Grazza

They do if they're unpopular. I can almost guarantee we're going to see rows and rows of traded-in Pliotwings in a few months too!

Impressive pic in the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1367956/Super-moon-Amazing-pictures-lunar-planet--nearest-Earth-20-years.html

Thanks chap. The thing about school is that the nasty kids see how far they can push others. If you accept it, you fit in. If you don't accept it, you stand out. There was one lad who took a dislike to me when we were about 14 or 15. Once when we were going downstairs and he was behind me, he started kicking my bag. I turned round and asked him if he was kicking my bag. He said yes, I asked him not to, and he punched me. We had a little fight and the teachers broke it up. They said I'd somewhat provoked him by asking if he was kicking my bag, as if you've just got to accept things like that. Then one day he was waiting for me after school. I told him I didn't want a fight and started to walk away. He punched me in the back of the head. This is the trouble - you might want to avoid fighting as much as anything, but it's not always your choice. I didn't really know how to throw a punch at the time, so I played it safe and just swung him onto the floor. Thankfully the teachers arrived. But I was sick of it, so I learned how to throw a punch, and did lots of weight training to make sure I was strong enough. None of this was because I wanted fights, but schools are so violent, and I wanted to defend myself. Needless to say, this lad wanted Round 3, and so he waited for me again after school. This time I didn't even discuss it with him. As soon as he approached me, I put my fists up and clobbered him again and again as hard as I could. He later admitted to a mutual friend it was the scariest thing that had happened to him. This is what I don't understand about bullies and violent kids - they could avoid all this if they wanted, because I sure as heck was never going to attack anyone. Sad to say the main thing I learned at school was to throw a punch. But despite what I say, I don't think fighting back particularly stops bullies. Many of these kids come from violent homes, getting bruises from their fathers and brothers, so they're not scared of their classmates. If you hit back, you have to be prepared for a fight. Sometimes they back off instantly, but often they don't, so you have to make sure you're strong enough. Even if you're tougher than them, it's nothing compared to what they receive at home. So if I can say one constructive thing, it's this: involve the police. Bullies have to learn that in life you're not allowed to attack people. It seems a simple rule, but it's not one they'll learn from their families, or even their teachers, sadly (who just think "fighting is fighting", and don't really have the means to punish them anyway). No one wants a police record. Trust me, once they get a visit from the police, they do begin to realise that you can't attack people.

Gargh! Why doesn't it have full 3D graphics? Why?!! Only joking, I'm still interested.

I'm looking forward to Guest Girls week (if there is one), as I like to dress Kate up in Meena and Maya's stuff (LOL, listen to me - I've gone mad!)

They're very impressive. That's one heck of a lens you've got. Mine, on the other hand, are pathetic. Probably not worth the energy it takes to left-click on them.

Yeah, it was amazing yesterday. I took a photo, but my compact camera just couldn't capture it in any detail at all.

Look, the old costume is much better: OK, the pants would be better as hotpants nowadays, but you definitely need to show some thigh! That's part of it. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1367770/Wonder-Woman-Adrianne-Palicki-whips-frenzy-skin-tight-PVC-suit.html

I think what it is, Rez, is the biggest full moon for 19 years. As I understand it, the moon regularly gets this close to us, but this time it's a full moon. This article is very good: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1367474/Super-moon-spectacle-light-skies-tomorrow-night-theres-need-worry-lunacy.html?ITO=1490 Don't forget it, everyone! Anyone taking a picture?

You have to jump out of a 4th storey window rather than fight back? Sounds like something out of South Park! Sorry, but that can't be true. I've punched many a scumbag, and yet I never attack or bully anyone. Even verbally, I avoid saying things that might upset someone. I was brought up with two rules about this: 1) If someone hits you, hit them back 2) Never kick them when they're down This is the problem, people don't know the appropriate level of violence. Using these rules, I've never actually been bullied, because bullying requires some sort of cycle. A swift smack in the chops if they hit you means you never become their victim.

She should be wearing hotpants. The whole point of the original costume is that the boots and hotpants frame the upper leg. That's all I have to say.

I reckon it's that, yeah. QVC is a famous shopping channel, whereas there can't be many of us who associate "VC" with Virtual Console. I know we do, but that's us. Almost every single thing in this game is a pun. There's actually a library in DQVIII where the owner keeps books about puns!

Seems like a precedent is being set. Sounds very cool to me. I'd love it if this applied to future Zeldas too - you can get 60fps by sacrificing the stereoscopy.

The nuclear power workers risking their lives did remind me of the samurai, honourable to the end.

Quite right too. It'd distract them from making what we really want: "The Legend of Zelda: Just like the Trailer 2004".

A few different issues here. First, I'll hit Fused King with my ego... You have some nice ideas there, the fan paintings in Little Kings Story were very cool. Overall, I'd say there's a big difference between knowing what I like/dislike and knowing what I want. If Nintendo had asked me, after Majora's Mask, what I wanted the next Zelda to be like, I'd have said "Adult Link, same visual style but better graphics" etc, etc... In other words, I do not have the imagination. Instead, they made Wind Waker, which was an absolute masterpiece and something which I could never have thought up. I enjoyed it even more than the N64 games. On the other hand, I know I disliked that bloomin' overhead view of Castle Town in Twilight Princess, I know I disliked not having two analogue sticks (played the GC version, but it was designed as if the player did not have them) and I know I disliked not having shield control, after it had been done so brilliantly in previous games. In other words, Nintendo undid what they had themselves achieved! Secondly, or else... makes a good point about hardware. The only aspect of the Wii that makes me think "Nintendo were right, I was wrong" is the pointing. Apart from that, there's nothing else, I'm afraid. Their best console, I feel, was the GameCube, and that was very "ordinary", conforming to industry standards such as competitive graphics, optical discs and a twin-analogue controller. Thirdly, I don't want to pick on darkjak - you make some great points about how Zelda should always be cutting-edge. However, it (almost) still is! Let's disregard the handheld games and spin-offs, because most of them met expectations just fine. Let's also disregard Majora's Mask because a) it pushed technical boundaries even further than OOT and b) it was highly sensible to make a quick sequel to the best game of all time, using the same engine. Let's also disregard Wind Waker, because it delivered in every way. So, that just leaves one Zelda they've honestly dropped the ball with - Twilight Princess - and even that was just a second Zelda for the GameCube. Even Skyward Sword is a 3rd game using that sort of technology. If the first HD Zelda is bad, there'll be reasons for concern, but until then I'm not worried.

