VG Chartz Best of the Week: 24th - 30th October 2011
by Joseph Trotter, posted on 31 October 2011 / 1,237 Views
Good day to one and all, and welcome to the latest edition of VG Chartz Best of the Week, the most popular internet column in Berwick-Upon-Tweed (citation needed). As you may be aware, it's Halloween this weekend, and thus I'm contractually obliged to do some sort of gimmick in 'celebration' of it. Well, I'm not. Tomorrow I shall be at a wedding, wearing the most frightening garment I can imagine; a suit. Now, normally I'm a Nick-Cave-band-shirt-kinda-guy, so it'll be far more uncomfortable than the transgendered David Bowie vampire I always look like at Halloween; only once was this actually intentional. It doesn't mean I'm not tempted to go to the wedding as one of the scariest people in recent history though:
There was only one thing dominating the news this week; the sacking of Swedish philandera Sven-Goran Eriksson by Leicester City Football Club. Outwit this earth-shattering revelation, there was the small matter of the (semi) announcement of Grand Theft Auto V, with the confirmation of a debut trailer on the 2nd November. No sooner had the news broke than speculation began on the location of the game, with most hedging their bets on another visit to a satirised L.A. Personally, I'd rather they did something a bit more left-field; Las Vegas is not a bad shout, but a return to Britain, or maybe mainland Europe, would really get the tongues wagging. A pastiche on Paris, Rome or even Moscow would be hilarious, and certainly a bit different.
Elsewhere, it was delays galore, as both the Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection (Europe) and XBLA MineCraft were both delayed until 2012, although SEGA announced their 3DS release schedule, with both Shinobi and the impressive Sonic Generations both inked in for pre-Christmas outings. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has now got its PC system requirement, so all can sweat over their graphic chip's capabilities, whilst it was a good week for Science; testing has revealed that gaming could help cure lazy eye in older children. However, it wasn't a good week for Nintendo, who lost $924 million from April to September; enough to dent even the most extravagent of budgets.
A strong outing in reviews this week, with some huge, huge releases. Batman: Arkham City kicked us off with a fantastic and well-deserved 9.5, helped by a wonderfully personal review by Daniel Share-Strom. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One received a decent 7.5, whilst certified-drug and the one reason I might fail my degree, Football Manager 2012, fared little better with a 7.6.
It's also been a good 7 days for the downloadable services, with intriguiging but flawed shooter Payday: The Heist achieving a 7.5 and castle-building hybrid Dungeon Defenders on the receiving end of a sensational 9.0.
The big news, however, was saved for blockbuster AAA galactico title Battlefield 3, which 'only' managed an 8.4; an excellent score when you consider how poor the single-player, an important and highly trumped campaign, actually is (and yes, I know the multi-player is the meat and drink, but a game must be judged on all of its content).
A bit of a slow week really; I suspect it had a lot to do with Batman: Arkham City and those Riddler challenges.
Inspite of this, I still tore myself away from Gotham long enough to manage an interview with Jasper Koning of Dutch developer Ronimo Games to talk about their MOBA Awesomenauts, whilst Bejamin Yoder poses the question we've all been thinking: Why Kirby?
Not a fact, per se, but more a series of wittycisms. Winston Churchill and Lady Astor, a Tory rival, were famous for their brutal often devastating put-downs. Here are three of the best:
Churchill: What disguise would you recommend I wear to your costume ball?
Astor: Why dont you come sober, Prime Minister?
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Astor: If you were my husband, Id poison your tea.
Churchill: Madam, if you were my wife, Id drink it.
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Astor: Mr. Churchill, you are drunk!
Churchill: Yes, and you, Madam, are ugly but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.
Old Speckled Hen is a very tasty ale brewed by the Morland Brewery, based in Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk. Recently, they've launched a brilliant set of adverts starring an aristocratic fox, the mascot of the brand. Here is the best of them:
That's all folks! Use me, abuse me, share me if you like me; I'm yours. 'Til next week . . .
