Another month, another update (finally). I always have a bit of a mental block when it comes to blogging about my life, and it never sounds anywhere as exciting as I want it to be in my head.... *sighs*
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Although I've always had a huge appreciation for computer games I've never really had time for them. I love the sense of immersion you get from some games but I'm rarely satisfied with the gameplay experience or the storytelling. It may be telling that the last game I completed was Valve's Portal on the PC. Over the years I've had access to console games through friends and family but I've never owned one myself.
However, I broke with tradition a few weeks ago when I bought a Wii. I know it's been accused of being a bit of a gimmick and not well-suited to quality gaming but I'm pretty satisfied with my experience so far. To be fair, the main reason for buying it was actually for Wii FIt Plus, fulfilling my New Year's resolution to try and get a bit more exercise. Gaming is really a secondary benefit although I'm enjoying that too.
I know a few people (my folks included) who invested in the Wii Fit and then just didn't bother to use it, but I've been pretty good so far. I'm managing to squeeze in 20-30 mins every morning before I leave for work and then the odd evening session as well. Craftily, it has plenty of ways of making you work out, without even realising you're doing it. My particular favourite challenges are the one where you flap your arms to fly in a bird suit, the one where you catch fish in a pneguin suit, and the obstacle course. I'm aching in all kinds of strange places these days but I've only lost a few pounds so far - I think the next step might be reviwing my diet a little more... *shrugs*
In regards to games I've been using my uber ebay skillz to pick up titles second hand at bargain prices. I picked up Lego Batman for two-player fun, and No More Heroes, Zelda, Alone in the Dark and Harry Potter for solo fun. Not that I really have time to play any of these games properly, but I am impressed with the way each of them focus on using the Wii's controller interface to offer a unique gaming experience that you couldn't get from a PC or another console. I've been thinking about trying to get a guitar hero drum set with the midi port so I can plug in a real electronic drum kit, but we'll see.
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One of the exciting events of the last few weeks was the SGUK public meet in Nottingham. It would great to see a few old faces and a bunch of new faces. While there wasn't that many of us in the end, I didn't mind as it meant I got a chance to speak to people properly rather than just getting lost in the throng. It was a shame everyone else chickened out of Rock City in the end but that didn't stop me from rocking out there for a few hours anyway
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Another important recent event was the arrival of the new Doctor Who series on the BBC. I have to say I've been dead impressed with the two episodes I've seen so far. Not that I had any negative expectations - in fact I was quietly hopeful that Moffat, the new producer, would raise the bar on the quality of the episodes.
While I enjoyed many Tennant-era episodes they often felt patchy or contrived, leaving me feeling a little short-changed and disappointed. Ultimately I think the writing was at fault, and RTD's self-written episodes were the worst of the lot. Although he was a great publicist and should receive credit for giving the show legs again, I don't have much respect for his work as a writer. Moffat's own scripts though have been excellent from start to finish, and it would seem he's been applying those sensibilities to the new series in his new role.
Matt Smith's incarnation of the Doctor is strangely like Tennant's young chap and yet it's also very far removed. There's a genuine sense of unpredictabliity and danger about him that I haven't seen since Tom Baker owned the role. I'd say the former is riffing off of the latter, except that Matt Smith admitted he'd hardly seen the show before he was cast.
Karen Gillan's companion Amy completes the awesomeness of the new show. She's not only gorgeous but her character is given both brains and an attitude. Far from a damsel-in-distress she's more than a match for the Doctor and she's given equal amounts of things to do in each story.
In regards to the rest of the new series to come, its the most I've looked forward to watcing Doctor Who in a long time
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I also went to see Kick-Ass, which was quite simply, kick-ass. The film faithfully captures the pop-culture references and the crazy action sequences of the graphic novel, although it does deviate from the latter in a few details towards the end. Pulling his career out of the doldrums Nicholas Cage is excellent, but even his brilliant performance is eclipsed by Chloe Moretz's Hit Girl, who totally steals the film from start to finish. If you haven't seen it yet, then you should
I recently reviewed the book on the making of the film (and the comic) for Alltern8.com here. One thing I noted when I was reading the book was that Matthew Vaughn couldn't get any studio to invest in the project, so in the end he ended up financing himself to get it made. Judging by the reviews and the public's reception of the film I hope it does something to show Hollywood that film executives need to just trust creative people with vision, rather than s****ing all over them.
