Shu.Kurimu.Sensei

So I finally got to put a couple of hours into the new Advance wars. The music seems better than recent efforts. The dialogue presentation is now indistinguishable from Fire Emblem (no surprises there though) albeit not as entertaining as the Super Robot Wars games on the GBA (If you haven't played them, at least try one - fantastic stuff if you like ye olde Gundam / Votoms stuff) and the mecha designs lack the imagination of say Zone of the Enders on GBA. So its rubbish then? Well, no, its actually good. I still do not like the character designs - a major thing in a game with as much cut scene dialogue as this..But the storyline isn't too bad, the environments make a bit of a change, and so far the levels are a lot breezier than previous incarnations. No doubt 1 hour plus missions are not too far away though. It's probably the most straightforward AW title so far, but newcomers beware, by missing out on the last 3 games you may find getting used to the units system rather daunting as this instalment certainly doesn't hold your hands anywhere near as in the past. You can also play via local and network wifi this time round :)) Also played through the first two buildings (10 levels to a building) of Exit game - once you get your head around the Killer 7esque graphic doodlys and initially infuriatingly slow controls it becomes fun. Sort of like Elevator action on tamazapan and so far without a hand gun, but very rewarding and at times, charming - I doubt any long time gamer can resist a smile at how well the dog moves and performs for example. Hopefully it will come out in English to get the wider audience it deserves. After the rather hatstand Arkanoid DS, comes Space Invaders (again) for the DS, this time by Taito themselves, and somehow (?) you can also use the Arkanoid DS paddle control with it...

Hmm, thing is if people used decent media (Taiyo Yuden Grade 1 dye), defragged regularly, and used a CRC checker then stored their discs properly there would be no dodgy DVDs to recover :)) The problem with RAID is the cost of hard discs @ 1TB at the moment, and of course, even RAID can fail - I've had that happen with a RAID setup from Lacie, of course all the stuff on there had been backed up already :)) hard discs are only ever a temporary storage choice :)

I completely agree that there are plenty of other music library programs, many of which have a lot of features that are better than iTunes. But if you don't want to spend much time sorting your files out, love tinkering with playlists for parties, dj sets etc and mood sets for when you are out and about, I reckon iTunes is king. Granted you do have to spend a bit of time researching how best to set it up, or messing with it yourself until you get it to do things the way you want.. Linda.com actually have a couple of tutorial cds on just this :)) And the id3 tagging system leaves a lot to be desired, especially for unicode file names, so other software is often needed for this. When you do get used to it, using iTunes really does save a lot of time and hassle. Just don't ever buy anything from their music store! By either buying and ripping your cds at whatever bit-rate you desire, or downloading them from whatever source you like, your music library is then free to transfer to whatever device you go with in the future. Buying music files from any of the online music stores is quite frankly a waste of money. And do not forget that even so called "drm free" files still contain meta data from your account, so emailing an album to a mate who then shares it online say could cause you hassle later down the line. For most people, the combination of Exact Audio Copy (commonly referred to as EAC) and the LAME encoding plug in is enough to get a high quality mp3 rip at 320k. Of course if you want lossless, there are plenty of programs to rip into high quality formats, most notably FLAC, APE, OGG etc. If your CD is very rare, you may want to consider ripping it to a Bin and Cue file then ripping that to your format of choice and archiving the disc. When you have your library just the way you like, back the thing up on *quality* dvds, never ever trust magnetic storage for anything, only a fool would do that :))

Hmm, I'm the opposite, its nice for a change of scenario, but much prefer the old character designs. This is a side-story anyhow so no doubt the next one which will probably debut on the next generation of DS is likely to return to the old style as Famitsu reports the new designs have met much resistance. Strangely enough, despite continuing on from games that originated on the Famicom/Nes the first 2 Advance Wars games did not get released in Japan first on the GBA, but were instead released towards the end of its "lifetime" if memory serves right, as 1 and 2 in one cartridge. This was a flash game in Japan (just like the great Crimson Room and several other recent games were)that was then releaed on mobile phones, then evolved into a DS game. You can play the first few levels here: http://www.exitgame.net/pc/trial/exit_ds07.html Am unsure if Taito will release it in the West though, there has been a lot of interest in the more aware communities out there.

