hauntingthedark

My friend Bobby Ferguson has it on good authority that Bayonetta 2 will be making its way to Xbox One. It's ok Giantbomb.com, I'll get the news stories for you.

3.03pm. Saturday. It's was a dank, drizzly sort of afternoon, the kind you couldn't get a megastar out of bed for. It's ok though as I wasn't out. I was but I wasn't. I hid from the rain behind an 11mm glass panel as the bus I was in took me to the city center. Today was a normal day but not for long.

As the bus came to a shuddering stop at the bus station I got up and went to get off when I noticed a bag on the seat across from me. It was a bag that looked full and when I picked it up I could see it had 8 Xbox 360 games. I thought to myself "Ritchie Rich never had this sort of luck". I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew the owner of the bag as I could see him in the line getting off the bus but never gave him a second glance because I was like a kid in a candy store.

What do you do in that situation?

I could have ran up to him and said I had found his bag of Xbox delights but I didn't want to run on a bus and cause alarm to other passengers. I also didn't want to be a fool by shouting out only to find out he was listening to music so I kept calm and waited for the line of people to get off. I then made the decision to wave to them as they passed the bus after getting off. A cheeky wink was reserved for the owner of the games or you could make that a knowing wink.

Needless to say I was in a good mood. Such a good mood that I hadn't realized that everyone else had shuffled off the bus leaving me and my bargain of the day. I almost had my head in the bag at this point. FEAR 3, Far Cry 2, Bioshock 2, Dragons Dogma, Mortal Kombat, FIFA 12, WWE 12 and Gears Of War 2.

I then heard a voice say that the service was terminated. I didn't care. I got the bag under my are and almost found myself skipping off the bus but I didn't dare not give the driver one of my trademark knowing winks. I parted the bus with the words "Enjoy your shift, mate!". The driver said nothing. Priceless.

As I went down to road I could see some of the people from the bus. I had a quick scan of the area kind of like the way a terminator would. I then saw a speck on in the distance. It was the owner of this tidy little bundle. I thought about shouting "I'VE GOT YOUR GAMES. HERE, DO YOU WANT THEM?" but I thought better of it and decided to mouth it silently. "I've, got your games. here, do you want them?". He didn't hear me although I was alarmed a few seconds later when he suddenly stopped.

I stopped too and thought to myself that this had all the hallmarks of someone about to do an about turn. I was right and went gears of war still behind a nearby bench for cover. He started padding his jacket and pockets which puzzled me as even an idiot like him would know that the games would never fit in his pockets.

Caution. He was walking back.

Oh, no. I had gone prone now as I peeked out to see how far he was. I was getting closer. I used my knowledge of Metal Gear Solid to help me stay hidden. With one eye open I saw him going past. He was heading for the bus which was now parked up just a few feet from where it stopped for us to get off. I sat up and planted myself on the bench. Watching the man who's games I had found bang on the door of the bus I began to shake my head thinking "YOU'LL NEVER FIND 'EM". The bus driver put his paper to one side and opened the door. I saw the driver shaking his head as if in agreement with me. Then I saw them going up to the back of the bus. A minute or two late I saw them both walking towards the front again. And again the bus driver was shaking his head. I could see that the man with the missing games bundle was a bit animated. I hope he wasn't taking it out on the driver as I don't think you could blame a man who only had eyes on the road. By all accounts I was happy with the drivers driving and wouldn't hesitate to get on his bus.

I hid the bag behind me as I saw the man getting off the bus. He then walked in a different direction to the one he came. I was in the clear. I proceeded to continue my day although I was slightly mad at the man for walking back to the bus as I had to wait in the rain for around 3 minutes but it felt like 5. I went to several shops and had a nice lunch before heading home. When I got home I kicked my shoes off and started unlocking achievements.

So have any of you had such cracking luck?

P.S If anyone is up for a game of gears multiplayer, just give me a message. Must have voicechat and at least 10,000 Gamerscore. I might try you out for a few rounds first and if your any good we will see how things go from there.

