Tuesday, August 28

Iranians banned from playing World of Warcraft


Stuff reports that "Iranian players of "World of Warcraft,"; the massively popular online multiplayer franchise, have found themselves frozen out by Blizzard Activision Inc., the American company behind the game. Iranian role playing enthusiasts have spent much of the past week peppering Blizzard's message board with complaints about how they weren't able to log on to the service only to be told recently that US law was to blame."

"United States trade restrictions and economic sanction laws prohibit Blizzard from doing business with residents of certain nations, including Iran," the company said in an email sent to players last week and forwarded to The Associated Press late on Tuesday.

"Blizzard tightened up its procedures to ensure compliance with these laws, and players connecting from the affected nations are restricted from access to Blizzard games and services."

That's pretty random.... I wonder how Xbox Live works in that regard. Any Iranians out their playing Halo? What about Cuba? Can Cubans play Gears of War?
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Monday, August 27

They better stock it in New Zealand

purple-plasma-halo-drink-v
Tastes like.... Victory
The dingo lovers across the ditch have scored a new drink, the Purple Plasma from V. It's got the Master Chief on it so it must be an awesome, tasty beverage. I hope it get's stocked on NZ shelves!
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GOW Judgement to have free-for-all multiplayer


Gears of War: Judgement's multiplayer will include free-for-all multiplayer.

This is according to Official Xbox Magazine who reckon they have the inside scoop.

If this is true, I'm pleased as I generally haven't played to much Gears multiplayer but a Lone Wolf type mode would def interest me!


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List of Halo 4 Achievements



List of Halo 4 Achievements

343 have released the list of achievements for gaming point fans to get for Halo 4.  The standard complete the missions, get points are all there but the one I think people might enjoy is ‘Bros to the Close’ where you have to protect uor marines from death on Mission 4 on heroic mode. Given how fans have done many cool things with marines in various halo games, that’s a nice nod.

Halo 4 Gaming Achievements:

Dawn
Complete Mission 1 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Requiem
Complete Mission 2 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Forerunner
Complete Mission 3 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Infinity
Complete Mission 4 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Reclaimer
Complete Mission 5 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Shutdown
Complete Mission 6 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Composer
Complete Mission 7 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Midnight
Complete Mission 8 on any difficulty.
10 points
          
Wake up John
Complete the Campaign on Normal or harder.
20 points
          
I Need a Hero
Complete the Campaign on Heroic or harder.
40 points
          
The Legend of 117
Complete the Campaign on Legendary difficulty.
70 points
          
Lone Wolf Legend
Complete the Campaign solo on Legendary difficulty.
90 points
          
Skullduggery
Complete any Campaign mission with 3 or more Skulls on Heroic or harder.
15 points
          
Bropocalypse
Complete any Campaign mission co-operatively on Heroic or harder.
10 points
          
Bromageddon
Complete the Campaign co-operatively on Heroic or harder.
40 points
          
Contact the Domain
Find a Terminal in the Campaign.
10 points
          
Terminus
Find all of the Terminals in the Campaign.
50 points
          
Digging up the Past
In Mission 1, find and access Chief's record.
20 points
          
Midnight Launch
In Mission 2, get significant air in the Warthog at midnight.
20 points
          
This is my Rifle, this is my Gun
In Mission 3, carry a UNSC weapon all the way through on Heroic or harder.
20 points
          
Bros to the Close
Make it through Mission 4 without one preventable Marine death on Heroic or harder.
20 points
          
Mortardom
In Mission 5, hijack a Wraith and use it to kill at least four enemy Wraiths on Heroic or harder.
20 points
          
Explore the Floor
In Mission 6, trick or force a Hunter to fall to his demise.
20 points
          
Give Him the Stick
In Mission 7 in solo Campaign, take out both Hunters using only the Sticky Detonator.
20 points
          
Chief, Smash!
In Mission 8, kill 3 Crawlers in one hit with the Gravity Hammer.
20 points
          
Not Some Recruit Anymore
Rank up your Spartan-IV to SR-5.
15 points
          
Movin' on Up
Rank up your Spartan-IV to SR-20.
30 points
          
I <3 Red vs Blue
Win 5 War Games matchmaking matches.
10 points
          
The Dongblainer
Win 20 War Games matchmaking matches.
30 points
          
Operation Completion
Complete a Spartan Ops Mission on any difficulty.
15 points
          
A Legendary Episode
Complete all chapters in Spartan Ops Episode 1 on Legendary difficulty.
40 points
          
