Zero Punctuation

[thorn]

That is madness, I'm in Melbourne right now and it is not cold in the slightest.

*shrug*

I just came from the Northern Hemisphere, in doing so missing summer for the second time in three years.

[miffy495]

Bah, you in Montreal can't complain about winter until you've experienced Edmonton (or to a lesser extent, Calgary). Forty below in a damned desert? I rest my case.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Heh, weather is a weird thing. When I came back from living in LA I remember moaning about the UK weather, and how it miserable and cold it was. But at the same time my cousin came back from New York, where it was absolutely FREEZING (and I'm sure that's warmer than Edmonton) and he was so happy with how warm it was!

Do you live in Edmonton, Miffy? My girlfriend has a cousin living there. I don't want to sound like the annoying tourist, but er, do you know him? Dean Smith is his name and he's a big Rock Band/Guitar Hero fan.

(Can't help but think of a skit I heard on the radio once... A man lost forever in space with nothing but his computer for company suddenly comes across an overfriendly alien: "You're from Earth? The PLANET Earth?". Man: "That's right". Alien: "Do you know a guy called Jan Vogels?". Man: "No." Alien: "Oh come on. He was from Earth! Jan Vogels!" Man: "I don't know him!" Alien: "You must know him. Jan. Short guy with red hair.")

[miffy495]

No I live in Calgary, which is about a 3 hour drive Southwest of Edmonton. As such, I make frequent trips there, and can definitely admit that their weather is worse than ours. Mostly because Calgary has the luxury of Chinooks (infrequent warms blasts of air from the nearby rockies which give us temporary respite from the winter) and Edmonton does not. Any time I head up in the winter I make sure to get myself good and prepared.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Yikes. It's hard to imagine living in a place where the weather could kill you if you weren't careful.

Here in the UK we don't have anything that could kill you: No extreme weather (except the occasional insane floods, I suppose). No snowy mountain regions. No sprawling deserts. No earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis. No wild bears or wolves or mountain lions. Everything is soooo mild.

I think that's why we're all so miserable.

[DanJW]

We do have snowy mountain regions, mostly in Scotland. Also lots of rivers and streams that can kill you if you fall in, but most kids aren't told that these days as they don't play in the countryside any more

But yeah not many extreme conditions. Maybe that's why we have so many homeless...

[thorn]

I know I started it, so I can't throw stones... but what does it mean when we're discussing the weather in a games forum?

Perhaps we should start a new 'Weather' subforum, eh?

Oh, and according to Yahtzee's blog, he's in NYC for the Webby awards.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Oh, and according to Yahtzee's blog, he's in NYC for the Webby awards.

It actually says that next to the video of the old episode, too...

[BooJaka]

We do have snowy mountain regions, mostly in Scotland. Also lots of rivers and streams that can kill you if you fall in, but most kids aren't told that these days as they don't play in the countryside any more

We also have an incredible abundance of unguarded railway lines in the country. They're pretty scary stuff. Probably not exactly weather affected though

[brkl]

I heard the trains over there are about as reliable as the weather, though.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I heard the trains over there are about as reliable as the weather, though.

Lol, that's true! And uh, lightning.

Seriously, if your car broke down, no matter where you are in England (I'm excluding Scotland here), you would be able to walk to a house/be picked up by a passing car before you expired. (I reckon.)

[twmac]

Miffy, I'm not even going to try and compare the weather in Montreal to Edmonton, because Edmonton is one of the bitterest places I've ever known.

I think there is definitely something in the way the weather affects our moods insofar as English weather is frequently discussed amongst the English due to its miserable, scizophrenic nature (and we Anglophones can be a miserable bunch sometimes) whereas in places like Canada you are too busy trying not to freeze to death to talk about it. All the people I've met from Edmonton seem to be a very cheery bunch, although that might just be because they aren't in Edmonton at that current point...

Oh and thorn, if it is any consolation I'm now back in England for some of the 'Summer' and I'm currently staring at a horizon of black storm clouds.

[Nachimir]

The amount of sunlight does directly affect our moods (thought to be one reason countries like Finland have higher suicide rates), though personally I've found that I don't get it too badly. Seeking out aesthetically pleasing things, like looking at rain as beautiful, can completely offset the effect for me.

