Grazza

I think david.dakota's right about the Vitality Sensor giving a clue about the Wii 2. In the GameCube era, we knew Nintendo were interested in gyroscopes, right? Therefore it was a safe bet that the Wii controller would be based around that kind of technology (ironically, actual gyroscopes weren't put in until MotionPlus). Even though I expected tilt control for the Wii, the actual motion controls we ended up with were more surprising than that - in fact, I didn't know that sort of motion sensing was possible. With the Vitality Sensor, we know Nintendo is interested in reading how we feel, so I'd expect the Wii 2 to go a bit further than we perhaps think possible. Freaky, but I think that's what they're doing.

I really want one, but I'm going to wait until they're as good as holding a magazine or a full-colour book with large pages, as I like that type of book more than novels. They're a great idea though, I'm all for them.

Another outstanding episode tonight, I felt, totally faithful to Conan Doyle's books. My favourite scene was the fight with Golem in the planetarium.

I completed it last night! Regarding the final dungeon, I found the shortcuts were so effective I could get to the final boss, bumping into two or less enemies on the way. I must admit, I did cast "Evac" a lot, and kept saving my game at the inn. The final boss was difficult. We were at levels 49, 50, 46 and 46 and it was no pushover. I got beaten the first time and then I tried again with different tactics and succeeded. The reason my Hero and Warrior were higher than my Mage and Priest, was because I changed the vocation of the last two in order to get them better Shield skills. They felt underpowered for the fight at level 46, so I'd definitely say the boss should be approached between levels 45-50. In fact, I don't know how you could even reach the boss before you get to level 45 or so, as I didn't actually "grind" at all, not in their "proper" vocations. Anyway, it was a great game! I don't feel I can write a review until I've given the post-game content a good go, but it's definitely the best RPG for gameplay I've played on the DS. Outstanding. OK, thanks. The Hero is a Minstrel. I was looking at the instruction manual again today, and I was glad I chose Warrior, Mage and Priest to accompany my Minstrel as, aside from the fact that I loved using them, I noticed they are the only four initial classes who can equip shields. Oops, I've got a reputation! I've just found out you can sell those coins you find - not the Mini Medals, the Gildean Groats, or whatever they're called. Apparently, that's their only purpose, but I can't guarantee that.

Yeah, I'm afraid I can't remember what level I was. What I do remember, is that it was too hard for just me, but if you take a Priest and have him focus on healing, you should be alright. By the way, Rez, what classes did you pick?

Ah, good, I thought there wasn't a big difference between what we thought. That's sad, I'm sorry. Honestly, he probably did see a ghost though, if he was sure. They're probably an optical phenomenon too rare to be proven.

Not in inland towns, although we had some good machines in the leisure centres. I was lucky to have loads of seasides near me though, and they had pretty much everything I wanted. My favourites in the '80s were: Double Dragon Bad Dudes vs Dragonninja ...they were so exciting, I used to shake with excitement. Then in the '90s I loved: Spider-Man Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder ...two underrated 2D beat-em-ups.

Yes, and in clouds and in tree trunks... etc. But the difference is we know that it is not a face. If you see something odd, you do a "double take", and in this moment you can easily rule out shadows and other illusions. But I'm not talking about vague experiences, I'm talking about detailed apparitions and sightings. I do accept the human brain is complex, and feelings of being spooked out, or that there is a nearby "presence" could be (and probably are) entirely due to chemicals in the brain. I do not, however, accept the brain can throw up very detailed images in front of you when you are fully awake and sober. Well, it depends on exactly what he saw. I accept many things can look like a human figure. However, if it was a detailed, translucent human figure, the most rational explanation is that it was a ghost. I totally agree. I do not say UFOs are spacecraft, nor do I say ghosts are spirits. Both could be a rare optical phenomenon. There's no point in being facetious - people don't claim to see crab people or spaghetti monsters. Hardly anyone claims to have seen aliens either. Right, but I didn't say otherworldy - I said non-human. That could mean an unknown optical phenomenon, a biological creature or something else. You're making assumptions about what they might want. For a start, how do we know they're not doing anything? They might simply be observing us and our space programme or they might be doing something else we can't understand. Who's to say they want to make contact? Who's to say they haven't? They'd be intelligent enough to contact world leaders - that doesn't necessarily mean they want to appear on TV or talk to the average person.

