Fierce_LiNk

Wow. If you'd like to back up your post with some actual evidence of me being self indulgent, then go right ahead. I would also like to say that I find some of your posts particularly unfriendly and unwelcoming, to say the least. The bits leading up to each dungeon may not have been longer or harder, but as I've already said, they don't necessarily have to be. I find it very strange how on the one hand you condemn Twilight Princess for having "conventional" sidequests, yet at the same time moan that the plot doesn't necessarily follow (in your opinion) the conventions of past games. You also have to admit that some of the ideas for the locations and settings of the dungeons were a breath of fresh air for the series. I didn't actually realise that the Yeti's Mansion was a dungeon at first, and that also goes for the Arbiter's Grounds. Probably the temple of time, too. They were cleverly disguised and became "extensions" of the world, rather than a seperate temple or something. Stepping into the Yeti's Mansion, you aren't suddenly aware that you're stepping into a temple or a dungeon. Its very alive. So, because it's present in every game, it becomes less relevant? Does it heck. They may not have been things that were quite up to your standard of things to do, but they were there never the less and were still enjoyable tasks that would eat into hours of your life.

Two Quid from Asda! Also, on a scary note, they had Sleepless in Seattle right next to it. I was tempted to get it, because I love the film and love the song that plays in it "When I fall in love." Nat King Cole's version is brilliant. Did my shopping, paid and was leaving the store. I pass right by the DVD section and...When I Fall In Love by Nat King Cole starts to play over the radio in the store. I smiled a lot. I thought it was fate to buy the DVD, but I didn't get it in the end.

Hahahha. Fabel still cracks me up. She reminds me of Anderson. Its the lip and mouth I think.

Do a Prison Break style thing and get the notes tattooed all over your areas. Or better still, over your face. Use your mirror reflecting feature of your toaster watch to look at the exam notes on your face.

This game is Super Mario Sunshine and de Blob's lovechild. I'm enjoying it, still feel like I'm finding my way about the place and learning how the game works, though. I think I've got it now. One thing:

The thing that gets me with Steven Gerrard is that he can seemingly get away with things (assaulting people for one), yet the fans sing about him being "big and fooking hard." That just grates on me.

I tried so hard not to laugh at that, but I couldn't help it. The bit when the bright lights exploding and stuff behind Tom Hanks really did it for me. Simply too much. Aaahahha. That was pretty intense.

