More Incompetent Cartographer from Urk!

More cool forge stuff from Urk - this is the follow up to his map making efforts from yesterday.




Don't be playin' with my emotions!

The first dance went down on Riptide and though there were a few holes shot through her hull, the vessel remains afloat. Sure, Derek said that the submerged walkways were totally confusing and didn't add much to the experience, but who the hell is he to judge? Oh, right. He's a multiplayer designer. Dammit. She's seaworthy (barely), but taking on water.

Okay, so Riptide needs a little more work. A few patches here and there. That's cool. I didn't expect the first version to be a rousing success. I'm just glad it didn't make anyone throw down their controllers in abject disgust.

Lemme set the stage.

First thing first, we only had four players for the inaugural run. This was more of an exhibition match than anything else. Just looking to ensure that the initial spawns work and that we can, indeed, get a game in. (Also confirmed: initial loadout camera from Blue Base works as advertised.)

On the Red Team, Chad and Cameron. With me on the Blues is my man Derek. Well, he's not my man. We're just friends. At least we eat lunch together from time to time. But I don't pick up the check or anything. And then we go back to our desks. Alone.

So yeah, 2v2. Manos y manos.

First stop, DMR. I make the run out to the extended walkway's over watch position thinking I can take the Reds by surprise.

No dice, they've already identified their best firing position and they're using it to pepper my face with hot magnum. Nowhere to run, I drop down into the water below.

Collect the Rocket Launcher.

And run away.

Fortunately for me, the Reds aren't interested in giving chase, or putting rounds into my back, so I make it to the lift below Blue Base unscathed. Going up!

Only to cycle all the way back down and around to sneak in underneath their perch, armed and ready to deliver my explosive payload.

But my splash damage misses the mark. I only succeed in giving Chad's backside a slight burning sensation.

Allowing him to soar into the air like a bird.

Swoop down and around.

And come from behind with his newly acquired Shotgun. Which now seems like a terrible idea on this map. Who the hell put that thing down there, anyway?

Regardless of where the fault lies, Chad turns my upper body into so much bloody chum and my master plan to open the game with a bang ends with us down by a score of 4 to -1. Ouch.

And let it be said that Chad is indeed a gentleman and a scholar. He did drop down to collect his spoils, but he did not defile my moistened corpse with any celebratory crouching.

And the next time I claimed the Rocket Launcher, I decided to take it into the drink instead of dying and leaving it to be claimed by the other team. Head height water did the trick. At this point, Derek and I are desperately down by a score of 5 to 2, but our fortunes are about to change.

I can't upload the full video and I don't have the time to go into any more blow by blow breakdowns of the action, but let's just say that Cameron took to the skies, I took hold of the Rocket Launcher again (this time with much success), and Derek...well, Derek went Death Blossom with the DMR.

By the time it was all said and done, Blue Team turned it around and finished out strong. Blues win, 25 to 15.

The real story is that Riptide isn't really set up for 2v2. It's just too big. And it's not anywhere near ready for prime time, either. But there weren't any game breakers and I think I already have a good way to solve for Derek's feedback. Before I do, though, I want to widen the net and see what comes out of the official round of playtesting. Start building a consensus on what works and what's total crap. As soon as I have that feedback in hand, I'll start thinking about revisions and form my Forge plan of attack, armed (hopefully) with a wealth of invaluable information.

Stay Tuned.

Joe Tung's New Zealand Interview

Stuff's Gerard Campbell is a bit of a gaming nut - and as all gaming nuts do - they have interviews with Joe Tung - whom Halo fans will know as one of the pieces of glue at Bungie Studios. Here's a taste of the article.

"Ask Bungie's Joseph Tung whether Halo Reach is the best Halo game the company has made, and you can almost see him mulling the questions over in his head.

Tung, executive producer on Reach, pauses before answering: "It's sort of like asking a parent which of your children do you like the most. I'm personally extremely proud of Halo Reach

. I think it's without a doubt the most ambitious game we've ever done at Bungie."

Tung is in New Zealand showcasing Bungie Studios' last game in the Halo universe, Reach - and the game has just gone gold, meaning it's ready for production and will be in the hands of Halo fans in a matter of weeks. Having the game finished is a huge relief for Tung, who believes Reach shows Bungie going out with a "big bang".

For those unfamiliar with the Halo story, Reach is the planet where the cybernetically engineered soldiers called Spartans were born, the most famous of them being the Master Chief.

Reach doesn't feature Master Chief, though, and tells the story of the fall of Reach after a surprise attack at the hands (or is that mandibles?) of the alien Covenant, shown from the viewpoint of Spartan III soldier, Noble six. Tung said Reach begins slowly to create a sense of mystery, building on the foundations of previous Halo titles.

After the demonstration, Tung told me he believed Reach was the best of Halo 1, 2, 3 and Halo ODST

in one package "and that's not bulls***. I believe that personally".

Tung says Bungie worked hard to make Reach feel like a "real lived-on planet" and has a level of graphical detail that is far superior to that of Halo 3, including facial and character animation which he says is a marked improvement on those in Halo 3

and for the first time, Bungie used motion capture for the in-game cinematics."
Check out the full interview here. Follow Gerard at GamejunkieNZ. Follow halo reach game news on Twitter!

Halo Reach Easter Eggs

Halo Reach Easter Eggs


As with all the Halo the games, Bungie have thrown some new eggs into the Halo omelette. But what is an easter egg? An Easter egg is an intentional hidden message, in-joke or feature in a video game. The practice draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunt observed in many Western nations as well as the last Russian imperial family's tradition of giving elaborately jeweled egg-shaped creations by Carl Faberg which contained hidden surprises. How's that for a history lesson?

The DJ and the Disco at Club Errera

After you go to the Hospital in Mission Never Surrender but after you load the next checkpoint you can backtrack to the Hospital to a platform which has two tall slender trees. Land your Falcon on this platform, flip a switch that's present on the wall then head back to Club Errera, where you'll find that your switch-flicking has just opened up a cool Easter Egg featuring a raging discotheque, full of some grunts doing their best John Travolta impressions to "The Siege of Madrigal." There's even a DJ rocking some block rocking beats!





Then if you go back outside and fly to the roof of the same building there will be another switch behind some pipes. Flipping it will change the song in the club to a remix of "the siege of madrigal", which has been featured as an easter egg in every Halo game thus far. If you choose to kill the DJ brute, the record scratches and the music stops and the party is over.

Long Night of Solace: Marty O'Donnell Reference

On this level, when you are in the Covenant Corvette, a group of marines should join you. If you look at their names in the lower left of the tv screen, one of their names should be presented as one "M.O Donnell". His service tag is MRTY. This is a direct reference to thee Marty O' Donnell, the composer of Halo series' music

New Alexandria: Dialogue

When flying in the Falcon as you attempt to rescue prisnors or maybe taking town jammers across the city, you may hear a gunner say "Just like shooting swamprats back home". This is a reference to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars when talking about womprats and plans to destroy the Death Star .
Catherine Halsey's Secret Lab
Here's the video that accompanies the below guide points!

• Have two players. Yourself and someone else, or just a second controller.
• Play "The Package" on legendary. You *can* start the game at Rally Point Bravo, don't worry.
• Defeat all of the AI which gets thrown at you until the very end. At which point the control should magically appear. Note: It may appear earlier, but I only found it after I had killed all of the AI so that's all I know. It's easier to explore when no one is shooting at you :P
• Grab a jetpack. It may be possible to pull it off without one...but I wouldn't try it.
• Watch the video and see for yourself where the magical control spawns at. Follow my steps and you should be able to activate the control too. You'll see why you need a second person too...
• Now, once you make your way into the shrine you'll find seven terminals. Just like the datapads you can find all through out the game, you activate them and up pops a little display plus a couple of pages of information.

