Dr.Gash

Absolutely fantastic. I was out of my nut last night and watched through the whole series. They remind me of the Radiohead blipverts but with a consistent narrative. Each "episode" hits a different sort of chord with its animation and that ending was superb... "Some day... some day I will figure this out." Sort of Deus Ex Machina but somehow strangely relevant to the story. Total weirdness, loved it.

Y'know what else results in cheaper prices? Digital Distribution. Plus it gets rid of the "problem" of pre-owned resales. Personally, I only really got into games when I realised I could trade them in at the local indie retailer. It meant I could afford the hobby even when I was a kid.

As much as I've got this sense of foreboding about the quality of FO3, I still remain resolutely hopeful that it will be loads of fun to play. I'm gagging for a slice of Fallout pie.

My xbox scratches my GTA4 disc to shreds. Every time I get the Disc Unreadable error I pop the fucker out and rub toothpaste all over it for 10 minutes. Not an ideal solution, but definitely better than paying Rockstar 25 smackers for a new disc.

This CVG hands on casts a happy light on the whole thing, suggesting that the game gives players a real sense of loneliness, yet the video clip linked above just makes the landscape look sparse and a bit boring. The colour palette, as mentioned, also looks dull and I wonder if that will be consistent across the whole wasteland or is just specific to that section/area.

I saw a couple of really good British short films yesterday at the britspotting festival here in Berlin... Soft, directed by Simon Ellis, is the story of a father and son being terrorised by a bunch of chavs. The ending is pure catharsis. Grrrr, dir by Grigoris Leontiades, is a very cool little animation about a kid emulating his dad. There were more as well, all were definitely worth checking out. I love short films. As an aside, Simon Ellis also did a wicked little short called Telling Lies which you can watch at the BBC Film Network website.

Just wanted to register a similar level of dismay at the cost in Europe. A 100% mark up is ludicrous, and while I don't necessarily think this is a case of getting Effed in the A due to corporate greed (darn those bigwig fatcat city-types wakka wakka), I do think it highlights extremely poor logistical planning on the part of the Publisher/Distributor. The biggest Fuck You I've felt yet as a European Consumer. Definitely won't be buying Rock Band til the price drops dramatically.

TOM CRUISE NOW TERRIFYINGLY INSANE "I spent four and a half years studying carcrashology. I came top of my class. If a crash happens, I'm there with my big tongs and my bag of melons."

Well, it didn't make me laugh but I still enjoyed it. He didn't really add anything new to my understanding of Crysis and I think that's probably why it wasn't hugely funny. Maybe if he was reviewing obscure crap (much like the ConsoleVania guys used to do in season 1) and making insightful commentary about that, he'd be able to levarage more laughs from me. Then again, I'm not really watching for the laughs anymore, but because I'm sort of invested in the series now and want to see how he can creatively spin the next payload of invective.

I played the demo of Blue Dragon and that felt pretty flat and generic in my view. In fact, of the RPGs I've played on 360, not a single one has managed to engross me fully. Saying that, I remain hopeful that someone will manage to create a really strong RPG brand on the Xbox. Since Mistwalker have managed to pump out one game on the console already, maybe they'll be able to pull something truly magical out of their designer hats this time around. Jury's still out.

Also includes the shittest design decision in a racing game ever: no split screen multiplayer.

Bull. Shit.

Right, an isometric viewpoint suggests fixed values of movement - i.e. the "hexes" of fallout 1 & 2. If Fallout 3 is purported to be an FPS RPG then it's not exactly going to be tile-based is it? In other words, Bethesda can pull the camera out as far out as they want but the units of movement and accuracy aren't going to be related to the Fallout mechanics we're used to. P.S. I'm not expressing an opinion about whether F3 is going to be any good, just trying to work through the display and gameplay options in my head.

I finished this on Sunday and I immediately felt sick to my stomach. The ending was such camp scifi and cherry pie that it made me physically gag while I was watching it. I felt the side-quest NPCs were often more fleshed out and believable than some of the more major roles. Unfortunately as soon as the side-quests were done the characters were out of the picture, exiting stage left (every single fucking time) never to be heard from again. A few days on and my opinion has mellowed somewhat. It's a beautiful game, at times breathtaking, and showed hints of quality gameplay. Unfortunately the combat lacked tension, the talents were too few to allow any true customisation and the overarching story was not at all to my tastes. The mini narratives saved this game from being sold before completion but I won't be going back for a second look.

It took me about ten goes to get that bit right on medium, so I dread to think what its like on higher difficulties.

I blame GNER. Cocks.

Tis a good point. A quick search of the BBFC site brings up this which is filed under DVD Extras. Couldn't find any other mention of the game so not sure exactly whats going on there. I did it on Medium because I'm not really interested in getting stuck on a game like this, just about pushing the plot along and firing my pop gun. I've heard that there are some easier ways of tackling the section you're talking about - something about hiding inside a ticket booth, but you'd have to search for that because I only heard it over Xbox Live. Hope that helps anyways.

Robot Hitler says, "Nein!" Well, maybe. I don't know. It didn't leap out and slap me in the face but it could be that I'm just too used to seeing Russians, Arabs and Terrorists in the bad guy role. Take into account the fact that the games got a modern setting and I think it could perhaps cut a little too close to the bone for some people. But I'm not them. As I said, I don't know. The Americans and the Brits are portrayed as rather unlikeable at times as well, like in the scene toblix mentioned above. And while the bad guys are clearly "bad guys," some of the acts which the English perform (shooting the sleeping guards, though I think that might be player-directed) are altogether more loathsome.

Blech, I take it back, I'm not going to finish it. Levels 6 and 7 are nothing but lessons in frustration.

Yeah, the controls are meh, but like, um, so what? I'm tough, I'm strong, I'm the gaming equivalent of an apex predator. The buttons don't scare me. Anyway, it's kept me amused for the five levels or so that I've completed and from what I played of the sixth the difficulty is ramping up considerably. It's just a shame that I feel like I've almost finished it.

I expect nothing less than to be torn apart by blood thirsty savages when I post on the intertubes. Besides which, I think its time I adopted a healthy Xenophobia of my own, lest I turn into a simpering, weak little cocktroll whos only sense of personal validation comes from the opinions of like-minded web scum. That being said, I still like CoD4 as much as I illustrated in my first post, if not more. I played through a series of 3-lives-and-you're-out team deathmatch games last night and it was so tense towards the end that I shot my only surviving teammate, out of fear.

Yes, exactly the act I was alluding to. Well done, Shine Get. Oh yes, heaven forbid I start my first post on a forum with a polite greeting. So, all told, I like CoD4. Suck my balls Idle Thumbs.

Hello, I found the Single Player to be an enjoyable romp and not quite as infested, as the previous games have been, with Hollywood war cliches and yanqui patriotism. It's definitely a game I could go back to and enjoy. The multiplayer, meanwhile, is an absolute hoot and I dig the progression system quite a lot. Its balanced well enough that a decent player at level 1 can still out-play someone who's made it all the way to the top of the rankings. And its not like you've got to wait around for 10 seconds for respawns either, which is a definite boon. I also reckon the killcam generally renders frustration a moot point as I can see how I was out-gunned. Something the killcam does highlight, though, is that lag can be a pretty major factor. There have been a few times when I've popped off a couple of shots on someone only to die and have the killcam register my shots as coming after my enemy's. All told, though, I think its the best FPS I've played on the 360. Man, my throat feels raw.