Sorry for teh delay, Jamba. I have been busy with workings. Fuck yeah, Midna was really well written. At first I wasn't sure of her alignment and was waiting for her to screw Link over in some way. The early scenes with her were particularly well created, to add that mysterious nature to her character. Nintendo really outdid themselves with that one. It's on a park with The Joker in The Dark Knight. Midna stole the show, to be honest. At first, I didn't take to Oockoo. I didn't really think it had a place in the game. However, over time, my opinion changed and it was a great addition to the game. Yeti was awesome! I also have to say that Zant was a great enemy, particularly in the earlier scenes of the game. That mask/helmet/face thing is disturbing. YES. I really agree with this, although I don't think many will. It seems that you have to do something completely off the wall like The Wind Waker to get noticed, when really Twilight Princess had a nice bit of subtlety to it. In fact, I still argue that the game as a whole was too subtle for most people. It wasn't an "in your face" type of game. Not that that is a problem. I agree that it was a vibrant village. I remember watching a video years back where IGN I think it was, they tried to do the first part of the game where you get the fish and feed the cat. Took them ages. Thankfully it meant I knew what to do, so I could get through that quickly and onto the more juicy stuff. Its a nice village, but there isn't a "pull" that draws you back to it later in the game. Whereas I was quite eager to see Kokiri forest as Adult Link in Ocarina, if that makes sense. It would have been great to have had some more reasons to go back to the village later into the game. Unless there's something I've forgotten. I've recently done the Water Temple, so have to disagree with you on that basis (the lakebed temple). Not a really straightforward temple. I have to admit that the dungeons were well designed in my opinion and I found them a joy to go through. The Sky temple perhaps not, a bit forgettable. It wasn't a frustratingly difficult Zelda game, but I found it decent enough challenge wise. At the same time, I can't say that I've found any of the other 3D Zelda games gloriously difficult. It would be awesome if Nintendo could introduce some sort of Hard Mode, just to make things a bit more challenging for the more experienced gamers. I agree and disagree here. Some weapons will always be used in Zelda games, like the bombs, the bow, the boomerang, etc. However, I thought the bomb arrows/water bombs and the gale feature of the boomerang were great additions in this game. Coupled with the spinner and the ball and chain (fucking ruled!), they gave a sense of "wow, this is something we've not seen before." The thing that gets most fans is that these new weapons weren't used outside of the dungeons much. Which I do understand, because they largely weren't. However, they're not traditional Zelda weapons, so I can see why they were not used. Bombs probably get used in every single dungeon after you obtain them, as does the hookshot, bow, etc. What we can only hope for is that these weapons take off and get used in more future Zelda games. Surely this part is only relevant to the first three temples? If so, I do agree that it was a bit too structured. I didn't get massively bored playing it, as it led to some pretty good set pieces (where you collect the tears in Kakariko Village and the house burns down, the mini-boss in the lake before the lakebed temple). But yes, I agree here it was too structured for the first three temples. Although, I think the majority of arguments about the pace is refering to the second half of the game? I have to agree here somewhat. There was definitely more that could have been done to add extra hidden things in areas of the game. Like the first village, going back to that with a later weapon to find something hidden would have been brilliant. There were instances where that happened though, I remember going back to Kakariko village and finding heart pieces. Although, yes, more needs to be done here. Hmm, I don't think this was the most exciting "version" of Link that we've seen. That probably goes to MM Link. But, I still always felt like I was on a great adventure. Particularly when you were sumo wrestling the mayor and the gorons, fighting horseback on the field, defending the wagon, etc. I do agree though that there were some areas that probably could have done with "more" danger. Kakariko village and Zora's Domain were fucking wrecks, so I could easily understand that there was an evil prescence there, as with Lake Hylia. However, the castle town and areas surrounding it could have done with a bit more...prescence. It would have been great if the castle town itself had been attacked, and you have to defend it, with people panicking, etc. Think of something on a smaller scale to Helms Deep in The Two Towers. That would have been hot. It would have given Link more personality, it would have given the townsfolk more of a prescence (panicky people) and it would have made for a great highlight for the game. Hmm, Phantom Hourglass is good, but I haven't completely taken to it yet. I'm much more of a home console gamer than a handheld. I do admit though that I'm not overly fond of the Waterworld themes of these games. Don't be so patronising. That is my opinion, so you can either agree or disagree with it. Having a "constant supply of things to do" before dungeons would have slowed the pace down. If these were optional things, then fine and fair enough, it is good to be able to have that aspect of freedom in videogames. However, having lots of things to do before you even get to the next dungeon isn't necessarily the best of ideas. Like I mentioned, it could have slowed down the momentum of the game. I'm happy with the way it was handled. Was MM's main quest huge? I disagree with that personally. Not short by any means, but definitely not huge. The main quest was much smaller than Ocarina's and I think I actually racked up many more hours doing the main quest for Twilight Princess than I did Majora. What do you mean "forget bug and poe collecting"? Yes, lets completely forget aspects of the game which are totally revelant to the argument. Lets see, obtaining wallets, arrow and bomb bags, heart pieces, bottles, hidden skills, using the magic armour and also the cave of ordeals. Some of these are not overly difficult to do (like the hidden skills) but they all take time and are extra things to do. You can't just dismiss the bug and poe collecting because they are also aspects of exploration that take time and effort to do. Some of these may not be hugely revolutionary, but they were extra things to do that didn't have much bearing on the mainquest. They're there for the fans, those gamers who want more and want to get everything from the game. There you are, man. I have given you my evening!

Have to say, Kenny has completely turned things around at Liverpool. They look organised and quite dangerous now. I knew Meireles had something, and it looks like Kenny knows how to play him.

From the sounds of things, the 3D slider seems to be the most important part of the device. When 3D works for one person, it might not work for the next, so the slider allows you to alter the levels, meaning that if it doesn't work for you straight away, you can alter it until it works. Very important feature, imo. It's on a different level to the type you see in the cinema, because that either works or it doesn't. I'm quite eager to see this for myself now.

Hmm, I think I pissed off my housemate. By doing faaack all. So, had a quiet day yesterday, spent about 6 hours in bed playing Twilight Princess. Watched the footie, ate chocolate, it's been bliss. Today, got up and went to the gym, had tea, watched more footie and did work for tomorrow. My housemate comes into my room and asks why I've been quiet for 2 days. The whole "are you ok? *sympathetic head turning head" thing. "Yeah, I'm good, having a good weekend." "You sure?" "Yes...I'm eating chocolate and playing games." "Really?" "Yes...having a nice and quiet weekend" "Are you sure you're ok?" WTFFFFFFFFF. I'm eating chocolate, doing my work and playing mah games, woman. I'm being a man. This is what men do! I don't have to be hyper alllll the time. Let me do mah stuff and be happy doing what I'm doing. So, I said something similar to that, not as dramatic, then she said "well, sorry for caring."

