Chindie

It isn't good. (Mildly spoiler-y discussion follows, I'm not going to give stuff away verbatim but I mention some... critique of the details - you could probably read this and still not have a clue where it's actually going in the end, but you'd have an idea that what happens is not going to leave the game in your all time favourite finales) The whole thing smacks of them going 'Shit we need to finish this now, but we've written in so many threads we're a bit ****... so we're going to have it end like this'. And they didn't think about how that would tie into any of what went before, and they didn't think that throwing a huge reveal at you that they don't even really attempt to explain is going to leave players annoyed. That what that reveal... well, reveals, also doesn't make a lick of sense doesn't help, either. The way they do 'the endgame' as well is a little... cheap, grim, naff. It's incredibly disappointing. You've spent 3 games, 5 years, with these characters, you've made huge, even genuinely difficult decisions right up to the very end of the the trilogy... and then the ending doesn't acknowledge that. At times it actually pisses on the canon they've built - the end at one point directly contradicts a piece of information from Mass Effect 2's expanded plot, for example. Once you've watched it, if you actually think about some of the consequences of the ending, it's even more unsatisfying. The game also makes a save point right before you enter the ending, allowing you to go back to it and fiddle the details a little, if you wish. I immediately did that. And if anything that left me even more disappointed, I recommend when you finish it you go do the very same thing yourself. It's a shame really, because up till then ME3 is a good ride. It's gameplay fundamentals are the best in the series (though still not as good as a properly dedicated 3rd person shooter), and while it's not as good as ME2 for plot, it's still a really good ride. But then it falters - the final piece of the actual game is cheap, and feels somewhat anti-climatic simply because it's no different to what came before it, it's just 'more of' what preceded it. I found that particularly annoying because there a moments in that final mission that have real punch to them, and right up till the final hurrah you've got some nice touches, but that last battle... it's just not good. And then it leads into that ending, that for a fleeting second promises so much and then shits all over itself and expects you to be impressed. It kinda leaves me sour on Mass Effect as a whole, honestly. (For what it's worth I got what I understand to be the 'best' ending(s) I could - I entered the final missions with around 6500 EMS, having got 100% galactic readiness or whatever (in fact this whole system is another critique of the ending - though to say why would possibly be a pretty major spoiler)).

4 is more likely to make you go 'Oh what the ****, I can't be arsed'. Good game by most accounts but pretty grim to play at points, absurdly long cutscenes, even more convoluted plot... and IIRC, if you've not played 3, a major character revelation will have you going 'Huh, what? Why? Eh?'. I'd really try and track down a copy of the HD Collection you might be able to get a decent price for it online somewhere, eBay maybe. The third game is really, really worth trying again. It's a great game and does away with the utter madness of 2 (which many find furstrating) in favour of upping the slightly camp craziness that the series always has. The improved camera that the HD version has also makes it quite a fun play (at times it becomes a bit too easy but hey, you're there for the ride, and it's a great one).

Hideously bad ending.

Re-watched Road to Perdition the other night for the first time in quite a while. Glorious, glorious film. Struggle to fault it.

God of War 3 is worth having just to gawp at. It's also pretty cheap these days. Pretty third person actioner with a fair amount of gore and good combat. Uncharted series is quite well held but the first is fairly old now and quite weak on the whole, probably worth just jumping into the second, fairly cheap too now and usually regarded as the best in the series. Personally, I don't get why people think they're fantastic, but hey. If you liked the Metal Gear series on the PS1/2, 4 is a must. But it's definitely an acquired taste and it would be perhaps the worst game to start a series with in the history of videogame franchises, because it barely makes sense when you know whats happening, if it was your first game you'd not have a dicky bird. Killzone 2 and 3 are pretty, both are decent enough shooters but nothing thats going to blow your mind. Same can be said of Resistance series really. Infamous and Infamous 2 are cool enough, imagine a reasonably small scope open world with super power-y stuff. Again, cheap now. Heavy Rain is a unique experience, 'experience' being the best word for it I think, it's not like any other game, more like an interactive movie. Can be used with Move as well, if proto-Wii flailing about floats your boat. Other than that PS3 exclusives run a little dry for me.

