My opinion about tattoos has changed a lot over the years. I’ve gone from not liking them, to not minding them, to liking them on other people, to wanting one of my own… and now, to being madly in love with my new tat and wanting more in the future.

I got my “name” in Japanese on my forearm. I know it’s not very meaningful or interesting… but I like how it looks, and there are worse people whose names I could have permanently emblazoned on my skin. So there.

I’m so excited. So, so excited. Probably unreasonably, disproportionately excited, but that’s just how I do things. Why am I excited? I’ve just seen the first English trailer for Capcom’s upcoming DS game, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

Ghost Trick is the brainchild of Japanese developer Shu Takumi, who’s famous for creating Ace Attorney — my favourite video game series of all time. That’s why I’m excited.

Expect plenty of Ace Attorney references.

In case you’ve never played an Ace Attorney game before, because you keep trying to order a copy but everywhere’s out of stock (that’s the only reason I can think of), I suppose I should let you know what you’ve been missing.

The games are technically visual novels, but that makes them sound terribly boring so most fans refer to them as “courtroom battle” games. Players take on the role of a rookie attorney (Phoenix Wright in the first three games, Apollo Justice in the fourth, and Miles Edgeworth in the Ace Attorney Investigations spin-off) and are tasked with solving a series of increasingly complicated cases in order to get their wrongly-accused clients off the hook. Each case typically starts with an investigation phase, in which the player gathers clues and interviews witnesses; before moving on to the trial phase, where the majority of the action takes place. By finding inconsistencies between witness testimonies and the evidence at hand, players are able to slowly turn things around and make sure justice is served.

Every one of the games has a meaty story (with several days’ worth of play time), sharp writing, a colourful cast of heroes and villains, plenty of laugh-out-loud humour, and some of the best music and artwork you’re ever likely to find.

If you want to know more, I suggest checking out the in-depth reviews on Eurogamer. If anybody appreciates Ace Attorney’s genius, it’s them.

If first impressions are anything to go by, it looks like Ghost Trick will have just as much charm and appeal as its predecessor. In fact, the cast has a lot in common with Ace Attorney’s. I couldn’t help comparing Sissel, Lynne, and Kamila to Phoenix, Maya, and Pearls when I watched the trailer — and Kamila’s dog, Missile, actually appeared as a police dog in the first Phoenix Wright game.

I know I'm going to end up loving Sissel and Lynne just as much as Phoenix and Maya.

Ghost Trick is a murder-mystery adventure game. Its unique selling point is that players take on the role of Sissel, the victim, as he investigates his own death from beyond the grave. The game isn’t even out in Japan yet, so details are a little hazy, but it looks like Sissel’s lost his memories and is forced to “unlock” them by helping other people escape death.

He does this by travelling back in time, to four minutes before the person’s death, and “possessing” objects around him to cause events to unfold differently. For example, he might set off an alarm to distract the bad guy, or help the unsuspecting victim by providing them with useful items. I’ve heard there’ll be many different ways of solving some of the puzzles. The trailer certainly makes the game’s characters look “intelligent” in the same way the characters in 5th Cell’s Scribblenauts are — that is, they’ll react to sounds, notice sudden movements, and adapt to changes in their environment.

In this respect, Ghost Trick seems a lot more hands-on than Ace Attorney ever has been. This could prove to be a welcome change of pace after years of slow, albeit rewarding, text-based puzzles, but I hope the mystery and story elements are enough to give the game balance. If the game spends too long on action instead of story, I for one will be disappointed.

Sissel has the ability to "possess" and manipulate objects around him, and can also travel back in time.

Whatever the puzzles are like, it’s the text (or lack thereof) that I think will make or break Ghost Trick. If there’s not enough, it’ll be a great shame, because this has the potential to be a really funny game. It’s the sort of game where the female lead can cheerfully exclaim, “Ha ha! I died again!” as if dying is something that happens to her every few days. We’re talking about a game where one of the main characters is a desk lamp. I’m telling you, that lamp could have the least interesting lines out of anyone in the game, but I’m still going to grin every time I see it. That’s the sort of silliness I’ve always loved in Ace Attorney and I’m so glad Takumi seems to have brought the same style of humour to Ghost Trick.

Whatever happens, I’m sure it’ll be a worthwhile purchase and I already know I’ll be pre-ordering it as soon as it’s available. Chances are I’ll post a full review once I’ve finished my first play-through, as well. Ghost Trick will be released in the US and Europe this winter.

Images: Capcom

Thanks to Court Records for the heads-up.

I seem to have completely lost my ability to do anything without it feeling like an enormous chore. Even when I decided I was going to write this post I just signed into WordPress, wrote the title, and then logged out and faffed about on Twitter for ten thousand hours.

This is what my bedroom looks like at the moment. As you can see, I’ve run out of room on my desk and started putting things on the floor. Actually, one of my drawers is on the floor. I don’t even remember why, so it must’ve been there for a while.

You can’t see it in the photo (which, by the way, I took with my DSi because I couldn’t be bothered to look for my camera) but my alarm clock fell off the bedside table and took a mug with it and the mug smashed. They’re both still on the floor because I’m too lazy to bend down and pick them up.

I should probably be ashamed, but I can’t even be bothered to feel shame. Lately I seem to spend more of my time procrastinating and thinking about doing things than actually doing them. And when I do do something it inevitably goes wrong, and I end up feeling like I might as well not have bothered.

Like today. I got up early to book tickets for me and Steve (@steveforan) to see The Feeling, and fully intending to write one of my five essays afterwards. What I actually did was book a week on the Norfolk Broads, because obviously I’ve been working hard and desperately need a holiday.

Then hunger overtook laziness for a while, and I had to drag myself to Tesco because I’d run out of food. I scanned my Clubcard key fob, put my keys on top of the self-service checkout, and actually thought to myself, “Ha, I bet I forget to pick them up again.” Then I walked home and realised I’d forgotten to pick up my damn keys. How is that even possible? How can somebody think something, and then forget about it in the time it takes to tear off their receipt?

You know what…? I don’t think there’s even going to be a point to this. But the kitchen’s messy because we stayed up late playing the celebrity Post-it note game, and I don’t want to clean it. And it’s clearly more fun to write a light-hearted blog post than an essay titled, “The dominance of US television programmes worldwide amounts to a form of ‘cultural imperialism’. Discuss.”

I’ll probably blog again later, too. It’s been a while and I totally have lots of things to tell you. Stick around, OK?

Grindr's logo is supposed to evoke "subtle themes of Mardi Gras". Everyone I've spoken to says it evokes subtle themes of serial-killing.

I’ve started looking for love. Dating. Actually, actively looking for someone instead of sitting around waiting for someone to come to me. And you know what? It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.

It all started a couple of weeks ago, when I heard about an iPhone app called Grindr. It’s “a geosocial networking application… targeted at gay and bisexual men”, which basically means it finds all the gays in the local area and lets you flirt with them.

Obviously a lot of people use it for cruising and casual hookups; but there are a lot of really sweet guys on Grindr too, if you can be bothered to look for them.

I’ve also joined Gaydar and OkCupid. Gaydar definitely lives up to its reputation (i.e., it’s a bit seedy) and I don’t think I’ll be keeping my profile for very long. OkCupid, on the other hand, is really nice: it’s geared towards getting to know people, and away from one-night stands.

OkCupid does some really interesting stuff, as well. Its main gimmick is the “matches” feature. By asking a series of increasingly obscure questions (e.g., “Would you consider dating somebody who grows marijuana for their own personal use?” and “Would you consider having sex in a graveyard?”), the site is able to match you to other people with similar points of view.

So far I’ve met up with two guys, and I’ve got coffees (or potential coffees) lined up with two or three others. I doubt I’m going to meet Mr Right doing this, but it’s been great getting to know some other gay people and I’m finding it to be a real confidence boost. Before, I spent a lot of time wondering why I’m single — now, I’ve realised it’s probably because I haven’t been putting enough any effort in.

Now that’s changed, I’m hoping my luck will start to change as well. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

Image: Grindr

"So, you're 'Dad', are you? What are your resolutions? I suppose you'll be giving up chocolate, won't you? You big, fat, unsophisticated pleb."

You know what? I think it’s impossible to get through New Year’s Eve without at least stopping for a few minutes to think about the Old Year — the one that’s on its way out, I mean. And, at the start of a new decade, I’ve found myself looking much further back than that.

I was ten when the new millennium started. I remember it well: my parents were still together, we were still living in Norfolk, and we’d gone to a party some very good family friends were throwing. I had a bad cold. I don’t just mean a blocked nose and a sore throat: I honestly don’t remember feeling that poorly before or since. So the first thing I did in the year 2000 was burst into tears.

Fast-forward ten years, and I think it’s safe to say this one’s gone a lot better. Joey, Jo and I headed into Central London… All the firework viewing points were closed by the time we arrived, so we ended up next to Nelson’s Column where the BBC had set up a load of LED screens for people to watch New Year Live on.

Despite being stuck listening to the likeable but ultimately hopeless Myleene Klass (“…and, of course, reality TV. Where would we be without that?” asked Myleene. “YOU’D BE NOWHERE!” responded Joanna) the New Year’s countdown was lovely. And I’m happy to say I actually had somebody to kiss at midnight. Not because I’ve found myself a boyfriend — let’s face it, there’s more chance of Gordon Brown being described as “charismatic” than me finding love — but because Joey and Jo very kindly offered up their lips and I very eagerly took them up on said offer.

