To The Last Man

Gaming is an art-form.

It combines story and characters and narrative with image and sounds and music. And it is the only art-form one can interact with and feel a part of.

Over the years, gaming has offered us hours of entertainment, novel perspectives, knowledge of obscure facts, escapist reposes from harsh realities, reflexes training - and good ol' childish fun.

Gaming is in peril.

Greedy executives and faceless conglomerate mentality are driving this beautiful human achievement into the ground. They are trying to turn gaming into a pay-per-use...utility. Games get tied to non-transferable online accounts or digital distribution clients. And our access to them has, little by little, become limited by overloaded servers, bankrupted publishers and unbridled greed.

Asking full price for games that come with any form of Always-Online requirement is dishonest.

Herding in your own customers and then try to keep milking them for more money (endless strings of DLCs, real-money Auction Houses) is inhumane.

Selling products at a price that used to be fair to buy them while hiding the fact that, instead, you are only renting them out is a scam.

There may be few of us left. And it is an uphill battle. Against, not one, but a multitude of mercenaries. Mercenaries with Gatling guns.
So, yes, we may go down. But we will go down fighting.
And we shall never forget what a true PC game plays and feels like.

For what is to live but to strive.

And what is to strive but to never forget.

"We are are the things you see out of the corner of your eye..."

 Call it Progressive Rock or Gothic Metal, it matters not: this is the music dreams of all ages are made of.

Whether you are a teenager bursting with energy to burn or a former hand-banging middle-aged professor, you will find Within Temptation's Faster to be a classic Rock song you will catch yourself air-guitaring to. Great melodies, catchy lyrics, memorable guitar riffs and a very uplifting beat.

The perfect song to run on your treadmill to. Definitely NOT recommended while driving though. Speeding tickets can get really expensive...

    A great moment for one of my favorite bands!

SkyFail

Even though never did I warm up to the choice of Daniel Graig as the next Bond (I still think Clive Owen would had been a better fit - and he would probably have the good judgement to steer clear of...botox!), I had to admit that Casino Royale was an excellent Bond film. With all the explosive and seductive sequences and all its gadgets (and product placement) one would expect. It was great, solid entertainment.

Then came Quantum of Solace and it turned out to be little more than a patchwork of all the leftovers from Casino. As a coda, it had its uses. As a new film, it would not be missed. Little did I know how the future held an even greater disappointment.

I was truly hyped to watch Skyfall. All the critics praised it and all the buzz was how Mendes managed to revive and, at the same time, humanize Bond. He did not. He did not even try.

The film suffers from a number of shortcomings. The script is weaker than milk and water trying to pass as English tea. Javier does a decent job portraying an albino(?) villain, if not a bit caricaturish. It is the script that make him look incompetent though.

Would you hire a world renown surgeon to clip your nails? How about a champion fisherman to catch fish you already have in a barrel? Well, this supervillain hires a top assassin to snipe at a man who is already surrounded by his men.

If, in the post 9/11 world, you somehow managed to get your hands on a military helicopter, would you not remember to equip it with a couple of rockets not to have to rely on its puny machine gun?

And would you endanger your freedom and even your survival in order to kill the person you hate - if you could kill them (and watch them suffer) half a world away by pressing a button? Well, he does exactly that. More than once.

Even then, MI6 is portrayed as even more incompetent. For such a rabid foe was amassing fortune, recruiting henchmen and organizing for years - without MI6 ever wising up to him. And would you ditch your company car because "they are all bugged" - only to try to get away undetected with yet another fully equipped ...company car?

Nevertheless, these are not why the latest Bond film fails. Even if realism was the direction recently taken, when was any Bond film able to hold up to such scrutiny? No, the film fails because it is not fun to watch. Most of the action in the film takes place before the opening credits. After that, it is all looks and silences and word association. And, contrary to other Bond films, I could not care less about anything going on on the screen.

This semblance of a story unfolds in a staccato sequence of locations, each resembling an episode shot at a different set. There is neither continuity nor coherence. At the beginning, someone steals an MI6 NOC list in Turkey (I will not even ask what was such a list doing outside the vault and into the field!) and halfway through the movie everyone forgets about it(!) Who cares about all these deep agents, lets save the snotty aristocrat, right? Sadly, if you have seen the trailer, you have seen all there is to see of this film.

I am afraid they destroyed more than the classic DB5 with this one.

What's The Frequency, Kerrigan?

