Nonek

Good one. It is amazing news for you? Good news for the companies I guess but piracy hasn't done any in. Hm..guess we just need to turn a Denuvo developer. Oh sorry, I thought you were making a joke because one expects consumers to pay for what they consume while piracy allows one to not do so. I thought it was quite a witty ironic slant making light of the whole matter, guess I was just reading too much into things as usual. Personally I have no feelings on piracy, I don't use such methods because as a moderately wealthy gentleman who has been in continuous employment for almost four decades, I can't justify using someone elses product without their permission and the usual exchange of renumeration. However others are free to do as they wish, and I realise that this is a far cleaner and less dangerous form of theft than mugging etcetera.

Link? On Celebrity Big Brother Ms Bowie was apparently (I read this in the Metro) complaining before his death that Mr Bowie had purposely turned their son Duncan against her, because the gentleman no longer speaks or has any contact with her. Seems a little strange to discount her sons own feelings and logic as a grown man and blame Mr Bowie, but then again i'm with Philip Larkin on families.

Good one.

Meanwhile in the Caspian Sea a huge isthmus of land sprang from the waters and licked along the jagged shoreline, now twisted and reshaped into a lustful grin. A black island pupil arose from the Aral Sea, was blinked away by the waves and then returned to cast its lecherous gaze upon the soft, succulent green lands huddled around the Mediterranean. Slowly the Taiga waggled suggestively, as if it were the forested eyebrows of the West Siberian Plains, and the whole mass of Asia pushed itself towards the frail form of maiden Europe.

I've read a few of the later ones and you're not missing anything Mr Raithe, though he does narrate the transition of our Old World into Shannaras New World. He began from a series which was set in the Old World and featured proto Druid Characters, named Knights of the Word, implying an Old Testament connection it seemed.

Elves were seperate and apart all the time weren't they, hiding in the manner of the King of the Silver River, and chose to emerge when the new world came to be? Which makes me wonder if the Magic Kingdom For Sale world is a part of the same continuum?

The Grim Reaper doesn't seem to have any musical taste at all.

I have to agree, thus why i'd never try and change any game or take up the nonsensical conspiracy theories about games causing violence or sexism. Therefore I have to arrive at the same conclusion, i'm just a big wuss. Wolves are especially frustrating however, the yelping and frightened barks which are recorded so well in games make my Fido look up at me with his big brown eyes, and I feel as guilty as sin.

I think it was worse in the ones Crystal Dynamics did before the latest reboot, they had me shooting Bengal Tigers! I chose to give up at that point.

Perhaps it shows a distinct lack of empathy to my fellow man but the sheer amount of endangered species that Ms Croft slew in her earlier outings really made me uncomfortable, as opposed to her few runs in with fellow treasure hunters. I'm such a big wuss when it comes to this, in the Witcher i'll ride away from bears and wolves when at all possible. As for her slaying of the dinosaurs she found, I was aghast to say the least, 65 million years of extinction and the young lady decides she has a right to decide their fate once more?

Thank you.

From what i've read the TV series is adapting the second book "Elfstones of Shannara." This is part of the original trilogy and I believe Mr Brooks writing on this world is still ongoing, though the quality of his content has deteriorated in the last twenty years or so. I'd just read the original trilogy personally, and perhaps use the library or a second hand book shop if the second quartet of books and beyond interest you.

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands: Utter dreck, filled with the usual cliches and anachronistic elements, do yourself a favour and watch the Beowulf and Grendel film with Gerard Butler from a few years back instead. This cheap Game of Thrones knock off is not even remotely entertaining, and butchers the source material unmercifully.

It's quite difficult to say because as you probably remember the prose is quite cumbersome and that book is where Mr Brooks is learning his craft and form, there are some good points later on but it does tend to drag, its certainly not a classic of the genre but neither is it without high points. Personally I believe that reading of any literature is never wasted time, however i'd read up to the Hadeshorn and the Tomb of Kings beyond if in doubt, or maybe even Paranor, the pace quickens at that point and arcs begin to be resolved. Edit: I've got to wonder whether they found an actor capable of portraying the immense, cowled brooding presence of Allanon, the seven foot Druid who defines the first trilogy, must be hard to find someone of such physicality and yet the appropriate acting chops.

Yes I thought back on my impressions of the Shannara books and they were pretty much teen adventure / boys own mixed with classic fantasy, ocassionally they rose above the formula and later dipped far below. I'd recommend the second book "Elfstones of -" as probably the best of the first trilogy and "The Druid of -" as the best of the Scions quartet. There are some excellent ideas and settings used throughout, though any Englishman whose travelled the Isles will recognise most of the names Mr Brooks uses, but all told it is mainly just quite good fun. Have to have a watch, thanks for the notification chaps. Edit: Garret Jax was a marvellously strong though one dimensional character from the "Wishsong of -," indeed the whole company of Jair in that game was fantastically characterised. I much preferred his quite clever questline to the main protagonists, she was a touch too mary Sue-ish, purposefully so I believe.