As a result, I actually made it through the bongs without feeling desperately lonely this year. Instead of waiting for all the couples to finish their kisses so I could wish them a happy New Year, I actually got to be part of one of the couples. Sure, we’re just friends — there’s nothing romantic going on between any of us — but it was still a very nice change.

Rather than freezing to death, we decided to leave pretty soon after that. Sadly, the crowds were an absolute bloody nightmare. Don’t get me wrong… It wasn’t the people in the crowds that were the problem. Most of them were lovely. It was just impossible to move till about 1:30 a.m., at which point the Tube stations finally started to get back to normal and we managed to get where we needed to be.

To their credit, the police did a great job: keeping 250,000 people safe, moving, and under control must be a heck of a task, but they pulled it off and still managed to be friendly and helpful. They get a lot of hassle, from the public and from the press, but I couldn’t say a bad word about them tonight. The same goes for the Transport for London staff.

We all got pretty stressed out trying to get home, and I don’t think we’ll ever be celebrating in Central again, but nothing went too badly wrong so I’m still choosing to think of this as one of the best New Year’s Eves I’ve ever had. Let’s just hope it’ll turn out to be one of the best years I’ve ever had, too…

Image: BBC One

Home sweet home

I’ve been at university for nearly two weeks now, so I thought I’d check in and let you know how I’ve been getting on.

Getting here turned out to be a complete nightmare — a couple of weeks before I was due to move, MDX e-mailed to let me know they’d run out of space in the halls I applied for. Luckily, my best friend knows someone on the accommodation team, who suggested Robbins Hall in Enfield. They’re the nicest halls for the university, but they’re also the most expensive and furthest away from the campus.

Me, being "studenty"

I moved in on Monday 14th September, and once I’d finally convinced Mum to go home and leave me to my own devices, I met my flatmate Hattie and her friend Joey. I can honestly say they’re two of the nicest people I’ve ever come across — without them I would still be feeling completely lost, but they’ve made it so easy to settle in and I hope we’re going to be friends for a very long time.

Once we’d finished unpacking, we headed down to our local Wetherspoons for a drink and it only took Hattie a few minutes to ask if I was gay. That might sound awkward, but it was actually a huge relief: at college, it took me weeks to come out (I know, I know — it’s not exactly a secret) so it was great to be able to be myself straight off the bat. Our flat is already famous for its “gay wall” — basically a collection of the hottest guys from Attitude — and most of the other people on the complex are doing creative courses, so nobody really bats an eyelid.

OK, one person has batted an eyelid. But he made himself quite unpopular in the process, so I’m not worried.

(more…)

It’s been a long time coming — thanks in no small part to the absent-minded people at Bedford College — but I finally got the e-mail confirming my university place today!

Congratulations! Your place at Middlesex University (M80) to study Television Production (P311) has been confirmed.

Hooray!

Now I have to start panicking all over again, though, because term starts one month from today and I still have a heap of shopping to do. I’m sure I won’t need everything on The Student Room’s freakishly long list (a traffic cone? Seriously?), but right now I haven’t got much at all.

At least now I’ve got an unconditional offer I can finish sorting out my accommodation, bank account, Oyster card, and whatnot. That’ll be a load off my mind.

Ugh, why do I always leave everything till the last minute?

Image: Middlesex University

Last week, I was searching for my name on a domain checker (as you do), and was surprised to find there were only two “mikelees” that hadn’t been registered. Of course, like any self-respecting geek would, I grabbed one straight away… then realised I didn’t actually need a new domain, and felt a bit silly.

But I’ve forked out £12 now, so I’m determined to get my money’s worth and do something with it. Which explains the “installed-WordPress-on-a-whim-and-just-tweaked-the-default-theme-a-bit” look.

Anyway, I’m Mike (duh), I’m 20 years old, and I’m a media student. (Or, at least, I was until I finished college; and will be again when I start university in September.) I live with my mum, my stepdad, and one of my stepdad’s fetid offspring in Bedfordshire.

In my spare time, I design and run websites, write, sleep a lot, stalk people on Facebook, and watch copious amounts of TV.

Things I am a fan of include The Feeling, Ace Attorney, Zachary Quinto, The Sims, Two Pints, Pokémon, Heroes, Big Brother USA, Attitude magazine, and Final Destination.

Things I am not a fan of include Fearne Cotton, ITV News, action films, the Conservative Party, hot weather, Coldplay, Jo Whiley, Microsoft, and Lemsip.

That’s pretty much all you need to know about me. Anything else you can pick up along the way.

Speaking of which, I’m still not 100% sure what I’m going to be blogging about. But you can expect life stuff, Web design and writing projects, reviews, crappy student films, and pretty much everything else that pops into my head that I can’t squeeze into 140 characters.

Hmm, this could actually be fun.