I think you make a good point about not getting miserable at extremes. Any humans with traits that made them get despondent in sandstorms, floods or subzero temperatures probably died off many thousands of years ago.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Plus I think those things help remind you of your own mortality. Would we still moan about silly things if there was a possibility of being mauled by a bear on our way to work?

I think not.

More bears, I say!

[twmac]

Preferably Psychic Bears.

There is a new one out, it be about Haze. Entertaining, if entirely obvious slagging off of the title.

[Wrestlevania]

Probably justified; Eurogamer were consummately brutal in their review of Haze. (The EG review is a bonafide critique, however.)

Going to watch Yahtzee's rant now...

[brkl]

No-one likes Haze. There's certainly no reason to expect Yahtzee not to bash it.

[Cigol]

Yahtzee seems to have been quite measured in his response unlike certain bandwagoners who've taken the 'average' game taint and ran with it. I really didn't see the need to be so harsh on Haze. It's not bad it's just completely and utterly average. Which of course is bad, but not in the sense they are decrying.

I look forward to his views on MGS4

[ThunderPeel2001]

Something involving lines like "of course it's all complete Japanese wank, and MGS4 is more wankier than ever, but we love Japanese wank, don't we?".

[Scrobbs]

More bears, I say!

[Ben X]

Preferably Psychic Bears.

There is a new one out, it be about Haze. Entertaining, if entirely obvious slagging off of the title.

No-one likes Haze. There's certainly no reason to expect Yahtzee not to bash it.

Didn't twmac mean he bashed the name of the game (because it's similar to 'Halo')?

[twmac]

The whole thing really. I mean Ha(lo)ze is an easy target. Especially as it was marketed as a PS3 'must have' exclusive and it turned out rather bland.

I think that Yahtzee might have some kind of fit if he played MGS4. Those cutscenes are brutal.

[DanJW]

You asked for it: MGS4

I find it interesting what people say about the clunky and overloaded combat engine. Because my experience with MGS3 was that while combat appeared awkward at first, once you have it down you realise how deep it is. The initial clunkiness is in fact the price paid for a very versatile system that isn't at first apparent, and I suspect the same is true for MGS4.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I wouldn't be surprised if you're right about that. I've not heard anyone complain about it so far.

[Cigol]

You asked for it: MGS4

I find it interesting what people say about the clunky and overloaded combat engine. Because my experience with MGS3 was that while combat appeared awkward at first, once you have it down you realise how deep it is. The initial clunkiness is in fact the price paid for a very versatile system that isn't at first apparent, and I suspect the same is true for MGS4.

There was a big 'wtf' moment from me when I heard that. Completely false. The control scheme is one of the most immediate in the series so if he's having trouble with it I wouldn't want to see him struggling with MGS2 - that'd be facial gurning ftw.

The only downside is they didn't improve the cover-system, which with the floating 3D viewpoint is now pretty redundant for anything other than improving camoflage. So I agree there, it's crazy actually because there is a system for shooting downwards whilst in a prone position leaning off a ledge (which you will never ever do in normal gameplay) but there isn't a similar procedure for shooting over objects (which if you are a gunslinger you'll be doing a lot of).

Regarding stealth and dumb enemies; I guarantee he's playing it on NORMAL, and I doubt he is too concerned about being stealthy either. That's fine, it's how most people will do their first run (myself included) but it's not how the game is supposed to be judged on its stealth element. Turn up the difficulty and the number and variance of enemies is much more pronounced. Like I said in the main thread; the game doesn't force you to play it either way, it's a choice you have to make and stick to. In previous games (MGS1/2 especially) the combat felt like you were making a mistake because the mechanics for it were so clunky and punishing but now it's actually a lot of fun (maybe too much?).

A lot of MGS gameplay for me is oldschool, it's 'Video game' epitomised. Just because it looks realistic doesn't mean it's a gritty simulator of modern warfare, because obviously it's not, but it's not meant to be either. Just embrace it and forgive it's faults!

I don't think MGS4 is the best in the series, it's too short and focused on the plot, but fans will lap it up regardless.

Yahtzee fail

(oh okay, who am I kidding )