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It may have been him but, honestly, it has been so long that I have forgotten. I could go back and find it in the podcast feeds, I expect, but I am in an immense hurry with work at the moment and can’t do more than offer a brief comment here and there. Sorry!

“LEST WE FORGET, this is how the Literature Corner began. This is how we do things here! If nothing else, it’s entertaining.”
I do remember that. Who was it that complained? Zoltan?

“This seems extreme. Maybe just disable all internet features? What could they be trying to stop by killing all features?”
We shouldn’t mistake incompetence for extremity. I doubt there was any malice here. They just didn’t think (as usual), and probably lack the capacity even to realise that there is another way to do things. Nintendo is a company of incompetents, run by a nincompoop.

“this was obviously the best”
Confederacy of Dunces!? Interview with the Vampire!? Candide!? They’re ALL excellent.

“We also saw a show while out of town”
You neglect to say which!

“I appreciate how you’ve done an entire podcast in a different tone just to spite me. It really gives me that warm fuzzy feeling to know how much you care.”
LEST WE FORGET, this is how the Literature Corner began. This is how we do things here! If nothing else, it’s entertaining.

Podcast Feature
Ebola, I guess
I didn’t know that the World Health Organizion held concerts.

Fall Playthrough
Vagrant Story
Begins next week!

NEWS
Rebel Galaxy
How incredibly mundane sounding.

HyperDevotion Noire

Symphony of the Night coming to PC

Gargoyle Games coming to eShop
The Demon Darkness is an awful title. It’s like the ShadowDark from D&D 4E.

Wii U EULA Update bricks console if users don’t agree.
This seems extreme. Maybe just disable all internet features? What could they be trying to stop by killing all features?

Army of Gaben
“I don’t have the money to hire anyone else” -Lusipurr, famous payer of $0 salaries.

Ubisoft is dumb, again (‘screed)

Ubisoft blames microsoft for bad pc port

Bup Reads Wikipedia for 60s
World Religion

Imitanis Literature Corner
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Highlights this week
-The demon of hindsight.
-DS9 Buzzer interruption
-Charge, C-haych-A-R-G-E
This was such a great and clever book. I fully support further readings in this style!

I’m disappointed that I didn’t win. Of the books available, this was obviously the best. Hopefully I can still win something else.

“I think that your info blast should come with a ‘travel moment’ instead of a gaming moment!” – Lusi
¿Porque no los dos?
Imitanis Gaming Moment
This week I played 2 more board games (actually 4, but I’ll discuss 2): Lord of the Rings the card game and Enigma. I’m no longer going to make estimate about D&D dates as too many things are getting in the way of that.

LotR The Card Game is an LCG (Living Card Game). This means that there is a core pack of cards that contains everything you need to play the game, but on a regular basis (usually monthly) new packs of 30ish new cards come out to add to the game. The exact contents of all packs are known, there are no booster packs. The current reigning champion of these type of games is Android: Netrunner, a game about high tech theft and counter-theft in a cyberpunk setting. I’m a big fan of this format for LCGs as it encourages thoughtful deck design as opposed to big spending to make powerful combos whilst still changing up the dynamic regularly enough so that the game doesn’t get stale if you’re involved at all in the meta-game.

Where LotR differentiates itself from most other LCGs is that it is a cooperative game. This is a neat diversion of the formula, but I think it may neuter some of the fun in creating exciting decks since you can’t crush a human opponent and you can lose without it being under your control if your teammates are bad or the deck that determines your challenges is poorly shuffled (as happened to us). If you’re into LotR or would rather work with than against other players then maybe this is your thing, but my recommendations for LCGs would be the previously mentioned Netrunner or Summoner Wars which is a turn based strategy take on the formula and also very fun.

Enigma is a timed puzzle game. The game contains 4 different types of puzzles: Tangrams, Block building, pipe maze, and matching weights. On your turn you will choose one of these types of puzzles and attempt to complete it. Each player must choose a different puzzle, so with 4 players it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to choose your favorite every time (more on that later). The first player to complete their puzzle flips a 1 minute timer and all other players must complete their puzzle in that time limit or not at all. Those players who completed their puzzle will use the back of the tile to add to a construction of pipes and nodes to score points based on what they connect to (this is very similar to roads in Carasonne if you’ve played that). Now here’s why you might not pick your favorite even if you choose first: you can see the pipes and nodes on the back of the puzzle before you pick, so you might see one that will give you lots of points in a style of puzzle that you’re not quite as good at and choose that one instead. This game is great. Seriously, tons of fun. In my group we had lots of fun trying to get through some of the more challenging puzzles in time and then passing the unfinished ones around to see if other players could do them. Not for those who need lots of time to think through problems, but if you like puzzles (like I do) then is is a fantastic choice. It also plays in about 30 minutes, which is cool because you can finish quickly if you need to or play again if you want more.

Imitanis? Travel Moment
I left the state again this week, though only for a day. A family member needed to travel to a medical specialist with the chance of being sedated and unable to drive back. We also saw a show while out of town, which was good. I’m glad that there are multiple theatre venues within a few hours drive of here. It really expands your options when shows that you want to see aren’t coming through.

Final Note
I appreciate how you’ve done an entire podcast in a different tone just to spite me. It really gives me that warm fuzzy feeling to know how much you care.

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Totally agree about FFIX, although in my current playthrough I’m not experiencing any frustration with battle speed: I have it set to maximum, and then to “wait”, which (if one intelligently makes use of the way wait works) puts a stop to the bottleneck of waiting computer and party member actions that have to be displayed before the latest action entered takes place. That’s really what slows down the battle system.

Agreed re: Borderlands. It’s like Etrian Odyssey. Both great series, both need to take a break (although Etrian Odyssey appears to be doing just that).

I was impressed by Tomb Raider. Not the story, of course, but I hope Uncharted took notes. It does a great job using that style of gameplay but making it not so horrifyingly linear.

And of course I agree about Final Fantasy IX. Most of my favourite games from my youth fall further from my favour the more I revisit them, but Final Fantasy IX is perhaps the only one in which my respect increases when I revisit it. As JRPGs continue to come out after it, they tend to only show why FFIX is great, not diminish the reasons. The sign of an excellent game. If only battles could start (and run) quicker. I don’t mind a slower pace, but I can’t find a lot of justification for why the system is quite that slow, although I personally don’t mind at all.

Congrats SKS but MAN I wanted that book!

And I know it’s sarcastic, but it really does feel like a breath of fresh air to hear this podcast with such a positive tone.

@Ethos: I am genuinely grateful that someone is appreciating them. They involve quite a lot of hard work, although I fear this does not always show. Still, I like to think that I am getting better with the technical aspects, if nothing else.

Best of luck with your exam this week Lusipurr.

Gents – thank you so much, I’m luckless no more !! Tears of joy :*D
Really enjoyed The Phantom Tollbooth read though (the Imitanis Literature Corner never disappoints) great segment, a wonderful raffle. I shall treasure my prize, thank you *tips hat.