Master Chief in Reach Egg

So after a lot stress about whether the Chief was going to be in Reach, the final answer is that Master Chief does make an appearance as a GIANT EASTER EGG in Halo: Reach after all. You have to do some shenanigans during a cut scene but one can find the Chief aboard the Pillar of Autumn, all hushed in his casket...

Oooh look! A hushed casket. Shall we wake it?

The Reach Racer Easter Egg



To find the egg, be on the Oni: Sword Base map. Attempt to locate and activate two invisible switches that jump start the race. Then hop in a Warthog and race to the finish! Sounds like a bunch of nonsense? Watch this video and the egg will be revealed!





Make four Banshees Spawn on The Package Level
Halo Reach is awash with Easter Eggs, here's the newest one. Two players can trigger the appearsance of four banshees near the start of the Reach level, The Package.
The Banshees have been found by pressing two secret switches on "The Package".
When you press both switches the "return to battlefield" message also disappears (Gosh, I hate that message, what a KILLJOY Bungie). You do need at least two people to get the banshees to spawn, as the second switch will disappear if not pressed within a few seconds of the first.
The Reach pundits are wondering if there is something out there Bungie want you to find...
Here's a pretty sweet video which shows you how to find the banshees.



These are the cool eggs that have been found so far by keen Halo fans (and wow, how do they figure this stuff out?) - have you got any good ones or fave lines? Leave a note in the comments!!

Check out Halo 4's Easter Eggs

Reach is mission based...

Yep, that's too obvious a title right?...
Here's an interview with Marcus Lehto on Halo Reach:

Bungie brainstormed 150 mission ideas for Halo Reach

, before wittling them down to around 20 or so, creative director, Marcus Lehto has revealed.

Speaking to CVG, the Bungie man said that some of the missions in Reach the studio's been waiting "ten years" to pull off.

"That's one of the things we paid special attention to when we began," he said. "We didn't just start off with the story and then try to mash missions into it; we came up with like a hundred and fifty mission ideas that we threw up on a wall.

"And we sat down and critiqued them all and we were like: 'we just have to do some of these; we've been waiting ten years!' So we whittled that down to maybe 20 or so, then we boiled those down to the missions that finally made it into the game."

Lehto explained that although there are a set number of objectives in the studio's final Halo, players can approach them in an abundance of ways.

"That's part of the fun! Halo's a sandbox shooter, so you're right - you can tackle it in a hundred different ways and it'll play out differently every time," he said.

"And if you get bored of that, you can turn on skulls, modifiers, different difficulties... play it co-op on the same box. Matchmaking over Live. There are a lot of neat things to do with campaign."

Bungie is of course set to launch its final instalment in the Halo series on September 14. The developer released a brand new Halo Reach trailer earlier this month - check it out and try not to be excited.

Gorgeous Wonder Woman With Mesmerizing Eyes [Cosplay]

This Wonder Woman won't need a lasso because she can mesmerize you with her eyes. She looks absolutely beautiful in this photo taken at Anime Expo 2013 in Los Angeles earlier this month.

Send your cosplay pics to tips@fashionablygeek.com.

(via ComingSoon)

Obey Hodor [T-Shirt]

Andre or Hodor? Hodor. Hodor!

Product Page ($24)

Air Gear: Wanijima Agito 02

Physically weak due to his short and thin stature, Akito/Agito is a powerful AT user because of his motivation, willpower, and pride. Akito, the innocent and non-violent personality, has been acting as Agito's tuner until recently. Because Akito could not fully hear his own biorhythm, he could only keep his other half's AT and Regalia barely operational. It was not until Nakayama Yayoi tuned him that Fang Regalia became complete.

Impressive cosplay, and with real rollerblades too! It looks like the cosplayer is wearing an anime convention's ID, but I wonder which? Thanks to Omi for sending this in!

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Ouran High School Host Club: Haninozuka Mitsukuni

Haninozuka Mitsukuni, nicknamed "Hani", "Honey", or "Hunny" is a 17-year-old student of Ouran High School, even though he looks as if he belongs in the elementary school department. He is childish, loves sweets, and has a room full of stuffed animals. He often carries a stuffed bunny with him called "Usa-chan" in the anime and "Bun-Bun" in the manga.

