Searching for Call of Duty

So, I dunno if you have heard, but there is this new videogame out. There has been a bit of fanfare for the new Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 2. Seems that when you make a sequel to one of the best selling games of all time you want people to know it is coming.

"11.10.09" they chanted, confusing everyone in Britain with their Americanised date stamp, and so I looked forwards to November 10th. So when I found I had 6000 words of essay to give in on the same day I was slightly disheartened. But no problem, I thought, I shall just get my work out of the way, ahead of time.

Turns out that was not the case. Instead of running down to my local videogame retailer for the midnight launch, which I have long awaited, and running home to be one of the first people to play this game, I was stuck, my face lit by the glow of my laptop in a cold house, trying to find intelligible things to say about the 1911 National Health Insurance Act. So I missed out on being one of the first person to play.

But, don't you know, being the first to play had already been broken. Online retailers shipped the game last wednesday, so as not to lose face if customers received the game late I expect, but this meant people were already playing this game last weekend. At the same time, supermarket retailers responded by slashing their prices and selling the game at a loss. From the RRP of £55, you can find the game for as low as £25, if you are willing to sink as low as to shop at ASDA.

But I had pre-ordered this in GAME months ago, in anticipation of a midnight launch. And being the loyal customer I am, I was going to stick to my pre-order and get my double reward points, buying the game for the not unreasonable £45. So I walked into Exeter high street only to find that the GAME store had closed down! And reopened at a new location! A location they seemed to want to keep secret, giving only the toughest of riddle-esque clues as to its location. I kid you not people.

So I had to go and find the new GAME store. This led to a rather uneventful 15 minutes as I stumbled about the Princesshay shopping district, suffering from the cold and hunger, while I tried to find the new location of the Exeter branch of GAME.

But, success! I found it! I was done. There, in the front shelf for all to see, where millions of copies of Call of Duty. So I ran to the desk, and presented my pre-order receipt to the cashier. Who turned aorund, and took a mint condition copy of Call of Duty down from the shelf behind her. She scanned it, I had money in hand... and then she looked at me, and asked if I was over 18.

I was slightly startled. I have not been asked my age when buying a videogame for.... well, since I had braces and was still choosing which GCSEs to study. So I produced my university ID. And was told that just would not do. I remained calm, and logical, like Spock. I asked if she could check the birthdate on my GAME loyalty card. That would not do. Hmm... if I was Spock that Vulcan Nerve Pinch would be useful about now. I offered to show her the birthdate on my debit card. That would not do. It had to be a driving licence. Which I had left, in my drawer, at home. And so I was forced to leave GAME without Call of Duty.

Now, I can understand why they would do this. They don't want to get into trouble for selling little Timmy a videogame with some shooty bits. But I am not little Timmy. I am 6 foot 2. I hadn't shaved this morning, so have stubble under my chin. And so I left, feeling... what is that word that means the opposite of happy?

So I left, a solitary tear trickling down my eye. I gave into hunger. I had not eaten lunch yet, so I stumbled towards the nearby sandwich shop. Then I stumbled homewards, to the internet, to rage against this injustice. Thinking of how, if the world was a better place, I would be skipping home to get shot at in a computer simulation. This is all just not fair...

Another XKCD comic

Sherlock Holmes Trailer

I had not been paying much attention to this, but after seeing the trailer, I gotta say it looks mighty awesome. And only about a month 'til it comes out in cinemas! W00t!

Thoughts on FIFA 10

I just realised it has been a month since the release of FIFA 2010. And having played it a bit, here are a bunch o' random thoughts that have struck me whilst playing

• The way player shout to each other is so cool. In the actual game you can hear faint cries of “man on” and “pass it!”. So awesome, and actually kinda useful.
• My God! Cristiano Ronaldo is just so very, very awesome.
• Using Left Trigger defending is so important! Yaaaay! Something I have being doing for years in PES is now vital!
• You can turn down commentary volume, but not change commentary frequency. WHY!? I like to have Andy Gray speak occasionally, but not every other second...
• All the goals feel like goals. Very rarely do you bumble through, after the defence has parted magically, and then only score because the keeper was 10 feet to the left of the goal and still forgot to dive. This was the worst thing about old school PES, and it is so wonderful to have it fixed.
• Celebrations are not actually that much fun. I want to turn this custom crap off...
• Refs are better. They let things go; let the game flow. Sometimes far too much tho’, and people get away with preofessional fouls.
• You have to pay money in the EA Store for foreign language commentary... I am not gonna pay for it, but if it was on the disc or free I would use it every now and again for a change/laugh. Kinda lame that they charge people for it.
• They call Kuyt – Kite. Just as I was assured we should before he became a 'Pool player.
• Teams that play with a single striker suck. If you have a guy on his lonesome, it is far harder.
• When you play in rain, you get raindrops on the lens for set-pieces... and replays! Lovely!
• When you win a cup or a league, you get no trophy presentation. The commentary declares you the champion, only few players run about, and then you see a title screen saying “champions”. There is no trophy room, no reason really to collect them. In PES you would get a huge buzz from seeing the medal and trophy ceremony, and then that cup would be added to your trophy room for all to see. Here you get nothing, and that is a huge downer. Heck, even in FIFA 1996 you saw fireworks when you won. What happened to my fireworks!?

Thoughts On 'Pool v Utd.

Carragher should have been given a red.

If he had walked, everything would have changed. He cynically, and as last man, took down Mickey Owen. If he had gone, United would have had ten mins to get back at 'Pool, who had already taken of Torres. But he didn't. And then N'gog scored.

Neither Vidic nor Mascherano can really complain about getting two yellows. They were both stupid to commit needless fouls late in the game when already on a card.

Valencia was really good though. He gave United an outlet on the right. Time and time again the ball would be spread wide to him, and he had a great game. He looks like a really nice signing. Still not a patch on Cristiano, but then again, nobody is.

Another man who had a great game was Van der Sar, his double save in the first half was very nice.

But the whole game was changed by one move of exceptional skill by Fernando Torres. Not only was he smart enough to stay onside, but he was quick enough to get in ahead of Ferdinand, strong enough to hold off Rio, and finished with an unstoppable shot. A goal worthy of beating Man utd.

Quiz

So, just got back from the History Society Quiz. It was great fun, and with a score of 80/100, our team came in second! A pretty sweet result, if I do say so myself, and resulting in a sweet box of chocolates as a prize. A couple of thoughts:

1. The Jacket Tom Cruise wore in War of the Worlds looks confusingly like the one he wore in Jerry Maguire. This is a problem in picture rounds.

2. Which song Bill Murray repeatedly wakes up to in Groundhog Day is really hard to remember. (I Got You Babe.)

3. I have a great memory for Top Cat. I remembered that the policeman was Officer Dibble.

4. An Alligator Pear is an Avacado.

Still Alive

Soz for lack of posts, things have been pretty busy.