Thyroid

Heh, I forgot to say "for me". You're right, though I can't see how anyone would see that part as being fun. It's too punishing.

Well, "games as games" (I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean) can bring out a good emotional reaction. I don't mean that you should be tearing-up as the credits roll. But it seems that far too many people - off and on Idle Thumbs - are going with games that seem to be designed around certain game mechanics, and not the other way around. Part of the reason I love Ico so much is that they cut out anything they thought was unnecessary. It's a fun game - and the keyword here is "game," as Ico would not have worked as well had it been a movie, since so much of it is catered to the medium, like the the beating controller, etc - but it's also an engrossing emotional experience. Half-Life 2 was fun, sure, but large parts of it were frustrating and choppy. I remember a lot of people complimenting its story, though I find it sparse and without direction - if it weren't for Wikipedia I would have had no idea what was going on. Again: I love the game (I don't think there's much out there that rivals the Nova Prospekt attack), but I think it's far too bloated for its own good. I'm usually much happier playing the episodes, which are a lot more focused. I can pin-point the exact moment Half-Life 2 stopped being interesting and just devolved into being "fun": during the sand/ant lion levels. There's all these houses around that are off the beaten path. If you decide to pop in, all you get is an empty place with no signs of life; there is no reward for experimenting. I know that Newell is big on linear, but there's a line. The whole thing felt like a puppet show afterwards. YEAHHHHHHH.

Half-Life had such terrible pacing, though, and don't get me started on the part with the ant lions. Why are so many of you picking it as game of the decade? If I had to pick one, it'd probably be Ico, though I haven't played that many games in the last ten or so years. Emotional reaction should be part of your criteria: cute mechanics just don't cut it.

Elmuerte -- Congrats! Good job! Strangelingo -- Haha, that's awesome. If for anything then for the reviews.

Haha, I used to have a prof that would always say, "Wecta wii." And everyone would be like, "What the fuck?" It took us a whole damn week to realise he was saying "Vector v". You're right, it does make for some terrible teaching, as brilliant as they may be as researchers. Due to a mix-up in my life, I had to leave my old university and go back to Jordan, where econ is a mandatory subject (so are Arabic, English, Military Sciences, Social Studies, etc), and start over from first year because my life just sucks that way. The prof does speak Arabic, though in a super heavy Iraqi accent that I don't always understand (it makes for some racism, unfortunately; Jordanians are not very fond of Iraqis, for some very ambiguous "reasons"); but her English? Man. It's like Yoda trying to speak Gaelic. Her notes even make less sense. I think I'll re-write them and stick them on a website when I'm done, just so that any future kids can understand shit and get good grades, but yeah.

I got 15/20 on my recent economics exam. I'm not particularly happy with the mark (75%? Would you buy a game with that average score on full price?). But I wanted to show you guys where three marks went. This question is worth 8 marks (though the prof's decided she doesn't want anyone getting a full mark on it, so I guess the total is 7). I lost 3. I want you to try and solve it. I have copied it exactly, down to the caps. Sometimes I wonder if this is why adventure games appeal so much to me.

This hands-on preview from Eurogamer - two hours of gameplay - is interesting. I still can't make-up my mind on this game. This could go in any direction.

It's interesting you say that, because I also found the story hard to follow, though I pieced everything together and I finally get it (unrevealed details aside). I guess Telltale need to work on explaining their story properly, as well as weaving in their puzzles with their story. I preferred chapter four; others preferred five. I guess the one we can all say weaved in story with puzzles was 3, which is worth studying because of that.

Green Day, eh? That's so lame it'll actually sell. That's just how it works. The lamer something is, the more money it makes. Glance at any sales chart or box office listing and you'll find yourself agreeing.

Read this, Erkki. You have to remember what the .

The last episode was pretty good, but hindered by uneven puzzling. It was very funny though: Telltale have one hell of a writer in Mark Darin. The game as a whole was fantastic, and I couldn't have asked for better. Congratulations to Jake and co!

Also, because Chariots of the Dogs was very much led into by the other three episodes. It is an excellent game, but doesn't work as standalone at all.

Okay, keeping in mind that I haven't touched chapter five yet (I will ASAP, I just want the plumber to come over already and work on my bathroom instead of interrupting me mid-session/cutscene), I thought you intensely "loathed" TMI, especially after chapter four. Please don't spoil chapter five for me.

Heh, I get genuinely excited about very very little, but Sam and Max falls into this category. I'm a bit of a Telltale fanboy. I like the voice. It's a parody of Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Why is it ass kissing? I want to nominate Tales of Monkey Island as my game of the year as well. Especially because I haven't played any other games this year. (Seriously, it's a great game. Though I prefer chapter four to three.)

I saw Wild Strawberries yesterday. It was very good.

"This is literally the most amazing news of the day." Full of nuggets.

That movie looks good. I've never seen a so-bad-it's-good movie I've enjoyed (I've yet to see Plan 9 From Outer Space), so I'm actually looking forward to that. Then again I should just rent Street Fighter. Edit: Saw Slumdog Millionaire a few days ago. I liked it. Planning to watch Twilight Samurai tonight. No, it is not a b-movie, or a cartoon.

I prefer Stanton myself, but it all comes down to taste, doesn't it?

There's a lot of games that hold-up remarkably well. The first Metal Gear Solid is still pretty atmospheric. The first Half-Life. Earth Worm Jim - can't remember which one, but it's the one that has some level with a large blimp balloon that you have to push around to kill the big boss monster. There's other things. The old LucasArts games, for example, I usually play with children. My little baby cousin Jana, who isn't even 3 yet, loooooves Grim Fandango, and has adapted the nickname. She doesn't get most of it, obviously, but really likes what she understand and asks all the right questions. "Why is Manny sad? Why is the cat called Glottis? A diamond? Oh, a demon. What's a demon?" And my cousin Tareq is a really big Monkey Island fan. Since we're done with the old ones, we're now on Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures - which he loves. Edit: snipped the pics out. I just remembered that this is the internet. Also, Super Mario Bros. holds-up remarkably well, even if it is really really hard.

Didn't find a thread for this anywhere, surprising. I thought this PSN game looked boring at first, but then I saw this video and it kindled my interest. I love that the developer is trying to do something new and interesting - what he calls "poetry". It might fail but I'm going to buy this just to support them. We need more games like this.

"Prepare to be overwhelmed." - IGN.com.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone, and a special "Woah, that's weirdly accurate" to Thunderpeel. Good luck, brkl. Get better soon.

Congrats, Kingz! --- Moving onto why I'm writing here. I need to vent out on something. I'm freaking myself out again. Every time I meet a nice but slightly disturbed person, someone in need of help, I'll find myself catering to their every need and wanting to take care of them. One of my ex's was like that. The downside being that I forget to look after myself, and when I do, I feel like total shit for not doing everything I can for them. I was watching Skins today and I saw this episode, Cassey, where this anorexic girl, not without her share of mental problems, clearly needs to be loved. She's weird, but, I dunno, nice, and it occurred to me that I always like people like that. Is it something wrong with me? Am I insane? Maybe I freaked myself out just because I'm slowly turning anorexic again. I was thin before, and then at one point I was anorexic, and then, at another, I wouldn't stop eating and got fat. Now that I'm slimming down, I think I'm slowly turning anorexic. This Cassey thing made me realise that I can't eat most foods anymore. I need to work on this. I'll be alright. --- Sorry, just wanted to vent out and know that someone who can't affect me and tell my parents read it. Heh.

I saw the first episode of Skins today. I thought it was interesting, and they set-up the series nicely. It's a little exaggerated, I guess, but it was a little eerie how much these kids resembled people I know. I guess I'll watch the rest while I search for a copy of the first season of The Wire. Seems worth watching.