A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME
Video Games, Victorian Style
Tag: Games
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So, seeing as we’re already in the second week of 2013, I thought it’s about bloody time I wrote something about my favourite games of 2012. Unlike in 2011, in 2012 I actually managed to play a few games in the same year that they were released, which somewhat goes against our steadfast determination to…
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Well, this is a bit of a turn-up for the books – I got home from work to discover that my Wii U has arrived A DAY EARLY. Thanks ShopTo.net! I’m not quite sure how this has happened, but I’m glad I didn’t bother queuing up at HMV on Oxford Street tonight… Sir Gaulian should…
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It turns out that the Wii U is actually powered by tiny little Pikmin running around in the machine. This confirms my long-held theory that processors are a myth and that all computers actually work by a combination of magic and tiny little beings running back and forth. Here’s the charming animation you get when…
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I’m not a big fan of first person shooters set in real-world conflicts. I played through the first Modern Warfare game a while back, and I found the whole thing just a little bit… distasteful. Like I said in my review, I’m not quite sure why you’d want to recreate that great war feeling in…
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It fascinates me how gaming has gone from being a niche hobby to something that’s firmly ensconced in mainstream culture (even if there’s still some way to go before it gains widespread acceptance), and for evidence of this you need look no further than the burgeoning fan art community. The current generation of artists is…
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Here’s a revelation for you: I actually bought XCOM: Enemy Unknown on the day it came out. I can’t remember the last time I paid full whack for a game on its actual release date, but I suspect it was sometime back in the dim and distant days of the Dreamcast, so this should indicate…
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I’ve done it. No going back now: the Wii U has been preordered. Maybe it was Adam Buxton’s voiceover on the new Wii U TV ad that finally pushed me to commit – I mean, if Adam likes it, surely it must be great? Right? Seriously though, I’m pretty excited about finally getting my hands…
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I finished Vanquish at the weekend – boy what a game. It’s the kind of game that’s so intense you need to take a break every half hour to imbibe a soothing cup of tea and have a lie down in order to rest your shattered senses. Never is there a pause in the action…
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Lucius here, just wanted to trumpet the wonderful new wallpaper I found while chugging along the information supermotorway. I’ve put up in the Manor – it’s rather dashing don’t you think? Toodle-pip, have a smashing weekend!
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I remember the moment when I reached the waterfall cave in the original Tomb Raider on the PlayStation and an involuntary “wow” fell from my lips. That “wow” moment has happened many times before and since in many different games: encountering my first Colossus in Shadow of the Colossus, fighting Mother Brain in Super Metroid…
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It’s very rare that I’ll buy a game on the strength of the box art alone. Usually a game purchase will be the end result of a meticulous information-gathering process: hours spent sifting through reviews and hearing friends’ recommendations before deciding on a game to buy, usually followed by a wait of a few months…
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I finished Far Cry 2 (buy on Amazon) the other day, and I have to say I was pretty disappointed. The designers took on some controversial subject matter by setting the game in an African civil war, and they really don’t do it the justice it deserves. But before I get onto that, let’s look…
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I finally finished Bayonetta last week, just days before the announcement that the sequel is not only in development but that it’s exclusive to Wii U. Who’d have thunk it? Glad to see Nintendo have rightly but their might behind Bayonetta, although it still seems odd: a bit like finding out that Disney are producing…
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When was the last time a film made you cry? Even this embittered blogger can admit to a few tear-inducing moments in his film-watching past, the ending to Casablanca being one. Now when was the last time a video game made you cry? I’m guessing quite a few of you will answer ‘never’, and I…
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My finger is hovering over the pre-order button for Wii U. For the first time since the GameCube, I’m actually considering buying a console on the day it comes out. I think what clinched it was the announcement of Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive: where Platinum Games goes I will follow. As you’re…
