LOTRO: High Elf Preview
I was more than a little surprised when Standing Stone Games announced the addition of a new race coming to LOTRO. As Elves are already a popular option in the game, I really didn’t see any merit in adding a subtle variation of them, with High Elves. However, as I had time this weekend, I thought I’d take a look at the new introduction for this race, that is currently available for preview on the Bullroarer test server. Like all races in LOTRO, there is a bespoke opening quest line, that orientates players and provides a degree of lore and backstory. Although aspects of the High Elf race are yet to be completed such as the character visualisation, the introduction is in place and has a rather unique narrative compared to the rest of LOTRO.
LOTRO: Mordor Preview
I decided to take a look at the second Mordor preview today, that is currently available on Bullroarer test server. Due to technical issues, I could not initially log into the game. The game client stuck at installing “pre-reqs”. However, by the evening SSG had resolved the problem and I managed to successfully login and copy my level cap character from Laurelin. Access to Mordor is via a teleport horse at the Slag-Hills. As with Helm’s Deep and the Battle of the Pelennor fields, this system of transitioning between multiple phases set at different times, can be a little confusing. Irrespective of this, it was rather droll of SSG to have Boromir as the NPC that bestows access to the Mordor quest line. I subsequently spent several hours touring the region. This post is specifically about my initial impressions of the area and is not a critique of all the new features and systems.
Classic Movie Themes: Mackenna's Gold
Mackenna's Gold is a perfect example of the Western at its most decadent. Made at a time when the genre was becoming increasingly tired and facing strong competition from the Italian market, Hollywood decided that the way to renew public interest was to turn everything up to eleven and turn the Western into a multimillion dollar spectacle. The movie cost Columbia Pictures $14 million in 1969 and boasted an all-star cast, as well as action and special effects. However, it was not a smooth production and the studio seemed to get cold feet prior to its release. The Three hour running time was reduced to one hundred and twenty-eight minutes, leaving the final cut feeling somewhat uneven. Overall, the public were indifferent and the box office takings were low.
Gaming and Semantics
Language is an evolutionary thing. It changes over time, reflecting the needs of the culture that use it. Furthermore, each unique sub-set of society seems to create and utilise its own bespoke lexicon. From business, science, politics, religion, to sports and other leisure activities, all use terminology that is pertinent to their own group. Overtime some of these terms crossover from one niche to another to eventually find broad mainstream acceptance. It is a fascinating process and one I think has accelerated in recent years due to the growth of social media.
Dark City: Director's Cut (1998)
There are many directors who have cut their teeth working in the music industry. They have often fashioned their cinematic style and technique from the music videos they’ve made. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of this school of movie making. McG, for example represents to me the epitome of style over substance. I also detest this current trend for fast editing. It may well be pertinent for the music industry but I believe it is to the detriment of the narrative cinema. But there is one director from this background who has risen above his roots and exhibits true creative talent and a fundamental grasp of film. Alex Proyas, director of The Crow and I, Robot.
Secret World Legends
Writing a lengthy article as to why you don’t like a game is often a bad idea. It seldom makes for a good post unless you are humorous or have a cogent point to make. Often all the anger, bile and vitriol can be distilled down to the following. “I wanted X and they (the developers) gave me Y”. Its a simple question of differing expectations and personal taste. Well that is what we have here. Simply put, the changes made to The Secret World in its transition to Secret World Legends are insufficient for me to change my overall view of the game. Specifically, I still do not like the combat system and find the UI esoteric and unintuitive. It is easier to play the game now so theoretically I can soldier on to see the narrative that I previously missed. But I still have to endure an unsatisfactory fighting style to do this and that is a big enough hurdle for me to possibly conclude “it’s not worth it”.
Apollo 18 (2011)
A fundamental requirement of cinema is that the audience suspends their sense of disbelief. Anything that breaks this will immediately has a negative impact upon the viewing experience. There are many things can severe this connection but the two most common seem to be obvious plot holes and Scooby Doo behaviour IE “Let’s split up…”. If these are the result of simply poor film making, then they can perhaps be forgiven. Every director has to learn their craft. However, if these two factors are present by design, then that is an unpardonable sin. Assuming that your audience is stupid, is insulting and the worse sort of hypocrisy.
