McPhee

This thread made me want cheese! Currently chomping on some Isle of Bute Cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Jarlsberg and Brie (with the rind left on, heathen!). Need to get some more in really, not as much choice as normal. Got some Mexicana in the fridge, but not in the mood of spicy cheese. My favourites are Thomas Hoe's aged Leicestershire Red, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Davidstowe, Mozzarella Di Buffala And Chevre Blanc. If I was to pick my ultimate it would have to be Parmigiano-Reggiano, though smoked Mozzarella Di Buffala comes pretty close. They're all great though especially washed down with a good beer!

DFA1979 last played in 2004. I kinda missed them, was stood next to the tent waiting for people (was my first fest so wasn't in to going wandering off on my lonesome). What I heard was awesome, more raw than the album, but I didn't see owt. I had no idea they reformed. Seriously tempted to head back to Leeds this year, I just hope it ain't as bad as Reading was last time I went (no atmosphere, just masses of kids pratting around).

TW: Shogun II is awesome. Best instalment in the series by a country mile. Hard though. Much harder than any of the other games were.

Seems like the best option. There's bugger all else to do in Dundee in the evenings, unless you head to the Cinema, but they're all on the outskirts of the city. Beats sitting in the hotel room?

Completed Mafia II last night. That. Shit. Was. Awesome! I've noticed a lot of people complain that it's not "open world" enough, but personally I'm glad. The freedom is there, but because there's sod all to do the world doesn't detract from the story. I loved it for not being Grand Theft Auto, it's an action game with a great story, great cut-scenes and great voice acting, not a world sim with a criminal slant. I'd feel a bit cheated if I paid £40 for it though, the game lasts roughly 8 hours with little to no reason to replay. Anyhow, if it goes on sale at a fiver again I urge anyone interested to just buy it. You're unlikely to regret the purchase.

I turned 21. Blates the reason Epic Thread was 2006 I think? It was just before I became a mod Hang on, was that the day we got hacked by any chance?

Time for me to get back to the Gym; been too lazy over the past six months. I normally go to the Gym in the Winter and do outdoor stuff in the summer but this time I didn't sign up due to sheer lazyness/dislike of the Gym (it really ain't my cup of tea, but I don't mind if I'm there at the same time as some mates). I can feel it now. I've not really gained any weight, but my stamina is way down. I'm not happy with that at all so I'm going to hit the Gym over the Summer as well as doing the outdoor stuff in the hope that I can recover quickly. Also got my eye on a new road bike after my last one got written off, just got to wait until pay day.

I'm sure he's learnt his lesson either way. I'd be surprised if there isn't lasting damage to his left knee from an impact like that.

That looked like it hurt. Threw him around like a rag doll lol. Does make me wonder though, why did that scrawny little thing think it was a good idea to start a fight with someone twice his size? The first rule of bullying: always pick on someone smaller than you. Apparently he wasn't suspended after all, he just got warned not to fight again or he'll get suspended.

I just reinstalled it this evening after getting a copy free with my Shogun II preorder. Hasn't aged well, particularly if you play more modern TW games. I'd wait for the inevitable Medieval II deal that will be on, that one stands the test of time quite well and there's loads of great mods out for it. The engine is still a bit behind Empire, but it doesn't feel stone-age like Rome does. I'm hoping Creative Assembly bring us Rome II next in all honesty, the first was cracking game for it's time and it's probably the most interesting TW era due to the variety of troops and tactics being fielded across Europe at the time. I was disappointed they didn't go with it over Shogun II tbh.

A stupid release date though. Have any games released in August ever sold well? Game sales always drop off in July and August in to September.

Brew Dog were my favourite brewer. Not so sure now though, I've not tried most of their current range because nowhere local stocks anything other than the Punk IPA these days. Might have to order a few mixed cases directly. Their 'Dogma' beer was amazing, it basically introduced me to the idea that beer wasn't just a bland, bubbly substance of varying colour. The smell of heather and taste of honey in the beer was incredible and was the first time I really noticed that beer could actually contain other flavours, gained from the hops or the other ingredients and the environments they were grown in. Unfortunately I'm not sure Brew Dog are quite the same brewer they were 2 years ago, they've been focused on brewing the World's Strongest Beer of late. They started with Hardcore IPA at 9.5%, then moved up to Tokyo at 18.2%, then got the World's Strongest gong with Tactical Nuclear Penguin, then lost it to German brewer Schorschbrau's Schorschboch, then regained the title last month with Sink The Bismark (awesome name!). Having never tried beer stronger than 10% I'm not all that sure about ordering any of that stuff (the Hardcore IPA is brutal enough!), Paradox is out of stock and nowt stands out in the standard range. Loving Badger ales at the moment. Such a great range of beers with so much flavour! Had some English Gold last night for the first time and loved it. There's a strong flavour of elderflower and grape in the beer, making it maybe a bit too drinkable? :p Could be a good one for the summer though BTW, any Londoners ever been to the Euston Tap? I've walked past it every time I've been in the city and never taken any notice. A few days ago someone told me it's one of the best Ale pubs in London. Gutted

The 'Duff' in 'Duff Beer' is meant to mean that it's no good. It's a parody of how bad most big name lagers are. He's calling the game duff, i.e. it's bad, not saying it's like a beer. Not downloaded Mafia II yet, but I passed it over in the Christmas sale because I heard it was no good. Since then I've had plenty of people tell me it's a great game, and even better for a fiver. I guess it was just disappointing for those who bought it on release.

