gaggle64

Awesome. Still picking me up Saturday?

Oh. My. God. Anyone remember Taz in Tazmania? That show was the shit.

Dammit man, I do worry about this. Keep pestering your doctor, you know there's something amiss in there no matter what the EKG said.

Man, the graphics really are a major step ahead of '10. Add in the new suspension system and safety car feature this really is a step on. I'll be sticking with my mouldy old copy of '10 but I will be missing this sorely.

Great demo, seems to be excellent bloody fun throughout. It's quite a tough game too, I tried it on normal and it took me a few tries to get through the first of the two levels. You need to learn that regularly executing orks is the only way to get by, and you'll need to get a few combos learned to help you through. It's not 3rd person shooter, it's a brawler - you can't run or hide, there's no cover mechanic - you have to charge straight up and get violent as possible as efficiently as possible. Comparing this with Gears of War would like saying rugby and football are the same sport. Probably won't get this straight out with so much else competing for my limited funds in the next few months but this is most definitely a future purchase.

There's plenty we don't know about Cerberus, some of which has been hinted at even. As Joker points out in ME2 "Cerberus - three headed dog - how come it's only lead by one guy?"

That really does look genuinely quite marvelous.

Combat -gameplay trailer out of GamesCom - looks like it's taken from a build still under construction but it does give a good idea of the pacier combat and the sound effects are fantastic. New screen shots too -

I've been inventing soya-based smoothies. Currently perfecting the pear & strawberry recipie but struggling to allign the Berry Matrix with the Ice Horizon Principle. Less sugar and few more fiery near-deaths should bring me closer to the solution. More lightening please Igor.

This very genuinely 2nd (below Skyward Sword) on my list of games I desire day one, brand new this year. Though I hope Namco can cut that dreadful rawk remix. Otherwise, keep it coming.

I cited mobile devices because they are open platforms with a wide user base, the central core of which likely contains an RPG's most likely target audience. On second consideration browser titles and free-to-play or modular content models (You want in this dungeon? £0.85 please!) may be just as likely a future. The fact that titles like "Angry Birds" are the most popular demonstrates the desire of a majority of consumers for games that can provide short term, accessible entertainment. The problem for traditional RPGs is no matter where they go now they are always going to be a small piece of the pie. I feel their best option is to slash costs as much as possible, become as visible as possible to as many as possible, and make it as easy as possible to get into the hands of people who do want to play them. At the risk of being churlish, I may suggest that in two sentences you've just described the state of the entire genre since the release of FF7.

I love how you prioritise things in life. You're like the professor from Futurama. "Good news everyone, we found my cat's collar! Also, I feel like I may be dying..."

I think the problem with many RPG's & JRPGs, particularly traditional turn-based & strategy RPGs, are that these are typically big projects that take considerable time & investment to produce even on platforms with a low technology standard (eg. handheld devices) for an increasingly niche audience. Certainly there is still some demand for the genre but not enough to guarantee a safe return on the investment without putting the words "Final Fantasy" somewhere in the title. Part of the problem is that RPG's by their nature can take considerable time per-session to learn & enjoy most of their content, which isn't much good for the vast majority of consumers who's time needs to be split between work, family, friends, and other non-gaming pursuits. What time they do have for gaming then needs to split between the different games they want to play with a wide choice of sports licenses, blockbuster action titles, online experiences and social networking games (eg. Farmville) available. All of these genres have proven able to provide either short-term gratification or have found audiences by attaching themselves to existing license & services like FIFA and Facebook. The future of RPG's on home consoles can already be seen, but for many traditional fans the picture isn't pretty. Bioware seem to have found the path with their massively successful Mass Effect franchise, enjoying record sales despite an outcry from fans with with relatively simple action-orientated game mechanics applied to an epic science fiction story. Their attempts to apply the same thinking to the Dragon Age franchise, it's roots firmly in their renowned D&D games, is a sign of the times. Traditional RPG's that refuse to capitulate to the mainstream are going to have to find ways of lowering their own costs and getting themselves directly into the hands of the enthusiasts. This is likely to prove difficult on a relatively closed platform like a home console. Digital distribution seems likely to be the way forward, abandoning the marketing expense of boxed copies and placing themselves on online services where their target audience is likely to congregate. Perhaps producing epic RPG stories episodically rather then as single huge production may be another solution, allowing the developers to create according to demand in the same manner TV producers have always done. Major blockbuster projects may have to be abandoned, running with a traditional format of 2D artwork on projects that can be run on a wide range of devices will appeal to a hardcore as much as producing large 3D worlds. Ultimately I believe that the audience for major RPG projects beyond the one or two big remaining franchises is limited and home console manufacturers need to provide both the platform and the consumer base sufficient to support the genre. In my personal opinion, classic RPG's do have a future but I can't see it having "Nintendo" or any similar brand embossed on it - "Windows" or an apple seems more likely. It might even be in your pocket already.

