Chindie

Curried paneer is pretty common, so I'd say yes, especially in India itself given how much of the country is vegetarian.

I'm all for a change of scene, and I'm keen on the gameplay getting some evolution. It's main mechanic, the traversal system, has always had niggles, and they've never quite gone away. But I do think that Assassin's Creed has to hold onto that mechanic, it's what defines it. I think it's what people come to the series for, because in all honesty a lot of the rest of it is pretty hokey - the combat's always been weak, and in reality the rest of the gameplay is pretty slender. I don't think an anyway accurate rendition of the US in the time of it's fight for independence is going to lend itself to that. It's a period of history were the US just isn't that interesting in it's settlements. Philadelphia and Boston are perhaps the most developed settlements then and even they aren't amazingly interesting at that time. To be honest, for my money anyway, that particular part of the world at that particular time isn't very interesting. Also, thats a time period where everyone and his dog can have a gun. On past experience, Assassins Creed shits itself inside out when the guns turn up. I hope they pull it off because I do like the series, for all it's staleness and faults. I don't want it to change much, I don't want it to lose sight of what people like about the series, even after all this time of little changing.

US War of Independence confirmed

The work scheme controversy seems to me to largely stem from the idea that it is the tax payer effectively subsidising Tesco and co's bottom end labour force (something they certainly don't need), which of course also blocks entry to an actual job for somebody. I also would question how much use low level experience in a shop actually is on your CV in the current climate. Sure, any experience is going to make a CV look a bit better, but I don't think 8 weeks being forced to put out baked beans is going to set any employer's heart a flutter. In fact I'd almost say it could be a negative - it wouldn't look great to me, were I looking for prospective employees, that their experience was effectively forced on them by the Job Centre.

^That is rocket fuel, on the Belgian front. It tastes like drinking a Christmas pudding. And a couple of pints of this Could run the warp drives on the Enterprise.

I borrowed Revelations this week from work, played it through. It's a series going through the motions. Same game we've had since 2, same problems (although in my playthrough, to completion, I don't remember many 'Chase him! Through some arbitrary corridor with little diversions!' moments, to the games credit). It felt totally like a filler game, something they could chuck out for 2011 while they do something else. Instanbul wasn't really that different to any other environment that Ezio has encountered - a few details changed but little else. The hookblade added pretty much nothing to the game as it was exceptionally rarely that I was going the same direction a zipline was headed. The bombs were a complete non entity - you didn't need them. Thankfully the tower defence game is pretty much avoidable if you're on your toes and level up as many assassin recruits as you can. The only other innovation were being able to play in Desmonds busted mind, in some bizarre 1st person sections that look like Portal crossed with Tron and weren't really much cop, feeling half arsed and tacked on. I can't even really say that the story 'Revelations' justify it - there were none I gave much of a shit about. Desmond remains utterly vapid and I don't think anyone gives a rats arse where he's headed. Altair's story also felt tacked on to it - I felt if they were going to go to the effort of wrapping his arc up, they could at least do something interesting with it. They didn't. So you're left with Ezio, the only character in this series anyone likes. And it's, apparently, his final game, the end to his story. And basically nothing happens. I actually felt short changed, and I'd not paid for the game. Nothing of consequence to the series storyline happens in this game. Anyway... Assassin's Creed 3 is out this year, October 30th in fact. It's actually going to be a genuine third entry to the series, introducing a new character. Allegedly, this is him US War of Independence is the alleged setting. I, for one, do not think that this setting will lend itself terribly well to what this series is. The series needs to change, for sure. I think it also needs to keep true to its running about fluidly on rooftops, turning cities into playgrounds, heritage. The US War of Independence doesn't lend itself to that, because an awful lot of the US at that time was not terribly built up. It was still a young country and, a few large state buildings and some rich fellas' mansions aside, pretty flat. It may have to take a leaf out of RDR's book... but that game and the AC series were very different, and AC's heart, the thing that sets it out as a series, does not lend itself to the kind of setting RDR treated us to. Still, theres no saying it's true and I kinda hope it isn't.

I think thats right having had a mooch. I knew the Verve basically got screwed on that song, largely because it got too successful once they'd made a slight mistake, but I couldn't remember the exact details.

I believe with that song an agreement was made that saw the Stones take a cut of any revenue it generated. I think I'm right in thinking originally the Verve didn't get permission to use the melody and subsequently got forced to pay a royalty to the Stones, I'd figure that situation still runs today.

As someone who is employed by Game, I hope it isn't the beginning of the end.

A little back story teaser

EA were willing to supply, but the terms they offered Game were beyond what Game would be willing to accept, so they have decided not to stock EA items.

Looks like big dumb fun, I'm sold. Still utterly none the wiser who's in league with Loki. Hulk catching Iron Man is somehow... just... a great shot. Looks like they're going to go for a balls out huge action scene to end it, and it looks great. Finally.

In the Marvel Ultimate universe, which the films have taken a fair amount of inspiration from, Nick Fury is black. In fact he's actually based upon Samuel L Jackson, looks wise. The Ultimate universe was an idea that Marvel had, about 10 years ago, to help new readers into their stable, who may be put off by the fact that some of these characters have 40 year old back stories. It's effectively a complete reboot of the traditional Marvel universe, taking all the well known characters and restarting them from the beginning, with some tweaks to their formulas and changing up some of the stories (for example in the Ultimates universe, Peter Parker is, IIRC, legit dead - not comic hero he'll be back in 10 issues time dead, he's done - theres a new permanent Spidey. Same thing has happened to other big name characters in that universe) for a more modern or interesting take on things, some characters radically changed, others are more less just reruns with big plot divergences occuring once in a while.

