There are various ways one might approach the US election results: a victory for the Democrats, African Americans or simply common sense. Others will slyly ponder that perhaps Americans have at last proven they can be trusted to elect their own leader. There is little doubt that the result fulfilled the desires of the silent majority, by which I mean the rest of world (inexplicably illegible to vote on some technicality), made clear by the flood of supportive global congratulations.

While people are not wrong to characterise Obama's victory speech as sounding "historic", McCain's concession speech was also notably magnanimous and one can't help but wonder whether, had he campaigned in that manner throughout, the finish might have been somewhat tighter. The fact Obama is "untested" remains the chief concern amongst many Republicans, but then this is a job for which there is no real test. For that matter, in what way exactly was Bush tested before he landed the role? Unless pretzel choking featured substantively, I'm fairly sure he would have failed. Obama's campaign attracted some excellent minds and the people with which he now chooses to surround himself will greatly impact his effectiveness moving forward.

Last night I headed out with Ben and Anna from law school to see Quantum of Solace for a second time, taking the bold move of actually remaining awake throughout on this occasion. While Ravi's suggestion of an opening night screening last Friday had been conceptually good, the practicalities of end-of-the-week exhaustion and an 11:30pm start, possibly exacerbated by the beer in my hand, led to a somewhat inevitable conclusion. As it turns out, I didn't miss much in the additional half hour and my original views were pretty much spot on. This way, however, I can proffer my review without risk of reproach. I can say with certainty: Quantum of Solace is definitely a film I have seen.

The flood of gaming titles continues with the much anticipated sequel to Gears of War. While already impressed with its improved graphics (less, though still some, texture pop but particularly more open areas and a brighter palette with actual colours!) and continuing cinematic flair, I want to take a moment to praise the design of the limited edition box. You heard me. Metal cases are becoming commonplace for collectors releases and they do look and feel great. However the oversize tins required to stuff in extras like artbooks end up unwieldy and seem slightly tacky. To get around this, The Gears 2 discs come in a slim metal case the size of an ordinary game, which is then packed with a book inside a larger card case and slipcover. It's an elegant solution that I'd like to see other releases follow.

Now that things have settled down, in both work and life, I should be in position to resume writing here more frequently. It probably won't be regular because I'm still never quite sure when things of note are actually going to happen, but they do seem to. Which is nice.

This post was actually written before the American elections finished so I will only touch on Obama's victory briefly (at least until I can digest the results fully). While his platform of change became popular enough to secure the White House, actually effecting that change will still be an uphill struggle, particularly in the current economic climate where massive financial bailouts have left America's national debt even more monstrous than previously. The rest of the world, however, is breathing a collective sigh of relief —arguably less that Obama is in and more that Bush('s cronies) is out and Palin wasn't allowed anywhere near! I also particularly liked ad agency Grey NYC's recent campaign inverting the races of the two candidates, urging voters to vote on issues rather than race. Londonders will likely have seen it on the cover of yesterday's Metro. The posters quickly became collectors' items.

Currently I am preparing for the glut of high quality videogame titles heading this way. Although the numbers are roughly the same it seems significantly more daunting when combined with a job. Gabe and Tycho's Operation Myriad is not far off. Better make those holidays count, I guess. I'm currently exploring the wastelands of a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. in Fallout 3 and the feeling of isolation they have captured is fantastic, travelling between small communities.  Rather than just being quest hubs, there is a real sense that these isolated pockets are just people trying to get by.

I am also very pleased to announce that the demo for free running game Mirror's Edge has placed it firmly at the top of the pre-orders list. I already loved the clinical art style of the metropolis and the videos they have released, but with jump puzzles generally being the bane of any first-person game, devoting an entire experience to exactly that would require a seriously impressive control system. Fortunately, that's exactly what they have delivered with a surprisingly intuitive system for vertical interaction with the environment. The momentum you build up as you run is also key, particularly if you want to land on something soft after ziplining between buildings, since your momentum is conserved as you drop. The bottom line is that it can make you look and feel as cool as Assassin's Creed, but without taking all control away from the player like that game's one-button mechanic. I'm really impressed by this new EA, turned from churning out sports games, sequels and movie tie-ins to producing some really impressive and innovative new IPs.

I will write about the rest of my Stateside exploits once I go through the several hundred photographs from the trip and trim them down into something more manageable (hopefully without the Gallery glitch that plagued my last USA trip and I never actually solved). For now I will just discuss the fairly painless trip back.

Although they were keen to carefully rescan the Nintendo DS Lite I bought Kirsten as a birthday present (the dual coloured ones are very sleek with a matt black interior and back, clearly designed more for business executives than younger gamers), American security surprisingly gave me less hassle than their British counterparts. On the other hand most of the security was at the quaintly parochial Baton Rouge airport, with all of ten gates (a substantial rise, I am told, from its original four).

