progress. It just feels so piratey and became his hallmark after that.

I'm actually hesitant to say for fear of people dropping well-meaning hints. Suffice it to say I haven't broken the embargo yet. I know, I love it, it's still so early in the game, so few variables, and yet here I am.

So, I'm gloriously stuck in MI2 and it's the best feeling. When I replayed MI1, I unfortunately resorted to the in-game hint system. It robbed me of all the thrills of solving puzzles, so I'm determined not to use it in this game. I'm going to relish the feeling of not knowing how to proceed, until I hit upon the solution.

I start by looking at an ocean and white waves beating rhythmically. What is this magnificent world that drops me into the sea as a first introduction? Turning around, the outlines of an island appear. I seem to be floating on the water, but still I prefer solid ground underneath my feet. With a vague sense of inertia I hover to land. There an autumnal kingdom of shedding trees awaits me, in all the colors of the rainbow – if this rainbow were limited to a range of orange-to-purple. It's gorgeous. I can do nothing. Nothing but appreciate the beauty of this world. I walk around with a deliberate pace and notice a shape on a mountain that is not a tree. Investigations start. Scaling a cliff is no harder a task than sliding down a beach here. This world is so unreal, and yet soothing. The object up close transpires to be a trunk-like tower, and as I approach it a sound builds up. So that is another property of this world. Night falls and I am introduced to a grand spectacle. As stars pierce through the darkness, a comet crashes down and the landscape fills with fluttering lights. Delighted, I skip down, mouth agape, following the dancing will-o'-wisps. Then, amidst the falling leaves, a circle of light zooms before me. I step into it and am transported two seasons beyond. It is spring. The world is bright green, yellow, blue and red. Before me hops a legion of weird pollen, each making a sound at their peak. Flowers bop on the airy tune. Insects buzz. My heart buzzes along. I dash out into the landscape, fleeing not into the cabin I come across, since staying indoors would be a disservice to this land that begs to be explored and witnessed in full. Before long, however, the lively circus of spring turns into a Fantasia-like nightmare. Nothing is quiet, nothing soothing. It drives me to madness and fright. Again, the moon rises and I am fortunate to relocate the mysterious portal of lights. Autumn suits me better. My third night in this world is one I intend to stay where I am. No more skipping of time for me. I head out into the wilderness. It is dark. Clouds form above me, rain descends, but I don't care. I enjoy the sanctity and loneliness of this place. I enjoy it, and then an unannounced gulf of light appears. A searing shine that chases away the dark. What charm is this? I turn around and see a wolf's head behind a tree. It's great and white and before I can reach it, the thing has vanished. Then, I witness the world ash. A giant surrounded by its lesser peers. It sings and I'm positive it's the source of the luminescence. Out from the foliage an owl peers at me and escapes into the night. Another wolf. I feel secure here, this is a place of great import. But all things must end, and I head outside the tree's mighty grasp. Lightlessness falls on me again like a welcoming cloak. After a short trek, an orange sun peeps over the ocean's brink. Rain clouds fom above me and to circumvent their plodding drops, I flee up a mountain. There stands a single proud tree. Together with it, I look down upon the storm, the one that has no grasp on me. It's time to go, to return to a world of mundane rules and predictable circumstances. I will return to this wonderful land.

Come on down, Toblix-zoomtm

I think at one point France just reached this critical mass of people not caring about their car, that you're toast if you do. In France, a car is often no more than a tool to get where you want, and it doesn't matter how battered the frame is. Alternatively, I suspect there's a weird-but-understandable sort of pride that people take in how messed up their car is. They wear their nicks and scratches like a badge. Remember, these are the people who coined the term laissez-faire.

I'm doing my own little LEC adventure flashback, with the original Monkey Island games in all their pixely glory. Few months ago I did Secret, now I just started LeChuck's Revenge. Still in Woodtick, enjoying the atmosphere!

Episode Match-3.

I feel that Episode 3 should just be something insanely different from what came before. Nowhere near recognizable as Half-Life. Match 3.

Congrats, Miffy. Man, I had a bizarre experience in Amsterdam, where I damaged my car while parking. It was the first time I got into any sort of collision or accident, so it was weird/exciting to find out how to deal with that. I feel I came out with a lot more experience because of it. I also discovered that in a crisis situation, I turn into an assessment robot. Of course, were I living in France, I'd just have shrugged it off, gone 'oh-ho-ho-hoh!', and driven on.

Nintendo-review-copy-gate continues: after inquiry it transpires that... I can't even write this down without being blown away ign.com... the EU Nintendo HQ is limiting the amount of eShop copies for distribution to magazines. That's right. They're being picky for no reason at all. They're still living in the 20th century where a review copy meant that you lost a little money. This is unimaginably backwards. The cut-off point for review copies is also known: a publication needs an audience of 50.000 readers before they are worthy to be bestowed with this most glorious, splendiferous, free download code for the eShop. Frankl, at this point it's clear: Nintendo still doesn't, and might just never, understand the concept of 'online', of 'digital'. They are an old company clinging to old, old ideas that ran their course and retired long ago. At the head there are a view visionary people pulling the thing along, but there's this swarming body of bureaucrats underneath that drags it down.

Well, there's surely a large paycheck in there for the top dog.

Please, try telling Nintendo that. I might just call them up for clarification, I just find it such a bizarre reasoning.

The Dutch branch of Nintendo are a bunch of idiots. They refused to give the magazine I work for a copy of Animal Crossing for review, on the basis that we don't have enough readers (we have tens of thousands). This argument might be valid - if a little strange - if they didn't have the option of giving us a download code for the eShop. This costs them literally no amount of EU Coins. There is no reason at all not to distribute this gratis, free code to a legitimate magazine that's been around for a decade. It's infuriating to deal with these people sometimes.

First laugh of the day, Synthetic!

But the website of the game looks so kindly and professional! Oh, video games, won't you ever grow up? I know exactly the bullshit you mention. There are so many 'wild west' companies out there, founded more on personal ego than considered business practices. Hopefully things will go your way soon - though do let go of the wanting to see the company fail. You are not Khan. Revenge doesn't do a person good. Remember that you don't have to consider yourself a victim, that's something that you choose to be in equal measure.

That seems a like a very open apology, far beyond 'here's cash, now my conscience is free!'.