So. Summer of Sonic.

[Crowbar]

I saw the guy on the right all over the place there.

I suspected the whole time that he was Syaming-Li/Boltstryke, and checking out his Deviantart profile again, it seems he is.

He did not look like that when I met him that one time years ago. But it doesn't entirely surprise me that he has turned into that now. I would not normally laugh at such a person, since people are free to enjoy things however they like, but in this case I feel a certain cathartic (or am I mistaking it for hubris?) pleasure in doing so, knowing that he probably hasn't changed a bit in the last six or more years.

[j-man]

I was at the Central line station! I must've just missed you :(

My mate said the same thing about that case of merchandise, too. They had that Sonic & Knuckles denim jacket that I've wanted since I was like 8. Probably wouldn't fit me these days, but still! I also fully appreciated the tunes they were playing, and the more obscure ones became a great icebreaker with the guys around you in the queue. I was pretty happy when I was the only person to recognise the Sonic Jam digital manual tune, but that soon gave way to a distinct feeling of despair at achieving a new pinnacle of nerdiness.

I stood next to that guy in the queue on the way in, and during the cosplay contest. We're talking a serious addition to the already prominent B.O. issues. I ended up surreptitiously spraying the area with Lynx to save my sanity. He was also hanging out with a total cutie dressed as Sonic. She would've totally got it. I would've left the ears on and everything.

Where are those pictures hiding, Kogen? I want to try and spot myself. Ruby took a video of our half-arsed Mexican Wave outside the venue, which I'm also interested in seeing.

[Kogen]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 7603042329

This should be the gallery.

[j-man]

I'm not there :(

[Kogen]

I'm not there :(

I guess you were too much of a creepy weirdo to fit in. Like the type who sticks their face into another man's crotch randomly.

[j-man]

Hey, come on now. We introduced ourselves first.

[Ritz]

Sonic 4 was a bit shit; see Crowbar's reasoning.

We tried to warn you.

Crush 40 were a bit of fun; the kids loved it, but I was wondering where the bass and drums were. Had a bit of a sing-a-long with Open Your Heart, which made me happy until I noticed all the basement-dwellers flinging themselves all over the place and I just wanted to go home. Maybe it was the hour and a half of sleep I got the night before, but I couldn't escape that niggling feeling of disappointment that was vying for my attention; that maybe, just maybe, this event was not made for the likes of me, but for those hyperactive, pre-teen, socially-retarded denizens of the internet that were whirling about to videogame theme songs. I felt old then, old as the stars, and so very, very tired.

I tried to warn you. I suppose it was a valuable learning experience all the same, right? Adversity builds character. It'll look good on a resume: "Braved a Sonic convention, didn't catch AIDS".

By the by, what was Frozen Nitrogen like? What did you discuss? Did he have a funny accent? He's one of the more delightfully acerbic individuals on Retro, so hearing these accounts of him being a decent guy irl is a bit jarring (though not unexpected).

[j-man]

Sonic 4 was not total shit, it was just a little bit shit; just shit enough to be disappointing. It's difficult to explain. It's not 'walking up 90 degree slopes' bad, but it's not quite there in terms of overall fluidity of play. I'll still buy the thing when it comes out, so that I can sit down for an hour or two with a cup of tea and have a proper session with The Final Build, but my initial reaction was definitely one of mild confusion. I mean, it plays better with the analogue stick than it does with the d-pad, which offended me on a fundamental level.

It's all very well to bring out the 'I Told You So's, but last time I checked I was one of the only two (?) people here that have actually played it, unless you got down with that whole PNet thing.

As for the event, it's fair to say that it was pretty far south of my comfort zone. There were a lot of people that got slightly too close when they were talking to you, which always gets my back up. One guy standing behind me in the queue was literally breathing down my neck as he assured me of his plan for the perfect 3D Sonic game. All he had to do, he said, was get into contact with the right people and it would all come to fruition! As his clammy hand fell on my shoulder, his dull, bovine stare told me a thousand silent tales. I was frightened beyond fear.

Frozen Nitrogen was a cool guy. He had a bit of that odd pomposity that internet folks sometimes speak with eye-arr-ell, but he was genuinely pleasant. As far as I remember, we just made small talk; queue length, the music at the venue, fangames, the drama over at Retro, and so on. I couldn't place his accent, but I'd take a guess at somewhere in the Midlands. I told him he seemed angrier on the internet. He said everyone's angrier on the Internet. Right on, man.

[Rob-Bert]

I mean, it plays better with the analogue stick than it does with the d-pad, which offended me on a fundamental level.

This statement leads me to believe you were playing it on the 360, in which case the D-pad sucks giant nads.

[Soul]

I'm sorry to interrupt the current conversation of Sonic 4 and all but someone mentioned the one on the right of this pic was Dean Shanghanoo/Syaming-Li/Boltstryke/whatever he calls himself nowadays. I can't believe that's him - no way any self-respecting man would allow himself to become the type of guy I wouldn't want to be seen with on a light da-

*PROOF*
http://www.twitpic.com/photos/SyamingLi

...and now I'm going to need that last bottle of Shiner beer from the fridge. Goddamnit...

[Ritz]

He has so many looks!

[Segaholic2]

Wow that guy is kind of creepy.

[Rob-Bert]

Now there's a gross understatement if I've ever heard one. :S