Combat Concluded

A question for you! Will you be buying an Xbox 360 (if you don't already own one) to play Halo 3? Is it worth running the risk of the Red Ring of Death?

Papier Mâché

Mario, the diminutive icon of Nintendo Nation, has endured in various guises over the past two decades. From humble beginnings in Donkey Kong to pole position brand, the Italian plumber has courted career success. To my shame (as an avid part-time gamer) I've only recently discovered (read as a happy accident whilst trading-in my console kit) the delights of Paper Mario (2001)!

A loose sequel to Super Mario RPG, Paper adopts a uniquely stylized pop-up book aesthetic. As a child I fondly recall a fascination with this literary tradition and it's an unabriged pleasure to see it implemented in a modern visual medium. The 2/3-D presentation and predictable narrative premise - King Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach - belies richly rewarding RPG gameplay. Fans of Final Fantasy would be remiss to overlook this adventure!

Yesterday's P2P post was prescient! The code for the French retail release of Halo 2 is apparently online sans Xbox live.