One has to look at root causes and i'm afraid that this is most likely a clash of cultures, and a media agenda in both the Middle East and the west set on demonising each other. Obviously this does not excuse the criminals who engaged in these assaults, they should be dealt with to the full extent of the law, and given harsh sentences or deported. However imagine a man from a state where women are wearing the full ninja suit things (sorry I forget the name of it,) and then transplant that individual to the virtual Sodom that is any western city centre on a party night, the shock must be quite something. Add this to the negative reporting on the decadent west, which is being reinforced before their very eyes, and one can see why they would believe that the west is all that they've been told that it is. Why should they obey the laws of this decadent and sinful Gommorah? We are used to our women, their freedom, our drinking culture and how we act, dress and behave, and we enjoy that aspect of our society as we have done for millenia. To others, well it must be a shock, and i'm saying this as an older man who has seen our society grow more outrageous and inebriated over the years. The clothes young ladies wear nowadays when clubbing would be unsuitable for a lady of the night when I was a lad. The way we drink has also changed, no longer is it the sedentary passtime where we quietly got sozzled after fifteen pints and then wobbled home. Now it is a frantic, quick and violent affair, with much shouting, screaming and showing off. This must require some getting used to from more conservative societies. Where is the steady slow integration that helps to adjust immigrants to their new homes? Ensuring that all parties are able to live with each other, find employment and be a valued member of the community. If you're just going to dump a large amount of foreigners into a city without preparation, consent from the local populace or extra police and other sensible precautions and groundwork then expect bad things to happen. If your media and their media are demonising each other and the countries are nearly at war in some manner, well then one must expect integration to be an uphill struggle. However as always I try to remember all of the individuals who are innocent and trying to be good citizens, they outnumber the lawbreakers and always will.

Cossacks: European Wars? As I remember it was visually the spitting image of AoE though more detailed and accurate to the smaller timeframe, while combat played out quite similarly to Total War, in a far more realistic manner than AoE. One could form lines of musketry to beat back opponents with massed fire, form square for defense against cavalry and marching, the standard tactics of the period with an emphasis on that Swedish chap who revolutionised warfare of that age, and obviously terrain played an immense role as always. Very challenging game however even on the lower levels of difficulty for the beginner. The naval battles were also very good, the line actually worked as well.

I missed Witcher 2 Forest Trolls, the Rock Trolls of the thrid game were good but i'd have liked to see a variety.

Surely its more profane and specific, the English arse derives from the Latin arsus meaning buttocks, rather than the American insult which denotes any hole in a mule, mouth, anus or whatever.

Reminds me of the Twilight Zone rabbit trick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJoPNBEdduk

Its always a conversation that revolves around Jesus' supposed possessions, whether cup, purse or whatever, mainly because no priest wants to shed light on anything but the New Testament when this argument arises, Jesus as an examplar works and can be argued to be the avatar of perfection and practising what one preaches. The Old Testament however, though this is arguable due to the multiple authors, places no real negative stereotypes on wealth and its owenrship, indeed some argue that it aids the accumulation of wealth with various passages and strictures, or advice that would benefit the state rather than individual worshippers. All of this is extremely arguable though, and probably still on-going in various forms. Quoting scripture at each other is usually what these arguments boil down to, and there are enough to enforce or detract from any argument whatsoever. Edit: The Name of the Rose in literature or filmic form is probably one of the better examples of this to the layman, though I agree that the Mission really does bring to light the essential financial and secular nature of the Church, and how it copes with capitalism in the "modern" world.

I always found the history of Christian movements that aimed for the poverty of the Church to be rather amusing, a new schism arises and gains massive support for opposing the blatant corruption of the Church and its obvious financial nature, the rich in the secular world donate to this movement and boost its popularity for reasons of their own (usually competition.) It becomes powerful, wealthy and makes a few too many wasteful decisions that come from this new wealth they are forced to deal with. In short they become what they set out to oppose, an amusing vicious circle really.

An RPG where equipment is important, rare and plays an important strategic role, rather than being another time sink. A living, interactive and reactive world as we saw twenty plus years ago. Any game featuring NPC routines like we saw twenty plus years ago. A mixture of systemic within scripted reactivity that combines the two to new heights. Games with strong thematic elements that equal what we saw Mr Garriot exploring at the height of his success. Combat as good as JA2 or ToEE if turn based, or Severance: Blade of Darkness if real time. Art design and world building that is supported mechanically and not destroyed by the games features. Imagination, dreamworlds and flights of fancy that adhere to their own laws. Fantastical elements being understood and not used to excuse internal inconsistency by those whom don't realise that the fantastic is seperate from the mundane, and therefore helps define it, not excuse anything. Ambition, fantasy has become so dull and tired, magic relegated to being another weapon, enemies being another thing to grind, it's time someone provided an alternative to this. Attractive, good and likeable characters whom the protagonist feels are worth fighting for, and worth saving, a simple thing but something I miss. Gameworlds which the player can become lost within, but is perfectly happy when being in such a state. Mature, self motivated, independent and serious NPCs, whom even if possessed of a wicked sense of humour are not desperate to please the protagonist or endlessly trying to be liked with sub par Joss Whedon witticisms. Think more Wilde, Shakespeare and Chaucer than Buffy. The art design of Poe when it comes to weapons and armour, one of the strongest points of the game, and a standout for the whole genre, well done artists and Mr Karranthian (a little bit) as well. Smaller settings with massive amounts of depth. As a GM I regularly challenged myself to improve the settings I presented to my characters while restricting geographical boundaries. Filled with more detail, reactivity and personality the areas designed became far more impressive than the sprawling theatres novice GMs are so enamoured of. Somewhat reminiscent of a short story as opposed to a bloated novel, instead of vomitting verbiage over the readers I had to use every word to maximum effect, and score a touch, a palpable touch. However hope is the first step on the road to disappointment as all know.

Animat army? Hellboy 2 springs to mind, though i was wondering whether the helms might simply be mind (soul?) controlling devices, ah well look forward to playing through both parts.

Happy New Year all, may fortune favour you in the coming year and the hangover soon pass.