I fear I am alone

in my unbound frustration whenever Jeff and Co confess ignorance on the Bombcast, despite the rarity of these occurrences. It just seems so hypocritical. If only there was an editable online videogame encyclopaedia which they could check for information...

In completely unrelated news, I recently rebooted my copy of Mass Effect, achievements being the driving force of my return. The game deserves a second look-in, my view of it the first time was fairly dismissive - I feel it is somehow worthy of more. I'm enjoying it a lot more the second time though. An understanding of the controls, and the cuts and curves of the storyline, means I can skip the lengthy generic cut-scenes and focus on the, euphemisms aside, juicy bits.

Whilst I frown on the futile attempts to stockpile achievement points as though they were some kind of declining oil reserve

I take comfort in having a respectable score in what I deem to be a worthwhile game. I had a quick look at the achievements I have yet to earn in Dead Rising but slunk away at the prospect of Frank The Pimp. Games that require multiple playthroughs are asking a lot, especially those as lengthy as Dead Rising and Mass Effect. The upside of this is I can now compare the rarity of my achievements thanks to Giantbomb. If it were to be sitting on the smugness spectrum, the Frank The Pimp achievement would undoubtedly be somewhere near the end with free marshmallows.

Apart from that I have not been up to much. I'm helping out my old man with some gardening stuff, its like harvest moon except you get dirty. I planted a bunch of beans and peas and marigolds (small flowers which deter greenfly and whitefly). I can't stop thinking about Plants Vs Zombies, and how useless a real vegetable patch would be as a source of defence come the apocalypse.

*sigh*

I had a quick look at the Rocket Riot demo. It's fun, in a goofy repetitive sort of way. The weirdest thing for me was the way you fire. Its not simply point and hold the right stick, Geometry Wars style. It's more, hold down the stick and let the rocket charge, then release and let the stick snap back to the middle. I found this to be a lot more accurate, though it reminds me more of a Torque Bow than a Boomshot. Rocket Launchers are for punks.


As if all this isn't enough blogness, I have decided not to buy any more arcade titles from XBLA at release price. Every XBLA title I own, of which there are a fair few, has since received a 30% discount "for gold members only!" which has pissed me off no end. It has often occurred to me that the rich, the truly rich, achieve such status by never spending any money. A keen buyer should potentially be able to forge a fortune from Marketplace discounts.

Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep