I made this video for some crappy blog, thought you might enjoy it. Also, don't forget you can win a prize of nothing for guessing which episode of Battlestar Galactica the current Gamercast network promo for The Podcastle came from. Because I love you.

(Also, (cocks) I think because I've just uploaded the vid to YouTube, rather than use the NG branded player (I don't want to clutter up dtoid with my sick filth) it might be a bit temperamental. If you click through to the YouTube page, or the NG post, it's working fine there.)

I've said it about a billion times before, but if it wasn't for Destructoid and all of those contained within, my direction in life would be very different and very boring. Knowing I will be (hopefully) soon earning my living with the girl I love, doing what I am most passionate about and most enjoy, makes me very happy to have found this bias little blog.

Mr. Destructoid, I owe you a pint. Three moar years pls.

Yesterday myself and the sexy Dan joined Capcom at the House of Tripples (Sony HQ) in London for a quick play of Resident Evil 5. Big thanks to CTZ for being so sexy and getting us the invites!

After a short train ride down South, I joined Dan and his guest and headed to Sony HQ. Upon arrival were greeted with a room filled with at least a dozen huge TVs set up for us to enjoy the RE5s on. Sadly we weren't able to feel the full force of the Blu-rays as the version we played was the “review build”, which apparently means it's in SD and some of the textures are missing.

We were also only playing the co-op version and missed out on a section at the very start as our PS3 broke (we were like “lol”) and we moved to another game which had been played until around halfway though the first mission. In our few hours with the game we managed to get to roughly the middle of the second chapter. Rough guestimation puts the full game at around 12 or so hours long.



There is a story, but for the sake of spoilers I'll not go into more detail that my original comment on the matter. To be honest, I didn't actually see anything that constitutes a spoiler, but hey, can't be too careful. The plot is very fitting with the game and although we didn't play up until the embargoed plot twist, I think I can confidently predict it.

Control wise the game is awesome. Until around a week ago I had never bothered playing a Resident Evil game. I tried and failed to enjoy myself at every attempt. However, after the last week of people complaining about how you can't run and gun, I must say I love it. The inability to run and gun, the frenzied panic you end up in, is perfect for the game.

The way RE5 controls; stop, shoot, shit yourself, run, is fine. The game is designed around the fact you can't run and gun, so the enemies move at just the right speed. You never feel completely helpless, yet frequently feel overwhelmed.



Another nice touch is the inventory. All weapons, ammo and health is fitted into a 3x3 grid. Each item takes up a single spot and the top, bottom and side objects are mapped to the D-pad for quick selection. Smart inventory usage lets you use the d-pad to switch instantly through all your key items. Something that's very, very useful.

One gripe with the controls that I did have however was the lack of any Sixaxis usage. When an enemy has latched onto you and is chowing down to your spine, you have to waggle the left stick as fast as possible. This is the perfect place to use “waggle the sixaixs” controls (see; Uncharted). It would also save the palm of your hand from pain.

If you've played the demo, you know how awesome it looks. As I explained before, the version we played was lacking some of the shine but from extrapolation I can confidently say the game looks and sounds very impressive.



So, before playing this I couldn't even stand the idea of Survival Horror games. After playing the first few hours of Resident Evil 5, I can honestly say I'm hooked and will definitely be putting down the cash for this game.

If you want more of my thoughts, I'll probably be putting up another preview over on NG, as well as talking Jims face off about the game in the next Podcastle.

Also, Dan won the “look like a Zombie whilst we take a pic of you” competition. He won a mini poster signed by the game's producers (I think). When the prize was announced the phrase “it had to be a Dtoider” was said. We have a reputation.

As you may have noticed, Destructoid went and had unprotected sex with Reddit and we appear to now be fostering a child. The important thing is NOT TO PANIC. We're young, inexperienced and might drop it, kill it and all go to prison. BUT DON'T PANIC. Just follow my advice and we might just survive long enough to see it through puberty.

What is this “Reddit” of which you speak?

Reddit is a social news site. People submit news and other people comment on it, vote it up or vote it down. It has a very different feel to Digg because you can put anything on there. Forum threads, pictures, basically, anything. There are also sub-reddits.

On Reddit, everything is split up into roughly a bazillion sub-reddits (eg; gaming, coffee, jailbait). These are all user run and range in size from the huge, to the tiny. Every user subscribes to whichever ones they want, allowing you to tailor your experience perfectly.