Harry Brown is one of the few films I've watched that I genuinely thought was a nasty piece of work.

Only found £2.68 down the back of the sofa no doubt.

To my knowledge, no... but I'm not a huge Avengers fan, so maybe. Theres been loads of invasion stories over the years, including a huge one featuring the Skrulls, in the comics. I think theres one that has a few similarities to this that involved the invasion of Earth by Musphelheim, including some similar looking shots and events, but I'm not sure they've lifted verbatim. I don't know what happens, no. But I'm a bit of a comic geek (correction, I'm a bit of an everything geek ), and because comic book films always borrow bits of storylines from the original material you can often take a guess at what is going to happen, thats why in the Dark Knight Rises thread I've not been too shy about to pegging out what I suspect that film is going to involve. I could probably do the same for this but it'd go a bit wonky because I don't know who the army in league with Loki is and thus can't tie into old storylines to hazard a guess what might happen.

Hmm, my issue with the Fin Fang Foom stuff is, well... partly he's one of the silliest Marvel villains, a hold over from donkeys years ago where they did monster comics. And he has always been portrayed as an anthropomorphic dragon. Even the picture you have here, which is taken from a comic tie-in for the first Iron Man film called Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas, and was written in part by Favreau, that films director, has the same basics - the human like body, arms and legs. That doesn't fit in with this thing. Fin Fang Foom is also a fairly big deal with Iron Man fans, so I don't think you could just relegate him to what I'd be willing to bet is nothing more than 'a big monster to get out of the way before we deal with the real baddies'. I reckon that thing is just going to be another one of the alien forces, probably just some kind of biomechanical ship, a living ship if you will. And maybe for a comic fan easter egg they'll have a throwaway line about it being 'like Fin Fang Foom!'... but I'd guess not on that. As Thanos... It's been hinted at already. The Marvel Movie Universe has been very cheeky with nods to other things in the comic world. Iron Man using a Cap shield prototype to level out an experiment, ^ That interpretation of Fin Fang Foom appearing on a picture in the background in Iron Man... and also the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos' big weapon, appearing in Odin's treasure room. But I don't think they'll actually do Thanos. People have been expecting him to cameo at the end, as someone in league with Loki... but nah, not for me. It'd be cool, sure. I just can't see it. Even with Whedon apparently saying they're going to hint at bigger things going on behind Loki's invasion as a nod for a sequel. If they did do that, hype through the roof.

THEY'RE PUTTING PORSCHES BACK IN! Yes! **** Win!

I don't think it's Fin Fang Foom, it doesn't bear that much of a resemblance to the character in pretty much any interpretation. Plus, well... I can think of less crazy routes to go down with villains. Although IIRC they did set up Fin Fang Foom as being a member of some alien race at some point so, maybe... I'd say it's a long shot though. Some people have, desperate not to let go of the Skrulls angle, said maybe they're the Chitauri, the Ultimate universe version of the Skrull. Which isn't a bad bet really since the Chitauri have never been shown in a 'true' form in the comics, therefore you can do what the **** you like design wise. The utterly mental rumour that they're somehow conneted to Thanos and that he will have an appearance in some capicity is anothr guess too, but I reckon that's only slightly less likely than that thing being Fin Fang Foom.