Jenna brought me to the airport with Karleigh and Clark so, several dozen photographs later, it was pretty hard to tear myself away. Things improved at Bush Intercontinental in Houston as I had a couple of hours to kill drinking martinis in a bar and chatting to a pleasant LA resident who was in town for a radiotherapy trade show. With his girlfriend working in "the industry" (she was a set designer on the short-lived Joey) we discussed the risk of an impending actors' strike in the coming month. That for me is what travelling alone is really about, and the essence of what Frank Moorhouse meant in describing the martini as a travelling drink.

I also stumbled across a store that was demoing Shure earphones, specifically the SE310s that I have been eyeing for a while, allowing me to try them with my own music. In short they are exactly the revelatory aural experience that I had heard and have suddenly jumped from merely desirable to a must-have purchase. I didn't dare try the SE530s for fear that their £250 price tag might start to look appealling. The 310s will be more than enough for now. My only concern is that with the foam earbuds (not the rubber ones pictured here) expanding further into the ear canal than I had realised, providing a great sound isolating seal, they may become dangerous for use when walking around the City. That would mean I'd need to carry two pairs of earphones which is cumbersome. Real world testing will be the only way to find out I suppose…

As a pretty hardcore gamer I'll give almost anything a whirl, but there are definitely genres which have never quite clicked for me. These include flight simulators, racing simulation (as opposed to arcade style racers which I love) and bizarrely Wii boxing. Above all though, rhythm games have always flummoxed me. Given my passion for rock music Guitar Hero is obviously a hugely enticing prospect, but paying £70 for the privilege of sucking seems excessive. Fortunately Zavvi celebrated the hideously overpriced release of Rock Band by dropping the price of Guitar Hero III to just £45 for the bank holiday weekend. For those counting, that means you could buy three wireless guitars for the same price as Rock Band.

"Really?" asked Kirsten with a quizzically raised eyebrow, before proceeding to play for about three times longer than I that night. The easy mode is definitely a cop-out but is well designed enough that many songs are still empowering to play through. Mostly, though, you realise how many notes you are not playing and dread the higher settings. I'm already rocking through medium now, with a couple of 5-star performances under my belt. It's worth mentioning I find the "boss battles" in GH3 a bit odd. The idea of me beating Tom Morello or Slash in a guitar duel seems wrong on so many levels. I doubt that I'll ever master expert (five buttons is probably a bit much for my poor four fingers!) but it's been fun realising I can enjoy this stuff without excelling. Now I need to go find a copy of Guitar Hero II…

Since its release last Tuesday I've been playing rather a lot of Grand Theft Auto IV, but I still don't feel quite equipped to discuss it. The scope of the game is unlike anything you've played before with the incredible detail of the living Liberty City, and the sheer volume of things to do. Several hours in it feels like I've only scratched the surface. So far I'd say it's easily one of the best games I have played in some time, but falls shy of the perfect tens with which critics have been lauding it. I'm told things happen further in that suddenly make those scores make sense…

Meanwhile this evening Kirsten and I headed out to see Iron Man. She needed some cajoling despite Robert Downey, Jr.'s presence. I've been eagerly awaiting this based on the charisma he exhibited in the trailers, coupled with some smart scriptwriting. What I was not prepared for was the best comicbook superhero film since Spider-man 2.

Maturely written but incredibly fun, it is utter fan service to those who love comicbook stories, while retaining an easy accessibility for the average moviegoer. Largely this is due to the disarming billionaire playboy attitude of Tony Stark, from which we see him emerge as he realises the damage caused by his company's weapons manufacture. While the story is anti-war, the film avoids excessive preaching (nor will it change attitudes), focusing instead on a single man changing the course of his own life.

The flight sequences are exhilarating, the comedy is ingrained into the story and never feels tacked on. The only downside is that as an origins story the character development provides its own arc, leaving one to wonder about the quality of the inevitable sequel. Stay until the end of the credits and a short scene with a surprising cameo quells any fears about about a sloppy second outing — bring it on!

One of the problems with maintaining a blog like this for so long is the diversity of the readership it picks up. This necessitates a careful selection of subject matter that remains interesting to enough people without watering it down so much as to make it bland. Gaming is obviously a major hobby of mine, but I am aware it is one that is one shared by less than half of my core readership. As such I tend to avoid serious in-depth game discussion on a regular basis, preferring to throw in the odd snippets where particularly relevant.