Haha, yes, you are. What I'm saying is that it is crazy how you can concede four goals away from home yet still grab a point. Just pointing out that football as a whole is a crazy game. How often do we see teams concede four goals yet still end up taking something home with them? Rio hasn't had a great season, but he still has a lot to give, imo. When he's fully fit, him and Vidic are one of the strongest centre-back partnerships in the world. As for Darren, he has to be played in the right position to get the best out of him. Remember the derby against City at Old Trafford, he was playing box to box and he was absolutely everywhere. One of the most dangerous players on the field. His long range passing is actually pretty decent from time to time, but it's not something he excels at. He's one of these guys who is quite good all round but isn't particularly great at one thing. He's no Paul Scholes when it comes to passing or shooting, he's not quite Hargreaves in terms of defensiveness, but he does possess a lot of stamina and will get about everywhere. He's not had a great season this year, but when he is on form he's usually one of the first names on the sheet. Charlie Adam would be a good signing for United. What we really need is somebody who is mobile, box to box, good at long range and short range passing and has an eye for goal. Basically, we need a new Paul Scholes. I don't think we've ever truely been able to replace Scholes and Keane in centre-midfield. Hence why Scholes has been so important this season for us. The simple answer to all of that is "defence." Blackpool are so great this season simply because they do not defend. The standard of defending in the Premier League is pretty high, imo. Teams are usually very well set up, and they set out to nullify their opponents. The reason why you don't get such high scoring games is usually because of this. Especially in the bigger games. You wouldn't see Chelsea thrashing Liverpool 5-0 in this league (well, not anytime soon) because the teams are very organised. It doesn't make for a hugely exciting game, but then what would the manager's prefer? To lose 6-5 and have an exciting end to end game or to win a game 1-0, taking their chances and defending well? Fans would prefer the 6-5. That's a quality song. I was just about to say that my man of the match was Carra. Managed to keep Anelka, Torres and Drogba at bay all at once.

Would Muramasa strike a chord with her? Beautiful visuals, a great combat system...and it has depth there, which might slowly reel her in to other games. You can play the game without collecting all the swords (I think) but the depth is there if you want to explore it. Also, what about de Blob? Or perhaps something like Epic Mickey?

Hahahaha. Happy Birthday, Welsh Gamer. I hope you've enjoyed it!

After finishing Other M, I decided to hunt through my games collection to find this little beauty. I picked it up cheap a while back, alas without its box, but I can live without that for now. I never finished it before, as I got terribly stuck at the spider boss (Yakuza) and didn't get back into it. So, I decided to start it again from scratch and now I'm at the end battling the SA-X. I must say that this has been really enjoyable, for me. I probably will get more out of it now after playing Other M than I would have before. After playing this, I have also decided that Other M really is like a home console version of this game, minus the SA-X and Fusion Suit, of course. The battle against Nightmare was a definite highlight for me. Also, I wasn't sure whether to place this in Retro or Handheld. So I went for Retro.

I never had you down as a huge footie fan, Jay. I r surprised, in a good way. Torres had better start tomorrow. I wish it were at Anfield, though. Would looooove to hear the reception he gets from the crowd.

So, this was my final Birthday Present from Ine and I've just started it. Loooove it. That opening cinematic was wonderful. I love the concept of the paint and thinner idea. Interesting. Is there a better console for platformers?