Heh, it's been said many a time that Princess Peach looks good enough to eat, now you can: Why burn cash in Super Potato when you can get your retro thang on with lego? (Castlevania one looks great!) http://www.ironicgamer.com/2007/11/21/wordless-wednesday-2/ Think you rock at Tetris? Think again! http://www.racketboy.com/retro/puzzle/2007/12/tetris-mastery-video-clips-to-make-you-feel-inadequate.html Not tried messing with romhacks yet? Shame on you...Some are sadistic though.. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs8khszHmyc&feature=related Now for some Armed Police Batrider, the only game where the boss tune is "Lets kick some ass!" Here is a clip of Boss Rush Mode in Batrider with that very tune playing: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uAbbLS25VdQ EDIT: The new Advance wars a bit too grim? How about Robocalypse? I seriously cannot believe this isn't British! It is also a real shame there have been hardly any decent British games on the DS, especially when you consider how relatively inexpensive it is to develop for and have published compared to other platforms. http://robocalypse.us/ http://www.dsfanboy.com/2008/01/22/robocalypse-reminds-us-that-our-failing-economy-is-the-least-of/ http://nds.gamezone.com/news/01_22_08_09_17AM.htm

Yeah, I haven't had time to check it out yet as am finishing off about 7 games on the DS at the moment and have got back into the "bullet hell" shmups by Cave etc such as their Esp series via mame and the lovely VF5 PS3 Joystick I got in Shinjuku, being usb and using replaceable genuine arcade parts from Sanwa it is fully customisable and perfect for this type of thing. I also have on hand an excellent Hori Fighter stick for the Xbox, but even that mighty beast cannot compare to Sega's craftsmanship this time round. Imagine the Japanese Sega joystick for the Saturn (based on their Model 2 setup) and add some extra steel :)) Image here: http://www.genkidenki.com/catalog/images/arcade-stick.jpg EDIT: Offical site of Advance wars with more info here: http://advancewars.com/

Oh, this is the new one released a few days ago in the USA - http://www.ndszone.com/nintendo-ds/nintendo-ds/advance-wars-dark-conflict-ds-new-images/

The publishers actually released Another World as a free, yes free GBA rom last year sometime, should be able to find it pretty easily. Looks nice, but just as in the 'miggy days, a lot of hassle for little reward imho. Fans of this type of game may want to check out the GBA release of Blackthorne, ported from the superfamicom, am pretty sure it got released over here and didn't look bad on the SP. Fans of 2d may want to check out the upcoming Castlevania on the DS which is apparently going to take a leaf out of the last one on the PSP being "2.5D" with rumours hinting at time playing an element in the game play. Also with the right kit you can play pretty much all of the old school Lucasarts point n clicks such as the wonderful Zack McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders thanks to a build of Scumm for the DS >:D< Anyone played the new Advance Wars on DS yet? The gameplay has had some controversial changes and for all intents and purposes could be described as "Advance wars emo" :)) Some silliness: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/Zowsky/DuckHunt.jpg http://www.gamegirl.com/article/55313/top-7-geek-panties-for-girls/

Whats VF5 like on the 360? Saw the PS3 one which was touted as "arcade perfect" and after spending far too many 100yen coins in those lovely hi-def, network linked arcade machines, could not believe how lame it looked on PS3 - obviously a rough job, hell VF2 on the Saturn looked better...If its decent, may pull a few strings to get a free 360, no way I would pay for something you can only have a month or 2 at a time before posting it away.

Really? That would be great, will keep my eyes out for future gigs :))

Ooh, well bus is ok if you leave a bit early, but getting a bus during rush hour from ED is a bit of a nightmare really as the buses are well overcrowded, most unpleasant - you really have to rush for a seat. Its crazy how few buses are put on the roads between 7-8am...But I agree, given the options, going by bus is the nicest option for public transport. Still can't go on one without thinking it might get blown up by some dickhead though as the threat of nutters willing to kill for the glory of their stupid invisible friend here is of course very real and hasn't gone away at all.

Pulp - Sunrise http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=76kaUk6y2j8 Heard it when it was quietly championed on XFM a long time back one morning after an all night file munching session, funnily enough just as the sun was indeed rising. A great song, so good in fact it even got me listening to music in English again for a few months. Jesus Jones - The right decision http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bQh4s0k7Uqg&feature=related Whatever happened to fun bands like these eh? Pink Lady - UFO http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wdoRbc_wxHU&feature=related Think this may have been performed on their show they had in the USA. A group which enjoyed enormous popularity to the detriment of their health, their songs can be found at pretty much any karaoke-box in Japan worth its salt and have been covered countless times and are often performed on musical impersonation shows to this day. If you understand the language, the lyrics to this song are as really funny and its a timeless classic really.

If the parking attendant was a rather tall black geezer then cut him some bloody slack - he's autistic, does his best and has been with Sainsburys for a long time, I worked at Peckham Sainsburys while at 6th form and he was there then and is a very nice bloke indeed.

