Dapple

Dogs of the AMS...time they made a move

That's just plain wrong. I'd guess that part of the reason Nintendogs has sold so well is that it's different and makes great use of the DS's USPs (touch-screen & microphone). People have been intrigued by it, including lots of people who might not be interested in more 'conventional' games.

Or a mini-game where you 'buzz' the tower and have to make the captain spill his coffee... Those pics remind me of Blue Lightning on the Lynx.

10/10

Has to be Zelda: Ocarina of Time for me - the most engrossing and beautiful game I've ever played. Literally wonderful. Perfect. Just how do they give a game a sense of 'soul' like this? Oh, and Halo. And Dungeon Master on the ST.

Trading Places

And they'd actually chosen the people who they wanted to 'go up' a while back...

A mate of mine's working on this - I was talking to him about it last week and although I'm not sure he would have said as much I didn't get the slightest hint that it's a joke on the audience.

But just think of the 5.1 surround goodness plus the fantastic visuals they used on the tour - it'll be well worth the wait. You'd better get practising your best robotik dancing...

Just been into HMV and saw that there's a live DVD of Minimum Maximum. Lovely stuff. There's also a limited edition pack (£50) including a booklet, or something...

Reading this thread last week made me want to go back and play Halo again but I put it off because I could visualise the game so well...But I'm just going to have to relent and fire it up - it's such a good game that even if you do know it inside out, once you're stuck in it doesn't matter. I finished Half-Life 2 last week and thought about the 'cutscenes vs. in-game narrative' argument - I'm definitely one for a good cutscene myself (and I'm obviously not the only one to think the one before the Flood arrive is the best bar none - awesome stuff). I know that Half Life 2 was praised by some (Edge?) for not snapping you out of character by playing cutscenes but I was infinitely more involved with Halo (and Halo 2 - yes, even the Arbiter sections). I end up desperately trying to save the other marines and generally getting much more drawn in.

If one of the contestants susses that it's a hoax this will be replaced in the schedules by... Repeats of Jamie Oliver*. *Cooking in space. Probably.

I remember really liking the first series but the second series was just a bit too implausible and OTT for my liking.

Surely this is an example of Americans turning their back on 'self-help'...

I'd say it's OK most of the time but it does get obtrusive. For example, I was trying to fend off three, er, creatures and the screen was jerking around all over the place - I couldn't work out where the hell they were.

What's more stupid, the topic or the posts that follow it?

Absolutely fucking diabolical, I'm writing to Channel 4 to get the hour of my life I wasted on it back. Everything about it was dire - the characters were cliched, the acting terrible, the script clunky, the camera work was crap (how many times did they cut to a shot through some blinds?). Jesus. It also took itself so seriously when it was totally second-rate. Shoddy and predictable.

After having finished it twice on Normal (I just had to get the 'Typewriter') I've just started on Pro and it's awesome. Massive amounts of tension and near-death experiences (thankfully for Leon, not me) due to lack of ammo/health. Played up to the 'canyon' section just outside the village and it's so frantic. You have to be much more considered about how you go about it (using barrels to take a few out at a time, and so on). Great stuff, but not for my nerves...

A little ironic that Rachel Elnaugh is still on it even though her own business (Red Letter Days) went totally tits-up. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/...1872826,00.html

Part of the problem with updating effects (see: Star Wars Special Edition) is that the effects they add don't sit well with the original ones they leave in. For example, the X-Wings approaching the Death Star are all CGI but then you get the 'Luke strafing a lego Death Star' shots from the original. I'm not saying the original shots are convincing in themselves but at least the film's consistent without CGI. All this talk of Robocop - I have to watch this film again. Awesome. Immensely quotable too.

'Star Wars Episode 3, on DVD - do we care anymore?' I care

darthvader_noooooooooo.wav

Instincts went back to Game for a refund on Friday, I couldn't stand it. I went back to Halo 2 over the weekend - I don't know if it's just because I'm comparing it to Instincts but I'm even enjoying the Arbiter sections...

After having played the first few levels I'm hard pushed to think of something more depressing*. You have my sympathies. *Except having to watch that fucking useless intro again (and again, and again...)

The same thing happend to me at lunchtime. I had a wander down Oxford Street and popped into HMV out of curiosity (to see if they had indeed sold out). I'd seen them before several times but the fact that I could buy one there and then...They had a display model showing Spiderman 2, it very nearly sucked me in. The mind says no but the heart is shouting yes. I think I could happily buy one and put it on the mantlepiece...