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I watched The Dark Knight Rises recently and came away with a vague feeling of disappointment. It just wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be – too much ‘realism’, far too much daytime Dark Knight (he just doesn’t work in the sunlight, does he?) and not enough fancy detective work. Considering Batman is meant…
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It’s been just over a year since my inaugural review on A Most Agreeable Pastime, in which I heaped praise upon the doorstep of Assassin’s Creed II. It seems fitting then that this week’s review is of its sequel, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, which I’ve just finished playing and very much enjoyed. Look out for a…
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I found myself a little apathetic towards Super Mario 3D Land when I first heard about it. Let’s face it, there have been PLENTY of Mario games down the years, and the central concept has changed little since the 1980s, leading me to start thinking the whole platform genre is getting a bit long in…
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Pokémon SoulSilver has been driving me to madness. I’ve just failed in my fourth attempt to beat Lance, the Champion of the Johto region, and I’m now officially giving up. After 45 hours of playing time (I know, 45 hours, I could have built a small boat in that time), I realised I’m still only…
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So, has GAME learned anything since its recent brush with annihilation? For various reasons I happened to be in Ilford on Saturday, and whilst looking round the soul-sapping Exchange Shopping Centre I noticed that the Ilford GAME had managed to survive the cull of 277 GAME stores last month. Curious to see what lessons had…
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I got thoroughly into the second Phoenix Wright game this weekend, to the point where I was so gripped by the final case that I ended up staying up ’til 2am (on a SCHOOL NIGHT!) to see the blinking thing right through to the end. The game just has this way of drawing you in…
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Another one bites the dust. Game off the mantelpiece that is. I had to resist the temptation to spell honor correctly for this entire post. For the record, it is H.O.N.O.U.R. Back in 1999 I had my mind blown by a FPS on the Playstation. That’s right, the Playstation. Not the Nintendo 64. Not the…
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Let me take you back to the dim and distant past of January 2010. I’m in deepest darkest Dunstable, visiting my dear friend Curly (or Rich as he’s now known in respectable society) for his annual birthday bash. It’s rather late, and we have repaired to his luxury chalet for some refreshment and nibbles. Messrs…
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My lovely girlfriend bought me a shiny new Nintendo 3DS for Christmas and has hardly regretted it at all, despite the fact that I now tend to ignore her in favour of Princess Zelda whenever we’re on a train journey. Poor girl. Anyway, it’s been exactly a month since I unwrapped Nintendo’s latest little wonder,…
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A New Year’s message from Lucius Merriweather, Esq. As you probably know by now, both Sir Gaulian and I have a considerable backlog of games to play through (see The Mantelpiece), so most of my 2011 was actually spent playing through games from 2010 and earlier. As such, I almost finished the year without playing…
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Yes, I know I said I wouldn’t be buying any more games until I’ve finished all of the titles lying around on The Mantelpiece, but I have an excuse, honest! Last week I went up to Yorkshire to visit my nan, so faced with a 5-hour trip each way, I thought I’d better charge up…
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As you can probably tell by the fact I’m writing a blog about video games, I’m rather partial to them. It’s a love affair that goes right back to the days of the Sinclair Spectrum (if you’re wondering kids, it’s like an Xbox 360 that refuses to load any games), and if anything I’ve got…
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“People, if you want to play this game and really enjoy it, expect your eyes to burn a little on Sundays, or when you’re driving by places of worship.” That’s the warning given by John DiMaggio, the voice behind Bender from Futurama and co-commentator on MadWorld (along with Greg Proops from Whose Line is it…
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I think the title of this post pretty much sums it all up. If you’ve played Shadow of the Colossus, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, what the hell are you playing at? BUY THIS GAME NOW. (Or even better, get the shiny new HD remake for the PS3.) While you’re…
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WARNING: Inevitably, being an article all about the endings of games, this article contains some spoilers. If there’s a game you don’t want to know the ending for, I’ll let you know when to look away. Video game endings are notoriously bad, I reckon. In quite a lot of the games I’ve played, there’s a…
A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME 