tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63076521207226000642024-03-19T03:34:11.586+00:00I See GiantsMy personal blog, containing thoughts and ruminations on everything from politics, history, literature, sport, films, and games. There might even be some original fiction.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-48852044568398993692013-08-28T01:21:00.001+01:002013-08-28T02:28:28.399+01:00Till We See The Sunlight: On Miley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LrUvu1mlWco?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Night's over. Time to head home.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2013/08/till-we-see-sunlight-on-miley.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-81114933347241075922012-03-06T23:16:00.013+00:002012-03-07T00:05:13.082+00:00Last Dinosaur to the Mammal Party? PS Vita<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/PlayStation_Vita_illustration.svg/600px-PlayStation_Vita_illustration.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/PlayStation_Vita_illustration.svg/600px-PlayStation_Vita_illustration.svg.png" width="320"></a></div><br>
Sometimes I'd like to not be such a realist.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2012/03/last-dinosaur-at-mammal-bar-ps-vita.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-33045663450787939502012-02-05T21:59:00.010+00:002012-02-06T00:35:22.472+00:00Ubisoft Won't Let You Play Their Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5APs1nM5WWSC127xGReCbz7n-0A9i2zmn3AshLpb9b4hykZSFvBXku_Ef8T6hvGEwbx2lvwKxRnV84p7gfNGjSz0LyNbP45Py9vdqeUy4XScaM0JyJMLmjTb5L92WI_avZo8yfq26hlmy/s1600/ubilogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5APs1nM5WWSC127xGReCbz7n-0A9i2zmn3AshLpb9b4hykZSFvBXku_Ef8T6hvGEwbx2lvwKxRnV84p7gfNGjSz0LyNbP45Py9vdqeUy4XScaM0JyJMLmjTb5L92WI_avZo8yfq26hlmy/s400/ubilogo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Okay. Here's the headline. From next Tuesday, Ubisoft are taking their Uplay servers down to move them to a new location, which means that a whole raft of their games with the abominable always-on DRM will be unplayable. The games that you bought will not – through any fault of your own – work. In single player. They're not saying when the games will be playable again.</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZGJCGRVwYknljOIJne_Rm4PdFn_fIR6T3UexLgGPMG7N6wl-vuPgeN20S-t4O-aof5kldc4x5xKtw9tVCVAUxo8YDWa4bbSLi-a8V8gRF-kzszxgzoW4B8GK9Ij4h_-XpdLRuQj7lrnQ/s1600/139888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZGJCGRVwYknljOIJne_Rm4PdFn_fIR6T3UexLgGPMG7N6wl-vuPgeN20S-t4O-aof5kldc4x5xKtw9tVCVAUxo8YDWa4bbSLi-a8V8gRF-kzszxgzoW4B8GK9Ij4h_-XpdLRuQj7lrnQ/s320/139888.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Settlers 7, HAWX 2, and Might and Magic: Heroes VI are affected for sure, but they're guarenteeing that Driver: San Francisco and Assassin's Creed: Revelations will stay up. The status of games like Assassin's Creed 2 are a bit more up in the air post-anti-DRM patching. This is, obviously, terrible and stupid. For a method apparently designed to stop the piracy of games to frequently provide a worse service than the pirates – or, as here, no service at all to legitimate paying customers – is an absolute disgrace.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KjSfB6JHNFJ9x4bH_5nPq6Ps8l90i7K33hkrBbTgV_YsDa-3ePAxjd0cKvVzbGqfl1Se45kQfQ3eBvEM9T1hgHuYIR9xuiDNgToKecxOeLfLpv4Lo0XJlEkDEFKWKCpz2IXryOHOoiwx/s1600/rayman-origins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KjSfB6JHNFJ9x4bH_5nPq6Ps8l90i7K33hkrBbTgV_YsDa-3ePAxjd0cKvVzbGqfl1Se45kQfQ3eBvEM9T1hgHuYIR9xuiDNgToKecxOeLfLpv4Lo0XJlEkDEFKWKCpz2IXryOHOoiwx/s400/rayman-origins.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
Rayman Origins being released with <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/26/rayman-origins-coming-to-pc-drm-free/">virtually no DRM</a> suggests that this attitude is not all-pervasive in the company, and that Ubi may be considering changing direction, but I'm not too sure. Driver: San Francisco recently saw the attempted return of always-on horribleness, before being <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/17/ubisoft-listens-barely-changes-driver-drm/">changed</a> to the still-not-good-enough always-needing-to-be-on-at-launch watered-down version, and the less said about PC-only <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/21/ubisoft-bluebyte-changes-anno-2070-drm/">Anno 2070's hardware-tied DRM</a> the better.</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">You do wonder about Ubisoft's internal politics. Obviously piracy is a convenient straw man for all sorts of ills within PC gaming, but you can't treat it as a kill-or-cure cancer. It's the one case where this sort of cure won't fix the disease, and won't kill the patient, but could rebound and take out the doctor. It's not too hard to look at the record industry and see just that taking place. Until then, my advice is to vote with your wallets.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-79307693270036175672012-02-05T19:00:00.008+00:002012-02-05T19:38:20.043+00:00Galactic Council: SWTOR Wants You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn1.sciencefiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/SWTOR-conversation-wheel-300x247.