This has led me to trial a new experiment, involving the blogging feature of GameSpot, where I have been a paying subscriber for several years. I have started a separate blog there entitled "The cheese was innocent!" (fans of the new episodic Sam & Max games should get the reference) which is solely focused on gaming. That is not to say gaming will disappear from this blog. In fact the plan is that if you continue only to read P-2006 you should not notice any difference at all. However innocent cheese enables me to write additional posts of a purely game-related nature without worrying about alienating readers. Meanwhile here I will just point out particularly important posts like my discussion of The Byron Report.

For those using feed readers it's even easier since you can subscribe to the feeds of both blogs and read them side by side. You'll find the new feed conveniently listed on P-2006's Feeds page.

Finally since I've found my camera has been lying docile more than I would like, to stir a little creativity I'm producing a series of small images so you'll start find unrelated illustrations at the bottom of many posts. I'm not sure quite how long it will last but I hope you enjoy them while they do.

While I have certainly not abandoned PC gaming, it is true that my focus has shifted to the Xbox 360. I will opt for the console iteration of most multiplatform titles (The Orange Box being a notable exception) not for achievement points, though this is an understandable draw for many, but simply because relaxing on the sofa while playing has become my preferred option. Also, until I buy a new monitor, games look far better on the 1080p Bravia even with the additional distance. A nice hi-res widescreen monitor might actually make a big difference to my gaming choice. Nevertheless the PC remains the breeding ground of quirky and indie titles since the platform is open, free of the cost of licensing and certification that plagues small console developers. I've recently acquired a few demos for smaller titles and in particular I wanted to discuss eXperiment 112 (or simply The Experiment depending on your region).

The story's protagonist, Lea Nichols, awakes inside a ship that has been used for some kind of biological research, with little memory of what has happened. Not exactly the most original premise, you'll be forgiven for interjecting. However the player has no direct control over her at all. Instead the player is inside a security booth and must guide her and help her survive using only the functions of the security terminal. This means we see her through rotating security cameras as she moves through the complex, we can open doors, use infra red or thermal vision, and interact with devices remotely. There is a decidedly voyeuristic tone to the proceedings,even once Lea knows we are watching. There is a strange intimacy in being able to see everything she does without actually being present. Direct communication is limited, mostly one way as she can speak to us, and using a camera to nod a response is a bizarre feeling.

Last night the whole family, including partners, went to Vrisaki in North London to gorge ourselves on a massive Greek-Cypriot meze meal. This was a belated celebration of my dad's 50th birthday and Vrisaki is something of a family tradition for especially gluttonous occasions. It could be argued that several of the multitude of appetisers are merely fillers and it is advisable to tread carefully, opting only for the better ones to save room for the meatier dishes at the end. This is a restaurant that has benefited greatly from the smoking ban, since its cramped design easily filled unbearably with smoke, particularly since it is attached to (and one must enter through) a somewhat shabby kebab shop.

Law school exams are over which gives me a week or so respite before the electives course begins. This also means we are being divided into new classes so the gang I've got to know over the last six months has been split up. I'm sure we'll still see a great deal of each other, particularly with our usual 'spoons hangout still just 30 seconds away from school.

GDC is supposedly a convention for game developers to share ideas and innovative solutions to challenges they have faced but, perhaps fuelled by the demise of the old-style E3, it is becoming more of a media circus. Marketing has clearly come to the fore with announcements of several new titles. One of these is Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. The original Puzzle Quest was one of the few games that successfully bridged the divide between the casual gamer and the more hardcore, with its basic puzzle game heart coupled with some deeper RPG elements. The end result was that Kirsten and I were both hooked for quite some time. I am pleased to see the sci-fi themed follow-up is not simply the same Bejewelled clone with a new skin. While not quite a sequel (one of the devs described it as a "cousin" to the original) it mixes things up with a hexagonal board and an interesting approach to gravity — when you match gems, new ones drop in along that axis rather than vertically downwards. Hopefully it will again appear on a plethora of platforms so that everyone can enjoy.

I have grown bored with the Oscars so while I still take a cursory glance at the nominations and winners, actually watching the ceremony is totally out of the question. Part of the problem is that from the list of nominees I can usually pick the big four (best actor, actress, director and picture) straight off even if I haven't seen the films in question. This year was no exception. This makes it somewhat difficult to get excited about a ceremony that supposedly derives its tension from the winners being announced. Of course it's always a pleasant surprise when there is an unexpected winner (like Crash) but those are certainly the exception.

It must be the season for massive acquisition offers. Yahoo!'s board is currently facing the possibility of being sued by shareholders for rejecting Microsoft's high profile advances. Meanwhile Electronic Arts, now the 2nd largest game publisher in the world, has offered $2 billion for the troubled Take Two. The smaller publisher holds a host of developers including Rockstar and the Grand Theft Auto franchise. With its fourth instalment due for imminent release it stands to make very large profits to smooth its recent turbulence, and will likely wait until afterwards to consider offers. However the mainstream press has ignored the fact EA probably has its sights on the publisher's wide range of sports titles which, while snubbed by many for their incremental improvements in annual releases, sell in the millions each year and are the chief rivals to EA's own sports games.

