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Congrats! I remember you buying this years and years ago and at the time, I asked you for some impressions of the game. I'm glad you finally got around to replying to me! It doesn't sound like it was that good, so your perseverance in finishing it has to be admired. I probably won't bother looking into playing it now. I haven't played the new Sam & Max, but I've played all five chapters of Tales of Monkey Island (also by Telltale) and I have to say they were some of the wittiest and cleverest* point and click adventures I have played. The puzzles did make sense to me. That's not to say I never got stuck, though it's rare to get through any game of this sort without a little help. *the insult swordfighting scene at the Crossroads (Chapter 5) - which had you delivering lines that simultaneously insulted the swordmaster and encouraged Morgan - was absolute genius.

Thanks for the info. I don't have high expectations of this game, but I'm easy to please when it comes to platformers so I expect I'll enjoy it. I'm also a little hyped at the thought of playing my first Mickey game since World of Illusion on the Megadrive.

Oh, I'm sure I won't run out of games, even a year from now. Between now and next Christmas, there will be lots to tempt me (Epic Mickey included, which I've just bought from Amazon for £11 btw), including as you say, lots of 3DS games. I have a 3DS, but I'm grateful there aren't too many games out at the moment!

Why is someone considered more honest because they've rated a game lower than the majority of people? I don't think honesty has much to do with it. Surely each reviewer is truthfully stating their opinion about the game. Everyone has different tastes. That doesn't mean some are less honest than others. It just means that some opinions are more likely to coincide with yours than others.

Yep, really. How this post managed to quote your post and have a reply from me is a complete mystery, since I'm not reading this thread any more.

If my back catalogue of unplayed games is wittled down to a pile less than a foot thick, I start to get restless. Help! What am I going to play in 12 months' time, dagnamit?

Right, I am officially not reading this thread any more.

Grazza, you seem to be in a bit of a gaming slump these days. New Dragon Quest, Xenoblade and now Zelda don't seem to be doing much for you at the moment. What happened, man?

Good point. And if you play while lying in bed eating a bowl of cornflakes, the milk goes everywhere too.

Come on dude, get with the program! I've also been mildly interested in picking this up for a while. I've heard good things from people on boards who have played the game, and it would be great to play my first Mickey game since Castle of Illusion. One question: Are there any multiplayer modes?

Hit the nail on the head for me, except for me, it was a Link to the Past. I played it, while knowing nothing about it beforehand. I honestly thought I had reached the end of the game after getting all three pendants from each of the first three dungeons. Agahnim was going down and Hyrule would be safe once more! But after getting the Master Sword and entering the Dark World, I realised then that I had only scratched the surface. My mind was seriously blown by how big the game was, and this remains one of my favourite gaming memories of all time. I suppose I hold out a small glimmer of hope that the next Zelda game will deliver that same sort of experience again, however doubtful that may be. So for that reason, I don't want to know ANYTHING!

Ack! That sucks. Thank you for the heads up. No more visits to IGN until after the 18th for me then.

Congratulations! Finishing this game feels like an epic in itself, so the satisfaction must be high. I'm betting you're a bit sorry it's all over, especially after a measly 130+ hours of game time. If only there was an unlocked mode where you can play as an inhabitant of Mechonis and play through the same story from the eyes of the enemy. Now that would be value for money. Shulk would make an awesome final boss. On to Zelda!

If I find so much as a dead pixel . . .

Yes, I've ordered it. Now will you please tell me what you've done with my loved ones?

It seems to be in stock again at Play.com: Xenoblade Chronicles at Play.com Still not available on Amazon or Gameplay though. Get it while you can!

Like Burny, I play over WiFi (with a wireless router) and while some games perform vastly better than others, it's generally been fine. I've played Mario Kart without a single connection issue so far. Obviously there are many factors to take into account, but I'm pretty confident my router will hold up to the game. Try the WiFi first (no additional cost presumably), and if that fails, try the Ethernet method. If that fails, who knows, perhaps by then the game will feature a limited or non-online mode. You're welcome. It's still early days and I have a reasonable amount of confidence that it won't be a total train wreck of a game.

Spoken from a broken heart. Cheer up Grazza! Why is needing an internet connection a problem, assuming you have one? You didn't mention the fees, so it's probably not that. Yes. I have limited experience with DQ games, but the objective with the graphics has always seemed to be one of making them pleasing to the eye rather than pushing the envelope. The likeable charm, the epic scale, the traditional gameplay, the side-quests, the after-game quests, the rousing orchestral soundtrack, the occasional moments of hilarity and surrealness - these are what made DQVIII so memorable to me and there's no reason they can't do all of that in DQX. The MMO aspect may well turn out to be the greatest addition to DQ and could very well catapult the game into meteoric sales (in the West) if done well. I'm excited at the possibilities and looking forward to seeing more of the game. It's early days yet. When the game comes out and I manage to convince you it's 'just like Landstalker', you'll buy it, love it and we'll have a laugh re-reading that post of yours.

Wrong type of birds for sure. The possibilities are almost endless for prank setups and not just the naked kind. Not sure what my limit would be. I'd have to see nearer the time. I'm pretty sure I'd draw the line at £2499 though.

It sounded like Iwata was clarifying that the Wii U will be more than the Wii is selling for right now which might be ¥20,000 then? How much is the Wii going for in Japan right now? ¥20,000 is equivalent to £153 at the moment, so that seems encouraging. Haha, I like the 'accidentally flick' part. What are your fingers meant to be doing I wonder? By the way, your limit is £200. Would you really not buy it if it was £209 then?

Steady. You don't want a bathroom break halfway through.

Congrats! Though I think it took me considerably more than 50-odd attempts to complete Chapter 7 on Very Hard. Especially if you count all the 'retry within 3 seconds if you don't destroy Black Bull'. If I remember rightly, Black Bull starts behind you and passes you on the immediate right (or was it left?) a second after the race starts. You basically have to time your shunt to the right (or was it left) to hit him. If you get in a good hit, then you have a good chance to shunt him again. After two hits, he's out of the race. I would try this time after time and retry the race if I didn't manage it. Only after destroying him do you then have access to the one in a hundred chance of winning the race! I'd kill for a new F-Zero game. Preferably one that melts my face when I play it.

Amen. I'm hoping they don't feel that they have to innovate in order to continue the precedent. I'm sure the Vitality Sensor came about from this desire.