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="329" src="http://cdn1.sciencefiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/SWTOR-conversation-wheel-300x247.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/StarWars_TheOldRepublic_fight-thumb-550x310-18861-540x304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Run a guild in The Old Republic? Bioware wants to talk to you. <i>Now</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Well, not actually now.</span> On the 4<sup>th</sup>-6<sup>th</sup> March. In person. Bioware have announced that they are holding their first 'Guild Summit', which I prefer to think of as the Galactic Council, in Austin, Texas, and they're inviting any guild leaders who are willing to stump up the airfare/hotel costs if they apply via <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SWTORGuildSummit">this link</a>. While there, they'll get to attend Q&A sessions with the developers, see new features planned, and give their feedback on the game.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080124043527/starwars/images/thumb/c/c6/Conference_room1.jpg/830px-Conference_room1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080124043527/starwars/images/thumb/c/c6/Conference_room1.jpg/830px-Conference_room1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I think that the only way such meetings will truly capture their subject matter (and justify the cost of getting there) is if they <i>insist </i><span style="font-style: normal;">that all attendees dress up in full character costume, hold their meetings in the Death Star conference room, and that the eternal matter of Who Is Better, the Sith or the Jedi, be settled by a foam lightsaber duel between the guild leaders. </span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span><a href="http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/StarWars_TheOldRepublic_fight-thumb-550x310-18861-540x304.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/StarWars_TheOldRepublic_fight-thumb-550x310-18861-540x304.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I also demand, in my capacity as a non-attendee, that the winner of the Sith/Jedi duel then face-off against a representative of the development team, with the prizes on offer being:</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">a) If the guild leader wins, a new feature of their design being incorporated into the game<i> whatever it may be</i>.</span> </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">b) If the development team representative wins, the guild leader has to man the customer service telephone lines, <i>for a week</i>.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I think that's fair.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">For more details, <a href="http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20120201">click here</a>.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-57184216443039934592012-02-05T13:17:00.003+00:002012-02-06T00:31:21.799+00:00We're Gonna Build This Land: Skyrim Creation Kit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cms.elderscrolls.com/sites/default/files/tes/screenshots/LakeMountains_wLegal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://cms.elderscrolls.com/sites/default/files/tes/screenshots/LakeMountains_wLegal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Skyrim was a special game. So special, in fact, that it was officially RPS' <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/12/24/the-games-of-christmas-%E2%80%9911-day-24/">Best Game of 2011</a>. But, like all Bethesda games, there was the feeling that it could be even more special. Worry no more! The Skyrim Creation Kit is out on Tuesday, and finally lets modders (who have apparently been tweaking Skyrim since almost before release) play around with building bits of Skyrim themselves. So far most of the tweaks have been cosmetic, but the Creation Kit will allow players to make their own models and maps.</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">This is potentially fabulously exciting – you only have to look at projects like <a href="http://www.nehrim.de/indexEV.html">Nehrim </a>or <a href="http://morroblivion.com/">Morroblivion </a>to see the quality that people can produce when let loose with Bethesda's Creation Kits, and we already know that much of the surrounding Tamriel is present in blurred form over the edge of Skyrim's mountains:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PlbA2qiXsf0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlbA2qiXsf0"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span></a></u></span></span></div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">I can't wait for someone to add in the details. So come on, modders. Impress us. You know what to do.</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/udM4VvSL2VA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-76062979810036399582012-02-04T21:19:00.005+00:002012-02-06T00:32:31.601+00:00Unassuming Group of Robots: Humble Android Bundle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSkMcd-Fa84OVsdsmx5EeEaeNQ0LFAM9f8xeLCdXZlakP_1eOGK5yO4qc7aSj0-KdAa8YQJWm6hEe3hE_ZAEApu3Rt1v0PGCgfQkKveBIutgg18aeD7-DUvtyuWjmjjTcwDZGrQQi74pz/s1600/HAB.