And what a year 2011 is shaping up to be. Deus Ex 3, Mass Effect 3, Diablo 3, Total War: Shogun 2, the list of exciting releases goes on. There is one game off most radars which I feel is worth mentioning though. This intriguing title would be the upcoming Age of Empires instalment.
Age of Empires: Online takes the AoE series in a whole new direction in many ways, the art style being one of the more drastic changes. Being much more 'cartoony' in style, I (stupidly) cast the title aside, automatically assuming the worst. I recently visited a friend who managed to grab a space on the beta early on. 5 minutes in I was hooked.
This is shaping up to be a very strong entry in the series. The home town from AoE 3 returns, this time however it acts as a permanent base of operations. Income from the home town is gained even if the player is not playing, this income can then be used to increase productivity, customise the town or buy upgrades to aid in quests. The home town also supplies quests, challenges and ways to communicate with other players. Seamlessly connecting both single player and online play, the game allows you to ask for a friends help or challenge another player.
Everything from my presumptions about gameplay to views on the art style was wrong. The game is a delight to play and looks damn pretty too. Definitely worth signing up for the beta (link below) and if it stays on the right tracks, worth your money too.
Sign up for the beta at THIS address:
http://www.ageofempiresonline.com/beta/
Friday 31 December 2010
Tuesday 21 December 2010
What a surprise..
My lovely new phone is already busted. FOUR DAYS. Basically fried whilst it was idle. Brilliant. This has to be my fifth phone to go this year. The previous phones have died of old age, been stolen, one even died after a sadistic moron decided that forcing and holding me underwater was a good party trick (The oaf destroyed almost everything I was holding on my person). At least those were mainly castoffs or relics.
Never before has a phone died on me indoors, dry and in a state of rest. The only sign was a significant slow down in performance before it was put on standby. Thinking this was nothing but a little performance issue, I put the phone away and went to bed. By the morning it was gone. An error screen welcomed me, ordering that I reboot the device. Cue reboot, enter error screen, begin nightmarish cycle. I liked this phone too, time to see if I can get it replaced.
Screw you, Error 603!
At least someone is sharing my technology woes:
Pretty similar reaction to the situation too.
Never before has a phone died on me indoors, dry and in a state of rest. The only sign was a significant slow down in performance before it was put on standby. Thinking this was nothing but a little performance issue, I put the phone away and went to bed. By the morning it was gone. An error screen welcomed me, ordering that I reboot the device. Cue reboot, enter error screen, begin nightmarish cycle. I liked this phone too, time to see if I can get it replaced.
Screw you, Error 603!
At least someone is sharing my technology woes:
Pretty similar reaction to the situation too.
Friday 17 December 2010
Bake a cake.
Not a lot of writing today, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Thought this needed sharing though. It's a remix of 'Cooking by the Book' from LazyTown and something crude from Lil' John. The result is nothing short of hilarious.
Warning. Contains stong language.
Tuesday 14 December 2010
It's...Adventure Time.
A show where talking dogs, evil wizards and damsels in distress are fairly normal...A show where adventure awaits every corner and unicorns can be rainbows too...What is this show I speak of?
Why, Adventure Time of course!:
That's right, it's adventure time.
This show is awesome, definitely worth a watch if you thought the pilot was any good. Anyway, I've got to go. Ninjas are stealing that old man's diamonds.
Why, Adventure Time of course!:
That's right, it's adventure time.
This show is awesome, definitely worth a watch if you thought the pilot was any good. Anyway, I've got to go. Ninjas are stealing that old man's diamonds.
"Fake...You can't fit a horse into a cannon"
Some games are so bad that they're not worth playing. Some are so bad they almost need to be played. Zoo Race is one of those games. You've probably not heard of this before so I'll explain what I know. Zoo Race is a third-person racing game with what appears to be religious themes. You race as a woman named Hannah... who gets turned into a horse. So does everyone else in the library.
The opening cutscene is pretty funny but gameplay starts about 4 minutes in and chaos ensues:
Hannah seems fairly casual about getting turned into a farmyard animal.
Yes, this is in fact a legitimate game. Everything about the video reeks of bad design. The controls look sluggish, the game is hideous and I bet the overly terribly scripted cutscenes are mandatory too. Strangely enough, I still feel compelled to give Zoo Race a play. The mixture of booming voice acting, dodgy animation, repetitive tunes and horse-propelling cannons creates something that can almost be described as awesome. If it's free, I might give Zoo Race a go and possibly even write another article, as much as that pains me to say.
This could be the start of something very strange.
Hannah seems fairly casual about getting turned into a farmyard animal.
Yes, this is in fact a legitimate game. Everything about the video reeks of bad design. The controls look sluggish, the game is hideous and I bet the overly terribly scripted cutscenes are mandatory too. Strangely enough, I still feel compelled to give Zoo Race a play. The mixture of booming voice acting, dodgy animation, repetitive tunes and horse-propelling cannons creates something that can almost be described as awesome. If it's free, I might give Zoo Race a go and possibly even write another article, as much as that pains me to say.
This could be the start of something very strange.
Sunday 12 December 2010
Window shopping.
There are plenty of links sitting in my bookmark section, most of them for things I'd quite like to buy. A lot of things on this list are for my desktop, Transformers items seem to take up a vast amount of those pages. Merchandise ranging from Optimus Prime figures to busts of Beast Wars characters has made the list. The 'Robot Heroes' collection, which I think is worth a mention, includes affordable models spanning multiple Transformers generations with a unique visual twist. I've got my eye on Shockwave and G1 Starscream to start off this collection.
Pity it's too late to ask for Christmas presents. I just found ideal desktop ornaments based on quite possibly my two favourite transformers ever, Shockwave and Skyfire/Jetfire.
You have no idea how excited I am to pick these up.
The only problem with Transformers figures is that they come and go so quickly that older models quickly get rather expensive. That's the only reason this lovely piece of craftsmanship is still sitting on the list and not sitting in my room:
I'll get you yet, Jetfire.
Now to wait for the next instalment of my student loan.
Pity it's too late to ask for Christmas presents. I just found ideal desktop ornaments based on quite possibly my two favourite transformers ever, Shockwave and Skyfire/Jetfire.
You have no idea how excited I am to pick these up.
The only problem with Transformers figures is that they come and go so quickly that older models quickly get rather expensive. That's the only reason this lovely piece of craftsmanship is still sitting on the list and not sitting in my room:
I'll get you yet, Jetfire.
Now to wait for the next instalment of my student loan.
Why not.
Yet another post before bed. It's a new blog and I'm excited. This is another music video (it's not a music themed blog, honest) but I was rather impressed by the talent shown. Plus it's Star Wars themed and I do love Star Wars so.
Isn't that awesome? I want one.
Isn't that awesome? I want one.
Saturday 11 December 2010
Having a wine.
When I was about 12/13, there was a school trip to Bologna, France. My whole year went, so the restaurant we ate at must have been one of the only large enough in the area. It wasn't exactly a cheap meal either if memory serves. Once we were seated, the French teacher who organised the trip stood on to table and tapped her wine glass with a spoon to get the attention of the students. Why she stood on the table, I'm not too sure but it did make what happened next several degrees more amazing.
The wine glass did make a lot of noise, it also got the attention of the whole year, teachers and the restaurant staff. Not because it made a lot of noise, but because the wine glass smashed.
The wine glass was still full of red wine.
She just stood there..staring, looking a bit like she'd stabbed a student.
I wasn't going to post again today. There are other things that need to be done, like essays or eating. As usual I ended up on Youtube again. What was I doing? Watching a video of somebody harmonising with a miniature harmonica. How did I get there? I don't know. Why was I watching it? I don't know. Youtube seems to have that effect (to be fair, I thought the video was pretty funny). Then I saw something which blew my mind. Something I needed to share.
Most people know of that obnoxious tone you can create with a wine glass by wetting your finger and rubbing the mouth of the glass. I can't do it very well, not that I practice. Until today, making sounds with glass felt pointless and seemed like it was asking for trouble. My French teacher only reinforced this belief.
Then I saw this:
Words escape me.
The wine glass did make a lot of noise, it also got the attention of the whole year, teachers and the restaurant staff. Not because it made a lot of noise, but because the wine glass smashed.
The wine glass was still full of red wine.
She just stood there..staring, looking a bit like she'd stabbed a student.
I wasn't going to post again today. There are other things that need to be done, like essays or eating. As usual I ended up on Youtube again. What was I doing? Watching a video of somebody harmonising with a miniature harmonica. How did I get there? I don't know. Why was I watching it? I don't know. Youtube seems to have that effect (to be fair, I thought the video was pretty funny). Then I saw something which blew my mind. Something I needed to share.
Most people know of that obnoxious tone you can create with a wine glass by wetting your finger and rubbing the mouth of the glass. I can't do it very well, not that I practice. Until today, making sounds with glass felt pointless and seemed like it was asking for trouble. My French teacher only reinforced this belief.
Then I saw this:
Words escape me.
Transformers - Skittles in the Sky
It's finally here, the trailer for Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon. Here it is in all its glory:
This is exciting. Secret missions, astronauts, transformer spacecraft (Cue the return of Teletraan 1 maybe?). I'm not sure how I feel about Bay taking the whole 3D angle, being a rather avid fan I'd hate to see the film go downhill just for a gimmick. This won't stop me getting excited though, I do love giant robots. The chance to see more of my favourite characters from the original generation of Transformers reincarnated in beautifully detailed CGI is a very good thing. Even if the story sucks, they can rely on me getting the special edition DVD, if just for the animation.
