Buy Call of Duty 4 from Amazon

I was struck by this fact when I completed Call of Duty 4 last week - games are becoming increasingly like films every year. Not so much due to the graphics, the score or any aesthetic reason. This game drew me in, so much so that I even began to empathise with the characters. I'm bound to drop spoilers here, so if you plan on playing CoD4 at some point, save this article for another day.

I don't play many new singleplayer games. For the past three years I've had a rather unhealthy obsession with Counter Strike - it started off slowly, I joined a clan and found myself hungering for organised matches every evening, I even went to a LAN at one point. The urge to shoot at virtual representations of real people was so great, it became a dominant part of my life. It was something of a social thing, more about the people than the gaming at times - but that's a seperate story. Most importantly, I began to realise how important a human face can be on a computer generated character's body. I barely touched a singleplayer game during my time with CS; and aside from the Half-Life series, Call of Duty 4 is the only new shooter I've properly played since 2005.

Before now, empathy wasn't a matter of great importance to me; it certainly wasn't something significant enough to consider alongside other factors. People have described feeling guilt when the friendly artificial intelligences die in their favourite games, which makes me feel like something of a sadist when I admit that I relish games with a friendly fire option. To give a small example, Valve explained their decision to make Barney (the security guard) more prominent in the sequel to Half-Life, by describing the people they asked having felt a pang of guilt when he was killed protecting them. Me? I used to shoot the guy for fun. I'm not psychopathic, it was simply that the game wasn't real enough for me to consider it a big deal.

There have been a few games which I've connected with on an emotional level. Grim Fandango was one of them, when I wasn't cursing it for some of the less obvious puzzles. The Broken Sword was another. In a way, of course, that's one of the fundamental features of an adventure game; unless the purpose is all-out comedy, at the very least you have to have a vague understanding with the characters you play - otherwise half of the motivation for continuing would be lost. But first person shooters, not so much.

Half Life 2 left me awestruck. But again, it wasn't because of the characters - in the majority of cases the interactions just weren't subtle enough to create the illusion that these were actual people. Perhaps this was due to the fact that much of the interaction occurs in between bouts of action, rather than during it; bonding in games is catalysed by firefights, and dampened by the absense of them; HL2 seperates the two far too much for its own good. Episode Two, incidentally, does a far better job, but misses the mark ever so slightly in parts.

So what makes Call of Duty 4 special? Put simply, continuous war.

The game starts by throwing you in with characters whom you have never met, you feel no great attachement to, and then throws you into action upon action, tense escape sequences which are tense despite being transparently scripted, and firefights, during which you genuinely feel part of a team, rather than a lone hero battling the entire middle-east. Empathy for your fellow soldiers is not crammed down your throat from the first minute; instead, it is allowed to develop. When your Captain pulls you up into a climbing helicopter the moment before you lose grip, your first feeling is gratitude rather than skepticism for an obvious cliché. The game is incredibly subtle in the methods it uses to draw you in; and when it spits you out, you are genuinely shocked and disheartened. At one point, I began to feel a sense of detatchment as I drifted away from yet another daring escape, in a chinook helicopter. And then a nuclear bomb detonated, in the city behind me. The next moment, I was spining towards earth, not sure if I would survive - the next moment, I was given the opportunity to crawl away from the burning wreck, dazed from concussions and radiation. And the next moment, I was dead.

Call of Duty 4 glamourises war, but at the very moment you ask yourself if it is not just another propoganda tool, you are sharply corrected. From the assassination carried out from the harsh, deserted landscapes of Chernobyl, to the execution depicted through the victim's eyes, the game is far more harrowing than many I have played so far, and does not shy from showing both sides of its story.

The poignancy of the empathy which CoD4 instilled in me struck me very close to the end of the game. After having escaped from a missile silo, I was trapped alongside your team at a collapsed bridge which served as a dead end. From the perspective of a fallen man, I watched my companions, shot one by one by the surviving opponents. With his dying breath, your captain throws you a pistol. I desperately empty the clip .. and then help arrives. The ending provides no closure, and you are left, bitter with the consequences of the war your friends have laid their lives down for, and sad at their deaths. Call of Duty does not simply present the ideals of conflict, allowing the player to act a part. The game, if anything, is an emulation of war, one you feel part of until the closing moments.

 

There's a fascinating graph that can easily be found on Wikipedia here that studies the usage of the terms "Doom clone" and "first person shooter", looking at their respective usages in Usenet posts between 1993 and 2002. The phrase "Doom clone" looks to have been conclusively defeated by "first person shooter" by late 1998, which interestingly coincides with the release of Valve's Half-Life. But like the secretive Trystero in The Crying of Lot 49 (I'm sorry, that's the second Pynchon reference in two posts – I'll try and cut them down) the phrase was not quite defeated, but merely forced underground, along with the games that remain lumbered with the label. To be honest, the fact that mainstream magazines and the game-playing public labelled games like these as "Doom clones" was a bit unfair. The games weren't exactly carbon-copies of the massively successful id classic, many didn't even use its influential engine – it's just that the early competitors to Doom were sometimes looked down upon and have been largely forgotten today – even when some of them were brilliant in their own right. So what defines a Doom clone? Well, by my definition a Doom clone is an FPS released between 1993 and 1998, which use sprites for their characters and objects and generally have Doom-esque technology to work with. Some games on the list are still famous today – others have fallen into at least partly undeserved obscurity. Because of the relatively primitive engines they use, they can often be difficult to get working on modern operating systems – but where possible, I'll offer some advice as to how these games can be played in 2008 (remember that DOSbox will theoretically run them all). Incidentally, for those who have yet to experience the joys of Doom itself, it can be found in a Collector's Edition on (for example) Amazon, and there's a guide to getting the game to run under XP over at the excellent Doom Wiki here. For now though, on with the list – from #10 right up to #1…

At #10: Chex Quest (1996)

Hilariously, Chex Quest was developed entirely for the purposes of marketing a US breakfast cereal in 1996. Consequently, it was largely non-violent and marketed towards children, allowing the kids to play as an anthropomorphic piece of cereal that was tasked with fighting off an insidious alien invasion. Despite having only five levels and having most items from Doom directly translated into cereal-based versions, it gained a downloadable sequel, Chex Quest 2, in 1997 and bizarrely, also developed a cult following. For its audacity and amusingly insane idea of removing the ultraviolence from the grandfather of the FPS, Chex Quest gets in at #10. Of course having done what it did way back in 1996, Chex Quest and its "makers" were way ahead of their time – now giving away free games with cereal is pretty normal – I remember a Kelloggs one by the name of Mission Nutrition from my youth which is now incredibly obscure (deservedly). It just goes to show that breakfast really is the most important sinister marketing opportunity of the day. Should the need to play this piece of marketing history take hold of you, there's a site here that contains what you need to know. In the mean time, see it in action in this video of the first level.

At #9: PowerSlave (AKA Exhumed) (1996)

You've got to give some credit to a game that was largely inspired by a 1984 Iron Maiden album. Unsurprisingly the inspiration is rather more famous and easy to get hold of than the inspired. PowerSlave actually also went by another name, Exhumed, as if to belatedly dissociate itself from Dickinson's outfit. Featuring the alluring combination of ancient Egyptian themes with guns, PowerSlave was released for the Sega Saturn, and then the PS1 and PC, and it was developed by the ever-so-famous Lobotomy Software. Interestingly, the game ran on the Build engine, a more powerful version of which was also used in… another game or two we may come to later. There are plentiful videos of the game around, including this one, the first in a series of speedruns. I haven't got the faintest idea how to get the game running, short of buying a Saturn or a PS1 and an old copy. If anyone has a clue, do comment and let us know. In fact, comparing the videos for Chex Quest and PowerSlave, can you believe it's the former that has a cult following? Sometimes people just can't see greatness when it's staring them in the face. Tsk.

