This month in review is brought to you by awesome birthday cake, Diablo Three-craft and the sound of 67,000 Mancs singing Always.

Gridlock's Month in Review: June 2008

The Damage

PC

PlayStation 2

XBox 360

DVD

And after many years, the acquisition of Ben-Hur marks the final replacement of all my old VHS with DVD. Just in time to buy them all again on BR.

Other Stuff

A Diablo III t-shirt from Paris. My brother got himself a VIP pass to the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational (sneaky bugger), scored a whole bunch of cool swag, had a blast and all I got was a lousy t-shirt that's two sizes too big. Heh. Actually, I'm wearing it now and it's awesome. Cheers bro. Now to surreptitiously steal above mentioned swag.

The On-Going Quest

Project Gotham Racing 4 (X360)

Time spent to date: 16 hours

Went back to this after a long break simply for the chill-out factor. Aimlessly driving in circles is very therapeutic. Anyway, I finished all the Arcade chapters on bronze and silver (both cars and bikes) and started my Career. Not too far along yet but I'm winning so can't complain.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II (PC)

Time spent to date: 26 hours

I decided to play this game since although I love the first KotOR and have played through several times, I never got round to finishing the sequel. So that's what I'm doing. I'm playing Dark Side (of course) and I'm quite near the end. I've done all my galaxy hopping and am gearing up for the final section.

The Final Victory

Lost Odyssey (X360)

Time spent: 76 hours

Well, that's the longest I've spent on a game in a while. Possibly ever. At least since Baldur's Gate II. Not surprising since I really enjoyed this game and took the time to do almost everything. All the optional areas and bosses, most of the side-quests. In fact all I missed was a few items and a couple of skills that I couldn't be bothered to go traipsing through every area to find the accessories for. No matter. The main plot isn't actually as long as the four discs would lead you to believe, but it's engrossing, pretty gripping most of the time and has plenty for the gamer who wants to dig deeper. Review: incoming.

Achievements

Lost Odyssey (+ 665 / 900 total)

Project Gotham Racing 4 (+ 295 / 400 total)

Scene It: Lights, Camera, Action! (+ 25 / 705 total)

Odds 'n' Sods

Picture of the Month

A pile of duckies. Why not?

Question of the Month

Why does eating two Pringles together taste better than eating a single Pringle?

And that's that for this extra special birthday extravaganza blog. Have some cake.

Also see: The Monthly Blog Union for other monthly blog type thingies

People aren't going to like this one. But the way I see it, just as you can't go to France and complain it's full of French people, you can't go on the internet and complain it's full of people wanking over Final Fantasy VII.

1997

Game of the Year:

Final Fantasy VII

(PS, JP: 31/01/97)

It doesn't need any introduction. I know we're all sick to death of people drooling over this like it's the only game ever made that matters. A hard truth: it was never as good as eleven years of fanwanks have made it out to be. The bubble of adulation around it has grown so much that playing the game now can only be a crushing disappointment. Truth is, I probably won't ever play Final Fantasy VII again. Even I'm sick of it and I love Final Fantasy. But despite all this I still deem it worthy of my top spot for this year. It beats some very tough competition, because behind all the hype and the blind adoration it's downright charming and has stood the test of time better than most contemporaries. I might even dig out my thesaurus and call it stupendous, sublime, transcendant, estimable, a shining pinnacle of role-playing greatness that shall never be matched, the most important game that will ever be made. But that would be hyperbole, dangerously close to adhering to the monotheistic Church of Sephiroth and we shan't go there.

Honourable Mentions:

Hardware:

- Tiger Game.com

Other Stuff That May Have Happened...

UK No. 1 on My Birthday:

Puff Daddy & Faith Evans - "I'll Be Missing You" (video)

Eurovision Winner:

Katrina and the Waves - "Love Shine a Light" (United Kingdom) (video)

Best Albums:

Best Films:

Chicken good.

Double back in time: 1996 - 1995 - 1994 - 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990 - 1989 - 1988 - 1987

You know that nothing screams dyslexia more than reading 'sliver of ice' as 'silver orifice'. Really.

1996

Game of the Year:

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

(PC, 31/08/96)

161,600 square kilometres of open wilderness to explore! Over 15,000 towns and dungeons to attract and entertain you! More than 750,000 fully functional non-player characters to talk to! Six different endings! No sticky bushes to entrap you! No broken scaled levelling to bore you! Real digital sound! Real SVGA graphics! Almost real (upper) nudity! Is good, yes? You buy now, yes? Yes!

Honourable Mentions:

Hardware:

- Nintendo 64.
- Nintendo GameBoy Pocket.
- Bandai Tamagotchi.

Other Stuff That May Have Happened...

UK No. 1 on My Birthday:

Fugees - "Killing Me Softly" (video)

Eurovision Winner:

Eimear Quinn - "The Voice" (Ireland) (video)

Best Albums:

Best Films:

Nice planet.

Double back in time: 1995 - 1994 - 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990 - 1989 - 1988 - 1987

I have a rule. If the thought of something makes me giggle for more than ten seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it. So on that note, here is an entirely serious and not very interesting look at a year in which not a lot happened.

1995

Game of the Year:

Star Wars: Dark Forces

(PC, 12/02/95)

More Star Wars! Yes, I'm a pretty big original trilogy nut and I remember playing this to death back in the day. Way before games such as Jedi Knight and its sequels/spinoffs, there was Dark Forces, the granddaddy of all Star Wars shooters. The original game that put you in the boots of a Rebel soldier, blasting your way through everything from Stormtroopers to Gamorrean pig guards with none of that Jedi destiny lark from later games. It's dated now, but still inexplicably fun. Once you actually get it running again.