Dedicated to Crimson
Complete all chapters in the first 5 episodes of Spartan Ops on any difficulty.
80 points
          
Crimson Alone
Complete a Spartan Ops chapter solo on Legendary.
20 points
          
Roses vs Violets
Find one of the RvB Easter Eggs in Spartan Ops.
20 points
          
Rescue Ranger
Save at least one Marine in Chapter 3 of Episode 2 of Spartan Ops on Heroic or harder.
20 points
          
Knight in White Assassination
Assassinate a Knight in any Spartan Ops mission.
20 points
          
What Power Outage?
Complete Chapter 4, Episode 5 of Spartan Ops without losing a generator on Heroic or harder.
20 points
          
No Easy Way Out
In Ch 1, Ep 5 of Spartan Ops survive all enemy waves during the defense on Normal or harder.
20 points
          
The Challenged
Complete a Challenge.
10 points
          
The Challenger
Complete 25 Challenges.
20 points
          
Armorer
Change your Spartan's armor in the Spartan Armor card.
5 points
          
Badge
Change your Emblem in the Spartan ID card.
5 points
          
PWND
Change your Service Tag in the Spartan ID card.
5 points
          
What a Poser!
Change your Spartan's pose in the Spartan ID card.
5 points
          
The Cartographer
Create and save a Custom Map in Forge.
5 points
          
Game Changer
Create and save a Custom Game type in War Games.
5 points
          
Snapshot!
Save a Screenshot from the Theater.
5 points
          
The Director
Save a Film Clip from the Theater.
5 points
          
Sharing is Caring
Upload a File to your File Share.
5 points
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Halo 4 Original Soundtrack List and Song Titles


Halo 4 Original Soundtrack List and  Song Titles 

The Halo 4 soundtrack, composed by Neil Davidge, has been revealed. There's also a remix version featuring various dudes - the name James Iha rings a bell. Didn't he sell pumpkins or something in the 1990s?

Track List
halo-4-sound-track-cover
1. Awakening
2. Belly Of The Beast
3. Requiem
4. Legacy
5. Faithless
6. Nemesis
7. Haven
8. Ascendancy
9. Solace
10. To Galaxy
11. Immaterial
12. 117
13. Arrival
14. Revival
15. Green And Blue

Halo 4 Remix Album Track List and Titles:

1. Awakening – Gui Boratto Remix
2. Green And Blue – KOAN Sound Remix
3. Requiem – Bobby Tank Remix
4. Ascendancy – Caspa Remix
5. To Galaxy – Sander Van Doorn & Julian Jordan Remix
6. Haven – Hundred Waters Remix
7. Revival – DJ Skee & THX Remix
8. Ascendancy – Matt Lange Remix
9. Nemesis – Alvin Risk Remix
10. Solace – Maor Levi Remix
11. Arrival – Norin & Rad Remix
12. Green And Blue – Andrew Bayer Remix
13. Foreshadow – James Iha Remix
14. The Beauty Of Cortana

I recently reminisced about the previous Halo soundtracks. If you're a fan, why not take a trip down memory lane!
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Monday, August 20

Halo 4 concept art

Halo 4 concept artwork showing a UNSC style multiplayer map environment with industrial science fiction architecture
This Halo 4 concept artwork has more of a UNSC or human industrial flavour than a Forerunner one, which makes the multiplayer map theory feel pretty reasonable.

Apparently this is another piece of Halo 4 concept art, although it does not immediately scream Forerunner. There are no impossible glowing platforms, no ancient cathedral geometry, no floating hard-light weirdness, and no obvious sign that some long-dead alien empire is about to explain why humanity is once again in trouble.

Instead, this one feels more human. More metallic. More practical. The shapes suggest a built environment rather than a sacred ruin, which makes it look like it could belong to a UNSC facility, a colony structure, or one of Halo 4’s multiplayer spaces. That is always the fun of early concept art: it sits in that strange zone between clue, mood piece, and wild fan speculation.

