Grazza

That's odd, I thought IV and V were much easier. There seemed to be less tactics - you just get yourself up to level 40-50 and take on the final boss, maybe debuff it whenever it casts Kabuff (or such), but that's about it. That's not to say I don't like them, because V in particular had loads more charm than IX. So, what is everyone doing in IX at the moment? I did the Level 40 Thief Quest (thanks LegendDK) and yes, it had a great reward. I haven't tried any Grottoes since the Level 49 one because I want better stats, so I'm levelling-up everyone to about level 41 in each class. Am I the only one who doing this? It's nice to max-out Focus, Enlightenment and Virtue, to name three.

Very likely. I'm going to predict it'll be a good game, but will make people wish it was a pure 2D Metroid or a pure 3rd-person, 3D Metroid (controlled with an analogue stick). I can't see it working perfectly, considering it's such an amalgamation. I reckon Falco Lombardi and Dante are right - it's a baby Ridley. There are too many similarities.

Yeah, I did a Level 49 Grotto yesterday (not boasting!) The Darkonium Slimes are a nuisance, as are the "Ox" type enemies (maybe they are Octagoons, I can't remember?) The Level 49 Grotto was a bit too stiff for me, but I got down to the last floor and just had a look at the boss. He was one I'd beaten before without any trouble, but I wondered if this was a more difficult version. It wasn't - he was easy and I beat him (which was a relief after all that). In fact, it was out of proportion with the other enemies in the Grotto. The funny thing is, I'd done a lower-level Grotto with a much more difficult boss:

Quite right too. It's not about laziness, it's about convenience. People like to play games in certain positions - kneeling, laying down - and Red Steel 2 was a pain in the neck to play, the way it asked you to swing hard and do the full movements etc. This type of motion control should not be the future of gaming.

Spring is my favourite because the temperature is just right, it's sunny and everything's lush and green. Autumn's OK. It's a tad melancholy, but I start to feel more like myself when it comes around. Summer and Winter are the extremes. In the former, everything dries up and it's too hot, even with minimal clothes. In the latter, the relentless darkness grates, and whilst I normally just put on a jumper if it's cold, it got really freezing early this year.

For one thing, it can't be hygienic. Secondly, I don't know how anyone with testicles doesn't need the support of proper pants. I can't even wear boxer shorts, my balls are so heavy.

Well done Ike. I must admit, I feel very lost in this post-game. Has anyone got any really good Quests to recommend, please, or places where you get the most Liquid Metal Slimes or Metal King Slimes? Here's my recommendation: do the Quests at Swinedimples. The rewards are brilliant! For example, if you max-out your Shield skill, you can do a Quest that gets you a very useful reward. Same goes for Spears (the only other one I've done so far).

Actually, come to think of it, maybe it's Kraid. He does look a bit more like a spinosaurus than Ridley. I know Retro Studios were thinking of putting him into the Prime games, but never managed to fit him in.

Personally, I only chase ones that the Grotto boss drops (ie. I've never done one twice). Generally, a boss will drop a map that's slightly lower than the one I've just completed. However, I then go and do that and get a higher one than previously, eg. 40, 35, 45.

I know what you mean. It'd be good as a steering wheel, but the big flaw would be that you couldn't rotate your wrists.

I suppose the odd thing about this game is that you finish it and you're still not sure what the post-game content is! Presumably it's mainly Quests and Grottoes, although I dread to think how big they get, because I've done a Level 45 one that had eight floors, and I've still not seen a Metal King Slime.

Yeah, he's chubby with a mop of hair! It's odd to change him, as he was always consistent throughout all the 2D and 3D games. Awesome trailer though. I wasn't going to buy this on release, but now I'm tempted.

Every time I get a ferry to a new place, particularly crossing the Solent in 1989 and an eight hour epic voyage down to Brittany in 2004. There's something greatly stimulating about getting on a huge boat that's going to take you somewhere new. Your mind is full of possibilities and it's really quite existential being out at sea with only vague images of lighthouses and such to guide you.

I did laugh at "Intelligance"! It just seemed particularly good comic timing as the fifth thing on the list.

Well, after that moan, I'm having a whale of a time! I'm now getting on with the post-game content proper. If anyone wants any advice (which I know they don't), it's this - Grottoes, Grottoes, Grottoes! You sometimes get Metal Medleys in threes, so I can't wait to see the Metal King Slimes!

