21 Jump Street; A Review
Posted by Landerpurex on March 19th, 2012, 3:05 am. Category: Scribery Entry
9/10
I consider myself a comedy connoisseur. Whether it's the fine wine comedy of Monty Python, the outrageous antics of Will Ferrell in Step Brothers or Old School, or the recently over-the-top Wanderlust, and even further back to classics such as Caddyshack, National Lampoon, Animal House, and even further to the Stooges and Charlie Chaplin. I've seen it all. I have not, however, always enjoyed it all.
21 Jump Street was, simply put, a fantastic comedy. I wouldn't consider myself a huge Jonah Hill fan, but he does well in this movie. The star who really excels is Channing Tatum, however. As some other reviewers mention, seeing the actor exit his (boring, in my opinion) romantic role and enter into a comedic one is fantastic. His simple, yet sincere character is one we've seen time and again, but it's incredibly funny and somehow fresh in this film. Jonah Hill's character is similar to those in the past, the outcast bookworm, but again, it fits the movie.
The premise of the movie is that Tatum and Hill are newly graduated policemen, and aren't at all good at their job. After losing some perpetrators doing drugs in the park, they are reassigned to the run-down undercover unit at 21 Jump Street. Here, their captain (A hilarious Ice Cube) assigns them to pose as students to try and take down the supplier of a new hallucinogenic drug called HFS (Holy F'ing
). Simple enough premise. A large part of the comedy of this movie is currently edgy, and will hit home with our generation for years to come. Tatum and Hill return to school to find that studying, caring for the environment, and being tolerant is now 'cool'. This, of course, is openly satirizing the abrupt shift that is taking place with youth today, for good or ill and remains a very potent comedic strand throughout the movie. In a memorable scene, when the two first return to high school, they are bombarded by new cliques, such as asians dressed in cosplay and the now infamous hipsters. Again, it's humor that has a target audience and works incredibly well for us who are mired in these new cultural phenomena.
Interestingly enough, there are a few good action scenes to be had in this movie as well. It's no Jackie Chan movie, but the director manages some good action, explosions (and satirizing the convention of explosions), car chases and shootouts to change the pace when a change is warranted.
This isn't an art film, and will not wow you with presentation, cinematography, sound, or any other technical aspect. It is driven by its humor, strong acting, and script, which is always enough with a successful comedy. We are meant to pay attention to the jokes, not what the camera angles suggest. It is sufficient enough technically that we aren't distracted by *bad* decisions, there is just not anything that will wow you in that respect.
There are many laughs to be had in this movie, for people of all ages and backgrounds. The guys are forced to try the new drug right away to prove they're not police, and the insanity ensues. Tatum bursts into the band room and destroys and disrupts. Hill returns to drama class and somehow nails himself the lead part in the school's production of Peter Pan. In an attempt to get in with one of the dealers, the guys throw a party of wicked proportions, and kids from a rival school show up. This ends in Tatum punching almost anyone who steps in front of him and Hill getting stabbed with some kind of artifact. Then, their parents return and break up the party.
This movie toes the line between ridiculous and incredibly funny exactly the way a great comedy should. It's witty, edgy, and simply funny nearly all the time, with very strong acting and writing throughout all the while remaining grounded in a decent enough story. There are even a few great surprises to be had, including a fantastic cameo. The ONLY reasons this film garners a 9 instead of a 10 from me is because it falters in the final scenes, going too far with a shock device that seems totally unnecessary given the merit of the rest of the film. There are also some cliches to be had, but they serve their purpose in the plot.
In short, go and see this film as soon as possible.
View Full Article | 7 Comments |
Guild Wars 2 (Pre-Purchase) April 10th
Posted by killa kiaba on March 15th, 2012, 6:52 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
https://buy.guildwars2.com/
All pre-purchase editions include these exclusive bonuses:
Access to all Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Events
Three days of headstart access
Hero’s Band (+2 to all stats)
DIGITAL EDITION $59.99
Guild Wars 2 game
DIGITAL DELUXE $79.99
Guild Wars 2 game
Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill
Rytlock Miniature
Golem Banker
Chalice of Glory
Tome of Influence
COLLECTOR'S EDITION $149.99
Guild Wars 2 game
Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill
Rytlock Miniature
Golem Banker
Chalice of Glory
Tome of Influence
10-inch figurine of Rytlock
112 page Making of Guild Wars 2 book
Custom Art Frame
Art Portfolio and Five Art Prints
Best of Guild Wars 2 Soundtrack CD
Minimum System Requirements*
* Due to potential changes, system requirements may change over time, and you may be required to upgrade your current system (or obtain a new system) to continue to play the game.
Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or better · 2 GB RAM
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, Core i3, AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 or better
NVIDIA® GeForce® 7800, ATI Radeon™ X1800, Intel HD 3000 or better (256MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better)
25 GB available HDD space
Broadband Internet connection
Keyboard and mouse
All pre-purchase editions include these exclusive bonuses:
Access to all Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Events
Three days of headstart access
Hero’s Band (+2 to all stats)
DIGITAL EDITION $59.99
Guild Wars 2 game
DIGITAL DELUXE $79.99
Guild Wars 2 game
Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill
Rytlock Miniature
Golem Banker
Chalice of Glory
Tome of Influence
COLLECTOR'S EDITION $149.99
Guild Wars 2 game
Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill
Rytlock Miniature
Golem Banker
Chalice of Glory
Tome of Influence
10-inch figurine of Rytlock
112 page Making of Guild Wars 2 book
Custom Art Frame
Art Portfolio and Five Art Prints
Best of Guild Wars 2 Soundtrack CD
Minimum System Requirements*
* Due to potential changes, system requirements may change over time, and you may be required to upgrade your current system (or obtain a new system) to continue to play the game.
Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or better · 2 GB RAM
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, Core i3, AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 or better
NVIDIA® GeForce® 7800, ATI Radeon™ X1800, Intel HD 3000 or better (256MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better)
25 GB available HDD space
Broadband Internet connection
Keyboard and mouse
The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet (3/27/2012): A Review
Posted by defeat on March 12th, 2012, 8:14 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
Rating: 9/10
There are few bands I expect to blow me away with every release, and The Mars Volta is one of them. In any form of art there is an indefinite number of artists trying to take their chosen medium to the next level of originality. This is especially true in music, but most tend to get hung up on the concept of genres. It’s an easy thing to do, as genres are the best reference points art has to describe it. A genre is sometimes necessary for description, but at other times putting a label on a work of art can hinder the art itself. Trying to describe The Mars Volta’s music is hard enough, but putting one specific genre or label on it is simply impossible. One thing that they have stuck by, however, is the pop format. Granted, their songs aren’t the verse/chorus/verse all-in-under-four-minutes that Top 40 radio stations have come to embrace (it’s more like intro/verse/chorus/verse/bridge/chorus/outro, all-in-sometimes-10-minutes-or more), but they do have choruses that fans of intensely poetic, non-linear lyrics can try and sing along with. I say try, because, come on…Who can sing that hauntingly beautiful falsetto like Cedric Bixler-Zavala?
Throughout their career The Mars Volta have incorporated everything from jazz to Latin into their music, but their latest release, entitled Noctourniquet, comes closer to being a pop/rock album than any of the others. There. I said it. It’s a pop album. This shouldn’t have come as such a surprise to me, as the last release, 2009’s Octahedron, only had a single song over eight minutes (a huge departure from the band’s early days that spawned songs like the 35+ minute epic “Cassandra Gemini”). It was a surprise, though. Maybe it’s surprising because this is the first album they’ve released that I’ve heard parts in songs that could have come from other bands. “Aegis” has a feel reminiscent of Muse in the verses. “Zed and Two Naughts”’ drums instantly brought A Perfect Circle’s song "Weak and Powerless" to mind. Even the lead single has a guitar riff that could have come from any of the songs on Queens of the Stone Age’s album, Era Vulgaris, or any of Jack White’s past and present projects. I’m not saying that they were trying for any similarities, but when you make a pop album, it’s impossible to completely avoid them, even for The Mars Volta…
…And a The Mars Volta album it is! Even with these few similarities, the above mentioned songs are undoubtedly and uniquely straight from TMV’s songwriter and producer, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. His guitar playing is as riff-tastic and sometimes nothing but effects per-usual. He’s always been an experimental little guy, and even with Noctourniquet’s pop sensibilities, he's still pushing the boundaries of music. Their usual use of keyboards has changed from jazzy piano and organ to synth (possibly due to the departure of keyboardist "Ikey" Owens), although their trademark sound manipulation can be heard throughout the album’s entirety. Fans of The Volta’s past efforts won’t be disappointed, especially with the songs “Dyslexicon”, “Molochwalker”, and “Trinkets Pale of Moon”, which range from in-your-face to soft and sweet, respectively. One thing some fans tend to complain about is the revolving door of drummers since Jon Theodore stopped playing with the band in 2006. I never jumped on that band wagon, and really enjoyed Thomas Pridgen’s drumming on the last two albums. However, the only complaint I have about Noctourniquet is just that, the drumming. New drummer, Deantoni Parks, just doesn’t do it for me. He seems to be trying way too hard to live up to the sonic pummeling that the previous albums have featured, and sometimes fails miserably (evident in “Lapochka”).
If you haven’t heard The Mars Volta before, disliked their previous efforts for being too artsy, or are one of the many who haven’t liked an album of theirs since the full length debut (2003’s De-Loused in the Comatorium), Noctourniquet is a great album to get acquainted with, as it’s their most accessible and listener friendly album to date. Fans of the entire discography beware…
It’s a pop album. There. I said it again...
Recommended if you enjoy: Radiohead, Muse, Queens of the Stone Age's Era Vulgaris and/or Jack White
The official lead single can be listened to here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh0stkLanx4&ob=av3e
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning; A Review
Posted by Landerpurex on February 15th, 2012, 12:33 am. Category: Scribery Entry
Overall rating: 8/10.
I've done my homework on this game, both before and after buying it. Everyone seems to be looking at it completely the wrong way. Other reviewers and consumers are comparing this game to Skyrim, Mass Effect, and many other juggernaut RPGs. This is a mistake. Reviews range from a 9/10 from IGN to a 5/10 from Adam Sessler at G4TV.
Kingdoms of Amalur is similar to other RPGs in some respects, and in others it is radically different. If we analyze and enjoy this by itself, it's a great game. If we stand it next to Skyrim, it falters badly in some respects, and excels in others.
The things this game does well are apparent from the moment you start playing. Environments are very vibrant, and are sufficiently unique. They're somewhat linear, but also allow for quite a bit of exploration and free roam. There are enough hidden treasures, places, and quests to keep you busy for many hours. Often I would venture off the path in search of a treasure that showed up on my map thanks to my 'detect hidden' skill, and would instead spend a few hours saving a town from some kind of spider woman. This had nothing to do with the main quest or any of the 'factions'.
The story for this game is very good, and has RA Salvatore's flair. Sometimes, however, this is its undoing. Every little quest has five minutes of backstory or lore, when you might simply be trying to complete a quest for a quick buck or exp gain. I sometimes found myself skipping dialog for meaningless side quests. On the other side of this issue, the main storyline and faction quests are well-done. I especially loved the storyline of the House of Ballads, a group of elf-like people who endlessly reenact battles and adventures long past. In short, the overarching story isn't anything unconventional, but there are many originalities and nuances to be enjoyed. It's easy to see the care that went into the story, and that a good novelist was the one who oversaw it.
I can't write a review about this game without mentioning it's greatest strength: the battle system. It's fast-paced and more than simple button mashing. I like the emphasis on combos and certain attacks, such as those that 'pop up' your enemy, making them vulnerable for further hits. The amount of attacks is satisfying, but the key is exploring which ones work best together.
The game's skill system is pretty basic but fulfilling at the same time. There are plenty of skills and styles to be explored, without there being *too* much. The destiny system is great, you can unlock bonuses for your character as you dump points into any of the three skill trees. You can also unlock destinies for hybrid classes, even ones for supporting all three trees. This allows for a fantastic amount of customization with ample reward for whichever tree/s you choose to support.
That being said, this game's mechanics allow for one of the best roleplaying opportunities I've seen. The destiny system and hybrid classes make for an experience that really hasn't been amply explored in other titles. If you couple this with the strong story and hundreds of quests, then you have a very enjoyable recipe.
The game, of course; is not without faults. Some consumers have complained about the voice acting, but I actually enjoyed it. I found it more inspiring than some, and dialog seemed to fit the character saying it. I will be the first to admit that character models and facial expressions are lacking. Though the voice acting is good, it is not paired with good facial modeling. The characters are expressionless and half the time, their mouths don't even follow what they're saying.
Other cons involve slight dips in framerate, but nothing that was at all gamebreaking. I also often found the shops lacking, I finished the game with over 5 million gold. Granted, I was a money-making machine with max mercantile and detect hidden skills, but there was literally nowhere for me to spend my money after about 2/3 of the way through the game.
I spent about 50 hours on this game, and I was thoroughly satisfied with my experience. There seems to be dozens more hours of content, as I finished with over 50 side quests unfinished, and who knows how many more I left not taken. The replayability of the game is high as well, with trophies/achievements awarded for each playstyle. Though it would be just as easy to totally re-allot your skill points than to start over, but what's the fun in that?
The game is pretty standard fantasy fare on almost every front, while excelling in a few respects; namely the battle system and the major storylines. As other reviewers have pointed out, this game seems to borrow the best features of a lot of other titles and implement them in game to the point where they work together to near perfection. Loot, story, battling, skills, environment, and more. Overall, this game was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new, solid RPG to play from a new studio, but with some very hard-hitting names behind it.
The Woman in Black; A Movie Review
Posted by Landerpurex on February 6th, 2012, 1:05 am. Category: Scribery Entry
Rating: 7/10
This was a good movie, not a great one. It did its job, it scared me (badly) at times, and there were very great technical things happening with this movie. However, it was inconsistent and Radcliffe's acting was just awful.
This movie is pretty typical as far as horror stories go, it's set in early 1900s England. The main character Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) plays a lawyer or paralegal, hard up for a break. He is sent by his firm to a sinister house near a small town, where the spirit of a woman terrorizes the town and the house. His son and their nanny are supposed to join him at the house after some time. Don't be fooled by the PG-13 rating, I learned with Insidious that underrated movies can be terrifying.
The opening scene of this movie was literally the most technically sound, and perhaps the best scene in the movie. While any opening scene should be great, it shouldn't be the best scene in the film. We're shown three young girls playing in an upstairs room, and nothing seems to be wrong. After a few moments, one of them drops their little teacup. It shatters. They then get up and advance towards the three windows, one of the trampling the teapot on the way. Here we have many good things in the cinematography and editing. Short takes. Shades of montage. Short jump cuts. This serves to confuse us, and it works very well. The three girls step up to the sill simultaneously, and jump out the windows. Then we're taken to Arthur's house, shocked by the previous scene and left with many questions.
The worst thing about this film, I felt, were its inconsistencies. It's easy to see that the aforementioned scene was meticulously cared for during production, whereas the rest of the film only shows glimmers of that care. As I said previously, Radcliffe's acting is terrible. He never shows any emotion, both when he realizes his wife has died in childbirth, nor at the end of the film when he is reunited with his son. This movie didn't call for him to strive for any awards, most of the time Arthur runs through the house chasing various noises. I was disappointed that when the script called for a little acting, he didn't deliver. And this took me away from the movie.
The movie delivers through jump-scares that we've come accustomed to with modern horror cinema. The cinematography is sound, with several first person shots that round corners, raising suspense. Of course, the scares don't come when we expect them. Moreover, there are several scenes in this film with these creepy, awkward, grimy toys that often act on their own. This was perhaps the most unsettling thing about the film. Picture a porcelain clown toy from that era, that contorts itself and ends with a close-up shot of his grinning face. Don't see this (or do) if you're afraid of clowns. *shudder*
Along those same lines, there is a scene where Arthur is (you guessed it) checking a noise he heard in the house. He's using a candle, and upon entering the room, there are closeups of the aforementioned toys, and the light of the candle is reflected in their eyes. It's moving with Arthur, and subsequently, moving in the eyes of the toys, making it seem as if they are following his movement. There are similar scenes to this, such as one where Arthur sees the reflection of the ghost in a mirror, but when he turns to check, she is gone. Subtle tricks like these make this movie a positive experience.