Latest Avengers poster, with new, UK only, shitty title! Presumably because of the old TV series, still, what an awful name. And the poster seems to have been done by someone halfway through a Photoshop course. Anywho, new trailer tonight, here's hoping it's a goodie.

Ones a legally bidning contract, the other is a largely meaningless promise to sign said contract sometime.

The Dark Knight Rises - Bane-son. NSFW. I think this film would enter my all time favourites list if they actually did have Bane call Batman 'a fahkin cahnt!', or to stick something 'up your fahkin arse'. The rest of it could be awful, just have that moment, and I'm sold.

Fassbender sounded more and more Irish as the film went on! I did like it though. I did stifle a laugh as he turned into 'Magneto'Mara' towards the end. That film would, regardless, have been far better if it was just about him offing Nazis for 2 hours.

Pretty average episode I thought, but on recent form I'll take that. Hammond race... thing... did nothing for me, reasonably inoffensive bar his stupid warbling yelling that's apparently funny. News skit was alright. Sport-y prestige cars was decent, both are idiotic - the Merc is without point, and looks absurd. Don't like Matt Smith. Saab bit was the highlight which was a good watch. Even though I've never 'got' Saabs.

I finished, finally, the Use of Weapons. Erm... I'm not sure what I feel about it, really. It sets up as a huge action packed sci fi spectacular, then morphs into a pure character piece with a plot underneath it that it seems to what to push along, which then seems to just not happen, and becomes something a little different to what the initial plot was going to be, and then wholesale goes 'What is important here, is the back story to this character'. and at the end it plops in a revelation that literally comes on the last couple of pages and doesn't really carry the weight that you think it seems to think it has. It's not bad, and it is a bit of a ride purely on the bait and switch it does, and I'm not sure that the structure it has (alternating chapters flip to differing storylines, the main storyline and a back story storyline that hops about all over the shop) helps, as the back story plotline jumps about on this characters back story so much you start to lose sight of exactly what it's trying to set up. It's not what I thought it was going to be, but worth a read for sure. Moved onto Freakonomics for a change of pace, which I wa given by a mate a while ago. Started last night, had to finish the first chapter before I could put it down, very interesting even if I'm 5 years behind the party of this.

I'm obviously not a fan of the way the Evoque looks, and to be honest I'm not a great fan of the sector it represents (which is arguably a collision of 2 sectors - entry level 4x4, and the 'Chelsea tractor' market, making it effectively a Range Rover for people who cannot afford a Range Rover, and a 4x4 for people who don't actually need a 4x4. It's a lot of image, a lot of 'badge'). But this just underlines that. I know TG took the piss out of Clarkson when he said is it the first topless 4x4, but he kinda had a point. The original work horse 4x4s, the Willis Jeep and co, didn't have proper rooves largely for practicality, and somewhat cost. This doesn't have a roof because spoiled Tracy's husband Darren from marketing wants to keep her quiet come summer whilst also having the Range Rocer chic look to keep up with the Joneses on the school run. Which wouldn't be so bad (if the markets dumb enough to buy it, by all means sell it), but it looks **** wrong. It didn't look great from the get go, but Christ, taking the rough off it does it no favours. It's slab sided like a lorry - the original design took away some of that look by drawing your eye to the low roofline, this obviously can't. Eurgh...

Just... eugh.

Backlash began not long after it came out - an awful lot of the audience appears to have been largely nonplussed by it. Anyone who listens to Kermode and Mayo on 5Live will know that they largely receieved correspondance from people who's overwhleming reaction was 'It's not really all that, is it?', with complaints specifically that it's got all the depth of a cardboard cutout. As someone who is unlikely to watch the Artist, my own thoughts on the very idea of it makes me unsurprised at the reaction.

Have you seen Shame yet Chindie? She's excellent in that (along with Fassbender). It's on the 'When I get round to it' list. Sadly it's a long list. Even for Carey.

The strange thing with Fallout 3 for me was I dearly wanted to like it. I loved Oblivion. I was down with the setting. I was down with atmosphere. I liked a lot about the game's basic identity. And then I played it. The shooting is rubbish. The VATS system was unwieldy and removed me from the game. It's a curiously ugly game, a never ending sea of brown. You wander out in the Wasteland, just like you wandered out into Tamriel, but for me where Tamriel had wonderment and awe to drive you to success, the Wasteland struck me as dull, and I had no desire to wander aimlessly. I even found it more annoying to wander in - the opening hours of these games are always a little grim but Fallout 3 was particularly so, it seemed I struggled to become noticeably more resilient or powerful, or even really find anything that gave me a leg up. I forced myself one day to just sit and play it to try and like it. I failed. It made me appreciate Oblivion more, though.

I've had some trouble with it since coming home this afternoon. On my phone it's loading slowly and then rendering pages with odd errors (page within a page kinda thing). On my desktop, through FF, it was loading so slowly that it can't really be said to be loading up at all, failing to fully load pages at all. But on my lappy now on Chrome, running fairly well. EDIT - Spoke too soon. Now running like a dog on Chrome too.