I’m sure that this is really old news for anyone in the US, but season 5 of 24 starts here in the UK on Sunday at 9pm on Sky One. I just finished rewatching season 4 on DVD (if you need any they’re all on sale on Play for great prices) and I’ve now seen the first three episodes of the new one by slightly illicit means. I would be watching them as they showed here but, like with last year and the year before, I’m not up for six months of wrestling over the remote for control of the sole TV with Sky. I can rationalise it due to the fact that I’ll buy the DVD on the day of release.

From what I’ve seen I’m going to like this one. Not only have they turned it into Die Hard 2, it seems to be going back to the roots of 24 a bit by making things more personal. They’ve resisted the temptation to go for another “generic Middle Eastern terrorist attacks LA with random WMD” story which is a good thing – the first season had nothing nearly as big as a nuclear or biological attack but still manages to be generally accepted as the best of the lot and I hope this goes the same way.

One thing that had disappointed me was that even though the ending to season 4 left the door open for something completely new (I was even expecting a break from CTU with Jack hiding out in South America or somewhere like that), they’ve still managed to get him back in that direction. I don’t know how much has been shown so far in the US since I’m only up to the third episode, but already he’s getting back in with them. Maybe the Chinese will come and kill him at the halfway point.

I’d be interested to hear any impressions from other people, but please keep anything as spoiler free as you can.

I’ve maintained all along that the Xbox 360 Core pack was a really stupid idea, something that was backed up when it was announced that Final Fantasy XI, as crappy as it is, won’t even work without the HDD. Now take a look at this:

Admittedly it’s probably not a game that’ll sell by the bucketload, at least outside the UK, but look at that little icon in the bottom left. It really doesn’t look good for the Core system when only a couple of months into the console’s lifespan we already have two games out of what is a fairly small number anyway that won’t work on it.

Not only that, but this is another small PR disaster for Microsoft when people who bought a brand new console that they were told would play everything find that they need an accessory that’s impossible to find at the moment. Unless they drop the Core soon, this effectively turns the HDD into an add-on in the same vein as the Mega CD and 32X. Let’s hope that it’s less 64DD and more N64 Expansion Pak.

I don’t like to get too political on here because it always ends in tears, but I guess since I write this site from the whole journalism angle I should give my perspective on those cartoons that are driving the Muslim world apeshit at the moment (they’re here if you haven’t seen them).

I’m really in two minds about it – on one hand I absolutely believe in press freedom and that they should be allowed to print the cartoons without fear of prosecution under draconian “religious hatred” laws of whatever crap they’re pushing; on the other hand they know how volatile these groups are and had to know that printing them would stir things up.

What can’t be forgiven is the reaction of the Muslim groups around the world who call for murder, war, and terrorism over a stupid fucking joke. The irony seems to have escaped them that they’re protesting the association of their religion with terrorism by burning down buildings and calling for the murder of half of Europe, and why don’t we see the same indignation when some idiot blows himself up in the name of his religion? If we did maybe we wouldn’t have jokes to make about Islam.

While newspapers probably shouldn’t have reprinted what aren’t actually particularly funny cartoons to raise controversy, it’s no excuse for the violence over them that we’re now seeing. What, on the other hand, is a funny and insightful cartoon on the subject is this one. I wonder how much hate mail that’ll get me.

I was tempted to write something about this when I saw the original post on Penny Arcade, but since it seems to be on the verge of exploding into another of those great Internet controversies I thought I’d better get my two cents out there now. An article from The Consumerist is suggesting that Nvidia have been hiring people to ingratiate themselves into established online communities to then insert covert marketing messages that will come from a trusted source and therefore be accepted. Even if Nvidia aren’t doing it, it seems that some people definitely are.

Marketing types are known for their insidious thinking (from experience – I’m having to do a PR and Marketing unit for my degree) which makes me suspect that this has been going on for some time and has only recently become well-known. When people so easily block all online advertising and use their TiVo and Sky+ to avoid TV commercials they’re having to go for methods that can’t be avoided – you can’t selectively block forum posts when you don’t know who the advertiser is, after all. It just breeds mistrust, both of the companies that do this stuff and in the form of Thing-style paranoia where even those you least suspect could be corporate plants or evil shapeshifting aliens. Most likely both.

This might be really idealistic of me and never likely to happen, but I wish that marketing would be limited to making good products and creating good word of mouth about them. None of the cynicism of mainstream advertising and an actual incentive to make something great instead of relying on the marketing department to make it work. When I invent FTL travel and create my Star Trek-like socialist utopia marketing people will be the first ones pushed out of the airlock.

On an unrelated note, I’d like to say that I really enjoy Galaxy bars, made from only the smoothest, creamiest chocolate and tasting like chocolate never tasted before.

Just a quick heads-up for any European PGR3 players – Microsoft are running the PGR 100 competition throughout February and March, and the 100 winners will get a sexy black Xbox 360 complete with PGR3 logo on the side. Just think what people would pay for that one.

The first round isn’t exactly reliant on any skill at the game, with the only requirement being that you can download the free PGR 100 Gamer Picture from the Live Marketplace. Eurogamer seem to think that only people with all platinums should be eligible but they might be a little biased there, being superhuman and all.