I haven't played Vagrant Story (just cannot stand the Playstation family, just hideous, soulless abominations imho) but did see the press videos from the TGS years back before it was launched and was most impressed. Perhaps when if it gets launched on those downloadable Playstation classics for Playstation Portable it will finally get the wider audience it so deserved? Chrono Trigger was only released in Japan and the USA as far as I know. It had some pretty funky chips which meant most region adaptors were not able to play it (and quite a few other major releases) on domestic superfamicoms, but most hardcore gamers at the time already had a Japanese and American machine so didn't care. Square did not have a European presence at the time, and Nintendo were a hopeless mess (imho they are only just starting to get a clue over here) so about half of the best games that were translated did not even make it over here, and a good half of the best games for the superfamicom/snes never actually got translated - the DS is in the same state these days. I had Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast, got to the second or third island and gave up. The game looked amazing, but I just can't seem to stand random battles any more, I play rpgs for the story, not the boring battles. Loved FFTA for the GBA, loving Revenant Wings on the DS and am looking forward to FFT on the DS, the remake of FFT on the Playstation portable looks great, a shame the PSPortables outside Japan have an inferior screen, will have to get one shipped over here sooner or later I suppose to play some Parodius on the go...

No love for Chrono Trigger? Was amazing on the Superfami, heard it gor remade for the PSX, an amazing game...

On teh bike, fast! http://srv14.movie-list.net/sexmaniac/img/tokyozombie2.jpg

Not a favourite, but a good one :)) http://youtube.com/watch?v=dwsG1VssjXs

Final Fantasy 4 ("3" in the USA) was released before Christmas in Japan on the DS, with some tweaks, tons of voice acting and other goodies. Not sure if they will do a voiceover for the English release, and also if it will be watered down as the American version on the Superfamicom was, but if you are after an amazing story, with one of the longest and most rewarding endings of any RPG, then it's worth a shot. Better than FF5, albeit not as polished as the justifiably revered FF6 and well worth checking out. Rumours still abound of a Mother 1-3 pack for the DS, having played part 2 years back and part one later via emulator, if this finally happens it will be great to see the last part, originally destined for the N64 Disk Drive released to the wider world. There's a Devil may cry cartoon, pretty sure it's tv run has ended already, but not having played the series haven't bothered to see it yet..

Incidentally, 7 pages and no mention of Consolevania or its bastard son, Video-Gaiden? WTF?

Is Scrabble the new Rock n roll? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7196488.stm Incidentally, I heard there were 2 movies made last year or the year before in the USA where Scrabble was a prominent theme, anyone know the titles by any chance? Most excellent linkage there, Piers :))

Great news, and a few bonus points for your karma tank, eh? Have heard though the emergency services prefer to get called from a BT phone, such as a payphone whenever possible as it helps them get a definite location or something. As there are hardly any public phones in ED, that would definitely explain the mad rush in the car! At least when the need calls for the Fire Brigade ED is between at least 2 stations B)

How about that song "Dulwich Fox" ? You can hear a sample - Track 4 here: http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Hymn-Wild-Turkey/dp/B0000011TE Not really my bag at all, but found it a while ago whilst trawling for tunes and its not a bad track at all.

Somerfield are a rip off though, about a third of their "special offers" don't ever seem to show up on the till, plus their prices seem to be on average a good third higher than in their Camberwell store. After the refurb, they lost almost all their original staff too, which was a damn shame. Only been to Waitroses once and they were really expensive but had some interesting stuff on sale. I hope Somerfield cleans up its act on its pricing and sends its management on a food safety course. What a tragedy the fresh fish counter disappeared to be replaced by spit roast chickens.

I've seen a lot of kids from Peckham and other areas south of here coming into ED on the 37 and 185, literally in packs, getting off around Nero then moving up towards Alleyns. These groups really stand out, there's no way they live in the area and if the council paid for us to have some police on the streets (the local coppers are seriously overstretched, and in my experience seem to be a pretty nice bunch) am sure they would be dispersed. Every now and again you will see crowds of small time crooks fencing fake or stolen goods on LL mainly in the afternoon, not to mention packs of car thieves. Last summer there were a few kids knocking on doors asking if other kids were in at properties where there haven't been children of their age for years, plus seemingly innocent OAP's checking out what kind of tenants were on the street. Unfortunately, although reported all the local force could do was record it, there were no spare units to come and question these scum. One of my neighbours who used to live in the property he bought of a soul mate of an ex spy for the Russians next door to me (think he ran a surveillance office in the Oval or somewhere more central like that in the 60s)was forced out of the area as his racing motorbikes were stolen something like 10 times and his house broken into countless times. It's such a shame that a pretty comfortable area like this has been plagued with muggings and burglaries for as long as I can recall (moved to ED in 1980). Bugger all this funding the rubbish Olympics, how about some tax money going towards getting more Police and paying them a decent wage???? Maybe ED should get a moat...

http://www.scorsesefilms.com/photos/images/taxigun.jpg Like that? :))