PVP in MMOs
There has been an interesting debate this week about PVP in MMOs among several of my fellow bloggers. Syp AKA Justin Olivetti wrote an article for Massively OP referencing “gankbox culture” of EVE Online which then garnered a series of reciprocal posts from the likes of Bhagpuss, Jeromai, UltrViolet and Wilhelm Arcturus. Good points have been made by all but I think Bhaggie hit the nail on the proverbial head when he said that the term “PVP”, like so many in the gaming lexicon, is ill-defined. Player versus player can manifest itself in many forms, such as duels, arenas and zerg against zerg. Some games do offer an open world were players can be preyed upon or “ganked” but it is usually regulated to some degree. However, the thing that came out of this discussion that was of the most interest to me was why some people dislike PVP so much?
LOTRO 10th Anniversary: Remembering LOTRO Part 2
When reminiscing about LOTRO, there are many personal highlights for me to consider. Raiding in the Rift, completing the epic story in Shadows of Angmar, or even getting my first mount. Yet, if I had to pick a personal favourite experience, it would be the great charge across the River Anduin, into Mirkwood. This happened on Gilrain server on Monday 25th of Janurary 2010, the night before Siege of Mirkwood expansion was launched. An enterprising player by the name of Mikeemoo arranged the event via the forums and at the designated time a hundred plus players assembled on the Western bank of The Great River. Once the signal was given we swam en masse to the Eastern shore and swarmed up the bank into the woods. As the zone was not yet accessible the developers had placed NPCs in the vicinity; Mirkeves Fell Arrows that could one shot any player. However, due to the sheer number of players in the zerg and the resulting lag, many made it across. Eventually the server kicked everyone but it was immense fun while it lasted.
Godzilla (2014)
Gareth Edwards directing debut Monsters, was a clever, subtle and genuinely moving human drama that just happened to be set against the background of alien lifeforms in a quarantine zone. He also managed to imbue the monsters of the title with a sense of depth. They were intriguing with their bio-luminescent communication and curious vocalisations. They were not simply an arbitrary MacGuffin and hinted at something far more complex. I was therefore very surprised and pleased that he has managed to maintain these qualities in his second feature film Godzilla. Despite being a massive studio undertaking his reboot of the classic franchise has a depth of soul that you seldom find in such mainstream material.
Pacific Rim (2013)
At first glance Pacific Rim may appear to be yet another exercise in Hollywood excess. Another bloated, vacuous spectacle made by cynics who have no other motive than to part the unwary cinemagoer from their hard-earned cash. Fortunately, it is not one of those movies. It is big and certainly visually impressive but it also has a plot, likeable characters, a global overview and a sense of integrity regarding the genre it lovingly references. In every respect, this is a superior example of the summer blockbuster genre and it can all be attributed to the unique talents of Guillermo del Toro.
The Expendables 3 Unrated Edition (2014)
The theatrical release of The Expendables 3 in 2014 was severely hamstrung by the producer’s decision to court a wider audience with a PG-13 rating. The film although profitable, still fell short of its predecessor’s box office taking. Many fans of the franchise subsequently looked to the DVD and Blu-ray release to provide a harder cut of the movie, similar to the previous R rated instalments.
Sadly, this was not the case. The Expendables 3 Unrated Edition does include some additional action content and one new expositionary scene but overall there is nothing that radically improves the film or makes it stronger in content than the theatrical release.
Messing About in Boats
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame. The Wind in the Willows.
It's curious the way a simple aspect of a game can resonate with you and become a source of pleasure. Regardless of the availability of new content, I still like to log into LOTRO on occasion and just ride around Middle-earth. Similarly, the vast open world of Skyrim has a comparable appeal. Despite my lack of driving skills, even aimlessly cruising around Los Santos in GTA V can be a source of relaxation. I can lose hours indulging in these simple tasks, quietly reflecting on either the game or the real world. Recently I returned to another activity that can also be added to this list. Sailing in Two Worlds II.
