The Lair of the Monkey

Well, this blog is about computer games so I don’t want to go and ruin it by talking about politics.  In fact, I’ve rarely ventured into the ‘a lot of politicians talk about computer games yet know nothing about them’ argument.  The reasons are myriad, not least because I was thinking of doing a politics website/blog.  Yet here we are.  This topic has just hit crossover.

For my American readers who aren’t sure what I mean, we have pretty much two parties in the UK.  The Labour party (who tend to be more left, or rather more open, less reactionary and less hard line).  We also have the Conservatives, who tend to be the opposite.  Not just because they are normally the ‘runner up’ party, but because they are, as the name suggests, rather more conservative than their Labour brethren.  Of course there are other parties but much like the US system, there tends to be just two who really have a chance.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we’ve got this prime quote over from MSN: “Fundamental social change was needed to fight back against “gangs, guns and graffiti”, he said.”

Fair enough.  I happen to believe that things have gotten a little out of hand here.  However, the idea that “Companies which make film, music videos and computer games could be subject to tighter controls to stop them influencing young people for the worse.” seems a bit of a nonsense.  Has anyone categorically proven that film, music, videos(?) and computer games are responsible for anything?  How about the idea of needing tougher sentencing for harsh crimes and better rehabilitation for criminals who would benefit?  How about providing better education and extra curricular activities for those most in need of it, i.e. those in deprived areas?

Now, far be it from me to tell Mr Cameron, or really any other MP their job.  Someone, in fact a majority, has voted them into the seat they hold in their local area.  I am however just an armchair pundit if you will - someone with an interest but not yet the drive to run for anything like a party.  However, I ask of you all though, do you really think putting tighter restrictions on entertainment is really going to fix the root causes of the problems with society?  Do you even think it will fix one thing?  I really don’t.  I think we’ll have money spent on a white paper of some sort, it’ll be bottom-drawered and finally someone will come up with a good idea.  Putting a limiter on electronic entertainment however ain’t it.  Can you name me a person who has died because of a computer game?  Well, I could name you one.  To use his name here though would be against some of my principles.  I know of the case - it wasn’t in this country though.  I bet David Cameron doesn’t.

Well, he’s the nasty guy that makes an appearance in Silent Hill 2 the game and the film.  There’s an interesting article on what he means over at The Escapist.

No, the above is not a mad acronym but my announcement that UGVM has a new edition out.  It’s a PDF gaming magazine that is well worth your time so go and take a read.  I hope to contribute to the next one if I have time.

The Xbox 360 Elite is out Friday - 24/08/07.  This is what the official Xbox site has to say about it:

“Xbox 360™ Elite is the newest addition to the Xbox family that includes a huge 120GB hard drive (the largest available for any gaming console), a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable, and a premium black finish. The Xbox 360 Elite also includes a black wireless controller and black Xbox LIVE® headset.”

As you can see from the graphic, I’ve been playing mostly Rainbow Six: Las Vegas.  I got the game a couple of weeks ago and I’ve played it over LAN, single player and a quick go on multiplayer.  It’s a pretty good game I must say, I like how things tie together quite neatly and the action is smooth.  Still, there are a few tactics that you can’t use, but I suppose that is down to the AI.

I got the demo of Stranglehold on Xbox L!ve and that was quite entertaining.  However, I can’t see that this a game I’d ever pay full price for.  It’s fun but man, that would sure get repetitive after a while.  I’m hoping to get the Bioshock demo quite soon so I’ll give you the lowdown on that when it’s finally finished downloading.

This is the first in a new category of ‘gamer conversations’.  Here’s one I had just the other day!

Mr Butterscotch [15:19]:
i would buy the night stalker boxed set but it’s r1 only
Barbarian37 [15:20]:
the only night stalkers I’ve heard of is the videogame
Mr Butterscotch [15:20]:
awesome game that
Mr Butterscotch [15:20]:
freaky characters
Mr Butterscotch [15:20]:
I liked that bird with the wings
Mr Butterscotch [15:20]:
morrigan
Mr Butterscotch [15:20]:
handled a bit like ryu
Barbarian37 [15:21]:
every game has someone that handles like Ryu
Mr Butterscotch [15:21]:
ahhh man I want to play an old school beat em up but ain’t got my xbox setup to play marvel vs capcom
Barbarian37 [15:21]:
well 2D wise anyway
Barbarian37 [15:21]:
oooh beat ‘em ups….
Mr Butterscotch [15:21]:
VF5!!!!!!!!!
Barbarian37 [15:21]:
if you’re coming along.. bring one
Mr Butterscotch [15:21]:
LOL
Mr Butterscotch [15:22]:
man I ain’t got no beat em ups for xbox360 cos there is only DOA4 and that’s crap
Barbarian37 [15:22]:
you have soul calibre right?
Mr Butterscotch [15:22]:
on GC
Barbarian37 [15:22]:
bleh
Mr Butterscotch [15:22]:
lol what that mean?  it was the best one, spawn was too good on xbox
Barbarian37 [15:23]:
doesn’t it feel funny playing on the Gamecube controller.. (more…)

Not a lot.  i’ve been incredibly busy, mostly working and then working out, running and weight lifting in a combination to get EXTREMELY FIT.  In light of that, I’ve not had a huge chance to play.  Over the weekend though I did buy Rainbow Six: Las Vegas.  It’s actually a lot harder than I thought it would be, but great fun over LAN.

To be honest, I can’t wait for the weekend.  I’ve got a lot going on this week, plenty of which is exciting, but I’m also looking forward to being able to really have a good go at the game and find out all of the different mechanics of it.  It seems to be a lot of fun, though I did have to take off the motion blur.  It just seems weird.  I don’t know about you but when I move my head there’s something in my brain that doesn’t make my head spin.  Maybe all of the soldiers in the game are suffering inner ear damage?

Anyway, look for a ‘What I Have Been Playing‘ very soon for another update.

Silent Hill 5 is sure to be one of the best games ever. Well, if it’s more like the original than 4 was. Anyway, here’s a screen as borrowed from the fantastic CVG.  Unfortunately there’s talk of an enhanced combat system, which would surely be a good way to ruin this super-spooky series.  I mean when the hell has SH been about the combat?  Oh well…

CVG has a great picture of the Halo 3 version of the 360.  Not only that, but they apparently have some video going on of the single player element of the game.  Go check it out…