The Bard

Cheers for stating the obvious.

Are...are you taking the piss?

Yeah, but you would never play a 2D beat em up without an arcade stick...unless...you is n00b. I think I've made my point, so I'll stop saying it now

Why would you presume you wouldn't be able to create? Anyway, that's a frustration for any artist from time to time. Just because something is technically brilliant, doesn't mean it's a good piece of music, and similarly, only the shallow dismiss music because it's simple. The problem is when something is simple, dull and uninspired at the same time (ie. Oasis). Good musicianship isn't only defined through technical prowess, but also through, for example, how a particular chord change, or progression in the melody can evoke a particular response from the listener. That's why I don't like Yngwie Malmsteen and why I detest Angelo Batio; all their playing sounds like guitar exercises. Whats the point of playing an arpeggio so fast you can't distinguish between the notes? Also: Cheap, and some of the time, expensive amps never do their jobs. What you need is a good pedal to get the right sound, and a guitar with a good set of pickups.

Well, not appreciate, I'm sure you have a great appreciation. I just like to hear something an understand what's going on behind it is all. Maybe other people don't like to look at music so holistically, but wanting to grow as a musician got me interested in music that I would never have listened to otherwise. I think more than anything, playing an instrument acts as an impetus to look into what makes the music what it is, and helps in being able to articulate that, rather than just listening to something as background sound and saying "that's good" or "that's bad." Hell, I'm not even saying that I'm good at that myself, I don't know theory, but I like to try. I wouldn't go for an Ibanez tbh, the necks are fast, but the instruments aren't very versatile. And I have an innate loathing of Floyd Rose (which is what Ibanez do best). Have you checked out the PRS student editions? Roland Cubes are fantastic amps. Also: Yamaha Pacifica's are good starter amps, but I tend to go for dual humbuckers. Much thicker sound. I'll post my guitar pics later

Speaking of guitars, what guitars/ amps do you have?

I'm not into Sci-Fi at all (saying that, I've got 9 Seasons of Stargate SG-1 on DVD...), but it seemed really pretty dire.

Yeah, exactly, it's just good fun stuff to listen to, informative and pretty casual. IGN seem to be a bit "ugh, we gotta do a podcast..." In fact, I listen to the GFW and EGM podcasts too, even though they rarely talk about games I will play

Of course, you're saying that without having learned an instrument, so I win by default since I have experience of both sides. Go me. Why don't you start playing and see for yourself?

The Condemned 2 bear scared me totally shitless. So yes. That.

Actually, don't eat more carbs. Eat as you normally do, but go out of your way to eat as much protein as possible. That way you'll gain muscle mass, and since protein takes more calories to break down into amino acids, you won't put on fat either. Win.

I've been listening to IGN nintendo podcasts for as long as I can remember and for the last 20 or so they've barely talked about anything new or exciting. In fact, they seem a bit meh about the whole thing. Anyone listen to the 1up podcasts?

Thats the stupidest thing I've heard. That list has barely anything that can actually be categorised as musical in the first place, let alone being a representation of the hundreds of genres there are.

Lol, you all say "I wish I'd started younger" as if you're on your deathbed. I started guitar at 14, which is quite late but I picked it up quite well, and I actually had difficulty since I pick with my right hand, but I'm a left handed writer, so the muscle coordination wasn't there to begin with. The key is to be into it. I used to practice a good 4 or 5 hours a day for the first two years, and I pick my guitar up every day to play around with riffs and write music. It's really one of the best things I've ever decided to do. I've also got a potato ocarina which I like to play around with. I'm going to learn piano and hopefully a percussion instrument when I get out of uni = ). Learning a musical instrument gives you a better understanding of the music you listen to, so I firmly believe that any serious music fan should at least pick an instrument and stick with it.

You can get some pretty good, flavoured protein shakes pretty cheap at Holland and Barrets. They also do Creatine supplements, which helps muscle gain quite a lot.

That's hilarious.

Go to gym, don't do any pussy cardio, just weights, and buy some protein shakes. Works for me.

