http://samueldlockhart.livejournal.com

I blame ProZD for making fun of my name.

And this is genuine, honest. It's just me growing out this moniker.

Motorstorm (PS3) [8]
Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3) [8]
Rogue Galaxy (PS2) [6]
Def Jam: Icon (360) [5]
God of War II (PS2) [7]
Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii) [5]
Trackmania United (PC) [8]
Burnout Dominator (PS2) [7]
Virtua Tennis 3 (PS3) [8]
Lunar Knights (DS) [7]
Vampire's Rain (360) [5]
Diddy Kong Racing DS (DS) [5]
Infernal (PC) [3]

Very good scores for PS3, though Virtua Tennis 3 isn't exclusive to the platform and lacks 360's online modes. Rare's balls up of what was my favourite kart racer for nearly a decade is a shot in the foot, however, though admittedly I lost interest as soon as I heard Taj the Genie's accent was removed. Sonic and the Secret Rings was a bit of a shock considering it's fanfare from other reviews, still "nothing like as incompetant or misguided" as Sonic the Hedgehog.

It's been a pretty sweet month for Sony, especially LittleBigWorld which I would totally buy a system for if I had the money. The PS3 still isn't anything I'd even consider saving up for yet but it looks like they've survived the storm.

In other news, I'm going forth with Exploding Barrel or whatever I end up calling it. I'm going to start on my own or with a very small number of people I expect, though, until I know what tone I want. I've got a host and buying the domain as soon as I've decided on the name.

Crackdown (360) [8]
Supreme Commander (PC) [8]
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) [6]
Kaitou Wario the Seven (DS) [4]
Spectrobes (DS) [5]
Formula One Championship Edition (PS3) [4]
ARMA: Armed Assault (PC) [5]
The Sims Life Stories (PC) [5]
MACH: Modified Air Combat Heroes (PC) [5]
Trion Cube (DS) [5]
Ghost Rider (PS2) [6]
Rocky Balboa (PSP) [5]
Battlestations: Midway (360) [5]

Another disapointing month, especially so for DS. Crackdown sounds really, very good though and only serves my lust for a 360. I don't know if I can get much out of it until we finally set up a wireless Internet connection, and though I don't particularly like how adult the console is (in tone rather than content) I really wants my hands on Kameo: Elements of Power, Dead Rising, and that Geometry Wars I keep hearing so much about.

I should have put "We make sense" but otherwise this is the perfect chick-scoring card.

I "less than or equal to three" you. It's a heart with a cane! You dig that, right?

First up: Nathan & Stephen are the most beautiful band I've heard in a couple of weeks. I don't know what is up with me suddenly finding lots of wonderful music, but I'm not complaining. Nathan & Stephen. Nathan & Stephen. NATHAN & STEPHEN.

Second up: Comic's up. http://odoetagi.porplemontage.com. Flawed start, as the first comic's broken (some cupboards disapeared, transparency broken, couch is disgusting) and other commitments have stopped the website being finished.

Third up: Conflict Resolution Man. I spent hours searching for ProZD's actual name and nobody would sign in. Some part of me finally decided to reveal that I'd seen this Conflict Resolution Man thing this one time, and so I watched the whole thing again. I don't know whether it's my favourite education video, but this and Look Around You are in a TOUGH RACE.

Fourth up: I was round Hannah's house and decided to kiss her. Turns out she was totally okay with this and kissed me back. Girlfriend GET.

Fifth up: Bloody hell these coming weeks are going to be expensive. Valentine's Day? Hannah's birthday? Louise's birthday? Family birthdays? And also Mother's Day when those have finally been and gone. Ouch.

Sixth up: Twilight Princess is pretty okay. I was going to post how disapointed I was, but the Yetis have totally made everything okay. Best Zelda characters ever?

Seventh up: No school friday! Scoop!

Eight up: Church was really pretty swell on Sunday, minus Claire. I think I will remember that service for quite awhile.