Honourable Mentions:

Hardware:

- Nintendo Virtual Boy.

Late to the party, left with the cheque.

Other Stuff That May Have Happened...

UK No. 1 on My Birthday:

Robson & Jerome - "Unchained Melody"/"The White Cliffs of Dover" (video)

Eurovision Winner:

Secret Garden - "Nocturne" (Norway) (video)

Best Albums:

Best Films:

Wrath is my favourite. What's yours?

Double back in time: 1994 - 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990 - 1989 - 1988 - 1987

This month in review is brought to you by questionable exam technique and extortionate veterinary bills.

Gridlock's Month in Review: May 2008

The Damage

PC

PlayStation

PlayStation 2

XBox 360

DVD

Other Stuff

The On-Going Quest

Grandia (PS)

Time spent to date: 27 hours

So close to the end of the first disc I can taste the disc-swap fun and games already. Bye-bye Sue, good riddance Gadwin, hello Sea of Mermaids. I hate the next part, if it's as crazy and maze-like as I remember then much fist shaking and incensed muttering may ensue. As a 'mature adult' I am entitled to exercise my potty mouth as much as I please... right?

Lost Odyssey (X360)

Time spent to date: 22 hours

Oh, I'm enjoying this one. Funeral mini-games aside, of course. I'm on the second disc and have arrived at Experimental Staff. As a place name that sounds suspiciously like Engrish to me. Anyway, the game is a bit old-fashioned, the mechanics are mostly ripped straight from Final Fantasy X, but one glorious feature is the XP system. No bloody grind! The story is great and there's some fun characters. It's all a little on the wordy side, but thankfully not Engrishy at all.

The Final Victory

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2)

Time spent: 8 hours

Popped it in to see what the fuss was all about and ended up playing through in about two days. Pleasantly surprised all round, I had it pegged as some God of War action wannabe when really it's more D&D: Diablo than anything else. Pretty easy though, I played it on normal which is usually fine for me, should have gone back and bumped it up to hard I suppose. Review: here.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (PC)

Time spent: 8 hours

Well, it's not as bad as everyone says it is. Most of the time it's pretty good hacking and slashing first-person gameplay; and if you get the hang of all the moves then it can be a real blast. Over-emphasis on jumping and climbing puzzles though, and an annoyingly difficult endgame followed by a pathetically easy final boss. Review: here.

Neverwinter Nights 2 (PC)

Time spent: 41 hours

I'm sure it didn't take this long the last time I played though. It's still all good though, and now with most of the bugs and whatnot fixed and the extra enhancements added by the expansion pack it's probably now a better game than the first Neverwinter Nights. Review: here.

Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (PC)

Time spent: 25 hours

A 25-hour expansion pack is a first for me. It's bloody fantastic too, easily the best official NWN content to date. Surpassing even the Undermountain section of HOTU. Me likey even if the ending was a bit naff. Multiple endings though. Review: here.

All this has left me hungry. And confused. All I know is that I'm halfway though a Toblerone and I don't even like nougat.

Also see: The Monthly Blog Union for other monthly blog type thingies

Someone famous once said, "Everybody wants to have read the classics, but no one wants to actually read them." To that I say, "True, but that's because most of the time the classics aren't the slightest bit interesting to most people." Everyone has different tastes, and just because society or the school curriculum or whatever pressures you into liking something it doesn't mean you should force yourself into doing so. If you don't like something, or something isn't to your taste, that is just the way you are wired and no reflection on your mental capabilities. I long ago gave up trying to understand the appeal of The Godfather and Citizen Kane, or Halo and World of Warcraft, or Charles Dickens and J.K. Rowling, or Radiohead and Nirvana. But I accept that some people love all those things, why can't those people accept that I don't?

Society pressure aside, there are so many pretentious so-called critics out there who have forgotten the true purpose of any kind of novel, movie, game, music or whatever. To entertain. To discard enjoyment at the expense of deep meaning, to turn ones nose up at a film for example simply because it is fun... it's all sort of missing the point. If you can derive some sort of mind-expanding intellectual boon or moral satisfaction from your art, then all well and good - but it shouldn't really be the sole purpose, should it? Sometimes you just have to switch your brain off and go with it.

In the best words of the Channel Five Friday Night Flick: why watch what you should like, when you can watch what you actually like? Or play/read/listen to, delete as appropriate. These are all things I actually like, even though I had trouble choosing albums for this year. 1994 was not the greatest year for music in my opinion. Still, it's all good.

1994

Game of the Year:

Star Wars: TIE Fighter

(PC, 01/07/94)

There's something to be said for playing the bad guys, even though TIE Fighter surprised me by not portraying the Empire as the ultimate evil regime of the movies. Playing the part of a loyal pilot, fighting for peace and order against misguided rebels and traitorous officers... I suppose a slight softening was necessary in order to evoke sympathy for the protagonist. After all, nobody would want to play as a complete bastard... would they? Personally, I wouldn't mind. It would make a refreshing change. All that aside, this is hands down the best space combat sim I've played. Flying around in all those cool craft, getting my geek on, blowing the crap out of those pesky rebels...

Honourable Mentions:

Hardware:

- Sega 32X.
- Sega Nomad.
- Sega Saturn.
- SNK Neo Geo CD.
- Sony PlayStation.
- NEC PC-FX.

Ah, the year Sony jumped into the console market to the derison of the world... who were left eating one giant collective hat.

Other Stuff That May Have Happened...

UK No. 1 on My Birthday:

Wet Wet Wet - "Love Is All Around" (video)

Eurovision Winner:

Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan - "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" (Ireland) (video)

Best Albums:

Best Films:

Geek alert.

Double back in time: 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990 - 1989 - 1988 - 1987