phun

have some. And brace for orgasm

Who said...

...that dubsteppers lack intelligence and finesse?

JB Hi-Fi Vouchers

They expire in April, are we still going to collate them? Post ideas.

Lan/dnd?

so i have permission to have something at my house either tonight (tuesday night) or on wednesday night.

im thinkin a lan or a dnd on wed-thurs? ne1 keen?

Bruno Mars

Forget Rick, this man can do more then never give you up, much more.

This:

:)



And these:
YouTube - Triumphant Execution of the adoring fan
YouTube - Oblivion easiest quest ever.
YouTube - How not to play Oblivion (part 1)
YouTube - The Imperial Guard Song

Sup

So im in japan until jan 1 next year. Just thought i should let you peeps know.

PotBS

So I hear we are getting into PotBS. I am OK with this. Perhaps we should coordinate it a bit better so we are all aligned and in clans (or the synonym for clan that this game has adopted) and we can power-level ect.

LAN.

LAN @ mine tonight.

Skyrimz.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/vga-10-elder-scrolls/708368

Oblivion engine.

Sevivon sov sov sov Hanukkah choo cha tov Hanukkah choo cha tov Sevivon SOV SOV SOV

gathering

at belle's (ie John's) on Saturday night. I think.

Frequency

I personally have found that the period between LANs has been too small and as a result the frequency has been to high, I love a good LAN but they need to be better prepared and better planned. I feel we don't really get much proper LANing done in the current "i'm having a LAN tonight get here kthx" format.

Good News, Everybody.

TES 5 is confirmed for presently being in development, along with the statement that "the time between us hearing about it and the time of it's release, will be the shortest for any TES game yet" - a claim reinforced by this immediately exposed, pre-alpha gameplay video. Also, reading this in my voice.

LAN at Nick's

The LAN at my house will proceed regardless of Ollie and Rowan's faggotry non-attendance. 6pm Tuesday, tell e'rryone. I'm tutoring until 6pm, feel free to come a bit early and all get set up in preparation for my arrival.

BenjiLAAAAAN

Yeah so, I can host on thursday or friday
(asher has exams until then)
plus thursday is my birthday ;)

Is friday matt calahans birthday party?
(obligitory car related picture)

Dessert Bus

Get you to desert bus. I spent hours watching this. Watch some LLR while ur at it. Maybe donate some money to see Paul do something stupid.

Spelling intended btw

Being Good

Its a really important part of being winRAR and is limited mostly by being forever lazy. Thats where we come in. DL this and you can devote your CPUs spare power to being more good. Best thing is you can look at the bit when you win.

Prime Numbers

Its a really important part of mathematical research and is limited mostly by processing power. Thats where we come in. DL this and you can devote your CPUs spare power to help out. Best thing is you can look at the herpaderpalolsomanydigits.

Gene folding

Its a really important part of medical research and is limited mostly by processing power. Thats where we come in. DL this and you can devote your CPUs spare power to help out. Best thing is you can look at the molecule in 3D.

Post exam LAN

Requesting one.

Squishy's Automotive Faggotry Update *SEMA EDITION*

SEMA SHOW 2010

Specialty Equipment Market Association a.k.a. "the rice burners"
hold a yearly show in L.A. where americans pretend they know how to tune cars. Unfortunately this show became popular so now all manufacturers have a go.


Since Pontiac got killed by GM (well now you know) there has been speculation about what a new pontiac firebird would have looked like. Using a Chevy Camaro to modify, this is what HPP (Heide Performance Products) came up with. As a point of reference THIS is what the trans am they were trying to recreate actually looks like. At least they did the colours the same >.<
Of course SEMA is the perfect opportunity for Toyota to screw up their much loved prius even more. So they did.
Sure you get some pretty wacky customs but this was done in house by Toyota themselves Total power gain: 0 Total weight gain: No information released.

On the hybrid front Hondurr faired much better. They released an concept R version of their CRZ hybrid which, unlike toyota, actually improves upon the base car with the help of a turbocharger. It also looks half decent, if it didn't have that deadweight battery pack I might even have liked it.
Then a certain nigra got a hold of a CRZ and proceeded with his team at Bisimoto and a friendly turbo to put a casual 533hp into the Hondrag.
Yes, it has a parachute to slow down.
No, none of that power gain is from the electric motor.

Probably my favourite car for the show was Mazda Miata Super 20 (known as the mx-5 to everyone but americunts) done by mazda themselves. They've basically done to a brand new mx-5 what most br/o/s would do to a 20 year old one to turn it into a weekend specialist.
-Remove convertible, replace with hard top
-More aggressive suspension
-Heavy duty clutch
-Supercharge motor*
-ECU remap
-Better rubber with some nice rims
*normally with the 20 yr old one you would tarbo it

That's all I feel like writing about for now. I'll just post some pictures of random shit that turned up to SEMA and if you're really interested the complain in the comments then I can either write more or (more likely =P) post links.


lol camry



hmm, maybe next time I'll use more pictures.

JV.

http://pitchfork.com/news/40652-watch-volcano-choir-perform-for-the-first-time/

Someone

post something.

Kinect “Can’t Recognise Black People”

Continuing on our theme:

>Microsoft’s newly released Kinect controller is facing accusations of racism, after reports of it being unable to recognise dark-skinned people surfaced.

>GameSpot employees reportedly had trouble using the device, and CNN soon picked the story up; GameSpot’s account of the problems is below:

>"While testing out the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees experienced problems with the system’s facial recognition abilities. The system recognized one employee inconsistently, while it was never able to properly identify the other despite repeated calibration attempts."

>Microsoft stops just short of telling inconveniently black users to bleach their faces:

>"“Kinect works with people of all skin tones. And just like a camera, optimal lighting is best. Anyone experiencing issues with facial recognition should adjust their lighting settings, as instructed in the Kinect Tuner.”

Dem pokemon look off the fucking CHAIN nigger. I beat off after every episode nigger. why you hating? They the real gangsters!

MC frontalot

The father of nerdcore

BEACH!

so i heard 2moz was 33 degrees celsius (or a whopping 306.15 K), which is basically ideal for beach. so people should get to my house around 9-10am, and then we can figure out how to best spend the day at the beach from there (my vote is for city beach.)

"Study" Break

So you peeps are on study break, but upon opening xfire I can't help but notice you're just all belting games.

So LAN?


On another topic, if nick is going to drive the focus instead of the jag, I think we should upgrade it.
Pic related.

Wacka

HOLY SHIT

Hamachi

Tonight, yo. Moar info to follow.

Rotto!

so, i got a place on rotto during the week starting monday 6th december. Allowed 6 pplz there (so 4 after me and nabs), so those that are most keen/reply fastest will be in for an awesome week at rotto!

fissicks

second year dude game me a tour of 'the basement' on Tuesday. He said he would be happy to organize a group tour. keen?

