Recent content by Graustein

Australia existed before Federation. It was a British colony, and it did not have "The Commonwealth of" as a prefix, but it was still Australia. It was a colony, not a country, but that was a minor detail in the eyes of the populace at the time. When Australia was declared an independent nation...

I do, in fact, consider my country's history to go further back than merely its federation, and therefore that its founding as a colony is an important date. Call me crazy, but I don't think that Australia just suddenly came into existance on 1/1/1901. As an independent nation (if only in name)...

The first of January is a pretty terrible time to have a national holiday, regardless of what that holiday commemorates. Nobody would celebrate it, they'd all be sleeping in. So, really, it's everyone's problem. If you want to hold a party on the first of January, don't let me stop you. But I...

For those not in the know (ie. everybody except Australians), Australia Day commemorates the landing of the First Fleet, which was the first... well, fleet of British colonists (yes, they were mostly convicts. No, pointing this out to us is not funny) to arrive. From an Anglocentric viewpoint...

I've never been a big fan of being chivalrous. Being a polite, decent person is just as good, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye and, most importantly, unisex. A mild misandrist once told me I was a real gentleman because I was polite to her. I told her no, I'm not a gentleman, I'm...

Being polite beats chivalry every day of the week, because politeness is unisex. As far as I can tell, the two are otherwise identical.

Mother 3 and Earthbound spring to mind for their sheer fantasticness. As does... well, basically every Zelda game actually. Except for the first one (I'm not much of a nostalgia gamer), Zelda II (same) and A Link to the Past (which felt to me too much like Minish Cap. I'm not sure why, and...

I played it first on the Wii, and the obvious shoddiness of the port couldn't detract from the sheer brilliance of that game. To be honest, even though Majora's Mask is one of my favourite games ever (past and future tense included in that statement), I'm not orgasmically excited by this...

Democratic People's Republic of China. Hmmm... Speaking of the Democratic People's Republic of China, and to get back on topic, one must wonder. I'm sure we've all read books or seen movies featuring an oppressive government, and some text or film becomes a symbol for the revolutionaries...

It's good enough for me, and better than what the other two consoles have to offer that I can see (By better, I obviously mean "I looked at the games and found the Wii's ones the most interesting") There's also: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Super Paper Mario (well, I liked it!) Mario Kart Wii...

If someone rages against the popularization of their hobby because they like the status that comes with it being a reclusive hobby - as Scott appeared to be doing in his strip - then they themselves are perpetuating stereotypes. The stereotype in question being that gamers are social outcasts...

If you say so. It really comes across to me more as him being a whiny, elitist jerk who wants to retain his outsider status because it separates him from the non-gaming plebs, inferior specimens of humanity that they are. If he wants to stay in the basement and hiss at the light, that's his...

Ugh, don't remind me of that. One of the worst things I've ever read. To Susan: THANK YOU. I have always found the notion of hardcore versus casual to be unbelievably petty and immature. The way people act, you'd think that anybody who doesn't play something on The Official Good Game List is...

Link in Twilight Princess is around 16 or 17. This was confirmed by the creators of the game before it was even out, and the fact that he is nowhere near 12 is blatantly obvious to anybody who looks at him or hears his voice. Not only that, but you say "too young" as if there were anything...

Let's see... Despicable characters? Well, Midna can be annoying, although I personally liked her. The kids were annoying, but then they were meant to be. Colin is awesome, as is Zant. Zelda, I found to be far too passive in this game, right up until the end. I enjoyed the side-story with Ilia...