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Supersized Sweep

by sweep

whattup Giantbomb!! here I am somewhere in south Italy (Sorrento?) after almost 2 weeks of travelling and, low and behold, I am still not dead!! My kidneys remain intact and my anal virginity has yet to be punctured. Huzzah!! no but serious :| Anyways I have been cruising around on trains and whatnot, bumbling up and down colossal structures like the Colosseum, and the Vatican where I completel...

whattup Giantbomb!!
 here I am somewhere in south Italy (Sorrento?) after almost 2 weeks of travelling and, low and behold, I am still not dead!! My kidneys remain intact and my anal virginity has yet to be punctured. Huzzah!!

no but serious :|

Anyways I have been cruising around on trains and whatnot, bumbling up and down colossal structures like the Colosseum, and the Vatican where I completely failed to see the Pope - but that's understandable considering he is a Ninja. What with this excess of travel time I have been making full usage of my Ninedo DS. So, I guess this is the part of the blog where I "talk about games".

THE PART OF THE BLOG WHERE SWEEP TALKS ABOUT GAMES:

I have a small stack of DS games I have been battling my way through. Here are some quick impressions:

  • Advance Wars:DS

For the first time in a long time I have actually become addicted to a game on a handheld system. Advance wars not only appeals with its core simplicity and mathematical perfection, but a game with tight aesthetics which seem much better suited to the DS than a tacky playstation port. I'm currently cruising through Omega land with Max and Grit being my CO's of choice, although Sensei is a close second favourite. Everybody knows that sweep loves helicopters.

  • Hotel Dust:Room 215

This game has me kind of torn. I'm loving the point and clickness, but the game proceeds at such a painfully slow pace I can't play for more than about 45 minutes without my eyes going blurry and my brain tissue leaking out my nose. I also resent the lack of variation in the approach you take with characters. Often in a conversation you are given a choice of playing the Good Cop or Bad Cop - but every time I take the Bad Cop route I seem to end up with a punctual Game Over screen as I get thrown out the Hotel. If I playing Mr. Nice Guy is mandatory what the fuck is the point in giving you the choice in the first place. The humerus angry response nowhere near outweighs the frustration in having to resume from Save and restart the extensive conversation from the beginning. There nothing more frustrating than having to sit through tedious conversation sequences to which you have already extracted the answers.

  • Space Invaders Extreme

I love this game. I really do. But I have been stuck on stage 4 for about a week. It's not such a problem, as the different stages simply give you new formations of the same enemies, but some form of progression would be nice. Maybe I need to stop looking at Italian ruins and put in some decent Space Invading time?

So yeah, the DS is getting a thorough dusting. I have also read a few books; a Terry Pratchett that I have read before, DUNE, which was awesome and I would recommend to anyone who likes Mass Effect, Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings or Blade Runner. Fuck it, just go and read it. I'm currently halfway through Barack Obama's book Dreams Of My Father - which has been excellently written, though my British cynicism all but suspects his apparent honesty of deep political propaganda. I would have voted him, given the chance, but still: Sneaky Suspicions.

I spent the last few nights sitting on the Spanish Steps in Rome, drinking cheap beer and chatting to German kids and Australian backpackers. Got chased by the police for trying to swim in the Trevi Fountain. Good Times. Staying in Sorrento for a few days, then Venice, Vienna, Bratislava, Prague... somewhere in Germany? Who knows.

PEAS OUT GIANTBOMB
Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep