blackplastic

Chill out... I was just saying that a lot of people are hyping that game and I don't think it looks up to much. Several 'next gen' games have the USP of 'lots of characters on screen at once' but I don't see the appeal.

I am *so* sure that isn't going to be all it's cracked up to be. All these games with hundreds of characters on screen at once... Yet I bet they all still take turns to attack you... Where's the gameplay I ask you?!

But weren't the spice girls nominated one year...? It's token-ism I think.

Oh not seen that. Must try to do worse next time.

Have I seen that? What happens and where?

That music shop is great!

But they're not as bad as the Kaisers are they... OOOoooOOOooOOOOooOOOOoooOOOooOOOOOoOOOOOOoooooOOOooOooooOOooooOOOOOoh.... Etc.

What the hell are they doing in it. I can't be arsed to live anymore. Kill me now. It'll probably be MIA cos urban always win... The Mercury's get worse every year.

I've decided it's weird (yeah, obvious comment) and a bit like Project Zero. Not sure why, I think it's a combination of the Japanese stylings and the 3rd person movement / first person combat stuff. And it always seems to be night-time.

You're talking about a game that is easily in the ten best games on the PS2 (IMHO)... In no way is it "meh". I remember my first hour playing Vice and it blew me away, far far more than my first hour in SA. In Vice City Rockstar answered what most people asked of them in that it contained motorbikes, you could go in buildings, change clothes, you really had a sense of building up an 'empire', you could fly... The list goes on... And the soundtrack was a revolution on its own. The first game soundtrack that featured period music by original artists seemlessly integrated in game. It could even be argued that Vice City has influenced popular music (at least in the UK) with the increase in interest in 80s music (see the endless compilation albums) and certain specific songs featured in the game (How much has Oliver Cheatem's 'Get Down Saturday Night' been used recently, along with covers of things like Hall & Oats' 'Out of Touch', Yes' 'Owner of a Lonely Heart', Toto's 'Africa'... The soundtrack has acted as a sample checklist for cheesy pop-house records). The atmosphere just hung together better as a cohesive whole. San Andreas may have been larger geographically, but I know where I would rather spend time, or for that matter which city I would most like to see get re-made for the next-gen. Rant over.

One of my most loved t-shirts has that logo on. So many people ask me about it, whether I believe and stuff. Ended up having a mad bus driver telling me how cassettes are much better than CDs because they were more durable and CDs were just a conspiracy by the record labels to make us by more music (because they fuck up more). I was like, "one to town please..."

I went to uni in Sheffield, home of the longpigs, and found a bit in the sleeve for 'The Sun Is Often Out' that listed their information line as a Sheffield area code number. We rang it (this was in about 2002/3). Old lady answers the phone: "Hello?" My mate: "Hi, are the Longpigs there?" OL: "No, I think you have the wrong number..." That was how I figured out that the longpigs were long gone.

If you were only allowed to do one of the following, which would you choose? 2. Listen to Music Which of the following best represents your attitude to music? 1. I am passionate about music and it is one of the most important things in my life How often do you go to see live music? 3. 2-3 times a year In total, how many albums do you own on all formats? 8. Between 500 and 1000 (towards the upper end I think, but who knows how many?!) When was the last time you bought music? 1. Within the last week

Such a cliche.

Ahhh, but the music, the settings, the suites... 80s Miami is a better world than Gangsta California.

Truedat. Miami. 80s. And SA is too big... I'm still haven't started the last mission and haven't even thought about most of the side missions yet. Overwhelming

Sadly I've already discovered the delights of these two... just thought I should encourage you to give them a shot. David by GusGus is sooooo good. EDIT: I would like to try Murdock's Vitalic CD though, but I don't know if I have anything I want to swap...

Normally I might agree, but their recent(-ish, i.e. since the reform) cover of Warren Zevon's 'Ain't That Pretty At All' convinces me otherwise. God it's good.

Yeah, but those are my reasons for not always using indies. Gamestation would probably be my shop of choice, but I'd normally use the internet anyway.

Places like Game and Gamestation are often cheaper and easier to come buy. My nearest indie is total shit. They sell a PSP with Twisted Metal OR Tony Hawk for £299 on import. If you want to buy the other game too that'll set you back £50. The insist on selling stuff like DMC3 for £35 even though Woolworths down the road are selling it for £20. And their stock is sooooo out of date.

You sir are ill. How can you not love these CDs?!

See here for how to get the GC version for £23... How budget do you want it?!

Ravern's CD: 1. RJD2 – Chicken-Bone Circuit This is lovely and a great start to the album. I had both RJD2 albums on my computer at one stage but think I might have lost them during HD-gate (my external hard-drive failed a couple of months back). I never really properly listened to them, but this makes me think I should have. 2. Doves – Snowden Great track from a good album. I bought this a while back but still haven’t listened to it that much, but this song is good (if not as distinctive as ‘Black and White Town’). 3. The Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out) This is great. I’d not heard of them before but it now appears that they’re everyone’s favourite band. I’ve now bought the album on emusic.com. 4. Kasabian – Processed Beats Hmmm… Never sure what I think of Kasabian, they’re kind of too like the stone roses and I’m not that into them either (I know that’s probably blasphemy, I was always more of a Primal Screams man myself). Still quite enjoyable, but not “great”. 5. The Stone Roses – Love Spreads Guess what I’m going to say…! Actually, as Stone Roses go this isn’t too bad, but I’m just not that into them. 6. Soulwax – Too Many DJs Great band, even better DJs. Still, love this and have done for years. 7. Dark Tranquillity – White Noise/Black Silence This is a bit heavy for my liking. Just not my kind o fthing really, sorry! 8. Gorky – Mia This is pretty cool, no idea what it is though… 9. Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Zephyr Song Kind of overplayed but still quite nice. I went off the Chilis a bit post-‘One Hot Minute’ but there’s nothing wrong with this, it’s just overplayed. 10. Willy Mason – Oxygen I didn’t think I’d heard any Willy Mason before this but I do recognize it. This is great and makes me wish I didn’t have to come to work. Very summery. 11. Hot Hot Heat – Oh, Goddamnit This is great. Not listened to any Hot Hot Heat except the first album. I thinking I should. 12. Mos Def – Mathematics Mos Def is a personal favourite of mine anyway (as you can see from the fact he is on my June Mix CD). This track is great. 13. Katatonia – Cold Ways Ahh, the other metal track. Again, too heavy for me… sorry! 14. Jurassic 5 – Quality Control I used to love Jurassic5 but felt the second LP was nowhere near as great as the first one (and ‘Concrete Schoolyard’ in particular) and as such stopped paying too much attention. IIRC this is off the second album, but it is still pretty enjoyable. 15. MF Doom – Saliva This is pretty good. Never really got around to listening to MF Doom but this is cool. 16. Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl Lovely track. One of my favourites. 17. The Libertines – The Good Old Days This is pretty good. Find it difficult to see past all the BS with the libertines but I like this. 18. Billy Bragg – Levi Stubbs’ Tears I enjoyed this too. Not consciously heard any Billy Bragg before but this is good. Overall a good CD, very varied but introduced me to some interesting stuff I hadn’t heard before mixed with some old favourites. Cheers Ravern

Sent yesterday so you should receive soon...

Yeah, it's like... "Wow, look, we can have loads of stuff on screen at once!" Me: "Yeeeeees..... But it all looks crap!" Rockstar were pleased with having 100 people on screen at once ages ago with State of Emergency. That was average too.