Ninth up: I might drop English Literature. I'm just getting ridiculously stressed out by it, and though it's my fault, the easy way out is so appealing.

Tenth up: Obligatory round up to ten.

In order of priority:

Odo et Agi Website
Most of it done, using Porplemontage as a host seeing as I bought a Wii recently.
Odo et Agi Comics
Done enough to keep me updating for a couple of weeks
Hooked Youth Video
Filmed segments that need to be filmed, need to edit and get Photoshop project file of logo before I can animate
Odo et Agi: Fridge Cartoon
Need to record some music with James, then I'll produce an animatic
All of This Video
Storyboarded. Animatic soon, though animation probably won't start in the near future
Brooks TV Website
New website for Brooks TV, haven't started
Serial Surreal
Concept designs done for several characters, near-final designs for Doctor Gogo. While me and Mewd see each other at the scarce amounts of time we currently do, this is likely to be handed to someone else.
Some Toy
Done quite a lot. But I only do a couple of frames a week, so it might be several more years before this sees daylight.

Still, got enough time for dancing.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP) [7]
Elebits (Wii) [7]
Far Cry Vengeance (Wii) [3]
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (360) [5]
Full Auto 2: Battlelines (PS3) [5]
Free Running (PS2) [7]
Final Fantasy III (DS) [6]
Ennichi No Tatsujin (Wii) [4]
Kirby: Squeak Squad (DS) [7]
Kororinpa (Wii) [6]
Earth Defence Force 3 (360) [6]
Sam & Max: Situation: Comedy (PC) [6]

Nothing particularly exciting there, or any games I might have considered. They do however convey a lot of excitement about the level creator mode in Elebits which you can then trade on Wifi, so maybe we should all get it second hand next year.

I bought a Wii. I am waiting to play some multiplayer. We'll probably have it set up on a projecter (with candles! (or a practical alternative!)) for 180 Plus on Friday. I haven't bought a game yet, but I only have enough for one. I'm not really desperate to get any of the games, though, and Mewd's talk of wanting to catch up on GameCube games suddenly makes sense. Eh, I'm sure everyone will be happy with Wii Sports. Also: I'll probably buy GameCube Twilight Princess.

My sister loves Wii Tennis, and I think tonight my Mum won't hesitate to have a go. My dad's a bit different, though. He wanted Zelda, but has no time for a fifty hour quest. There aren't any good platformers, and until Galazy paves the way I doubt there will be soon. There's nothing on the Wii that yet appeals to him. First Person Shooters make him dizzy, and such. He then wanted to know if we could buy Banjo Kazooie on the Virtual Console.

Speaking of, I love Wii Boxing, I don't think anyone gives it enough praise. Hillarious.

TO THE POINT:
-Diddy Kong Racing seems to have unneccesary touch-screen controls. Darn.
-I just remembered the original had a TO BE CONTINUED plastered at the end. They should do something about that.
-More work! I now have a video to do for 180.
-Firefox, why do you handle CSS spacing wrong? Somebody should work on that.
-EXAMS BLOW
-Find 8 coins and win!

Eugh, I was stuck studying in a room full of thirteen-year-olds for an hour today, so I just stopped and started browsing the Internet instead when a message appears in the bottom right corner. Turns out the teacher thought I was one of the year eights, not doing their moon project. He proclaims "Dinosaurs were not on the moon. Get back to work." Instead of, you know, walking over to me and telling me off. Such a personal education we're getting nowadays. Anyway, I searched for a moon one and screen grabbed his response.



I burst out laughing and he realised who he was messaging. I then ended up spending the next half hour searching for comics about the moon to entertain him. I suppose that's one use for Oh No Robot. This one is the cream of the crop.

Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3) [7]
WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii) [8]
Excite Truck (Wii) [6]
Genji: Days of the Blade (PS3) [5]
Ridge Racer  (PS3) [6]
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition [7]
Viva Piñata (360) [7]
Yoshi's Island DS (DS) [6]
Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii) [6]
Phantasy Star Universe (360) [6]
RACE: The Official WCC Game (PC) [7]
Rayman: Raving Rabbids (Wii) [6]
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (Wii) [5]
Gunpey DS (DS) [6]
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS) [8]
Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS) [6]
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (PC) [6]
Thrillville (PS2) [7]
Superman Returns: The Videogame [3]
Elite Beat Agents [7]

There's quite a chunk of disapointments in there. I had suspected Resistance was getting a lot of hype solely because it was a launch game, but the big letdown is Yoshi's Island. Even with such brilliant foundations, I guess there's only so much you can expect from Artoon. Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is also pretty lousy, seeing as it's one of the few games to actually attempt the Wiimote. Gunpey DS was from the Meteos team, as well, so I guess everyone's being boring and complacent. And Phoenix Wright! Maybe I can get the original for cheap.

On the plus, Castlevania! I have yet to play Castlevania save for a horrible mobile phone download so this might be my next purchase. Also Smooth Moves is significantly better than Touched, which I hated. Sweet.

Quick scrap

I really wanted an easy collectathon just to waste time on, so I went to my local game shop for Spyro: Year of the Dragon which was £15. Which is ridiculous for such an old game. I try to get him to give it to me for a fiver but he won't go lower that eleven, so I spent a good half hour trying to find something else. That turned out to be Silent Hill 2 with DVD, which was £4.99. I won't question his logic.

Anyway, my first impressions are disapointment. I hope the freaking fog lifts, because I can't see a thing. I also spent fourty minutes searching for the first key. The combat is confusing and I'm just frustrated. I'm intrigued enough to pick it up a few more times, but probably with a GameFAQs guide to tell me where the items are.

I watched the Torchwood finale, and I can confirm it kicked a lot of ass, and take back what I said to Mewd about not bothering to watch it. It's so worth it just for the last two episodes. The thing to look out for is Saxon, by the way. Here's the scene with the TARDIS.

Please stop taking my blood doctors. I'm growing bored of it, now.

One
We were in Game and Hannah said she really liked the look of "that American game."

"That what?"

"That game with the American title."

"Oh... most of these games have American titles, they don't add the u's in that-"

"No! American!" she exclaims, pointing vaguely towards a display.

"Canis Canem Edit? That's Latin."

"That's what I meant."

Two
Me and Hannah were in Pizza Hut. A girl, who I will refer to as 'a girl', and her friends who I won't talk about because they're uninteresting and also unattractive get a table next to us. I notice a girl is checking me out.

"Hannah, a girl was checking me out."
"No she wasn't."
"No, really. She was."

Hannah gets more and more insecure and defensive when I insist on she was. She finally changes the coversation on to how long we're waiting for the stupid waitress to give us our bill. What is that all about? A girl started moping when her friends teased her a little bit, so I was put off.

Anyway, why so defensive Hannah? Huh?

Three
Hannah tried to embarass me by making me go to Debenhams with her while she purchased a bra. This backfired for two reasons, first of all I went up two floors and played the New Super Mario Bros demo.

Second of all, because the assistant asked her what size she was. Hannah made a quick "Go away" noise and face, which I ignored, so now I know!

N.B. It's me knowing the size, not the size itself, that is the embarrasing thing. Just if you were wondering.

N.B. The exclamation mark represents Victory, and not Pervitude.

Your presents will be soon, I swear. Drosselmeyer is from Princess Tutu, right? That is my best guess. The boxsets are as cheap as £2.30 ($4.49) on Amazon UK, so I'm sticking them on my to-buy list now.

I couldn't find a microphone anywhere, yesterday, so work on Odo et Agi is presently delayed until the Sunday 14th minimum. I will spend this time on Christmas gifts for Hannah the Girl and Ludwiggy.

Exams on January 17th and 18th, Physics and Further Maths. For people who keep asking me, Further Maths is basically what you do when you first start University Maths and is hard-as.

As far as The Sarah Jane Adventures goes, it's a complacent Children's Drama. Sarah Jane herself is okay, keeping the air of mystery and intrigue of The Doctor, but falling flat with her lame-as Sonic Lipstick.

Sarah Jane is joined by her neighbour Maria who is typical. Her parents obviously don't understand her, and she misses her friends from her old town, and there will probably be an episode where she wants to be a footballer but her peers pressure her not to because it's not very feminine. Maria is boring and predictable, except for her atire as every character is dressed ridiculously.

Maria has a friend called Kelsey who is rude, fancies every single guy ever and doesn't believe in this alien nonsense. There will probably be an episode where she gets into trouble for being rude and is captured, but doesn't want to leave because her captor is fit which annoys the captor and so he ends up getting rid of her anyway. She also says "I am so 'shamed for you," constantly. She is boring and predictable, bouncing into trouble but being sceptical

Finally, Sarah Jane adopts a boy called Luke Smith, who was grown from samples of other humans. Thus, he's got the memory of 10,000 humans. But he's also got the standard two eyes. Despite not being seen much, he'll probably end up annoying quickly with constant What's That's. There will probably be an episode where he has his first day of school and finds it hard to make friends.

Their predictability doesn't mean lack of depth - however, building layers of complex emotions simply serves to confuse the target audience - and when for a fleeting glimpse we see something more (The aliens read Kelsey's mind and discover she has fears over her weight) it's clear it could become far too adult. Gareth Roberts may have said "We're all determined that this will be a big, full-blooded drama; that nobody should ever think of it as 'just' a children's programme," but ultimatly that would be a bad move.

The problem is in how the characters influence it's audience. Doctor Who has already perfected the template - he's intelligent, courageous and bold, whereas the children are stupid, reckless and foolhardy, who have worries and responsibilities they shouldn't. For the programme to succesfully capture children's imaginations it needs a much stronger lead to inspire. Sarah Jane is frail and old, and can't provide it. All adults in the programme are depicted as foolish and incompetant, certainly not the inspirers they ought to be.

The school-based show, while formulaic, succeeds because it features children doing things that children do. Living in a child's world. Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire are the too greatest success stories in this genre, putting the characters into believable settings and predicaments but facing them with silly soloutions. The other soloution is to put them in extroardinary situations but have them react to it with child-like innocence. The PowerPuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory did this well - squabbling amongst themselves while trying to protect the town. The Sarah Jane Adventures needs a big shift in direction to reach this.

Andrew in Odo et Agi - Fridge

I think, perhaps, that I need to adjust the computer in my bedroom's brightness settings, as that looks quite a bit too dark downstairs. Also, Hannah The Boy says the 12 is above the clockhand which is ridiculous! Can you imagine such a thing?

New Year's Resolutions
- Don't be lazy!
- Find a nice girl, settle down and give my parents some grandchildren

My face is lumpy and sore today, because Hannah the Boy forcefed me a Snickers and I'm slightly allergic to nuts. I'm going to forcefeed her a pinecone as part of my gruesome revenge!

Also: K-9 has been written out of The Sarah Jane Adventures because he has a black hole to attend to! This is a travesty, we only get to see two minutes of him for the whole series!

Mewd and Ludwiggy: your presents will be late. See you all next year.

2007 To Do List
-Give overdue Christmas presents to Mewd and Ludwiggy and Hannah the Girl needs one too
-Work out a reasonable schedule, and commit to making a regular cartoon series. Even if that means two one-minute-shorts next year.
-Serial Surreal
-Start more dead-end projects. That probably means no forseeable Exploding Barrel.
-Make God proud
-Get my hair cut
-Take some sort of music lesson
-Not take the Physics at SBL Lunchtime Pokémon League too seriously.
-Invest in good video games. Good ones!
-Set up Wi-fi. However many routers we burn through.
-Launch The Big SOS fo' real this time?