Recent content by Alex Cowan

?i?ek jokes are the best jokes. Srsly tho, I have a new-found respect for LRR.

Imagine if books were reviewed purely on quality of paper used, security of binding, typeface, number of individual words used etc. Still doesn't give a sense of whether I want to buy the book. Also, criticism =/= review. There is a place for writing-about-games that isn't consumer advice. If...

I hope it's not a total coincidence that this comes at the same time as Matt Smith announces he's leaving Doctor Who. Looks like there might be a vacancy...

This might just be my Britishness talking, but seeing a game set in the English Civil War could be really interesting - especially as the conventional reading of history presents anit-monarchists as 'bad guys': there's scope for some nice grey area in the order/freedom debate that characterises...

I take issue with one point. The fact that the switch to a more 'good cop' approach (offering food, daylight etc.) achieves the desired result is dependent on the torture that preceded it. Were the prisoner not maltreated beforehand, the offer of mercy would be meaningless. Furthermore, the...

I was lucky enough to see Rushdie speak publicly on the publication of Luka and the Fire of Life - very impressed at his ability to synthesise certain surreal elements of videogame aesthetics into a book that critics still called 'literature'.

I'd explore places - things normally off-limits, like parliament buildings, service tunnels. All the cool places that you know exist but aren't allowed to go to.

I'm using the Windows 8 beta at the moment (dual-booted in Boot Camp on a Macbook Pro). Perhaps I'm not getting the full 'experience', as it's not my main OS (so I have no need to use things like Metro email apps etc.), it just seems like Windows 7 with an unnecessary barrier between you and the...

*also waves* I'm just starting BA Music at St Hugh's. Really excited, but kinda scared...

Same thing I say every time this thread comes up... TIE FIGHTER.

I just finished that; found the psychological aspect of it very intersting, Tolstoy captures how people think very well. Could have been several hundred pages shorter and still had the same effect, though. OT: Book: Joseph Cambell, 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' About: Comoparative...

As much as I like third-person games, I might have to disagree with you on that one. This could just be a personal thing, but having been a competitive fencer for several years, I think I'd get very confused trying to judge distances/anticipate an opponent's movements looking from a viewpoint...

I have my first A2 in a week and I'm averaging about an hour per day, unless I go into school and lock myself in the library, in which case I might manage 3. The problem is, I'm at the stage where I feel I know enough. Never a good sign...

I really don't know. Arguably the ability to put 'MA Oxon' after my name, which is apparently an advantage. I am genuinely interested in the course content, so the ability to study something I enjoy for three years (at this stage) looks great in itself. I'm still relatively undecided about the...

It was that kind of attitude that put me off applying for Durham. Interestingly, the course I found to be least pretentious was the one from Oxford, which is unusual!