Scrobbs

Dang. Based a on a few folk saying it wasn't so good, I cancelled it.

Yeh baby! I heard these guys at Sonar 2006. As soon as I got back to the UK, I went and bought their shit. Top stuff.

Ordered!

Actually, it wasn't Thrust that I was thinking of, it was a game called 'Oids' - similar principle...but nothing like PJ-E Good game though.

Further to his woolly dicussion of 'Uncanny valley' Braben has spoken out about pre-owned games. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/braben-calls-for-action-against-pre-owned-sales Notwithstanding the point that the second hand trade has grown up around games being so damn expensive in the first place (althoguh coders have to eat!), the practice of tagging discs seems a bit strange - aren't they tagged anyway with a big orange sticker that says, "Pre-owned"? I also get the impression (not being involved in it), that at it's heart, the computer games industry is akin to the 'old' model of the music industry - with the major labels (e.g. Sony BMG, EMI etc) raking in most of the cash. Admittedly they supply the cash for the actual production of the game before revenue can be earned. Is this why some devs are moving towards releasing incremental games (c.f. GT5 prologue), and why MMO makers rush a product out the door then fix everything later. Am I completely wrong?

I was just browsing for some server info for TF2, when I came across this post: http://www.hl2world.com/bbs/portal-the-flash-version-mappack-vt49430.html

It reminded a bit of 'Thrust' on the ST when I watched a youtube vid. If that's the one you're on about.

...while I was watching some Glasto footage on the BBC iPlayer yesterday, I noticed that the volume slider goes up to 11! I don't know which genius decided to put that in there, but !

Sorry, I forgot to add the bit that WV actually said - I'm very concious of the security of my system. It was supposed to included with the bit that if there's a keylogger on your system, you've got bigger problems! I have a hardware firewall (SPI) with tuned rules at the network entry point, a powerful software firewall on my machine with tuned rules, corporate level AV, memory protection, anti-spyware software, fully patched OS, restricted local accounts. That's not to say I'm perfectly safe, by any means, particularly in my line of work, but I do my best to ensure my system is as secure as possible.

I suppose I see your point. I guess it's kind of like why the banks made sure a chip and pin was introduced on payment cards - it transfers the responsibility to the user for protection (keeping your PC logger/trojan free) of the pin (Steam password) and completely removes liability from the banks (Valve) for monetary fraud(game stealing). However, having a strong password (i.e. about 16 characters alpha-numeric-case) is my best defence because if someone did get a keylogger or trojan on my machine (and no matter how many measures you take, you're likely to get done at least once), I'd have more to worry about than just my steam account being stolen!

Mine is on it's own wooden table, vertical, next to the PS3. Luckily the table is big enough to fit the power brick on too - might be tempting fate here, but I've had it 18 months with no problems. The 360 looks pig ugly next to that beautiful piece of hardware that is the PS3 though.

Just make the password really strong next time. I can recommend Keypass.

Have you tried brasso? Works a treat.

Well, I've just been ridiculously lucky. I asked orange for my PAC code earlier this week, and had been phoning up one of local O2 stores daily to check. As it happened, a 16Gb had just come back on sale, as someone had failed a credit check. A quick word with my boss, and one cab ride later... woot! What a fabulous piece of equipment!

Make sure it's an imax! As the opening rolls, you're treated to an overhead shot of chicago. You feel like you're hanging onto the helicopters skids! Awesome.

I think I got the most points on any game from Splinter Cell: Double Agent - 650. I wanted more, so I started to play through on hard...and jesus christ. the enemies have sight like cheetahs, hearing like bats and reactions as fast as Asimov's finest. I barely made it through the first set of missions before having to pack it in - or break something.

Yeh I discovered this after further investigation!

Do you sell tinned meat too?

Could this be the reason Madrid's football team are called 'Real Madrid' I wonder?

Ok, sorry, scratch that. It appears there's no single 'theme', but that it's a brand. Monsters appears to be some sort of tower defence, and eden is...kinda like locoroco mixed with um..acid?

Can somebody give me a quick rundown of what the pixeljunk games are about please?

I must admit I did not. I was so outraged that the guy doing the walk through was enthusing about this grenade throwing mechanic (highlight your target, oo wow), and that the AI looked so very very poor, given the quality of other games, that I possibly missed other things. It looks boring, formulaic, and lacklustre. I might be proved wrong, but even if I am, I don't think I will be buying it. Especially with Left 4 Dead, Little Big Planet, Wipeout:HD (eventually), TF2, Company of Heroes, Call of Duty 4... learning guitar, socialising, kite flying... there's just no time

I felt exactly the same when I saw an E3 vid - the enemy was stupid, coming towards the player, and the player shot and missed the torso and hit him in the arm. Instead of jumping away, the AI stopped, stepped back a step, and waited a split second before moving towards the player again without any evasion apaprent, giving him ample time to reload the shottie and tag him properly. Highly unimpressed.

The games that are based on GPS are the way forward.