Grazza

I loved that, brilliant! I'm not taking the mickey, it really is a good point. Had River Song said that to the Doctor, it would have drastically improved my enjoyment of the episode! If only Captain Jack was still in it; he probably would have!

Just watched "Angels Take Manhattan". I thought it was very good in terms of music and photography - both created a very strong, sombre atmosphere. I didn't actually enjoy the episode much, and this is where I get on my own nerves when I talk about Steven Moffat's writing. There is nothing constructive I can say whatsoever. He is extraordinarily talented and intelligent, and there are no suggestions I can give that would improve the script. His stories are always darker and/or sadder than the others - even one of his most popular episodes, Blink, stood out like a sore thumb, tonally-speaking, in the mostly-bombastic Series 3, whereas I much preferred Russell T. Davies' Judoon and the wonderful "I AM THE MASTER!" moment. I just have to accept his style is not my sort of thing. Angels Take Manhattan was classic Moffat. It was dark, it was sad, it featured complicated time travel mechanics (although I suppose you're always going to get that with the Weeping Angels). It reminded me of the Silence two-parter from last year, actually. Overall, it really was a good mini-series. All five episodes were pretty decent, in my opinion, with the best being Chris Chibnall's "The Power Of Three". I didn't think Doctor Who could become that good again, but it did (briefly). With a new companion, Steven Moffat seemingly becoming more accomplished as a head writer and - most importantly - some excellent secondary writers finding their feet, I feel Doctor Who is on an upward trajectory.

To add insult to injury, this is getting a re-release in Japan! http://nintendoeverything.com/100494/dragon-quest-heroes-rocket-slime-3-re-releasing-in-japan/

I've never been more on the fence about a games machine than the Wii U. One day I'll want it, the next day I won't, and so on... At the moment I can get it quite cheaply, but I'm still reluctant. The only launch game I want is New Super Mario Bros U. As has been said above, it's nice to have multiformat games, but as they are available on other formats, they're more the sort of thing I want during a console's lifespan rather than old ones at the start. Loved multiformat games on the GameCube, but wouldn't have been impressed if they were part of the launch line-up. But back to New Super Mario Bros... I'll probably be able to buy it for £35-40, but I'm not sure it's that exciting. This is really the point when people are apathetic about the NSMB series. It's not that there's any doubt about how much fun they are to play; it's whether they are system sellers. The "Nintendo fan" side of me wants to be on-board early with this console, but the other side of me thinks there needs to be more exciting, more compelling reasons to spend £300. I need the "must have" feeling, and that's what I'm not getting from the Wii U.

I thought The Power of Three was brilliant - the best Matt Smith episode so far and the best episode in general for many, many years. What impressed me most was the tone - it was perfect. Warm-hearted but not too sentimental. Flawless by all reasonable criteria, although when Mark Williams saw the nurses in the corridor I really wanted him to say "You ain't seen me, right?"!

I had great fun with that last night! It takes some skill to pull off and is not really cheating because it's all within the physics of the game, as opposed to a glitch. Thanks to this exploit, I was able to get the maximum number of lives in no time at all (strange reward for doing so...) and have now got five sparkly stars! Due to the 9999 coin-per-level limit, it would still be a bit of a grind for me to get 1,000,000 (I'm currently on 70,000 - would have to do it about 94 more times, unless I'm mistaken) but I'm still tempted.

Wow, that's a really nice package. Wonder if we'll get that?

Nintendo has really fluffed the 2nd year of the 3DS! Now I don't suppose we we will see any unknown 3DS games until Christmas 2013, and that's if Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion and Paper Mario aren't delayed until then! I can't understand why they didn't use the eShop to make up for the deficit. They could have put Oracle of Ages/Seasons on there, as well as the SNES, the GBA, some more 3D Classics... Or localise some of the fantastic-looking Japanese games. I'm not bored with the 3DS - far from it - I just wonder where they're going with it. Let's hope we see Zelda and some other good titles at GDC!

Well, I consider myself Church of England as that's my background; that's what I have an affinity with. I love C of E churches - they give me a good feeling that is not just religious, but linked to culture and heritage. Also, the values associated with Jesus and the New Testament have shaped so much of European society - it's what we are. Someone who betrays you is a "Judas". "Crucify" is the carrying-out of a terrible and cruel execution. A "Good Samaritan" is someone who helps out a stranger in need (something we could do with a heck of a lot more). Even if you don't believe any of the supernatural side, it has shaped our culture so much.

Well, cultures tend to bring their own religions, which is bound to cause clashes. I've got a horrible feeling I've derailed Animal's thread...

Foil has never worked for me. That's all I can say, really, although I do like wet shaving.