Latest Avengers TV spot, 'Headcount' Tony Stark actually makes a mistake here, he says that Thor is a 'demigod'. Nope, by all accounts he's a god (albeit a god interpreted as an alien species). But yes, more Hulk smashy smashy, good. Oh, and these fellas. I haven't got a **** clue what they are supposed to be. Whedon finally confirmed for sure they aren't Skrulls (and they sure as **** don't look like the corrugated chin bastards, sadly), and they've said a few times that they're tied to the other realms mentioned in Thor... which are Asgard - Thors home, which those aren't looking likely to have come from Vanaheim - Effectively Asgardians again, so no Alfheim - Light Elves, those fellas don't look Elvish. Nidavellir - Home to Dwarves, again no Midgard - Earth. Jotunheim - Seen in Thor, home to the Frost Giants and again, not looking like these fellas. Svartalfheim - Home of the Dark Elves, who in the comics have not looked like these fellas but, maybe... Hel - Land of the Dead, and including Nifleheim, land of the dishonoured dead. Dead Asgardians? Those guys look slightly reptilian... Muspelheim - Land of the Fire Giants, effectively enormous demons... maybe? But it's a departure from the comic canon. I guess the last 3 are your best bets if they really are going t be derived from the existing canon of the realms of Yggdrasil. But none of them fit particularly well. Still, it's nice to not have a clue what these things are meant to be, because once you know characters, especially villains, in comic films, given how much they derive from the original books you can guess where it's going. With this, pfft, **** knows what the plot twists are gonna be.

The people who bought Comet. They'd been rejected once by the lenders. One party involved must have gotten worried.

On the Hobbit/del Toro thing, I initially was quite for him taking the helm but since his leaving and seeing Jackson's work, I'm kinda glad del Toro didn't take the helm. Del Toro has a very distinct style with creatures and the like, and admitted (when the plan was to make 'The Hobbit' as one film and having a bridging film between that and LOTR), that he would make the first film with his style, and then blend it with Jackson's take in the second film to tie them together. My worry would have been that del Toro's take would be one I didn't buy into. Jackson's interpretation of LOTR was very close to my own, and I suspect he'll do the same with the Hobbit. My biggest worries with the Hobbit films now are how stretched out it's going to all be over those 2 films, and secondly quite how the 3D/48fps thing is going to work out. They've already admitted that the decision to shoot in 3D at 48 has made things difficult for some of the departments making the film - for example wigs need to be real hair now, some fabrics mess about the 3D lenses so whole costumes have been binned, and the dulling of the image caused by 3D has meant they've had to really over-do the colours in many scenes (check out the producton diary they did where they focused on 3D filming, the set they where in, Mirkwood, has crazy intense reds and purples all over it, and the makeup on many characters has had to be done so they all look flushed as without it they look very pale and unlifelike). But I'll be surprised if it's not an absolutely top drawer end to this year in film with the Hobbit part 1. I'm looking forward to it.

No they didn't. Staff were aware of the redundancy thing pretty much as soon as administration was announced. It's one of the things that happens with administration, there's no money to pay redundancy. All employees have been sent a claim form to help with payments owed including applying for statutory redundancy via the govt. I got mine yesterday despite being ineligible for redundancy.

McLeish is going nowhere. Sadly, under his stewardship, the club is going somewhere. Down.

I find myself kinda putting off finishing this. I'm finding excuses to put time into the multi first. Hmm.

I'm no fan of twatter, but fair play for that one

Potential Darwin Award if things go badly for that woman.

Seen the Clash of the Titans remake? It's that, again. But a teensy bit better.

Awful news. One of my favourite players, a standout servant for the club, and by all accounts just a fantastic bloke. Terrible.

I worked at Gamestation Walsall.

This weekend I'm doing absolutely **** nothing. Although that could tits up if I get roped into helping out sort out the loft.

I had said I was, in a way, glad that I wouldn't be having to man the tills anymore in the wake of trade cards being stopped. Talking to the guys in the local Game as we carted some spare stuff over to them, I think I was right in hearing that. Apparently a guy on the till in a London store got battered in the wake of the trade/loyalty thing, customer just grabbed him over the counter and started wailing on him. All the stores still open got send down a notice to put on the till about respecting the staff as a reaction.