I’ve been playing some videogames lately, and now I’m going to talk about them. You can’t stop me, so don’t even try.

Metal Gear Solid 4

I finished a second run of MGS4 recently, this time as a ghost – so no alerts and no kills. Or at least that was the plan. I made it through without any alerts okay, but somewhere, somehow, I managed to kill six people without realising it. Don’t ask me how that’s possible, because I honestly don’t know. Maybe I used a real gun when I meant to use the tranq pistol? It’s easy to do – happens on wildlife reserves all the time. A ranger goes to tranquilise a rambunctious rhino, mistakes are made, one thing leads to another, and somehow he ends up shooting it with a bazooka. Totally understandable. In any case, I’ve got a late-game save file I can go back to, if I feel like trying again.

And I probably will try again. Hell, I might just start again from scratch, maybe go for one of the many emblems I haven’t received yet.  If I’m in a particularly masochistic mood, I might even take a shot at Big Boss: no alerts, no kills, no healing items, hardest difficulty level, complete in under five hours. Mmmyep. Usually, I wouldn’t even think about subjecting myself to such a ridiculous challenge, but I dunno ... I’m beginning to think that maybe it’ll be fun. After all, although MGS4 is a frustrating game, it is rarely unfairly so. There are a few isolated sequences where you can get screwed by random chance, but for the most part it’s simply a matter of effort and concentration. Oh, and having a magic gun that’s powered by the sun helps as well.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2

I picked this up yesterday, and am enjoying it so far. Having played the sometimes mind-numbingly verbose remake of the original Tactics on PSP, I was pleased to discover that this one doesn’t even have a story. It’s just like, you’re this guy who gets sucked into an alternate universe, and then you join a gang and fight monsters. And that’s pretty much the whole premise right there. I mean, obviously things will develop, and I’m sure there will be many INTERESTING CHARACTERS and IMPORTANT EVENTS and such, but for now it’s just game game game with minimal interruption.

And how is said game game game? Well, it’s still early days, but so far I’d say it’s pretty good good good. As most of the reviews have said, it’s very much like the original Tactics Advance, only more so. I know! Who’d have guessed, right? Anyway, I might do a proper review later on, but ... um ... probably not.

OH, ALMOST FORGOT!

After receiving many more entries than I anticipated, I have decided on a winner for my impromptu Win a Copy of Apollo Justice comp. And that winner is...

 CODY BOZARTH

One of the very first entries to arrive, Cody’s haiku is a perfect summary of what it’s like to play a Phoenix Wright/Apollo Justice game. It goes like this:

Do you save before
Presenting evidence? Well...
No man is perfect.

Seriously, how clever is that? It’s pretty damn clever. Anyway, Cody, if you could send me an email with your address in, I’ll get the game out to you as soon as possible. Congratulations! And thanks to everyone else who entered too – even those of you who openly admitted that you wanted to sell the game eBay. You didn’t win, but I appreciate your honesty nonetheless.

APOLOGETIC EDIT: I apologise to anyone who might have read this post thinking it would be about Dr. Who. I don't even watch Dr. Who – that headline is just a non-sequitur from a conversation I had earlier today. It has nothing to do with MGS4, Final Fantasy Tactics, or haikus. That doesn't make it any less true, mind you, but still.