I actually found this trailer by accident. There I was, trawling through Youtube whilst working my way through a rather large bag of Skittles (as is custom on a rainy day). It was just reaching to the end of my browsing session too. Decent new videos were getting harder to find and there remained merely a handful of Skittles. Seeing the link tucked away in the corner of the screen, I quickly consumed what remained and pressed play.
It didn't help that I was already excited. The trailer was actually good too, it was really good.I got so excited that I almost tasted the rainbow a second time. A few Skittles chunklets may even have come up. I literally almost experienced a double rainbow.
Skittles-barf the rainbow.
Hope that cleared things up. The moral of this story is that you CAN have too much of a good thing. Though that won't stop it being...good..
Okay. I lied. There is no moral.
This is exciting. Secret missions, astronauts, transformer spacecraft (Cue the return of Teletraan 1 maybe?). I'm not sure how I feel about Bay taking the whole 3D angle, being a rather avid fan I'd hate to see the film go downhill just for a gimmick. This won't stop me getting excited though, I do love giant robots. The chance to see more of my favourite characters from the original generation of Transformers reincarnated in beautifully detailed CGI is a very good thing. Even if the story sucks, they can rely on me getting the special edition DVD, if just for the animation.
I actually found this trailer by accident. There I was, trawling through Youtube whilst working my way through a rather large bag of Skittles (as is custom on a rainy day). It was just reaching to the end of my browsing session too. Decent new videos were getting harder to find and there remained merely a handful of Skittles. Seeing the link tucked away in the corner of the screen, I quickly consumed what remained and pressed play.
It didn't help that I was already excited. The trailer was actually good too, it was really good.I got so excited that I almost tasted the rainbow a second time. A few Skittles chunklets may even have come up. I literally almost experienced a double rainbow.
Skittles-barf the rainbow. Hope that cleared things up. The moral of this story is that you CAN have too much of a good thing. Though that won't stop it being...good..
Okay. I lied. There is no moral.
Poker.
I love games. Fighting games, puzzle games, anything which manages to catch my eye. Facebook games..not so much. Still, every now and then I get the urge to join random Facebook games just to best my friends (or even the odd random). Why? I don't know. To prove superior skill? Just for the challenge? Because I'm being a jerk? Either way, I usually get bored after a few days and swiftly move back to the world of retail games.
Not this month.
It started with a lovely little game, Poker Night at the Inventory. I'd not really been interested in poker beforehand but the outstanding price (£3.25), the wonderfully selected opponents and the promise of unlocks for Team Fortress 2 had me rather excited. There was only one problem... I knew nothing about poker.
£3.95 for this? Chump change I say, chump change!
Needless to say I was slaughtered for the first few games. I persisted, if only to equip my TF2 heavy with shiny equipment. After a few days, my persistence paid off. Not only had I managed to unlock a plethora of new trinkets but I appeared to be playing rather well.
This is where Facebook comes back into play (no pun intended). I had all but exhausted Poker Night for the time being and the itch to compete with my friends had returned. Deciding to put my new poker knowledge to good use, I joined one of the many poker games Facebook has to offer. Some friends appeared to have played for a rather long time so I quickly got to work. Tournament after tournament was played, again performing at a level of competence high enough to keep me happy and keep things tense at the same time.
Days were lost, flatmates came to watch eagerly (and eventually lost interest) and I'd even all but neglected a rather complex 3000 word essay with a draft due the day after realisation. I had to win, I had to get better and then win some more. With my psychology degree coming to a close, poker is most definitely not needed. I must kick this habit as soon as possible.
One more game can't hurt though...
Not this month.
It started with a lovely little game, Poker Night at the Inventory. I'd not really been interested in poker beforehand but the outstanding price (£3.25), the wonderfully selected opponents and the promise of unlocks for Team Fortress 2 had me rather excited. There was only one problem... I knew nothing about poker.
£3.95 for this? Chump change I say, chump change!
Needless to say I was slaughtered for the first few games. I persisted, if only to equip my TF2 heavy with shiny equipment. After a few days, my persistence paid off. Not only had I managed to unlock a plethora of new trinkets but I appeared to be playing rather well.
This is where Facebook comes back into play (no pun intended). I had all but exhausted Poker Night for the time being and the itch to compete with my friends had returned. Deciding to put my new poker knowledge to good use, I joined one of the many poker games Facebook has to offer. Some friends appeared to have played for a rather long time so I quickly got to work. Tournament after tournament was played, again performing at a level of competence high enough to keep me happy and keep things tense at the same time.
Days were lost, flatmates came to watch eagerly (and eventually lost interest) and I'd even all but neglected a rather complex 3000 word essay with a draft due the day after realisation. I had to win, I had to get better and then win some more. With my psychology degree coming to a close, poker is most definitely not needed. I must kick this habit as soon as possible.
One more game can't hurt though...
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