Thanks for reading guys.

Five-ken-tallo.

What?

Exactly. A concept I came up a while ago with. Deep in a trance, just me, the water and a fair amount of bubble bath I marked out the idea for a different genre of game that I would have made hadn't it not been for my lack of funds.

F.i.v.e. - k.e.n. - t.a.l.l.o.

A first person shooter with a difference. Basically the twist (or bubble bath to the water ratio) is that there are MECHS and some of the action takes place on land. Not only that the action takes place on water or in the air.

Key features to this gaming world that I think could be expanded upon if the developer wants to buy my idea.

1) Not just boring old face to face combat. Patrol the skies and mark your target.

2) Simplify the battlefield by removing fog-of-war features or as I like to call it 'Bubble-bath-washy-up-time'.

3) Mech's that you can call in after racking up enough kills. Upgrades to boot.

4) Map changing evens like a drawbridge or fake wall that goes up or down meaning infinite routes to and fro the action or to the action area.

5) I would also introduce the phone from Grand Theft Auto 4 and let you contact your buddies. Easiest way that this could be done is to write a message via party chat messaging and wait for the game to upload it directly to a players phone in the game. Strategy on the fly.

6) Safe house for supplies. If you are playing with 2 other people then one of you has a key for the supply crate. If that player dies then the key is moved to another player meaning its a battle of wits.

7) Skyrim style swords for melee combat with the same mechanics from the batman games. Sure popular to boot.

8) I'd have micro-transactions for colors jackets, swords, snake pets, and cars and stuff. Make a pretty penny. Y not.

9) Use synth music from the blade runner movies and add those flashy cut scenes to boot.

10) No world map so communication is key. Teamwork is critical so only for the party chaters.

That's my gaming idea. Have you got any ideas you are willing to share?

When people say that all the genres are done I say nay and that it can be if you just simmer in the bath will thinking about what's been made and what hasn't.

Cheers.

Watched Nintendo Direct. Wasn't expecting a lot. Maybe Iwata in his green Luigi hat making gestures directly to me while announcing every little. There was some of that but they also showed a little more of Bayonetta 2 which was cool although I think they might have introduced a new character that makes me less excited for the game. I didn't get his name but it was to dude in yellow, a boy, teenager, Final Fantasy 13 style chump. My main concern is that he is playable and that he hangs around for too long. Obviously I don't know that but I hope my feeling about it is wrong. Also not sure about Bayonetta's new hair cut which I know was revealed a while back. It makes her look old.

Cut to my point. I thought it was a weak showing by Nintendo and the almost instant focus on 3DS goes to show that for all their talk of changes and new business models have not been put in place yet. I felt like they should have opened the show with a focus on Wii U, the struggling system, not the 3DS which couldn't be doing much better in my opinion.

It has been well documented about all Nintendo's lack of support form 3rd parties and also of their failure to market the product properly. Why a company with the resources of Nintendo can't get the right people in place to start a campaign to ensure the system (controller and system) get a wider exposure is beyond me. There is almost no marketing on TV and all the headlines I've been hearing about have been of delays and how key developers have no plans to bring 'insert title' to Wii U.

So it is fair to say that I am excited for some of the games I have seen (and sadly nothing was shown that I wasn't expecting), Bayonetta 2, X, Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 all look to be coming along well if not soon enough but I think that the console cannot be saved with a handful of games such as this. Going with Nintendo's track record I shouldn't have been expecting anything else but I was fooled by their reveal for the console over a year or two ago.

Back when they revealed this thing I thought they had turned a corner with all the big names they dropped who wanted to make games for the system, now that has all fallen away and people at the top of the company will not come out and admit it.

They want this box (the Wii U) to take center stage in peoples living rooms throughout the world but the systems lack of promoting and features mean that it is more likely to lay in a bedroom next to other consoles which offer basic functions such as DVD and music playback.

How does Nintendo get things so wrong with the Wii U when they are and have done so well with the 3DS? I won't get rid of my Wii U but at this point I feel like I am going on their past successes and a sense of loyalty that I had since the N64 days of old. There comes a time that you have to think that there is no way back and if I am honest I think I have known that for years. There is no harm in hoping they can change the path for this console but I am not going to place any bets on it. Having a PS4 which like XBOX One will only get stronger with a library that will grow quickly by the end of the year means that I have an ear to the ground were Nintendo is concerned but an eye on the future.

So what was your view of Nintendo's latest update-a-thon? Do you think there are likely to be changes to the marketing of the console? What do you hope for at E3 and beyond? What impressed or disinterested you more with the latest Direct?

8.03am. I could murder another go of Dark Souls but I decide to get ready for another day on the couch. 8.14am and I am ready and have only the TV for company as my other half has been away working since 6.00am. I continue to play Dark Souls although I am thinking that I should probably buy something Valentine-like for her when she gets home. I soon relegate that idea to the distant memory pile and continue the game.

I am not good at Dark Souls and don't think I will ever complete it. Every time I die I want to blame the controls and smash my controller so I guess it may not be the ideal game for me. Another game that is not for me is probably any Pokémon game ever made. No one to play against, I don't know all the different types and so there is no real reason for me to CATCH EM ALL because the game is easy enough against the COM to get by with just 6-7 well leveled critters.

I try not to play the PS3 all day and get the house in some sort of order for her coming home. Needless to say her face told me that I hadn't done enough by the time she got home although it never stopped her handing me a big box of chocolates and a bunch of flowers. There was also a big card but after shaking it I made my mind up that it had no money contents so I used it to write down a code I found online for a free trial of some xbox live I can't remember the name of and may never try.

She cooks the dinner anyway while I try my best to get past a tricky part in Dark Souls. Does she even understand how hard it is to choose what I want for dinner when I have so many monsters after me? Dinner goes down a treat as its been a long day. I then decide that's enough Dark Souls for one day (10 hours and about 3 hours progress).

We then come to a stumbling block. She wants to watch Catfish the TV show double bill and I want to watch the Soccer match that was on earlier (timely repeat!). I decide to watch the Soccer game which was pretty good for a 0-0 draw. I looked back at the final whistle and she is no longer sitting there. I walked into the bedroom and she was sound asleep.

A Special day. I will say.

#

*Original source's are my note pad and memories because I was there.

January 19th and the plane was delayed (again). I looked up at the board and it stated Lonebrower City and next to the flight number was the word Delayed and the number 7. I said to one of the baggage handlers "...is that 7 minutes, 7 hours or 7 days..." he looked back blankly "...sir, please see the desk over there...".

I made my way over to the service desk and a woman there confirmed it was a 7 hour delay. I joked "...oh no, I only brought a Vita...". Judging by her blank expression I was about to ask if she was related to the baggage handler from before but didn't.

7 hours to kill and then hopefully I would make my way to Larbon Park for my interview with Terrance Funk (no not the wrestler). Terrance Funk, owner and chief ideas man at CrankyZone Games Limited, the independent but somewhat successful indie developer from Cartworth West Dover, who's credits include 'BORDERLINE NUTS' (a game about nuts) and 'Second Round, Round 8.5' (the first game in the series. Go. Figure) on the good old Android device and for a time on flash as a free download.

I got some coins out and bought a coffee and bun and powered up the vita (volume down of course to conserve battery). My chosen games for this trip happened to be Persona the Golden (a game that I only ever heard great things about). After 20 minutes or so I was racking my brains wondering why this game was held in such high regard and why the board still stated 7 hour delay????

I am not saying Persona is not a good game but I was not blown away like a plastic bag in the wind. For starters there is not first person shooting. What's up with that? (fish bait anyone?)

A few hours past and my Vita died. Shame I was reading some interesting text in the game and was dying to know if there was someone inside that bear thing that appears a short while in. I am guessing that gets revealed later?

Sometime later the board changes, 1 hour to take off. By this time I was tired, but I was still making mental notes and scribbles on my pad for the big interview with Mr. Funk.

Finally, about to board.

On the plane and watching the woman show what to do if the plane starts to do a nosedive kind of like you'd see from the guys on a flight simulator quick look. I was more interested in what movies they had to offer. 'THE GRINCH', really? It's January now!

Other films on offer: 'Jurassic Park', 'A film staring John Cena' and 'Lady and the Tramp'. Riveting stuff.

We land I am just wanting to get to my hotel. The car that was supposed to be there for me wasn't so I decided to hitchhike my way to the hotel via the shoes I had on my feet.

Got to my hotel and put my bags in the hall. I shouldn't have done that because the hall was for everyone and was also on the other side from my room meaning that when I went to get them a short time later, the bag was gone and I would have to find out by other means of who was in the bear suit in Persona the Golden and what it was like to wear the same clothes for the third day straight.

Next day I made my way to the to the main desk of the hotel to ask if any bags were handed in. The man behind the desk just shrugged. The Jerk.

I popped my cap on and checked my back pocket for passport, notepad and map and made my way out on to the streets in which was a cold but bright day.

I eventually found Berker's Coffee House, south east of the hotel. I could murder a Latte right now and the douche that lifted my belongings so I was happy to take a seat and wait for Terrance to show. I had a short call will him earlier that morning and he ensured me he would be there around 11am.

True to his word Terrance arrived right on time. I ordered another Latte and sat back and began to throw my questions at him like a man who had questions to throw.

Me: So Terrance, do you have any plans to make any new games on either the phones or handheld device market, I know you've been doing other things for some years?

Terrance: Time will tell. Time will tell. I have a few ideas and haven't ruled out trying to make something for the phones market or even the indie stores on handhelds.

(It was the when I cracked. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore...)

Me: Terrance Funk...someone's...someone's stolen...stolen...my...PlayStation Vita.....Whaaa.....Whaaa!!!!

Terrance: Oh, golly gosh. That's a tough pill to swallow, even for hippopotamus never mind a human being such as yourself.

Me: Sorry Terrance, I shouldn't have played my hand like that. Can we conclude this interview for now?

Terrance: Sure.

And with that, the interview was over. I finished my Latte and put my cap back on and headed head first back to the hotel in preparation for tomorrows flight home. I must have slept for 10 hours that afternoon and woke up just to have some cereal and see what was on TV. I was surprised to see that Jurassic Park was on the first station I checked. Got to love that bit when the T-Rex eats the guy who is hiding in the toilet. I mean, if that guy was having trouble 'going', despite killing him in a violent way, I believe the T-Rex sort of helped him for a few seconds with his constipation.

I set my alarm for 5.30 and got showered and hitchhiked my way back to the Airport using the same method as before. This time there was no delay, just the hour and a half I was expecting to wait having had to check in early. I had asked the reception at the hotel one more time about my bags before I left but there was no one at the desk, just a sign saying 'Staff are carrying out important duties'. What's more important than serving someone who happens to be at the reception desk, the focal point of any hotel, a place for information?

I explored the Airport and walked towards a small arcade area. There was a Pinball game with Aladdin plastered all over it. There was a note on the place for a coin which read, to be repaired on the 17th. It was now the 20th so clearly that had not happened. I would have been less disappointed if they had just wrote OUT OF ORDER. Other games on this miniature ancient E3 show floor was the blocky looking SEGA RALLY with steering wheel. I had a go while some kid sat in the other seat pretending he was racing. The game had its own sound effects so I was puzzled by his attempts to sound like a real racing car. I was not hitting any lap records with this chap around.

HOUSE OF THE DEAD. Yes, I played it. Its been a while but I can confirm the graphics are not as you remember and there is nothing scary or fun about it anymore.

Last but not least was a little game I recall being called CRAZY TAXI. I had played it many times before but this time I was having more difficulty getting the customers to their destination as someone had decided to smear the screen with what looked like strawberry flavored milkshake. I should have probably looked closer at the screen before putting my money in but I just saw the machine and got flashbacks of when I used to be a virtual cabby. The buttons also seemed to have taken some of the pink colored liquid but I managed to get 2 people to their destination. Pizza hut being one and the park being the other.

I took my seat on the plane and got out my note pad for a premeditated game of Noughts & Crosses with myself and the person at the front of the plane giving out safety advice. Each time they pointed in a certain direction I took that to be their choice for square on the grid. If they had chosen a space I had filled I would simply wait for their next gesture before continuing. If they had finished the safety part I would use other ways of determining what space to cross or circle. For example, the drink on the left or drink on the right of the drinks cart that had been removed by the attendant. I call this FUN WITHOUT VITA.

A while into the flight a page fell from my note pad. It was my irate letter that I had intended to leave in the lobby of the hotel.

It read:

Dear Staff, this is not your AVON lady calling.

A bag goes missing and what does one do? Nothing.

I made my own bed this morning as I didn't want to come home again and have to do it. I thought there was someone employed for that?

Why does the phone in my room not work, it only plays music?

Why does my radio not play music when my phone does?

Why is there a sign on reception that basically reads that no one cares?

Why is it that when there is someone on reception, it appears as if they cannot be bothered?

Why do you have so many visitors when service is this bad?

If you can answer any of these questions can you call me back on 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - -. Thanks.

The plane landed after what was a turbulent descent. I thought all in all it was a good trip although I thought Terrance might have opened up a bit more. I am sure we will keep in touch via email and I wouldn't rule out going over to meet him again. I for one wouldn't stay in the same hotel but I now know what to do and not what to do.

Thanks for reading.

*I put this here to give a little back to the community as I thought you could all do with an article from a different perspective.

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin'

I am not trolling when I say that it is my feeling that Giantbomb.com as a gaming website has got worse to the point when I don't know why I bother with the content anymore (and makes me want to write a forum post like this one).

As a paid member I see no reason to renew my subscription as I can't help but thing how lazy the team are. I am not putting it down do another "quite gaming period" because content for a gaming site doesn't always have to come from new games and quick looks for them. I just believe that they do very little in a week and haven't really offered anything fresh for months if not years.

I am sure to get cut down in the comments if anyone is that bothered but I doubt I will be that interested in reading views on how I am wrong. As I said before, I am not trolling, I am giving an honest opinion about the state of the website.

There used to be a day when I thought "great, a 3 hour podcast, why are Giantbomb the only ones who have a long podcast when everyone else barley passes the hour mark?". Not any more. I find it has got stale with the 40+minutes of ramblings that often have nothing to do with games. Its not entertaining and maybe it would be best for them to do an hour podcast with more structure. Again, that would probably mean more effort and all I see with the Giantbomb team are a bunch of guys who turn on the microphone and say whatever. No prep. No structure. Just a bloated mess with the odd bit of interesting information.

It's not like I don't like the team but every week when it comes round to Brad to update on what he's been doing or what he's been playing, he almost always comes across with a tired, bored, disinterested response, almost reluctant in his delivery as if he wasn't getting paid for his time or like he has been put on the spot so has very little to contribute. A lot of puffing and saying you didn't play anything or leave the house is not riveting. Maybe it would be a good Idea for the team to look at interesting articles, games, or ideas and make more of an effort to breath some life into the bloated old Bombcast.

I feel the same way about Drew. It seems after Ryan, Drew got in on Podcasts and again, I have nothing against him but he seems to always be talking about sport or some sort of running, gym or training exercise he did at the weekend. For me, he might as well tell me about how long he spent in the toilet and how many flushes there was. Dull. Give him credit, he does try to sound as big and as loud as some of the other guys but it just sounds forced.

The main reason I come here is for Jeff''s views and knowledge and usually when the 40+ minutes of talking food and other nonsense is over on the Bombcast, I often find some interesting stuff in what he says about games he's currently playing or games he has seen in demo etc. He is very knowledgeable and his Jar time videos can sometimes be one of the better things about the site although they are few and far between. I think he too could cut back on all the nonsense though as when he starts it just seems to spur the rest on until someone defuses the filler after a good half hour.

Another part of the site that really bothers me is the Unprofessional Fridays as it seems to be the most mundane show they could make. I have enjoyed watching them play games on the sofa for years and there is potential for some great content but every time I stay up late to watch Unprofessional Fridays (Kick off is usually 11.30pm in the UK) it is filled with the worst 'games' and a dull half hour is almost a given.

In the last few times I have watched it there seems to be no end to the extensive browser based games or that one which was basically moving the keys to highlight numbers that were supposed to represent characters in a RPG where all the battles are via the text meaning boredom for most people watching. There are to many crappy so called games that take up that show that I don't bother to stay up and might flick through the next day to see what they played. That usually ends up being a disappointment too as there will be a ton of games with the likes of Drew moving a mouse over a graph or speedometer or clicking and enabling buttons for some program he found online. Boring.

I know there was a show called Thursday Night Throw Down which had many 'normal' gaming moments. Whatever happened to that? too much effort is it?

I'm sure people would rather see games they have already played (Mortal Kombat, Burnout, Tony Hawk, etc) than much of what you get every Friday. Why don't they ever get the N64 out for some local multiplayer? That's just an example. Why don't they bring a game that they are enjoying at home and play a bit on the show and show people where they are and how they are liking it?

Also as I see it, Giantbomb is not every good or up today on the news front either. I just begin to wonder what they do all day. What is a typical day for the Giantbomb team. I can only assume that it is taking things at a very leisurely pace like you would see when they used to bother making those phone recorded I love Monday videos. Remember that? Remember how they'd rack there brains for content for the week? "I guess we could do something with that...maybe?" Don't sound so sure Giantbomb staff.

So just to end and repeat, this is not an attempt to be a big dirty troll, this is just a view from someone who has lost patience with this place I used to like. You may disagree with me but be honest, could these guys not be doing a better job of things especially as there are many loyal users who have paid money to help them keep doing (or maybe that should read NOT DOING) what they are doing?

Its not a valid argument to say the site is the way it is right now because there is a lack of new games, there are thousands of games that they could look back on and features they could write, film, introduce. The fact is that it doesn't suit the Giantbomb team to write a proper article or put in some more effort to take the site forward. They can sit around and talk for hours, not much else goes on.

Sorry if you feel offended. I have been 110% honest. Giantbomb.com needs to change. I can't ever see myself paying another penny towards the upkeep of this site if there is not a drastic change in how they go about things.

Thanks for reading.

Ok. I kind of want to upgrade my Xbox and wasn't sure what bundle was best for me. While I was thinking HARD about it they all souled out and I am left in LIMBO wondering when the next shipment will come to the UK. Some times I wanted to go for the FORZA bundle, others I wanted to go for the FIFA bundle. As a result I have been thinking about this very TUFF decision and now face Christmas without the 2 big guns under my 21 inch Samsung.

Ebay is costing a fortune so can you guys send me a link to an actual, well, you know -- proper online retailer who has the stock for a system that came out over a week a go in the UK. Beggars cant be choosers but Microsoft have left me felling a bit bitter about this whole thing "what came first the penguin or the ice".

Make my decision easy Giantbombers by telling me, What is best, FIFA or FORZA. Post your comments in the forums and I will be sure to reply to each one that isn't silly. Ok, you are free to go.

I have bought a couple of games that I don't have time for right now and part of me wants to keep them for Christmas day anyway. Does anyone else do this?

I am guessing most people who have jobs and buy whatever comes out will buy it and play it right away. I work and will be buying a PS4 soon but might just hold off opening it until Christmas so its something big for that day.