Why It Looks More UNSC Than Forerunner

Forerunner spaces in Halo usually have a very specific visual language. They are clean, massive, angular, and almost ceremonial. Even when they are hostile, they look elegant. Their architecture tends to feel less constructed and more revealed, as if the structure was always waiting inside the mountain, ready to judge everyone with blue light and ancient arrogance.

This image has a different energy. The composition feels heavier and more grounded. The environment looks engineered for movement, cover, sightlines, and combat flow. That is why the multiplayer map guess makes sense. Halo multiplayer maps often carry just enough story texture to feel like real places, while still being designed around the beautiful nonsense of Spartans jumping, shooting, grenading, and ruining each other’s day.

Design note: Halo concept art often works best when it does not explain everything. A single environment can suggest faction, function, mood, and gameplay before a single player has spawned with a battle rifle.

Halo 4 and the Look of Human Spaces

Halo 4 had a difficult visual job. It needed to carry the old Bungie military science fiction identity while also giving 343 Industries room to establish its own style. That meant sharper Forerunner designs, more ornate alien spaces, updated armour, and a slightly sleeker treatment of UNSC technology.

Human spaces in Halo are rarely just background. They tell us what kind of future humanity has built: functional, militarised, battered, and constantly being dragged into wars it barely understands. When a Halo environment leans UNSC, you expect steel, hard angles, utilitarian platforms, warning lights, vehicle bays, observation decks, and just enough open space for someone to get sniped from across the map.

That is the vibe this artwork gives off. It feels like a location made for conflict rather than worship. If the Forerunners built monuments to their own cosmic authority, the UNSC built places where someone could reload behind a crate and hope a Warthog does not arrive sideways.

The Multiplayer Map Possibility

The original source, found via Halo Universe, suggested this could reveal a new Halo 4 multiplayer map. That tracks with the image’s layout. The space has the feel of a combat arena: layered structure, strong vertical forms, and enough environmental identity to make it memorable without overwhelming the action.

That is a big part of Halo’s multiplayer magic. The best maps are not just arenas. They feel like pieces of the wider universe that Spartans happen to be using as a very expensive playground. Whether the setting is human, Covenant, or Forerunner, the environment has to support rhythm: movement, sightlines, weapon control, risk, escape, ambush, and the sacred Halo tradition of throwing one perfect grenade and pretending it was skill.

So yes, this may not look Forerunner. That might be exactly why it is interesting. Halo needs its ancient mystery, but it also needs grounded military spaces where the sci-fi hardware feels heavy, usable, and ready for a fight.

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What the Fotus?

fotus

Apparently there's some random as DLC for Halo 4 called the Fotus.

As an exclusive for certain versions of the game you'll get:

• Exclusive in-game Fotus armor
• Fotus Avatar Costume
• Avatar Prop Promethean Crawler
• Lightrifle skin: Imprint
• Unique unicorn emblem
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Sunday, August 19

Halo in real life: Car for Sale

mc1117- car -plate-halo

 Halo in real life: Car for Sale

I went for a work this morning and spied this car for sale. Pretty sure this is not a vanity plate, else there wouldn't be an extra 1 in the 1117.
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Thursday, August 16

JJ finally Reviews: Dead Space


JJ Reviews: Dead Space

Sooo I finally got my hands on a copy of the original Dead Space. If they're up to their third game in the series, the first must be a good enough game to play, right?

About an hour into the game I came across a bloodied corpse and it had flies sniffing and buzzing  around it. Flies. On a space ship. In space. Flies on a space ship in space? And I thought to myself, ummmm if this seemingly anomaly wasn't thought about during the game's development what else have they screwed up?

Turns out that was just me being a dick.

If I had to describe what Dead Space is, it's an epic 'stuck on space ship in space' game that is up there with Doom 3 in terms of it's horror and scares and given some of the atrocities committed by the inhabitants of the USG Ishimura on each other - not to forget what the Necromorphs do, it's truly standout of horror game genre.

As I played along, I was reminded of the film Event Horizon which featured a space ship that became the embodiment of Hell and basically killed everybody that wasn't a Satan Worshipper. Kind of. There's hints of the original Alien movie in their too. Kind of.