At #8: Killing Time (1996)

Killing Time has the dubious honour of having been developed by the much-maligned 3DO, creators of the similarly much-maligned Army Men series of so-called games. It shares a bit of the Egyptian theme with PowerSlave – you play as a 1930s PI hunting down the now-deranged Tess Conway on Matinicus Island, a real island off the coast of Maine. Conway has turned the island into a haven for the undead using her experimentation with the enigmatic Water Clock of Thoth. Cue much shooting and general carnage. The game was notorious for some of its then-horrifying enemies – meat-cleaver lobbing zombie chefs, and so on. There's a theme that runs through most of these Doom clones – if you tried to develop them today, they'd most likely get banned for their ultraviolent content. Killing Time is definitely amongst those. It had some quite impressive special effects for the time, and deserves kudos for its original 1930s setting and oh-so-witty title. Its intro video can be viewed at your leisure here.

At #7: Rise of the Triad (1995)

Here's a fairly famous one. Developed by Apogee Software (later renamed to one 3D Realms) on a bodged form of id's own ageing Wolfenstein 3D technology, the coolly-named Rise of the Triad was released in 1995 and has a developed a reputation as one of the more gratuitously gory entries in the Doom clone canon. ROTT was designed by Tom Hall (whose famous "Doom Bible" was the legendary design document upon which Doom itself was based) who unfortunately was lumbered with a few technical limitations left over from Wolf 3D. Generally all the walls run at 90 degree angles, and the floors and ceilings are all of uniform height. In other respects, though, Apogee managed to push the engine surprisingly far, at least far enough to power the judicious gibs. Inventively, ROTT also featured a choice of characters with different statistics and different comedy names, including one Ian Paul Freeley. Due to originally having meant to be called Wolfenstein 3D II: Rise of the Triad, there were some Nazi Germany allusions, but generally speaking ROTT was its own game, themed around an evil plot being hatched on San Nicolas island - making it the second game in our list to take place on a real island. Curious. ROTT now stands as a slightly obscure thing sandwiched between famous things - it was in some ways the inheritor to id's own classics, and Tom Hall was to go on to Anachronox and Deus Ex amongst other things. Apogee/3D Realms also went on to bigger things, as we shall see. Again, I don't know how to get ROTT working on XP, but if you do, get in touch. There is a video containing the game's intro here though.

At #6: Shadow Warrior (1997)

It's those cheeky 3D Realms chaps again. In 1997 they were hoping that their new game would build upon the success of Duke Nukem 3D - and Shadow Warrior, starring their new ninja character Lo Wang, was that game. Running on Ken Silverman's Build engine, Shadow Warrior was extremely advanced by comparison to almost any shooter that had gone before. Because of games like Shadow Warrior, by 1997 the term "Doom clone" was looking decidedly old-fashioned. 3D Realms were pioneering all kinds of new and clever ideas, many of which were packed into Lo Wang's ultraviolent adventure. The game was packed (in true 3D Realms style) with huge numbers of tongue-in-cheek gags and comments from the talkative Lo Wang ("You're not half the man you used to be!") and popular culture references. It was an amazing cocktail, but perhaps surprisingly Shadow Warrior failed to emulate Duke 3D's success and consequently its expansions were canned, but luckily resurfaced later. The story sees Wang fighting off his former employers, a sinister Japanese corporation who have brought legions of misshapen beasts into the world. There's a video here, and a site here that gives some very handy info about getting Shadow Warrior to run (as well as Blood and Duke 3D, both of which we'll come to later)

At #5: Heretic (1994)

And so we come to the oldest game on our list. While FPS grand-masters id were working on Doom II, their great friends Raven Software were working on something very different - Heretic. Hugely advanced for the time, (having innovations even Doom II didn't have) Heretic was also stylistically different to anything else around here. A fantasy FPS, Heretic let you play as Corvus, and tasked you with hunting down and destroying the villainous Serpent Rider D'Sparil. Heretic had an inventory, and also allowed you to look up and down. It would also be the first of four games in the series, the sequels confusingly titled Hexen, Hexen II, and Heretic II (I can think of one series with more confusing sequel titles - the Rambo series). With Heretic, Raven proved that a fantasy FPS was feasible, that there were more technical innovations to be squeezed out of the Doom engine, and that they were soon to be respected as one of the great FPS developers - helping them establish their ongoing relationship with id. Thankfully, Heretic is still pretty easy to get running. All you really need is a Doom source port like Doomsday or zDoom which also has support for Heretic. As per usual, here's a video.

At #4: Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995)

A licensed game? In a top ten list?! Yes sir, Star Wars: Dark Forces surely deserves a place. Like Heretic, Dark Forces spawned plenty of sequels, starting with Jedi Knight, and then Jedi Knight II in 2002. Dark Forces was a bit of a curious Star Wars game because you couldn't get a lightsaber - whilst you play as ex-Empire soldier and Rebellion hero Kyle Katarn, Kyle hadn't become a Jedi by the time Dark Forces takes place. Instead, you're forced to use various classic Star Wars guns as you attempt to destroy the Empire's insidious Dark Trooper project, a secret weapons program that could crush the Rebellion before it gets off the ground. Despite some fairly horrendous sewer levels (also found in Doom II, of course, as well as Strife) Dark Forces was a surprisingly successful foray into FPS territory by LucasArts. Interestingly, it also features no blood - but then again, it's hardly Chex Quest either; those damned Stormtroopers get what's coming to them. If you know how to get it working under XP, let me know. Last time I played it, it was a very long time ago, and it was also in French - don't ask me why. Obligatory video!

At #3: Strife (1996)

There's been a bit of a lack of old-fashioned proper sci-fi in this list, it seems. Doom was sci-fi (albeit very silly and not well thought out sci-fi, but still - that was hardly the point) and so was Strife, which was released in 1996 by its developers, Rogue Entertainment. Strife depicted a bloody war between two factions in a dystopic environment. The Order are a crazed religious cult who have seized control of the planet - the only alternative to them is The Front, a militant resistance group you become affiliated with early in the game. Using words like "affiliated" should signal that Strife was far from an ordinary Doom clone, or even an ordinary FPS. There were tens of named characters, you could trade with NPCs, indulge in dialogue trees with various people, use multiple firing modes and types of ammo on some weapons, and the game used a hub environment system not unlike Quake II's. The plot was surprisingly intricate, featuring betrayals, horrendous conspiracies, and all centred around the player's quest to acquire a massively powerful weapon that could turn the tide against the vicious Order and their sinister overseers. Difficult to describe, Strife influenced a massive number of games in a way you can't really understand unless you experience it - the list of games that owe something to Strife includes such greats as Half-Life 2, Deus Ex, Halo, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, and tons more besides. It's an underrated classic, which whilst not quite escaping its Doom engine roots, did a huge number of things very very right indeed. It can be run using zDoom, to which I linked earlier. Here's a video - the game's intro.

At #2: Blood (1997)

We've heard a bit about which of these Doom clones is bloody and which aren't bloody, but I can bloody well tell you, they don't get bloodier than Blood. Released in 1997 by Monolith (who went on to develop Aliens vs Predator 2, Tron 2.0, No-One Lives Forever, F.E.A.R. and a lot else besides), Blood is still hugely respected. It was really a homage, it lots of ways, to the classic 3D Realms games - it's vampiric anti-hero, the remorseless horror film-quoting Caleb, had much the same popular culture quoting tendencies exhibited by butch 3D Realms heroes Duke Nukem and Lo Wang. At the start of the game, you wake up as Caleb in a grave - an atmospheric start if ever there was one - and vow revenge against the evil god Tchernobog, the source of your woes. From then on Caleb moves through his world's twisted, ultraviolent version of 1928, killing virtually anything that moves in his sadistic and insatiable quest for vengeance. Like Duke Nukem 3D, Blood was built on the Build engine, allowing Caleb to see himself in mirrors (and in the Plasma Pak version, smash mirrors, allowing psychotic mini-Calebs to pop out and attack him) and various other technical enhancements. Caleb's primary enemies were the hooded Cabal, and he dispatched them with one of the best arsenals yet seen in an FPS - including a flare gun, dynamite, voodoo doll, pitchfork, and Tommy gun. But Caleb's deadliest weapon was surely his collection of cinematic quotes - he was alive - "AGAIN!" - and he wanted a whole world of scum to know it - right before he blew them, gibs splattering everywhere, all over the damn shop.

