Categories
Video Games

Zero Punctuation is my new friend

Case in point is Yahtzee’s review of Mass Effect. Now, I loved that game enough to start playing it a second time, and when I get through Conan  I will download the expansion and give that a shot.

That being said, Yahtzee gives it a pounding like nothing else. He levels some pretty good criticism regarding the stuff that Bioware carried over “for good or for ill” from KOTOR, and the way characters “will tell you their life story at the drop of a hat as if you have a documentary crew over your shoulder”.

Anyway, I thoroughly recommend the review series, and have added its RSS feed to my list of regular views.

Categories
Books

Incendio!

I just ran into a Slashdot post pointing to Orson Scott Card’s commentary on J.K. Rowling’s attempt to ban an unauthorised encyclopaedia of the Harry Potter books.

I won’t summarise either of the articles; you’re capable of reading and evaluating them yourselves. However, it got me thinking about my general opposition to fanfic (and *shudders* slashfic), and how this case differs from that.

Categories
Music Reviews

First thoughts: Bat Out of Hell 3

Finally got round to picking up Bat Out Of Hell 3 (complete with DVD, which I have yet to watch). I’ve gone through the disc a couple times now, and it’s definitely good, and definitely Meat Loaf, but there’s something not quite right. I think part of it is the dependence on orchestration to make some of the tracks work, and the overproduced feel to the music. Definitely good tracks on there, but I think I’ll need to have a good long listen to the lyrics to see if the album is as cohesive as the first two.

Categories
Books Movies and TV

Happy Hogswatch

Just finished watching Hogfather. The adaptation is great. If you haven’t read the book, you should; if you have read it, then you need to see the movie. It’s almost entirely faithful, and there are no deviations, only omissions that had to be made for the sake of brevity.