Me epic trolling some random on xfire

Scout: hey
Scout: yo
Scout: dude
Scout: wanna call of duty 2 pvp
[DI] The Basement: who the hell are u?
Scout: im asking frist
Scout: answer
[DI] The Basement: NO I DON"T FUCKING WANT TO PLAY THAT SHIT GAME!
Scout: ..-.-.. fine
Scout: biatch
[DI] The Basement: its so bad
Scout: ok
Scout: your loss
[DI] The Basement: it licks my motehrs balls
Scout: youre a hybrid?
Scout: fuck you
[DI] The Basement: seriously
Scout: .. dude youre weard
[DI] The Basement: "i will just lean around this corner........FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"
[DI] The Basement: and what was the deal with activision
Scout: wanna play
[DI] The Basement: didn't they sue EA for like a billion dollars
Scout: or not
[DI] The Basement: let me see
[DI] The Basement: um
[DI] The Basement: yeah
[DI] The Basement: ok
[DI] The Basement: what server
Scout: im in ser
Scout: download neceserry
Scout: 3.80 mb
Scout: for ranks
Scout: only
[DI] The Basement: ok
[DI] The Basement: what is the download link?
Scout: just enter by me
Scout: and its automaticly
[DI] The Basement: ok
[DI] The Basement: can u give me the server IP?
Scout: klick on the yoystick
Scout: on the window
[DI] The Basement: is it a dedicated server?
Scout: OCC Extreme
[DI] The Basement: TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Scout: you can take 2 guns
[DI] The Basement: can i haz a water pistol?
Scout: no
[DI] The Basement: dibs on MPover9000!
Scout: bullets only and ..oh a panterswrek
Scout: just enter if u want
Scout: its not like im forcing oyu
[DI] The Basement: ok, i'm going protoss, what are you going?
Scout: ..-..-just chilling on this server
Scout: boaring
[DI] The Basement: ah, terran i see
[DI] The Basement: do you think you could hook me up with those russian girls i see all over the net?
Scout: nope
Scout: not my cousians
[DI] The Basement: How do I know you won't hack
Scout: its hard to get one
Scout: and i dont download
[DI] The Basement: well you DLed this rank shit
Scout: and + its a punkbuster ser
Scout: no haxing allowed
Scout: just skill
[DI] The Basement: hang on, my aunt is coming home and i have to dispose of these wank tissues BRB.
Scout: ok
[DI] The Basement: ah shit
Scout: what now
[DI] The Basement: my dick got caught in my zip
Scout: ???
[DI] The Basement: brb again, its bleeding a bit
Scout: dude
Scout: wash your hands and dick
Scout: with alcohol
Scout: tetanus
[DI] The Basement: yeah, that me be a good idea
[DI] The Basement: would wiskey work?
Scout: ??
Scout: dknow
Scout: never got my caught
[DI] The Basement: i imagine it would
[DI] The Basement: should i do it now
Scout: dknow
Scout: try but a little bit
[DI] The Basement: should i warm it up?
Scout: try
Scout: oh shit someone is in sre
Scout: i got to go keep txting
[DI] The Basement: k babe
Scout: im a guy
[DI] The Basement: :O
[DI] The Basement: thats awkward
[DI] The Basement: ah shit, i have to update Punkbuster to get in
Scout: do it
[DI] The Basement: yeah but PB is a nightmare
[DI] The Basement: damn dialup will take forever
Scout: belive it its worthy
[DI] The Basement: yeah, ok
[DI] The Basement: how much ping will you allow
[DI] The Basement: i might lag
Scout: xok
[DI] The Basement: cuz im torrenting CP atm
Scout: ok
Scout: try mid ping
[DI] The Basement: so it might get to about 500ms
Scout: jeez
Scout: cool
[DI] The Basement: is that good?
Scout: i think not but try
[DI] The Basement: the higher the better right?
[DI] The Basement: how do i make it higher?
Scout: nope
Scout: dont know
Scout: try 250-
[DI] The Basement: wow, thats really low
Scout: no minus
[DI] The Basement: you must have ADSL or something u yuppy
Scout: just 200
Scout: yea
[DI] The Basement: ok, i stopped the CP and its about 200 now
Scout: ok
[DI] The Basement: so where in russia are you atm?
Scout: no
[DI] The Basement: dick has stopped bleeding :)
Scout: yay
[DI] The Basement: its in a glass of wiskey atm
Scout: jezz
Scout: that hurts
[DI] The Basement: its not safe to drink still is it?
Scout: no
Scout: dude
[DI] The Basement: i know its gross
[DI] The Basement: but its really expensive
Scout: wha??
[DI] The Basement: and it kills all the germs right?
Scout: dude get in im geting ripped of
Scout: right
[DI] The Basement: well u told me to stop the download
[DI] The Basement: so i still don't have punkbuster
Scout: you do
Scout: in th geam
Scout: game
[DI] The Basement: nah it says i need to update
Scout: ok than ive got to play
[DI] The Basement: ok
[DI] The Basement: bi babe
[DI] The Basement: nice meeting you
Scout: im a fucking guy
[DI] The Basement: oh yeah
[DI] The Basement: that must have been someone else im thinking of
[DI] The Basement: sorry, i'm not so smart
Scout: i see
Scout: that
[DI] The Basement: see what?
Scout: youre a fucking retard
[DI] The Basement: hey, that hurts man
Scout: hahah
Scout: kidding
Scout: get in
Scout: get in
[DI] The Basement: im talking to you instead of doing my quantum physics assignment
Scout: do it than
[DI] The Basement: so be nice
[DI] The Basement: nah, your my new freind :D
[DI] The Basement: best friends forever!
[DI] The Basement: right?
Scout: ...-.-...yay
Scout: hehe
Scout: yay
[DI] The Basement: hey man
[DI] The Basement: brb phone
[DI] The Basement: k back
[DI] The Basement: just some telemarketer
[DI] The Basement: don't u hate that
Scout: dude ive got to go
[DI] The Basement: ok
[DI] The Basement: goodbye
[DI] The Basement: see you soon
Scout: no
[DI] The Basement: are you going away for long?
Scout: yea to afganistan
[DI] The Basement: whoa
Scout: im a soldier
[DI] The Basement: are you a soldier?
[DI] The Basement: i see
[DI] The Basement: find sudam for me :D
Scout: il be
Scout: soldier
[DI] The Basement: i hope the pay is good, i hear its dangerous there
Scout: me to
Scout: heh
[DI] The Basement: ok, well good luck soldier!
Scout: kidding
[DI] The Basement: what guns do they give you?
Scout: im not yet but i will be
Scout: ak 47
[DI] The Basement: or do you just get a knife?
[DI] The Basement: wow, nice gun
[DI] The Basement: but you run faster with a knife
Scout: got to go
[DI] The Basement: they have done studies
Scout: yea
[DI] The Basement: ok bye
Scout: hey
Scout: got to say something
Scout: yo
[DI] The Basement: hey
Scout: im not a soldier yet
[DI] The Basement: whats up buddy
Scout: but i will be
[DI] The Basement: ok
[DI] The Basement: well i wish you luck :)
Scout: im 13
Scout: ko
Scout: ok
Scout: thanx
Scout: well good luck with quantum physics assignment
[DI] The Basement: yeah
[DI] The Basement: its pretty easy
Scout: get an A
[DI] The Basement: have you seen this frag video?
[DI] The Basement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK2tWVj6lXw
Scout: wai
Scout: t
Scout: what the fuck is that
[DI] The Basement: its a video of MW2
[DI] The Basement: did i paste it wrong?
Scout: yea
[DI] The Basement: oh dam
Scout: give me a titl
Scout: e
[DI] The Basement: my computer does this sometimes
[DI] The Basement: such a stupid error
[DI] The Basement: does this work?
[DI] The Basement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY
Scout: well got to go
Scout: bye
[DI] The Basement: k see ya friend


lots of fun :D

Pokemans Things

create-a-pokemon alternate art
what to catch in B&W
Herracross in UU (more like herrabad)

Exams

On what dates are everyone's last exams? Tis on studentconnect. Nathan, David and myself have PHYS1102 on Monday 15-11 as our last. I'mma shot a LAN but it won't be until after my sister finishes exams on Friday 19-11 :(

Ohhhhhhhh Lawdy.

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/10/25/call-of-duty-black-ops-quickscoping-has-been-banned/

Such Noobs.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/Text-editors/DAMN-NFO-Viewer.shtml

Makin' Dollerz

Make a TF2 item and receive $40,000 per fortnight from Valve :)

http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/112/1129589p1.html

>Certificate 2 in 3D computer design
>Any community-modded online casual FPS by Valve I want
>$1,000,000 starting

Renaissance LAN

Renaissance LAN at mine. Its a new beginning. New games (which are old games), New clan tag and other things to get our clan out of the dark ages. If possible would also love to share around Shattered Horizons for some mind fucking FPS.

LAN will be at mine on Friday and Saturday nights. GTFO on Sunday. Invite WOW fags.

lolque?

http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/112/1128806p1.html

AND THIS

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/10/19/rapture-recreated-in-minecraft.aspx

Satire

Especially WoW satire, I love it.

Never bet on Gabe. [spoiler] but mabe this time... [/spoiler]

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/10/12/valve-s-next-game-announced-here-tomorrow.aspx



















inb4 DotA.

POCHEHOMMEZ NOIRS ET BLANCS EN ANGLAIS NIGGERS!

Alrighty, got most of this shit off the 4chonz in an incoherent and spread out form, so I figured I'd poast links in a decent order and with all relevant information I can think of.

1. Download your choice of ROM.
Pokemon White:
http://nitroroms.com/show/file-info/191907/Nintendo_DS/Pocket_Monsters_White_JPN_NDS_DSi-BAHAMUT.7z.html
Pokemon Niggers:
http://nitroroms.com/show/file-info/191908/Nintendo_DS/Pocket_Monsters_Black_JPN_NDS_DSi-BAHAMUT.7z.html

2. Download an English patch corresponding to your choice of ROM.
Pokemon White: http://www.mediafire.com/?lks0dkh2rldirj6
Pokemon Niggers: http://www.mediafire.com/?kkrfifi7ckbsxoy

3. Download xDeltaGUI.
http://www.mediafire.com/?b7em3n4sn7hhmtr

4. After having unRAR'd all that shit, open xDelta GUI.exe, and when the window comes up click select ROM and choose b-pokemonw.nds or b-pokemonb.nds (pretty sure that is the name for black), and click select patch and select V3White-NewLogo.patch or V3Black-NewLogo.patch (once again guessing the name). Now click Apply patch. No notification comes up but it ought to work after 3 seconds or so, you will know it is complete if you can press buttons and shit again.

5. Another DL, this time the DS emulator. I tried nocash but it phayl'd, so I am currently using DeSmuME.
http://desmume.org/download/

6. If you go back to where you extracted your ROM, there should now be a new .nds file called b-pokemonw_patched.nds or b-pokemonb_patched.nds. This is your patched ROM. Open DeSmuME.exe and go File > Open ROM... (Ctrl+O) and choose your patched ROM.

7. HELLA GOOD. It ought to work, but to ensure MAXIMUM OVERGOOD performance you fellows may want to follow the following first:
Config >
Sound Settings > Buffer Size = 5000
Sound Settings > Interpolation = NONE
Frameskip > 4
Frameskip > Auto-minimize skipping
Emulation settings > General > Enable Advanced Bus-Level Timing = UNCHECKED/DISABLED

Also:
ctl+alt+del Task Manager > Processes > set Desmume priority to "high"
[copypasta'd, credit to Anonymous]

So do that shit and then reset your cartridge and set your controls as you please (Config > Control Config)

8. Choose Wotter and fucking get to it!

9. Poast results/queries/advice/CP.

stuff to remember

1. That thing where we all stay awake for 45 or so hours then try to sleep for 24 hours.

2. Adding an extra tone to music.

3. medal of honor. looks bitching. made by dice and i think it uses the BC2 engine. housin'

A little something for halloween....

So i was thinking about doing a DC zombie survival 1 night role playing session sometime near Halloween. Everyone will make a Marry Sue character (make a character based off you in real life) using the World of Darkness setting, we can do this on the night together as it should be hilarious. it would be awesome if we could get all of DC to attend. There will not be any real quest besides do what you would do if Perth got taken over by a Zombie Invasion, though that is not to say i will not have some tricks up my sleeve XD.

What do people think?

also trying to think of a name along the lines of: Episode One: [Insert witty pun relating to zombies and DC]

ChromeHOunds

Does anyone remember that game? Giant fully (actually fully) customisable mechs slugging it out in epic multiplayer; should have been the best game ever. So disappoint.

Deus ex 3

Not sure how new this trailer is, but I haven't seen it yet, Its pretty good.

Judd is bad

this is most maceworthy

Pochehemmez

http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/pokemon.shtml


And also some extra epin:

http://alexonsager.net/pokemon/

ORGANdonorISING.

So for those of you attending Steph/Tara's, it seems a good idea for us to split a cab/cabs after.
There are plans to go to Bar120 afterward so I suppose we can sort that stuff out when there.
Also, River.

requesting a river

Midsemester break is nearly upon us so I think it is an obvious river time. Nabs says his farm is available but prefers to have some beach. I agree fully. beach is good, when warm, which it will be. So Matts seems likely. assuming he wants to host.

Juicy goss

I don't usually do this but

Battletech

For those who are not aware of battletech, it is the universe in which the mechwarrior games are based. If you like reading about technical details of giant military robots, then you may enjoy this.

This Man "and I also have a hammer"

As previously requested i shall issue a spontaneous ejection of semen warning

Stearus 2000

Selected quotes:

"I also have a hammer"

"Thankfully there wasn't that much amperage in it though, after I blacked out for a couple of minutes I woke up"

"Eight batteries, one toaster, one microwave, one DVD player, one VCR, five exterior cameras..."

"secondary auxiliary defroster"

"we're safe right here at this distance" "Yeah, hyuik, snorrk, hehek"

cool looking move

its called splice and its about gene splicing. I read about it an a magazine and it looks appealing.

epin new photo

is epin

Bitta Good.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/opeth_porcupine_tree_mainmen_work_together.html

Interesting Thing.

http://www.ubercharged.net/2010/09/05/skill-vs-meta/

Cool thoughts here.

Blog images

If you change the image at the top, please fail less. In future get your sizing right.

Squishy's Automotive Faggotry Update

Ferrari's on fire:
Just 4 months after release at least 6 of Ferrari's new 458 Italia have caught fire spontaneously.
It has been confirmed that in at least two of these cases the car was not even turned on!

Ferrari has issued a recal of the model citing that the fires are from a flammable glue used in the construction of the wheel arches.

It is good to see Ferrari getting back to be wonderfully Italian.

I am however disappointed in the recall, some 20 years ago they wouldn't have given a shit. It also would have been cool to be driving a Ferrari as it catches fire (assuming since you have a ferrari you are Bruce Wayne)


Unicycle gets updated

The segway totally just got 1upped
Its called the Ryno and addmittedly its still pretty shit.
But who cares cos its awesome!
official website
And since this is such a high budget company, they have made an extremely impressive trailer:
youtube

Most faggotry prize

this
and facebook page

I have nothing to say


Biggest Bro prize

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24afjVqm2Uw&feature=player_embedded
That was a 1970's diesel wagon driven by a Finlandian :D
Skip to 5:40 i you just want to see him chop up in the final against a nissan silvia then spraying champagne everywhere.

So badly want to see this guy with a Volvo 240
Here is my impressive rendering of the possibility
and no, that isnt a recent drawing.

I could probably turn out something like this every month or two and if i plan on it i can probably find better content than stuff just off the top off my head.

LAN!

so lan at mine from netime after 11am on sat till around 4pm on sunday.

GMOD ROBOT WARS

an idea I came up with today. We could build an arena and remotely controlled robots. just a thought

Mathematica

Its free

Foodz review: GONG

So my mum opted for GONG over M iGoreng which is just not on. Lets cut straight to it. GONG is greasy, and really sticky. It is also too sweet. The onions and MSG come in separate packets. Overall it is delicious because it tries to be like MI Goreng and partially succeeds tho is inferior in e very way except one: the chili section of the sauces is located on the end, this means that if you don't want to add the chili., you can do so in a single cut, a feature i've been longing for for a while now.

6/10: no originality, but still good.

From Dust.

http://au.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/projectdustworkingtitle/video/6274376

Some items of clothing are worth it...

I know this is expensive. But maybe, just maybe....

If you can't do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OshIbSaFpsU

You don't know SHIT about video games.

Wangs.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/24/torchlight-3-out-before-diablo-3-runic-ceo-hypothesizes/

Nick's 18th Party

Gentlemen, my party confirmed for Saturday the 25th of September, at my petite house.

Is this date convenient for all of you, before I start inviting my somewhat lesser friends?

If it is within your powers, invite extra females and inform me of them so that I can invite all of my bros without having a poor ratio, lol. Thailand.

And brace for a sexy playlist.

Things.

Pro DoD:S

Also, new pic is IdrA, of SC2 fame. Check out the Intel Extreme Masters here. Search for IEM or Starcraft 2 or player names or something. Casted by Day9 and d.Apollo, both awesome.

Dibs

I call this as mine, but I thought you might want to see it first.

No. 2's

dat OC

Apple

I have ling since been at odd with apple, but recently they have pissed me off enough to deserve a good ole fashion blog caning. Don't get me wrong, the iPod is a great invention, and mine gets used thoroughly, but apple have gone too far.

When I reinstalled my OS, I looked for alternatives to lots of mandatory software, iTunes being one of them. I found songbird. A neat little program that is basically identical to iTunes, except isn't run by apple. It also doesn't ask me to update every 8 or 9 seconds and overall fulfilled my needs nicely. Unfortunately, iPod syncs became tricky. You have to download this freeware, and its do-ab;e, or I should say was, but it turns out apple have actually gone out of there way to make this impossible. The songbird staff had to abandon the idea because apple were being little bitches about it. So I had to reinstall iTunes, very reluctantly. my next thought was WHATTHEFUCK90MBFORTHISSHIT? what is all that space used for? It makes no sense when every other program is less than 10MB. Then it opened in the wrong screen and added all therse sidebars and toolbars i didn't want then asked me to update, as usual. Not a good start iTunes. Then while I'm listing to music, it closes itself and asks me to shut down. WTD?

Don't even get me started on iPhones...

TF2 Reverse Engineering.

You'll see...

My List for 2010.

The Precursors Tier-
1. The Precursors

Other Shit Tier-
2-9001. Sum Vidyaz.

The next clan RTS

Clan RTS is important to me, and I hope its important to you too. We have had great success in RA3 and less so in some other games, and of course TF2. Considering SCII was voted the new clan RTS on the blog it is lacking clan activity, with only cheez and I participating online. It really is a fantastic game, And 100 1v1s in, i'm loving the gameplay, the automatch system, the ladder. Its great. 2v2s and higher pose a problem, they are full of pros, and some real team coordination is required in addition to individual skill. I am aware dudes are finishing the campaign, don't have access to pooters, studying or sleeping so I understand why this hasn't immediately happened, but it would be great ot live old times, carving up teams with carefully executed team strats. (+ we need ot find a new winboat)

I'll Just leave this here next to the D3 troll...

Diablo 3 news


btw hello all, i finally forced ollie into giving me privileges.

BREAKING NEWS!

Blizzard dropped a bombshell today by announcing that Diablo III, the highly-awaited sequel to the smash hit 2000 action role-playing game, Diablo II, has been split into five. The company said that Diablo III now consists of five different stand-alone titles--one for each character class.
Blizzard says it made the change to make each story that much more epic and to flesh out the Diablo universe. By splitting the game, the company says that players will access more story content, more characters, and more customization. Rob Pardo, executive vice president of game design, said that each game would be approximate in size to previous Diablo games. Each game will be a stand-alone installment – not an expansion.

Pubbers and Pros

so campbell is plannin on goin to a pub on thursday night, and all of DC is invited.
It will probs be claremont hotel pub.

I FUCKING MACED FUCKING EVERYWHERE!

NOTD SCII mod. THis is the worse thing to happen to mankind

Friedly reminder

Just remembered, Nabs promised to get his dick pierced. That is all.

This guy wins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfCiOzL7cYs&feature=player_embedded

Nick's List for 15-08-2010

GENTLEMEN, OBSERVE:

Zeus Tier:
30-06-2011: Deus Ex 3: Human Revolution (Zeus)

God Tier:
2011 : Half-life 2: Episode 3 (Athena)
2011 : Max Payne 3
2010 : Crysis 2
2011 : Star Wars: The Old Republic
2011 : Diablo 3
2010 : Portal 2


Demi-god Tier:
2011 : Rage (Hercules)
2010 : FEAR 3
2010 : Call of Duty: Black Ops
2010 : Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam
2010 : Fallout 3: New Vegas

Messiah Tier:
2011 : Fable 3 (Jesus)
01-02-2011: Dragon Age 2
2011 : Reckoning
2010 : Rayman Origins
2010 : Dead Space 2
2011 : Duke Nukem Forever
2011 : XCOM
2011 : Red Faction: Armageddon
2010 : Mafia 2
2011 : Homefront
2010 : Warhammer 40k: Space Marine
2011 : Bulletstorm
2010 : Brink
14-10-2010: Medal of Honour
30-09-2010: Arcania: Gothic 4

Notes:

Added to Messiah Tier, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine, Homefront, Mafia 2 and Reckoning, an RPG with the Morrowind and Oblivion gameplay chief involved.

Removed SC2. Review: It's good.

Swapped Diablo 3 and Portal 2.

The brain does more than just recollect; it inter-compares, it synthesises, it analyses. It generates abstractions.

FUCK OFF SPACKERS.

I'M MAD.

Deus Ecks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_ZhvU1bPc

New mouse

I need one. So far nothing that is decently priced appeals to me. I just want a normal shaped, bulky one for less than $70. Ideas appreciated.

Good stuff.

http://communityfortress.com/tf2/news/pc-gamer-valve-interview-teaser.php

Wiiiiiiiiinnnnn.

Anyhooooo, tell me via XF or this thing when you are able/not able/not gagging on dicks to do 'MachiLAN this weekend.

Macing Muchly.

I do believe MegaLAN is off.

Frontlines fuels of war -single player review

With the upcoming Homecoming looking so promising, I thought I would check out Koas studios previous effort in Frontlines: fuels of war. The mid 70's is a great time period to be in but sadly, not a desirable metascore. However, the trailers looked great, especially the vehicle combat. Since it was somehow sitting in my steam, I went to justify it myself.

The game is set in 2024, the world has run out of oil and the US is fighting in the caspian see against the O-so-evil Red Star Alliance (that's China AND Russia) over that last drops of black gold. The intro does a good job at painting the setting through a montage of images of the past events (which happen in the future?) with solid narration on top. The opening cut scene is the one from every modern shooter ever, the one where you in the helicopter. and there are doods. and you get shot down. But before that all, something odd happens. There is a member of the press on board (known affectionately as Princeton). A lovable looking guy, cracking wise to the arrogant macho-marine in a very protagonist kind of way. After the chopper goes down, I expected to be transported into the body of the reported, and have a marine lob an assault rifle at me and say in a black man's voice "follow me" and run off into combat. So it was a shock to me when 'Princeton' helped me up, only to be grabbed by a bad guy. "well," I thought."all that character development wasn't actually for me."

Now to the important part of the game, the game. "lags like a bitch's dell"" is the term that came to mind. I don't have dated hardware by any means, but I had to set this to the very low to stop the jerking, which wasn't consistent anyway, so its just bad code. Not surprising given its another crappy port.It actually looks alright, but I credit this to the excellent Unreal engine rather than the developers. Is it too much to ask for as a PC gamer, for a game to be made for PC? Apparently so.

The actual combat is much similar to that of C&C 4, in the sense that nothing ever dies, and has piss weak firepower. It seems that this great famine has made everyone tougher, and more bullet resistant. Enemies take forever to kill, mainly due to you incredabad rifle. What a piece of shit. It has permi-spray, which means that the direction in which you aim, and the direction in which the bullet travels are mutually exclusive. The first shot isn't even accurate, and the cone of fire is wide, when scoped you seem to lose sight of them.

vehicle combat was a little more tolerable, but I kept getting stuck on rocks, in my jeep....Why is everything so shit in the future? Now remember that openning scene from CoD, where you and you buddies scramble through immense gun fire, guys getting picked off? That was true FPS immersion, I felt afraid for my virtual life, and it is one of my fondest gaming memories. Now take that, and raise it to the power of -1. And that's F:FoW. I had absolutely no ranged stopping power, so I simply ran at the guy with the MG, assuming I would die so I could rage quit this abysmal experience. But no. I lived, pwnt the poor man and instantly regenerated all my health. Battlefield FPSs have been around for ages, so to be good, you have o bring something knew to the proverbial table, or at least use what has been already established as good. This game does neither.

There are some good elements of combat, driving/flying the drones around is good fun, and the only real futuristic element of this game. The environments, although average looking, help build a sense of setting and purpose in you mission objectives. Apart from this, nothing else really stands out as tolerable, and in defense of this game, its really a class based multiplayer shooter. But its not all bad news, I gave this one a whirl to see what the folks at Kaos studios could do. They proved they can put together a decent story, and design a decent setting. I think this game was decent to begin with, and was ruined by some bad design choices. Kaos admit they have learned from the whole 'port' stuff that so frequently ties my testes, and my faith in Homefront remains at a reasonable strength. Should be one to watch out for.

Vudyiz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=HYRi3e-UpVM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=Bix6hbyc1Jg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=aLTUWDXygec&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fYO2BHedY4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvUiLtwlEl8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0

OP pokemon

I found this video that will change the pokemon world forever.

Ollie and Ben

Are anti-bros.

This man is a

bro

Chezman!!!!

Despite the rather poor for in your attendance at the last LAN, even being out done by knoski, we would all like to wish you a hazy, alcohol fueled birthday.

New potential UCC machine.

SPECS

Motherboard:
http://www.netplus.com.au/product/MB2/MBGIGA890GPA-UD3/Mainboards/Gigabyte-GA-890GPA-UD3H-AM3-DDR3-16XPCI-E-ATX-RAID-890GX-USB3-ATX

Processor:
http://www.netplus.com.au/product/CP1/CPAMM2-7-1055T/CPU/AMD-Phenom-II-X6-1055T-2.8Ghz-Six-HexaCore-AM3-9Mb-125W-CPU-TurboCore-HDT55TFBGRBOX

Memory: two of
http://www.netplus.com.au/product/MY3/MYD313-2048K/Memory/2Gb-DDR3-1333-Kingston-Memory-2048Mb-Single-KVR1333D3N9/2G

Graphics:
http://www.netplus.com.au/product/VD5/VDGIGTX460-E1/Graphics-Card/Gigabyte-GTX460-1Gb-DDR5-256bit-PCI-E-GeForce-GF-Nvidia-GV-N460OC-1GI

DVD:
http://www.netplus.com.au/product/OP9/OPLI20A1S-RET/Optical-Disk-Drives/LiteOn-IHAS324-Black-24X-DVDRW-SATA-DVD-Writer-Kit-Lite-On-Retail-Black-Nero-8-SATA-Cable

PSU and Case:
http://www.netplus.com.au/product/CA10/CACOCEN53-35-BLK/Case/CoolerMaster-Centurion-5-II-500W-Power-Supply-ATX-e-Sata-Front-IO-Case-All-New-Model!

Total cost (no postage costs!): $1024
Then add an extra GTX460 for characid: $1323

Pretty impressive, and proposed by BOB, will presumably be further discussed at comm. meeting tonight, so I shall revise this when I get back home, estimated to be on Wednesday at 1:30pm.

OllieLAN

LAN at mine. It was going to be thursday, but now will be Friday as soon as you can get here. I plan to play Titan Quest a lot, usual TF2 and maybe some SC2. I understand Jon can't get there till late cuz of work and Cheezybouy becoming a man on saturday (no Ben, no a bar mitzvah). Cheez should have a party and get wasted, and maybe invite us too. Um, yeah so LAN: discuss.

Also, UCC LAN (doitfaggots) is on August the 9th. Need to get our ET shit together. They also claim to try this time in TF2, we'll see.

In case you didn't realize, it is Friday and Saturday at mine.

Epin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spGLsMY47Xo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHqH13Nts2I
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=iPfaQJuWGvU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQk9gc4pikc
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=mXol_YHgroo&feature=related < Not great but perfect music and still pretty damn cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsIgo0_sAzU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUTFL0KEDrQ < Cum buckets when it kicks into the scout part.

Now poast yours. :D

French Intensifying Linguistic Materials.

It has come to my attention that we need to (our should) allude to media beyond that of video games. This is a review of a few films which I have viewed within the past week.

Primer, directed and produced by Shane Carruth (2004)
The first thing to note about this film is that is makes a profound effort to maintain consistency with modern science which is by and large accepted, save a few issues. For myself, this provides a refreshing sense of legitimacy in a genre which seldom sells itself through this means. Much research is evident within the film, and Shane Carruth himself is a mathematician and engineer, so most of you should be able to find comfort in that. The primary characters themselves are engineers of sorts, making them more appealing, as engies pwn n00bs.


Scientific consistency aside, the film lacks great plot progression, focusing rather on the presentation of themes that Carruth deems related to scientific discovery. The film certainly manages to bring the common viewer into the world of science, with its down-to-earth style, and also through the characterisation of the two main characters, who maintain amounts of naivety and cluelessness throughout the film, rendering them with more 'humanity' than most sci-fi films will have you associate with scientists. Further supporting this is the fact of the discovery itself being accidental.

The film is shot well it must be said, the technique involved adds a lot, with the contortion of time being reflected in the production. However, I cannot recall any standout acting performances.


Overall, the film is not amazing, but it generates interest and portrays some sort of opinion on morality in science, although it seems to lack the emotional impact to make the opinion stick.

hurr durr Romantic questing.
7/10

Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle (1996)
For myself, this film was more entertaining, and certainly more emotionally involving than Primer, and overall, a superior piece of film work. It has greater development of character individuality, and this gains increasing significance in any film as it progresses, and unlike Primer, you actually give a shit about what happens to some characters.

