Troublegum

It looks like a PS2 that has been over-inflated. Still, at £425 who cares what it looks like!

Tough, tough, tough choice. But if I'm to go with just one it would be Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie. http://youtube.com/watch?v=X9e6AjRS1zg&sea...es%20to%20ashes No other song quite captures the atmosphere of a time and place in music as this track. A time when the 'do-it-yourself' mentality of punk evolved into the poppier, synth-driven New Wave. A perfect balance of synths and real instruments provide a lush alien sound quite unlike anything around. Bowie excels himself lyrically by making fun of, and practically killing off, one of his most famous creations, Major Tom . Even the music video, one of the very earliest proper efforts, set the standard for theatrics and video effects for the rest of the eighties. This is Bowie at his very peak, hell, it even reached number 1 in the charts.

... is the correct answer. SNK just wanted to make the ultimate premium system for hardcore arcade fans. By their own admission, it was never meant to outsell or directly compete with the Snes or Megadrive. The PS3 is a mainstream machine which only has a premium price because of a new type of optical media being shoehorned into it. Trying to kid yourself that you're buying something unique, exclusive and reassuringly expensive is desperate to say the least. Technologically, Neo Geo was light years ahead of the competition, PS3, however, is only a slight improvement (if that) over 360.

Exactly my point, though. If Sony slashes the price you can bet your bottom dollar that Microsoft won't be far behind. When this happens the gap between the two remains more or less the same as before. I can't see Microsoft allowing Sony to inch closer to their price point without a reaction. The difference in price is the biggest advantage they have.

The price is going to hurt Sony, maybe not in the immediate short term but definitely in the long run. Of course, I have no doubt that it will be a sell out on day one. There is also the fact that morons were willing to pay stupid money for Xbox 360s on Ebay last December and will do so again. However, when the machine is fully stocked in Game at £425 with no supply problems in February or March, then what? £425 will buy you TWO Xbox 360 cores (Yeah, a lower spec, gimped version but, hell, you could buy two! TWO!) £425 will buy you an Xbox 360 Premium and 3 games, with enough money left to spend on a play and charge kit or maybe lots of sweets and stabbing weapons. £425 could get you a Nintendo Wii (let's say it won't be more than £200), a DS Lite and a couple of games for both. Let's not forget about the Wii360 combo, too... It's when you look at things in this context that you realise how fucking overpriced the bloody thing is. Yes, it's the most powerful gaming system in the world, and yes, it will eventually host some of the best games just like the PS2 does. And yes, Blu-ray will make films look lovely on your spangly HD TV. In terms of value for money (£425 over five/six years!), all of the above options are preferable. Unless you only game with Playstation, natch. Or have a massive hard on for Blu-ray. Just think, it could take a least two years before PS3 reaches the same price of Xbox 360 as of now. As Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony all bid to out do each other, price cuts will probably be matched by all sides. PS3 will remain the most expensive throughout the entire life cycle of next gen and the 'two rival consoles for the price of one' reality will stay. This generation there wasn't a large gap between the price of the cheapest and most expensive, after Microsoft swiftly realised their error with the £299.99 tag for Xbox and slashed it by 100 quid. The gulf in price between the cheapest and most expensive consoles of the next generation is huge.

The strange thing about GRAW, and correct me if I'm wrong because I've only played the demo, is that despite being set in Mexico City you don't see any civilians. There is your squad and the nasty rebel soldiers and that's it. Where are the civilians getting caught up in the crossfire, cowering, hiding and trying desperately to preserve their lives? Where are the news reporters and cameramen getting in the way for an exclusive wth Channel 9? Where are the police marking off areas and controlling public access? Why can't I break down a door to a house or building and use it as a safe haven while all hell is breaking loose? The power is there to make all these things happen, yet we still have empty shells for levels populated by the good guys and the bad guys and nothing else.

Just out curiosity, how much did the 3DO cost at launch? EDIT: In the UK, I meant.

What an excellent name! It can't possibly fail! Etc!

I seem to remember Italy 1990, ironically made by US Gold, being rather good. In fact, it was about the only CPC footie game I really enjoyed, although there was a strange bug in the first release that meant the loser of the World Cup final was declared the winner. EDIT: Ah shit, I see you've already played it judging from your US Gold game list-a-thon. Erm, Gazza II, perhaps?

Lockdown is a complete abomination, not worthy of the Rainbow Six name. Wasn't it done by a different team or something? Anyhoo, I'd happily play a new Rainbow Six 'expansion', even if all the levels are from the old PC game, just to erase the bitter taste left by Lockdown.

That is absolutely priceless.

I see...

Heh, I remember an issue that had a picture of Chun -Li high kicking on the front, needless to say it was bought with much excitement. Only afterwards did I realise that under 'Street Fighter 2' there wasn't the words 'preview' or 'review' but rather '... the story so far'. Bastards. If I had seen those mocked up pictures posted in this thread at around that time I would have exploded.

It's not as bad as some people make out. It has the first West Coast level, Small Apple from the second (now set at night) and a whole new Glitter Oasis level (think of Vegas) which isn't too great, sadly. Some say it's been bastardized beyond recognition, what with the Crazy Hop and multiple customers per ride added to the mix, but there's still some classic Crazy Taxi action to be had. Worth picking up cheap if you can find it.

Yoink! I should upgrade to a more recent version. I'm still on 0.84.

Lucky Charms were great, well, as a kid. I'm not sure I could cope with the sugar overload these days. Does anyone remember when Ricicles had the same marshmallow pieces in?

Amusingly, the local news on the radio (Kestrel FM!) was reporting the story of a possible delay. They said that the PS3 had, and I shit you not, "powerful DVD capabilities and graphics". I don't know if they meant powerful graphics or just graphics, but I sure can't wait for the powerful DVD! So, there you go... LOCAL RADIO IS SHIT.

Oh my Gawdfathers. This is the first game to make me really want a PSP, even though Powerstone 2 wasn't that great.

First ever double post. I think...

All stolen from avatars, well, apart from the last two...

More colours and a few C64 style, higher res, hardware sprite tricks. I don't even know why they were released, they weren't a massive step up from a standard CPC and certainly had nowhere near the power to challenge the Amiga or ST. I mean, the GX4000, what the hell was that all about?

Joe Blade am cry.

Seedless grapes are the best. I can eat hundreds at a time like sweets. Healthy sweets. Hweets.

Yeah, sorry about that, Captain Compassion. I obviously aimed my comment at the little man, oh Christ, do I feel silly now! Atari have spent loads and loads of money on worthless licensed shit that nobody wants. Anyway, they deserve to go down for Driv3r (hgnk) alone.

Reap what you sow, you useless fuckers.