Cute cosplayer from Melbourne Anime Festival 2009! And such a cute stuffed bunny too! I love the pink sneakers the cosplayer is wearing! Thanks again to Bethany for sending this in!

Technorati Tags: cosplay, cosplayer, holic, role, play, roleplay, costume, anime, manga, game, series, character, ouran, high, school, host, club, haninozuka, mitsukuni, nickname, hani, hunny, honey, 17, year, student, look, elementary, department, childish, love, sweet, room, full, stuff, animal, carry, bunny, usa, chan, bun, cute, melbourne, festival, australia, 2009, pink, sneaker, wear, bethany, contribution, email, , , , , ,

‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Update: Hugh Jackman to Go Full Monty?

While doing some press for his latest go around at portraying our favorite diminutive Canadian berserker with adamantium claws, Hugh Jackman sat down with Access Hollywood, which, quite naturally, lead to a discussion about the Wolverine's other big part in Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Jackman gives glowing remembrances and complements to his cast-mates from the original X-Men movie as well as the newer X-Men: First Class cast.

When asked about his costuming in the new movie, Jackman got a little silly, but why don't you just watch the video below and meet me on the other side to discuss what Jackman had to say.

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Now from his tone and lightheartedness we can safely say that Jackman was just joking around, but don't worry, he's sure to at least have that shirt off during the movie. He's got to show off that fighting physique he's worked so hard to maintain during the filming of The Wolverine until now.

Who knows though, perhaps the time travel aspect of X-Men: Days of Future Past will also include a twist on the old Terminator method of time travel which doesn't allow clothing to travel through time. Not because of some serious super science, but mainly because all clothing comes back around into fashion if you wait long enough.

Via: CBM

Zachary Quinto Talks ‘Star Trek 3′ Start Date & ‘The Big Bang Theory’

Zachary Quinto recently appeared at the 2013 Galway Film Fleadh last Friday to discuss his career and some of his current and future projects. There were a couple of interesting tid-bits that came out of the talk. When asked about his role as Spock in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films, Quinto told the audience:

Star Trek 3 should be filming, I suppose, next year. It's going to be made a lot quicker than the last one. That's the plan, although nothing is confirmed yet.

He was then asked if he would want to appear in Abrams Star Wars Episode VII, and Quinto said he would not, without providing any specific reason. Why no one followed up on that question is anyone's guess. The other interesting Star Trek bit was that Quinto also mentioned Abrams plans to direct Star Trek 3. Many were of the opinion that Abrams might hand off those reins while working on the new Star Wars movie and take a more executive producer type role.

Quinto then went on to discuss his current project, directed by Big Bang Theory star Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz) and his wife Jocelyn Towne. Quinto called it "a semi-autobiographical romance" and used it to explain the beard he is currently sporting below.

Later, he went into great length about his relationship with Leonard Nimoy and his wife, recounting the ways the veteran actor inspired him, in both his acting and his personal life. An audience member then asked if he would follow in Nimoy's footsteps and make a cameo on The Big Bang Theory, Quinto said he would love to.

My cardboard cutout has already been on it, you know. I had to give my permission for them to use it. I love Simon and I also worked with Johnny (Galecki) on a new film called The Invitation (also starring Luke Wilson and Topher Grace). I have been mentioned two times on it, actually.

Via: Buzzhub

AN EVENING WITH ADAM WEST - The Podcast of the Event is Now Online!!

Greetings Good Citizens. You might remember the BAT-BLOG hyping the Event of the Century, AN EVENING WITH ADAM WEST! Well, it happened a few days ago & the show totally sold-out. Yes, it was a complete success! But, if you're like me and couldn't go because it was so far away, the good news is you can hear the interview as an Online Podcast! I checked it out last night & it's extremely entertaining. They went through Adam West's very long career and it was a lot of fun. Not as great as actually being there, but really, it's cool! Plus, I don't want to spoil anything but within the interview Mr. West shared some extremely important news that every Bat-Fan is gonna love! It totally blew me away!

