So I was watching my sister playing some Saints Row the 3rd, I remembered Ryan loving that game.. The whole Fish debacle this weekend, Fish has hung out with Ryan in the studio, so again, Ryan popped up.. Which got me thinking about how many things in my life he touched somehow.

This is probably obvious to most people, it just never occurred to me.. The games I've played whilst listening to the bombcast.. So many games.. He has made me laugh, think or react to stuff so many times while I'm in a game. I've probably listened to a hundred hours of bombcasts while playing MMOs. I remember grinding gold in WoW:WotLK while chuckling at the bombcast, it being the only thing that made that grinding bearable (says a lot about a game when you need something to supplement it due to how fucking dull one aspect of it is....)

Just like my memories of late 90s PC RPGs and early online fps'ing are remembered alongside how crappy my cheap-ass PC was at the time, how rubbish my 14" CRT monitor with magnet damage was (different color tints in all 4 corners) and the feeling of being young and fit.. The games I've played in the last 5 years or so have been imbued with memories of Ryan, and I'll always remember these games that way. Not only that, there are countless quick looks that have made me go buy those games.. And entire franchises are imbued with Ryanness, such as X-Com and Fallout etc. And even more crazy.. Consoles in general. Ryan was clearly a console guy, and I've not really been into consoles the past 3-4 generations, so most of what I've seen from consoles have come through Giant Bomb.

Podcasts, won't hear a podcast without comparing the host to Ryan. Live web shows, Ryan did it best. Shitty movies based on video games.. Luchadores and deer.. And luchadeers.. Tested.com, won't see Will without hearing "what the fuck are you SAYING???" in my head, that goes for the word "Executable" and "Executive" as well.

And that god damn Return of the Jedi ending with Ryan.. I'll never be able to watch that movie again without a facefull of tears and snot - And I'm fine with that.

Just thought I'd post my initial thoughts about Magicka. Played a couple of hours of it now. If you like spellcasting, just go get this game right now. This thing is pure genius. You combine different elements to create your own spells. Rock, Shield and Water, for example, creates a rain cloud. Once your enemies are drenched, do an Arcane + Lightning to cast a beam of electricity on your wet targets for extra damage. I feel I'm only scratching the surface of this game so far. The combos and spells offer a depth I've never seen in any other game. Yes, the spells are tricky to remember at times, especially the longer combos (fire earth shield fire earth is the sequence for a wall of tiny vulcanos) but that only seems fair. After all, casting spells is a tricky matter.
 
I have instant love for this game. The humor is funny as hell also. Especially if you're from one of the scandinavian countries. There's a sort of simlish language in this game, and it's got some recognizeable words from the norwegian/swedish/danish languages. Absolutely hilarious. 
 
I might make a full review of this in a couple of days, as I'm unsure of how many will actually bother playing this and/or reviewing it. It's featured on the main page in steam right now, so it might actually sell a few copies. 
 
10€ right now, and it puts any action RPG combat system to shame.