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I almost never throw anything I like away, so I (or more accurately, my parents) still have most of them stored away somewhere.

But if there's one I'm constantly tempted to get out for my adult use, it'd have to be Crossbows and Catapults - the most flamboyantly destructive childrens toy ever! It's like lego for people who like both vikings and blowing stuff to pieces. Which is everyone, surely?

Am I the only person who thinks watching movies on a tiny little screen like that would be a bit... shit, frankly? Just because you can doesn't mean you should!

Anyway I don't much care about the PSP, but I can say that, clunky as it is, the DS is a really entertaining thing to use, with it's touchscreen and everything. It's not just a gimmick - it really does make a lot of the games more enjoyable (not Mario 64 though, that's hell to control with the touchscreen).

Finally saw this today. It's funny, after all the pre-release moaning about Burton 'pointlessly messing with a classic', this one certainly turned out about ten times more enjoyable then this years piece of shit Batman remake!

This and the 70's film should really switch titles, because this was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory all the way, with Charlie's story trailing in third. I think the first film cut to the heart of the story better, and in a more emotionally involving way, but this one did a much better job of fleshing out Dahl's world and just making a fun, funny visual ride out of the whole story. Depp was pretty hilarious the whole time, and Elfman's songs were (again) fun, even if the lyrics were too hard to make out. Nothing beats the original Umpa-Loompa song, though.

And man, that Corpse Bride looks good. If Burton can nail that one, i'll finally forgive him for that whole Planet Of The Apes thing.

I don't know, I'm definitely glad that Revolution are still around and 'doing their thing' (they're the only 'golden era' adventure developer left, i guess?), and I suppose them doing more Broken Swords is better then them doing nothing at all. But it's hard to see them as a vital, highly creative company when they're doing nothing but sequels to that one game. Even that BASS sequel they announced ages back would've been far more of an interesting prospect for me (though it'd probably be in ugly 3D, with no Gibbons artwork).

Of course, if they're working on both games at the same time, then that's fine with me! As long as they're good.

I know this means there are now two Broken Sword threads on the front page, but I thought this deserved it's own discussion. You can find a link to the press release at www.revolution.co.uk.

Personally, I find it hard to really see this as a particularly positive thing. Given that BS3 was a weak seller and didn't impress too many fans or critics, it seems a bit odd for them to jump into another installment so soon, especially considering they admit the story was supposed to be over. Does this mean the Beneath A Steel Sky sequel is on hold or cancelled?

I can't help thinking that they're only doing this because they feel further milking their once profitable series is their only commercial option at this point. Maybe the game will be good, but it's still disappointing to see this once excellent company seemingly reduced to a cycle of endless franchising.

Back in the Closing Time days Waits just sounded pretty much like any slightly smokey-voiced man on the street, really. It's always fun to play a track from that album back to back with his unhinged recent stuff like Everything You Can Think Of or Hoist That Rag. But he's always been great at making his voice fit the music / the music fit his voice whatever state he's is in, so I'm not complaining.

And yeah, I wish I could sound like him.

Most of you seem to be forgetting that, until the mid-90's or so, adventure games *were* on the absolute cutting edge of gaming technology with their sophisticated artwork, animation and speech. The graphical innovations of games like Full Throttle were major selling points, and visually most other games made in 1990 paled (and still pale) in comparison to the likes of Loom and Monkey Island.

The number of intentionally 'traditional' games have always been relatively few, and technological innovation has been a key factor in game design for as long as video games have existed. That's been true in the adventure genre as in almost every other.

Well I doubt Jeff Wayne's too upset about not getting the call for Spielberg's film - I just saw this week's UK album charts and his War Of The Worlds album went in at no. 6. Nice bit of success by osmosis, there.

The album is pretty great, though I'm a bit biased due to the old childhood nostalgia factor. It's kind of cheesy in places, but that main theme, "oohlaa", "BUT STILL THEY COME!!", the squeaking sound of the alien pod door unscrewing... that's all iconic stuff. To me, anyway. The artwork is great, too, especially if you have it on LP.

Also there was a little-known RTS game based on his musical made a few years ago, which I thought was surprisingly decent, when it wasn't being incredibly annoying.

When the main title appeared I couldn't help thinking how much better it would've been if Jeff Wayne's main theme had started blasting out. The actual music is pretty functional and forgettable, sadly.

On the electrics - the explanation I've heard is that apparently EMPs only have an effect on devices that are switched on, so as long as the camcorders and cameras were switched off they would still work later.

But I think all the unanswered questions are part of what makes the film interesting. It's so intensely focused on this one family's experience, your mind fills the gaps in a way that makes it feel like there are a hundred other stories going on off-screen. I heard a long time ago that Spielberg wanted to make a trilogy out of this - i'm not sure if he's still planning that, but if he did all he'd need to do is pick some new characters and show the invasion from different perspectives and situations.

It's not really a 'thinking' film, though. I can see how a lot of people (and likely book fans) might not like it.

