My game-loving, geeky itch gets scratched…

Posted on August 31st, 2008 by Andy

I have previously sung the praises of the awesome game Portal and it’s rather wonderful closing sequence, which I still smile about whenever I think of it…I haven’t previously expressed how much I thoroughly enjoyed Felicia Day’s geeky comendy The Guild or how chuffed I was that she mentioned The Clientele in an interview a while back. So…Felicia Day performing the Portal closing song with the writer Jonathan Coulton is the stuff dreams are made of – fortunately it was performed at a the sort of place so packed with geeks that there are stacks of videos on YouTube (and no doubt some were there within minutes of the performance)…this is (so far) the best of them…

Posted in Music, toys and games | 2 Comments »

Keep on trying ’til you run out of cake…

Posted on April 14th, 2008 by Andy

I finished the awesome Portal last night and am still laughing at the ending. I’ve listened to almost nothing but “Still Alive” since I finished it; I’ve downloaded sheet music; I’ve watched loads of great videos on YouTube; I’ve downloaded the official wallpaper pack and put one on my desktop. I can’t remember being quite so taken with a game before – it’s a short but insanely sweet cake of a game.

The review on Rock, Paper, Shotgun pretty much says all I wanted to say about it in a clever, more rational and more articulate way.

It’s easy to be disappointed by Portal’s brevity. Just when you’re feeling like the master of the tool, it’s over. While the story is complete, and the ending is the funniest gaming moment in many years, there’s no denying you’re left still hungry. It gives you a bite of a delicious cake, but then doesn’t let you gorge until stuffed. Fortunately there’s more to do once the main game is over. Six of the rooms can be replayed on a significantly higher difficulty level, and there are specific challenges for the regular levels, completing them either in a limited number of footsteps, a restricted number of portals, or a rigid time limit. These offer a terrifying challenge, with Bronze awards in reach, but Silver and certainly Gold seeming madly impossible. At first.

I ♥ Portal

Posted in I heart/I hate, toys and games | 1 Comment »

Our first Wii injury

Posted on January 24th, 2007 by Andy

Our first Wii injury
(originally uploaded by grange85)

Almost a month in coming but today saw our first Wii related injury when Adam got a bonk on the bonce playing Wii Tennis with a school friend. For his pains he received this classic comedy bump.

Posted in my family, toys and games | No Comments »