At #1: Duke Nukem 3D (1996)

I didn't do a very good job of keeping my #1 secret, did I? To some it would have been pretty obvious before I'd begun. Ken Silverman's Build engine, married with the talented bods at 3D Realms, ended up creating by far the best shooter since Doom in the form of Duke Nukem 3D in 1996. The star of the show was the super-manly killing machine Duke Nukem, who was a huge homage to Arnold Schwarzennegger and was voiced by the now-legendary Jon St. John. Duke's mission was to defend a futuristic Los Angeles - and the world - from a malevolent alien race. With a set of guns to rival Blood's (including a shrink ray) Duke fought his way through strip clubs, Japanese villas, and a space station, annihilating everything in his path, stumbling across a felled marine from Doom, and coming out with quotes largely robbed from Bruce Campbell film Army of Darkness. And now, we await Duke Nukem Forever, and try not to think of the many cruel jokes levelled against Duke's long-awaited return. Perhaps when Duke comes across the dead Doomguy (and says, "That's one Doomed marine."), that was the very moment when the FPS began to become a genre in its own right, having moved out of Doom's shadow. Perhaps after all, that's what we have Duke to thank for. I for one can't wait for him to come back - and when he does, those alien bastards are going to pay for shooting up his ride. Oh, yeah - a video.

Conclusions

Some people say that today is the time when games, and the FPS, are at their best. I'm not sure I agree. Whilst we've had some astonishing shooters in the last few years, very few have been as imaginitive, original, funny or damn well made as some of those that followed in the wake of Doom. And yet a lot of people look down on some of these games - or can't see past their dated technology. The truth is that these games don't just show the way into the past, but also into the future - I for one would rather see another quality wise-cracking character like Caleb or Duke than another mind-bendingly boring git like whatever the guy from Crysis was called. The sense of humour, the sense of adventure has fallen out of fashion in the FPS world these days - but I think that by looking back to Doom and its followers - and they are followers, not clones, after all - we can see how we can marry modern game technology with wit, verve and style. To the past, and to the future…

Yet another peice of depressing news about the Neuromancer film in development. And I was just getting over the fact that Kahn is the director. (I've come to the opinion that people should be giving Kahn a break. He has enough talent to make this film work.)

From 7artspictures.com

"Based on William Gibson’s seminal cyberpunk novel, Hayden Christensen stars as Cage, a petty future Tokyo thief whose trade is jacking his brain directly into computer systems. When this skill is taken away from him, it seems his life is destined to end in an explosion of violence and drugs… until the mysterious Armitage offers redemption – at a price. Revelation follows revelation as Cage discovers that no one is in control of his or her own destiny and a new form of sentient technology is taking over. It’s down to Cage to face Neuromancer and do something he never has before: make the right choice."

This is depressing. Before I even begin with Christensen –

"Cage"? If that isn't a typo, Gibson will be turning in his figurative grave.

"Cage discovers that no one is in control of his or her own destiny". That sound you hear is me flicking through my copy of Neuromancer, I'm bound to find this somewhere.

"It’s down to Cage to face Neuromancer". Yep, I can hear it now. In an epic battle coming to cinemas this summer …

"Make the right choice". Oh, great, a shoe-horned in moral dilemma.

Did they read Neuromancer? Whoever wrote the above paragraph is being paid too much.

—

Hayden Christensen.

I admit, I haven't seen the guy in anything other than Star Wars, and his part did suck - but at the end of the day, he … just doesn't look the part.

Is that to be the face of Case Cage, a washed out computer hacker, since turned to drugs and crime? I would much prefer a no-name actor, rather than what seems to be a teen-idol who will draw hoards of fans that don't even know what SF stands for.

Who we're going to get playing Molly is a mystery I don't want solved. Or is that name not cool enough for this kind of flick? Maybe they should call her Razor?

Hell. Maybe this could work. But I doubt it.

10 - Waking Dreams

11 - The Truth is in Here

12 - Unnatural Selection

13 - River of Time

14 - E=MC2

15 - The Sixth Extinction

Artists

Hell, I haven't published a novel. But I've tried harder, and got further, than most. I remember trawling huge numbers of sites trying to find some master plan, some unstoppable secret weapon to help me get my first novel published. What I can tell you is that the guides that are out there are largely contradictory and often misleading. And whilst the business of writing and publishing novels is a difficult, time-consuming, and ruthless one, there are a few golden rules that you can try to stay within if you're really serious about becoming the next Stephen King, Philip Pullman or (god help us) Dan Brown.

Write a brilliant and/or commercial novel

To get published, a novel needs to either be brilliant or commercial. Ideally, it needs to be both. The Honda corporation has long asserted that a good product will sell itself, and this is probably true, but conversely R.L. Stine's kids horror books weren't exactly darlings of the critical media but probably made the guy enormous mountains of cash. You might imagine that for you to get your novel published, you'll need to send in a hefty manuscript which when read by an experienced and kindly publisher's employee, will suddenly set their world on fire and then bang, you're published. As we'll realise, this is a bit disconnected from the truth. That said, you do of course need to write something that makes a very good impression on the readers at the sinister corporate HQ of your chosen manuscript recipient. But remember that a novel, upon publication, is a commercial entity like anything else when the reader first sets eyes on your manuscript among countless others, there's one line they'll be particularly fixated on. The bottom line. Publishers are out to make a profit – the more huge, the better. Remember this and you have a chance.

Make your manuscript appropriately

You won't be able to visit the publishers personally and describe to them in great detail how you're epic Tolkien-esque fantasy is supposed to work. Your manuscript, a copy of part of or the entirety of your work that you send to them, must speak for you. Of course this means that your story must be clear and easily understandable – but it means other things as well. Think about what your manuscript actually consists of – seventy handwritten, painstakingly copied pages? I think not. Print your manuscript in a sensible font and size and on good quality paper, and print in perhaps tens of times. Buy plastic binding coils from a decent stationer and use these to make a smart binding for your text – you don't want pages to be flying around everywhere when it arrives, getting mixed up with period romances. Make sure the pages are numbered and that your name and the novel's title appears at least on the cover page, if not at the top of each page. Make chapters, paragraphs and sections out clearly.

Also, think carefully about how much of your novel to send off. The first chapter or a full third? Even the whole thing? Sometimes it's best to keep your cards close to your chest and send a small portion that ends on a cliffhanger. Alternatively, if you send the whole thing and they like the start, they might digest the rest and you're in there. Of course, if you're ending is poor, keep it back long enough to improve it, before they tear you apart.

Decide where to send your manuscript

This is a big decision, and you should devote a lot of thought to it – where are you going to send your manuscript? Most people would send it straight off to a publisher – I'd strongly discourage this. Publishers of any repute are huge, bustling, horrific places that don't take kindly to unsolicited submissions – like yours. Instead, I'd send your manuscript to a literary agent. These are much smaller bodies which act as an intermediary between writers and the huge publishing houses. There are various advantages to sending your text off to one:

1. They receive fewer manuscripts than a publisher, and can give yours more time
2. If you're lucky, they're more likely to respond to you personally
3. There are lots more to choose from
4. If they accept you, they do the legwork in attempting to entice a publisher

If you search around on the net, you'll soon find lots and lots of websites for these literary agents. They act as the gatekeepers for the publishing business – always scouting for the next big thing. Because of this, they often accept, or even encourage, unsolicited manuscripts. It's just a case of deciding which of them to send your text off to. Except – you shouldn't choose just one. Generally, the waiting time for a response is at least a month and so you should use a shotgun method – using the many copies of your manuscript or excerpt, send them off to multiple literary agents either all at the same time or on a staggered basis. The more you send, the better your chances of publication.

How to send your manuscript

This seems obvious – just put it in the post, yes? Not quite. Firstly, you're going to need a covering letter for each of the manuscript copies you send out. This should be a formally-addressed piece, brief but descriptive, giving the barest details about your plot and what you're trying to achieve. Don't grovel, and don't sound desperate. Try to give off a carefree attitude, as if you've got a thousand other agents to send this to. Because of course, you have.

Take account of how much the postage is going to cost you – if you're sending a 200,000 word novel in its entirety on A4 to twelve agents, the cost is going to stack up. Budget carefully if you're hoping that literary fame will drag you out of poverty. The other thing is, it's normal practice to send a stamped and addressed envelope with your manuscript so that the agent can freely send your text back to you. You don't expect them to pay, do you? Obviously, this envelope needs to be big enough.

