Calvin and Hobbes. Naturally...

So, let's face it, Calvin & Hobbes is the single greatest use of the comic-strip medium the world has ever seen. Can we thank Mr Watterson enough? No, we certainly can't. To celebrate this incontestable truth, I've decided to give away a whole heap (okay, okay, fourteen) of C&H wallpapers for your Mac/PC. They're in 1920x1200 resolution and really should grace your desktop immediately, if not sooner. Click on THIS LINK to download the ZIP file. Enjoy.

"Call me Ishmael..."

(Please note: This article contains many spoilers.)

There are only 365 days in a year. There are but 24 hours in a day. This being the case, the vast majority of us will have a “bucket list” of books, movies, albums, games and goodness knows what else, that we’d like to get to. At some point. If we’ve got the time.

New Inkpen Site Launches!

Hi everyone, just a quick post to let you know that I've finally finished my new design website (yes, that's why I've been a little neglectful of my blog lately). Head on over to www.inkpen-design.com and let me know what you think!

Why Don't You Own: R-Type Final?

There are few certainties in life; death, taxes, continual FIFA updates and the unceasing plunge of the videogame industry into the murky waters of pop culture, homogenisation and inevitable mediocrity. Unfortunately, it's this very plunge that will affect the future of games such as R-Type: Final so badly. If, indeed, it hasn't already.

The Perfect 10 Car Garage...

Let's face it, we've all done the 'Dream Garage' thing. You know, "if money was no object, what cars would you buy for your dream garage?" Well, as some of you may know, I'm something of a car fan/junkie/enthusiast/nut/bore/whatever. A dyed in the wool petrolhead. So my list runs to, literally, dozens of cars. But I got thinking, which ones would I choose if I only had room for 10 cars from automotive history? There'd be no point getting anything truly old and rare, because with limited garage space I want to be able to regularly drive everything in there (so no old Bentleys or Mercs, sadly). Same for 4x4s as I never venture off-road (sorry Land Rover fans). Have a read of the conclusions I came to, and let me know what you'd choose in your 10 car garage. I reckon it's an interesting view into someone's personality...

Movie Marathon Reviews

First of all, apologies for my lack of, well, being here for the last few weeks. Life got hectic, work got even more hectic and I simply had no time for blogging. Anyway, I'm here now.

So, this weekend saw Mrs Jim and myself undertake something of a movie marathon as we strove to catch up on the rather large pile of films we've not had chance to watch lately. Were they any good? Did I overdose on popcorn? How quickly did I lose all feeling in my legs? Blast through these super-short reviews to find out!

Review: Tangled

Love them or hate them, there's no denying that, of late, Disney's animated movies (not counting Pixar's output, naturally) have been lacking sparkle in both an artistic and commercial sense.

The relative success of The Frog Princess went some way to redressing the balance; however,  Disney was falling a long way behind Pixar and even Dreamworks in the "movies kids love to watch a few million times in a row" stakes. Thankfully, for those of us that have been wanting the House of Mouse to up its game a little, Tangled (aka 'Rapunzel') can be met with an expansive sigh of relief.

Cannon Fodder Returns!

Yes, you heard it here first, folks. The Amiga classic Cannon Fodder is making a return, thanks to the good folks at Codemasters and GFI! Imagine my surprise when the press release landed in my inbox this morning. Of all the classic Amiga IPs that could be resurrected, this is one of my favourites (someone crack on with Turrican and The Chaos Engine and life will be gravy).

For the uninitiated, you take control of a small band of soldiers and direct them through jungle, desert and arctic campaigns, struggling to keep them alive and progress them through the ranks.

Let's blow this thing and go home...

Paradise means something different for everyone. For some it’s the unadulterated tranquility of a white-sand beach on some forgotten isle, for others the hustle and bustle of a neon-metropolis on a Saturday night.

For an eight year old, maniacal Star Wars fan in 1986, paradise was the back of a dingy arcade in Perranporth and a pocket full of ten-pence pieces. For it was there I discovered Atari’s Star Wars arcade game, the greatest movie tie-in ever committed to silicon. 

42 Ways To Improve Videogames

We all love the games industry. Over the years it has provided us with thousands of hours of joy, excitement, fun and wonder. Unfortunately, it also produces more than its fair share of boredom, rage and frustration too, and we're often all too ready to make our voices heard on the subject.

However, maybe we're being a little harsh. Maybe it isn't as easy as it looks. If you actually had the ability and opportunity to improve the games industry, what exactly would you do? It wasn't until I sat down and started to think about it that I realized it may not be so easy after all. In fact, it'd be an absolute nightmare...

Transformers 3 Footage Online...

If, like me, you enjoyed the first Transformers movie as a good old-fashioned popcorn romp, you were no doubt as horrified and appalled as I was when Michael Bay decided to fashion the second movie into a stupid, puerile teenage gag-fest (in both senses of the word).

Thankfully, it appears he has seen sense. The first trailer for Transformers: Dark Of The Moon has arrived and, not wishing to jump the gun here, it already appears to have a far more suitable tone than its predecessor.

The Vault: Advent Rising

 No, it's not Halo. I know it looks like it, but trust me, it ain't...

Before I begin, let me explain what The Vault is. Think of The Vault as where I keep all the games, films and books that I've played, watched and read over the years and truly, deeply, with every ounce of my soul, despised. The broken, the shoddy, the incomprehensible, they're all here. Every so often, I'll dust one off and analyze just why I hated it so much.

This week, I offer you an Xbox game published by Majesco Entertainment in 2005, Advent Rising. Or Bile Rising, as it should be more accurately monikered. Set spleen to vent...

If Idiots Could Fly, LIVE Would Be An Airport...

The internet is an almost perfect gaming solution. Gone is the perception of the lonely gamer, locked away in his room for hours on end, interacting with no-one but his level 50 Dark Elf Cleric. Now he can be playing against people the world over, using a VOIP headset to communicate directly with other players, or even to catch up with friends and family while he plays. A world of friendly, like-minded gamers now stretches across the globe - all eager to meet each other and compete in good-natured contests of skill and reaction time.

Short Story: Lower

Street rats. Vermin that live off the pain of others. They swarm like a locust plague through the city; the police are swamped, the authorities too disinterested to care. Why spend time and resources on those that can't afford to grease the wheels of the system? Let them fight it out in their squalor and desperation; as long as it's contained below the Open Sectors, it's not their problem. It doesn't exist.

Antiheroes of repute. Ill-repute. Whatever.

As we all know, everyone loves an antihero, and cinema has certainly provided us with some of the best over the years. Enthrenched firmly in the murky waters of moral and ethical quandary, they speak to us of all that's good and bad in humanity.

Below are listed my personal favourites, seven of the best antiheroes to ever inhabit a moral grey-area. Why seven? Heck if I know, but it's a nice round figure...