Baby Necromorph dead spaceThe above was a terrible paragraph but I'm not gonna rewrite  it. Arthur C Clark and Issac Newtoon, who share the name of Dead Space's hero, Issac Clarke both probably would have but given the trauma that Issac went through in this game, I doubt he'd really care.

So what trauma besets Issac? This is where Dead Space set it apart from Doom 3 (which was effectively a mindless romp on Mars) by having the game's plot come to revolve around the mind of Issac, so much so that his relationship with a person already on board the Ishimura almost transcends the whole game. Except that it's just way too obvious what's going on so it's hardly a revelation when the revelation happens.

Did that make sense? If not, refer to my comment about the flies above.

The game is not a 'thrilling non stop adventure' though. At about the two thirds point Dead Space has turned into a bit of a slog. Destroy these asteroids with the cannons, oh hey bud your oxygen has been poisoned so hunt down some undefended things that make the poison ... solve this obvious puzzle. You fix or find one thing and your guide Kendra gets you to fix another. It's kinda tedious.

In parts the game can be damn scary, which is fantastic fun. It's very much like Doom 3 in that regard. In addition the game play is fun, carving up attacking hordes of Necromorphs is a hoot.

Just quit with the mundane chores already....




So the ending? Well, I was reasonably confident I had worked out Issac's unspoken 'issue' but I have to admit I didn't see the double cross coming at all.....

The final ending segment was a final boss battle against the Hive Mind creature that came from the bowels of  the planet Aegis VII.   It was kinda fun and definitely more fun than shall we say the ending of Mass Effect 2.

Despite my gripes about running round solving dumb problems, the game's plot is fairly interesting and comes together nicely at the end. If you look for things and read them you'll get a good insight into the set up in which you've actually found it self. The game's Maguffin, The Marker, is effectively used to drive the plot and allows an amusing plot twist or two to occur.

I played the game on Easy setting. It was annoying enough (it's harder on that setting than say your standard Easy on a Halo game) - I'd have no interest doing the harder levels, you'd have to be a glutton for punishment for sure!

Spoiler Alert:  The game telegraphs that Nicole is Dead - check the first letter of the level names.
  • New Arrivals 
  • Intensive Care 
  • Course Correction 
  • Obliteration Imminent 
  • Lethal Devotion 
  • Environmental Hazard 
  • Into the Void 
  • Search and Rescue 
  • Dead on Arrival 
  • End of Days 
  • Alternate Solutions 
  • Dead Space
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Wednesday, August 15

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC Review & Deep Lore Analysis

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan — The Cosmic Mystery That Fixed the Reapers' Origin

Official logo for the Mass Effect 3 Leviathan single-player DLC featuring stark sci-fi typography

When BioWare first pulled the curtain back on the Leviathan DLC, the gaming world was still reeling from the highly controversial launch of Mass Effect 3. The original announcement was brief and straight to the point:

"We are very pleased to officially announce that the Mass Effect 3 Leviathan single-player DLC will be released on August 28th, 2012 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Please note that on Playstation 3 in Europe, it will be available on August 29th."

Looking back, that humble press release understated exactly what this content pack was. Leviathan wasn't just a handful of new weapons or a disconnected side quest. It was a foundational pillar of Mass Effect lore that fundamentally recontextualized the entire trilogy.

A Shift in Tone: Cosmic Noir

From a gameplay perspective, Leviathan stands out because it temporarily abandons the desperate, run-and-gun war movie pacing of the core game. Instead, it leans heavily into a detective noir aesthetic laced with Lovecraftian cosmic horror.

Commander Shepard is tasked with tracking down rumors of a creature powerful enough to kill a Reaper. This leads players to the laboratory of Dr. Garret Bryson, transforming Shepard into an interstellar sleuth. You spend time scanning star charts, piecing together redacted logs, and filtering search parameters to locate a hidden apex predator.

This pacing was a breath of fresh air. It reminded players of the original Mass Effect's heavy emphasis on exploration and uncovering ancient, unknowable mysteries in the dark corners of the galaxy.

Unveiling the Apex Race

The true value of Leviathan lies in its narrative payload. For three games, the Reapers were presented as an invincible, unknowable force—synthetic gods who harvested organic life on a 50,000-year cycle. But where did they come from?

The DLC introduces us to the Leviathans: an ancient, aquatic, mind-controlling race that considered themselves the apex of all organic life in the universe. In their infinite hubris, they noticed a recurring problem among their lesser thrall species: organics inevitably created synthetics, and those synthetics inevitably rebelled.

  • The Catalyst: To solve this problem, the Leviathans created an AI (The Intelligence) to find a way to preserve organic life.
  • The Betrayal: The AI determined that the only way to preserve life was to harvest it and store it in synthetic shells.
  • The First Harvest: The Leviathans themselves were the first victims, harvested to create Harbinger, the very first Reaper.
Commander Shepard sinking into the dark ocean depths in a Triton mech during the climax of the Mass Effect 3 Leviathan DLC
The chilling descent in the Triton mech remains one of the most atmospheric sequences in the trilogy.

Fixing the Starchild Problem

To understand Leviathan's legacy, you have to look at how it interacts with the infamously divisive ending of Mass Effect 3. The original ending introduced the "Starchild" AI at the very last minute, dumping massive, paradigm-shifting lore on the player with zero build-up. It felt completely out of left field.

Leviathan retroactively fixes this structural pacing flaw. By playing this DLC mid-campaign, the concepts of the "Intelligence," the purpose of the Reapers, and the conflict between organics and synthetics are heavily foreshadowed. When Shepard finally meets the Catalyst at the end of the game, it no longer feels like a sudden plot twist, but rather the tragic, logical conclusion to the history learned in the abyss.

The Final Verdict

Today, with the release of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition seamlessly integrating all DLC into the core experience, it is almost unthinkable to play the third game without Leviathan. It transforms the Reapers from unknowable space-gods into a tragic tale of arrogance.

It remains a masterclass in adding lore without breaking the existing universe. Between the haunting underwater set pieces, the incredible sound design of the ocean depths, and the massive lore drops, Leviathan is essential reading for anyone stepping into Commander Shepard's boots.

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Neil Davidge's Discography


Fans of Halo's music might be interested to know the pedigree of Halo 4's composer, Neil Davidge. Here's his formal discography formal discography as released by Micosoft.



NEIL DAVIDGE
PRODUCTION DISCOGRAPHY
YEAR
ARTIST
PROJECT
LABEL
PRODUCER / COMPOSER



1997 - 1999
Massive Attack
 Mezzanine
Virgin/10
1999
Sunna
One Minute Science
Virgin/ Melankolic
2000 - 2003
Massive Attack
100th Window
Virgin 10
2004
Massive Attack
Danny the Dog / Unleashed
Virgin / EMI
2005
Davidge/Del Naja
Bullet Boy Score

2006 - 2007
Massive Attack
Collected
Virgin / EMI
2006 - 2007
Massive Attack
Live with me
Virgin / EMI
2007
Massive Attack
False Flags / United Snakes
Virgin / EMI
2007
Davidge/Del Naja
In Prison my whole life score

2007
Davidge/Del Naja
Trouble the water score

2007
Davidge/Del Naja
Battle in Seattle

2008
Davidge/Del Naja
The Hulk
Marvel studios
2008 -2010
Massive Attack
Heligoland
Virgin / EMI
2009
Neil Davidge
Push Movie score
Warner Bros.
2011 - 2012
Neil Davidge
Halo 4 Game score
Microsoft / 343 Industries
2012 - 2013
Neil Davidge
Debut Solo Album
7Hz Productions




CO-PRODUCER / COMPOSER



YEAR
ARTIST
TRACK
LABEL
1996
Massive Attack
Hunter
Batman Soundtrack/ Atlantic
1996
Massive Attack
Fake The Aroma
Help/ Go Disc
1996
Massive Attack
Euro 96 / Euro zero zero

1996
Massive Attack
Wire
Welcome To Sarajevo
1996
Massive Attack
Hymn of the Big Wheel
The Fan
1997
Massive Attack
Metal and Dissolved Girl
The Jackal
1998
Unkle featuring Thom Yorke
Rabbit In Your Headlights
Unkle Project/ Mo Wax
1998
Manic Street Preachers
If You Tolerate This
Epic
1998
Massive Attack
Angel
Adidas
1998
Massive Attack
Inertia Creeps
Levi's
1998
Liz Fraser
Sailing On
A Winters Guest
1999
Prodigy featuring 3D
No Souvenirs
XL
1999
Massive Attack
Angel
End Of Days
1999
Massive Attack
Dissolved Girl
The Matrix
2000
Primal Scream
Exterminator
XL
2000
Massive Attack
Angel
Snatch
2000
Massive Attack
Angel
Armani
2000
Sunna
Powerstruggle
Hollow Man
2001
Mos Def
I against I
Blade 2
2001
David Bowie
Nature Boy
Moulin Rouge
2001
Perfect Circle
3 Libras (Massive Attack Remix)

2001
Lupine Howl
Vaporizor (Massive Attack Remix)
Beggars Banquet
2001
Dandy Warhols
Demos
Capitol
2004
Unkle
Invasion
Global underground
2006
Unkle
Twilight
Global underground
2007
Snoop Dogg
What up man
In Prison my whole life
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Waypoint has the Halo Multiplayer Specialisations



OVERVIEW

During their Spartan careers, players are offered Specializations through a variety of channels, allowing them to enlist in specific rank paths that come with armor sets, armor mods, emblems, and a variety of other components. Once a player has advanced through the standard fifty (50) rank levels allotted to Spartans, they will have access to a selection of Specializations. These paths are composed of ten rank levels each, which the player, once opting for the Specialization, must complete in order to improve their rank and before being allowed to enlist in a separate Specialization.

Each Specialization unlocks the following items as you progress across its 10 levels:

• Armor Mod
• Armor Set – Helmet, Chest, Left Shoulder, Right Shoulder
• Armor Set Skin – Texture skin for Helmet, Chest, Left Shoulder, Right Shoulder
• Weapon Skin – Texture skin of one of the loadout weapons
• 4 Foreground Emblems
• 1 Background Emblem
• 1 Visor Color





WETWORK

Spartan optimization for stealth operations which focus on the elimination of an enemy target with the goal of leaving no tactical footprint behind.

The Stealth armor mod allows users to move quickly and silently in combat, executing enemy assassinations with lightning fast dexterity.





PIONEER

Spartan optimization for deployment into uncharted, hostile territory, such as uncolonized worlds or Forerunner constructs like Requiem, for the purpose of gathering and relaying information.

The Fast Track armor mod allows Spartans to gain more experiential data from each encounter, effectively ranking up quicker during the process.

This Specialization will be available at launch.





ENGINEER

Spartan optimization for the subversion, repair, and or reconstitution of a wide range of technology, including Covenant and Forerunner complex networks.

The Drop Recon armor mod allows users to predict the location and time of an ordnance drop through an external suborbital monitoring system.





TRACKER

Spartan optimization for long-range target tracking (trans-continent and off-world), particularly in scenarios where conventional tracking has failed or such a substantial time has passed that the trail has gone cold.

The Requisition armor mod allows users the ability to recall their own ordnance requests in order to acquire more helpful weapons in the field.





ROGUE

Spartan optimization for single-operative missions which require a lone Spartan to be deployed on their own for incredibly long durations of time, even years if required.

The Stability armor mod allows users to increase their aiming stability when being fired upon.





STALKER

Spartan optimization for target shadowing missions which require tactical invisibility despite operating at an extremely close range to the target itself.

The Nemesis armor mod allows users to target and track down previous attacking enemies, highlighting them on the armor’s passive sensors.





PATHFINDER

Spartan optimization for deep, unconventional deployment within unknown enemy territory and with little to no assistance from command.

The Gunner armor mod decreases the time of weapon overheat when occupying a vehicle weapon position and increases Spartan speed while carrying a detached turret.





OPERATOR

Spartan optimization for the operation and control of a wide range of vehicles: space, air, ground, and sea.

The Wheelman armor mod gives Spartans the ability to coax every bit of stamina and durability out

of vehicles they are piloting.





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Stats on players finishing Mass Effect

Concept artwork of Jack
Stats on players finishing Mass Effect

BioWare's online development director Fernando Melo revealed to his audience during a talk at GDC Europe that more than five months after Mass Effect 3 was released, only 42 per cent of players have completed the game.

Unsurprisingly, Mass Effect 2's completion rate even got a boost this year as players readied save files to import into Mass Effect 3. That stat is currently at 56 percent.