The latest addition to Xbox Live Arcade is easily one of the best yet, despite being a high definition remake of a game about seven years old. At it's core it's a wireframe rail shooter (where the player does not control the character's movement, only their aim). Set inside a computer system, the player aims to reboot a rogue AI, destroying any viruses and firewalls they come across. Aside from its visual style (now totally free of the jagged edges from previous versions) what really sets it apart is its trance/techno soundtrack. This moves it into "stoner game" territory (examples such as Jeff Minter's recent Space Giraffe had totally put me off) but there is an intelligent depth to its implementation. Each section starts with a basic beat and then with each level completed it adds an additional track, so by the time you reach the boss you are absorbed in a layered world of sound. On top of this while shooting down enemies you add small sound elements depending on the number you hit at once (from 1 to 8). It becomes an experience so you often aim to take out 4 or 6 instead of the maximum because it sounds better.

The thing that takes it further into the psychedelic realm is the vibrations. Unsurprisingly the controller you use vibrates in time with the music, but more interesting (read: weirder) is that you can set up several additional controllers to vibrate independently in time with different soundtrack layers as well. These can be positioned around one's body like the back. I assume the intended purpose is not quite as explicit as the trance vibrator packaged with the Japanese PS2 release of Rez. It's all very difficult to describe so I was fortunate that there was enough buzz around the game to convince me to download the demo, which in turn convinced me to purchase it shortly thereafter. This is undoubtedly as much art as it is game. At a bargain price of around £6, it's impossible not to recommend and is fine example of how the Live Arcade platform should be used. In fact it earned a perfect score from 1UP.com.

Away from the Xbox this week has been spent preparing a "Consolidation Transaction", BPP's form of enforced group revision that everyone feels is largely a waste of time. Instead of preparing and giving a presentation on small pockets of the course, actual revision would undoubtedly be a better use of our time. In fact sleeping would probably be a better use. Kirsten's friend Jolanda has been staying with us for a few days, watching a lot of quirky TV comedies like Green Wing, older cartoon comedy God, The Devil & Bob, and Kevin Smith's new show, Reaper. All are highly recommended.

I hope the Americans among you had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating the mass genocide of the indigenous people or whatever it is one does on Thanksgiving. With Bioware's new opus Mass Effect intent on drawing all my time, I had been hoping that Assassin's Creed from Ubisoft Montreal would turn out to be terrible so I would not have to buy it. It looked like a collection of excellent ideas that could not possibly brought together to form a coherent whole. Unfortunately this was not to be. While Halo may grab the mainstream press for its sheer financial clout, this is one of those few experiences that instills gamers with a desire to talk to everyone about it, whether they are into games or not.

The player takes on the role of Altair, an assassin in the Holy Land during the crusades, uncovering a conspiracy while taking out those profiting from the corruption surrounding the war. It is telling of the modern climate that the opening credits state that the developers come from a variety of backgrounds and faiths, given the obvious allusions to a Muslim-Christian war throughout. Altair is essentially a non-religious lone wolf, stalking through cities with an animalistic gait. The mood of the piece is best encapsulated in this trailer featuring UNKLE's Lonely Soul.

The medieval world is brought to life in stunning detail with huge cities (Acre, Dasmascus and Jerusalem are all recreated) bustling with people going about their lives. Its best feature is the free running and climbing ability which lets Altair scale virtually any building, ascending high towers to survey the city below. The swordplay is simple but nuanced, adding new layers over time and feels surprisingly authentic for the time. Generally think Hitman meets Prince of Persia.

Reviewers are somewhat split with the complaint that too much of the experience is repetitious with bland identical gameplay in every city for the lightweight "investigation" before each major assassination. Gabe at Penny Arcade highlights that this is partly a symptom of the reviewers' mentality, playing the game as a job so hurtling through to finish. Assassin's Creed is very much the sort of game that requires a slower approach to soak in the atmosphere. While gazing at the ornate architectural detail of a Jerusalem temple I felt like a foreign businessman wishing I had more time for tourism. And then I remembered this was a game and I could do what I liked. While collecting randomly located flags seems a little tired, some of the best fun to be had is while climbing up and exploring the cities from the rooftops.

The chief criticism remains valid, however, that the developers have essentially created an incredible sandbox but forgotten to give the player quite enough toys with which to play. I am sure the space opera of Mass Effect will draw me away from Assassin's Creed as soon as it arrives, but this is a game I will be happy to return to with such a beautiful historic world and a compelling conspiracy unfolding.