Here's a LINK ( Click Here ) to listen to the Podcast. You can listen for free online or you can download it from iTunes for a small donation of $2.00 or more. The donations, like the money raised from the event, all go towards helping to pay for Adam West's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

COOL BATMAN GRAPHICS - Steampunk Art Posters!!

Over at the BUZZFEED website they recently showcased a ton of extremely cool Graphics and Vintage-Style Art Posters inspired by "Steampunk" and the Dark Knight himself, The BATMAN! Shown here are a few examples ( some of my favorites ) but I'm only sharing a few of the many pieces of art they exhibited and there's some really great stuff there! For more information & even more scrumptious eye-candy, CLICK HERE!

VIDEO - Danny Elfman's BATMAN MOVIE THEME Done with Accordion

Weird Al would be so proud! Here's a guy doing the Danny Elfman BATMAN MOVIE Theme Song on the Accordion, Rock Out!( Thanks Z! )

New Batman Toys - BANE Hot Wheels DC Universe Series

Here's a quick post to share a recent retail store find by our Good Friend and Toy Reporter, Batmobilly! He snagged these 2 new Hot Wheels DC UNIVERSE Cars the other night, a Wonder Woman and Bane! Looking on the back of the package is a newer "Batman" Car. Then, we have a random "Concept Art" photo of a few different cars. WOW, Mattel is going crazy with these aren't they?! The one in the very middle looks like a TWO-FACE Car, Cool!

THE JOKER BY BRIAN BOLLAND - New BATMAN Black And White Statue

Based on art by Brian Bolland, sculpted by Brian Fay.

From Brian Bolland, the artist behind the definitive Joker tale, BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, comes the latest entry in the acclaimed "Batman: Black and White" series. Using the monochromatic tones synonymous with the line, this statue is a much-anticipated tribute to the Clown Prince of Crime. Inspired from the cover of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #50. Statue measures 9" high x 4.75" wide x 6.25" deep.

It will retail for around $79.95, in stores on Sept. 5th, 2012.

BATWOMAN, BATGIRL, and BATMAN ARKHAM CITY - Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!

Brand-New Fans of the BAT-BLOG ( where have you been? ) will soon discover that we post a few FREE Batman Backgrounds every week. We call it "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!". Yeah, I know, it's corny but easy to remember. But anyways, recently I was inspired by some Batman-related Comic Book Covers so that's where these new graphics come from.
The 1st one uses artwork from the cover to the new BATGIRL #12 ( Art by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cinfuentes ). This issue will be out in August, 2012.
The 2nd one is from BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED # 5 ( Art by Dave Wilkins ), also coming out in August.

Mass Effect to have Kinect as a key feature for Xbox

E3 is chocka full of goodness and the lastest version of Mass Effect

will be integrated with Kinect

- you'll be able to make all those conversation choices you have by actually speaking the line you want to hear. Check out this video demonstration from E3:





Game Informer described the demo as thus: The demonstration began with Shepard engaging Salarian scientist Mordin about the last female Krogan alive. The summarized responses in the player's conversation wheel were spoken by the demonstrator, prompting Shepard to say the full response in game. Shepard assured the Krogran female that he would do everything he could to keep her alive.

Following that, an enemy assault hits Shepard and his crew, prompting the commander, Liara, and Garrus to take up defensive positions. Kinect also allows players to shout commands like "Liara front," and "Liara Singularity," causing Liara to run to the front of the room and launch a singularity, creating a mini black hole to disrupt the enemies. Shepard then ran up to one of the enemies and annihilated him with a new melee attack - a type of energy sword-style slash that reminded me of the brutal Halo weapon. Bioware promises that the tactical advantage of Kinect will be huge.

E3 Bioshock Infinite Teaser Trailer

Bioshock Infinite

has this promotional video attached to itself at this week's E3 Conference.




E3 had some other awesome trailers to see as well - check out Halo 4's - the new promo for Tomb Raider and the Mass Effect 3 demo with Kinect!