Better late than never, here's the second 'Best of' to be compiled, 'by the Gameblog community, for the Gamesblog community'. This time, Fantomex volunteered for writing duties with Office Pest providing some input and Limni editing.
It's another grab-bag of pop culture references, innuendo and troubled home lives, randomly punctuated by - ta da! - some game chat. We wouldn't have it any other way.
So, yeah, take it away, Fantomex!
(Oh, and don't read the last quote while eating a Thai Hot n Spicy Cup Noodle like I did. Just a hint.)
Top 5 TV
A major discussion ensued midweek regarding the top five TV shows. The general consensus was that whilst America has some top dramas and Sci-Fi such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica and Heroes alongside some breakout comedies like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, it tends to be the last decade of British comedy that wins out in terms of overall quality.
Not that we really expected Friends to be any cop in comparison to Brass Eye, Spaced or Alan Partridge.
To aglet or not to aglet?
Later in the week, the blog meandered from the motorway of randomness, swerving down an embankment into the murky stream of unfinished games talk.
Satanallsmiles said:
"My gf is always complaining that she never ever sees me complete games. She has seen me play games for weeks (months in the case of DragonQuest 8) and then lose interest just before finishing. There must be an expression for this kind of behaviour."
CBPodge then created a marvelous new word to describe this gaming phenomenon:
It's called agletting - willfully not completing a task despite a large amount of effort.
We now all expect 'agletting' to be in the Oxford English Dictionary 2009. Get mailing them.
Which? The Zombie edition.
Adamskii brought in a fabulous question for Friday:
"If you could be a zombie, rather than a sole survivor in the apocalypse, which distinguishing feature(s) would you have? Mine would be one sloping shoulder down to a useless arm and the eye on the same side as the sloping shoulder would be missing, replaced by a fat garden worm..."
Some highlight answers included:
"I can't think of a single zombie I would like to be. Maybe a conjoined twin zombie; but with the conjoined twin head still unzombified, if this is possible?
I've changed my mind. It's technically unfeasible."
LazyBones
"I'd like to be a zombie which is still in its work uniform, like a postman or something. Still got my hat on, but missing a limb."
HDStanton
"I'd be a famous zombie. Maybe Des Lynam."
Limni
"I'd want to be a really camp zombie. Rather than lurching towards people I'd just flap effeminately from a distance."
Art1eFufkin
However, the best suggestion by far was from Satanallsmiles:
"I'd be a zombie version of Barry Scott of Cillit Bang fame - Bang! And the flesh is gone!"
Champion, that man.
A vital question
AlunEvans, who got married on Friday (Congratulations!) asked:
Which PS1 game would you choose to put on your PSP (if you have/had one) for a long flight? And Why?
This led to some oldskool suggestions – FFVII, VIII and IX, Chrono Cross, Resident Evil 2, Broken Sword, Dune II, Dynasty Tactics…
Not that anybody already has these games on their PSP. Honest.
And another one
TonyHayers watching Battlefield Earth started off a topic of worst film ever. Here were the key contenders:
The Happening
Predator 2
Pirates of the Caribbean 3
Godzilla
Hawk the Slayer
Batman and Robin
Van Helsing
Any film with Bill Paxton in it
Elektra
Disaster Movie
Epic movie
Batman and Robin took first prize with many, many votes.
Games of the week
Games: Battlefield: Bad Company, FIFA 08/09, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Fallout 3, Wipeout HD, Advance Wars: Dark Conflict, GTA4, The Force Unleashed, Valkyria Chronicles, LittleBigPlanet, Bioshock, PES 09, Mario Kart, FFVII, FFIX, Metal Gear Solid 4
TV of the week
Heroes, Match Of The Day, Fringe, True Blood, Prison Break
Quote of the week
"I really wasn't expecting to have to go to the chemist and buy some KY to install a domestic appliance, though it did work."
CraggyIslands kitchen fetish comes to the fore in a frank, public admission, leading to a case of manly tool one-upmanship.
Best of the rest
"Very atmospheric. Had to switch it off after 10 mins as it was freaking the Mrs out, might pick it up pre-owned."
silverfox073 on playing Bioshock. I include this with embarrassment, as I was freaked out by Bioshock, and Lady Fantomex mocked me for this. Less than manly?
"Cyberdyne, a robotics firm, hopes to start mass producing the models within days, according to reports. Time to stock up on tinned food."
Limni reports on the possible world-ending topic of advanced robotics that may or may not have the ability to terminate.
"As someone who didn't sign up 'til Monday I'm now getting concerned this blog is harming my productivity."
PhilosopherK1ng feeling the gamesblog pressure, which subsequently brought down the global stock market. Possibly.
"Agletting: surely that was passed far too quickly? Shouldn't it take about a week of constant use to be accepted? During which everyone gets tired of using it and gives up after four days."
Davefalse aglets on agletting. Tsk tsk.
"DSi somehow revolutionising handheld gaming? Less battery life and a crappy camera is hardly revolutionary."
Crispycrumb vocalizes what we were all thinking about Nintendos latest DS incarnation.
"And I make a typo in my first sentence. Good grief."
PhilosopherK1ng ruminating on blog spelling and grammar etiquette. Funnily enough, this isn't the typo.
"Heroes - Wasn't impressed with the first two episodes but three was better. There is some very bad acting in there. Much more obvious than the first two series."
GhostDaz makes his thoughts known on popular geek TV. But then, has anyone seen a more changeable character than Mohinder?
"I had an endoscopy exam the week before - hope they cleaned the camera from being up my ass before you had it shoved down your throat!
Ask for the video under the Freedom of Information act and we can upload it to you tube, put the soundtrack to WipEout on it, and we'll have a hit!"
Last, but certainly not least, Smellavision makes me feel better about a hospital visit, and comes up with the most amazing video idea ever.