I haven't been this excited for a machine since the N64. I'm possibly even more excited than that.

I'd guess it's an HD version of Streets of Rage from either Xbox Live or a Mega Drive collection.

There are two reasons I'm optimistic about this... 1) Dragon Quest IX sold decently, so the DQ name is much more well-known here than it was when the DS launched. 2) This will have 3D graphics - a first for the Rocket Slime series. If you look at Rocket Slime Adventures (the DS game), it really doesn't have impressive graphics at all, when you think of how good sprite games can be. If this looks much better, Square-Enix might be more confident it'll sell. ...But yeah, I'm probably being silly to get my hopes up.

Schools are so stupid. They fail to deal with the scumbags, then when a fight breaks out they try to punish both participants and say something like "We don't have fighting in this school" or in this case "does not tolerate any violence and deals with all cases according to its community-agreed discipline code". Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366797/Ive-The-moment-victim-snaps-slams-bully-floor-wrestling-move.html#ixzz1GoHgrDNQ And bullies are normally the little sods, for some reason (or at least medium-sized). In my school, I was one of the three biggest, and no one "big" was any trouble at all. Nonetheless, I had loads of fights and never started a single one. Self-defence is not a crime.

I thought so, but games built on exactly the same engine tend to play the same too. Both Zenithia Trilogy games I've played have the same menus, spells etc. Unlike VIII onwards, there are no special moves unique to certain weapons, no skill-sets etc. Thanks for listing all those. I'd agree Panzer Dragoon Saga and Skies of Arcadia are top-tier. DQVIII's is the best art style I've ever seen that combines realistic proportions with a cartoony aesthetic. The colours seem to be just right - not too washed-out - which is something I've not seen in another game. It just struck a chord with me, full orchestra, lots of brass. No arguments from me that Shadow of the Colossus was top notch, but it was an action game, not an RPG. In that regard, I don't think it dampened DQVIII at all, because as great as SotC was, an RPG wouldn't be the same without all the towns and villages, countless enemies etc. If there's one series Shadow of the Colossus took the shine off, I'm sorry to say it's probably Zelda. Not that I think Zelda can't fight back, but after SotC's seamless overworld and giant, highly interactive bosses, it'll take some doing. Ah, I thought you might have meant the game's personality, not personalities. My bad. Again, the game struck a chord with me, but we're massively in the realm of subjectivity here. A loyal castle guard who is the only one to survive an attack by an evil sorcerer, forced to travel the land, hoping to one day turn the princess back into a human. Give me that sort of stuff any day.

Wow, awesome, I didn't even know there was going to be a 3DS game! I hope the ship battles are somewhat like Skies of Arcadia and Panazer Dragoon Saga, where you can attack from differents sides, use different cannons etc.

My take on it is that a game has a chance to stand out when it's based on a new graphics engine. By this token, DQVIII and IX certainly stand out, with V almost certainly being the pick of the Zenithia Trilogy. The identical game engine makes these remakes feel so similar to each other, there's only room for one highlight. In fact, as I understand it, they are based on the PlayStation engine for DQVII, so that's four games using the same engine, but I shouldn't really comment on VII since I haven't played it. As for Dragon Quest VIII, it's the best RPG I've played, and if there's a better one, I would love to know what it is. Genuinely, I would love to play something I'd enjoy more. Surely the amazing visuals and music are enough to make it stand out? The graphics engine alone was impressive for a Generation 6 game, with fully-modelled towns and villages. You could rotate the camera with the 2nd analogue stick and flip into 1st-person mode to inspect, say, a chandelier on the ceiling or the view from the battlements. In this regard, it felt more like Zelda than a typical RPG. DQ IX is the only one (I've played) that is repetitive within the game. As for personality, this is the series that gave us King Trode, Yangus and Puff-Puff! It's unfortunate that IX was a bit bland, but I can't name another RPG series that has the same charm. Of course, I would like Dragon Quest to improve as well - when I was playing VIII, I drooled at the thought of the next one (which I assumed would be on PS3-like tech), but that's like any other game. A better experience will be made if they manage better graphics, music, towns, villages, characters... etc. The risk with abandoning the old-fashion aspects that reviewers have come to criticise, is that it might devalue the Dragon Quest gameplay. Take Final Fantasy's ATB (which is just turn-based, but timed) or FFXII's ADB - neither were better than the untimed turn-based of DQ, where you have time to consider your stategy, then watch to see if, with a bit of luck, your choices paid off.

The one that I haven't heard any complaints at all about is Street Fighter IV, so if you like that genre, it should be the best buy. Pilotwings is meant to be good, but very, very short. Nintendogs is meant to be good, but very similar to its predecessor.

There are two online features, dr4hkon - shopping and quests. Access to both of these become available a short while into the game. Oh, you also get visiting guests from previous Dragon Quests (they give you items of clothing). Shopping (they call it DQVC - a pun on the shopping channel "QVC") starts a new theme every Friday, such as weapons, shields etc. Quests become available from time to time (about once a month now), but you will be able to download all the ones you've missed.