Too right, it's the game that never gets old (and the coaster designer in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2). For me, boredom's a thing of the past. Technology is so good nowadays, it's hard to get bored with the internet or games consoles, not to mention a huge number of TV channels just on Freeview. Then there's going to work, exercising, eating, housework etc. I haven't been bored for at least 10 years!

I meant perfect for its generation. There are plenty of Metroid games that are perfect enough for their generation and machine - Super Metroid, Prime, Zero Mission - but I think Other M is going to be more of an experiment.

And she strips off at the end. No health drops? Crazy. I'm looking forward to this game. I don't think it's going to be the next Metroid Prime, but I do think it'll swing Metroid back in a certain direction. The perfect Metroid will probably arrive in a later generation, and mix the best aspects of the two.

It's a good idea. What I'd really like is for motion control to be reigned-back somewhat. For example, I'd love a super-advanced gyroscope in each hand to replace the infra-red pointing (and thus the sensor bar). The gyroscope could convey axis information to the machine, and it wouldn't need infra-red. It could even be wired.

I love this game, I really do, but does anyone else find it too obsessive? Particularly in these areas: 1) Farmable items So often I want to make something in Alchemy, and yet I need an ingredient I don't have. I look in my guide to see how to make that ingredient, and I see I need a farmable item (like Royal Soil). So, I look in my guide to see where to find that, and when I get there, there might be 1 piece, 3, 4 or none at all, so I have to keep checking, all to make an item which should really just be a little sidequest. It wasn't in VIII and seems like an unnecessary addition. Are they trying to make Dragon Quest like an MMORPG or something? 2) Skills Skill points, particularly from Seeds of Skill, are very miserly in this game, and so you have to switch vocations in order to get more. True, it was a big problem in VIII that you couldn't max-out enough skills, but arguably by fixing that they've taken it too far. For instance, for every vocation your character hasn't tried yet, there are some "easy" skill points waiting to be picked up, but how far do you take it? Level 10, 30, 40? I've spent the past week or so levelling-up my characters in different vocations, just to get the skill points. Yes, it's my fault, but it's hard to resist. The other big thing I don't like about this is that your characters can become all the same. They can all have Spears, Swords, Courage etc, which is all very well, but I believe RPGs are better when more parameters are set. An ideal version would be where your Mage (for example) can max-out all the Mage abilities and weapons, but only those. I couldn't resist getting mine an axe, but it's really not fitting. Again, my fault, but I like some parameters. 3) Quests There are hundreds of Quests. Some are fun, but most are tedious beyond belief and are pure filler. Some have decent rewards, others aren't worth doing. Why do I have to defeat an enemy or boss with Bang or Frizz? It takes away the fun of the boss fight when you're afraid to attack normally because you don't know his HP, and you have to keep chipping of 200 or so HP with a weak spell. What is the point of this? Again, it's very MMORPG-like. 4) Mid-step Armour So much of the traditional armour now has a slightly enhanced version - for instance Steel becomes Gigasteel. The trouble is it's not really worth it and seems like its purpose is mainly to pad out a longer, more excessive game. 5) Mini Medals In previous games, you'd generally have most of them by the end of the game. In Dragon Quest IX, I've barely got half. Like so many other things, everything's designed to last so much longer. Whereas Dragon Quest VIII (main game and post-game) was designed as a clear, brilliant package, everything in IX seems designed to be protracted and obsessive. Moan over!

Wouldn't it be nice if Nintendo's next console had class-leading graphics, no gimmicks at all and an upgrade of the GameCube controller? I can dream.

Do you still need the Circlet, darksnowman? I seem to recall you can buy them at Bloomingfield.

Sounds a bit rubbish, to be honest. I was excited by the idea of a PSP 2, but only if it had better graphics than the PSP and at least one good analogue stick - there's no way I'd want to use a touch panel instead. If this is all the PSP 2 is, the Nintendo 3DS will eat it for breakfast!

I've got a potential big problem here. I've unlocked Gladiator and Paladin, but I want to unlock Armamentalist and Sage before I press on with the post-game content. However, I can't find any Great Trolls! Looking in my Defeated Monster list, I see two locations:

It probably wouldn't literally use the Vitality Sensor as we know it now - it'd just read your palm or finger as you hold the controller normally. As for whether they'll stick with the Wii Remote, hopefully if they did it'd have more buttons and sticks, and a gyroscope in each hand is a must for Zelda. It'd finally feel like you were holding the shield in one hand and the sword in the other. Plus, we'd be able to rotate the shield and have the Mirror Shield again.