I say even if you heard that ME3 ending sucked, you should still finish it to prove you're a real gamer...
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Saturday, August 11

How to connect your Iphone's Wi Fi to the Xbox 360


How to connect your Iphone's Wifi to the Xbox 360

I was recently  tidying chords behind the TV and I managed to break the internet when I un-plugged the modem - the connection to the ISP couldn't be made. I was gutted as I wanted to play some Dead Space but alas! My game save was 'in the cloud' so I was prevented from playing.

I sat defeated cursing my first world problem. Whilst doing so I got a text message on my Iphone 4S and I got a little twinkle in my eye. I could try and use the Wifi Hotspot function the phone has and see if the Xbox 360 would accept that as a source of internet.

The short answer, is yes, you can connect the iphone wifi to the Xbox!

Here's how to connect the two devices.

  • Turn your iphone's Personal Hot Spot on. 
  • Turn on the xbox
  • If you have an ethernet plugged in to the xbox, remove it. 
  • Go to the Network settings section of the Xbox 360
  • Identify the wireless signel of your Iphone - it will be your Iphone's name. Select it.
  • Enter the password of your hotspot wifi as given to you on the phone. 
  • Once satisfied the connection has been made, sign into Xbox and you are away. 

Using your Iphone's data does run the risk of you blowing your datacap and and you'll possibly have limited connectivity via your 3G network so I doubt you'll be doing a multi-player marathon anytime soon but you should be able to access your saved games at the very least!

I imagine this little trick is also be able to be used by Android phones and the like that have the same wifi hotspot connections.
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Thursday, August 9

Rod Fergusson has an permament Irrational moment



While Kirk Hamilton at Kotaku appears to be doing his best fear-mongering about Bioshock Infinite, he's managed to drop a real piece of news that Epic's Rod Fergusson has jumped ship to Irrational Games.

This is a move to apparently to sort out a few in house issues and get Bioshock Infinite out the door and into the hands of the franchise's fans.

Here's some tweets by Fergusson that confirm all.


I'm pretty sure Epic won't be too happy about this as I suspect Fergusson is the guy that manages to keep Cliff Bleszinski in check.....



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Fall of Cybertron Demonstration Review

grimlock-fall-of-cybertron
Tell me about the Petro rabbits Kup!
Fall of Cybertron Demonstration Review

Did you ever play the Transformers game on the Commodore 64? I'm talking about the 80s here so half of you probably weren't even born when it came out. I recall it was impressively crap and hard to play. Thank goodness High Noon know how how to make a Transformers game. First, they did War for Cybertron which was very well received but due to my observation that games featuring big fucking giant robots beating each other up have generally under performed, I never played it.

fall-cybertronSo when I heard (via the Xbox dashboard) they had made a sequel, Fall of Cybertron I was a little surprised. War for Cybertron must have been good eh? Seeing as there was a demo to download, I thought, it's free so I might as well give it a try. And so I duly downloaded the 2 gigabytes of it and had a crack.

What a blast! The demo features two demos, one you get to play as Bumblebee as he races to help Optimus Prime battle Megatron, the other is played as Blast Off, a Combaticon (I had him as a kid!) as he takes part in an operation to 'steal back' some Energon that those wicked Autobots have got their grubby hands on.

Game play wise, Fall of Cybertron is a fast and furious ride though the bowels of Cybertron. It's bright and colourful - indeed it's a quite tasteful palate (none of this gritty Gears of War business featured in the demo).

Transforming from robot in to alt mode is quite simple and it's fun to chop and change, especially while as playing as Blast Off. Having two modes appears to offer the chance to tackle certain targets in different ways (however not every point in the demo allows you to choose).

This demo of Fall of Cybertron hints that the full game will be a terrific fun ride, one that is clearly inspired by the original Generation of Transformers but wrapped in the modern reality of what the gaming universe has to offer. And guns. Lots of guns.

And hey, it looks like that the might Grimlock is going to be in the game, so it might be worth ponying up so cash for that Dinobot alone!

You can pre-order Fall of Cybertron here from Amazon.


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Saturday, August 4

Meet Commander Thomas Lasky from the FUD

Little English Halo Blog spied a new character for the Halo verse when checking out some new Halo toys. Commander Thomas Lasky will probably be available as his own action figure upon release of Halo 4.

If you've seen the trailer for Halo 4 that features the Forward Unto Dawn being drawn to the planet of Requiem, it's not hard to see the Lasky is the Commander of that ship.

I imagine that Lasky will perform a similar kind of role that the wonderful Commadber Keyes played in the original Halo: Combat Evolved game. Let's hope Lasky is up to the standard that Keyes set!
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Friday, August 3

Star Wars Body Painted Cosplay Babes

Star Wars Body Paint Cosplay: When Fandom Meets Fine Art

Cosplayer featuring intricate red and black Sith-inspired body paint with geometric Dark Side facial markings
Palpatine was really into his Sith Apprentice. In Expanded Universe lore, Sith like Darth Talon famously wore full-body Sith tattoos, making this style of cosplay incredibly lore-accurate.

The Legacy of the "Hutt Slayer"

Princess Leia was always iconic, but Return of the Jedi locked her into cosplay immortality. The gold slave bikini? Instant legend. It wasn’t just a costume—it became a pop culture flashpoint. Leia, chained to Jabba the Hutt, then flipping the script and strangling him with that very chain? That moment burned itself into sci-fi and cosplay history. She was fierce, sexy, and completely in control—and fans never forgot it.

From that spark, the Star Wars cosplay universe exploded. What started with Leia’s gold ensemble quickly spiraled into a galaxy of bold reinterpretations: Twi'lek dancers, tattooed Sith seductresses, reimagined stormtroopers, and yes, more Leias than a bounty hunter can count. And now, body paint has entered the scene in full force—quite literally.

These Star Wars-inspired cosplayers take it to the next level, transforming their bodies into living canvases. Whether it’s a fully-painted Ahsoka Tano, a sultry blue-skinned Chiss warrior, or a reimagined body art Leia, this is fandom with zero restraint and full creative throttle. The Force is definitely strong with these ones.

The Mandalorian Creed Meets Body Art

Mandalorian armor is traditionally forged from impenetrable Beskar steel, designed to withstand blaster fire and lightsaber strikes alike. But on the convention floor? Sometimes the armor is just a brilliant illusion of paint and patience.

Cosplayer modeling a Boba Fett Mandalorian armor design created entirely out of detailed body paint
The world's most impressive body-painted bounty hunter?
Alternative Mandalorian body paint cosplay featuring striking red and silver armor detailing

Protocol Droids as You've Never Seen Them

You’ll probably never look at C-3PO the same way again after seeing what’s below. Gone is the stiff, neurotic Cybot Galactica protocol droid we knew from the Death Star trenches—replaced by a shimmering, golden vision draped in tassels and attitude, leaving very little to the imagination.

This isn’t Threepio translating alien dialects to moisture vaporators... this is C-3PO reprogrammed for maximum impact, all sass and shine. It’s equal parts fan service and cosplay subversion—because why not turn the galaxy’s most uptight droid into a convention floor showstopper?

Creative C-3PO golden droid cosplay executed entirely in metallic gold body paint with burlesque elements
Where are you, R2?
Princess Leia's iconic Return of the Jedi gold metal bikini recreated meticulously through body paint art
Body Painted Princess Leia, honoring the classic Hutt Slayer design.

The Empire's New Clothes

The 501st Legion might demand strict, screen-accurate plastoid armor, but the body paint community plays by its own rules. Below we see classic Imperial Stormtrooper and Republic Clone Trooper designs masterfully shaded onto the skin. It takes immense talent to map rigid, geometric armor plates onto the natural curves of the human body, capturing the helmet visors and chest pieces purely through shading and highlights.

Imperial Stormtrooper armor design hand-painted onto a cosplayer showcasing incredible shading and linework
Body Painted Stormtrooper.
Republic Clone Trooper from the prequel era recreated in full body paint detailing the helmet and chest armor
A Clone Trooper from Kamino, reimagined for the convention floor.

More from a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

If you want even more amazing fan creations, be sure to check out The Ultimate Star Wars Cosplay page.

Trivia Time: Did you know that the incredible Alan Tudyk played the Imperial enforcer droid, K-2SO, in the hit film Rogue One? It just goes to show that behind every great piece of Star Wars armor—whether it's digital, plastic, or body paint—there's an artist bringing it to life.

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