Michael Johnson did an excellent documentary about that (the 100m, that is) called "Survival of the Fastest". One theory was indeed that West Indians/Americans brought over from Africa were tougher, as they survived the terrible journey. Another theory was that Africa is one of the most genetically diverse continents on Earth - those brought to the West Indies/America mixed their genes together and became stronger because of it. Anyway, I suppose race is one of the biggest taboos. On the one hand, I feel like there is too much political correctness about it. On the other hand, it can't be much fun when you encounter the racist idiots (who we all encounter in some way, but obviously not all of us encounter their racist side). I can honestly say I don't think of people as their skin colour - we all have so many subtle differences in race anyway. There is absolutely no race I'd be nervous or judgmental of if they were walking towards me in the street. But a group of men who clearly embrace the "gangsta" culture? Yeah, sure I'd be nervous of them. It's all about culture, which has its roots in race and national identity, but needn't be constrained by them. This is one reason I'm not a huge fan of multiculturalism (but I am a proponent of multi-racialism - who isn't?) We don't have a perfect culture over here, but it's better when people are assimilated. Personally, I like it when a comedian lets us laugh about the issues in a good-natured way. I'm enjoying Citizen Khan at the moment, partly because of the way he accuses so many (innocent) white people of being "racists" or "racialists". Conversations like this (can't remember the exact wording): Mr Khan: You can't be the mosque leader! Dave: Because I'm white? Mr Khan: No, because you're ginger! Dave: Isn't that a bit racist, Mr Khan? Mr Khan: I can't be racist, I'm racial! If anything, you're racist for calling me racist! And... Neighbour: Do you want to come and watch the cricket? Mr Khan (in full cricket gear): No, I don't like cricket. Neighbour: What's that on your legs then? Mr Khan: They're shin guards, for praying. Neighbour: What's that in your hand? Mr Khan: It's a Muslim artifact. Neighbour: Looks like a cricket bat to me. Mr Khan: That makes you ignorant of Muslim culture and, therefore, a bloody racialist! ...Made me chuckle anyway. People like that who are trying to make us feel better about ourselves and each other are the good guys, in my book.

If it carries on at this price I'm not getting one. Really thought my favourite retailer would have offered me a good deal by now, but no. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just surprised. You have to hand it to Nintendo. If the public really are desperate for Wii Us and are happy to pay £300, good luck to them. It's just that I haven't heard a single person talk about it in real life.

Entirely bad, in my opinion. I've never stolen anything in my life, but why shouldn't I be able to buy things that aren't released here or get certain versions of them? In the days of the Sega Saturn, you could get a switch fitted so that you could play games from any region, and choose between 50/60Hz too - it was even encouraged in magazines. The fact we still don't have these features as standard decades later is a very disappointing aspect of the video games industry. The way I see it, there are different groups in society: There are those who will wait for official European releases no matter what, and only buy what they can browse in shops - fair play to them. Then there are those who will go to whatever lengths they can to steal and obtain wholly illegal copies. The third group - the fans - will generally get products from their region, but may occasionally want to import something. What's wrong with that? It seems to me less and less games are being localised nowadays. Code of Princess, for example, was released in Japan and the US but not Europe. What harm could it possibly do to allow European 3DS owners to import it? It just seems mean-spirited to me.

This is one reason I thought they should have made a 3D Classics version instead of putting it on the Virtual Console. I don't really want 3D Classics versions of Zelda, Metroid or Zelda II now I've completed them, but the point still stands. There are several alterations they could make to the code that would improve the game (yet might be controversial if applied to the actual Virtual Console version), such as: * Start at beginning of dungeon if you're in one - the fact Zelda II doesn't have this feature must be one of the hardest things to understand, especially as it was in the original. * Extra lives accumulated are permanent - it seems crazy to me that you have to think carefully about picking up an extra life, as you might need it more later on than you do now... In fact, you almost certainly need as many as possible for the journey to the Great Palace. * Autosave - this is one of 3D Classics' main features. Get a key - autosave. Find an item - autosave. Beat a boss - autosave. * Permanent "Shield" spell - OK, this one might be controversial, but once you have cast "Shield", it could stay for the whole game (just like a red tunic). Let's face it, it's not like there's a section where you don't need it... * More fairies and magic refills ...So, things that would change the game quite a lot, which is why I think it wouldn't be done on VC. They would make it a lot more enjoyable to play, yet you'd still have to meet every challenge, beat every boss etc.

To beat the post-game boss in VI, you would generally need to have maxed-out every class. It helps if you have got them all Metal King equipment too (the ones who can use it). I thought it was worth doing, but yeah, it's certainly a grind.

Level-5 are just the best in my opinion. I adored Dragon Quest VIII, Dragon Quest IX was a big part of my life for a year and I'm getting a PlayStation 3 just for Ni No Kuni. If Level-5 make a single-player Dragon Quest for 3DS or Wii U, we're in for a treat. As for Fantasy Life, yeah, @Fused King has made me really interested in it and I hope it gets a European release. What I like is that, apart from the Animal Crossing aspect, there seems to be a fairly strong RPG side with swords, shields etc.