The Unbelievers (2013)
If you are expecting the documentary The Unbelievers to be a strong and powerful argument for atheism, then you will have a disappointed. At most Gus Holwerda's film provides an interesting insight into the rigours of an international promotional tour, as he follows the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss around the globe. This acutely self-aware documentary fails to adequately explore the concept of atheism or the reason as to why these two scientists have embraced it. For such answers, you'd be better off reading the written works of Messrs. Dawkins and Krauss.
Star Trek Online: Summer Festival 2017
The Star Trek Online Summer Festival 2017 or Risa annual Lohlunat Festival to give it its proper name has been running for over a week now. It started on the June 8th and is available through to 20th July. Although many MMOs have festival and seasonal activities, STO’s Summer and Winter events are outstanding, being accessible, enjoyable and very rewarding. Not only are cosmetic clothing and pets available as barter items, the game also offers kit modules and bridge officer skills as rewards. Then of course each event always allows players to earn a new Tier 6 ship. This Summer it’s a Vorgon Ryn’Kodan Carrier.
How Not to Do Business Part 2: TopWare
I wrote last week about the surprise DLC for the seven-year-old RPG Two Worlds II and how I decided on a whim to buy it. Well yesterday was the official launch day for Call of the Tenebrae and yet, twenty-four hours later, I’m still not playing the game. So far, I have not received a Steam key for the game, despite the money being deducted from my PayPal account on the 5th of June. So naturally, I have made enquiries as to what is happening and have endeavoured to contact the publishers TopWare. Let it suffice to say that my attempts to resolve the matter have proved fruitless and I have discovered that TopWare are far from the embodiment of German efficiency.
Pick Up Groups
Out of all my recent gaming, Sniper Elite 4 has proved the most entertaining. The engaging mechanics and stealthy gameplay have held my attention and kept me engaged. So far, I spent over seventy-two hours playing through the campaign and DLC. After watching several You Tube videos I was tempted to try the co-operative mode, something that I don’t always do in these sorts of games. Overwatch allows two players to work together as sniper and spotter respectively, to complete objectives within a custom map. It requires communication and co-ordination. It should also be noted that multiplayer in Sniper Elite 4, is dependent on peer-to-peer connection rather than dedicated servers, with the players hosting the games themselves.
Into the Storm (2014)
When I first saw the trailers for Into the Storm back in 2014, I was far from impressed. I thought to myself, I bet that's just a CGI FX show reel with some second-rate plot tacked on as an afterthought. So, I elected not to see the movie upon release and forgot about it. The other night I was in the mood for some easy entertainment. Nothing heavy, just something that would provide an amusing diversion for an hour and a half or so. I wasn't setting the bar particularly high. Then I remembered Into the Storm and as I’ve always had a weakness for the Disaster Movie genre, I thought to myself, that may do the trick. Sadly, it didn't. This is far from a dumb but fun, popcorn movie like San Andreas. Into the Storm is an insultingly stupid piece of cinema that left me feeling angry and slightly unclean due to watching something so crass.
Caring for the Elderly: Part 2
In a previous post, written last summer, I mentioned my caring commitments and reflected upon the realities of being a carer. Since then my family’s circumstances have changed considerably and subsequently so have my own. In the UK, social care has become a major political issue and was a key area of debate for all parties in the recent election campaign. Although the UK has an aging population, then NHS broadly manages to deal with its needs. It is the social care that so often follows time spent in hospital, that causes a bottleneck. Too often, the local authorities struggle to find carers and have them in place when requested. This means that many patients are unable to be discharged and have to remain in hospital. Caring is a profession that seems to be greatly lauded and esteemed by politicians in principle but the reality is far different. Overall it is often a poorly paid job, with little or no employments rights or benefits.
30 Days of Night (2007)
Every once in while an established genre will get a new interpretation that gives it fresh impetus. 30 Days of Night did exactly that to the Vampire mythos ten years ago and is a very good horror film as well. Based on a well-known series of graphic novels by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, it tells how a remote Alaskan town falls under siege by a group of the undead, during the extended period of darkness that comes in winter; the thirty days of night of the title. Local Sheriff Josh Hartnett suspects something is wrong when the remote towns transport and telecommunications are sabotaged. Is the vagrant arrested for these crimes a lunatic or a “familiar” for more sinister forces?