Radio 6 is just marvelous, the presenters actually seem to know and care about music and the music itself is varied, fresh and doesn't make you want to commit suicide by swallowing a frisbee and waiting for it unfold itself inside your intestine. You know what's underrated? Radio 3. I enjoy classical but their late night "Jazz on 3" segment is required listening and it's always the good stuff, trippy honky-tonk all over rhythms that feel like your clothes could jive right off your body.

My best friend, ladies and gentlemen.

And now for something completely different:

Two wins in a row and I have no idea what I'm doing right.

Augh, considering going deliberately tee total. I love beer and scotch and other varied delights though I've never drank heavily for any period. Over the past year however I've been noticing a distinct degradation in my own mental reaction to even small amounts of alcohol and now things feel like they've hit a peak. I had single small bottle of beer for the first time in a couple of weeks after having had a good day yesterday and spent the whole evening feeling like James Stewart in a Hitchcock movie. Deeply unpleasant.

I may have posted this before but Pete Campbell's Bitchface is simply the most wonderful, marvelous blog in the whole wide world.

Adam Sandler, as I'm often told me and him are nearly identical, particularly after getting a hair cut. We're also both socially inept characters who are not nearly as funny as we think we are.

Gah, incredibly disappointing for Hamilton, almost walked away with it but a couple of bad tire calls threw it back again, leaving Vettel to extend his lead. No way he's going to loose it now with the chasing pack all battling each other. McLaren seems to be on the pace at least, so the excellent racing looks set to continue. Great for Button winning his 200th was a top result, tremendously well deserved. What on earth happened with Heidfeld's Renault? Don't think I've ever seen a car blow up like that, even with an overheating engine. Probably better look at that.

Whoop, it's pouring with rain at the Hungaroring apparently. Looks like it's going to be another good 'un. Also Button's official website reported last night that was severely injured in a car crash, but it was a hack and he's fine and still handsome and available for more Head & Shoulders commercials.

I wonder how it's decided which half the BBC gets and how much leverage it has to choose. I shan't shed many tears not witnessing Valencia or Bahrain in the heat of the moment. I hope the option to show the race verbatim gets picked up, I've at least already grown used to watching races after the fact due to work and what-not. I watched Hamilton's 2008 epic Monaco victory two days later via low def ITV online Glitch-Vision but no matter how you view it I find a good race rarely looses it's drama. The silver lining in following it on BBC Radio if need be is David Croft's consistently excellent commentary. Listening to races will be like the old times, when folks walked uphill to and from school and bran muffins cost a mere hayp'ny & thruppence.

Really, it's the best deal the BBC could have gotten. It keeps the sport on the channel for another 7 years at a cut price, at a time when the corporation is having to make cuts. Plus we still get the extended highlights shows and Radio 5 Live commentary on the race they don't broadcast. There's no way in hell I'd pay that sort of money for Sky even if I had it. Just a sign of the times really.