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSkMcd-Fa84OVsdsmx5EeEaeNQ0LFAM9f8xeLCdXZlakP_1eOGK5yO4qc7aSj0-KdAa8YQJWm6hEe3hE_ZAEApu3Rt1v0PGCgfQkKveBIutgg18aeD7-DUvtyuWjmjjTcwDZGrQQi74pz/s400/HAB.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I do wonder about the <a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">Humble Bundles</a>. Surely a time will come when every indie game ever made will have been wrapped up with its peers, and sold for whatever the customer is willing to fork out. Ah-ha, says Humble Bundles – there is a solution. They're indie games, Jim, but not as we know them. This time, the games can be played <a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/"><i>on a phone</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.worldofgoo.com/images/t_title.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.worldofgoo.com/images/t_title.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So, here we have the genius puzzler <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/World-of-Goo/%20">World of Goo</a> (does anyone not own this game? Where have you been for the last four years? No, seriously, where?), the ambient-but-strangely-stressful <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/osmos/">Osmos</a>, inverse tower-defence <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/Anomaly:-Warzone-Earth/">Anomaly: Warzone Earth</a>, and <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/Tim-Langdell/%20">Tim Langdell-irritant</a> puzzle-platformer <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/edge/">EDGE</a>. World of Goo, the one game of the bunch to have been an <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/12/25/the-12-games-of-christmas-game-12/">RPS game of the year</a>, is only available if you pay above the average (as has become standard for the cherries on these particular cakes), which for this bundle is a quite respectable $6.05. As always, as much money as you want goes to the developers, or to the charities Child's Play and Electronic Frontier Foundation.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Osmos4a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Osmos4a.PNG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">PC codes are available for all the games here, but the real reason to be interested is the Android versions. Where once games like these cost £30 and came in boxes the size of those you'd keep cereal in, now you can buy them for whatever price you like, in no box at all, and play them on a pocket telephone the size of a wallet. Truly, we live in the future.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-10088634713299400832012-02-04T19:47:00.018+00:002012-02-05T17:40:27.804+00:00King of Payne: Max Returns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.rockstargames.com/screenshots/maxpayne3-162-1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://media.rockstargames.com/screenshots/maxpayne3-162-1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Male pattern baldness is a genetic curse. An affliction. Look at those poor men without hair. Do you think they want to be like that? Do you want to be like that? <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/may/30/advertising.sport">Cricket legend Shane Warne doesn't</a>. But who is Shane Warne kidding? Bald men are cool. Just look at Sir Patrick Stewart. There is only one way to look even better than bald. Bald with a <i>beard</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Truly mankind has never looked more dapper. Join me in nodding appreciatively at Arsenal hero and statue /despicable handball cheat (delete the second if not Irish) <a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/57791000/jpg/_57791911_thierry_henry_ap.jpg">Thierry Henry</a>. </span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.rockstargames.com/screenshots/maxpayne3-24-1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://media.rockstargames.com/screenshots/maxpayne3-24-1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Max Payne understands this, because Max is, as Andr<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">é 3000 would say, </span>ice-cool. For his next game, the first in nine years (it's been nearly a decade since the last Max Payne game. Think about that. Are you scared yet?), Max is shaving off his spiky locks and migrating that hair southwards. He's also added a bit of weight, and become a bit of a drunk. He'll have to be careful with those painkillers – hasn't anyone told him you can't mix paracetamol with alcohol?<br />
<br />
