Friday afternoon tidbits

I think I have a rare weekend with nothing to do. Whatever it takes, I'm going to keep it that way. I'm not even going to wear pants if I can help it. Flower and Street Fighter IV are on the docket for me -- how about you?

-I've recently begun listening to the Idle Thumbs podcast, which is always a good time. They really outdid themselves with last week's episode, "Citizen Killzone," which featured a song about the guy from PSXExtreme who took issue with Edge's Killzone 2 review. For some reason, the direct link to the MP3 isn't working right now; the link posted on GSW goes to somebody clearing his throat. But it's about halfway into the full episode. As for the PSXExtreme editorial itself, it was the kind of thing that makes me think that some of us just live in separate worlds, and no reconciliation is possible.

-What's the difference between me and a guy who actually makes video games? I can't say why F.E.A.R. 2 doesn't seem to quite work, and Steve Gaynor can. My review will posted next week, but believe me when I say his post is far more illuminating.

-Mike Schiller at PopMatters took a look at the cult favorite Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, a game I desperately wanted to like. He makes some excellent points about it's mash-up of styles, and that is what made it appealing. But I had two major problems: one, the RPG aspect was oppressively deep for a game whose mechanics were based on Bejeweled-style gem swapping, and two, the computer was cheap as all hell. Will they fix this for the sequel, Galactrix? I hope so. The Flash demo has certainly hooked me.

-Variety is nuts for cutting Ben Fritz loose. He was the first I saw to break the news about cutbacks at G4, wrote a smart take on The Lost and Damned, and confirmed a skateboard peripheral for the next Tony Hawk game. Not bad for a week's work.

-The Killzone 2 TV commercial is pretty cool. This is not my opinion. This is fact. (via GiantBomb)