Deal with waiting

If you get any response at all within a month count yourself lucky. This process takes time. Don't get impatient, and definitely don't badger the agent. They've no obligation to send you anything, but don't worry, they almost certainly will.

Types of responses

There are a few basic types of responses, one of which you can expect from each of the agents you send to.

1. Outright rejection
2. A letter written by the agent with their comments
3. Nothing

As you can tell, numbers 1 and 3 are pretty bad so you're hoping for 2. 1 is pretty damn likely and 3 is pretty damn unlikely. If 1 happens, you may well receive a little pre-printed card that simply and politely thanks you for your submission but informs you of your rejection. If a few months go by (say, three or four) you'll know that 3 has probably happened. If 2 happens, you can have a little celebration. You'll feel really proud, I can tell you. Basically the agent will address a letter to you personally and will send it to you in with your returned manuscript. It's possible that this letter is in itself, a rejection. If it is, however, you'll probably have received some constructive criticism from a professional, in which case, don't feel too bad. Take it on board and if you want to, try again, or re-edit your text. Alternatively, the agent might ask you to either contact them or send them more of your text if you didn't send them the whole thing in the first place. We're really entering into a grey area here – there's really no telling in many ways what the agent will actually do. They're human beings after all, and they may well have mixed feelings about your work. You'll have to hope that you strike it lucky, because there's a lot of luck involved in the whole process.

Conclusions

There's no way around it – this is a tricky business. But I must stress the first point again – you really need to be sure that what you've written is worth the cost and effort of attempting to get support from a literary agent to help you get it published. Bear in mind the vast volume of writing that both agents and publishers receive every day, let alone every month or year. Masses of it is dreadful tat, which they quickly eliminate – but no doubt there's also a lot of competition between the better pieces out there. Make sure that yours can see off the competition, in some way or another.

Once you're sure of that, my method should see you well up to the final stages. By that time it will become so personalised that there's no way anyone can predict how the interplay between writer and agent/publisher will play out. Remember that the whole game is about making yourself seem professional, passionate about what you're doing, and remaining determined. If you're truly passionate enough about the whole idea, even if you've tried my suggestions and failed – no doubt you'll one day find a way. Sometimes the way to achieve something lies beyond the realm of prediction or suggestion. But I can hardly write an article about that, can I?

Good luck.

This is the second film, the first being The Fountain, that I've watched recently which tackles the question: "What if you could live forever?" Despite the similar premise, the two films do not share much in common and they look at the question from two very different perspectives. The Fountain is an arty, elegant and elaborate story while The Man from Earth is a low-budget (though the Fountain didn't exactly break the bank), independent film which is inherently simple yet incredibly intelligent.

The Man From Earth has an uncomplicated story, though there are a few twists as the film progresses, which doesn't distract from the intellectual debate which is the focal point of the film. It begins by introducing a college professor who is leaving his job after 10 years. His impromptu farewell quickly turns into an emotionally involving debate when he, almost casually, reveals that he is 14000 years old. With characters from varying fields of science (such as a Biologist, Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Christian Literalist, and Psychologist) the discussion covers all the issues about a potential immortal man, from the science of it to the religious implications.

The film is almost intentionally controversial in some of the views, with some challenging ideas on the subject of religion (this isn't really a film for the easily offended religious types) that lead to some on-screen tension between the religious character and the main character, who has ironically titled himself John Oldman.  Save for a brief interlude or two to develop the relationship between John and Linda, the film is all talk and no action, and takes place in a single location - which is in no way a bad thing when you have such an clever and thought-provoking script to work from. The film does not try to be a thrill ride, but it manages to be suspenseful and captivating and with an ideal running time of 90 minutes, it doesn't drag on.

The acting is exceptional for an independent film, with David Lee Smith giving an excellent performance as the central character. The presence of John Billingsly, one of the better known members of the cast, is one of a couple of Star Trek references that act as a tribute to the late writer Jerome Bixby, who was best known for his work on Star Trek.

This is a great film, minimalist in the best sense of the word. The filmmakers have not attempted to make this into a thriller, yet they have crafted a film which was as entertaining to me as many of the best action films of recent times. One of the reasons being that The Man From Earth manages to do what so many high budget sci-films couldn't dream of doing; the scientific explanations actually make the story seem plausible. It is often said that a good film leaves unanswered questions, and this film leaves quite a few, but that was to be expected from such a theoretical story. Obviously, I can't guarantee that you'll enjoy it, but if you have any interest at all in the subject matter then you'll find something to like about this film.

The first film to be based on Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. This was produced by New Line Cinema, who also made the Lord Of The Rings films, and they are obviously hoping to repeat that success with these films.

Set in a parallel world, where humans have external souls or 'daemons', usually in the form of animals. A young girl, Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards - great name!), living in an alternative Oxford, embarks on series of adventures which take her to the island of Svalbard in the arctic ocean.

On the way she encounters a Texan airship captain, Sam Elliot, and hires the services of an alcoholic armoured fighting polar bear, voiced by Ian McKellen. Daniel Craig, the latest Bond,  plays an Indiana Jones type adventurous scholar and his co-star from Casino Royale, Eva Green, plays the queen of the witches.

Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lee head up the sinister Magisterium, a thinly disguised take on the Catholic Church, assisted by Nicole Kidman as the morally ambiguous Mrs.Coulter. And can I put in a good word for the always excellent Jim Carter as the King of the Gyptians, a much underrated actor in my opinion.

The anti-clerical, pro-atheistic elements from the books, don't come over very strongly here. I suspect they have been deliberately down played. There are brief references to "The Authority", and the Magisterium's costumes bear a strong resemblance to those of a certain universal church, but that's about it. It will be interesting to see how it's handled in the next films.

I enjoyed this film greatly, but then I had read the books and was familiar with Pullman's worlds. I'm not so sure how well it works for anyone who hasn't read the book. There is a lot of hurried voiceover explanation at the start of the film, which indicates they haven't had time to let the often complex themes develop and come across through the natural flow of the plot. To me it sometimes felt like the film served more as an (extremely well done) illustration of the  book, rather than a free standing work to be enjoyed in its own right.

Hopefully it will all make more sense to viewers, when the second and third films are released, which will depend on the success of this one.

Overall, I liked and would recommend this film. But do read the books too - they're well worth it!

I'd be interested to know what anyone else thinks.

My last article detailed how to write a very simple mod for Counter Strike Source servers; here, I plan to go into more detail. I will assume basic knowledge of Python, and an understanding of how to create a simple addon on your source server - essentially I plan to discuss Eventscripts' API and features.

Userids

Each player that joins a server is allocated a unique user id. This userid is used as a key to identify users, and a given e player's name, steamid, health — almost any information on that player — will be available using their userid. For example, to find a player's name, one might simply use the 'getplayername' method of the es module:

es.getplayername(userid)

Es

Importing this module is crucial to displaying any kind of output on your server, and registering the events in your addon. Es contains methods which can be used to:

• Display text or a menu on a player's screen
• Send shell commands to the server console
• Create visual effects
• Affect the player (e.g. change their position/view)

And a whole load more. Detailed documentation for each of the methods of es can be found here.

import es

Events

Events are almost crucial to achieving anything with Valve's source engine. In the majority of cases, events are where you will get your inputs, whether it is:

• User inputs (e.g. Console commands, chat messages, menu key-presses)
• Actions the player performs (e.g. jumping, shooting, taking damage etc)
• Important checkpoints in the game's progress (e.g. Map start, round start, bomb planted)

Events are registered simply by creating a function in your script with the specific name of the event you wish to hook. All of the available events are documented here)

These functions take one argument; traditionally named 'event_var', this is a variable which will store a dictionary containing details about the event when it is called. For example, the key 'player_name' will return the name of the player who the event is called by - if the event is player specific.

def player_spawn(event_var):
..es.tell(event_var['userid'], 'Hello, world')

An Example Addon

As an example of a very basic addon, the following script logs the number of times a player says anything in chat, in a given session, and returns this value to them when they type 'stats'.

import es

stats = {}

def player_connect(event_var):
..stats[event_var['userid']] = 0

def player_say(event_var):
..userid = event_var['userid']
..if event_var['text'] == 'stats':
....es.tell(userid, 'You have sent ' + str(stats[userid]) + ' messages during this session'
..else:
....global stats
....stats[userid] += 1

Docs

Once you've got to grips with the basics described above, the rest is simple to pick up. All of the documentation you could possibly need can be located in the following places:

http://eventscripts.com/

http://python.eventscripts.com/

http://forums.mattie.info/

http://addons.eventscripts.com/

Progressive music was the first genre that really captured my interest, although I had been listening to far more mainstream rock music for several years before I came across any of the albums in this list. It was doubtlessly the originality that first attracted me to prog, progressive metal in particular, because so far I had never managed to find any music that I still enjoyed after several listens. Even though it took me quite a while to appreciate many of the albums in this list, there isn't a single entry that hasn't remained fresh - in fact I still find myself enjoying these albums more with each listen.