That's a long and detailed post, which I will properly reply to later. I have to massively agree with you about the part of Midna, and then at the same time have to massively disagree with you about the designs for the temples. I've done the water temple today and despite having done it before, I found it pretty challenging. Not on the same level as...say something out of Metroid Prime, but I enjoyed it and didn't find it a breeze. I will have to say though that boss fights in Zelda, for example, have never been difficult. I wonder if Nintendo will ever throw a hard mode into the mix, allowing more experienced players a difficult challenge. They probably never will, but it's worth looking at. Surely the part about pace and predictability only applies to the first three dungeons. If not, then it contradicts somewhat the arguments that other people are putting cross about it being rushed towards the end, whereas you're saying it's the same all the way through. About the weapons: I actually thought that the weapons were a good mix in this game. They were modified somewhat, like the Bomb Arrows, which hasn't appeared too often in the series. Very useful in the Lakebed temple. The gale boomerang was also a great weapon or tool in the first dungeon. Plus, you had the ball and chain which ooowned, although it was criminally underused in other areas of the game. The spinner was different, as was the ideas of the dual hookshot and dominion rod. I'd like to see these weapons return in future games and have more useage, definitely. It would be good to go back to earlier areas of the game and use these weapons to find unlockables. Nintendo implement this well in their Metroid games, so it would be good if they could do this more often in other games. Like I already mentioned, the first half in the game was all about establishing ideas and momentum. Once the momentum has been recreated, there's simply no need to establish it and you can just "get on" with the game. An example of this (somewhat bizarre) is sex. You don't suddenly stop halfway through and initiate foreplay again. (sorry, honestly the first example that came into my head. Came. Haha.) Had they spent more time in between dungeons, I'm willing to bet that there would be a great number of gamers complaining that the game was being dragged out. If anything, I thought it was just right. Also, at that point in the game, you're pretty clear on what you have to do, you know who the main enemies are by now, how the plot is turning out, so now it's all about resolve. It's about getting through the dungeons and into that final showdown. It seems that Nintendo learned their lesson somewhat from the last quarter of Wind Waker, with The Hunt. There's no need to add things in which aren't needed and will possibly detract from the actual game or experience. It's not like it was a complete blur until the final boss anyway, considering that we had some incredibly memorable dungeons and battles in the second half of the game. Arbiter's Grounds, Snowpeak and even the Temple of Time were unconventional temples compared to what we're used to in past Zelda games. Very enjoyable. There's heart pieces to collect in every Zelda game. There certainly isn't any more collecting in TP than any other game. The point stands, there's actually very little to do in the TP world, apart from collecting bugs and poes. It's very barren, especially compared with MM and WW. Sure, there's heart pieces in every Zelda game. Which stands to reason that there's still a lot of collecting to do in the game, with the usual stuff such as bigger wallets, etc. However, it was quite challenging to get all the bugs and poes, and all the heart pieces. There's enough there to go back to. The argument with Majora's Mask, as I stated above is completely unfair as a large portion of the game is centered/centred around sidequests. You are in one world for 3 days, Groundhog Day syndrome (awesome film btw), so you get to know the characters, their lives, and how the people of Clock Town live from day to day. The dynamics in the game are completely different to how Ocarina of Time works, for example. Wind Waker flattered to deceive. Aside from the gorgeous visuals, I found it exactly how you found Twilight Princess, bland and unimportant. There was a golden period in the game with the submerged hyrule, but it peaked there for me. It didn't interest me anywhere near as much as the other 3D games, or as much as it did for other people on this forum. I know most gamers think the opposite on this issue to me, but I have my own views on this game. Twilight Princess isn't a perfect Zelda game and maybe isn't even the best Zelda game for me (that honour changes monthly, mostly split between Ocarina and Majora, sometimes ALttP) but it's one hell of a game. I'm finding my second playthrough to be probably even more enjoyable than the first. Give it a go, you might see things a bit differently. Either way, we've been incredibly lucky with the Zelda series to have had so many great games. Look at the Final Fantasy series and how that is being milked and killed for every penny. So, as long as effort and care go into future Zelda games, we'll all be happy.

Yeah, the team need a kick up the arse. I've been a bit disappointed with Fletcher this season, as I don't really think he's got going. Hasn't been getting forward as much as he could or should be doing. I really do wonder if the scoreline would have been different had Rio been playing instead of Jonny. The boy still has a lot to learn. On the other hand, Wolves are fighting to stay in the league, and they were massively up for it today. Kevin Doyle and Elokobi were absolutely everywhere and hustled all game. I wish we had shown the same desire that they had.

It is crazy how Man United gave away two goals away from home and got nothing. Yet Arsenal conceded four away from home and got a point. Funny game, this football. That Everton game was a cracker. Could have finished 10-all.

So, I recently finished the game, and I have to admit that the second half of the game is not as good as the first. It seems to lose that "horror" focus and becomes solely about the story. In fact, the gameplay itself becomes rather repetitive towards the end, which is a shame. However, the story is great and it is worth sticking with to see that through. The only bit that disappointed me was the lack of set pieces, because the game itself probably could have done with some, in some form. It had boss battles, and these were good, but it would have broke things up somewhat. I'm glad that I've managed to play it. In parts, it really is a good game. Definitely worth a look. However, you may find it best playing in bursts, a few hours at a time before leaving some for the next day or so.

We're running off Belgium time here, but today is Ine's birthday! She's sleeping right now, so hopefully she'll wake up to a great surprise! Because she is a big fan. Happy Birthday!

Mario Sunshine was brilliant. The whole look of that game is gorgeous. Truely "Sunshine." The water in that is probably right up there with anything I've ever seen. It still managed to maintain the whole Mario look though, so it looked great without seeming out of place. Wave Race 64 (particularly Drake Lake) and Blue Storm were both beautiful as well. In fact, I want a Wave Race game for the Wii. I would do anything for that. I remember ExciteTruck having pretty good water effects. I might play that later just to make sure my memory isn't playing tricks.

Whatever type of exercise you do, it is still good to have rest days. It helps both your body and your mind. Exercising for 40 days straight, even if that is doing different forms of exercise each day is just madness, in my opinion.