This game is developed by Rockstar rather than Remedy (Rockstar were the publisher on the first two games) and from the first look it doesn't have the same big American city <i>noir</i> vibe that the first two so successfully exploited. Good – there's only so far you can take that, and I felt that by the end of <i>Max Payne 2</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> the series had probably done it. S</span>hifting the focus to the slums of San Paolo while keeping the <i>noir </i>plotting gives it a fresh lick of paint, and I for one am excited. Welcome back, Max.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/J2UYToJyZaU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-17854331147554185062012-02-04T18:23:00.008+00:002012-02-05T22:31:12.962+00:00Uke-ant Always Get What You Want: MS Flight<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">You-kel-lay-lay. Oo-kal-el-ey. Yuke. Hawaii is the land of tiny guitars, and not, as you might have thought, the only sound you'll hear before being kung fu'd by a ninja. It also doesn't have seasons, which to a British person is like finding out that other countries have semi-skimmed milk bottle-tops in colours other than green. It blows your mind. Warmth, all year! What luxury, whatever George Clooney might think.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://flyawaysimulation.com/modules/Images/gallery/microsoft-flight/microsoft-flight-official-screenshot-buildings2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://flyawaysimulation.com/modules/Images/gallery/microsoft-flight/microsoft-flight-official-screenshot-buildings2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://flyawaysimulation.com/modules/Images/gallery/microsoft-flight/800/microsoft-flight-screenshot-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's also the starting setting for <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/games/flight/"><i>Microsoft Flight</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;">,</span> the Seattle giant's brand new free-to-play pay-to-expand sequel to <i>Flight Simulator</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, the epic franchise which gave sim-journo extraordinaire Tim Stone one of the most boring, yet rewarding, <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/04/10/the-loneliness-of-the-long-distance-simmer/">days of his career</a>. I would guess that you will be able to purchase add-ons to fly elsewhere before too long (thereby suggesting Microsoft Studios are taking their DLC inspiration from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Sold_the_World_%28album%29">David Bowie</a>), but for now you'll have to make do with one of the most beautiful places on Earth, looking for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_%28TV_series%29">fictional secret hatches </a> and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8639769.stm">real plastic beaches</a>. Any additional purchasing will be through GFWL.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://flyawaysimulation.com/modules/Images/gallery/microsoft-flight/microsoft-flight-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://flyawaysimulation.com/modules/Images/gallery/microsoft-flight/microsoft-flight-21.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I like the idea of </span><i>Flight</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, though – a scalable free sim experience could be just the way to build up an audience for this very unique and special style of game.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-61145200064100047742011-07-12T20:12:00.017+01:002012-02-04T20:28:41.250+00:00How To Own PC Gaming: The Rise and Rise of Steam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/13686/1345934-1330893_steam_logo_thumb_large.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/13686/1345934-1330893_steam_logo_thumb_large.gif"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br>
If it's a fight, they're winning. And the majority are cheering Valve on.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-own-pc-gaming-rise-and-rise-of.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-21381708468871549532011-07-09T14:29:00.028+01:002011-07-13T09:46:41.892+01:00The British Are Coming! Empire: Total War Game Diary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Empire_Total_War_cover_art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Empire_Total_War_cover_art.jpg" width="322"></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br>
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>Empire: Total War</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is a sprawling mess. It's an insanely huge game, upgrading the theatre of war from the country or continent of past </span><i>Total War</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> games to </span><i>three</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> enormous landmasses – all of Europe, the East coast of the Americas (the Caribbean and the top of South America included) and the Indian subcontinent. Play the Grand Campaign, and you're having to navigate all of them.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br>
</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's entirely appropriate.</div><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/07/british-are-coming-empire-total-war.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-30183253100022126442011-07-08T18:19:00.015+01:002011-07-11T20:47:11.381+01:00Beyond Good and Evil Retrospective Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/BGE-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/BGE-cover.jpg" width="297"></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br>