It's near impossible to create a definitive list of the best progressive metal albums because of the incredible variety that exists within the genre. The ten which I have eventually settled on are all albums which I love, and which show the all the extremes and the diversity of the genre; I've included softer albums, which feature a lot of progressive rock, and heavier albums that are interlaced with death metal elements. There is of course a lot of personal bias in this list; I love albums with stories or strong themes, so I’ve favoured some concept albums.

The ten albums I have selected, in no order, are:

Ayreon - The Human Equation

Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory

Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element

Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

Ark - Burn the Sun

Evergrey - The Inner Circle

Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance

Amorphis - Silent Waters

Opeth - Still Life

—

Ayreon - The Human Equation

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This was the sixth album from Ayreon, a project of the immensely talented Arjen Lucassen, and seemingly the first that was completely devoid of a sci-fi theme. It is an incredibly complex and well-structured concept album, although at first glance the story is deceptively simple: We're taken into the head of a man in a coma, known simply as 'Me' as he is confronted by his strongest emotions, each portrayed by a different singer, which gives them all very unique and evocative sounds. We are also occasionally shown a glimpse of the outside world, where Me's wife, Best friend and at one point, his father, talk to him from his bedside. Slowly, over the course of 20 days, one day per track, secrets are revealed as we discover the events that caused and the repercussions that result from Me's coma.

The brilliance of this album is in the variety, especially the excellent choice of singers. The incomparable Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth brings his visceral tones to the character of Fear. Although he primarily uses the warm and compelling side of his voice, there are a few grunts thrown in for good measure (including an incredible scream on the final track). Devin Townsend plays Rage, as well as writing his own lyrics. His sections are possibly the most distinct, and it was his parts which stood out the first time I heard the album, specifically 'Day Three: Pain' and 'Day Eight: School'. The other emotions present are Reason (Eric Clayton - Saviour Machine), Love (Heather Findlay - Mostly Autumn), Passion (Irene Jansen), Pride (Magnus Ekwall - The Quill) and Agony (Devon Graves - Dead Soul Tribe). The music is composed and performed by Arjen, with the exception of wind Instruments, Violins, Cellos and several guest soloists. The drums are once again performed by Ed Warby, who has established himself as Ayreon's official drummer following his flawless drumming on Flight of the Migrator. There is a wonderful mixture of harmonious and melodic passages, which provide a distinct compliment for emotions such as love, and dark and mysterious passages, which are perfectly suited for Fear, Rage and Agony. The instrumental sections are exquisite, and the truly exhilarating opening of 'Day Eighteen: Realization' is my particular favourite.

As for the human characters, James LaBrie, of Dream Theater, brings his talent to the central character, while Marcela Bovio, who has since worked with Arjen in the symphonic metal band Stream of Passion, plays his wife. Arjen also sings on the album, playing Best Friend, and there is even a 'cameo' from Mike Baker, of Shadow Gallery, who plays the twisted character 'Father' in the austere, folk metal meets Alice Cooper track 'Day Sixteen: Loser'.

If there is one criticism, it is that it lacks the sci-fi theme that Arjen does so well, and as a result some of the music has a down-to-earth quality that just doesn't quite seem right for Ayreon. Regardless, as far as prog metal goes, it doesn't get much better than this. Its a long album with lots of depth to it, incredible ambition, variety, talent, innovation, and a dramatic twist at the end. This is easily one of my favourite albums of all time. Be sure to check out other Ayreon albums, especially the new album, 01011001, which is released in January and should provide an answer to the ambiguous ending of The Human Equation.

Best Tracks: Day Eleven: Love, Day Sixteen: Loser, Day Three: Pain, Day Twenty: Confrontation.

Dream Theater - Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory

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This is without doubt Dream Theater's Magnum Opus. It is a masterpiece of storytelling and technical prowess that is told in two acts, composed of 12 songs in total that weave together so well that they could almost be seen as two songs. Although the immense talent of Dream Theater's musicians has never been in doubt, they exceed all expectations with this album. Their skill is evident on the album's two instrumentals, in particular the meticulously performed 6 minute long track 'The Dance of Eternity', which features over 100 time signature changes.

This album is a marvel of storytelling. It begins with Nicholas, the album's central character, speaking with a hypnotherapist. We discover that he has been having dreams about a woman called Victoria, who was murdered in 1928. Through the course of the two acts and nine scenes of the album we learn about the connection that Nicholas shares with Victoria, and we follow his attempts to uncover the truth about her murder and the events that preceded it. The album alternates between Nicholas in the present day and 1928, where we follow Victoria's fateful love triangle until it culminates in her death.

I've already mentioned the instrumentals, 'Scene Two: Overture 1928', and 'Scene Seven: The Dance of Eternity', which are effectively a playing ground for the technically gifted band members John Myung (Bass), John Petrucci (Guitar), Mike Portnoy (Drums) and Jordan Rudess (Keyboard). There are three tracks that exceed 10 minutes in length, the longest of which is 'Scene Six: Home', which is 12:53 in length. It shows many similarities to 'Metropolis, Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper', the song, from the album Images and Words, to which this album is a sequel. The final track of the album, 'Scene Nine: Finally Free', is another which exceeds the 10 minute mark and is a perfect way to end the album. As with The Human Equation this album ends with a unexpected twist. Amidst the intensely complex and heavy songs, such as 'Home' and 'Finally Free', there are softer songs like 'Scene Five: Through Her Eyes' and 'Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On', which provide perfect mediums for the soft side of James LaBrie's sublime voice.

I don't think there is an album that I have heard which I have enjoyed more than this, it truly is spectacular. Although they are still releasing extraordinary works, Dream Theater have not come close to equalling their crowning achievement, and I suspect they never will. The album was also recorded live, in its entirety, and released on DVD, entitled Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York. It includes commentaries from the members of Dream Theater and a behind the scenes documentary, and is well worth buying if you enjoy the album.

Best Tracks: Scene Five: Through her Eyes, Scene Six: Home, Scene Nine: Finally Free.

Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element

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Pain of Salvation are fronted by the multi-talented Daniel Gildenlöw, who provides vocals and guitar as well as writing the lyrics and much of the music. The band was founded by Gildenlöw in 1984, when he was only 11, under then name Reality. The Perfect Element, Part 1 was their third album, following their first two acclaimed albums, Entropia and One Hour By The Concrete Lake. This is the first Pain of Salvation album that I heard, and I'll readily admit that this album grew on me over time. My first impressions of it were not overly positive, however, it was an intriguing piece of work with enough creativity to justify a few extra listens, and the critical acclaim that it had amassed within the prog community convinced me that there I was missing something spectacular, and I was.

