Where the artist need not fear the censor...

Welcome to Rapture.

Yes, Bioshock has caught me up. It's absolutely fantastic - one of the best single-player games I've played in a good long while; and easily one of the most cinematic games ever created. To quote Gamespote, it's more like a piece of interactive fiction than a true game - the gameplay is perhaps more than a little simple, and it seems that depth has been sacrificed for both length and graphical quality. But that doesn't stop it from being stunningly entertaining from start to finish. The story grips from the first scene, and the introduction to Rapture - the underwater city created by a man who sought to escape the moral confines of ordinary society - is spine-tingly creepy. Best £40 I've ever spent on a video game, methinks.


The weekend was good - went to see Man Utd just beat Roy Keane's Sunderland 1-0; with a Louis Saha goal sealing the deal, and hopefully putting us back into our winning ways. More sport this coming weekend - in fact, we're going to see Scotland play two sports. Football-wise, on Saturday we're off to Hampden to see them play Lithuania. Then on Sunday, we're of to Saint Etienne, of all places, to see us play Portugal at rugby. Hectic weekend, to be sure - and there's every possibility that I might get sent home early, thanks to my passport having less than six months left on it. Still! Here's to hope that the immigration officers are in good moods on Sunday!

Haven't seen any new movies recently - though I'm keen on going to see Hallam Foe; I always like seeing films set in places I've been, and this one is set in and around Edinburgh! Apart from that, I saw Over the Hedge and Stormbreaker on Sky Movies (apparently it's a kid-friendly premier week). The former was hilarious the first time - but it quickly loses it's charm on repeat viewings. There are a couple of genuinely funny moments, but it's really a 'hit and run' movie; and doesn't demand repeat viewings. The same can be said of the latter - it has to be said, that whilst it wasn't as good as it could have been, it was still vaguely enjoyable. I can't say that you should run out and go see it now, now, NOW!! But, to be honest, it's fine. And - as Mark Kermode pointed out - it's a massive advert for tourism to the Isle of Mann, which is no bad thing I suppose.

The Raider's Dream is coming along nicely - I had one of those 'epiphanies' where you see exactly where you want to go with a story; managed to get most of it written down before it vanished out of my mind. And I'm certainly looking forward to writing the final chapter of book two...if it goes like it did in my head, it's going to be a pulse-pounding read. Yes! I am very modest! Ex Valde Ira is on hold for now, mostly because I only have so much creative energy, and currently I think I've spent more than my fair share on the aforementioned epiphany!

Well, that's all the musings I can muster for now. Hopefully I'll report back soon...so farewell to the loyal few who read this! Or the non-existent few...

Peace!