At last, a rational voice speaks out for science

RSC Press Release: £1,000,000 for 100% chemical free material?

This has long been a gripe of mine, the misuse of 'science' and technology in advertising.

I really, really despise the whole thing where they carp on about shampoo technology and the nutrient benefits for your hair. Surely they mean biology or chemistry? Because I really can't see how a dual core processor would do anything for your highlights.

Gaming Backlog

I'm going to use this post to list all the games in my backlog that are 'must play'. If I listed all the games that I've not yet played that'll be hundreds.

G7000	Conquest of the World
N64	Donkey Kong 64	Glover	Space Station Silicon Valley
Game Cube	Pikmin
NES	Mega Man 2	Metroid
CDi	Burn:Cycle
Dreamcast	Jet Set Radio	Shenmue
Mega Drive	The Lost Vikings	Prince of Persia	Vectorman
Master System	Fantasy Zone
Saturn	Gokujou Parodius Da: Deluxe Pack	NiGHTS into Dreams...
Playstation 2	Jak 3

This isn't a definitive list, the idea is that once I've played all these then I'll throw up a new list and work from that one.

Thanks to this blog for the table formatting tips

Tomb Raider Underworld (Last time, I promise!)

I'd be really interested to know how this works. I feel pretty sure it's just a game save at a point where the glitch has been passed, i.e. not a patch. Wonder what happens to any treasures/relics collected up to that point?

Tomb Raider: Underworld Statistics

Mediterranean Sea
Treasures 21/26
Relics 1/1

Coastal Thailand
Treasures 25/30
Relics 1/1

Croft Manor
Treasures 13/13
Relics 1/1

Southern Mexico
Treasures 42/50
Relics 1/1

Jan Mayen Island
Treasures 30/30
Relics 1/1

Andaman Sea
n/a

Artic Sea
Treasures 25/30
Relics 1/1

And I'm done. I don't want to play it any more.

Tomb Raider Underworld: Further Rants

I've calmed down considerably since I completed the game last night, and obviously my mind has been assimilating the whole experience:

• Where were the boss battles? Every TR has them, it was odd that they weren't present.
• Why can't you re-watch cut-scenes?
• What is the point of the option to select your weapon at the beginning of the level, and then allow you to change it anyway from your backpack?
• Where happened to the classic outfit? I'm not one for playing dress-up, but that was a fundamental omission from the costumes.
• The last weapon that you pick up (I won't reveal here what it is, I don't want to spoil it). It makes all the other weapons you have totally obsolete. You won't want to use anything else.
• This one is not directed at TRU particularly, but at what point did 'concept artwork' become an unlockable. Does it serve any purpose at all, except for the studio waving it's wang around saying 'Ooh look, we employ concept artists'? Big deal, give me something I can use in the game next time.
• Why do we need the idiot symbols that hover over ever the screen every time you can do something. One or twice is fine, but I don't need the bloody [] symbol appearing when I can use the grapple. FFS let me figure it out on my own. Similarly with the triangle and the treasures. Why go to the trouble of hiding them in bushes etc., when all you need to do to find them is walk along and watch for the triangle symbol appearing. Ooh look I can do something, I wonder what it is?
EDIT: Just found the option to turn this off. Why isn't it off by default, is the assumption that it's far too difficult without it. Or is this one of those options that's set by the choice of difficulty when you start the game. The one there's no mention of what the settings actually do

The unfortunate thing about this game is that on the whole I actually quite enjoyed it. The abrupt ending left a really bad taste that soured the whole experience. What I can't understand is why the game was in development for over 18 months?
Reading the forums about the game it seems that I'm not the only one who is seriously narked about it, and many people are moaning about total system locks when playing the PS3 version. I experienced one myself, but damn, that's going some to crash a console, I don't think I've ever had a console crash before.
Given what I know now about the game there's no way I'd have shelled out 40 quid for it. It was certainly no better than Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, although it was about twice the length, so I'd guess that £25 would have been a fair price for it. Of course Crystal Dynamics could totally redeem themselves with some killer DLC, but it looks like that's going to be XBox only, so PS3 owners consider yourselves shafted.

Finished: Tomb Raider Underworld

And that was a huge disappointment. No part of it was really challenging, and to finish the game in 3 days is poor. I wouldn't mind if I'd been playing it 'hardcore' like I used to back in the day, but this has been a couple of hours here and there, I reckon it can't have taken me more than 10 hours tops. And that for 40 quid is a bloody joke. Treasure hunt mode just plain sucks - explore but nothing to kill and puzzles already solved, what is the point?
Oh, and obviously I'm playing the ps3 version, which comes complete with a splendid array of trophies to collect for bragging rights. Oh wait, no it doesn't that'd be the 360 version. Crystal Dynamics you are a bunch of useless tossers.

Currently Playing: Tomb Raider: Underworld

I picked up the new TR game yesterday afternoon, and I've been playing it on and off since. I'm quite pleased with the way it plays, in spite of reviews that say it does nothing different. Why must games always be 'different' or 'ground breaking'? Can't they just be more of the same i.e. fun? It's Tomb Raider for Christ sake, what more could you want, exploring, killing endangered species in vast quantities and launching yourself to your death cause you're 2 pixels off in where you're supposed to be aiming. Sounds like a TR game to me, and it's a whole heap of fun. The graphics are nothing short of amazing, Lara moves fluidly, although for my liking when she's climbing she does it a little too quickly, looking more monkey than human, but that's the only gripe I've got about it. I'm about 3 or 4 levels in, lost count, and I'm not picking up all of the treasures and relics on this run through, I'll save that for number 2.