Exasperated Calculator

Category: Reviews

  • Quick reviews of the 14 rides I went on at Disney Resort Anaheim

    California Adventure Radiator Springs Racer: Really just a slightly improved and better themed version of Test Track from Anaheim. But overall a better ride experience. The ride I was thinking about doing again the most. A- Grizzly River Run: Rapids ride, with a lot of tech shared with the Kali ride from Animal Kingdom. But…

  • Quick Reviews of the other 17 rides I went on in Orlando

    While in Orlando I also visited Kennedy Space Centre, SeaWorld and Universal Studios Florida. Kennedy Space Centre Shuttle Launch Experience – using a ride vehicle very reminiscent of Star Tours at Disney, a fairly realistic (or so we’re told) simulation of what it’s like to be in a shuttle as it’s launching. A SeaWorld Manta…

  • Quick reviews of the 14 rides I went on at Disney World

    I’m on holiday at the moment, so a good chance to do something a bit unusual for this blog and do reviews of the rides I went on at Disney World. Epcot Frozen Ever After – Epcot’s current ‘line around the block’ big ride. The only thing this ride has going for it is the…

  • Trekathon Special #1: Mass Effect 2

    Star Trek is a very influential show, and so I’ll be looking at a few other TV show episodes, movies and games inspired by Star Trek as part of the Trekathon. First up is *Mass Effect 2*. The best Star Trek game ever made (even though it’s not a Star Trek game).[^1] In fact, *Mass…

  • Game Review: Prince of Persia (reboot)

    [*Prince of Persia*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia_(2008_video_game\)) is the seventh 7th game in the main [*Prince of Persia*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia) series, and the 12th game overall. Spoilers in this review, so you’ll have to click through.

  • Book Review: Bad Science, Ben Goldacre

    *Bad Science* is drawn from the Guardian column of the same name, as well as the many other things that Ben Goldacre covers on his [website](http://www.badscience.net/). The main focus is on the abuses of science that seem to proliferate in the press and on the Internet. Things such as scares over the MMR vaccine, scares…

  • Game Review: Half Life 2 + Episode 1 + Episode 2

    I just finished playing through all of [*Half Life 2*](http://orange.half-life2.com/) (at least, all of what’s been released so far) for [Rebel FM’s Game Club](https://www.eat-sleep-game.com/news/category/game-club/). Yes, a little late to the party. But better late than never, especially for [one of the best games of all time](http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/halflife2theorangebox?q=orange%20box). I was playing through on the XBox – I’d…

  • Book Review: The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson

    I’m a big fan of money. I don’t just mean in the mundane “it’s nice to spend sense”. Money is a profoundly weird, incredible invention. It is ultimately very hard to explain money, and hard to see how it ever really came into use. The story of money is incredibly interesting. Unfortunately, that’s not the…

  • Book Review: Discover Your Inner Economist, Tyler Cowen

    When I first started reading this book my wife thought it was a waste of time. She said that I was already pretty much in touch with my inner economist. That’s pretty much true. And overall she was right – I didn’t really get much out of this book. Tyler Cowen is an economist who…

  • Game Review: World in Conflict

    [World in Conflict](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_in_conflict) for PC is a real time strategy game with a new twist on the genre. Rather than emphasise the base building and resource harvesting that have been at the core of the genre ever since [Dune II](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_II), it emphasises lower level combat, with fewer units and less emphasis on resources.[^1] So rather…