---
Although I've always had a huge appreciation for computer games I've never really had time for them. I love the sense of immersion you get from some games but I'm rarely satisfied with the gameplay experience or the storytelling. It may be telling that the last game I completed was Valve's Portal on the PC. Over the years I've had access to console games through friends and family but I've never owned one myself.
However, I broke with tradition a few weeks ago when I bought a Wii. I know it's been accused of being a bit of a gimmick and not well-suited to quality gaming but I'm pretty satisfied with my experience so far. To be fair, the main reason for buying it was actually for Wii FIt Plus, fulfilling my New Year's resolution to try and get a bit more exercise. Gaming is really a secondary benefit although I'm enjoying that too.
I know a few people (my folks included) who invested in the Wii Fit and then just didn't bother to use it, but I've been pretty good so far. I'm managing to squeeze in 20-30 mins every morning before I leave for work and then the odd evening session as well. Craftily, it has plenty of ways of making you work out, without even realising you're doing it. My particular favourite challenges are the one where you flap your arms to fly in a bird suit, the one where you catch fish in a pneguin suit, and the obstacle course. I'm aching in all kinds of strange places these days but I've only lost a few pounds so far - I think the next step might be reviwing my diet a little more... *shrugs*
In regards to games I've been using my uber ebay skillz to pick up titles second hand at bargain prices. I picked up Lego Batman for two-player fun, and No More Heroes, Zelda, Alone in the Dark and Harry Potter for solo fun. Not that I really have time to play any of these games properly, but I am impressed with the way each of them focus on using the Wii's controller interface to offer a unique gaming experience that you couldn't get from a PC or another console. I've been thinking about trying to get a guitar hero drum set with the midi port so I can plug in a real electronic drum kit, but we'll see.
---
One of the exciting events of the last few weeks was the SGUK public meet in Nottingham. It would great to see a few old faces and a bunch of new faces. While there wasn't that many of us in the end, I didn't mind as it meant I got a chance to speak to people properly rather than just getting lost in the throng. It was a shame everyone else chickened out of Rock City in the end but that didn't stop me from rocking out there for a few hours anyway
---
Another important recent event was the arrival of the new Doctor Who series on the BBC. I have to say I've been dead impressed with the two episodes I've seen so far. Not that I had any negative expectations - in fact I was quietly hopeful that Moffat, the new producer, would raise the bar on the quality of the episodes.
While I enjoyed many Tennant-era episodes they often felt patchy or contrived, leaving me feeling a little short-changed and disappointed. Ultimately I think the writing was at fault, and RTD's self-written episodes were the worst of the lot. Although he was a great publicist and should receive credit for giving the show legs again, I don't have much respect for his work as a writer. Moffat's own scripts though have been excellent from start to finish, and it would seem he's been applying those sensibilities to the new series in his new role.
Matt Smith's incarnation of the Doctor is strangely like Tennant's young chap and yet it's also very far removed. There's a genuine sense of unpredictabliity and danger about him that I haven't seen since Tom Baker owned the role. I'd say the former is riffing off of the latter, except that Matt Smith admitted he'd hardly seen the show before he was cast.
Karen Gillan's companion Amy completes the awesomeness of the new show. She's not only gorgeous but her character is given both brains and an attitude. Far from a damsel-in-distress she's more than a match for the Doctor and she's given equal amounts of things to do in each story.
In regards to the rest of the new series to come, its the most I've looked forward to watcing Doctor Who in a long time
---
I also went to see Kick-Ass, which was quite simply, kick-ass. The film faithfully captures the pop-culture references and the crazy action sequences of the graphic novel, although it does deviate from the latter in a few details towards the end. Pulling his career out of the doldrums Nicholas Cage is excellent, but even his brilliant performance is eclipsed by Chloe Moretz's Hit Girl, who totally steals the film from start to finish. If you haven't seen it yet, then you should
I recently reviewed the book on the making of the film (and the comic) for Alltern8.com here. One thing I noted when I was reading the book was that Matthew Vaughn couldn't get any studio to invest in the project, so in the end he ended up financing himself to get it made. Judging by the reviews and the public's reception of the film I hope it does something to show Hollywood that film executives need to just trust creative people with vision, rather than s****ing all over them.
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Kick Ass is full of win too it has to be said.