One can only respect Blizzard for not setting a release date for their games before they know they can meet it. No matter that this was the most awaited game for over a decade, they would release it "whenever it would be ready". Well, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is ready, it is here and it rocks. Too bad they kicked the respect bucket in the end. But first things first.

THE GOOD OLD GAMEPLAY GETS THE CIGAR

Seasoned and new gamers alike will appreciate the simple yet highly enjoyable gameplay. The factions are well balanced and the units perfectly valued. You gather minerals and vespene gas, you build up your defenses, you upgrade, you expand, you gather your forces - and you unleash hell. Repeat as needed until satisfied.

STARCRAFT: THE QUICKENING

The game is much faster than the original. Resource gathering, building, researching and expanding all go faster now. This is something that will appeal to most and I for one liked it. It conveys an enjoyable sense of urgency, adding to the immersion. And because the game is richer and deeper, the tension just keeps mounting.

SWARMS!

The game designers either enjoyed Starship Troopers one times too many or they are fond of killer bees documentaries. Either way, be prepared to have to deal with a lot of swarming enemies! The plains shall be soaked in Zerg blood leaving you with a thick metallic aftertaste of accomplishment.

SPACE. SPACE IS BEAUTIFUL

Visually this game is just gorgeous. It looks like Command & Conquer IV was supposed to (but failed miserably). The units are detailed in design yet clearly discernible whereas the environments are superbly done (although not that variable). True, I could do with somewhat more realistic graphics but I can see that this could only be done at the expense of clarity when the number of units rises. What needs a bit getting used to is how some of the buildings do not look that different. No complaints about how they look but one can easily confuse them and build the same building twice.

COME FOR THE VESPENE GAS. STAY FOR THE STORY

The story picks up just where the StarCraft: Brood Wars expansion left off. Following each mission nicely done videos move the single player story along (no spoilers, not to worry) that, although we are given the illusion of choosing between different paths, apparently they converge towards a predestined end.

DAMN IT JIM, WHERE IS THE REST OF THE GAME?

Why so many people are dissatisfied with this game then? Well, in a nutshell: Corporate GREED.

Apparently ActiVision's influence is not very healthy to customer relations. It is painfully obvious that, together with Blizzard, they are trying to turn the StarCraft franchise into yet another World of WarCraft phenomenon - and, at the same time, using the huge fan-base of both StarCraft II and Diablo III, turn BattleNet into the new STEAM. Unfortunately this results in a barely palatable product. And trying to manipulate the fans of the company you were entrusted with only to advance your corporate ambitions is always tacky.

Although priced even more than a full premium game, this is not a complete StarCraft sequel. You would not know this by its price-tag(!) but this is only A...THIRD of the game. This is the first part of three: you can only play the Terran campaign. The Zerg and the Protoss campaigns will be released independently later (and priced as if they were full games, one could safely bet). The first expansion, Heart of the Swarm, will add the Zerg campaign and it is to be released in March 2013.

OK, I KNOW YOU DO NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT - BUT THERE IS A HYDRALISK IN THE ROOM, ISN'T THERE?

Much more serious is the NeverLettingGo-OnLineActivation requirement. The game will ask for activation during installation, which also includes signing up to BattleNet (and, yes, this means that even this expensive game never becomes yours to keep). But that is not all: a periodic OnLine confirmation is also required EVERY THIRTY DAYS, FOREVER. You can play offline but no more than a month between re-activating.

Unlike the latest EA and Ubisoft flops (which have an idiotic Always-OnLine requirement), with SC2, after its initial Activation, you CAN play a single player game (campaign and skirmishes) without logging on to BattleNet. Only, to do this you have to log on as a ..."Guest" (I know, a Guest to your own game and your own computer...). You will be able to save your progress but you cannot tie it to your BattleNet account later, so any progress (or accomplishments) are lost for your online Account. After your 30 days are up you have to re-activate once more.That is why a Broadband Internet connection is included in the minimum system requirements.

SORRY TO BRING THIS UP BUT SPAWN SEEMS TO BE MISSING FROM MY COPY...

Remember how we could take our original StarCraft to a gathering of friends, Spawn it on everyone else's PCs and start a LAN party? Now one can play with his friends only through the BattleNet - and the Spawn function has been eliminated! Yes, that means each one of your friends now has to have his own original copy of the game!

The brass at the top conveniently forgets that the ability to Spawn games was the main reason both StarCraft and Diablo acquired such huge fan-bases.

Et tu, Blizzard?

This is a good game, one I think we will be enjoying for years - or for as long as Blizzard shall allow us to do so. However, I had higher hopes for this company's respect to its own customers.