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>Beyond Good & Evil</i> holds a strange position in gaming.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br>
</div><a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/07/beyond-good-and-evil-retrospective.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-68160456125871074682011-05-25T18:27:00.026+01:002011-05-25T23:41:37.018+01:00All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Ayn_Rand1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Ayn_Rand1.jpg" width="321"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's all Ayn Rand's fault.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/05/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-65537992514808849432011-05-17T21:06:00.034+01:002011-07-12T19:17:18.665+01:00The Witcher 2, Skyrim, Dragon Age 2: The End of Dungeons and Dragons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Witcher_2_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Witcher_2_cover.jpg" width="285"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br>
Welcome to the New World.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/05/witcher-2-skyrim-dragon-age-2-death-of.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-75592318188840157672011-05-10T22:59:00.010+01:002011-05-18T22:06:21.977+01:00Let Me Take You Down: Perdido Street Station / China Miéville<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/PerdidoStreetStation%281stEd%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/PerdidoStreetStation%281stEd%29.jpg" width="262"></a></div><br>
Steampunk gothic horror; the screaming clank of dark iron machinery; birds who are men; cacti who are men; beetles who are men; men who have been remade into creatures of horror. Welcome to <i>Perdido Street Station</i>. How will you sleep at night?<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/05/let-me-take-you-down-perdido-street.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-70951689553861963822011-05-09T23:58:00.026+01:002011-05-18T22:07:37.330+01:00Fallen Hero of the First World War: Noel Godfrey Chavasse<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/N.G._Chavasse,_VC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/N.G._Chavasse,_VC.jpg" width="266"></a></div></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">About a week ago, the final man to have seen active service during the First World War, Claude Choules, died at the age of 110. With history that is now nearly a century distant it is all too easy to forget that those involved were but human beings who happened to live through extraordinary times. Their actions during those times defined them, and defines our history, and informs how we define ourselves. One such man was Noel Godfrey Chavasse, whose honours were all but unique.<br>
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</div><a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/05/fallen-hero-of-first-world-war-noel.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-80085711992485350352011-05-08T23:48:00.152+01:002011-05-17T22:27:41.990+01:00Norman Mailer's An American Dream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/AnAmericanDream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/AnAmericanDream.jpg" width="274"></a></div><br>
Controversial, sexist, vicious, brutal, melancholic. Forty-six years old, it still punches hard.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/05/norman-mailers-american-dream.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-6182695804472900192011-05-05T23:57:00.043+01:002011-05-10T20:10:54.405+01:00Vote 2011 UK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Vote_icon.svg/326px-Vote_icon.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Vote_icon.svg/326px-Vote_icon.svg.png" width="265"></a></div>Today, a minority of people in the UK voted on local elections, and on the referendum on changing the voting system. The results aren't in yet, but there are several points worth making about it right now.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/05/vote-2011-uk.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-16474306282367161362011-05-04T00:05:00.025+01:002011-05-20T18:34:09.908+01:00When Life Gives You Lemons: Portal 2 Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Portal2cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Portal2cover.jpg" width="290"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's empathetic. It's not big, but it is clever, and it is funny. It's <i>Portal 2</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/05/when-life-gives-you-lemons-portal-2.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-50876460316976616282011-04-28T13:23:00.003+01:002011-05-04T00:49:08.890+01:00Sound of the Gunners: Arsenal FC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Arsenal_logo_at_the_Emirates_Stadium.jpg/200px-Arsenal_logo_at_the_Emirates_Stadium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Arsenal_logo_at_the_Emirates_Stadium.jpg/200px-Arsenal_logo_at_the_Emirates_Stadium.jpg" width="289"></a></div>It's not the most edifying time to be an Arsenal fan, but since the season is almost over, now is a good time to assess where Arsenal stand at the close of 2010-2011.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/04/sound-of-gunners-arsenal-fc.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-80284356888595367712011-04-27T16:13:00.014+01:002011-05-09T01:15:11.140+01:00Nick Clegg: Or, how people learned to process their worrying by hating the Liberal Democrats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Nick_Clegg_by_the_2009_budget_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Nick_Clegg_by_the_2009_budget_cropped.jpg" width="301"></a></div><br>