This is yet another concept album, although it is slightly more cryptic than the last two. The story focuses on a Boy and a Girl and the and the emotional experiences that they encounter during their traumatic childhood. To say this album is ambitious is an understatement when you factor in all the emotions and themes which are included: violence, regret, loss, society and the soul, as well as all of the emotions that these children experience in their adolescence. I get the sense that Gildenlöw extracted from his personal experiences when writing this, the evidence of which is in his empathetic vocal performance. The album is divided into 3 chapters, each with 4 songs. Chapter I is called "As these two desolate worlds collide", Chapter 2: "It all catches up on you when you slow down" and Chapter 3: "Far beyond the point of no return"

The opening track, 'Used', involves some dark, almost spoken word, vocals and its only on the chorus that Gildenlöw's stirring voice comes into play. The highlights of Chapter 1 are undoubtedly 'Ashes' and 'Morning on Earth', two entrancing songs with a great chorus that keep popping up during the album's 74 minute length. There are parts when the vocals become dominant over the music, which can be a shame as the band are very capable of producing brilliant instrumental sections, 'Her Voices' being an excellent example.

Overall, this is a stunning and highly original piece of work and when it gets into its stride it is truly exemplary. The second part of the planned trilogy of albums, Scarsick, was released earlier this year and, despite falling short of the quality of The Perfect Element, it is an accomplished album and a worthy follow up.

Best Tracks: Ashes, Reconciliation, Idioglossia.

Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

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I've only rediscovered this album recently, after I stopped listening to Queensrÿche after a series of meagre albums left me disillusioned with them, especially the dismal attempt to recapture the glory of the early days that was Operation: Mindcrime II. The story is a tangled web of love, murder and brainwashing in 80s America. We begin with a short narrative track that introduces us to the protagonist, who is seemingly in some form of hospital. We are soon transported to the past as the protagonist, Nikki, is suddenly plagued by forgotten memories. We see how Nikki, then a desperate heroin addict, was lured into anarchistic organisation, where his is brainwashed and used unwillingly as an assassin by the villainous Dr. X. Nikki's inner turmoil reaches a peak after he falls in love with Sister Mary, a former prostitute, and begins to question the society to which he belongs. Without spoiling the plot, the ending is left deliberately ambiguous with many unanswered questions. Although the sequel to this album provides many of these answer, I still would not recommend it.

The album is full of political statements, and a complex story that requires the use of narrative interludes in order to really make it work. This does not detract from the overall quality of the album with the album's 'cast' performing their roles very well, with special mention due to the immensely talented Pamela Moore, who plays Sister Mary. Although the music on the album is first-rate, with 'Speak' providing a real musical highlight, it is Geoff Tate who steals the show with his vocals. The ease and skill with which he manages the demanding vocals required is evident from the very first line of 'Revolution Calling', and the memorable choruses of 'Spreading the Disease' and subsequent song 'The Mission'.

Flaws are few and far between, though they do exist. The story, while excellent, causes the songs to become somewhat convoluted in moments. I'm also a fan of experimentation and this album is lacking somewhat in musical variety, nevertheless what it lacks in variety it makes up for with sheer quality.

Best Tracks: Revolution Calling, I Don't Believe in Love, Eyes of a Stranger.

Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

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It was perhaps Steven Wilson's time with Opeth that brought Porcupine Tree, until then a strictly 'progressive' rock act, into the eyes of the metal community. Since then, Porcupine Tree's albums have all shown Wilson's willingness to adapt to his new fan base by ingraining large amounts of progressive metal into Porcupine Tree's traditional sound, a process that has been met with much critical and commercial approval. I love absolutely everything that Porcupine Tree have produced, from the psychedelic early albums of the Wilson-only era, to the melodic offerings of The Sky Moves Sideways and Stupid Dream, however I felt that Fear of a Blank Planet was best suited to this list, as it is another step away from the generic mainstream sound of rock music today.

The album is an engaging journey, first minute to last. The album opens with title track, 'Fear of a Blank Planet', which, in keeping with their recent material, is probably the heaviest track on the album. It sets the tone of uncertainty that the album revels in with the catchy riff and Wilson's trademark vocals used to perfection . The overall concept of the album is inspired by the novel Lunar Park, the influence of which is particularly prominent in the powerful ballad that is 'My Ashes'. Porcupine Tree collaborate with Robert Fripp (of progressive rock legends King Crimson) on the track 'Way Out of Here'. Fripp's soundscapes are put to good effect and are perfectly in keeping with many of the ambient sections of the album, such as the closing sections of the epic 18 minuter track 'Anesthetize', a prodigious track which also features a guitar solo by Alexander Lifeson (of the equally legendary progressive band Rush). The piano driven opening of 'Sentimental' is one of my favourite parts of the album. It continues with a great chorus and employs several acoustic sections that are eerily reminiscent of Porcupine Tree's classic song, 'Trains'. At only 50 minutes, it is short for a Porcupine Tree album with 6 tracks and no filler material. An EP, entitled Nil Recurring, was released later in the year with 4 tracks recorded during the Fear of a Blank Planet sessions, any of which could have made a worthy addition to the album.

The album has several thematic similarities to The Perfect Element, in that it deals with adolescence, however Fear of a Blank Planet is far more focused on the consequences that may result from a technologically heavy society's influence on children - the title track in particular has some strong and focused lyrics on the subject. There is very little to dislike about Fear of a Blank Planet, and in my opinion, this is the best and most enthralling album of 2007.

Best Tracks: Fear of a Blank Planet, Anesthetize.

Ark - Burn the Sun

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Burn the Sun was Ark's second, and sadly last, album. It shows huge advancements from their first album, in quality of the compositions and musicianship while the production gives the album a very crisp sound. Although the album has a very modern feel, Ark show their versatility by lacing the music with many unorthodox styles, whether it is Latin, 80s style rock, or the breathtaking Spanish guitar on 'Just A Minute'. The sheer range of styles and sub genres that they incorporate is clear from the numbers of bands that Ark have been compared to, from Dream Theater to Rush, Whitesnake to Deep Purple, Guns N' Roses to Journey, and even Led Zeppelin have been mentioned.

Jørn Lande's powerful and dynamic vocals are a real focal point of the album, and make for some memorable choruses on the title track, and the riveting opener 'Heal The Waters'. The sheer diversity of his voice has to be heard to be believed, with the album's closing track, the tender 9-minute power ballad 'Missing You', showing the emotional capacity of his voice.

Tore Ostby's guitar parts are phenomenal, proving himself equally adept at creating classic metal grooves as he is with creating a beautifully melodic Spanish guitar part. Not to forget the Drummer and bassist, John Macaluso and Randy Coven, both of whom are at the top of their game on this album, as evidenced by the complexities of songs such as 'Noose'.

Ark disbanded after this album with Jørn Lande going on to achieve success with power metal band Masterplan, and I am genuinely saddened that they never recorded a third album together. However, if you want to go out on a high, this is a great example of how to do it.

Best Tracks: Heal The Waters, Burn the Sun, Just A Little.

Evergrey - The Inner Circle

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In 2003, Evergrey released Recreation Day, an incredible album in its own rights. It featured a song called 'Unforgivable', which dealt with the use of religion to cover up atrocities such as child abuse. The Inner Circle sees Evergrey return to the theme of religion, and their stance against religious fanatics, but this time they take it much further with an ostentatious concept album that deals with religious fanatics and cults. The album is not anti-Christian, but Evergrey show their devout opposition to corrupt spiritual leaders and cultists, and at times the lyrics become quite intense.

Tom Englund's voice brings the album alive, he has a gift for emotional and compassionate vocals, and without him the band simply could not pull off songs like the balladic 'Waking up Blind' or the exemplary 'Harmless Wishes'. There are a few criticism I have to make of this album. Firstly, the length. 48 minutes just isn't long enough for a concept album of this variety, meaning that the final product lacks some of the depth of the other albums in this list. Secondly, there is not quite enough variation. Despite frequent line-up changes, Evergrey developed their own unique sound over the course of their 5 previous albums, and the album is full of their characteristic heard hitting riffs, however this does cause the sound to become quite monotonous at times. There are exceptions, such as the morose but poignant closing track, 'When The Walls Go Down'. This song features some superb piano and some wonderfully integrated orchestral arrangements. Gradually as the song progresses the anger builds in the spoken vocals as we observe the loss of hope and faith in the individual, and soon the metronomic drums kick in, leading to the albums explosive culmination.

Criticisms aside, this is an exceptional album with an unorthodox charm that grew on me with each listen. The sentiments and moods of the album are stunning. Melancholy in places, with powerful vocals and melodies, The Inner Circle is dazzling, and becomes vastly more meaningful as the themes and concepts which the album covers become more apparent on subsequent listens.

