Grazza

Nice little feature here: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/333104/previews/animal-crossing-3ds-guilty-pleasure-gaming/ I'm really looking forward to this now. Haven't played one since the GameCube, and I'm in the mood for that sort of charm again.

Yeah, sure. It's something like £300-400 per year, but I genuinely can't remember (and it doesn't include spa). It's the council leisure centre, which is actually very good. Induction was £25, but that got me two mandatory personal training sessions and three optional ones. I should say I'm lucky as it's 35 minutes walk from me. As for advice, I'd just try and find a gym with friendly instructors who look fit and seem to know their stuff. They'll set you a balanced programme depending on what you want to do. Personally, I explained I really wanted to build my chest and back, and so they set me a balanced workout at first, with an exercise for chest x2, back x2, shoulders x2 and one leg exercise (incidentally, chest exercises tend to work your triceps, back exercises your biceps - that's why there are no isolated bicep or tricep exercises there). Shortly after, they suggested splitting my programme in two, so I could do more exercises. It's important to have approachable instructors you can have a little chat with, in my opinion. Also, make sure you will have enough energy at the time of day you go. I say this because I wouldn't fancy a gym session after work, and I'm glad I've got enough time to go beforehand. Set aside two or even three hours to go there, get changed, do your workout (which will probably be 45-60 minutes) and get home. EDIT - Another thing is, be really honest with your instructor about what you want to achieve. A lot of people say they want to "tone up", but if you want to build bulk, say that. It could mean the difference between being set 3x8 with a heavy weight and 3x20 with a light one.

For a year? Seems a steal for a year, but expensive for a month. Anyway, gyms are absolutely amazing, David. It's a cliché to say "I used muscles I didn't know I had", but that is the case when I joined one. I used to go, then had a few years off. During which time, I was not lazy and did plenty of bicep, tricep and shoulder exercises. However, it is just not possible to exercise all the main muscles at home (or at least very, very impractical). When I rejoined the gym in November I awoke all those chest and back muscles I hadn't been using. If you put full effort in, you'll notice results almost immediately.

Are you sure you're using RGB Scart? I only ask because you'd have to have bought one specially and (as far as I'm aware) RGB is always carried through Scart. If you're using the red, white and yellow leads at any stage of the connection, the image will be converted to Composite (which is not as good). It's a moot point anyway, as the best thing to do is get a Component cable (assuming your TV has got the inputs). When you do so, make sure you go in your Wii settings and change it to "EDTV" too.

I'm probably going to buy one if there's a long game I want that uses it. At the moment, that isn't the case and I'm hoping the "3DS Lite/XL" becomes available first, but we'll see.

Brilliant article from 1Up. I agree with it 100%, apart from the bit about Fi, which I'm not bothered about and I also think there were a few good characters outside of Skyloft: http://www.1up.com/features/five-ways-skyward-sword-went-wrong?pager.offset=1 Well worth a read. Hooray for such perceptive writing.

Oh yeah, @Ike makes a good point there: train Goowain into a really tough all-rounder! EDIT - I forgot something important, @darksnowman. There is a "Hero" vocation, which is much easier for the Hero to attain than the other characters. I would train your main character as Gladiator and then "Hero".

Yeah, it's probably the worst of IV-VI, but has some nice bits of story here and there. I can imagine it's easy to forget about if you leave it for a while. As for characters, if I were you I'd have Hero and Carver, both as Gladiators, that sort of vocation. Aim to get them Gigaslash. For your 3rd character, I'd have one of the girls - depends what type of weapons you want them to use, but generally I'd have Ashlynn and have her aim for Sage. For your healer, I'd use Nevan and, again, aim for Sage. But, the monsters are good too, and let's not forget I didn't recruit Terry. It all depends on what items you want them to use and what armour you want them to wear.