So where did it all go wrong?<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/04/nick-clegg-or-how-people-learned-to.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-74240819207465749382011-04-21T23:43:00.001+01:002011-05-09T01:14:19.985+01:00Better Not Let Him In<i>People die. That's hard to imagine for a kid like me. They die and we put them in the ground.</i> <br>
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A young girl in a red cloak stands on a path through the forest. She is carrying food, and wine. Taking tentative steps, she walks towards the house that she knows lies at the end of the road. The path is asphalt tarmac, breaking into a mud track.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://grandmothers-house.net/images/robinscreen3B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://grandmothers-house.net/images/robinscreen3B.jpg" width="400"></a></div><br>
She sees a glimmer of light in the forest wilderness. She leaves the path. The glimmer is a flower, which she joyfully picks. She sees another in the distance, further from the bright safety of the road. It is dark in the forest. She runs for the flower, but in her haste she loses sight of it. She sees another girl though, taller and older than she is. She follows the girl.<br>
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<a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/04/better-not-let-him-in.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-76460457615905683102011-04-21T01:01:00.001+01:002011-05-25T20:00:14.946+01:00Elisabeth Sladen dies at 63Elisabeth Sladen was, by all accounts, a generous, lovely, and warm woman, and her premature death at just 63 from cancer is nothing short of a tragedy. That her most famous character is essentially a supporting role which she first played over thirty years prior to the modern revival five years ago, does not suggest the depth of her talent, or why she was so important. I never had the pleasure of meeting Liz Sladen and, sadly, now I never will. I will leave it up to people far more suitable than me to talk about her as a person, I can only offer a few reflections on her life on screen.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/sarahjane/800/sarahjane06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/sarahjane/800/sarahjane06.jpg" width="400"></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br>
</div><a href="http://iseegiants.blogspot.com/2011/04/elizabeth-sladen-dies-at-63.html#more">Read on »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6307652120722600064.post-26502156856953556462011-04-13T23:25:00.001+01:002011-05-09T01:13:17.767+01:00Tilting At Windmills<blockquote class="templatequote"><div>Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, "Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless." </div></blockquote><blockquote class="templatequote"><div>"What giants?" asked Sancho Panza. </div></blockquote><blockquote class="templatequote"><div>"Those you see over there," replied his master, "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length." </div></blockquote><blockquote class="templatequote"><div>"Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone." </div></blockquote><blockquote class="templatequote"><div>"It is easy to see," replied Don Quixote, "that thou art not used to<br />
this business of adventures; those are giants; and if thou art afraid,<br />
away with thee out of this and betake thyself to prayer while I engage them in fierce and unequal combat." </div></blockquote><blockquote class="templatequote"><div>So saying, he gave the spur to his steed Rocinante, heedless of<br />
the cries his squire Sancho sent after him, warning him that most<br />
certainly they were windmills and not giants he was going to attack. </div></blockquote><blockquote class="templatequote"><div>He, however, was so positive they were giants that he neither heard<br />
the cries of Sancho, nor perceived, near as he was, what they were,<br />
but made at them shouting, "Fly not, cowards and vile beings, for a<br />
single knight attacks you." </div></blockquote><blockquote class="templatequote"><div class="templatequotecite">—Part 1, Chapter VIII. <i>Of the valourous Don Quixote's success in the dreadful and never before imagined Adventure of the Windmills, with other events worthy of happy record. </i>Cervantes, <i>Don Quixote</i>.</div></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0