The house is a major star in the film, as it should be. It is sinister, old, foreboding, dusty, cobwebby, and simply everything a haunted house should be. There is a cemetery on the grounds that adds to the feeling. In addition to that, there is a lone wooden cross in the front yard where a little boy died when he sank into the swamp.
When we are first introduced to the house, Arthur goes downstairs, exploring. His job in the place is to make sure there are no more official papers in the home and to try and find the owner's last will and testament. When he enters the room, there is a newborn baby crow on the floor. He picks the baby up and puts it in the nest nearby. As soon as he does so, he is attacked by mama bird. I enjoyed this scene, it seemed an homage to the horror of yore, movies like The Omen and Hitchcock's The Birds, where birds figure heavily in the horror.
Additionally, this scene bears a stark parallel with the final moments of the movie. Clever foreshadowing, or heavy-handed symbolism? Go see the movie and find out!
In short, I really enjoyed this movie, both at the surface level of modern horror and as an amateur film student. Its inconsistencies are many, but the great scenes it offers do redeem it. It is scary in the same way that other modern horror films are, and is easily enjoyable by anyone that loves the horror genre. I recommend this film.
The Devil Inside: A Movie Review
Posted by Landerpurex on January 25th, 2012, 3:43 am. Category: Scribery Entry
Before we get started, let me state that there will be plot points discussed in the following text, but I will do my best to keep crucial points a secret. Let me also state that I am not a professional critic, but have more critical film expertise than most people; having taken several film courses in college.
Rating: 3/10
The premise that a woman named Maria Rossi kills three people in 1989. Her daughter, Isabella, goes to the hospital in Italy where her mother has since been committed. Isabelle then attends a class full of priests about exorcism. She befriends two of them, and sets out to find what has actually happened to her mother and document it on camera.
Let me first say that this movie was completely horrible. Awful. Terrible. The plotline was as jagged as a piece of broken glass, and not nearly as sharp. I don't even know where to begin with this one. The movie opens with a short black-screened scene that lets us listen in on the 911 call after Maria has killed three priests. This is, without a doubt, one of the scariest scenes in the movie, which isn't saying much. Then we are treated to some convoluted storyline and some basic 'travel' footage of Isabella and her cameraman in Italy. There's nothing of significance in the first portion of the film.
After a bit, we see Isabella visit her mother in the hospital. I was intrigued by the fact that the staff seemed to trust the woman, even though she had a violent past. I was surprised that her daughter was even allowed to see her. This was one of the numerous gaping plotholes in the movie, but I was willing to forgive if it could deliver in the scary department.
Maria Rossi's character is sufficiently creepy, especially on the first meeting. She's clearly insane, and looks the part. Her hair is frazzled, she looks completely gaunt and malnourished, and she has been cutting crosses into herself, into painful areas like the inside of her lip. She asks her daughter if she knows how to "connect the cuts..." which was creepy. But it wasn't nearly enough. Maria screams a scream that is certainly not human, and Isabella leaves the hospital.
Between 'exorcisms' we're treated to mundane storyline, and the ever present battle between the two priests. One wants to exorcise Maria and others like her to help them, the other is afraid of losing his priesthood as the two are doing these exorcisms without the church's consent. While the idea is nice, and shows another side to the politics of the catholic church, it is the same conflict between characters we've seen in thousands of other movies. It fails to deliver, and the bad acting doesn't help.
The film's only redeeming scene comes when the priests decide that Isabella should accompany them on a separate exorcism to learn more about the practice. In this scene, the victim does numerous disturbing things, such as popping her shoulder out of place and generally contorting her body. It's nothing more than what we've come to expect from this genre, but it is effective still.
After this, the film loses all its merit. The group returns to the hospital to exorcise Maria, only to have her multiple demons jump into one of the priests, the cameraman, and Isabella. There are generic scenes such as one when the lights go out with the possessed priest upstairs.
Lastly, I must comment on the ending of this movie. I warn you, I am about to spoil it. But then, a movie as poorly made as this doesn't deserve the decency of secrecy.
In the final moments of the film, with the possessed priest dead, the cameraman is rushing Isabella to an exorcism expert in Rome. He becomes 'possessed', takes off his seatbelt, and veers into oncoming traffic, causing a wreck and the presumed death of the people in the car. The movie then ends. Abruptly. We are told the case is unresolved, and that we can visit http://www.therossifiles.com/ to find out more. Is this a clever blending of modern technology to enhance your moviegoing experience, or is this cheap, pathetic advertisement? A good film shouldn't need some website to further explain itself, and the site doesn't even do that from what I could gather.
The way endings like this work in a positive way is if we have been on a satisfying journey throughout the movie. In this one, we have not. We don't care about the characters. We can barely process what's going on as we see multiple exorcisms and the demons jump into the characters. There are no technically sound aspects to speak of, this movie is low-budget and it shows. It takes from a really great genre, the 'documentary', 'found-film' horror. Such titles like the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity work because they utilize the cheap camerawork to make it look real. There are clear plot arcs. There are foundations in classic horror, and there are innovations as well that make up for unknown (but not always bad) actors. The Devil Inside has none of these, as I've mentioned.
The Exorcism horror sub genre never stood a chance. In it's premier, the original Exorcist movie got it right the first goddamn time. And no good exorcism movies have been made since, only cheap, floundering copies cashing in on the same idea.
There were some decent things about this film, but not enough to make it any good and certainly not enough to redeem the ridiculous ending. It was as if the movie itself were saying "Ha-ha for watching this garbage, now go yourself" and the ending was the exclamation point on that statement. Don't waste your money on this movie, hopefully it'll soon be out of theaters and we can move on.
Rating: 3/10
The premise that a woman named Maria Rossi kills three people in 1989. Her daughter, Isabella, goes to the hospital in Italy where her mother has since been committed. Isabelle then attends a class full of priests about exorcism. She befriends two of them, and sets out to find what has actually happened to her mother and document it on camera.
Let me first say that this movie was completely horrible. Awful. Terrible. The plotline was as jagged as a piece of broken glass, and not nearly as sharp. I don't even know where to begin with this one. The movie opens with a short black-screened scene that lets us listen in on the 911 call after Maria has killed three priests. This is, without a doubt, one of the scariest scenes in the movie, which isn't saying much. Then we are treated to some convoluted storyline and some basic 'travel' footage of Isabella and her cameraman in Italy. There's nothing of significance in the first portion of the film.
After a bit, we see Isabella visit her mother in the hospital. I was intrigued by the fact that the staff seemed to trust the woman, even though she had a violent past. I was surprised that her daughter was even allowed to see her. This was one of the numerous gaping plotholes in the movie, but I was willing to forgive if it could deliver in the scary department.
Maria Rossi's character is sufficiently creepy, especially on the first meeting. She's clearly insane, and looks the part. Her hair is frazzled, she looks completely gaunt and malnourished, and she has been cutting crosses into herself, into painful areas like the inside of her lip. She asks her daughter if she knows how to "connect the cuts..." which was creepy. But it wasn't nearly enough. Maria screams a scream that is certainly not human, and Isabella leaves the hospital.
Between 'exorcisms' we're treated to mundane storyline, and the ever present battle between the two priests. One wants to exorcise Maria and others like her to help them, the other is afraid of losing his priesthood as the two are doing these exorcisms without the church's consent. While the idea is nice, and shows another side to the politics of the catholic church, it is the same conflict between characters we've seen in thousands of other movies. It fails to deliver, and the bad acting doesn't help.
The film's only redeeming scene comes when the priests decide that Isabella should accompany them on a separate exorcism to learn more about the practice. In this scene, the victim does numerous disturbing things, such as popping her shoulder out of place and generally contorting her body. It's nothing more than what we've come to expect from this genre, but it is effective still.
After this, the film loses all its merit. The group returns to the hospital to exorcise Maria, only to have her multiple demons jump into one of the priests, the cameraman, and Isabella. There are generic scenes such as one when the lights go out with the possessed priest upstairs.
Lastly, I must comment on the ending of this movie. I warn you, I am about to spoil it. But then, a movie as poorly made as this doesn't deserve the decency of secrecy.
In the final moments of the film, with the possessed priest dead, the cameraman is rushing Isabella to an exorcism expert in Rome. He becomes 'possessed', takes off his seatbelt, and veers into oncoming traffic, causing a wreck and the presumed death of the people in the car. The movie then ends. Abruptly. We are told the case is unresolved, and that we can visit http://www.therossifiles.com/ to find out more. Is this a clever blending of modern technology to enhance your moviegoing experience, or is this cheap, pathetic advertisement? A good film shouldn't need some website to further explain itself, and the site doesn't even do that from what I could gather.
The way endings like this work in a positive way is if we have been on a satisfying journey throughout the movie. In this one, we have not. We don't care about the characters. We can barely process what's going on as we see multiple exorcisms and the demons jump into the characters. There are no technically sound aspects to speak of, this movie is low-budget and it shows. It takes from a really great genre, the 'documentary', 'found-film' horror. Such titles like the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity work because they utilize the cheap camerawork to make it look real. There are clear plot arcs. There are foundations in classic horror, and there are innovations as well that make up for unknown (but not always bad) actors. The Devil Inside has none of these, as I've mentioned.
The Exorcism horror sub genre never stood a chance. In it's premier, the original Exorcist movie got it right the first goddamn time. And no good exorcism movies have been made since, only cheap, floundering copies cashing in on the same idea.
There were some decent things about this film, but not enough to make it any good and certainly not enough to redeem the ridiculous ending. It was as if the movie itself were saying "Ha-ha for watching this garbage, now go
yourself" and the ending was the exclamation point on that statement. Don't waste your money on this movie, hopefully it'll soon be out of theaters and we can move on.
Lamb Of God - Resolution (01/24/12): A Review
Posted by defeat on January 23rd, 2012, 5:49 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
Rating: 7/10
I almost didn’t review this album after listening to the first half of it. I was thinking, “Oh….It’s (2009's) Wrath…again, and I’ll have nothing to say…” After giving it another chance, the second half of the album was indeed Lamb Of God’s saving grace.
Every member of Lamb Of God have seemingly evolved over the years, except for the second most talented member, drummer, Chris Adler. Don’t get it wrong. He’s a favorite drummer of many, as he’s a consistent, speed drumming machine with great fills and feet faster than light. Come with the dynamics already, though, Chris! Maybe, it’s the production that’s held you back with your sound. Maybe, it’s the way you tune your drums (Let them resonate a bit next time, eh? Every, single, solitary drum shouldn’t have the short thump of a bass drum…). Maybe, you just don’t care. Some don’t. Oh, well...so it goes. (I've been reading a lot of Vonnegut as of late.)
Resolution, contradictorily to the drumming, is LOG’s most dynamic release yet. Some thought the band had been lost to “The Graveyard of Previously Great Bands” with the bore that was their previous release, Wrath. It just seemed like a filler album without any originality. Resolution is an adventurous turn of events in LOG’s discography. Guitarists’ Mark Morton and Willie Adler have given us a new take on The New Wave of American Heavy Metal with some softer, more progressive, off-time riffs in the songs “Barbarosa”, “King Me”, and lead single “Ghost Walking”. In most metal, the bass guitar is just a copy of the lead riff, just lower. In this release, though, bassist John Campbell is pleasantly noticeable in parts throughout Resolution’s entirety.
It would be fantastic to have Machine back at the production helm instead of Josh Wilbur, as some minor kinks in the production are what took away some audio enjoyment points. The drums have been mentioned as a major issue. Other kinks were really just post-production snafus. “Barbarosa” and “Invictus” is clearly one song. With fourteen tracks, it’s not like LOG were scraping the barrel for material. Some of the songs on the second half of the album should have been mingled with the first half to break up the turn off of early monotony. This takes away from the listening experience the most. God, is that second half great, though…
In other news, vocalist, Randy Blythe is still alive.
Lead single: "Ghost Walking" Official Video
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows; a review
Posted by Landerpurex on January 7th, 2012, 7:28 am. Category: Scribery Entry
Before we get started, let me state that there will be plot points discussed in the following text, but I will do my best to keep crucial points a secret. Let me also state that I am not a professional critic, but have more critical film expertise than most people; having taken several film courses in college.
Rating: 8/10
Everyone knows the story of Sherlock Holmes, renowned detective. This movie is no different, with Holmes needing to solve a difficult case involving a sinister man named Professor Moriarty. The movie is deliciously mysterious, with Moriarty's motives in question until the final moments. Holmes of course enlists in the help of Dr. Watson, who is newly married; and the two go on an adventure that spans the European Continent to uncover Moriarty's plans and to try to save his intended victims that include Dr. Watson, his wife, a gypsy, and eventually all of Europe.
This movie was fantastic. Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, and Jared Harris can do no wrong. The acting is superb, though sometimes over the top. I have, however, come to expect this of Downey Jr in general as well as within this franchise, so it works. He and Law make a fantastic pair, and the charisma and camaraderie come across well. Jared Harris makes a great villain as well, it's that simple.
The film lives up to its predecessor. It leaves a trail of clues that you are expected to notice, but not expected to piece together as Holmes does in the end. Certain important items are centered in the shot from Holmes' point of view, labeling them as imperative. The cinematography is sound, using multiple angles and distances when necessary. Sound is coupled with this approach as well. For example, there is one scene where one of Moriarty's lackeys is shown smoking a hand rolled cigarette. The cherry burns extra bright, and the sound of it burning can be heard over the other things going on in the frame. I wondered to myself, 'how is this important?' And I had a great time racking my brain trying to figure it out. I felt accomplished when it was revealed that the cigarette was important to the plot. This movie's greatest quality is that it makes you think and guess along with Holmes.
The film's comedy is fantastic, though sometimes ridiculous, as with the killing and revival of the poor bulldog (again). Though, once again, Downey Jr has made Holmes his own and put a modern spin on the man. That is not to say that the movie doesn't take certain liberties with the classics, because it does. Which is one of the reasons it remains an 8 out of 10 instead of a 9 or perfect score.
The great fighting scenes narrated strategically by Holmes return, though they go awry by variants not considered by Holmes. In the final scenes, Moriarty himself interjects in Holmes monologue and engages in a match of wits with the detective that is both exciting and original.
Speaking of which, editing must be mentioned. The film uses jump-cuts when necessary, and very effectively as well. Just before the scene mentioned prior, parallelism is used to near perfection as Holmes and Moriarty are having a game of chess. The movie cuts between chess moves and the exploits of Watson and the gypsy as they attempt to reveal an assassin and ultimately, Moriarty's plot.
My biggest problem with this movie was the extreme slow-motion. It was only in one scene, but that makes it stand out and it went on for far too long. Ever since 300, movies have been abusing slow motion. It was over the top in that title as well, but at least it was consistent. In an otherwise great, sound, smart movie I felt this was the only thing that seemed uninspired and frankly, too stereotypical Hollywood.
In closing, this move was very enjoyable. It was a bit on the long side, but I was sad it was over. In some ways, it is very typical action, in others, it is original, fun, and smart in a lot of ways modern movies are not. It is technically sound, but not ambitious. The cast delivers and I hope they continue to do so. The plot keeps you guessing right until the final moments, and there are many twists and turns to be had.
Go and see this movie while it's still in theaters.
Rating: 8/10
Everyone knows the story of Sherlock Holmes, renowned detective. This movie is no different, with Holmes needing to solve a difficult case involving a sinister man named Professor Moriarty. The movie is deliciously mysterious, with Moriarty's motives in question until the final moments. Holmes of course enlists in the help of Dr. Watson, who is newly married; and the two go on an adventure that spans the European Continent to uncover Moriarty's plans and to try to save his intended victims that include Dr. Watson, his wife, a gypsy, and eventually all of Europe.
This movie was fantastic. Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, and Jared Harris can do no wrong. The acting is superb, though sometimes over the top. I have, however, come to expect this of Downey Jr in general as well as within this franchise, so it works. He and Law make a fantastic pair, and the charisma and camaraderie come across well. Jared Harris makes a great villain as well, it's that simple.
The film lives up to its predecessor. It leaves a trail of clues that you are expected to notice, but not expected to piece together as Holmes does in the end. Certain important items are centered in the shot from Holmes' point of view, labeling them as imperative. The cinematography is sound, using multiple angles and distances when necessary. Sound is coupled with this approach as well. For example, there is one scene where one of Moriarty's lackeys is shown smoking a hand rolled cigarette. The cherry burns extra bright, and the sound of it burning can be heard over the other things going on in the frame. I wondered to myself, 'how is this important?' And I had a great time racking my brain trying to figure it out. I felt accomplished when it was revealed that the cigarette was important to the plot. This movie's greatest quality is that it makes you think and guess along with Holmes.
The film's comedy is fantastic, though sometimes ridiculous, as with the killing and revival of the poor bulldog (again). Though, once again, Downey Jr has made Holmes his own and put a modern spin on the man. That is not to say that the movie doesn't take certain liberties with the classics, because it does. Which is one of the reasons it remains an 8 out of 10 instead of a 9 or perfect score.
The great fighting scenes narrated strategically by Holmes return, though they go awry by variants not considered by Holmes. In the final scenes, Moriarty himself interjects in Holmes monologue and engages in a match of wits with the detective that is both exciting and original.
Speaking of which, editing must be mentioned. The film uses jump-cuts when necessary, and very effectively as well. Just before the scene mentioned prior, parallelism is used to near perfection as Holmes and Moriarty are having a game of chess. The movie cuts between chess moves and the exploits of Watson and the gypsy as they attempt to reveal an assassin and ultimately, Moriarty's plot.
My biggest problem with this movie was the extreme slow-motion. It was only in one scene, but that makes it stand out and it went on for far too long. Ever since 300, movies have been abusing slow motion. It was over the top in that title as well, but at least it was consistent. In an otherwise great, sound, smart movie I felt this was the only thing that seemed uninspired and frankly, too stereotypical Hollywood.
In closing, this move was very enjoyable. It was a bit on the long side, but I was sad it was over. In some ways, it is very typical action, in others, it is original, fun, and smart in a lot of ways modern movies are not. It is technically sound, but not ambitious. The cast delivers and I hope they continue to do so. The plot keeps you guessing right until the final moments, and there are many twists and turns to be had.
Go and see this movie while it's still in theaters.
The Darkest Hour: A Movie Review
Posted by Landerpurex on January 7th, 2012, 6:49 am. Category: Scribery Entry
Before we get started, let me state that there will be plot points discussed in the following text, but I will do my best to keep crucial points a secret. Let me also state that I am not a professional critic, but have more critical film expertise than most people; having taken several film courses in college.
Overall rating: 5/10
This movie was nothing that the previews didn't show. In short, it's about a pair of software designers either fresh out of college or in the twilight of their college careers. They are in Moscow to pitch an idea for a user-based online comprehensive travel guide to some executives. They meet with a Swedish exec who has basically stolen their idea and screwed them out of a major (multi-million dollar?) deal. After this, the guys go to a club and meet a couple girls vacationing as well, and know of one of them due to her use of their program. Then come the invisible aliens. The creatures are made of electromagnetic energy and are somehow able to vaporize people. But their weakness is that they give themselves away and set off any and all lights and electronics when they approach. The rest of the movie is spent showing the characters trying to escape these creatures and get 'home', though they soon find similar landings and destruction have happened all across the world. Near the end, the group find out that there is a nuclear submarine waiting to help transport survivors back to their homes and/or to a safer facility.
First, it takes some time for the creatures to land. This is notwithstanding the fact the the premise of the guys' reason to be in Moscow is convoluted, not paramount to the plot, and completely forgettable. Though there were a few comic moments, there was nothing to be had in the first quarter of the film. Once the creatures land, I was intrigued. This movie's lone strength is the originality of the aliens and the plausibility of their form and powers. But the scripting failed to deliver more on the subject, with only a few lines from a Russian militant describing the nature of the aliens in no terms understandable by most people; myself included.
Speaking of the Russian militants, their characters are amusing, but completely stereotypical and over the top. They spout catch phrases like 'welcome to Russia' when fighting the creatures, they speak stereotypical nationalist dialog such as stuff about protecting their home, as well as typical, completely uninspired dialog about war and tactics. Couple this with forgettable characters all around and it makes for an equally forgettable experience.
The technical side of the movie was unimpressive as well. Nothing incredible in terms of cinematography, sound, or anything else.
The star of this film is the city of Moscow. It's exotic, beautiful, and foreboding. The architecture is fantastic, and there are some shots that are worth looking at.
In short, this was a movie that offered very little in terms of excitement, technical inventiveness, writing, and basically everything else that makes a film good. It had a tiny bit of originality with the creatures but this was not appropriately handled by anyone. The city was fantastic, but left one wanting. I did not see this movie in 3D, but I'm positive it would have been a debacle.
This movie was far from the worst I've seen, but falls very short. If you've seen the preview, you've seen everything cool there is about the movie.
Overall rating: 5/10
This movie was nothing that the previews didn't show. In short, it's about a pair of software designers either fresh out of college or in the twilight of their college careers. They are in Moscow to pitch an idea for a user-based online comprehensive travel guide to some executives. They meet with a Swedish exec who has basically stolen their idea and screwed them out of a major (multi-million dollar?) deal. After this, the guys go to a club and meet a couple girls vacationing as well, and know of one of them due to her use of their program. Then come the invisible aliens. The creatures are made of electromagnetic energy and are somehow able to vaporize people. But their weakness is that they give themselves away and set off any and all lights and electronics when they approach. The rest of the movie is spent showing the characters trying to escape these creatures and get 'home', though they soon find similar landings and destruction have happened all across the world. Near the end, the group find out that there is a nuclear submarine waiting to help transport survivors back to their homes and/or to a safer facility.
First, it takes some time for the creatures to land. This is notwithstanding the fact the the premise of the guys' reason to be in Moscow is convoluted, not paramount to the plot, and completely forgettable. Though there were a few comic moments, there was nothing to be had in the first quarter of the film. Once the creatures land, I was intrigued. This movie's lone strength is the originality of the aliens and the plausibility of their form and powers. But the scripting failed to deliver more on the subject, with only a few lines from a Russian militant describing the nature of the aliens in no terms understandable by most people; myself included.
Speaking of the Russian militants, their characters are amusing, but completely stereotypical and over the top. They spout catch phrases like 'welcome to Russia' when fighting the creatures, they speak stereotypical nationalist dialog such as stuff about protecting their home, as well as typical, completely uninspired dialog about war and tactics. Couple this with forgettable characters all around and it makes for an equally forgettable experience.
The technical side of the movie was unimpressive as well. Nothing incredible in terms of cinematography, sound, or anything else.
The star of this film is the city of Moscow. It's exotic, beautiful, and foreboding. The architecture is fantastic, and there are some shots that are worth looking at.
In short, this was a movie that offered very little in terms of excitement, technical inventiveness, writing, and basically everything else that makes a film good. It had a tiny bit of originality with the creatures but this was not appropriately handled by anyone. The city was fantastic, but left one wanting. I did not see this movie in 3D, but I'm positive it would have been a debacle.
This movie was far from the worst I've seen, but falls very short. If you've seen the preview, you've seen everything cool there is about the movie.
1-6-2012 Modern Warfare 3
Posted by Tanksandguns on January 6th, 2012, 4:43 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
As a man who has played every Call of Duty game since Call of Duty 3, and sporadically before that since Big Red 1 I like to consider myself one of Call of Duty's biggest fans. Call of Duty has taken it's place as THE First Person Shooter. It's the franchise that comes to mind first when one talks about FPS games, and until recently, has had little to no competition in the field.
Rating: 9/10
Campaign
Modern Warfare 3 builds itself off of the same story line that we saw in CoD4 and MW2. It follows multiple story lines as you play several different characters across each and also brings back the memorable duo of Captain Price and Soap MacTavish. Modern Warfare 3 starts right where Modern Warfare 2 left off. The world is in chaos, and Makarov is still at large. The game has the player visit several cities completely ransacked with war and destruction, including New York City and Paris, France.
The overall flow of the campaign is excellent. The transitions between missions and the pacing is wonderful. And the whole games had sitting on the edge of my seat, with a subtle anxious feeling the whole time. I was constantly wondering what would happen next, and where I was traveling to.
The game is also very challenging. Having completed the first two games on Veteran difficulty, this was my first choice on my first play through of the game. I quickly learned, that this game doesn't beat around the bush, and I couldn't even make it past the first checkpoint. I quickly dropped the difficulty to Hardened, and again to Normal. Even while playing Normal, I found myself dieing fairly frequently, and I loved it. I enjoy a real challenge while playing video games, and to get one in a FPS is no easy task. I also didn't find myself in the slow buildup of anger mode that usually comes with the frustrating deaths of FPS Campaigns. At one point, mid-combat, the game cycles between one the ground fighting, and in the sky fighting in an AC-130 gunship. This is one of the best moments that I can remember throughout all the games, second only to 'Ghillie in the Mist' from Call of Duty 4. The developers did a stunning job of transitioning immediately after an explosion from the AC-130 missile, to the ground troops in the smoke and debris of where the shell had just impacted.
The game itself is really beautiful (or as beautiful as a war-torn city can be). I played the entire campaign on a non-HD TV, and still found myself staring in amazement at the graphics. When I moved over to an HD TV for multiplayer, I found that they were spectacular.
The storyline does an excellent job of wrapping up the first two games. I had few questions left after I had finished, and even teared up at one point during the story. If you played the first two, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed in the final game.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer has been reworked again from Modern Warfare 2. They have new Kill Streaks, and introduced things called 'Strike Packages.' Strike Packages affect what kill streaks you are awarded, and how they are awarded. They offer three types you can choose from: Assault, Support, and Specialist. Assault focuses on killing enemies to gain enemy killing kill streak rewards. It includes, AC-130, Predator Missiles, and Attack Helicopters. Support focuses on objectives such as capturing a flag, planting a bomb, capturing a Domination point, etc. It doesn't require kills to advance through the rewards, but kills also help. Also, Support doesn't reset on death, so you can keep on dying and unlocking rewards. This was my personal favorite. This can give you UAV, Care Packages, Stealth Bomber, etc. The final Strike Package you can use is Specialist. Instead of giving you kill streak rewards, it unlocks perks every 2 kills the player makes. By 8 kills, the player then has all the perks in the game. These have really reworked how the multiplayer feels, and it feels a lot more balanced than the second game ever did.
My main problems with Modern Warfare 2, were that there were kill streaks in the air almost constantly, and there was little anyone could do about it. That feeling has really subsided with Modern Warfare 3. There doesn't seem to be helicopters, AC-130's, and Predator Missiles clogging up the sky nearly as much as it did in the second game, and there's more that can be done about it. More launchers, Sam Sites, and fewer overpowered kill streaks make for the multiplayer experience to be a lot more enjoyable.
Another complaint that I had with MW2, was the the Sniper Rifles seemed extremely underpowered. It took 2, sometimes 3 shots to kill someone in a Core match. In MW3, this has been fixed. One shot to the torso is more often than not, a kill shot. I find this to be my favorite change that was made. I'm finally not getting angry that my high velocity round isn't killing someone when it should.
With CoD: Black Ops came the addition that CoD had been missing for all of its games that Halo and the likes had picked up on. Split Screen multiplayer available online, either through multiple Xbox Live accounts or the use of Guest Accounts. Modern Warfare 3, thankfully, did not change this. You can now play with a buddy on the same TV, online.
Usually with First Person Shooters, I find myself hating a majority of the maps. For whatever reason, Modern Warfare 3 seems different. I only really dislike one or two maps. All the others I seem to have a blast on! They're all beautiful, fun and fairly small. The only complaint I have, is there's really no open area map that is good for Snipers.
All in all, I was extremely happy with the subtle tweaks they made to the multiplayer experience. Prestige Mode now goes to level 80 (ten times), and they added Prestige tokens which can unlock little bonuses such as Double XP, Double Weapon XP, and Emblems and Titles, among other things. Each player starts out with 3, and since I haven't prestiged yet, I'm unsure whether you get 1 ever prestige level or more than that.
Spec Ops
Modern Warfare 3 sees the return of the Spec Ops mode. This can be done either solo or with a friend. I tried doing several of these solo, and found that once I had a friend help me out, they became significantly easier.
Spec Ops mode is a series of missions and objectives, some from the campaign, some completely fresh that test your speed and accuracy. Also, they can be a major challenge. From capturing the Russian President aboard his airplane, to killing waves upon waves in a Firefight type game mode, Spec Ops is nothing short of fun. Infinity Ward added a new style that resembles Horde from Gears of War and Firefight from Halo, where you face wave after wave of enemies including foot soldiers, dogs, helicopters and the infamous Juggernaut soldiers. For those looking for something after the campaign and after you get bored with multiplayer, I would recommend Spec Ops with a friend. It's an absolute blast!
Conclusion
All in all, I would say that Modern Warfare 3 was definitely worth the money I spent on it. It provided me with hours of entertainment, and will continue to do so for months to come. It fixed a lot of the issues I had with the previous game, and added some awesome touches as well. It did not disappoint me, and so far has lead to a lot less frustration with the game than Modern Warfare 2 did. I would recommend this game to any First Person Shooter fan, any fan of the Call of Duty franchise, and anyone looking for one of the best multiplayer experiences in gaming. I won't beat around the bush though, some of the fan-boys and the some of the casual players of MW3 can ruin your multiplayer experience, but that's why there's a mute feature.
~Tanksandguns
Rating: 9/10
Campaign
Modern Warfare 3 builds itself off of the same story line that we saw in CoD4 and MW2. It follows multiple story lines as you play several different characters across each and also brings back the memorable duo of Captain Price and Soap MacTavish. Modern Warfare 3 starts right where Modern Warfare 2 left off. The world is in chaos, and Makarov is still at large. The game has the player visit several cities completely ransacked with war and destruction, including New York City and Paris, France.
The overall flow of the campaign is excellent. The transitions between missions and the pacing is wonderful. And the whole games had sitting on the edge of my seat, with a subtle anxious feeling the whole time. I was constantly wondering what would happen next, and where I was traveling to.
The game is also very challenging. Having completed the first two games on Veteran difficulty, this was my first choice on my first play through of the game. I quickly learned, that this game doesn't beat around the bush, and I couldn't even make it past the first checkpoint. I quickly dropped the difficulty to Hardened, and again to Normal. Even while playing Normal, I found myself dieing fairly frequently, and I loved it. I enjoy a real challenge while playing video games, and to get one in a FPS is no easy task. I also didn't find myself in the slow buildup of anger mode that usually comes with the frustrating deaths of FPS Campaigns. At one point, mid-combat, the game cycles between one the ground fighting, and in the sky fighting in an AC-130 gunship. This is one of the best moments that I can remember throughout all the games, second only to 'Ghillie in the Mist' from Call of Duty 4. The developers did a stunning job of transitioning immediately after an explosion from the AC-130 missile, to the ground troops in the smoke and debris of where the shell had just impacted.
The game itself is really beautiful (or as beautiful as a war-torn city can be). I played the entire campaign on a non-HD TV, and still found myself staring in amazement at the graphics. When I moved over to an HD TV for multiplayer, I found that they were spectacular.
The storyline does an excellent job of wrapping up the first two games. I had few questions left after I had finished, and even teared up at one point during the story. If you played the first two, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed in the final game.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer has been reworked again from Modern Warfare 2. They have new Kill Streaks, and introduced things called 'Strike Packages.' Strike Packages affect what kill streaks you are awarded, and how they are awarded. They offer three types you can choose from: Assault, Support, and Specialist. Assault focuses on killing enemies to gain enemy killing kill streak rewards. It includes, AC-130, Predator Missiles, and Attack Helicopters. Support focuses on objectives such as capturing a flag, planting a bomb, capturing a Domination point, etc. It doesn't require kills to advance through the rewards, but kills also help. Also, Support doesn't reset on death, so you can keep on dying and unlocking rewards. This was my personal favorite. This can give you UAV, Care Packages, Stealth Bomber, etc. The final Strike Package you can use is Specialist. Instead of giving you kill streak rewards, it unlocks perks every 2 kills the player makes. By 8 kills, the player then has all the perks in the game. These have really reworked how the multiplayer feels, and it feels a lot more balanced than the second game ever did.
My main problems with Modern Warfare 2, were that there were kill streaks in the air almost constantly, and there was little anyone could do about it. That feeling has really subsided with Modern Warfare 3. There doesn't seem to be helicopters, AC-130's, and Predator Missiles clogging up the sky nearly as much as it did in the second game, and there's more that can be done about it. More launchers, Sam Sites, and fewer overpowered kill streaks make for the multiplayer experience to be a lot more enjoyable.
Another complaint that I had with MW2, was the the Sniper Rifles seemed extremely underpowered. It took 2, sometimes 3 shots to kill someone in a Core match. In MW3, this has been fixed. One shot to the torso is more often than not, a kill shot. I find this to be my favorite change that was made. I'm finally not getting angry that my high velocity round isn't killing someone when it should.
With CoD: Black Ops came the addition that CoD had been missing for all of its games that Halo and the likes had picked up on. Split Screen multiplayer available online, either through multiple Xbox Live accounts or the use of Guest Accounts. Modern Warfare 3, thankfully, did not change this. You can now play with a buddy on the same TV, online.
Usually with First Person Shooters, I find myself hating a majority of the maps. For whatever reason, Modern Warfare 3 seems different. I only really dislike one or two maps. All the others I seem to have a blast on! They're all beautiful, fun and fairly small. The only complaint I have, is there's really no open area map that is good for Snipers.
All in all, I was extremely happy with the subtle tweaks they made to the multiplayer experience. Prestige Mode now goes to level 80 (ten times), and they added Prestige tokens which can unlock little bonuses such as Double XP, Double Weapon XP, and Emblems and Titles, among other things. Each player starts out with 3, and since I haven't prestiged yet, I'm unsure whether you get 1 ever prestige level or more than that.
Spec Ops
Modern Warfare 3 sees the return of the Spec Ops mode. This can be done either solo or with a friend. I tried doing several of these solo, and found that once I had a friend help me out, they became significantly easier.
Spec Ops mode is a series of missions and objectives, some from the campaign, some completely fresh that test your speed and accuracy. Also, they can be a major challenge. From capturing the Russian President aboard his airplane, to killing waves upon waves in a Firefight type game mode, Spec Ops is nothing short of fun. Infinity Ward added a new style that resembles Horde from Gears of War and Firefight from Halo, where you face wave after wave of enemies including foot soldiers, dogs, helicopters and the infamous Juggernaut soldiers. For those looking for something after the campaign and after you get bored with multiplayer, I would recommend Spec Ops with a friend. It's an absolute blast!
Conclusion
All in all, I would say that Modern Warfare 3 was definitely worth the money I spent on it. It provided me with hours of entertainment, and will continue to do so for months to come. It fixed a lot of the issues I had with the previous game, and added some awesome touches as well. It did not disappoint me, and so far has lead to a lot less frustration with the game than Modern Warfare 2 did. I would recommend this game to any First Person Shooter fan, any fan of the Call of Duty franchise, and anyone looking for one of the best multiplayer experiences in gaming. I won't beat around the bush though, some of the fan-boys and the some of the casual players of MW3 can ruin your multiplayer experience, but that's why there's a mute feature.
~Tanksandguns
Skrillex-Bangarang (12/23/11): A Review
Posted by defeat on December 23rd, 2011, 7:11 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
Rating 5/10
Listen. I’ll start off by saying I’m as on the fence with the newest Skrillex release, entitled Bangarang, as I have been with all the others. The guy is an exciting producer, and the voice samples/hooks he’s used are unforgettable. However, as with his other releases, the mid-register robotesque bass lines, four to the floor beats, and general feel are the same as they ever were and absolutely forgettable. You’ve got the electronic industry by the balls, Skrillex, and the time to fix your broken record is nigh.
When Skrillex became an instant success, and his songs could be heard everywhere, I was impressed with the mash up of genre’s with him and Korn in the Korn single “Get Up“, and really enjoyed "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" and “Kill Everybody” off of Skrillex’s EP with the same name Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. It seemed like a fresh, American take on the dubstep scene. That fresh take quickly turned into endless copycats and the post dubstep sub-genre dubbed “brostep”. As the forerunner of this new trend, Skrillex didn’t impress me with his first release, mildly did with his second release, and fails to with his newest.
There are definitely moments of production clarity on Bangarang in the title track (a song referencing the movie Hook?! Awesome!) and the non-bass line heavy house song “Right On Time“, but he even uses a broke up, syncopated, unintelligible, Asian sounding voice on the track “Summit” juuuust like he did on the track “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”. In a nutshell, Bangarang should be entitled Sonic the Househog On Crack. It’s got a Sonic the Hedgehog music + house + brostep sound on most of the songs on the seven song EP. If you are already a die-hard Skrillex fan (and I know you are out there as I just read the comment “Skrillex is life.“ from a fan on Skrillex’s Facebook page), you are going to absolutely love this album. If you haven’t ever heard Skrillex, and are into dubstep, you are probably going to like this album. The rest of us will either like it, dislike it, or think it’s OK (Mitch Hedberg anyone?). It does have bass drops and a couple buildups/breakdowns that make you smile with delight, so even after I write this review.....I’m still on the fence.
The title track:
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross-T.G.w.t.D.T.Soundtrack: A Review
Posted by defeat on December 12th, 2011, 11:14 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
Rating: 10/10
When Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor work together, they don't just make music. They mold sounds into layers of emotional synesthesia, and their newest masterpiece, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is no different. Your brain and body don't quite know what to do with themselves. You smile. You get the chills. You get creeped out. You contemplate, yet sometimes you stop thinking all together.
After the near three hour playtime ended, I took my headphones off and the first thing to come to mind was Homer's epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. If Homer were alive today, he'd be furiously writing a screenplay, day in and day out, so Reznor and Ross could give it the sonic pulse it (I'm sure) would deserve. They are just that good.
Reznor has always been one of my favorites as far as extremely layered music goes. I consider Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile to be the greatest double-album of my generation, and it's a perfect example of Mr. Reznor's musical depth. Atticus Ross, on the other hand is more of a minimalist, and I was first introduced to his music when he did some programming and/or produced Nine Inch Nails' last four albums. He also caught my attention whilst watching the movie The Book of Eli. The entire time I was thinking to myself, "This HAS to be either Trent, Atticus, or Saul Williams doing the soundtrack for this...." It was indeed Atticus, and I became a fan.
The soundtrack for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a drone type of electronica with some darker ambient soundscapes layered in, and when I write "layered in", I mean it as emphatically as is possible. It's the most complex minimalistic album ever created, if that's even possible. You'll always hear synth, and you'll sometimes hear keys, bells, guitars, strings, vibrations, xylophones etc., etc. One of the songs even has vocals, and oddly enough it's a cover of Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (featuring Karen O on vocals) In a nutshell, it's epic in every way possible. Find three hours and treat yourself to what's bound to be a Grammy winner.
