MysteriousLeg

I've put about five hours in and am really liking it. It's definitely video game-y, moreso than 2, but it hits the Arkham City/Assassin's Creed pleasure centers in my brain. I've found the glider to be my favorite part of the game. Transitioning from gunfire and explosions to peacefully gliding above a beautiful island landscape is so relaxing and pleasant. I would happily trade fast traveling for a network of glider-equipped towers.

I saw a guy at QuakeCon wearing the Oculus Rift and it looked like the silliest thing in the whole world, with his head just swaying back and forth, a controller in his hand, and the biggest grin I've ever seen on his face. Maybe the grin should indicate that the Oculus is awesome, but I'm maybe just a little too self conscious? Also, I get annoyed every time I have to take off headphones to get up from my desk, I can't imagine having to decouple my brain from this future screen every time I had to take the dog out or pee.

Two things: First: oh my God am I ever excited about the prospect of the return of the return of (The) Idle Thumbs Podcast. Sure, it would be great if Nick and Steve could be on it, but Chris, Jake and Famous are all awesome and funny and would be awesome together again, plus they would retain the three person dynamic present in the first iteration of the podcast. Second: I was the one who wrote the reader letter that explained my confusion of Steve's nickname, so seeing Rodi's post of "Two Hot Scoops" made me inordinately happy.

A friend bought this for me and another friend last night and we played for a couple of hours. I fell in love with the style of the game immediately, but the highlight is the prevalence of friendly-fire deaths and "Aww, fuck, sorry man"s that came out of our playtime. I'm glad that I got it free, and that it was cheap for my friend to buy during the Steam sale, but boy am I regretting not buying it at launch.

It was established that Jake was born in 1980, and I'm inclined to say that he was the oldest of the members (not to be offensive, or anything, I just always got that sense by his constant acknowledgement of his age), so I'm assuming that Nick was born at the very earliest around 1980, but probably closer to '82.

Friends, let me spin you a tale about the movie The Wizard. I know, I know, we all know about this movie and its obvious connection to Idle Thumbs, but there's an underlying theme to that movie, and the very narrative of Idle Thumbs that points to a larger conspiracy: 1989: The Wizard is released in theaters. 2004: Idle Thumbs is created. 2008: Idle Thumbs is resurrected as a podcast about video games. It is hosted by Chris Remo, Jake Rodkin, and Nick Breckon. 2009: Nick Breckon leaves Idle Thumbs (and ShackNews) to begin work at Bethesda. 2010: Bethesda publishes Fallout: New Vegas. As most of you know, the story arc in The Wizard involves a kid, Jimmy a.k.a. The Wizard, who has extreme trauma-induced aspergers after his sister tragically dies. His most vivid memories of his sister are from a family vacation to the Cabazon Dinosaurs. In Fallout: New Vegas, there is a town called NoVac that is centered around a large, hollow, Tyrannosaurus Rex which houses a gift shop, not at all dissimilar from the gift shop housed inside of a large, hollow, Apatosaurus in which Jimmy flees to at the end of The Wizard. On its face, this connection isn't too crazy either, but come see what clue lies within the credits for The Wizard: Power Glove Advisor: NOVAK Ladies, Gentlemen, I conjecture that this plan has been building since Nick Breckon was a small 9 year old, fascinated with Nintendo propaganda film The Wizard. If y'all would like to give me a grant, I would be happy to spend the next year combing through every frame of the movie and every second of the podcast to find more connections. Addendum: Could the dinosaurs of Cabazon/NoVac tie into the Jeff Goldblum's role as Ian Malcom in the movies Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park? More research needs to be done! Addendum number 2: Fred Savage (who starred in The Wizard) also directed three episodes of the TV show Wizards of Waverly Place as well as producing an episode of Phil of the Future titled "Where's the Wizard?". COINCIDENCE?!?

I totally clicked your links, excited to see a Jedi Wampa. Color me disappointed.

I beat GTA:3 at least twice with mouse and keyboard, but haven't quite felt it going back. As with Just Cause 2, I think that once I've played through a game with a controller it's hard for me to re-wire my brain to a different control scheme. I played about an hour of Just Cause 2 with mouse and keyboard today, it was nice on foot but I did have troubles with piloting aircraft.

Did Thumbs on the whole kill running jokes, or did Scoops end running jokes? I think it is our patriotic Thumberican duty to keep running jokes running. Like QWOP. Goldblum4Life.

Hmm, maybe I'll give it another try. It was the helicopter controls that really threw me for loops, I felt like I was playing hand twister to get off the ground, or descend, or bank. Also, before I bought my PC I had put about 50 hours into the game across the 360 and PS3, so the controller just feels "right."

I did the turn-out-the-lights thing with the Thief games back in the day. Come to think of it, I suppose those were equally oppressive and isolating, but perhaps the increased graphical fidelity is what's proving different in 2033. I had a similar experience with Dead Space where I kept thinking to myself "I just wanna get off this fucking spaceship" and finally I said "Wait, I can" and ejected the disc. I definitely like Metro 2033 enough to not do the same thing to it, but I'm afraid that I'll just never get around to beating it.

Yeah, I'm playing through Just Cause 2 and the GTA Episodes on the PC right now with a 360 controller. I'm pretty sure that it would be impossible to actually beat Just Cause 2 with a mouse and keyboard.

I bought Metro 2033 during the THQ sale the other week and I'm loving it, but I'm having troubles actually wanting to play it. I think this feeling was mentioned on the podcast, but it's just hard for me to willingly jump into such a dark and oppressive environment. I played for an hour or two the other day and when I turned it off I felt a huge wave of relief pour over me. I realized that I had been barely breathing for the past few minutes and all my muscles were tense. I may be acting slightly overdramatic, and I definitely love what the game is doing, but it's hard for me to play more than an hour or two every few days.

I have my PC set up to plug into my TV so I can sit on my couch and game. The couch probably isn't as conducive to PC gaming as it is console gaming, but it's not too shabby. I do use a trackball mouse, though, so I guess if you use a standard mouse (and really I'm probably the only crazy person who doesn't) couch gaming would be more difficult. I also have a monitor hiding on a desk behind my TV so if my wife is watching her stories I can still play games. It's nice.