Well, the Irish economy is tanking and is heading towards recession. Last time things were this bad was in the Eighties so here’s a few memories from that decade. After yesterday’s rather technical post, I need a nice squeaky throw away nostalgic one today.
Tag Archives: youtube
Sweet Galaxy bites Super Mario Galaxy
I love to play Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii. The cartoon graphics, unusual planet based locations and gameplay make it really fun to play. It’s also relatively easy but I’m really stumped by Sweet Galaxy. Unlike every other galaxy in the game it’s a merciless obstacle course where Mario has to jump over gaping holes that move. Mistakes are cruelly punished and it is the most frustrating level I’ve played on any platform in a long time.
I even left the Wii switched on all day yesterday because I made it halfway through, but the final third of the level defeated me each time. Grrr.
Anyway, if like me you’re ready to give up on Super Mario Galaxy because of this level, here’s proof that it can be completed. I’ll try it again, once my left hand thumb recovers from twisting the nunchuk around.
(via)
In related gaming news. Boom Blox was fun for a while, but boy does it get boring quickly. Worse thing is, I paid the 20 Euro surcharge Irish shops charge for supporting local business. I could have bought it on play.com for 41 Euro, but Gamestop and Xtravision were both charging 59 Euro. Damn my need for instant gratification!
Back to Mario Kart Wii methinks.
You're looking so silly Wii Fit!
Judging by the reaction on Twitter, Wii Fit hasn’t been a big hit with my friends there. When Mario Kart Wii came out there was much excitement. I happily twittered when I bought my copy, others replied asking what the game was like, or that they were going to buy it the next day “for their family”. Lots of fans there.
So, you’ve bought Wii Fit. Have you filmed yourself and put it on Youtube yet? Are you brave enough to? 🙂
Of course, Wii Fit has sold over a million units. There must be a Wii Fit user reading this. Is it really fun? Will it last?
How Google Search Really Works
I’ve always wondered, ‘What really happens behind the scenes at Google when I hit the “Google Search” button?’
(via Scott)
Xenon 2 Megablast
Xenon 2 Megablast. If you know this game, you’ll know the soundtrack. This game by The Bitmap Brothers had great title music by “Bomb The Bass”. It was a shoot ’em up released in 1989 although I didn’t play it until years later when I played it on the Atari ST and years later before I’d play it on the Amiga. The Amiga version is widely regarded as the best version and if you look around you can find the adf download fairly easily.
Hand on heart, I have to admit I didn’t like this game much. I love the genre and I’ll happily blast away at Armalyte(C64) or Raiden(Arcade) but Xenon 2 just never did it for me. I do love the soundtrack though!
Here’s a longplay of Xenon 2 in WinUAE. It’s over 48 minutes long but watch a bit of it and you’ll get a taster for the gameplay!
The Bitmap Brothers have created an updated Xenon game, Xenon 2000 but it’s Windows only so I’d love to hear from anyone who has tried it! As luck would have it, someone has created a video of the new game. It’s more a demo than anything else by the looks of things unfortunately.
So, what are your favourite shoot ’em ups? In no particular order mine would probably be:
- Armalyte
- Syndicate
- Raiden
- Quake
- Half Life
Geometry Wars Galaxies is almost there but it’s too new. I’ll have to wait a few years before I decide if it goes on the list or not!
Jump Around as Gaeilge
“Léim Thart” le Des Bishop ag canadh ag Oireachtas na Samhna 2007 i gCathair na Mart. It’ll be on RTE 1 tonight on “In the Name of the Fada” at 10:15pm if you want to catch a probably better version. I can barely make out any of the song in any of the Youtube videos of his performances I watched this morning!
Fair dues to him for taking on the Irish language. Takes a foreigner to show the Irish how to make it popular! 🙂
Dune vs Queen: Who Wants to Live Forever
The first time I heard this Dune cover of Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever” I thought, “Oh Wow! That’s good!”
Then, 30 seconds into the song I thought, “Wait a second. This is actually fairly boring. The voice that sounded nice at the start really sounds weak, there’s no feeling, it goes nowhere and the video is rubbish.”
Here’s the original song by Queen. Turn the volume up. It’ll send a shiver down your spine and you’ll realise how good Freddie’s voice was. Amazing stuff.
Irelande Douze Pointe
Oh dear. Dustin will be singing for Ireland at the Eurovision this year. I think we could win. Maybe.
ladyproblems.com
When Aunt Irma visits the IT Crowd office it can only mean hilarious consequences for all involved. Even Roy and Moss suffer from menstrual cycle symptoms and grow irritable, delicate and emotional. Not to mention the breast tenderness..
It all blows up when Moss emails everyone he knows in the IT world asking, “Do we have PMT?” describing the symptoms in detail. Riots are the result and a website, ladyproblems.com is created!
The producers of the show did actually register that domain, but it’s a shame they didn’t do anything with it. Even putting up a landing page with that image above on it would have been better. At least Warner tried a bit harder with “2 and a Half Men”, charlieharpersucks.com actually exists! Oh well.
Registrant:
FremantleMedia Limited
1 Stephen Street
London, London W1T 1AL
UK
Watch this episode on Youtube: part 1, part 2, part 3. (Watch the previous episode too, The Haunting of Bill Crouse. That was so funny I almost hurt myself laughing..)
On to series 2 of The IT Crowd, I hope there’ll be a third one!
Blogs in Plain English
What’s the big deal about blogs? Haydn rang me this morning because he’s doing research on blogs and I remembered Joseph mentioned this video on IRC. This is a reminder from the Common Craft folk that not everyone knows what a blog is, or why they’re a great communication tool.
If you’re reading this and thinking about setting up your own website, watch this short three minute video and you may well decide to start a blog. Nice to see WordPress.com get a mention too!