Chindie

As I said when there were people suggesting we re-signed him, if Reo-Coker is the answer, the question terrifies me. Awful player, by far O'Neills worst purchase. A player left terribly wanting in all areas bar sheer stamina and physique, who was bizarrely loved because he ran around a lot doing the sum total of **** all but looking busy. And also happens to be a tosser but somehow likes to project a false image (that you can see through like a pane of glass) that he's some quiet, consummate professional. I'll gladly never see his mardy face on a pitch again. Thankfully, since he's at Ipswich, I won't have to barring cup ties

At least he's appropriately jealous of average foreign players, because he happens to be a pretty shit domestic player.

I've only managed to put in about an hour, completing the prologue in that time, so I can't give any particularly brilliant in depth impressions but, on that hour... it's a corker. The opening leaves you without any of the supernatural powers the game has shown off, like the blink ability, so I can't say for sure how they will alter my feeling about it, but that hour was just fun. Theres a clear degree of flexibility on how you want to approach things from the get go. I, a little unusually for me, went for a true stealth run through and found that be a fun experience rather than the tiresome trial and error stealth games can be, but equally I could tell that the game was entirely prepared to let me go guns blazing (or...er... swords swiping?), and theres definitely scope in that prologue for a true ghost run (the holy grail of stealth games, completing a level without being seen or even touching a guard, so no stealth knockouts). I found myself leaning round corners like it was second nature, checking through keyholes before any door, sneaking up behind guards and picking their pockets before choking them and stashing the body. It just felt good, the controls are tight and simple. It's won me round to the look of the thing too. I was always a fan of the art design but I wasn't so sure about the cartoony style that they'd taken it in. However, playing it... I'm much more of a fan. The game has a painterly feel, and also a significant feeling of a graphic novel in motion. The only thing really letting it down is a few grim textures, something I noticed instantly on the game's opening. The boat you open the game on has some absolutely awful texture work on it, incredibly low resolution. I did start to ignore that very quickly though, it only stood out at that moment as you start in an on-rails section and my immediate reaction on a game beginning like that is to look around and check out the look and quality of things. In motion you don't notice, and I do wonder if the textures are a result of their trying to get that watercolour look to everything, or if it's a result of them trying to optimise things to get it running well on consoles. Or a little of both. Either way it's not a deal breaker and the game overall looks fantastic. The details and atmosphere are bang on too. Even in the short time I've had with it the game is immediately reminding me of the later Discworld novels (helped by what must surely be a nod to the inspiration they've had, tins of 'Pratchett Jellied Eels' are everywhere in the game) and also China Meiville's New Crobuzon books, and a little Gormenghast in there too. Theres just something about this fantastical Georgian/Victorian steampunk setting I love, and they are laying on the lore and building on the world from the get go, you're finding notes and 'audiograms' from the first minute. Perhaps the only downside to all that is I now desperately want a latter day Discworld novel to get a game made. I don't think the story is going to be anything earth shattering but I'm already liking the details the game has and there are hints at things to come already, rats are a recurring motif and are certainly also going to be puzzle orientated. You encounter a (very simple) optional objective early on involving a safe which is absolutely nothing special but still left me grinning as an obvious little nod to game having wanting to have little details catch your eye. I'm really looking forward to playing more and opening up the potential it has. You're playing it? Guess that leak is proving useful to some already.

Those poor tractor loving bastards.

He looked shit for long periods of the few rounds I caught, the other chap didn't look great but DeGale was under pressure and had no clue how to handle it. All the worse, he invited that pressure. He seemed to wait for the other bloke to tire of hitting him in those moments, which I believe is a variant of the Homer Simpson strategy, and probably asking to be ktfo by anyone with a bit of skill and power.

Spotify also suffers from a slightly wanting library. I haven't used it since their free service basically became a joke, but even before that I was completely unable to listento two of my favourite bands. And even when I found songs I liked, they regularly got pulled. Isn't the answer for me. I'm not sure any streaming service is, in truth. I like to own my media, it gives me a reassurance that any 'service' doesn't.

Just switched over to the DeGale fight. I can't remember another boxer who seems to think trying to dodge punches (and often failing) is more important than a decent guard. His hands are so rarely up and the fact his face has been punched a different colour suggests it's not a great tactic

HIGNFY last night made reference to this whole debacle, and specifically the alleged transcript, which of course they confirmed was a fake. Ian Hislop had some interesting comments.

Expect a bit of an info blowout on this next month. It's been revealed as the cover game for next months issue of US game mag Game Informer, which means they're doing a feature on it and it wouldn't have made front cover without it being a big reveal.

In a stereotyped strong Irish accent, Mass Effect could sound like someone saying 'Massey's ****', i.e. the (popular tractor manufacturer) Massey Ferguson is broken. And now that joke is stone dead.

That one was slightly different. It was as ludicrous - it was **** obvious he said it in exasperated jest - but at least you could say there was some precedent of a decent law there, a threat being made, basically (despite the fact it wasn't, really). The stuff we're seeing more of is someone getting in the dock because they said something some people don't like. Is that not completely insane?

The Facebook/Twitter thing has only really become 'a thing' in the last year, and it's had a few higher profile cases. It's been whipped up by the media in this country, particularly the Sun, campaigning against 'sick trolls'. It's not so much that it's happening often that matters - it's that it's happened at all.

I watched the Green Lantern last night. In fairness to me, I only bought it because I took advantage of Amazon's 3 for £17 offer and could only find 2 movies I really wanted. Blimey. Where do you start with it. As most probably know now I'm a bit of a comic geek, but I can't say I actually care for the Green Lantern. It's a character that suffers from 'DC back catalogue syndrome', something that afflicts every DC character that isn't Batman or Superman. The affliction leaves the character feeling just a little shit to everyone who isn't a fan. The base idea behind the Green Lantern isn't bad (in fact it's pretty decent comic book fare - a hotshot test pilot with tragedy in his past is chosen as the first human to join an intergalactic army/police force who all possess a ring able to conjure the physical manifestation of their will, and they fight bad guys), but theres something about the way it's done that feels incredibly wank. The film doesn't really get away from it. Watching the Lanterns in the film conjure solutions to their problems feels like you're watching the result of what a 5 year old would think of to solve the problems characters face. A huge group of Lanterns try to capture the big baddie - their solution is to conjure a comedy net. Hal, our hero, is faced with preventing a helicopter crash, as the aircraft falls out of the sky he conjures a race car chassis under the wreckage and a HotWheels track for it to run around to safety, complete with jump. It really says something that they manage to take a fairly daft idea, but one you just about are prepared to run with, and make it so daft you snigger. I mean... you're given the ability to conjure anything your will desires to solve a problem like stopping a helicopter crash hurting some bystanders, and your solution is obviously going to be to make it into a race car with track leading to safety, isn't it? The comedy net would probably be less ridiculous. It isn't helped by the fact the powers that be behind the film seem to have decided that the objects conjured by the Lanterns (always in green transparent shiny-ness) should have a very Bugs Bunny style to them, a very cartoon-y bold exaggeration to them that serves only to make it look all the more daft. It's not even that the CG is bad, throughout it's pretty decent, but every single piece of art design is shite. Hal's suit is a case in point. The Green Lantern suit isn't difficult - it's green, has the silly symbol on it, black accents, white gloves, a green domino mask and the ring. The film makes it even simpler, they just give him an all green suit. But it's a CGI suit and looks shit, you never believe it's real, and the mask is even worse, it looks like someone has fired some radioactive silicone at his eyes. And all thats before you even get the plot. Um... well... there is one but I've never been struck by such an unengaging bit of twaddle like this did. It manages to have 2 enemies that have no menace at all, and both are hideously underdeveloped. The big bad has literally a 15 second back story that ties into some more backstory they don't even bother with, which amounts to 'He's evil', And the other one, played by Peter Sarsgaard, is supposed to have a little of the 'polar opposite of our hero' with a dash of daddy resentment and while they actually do bother to set this up it doesn't work, mostly because they really don't ramp up either aspect by, you know, giving any more than one 1 minute scene for each. When Sarsgaard actually does become a proper baddie, he is more comical than anything, he looks like a beluga whale. And despite the big bad being some incredible threat to the galaxy, he actually isn't threatening at all. The plot spends far too long getting going, it feels like it's spending far too long getting Hal to be the Green Lantern, and when he finally does they do exceptionally little with it. There isn't a single great action scene in the entire 2 hour long film. Arguably there are.... 7 or 8 perhaps, action scenes, but all are short, lacking in spectacle, and returning to the one thing the film does well, daft. The final fight, against.... a cloud, basically, that eats peoples fear (which apparently will kill you?), is a prime example. Hal takes on this cloud, and bear in mind that he is powered with the ability to conjure anything, his solution is this - he flings a petrol tanker at it and magics an anti-aircraft gun to shoot it with, causing a suitably Hollywood explosion. Of course that doesn't work but *BING* a really curious moment in the training montage that isn't a montage that we saw an hour ago that everyone in the audience immediately went 'I'll remember that, because it's obviously going to be important' inspires him on how to win. Which he does... and again the daft element comes in. The finale involves large amounts of gravity and space. In an effort for that gravity to not pull him in, Hal has the genius idea of conjuring 2 jet fighters to tether himself tothat gun away from the gravitional pull and hold him safely in place. In space. It's a wholly curious film. At times it plays like a kids film, but it's far too dull and at times a little too adult for that. It has some good actors putting in run of the mill performances. At times it feels like there was a good film in there and someone **** up. Mark Strong is curiously good as the good guy who so obviously would become a bad guy in coming films that even if you'd never heard of the comic you only need look at him and you'd know. Ryan Reynolds looks the part but then only succeeds in the goofy elements that undermine everything. Peter Sarsgaard plays a good creep but in a character that is paper thin and ultimately serves as no threat and too pathetic for the characters own good. Blake Lively is decidely unlively in a role that expects her only to look pretty, which she can manage with her face thats out of proportion with her head. Tim Robbins er... got paid I guess. It's **** daft. And not in a good way.

The Forza Horizon demo dropped for Gold subscribers and it's left me gutted. I expected to hate it, but blimey... ...it's pretty good...

No, not my thing to be fair. I've seen some comments and some footage though and it appears to be largely as unforgiving and as difficult as it used to be.

XCOM was renowned for it's difficulty, and that hasn't changed with the new version it appears.

Everything seems to be pissing me off today, but especially these 2 related things Organising my mates to do anything drives me mad. I don't even get replies from one of my best mates when I text, and you never whether he's simply not received a text, can't be arsed to reply, is pissed off for some reason, whatever. Usually he just forgets or can't be arsed, but regardless it's incredibly frustrating. I was kinda hoping we might do something tonight but **** if I know if anything will happen. This is just basically suggesting going to the cinema or something, nothing fancy. I'm also trying to work out some plan to do something for my birthday. By plan, I mean basically try to sort out places to drink and eventually stumble drunkenly into. But I broach the subject with another mate today and he says to me 'Can we do a quiet one and then a big bash a couple of weeks after?', because cash is tight. Which for a start is never the same, which annoys me, but theres also this. Earlier this year for his birthday the big idea was to go to a racecourse, which we did. At the time I wasn't working and it wasn't a cheap day, trains, food, drink, a night out after. My mate currently is working, full time. But things are too tight for a pretty standard night out... I've been unemployed for 2 days and already things are really starting to **** me off.

"If all doesn't go well, he will strike the ground hard in the desert, 10 minutes earlier than expected... and leave a considerable clean up effort"

Boards of Canada's video for the track Dayvan Cowboy features a fair bit of footage of the current (I think) holder of the skydive record on the record breaking dive - it looks utterly surreal. Good song too.

A welcome long outlived I feel.

I thought your tinfoil hat spotted such things at 500 paces and you gave a wide berth, BOF? Speaking of Homeland, I completely missed it first time round - it is available on 4OD, does anyone know? I've been told by a lot of people its an (unexpectedly) good watch so wouldn't mind catching up without buying the blurays or going down the tedious nefarious path. Speaking of good shows, Grand Designs started again a couple of weeks back. I thoroughly recommend watching the last episode to see an absolutely perfect example of pretentious stuck up clearing in the woodss. A couple who bought a barn in Norfolk and then decked it out in chipboard with all the varnished chipboard furniture on industrial castors, buy a house in London (because London is home, darling, and Norfolk... just isn't), specifically because it has a big plot of land they can build a house on. The episode opens with, without a sense of irony, the hateful woman of the couple telling Kevin McCloud how she loves minimalism because we're so 'obsessed by things' and she hates it... whilst stood there in oversized Gucci glasses. Which she proceeds to wear in every appearance for the entire hour. Claims she'd love to live in a monastery.

The Guardian had a couple of the jokes in their article on it. I've not worked out how to do links on this yet but it's easily found. Not that it particularly matters what was said in this case, but there you are. I've heard worse on here, down the pub, I heard worse in the office last week to be perfectly honest. I'll expect plod will be marching the Guardian down the station for publishing such hideously offensive comments far more widely than the guy in the dock ever managed.

Perhaps, but not in this particular case for me. The manner of this kind of thing being put out there isn't at all important for me - he could have been shouting it in the street for all I care. Causing offence, should not be an offence. If you are offended by something - deal with it. Had this been abuse (which in this case I think he would have had to have been specifically directing the comments at the direct family of Madeline McCann and April Jones) there'd be a case. But he didn't. I don't condone the jokes, but this is absurd.

Borderlands remains one of the most painfully dull gaming experiences of my life. Myself, I'm working through Saints Row the Third. I don't love it. It's totally decent but, somehow, theres just something that doesn't grab me. I think it's too daft - it feels throwaway, a cheap thrill. Hoping to round it out before Dishonored on Friday, a birthday present to myself

I love that Steve Hughes bit. Bang on as usual.