Best Tracks: A Touch of Blessing, Harmless Wishes, When The Walls Go Down.

Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance

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Katatonia have flirted with numerous different genres in their 16 year history. Their first album, Dance Of December Souls, was Doom metal, with black and death metal elements also present. When their lead singer, Jonas Renkse, became unable to grunt properly, Mikael Åkerfeldt provided the guttural vocals, with Renkse providing the clean vocals, changing the bands direction to a more straightforward death metal act. Their latest album, The Great Cold Distance, is the zenith that many years of mastering their softer sound has produced. It stays true to the stylistic origins of Katatonia, with strong doom and Gothic overtones, whilst improving on their melodic and atmospheric sound of recent albums.

Renkse is an extraordinary lyricist, and despite losing his ability to grunt, he has maintained his impressive array of clean vocals. 'My Twin' is the album's peak, with a beguiling chorus, an alluring melody and a few Gothic nuances, it really incorporates the essence of Katatonia. Although the album is predominantly focused on its soft and bitter tone, The Great Cold Distance is not without heavy sections. The opening track has a powerful riff that is one of the heaviest moments on the album, while 'Rusted' gives the middle of the album a perfectly timed heavy interlude. 'In The White' brings about the album's denouement, and is a intriguing song which somehow embodies the albums bleak nature despite having an abundant charismatic allure.

I can't find a fault in this albums production. The sound is spot on, giving generous time to the docile and hypnotic riffs while saving plenty of room for the blistering riffs that dominated their earlier work. Katatonia are on top of their game here, and have released a captivating album that is worthy of high praise and success.

Best Tracks: Leaders, My Twin, In The White.

Amorphis - Silent Waters

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This is the heaviest album in the list so far, and also the most recent. It is a blend between the death metal of Amorphis' early albums and the far more melodic metal of heavy metal / rock era. Stylistically, it is similar to their last album, Eclipse, though it improves on many of the key elements. There is a much better arrangement of death grunts and clean vocals, it certainly shows a degree of similarity to Opeth, and there are some excellent sweeping and striking riffs on the album.

Tomi Joutsen proves himself a very able front man. His singing and effortless flair is one of Silent Water's strongest points; his clean vocals have a wonderful Gothic quality that defines the album's title track, while his dark, almost doom metal, grunts give a new-found depth to tracks such as 'Weaving the Incantation'. It is also excellent to behold that, 14 years since the bands first album The Karelian Isthmus, they retain glimpses of the Folk metal that first propelled them into the eyes of the metal community. The opening two tracks provide a very heavy start to the album, almost in the same vein as tracks from their death metal days, however the mesmeric piano-heavy title track introduces a sense of calm that is present in the middle of the album. This atmospheric section, which is significantly aided by the superbly polished sound of the album, builds up throughout the tracks until it reaches the climactic peak that is 'The White Swan'. Comprised of an excellent riff and instrumental and equally stunning vocals, with callous death grunts that lead into a powerful clean chorus, the penultimate track on the album is really the culmination of the album.

Amorphis are renowned for basing their lyrics on stories from the Finish national epic, the Kalevala (Although I am rarely enticed into reading poetry, I have enjoyed reading several stories from the Kalevala, which can be seen in its entirety here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/ Even though it isn't in its native language, it has translated well.) Silent Waters is no exception to this, remaining true to the themes that have graced nearly all of Amorphis' albums. This really is Amorphis back to their best.

Best Tracks: Weaving the Incantation, Silent Waters, The White Swan.

Opeth - Still Life

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The hardest decision I had to make in writing this article was which Opeth album to include. They have been so consistent in releasing brilliant albums that I could probably justify including any of their albums. In the end I decided on Still life, just narrowly beating Blackwater Park. Still Life is very dark concept album, rife with all the complexities that define an Opeth album. Mikael Åkerfeldt is magnificent, not just because of his hybrid of gutteral grunts and clean vocals, but we also see a mixture between his deeper grunts and the violent, shrill screams that recent Opeth albums seem to have been lacking in. This was probably Opeth's best line up, (Lindgren, Mendez, Lopez and Åkerfeldt) and the band gels really well on the album, and despite the experimentation the album feels really polished.

The first two tracks on the album are exceptional. 'The Moor' kicks the album off to a heavy start, with a real emphasis on the more harsh side of Åkerfeldt's voice. The broad-layered 'Godhead's Lament', one of my personal favourite Opeth tracks, really shows the versatility of Opeth, and contains one of the most beautiful choruses of any of their songs. 'Benighted' was another advancement for Opeth, a Camel-influenced all acoustic track that is completely devoid of death vocals, while 'Face of Melinda' shows Opeth's growth as a band with the song's gradual increase in momentum, eventually reaching an incredibly atmospheric climax. 'Serenity Painted Death' has some incredibly haunting and mournful vocals and is the heaviest song in the album, and although there are a few melodic interludes, it really communicates the anger and hate of the central character in the story. 'White Cluster' wraps the album up nicely, with a strong array of vocals and intricate, dynamic riffs that are present throughout the seven tracks.

The story involves an atheist, who has been violently shunned from his community, and his doomed love affair with a nun called Melinda. Even though, in my eyes, the story takes a back seat to the music, I still feel that it gives the songs that little bit of extra depth that transforms this from an excellent composition, into a masterpiece.

Best Tracks: The Moor, Godhead's Lament.

—

The albums that I have named here are ones that I have enjoyed, and ones which I feel accurately represent all ends of the huge spectrum of music that is progressive metal. I'd love to hear your comments, whether you agree with me or not, and I am very open to recommendations for bands which I may not have heard. Most of the albums in this list are quite recent, the oldest being Queensrÿche's Operation: Mindcrime, which was released in 1988, so I've probably ignored a lot of earlier, genre-defining albums, although I did contemplate a few, such as King Crimson's Red and Uriah Heep's Demons & Wizards, both of which I consider to have played significant roles in the birth of progressive metal music.

I really was spoiled for choice in making this list, and I've had to leave out albums by some of my very favourite albums: Devin Townsend's Terria, Riverside's Second Life Syndrome, countless Symphony X albums, and the one song masterpieces that are Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness, by Green Carnation and A Pleasant Shade of Grey, by Fates Warning to name a few.

Street Fighter 3 is a fantastic game. Utterly incredible for a rainy afternoon - and since summer 2007, it's been possible to play on the PC. If you want to try it out, all you need to do is follow these simple instructions.

1. Download CPS3 Emulator

I tried a load of different emulators, including the latest MAME, and I had trouble getting the game to work with any of them. (If any of you have any tips, please post them in the comments!). Anyway, this is the one that I've tried and tested, and it works perfectly:

http://nebula.emulatronia.com/descargas.php

The specific file download you want is the one under the 'CPS3 Emulator' heading; at the time of posting, the specific name and version was:

CPS3 Emulator 1.0a Capcom Play System 3 Emulator

Unzip that to your chosen directory.

2. Create CHD and Roms Directories

In the same directory into which you've unzipped the emulator, you need to create two folders. The first should be entitled 'CHD' and the second 'Roms'. Now you need to create a folder inside 'Roms', entitled 'sfiii3'.

3. Download Street Fighter 3 CHD and Bin files

This is one area where I can't help you too much; but there are two files you need.

1. 33s000.chd

This needs to go in the CHD/ folder.

2. sf33usa.bin

This needs to go in Roms/sfiii3/

4. Finding the above files

This is an area of some difficulty, I'd prefer not to link you to the exact places I found these files, as technically you need to actually own the game to use them. Here is a big hint though:

Do a google search for those file names, there should be Filefront (or other hosting sites) which have them, at the very top of your search page. 33s000.chd is about 64mb, and sf33usa.bin is about 512 kb, but you do need both before the game will run.

5. Running the game

This should be the easiest part. Simply load up emulator.exe, select Emulator > Load Rom, and then choose "Street Fighter III Third Strike: Fight for the Future (CHD).

6. Enjoy!

The emulator works perfectly for me, along with my logitech keyboard and gamepad, so I hope you have as much luck! As I said previously, if anyone has alternate guides for different emulators, please post them here; but avoid directly linking to roms if you can, please.

