Aussie Ben

Believe it or not, the Englishified version was actually made easier than the Jap one - in the Jap one, you could only save your game by travelling back to the first day. I really liked this game because it was completely different from the previous Zelda games. Link to the Past, Link's Awakening and Ocarina all have the same style: Collect x special objects to unlock final dungeon x. There will be about eight dungeons to beat. It was nice to see a Zelda game break from that structure so completely. Sure, it was tough to get the hang of everything at first, but it really was refreshing to see something as different and ominous as Majora. I know that I stood in Clock Town, watching the world end. Because I could. That's a pretty awesome thing to be able to do.

Um. Perhaps I should have written that a bit better. I didn't mean "picking 'em up again" as in "I'll be playing this game to finish all the extra bits a couple of months down the track". I meant "I'll be picking 'em up again maybe a year or so later because I've forgotten the story and I enjoyed it the first time". Like I do with books.

Didn't the Elite Beat Agents wear black? Maybe they want to be as cool as them.

Yes, but like all good books, you'll probably find yourself picking 'em up again. They're both fairly well written. Phoenix Wright is certainly more logical than any CSI episode, which is reassuring, as its gameplay hinges on it. If you only play one Wario Ware game ever, please, make it Wario Ware Twisted. Loads better than Touched. And Smooth Moves, too. I don't know, but I've heard positive things for Viewtiful Joe DS. I've found a copy for AU$30, which is pretty cheap for here, so I'm not complaining. Mario Hoops 3 on 3 is a a quality title - I don't like Square, but this is a really nice and fun 'kind of' sports game to play. If you enjoy music games, grab either Ouendan or Elite Beat Agents. The same game, but different scenarios - Ouendan has a much more zany Japanese flavour, but EBA is fun too in its own neat way. If you are after nice multiplayer and don't mind a bit of moonspeak, Jump Superstars (or Ultimate Stars) might be worth a go too. Loads of anime characters I don't care about, but it basically boils down to being a 2D Smash Bros., which is cool. That's about all I can think of.

Yeah, it really does just keep going. "Oh it's ended.....oooohhhhh - GOTCHA!" "Oh, now it's ended....ooooohhhh - GOTCHA AGAIN!" etc. A really beautiful game, but really, some of that playtime really seems to be artificially inflated.

Yeah, I imagine that people have been doing this at the GDC for quite a while now (ie, being allowed to vent to their fellow developers about how shit some things are at a private conference via a podium), but now that a lot of focus has shifted and it seems to be a bit E Three-ey (ie, non-game developers managing to get into the conference, like journalists), they bafflingly have to be more careful about what they have to say. It's not for the public, guys! It's a conference for a reason!

You may also like Crush for PSP. Dare I say, that its use of this mechanic looks even better than Super Paper Mario's (sacrilage!).

Inafune makes some excellent points and I agree with him, but it certainly is a case of the Pot meeting Kettle due to the atrociously selling Mega Man Powered Up. I mean, it appealled to me, but then again, so did Okami. Who else here bought Powered Up? Exactly.

Odama never came out in Oz, and I can get the UK version (including microphone) for AU$50, which translates to about US$38. Is this game worth this much, in your opinion? It just looks like a lot of shouting to me. Now, I like shouting as much as the next person, but normally I don't need to pay fifty smackers to do it. Thoughts?

And without the screaming? Man I remember seeing people do this while I was at E3, and I thought it was the stupidest thing ever. I really can do without the screaming. "Left! Left! Go forward! Eat Up Martha!"

It does have the switch hook though. And the villain is really cool. But yeah. Jabu-Jabu does heavily tip the scales in the negative.

You see, this is why Nintendo fans are dumb. "We need another Zelda game! ALL THE TIME! WE SHOULD HAVE ONE EACH YEAR!" No you SHOULDN'T. Then it becomes less special and more like the experience Toblix is having here. Also, I can totally empathise with the Jabu Jabu level - I HATE the levels like that. "Oh of course I can reach that! Oh no wait I can't the water's not at the right level! DIE!" In summary, I'm glad you're enjoying it, but if you're getting the feeling that you wish you weren't playing a Zelda game, stop playing. It will become less fun when the realisation that it IS a Zelda game sinks in. Go play something completely different, like Uno with three other people. Sesame Street Uno if you can get it. That Grouch card is wonderful. Oh, dear, there goes that topic again, I'm sorry.

Initially, I dismissed Crackdown because it seemed like another one of those "hey run around and do anything it's like GTA honest" games. But I read a review of it (which used the headline "It's like the Incredible Hulk meets Grand Theft Auto", sigh), and it actually sounds a lot more appealing than the generic sounding setting makes it out to be. Oh, and I didn't know it was cel-shaded! Has anyone played this? What do you think? Oh, and if I end up getting a copy, someones QUITE welcome to my Halo 3 invite. Can't stand that shit.

I like that in the first episode of the original cartoon, Raphael stabs a foot soldier in the chest with his sais, and then quips "Clang? Did you say CLANG?" when he hits him. He was expecting him to go "squish"! How awesome is Raph!! Donatello used to be my preferred Turtle, but after looking back at them and seeing how much of a whiny sourpuss he is, I've switched alligance to Raphael. Everyone knows that he gets all the best lines. Although I'll be racing for Donatello in the arcade game though - longest reach.

Or get this one! Dear god I hope it's true. But yeah, will definitely take a look at the demo of the game based on the movie. I was completely indifferent about it until I heard it was being done by the guys that did the newer Prince of Persia games.

Yeah, I saw! A bit iffy on the remake version, but they're including the classic one, which was loads of fun. Hope it has co-op too. And that you can still choose the Kempston Joystick.

Yeah, Crackdown's strength is definitely in its shameless over-the-top manic...er, thing. (Sorry, ran out of steam there.) But it's great that I can just walk up to a tank (a TANK!), kick it, and send it careening off a cliff. OVER THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCREEN. The whole driving stuff seems to be incredibly pointless - I'd rather see more awesome superpowers similar to crazy beefy strength and super agility. Launching yourself to the top of a building from a <i>standing jump</i> is where it's at. You have to understand, this is the first kind of game like this I've ever played, so I might be getting more enjoyment than someone who's played a GTA before or that Spider Man or Hulk game which is like GTA only it isn't! Honest!

...like fruitcake!

Honestly, there were some good bits to Mario Sunshine, but they mostly seemed to be the boss battles. The giant manta ray was my favourite bit of the whole game. Also, rocketing straight up into the sky was wonderful. Collecting a billion blue coins and red coins and aquamarine coins blows though. As does all that unforgiving jumping puzzle shit (I HATE PACHINKO EVEN MORE NOW). Oh and Gooper Blooper was great! And the vomiting Petey Pirahna (you might know him, he only starred in EVERYTHING SINCE). All in all, two and a half Dr. Drakkens out of Shego.

I liked it better when Yoshi was a power up and not a crippling timed piece of juice-vomiting crap. But that's just me.

Hahaha, man, I just stomped on someone's head from a rooftop. It's just like Super Mario Bros.! After that I decided to drive a gang car across the fun park's fence, and I accidently clipped the fence and landed the car on its roof in front of the ferris wheel.

No, the problem, which I have seen this happen before with the DS, and again with the Wii, is that the publisher says "Hey you'll be making a game for [system name]! It has to include [rudimentary amount] of this feature usage, [rudimentary amount] of this feature usage, and [rudimentary amount] of this feature usage." "But it wouldn't really work well trying to make a --" "CHOP CHOP!"

I must say, I like the look of SimCity DS and Sims Wii. If only because you get to dress up as a chef with one of those chef hats in the Sims. Also, apparently you have to carve out your own furniture and house material when you're building your house. I wonder if this means that no two houses will be exactly alike?

When the demo was finished, I had amassed over a hundred of those green orbs and was just rocketing into the sky. Who cares about killing gangsters when you can be Commandeer Robbit?

don't hold your breath