Wrestlevania

I just started playing a little last night, and the post-mission screen was so jarring and garish, for a moment I actually thought the game had crashed while saving! It's a nice idea, but ugly and overbearing in its implementation in my opinion. Not a good piece of interface or information design. It would be nice if you could just switch it off in the options. Alternatively, why doesn't it arrive like a text message on your phone, like the replay mission messages do? That would be much more integrated and slick I think. Anyway, that gripe aside, I already really like the characterisations of Luis and - in particular - Tony. Yussuf I'm not overly sure of yet; like a lot of what Omid Djalili does, his character is leaning just a little too hard on the "Look at me, I'm a crazy Iranian!" like many of his performances do. He's still fun though and I do like him strutting around in his pants, thrusting to Rap music in an awkward but likeable, couldn't-give-a-shit way. He's definitely got charm, as do the other two new characters. I must also confess to snorting loudly at hitting a guy in the nuts with a golf ball from 200 yards during the opening mission.

Finally got a chance to see Moon and liked it very much. I now get what people meant when they described it as, "good old fashioned/proper sci-fi." Unlike most blockbuster sci-fi, Moon feels very much like you're watching a novel. The pacing, intimacy and story progression is acutely pitched and very steadily paced; there are no jarring leaps of "4 months later" or anything like that, which shows confidence and I really liked it for that. Sam Rockwell is also completely engrossing throughout, drawing the film along very well with no reliance on effects or trickery to add any superficial perception of plot or character depth. Very good film indeed, but not sure it's something I'd watch again and enjoy as much. Whereas District 9 I've seen twice now and, if anything, enjoyed it even more the second time. But Moon is excellent regardless--make an effort to see it if you already haven't. Edit: Skimming the previous posts, I've just realised that I've not watched anything on TV regularly (and to series completion) since BSG finished. Maybe it's time I finally get around to watching Babylon 5 properly...

If there were any remaining doubts, this week's Grand Thumb Auto provided conclusive proof that GTA causes racism: The above has nothing to do with an annoying combination of random player colour assignment, interminable screen fonts and the Liberty City night sky. Nope. Definitely not.

Hmph, suspected that might be the case in the final game, too. Oh well, I would imagine it might just be too stupidly hard for both teams then. Or maybe not..?

Very much liking the look of Realism mode on paper--sounds like it could add some extra depth to playing with reg'lar folks. Anyone know if you can play Versus in Realism mode? Wasn't mentioned in that article.

For reference, I found plugging "Clint Mansell" (Moon's soundtrack creator) into the artist radio on Last.fm to be highly agreeable.

In case you've not been checking the Steam Community calendar, I've bumped all forth-coming Left 4 Thumbs sessions forwards 1hr to 8pm GMT by popular request. That means we're starting now, peeps, so get in 'ere quick!

I had to reload the whole fucking demo--no idea or explanation why. And after all that, I'm still very dubious that we'll be able to actually find a server tonight anyway... still, I'll be on before the 8pm GMT unlock, so see you then. (I've also updated the Idle Thumbs Steam Community event to start today instead, too.)

GT-what?

Perversely enough, I probably will be awake just before 6am GMT, as that's when my younger daughter usually wakes up. I'll probably be like a zombie though, lulz

Surely you mean demagnetised?! I seem to attract bullets like flies to a particularly juicy shit.

Sorry, how remiss of me. Yes, of course. But it'd be nice to spend time with someone who likes games as much as me. I've loitered around other Thumbs, when proximity has allowed (and enjoyed their company hugely), but I've not found anyone in The Real World - since moving to get married - who really clicks to be honest. This is rapidly starting to sound fucking creepy--not that I care that much. I'm happy enough, just be nice to share my hobby with someone in meat space sometimes.

Oh, heh... Could do, although 9pm for other events has worked out OK in the past - particularly for them overseas types. I'll setup a poll at some point shortly and see what shakes out though.

I've added you - and PiratePoo - so feel free to add me back. I'm usually responsible for heading up the Left 4 Thumbs (and Grand Thumb Auto) sessions, but have been out of the loop for a little while due to family commitments. Started getting back into the swing of things yesterday though, and you're more than welcome to join in. Only thing to be aware of is these sessions tend to fill up quickly, so trick is get online a good 10 minutes before they're set to start. And, speaking of which, now's probably a good time to mention that we've just switched back to GMT (from BST) in the UK, so we're now playing an hour later on Sundays. If you're not sure, join the Idle Thumbs group on Steam and the Events Calendar should automatically adjust to your time zone for you. Edit: I've just setup a mini L4D2 event for tomorrow at 9pm GMT, which is the time the pre-order demo will be unlocked.

Weird, Steam must have bumped to GMT for we Britishers. Still, we got almost a full compliment of regulars off the bat - me included, for the first time in a month! - so can't have been a problem. Really not liking Crash Course, though. Seems cobbled together and unfocussed. Bit of a let down after all the initial hype and an extra month's worth of anticipation. Bleh.

The more I hear about people's "best friends" at the moment, the more relieved I don't have one. Or any.

He was kidding.

Didn't get time to pre-order FM3 in the end, but still managed to find a copy after work last night. Played about 1.5hrs of the game and it's clear I was wrong about the handling model being dampened in the new game. If anything, it strangely feels even sharper and more responsive than the second game, and I was able to flick cars through corners - balancing tiny adjustments in braking and throttle - to get some glorious power slides going in even something as tiny as an Abarth 500. Bloody fantastic! So, who's still up for a regular race night then? I'm thinking we should call it "Formula Thumb"...

Oof, just sounds like a particularly bad day. Best of luck with the 6th!

Certainly did! Big fan of zombie films, and while I enjoyed Shaun it seemed to think itself just a touch too clever in some places. Good though.

Gutted! Thumbs is far and away my favourite weekly, well, anything TV- or radio-wise. Shit... :\ But best of luck, Nick.

Seconded. Will keep 'em crossed for you. If it comes to the worst and you don't get the job, make sure you find out why. NB: If you're using an agency, they should get feedback for you--if they don't, insist they do as it's essential to getting better at the interview process. If they're hesitant - and they fucking well shouldn't be (lots of bastards though) - say you'll use someone else who will better support your employment.

Absolutely! You Know Who was brilliant; not too much screen time, not too much dialogue, no real impact on the plot. Pitched perfectly I thought. Do try watching it again in a few months, see what you think then.

Care to elucidate? Interviews are hard work - doubly-so on the second round - so you may just be a little hard on yourself. If it makes any difference, I completely fucked my second interview for my current job (poorly briefed, didn't do a proper presentation). But they still invited me back for a second run with better preparation.

Definitely with you on that one. Mrs V and I have watched it a couple of times at home now and it's still really enjoyable. Great film. ...seriously?! I watched Zombieland last night and thought it was great fun! It had plenty of good gags, and both main male characters were very entertaining in their highly contrasted obsessive-compulsive ways--with Harrelson definitely worthy of the media praise here. What with this, District 9, Moon and so on, I can't help feeling there's a lot of worthwhile cinema getting plenty of attention at the moment. It's oddly refreshing.