Meisaku!

Okami is a masterpiece indeed!

This is one of the very few games I coveted for years but could not play because it is not available for PC. However, once there was a Wii in the house this was one of the first three games I ordered. And my expectations were met in every way.

The first thing that grabs you are the unique graphics. If, like me, you are accustomed to the detailed graphical environments of most PC games, Wii games seem much more simplistic. Nevertheless, the colors and artwork of Okami are just mesmerizing! I am a great fan of cRPGs but this was the first time I relaxed playing one.

This is an old-school cRPG, so there is no voice-acting. No moatter though, this hardly has any impact on immersion. Playing Okami is like being in a Japanese fairytale - one that takes place in a huge, varied world. Forests and beaches, dungeons and villages, there is just no limit in the horizon.

The sounds are soothing, the imagery magical and the gameplay ingeniously incorporating the Wii-Remote movements.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Well Researched Yet Unfullfilling

Once a month, I organize a thematic weekend around a favorite TV or movie series of mine. November is usually Shogun month. This year I realized that I had not read any books on the real Anji-Sama and this was the book I settled on to remedy this. With mixed results.

This book is very good in giving the surrounding events that preceded and precipitated the arrival of William Adams in Japan. The Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch missionaries and merchants that established the first European landfalls in Japan and then erected obstacles in William's way. And even tried to have him crucified.

It is also a very well researched book, with a full Notes-on-Sources, Index and Picture-Sources sections. By maintaining the original spelling and wording of the source letters, the book conveys an air of authenticity. However, all this does not save it from a mediocre end result.

The life of William Adams (who is the main selling point of this book after all) is only scantily described whereas his rise in the court of Tokugawa Ieyasu (who would later become Shogun and the first of the dynasty that ruled Japan up to the 1860's) is very rapidly passed over.

What we get, instead, is a very detailed account of how the first English Factory (or trading house) of the infamous East Indian Company was established in Japan - and how William Adams aided them in every way he could. However, this is a book I picked up to learn about about the everyday life of Samurai Williams - and not the troubles of...Richard Cocks who was head-factor of said Factory.

Not a bad book altogether. Unfortunately it does not deliver what it promises.

No, Not Purgatory. It Was...Calvin-Ball All Along!

I was a huge fan of Lost. I managed to avoid watching the episodes when first aired in order to enjoy each season in a Lost-binging weekend, when the DVDs were released. What a disappointment was waiting for us at the end!

>>>>>>> SPOILERS AHEAD <<<<<<<<

I started watching Lost for the deep personal stories that touched and interweaved with each other unexpectedly and mysteriously. I continued to watch Lost because of the paranormal mysteries that were hinted of having very normal explanations. Well, maybe not normal but at least logical. What was the Black Smoke? Why is Ben so important? Do the dead resurrect on the Island like Jack's father or dead means dead, like Ben's daughter? Why can it there be no children getting born on the Island? What do the Numbers mean? How was Lock able to walk again and why did he have to die at the end? Why did the statue have four fingers? And what about the polar bears, the one on the island and the other fossilized with a Dharma collar in ancient Egyptian ruins.

As it turns out, the creators of the series had no clue whatsoever. They kept throwing darts with notes on ancient, urban and and religious mythology on the board and then they tried to mold the resulting pulp of ideas into a semi-coherent narrative. This way, something was bound to hook your interest every week. Yet, they had no idea where the story was going. Not even at the end. Well, especially at the end.

I have to admit, I was truly addicted to Lost for Seasons 1 through 5. The problem with Season 6 was that, during the previous seasons, it had hooked us with so many lines that we expected either a fish or at least some uneaten bait at the end of them. Sadly, most of these lines simply ended, never to be picked up ever again.

No deeper meaning. No logical explanation that can tie around everything. Just a glowing (steampunk?) spring that for some reason "is important".

I could not put it in words until I came across Jonathan McCalmont's Blog, Ruthless Culture: LOST was nothing but Calvin-Ball. To those unfamiliar with Bill Watterson's brilliant Calvin & Hobbes comic strip, Calvin-Ball is an imaginary game whose rules are made up as one plays along. No one keeps score, no one plans ahead. And no one wins.

I did not expect the creators of Lost to provide serious answers to life's cardinal questions.

I did expect them to answer their own damn questions, though!

Gaming As It Should Be!