"I walk across the dreaming sands under the pale moon: through the dreams of countries and cities, past dreams of places long gone and times beyond recall." -Neil Gaiman (from The Sandman)

In my previous list I found it relatively straightforward to define what I thought good Science Fiction consisted of. But how do you define good fantasy? In fact, how do you define fantasy at all – isn't all fiction fantasy to some extent? Still, I'm here now so I'm going to have a stab at it.

Good fantasy literature I think requires two vital elements to be present:

Imagination – the ability to dream, to create new wonders, to explore new realms and bring them to life. In fantasy the ideas can be original or not, that is not important. Often the re-use of the old, of archetypes and legends, is of crucial importance in fantasy, which is a form of literature that connects us with our deep past. On the other hand, I personally value originality in approach, and I notice that this list seems to consist largely of works by unique, one of a kind writers. It's the power of their imagination which is so vital, which makes their works so unforgettable.

Storytelling – the story must captivate the readers or listeners. This ancient art goes back many aeons to the first cro-magnons huddled around the cave fires, listening to the shaman's tales of the mysterious world(s) beyond… And it is just as important today. Fantasy is about stories, things have to happen, events have to unfold, quests have to be fulfilled, monsters killed or perhaps heroes (as the case may be), uppances have to be comed, and consequences have to be faced. Homer knew this when writing the Odyssey, as did all fantasy writers (and tellers) since.

So, once more into the breach. Here's my list. As ever, I make no claims for literary scholarship or objectivity. This is purely subjective and consists of whatever I happen to remember as outstanding tales. They are all different in style and feel, yet each captures, for me, that elusive spirit of Great Fantasy. I'm aware that I have missed out many other excellent writers and books by limiting it to 10 - maybe I'll do a second list some time.

In no particular order:

1. The Dying Earth - Jack Vance

2. The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King - JRR Tolkien

3. The Earthsea series - Ursula K. Le Guin

4. The Sandman - Neil Gaiman

5. The Book Of Wonder - Lord Dunsany

6. Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake

7. The Night Land - William Hope Hodgson

8. A Song of Ice and Fire - George RR Martin

9. The Broken Sword - Poul Anderson

10. Mythago Wood - Robert Holdstock

1. The Dying Earth, by Jack Vance

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This was author Jack Vance's first work, written while serving in the merchant navy in the Pacific during the Second World War.

It's more a series of interlocked short stories than a novel, all set in the far distant future when the sun is about to sputter and expire, and science has long given way to magic. It's full of wizards, magicians, thieves, rogues, half men, demons and sages.

Vance sprang on the to fantasy field with many of his trademark features fully present in this book.

The language is rich and baroque. The humour dry and subtle. From the humblest bumpkins to the cruellest monster, all the characters talk in formal mannered English, as if they have stepped from the pages of a Jane Austin novel. Vance also delights in creating wonderfully imagined names for characters and creatures – Mazirian the Magician, Turjan of Miir, the sisters Tsais and Tsain, Chun The Unavoidable (my favourite!), deodands, grues, erbs and twk-men (who ride dragonflies and trade in salt).

Spells are long multi-syllabic formulae which have to be crammed into the minds of the adept, before they can be uttered, after which they are spent. Some examples include Lugwiler's Dismal Itch, The Spell of Forlorn Encystment (which "constricts the subject in a pore some forty-five miles below the surface of the earth"), Phandaal's Gyrator ("levitates the victim and spins him so fast he disintegrates in a spray of gore"). Other magical adjuncts include Live Boots (a variant on seven league boots, but which tire after use).

Perhaps better known for his (excellent) science fiction, Vance has written several other works of fantasy over his long and distinguished career. He returned to the world of the Dying Earth for his Cugel books – The Eyes Of The Overworld and Cugel's Saga – wonderful tales of a rogue's adventures and misadventures as he struggles to recompense a wronged magician. He also wrote a number of short stories later collected as Rhialto The Marvellous, concerning the affairs of a rather fractious 'club' of rival magicians.

Vance's fantasy is unique and original. There is absolutely nothing else like it. You can see traces of inspiration from previous generations of writers such as Lord Dunsany and Clark Ashton Smith, but precious few have ever followed in his footsteps (perhaps with the exception of Gene Wolfe, but his work has a totally different feel).

If you're into clichés, LOTR retreads, heroic quests against standard issue dark lords, action packed blood, guts and sex – forget it, you won't like this.
But if you love imaginative writing, rich language, subtle wry humour and sheer zest for life, Jack Vance is the master.

2. The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King, by JRR Tolkien

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….to give it its full and correct title (as recounted by Frodo Baggins). Probably the most famous fantasy novel of all time, so it hardly needs any introduction from me.
But when I first read it years ago it was still relatively obscure and arcane. People who had read it were almost like a secret cult, that could quote the odd word of elvish or orcish at each other, to the baffled stares of the other kids at school.

Nowadays of course that's all changed, especially after the three blockbuster films of recent years (which were surprisingly well done and true to the spirit of the books, amazingly enough). This was brought home to me when my barber starting discussing the character and motivation of Gimli the dwarf, only to be contradicted by the random guy who came in to buy some cigarettes!
Still, this work sets the benchmark in fully imagined and created worlds, with their own languages, history and geography (I used to love the fold out maps which were stuck in the back of the old hardback volumes I first read!).

Professor Tolkien's imagination was second to none, and his love of the English language and his use of good, old fashioned, simple yet lyrical prose, fills this work. His background as a scholar of Anglo Saxon (or Old English) also comes over strongly.

This tale of hobbits, men, elves, orcs, ents, wizards and dark lords, heroic quests, temptation and redemption, is the masterwork of its kind. Sadly, it has been copied countless times by inferior imitators once publishers realised there was a huge market for this kind of thing, and Tolkien wasn't going to supply any more.

Still, this is the original and the best. Unequalled.

Footnote: Interestingly, the posthumously published but never really finished Silmarillion was his real epic of mythology for the English people. The Lord of the Rings started out as a mere sequel to his children's book The Hobbit, as the writing style of the early chapters clearly shows. The Silmarillion is more of an acquired taste, and will never achieve the popularity of tLotR, but it has many passages of sublime epic grandeur which can equal or at times exceed the later work, in my opinion.

3. The Earthsea series, by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Originally a series of three books:

• A Wizard of Earthsea
• The Tombs of Atuan
• The Farthest Shore

They tell the story of a young boy with talent potential for magic, who is 'discovered' by a mage and sent to a school for wizards. (School for wizards? Sounds familiar, eh? Yes, but this was published a good 30 years before a certain Harry Potter was ever heard of. And without wishing to disparage HP and co, these books are vastly superior IMHO, though completely different in tone and subject matter so perhaps it is unfair to make comparisons.)

Set on the world of "Earthsea", a dusting of islands and archipelagos sprinkled across a vast sea, with no continents to speak of (helpfully a map is provided), the story continues as the boy Sparrowhawk / Ged matures and comes to understand himself and his place in the world.

Words and names are the keys to the magic in this system. To know the true name of a person or thing is to have power over it. But to be able to use that power wisely is the true test.

Dragons feature strongly here, not as evil mindless monsters but as wise ancient beasts, still fearsome and terrifying but with a strange mystical beauty. Another aspect I particularly liked, was the depiction of the land of the dead, with its dry dusty cities and its fixed unmoving stars overhead, and the long dry stone wall separating it from the world of the living. Tremendously evocative.

Le Guin writes beautifully as ever, and the work is once more infused with an underlying almost Taoist philosophy. She is also well known for her excellent science fiction and is one of two authors on this list to feature on my Top Ten Science Fiction list as well.

Much later, Le Guin followed up with several other books set on Earthsea: Tehanu, Tales From Earthsea and The Other Wind. Also well worth a look, my favourite being Tales From Earthsea which expands on some of the ancient tales and legends touched upon in the earlier books.

4. The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman

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Sandman is an epic graphic work written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by countless artists (including Dave McKean, Charles Vess, Jill Thompson, Michael Zulli and many others). It was originally published in a series of 75 comics, later compiled into 10 volumes in graphic novel format.

It is a vas