Wrestlevania

With the artificial censorship of Manhunt 2 [PSP] having been hacked out within hours of release, we're now able to see just what all the fuss is about. ...and, as much as it pains me to do so, I'm inclined to agree on the side of censorship. This is plain cruel for the most part and serves as no valuable "improvement" on whatever Rockstar were trying to say with the original Manhunt. Having seen this now, I'm of the firm opinion that no sequel to Manhunt ever need have been produced--it serves no purpose except to generate buzz about Rockstar it would seem. What do you lot think; genuine message and valuable interactive experience or bitterly cynical exercise in spin and cash generation?

...but, although it might not have been apparent in this particular discussion, I was a fan of the original Manhunt. Quite a strong advocate in fact. It had a great atmosphere, strong design throughout and solid gameplay mechanics. The original allowed you to sneak through virtually every area, except when you simply had to deal with the occasional stationary guard. Only then were you forced to kill someone. The cinematic kills also were much more about chilling, primal struggling (i.e. plastic bag suffocations) than splashing gratuitous amounts of claret all over the place. It felt right and you weren't supposed to revel in it. The sequel doesn't appear to offer anything meaningful over and above the original however, in terms of the player's experiences within the world and what the story is trying to convey. It's just cheap shlock.

Not wishing to intentionally derail this interesting discussion with something puerile and largely irrelevant, but are the allusions that this is Guitar Hero: Extreme Beach Volleyball Edition true - i.e. all the females are now big, wobbly chested bubbleheads? If so, that's appalling. I usually play as the woman in red whenever we fire up Guitar Hero 2 in the office, because she was actually a believable and likeable female character -- pretty rare in my experience.

Hero Quest! Also: Nothing wrong with this instalment at all if you ask me.

Sorry, I was only writing explicitly in terms on Manhunt 2.

No--it's a cheap hook.

Just finished it. Was feeling a tad ripped off by test 18, as I'd flown through the game up to that point in less than an hour. On the one hand, On the other, If so, Ditto. I'll pay more attention to it when I replay with the commentaries enabled. Weebl & Bob are still going? Blimey... Quite good though: "I'm doing science with my arse!"

...the tracks I alluded to have been made freely - and legitimately - available on the Internet in the past, but they can be tricky to find now.

Marek, if I can help with the recovery operation just let me know. I have every Progcast and most of friskyRadio's podcast output on tap, plus a few separate (and quite beautiful) Progressive mixes by people like Way Out West, Christopher Lobsinger, Pole Folder and James Zabiela.

No amount of censorship - or any other kind of sanctioned meddling - will ever get around that problem though.

The context is this: if you approach any random NPC in a stealthy manner, you'll have the opportunity to kill them in a contextual way--usually dictated by the weapon you're currently holding. Occasionally, you'll be able to use the environment, such as beating that one man to death with the top off the ceramic toilet cistern. But, to be clear, these are all just your common-or-garden level wandering NPCs. There's nothing special about any of them--you're just given the opportunity to dispatch each one in a particularly over-the-top manner again and again and again and again and...

Oh dear... I don't know what to say, Marek. I'm assuming this was very recent?

--parts 3 and 4, yes.

And another: whilst the first series was often snigger-worthy (likely thanks to Chris Morris' input) it was evidently neutered to appeal to a much wider audience than shows Morris has worked on previously. His glaring absence in the second series leaves it flat, predictable and old-school PC beige (in a very bad way). Even the talents of Matt Berry and Richard Ayoade couldn't save this round from disposable mediocrity. If it's back for a 3rd season, I'll be shocked. PS: I finished Episode 1 and it was meh, but it was free (yay!) and now I can play MINERVA: Metastasis to completion (double-yay!).

Not wishing to allow this thread to dwindle into obscurity, I'm going to regale you with my current listenings: This week I are been mostly having to douse my spontaneously alight trousers to the sounds of Muse's fucking amazing Black Holes and Revelations, with one of my favourite tracks being Map of the Problematique*. * PM me if you'd like an invite to the rather good Pownce!

OK, pass me the humble crow-hat pie; this was definitely top form from Yahtzee. Maybe it was just the growing pains initially, or a lack of titles really deserving of being ripped into, that made the earlier episodes a bit erratic in quality and pace.

My broadband connection transfer has been completely fUx0R3D by BT, so I've no chance of (buying/downloading/playing) for a good while yet.

It certainly looked like the sort of simple, good fun movie Mrs. V. loves (Pirates of the Caribbean is probably her favourite film) so I was hoping I'd have been able to take her out to the preview as a surprise. Plans were duly squashed due to a bloody parents evening at 6-flippin-pm on a week night. And I work a good hour's commute from home (where the school is less than a mile from). Anyway, thanks for the confirmation, Dan. I'll definitely make a point of seeking it our ASAP.

Good work. We moved house last Thursday and, despite the inevitable fuck-up with getting the phone line at the new house simply switched into our name, it seems to have gone well. The kids now each have their own bedrooms again and I can have more than one console setup at once!

It's possibly the best film I've seen this year I think - great stuff. Anyone seen Stardust yet? I had free tickets to a preview screening a good few weeks ago but couldn't make it at the last minute.

So, anyone else (not) in the beta? I (didn't) gots an invitation this morning.

...and I'm not sure if I like it or not:

"That's a-mah boy!"

Our only limitation would be the amount of lead foil we can get our hands on. To line the suitcase with, naturally. How's that with you, T? Oh... guess not.

Doesn't sound at all ridiculous, given the rather brutal discounting/bundling which the 360 has enjoyed over the last 9 months. That's how I could justify my purchase anyway. But... cow-vomit green is "pretty"!?