Were I a member of the gaming Industry right now (especially one of the 500-lbs gorillas the likes of EA and Activision/Blizzard) I would hang my head in shame. Because where conglomerates with literally thousands of employees have failed, a small Eastern European company of less than 30 people taught them all what gaming should look and feel like and how it should be marketed.

Who of the multi-billion gaming "giants" ever went back to rework and improve a game already released? And then offer the new enhanced version to their customers for Free?  Yet, there you have it: thanks to CD PROJEKT RED gaming as an art-form is still alive and kicking!

The Witcher was the most awaited fantasy cRPG in the past 3 years. Not only did the original deliver, but even more work has gone into truly improving it.When first released this was one of the most beautiful Role-Playing Games I ever played - and now, now it is gorgeous.

The environments are detailed, realistic, and can be experienced from up close. Grass, flowers and tree branches moved in both Fable and Titan Quest as well; these, however, seem so true I caught myself reaching for my...antihistamines! Weather affects and day-night alterations (you have to see the elongating shadows to believe them!) are just gorgeous! More importantly, these are not just eye-candy: certain NPCs and monsters appear only when the correct combination of time-of-day and weather coincide...The horizon is far and the clouds move in endless variations. It reminded me of the sky of the original Unreal, another visually ground-breaking game at its time. Pure. Visual. Magic.

The character (Geralt) can master both sword-fighting and magic spells (what is known in Western Europe as a Warlock). To some die-hard RPG fans this may seem like heresy, nevertheless, keep in mind that multi-classing is not unheard off. The movement repertoire for both practices are impressively designed. Especially the sword-fighting, it is at par to any console action game. And the spells (both offensive and defensive ones) are not less impressive.

Free roaming? Yes and no. One can decide which parts of the map he will visit but loading is still needed to travel even annoyingly short distances. And since quests and side-quest still have to be completed, yes, eventually a subtle, yet ever present, directionality is present.

Looting and bartering? Aaah...yes, sort of. You practically never change the swords you start off with (you do but much later in the game and the selection is not...vast), whereas good armor is only a little easier to come by compared to Planescape: Torment. Keep in mind that is is a true cRPG - not an item conveyor-belt the likes of Diablo3.

On the upside, you get to gamble (real men do NOT quicksave before betting on dice-poker!), have romantic relationships and bribe for information, so trinkets have other uses as well.

Detailed character modifiers? Nothing like the AD&D rules but you do gain talents (gold, silver & bronze) which you can spend to improve your fighting or magical abilities. You will only get a number of those (especially gold ones) so you have to choose wisely. At the same time this increases the re-playability of the game.

After replaying the game over and over these past years, I can find no fault with it. The camera placement, which sometimes got on my nerves (it is that Aurora Engine...), I got used to rather quickly. And the timed sword strokes that I had to learn how to land in order to get the sequence bonuses and maximum effect (and was bitching about in my initial review of the game), well, I got to love them so much that I even missed them in The Witcher II! Yes, us gamers, we are a fickle bunch.

This game brought a breath of fresh air to the scene when released. This Enhanced edition not only is a truly reworked game but it also comes full with detailed Manuals, beautiful Maps and all the extras that games used to come with in the good old days. Now, not only does this game include the best MODs and DLCs, but, in the respect-the-gamer-first spirit of CD PROJEKT RED, it is absolutely DRM-FREE!

Whereas the Baldur's Gate Saga was story-heavy but (by today standards) visually wanting and the NeverWinter Nignts Series was found, well, wanting in all aspects, The Witcher is the dream cRPG that BIOWARE was supposed to be capable of releasing all along but never did - and its current EA bedfellows surely put a stop to such aspirations now. That game, however, is finally here - and not from whom you would expect.

A tip of my hat to CD PROJEKT RED for keeping the art-form of Gaming alive. Well done indeed!

WITH MY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS!

Øverated

Stieg Larsson's brilliant Millenium Trilogy made Scandinavian crime fiction hip again. So, in the wake of his success (and the vacuum created by his untimely death in 2004), Jo Nesbo was brought in to fill the empty spotlight. With only mixed results, I am afraid.

I decided to start with Redbreast because it is the first book of his Harry Hole series that has been translated in English (although there had been two books previous to this one in Norwegian - and there are references to the hero's previous cases). The story may be a standalone but the character development suffers from this truncation.

The story of Redbreast steps on two timelines that slowly converge. One is the story of a group of young Norwegian Nazis fighting on the side of the Germans during WWII. The other is a mess of a police story where a mistake prone Harry Hole stumbles onto a case of the import of a vintage (and extremely expensive) sniper rifle and then manages to fumble most clues and miss a number of opportunities to solve the mystery long before its climax.

