2 hours later, the shop was closing and I had to leave.

All I can say was, after playing through David Cage’s previous game Fahrenheit, he has really got the emotional part down perfect, even more so than that game. I almost cried at certain bits.

Minor spoilers follow:

I played from moving an FBI agent into his office to the point the woman (forgot their names, sorry) met the man after he had a crazy drive. Around ten scenes in all.

What I managed to do was accidentally let a man die by not stopping an armed robbery, not killing another man when he pulled out a crucifix instead of a gun, saving a woman from commiting suicide, and changing a baby and feeding her milk.

Also, a nude shower scene and a burglary dream?

Spoilers end.

Seriously though, those few moments were enough to tug at my heart strings, the facial animations of the sadness of a lost child was just painful (in a good way) to watch.

I really hope that this makes millions, and is ported to the PC. Otherwise, this game may be the sole reason by my buying a PS3.

Even the box art gives you chills…

I wouldn’t state excellent, as there were a few problems with pacing, I would have liked to see more of Jake trying to fit in with his Avatar when learning the Na’vi techniques, as he seemed to get the hang of it fairly quickly (though it was approximately three months later, so you do get the impression that a lot is missing).

Characters are a tad clichéd, though there were some nice surprises (the scientist who got jealous at Jake actually didn’t turn face and backstab him, he became a decent fellow).

The CGI was incredible, though I still think that Pirates of the Caribbean (Davy Jones in particular) shows what it can really do, when you think that those octopus appendages are real, when in fact he had nothing on his face at all. The Na’vi people and Pandora was beautifully animated, showing how amazing the plants move and live, even the floating mountains, vertigo-inducing, and naturally, the wildlife, which is terrifying.

I would rate this as a must see, if only for the spectacle. If I ever get round to buying a Bluray player, this movie would benefit most from it, with all the visuals, and most likely by then, 3D technology for the home.

In other news, my new computer is up and running, and able to run Mirror’s Edge at maximum quality with no slowdown whatsoever. I’m loving every second of it.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Mirror’s Edge
Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (includes Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay)
Mass Effect
Braid
Lucasarts Adventure Bundle (includes Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, LOOM, The Dig)
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
Star Wars: KOTOR
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
Time Gentlemen, Please! (includes Ben There, Dan That)
Ghostbusters: The Videogame
Beyond Good and Evil
Painkiller: Black Edition (includes Painkiller and Painkiller: Battle out of Hell)
Defense Grid: The Awakening

Admittedly, the first three were during the Thanksgiving sale, but I’ll still include it here. For these 20 games in total (using all the packaged games as separate ones, I paid only £46.81, therefore meaning an average of £2.34 per game.

I’m looking forward to playing the old classics, and the new generation of games too, with a huge thanks to Steam for having such a generous sale.

Maria’s birthday was on Wednesday, and she made some crostini (toasted French bread with various topping on it), a lobster pasta in red sauce, and her lovely cake, strawberries on the top with a nice pink mousse and sponge inside. We had fun that day.

Yesterday, we went to the Mall, near Maroussi. A hell of a lot nicer than before Christmas, due to the absence of several million people milling about the place. They’ve finally built the bridge from the local Metro station, which saves us from having to walk along the motorway to get there (as we did last time). There were still some sales on, so  grabbed a bargain in the form of Call of Duty 2, and also a brand spanking new Logitech G5 mouse. No sign of the lush Logitech G15 keyboard, but it’ll only be a matter of time before it’s released here…

Bought some books, The Black Angel, and The Eight. I’m sure to start reading those over the next couple of weeks. The Asti Spumante code looks hilarious too, but I didn’t get it, yet…

Monday is the beginning of Lent (again you say? I know, I must’ve been wrong), and this time, to celebrate this occasion, you fly a kite… Don’t ask me why because I haven’t the faintest… Still, we’re going to the summer home and will undoubtedly purchase a cheap one and fly it for a bit, maybe on the beach, then have some kalamari, as tradition states.

Hopefully one day (as I’ll be away this weekend since we’re going on a trip to a ski resort, minus the skiing), next beta test, I’ll show you my new green mutant woman with accompanying vehicle.