The season finale of House aired on Five last night.

The finale was insanely different from the normal formula that the show follows, largely as a result of the main character getting shot in the opening seconds. The fifty minutes that followed would have House gradually losing his mind, letting go of his grip on reality and imagination. It was all done so well that those feelings of confusion would be transferred to the viewer who was also kept in the dark about what was happening- one minute it was a dream, the next it was real, but no, he was dreaming that it was a dream all along. It of course meant unfortunately there was less wisecracks from the doctor with the worst bedside manner of all time, but as always hugh Laurie was fantastic in his performance. The episode as a whole was certainly different, and a fresh approach to the conventional structure nonetheless.

The closing scene was House being rushed on a trolley to the Emergency Room, the biggest shock of the episode. That's right, the last hour hadn't happened whatsoever, House was only being treated now. All very LOST-esque.

Season 3 airs in September in the US. Hopefully five wont be too far behind in airing what is, undoubtedly, the best US Franchise they have.

Thoughts on the DS Lite and New Super Mario Bros.


I picked up a DS Lite late last week. I had no money to hand whatsoever but the bank account was more than happy to lend. It was for a good cause after all.

I bought a black one, and after the horrendous initial three-hour-charge I was set. Suddenly everything was a lot brighter, colours were more vibrant, background pixels were more noticable and looking at disgust to my original DS, I couldn't believe i'd put up with it's fat, ugly, dark ways for so long. I really liked the new button layout too- especially that new power on/off slider. I tried to be careful but there was fingerprints all over it in no time at all. Yeah, yeah, too much excitement I know.

when I switched on the next day the excitement of yesterday had pretty much worn off, safe to say I still totally loved the classy new design and brightness. And then I saw it for the first time- a horrible fucking dead pixel, right on the top screen just below the Nintendo logo that greets you everytime you switch on. Meh, anyway, long story short, tried to exchange it, shop didn't have any black lites left, got white one instead. As i said to the guy behind the counter (dissapointingly) "it's only a small aesthetic difference".

And to the unknowing that could be the only difference between the DS Lite and it's older, heavier version. Obviously the redesign does contribute heavily to choosing whether or not to buy one, but the new buttons, the increased brightness, the overall layout, it's basically the console Nintendo should've released first time round.

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New Super Mario Bros has been on pre-order for the last month, finally arriving yesterday.

It's so nice visiting the Mushroom Kingdom all over again, it being exactly the same as when you left it. Pirhanna Plants emerging from pipes, Fire Flowers being as cheap as ever, and Goombas still walking off the cliffs. All the sound effects are thankfully still here, with the famous coin chime and pipe transport effects still being in place. They alone help bring back the nostalgia.

The visuals, as you'd expect from a first-party killer-ap are stunning, making the previously unbearable snow-levels all that more special. The new underwater levels too are an absolute joy to play, with seaweed floating and waving in the frontground, cheap-cheaps swimming by, coins encased in bubbles- sometimes you'd rather watch than play.

New inclusions such as the mega mushroom and blue shells as, others have suggested, aren't all that succesfull. They are a nice addition nonetheless, breaking up the levels when they come your way, but sometimes they do more harm than good. Fire Flowers on the whole also seem a lot more common, maybe making the game that little bit easier, but again, it's not like you have to use them.

It's a shame then that is nowhere near as good as vintage 2D Mario, perhaps throwing too many of the series' later elements (rope swinging, triple jumps, cage-hanging) into the hat for it's own good. It's still highly enjoyable though, and definately worth picking up.

My signed copy of The Longcut's debut record came today.

Ever since I heard them for the first time just over a year ago I knew they were special. That fusion of forever-lasting instrumentals and beat-heavy guitar riffs make for without a doubt an interesting listening experience, and the band in that respect are pretty unique.

Past favourites such as "A Quiet Life" and "The Kiss Off" both put in appearances, reworked and modified as you'd expect. "A Last Act Of Desperate Men", the opening song is a fantastic way to kickstart the album, combining that beat-heavy percussion of the drums coupled togather with glorious amounts of synth and epic spiralling rock riffs. "A Quiet Life" and "Vitamin C" are similar in their approach, while (unfortunately?) "The Kiss Off" and "Holy Funk" reduce both the pace and volume.

The centre of the record, "A Tried And Tested Method" is the bridging gap to all the sound elements you've associated with the band. Cleverly placed between two different peaks of sound, it is undoubtedly the highlight of the album, and reason alone to invest in a copy. Beautiful, awesome, and in true Longcut style, heavy on the instrumental.

Prison Break's first season run came to an end last night on Five. Given the title and theme of the show it was obvious what was going to happen from the start, but in the two episodes that aired, suspense and tension would appear every five minutes.

To start with, there was the small matter of whether Charles Westmoreland would be able to accompany our antiheroes out of the penetentiary. After being stabbed previously by bad-ass guard Bellick, it always looked doubtful, but tonight, rather unfortunately saw the old man's demise. His death was skipped, his corpse only appearing later on, but the goodbye alone was tearful enough. The party also lost another member (the "fat one" whos name escapes me) and picked up another in the form of recurring psycho Haywire, thankfully providing some comedy in the last couple of minutes.

Elsewhere in the group conflict continued to wield it's way about them, with both Abruzzi and T-Bag continually bickering and threatening one another. The conflict ended with T-Bag's hand being chopped off, sudden, unexpected, and perhaps even uncalled for, the attack meaning that he was no longer one of the group, the episode ending with him running alone nursing his, umm...wrist. I never liked him, but strangely, I did feel a little sorry for him. question if he'll return next season.

The episode as a whole would end with the five remaining members running for their life through a field in darkness. CopCar lights would persue them all the way to the credits meaning that when Season 2 kicks off, it really does, kick off.

That title of course seems a little unappropriate for next year though...

Channel 4 was showing Resident Evil again last night.

I must've seen the film three or four times now, but to this day i've never watched it all- in the past i've either been too drunk or too lazy to sit right through it. Not that i've ever missed much of course.

As a videogame adaptation and a standalone movie it's absolutely terrible. The dark industrial sets used throughout the movie are nice, but unfortunately (and ironically) ruin the whole atmosphere- where's the "local town under threat" we've all come to enjoy from RE? The story's borderline, again stepping away from traditional RE, but random soldier tough guy lines and poor CG animation detract from the experience.

The action scenes- the explosions, battles, takedowns and chases help things a little, but the horrible techno-heavy soundtrack that accompanies is a pain to the ears, and more importantly, totally unnecessary. But despite all these faults and misses, this is perhaps the director's best film to date.

Interpret that what ever way you want...

I did it, I went my first 24 hours without playing any Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Since I got the game on day of release it's been as essential day in-day out as eating or going to the toilet, it's had an absolutely huge grip on me, even if it has only been for ten minutes a day. There's turnips sitting around the house though ready to be sold, so I imagine i'll be back to it sometime soon. And i've got orders to collect, and letters to post, and, well, you know how it is.

The reason behind the no-play is that I finally got round to buying Mario Kart DS.
It's a fantastic example of a handheld console gem -pick up & play, finish a race in three minutes, then switch off- none of this adventure mode or lengthy campaign malarky. I was surprised too at the visuals and the frame rate- naturally it doesn't look as good as the Gamecube version, but the trackside scenery is packed full of detail and charm. I've yet to play it with others but it's something i'm planning for this weekend, if it's anything like past MKs the multiplayer mode will be a real highlight.