Timmoru Suzuki

You can't change the length of career mode matches sadly, it's why I re-started my career. Not had chance to play it for a day or two, so I'm only in June year one. Normal is getting too easy now, especially in the minor tournaments, so I think I'll have a go on Hard and see how much I get creamed... Thanks for the serving tips too. My serving is more erratic now, but I've actually got some aces and have won a few cheap points with the CPU only being able to hit weak returns; so overall - win.

I almost lost to Rey, but then pulled a win out of the bag. Not a fan so far I have to say. It's not very tight, and it seems overly basic, and it has the potential to become a reversal fest; ala Impact and the Smackdown games on the higher difficulty levels.

Any tips for getting aces, beyond using the right stick and getting the timing spot on? I've been starting the advance serve and then choosing a direction with the L-Stick at the same moment I flick the R-Stick to choose the type of serve - should I be doing the direction sooner? Anyway, I finally got around to finishing the Hong Kong tournament in my restarted career; and won beating some Austrian serve-volley player 6-0, 6-2 in the final.

Wolf were very good, Accept were fucking incredible. If only they would re-release their old stuff with their new vocalist.

Ah, I started a new career. I preferred super tie-break rules for the minor tournaments, but not having 'real tennis' rules for anything above the most basic tournaments was going to bug me. Plus, my new guys looks 100x better. Though my first match took about as long as a tournament used to >_>

Balls. I just used the default options, so all my tournaments are set to super-tie break rules, rather than proper matches. Oh well, I'll certianly be playing the career mode again with a second created player anyway (because it's so good!)

Me too. I keep playing against a Swedish guy called Man; who keeps rushing the net. What's interesting is that the lob shot seems less effective against him than it does others - he's quick too, you've got to hit passing shots to beat him - though he also makes a lot of unforced errors. I also cheered like a bitch when I played this beautiful cross-court drop-shot to win a point last night. I was right at the bottom right of the court, opponent top left. He hits the ball onto my forehand; and my player nonchalantly flicks his racket, returning the ball back towards the opponent. The ball dropped just over the net, right on the side line and bounced out. Perfect. At what stage do tournaments stop being super tie-break and become full matches? I assume the Masters events?

I can't ace with Federer/Nadal/Roddick either though, but I'll keep trying different things. It's really not a big issue at all, and isn't stopping me enjoying the game or anything.

I want to see the all Elcore production of Hamlet.

I'm having a blast with this too. I keep going into career mode for half-an-hour or so, and end up playing it for twice as long as that. I'm finding it impossible to ace people..... and when THAT is the only thing approaching a gripe I have, then it shows how much fun I'm having with this. I'd say more, but Badder pretty much said....everything!

http://www.ewbattleground.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=77482 Anyway. I hated Jack to be honest. I just found her to be a horribly trite attempt at an 'edgy' character, so I hardly ever used her. Never bothered with her loyalty mission either, bitch could die for all I cared. As for the rest, Garrus is incredible. Garrus > . Miranda was good and useful and so her and Garrus tended to be my team. Kazumi was a good character and had a few neat moves, though she did die in a breeze Thane was a brilliant character, but I never had him in my team because he didn't do anything that Miranda and Garrus didn't do, he was a bit of a let-down in that respect. The other characters I used now and again; except Zaid - despite having a damn good loyalty mission he was just...dull, as Mystikz pointed out. Edit - Oh, and Tali was good, but I never had space for her in my team. So, regretfully she got sorta ignored. Edit 2 - I forgot to mention Mordin. I loved Mordin (and his Gilbert and Sullivan routine) but again, never had space for him in my squad.

Does anyone else find a lot of the combinations of buttons really difficult? I'm not sure if it's my fingers being too slow or the game being a slight dick (actually, it's almost certainly me), I've been trying to do some of the 'missions' and I can't even do some of the special attacks! Woe is my beat-em-up skills.

There's an Eddie vs. Rey Cage match video up. Looks fun; even if they have given Eddie what is basically a 450 and just called it a Frog Slash. More I watch of these videos I think solo play is gonna be fun for a burst but no longer; playing it with friends could be fucktonnes of fun.