I hope to god it is, because the Wii version will be nothing but an atrocity if it makes it out. It'd be better if they ported some of the older SF games to Wii or something as a collection.

David Hayter has the manliest voice outside James Hetfield. It makes grown men cry, and women swoon.

Didn't Tecmo provide legal defence for Itagaki after those rape allegations? I'm not knocking the guy, but his only great franchise has been Ninja Gaiden, and he's a bit of a one trick pony. I don't see where he's gonna go now.

Says that Avenged Sevenfold fan. Lolololol. I feel obligated to use a smiley in order to pretend my post isn't intended to offend, but I won't, cause that'd just be wrong. Holy shit, how much did that last sentence rhyme?

It's not really opinion though, it's like saying analogue sticks are better than Keyboard and Mouse for FPS. It's just not true. He can like them better, sure, but that's his inner fanboy talking (and this is Choze we're talking about). Nothing wrong with that. Just thought I'd point it out.

Haha, yeah. Eddie Izzard does a highlarious bit on that in his stand up.

Choze - Taking fanboyism too far. Roffle

Megadrive: Not a huge fan of the system as the Snes was infinitely better 1. Shinobi 3 (cannot believe nobody's mentioned this yet) 2. Aladdin 3. Streets of Rage 2 4. Castle of Illusion 5. Sonic and Knuckles (I despise the Sonic series, yet this game was so fun playing with my cousins as a kid) Dreamcast: 1. Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike (best fighter to ever grace our humble earth) 2. Soul Calibur 3. Grandia 2 4. Shenmue 5. Crazy Taxi Snes (Probably the only 2D console which has games you can play today that still feel as fresh and fun as the first day you played them) 1. Chrono Trigger (only the best RPG experience to ever exist. I can't remember ever being so in love with a game as when I first played this. And then the next time...and the next...) 2. Street Fighter 2: Turbo (The game that started it all. Still holds up as one of the best fighters you can play) 3. Super Metroid (when I first played this it was so frighteningly expansive) 4. Zelda: A Link To The Past (best iteration of the franchise) 5. Final Fantasy VI (One of the only few japanese RPG's that isn't embarrassingly cringeworthy to sit through) Playstation: 1. Metal Gear Solid 2. Rayman 2 (Better than Mario 64. Yes.) 3. Tekken 3 (The best fighter I had played since SF2: Turbo) 4. Chrono Cross (Beautiful) 5. Final Fantasy VII (Ok, so I was an RPG fiend back in the day, but the game was so atmospheric, and the story was pretty engaging when I played it 7 years ago, so there it is.) Nintendo 64: 1. Perfect Dark 2. Super Smash Bros 3. Ocarina of Time 4. Goldeneye 5. Resident Evil 2 Playstation 2: 1. Beyond Good and Evil 2. Tekken 5 3. Devil May Cry 3 4. Klonoa 2 5. Metal Gear Solid 3 GBC 1. Pokemon Silver 2. Pokemon Red (if this counts) 3. Metroid 2 4. Zelda: Links Awakening DX 5. Zelda: Oracle of Seasons GBA: 1. Golden Sun 2. Golden Sun 2 3. Pokemon Ruby 4. Metroid Fusion 5. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon XBox: 1. Ninja Gaiden 2. Splinter Cell 3. Halo 4. Burnout 3 5. Panzeer Dragoon Orta GameCube: 1. Metroid Prime 2. Resident Evil 4 3. Super Smash Bros: Melee 4. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time 5. Wind Waker XBox 360: 1. Gears of War (words cannot describe the awesomeness that was had online) 2. Bioshock (The game was fantastic, but it was the story which was a landmark videogaming achievement) 3. Mass Effect (The awe I felt when I was first dropped in the citadel was enormous) 4. The Darkness (Funny thing is that the only thing in this game thats not fantastic is the shooting) 5. Condemned (It's a Monolith Soft game, and therefore it kicks all sorts of ass) (I should mention F.E.A.R, but it's primarily a PC game so...) Wii: 1. Metroid Prime 3 2. Twilight Princess 3. Zakk and Wiki 4. Mario Galaxy 5. Smash Bros