What I don't understand, @Ville, is that all your criticisms (which I agree with) are about difficulty, yet you don't seem to have had any difficulty completing the game yourself. You breezed through it!

I've only just watched A Town Called Mercy and thought it was very good. Quite a mature episode with lots of ideas that can be applied to real life, such as responsibility and atonement. Going by the three episodes this year I'd say Doctor Who is actually improving over the last two seasons. Each episode has been easy to understand and funny with it. I take my hat off to them for (presumably) listening to some of the feedback.

Oh, I see, I misunderstood. And yeah, many styles could work for Zelda on the 3DS. I hope it's at the next GDC, I really do.

I'm really interested in Trine 2, Nano Assault Neo and Toki Tori 2. Mighty Switch Force HD is one that I'd get if I was in the right mood - it's a brilliant game, but I have played it on 3DS. Honestly, I think the eShop and Virtual Console could give a huge boost to the Wii U. Get those HD SNES, N64 and GameCube games on there and it'll be fantastic!

That's a shame if it lessens the chances of Zelda on the 3DS being cel-shaded, in my opinion.

There was a big argument about this last time. Firstly, I agree most ghost programmes are a bit daft. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt, though, that they started with good intentions. Maybe the creators really did think if they spent enough time in dark houses with camcorders they'd eventually capture something. When it didn't happen, they probably thought "Let's create some stunts, so at least it's not an hour of nothing happening", and so you get "orbs", pebbles being thrown on the floor etc. I'm quite fond of them, to be honest, as they're only trying to entertain (I don't approve of Ouija boards though as I think people scare themselves too much with them). If you do like ghost programmes though, I recommend Great British Ghosts on Yesterday (Fridays, 9pm, Freeview Channel 12, and repeated quite a lot). It's quite charming, doesn't usually have psychics or mediums and is generally just a good way to explore some interesting buildings and hear spooky tales (they don't do "investigations"; it's all anecdotes, and is all the better for it in my book). My second point is that, yes, I think ghosts might exist, but I'm not trying to tell people they exist or we might have another argument! You don't believe anything until there's enough evidence? Good for you. I wouldn't want to be gullible either as there are a lot of liars about and those who simply do not apply enough rational scrutiny (you know the type - those who claim they see them again and again, no offence intended). Personally, enough people are sure they have seen them and, whilst I always look for rational explanations, I do not think any are good enough to totally explain the phenomenon. As an aside, does anyone find it interesting that there seem to be less reports these days? My third point is that just because I think there might be an unexplained phenomenon, I do not necessarily associate it with spirits or the afterlife. I believe people see images, sure, but I think the explanation is likely to be stranger than we can currently imagine. You really would think I was barking mad if I gave you some of my theories! It's like UFOs. I firmly believe in that phenomenon, but I don't necessarily think they are alien spaceships. I think that is just the strangest explanation we can come up with at the moment.

Yes, thanks Captain Falcon. I had misunderstood when I read it before. Indeed. It's not a criticism of the game. It just happened at a time in my life when I was in a bad state of mind, hence the "Argh, I'm giving up gaming" attitude. It wasn't because of OoS. I had also bought a Dreamcast and hadn't been able to enjoy any of its games, even though I knew they were good. Quite dark days, to be honest, and they might explain why I rate the GameCube, Wind Waker and Mario Sunshine so highly (as they broke me out of it). Nowadays, of course, I would love to get my hands on downloadable versions of OoA and OoS, and would play them with much more tenacity.

Not very far, no. I'll have to be careful here so it doesn't sound like I dislike Prime... I do like it, although it took me a few years to come to that conclusion. I still don't think it's the best introduction to Metroid as it's very difficult and therefore too easy for a first-time player to get the wrong idea about the series. But you ask how far it strayed... Simply by being in 1st-person perspective it gained a few habits from the FPS genre. Sure, there were still Missile Doors and such, but the general layouts could have come straight from Turok. The other habit is that battles became focused on strafing and circling. In the 2D games, Samus is agile - you can fly through the corridors. As has been said, in Metroid Prime she's a tank. Not necessarily a bad thing, but a difference nonetheless. Also, the beams don't stack! As has also been said, the Metroid Prime games had inferior Wall Jump, Space Jump and didn't have the Speed Boost at all. It's interesting that the original Prime had none of these. Perhaps they were introduced into 2 and 3 to make it feel more like Metroid? And yet the decision to leave them out of the first one was surely correct, simply because of the type of game it was. Anyway, as I say, Metroid Prime is a very good game, but I think I've listed five or six things that do make it feel considerably different to the other Metroids. It's legitimate, sure - I never said otherwise - a legitimate side-story, but it still makes quite a few diversions.