A lot of this can be put down to good acting. Ewan McGregor makes a great lead, and the support of (particularly) Ewen Bremner and Robert Carlyle is amazing, and to a lesser extent Jonny Lee Miller. The plot is simple, yet enthralling, and the film seems to capture the historical time, as well as the prevalence of poverty and economic depression, so contextually it is all quite fitting.

It almost immediately establishes the drug environment, and really immerses you in the distinction between their perspective and that of a 'clean' person, and this remains throughout. Stuff I was going to say here was too hard to phrase without spoiling so too bad.

Cool film, good acting performances, good-enough plot, engaging characters and believability make this film well worth watching. Can't remember much of the production or filming, but whatevs.
8/10

The Usual Suspects, directed by Bryan Singer (1995)
Love the start to this film. Insta-characterization and the same sense of action and momentum that draws us to all shitty Arnie films, but soon to be backed up with ingenious plot-line, and a greater level of sophistication.

Impeccably structured to draw the best out of the script, the film assumes a non-linear, often narrated story development, and this keeps you thoroughly involved for the entire duration, and allows for plentiful guessing from the viewer(s).

Supremely good acting. Kevin Spacey is always great, and he yet again assumes this role with creativity and great sense, Gabriel Byrne suits the lead role perfectly, and Pete Postlethwaite performs his more minor role intelligently.

Basically, this film was genius. Shot in a way such that watching it again would be no detriment to the success of the film, and yet that blows your mind beyond belief the first time, and seems to revels in doing so.

Hella good.
8.5/10


So yeah I'm just doing films that I'm watching by myself, and I have a few more lined up to be watched. It would be swell if we could start getting some reviews for music, films, series, books etc. up on the blog IMO, so do it.

Proof-reading is for homos.

Grid/ Toca 3 review

So I've decided to include Grid and TOCA 3 in the same review seeing as they are both games from the Race Driver series by codemasters. TOCA 3 is the 7th game in the series from 2006 while GRID is the 8th from 2008.

TOCA3
First up TOCA Race Driver 3. TOCA stands for TOuring Cars Association. However there has not been touring car exclusive version in the series since the original TOCA back in 1997. For reviewing TOCA 3 I will be comparing it to the benchmark game of the time GranTurismo4
*gets bored of writing sentences*
*begins using dot points*

> Good things (Things it has which make it better than GT4):
-Damage
-More in depth racing classes (touring cars, multiple open wheelers, gt/lemans)
-Better selection of tracks
-Heaps of Aussie stuff (wanna go race in Wanneroo? YOU CAN)
-V8 Supercars. Bitches!
-Runs on Computer (as well as xbox and ps2)
-Has a 'campaign' where you do sets of 2-5 races in a single class or you can do an entire season in the other mode. Allows for more variety in cars, you unlock races and the cars are supplied.
-Burnouts/powerslides (GT4 sucks at these)


> Bad Things (where GT4 raeps it)
-Not as realistic physics (pretty good actually, but I am comparing it to GT4 :S)
-Rally and dirt modes are not very good (very disappointing from codemasters who make the colin mcrae series(now dirt2), this is something that could have been much better than GT4)
-In the campaign only three races offered at a time.
-Cutscenes? (they're ok, and there's a scottish guy and lots of random chicks... but I dunno)

All in all, TOCA3 is a very respectable driving simulator and is very comparable to GT4. The graphics on the computer are better than what you get on the PS2 which is also a bonus. I would say this is the best realistic driving sim you can get for computer (barring rally games which I have a reasonably sized soft spot for).


GRID
Now on to GRID. I will compare this game to TOCA 3 because quite frankly, I enjoyed TOCA3 more. Grid does have superior graphics, physics and ai but it has gone a bit NFS'ish. The physics have gone a bit soft, making driving.... EASIER. Sure its nowhere near nfs easy, but the brakes are OP, you can corner whilst braking and all cars can take quite a lot of cornering g's before losing grip. (in fact, the only way to lose grip is to go up on the rumble strip or pull the handbrake).

The main new features which have been added are:
>a Flashback system (where you can rewind time for about 5 seconds)
>Extra storyline
>Having a racing 'team' with additional features
>being able to paint your cars and add sponsors (part of the team thing)

The new features which have been added arguably add to the experience as a game(for nubs) but they detract from the realistic simulation and expectations of a TOCA game. I think codemasters must have been planning this so although its part of the racedriver series (for publicity probs) they called it GRID instead of TOCA4. This name change is probably designed to quell the bitchfest from people like me for ruining the series. I SHALL NOT BE QUELLED!

*cue bitching* (I shall try to concisely get all the things i dislike about this game said)

1. Having to spend your money on a teammate is shit.
2. Having a poor selection of cars and tracks is shit.
3. The flashbacks could potentially have been good... but they are shit
-3a. The combination of keys required to flashback, esc-downarrow-enter(you now have flashback selected)-f8(changes camera view)-f2(rewind)-f12(use flashback)
-3b. when you crash(totaled) an animation is triggered, so you cant flashback until you've stopped crashing by which time the flashback is not long enough to prevent the crash.
4. Need for Speed is not a respectable driving simulator.
5. Slip streaming is not that effective. You shouldn't be able to overtake in identical old mustangs using slip-streaming.
6. You should not be able to buy racing cars off ebay, it is blatant advertising.
7. cars do not get faster if you win races in them
please note: it anything in the list above doesn't make sense, its because many features of grid are bullshit. QED.

So now I have that off my back I would like to admit that some of the weaknesses of TOCA3 have been addressed in GRID.
>The campaign system of toca3 where you had three races available at a time has been changed to three pathways of 9 races each in GRID. This gives you more freedom to choose races.
>Also in TOCA3 the rallies were crap, in GRID they don't exist (I expect this is less to do with admitting it was bad and more to do with not taking sales away from dirt2 also by codemasters).

GRID did however have one highlight:
Drifting.
This new game mode was thoroughly enjoyable and helped me forget about the races that were through dockyards and cities without proper tracks. Actually now that I think about it, the drifting was shit too. Sometimes the drifts didn't register and the scoring was so based on 'combo drifts' that you could easily abuse the scoring using many small drifts.

So then why did I like the drifting?

because of the AE86


Oh AE86, how i love thee.

In summary GRID is a compromise between real racing games such as GranTurismo and the TOCA's of old and Need for Speed. As it goes with compromises, they tend to make everybody unhappy.

p.s. This ended up a lot longer than I intended, so sorry bout that.
p.s.s. R.I.P. TOCA

Sykpe.

This is why we need to use it for TF2.

Timetable Thread.

Everyone post timetables.
Everyone rate them.
:)))))))))))))))))))))))))

Titan Quest - review so far

This morning I had the chance to sink my teeth into Titan Quest. Think 3D Greek Diablo. I must say I had fun with this one, and It seems like a well polished game from the folks at IRONLORE. Its pretty, the voice acting is good, level layout is creative, combat is interesting and flows really well.

Visually, titan quest is the best looking game of its genre. The details on the characters and monsters are very good. Especially enjoyable is the lighting, from the gloom to the caves to the shadows cast by ruined fortresses. The animations are all nicely done and the levels aren't too repetitive so far. Being able to look over a cliff and see the little monsters you will fight later is kinda cool and shows off the 3D nicely. Another subtle thing about TQ is there is no loading. Don't ask me why, but all games should have that.

In terms of character creation, there is 8 trees. 4 magic, 4 combat. You pick one and then another at level 8 (focusing on just one tree seems beneficial though) The standards are all there: ranger, summoner, rogue, DPS magic guy (warrior is actually divided into offense and defense which I personally like). Each 'mastery' has a set of actives, triggered and passive abilities and there seems to be some cool builds when you mix up different mysteries. The summons are really cool. The flame elemental guy is sick and the Lich is way cool. They definetly carry their weight and seem essential to most casters.

Putting your skills together can be tricky, especially as some fight are very tough. I choose the Spirit tree and built myself around life stealing and my summon. This made fighting undead difficult, as I discovered they had no life to steal... and they mob you and do ridiculous damage. So to minimize my panziness, I picked some anti-undead skills to deal with those bags of bones. Pretty cool, IMO. As for bad guys, you get a wide variety of creature from Greek mythology (plus the standard spiders and demon imp things, this is a D2 knock off after all) and they are mostly easy, though some boss fights require a bit of thinking. gear is as to be expected, but from an early stage you are forced to focus one being a mage or fighter, as the requirements for items are really savage.

I am glad to see that the team decide to try an improve on its foundations, rather than replicate them with new shiny bits. Adding a average DPS for you basic attacks is an excellent idea, as is making the basic attack of a staff magical. I can't think of any gmae ideas that make it inferior to Diablo 2, but it does seem a little old already. The quests have no real drive, and I was progressing because the game gave me one path to follow. Some of the side quests have nice rewards which encourages the player to explore a little.

I have enjoyed this so far, but it isn't completely enthralling. I think if we added a few more dudes to the party the skill diversity could make things pretty interesting.

LANMachi.

Tonight, TF2, LANMachi, aim for being ready at 8pm.

ruse - free weekend

HURRY GUYS!!!!!!! THER EIS ONLY 16 HOURS (at time of posting) OF R.U.S.E's FREE WEEKEND! TRY THE BEST RTS EVRA!

RIVRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

hope everybody has an awesome time.

A gig worth seeing

Now, I am aware not all of you are I-jazzed-in-my-pants people. None the less I have found the gig for you. Firstly, it features pretty much every good jazz musician in this city. Secondly, its free. So now you don't have an excuse.

Polycount Pack Winners

http://www.polycount.com/2010/07/15/the-team-fortress-2-polycount-pack-winners



I FUCKEN' CALLED IT!

Polycount Pack Finalists

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74543

Pick your winners.

Console fags - Singularity

I finally gave into my brothers nagging and played SINGULARITY on xbox this morning. "play it on hard" he said, "its a better atmosphere." No its not a better atmosphere, its just fucking hard! This game suffered from "difficulty spike syndrome" eventually causing a rage quit after attempting a section about 16 times. Why can't I run over a bug that is 3 inches tall? why does it have to block me when I can't see it, then explode and kill me instantly! What I discovered form this console experience is this: I have become accustomed to PC. I had to have my sensitivity so low just to kill the guys in the tutorial, that it took me 5 seconds to do a 360.

The controllers and controls in these game are a source of infinite frustration and were so, so poor. PUSH LEFT STICK IN TO RUN? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? that really got me hard. Also, my time slowing button didn't work so I changed controllers. Then 2 minutes later it ran out of batteries in a boss fight. So I changed to my last working controller. It died. Yes I could have done battery transplants, but I wasn't going to give the game that satisfaction. So back to the shitty one. awesome.

This is a shame because the game started off so well. I highly recommend the hour of play as it introduces a nifty story line and has some truly epic horror scenes. After this all subsides you are left with a game that is a mash up of HL2 (you actually get a gravity gun and have to do physics puzzles) Bioshock (looks identical) and is a complete rip off of Timeshift. Timeshift was a pretty cool game that did time manipulation really well. It had many cool puzzle ideas and combat worked really well. The same can't be said for Singularity. Your time device and guns have basically no synergy, and are both clumsy to use. Especially frustrating was the puzzles. For example: "Oh noes! He must have changed the safe combination. Use your time device before it is too late." Cool! I will reverse the lock combination to its previous state in time so he will be able to unlock it. I was wrong. As I used both hands to press my 'time' button, the safe door evaporates. ..... what the hell. This game had a chance for redemption and instead it decides to bone physics and the universe.

Verdict. Play the first hour and see If you like it, on a port!

A Note of Possible Interest

This short article is directed at those of you who are expecting the second (or perhaps first, but that's not the point) coming of Christ upon the release of Diablo 3. I want you to cast your mind back to the game Hellgate: London, in particular to the development team. You will notice that that particular team was led by some ex-Blizzard Entertainment employees, and guess which games they worked on there?

Of course it could be argued that now those rotters are out, D3 will be better off. It probably helps too that Blizzard lets its developers take as long as it takes to make the game good, whereas Hellgate: London was published by EA, whose strategy is to spew out as many games as possible and hope some of them turn into annual series.

So this small fact could mean nothing at all in the end, and D3 will be everything the fanpeople (lolol political correctness gone mad) want and expect. I would like to think that Blizzard, of all companies, can do this right and show companies like EA and assholes like Bobby Kotick that quality can, in fact, be more profitable than quantity.

ME2 review

I recently finished what I believe to be the most immersive game experience I have played in my gaming life. This will sound like a fanboy rant, but I cannot stress how good this game is.

I played and completed the original Mass Effect several years ago now, and Bioware had crafted a gem. It was like being dropped into one of those 1000 page science fiction novels with a space ship on the front. The amount of effort and attention to detail made was nothing short of bowl shatteringly spectacular. The conversation system was smooth, the voice acting was absolutely perfect and the art direction was fantastic. The game looked brilliant. As enjoyable as the game was, the combat and some game play elements where a little bland and didn't really add much to the game. The item system was tedious and combat was slow and repetitive. Overall, it was a great but flawed game. And that is where Mass Effect 2 comes in.

Game developers around the world, please stop playing WoW for 5 minutes, your raids can wait. Take note of a perfect sequel. Clearly, the seasoned team at Bioware (best developers in the biz IMO) took all the aspects of the original and discarded them. The entire character and inventory system have received a massive overhaul. A class based system was introduce which allow for specific play styles, though are somewhat limiting. Items are now researched and upgraded at the ship instead of being scavanged in the classic loot system hat previously had me in my menu screens, maticulously comparing kit, only to find a superior 30s later. The new item and character systems work really nicely in this game. The skills are also very well done, although executed in a familiar experience=level=skill point way. Getting a skill to max rank gives you the choice of giving it an AOE or making it incredibly powerful. Also, you can unlock a special skill from a team-mate further diversifying your character. I really admire Bioware for taking initiative and improving the aspects of Mass Effect that clearly needed improving.

Combat in Mass Effect is a pretty standard 'cover shooter' model. It provides a smooth, if not repeatability experience. As an adept class, I spent most of my time launching balls of God at people. Although it became tedious after not too long, picking up an enemy and throwing his lifeless corpse into an explosive box and scattering his body parts in a pretty explosion never was dull. I found lots of ways to use my powers in combination with each other and my weapons to great affect. The environments where the firefights take place are designed well, allowing you to use strategy and tactics to gain an advantage. These battlefields are well detailed and look fantastic. As for enemies, there is a great variety of bad guys to destroy. Try to infiltrate a cooperate building: expect to fight mercenaries, security and automated defenses. Investigate some abnormal activity on a distant world: have fun destroying waves of those zombies (sort of...) the Geth. No spoilers but the last boss is awesome! Combat in ME2 is an improvement but still could be improved and is not the feature of this game.

If it can be said that Bioware tossed away elements of the original Mas Effect that they poor, what would they do to what made it a great game? The art work, the scifi wealth, the dialogue, the characters, the plot and most importantly the feeling of choice. These are what made Mass Effect great. I wondered how they would reappear in the sequel. Imagine you took all these things, and injected steroids into them until their balls were so shriveled they could run in the woman's 400m event. I will try to empress in words how good these elements are in ME2, but I have no doubt I will fail.

I have loved a lot of games in my life, but I have never been emotionally attached to a game. Mass Effect 2 is unique to me. It is the only game that made me actually feel. The characters, especially those on your crew, are so interesting and well developed that you form a bond with them. Many favorites return from the original and you get to see how their experiences between games have changed them. So many times I was forced to make a decision that i didn't want to. I literally sat with my head in my hands contemplating the decision, weighing up the good and bad. I had to make so many sacrifices, and those decision tore me in two. I was so attached to this game, it was unlike anything I had experienced thus far. I spent an hour searching the citadel for a wallet to prove a poor Quarian girl innocent because I felt sorry for her. She had clearly been on a pilgrimage from the migrant fleet and needed help. I was just so sucked in by this game. The finale of this game forced me to make many choices, most of which I regret. I remember the faces of those lost, and it makes me sad. I know this sounds like a review of a romantic drama instead of a scifi shooter, but understand this: this game is deep. My head is stuck in the rich sprawling universe of Mass Effect 2, and It will likely never return.

Happy Birthday

Johnothen.

Nick's List for 11-07-2010

No major releases from the list (just 2 little Messiah Tier releases to my knowledge), but a few reshuffles and one addition.

Zeus Tier:
30-06-2011: Deus Ex 3: Human Revolution (Zeus)

God Tier:
2011 : Half-life 2: Episode 3 (Athena)
2011 : Max Payne 3
2010 : Crysis 2
2011 : Star Wars: The Old Republic
27-07-2010: Starcraft 2
2010 : Portal 2
2011 : Diablo 3

Demi-god Tier:
2011 : Rage (Hercules)
2010 : FEAR 3
2010 : Call of Duty: Black Ops
2010 : Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam
2010 : Fallout 3: New Vegas

Messiah Tier:
2011 : Fable 3 (Jesus)
01-02-2011: Dragon Age 2
2010 : Rayman Origins
2010 : Dead Space 2
2011 : Duke Nukem Forever
2011 : XCOM
2011 : Red Faction: Armageddon
2011 : Bulletstorm
2010 : Brink
14-10-2010: Medal of Honour
30-09-2010: Arcania: Gothic 4

Notes:

Singularity has been removed. Apparently it's OK but not brilliant. I'm torrenting it very slowly atm. If it had received better reviews, I would have left it on the list and waited to play it myself. Also waiting for Sniper from Nabs. It only got 5 I think on IGN.

Someone, I think Jon, complained at the high ranks of Starcraft 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I've decided to shift them down somewhat because although they still have next-clan-rts/WoW-killing-MMO potential respectively, there are other such vidyas, and who is to say these others won't be better, even if less hyped? Furthermore, I've never actually played SC1 or KoTOR, though they are high on my to-play list (I've actually just compiled one, it's enormous).

Dragon Age 2 is confirmed for early next year, so has been added.

I found out that Fallout: New Vegas is being developed by the Alpha Protocol team, which recently received average reviews and sales, so this forboding sign caused a slight shift downwards.

APB, an MMO of sorts which just released and wasn't on the list, sounds good but apparently loses appeal after a while.

Requesting a Red Dead Redemption PC port.

GlaDOS beat Bowser and Ol' Man for #1 Video Game Villain of All Time on an IGN table. Not sure if just...

I formally apologise for including non-gaming related material in my "rant" yesterday. If I feel compelled to do so again I will use Macebook or make my own blog. And to those who have been incessantly hailing this question down upon me:

Nick's Rant for 10-07-2010

Gaming status: Piracy, piracy everywhere. So many rendang vidyas to try out. More primarily, I'm slowly working though Splinter Cell 1 (I intend to finish the other 3 I've not played too, then review them collectively here, expect that sometime next year), Bioshock 1 (with a view to 2), MW2 and Modern Warfare 2.
UPDATE: BIG SWINGING DICKS. I'm near the end of Modern Warfare 2 and it crashes every time it tries to load the next section. I'm forced to look at the Wikipedia plot synopsis and imagine how epic playing it out would have been. For the record, despite the multiplayer quarrels (basically the same game, PC features retarded) the singleplayer campaign is awesome, possibly better than the first, with lots of twists. There's also some good rendang singleplayer challenge mission things. And it still has great mechanics. wawisgood.jpg

Sex status: This is well-distinct from conventional "gaming status". Gladwrap your immediate surroundings (slightly more specifically, your whole suburb) and prepare to expel a prolonged, veritable fountain of warm, gooey love from your loins:

Visceral descriptions of ejaculation aren't gay

Through the haze of the rogue-nerd-discrete-vidya-cam-massive-faggot-headintheway viewpoint, the graphics seem solid, and the environment of the city and nightclub seem sexy and filled with heaps of NPCs with their own characters and opinions to share, which was so good about the first two games. Jensen is a madcore badass like JC, and although I like Alex too, Jensen seems to have a better voice and more conviction than Alex. Both JC and Alex I thought were often quite neutral in some ways - Jensen's responses, whatever they are chosen to be, really go at it. This is probably a good thing, and the voice-acting seems good, but this is something that has been really over-marketed in the last 5 years or so (Oblivion FFFUUUUUUUU-). It doesn't add THAT much, as long as the breadth of starters and responses is there, even if they are just in text (Morrowind FUCK YE).

It looks like you enter codes manually - small thing but good thing, which hopefully shows that more subtle but awesome things from the original will be maintained. Grid system of inventory is also confirmed (God-tier inventory system, Zeus-tier if weight is also a separate consideration). Moving of corpses looks good, I really wanted to see it dragged into the vent shaft though. I hope they spontaneously ignite upon contact with a fire source. Deus Ex 2 bonfires with a whole cleared-out zone of corpses are among my dearest [strikethrough]gaming memories[/strikethrough] lifetime memories. Some possibly bad things being criticised by HK fans on the forums are:

• Third-person views. I think this ability to look around corners and also see your delicious, manly cyber-punk character is excellent. This is seen in part 1 of the leaked vidya, followed by the main thing in dispute which is:
  
• the "press A to win in third-person" combat implementation. I'm not a fan. I don't see how it can be implemented without being OP and - in combination with regenerating health - destroying the brilliant use-your-limited-selection-of-weapons-and-gadgets/SHIT-I-ONLY-HAVE-ONE-LIMB-LEFT-LOL combat and stealth. But we shall see. Hopefully if it sucks, this will be an OP gameplay implementation which is easier to ignore and not use than Oblivion's fast-travel (FFFUUUUUUU-). For those not in-the-know, the original had INDIVIDUAL LIMB/HEAD(isthatalimb?)/TORSO DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION. I cum every time I remember that fact. Please don't talk to me about Deus Ex in the company of family, acquaintances or strangers - shit gets weird.

Cutscenes, cover-based combat and true weapon scopes are controversial additions to the series but I think they have potential to be good as long as they don't dominate.

There are also claims of ME2 clone elements in DX3. Pic hopefully not too related.