Honestly? He probably saw a ghost. The thing about sceptics, is they think they're more rational than those who may accept UFO or ghost sightings. However, I'd say sceptics are more irrational. If an intelligent, sober person sees something, then I have very little reason to doubt it. A ghost does not look like a shadow or a beam of light and an alien craft does not look like a planet or meteor. If you see something like that, you think "What's that?", then take another look and you realise it's just a shadow etc. However, if you're convinced that a detailed image of a ghost or a UFO is in front of you, how could it be an illusion? I've seen documentaries where scientists, using electro-magnetic waves, claim they can recreate conditions in which people believe they have paranormal experiences. What actually happens though, is that people just feel a bit odd or woozy. They never see detailed apparitions of any kind. That case is interesting, but this is where I'm different - I don't actually want to believe and I don't not want to believe. It's just that the evidence, particularly over the past three years or so, has been remarkable. To me, it all points towards the fact that aliens are visiting us. I'm open to the idea that they may not be at all, but I'd say it's about 60% likely that they are. When policemen, pilots and farmers all see things they are convinced are not human, how wrong can they really be? Deliberate misinformation is the only rational alternative I can think of. I do believe, more and more, the evidence is under our notices, and some people really don't want to believe it.

Yeah, I've seen that too. As far as I'm aware, there is no explanation I can think of other than it being a craft. That or it was a bit of debris suddenly caught in two opposing gravitational fields (if that's even possible). It's certainly the big dilemma on this subject. Might it be easier if aliens were gas-based, rather than water-based like us? How vivid was it? Was there any possibility it was a dream or hallucination? Actually, this is what irks me about sceptics, about ghosts in particular, but it could also apply to alien encounters. If someone insists they've seen something, as far as I'm concerned they either did see what they said or they're not telling the truth. I just don't believe dreaming, hallucinations or optical illusions are a good enough explanation, because if you're a critical thinker, you'd rule those out. I have actually had sleep paralysis, just the once. I had been playing on my Sega Saturn, then went to bed. I half woke up and had a hallucination of Reala fron "Nights" fly up into the air and land on my chest, which knocked the wind out of me. Then I fell back to sleep. What I thought was remarkable about it was that it was not scary, and could in no way be mistaken for a paranormal experience. Anyway, back to UFOs, I really should link to some specific examples, but the truth is I'm not a UFO enthusiast as such, and can't lay my hands on all the data quickly. However, I will say that I find the most fascinating reports are from pilots, both military and civilian. Pilots are trained to know everything in the sky, and so if something is unidentified to them, you can bet it's something strange.

Every year or so, the Ministry of Defence declassifies its UFO files, such as these reports here: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3082230/Airports-giant-UFO.html Apparently, even Winston Churchill ordered a cover-up. So, what do you think about UFOs? Are they human, alien or something even stranger? Personally, I'd say all the evidence over the years suggests they do exist and they are something non-human. For me, there are too many reports and statements from policemen and military personnel for them to all be lies or misidentifications.

Thanks for that. Personally, I would say Dragon Quest VIII is in a league above them all, IX is in a league above the others and IV and V are in the same league, but I prefer V because of the music, monster-collecting gameplay and romantic story.

There are three options: a) canned laughter b) audience laughter c) no laughter Canned laughter is ridiculous and never needed. Audience laughter, though, is great and adds atmosphere. Let's not forget that programmes are not films - they are theatre. The actors are performing for a real audience, even if they don't acknowledge them. My favourite sitcom of all time, I'm Alan Partridge, was filmed with a real audience watching the scenes as they happened, even if some of them were behind screens. Another example - the classic sitcom, Up Pompeii - has the late, great Frankie Howerd constantly talking to the audience, and thus has their laughter included. They then made a film, which didn't work as well because there was no audience. TV at its best is more like theatre than film.

I would say that 40-50 is the "correct" Level for finishing every Dragon Quest game I've played (and there's no shame being more towards 50). Welcome! As darksnowman says, your levels are low for that part of the game (very, very low, I'd say). I haven't even got to that bit, but I found my party members were approximately Level 40 at this bit:

The best way, I find (and this is true of Dragon Quest VIII as well), is to have any axe or spear users wear Meteorite Bracers (as others have said - not that I've made one myself yet, as they need a Gold Bar) and have your Mage cast Accelerate as many times as possible (I believe it only has an effect twice in this game, whereas it could be used more times in VIII). As for actually defeating them (which I know you didn't ask about), have your party members use Thunder Thrust (Lightning Thrust in VIII) or Executioner (the axe skill). Of course, this is a problem for those who don't have either skill, but I have defeated many Liquid Metal Slimes with my Hero, such is his Deftness. If the system is the same as VIII, skills like Metal Slash never critical, so you're best off just selecting plain old "Attack". Personally, I value Deftness in gauntlets above everything else, and don't even buy the ones that don't increase that. Whoah, that's amazing! Thank you. I've fought a lot of Liquid Metal Slimes in there, but only by fighting the other monsters as well.

That is annoying, but if they are only recipes, can't we just find them on GameFAQs? I haven't looked yet, but later on in the game, I wouldn't consider that cheating if it's the only way to find them. As for the grinding debate, I have to agree with Hero of Time - money has been short in every Dragon Quest I've played, although I don't particularly mind. I spent all of last night spearing Metal Medleys and Liquid Metal Slimes in order to get Kate and Nigel their +6% Block Chance ...and the odd thing is, it was enormous fun!

I've maxed out my Mage's Spellcraft (and am very close with some others), but I felt guilty for giving her such rubbish defence. Therefore, I've changed her and the Priest into other vocations to build up their Shield skills. They've both already got Block Chance +4%, so I feel better now, but might get it up to +6% before I press on with the game. Incidentally, I thought levelling-up would be a breeze, but the newly-changed characters only get about 1/4 to 1/3 the EXP of the more experienced ones. Yeah, that boss was quite easy (loads of lovely Liquid Metal Slimes in there too!), but I'm now trying to buy all the Dragon Armour, Dragon Shields etc for the next bit... Wow, they're expensive! Yes, I'm actually reluctant to use any Gold Bars until I know where I can get more of them (although Nolan's post is very helpful on that).

I just wanted to say The Sky at Night's on tonight at 12:10am.

And it's also a brilliant pun! And Zelda: Phantom Hourglass! I haven't actually tried that, but the sound in this game is fantastic. As far as I'm concerned, the DS has my favourite-ever sound chip anyway, and it's as good as ever in this game. When you cast Crackle, you can hear every shard of ice.

Jim Carrey - Dumb & Dumber This film is a beautiful story of friendship (bromance?) and unrequited love (for a woman, not for each other) and Jim Carrey is pitch perfect. It's his best performance - better than his serious films and better than his very silly films like Ace Ventura and The Mask. Bill Murray - Ghostbusters What can I say? Everyone loves Peter Venkman! He's cool, sarcastic and even a bit of a git, but you can rely on him when Mr Stay Puft is rampaging about, and his laughter-in-the-face-of-danger is up there with Roger Moore's. Haven't really got a third one.

The best hair wax is called "Black & White". Seems to increase your pulling power too, to be honest!

I feel weird because, although I understand sex and romance, I've never felt bad about it. There are so many bad things in life - guilt, anxiety, depression - I can't see how unrequited love or attraction could ever come close to them. Yes, I fancy girls, and sometimes they like me too, sometimes they don't, but rather than that being a bad feeling, I accept it's just a mismatch of pheromones.

You were at the right level, but I'm guessing you had masses of magic protection. I really should have stuck with my Magic Armour sets (not that I had managed to buy it all), but I can't resist those green numbers, even if it's just +1 for physical defence! It is... if you like RPGs. LMAO! Unbelievable!

Oh, gotcha! I thought Nolan meant he preferred Priests to Paladins for healing, but now I see what he means. Yes, I prefer normal priests too. OK, those two made me laugh, but the translation of this game is more like the other DS games than those on the PS2 and Wii (which is a shame, in my opinion). Is that Grotto 8? That's the only other one I have access to at the moment. Haven't even found it yet, as the boss for the first one was a little bit tough (I still beat him though) and I didn't get a reward! Still, I think I'll have a bash at it later... I'm sure he can remember, but it's a bugger to spell. Ygddrassil, or something like that! Thank you. Well, we'll see...! Actually, I'm a bit scared to take it into town incase a shop's magnetic barrier deletes my data! Asked around at work and such, but no one is playing this or knows anyone who is, and this is amongst people who like Metroid, World of Warcraft etc!