I thought I was gonna hate it for the first 15 minutes or so, but I loved it by the end. Spielberg really directed the crap out of it. He was the real star of the show - I don't think anyone can make visceral rollercoaster film entertainment like he can, and I think this stands up alongside Duel, Raiders and Jurassic Park as his best in that area. It just felt like him letting his hair down and showing off what he can do.

The much criticised short ending didn't really bother me at all, in the end. Even the sentimentalism wasn't as bad as I feared, based on his botching of the AI and Minority Report endings.

Frankly I really can't be bothered to form an educated opinion on the politics etc of this thing, but I have to say Pink Floyd really blew me away yesterday. I don't even like the band all that much, but they were really sounding sublime - Gilmour's singing especially. The Who were great as well, even if I'm not sure playing two very long songs back to back was really the best approach. McCartney's live 'schtick' is definitely getting a bit old at this point, though.

If I had to pick one song to sum up the fundamental concept of rock music to someone who'd never heard any, I'd probably have to say Motorhead's Ace Of Spades.

If I could somehow logically justify saying that Search And Destroy and Gimme Danger (first two tracks on the Stooges' Raw Power album) were in fact one big song, then I'd pick that one. But I can't.

I spent a big chunk of the weekend watching TV footage, even if the lineup was a bit top heavy on ColdKeane tedium and all those weak new bands of the last couple of years. It was worth watching just to catch a glimpse of the newly reformed La's - one of my favourite bands. The singers voice was rough in the extreme, though. The White Stripes and Brian Wilson seemed pretty great.

For me that scene where Tom Cruise chases his own eyes through a tunnel almost single handledly makes up for the fact that the rest of the film was a bit average and forgettable.

I'm apparently the only person in the world who thinks so, but I thought this film was a bit crap. I already posted a detailed review somewhere else and don't feel like cutting and pasting so here's a leedle summary.

Batman Begins:

* Has an obnoxiously aggressive desire to be taken seriously!
* Has a po-faced attitude and focus on realism that only emphesises the silliness of some guy prancing about in a bat-suit!
* Has a creepy and cool badguy in the Scarecrow, but only gives him about ten seconds of screentime!
* Instead focuses mainly on another main bad guy who is as boring and generic as could be!
* Seemingly spends loads of time on character development, while remarkably still failing to make the characters particularly complex or interesting!
* Gives Katie Holmes a major role - an actress who could barely stand her own in Dawson's Creek, let alone onscreen with a cast including Freeman, Caine and Oldman!
* Will in all likelihood lead to Chris Nolan being tied up in the franchise for the next decade or so, preventing him from being involved in much more worthwhile projects!

In spite of everything, there should be some potential for decency in the sequels. But i'm just so goddamn sick of superhero films at this point. I'm also sick of mediocrity being hailed as greatness.

Qui-Gon probably wanted to stay out of the way due to the social awkwardness of joining a reunion between his two former students who have a long history of chopping chunks off each other. Maybe the others had special force powers for dealing with uncomfortable silences? "Go Go Force Anecdote!".

Oh, something else that rubbed me the wrong way: that bit about Qui-Gon at the very end. I gather in the script this was dealt with in some detail, and the character actually makes an appearence, but clearly they cut in all out, making the whole thing seem like a tacked on, half-hearted throwaway explanation for the whole ghost thing. Missed opportunity, there.

You know: that big stupid lizard thing he rides around on for half the film.

Finally saw this the other day, and I thought it was actually pretty excellent, for the most part.

Anakin's turn does seem fast, but I think they explained it well enough. Its a different situation to Return of the Jedi; an intellectual rather then emotional decision, like Andail says. I like the suggestion that he wasn't truly 'evil' at the point when he joins with Palpatine, but that he was conciously buying into the deal to serve his own purposes, wrongly thinking he'd be able to turn back and sort things out after he'd saved his wife. My main problem there is that I think having him kill the kids was just too much too soon.

Also, I'd have to say this one definately works better as a 'sequel set in the past' then a real preceding episode. Dramatically, I really don't think it makes much sense to reveal things like Leia's Skywalker status at this point in the story, if only because it makes the whole incest thing even more obvious and awkward for people watching in order.

Niggles:

- There's quite a bit of superfluous action, and the Chewbacca/Wookie stuff in particular was entirely pointless and unsatisfactory.
- Obi Wan's dragon thing looked more then a bit duff.
- While I can just about buy into the idea that Leia could remember her mother 'through the force', or whatever, having Obi-Wan suddenly forget all about his old droid chums in IV always going to come across as a bit weird.

There are probably more niggles I've forgotten, but that doesn't bother me because on the whole I enjoyed the hell out of it. For the first time in a long time, Lucas really seemed confident and competent as a director, and even some of the performances were enjoyable this time around.

Don't even get me started on how stupid it would be for Obi-Wan to hide Vader's son at his brother's house, on his home planet, disguised, in full dress-robes as One of the last Jedi Knights in the entire galaxy!!!!

To be fair, that problem's been there since Return of the Jedi at least.

He's history's greatest monster!!