Just bought the standard. UK pricing is £5 and £10. The Deluxe edition doesn't give you much more; Doesn't seem worth an extra fiver to me...

It's flavorless pap that tries to market itself as being premium and French, despite it being a Belgian brand brewed in Burton and being as bog-standard and working class as Carling or Fosters. There's a lack of any kind of distinctive flavour due to the low amount of hops used and the carbonation is too strong for my liking. So in a nutshell, I think it's a poor Pilsner, but brilliantly marketed one. How they can make anyone believe that it's premium and continental is beyond me. It's far from either.

I'm in the middle of writing an article about beer's role in society, but I'm in need of more inspiration/other viewpoints. Figured I'd pop a thread up here and get some other people's views on "the joys and jolliness of beer". Basically, what you like and dislike about it in all it's forms. Why it's great, both as a drink and as a British institution, and it's effects (both positive and negative) on society. The article will mostly focus on the positive, but any negative comments are certainly welcome. So... shoot

Does the world really need more Tomb Raider movies? The games aren't really the 'in' thing any more and the storylines were never that interesting anyway. I guess it's the Hollywood dream though, Indiana Jones-style action with a sexy lead. Great...

I signed up 10 years ago now. Stumbled on N64-Europe via an advert on some game cheats website that's since closed and I've completely forgotten the name of. Wrote for the site for a bit before retiring to the forums. Had a few different usernames; satchef1 (crappy AOL screename my Dad made up), Nighthawker, some other ones that I can't remember. Twas a long time ago anyhow.

That's kind of the point... If you drank 15 pints of orange juice one night a week, every week, I bet you'd get fat. Fifteen pints of any liquid in the space of a few hours is rediculously unhealthy, even water. The habbit people need to get out of is drinking 15 pints in a night, not stopping drinking beer, wine or any other liquor.

Bit of a bump I know, but I was looking for smething else and stumbled on this thread. Beer doesn't make people fat. Regularly eating fatty foods while consuming alcoholic drinks makes you fat. This happens because the body metabolises alcohol before it metabolises fat, thus with excess consumption of alcohol and fat the fat regularly finds itself being stored rather than being burned. Beer (I'll use Guinness as an example) isn't actually unhealthy. It contains 170Kcal in a pint. That's less calories than you'll find in a pint of Coke or fresh Orange juice. By comparison Vodka and Gin pack about 60 Kcal per 25ml measure + the mixer (44Kcal per 100ml for Coke, 43 for Orange, 33 for Tonic). Your average pub Vodka and Coke contains rougly 192Kcal, and Vodka and Orange, 157Kcal and Vodka/Tonic, 134Kcal (all only single measures!). Beer also contains a bunch of other health benefits, mainly focusing on the heart and blood. Have a read here; http://uk.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt/45_eating_well.html The bad image comes from lazy middle-aged blokes who have grown fat from spending evenings and weekends sat in the pub downing pints of Stella and munching on crisps, chips and pork scratchings. You could replace the beer with any other alcoholic beverage and get the exact same result. In a nutshell, as long as you consume it responsibly and stay away from Lager (or anything that's carbonated for that matter) there's no reason for not drinking beer. It's calorie count is low by volume (roughly the same as tonic water) and there's proven benefits to both your heart and your blood. I know it's a bit of an odd thing to post, and a bit of an incoherrent, badly tought out late night rant, but I've started getting more in to beers (even started brewing myself) and as such I'm noticing misconceptions more.

Looks good. Not enough for me to upgrade though, especially given Apple just cut the 1st gen prices by £100! I'd be surprised if I could get more than about £250 for my 16GB WiFi now (probably nearer the £200 mark). The HDMI dongle reportedly works on the first iPad, iPhone 4 and the latest iPod Touch. Not sure if I'll pick one up or not...

True that. Naw. Bethesda games look sick! Oblivion, Fallout 3 and New Vegas still look fantastic on PC; even more so with the plethora of mods designed to enhance visuals. Try these, for example; http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306005 Skyrim is looking fantastic! OK, the water looked a little dodgy, but hopefully that's WIP (but then why include it in the trailer if it isn't up to par yet?). The scenery, character and creature models look sublime! The mountainous setting is stunning! Cannot wait for it to come out

The Wildfire is end of line now, being replaced by the ChaCha. This is going to be happening a lot over the next few months so high chance of grabbing a bargain on one of last year's higher end handsets (the Desire is already sub-£250 on PAYG!).

Just as well it ain't an MMO then http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_of_Heroes It's a strategy game based in WWII. Probably one of the best PC games ever released TBH. It's from the same people behind Dawn of War, only Company of Heroes is better

In fairness Blur and Bond weren't great and PGR was very tired by number 4. It was time. No point in keeping declining studios open when they could be replaced with something fresher, newer and more profitable. The people who worked at BC might even go on to do some great games as part of other teams.