Topics

31

Unwashed Village / Mass Effect (X360)

« on: November 23, 2007, 03:19:36 PM »

Got my copy of this today, one of the collectors edition tins, and it's simply stunning. I'm not too far into it yet but already it's got me gripped. Many memories of playing the first KoTOR have all come flooding back.

Mass Effect, for those not in the know, is a sci-fi themed RPG using the same sort of style that KoTOR did. It has a number of key differences in the mechanics though that add that extra layer of polish. Chief amongst these are the way the player character is handled. Rather than being silent, the voice acting has been recorded for both so the character speaks - not sure who the male actor is, but the female one is Jennifer Hale, who voiced Samus Aran from Metroid and Bastilla Shan from KoTOR. Keith David and Lance Henrikson feature in the cast, so they've pushed the boat out a bit in that department. The other is that, unlike many other RPGs, you don't have to wait for the other character to finish speaking before you pick your reply, so it gives a more seemless flow to conversations.

It does have a couple of graphical glitches which seem to be an issue with the Unreal 3 engine itself rather than any act of being lazy by Bioware, but these don't distract from the game. Though it's late in the year, and those that are familiar with my love of Halo might be surprised by this, Mass Effect has become a late contender for my game of the year, and right now it looks like it'll be getting the top slot.

Mass Effect Official Site

32

Unwashed Village / Tabula Rasa: Recruit a Rookie

« on: November 18, 2007, 03:25:11 PM »

Myself, Turjan and I believe Celest are ground pounding in the war in Tabula Rasa - from beta, to pre-order to live, we're just over 2 weeks into the game now and they've started their refer a friend program for folks to try the game out. You only get 3 days play, but it's free with no obligations.

The game still has stuff that's being worked on, most notable being the PAU's, but it's been recently patched to v1.1.1.3 and that patch has all but eradicated the performance problems the game had, so it's running somewhat smoother than it did in beta.

There are a few limits to the free codes however - a subscriber can only send 1 every 30 days and they won't get another refer token until the 30 days has passed or the friend upgrades their account. I doubt any of us are interested in the 30 days we get free if someone takes up a full account, but it is a first come first served basis as we have other folks the offer is open to (such as our old SWG guild) so if you're interested in trying it out for a few days, just give one of us a shout.

And below, the TR version of Mr. P:

33

Unwashed Village / Captain Kirk, please step on the transporter

« on: October 18, 2007, 10:06:09 PM »

The cast for the next Star Trek film has been revealed now that the role of Kirk has been filled. They are as follows:

Captain Kirk - Chris Pine
Mr Spock - Zachary Quinto
Scotty - Simon Pegg
Nero - Eric Bana
Uhura - Zoe Saldana
Chekov - Anton Yelchin
Sulu - John Cho
Leonard 'Bones' McCoy - Karl Urban

Leonard Nimoy will also appear at the start and end of the film as the older Spock.

I have to say... I'm not encouraged at all. With the exception of Quinto as the young Spock, my gut feeling is that this entire film has been so badly miscast that it's going to be a farce. I really can't picture Pegg as Scotty or Urban as McCoy. Didn't Paramount learn anything from Enterprise?

Time will tell I guess, but I think even J.J. Abrams might not get the Klingons off the starboard bow.

34

Unwashed Village / City of Heroes Issue 11 - A Stitch in Time

« on: October 03, 2007, 01:37:40 PM »

The next update for City of Heroes has been formly announced and it's going to give the game a badly needed shot in the arm for content, as it contains 2 of the most requested items since the game began. The general theme of the issue revolves around time travel. The bullet points are:

- Flashback System, allowing players to do mission arcs they've outlevelled
 
- The Ouroboros, a new organisation concerned with preserving the timeline.

- Weapon customization, allowing characters that use physical weapons to swap them for a different model

- The new Dual Blades/Willpower power sets for melee characters.

The full details so far are here:http://uk.cityofheroes.com/game-guide/feature-updates/issue_11_a_stitch_in_time/

Not sure how many people still play it around here, but the new issue is going to make things rather interesting again I think so I figured it's worth a mention.

35

Unwashed Village / There's no accounting for quality (Halo 3 is now upon us)

« on: September 25, 2007, 07:44:33 PM »

Some will know I collect little bits and pieces - not a huge collector, just pieces that interest me from various films, games etc. Back when Halo was just appearing on the scene, a company called Joyride made the first collectible figures for it. I own the Master Chief one, and it looks like this:



As you can see, a bit on the cheap side.

Now, the characters armour design has visibly changed a little between the games, but compare this to the new figures that are being released in 2008, and this lot are made by McFarlane:



All I have to say at this point is why didn't they just get McFarlane to do it in the first place, and that I'm definitely scoring me one of those when they go on sale.

Edit to add: This thread is for the fact that Halo 3 is now upon us