I am not going to continue with any more books by this writer. The narration feels forced, with a number of mood-killing reality TV references, predictable stereotypes and one-page chapters. What is worse, the characters are both underdeveloped and internally inconsistent. Nesbo is clearly not in Larsson's league.

I gave the book some extra credit for cantor. When the Germans themselves try to squiggle out of their national shame of supporting Nazism (not to mention still avoiding paying their WWII debts), it was brave for Nesbo to admit that the majority of Norwegians in the 1940's indeed supported the National Socialists and were willing collaborators of Hitler's vision.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book does not justify the admission price.

Luxurious, Bordering On Decadent

As far as shaving soaps go, I find this Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna Soap to be the best. Once I tried it, I never changed neither brand nor scent. Using a Silvertip Badger Brush, this soap produces a thick lather that will both protect and discretely scent your skin with a Renaissance floral essence that will not clash with most after-shave lotions.

The wooden bowl is well built, sturdy and heavy enough for the shaving brush not to cause any wobbling; what is more, you only need to buy it once - original Sienna Refill Soap is available at half the price.

If you already have your own shaving soap bowl, keep in mind that the contained 100g soap is 8.5cm (3.3") in diameter. Of course you can always microwave it to fit ;-)

The Hattori Hanzos Of Shaving

Shaving with a traditional Double Edge safety razor is an art neglected by most. There is something atavistic in putting raw blade to your face every morning. And when it comes to making blades, the Japanese are still unsurpassed.

Shopping around you will probably hear that these Platinum Coated Feather Blades are extremely sharp. Yes they are. They are the sharpest. By far. And that is a very good thing.

When shaving with a Double Edge Razor one is supposed to let the weight of the razor do most of the work. Thus, the sharpest the blade the less pressure it will take to achieve that close shave - and the less chance of getting nicked.

It depends on one's bristles but I do not feel the need to change the blade more often than every second week or so. This is a single package of 10 blades. I bought the 3-pack. Thus, these 30 blades will probably last me well over 6 months. Now, compare that to the cost of shaving with those flashy and over-hyped Gillettes.

It does have an adjustment curve (especially when one comes from those supermarket multi-bladed contraptions) and it will require both a good shaving soap such as the Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna and a top Double Blade safety razor such as the Feather (see below); however, the end result is well worth it. And in no time you will be shaving as fast as before only deeper and more satisfying.

Treat yourself to the best.

A True Wakizashi!

Some months ago I was informed about the unparalleled quality of the Feather Blades. So it was only natural to seek out the appropriate Feather Double Edge Safety Razor to yield them.

Outside Japan there are only two models of Feather safety razors, this Popular one and the much more expensive All-Stainless Steel one. I decided to start with this one and move up in the near future if I was satisfied. And was I ever!

The design is streamlined simplicity. On top of a sturdy plastic-covered handle sits a stainless steel head that opens with a twist to receive the double edge blade. The mechanism is precise and works with clockwork perfection both dry and wet.

The touching edge guarding the blade's cutting edge is also plastic - a design detail that I was apprehensive of at first. However, once I tried it I appreciated how much more aware I was of the blade's cutting edge and how easier it is to control it.

A quality product at a very fair price.

A Slice Of 60's Innocence (That May Never Have Been)

I like the cars with huge fins
and severe over-steering.
The minted escapism
of international flights.
And the cutting edge
of polyester shirts.

I like the manual cameras
and doors with single locks.
Vices than kept us human,
cold war machinations
and cheeks that could still
blush from time to time.

This was the under-informed generation.
Men with a lot of leeway
but also a sense of duty,
Women finding their wings.
And taking them.

The year is 1963.
JFK is still alive.
Andy Warhol is reproducing Elvis.
Love is tasted. Lost.
And found again.

Thank you for flying Pan Am.

Solidly Built And Reliable

Kingston has always been a brand name to trust when it comes to computer memory. This USB Flash-Memory Stick is no exception.

It is very nicely built, with a push-to-arm/pull-to-protect slide mechanism.  When I first saw this I thought that it would be a spring-mechanism, similar to clicking a pen. Instead, it has a two-step locking mechanism that requires both hands. It may be less convenient but it sure feels more reliable in the long run.