Got this through Lovefilm. I had a quick, fun blast and I have literally NO idea what the hell I'm doing; I'm just button bashing. I seem to suck slightly less than I did at Marvel Vs. Capcom 2; but I still only lasted a couple of stages in arcade mode on my first go through. Will play more tomorrow, at this stage it's looking like a fun rental but not a game I'd buy - though it is early days. So far, my main thoughts are, 'Lol, Deadpool.'

New Announcements: Opeth, The Mars Volta, Watain, Firewind, Rise to Remain, Six Hour Sundown, The Treatment, Black Tide, Four Year Strong, The Black Dahlia Murder and the almighty ALESTORM. Fuck all you haters, I love Alestorm. If they were the only band announced at all so far, I'd be mighty tempted with going.

I spent hours on Top Spin on the original XBOX - and dabbled with Top Spin 2 -, and after playing the demo I think I'm gonna have to get Top Spin 4. The demo allows you to play a tiebreak as Federer or Nadal and based on the two of those they've done an excellent job of making the players seem distinct to each other. Nadal is quicker, stronger and has more stamina. Federer is more precise, his body-language and movements are harder to read and when the CPU is Nadal it seems to overhit more shots. The gameplay has been fun, though that is based on the quick tie-break matches, and the presentation and little touches of 'realism' are seriously excellent. The games full line-up will include Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic and Roddick (amongst other modern day players) as well as a swish roster of legends including Sampras, Agassi, Borg, Becker, Lendl, Pat Rafter, Jim Courier and Michael Chang (and they'll be some women too >_>) Licenced tournaments include the Australian, French and US opens, and the ATP World Tour Finals (yay!) amongst others. No Wimbledon sadly, but I think there's a 'fake' version. It's out next Friday for the 360 and PS3. Seems to have some nice online multiplayer modes btw. Anyone else gonna pick this up?

1. The Game 2. Sub Rosa 3. Masks SWERVE~!!! This was hard. Had to cut 7/8 TNG episodes from my short-list. So: 1. Tapestry (TNG) Could have been any one of my top 3/4, but this wins it for a wonderful story, and for 'I refuse to believe that you are god. The universe is NOT that badly designed!' 2. The Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 & 2 (TNG) Best cliff-hanger ever? And just SO much bad-assery all round; from the Borg, from Locutus, from Riker, from everyone. 3. All Good Things... (TNG) Actually the best finale they ever did. 4. Arena (TOS) GORN. 5. Parallels (TNG) Everyone has already summed this up. Worf in alternative universes = win. 6. The Ascent (DS9) I could have picked ANY episode of DS9 Season Five (it's as far in DS9 as I ever got, I'll confess), as for me Season Five was about perfect. The worst episode was still bloody good; so I forced myself to make one pick from this season and one pick only. I plumped for this. Quark and Odo, left alone to bicker and probably die on a remote planet. A wonderful two-hander character piece. 7. Balance of Terror (TOS) Just a wonderful story, a great introduction to the Romulans and a great guest appearance from the guy who played the Romulan Captain who's name I'm too lezy to check right now. 8. The Gallileo Seven (TOS) Just a wonderful survival story. 9. Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG) 10. Frame of Mind (TNG) It was going to be City on the Edge of Forver, which has a wonderful last act, or Chain of Command; but this episode needs more love. Riker, can't tell if 'reality' is the Enterprise, where he is performing in a play about set in an alien mental institution; or an alien mental institution where he has delusions of being a human Starfleet Commander. Turns out it's neither. (Technically speaking Jonathan Frakes is brilliant here. Could easily have done a 'Top 10 TNG' list, there's more episodes that need love!

I could do a top 10 TNG list, and a top 10 mix out of what I've seen of TOS and DS9. In other words, this is gonna take a lot of thinking over. I'll get back to ya.

You suck. Been down for me all day.

1. 'I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson 2. 'On Writing' by Stephen King 3. 'Have a Nice Day: A tale of Blood and Sweatsocks' by Mick Foley 4. 'The Wrestling' by Simon Garfield 5. 'The Stand' by Stephen King 6. 'The Picture of Dorian Grey' by Oscar Wilde 7. 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler 8. 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck 9. 'Mort' by Terry Pratchett 10. 'To Be the Man' by Ric Flair My current Amazon wishlist is so filled of books that I think if you did this in six months (and, you might >_>) this list would be totally different.