Great! Let's put all our shit on reddit gaming!
No. Don't make me bitch slap you. Reddit gaming is awesome and doesn't need your shitty cblogs clogging up the place. We may have a partnership going between the two of us now, but that doesn't mean you get special treatment. Lurk Moar as the internet saying goes.

I you want to have your stuff read by more people, firstly you should start using Reddit. Learn what people like, what they don't like and the best practices. If all you do is post your own stuff on there, I'll ban you in the crotch. I has the technology. Reddit gaming is a huge community with nearly 40,000 subscribers and we don't want them to get pissed off with us (more than they already have). They are a cynical bunch.

Fine, I'll not be a douche
Good. I'll let you submit stuff.

Once you've worked out the inner workings of the Reddits (and are done fapping yourself dry over the NSFW sub-Reddit) it's time to submit. As I say, only submit things that you think the wider audience will like. No in-jokes or bullshit. Also, do feel free to submit stuff from other websites, they do exist (apparently).



Head over to the submit page (above). Fill in the URL of whatever you're submitting and then add the title. Your title should basically describe what the link is going to. Once done, hit “submit” and ZOMG it's done.

Don't get neurotic about the up and down votes. Most stuff gets downvoted at first. Also, DON'T spam you're Reddit submission link to people to try to get extra up-votes. They have a very cunning spam detection thing which may smack you in the ass. And we don't (all) want that to happen.

Can I have a sexy up/down vote thing on my cblog?
Yup. There are a load of different buttons you can use. Pick the one you want and put the code into the “embed” bit in your cblog. E.g.:



And that's it! Well, that's not everything, but you can pick up the rest easily enough. Any problems just get in touch, I'll be happy to help.

Also, cocks.

In no way is this a video made by the awesome Nerdfit guys for NG.



Please, thank me later.

So what if I haven't blogged in several million years (in internet time) on dtoid!? Give a brother a break.

1. I once had to stop listening to Dark Side of The Moon because it overwhelmed me.
Music has always been very influential in my life. I can't tell you who all the Beatles are and I have no idea what's popular at the moment, but at the few key parts in my life music has often been there. When I broke up with my first long term girlfriend (3 years), I remember sitting alone in a crap student halls in the middle of the night. It was summer, I had no friends near and I felt low. I was about to move house so everything was boxed up. The only things unpacked were a record deck, headphones, a UV light and a few records. Never before has Black Sabbath's Paranoid album had that much of an impact. Later that summer I got myself very very drunk and lay on my floor. I turned all the lights out and listened to Dark Side of the Moon (vinyl). I got myself so engrossed in the track, when the clocks kick in at the start of Time I ripped my headphones off and nearly had a panic attack.

2. Continuing the music theme, I once wrote and produced an entire album. Then, two or three years later, remixed it myself. It was all started by an awesome tune called “Where are the chickens?” which was a parody track made for music class. I used the full power of my grade 1 piano class and the vocals of a good friend (who later went on to form a kick-ass punk/ska band) Johnny. Most tracks were electronic, repetitive, had guitars and were either fucking depressing as shit, or just shit.

3.I took drama in school and travelled to Washington DC twice as a teenager to perform Shakespeare. Not much to really elaborate here.

4.I own a Sinclair C5 and used to stunt-drive it down my garden on 2 wheels. It got retired to a shed after a collision with a wall. It was low speed, and my friend was in it at the time, but it screwed the chassis.

5.A fact only known to Podcastle listeners, but when I first met (and totally hit on) Atheistium I was roughly 3 or 4 times the legal dosage of paracetamol (I should have gone to A&E) and had been sick around an hour previously during my first day at work. That day I was taken for lunch and now can't eat Niocci pasta. It was my first day working at Symbian in London and Lauren sent me a text whilst I was sat on my train going home. At the time I felt completely out of it and thought that it would be a great idea. The following day I was comatose in bed, only leaving to vomit.

6.I made and still run a small online web game called Wardrox. It's where my internet handle comes from. It was once hacked by a Dutch guy accidentally.

7.I have never finished a proper RPG.

8.Both my parents are teachers and both have succeed in becoming heads of their respective departments. My Dad is head of IT and my Mum is head of Special Needs. They are both awesome and have given me a wide range of life skills that I think make me both very practical, and also very nice (or at least thoughtful of others).

9.I left mySpace and joined Facebook not because mySpace is owned by Fox, but because on mySpace it's obvious if nobody gives a shit about you.

10. I run Negative Gamer and, inspired by people such as Niero, genuinely hope and believe I have the skill, passion, ability and drive to make it as a blogger (well, that's the short version anyway). In my head, I will also become a great games designer and will eventually rule the videogaming world.