Well, there IGN goes once more thinking we actually give a shit about their daily lives (Since they seem to believe we hold they're game reviews in such high regard). Now, about a few years AFTER all this generation's consoles have come out, head honcho Hilary Goldstein (no I don't care about spelling his last name) decides to come down from his roost and enlighten us on why he believes there is only one true good gaming device this generation (here's his post, http://www.ign.com/blogs/Hil-IGN/2010/12/30/why-i-switched-to-ps3/). Well, since he decided to grace us with his opinion, let me counter with another argument, "Why I still game."
Why I still game
I've been playing games from most of my life, hell when I was a kid the nintendo 64 was still (and still is) a fucking great console and still new. That was my first generation of video game consoles. Since then I have seen the playstations 1-3, the failure of the sega dreamcast (market failure, not game failure) the Xbox and Xbox 360, and nintendo's N64, Gamecube, and Wii. So I think I can say I have a good idea about what is or is not a good console, and which one will keep one entertained for the longest stretch of time.
With that said, I have an Xbox 360, and very much enjoy it. Why? well for a few simple reasons, all having to do with content, timing and overall commitment by the developer/publisher/owner of the console.
Achievements
What's better than playing a fun game? Simple, getting rewarded while doing so. Enter Achievements. Each one of these has varying scores, difficulty, and sometimes makes you go out of you're way to do something you would never think of doing. For example, in Red Dead Redemption there is an achievement call "Dick Dasterdly," which requires you tie up a women, place her on train tracks, and have her get run over. Gruesome? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. But let me ask you a simple question, with everything to do in RDR, would you have thought to do something like that?
Chances are, probably not.
The one problem with achievements that I find is that eventually it comes down to "Who has the biggest E-penis of them all." Yes, I play games, and yes I got out of my way to get achievements. But do I do it to flaunt it in front of people are brag about? No. I'm not going to mention that of all my friends and all the people on my friends list I have the biggest gamerscore, but that's not because I'm a compensating bitch, it's because I consider myself I hardcore gamer, and I want to do as much as I can in a game. That's it, not to brag about how big my E-penis is, because you know what? It doesn't fucking matter.
But really, achievements are there for people to explore the game, and after doing something difficult or cool (beating COD: Black Ops on Veteran, or taking out all the villages in Just Cause 2 for example) and getting a reward for it. It's that simple.
Online
I'll admit I'm not really an online multiplayer type of guy. I enjoy just sitting back with a good single player game (ME2 for example) and playing that instead of going online. But, hey, it's still a good thing to have if occasionally the planet's align and I decide to take a crack at it. And you know what it's still a........ God fuck this.
Why am I reminded of the ultimate cop-out argument, "God moves in mysterious ways"?
Look, it doesn't fucking matter what console you play a game on, you know what does matter? Playing the game. That's it. Sure some consoles have something different from the others, but guess what? That's what makes them good, differences make things sell, if we were all buying the same thing, the console player800 and buying random generic shooter 4, would that be fun?
NO!
The only reason the PS3 has gotten some flack is because it came out a year too late and cost too much, while the 360 came out sooner and had some hardware issues, but both were still good well rounded consoles. And arguing about which one is pointless, because they're both good, they both have great game libraries and have gotten their shit together.
"Oh, but they're different, so we have to choose a favorite. Dur-Dur." Yeah, say that to your twins and get back to me. You forgot one thing, they were both developed by two different corporations, so of course they're going to be different, and why do we complain about differences? If we ate the same gruel every damn meal, every damn day we'd be bored of it.
Listen, Microsoft and Sony are big kids, they don't care what people think, as long as they buy their products and make sure those products are still good so people will keep buying them. Do you think they care about console fanboys? NO! So acting like a snob to another different console user just proves you're the bigger douche bag. And guess what Microsoft and Sony think of you? Absolutely nothing.
It's not about the fucking console, it's about playing the game and having a good time, the console is just an intermediary for that. I have a 360 and my friend has a PS3 and we play both all the time. Why? Because we know it's not about the console, it's about the game, not to mention both consoles are really good.
I dream of a day when console fanboyism ends, and we all realise, consoles don't matter, the games do. Where you don't have to defend why you got console A or B, because good games are on both.
So if you just want to be a PS3 elitist, or a 360 addict, or a Wii fanboy, fine. But I would expect you to have many friends outside of those online whinny, screaming, high-pitched 13-year-old douche bags who make you feel awesome because you're better than them. Stay with them, because no one else with actual friends will want to play with you. Now, if you excuse me I think I'll go play Infamous with my friend.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Stuffs...
So.... Yeah....
Well, no witty humor, no snide remark, no little piece of sarcasm. Nope. None.
I know it's been a few weeks since my last post, but, well, stuffs happened. What exactly? What the fuck do you think happened?
Christmas happened.
So, that put quite a bit of a damper on what I had planned to do: post uses on space wolves characters, what I thought of the new Dark Eldar Codex, maybe a battle report.
Well, those are going to be delayed. Why? Well, I am writing a book after all. And, well, it's actually coming along better than I ever though.
How good?
Well, it's 170 pages and twelve chapters so far.
Well, shit.
First off, this surprised me too. I had always thought I never had the stamina or the will to ever write a full fledged book. And, well, 170 pages. I mean.... Shit.
Now, I won't lie when I say I've had some influences from other piece, but then who hasn't? Tolkien, Lovecraft, Gemmle, McNeill, Abnett. I mean, well, a form of flattery is doing what others have done, right?
And asking for help works too, right? Well, I wrote McNeill and, well, McNeill is an author I greatly like and admire. When I first started reading Black Library book, the Ultramarines Omnibus was the first one I read. And, by the gods, was it awesome. Since then I have read almost all of McNeill's books, and enjoyed them greatly.
So, yeah, I wrote McNeill. I wasn't expecting much, since he is an author for the Black Library, and working on a lot of stuff. So, it wasn't too much to expect a few sentences right?
Well, this happened.
"Hey Max,
Graham would be just fine... :-)
As far as advice on your story goes, it doesn’t sound like you need any. If you’ve got the details of the siege sorted out, then that’s good, and you already know your ending, which is a bonus. Most sieges ended with the capitulation of the garrison through starvation or realising that the couldn’t possibly hold on (so they’d hold out long enough to satisfy the demands of honour and make sure they weren’t reprimanded for cowardice when they got back to their own forces...). If you’ve got your characters sorted, then that’s most of the work done, as knowing them will inform you as to how the story needs to proceed.
The one thing I’d watch is that the story doesn’t just end with them being rescued without them having done enough to achieve and earn it. There has to be some aspect to the story that shows they’ve worked to survive, and that without those particular characters with those exact skills, the story would have had a far less happy ending. For an ending to be satisfying, the reader has to feel that the characters did it themselves and weren’t rescued by a bolt from the blue.
Anyhoo...hope that’s of some help,
Cheers,
Graham"
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I've never lied when I say I'm a bit (Ok, a lot) of a 40K fanboy. When I got this, well, I freaked right the fuck out(and still kind of am).
I mean.... Wowie. Just.... Wow.
Here I am, a college freshman in the middle of Ohio, asking a popular (and New York times Best Seller plus David Gemmle award winning) writer for some advise, and getting so much.
Now there's one question I've been getting from my friends: Will you publish it and become a full fledged writer?
Answer: I would hope to and no.
The first two things I say to people who mistakenly ask me for some writing advise (Like I'm an expert) is simple: A) Don't do it. B) Really, don't do it.
What would I like to be? Simple, a Lawyer who also writes sometimes (Freelance). That way, if I publish a book and if it does poorly, which there's a large possibility of, then I still have a job, and maybe earn a few extra bucks.
That's it.
Simple. Easy. Affordable.
The book? Yeah, it's in progress, it will most likely be for a while, but hey, small victories, right? Well, at least I'm doing something constructive. Anyway, here's an excerpt from it, enjoy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, no witty humor, no snide remark, no little piece of sarcasm. Nope. None.
I know it's been a few weeks since my last post, but, well, stuffs happened. What exactly? What the fuck do you think happened?
Christmas happened.
So, that put quite a bit of a damper on what I had planned to do: post uses on space wolves characters, what I thought of the new Dark Eldar Codex, maybe a battle report.
Well, those are going to be delayed. Why? Well, I am writing a book after all. And, well, it's actually coming along better than I ever though.
How good?
Well, it's 170 pages and twelve chapters so far.
Well, shit.
First off, this surprised me too. I had always thought I never had the stamina or the will to ever write a full fledged book. And, well, 170 pages. I mean.... Shit.
Now, I won't lie when I say I've had some influences from other piece, but then who hasn't? Tolkien, Lovecraft, Gemmle, McNeill, Abnett. I mean, well, a form of flattery is doing what others have done, right?
And asking for help works too, right? Well, I wrote McNeill and, well, McNeill is an author I greatly like and admire. When I first started reading Black Library book, the Ultramarines Omnibus was the first one I read. And, by the gods, was it awesome. Since then I have read almost all of McNeill's books, and enjoyed them greatly.
So, yeah, I wrote McNeill. I wasn't expecting much, since he is an author for the Black Library, and working on a lot of stuff. So, it wasn't too much to expect a few sentences right?
Well, this happened.
"Hey Max,
Graham would be just fine... :-)
As far as advice on your story goes, it doesn’t sound like you need any. If you’ve got the details of the siege sorted out, then that’s good, and you already know your ending, which is a bonus. Most sieges ended with the capitulation of the garrison through starvation or realising that the couldn’t possibly hold on (so they’d hold out long enough to satisfy the demands of honour and make sure they weren’t reprimanded for cowardice when they got back to their own forces...). If you’ve got your characters sorted, then that’s most of the work done, as knowing them will inform you as to how the story needs to proceed.
The one thing I’d watch is that the story doesn’t just end with them being rescued without them having done enough to achieve and earn it. There has to be some aspect to the story that shows they’ve worked to survive, and that without those particular characters with those exact skills, the story would have had a far less happy ending. For an ending to be satisfying, the reader has to feel that the characters did it themselves and weren’t rescued by a bolt from the blue.
Anyhoo...hope that’s of some help,
Cheers,
Graham"
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I've never lied when I say I'm a bit (Ok, a lot) of a 40K fanboy. When I got this, well, I freaked right the fuck out(and still kind of am).
I mean.... Wowie. Just.... Wow.
Here I am, a college freshman in the middle of Ohio, asking a popular (and New York times Best Seller plus David Gemmle award winning) writer for some advise, and getting so much.
Now there's one question I've been getting from my friends: Will you publish it and become a full fledged writer?
Answer: I would hope to and no.
The first two things I say to people who mistakenly ask me for some writing advise (Like I'm an expert) is simple: A) Don't do it. B) Really, don't do it.
What would I like to be? Simple, a Lawyer who also writes sometimes (Freelance). That way, if I publish a book and if it does poorly, which there's a large possibility of, then I still have a job, and maybe earn a few extra bucks.
That's it.
Simple. Easy. Affordable.
The book? Yeah, it's in progress, it will most likely be for a while, but hey, small victories, right? Well, at least I'm doing something constructive. Anyway, here's an excerpt from it, enjoy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there was the Supreme Commander Himself. Harad Thunderson. He sat immobile on his throne, fully clad in the finest armor that Shi-Goth could produce. In the light of the room, it gleamed and glowed the brightest, heavily ornate and powerful. It was a mixture of gold, bronze and silver, all inlaid as ancient rune text sprawling all over the armor, both making the armor beautiful and magically enhancing its strength and durability. Equally as ornate was the helmet, which rested on the right arm of the throne, covered in runes and only having a “T” like shape on the front, allowing on to look through.
Harad was seven hundred years old, and for five hundred of those years he had served as the Supreme Commander. His face looked like it had been carved from granite, hard, strong and unwavering. A single scar crossed his left eye, making it milky white. His white hair was shoulder length and still had streaks of brown. Like Egil, he had no beard. He sat immobile on his throne, smiling as he watched both Bran and Ulrick approach.
When Ulrick and Bran reached the base of the throne, Ulrick dropped to one knee.
“My Lord,” he said.
Harad laughed as he rose from his throne and beckoned Ulrick to rise.
“Come now, lad,” he chuckled. “You need not kneel to me, you’ve, at least, earned that right.”
“It’s a matter of respect, my Lord,” Ulrick replied, rising.
“Fine, fine, have it your way, lad,” Harad said, approaching them. He nodded at Bran, who returned the nod. Harad stood facing Ulrick, taller than Bran, he was the closest man Ulrick had met who come face to face with him. He radiated strength and confidence, confidence that was infectious. He frowned as he saw Ulrick’s three scars.
“And where did you get those, son?” he asked
Ulrick hesitated, thinking where to begin. “That,” he said finally, “is a long story.”
Harad moved back to his throne. “Well, lad, we’ve got time,” he said sitting down. “Why don’t you tell us what happened.”
Ulrick looked at Bran, who nodded. “As I am sure you know,” Ulrick began. “I volunteered to take a battalion of soldiers out of Wulfengar through the wilderness to take a break from the mindless politics of the senate.”
“Aye, I remember that,” Bjorn commented.
“For the most part, it was a quiet break,” Ulrick continued. “It was then we found signs of a battle, a slaughter. I knew it couldn’t have been some of our scouts, I saw no pyres. We found tracks leading away from the site and I gave the order to follow them. Ask any of the men I had with me and they could tell you something was wrong. We followed the tracks and soon found they had taken hostages from the foot prints. From there we soon found who we were looking for.”
“And they were?” Egil asked.
“A battalion of Veraci soldiers,” Ulrick answered.
Harad’s brow furrowed. “The Veraci?” he repeated, rubbing his chin. “This will not sit well with the senate.”
“Relations with the Veraci Empire have become strained in recent years,” said Bjorn. “But I see no reason as to why a battalion of soldiers would be in our lands and take a group of scouts hostage.”
“What reason would they need?” Growled Logan. “And why should we care? This is an act of war, of invasion! We should mobilize the Legions for war.”
Harad shook his head. “The senate must declare war, then the Legions can be mobilized. There is a way around that, but I will not it unless I have to.”
“By the time those bickering fools declare war, half of Shi-Goth could be sacked and burning,” Ulrick snarled.
Harad raised his hand. “I understand your frustration, Ulrick, but we have a system that has lasted ten thousand years, and it must last. Do you have any evidence that could prove your point? The senate will only accept hard fact, your word, no matter how popular you are with the public, is not enough.”
Ulrick nodded. “I have the scouts that they captured, they can testify that the Veraci are about to invade.”
Harad nodded. “It is something, but if I could get the senate to declare war on their word alone, it would be a stretch. Do you have more?” Harad leaned forward in his throne. “Do you have the Veraci captain.”
“No,” Ulrick admitted, shame welling up in him. “He was killed before I could get much more than the initial plan from him.”
“He was killed?” Logan snarled. “How could you let him be killed? Out of all of those vermin, he should have been the focus of your attention.”
Ulrick turned his full gaze on Logan, who, like all others, had to look away. “He was my focus, Ardesh, and don’t you accuse me of otherwise,” Ulrick snarled. “Events outside of my control killed him before I could get to him.”
“And what did happen?” Bjorn asked, tentatively.
“Before we attacked and slaughtered the Veraci, I suspected that one of my men was afflicted by the curse,” Ulrick began, not looking at any of them. “It turns out he was well along during the battle, when the captain fled the battle he… gave chance. Fearing the worst I ordered some men to break away from the battle and stop him. I was occupied with killing the foul sorcerer they brought with them. When it was done, I gave chase as well, hoping to stop him. I was too late.”
A moment of silence hung between them all. To Ulrick, it was deafening.
“The men that followed him?” Egil asked finally, quietly.
Ulrick removed his hood and drew Njal’s blade, holding it in front of him.
“These scars and this blade is all that’s left of them,” he answered quietly.
Harad nodded solemnly. “And the man who was afflicted?”
Ulrick hesitated now, looking once more at Bran. Bran nodded, make or break time, let them judge your decision.
“I bested him in combat, he was the one who gave me these,” Ulrick said, touching one of his scars. “But in the moment I was about to finally kill him, he… Spoke.”
Confusion dawned on all of their faces.
“What do you mean, ‘he spoke’?” Egil asked.
“I mean what I said, he spoke, plain, coherent words.”
“Impossible,” grumbled Logan. “He was gripped by the curse, there is no way he could speak.”
“Normally I would agree with you Ardesh, but he spoke to me,” Ulrick Continued. “I also saw something in him, something fighting the curse, beating it back, almost.”
Logan snorted. “You saw something. Like you could see into a man’s soul.”
Ulrick turned his gaze, once more, on Logan and this time without his hood his gaze made Logan turn away.
“My eyes never lie, Ardesh,” Ulrick snarled. “Never lie.”
“Enough,” said Harad, loudly and firmly. “What happened to him Ulrick? What did you do?”
Ulrick took a deep breath, crunch time. “I spared him.” He said shortly.
Logan looked appalled, Egil gave a look of surprise, Bjorn furrowed his brow, and Harad raised an eyebrow.
“You spared him,” Harad repeated slowly. “Why?”
“He was and is the only man I have seen who looked like he could hold the curse at bay,” Ulrick explained. “He is different from the rest of the Arunash, I wanted to know why. And foremost, he is a Shi-Goth Soldier through and through, if he has made the choice to serve, I will do all in my power to ensure he is granted just that.”
“Well said,” Egil commented.
“And well done,” said Harad. “I would have done the same. I assume you took him to the academy?”
“I did.”
“And Mordakai is inspecting him?”
“Yes.”
Harad nodded. “Very good. Now, on to the matter of the immanent Veraci invasion. We need more evidence that they are here.”
Bjorn nodded. “I agree. Ulrick, are you sure there could be more battalions within Shi-Goth?”
“I am very sure, Shi-Goth is too big for just one battalion to scout,” Ulrick said confidently. “There have to be more.”
“Then, simply enough we need to find them,” Harad continued. “Bjorn?”
“I will send word to Midgar to have all trackers begin looking for Veraci battalions,” he said. “ As well as to begin preparing for an invasion, the Guard are the only Legion within Shi-Goth currently, and for now we will have to do.”
“Bran, send two battalions of Praetorian to assist the Guard,” Harad ordered.
Bran nodded. “By your will.”
“We must also send word to the other Legions to return to Shi-Goth as soon as possible,” Harad continued. “Egil, do whatever you can to get word as fast as you can to them.”
Egil simply nodded.
“And Ulrick,” Harad said at last, looking dead at Ulrick. “My order to you is simple.”
Ulrick nodded.
“Find them,” he said simply, leaning forward. “Find them and bring them here.”
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
57's 2010 video game awards
57's Video Game Awards of 2010.
Well, here we are, the final weeks of 2010. I can now easily assume that all the games meant for this year have come out, and we can move into a stage of reflection of what exactly were the best and worst games of 2010. Well, here I am to give you all my pick for the bets games this year, following the same style of awards from last year. Don’t expect too much, I only have a (shitty) computer and an Xbox 360, so sorry PS3 fans, if I had a PS3 I would include them, but sadly I don’t, so I can’t. But enough of that, let’s get to business.
Best Graphics
This year we saw many games released that look just amazing, and just, well, shitty. Two easy contenders would be Just Cause 2 and Mass Effect 2, but then we have to look at Vanquish. This game is another look at how the Unreal engine is definitely the best graphics engine in the video game world today. Let’s not deny that. Vanquish looks amazing, the suit pieces are generally always moving, the action is fluid and the frame rate doesn’t take a hit too-too often. Best Graphics: Vanquish.
Craziest Open World Game
There’s one thing to have an open world game. There’s another to have you as an extreme badass in this open world game. It’s some else entirely to have an open world game with you as the badass where you’re only goal is to cause as much Chaos as you possible can while saying, “Fuck you, physics.” This is Just Cause 2. And let me tell you, it’s a damn fun game. It takes the style of a B-rated action movie and makes it even more awesome, let me tell you, the final fight you are jumping from nuclear missiles while the main bad-guy is shooting you, disarming them. And another scene you get attacked by ninjas with AK47’s. Craziest game: Just Cause 2.
Best Twist
Some twists are stupid. Some are pleasing. Some take you completely by surprise. Black Ops twist was in between all of these, which was and is slightly unusual, mainly because that’s hard to do. Treyarch definitely showed they can make really just a fun, self contained (slightly) game. The story was very much so fun, gameplay was the tried and true call of duty style. The major twist in the game comes in the second to last mission and the cut scene before the credits, the latter being slightly predictable. But it’s still a goodie I suppose. Best Twist: Call of duty, Black Ops.
Best Story
This one was tough. There are so many games out this year that just had great stories: Fable 3, Metro 2033, Alan Wake, Mass Effect 2, Transformers: War for Cybertron, the list goes on. But one of these games caught my eye, one that was by an Eastern developer, based on a book, and did things I hadn’t seen before, Metro 2033. The style of storytelling, the setting, the atmosphere, basically everything about the story not only made it great but fit in to the surroundings well, to immerse yourself in the game. It’s an easy recommendation. Best Story: Metro 2033.
Worst Game
This game wasn’t bad by default, it’s just I hate what the writers have done with the franchise, the gameplay still suffered from the same draw backs as the first and was short, I beat it in a sitting. Oh, George Lukas, what are you doing to Star Wars? Look, it’s one thing to bridge the gap between the original and new trilogies, it’s another to take it way out of context and just ruin it. Which is what happened it Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2. The only two things different from this game and its predecessor are the graphics and TWO lightsabres. That’s it. It’s unfortunate because this game had so much potential, only to be ruined by bad story telling, and not too good gameplay. Worst Game: Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2.
Game of the Year
And here we are. The moment of truth, the best game of 2010. This was a tough decision, but it has to be made. I only played four games that could make this: Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, Transformers: War For Cybertron and Starcraft 2. It was hard, all these games were game of the year quality in their own right, but it had to be made. So finally, I made the choice. Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2.
Mass Effect 2 delivered a game that was far ahead of the curb for any and all other games around it, bringing innovation to the gameplay, a story that often brought tears to my eyes, and a game I will not soon, if ever, forget. It’s a story about family, loss, love, apocalypse, the darkest recesses of mankind, and one man in the middle of it all trying to save the galaxy. The game was just short of perfection, but easily one of the greatest ever made, with each new addition adding to this expansive and phenomenal universe. It’s a game that needs to be experienced, and holds a very special place to me. Bioware has done, and no doubt will continue to, a wondrous thing here. The bar has been raised, and we have seen a piece of video game history with Mass Effect 2. And it easily and well deserves the title of Game of the Year.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Storm Raven thoughts
57 here,Well, since everyone else is wetting their collective pants over the future release of the Blood Angels Storm Raven I thought I might as well give it a look over and give my own thoughts on it. With that said, let's get to it.
Let's get the obvious out of the way first, my god this thing is ugly. At least, I suppose it follows the line of Space Marine vehicles looking like bricks with wheels. The only two Space Marine vehicles that look good to me would be the Land Raider and Thunder Hawk (and drop pod as well, so I guess three vehicles). I originally thought that the Storm Raven would look similar to a Thunder Hawk, and I suppose it does look somewhat alike.
What surprised me was how compact it looks, considering it has the capacity of twelve Marines. It looks that it could maybe hold seven, but not eight. The Dreadnought is not a problem, but still. The turret on top and the two multi-melta ends at the front just don't look good. If they were at the sides, sure, it could work, but where they are is unnecessary.
In the end, I think you should just make one by converting a Valkyrie, because then you'll have the parts and bits necessary to make both a Storm Raven model, and one that looks good.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Lists Galore
57 here---
Well, lets get to my first 40k post in a while. What's the purpose of this one? Just to put out some army lists for space wolves I thought up a while back. A couple of them are serious, one not so much. M challenge to you all is to see if you can figure out which one is not the non-serious list. Enjoy!
List A)
Wolf Lord-100pts
-Thunderwolf+45pts
-Frost Blade+25pts
-Wolftooth Necklace+10pts
-Wolftail Talisman+5pts
Total-185pts
Canis Wolfborn-185pts
4 Thunder Wolves-200pts
-Power Fist+25pts
Total-225pts
4 Thunder Wolves-200pts
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Plasma Gun+10pts
-Plasma Gun+Free
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-220
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Plasma Gun+10pts
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-220
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Wolf Standard+10pts
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-220
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Melta Gun+5pts
-Plasma Gun+Free
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-215
6 Long Fangs-90
-Heavy Bolter+5pts
-Missile Launcher+10pts
-Plasma Cannon+15pts
-2 Lascannons+60pts
Total-180pts
List B)
Wolf Lord- 100pts
Power Weapon- 15pts
Wolftooth Necklace- 10pts
Wolftail Talisman- 5pts
Thunderwolf Mount- 45pts
Saga of the Warrior Born- 35pts
Total-210pts
Canis Wolfborn- 185pts
4 Thunder Wolves- 200pts
4 Thunder Wolves- 200pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Wolf Standard- 10pts
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 215pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Melta Gun- 5pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop- 35pts
Total-215pts
Dreadnought- 105pts
Wolftooth Necklace- 10pts
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-150pts
Dreadnought- 105pts
Plasma Cannon- 10pts
Wolftooth Necklace- 10pts
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-160pts
5 Wolf Scouts- 75pts
List C)
Logan Grimnar-275pts
5 Wolf Guard-440pts total
Terminators -+15pts each
Lightening Claws-20ts
Chain Fist-10pts
Heavy Flamer-5pts
Land Raider Redeemer-250pts
10 Wolf Guard-461pts total
2 Power Weapons-20pts
Power Fist-20pts
2 Storm Bolters-6pts
Caestus Assault Ram-235pts
10 Wolf Guard-225pts total
Power Weapon-15pts
Drop Pod-35pts
10 Wolf Guard-225pts total
Power Weapon-15pts
Drop Pod-35pts
10 Wolf Guard-215pts total
Drop Pod-35pts
List D)
Bjorn-270pts
Plasma Cannon-free
Dreadnought-105pts
Wolf-tooth Necklace-10pts
Wolf-tail Talisman-5pts
Drop Pod-35pts
Total-155pts
Dreadnought-105pts
Wolf-tooth Necklace-10pts
Wolf-tail Talisman-5pts
Drop Pod-35pts
Total-155pts
Lone Wolf-20pts
Frost Blade-25pts
Melta Bombs-5pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Wolf Standard- 10pts
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 215pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Melta Gun- 5pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop- 35pts
Total-215pts
5 Long Fangs-90pts
5 Missile Launchers-25pts
Total-115pts
5 Long Fangs-90pts
5 Missile Launchers-25pts
Total-115pts
5 Long Fangs-90pts
5 Missile Launchers-25pts
Total-115pts
Also, when I get my hands on the new Dark Eldar Codex, I'll make sure to post my impressions and thoughts. Maybe a sample army list of what I think could work.
Enjoy.
Well, lets get to my first 40k post in a while. What's the purpose of this one? Just to put out some army lists for space wolves I thought up a while back. A couple of them are serious, one not so much. M challenge to you all is to see if you can figure out which one is not the non-serious list. Enjoy!
List A)
Wolf Lord-100pts
-Thunderwolf+45pts
-Frost Blade+25pts
-Wolftooth Necklace+10pts
-Wolftail Talisman+5pts
Total-185pts
Canis Wolfborn-185pts
4 Thunder Wolves-200pts
-Power Fist+25pts
Total-225pts
4 Thunder Wolves-200pts
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Plasma Gun+10pts
-Plasma Gun+Free
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-220
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Plasma Gun+10pts
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-220
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Wolf Standard+10pts
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-220
10 Grey Hunters-150pts
-Power Fist+25pts
-Melta Gun+5pts
-Plasma Gun+Free
-Drop Pod+35pts
Total-215
6 Long Fangs-90
-Heavy Bolter+5pts
-Missile Launcher+10pts
-Plasma Cannon+15pts
-2 Lascannons+60pts
Total-180pts
List B)
Wolf Lord- 100pts
Power Weapon- 15pts
Wolftooth Necklace- 10pts
Wolftail Talisman- 5pts
Thunderwolf Mount- 45pts
Saga of the Warrior Born- 35pts
Total-210pts
Canis Wolfborn- 185pts
4 Thunder Wolves- 200pts
4 Thunder Wolves- 200pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Wolf Standard- 10pts
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 215pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Melta Gun- 5pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop- 35pts
Total-215pts
Dreadnought- 105pts
Wolftooth Necklace- 10pts
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-150pts
Dreadnought- 105pts
Plasma Cannon- 10pts
Wolftooth Necklace- 10pts
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-160pts
5 Wolf Scouts- 75pts
List C)
Logan Grimnar-275pts
5 Wolf Guard-440pts total
Terminators -+15pts each
Lightening Claws-20ts
Chain Fist-10pts
Heavy Flamer-5pts
Land Raider Redeemer-250pts
10 Wolf Guard-461pts total
2 Power Weapons-20pts
Power Fist-20pts
2 Storm Bolters-6pts
Caestus Assault Ram-235pts
10 Wolf Guard-225pts total
Power Weapon-15pts
Drop Pod-35pts
10 Wolf Guard-225pts total
Power Weapon-15pts
Drop Pod-35pts
10 Wolf Guard-215pts total
Drop Pod-35pts
List D)
Bjorn-270pts
Plasma Cannon-free
Dreadnought-105pts
Wolf-tooth Necklace-10pts
Wolf-tail Talisman-5pts
Drop Pod-35pts
Total-155pts
Dreadnought-105pts
Wolf-tooth Necklace-10pts
Wolf-tail Talisman-5pts
Drop Pod-35pts
Total-155pts
Lone Wolf-20pts
Frost Blade-25pts
Melta Bombs-5pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Plasma Gun- 10pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop Pod- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 150pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Wolf Standard- 10pts
Rhino- 35pts
Total-220pts
10 Grey Hunters- 215pts
Power Fist- 25pts
Melta Gun- 5pts
Plasma Gun- free
Drop- 35pts
Total-215pts
5 Long Fangs-90pts
5 Missile Launchers-25pts
Total-115pts
5 Long Fangs-90pts
5 Missile Launchers-25pts
Total-115pts
5 Long Fangs-90pts
5 Missile Launchers-25pts
Total-115pts
Also, when I get my hands on the new Dark Eldar Codex, I'll make sure to post my impressions and thoughts. Maybe a sample army list of what I think could work.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Back, and with a review.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm back to blogging. But there's a hitch, I won't be able to blog as much as I used to due to lack of things happening around here and work, so that's some bad news. But hey, I'm back and let's focus on that. And to mark my triumphant return to blogging, I bring you my review of Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Well, let me be up front, I was a little worried about how this was going to be, seeing that Modern Warfare 2 just hit less than a year ago, and well here we are with yet another Call of Duty game. I was/am really afraid that Activision is going to give this venerable franchise the Guitar Hero treatment (My hate for Activision is explained here, http://fireverygood.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-i-hate-activision.html), not to mention that now we had to put up with second place developer Treyarch. But maybe, a part of me thought, maybe this was Treyarch's chance to step out of the shadow of Infinity Ward's shadow and show that they too can make a really great game that doesn't have "Modern Warfare" on it. I think they have.
The game opens in a rather gruesome scene, the protagonist, Alex Mason, it being tortured and interrogated for information he can't remember. To help him remember the interrogators take Mason through his actions in life, starting at the bay of pigs in Cuba, to the American Offenses in Vietnam. In basic terms, you are literally a special forces operative (or dare I say, Black Op?). What interested me was the way Treyarch connected this game to their previous title, World at War, seeing that if you remember the Sergeant from the Russian Campaign then you'll be interested to know that he's your buddy in this title. Let me just say that this game is basically a Micheal Bay movie on Steroids, you are almost constantly fighting intense battles and quite often blowing stuff up. It's a very cinematic game. But one real problem with the story is the pacing, I found that it fluctuates in terms of pacing, something that rather disjointed me from the campaign.
But most people aren't going to play the campaign, because when they think Call of Duty they automatically think multiplayer. The multiplayer and gameplay of Black Ops is the same well known and loved style from any other Call of Duty. The one thing that's new, and is either going to be loved or hated, is that there is now a "money system." where once you relied on getting new and better weapons by leveling up, now you need to save points you gain by playing multiplayer to buy new weapons, perks, and so on. With that there is a new type of match known as a wager match where you can gain a lot of money by doing good, or lose a bunch by doing poorly in a new risk-reward style of game-mode.
The one problem with Multiplayer is a simple one, that it's still the same old Call of Duty style of Multiplayer. Meaning Treyarch did not add or take away anything major, other than the money system. The saying is, "If it ain't broke don't fix it," while this is true, it would have been nice to have at least some innovation to the Multiplayer that would at least have people learn and try to master over time.
Since this is a Treyarch game, there is the triumphant return of the Nazi Zombie Mode. This basically has no context to the game, aside from the fact you unlock more Zombie maps by playing the campaign. Basically you fight rounds and rounds of Zombies to earn money to unlock both new guns and new areas. If you've played the World at War version of Nazi Zombies, you'll know what to expect. An interesting addition to Zombies is that there is a map where you are in the Pentagon taking on the roles of JFK, Nixon, McNara, and Castro fighting these waves of Zombies. Let me tell you, it's really entertaining to play while the voices of these famous individual are going off.
Overall, Black Ops is a really nice surprise from Treyarch. They've proven that they can indeed put out a good Call of Duty game, with the title of "Modern Warfare" being on the box. It does lack in certain areas where some change and innovation would be nice and the stories pacing is slightly disjointed, but it still has to be one of my favorite story lines from the Call of Duty series.
Challenge: 8.5
Graphics:9.0
Atmosphere:8.2
Sound:8.7
Storyline:9.0
Overall:8.6
Well, let me be up front, I was a little worried about how this was going to be, seeing that Modern Warfare 2 just hit less than a year ago, and well here we are with yet another Call of Duty game. I was/am really afraid that Activision is going to give this venerable franchise the Guitar Hero treatment (My hate for Activision is explained here, http://fireverygood.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-i-hate-activision.html), not to mention that now we had to put up with second place developer Treyarch. But maybe, a part of me thought, maybe this was Treyarch's chance to step out of the shadow of Infinity Ward's shadow and show that they too can make a really great game that doesn't have "Modern Warfare" on it. I think they have.
The game opens in a rather gruesome scene, the protagonist, Alex Mason, it being tortured and interrogated for information he can't remember. To help him remember the interrogators take Mason through his actions in life, starting at the bay of pigs in Cuba, to the American Offenses in Vietnam. In basic terms, you are literally a special forces operative (or dare I say, Black Op?). What interested me was the way Treyarch connected this game to their previous title, World at War, seeing that if you remember the Sergeant from the Russian Campaign then you'll be interested to know that he's your buddy in this title. Let me just say that this game is basically a Micheal Bay movie on Steroids, you are almost constantly fighting intense battles and quite often blowing stuff up. It's a very cinematic game. But one real problem with the story is the pacing, I found that it fluctuates in terms of pacing, something that rather disjointed me from the campaign.
But most people aren't going to play the campaign, because when they think Call of Duty they automatically think multiplayer. The multiplayer and gameplay of Black Ops is the same well known and loved style from any other Call of Duty. The one thing that's new, and is either going to be loved or hated, is that there is now a "money system." where once you relied on getting new and better weapons by leveling up, now you need to save points you gain by playing multiplayer to buy new weapons, perks, and so on. With that there is a new type of match known as a wager match where you can gain a lot of money by doing good, or lose a bunch by doing poorly in a new risk-reward style of game-mode.
The one problem with Multiplayer is a simple one, that it's still the same old Call of Duty style of Multiplayer. Meaning Treyarch did not add or take away anything major, other than the money system. The saying is, "If it ain't broke don't fix it," while this is true, it would have been nice to have at least some innovation to the Multiplayer that would at least have people learn and try to master over time.
Since this is a Treyarch game, there is the triumphant return of the Nazi Zombie Mode. This basically has no context to the game, aside from the fact you unlock more Zombie maps by playing the campaign. Basically you fight rounds and rounds of Zombies to earn money to unlock both new guns and new areas. If you've played the World at War version of Nazi Zombies, you'll know what to expect. An interesting addition to Zombies is that there is a map where you are in the Pentagon taking on the roles of JFK, Nixon, McNara, and Castro fighting these waves of Zombies. Let me tell you, it's really entertaining to play while the voices of these famous individual are going off.
Overall, Black Ops is a really nice surprise from Treyarch. They've proven that they can indeed put out a good Call of Duty game, with the title of "Modern Warfare" being on the box. It does lack in certain areas where some change and innovation would be nice and the stories pacing is slightly disjointed, but it still has to be one of my favorite story lines from the Call of Duty series.
Challenge: 8.5
Graphics:9.0
Atmosphere:8.2
Sound:8.7
Storyline:9.0
Overall:8.6
Saturday, October 2, 2010
A break from blogging
Hey guys---
Well, sorry to say ladies and gentlemen, I'm going on a bit of a blogging hiatus.
I'm still going to be broadcasting occationally, but really there's too much going on over here for me to keep blogging.
Sorry guys, I'll try to keep you all posted.
Thanks for understanding.
Well, sorry to say ladies and gentlemen, I'm going on a bit of a blogging hiatus.
I'm still going to be broadcasting occationally, but really there's too much going on over here for me to keep blogging.
Sorry guys, I'll try to keep you all posted.
Thanks for understanding.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Broadcasting future
hey guys---
Well, I think Saturday's broadcast went well. So much so that I think I will be doing more in the near future. When? I'm not entirely sure, but I will let you guys know be assured. Here's the link to the show page, here you can see the show (Duh) and some of my past videos, most you can find on this blog, the most recent is the gamer night show.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/57-s-epic-stream-of-awesome
Now, just to close, here's a video for your enjoyment.
Well, I think Saturday's broadcast went well. So much so that I think I will be doing more in the near future. When? I'm not entirely sure, but I will let you guys know be assured. Here's the link to the show page, here you can see the show (Duh) and some of my past videos, most you can find on this blog, the most recent is the gamer night show.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/57-s-epic-stream-of-awesome
Now, just to close, here's a video for your enjoyment.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Live stream
57 here----
Well, as promised there is going to be a live stream soon. The first will be this Saturday at 8 pm east coast time/5 pm west coast time. You can check the show page here:
It will most likely go to whenever I feel like stopping, so join the chat, and have some fun.
See you guys there.
Cheers.
Well, as promised there is going to be a live stream soon. The first will be this Saturday at 8 pm east coast time/5 pm west coast time. You can check the show page here:
It will most likely go to whenever I feel like stopping, so join the chat, and have some fun.
See you guys there.
Cheers.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The awesome is coming back, and then some!
57 here---
Oh, yeah. Over today and yesterday I got two important packages in the mail. "What were these?" you ask. Simple, my 360 and my games. Oh, yeah.
What does this mean? Simple, I am going back to playing games, which means I can now purchase games, and review them. The awesome is coming back. Yes indeed.
But you know what I can do now? Broadcast. Broadcast on the internet of people and myself playing games, fun times ensue.
The first broadcast is going to be this Saturday, I'll post a link (Or maybe the actual broadcast) on here when we begin.
Cheers,
57
Oh, yeah. Over today and yesterday I got two important packages in the mail. "What were these?" you ask. Simple, my 360 and my games. Oh, yeah.
What does this mean? Simple, I am going back to playing games, which means I can now purchase games, and review them. The awesome is coming back. Yes indeed.
But you know what I can do now? Broadcast. Broadcast on the internet of people and myself playing games, fun times ensue.
The first broadcast is going to be this Saturday, I'll post a link (Or maybe the actual broadcast) on here when we begin.
Cheers,
57
Monday, September 13, 2010
Stuff I miss doing
57 here---
Wow, I haven't been in Ohio for more than a month, but I've been without a few things I used to do so much back in California. I guess the saying is true, we don't appreciate things until we don't have them anymore. I guess what I'm writing here is like one of those "I hate...." videos (That have become so popular lately), but I'm not saying what I hate (that'll come later) I'm saying what I miss back in CA.
Good Asian Food.
Being on the west coast, Asia was right there across the pacific, so many Asian immigrants came to CA, bringing with them some really good food. Growing up across the bay from San Francisco, I grew up eating good Asian food. Then I go to the midwest. I've had some Sushi out here, but it really, really isn't good; there's also a Chinese restaurant here, but I'm scared to try it. Having a bit of a higher standard for Asian food, there's: A) not many places to get Asian food. B) the food that is here isn't really good.
Gaming.
Without my 360 here, well, I can't really participate in much console gaming. I have Star Craft 2 on my laptop, but it generally doesn't hold my interest for more than an hour, so it doesn't do me that much good. Not to mention that there are a few good games coming out soon that I rather want and a few that have come out already that would be pointless to buy without my 360. I used to just easily go up to my town's main street, go into game stop, pick up what I want and leave. That simple.
A Good game of 40k
I can easily say that I really love 40k. I enjoyed the game, the people I played with, the modeling, painting and conversions. I haven't played or painted or done anything like that for almost a month. I really miss it. I miss playing my wolves, assaults, shooting, battle missions, all of it. I still follow what GW is doing, by the way: DARK ELDAR CONFIRMED!!!! I HAVE SEEN AND I BELIEVE!!!! But anyway, I still follow what's going on, but I still really, really want to play. This was and is my hobby, and I can't do it anymore right now, which really bothers me. Maybe soon I could get a game in, but we will see what we see. We will see.
Wow, I haven't been in Ohio for more than a month, but I've been without a few things I used to do so much back in California. I guess the saying is true, we don't appreciate things until we don't have them anymore. I guess what I'm writing here is like one of those "I hate...." videos (That have become so popular lately), but I'm not saying what I hate (that'll come later) I'm saying what I miss back in CA.
Good Asian Food.
Being on the west coast, Asia was right there across the pacific, so many Asian immigrants came to CA, bringing with them some really good food. Growing up across the bay from San Francisco, I grew up eating good Asian food. Then I go to the midwest. I've had some Sushi out here, but it really, really isn't good; there's also a Chinese restaurant here, but I'm scared to try it. Having a bit of a higher standard for Asian food, there's: A) not many places to get Asian food. B) the food that is here isn't really good.
Gaming.
Without my 360 here, well, I can't really participate in much console gaming. I have Star Craft 2 on my laptop, but it generally doesn't hold my interest for more than an hour, so it doesn't do me that much good. Not to mention that there are a few good games coming out soon that I rather want and a few that have come out already that would be pointless to buy without my 360. I used to just easily go up to my town's main street, go into game stop, pick up what I want and leave. That simple.
A Good game of 40k
I can easily say that I really love 40k. I enjoyed the game, the people I played with, the modeling, painting and conversions. I haven't played or painted or done anything like that for almost a month. I really miss it. I miss playing my wolves, assaults, shooting, battle missions, all of it. I still follow what GW is doing, by the way: DARK ELDAR CONFIRMED!!!! I HAVE SEEN AND I BELIEVE!!!! But anyway, I still follow what's going on, but I still really, really want to play. This was and is my hobby, and I can't do it anymore right now, which really bothers me. Maybe soon I could get a game in, but we will see what we see. We will see.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Hype, 40k, games and rememberance
57 here---
Sorry for the lack of content for the past week, again. Really, once more a lot has gone on, and I haven't found time to write stuff. There's also really nothing to talk about. I don't have my 360 yet so I can't talk about games so much because I can't play any. There's not much 40k stuff coming down the wire. And I'm not so sure about the games coming out. So I'm going to try and find something from each to talk about.
But, first things first, today, the day I'm writing this, is 9/11. Nine years ago was the most horrible attack on U.S. soil since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Every 9/11 I usually set aside a moment of time to remember those who gave and lost their lives that day nine years ago. I encourage all of you to do the same, just remember those people, all of them.
That aside, let's get to business.
Games. Games, games, games. What's coming out this month? Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions has already hit, Halo: Reach hits Tuesday, Dead Rising 2 and GH: Warriors of Rock hit the 28th. I've heard good things about Shattered Dimensions, I might pick it up, if it wasn't published by fucking Activision. And as you all know, I absolutely fucking hate Activision and will not support them, I would support GameStop before I would support Activision. I've already made my opinions known about Halo: Reach, so I won't discuss it. GH: Warriors of Rock, I won't by for the same reasons as SD. Dead Rising 2. Yes, yes, yes. Y. E. S. Yes. I once said I might pick it up day one, but I'll pick it up the same week and play the hell out of it. Zombies must die, and I must kill them! Needless to say I want this game, and are looking forward to it.
40K
An interesting rumor came down the wire recently, one involving the Tau. What's this rumor, you ask? Simple, new codex. Now, I know what you're thinking, "57, you marvellous human being, why would the Tau get a codex before Dark Eldar or Necrons?" Well, calm down, calm down, you rumor states that the Tau might get a codex sometime in August 2011, so there's a chance either DE or Necrons will get a codex before Tau. We'll see what happens.
Well, that's all for now, check back for more.
Also, when I get my 360, I'm thinking of doing a live stream on Ustream, so stay tuned.
Sorry for the lack of content for the past week, again. Really, once more a lot has gone on, and I haven't found time to write stuff. There's also really nothing to talk about. I don't have my 360 yet so I can't talk about games so much because I can't play any. There's not much 40k stuff coming down the wire. And I'm not so sure about the games coming out. So I'm going to try and find something from each to talk about.
But, first things first, today, the day I'm writing this, is 9/11. Nine years ago was the most horrible attack on U.S. soil since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Every 9/11 I usually set aside a moment of time to remember those who gave and lost their lives that day nine years ago. I encourage all of you to do the same, just remember those people, all of them.
That aside, let's get to business.
Games. Games, games, games. What's coming out this month? Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions has already hit, Halo: Reach hits Tuesday, Dead Rising 2 and GH: Warriors of Rock hit the 28th. I've heard good things about Shattered Dimensions, I might pick it up, if it wasn't published by fucking Activision. And as you all know, I absolutely fucking hate Activision and will not support them, I would support GameStop before I would support Activision. I've already made my opinions known about Halo: Reach, so I won't discuss it. GH: Warriors of Rock, I won't by for the same reasons as SD. Dead Rising 2. Yes, yes, yes. Y. E. S. Yes. I once said I might pick it up day one, but I'll pick it up the same week and play the hell out of it. Zombies must die, and I must kill them! Needless to say I want this game, and are looking forward to it.
40K
An interesting rumor came down the wire recently, one involving the Tau. What's this rumor, you ask? Simple, new codex. Now, I know what you're thinking, "57, you marvellous human being, why would the Tau get a codex before Dark Eldar or Necrons?" Well, calm down, calm down, you rumor states that the Tau might get a codex sometime in August 2011, so there's a chance either DE or Necrons will get a codex before Tau. We'll see what happens.
Well, that's all for now, check back for more.
Also, when I get my 360, I'm thinking of doing a live stream on Ustream, so stay tuned.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Which Chapter is the greatest of them all?
57 here----
Now, I know this blog is mainly for gaming stuff (Army lists, tactics, codices, etc.) but today let's talk a little about the fluff of 40k. Not just any fluff, Space Marine fluff. Not just any Space Marine fluff, but which chapter is ultimately head and shoulders above the rest. Let's talk about the well known chapters, the one's known throughout the Imperium and have arguably the longest histories: The Ultramarines, The Blood Angels, the Space Wolves, and the Dark Angels.
The Ultramarines.
This chapter has a long and quite honestly a very glorious history among the Imperium. During the siege of the imperial palace on earth, the Ultramarines Legion was in the galactic south combating the Word Bearers. As a result of this the Ultramarines Legion, which was by far the largest of all legions, remained relatively unscathed. After the Legion overall military command of the Imperium fell to Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines to hold the Imperium together while their allies rearmed and resupplied. Holding the largest Legion and with a constant influx of recruits the Ultramarines, did just that, but even then were stretched thin.
Finally, years after the events of the Hour Heresy, Guilliman laid down the future organization of the Legions, breaking them down into 1000 man chapters, to ensure no one man held that power again. In short, Guilliman wrote the codex Astartes, a tome which is still in effect today in the Imperium. In more recent times the Ultramarines have taken to many glorious conflicts, the most notable being the destruction of the recently defeated Hive Fleet Behemoth. "If any force in the Imperium can defeat the Tyranid threat, it is the Space Marines. If any Space Marines can defeat the Tyranids, it is the Ultramarines." And so they did, but at a great cost to their Chapter and home world. The Chapter also is unique among the Space Marines, in that their Gene seed is Pure, and has never seen any mutations, and no Ultramarine has fallen to chaos.
The Blood Angels.
Like the Ultramarines, the Blood Angels have always been at the fore front of the defense of the Imperium. Their Primarch, Sanguinius, for my perspective has been made out to be the epitome of a noble warrior, making the final sacrifice of the Horus Heresy, giving his life so the Emperor could triumph over Horus. Because of this, the Blood Angels suffer from a flaw in their gene seed, that makes them relive Sanguinius's duel with Horus, turning them into mindless killers, with no thought of safety of hope.
It was the Blood Angels, along with the Imperial Fists and White Scars that were on Terra when the Traitor Legions struck. It was Sanguinius Along who held the Eternity gate, the gateway to the emperors thorne, when no other could, breaking the back of ten blood thirsters, and countless other daemons.
Rather than protect one area of space, like the Ultramarines, the Blood Angels fight across the Imperium, protecting innocents where ever they be. Because of their gene curse, the Blood Angels are the most humble of all the chapters. In battle they seek utmost perfection, striking hard and fast against their foes.
Their most notable campaign in recent years would be the second war for Armageddon, where the Blood Angels, Ultramarines and Salamanders fought along side the Armageddon Steel Legion to repulse the WAAGH! Ghazghkull. In this battle, Marenus Calgar, Master of the Ultramarines and Tu'Shan, Master of the Salamanders ceded all command over to the Master of the Blood Angels, Commander Dante. While the Ultramarines focused on fortifying the Hive cities defenses, and the Salamanders focused on protecting civilian and supply convoys, the Blood Angels focused on breaking the back of the orks, finally culminating in the chapter dropping into the midst of the ork force and causing thousands of casualties, breaking the orks.
The Space Wolves
The most savage and material fighters of the Space Marines, the Space wolves come from the death world of Fenris, bringing with them a fierce sense of pride, brotherhood, honor and material prowess. Even before the Codex Astartes was implemented the Space Wolves were fiercely independent and savage. Even in the 41st millennium, the Space Wolves stay true to the teachings of their own Primarch, Leman Russ, and refuse the Codex as much as they refuse any outside interference in running their Chapter. Where all other Chapters, there are to be 1000 marines, as laid down by the Codex Astartes, seeing that the Space Wolves ignore the Codex, rough estimates say there are about 2500 Space Wolves.
Leman Russ, like his own Legion was a warrior of fierce pride and great material prowess. During the crusade, the Wolves conquered world after world, much like their brother legions, crushing an and all resistance. One such world would leave to one of the greatest, oldest and well known rivalries in the Imperium, the rivalry of the Space Wolves and Dark Angels. During the conquest of one world, Russ swore to slay its leader after he was called the "Emperor's lapdog." Russ flew into a rage when Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels Legion who were also fighting on this world, slew the leader in front of Russ. Enraged, Russ struck The Lion and the two fought for a day and a half, finally ending when The Lion knocked Russ unconscious after Russ saw the foolishness in the duel and began to laugh. To this day the two Chapters still re-enact that very same duel, and still have troubled relations.
In the 41t millennium the space wolves have taken part in one legendary conflicts: The first war for Armageddon. When a World Eaters space hulk crashes into the Hive world Armageddon, thousands of berzerker's and millions of daemons, the Steel Legion of Armageddon falters. Fortunately their call for help is answered in force by the Space Wolves, better still they are led by the Great Wolf(Chapter Master) Logan Grimnar, who re-invigorates the demoralized Steel Legion. Upon hearing of the magnitude of the Chaos invasion, Logan makes a request to the chamber militant of the Ordo Malleus, who answered in the form of 100 Grey Knight terminators teleporting into the heart of the chaos force and battling with the leader, The daemon Primarch of the World Eaters, Angron, and his retinue of ten Blood Thristers. Angron and his retinue are eventually banished back to the warp, only a handful of Grey Knights emerge from the battle, giving only a warriors hand shake to Logan before departing for another battlefield. The rest of the chaos forces were easy pickings for the Space Wolves.
the Dark Angels
Once the Dark Angels were proud and noble warriors, fighting with distinction during the Great Crusade, with their Primarch Lion El'Jonson at their head. But during the Horus Heresy, half the Dark Angels Legion, stationed on the Dark Angels homeworld to train the next generation of recruits, feeling abandoned by their Primarch turned to Chaos. As soon as the Dark Angels fleet came into orbit around their home world, the traitorous Legion fired upon them. The Lion lead his half of the Legion and attacked their fortress monastery, the tower of angels, battling his second in command, whom he had left in charge of training the next generation. Though The Lion was ultimately victorious, he and his second in command were badly wounded. The Chaos gods, knowing they failed again, sent a warp storm to destroy the planet. When the warp storm abated, only the tower of angels was left, protected by powerful void shields. Within the tower the Dark Angel found the second in command, mumbling about The Lion's return. Of the Lion, there was no sign.
The warp storm also caused those who had turned to chaos to be scattered through space and time, causing them to appear randomly around the Imperium. The Dark Angels are constantly on the look out for these "Fallen Angels" for they believe that through making every single fallen repent they can find redemption and that The Lion would return to lead them once more.
The Dark Angels also took part in stopping the 13th Black Crusade, the chapter masters of both the Dark Angels and Space Wolves putting aside their difference so that the Imperium could stand victorius.
There you go, from here make your decision: Which Chapter is the greatest of them all?
Now, I know this blog is mainly for gaming stuff (Army lists, tactics, codices, etc.) but today let's talk a little about the fluff of 40k. Not just any fluff, Space Marine fluff. Not just any Space Marine fluff, but which chapter is ultimately head and shoulders above the rest. Let's talk about the well known chapters, the one's known throughout the Imperium and have arguably the longest histories: The Ultramarines, The Blood Angels, the Space Wolves, and the Dark Angels.
The Ultramarines.
This chapter has a long and quite honestly a very glorious history among the Imperium. During the siege of the imperial palace on earth, the Ultramarines Legion was in the galactic south combating the Word Bearers. As a result of this the Ultramarines Legion, which was by far the largest of all legions, remained relatively unscathed. After the Legion overall military command of the Imperium fell to Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines to hold the Imperium together while their allies rearmed and resupplied. Holding the largest Legion and with a constant influx of recruits the Ultramarines, did just that, but even then were stretched thin.
Finally, years after the events of the Hour Heresy, Guilliman laid down the future organization of the Legions, breaking them down into 1000 man chapters, to ensure no one man held that power again. In short, Guilliman wrote the codex Astartes, a tome which is still in effect today in the Imperium. In more recent times the Ultramarines have taken to many glorious conflicts, the most notable being the destruction of the recently defeated Hive Fleet Behemoth. "If any force in the Imperium can defeat the Tyranid threat, it is the Space Marines. If any Space Marines can defeat the Tyranids, it is the Ultramarines." And so they did, but at a great cost to their Chapter and home world. The Chapter also is unique among the Space Marines, in that their Gene seed is Pure, and has never seen any mutations, and no Ultramarine has fallen to chaos.
The Blood Angels.
Like the Ultramarines, the Blood Angels have always been at the fore front of the defense of the Imperium. Their Primarch, Sanguinius, for my perspective has been made out to be the epitome of a noble warrior, making the final sacrifice of the Horus Heresy, giving his life so the Emperor could triumph over Horus. Because of this, the Blood Angels suffer from a flaw in their gene seed, that makes them relive Sanguinius's duel with Horus, turning them into mindless killers, with no thought of safety of hope.
It was the Blood Angels, along with the Imperial Fists and White Scars that were on Terra when the Traitor Legions struck. It was Sanguinius Along who held the Eternity gate, the gateway to the emperors thorne, when no other could, breaking the back of ten blood thirsters, and countless other daemons.
Rather than protect one area of space, like the Ultramarines, the Blood Angels fight across the Imperium, protecting innocents where ever they be. Because of their gene curse, the Blood Angels are the most humble of all the chapters. In battle they seek utmost perfection, striking hard and fast against their foes.
Their most notable campaign in recent years would be the second war for Armageddon, where the Blood Angels, Ultramarines and Salamanders fought along side the Armageddon Steel Legion to repulse the WAAGH! Ghazghkull. In this battle, Marenus Calgar, Master of the Ultramarines and Tu'Shan, Master of the Salamanders ceded all command over to the Master of the Blood Angels, Commander Dante. While the Ultramarines focused on fortifying the Hive cities defenses, and the Salamanders focused on protecting civilian and supply convoys, the Blood Angels focused on breaking the back of the orks, finally culminating in the chapter dropping into the midst of the ork force and causing thousands of casualties, breaking the orks.
The Space Wolves
The most savage and material fighters of the Space Marines, the Space wolves come from the death world of Fenris, bringing with them a fierce sense of pride, brotherhood, honor and material prowess. Even before the Codex Astartes was implemented the Space Wolves were fiercely independent and savage. Even in the 41st millennium, the Space Wolves stay true to the teachings of their own Primarch, Leman Russ, and refuse the Codex as much as they refuse any outside interference in running their Chapter. Where all other Chapters, there are to be 1000 marines, as laid down by the Codex Astartes, seeing that the Space Wolves ignore the Codex, rough estimates say there are about 2500 Space Wolves.
Leman Russ, like his own Legion was a warrior of fierce pride and great material prowess. During the crusade, the Wolves conquered world after world, much like their brother legions, crushing an and all resistance. One such world would leave to one of the greatest, oldest and well known rivalries in the Imperium, the rivalry of the Space Wolves and Dark Angels. During the conquest of one world, Russ swore to slay its leader after he was called the "Emperor's lapdog." Russ flew into a rage when Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels Legion who were also fighting on this world, slew the leader in front of Russ. Enraged, Russ struck The Lion and the two fought for a day and a half, finally ending when The Lion knocked Russ unconscious after Russ saw the foolishness in the duel and began to laugh. To this day the two Chapters still re-enact that very same duel, and still have troubled relations.
In the 41t millennium the space wolves have taken part in one legendary conflicts: The first war for Armageddon. When a World Eaters space hulk crashes into the Hive world Armageddon, thousands of berzerker's and millions of daemons, the Steel Legion of Armageddon falters. Fortunately their call for help is answered in force by the Space Wolves, better still they are led by the Great Wolf(Chapter Master) Logan Grimnar, who re-invigorates the demoralized Steel Legion. Upon hearing of the magnitude of the Chaos invasion, Logan makes a request to the chamber militant of the Ordo Malleus, who answered in the form of 100 Grey Knight terminators teleporting into the heart of the chaos force and battling with the leader, The daemon Primarch of the World Eaters, Angron, and his retinue of ten Blood Thristers. Angron and his retinue are eventually banished back to the warp, only a handful of Grey Knights emerge from the battle, giving only a warriors hand shake to Logan before departing for another battlefield. The rest of the chaos forces were easy pickings for the Space Wolves.
the Dark Angels
Once the Dark Angels were proud and noble warriors, fighting with distinction during the Great Crusade, with their Primarch Lion El'Jonson at their head. But during the Horus Heresy, half the Dark Angels Legion, stationed on the Dark Angels homeworld to train the next generation of recruits, feeling abandoned by their Primarch turned to Chaos. As soon as the Dark Angels fleet came into orbit around their home world, the traitorous Legion fired upon them. The Lion lead his half of the Legion and attacked their fortress monastery, the tower of angels, battling his second in command, whom he had left in charge of training the next generation. Though The Lion was ultimately victorious, he and his second in command were badly wounded. The Chaos gods, knowing they failed again, sent a warp storm to destroy the planet. When the warp storm abated, only the tower of angels was left, protected by powerful void shields. Within the tower the Dark Angel found the second in command, mumbling about The Lion's return. Of the Lion, there was no sign.
The warp storm also caused those who had turned to chaos to be scattered through space and time, causing them to appear randomly around the Imperium. The Dark Angels are constantly on the look out for these "Fallen Angels" for they believe that through making every single fallen repent they can find redemption and that The Lion would return to lead them once more.
The Dark Angels also took part in stopping the 13th Black Crusade, the chapter masters of both the Dark Angels and Space Wolves putting aside their difference so that the Imperium could stand victorius.
There you go, from here make your decision: Which Chapter is the greatest of them all?
Friday, September 3, 2010
Writing apparantly
57 here----What the hell? I'm writing again? More often than not? Already up to a good length for a chapter? Good story idea?
What the fuck?
Well, since I'm at college now, and I from time to time have some free time, I suppose it's a good thing that I'm writing. I mean, I have a bunch of good story ideas. I have a computer that works well for typing. I mean, why not?
If you know me, for the past few years I've been sort of a on-again off-again writer of sorts. What I mean by this is actually quite simple. I sit down with a good idea for a story. I start writing. Now, either two things happen. First, I realize that what I'm writing is a load of shit, delete it all, and go do something else. Second, I get through a large chunk of a chapter, or so, sign off for the night and then never start it again. It happens more often than you think.
Recently, I took to writing short stories. They were quick, easy, and kind of fun (Since I wrote a story about a guy going insane, woot). Not to mention I was taking a writing short stories class, but that's a different topic. It's also unfortunate that those stories are on another computer so I can't read them or download them or anything. Damn.
Well, in the end it's a good thing I suppose. I'll keep all of you updated from time to time on how it's going.
AHA! I found this:
http://mrbye.com/stories/Bye--Jan%202010%20Stories/Koerner,%20Maxx--story.htm
later.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
You know what's awesome? EXTRA LIFE!
57 here----
The title say it all, Extra Life is an amount of pure epic awesome that few people can hope to match, and fewer still can surpass.
Look, I know I've been telling you all about Extra Life extensively over the pas few weeks or so, but really it's rather important and amazingly good and awesome. Speaking as someone who knows people who have lost loved one to cancer and having a few friends who have died to cancer myself it's really important to me. I've said it once before, reading about these kids going through what just a difficult and terrible fight it brings tears to my eyes because it's just horrible. I would never wish it anyone, even people I hate I would never wish it on, because no one deserves that I believe.
Here's the link to it again:
https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/default.aspx
I'm also considering doing a live broadcast of my game-playing on Ustream on October 16th, probably from 7am-whenever, who knows what'll happen, I don't.
Join Extra Life, please. That's all I'm asking.
Thank you.
The title say it all, Extra Life is an amount of pure epic awesome that few people can hope to match, and fewer still can surpass.
Look, I know I've been telling you all about Extra Life extensively over the pas few weeks or so, but really it's rather important and amazingly good and awesome. Speaking as someone who knows people who have lost loved one to cancer and having a few friends who have died to cancer myself it's really important to me. I've said it once before, reading about these kids going through what just a difficult and terrible fight it brings tears to my eyes because it's just horrible. I would never wish it anyone, even people I hate I would never wish it on, because no one deserves that I believe.
Here's the link to it again:
https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/default.aspx
I'm also considering doing a live broadcast of my game-playing on Ustream on October 16th, probably from 7am-whenever, who knows what'll happen, I don't.
Join Extra Life, please. That's all I'm asking.
Thank you.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
IGN, games, Extra Life, and house keeping
Here's the link to Extra Life and stuff,
https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/m.aspx?i=18371E9314DB588CD
https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/default.aspx
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
No update for a while
Hey guys,
Sorry for the lack of content for the past week or so. You see I'm moving into my college dorm at Ohio Wesleyan, so I've been rather busy, and will most likely stay busy for a while, at least during this week. I should have some new content up next week though, so stay tuned.
Thanks for understanding.
57
Sorry for the lack of content for the past week or so. You see I'm moving into my college dorm at Ohio Wesleyan, so I've been rather busy, and will most likely stay busy for a while, at least during this week. I should have some new content up next week though, so stay tuned.
Thanks for understanding.
57
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Space Marines, which one is right for you?
57 here---I know this is going to be a little old by now, but you know what? I'm still going to talk about the three different Marine Codices, their strengths, weaknesses, fluff and what not. Why? because I have been thinking on a lot on the subject lately and I think that this can help people at least make a choice as to what marine they want to play, because to state the obvious they all have their own different style and play methods. So, without further delay, let's start with the classic Marines.
Regular Marines(AKA Ultramarines)
It's really hard today to walk into a GW store and not see just a lot of regular marine boxes on the shelves, because the Marines(AKA Ultramarines) are the favorites of GW. Let's be honest, when the new marine codex hit, we found it to be pretty good. Why? Because it was the first codex for fifth ed, and as said before the favorite of GW, it was made to be really good in fifth ed, and it is.
Strengths.
Let's start with some obvious stuff, the Marines can be good at almost any style of play. You want a fast biker/rhino army? You can do that. You want an anti-armor/heavy infantry army? You can do that. Or just an all around specialized army, again you can do that. Tactically Marines are very flexible, since you can give them two special weapons, either a special weapon(a Flamer, Melta, or Plasma Gun) or a heavy weapon(a Heavy Bolter, Missile Launcher, Multi-Melta, or Lascannon). Since a ten man Squad can break into two five man squads, each squad can get either of those weapons, and/or the squad Sargent.
All squads have something called "Chapter Tactics" where at any time any squad who is called upon a morale check can choose to pass or fail, and with "And They Shall Know No Fear"(which means they automatically pass regroup tests regardless or normal restrictions) means they are generally pretty good at staying alive in combat.
Marines also have a wide variety of special characters, each does something different to the entire army, depending on the character. Vulkan He'Stan makes Flamers, Meltas and Thunder Hammers better. Pedro Kantor makes the entire army stubborn and makes Sternguard scoring units for the purposes of objective games. So on and so forth.
Weaknesses.
Good at everything means obvious weaknesses. A shooty army will be torn up in assault, easy pray for close combat armies. Close Combat Armies will be shot to death by shooter armies, such as Guard. Just because you can do anything doesn't mean you are good at everything.
Pricy. In fifth ed, boots on the ground means more better army. Space Marines and the characters that do good stuff for the army aren't cheap, so it's more than likely that you'll only get about 50 models on the ground, and chances are that unless those are used correctly that won't win any matches.
Overall.
Good Army list for beginners and a good army for experienced players. The most crucial part about marines in balancing point cost and what the army does.
Space Wolves.
The army which I and my friends have dubbed "Space Vikings." Space wolves don't follow the same tactics and organization as the regular Marines, but are no less successful on the tabletop and battle field. Space wolves are more of a close quarters army, but are flexible army none-the-less.
Strengths.
Close combat. Wolves are made and designed for close quarters combat. Sure they have regular marines that are similar to the regular codex, but they have equipment to make them ok at shooting but better at assaults. Almost all infantry units, save for one, are geared for close combat. And considering they have "Counter Attack" and "And They Shall Know No Fear" in assaults they are generally able to survive longer.
The amount of close combat units available to the wolves is impressive, from regular Grey Hunters to Blood Claws, from Thunderwolf Cavalry to Wolf Guard. The thing that makes Wolves good at being shot at and assaulted is that they can take either or. They are an army that can lose a flank and win. And a lot of the time they can be dirt cheap, a ten man squad of grey hunters cannot take a heavy weapon, but can take two special weapons, you pay for the first one and take the second one free.
As for special characters and HQ choices, the Space Wolves have the "Hero Hammer" method, since they can take up to four HQs. Two can stuff for the army, while the others are pretty beastly in combat. As usual, all characters of Space Wolves are made for close combat.
Weaknesses.
Space Wolves are for the more experienced players. Putting the right unit where and using it correctly, if not done so, that unit or the army not used correctly will easily fall apart. The wolves can be used by a new player but not to the extent of a more experienced player. It's also widely known that Wolves are a close combat army, so unless they have transports they will get shot to death.
Another problem comes with the "Hero Hammer" method, it's a few good models in return for fewer troops. As said before, boots on the ground count for more than a few good ones. It doesn't matter how good a few models can be, level enough low AP, high strength weapons at them and they will go down easy. Another problem is again cost. These few models are good, yeah, but are generally expensive.
Overall.
Space Wolves are good for a more experienced player who knows who to give what, and who to assault what.
Blood Angels.
The newest Marine codex on the block, Blood Angels are really the doomed heroes of the Space Marines, seeing they carry a curse with them that makes them both insane yet really hard to kill. As I once put it to another player, "The Space wolves are like an axe of sorts, brutal and powerful. The Blood Angels are like a rapier, fast and precise." As lame as that sounds, it's actually kind of true.
Strengths.
Blood Angels are truly elite. They're fast and precise in close combat, and have the chance to be better at it. Blood Angels are fast, assault marines are troops, and their rhinos and razorbacks are fast tanks. Blood Angels also have a nice choice of elites, ranging from librarian Dreadnoughts to priests that give "Feel No Pain" and "Fearless." Easily enough said the Blood angels elite choices are meant to be taken, because they form the backbone of most army lists for Blood Angels, because that's what makes them unique.
Weaknesses.
Once more it comes to cost. Since most Blood Angels players will be tempted to take as many as Elites as possible. But these Elites will cost a lot, so the army will have few boots, going back to that once again. Sure your army will be really good at what it does, but it will roughly be about 25 to thirty models at 1850.
Another problem is using Blood Angels. Like Eldar, you have to know how to use Blood Angels where to put them and so on. I said that Space Wolves could lose a flank and still probably win. If the Blood Angels lose and flank, then the entire army will fall apart. Blood Angels are an army that needs to get the upperhand and keep it.
Overall.
Blood Angels need really to be put into the hands of one who knows how to use them to have them be really good.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
5 Reasons to not buy Halo: Reach
57 here---Let's now discuss the "Most anticipated game of the year," Halo: Reach. Frankly, by now people, I would hope, would be done with Halo, everything about it by now would be old, repetitive and stupid. But, no, Bungie has decided to try and breathe live once again into a pretty old and almost dead thing with Halo: Reach. I have to assume that the cocaine bucket was getting pretty low. I'm not going to buy this, and I know I said that for Star Craft 2, but this time I mean it. Let me give you 5 simple reasons why I will not pick up Halo: Reach, ever.
5. I know how it ends. How? Simple, I read the fucking book, The Fall of Reach. In there it tells you everything on how Reach fell, except one thing: Why the fuck is Reach so important? It's a very important battle, and they need to send in almost every single Spartan! That's great. Why? SPOILER, but this is going to end With Master Chief on the Pillar of Autumn in cyro, when they make a lightspeed (Or whatever it's called) jump that makes them find Halo 1, and the rest of the Spartans are stuck on Reach getting their asses handed to them.
4. Stupid. Fucking. Story. Since I have read the story of Reach, I can say that it is one of the most pointless and stupid stories I have ever. Now let me just say this, certain aspects of the Halo universe is quite fun, that's obvious. But this is just stupid, it explains nothing and expands nothing. Oh, but wait! There are now whole teams Spartans! Seriously? That's your selling point for this game? More Spartans? That means nothing to me. It's almost just like saying, "oh look this cheese here? It has more cheese!"
3. Old, out of date multiplayer gameplay. One of the things I like about a gaming series with a multiplayer is progression. We saw that in modern warfare 1&2, and bad company 1&2, the multiplayer expanded and improved. Halo has only ever the 1990's multiplayer style of everyone rushing to the missile launcher. That was great in the 90's, but now everyone has moved on to the newer, better style of gameplay. Not to grenade spaming, because since everyone has shields you need to throw grenade after grenade after grenade, and it just get's fucking tiring.
2. The re-emergence of Halo-Jesus fanboys. Now, once again we will have to deal with the 10-25 year old douche-bag that will not play anything but Halo, think it's the greatest thing ever and think James Cameron copied Halo for Avatar. There's one thing I absolutely hate about online, the 13 year old, high pitch little douche-bag whose balls haven't dropped yet that think they're the shit and stop screaming their asses off in a vain attempt to have the vibrations of their voice have their balls drop. The thing is a lot of them will probably not like Reach as much as the past Halos, but won't admit it because they think the Gods of Bungie will come and beat them up in front of their parent whose basement they've been living in for the past 14 years.
1. No Sargent fucking Johnson. Now, we can all admit that every series has it's share of badasses. For Halo, it was Sargent Johnson. I can easily say that Johnson was one of the biggest badasses I've ever seen. Why is this? Because he was modeled off one of the biggest badasses ever, the gunny. So, Bungie, what are you going to do to one of the most indestructible characters ever? Kill him off? Oh that's a great fucking idea! So you know what Bungie? Fuck your story! Fuck your game! And fuck you for taking out Sargent Johnson!
Editors note: I'm fully expecting to get a shit-ton of hate mail from Halo fanboys for publishing this. So, you know what fanboys? Bring the hate mail, I will fully enjoy reading barely put together emails (because I know none of you learned to write) and sending my better arguments back to you to prove you're idiots.
Have a nice day.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Hell, it's about time for review time.
*sigh* Ok, I really wasn't expecting to do this, to be blunt. When the first trailer of this hit about four years ago, I was pretty damn excited. Four years later when it was finally released, all the hype I once had had up and vanished. You see, if a trailer had hit, and then the game had come out maybe next year or so, I would have been fine with that, because that happens all the time, but four years is a long time to wait. So, when the game did hit about a few weeks ago, I just sat back and waited for IGN, Gamespot, Game Informer, and Koutaku to give it the tens it may or may have deserved. But, there was a nagging voice in the back of my head, the part of me that played the hell of the predecessor to this, that urged me time and time again to buy this game. Finally after a couple weeks, I gave in, I swallowed my hatred for the publisher, bought it and popped it in my laptop. True to the developers fashion, it took six hours to install, didn't even get to play it till the next day. But after all that, I have played the game, and finally I can give you my review for Star Craft 2.
Now, disclaimer: I know this game look really good. I know it's almost jaw dropping for the major cinematic cut scenes, and even the regular gameplay. The disclaimer is I can't really talk about it because if I set my laptop to the amazing settings, I would probably have a nuclear meltdown on my hands. My advise is this, there's plenty of videos on the web showcasing the graphics of Star Craft 2, since I can't talk about them, go watch one of those vids, and decide for yourself.
The story picks up four years after the events of the first Star Craft and Brood wars (By my math, one Star Craft year is about 3 of our years, if I'm wrong someone tell me). Both the Zerg and the Protoss have been quiet for all four years, with the occasional pocket of Zerg infestation being discovered every now and then. Jim Raynor has started his own rebel force against his former commander's, Mengsk, new empire known as the dominion. The Dominion has labeled Raynor as an outlaw, and constantly berating the public with propaganda that Raynor is a terrorist. This, of course, has been making Raynor's rebellion quite difficult for the past four years.
The Campaign picks up when Raynor is starting to really push hard to get the Dominion off the world he's on. After that mission a figure from Raynor's past shows up and offers a job to Raynor, attack a Dominion Base, steal some ancient artifact, sell it, and be on their way. Sounds simple, but then again it always SOUNDS simple. Sure enough, after the artifact is prepared for evac, the Zerg show up, everything goes to hell, and it goes from there. Now the campaign has the aspect of choices and consequences, not in terms of the world, but in terms of your units.
Now, the gameplay is really the same as Star Craft. For this sequel, Blizzard decided to play it safe, and well, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." There's nothing wrong with Star Craft's gamplay, it's familiar and it' fun, but a little innovation would have been nice on the battle field. The real innovation comes with upgrading your units. There are permanent upgrades you can purchase at the armory on your ship, these will last throughout the campaign, and are pretty useful. These aren't free, however, but you do get money from the missions you complete, the bulk coming from the main objective, and others coming from side objectives.
Now, the campaign has the choices and consequences aspect, but this, as mentioned above, affects your units. During a mission, you could get a message from someone asking for help in return for some tech that will help you. You could choose to help and get that tech, or leave him be. The result is that you will have that tech for the entire campaign, or never get the chance to get it again. Another way it might happen is you could get two separate messages from warring factions, one will offer you this piece of tech to wipe out the other, the other will offer you a different piece of tech, and so on.
Now this campaign focus's on the Terran (Human) side of things, but in multiplayer all three races are available. Now, if you're worried you'll get your ass handed to you by someone online, worry not. Star Craft 2 has tutorials about the way to use things to your advantage online. Based on your level as well, when you want to play a match against a random opponent, you'll be put against someone in your same level. So, the new guys will be against the new guys, the good guys against the good guys, and the really experienced guys against the really experienced guys. Not to mention there's the Zerg Rush, where you alone or with a buddy take on waves and waves of the Zerg swarm, another version of horde mode.
All in all, I have to say I have really enjoyed Star Craft 2, the amount you get in the set, the campaign, multiplayer, Zerg rush, not to mention the new and improved battlenet and Mac and PC compatible makes it well worth the 60 bucks for the game. It wasn't probably worth the twelve year wait, but worth the four years since the first trailer hit. I can say with confidence that this game is definitely in the running for game of the year.
Challenge: 9.5
Graphics:9.3
Atmosphere:9.0
Sound:9.1
Storyline:9.2
Overall:9.2
Now, disclaimer: I know this game look really good. I know it's almost jaw dropping for the major cinematic cut scenes, and even the regular gameplay. The disclaimer is I can't really talk about it because if I set my laptop to the amazing settings, I would probably have a nuclear meltdown on my hands. My advise is this, there's plenty of videos on the web showcasing the graphics of Star Craft 2, since I can't talk about them, go watch one of those vids, and decide for yourself.
The story picks up four years after the events of the first Star Craft and Brood wars (By my math, one Star Craft year is about 3 of our years, if I'm wrong someone tell me). Both the Zerg and the Protoss have been quiet for all four years, with the occasional pocket of Zerg infestation being discovered every now and then. Jim Raynor has started his own rebel force against his former commander's, Mengsk, new empire known as the dominion. The Dominion has labeled Raynor as an outlaw, and constantly berating the public with propaganda that Raynor is a terrorist. This, of course, has been making Raynor's rebellion quite difficult for the past four years.
The Campaign picks up when Raynor is starting to really push hard to get the Dominion off the world he's on. After that mission a figure from Raynor's past shows up and offers a job to Raynor, attack a Dominion Base, steal some ancient artifact, sell it, and be on their way. Sounds simple, but then again it always SOUNDS simple. Sure enough, after the artifact is prepared for evac, the Zerg show up, everything goes to hell, and it goes from there. Now the campaign has the aspect of choices and consequences, not in terms of the world, but in terms of your units.
Now, the gameplay is really the same as Star Craft. For this sequel, Blizzard decided to play it safe, and well, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." There's nothing wrong with Star Craft's gamplay, it's familiar and it' fun, but a little innovation would have been nice on the battle field. The real innovation comes with upgrading your units. There are permanent upgrades you can purchase at the armory on your ship, these will last throughout the campaign, and are pretty useful. These aren't free, however, but you do get money from the missions you complete, the bulk coming from the main objective, and others coming from side objectives.
Now, the campaign has the choices and consequences aspect, but this, as mentioned above, affects your units. During a mission, you could get a message from someone asking for help in return for some tech that will help you. You could choose to help and get that tech, or leave him be. The result is that you will have that tech for the entire campaign, or never get the chance to get it again. Another way it might happen is you could get two separate messages from warring factions, one will offer you this piece of tech to wipe out the other, the other will offer you a different piece of tech, and so on.
Now this campaign focus's on the Terran (Human) side of things, but in multiplayer all three races are available. Now, if you're worried you'll get your ass handed to you by someone online, worry not. Star Craft 2 has tutorials about the way to use things to your advantage online. Based on your level as well, when you want to play a match against a random opponent, you'll be put against someone in your same level. So, the new guys will be against the new guys, the good guys against the good guys, and the really experienced guys against the really experienced guys. Not to mention there's the Zerg Rush, where you alone or with a buddy take on waves and waves of the Zerg swarm, another version of horde mode.
All in all, I have to say I have really enjoyed Star Craft 2, the amount you get in the set, the campaign, multiplayer, Zerg rush, not to mention the new and improved battlenet and Mac and PC compatible makes it well worth the 60 bucks for the game. It wasn't probably worth the twelve year wait, but worth the four years since the first trailer hit. I can say with confidence that this game is definitely in the running for game of the year.
Challenge: 9.5
Graphics:9.3
Atmosphere:9.0
Sound:9.1
Storyline:9.2
Overall:9.2
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Extra Life
57 here---Today, rather than all other days, I'm going to talk to you all about something rather important. What is that you ask? Simple. Sarcastic Gamer's Extra Life charity event. Last year I participated in this event, without a team, and raised over $400 for this event, in total the charity raised over $150,000. Now you ask another question, "What is Extra Life?"
The answer to that is once again simple. Extra Life is a charity event by gamers (Like myself) that is a 24 hour gaming marathon, which people sponsor you by the hour. What are you raising money for? All the money that you are sponsored goes directly towards pediatric cancer research, helping kids in the fight of their lives against cancer. In my opinion, a noble charity.
Last year I was able to raise $400 for Extra Life, and this year I'm aiming higher. So really this post is a call to raise money for Extra Life, in anyway you can. If you don't want to game, simply donate money, a dollar an hour is $24. If you can't donate, but have a console and are willing to game, send me an e-mail and we could possibly work together on a team, or start your own. If you can't game or donate, spread the word to your friends, your family or the internet, any way helps.
If you want to donate to me, hears the link to my donation page,
https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/m.aspx?i=18371E9314DB588CD
All around the net, people are rallying to Extra Life. IGN, Gamespot, Sarcastic Gamer, Gamer Tag Radio, and many more are stepping up to help kids in the fight of their lives, won't you?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Caestus Assault Ram > Land Raider
57 here---Yesterday, I posted a piece about my thoughts what's been going on for the past week and a half or so, and I put in a little piece about something called the Caestus Assault Ram. After giving it some thought, I can say that I really like the Assault Ram. Why? Because for what you get at the amount of points for it, it's well worth it. I'd wager, and do believe, that the C.A.R. (coincidence in the abbreviation?) is a much better choice than the Land Raider.
Let's start with points. The average Land Raider comes out to about 250 points (Land Raider=250 pts; Land Raider Crusader=250 pts; Land Raider Redeemer w/multi-melta=250 pts), while a Caestus Ram comes out to about 235 (245 with frag launchers when carrying terminators). So, yes the Ram is cheaper, but what do you get for those points that make it better than the Land Raider? Good question, keep reading.
Let's talk, for a moment, mobility. The Raider is not a fast tank, therefore it can only move 12 inches max. And, let's face it's a pretty big target, most firepower is going to go in it, if it was more mobile, it would be worth the points, because it could get it's cargo in close combat faster, but it can't. The Ram can move 36 inches a turn, so not only will it disclose it's cargo faster, it will count as obscured and get a 4+ cover save, so it will most likely survive longer in comparison to the Raider. And it will get this save more often rather than the once from smoke launchers. So it's fast and probably more likely to survive.
Speaking of survivability, one thing the Raider is susceptible to is melta weapons. If a melta gun is within 6 inches, they'll have a better chance of damaging the Raider. The Ram is immune to the second melta die, meaning even if it's one inch away from the Ram it will only ever roll one die. And with AV 13, 13, 11, that would be pretty difficult.
Now onto transport capacity. In terms of regular models, the Crusader wins, with 16 normal marines and 8 terminators. The Redeemer is second with 12 normal models, 6 terminators (I prefer the Redeemer version of the Raider). And the normal Raider is last with 10 marines and 5 terminators. The Ram can transport ten models. Now what so special about ten models? Simple, it means ten models. 10 marines, or ten terminators. This is pretty nifty, as ten terminators can be a frightening thing.
So that's my thoughts on the Caestus Assault Ram, if you want to check it out for yourselves, here's the link to the PDF on forge world,
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/c/caestus.pdf
Enjoy,
yours,
57
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Really? New content a week?
Wow, has it really come to a post a week?
I feel like one of those webcomics that only post their shit once a week just to build suspense. I feel that as a blogger, 40k player, and gamer I should be up to the task of doing more on this blog, but somehow it's always at the back of my mind not really playing a part. Which is rather unfortunate, since stuff really happens around me that I have something to say about.
Well, I can tell you, stuff has been happening, new, old, worthless and exciting stuff. So on this day I pledge to do more on this blog, not just for myself, but for you people, because really that's what it's about, giving you people the thoughts and entertainment you not only want but deserve. On that note lets get to it.
Let's start with tournies. So July 25th was a tournament day at my local game store, a kill-teams tournament with rules the T.O. had been working on for weeks. This tournament is significant because it's most likely my last at this store for a while. For my kill-team I opted to use a Space Wolves venerable Dreadnought, and he worked pretty well at killing things. How well you ask? Well, each player at the end of the tournament tallied up how many of the G.M's. squads they killed, most got about four or five. I got 24. Really, it came down to the third round(out of four) where the GM was able to immobilize the Dreadnought and assault it in close combat, seeing that he was next to a spawning pool, they just kept coming and coming. To hit they needed a 4+ on a regular die, and to harm the Dreadnought they needed a 6. So at the end of the third round I was up to 19 kills, and I have to say it was one of the most fun and funny rounds I've ever been in.
Going in order of what happened a very important and big game hit soon after that tournament, Star Craft 2. To put it bluntly, I didn't get the game, nor will I get it. One reason I will not is, if you read my earlier post, Blizzard works with Activision and I absolutely refuse to support Activision in any way. Another reason, the bigger reason is that after waiting four years for this, I was no longer hyped or looking forward to the game. FOUR YEARS. The first trailer hit when I was a freshmen in high school, and I was excited then I agreed with the guy, "Hell, it's about time." And if it hit like a year or so after that trailer, I'd be fine with it, but four years is a long time to wait for a game. So no, Star Craft 2, you're probably going to be good, but I'm not going to put 60 bucks down for you.
So, going to 40k, I was browsing the forge world site when I came across experiment rules for something called the Caestus assault ram(see pic above), and it's pretty interesting. The armor value for the front and side armor is 13, rear is ten; It's a fast skimmer tank, can move 36 inches all out, is immune to two melta dice, with an 18 inch small blast melta gun, is an assault vehicle with ten models; all for the price of 235 points. Now ten models may seem to be a small amount, but when it says ten models, it means ten models, terminators count as one model, so you can have ten terminators in this thing, which can be pretty nifty.
So here's a list I was thinking about with this thing,
Wolf Lord-170 pts
*Thunder Wolf-45 pts
*Power Weapon-15 pts
*Wolftooth Necklace-10 pts
Canis Wolfborn-185 pts
10 Wolf Guard-481 pts
*2 Power Weapons-20 pts
*Power Fist-20 pts
*2 Storm Bolter-6 pts
*Caestus Ram-235 pts
4 Thunder Wolf Cav.-200 pts
4 Thunder Wolf Cav.-200 pts
10 Grey Hunters-220 pts
*Power Fist-25pts
*2 Plasma Guns-10pts/free
*Drop Pod-35 pts
10 Grey Hunters-215 pts
*Power Fist-25 pts
*Melta Gun-5 pts
*Plasma Gun-free
*Drop Pod-35 pts
6 Long Fangs-175 pts
*Heavy Bolter-5 pts
*Missile Launcher-10 pts
*Plasma Cannon-20 pts
*2 Lascannons-50 pts
So, what's the orientation for this list? Simple, close range fire fights and assaults. I'm a huge fan of Thunder Wolves, so I have no intention of giving those up, but I felt that regular wolf guard don't get much love, so what better way to use them then in a 36 inch a turn tank which they could assault out of with 39 attacks on the charge, 8 being power weapon attacks, 3 being power fist attacks. I needed some Anti-tank, so I put in a long fang squad with 2 lascannons, as well as some nasty fire-power for the Grey hunters, as anyone who knows me knows I prefer Grey hunters over Blood claws. I'm pretty sure this list can tear through most infantry pretty easily if use correctly.
Anyway, that's it for now, check back later for some more content hopefully.
Yours,
57
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