This is a USB 2.0 memory stick that for some reason it seems faster than all of my previous similar sticks (SanDISK, ADATA and even my good old TEAC). My data get transferred fast and reliably - so I am willing to overlook the fact that the casing is a bit too wide to fit two of them in my side-by-side USB ports at the front of my PC case

An Alien Has Landed In My Kitchen

This beautiful streamlined citrus squeezer was designed by Philippe Starck in 1990 and I had been coveting it from the moment I saw it. So, when I moved into my new house, this Alessi Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer was one of the first products I bought.

It is solidly built and although it may not be the most practical squeezer (the citrus juice will splash around your container if it is not large enough), it has never left my counter-top.

Of All Things French...

When I was a kid I had to learn French. As far as languages go, it is not bad at all. Once you get over all that grammar, that is! That is why, at that age I found only two things making it bearable: the adventures of Asterix and Kickers shoes.

These Kicker's low boots (or high-tops, if you prefer) are the essence of simplified elegance. They are sturdy yet light, durable yet fast to acquire their own character. The leather will scuff but it will resist serious damage.

You too will appreciate the stitched-on crepe sole (insulating as well as resistant to both slips and squicks), the metal eyelets and the ample room for your toes.

These were the Doc Martins of my generation.  

A Carousel of Nostalgia

When things get bad, we tend to look to the past. And the bleaker the future looks, the further back we search for comfort. As the new millennium keeps disappointing us, TV shows set on the 50's and the 60's (once a rarity) keep growing in numbers. Many have tried and failed. Mad Men tried and closed the deal. And have been doing so for 5 seasons now.

Meet Don Draper (Jon Ham), a Madison Avenue water-walker (and based on real life ad-man, George Lois). He is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He is brilliant and secretive. He wants to keep walking the tight rope with no safety net. And definitely no contract. He is a chain-smoking, hard liqueur guzzling, womanizing alpha male. He is a loving father of three, married to a picture-perfect ex model. He has it all. And yet he cannot find peace. Because he learned early on that the world is always yawning at your heels, eager to yank everything you love away.

From bursting with joie-de-vivre Roger Sterling (hilarious John Slattery) and ever scheming Pete Cambell (baby-faced Vincent Kartheiser) to the gorgeous women (such as barbie January Jones and refined Jessica Paré as his first and second wife, respectively), the cast is one perfect pick after another. And the writing is brilliant, reproducing the tastes and smells and nuisances of the era around Camelot, while drawing you in to the personal stories of characters polished yet inevitably flawed.

The 50's and the 60's were before my time so it is not nostalgia that makes me love the show. Yes, I find the era mesmerizing and (probably undeservingly) less complicated. If nothing else, though, back then they knew how to dress. Women looked feminine and men looked manly. You see January Jones on the red carpet, for example, all dressed up and groomed for a Hollywood function - and that modern image cannot hold a candle to herself dressed for everyday(!) life in the 50's. When did we loose it? When did we decide men should stop wearing suits and hats and women should start wearing sweat-suits outside the house? I, for one, blame the hippies!

This is one of the best TV shows ever. Seasons 1 - 5 have been already completed whereas season 6 is eminent - and the show has already been green-lighted for a 7th season as well. As I have said again before, good TV is best watched on DVD. Make weekends out of it. It is much more enjoyable to watch an entire season in a couple of days than having to wait week(s) between episodes. And (quite ironically, in this case), you will not have to suffer the...commercials.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

______________________________________________________

Season One: A Carousel of Nostalgia

Season Two: Take it. Break it. Share it. Love it

Season Three: Framing Phone Calls

Season Four: Hams Worth Fighting For

Season Five: Something Beautiful You Can Truly Own   

What cRPGs Dreams Are Made Off

Whoever doubts that computer gaming is an art-form should play Planescape: Torment.

Words simply fail to describe the perfect symphony of brilliant ideas, immersing story, beautiful environments, mesmerizing music, fun gameplay and detailed coding that made this game an unsurpassed classic!

To this day, I have yet to meet anyone who has played it and not raved about it.

NamelessOne and his companions are characters that will stay with you forever. The graphics may seem a bit outdated nowadays (they are the same as the first Baldur's Gate, they share the same Infinity engine); however, true RPG gamers know that graphics are not an aim in itself.

This is clearly not a new game but it is the review I wanted to fire my Blog off with.

Do do not expect an exploding eye-candy or a fast-paced game (try YouTube to check out whether this may not be your cup of tea). One has to let himself get lost in the world of the Planes and the doomed city of Sigil. Their magic shall always stay with you.

This used to be sold out game and could only be found in old stock houses and eBay. Count yourself lucky and treat yourself to this gem. Trust me, this is a game you must experience during your lifetime.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!