I TOTALLY forgot about this the other day; this is a real favourite of mine. It's such a simple film, yet possesing a powerful message, it looks gorgeous and it's well scripted and acted to boot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNq8LoYjG2E

Yeah, its Season Six that takes the dip; it seems to exist so there could be a Season Seven. It's by no means bad; but until then the serie HAD gotten better and better with every passing season until Seasons Four and Five were breathtakingly good in places. And, of course, Antwon > .

Dragsy, that's about the most fair and balanced argument anybody's put out; and yet the pedant in me feels compelled to say that Slipknot are headlining Sonisphere, not Download >_> You are entirely right about the organisers not being bulletproof, and about being able to critique the line-ups. I think most of the stanuch defending of Download comes from just how venemous and short-sighted a lot of the 'Download bashers' are being on various forums; it's as if Andy Copping has personally broken into their house at night, raped their dog, set fire to their posessions and then pissed on them as a final insult. It's basically just because, out of the 52 bands announced so far someone doesn't totally love 50 of them, then DL is clearly the most dreadful music festival ever; and Copping is a useless twat. It's like an switch with some people, on or off, hot or cold - Download's line-up is AMAZING or DRIZZLING SHITS~!!! And nothing in between. Where as, really, then...ah fuck it, I've repeated myself enough in this thread already and now I'm just rambling furher and furter away from any point I might ever have had.

Thing is, though, you're complaining because you don't happen to like Twisted Sister (as an example). Complaining about the lineup of a music festival is soul-destroyingly stupid. Andy Copping isn't designing his festival to cater to your personal music taste. If you don't like the lineup, don't go. It's as simple as that. The fact that most of the bitching stems from "I don't like ________ so the lineup is shit" or "I wanted ________ to play, why didn't they book them?" is fucking moronic, though to your credit you haven't stooped to such an argument, and I thank you for that. Nobody is forcing you to buy a ticket at gunpoint. His writing was a little OTT at points, but he makes a lot of valid points. Basically; this. And it's a shame that Dom Lawson's piece was so horribly written; as it contained a lot of damn good points. The Download line-up is not shit. Not by a long shot. It may not appeal to your tastes, and that's fine. The world would be a fucking boring place if everyone liked the same stuff, so fine. But a lot of people are making the mistake of believing that their tastes and personal opinions are gospel fact. I also find the accusation that Download having a "tried and tested" line-up is a terrible, horrible travesty somewhat silly. Could Download take a chance with a handful more bands each year? Yes, yes it certainly could; but at the end of the day the point of the entire thing is to make money. And thus TRIED AND TESTED bands are smart booking choices, because they bring people in. A festival full of obscure acts plucked from university student unions and minor indy record labels may provide something different, and may even be an amazing festival but (in comparion at least) no fucker would be there. On an unrelated note, some see Sonisphere as taking more risks in the bands it books, and I'll give them that. But, in 99% of suck cases, such acts get 10-20 minute slots on obscure stages, making their booking slightly pointless (from the POV of a fan of said band) when you might as well see them on tour - often for a couple of quid - and get a set 2/3 times as long. Anyway, as I said, side issue.

With the latest announcements, I figured it was time Soni had it's own thread, like Download, High Voltage and Bloodstock. It's July 8th-10th. Announced; Sum 41, Arch Enemy, You Me At Six, All Time Low, House of Pain, Periphery, Grinspoon and FOZZY. So: Friday METALLICA Megadeath Slayer Anthrax Diamond Head Saturday BIFFY CLYRO Weezer Sunday SLIPKNOT Limp Bizkit Also booked: Motorhead You Me at Six The Sisters of Mercy Mastodon All Time Low Airborne Fozzy Sum 41 In Flames Parkway Drive Architects Kids in Glass Houses Arch Enemy Gallows House of Pain Gojira Volbeat One Minute Silence Periphery Grinspoon In Me Protest the Hero Cue the expected posts: Arguing over which has the better line-up - here or Download (for the record once more it's Download for me but I'll be at both), Skummy vs. the line-up, lol @ Biffy, and Y2J! Y2J! Y2J! etc, etc.