Finally got round to playing this. First of all I should say I'm a big fan of both 2D Metroid and WayForward, so when I heard the latter was making something akin to the former, I knew I had to play it. The game begins in quite a subdued manner and seems less polished than WayForward's original games. In fact, I'd even say it seems quite average at first, with nothing to really elevate it above some of the other 2D games of its kind. You reach the first boss surprisingly quickly. Like all five if them, it's a huge, beautifully-animated sprite. Boss fights are quite tough and it can be unclear whether there's any particular technique involved or you're just meant to plow through it and lose some marines. It may sound ridiculous, but this game is much more devoted to realism than Metroid. Weapons can only be exchanged for another in the Save Rooms, ammunition is finite and the bosses aren't considerate enough to throw you any spare health. Your main weapon can be upgraded when you find the appropriate power-up, but only the one you're carrying (if you're not carrying the one you want to upgrade, you have to go back and get it). Extra marines, rather than be recruited and head to the Drop Ship, only join your group if you have less than four. The result is something that might sometimes feel restricted as a pure game, but serves the license incredibly well. The more I played Aliens: Infestation, the more I liked it. Levels are short and sweet, with plenty of replay value. But it certainly isn't perfect: Stage 2 has very sparse Save Points - there could have been an extra one or two here and there. Also, the touch screen mini-game between Stage 2's last Save Point and the boss can be frustrating if you're attempting a perfect run and keep failing at the boss, having to repeat it each time. Again, it serves the licence more than the game. There is another fairly irritating section between Stage 5 and its boss. The game can also feel a tad unsophisticated at times. As I say, each main weapon can be upgraded three times to become a "+3" version. In itself, this is an extremely good game mechanic. However, it is not possible to upgrade your weapon at all before the 1st boss, when it would have been very welcome, or (if I recall correctly), max-out any of them before the 2nd. Conversely, by the time you get to Stage 5, there are more power-ups than you can make use of, which is great, but it might have been better if some of them were accessible earlier. Stage 5 also gives you a vast choice of extra marines to pick up, which is strange as the boss fights (most of which you've been through) are arguably the only valid reason to lose one. But the end result is something that, for once, is more than a sum of its parts. Not only did I complete Aliens: Infestation once, I went back immediately and played it without losing any marines. Unless I'm mistaken, this is only one of two DS games I've completed twice - the other being Shantae: Risky's Revenge (probably not a coincidence). I'm beginning to think WayForward understand what gaming is about more than any other studio. Overall, a very, very enjoyable experience. Graphics: 6/10 (extra point for the bosses) Sound: 5/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Overall: 8/10

It sounds to me like you're using Composite SCART, @NintyCat. Red, white and yellow, right? One's for video, one's for the left audio and the other for right audio. In theory there are two superior connections the Wii can do: RGB SCART Component http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component_cable Component is the best the Wii can do, as it's the only cable (for this machine) that can carry progressive scan. In either case, I assume you'd need to buy one specifically for the console. Keep in mind though that I haven't tried this personally, as I use my Wii with an SDTV.

Only just got your recent message, @darksnowman (haven't connected for a few days). Hope you got my reply. @Fused King to win the latest Fakémon contest.

OK, thanks @Charlie. Did a full 3x12 on Tuesday, so I can lower the assistance next time. Getting there.

Yeah, I spent 25 hours on Pilotwings too. My most-played at the moment is Ocarina of Time - think it's 28 or 30 hours (which is just a normal play-through of it).

I'm thinking of getting this, but am not quite sure about it. Do you have to play online to get your score on the online scoreboards, or can you play offline and it adds your score whenever you connect?

As much as I'd prefer a 2D Metroid and don't know why Mario is so much more popular than their other franchises, these have been hard times for Nintendo and it's understandable they are falling back on their sure-fire hit. Personally, I'd like a true, sprite-based 2D game, as I don't think there's ever been a Mario better than Super Mario World (at least not a side-scrolling one). There's never really been a bad Mario either, but none of them seemed like they were trying to surpass the SNES outing. They were trying to do other things (like go into 3D), which they did very well, but it'd be nice to have something as good as Super Mario World, with its sprites, cheerful music, branching, multi-pathed map (very important!), Castles, "Switch Palaces" and Fortresses too. Super Mario 3D Land was good but I thought the best bits were the into-the-screen sections. The left-right movement wasn't so good, as I often accidentally nudged the Slide Pad slightly the wrong way. Side-scrollers are better locked to an 8-way D-pad. Of course I want to see the 3D series continue as well (with dual analogue), but I hate to say it - they are strictly hardcore, whereas the 2D and 2.5D ones are much more accessible.

They do pull a publicity stunt every year. If ever Thorpe opened a new ride and said "The test went well, nothing went wrong and it's not haunted", I'd be suspicious!

I wanted to buy Cave Story 3D, but forgot about it/was busy at the time of release. Needless to say, now I can't get it. It's a ridiculous situation, in my opinion, when you have to guess which games will still be available a month or two after release. Might get the DSi Ware version if I can't get the 3D game.

I just think "gender neutrality" is a load of balls, if you'll pardon the pun. Gender is determined by chromosomes, which determine whether you have ovaries or testes, which in turn determine your hormones. Then look at clothing, which is designed differently for a reason: women wear bras because they have breasts, men's underwear has extra room for the testicles, and many other subtle things like women being hourglass-shaped and men being more V-shaped. This is practicality, nothing more. As for toys, personally, I've never liked war, cars or football. I liked the slightly geekier boys' toys like Masters of the Universe, ZOIDS and Transformers. Kids gravitate towards what they like anyway. I'm all for love, understanding and sympathy towards those who feel differently, I truly am. There's no need for anyone to conform to stereotypes, adult or child. I just don't think gender itself is neutral.

There were a few things that benefitted from being mapped to the d-pad, not an analogue stick: * Wall jumping controlled much better than the Prime games * Space Jump/Screw Attack controlled much better * Speed Boost (not in the Prime games) was enabled because of the d-pad. Imagine building up speed then pressing slightly the wrong direction on an analogue stick... In Other M, however, it was limited to left, right, forward etc.

I don't think anyone is saying Merlin is totally flawless. It's just that, if you've genuinely enjoyed every single episode (which I have), there's little point in complaining about it. Yes, there are sometimes things they could have done better, and I discuss the latest episode in detail every week with other people who watch it. It's just great fun, there's no point in moaning about it if you enjoy it as much as I do. As for Game of Thrones, I haven't seen it because it's on Sky. However, I assume it's a lot more serious than Merlin? Does it have as many laughs? Does it entertain? Merlin is trying to do a very specific thing on a Saturday evening and it does it almost perfectly.

Oh, it does have a meaning to it. The level of satire/allegory is probably the best thing about it.

I wonder if there's going to be anything like Dragon Quest IX that you can spend 500, 800 hours on!!

Honestly, I found Other M easy to control, but at the same time I think they had a hard job fitting it to the Wii remote and simply did the best they could. For instance, there were no L or R buttons. And whilst I found it easy enough to use the d-pad for movement, I simply prefer the movement locked to up, down, left and right. It's hard to explain, especially as I enjoyed it so much. In a nutshell, I think Metroid Prime was basically the right way to bring Metroid into 3D. My perfect 3D Metroid would keep Prime's control set-up (including the lock-on, analogue control and a separate button for missiles), but have the ability to switch to 3rd-person at any time, and also perhaps stack the laser beams. It also wouldn't do any harm to borrow the level design from Other M, because it was definitely more like Metroid, to my mind. Me too, me too...

Hmm, I love Morgana. Talking of her, how's about that for character progression? She was totally on the side of Camelot in Series 1, and is now (after Series 4) totally against it, whilst it actually felt like a natural transition. Amazing stuff, in my opinion.