Recommended if you enjoy: Sigur Ros, Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails, The Book of Eli (soundtrack), The Social Network (soundtrack)
When Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor work together, they don't just make music. They mold sounds into layers of emotional synesthesia, and their newest masterpiece, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is no different. Your brain and body don't quite know what to do with themselves. You smile. You get the chills. You get creeped out. You contemplate, yet sometimes you stop thinking all together.
After the near three hour playtime ended, I took my headphones off and the first thing to come to mind was Homer's epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. If Homer were alive today, he'd be furiously writing a screenplay, day in and day out, so Reznor and Ross could give it the sonic pulse it (I'm sure) would deserve. They are just that good.
Reznor has always been one of my favorites as far as extremely layered music goes. I consider Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile to be the greatest double-album of my generation, and it's a perfect example of Mr. Reznor's musical depth. Atticus Ross, on the other hand is more of a minimalist, and I was first introduced to his music when he did some programming and/or produced Nine Inch Nails' last four albums. He also caught my attention whilst watching the movie The Book of Eli. The entire time I was thinking to myself, "This HAS to be either Trent, Atticus, or Saul Williams doing the soundtrack for this...." It was indeed Atticus, and I became a fan.
The soundtrack for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a drone type of electronica with some darker ambient soundscapes layered in, and when I write "layered in", I mean it as emphatically as is possible. It's the most complex minimalistic album ever created, if that's even possible. You'll always hear synth, and you'll sometimes hear keys, bells, guitars, strings, vibrations, xylophones etc., etc. One of the songs even has vocals, and oddly enough it's a cover of Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (featuring Karen O on vocals) In a nutshell, it's epic in every way possible. Find three hours and treat yourself to what's bound to be a Grammy winner.
Recommended if you enjoy: Sigur Ros, Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails, The Book of Eli (soundtrack), The Social Network (soundtrack)
allbroke- Broke/Free EP (12/02/2011): A Review
Posted by defeat on December 6th, 2011, 11:23 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
Rating: 10/10
The dubstep scene is in two factions at the moment. You’ve got the UK kids who are all, “Yeah, Yeah dubstep…it’s played out and now the Americans are catching on late….yet again.” And we also have the US kids who are getting into dubstep because the US producers/programmers decided to 1-UP the UK’s scene. I personally don’t get into all that myself. If the track is good…..the track is good, wherever and whenever it came out.
Now on to the album you all need to know about. Allbroke has had a few songs independently released recently, and his Facebook was droppin’ hints about a present to us all (his fans). It’s here. His present is the absolutely free EP Broke/Free.
This you are going to enjoy. It’s a mix between UK and US dubstep in all the right ways. The music itself tells a subtle sci-fi story in it’s four song way. Makes me wish dubstep was around when The Matrix was being produced. I think It would have been very cool for Allbroke to have had a couple songs on there.
“The Device” is the opener, and from start to beginning it walks us through a device being used to make some nasty drops. It’s a very unique song. I have yet to hear of anyone doing what Allbroke is doing here. With this opener you know you’ve stumbled upon something unique.
“Nostromo” is second in line and well. It’s pretty chill at first until 55 seconds in when it drops and don’t stop….in a good way. Enter some sci fi dialogue. Great song.
“Orion” The third track I really, really, really , really enjoyed. Sweet, sweet tension and release I am a fan of. This one however has more of a UK sound to it. Not that I’m complaining .
“Field Medic” This closure is the epitome of what I was trying to get across up in hurr. It’s a UKUSA dubstep orgy.
Over all this albums broke down the boundaries between UK and US dubstep with one fell swoop. I was impressed with the dynamics of it all. Solid, Solid, EP.
Recommened if you enjoy: Ed Solo, Datsik, skrillex, Nero
Now how about a music video combining the songs for maximum epic? EH?
The link to the FREE EP is
http://www.facebook.com/spirographed?ref=tn_tnmn#!/Allbroke
Like the page, download the nasty.
The dubstep scene is in two factions at the moment. You’ve got the UK kids who are all, “Yeah, Yeah dubstep…it’s played out and now the Americans are catching on late….yet again.” And we also have the US kids who are getting into dubstep because the US producers/programmers decided to 1-UP the UK’s scene. I personally don’t get into all that myself. If the track is good…..the track is good, wherever and whenever it came out.
Now on to the album you all need to know about. Allbroke has had a few songs independently released recently, and his Facebook was droppin’ hints about a present to us all (his fans). It’s here. His present is the absolutely free EP Broke/Free.
This you are going to enjoy. It’s a mix between UK and US dubstep in all the right ways. The music itself tells a subtle sci-fi story in it’s four song way. Makes me wish dubstep was around when The Matrix was being produced. I think It would have been very cool for Allbroke to have had a couple songs on there.
“The Device” is the opener, and from start to beginning it walks us through a device being used to make some nasty drops. It’s a very unique song. I have yet to hear of anyone doing what Allbroke is doing here. With this opener you know you’ve stumbled upon something unique.
“Nostromo” is second in line and well. It’s pretty chill at first until 55 seconds in when it drops and don’t stop….in a good way. Enter some sci fi dialogue. Great song.
“Orion” The third track I really, really, really , really enjoyed. Sweet, sweet tension and release I am a fan of. This one however has more of a UK sound to it. Not that I’m complaining .
“Field Medic” This closure is the epitome of what I was trying to get across up in hurr. It’s a UKUSA dubstep orgy.
Over all this albums broke down the boundaries between UK and US dubstep with one fell swoop. I was impressed with the dynamics of it all. Solid, Solid, EP.
Recommened if you enjoy: Ed Solo, Datsik, skrillex, Nero
Now how about a music video combining the songs for maximum epic? EH?
The link to the FREE EP is
http://www.facebook.com/spirographed?ref=tn_tnmn#!/Allbroke
Like the page, download the nasty.
A battle of time on communities
Posted by Demon on December 5th, 2011, 6:42 pm. Category: Scribery Entry
Time moves on inevitably, as I’m sure anyone can tell. Childhood memories become just what they are – memories. Not much can stay the same in a world rapidly evolving with people snaking along just as quickly towards some mysterious, unknown goal of worth we, as a society and race, have decided is vitally necessary. This is also true for the internet, but at a much broader and faster rate because of instant gratification and the scope of available tools for developers to build. While driving down ‘memory lane’ after twenty-odd years may bring the shock of finding your childhood home destroyed and a new shopping plaza in its place, you can still find your breath taken away at the vast and expanding internet. Simply visit Google and type in a keyword relative to your life (anything) and you’ll find more information instantly available than you can possibly read in your lifetime… with more being released as you’re reading!
Thus, what happens to a memory of a place once you can no longer visit it or feel that connection you once felt? How often do you drive or walk down a new, but familiar street where memories seem to come alive and flood into your conscious? Where do you go when you begin to relive those days of happiness, the shared, raw energy of a community? The whole experience can be quite a downer once you start thinking about those childhood playmates or perhaps the teenage adventures while testing the world, knowing you had your parents as a safety net. Where, then do you go when that memory is an online community?
Too often I’ve found myself needing information and simply visiting search engines like Google and Bing to find a quick resolution to any situation which may arise. This includes anything from technological break-downs, news, or entertainment; basically anything which would be best served instantly. It seems, at least to me, that technical forums and online ‘gurus’ have become a thing of the past. Why? Most times, ‘Googling’ an issue will bring up a laundry list of posts in forums with the exact problem, usually followed with an answer. However, the post was made and answered anywhere from ten years to a more recent four years. In either case, unless it’s a new product, there is no real need for posting on a forum only to wait days (if you’re lucky) for an intelligent response and possibly longer to get a true answer.
So where do communities fit into this? It seems only natural that communities, though once warm and welcoming to the casual internet browser, has become a thing of the past. They’ve been replaced with blogs and social networking where, again, everything revolves on instant gratification for the end-user. What kind of communities have survived? Other than those directly linked with a brand (Dell Technical Support – Love them) or with a particular product (Tip.It – A fansite based on a MMO game), it would seem there is little opportunity for growth among other communities. Yet there are still communities with mixed interests (Runevillage – A fansite-turned-general interest) where a wisp of memory and the attachment of veterans keep the community together, even through difficult times.
Despite the fondness of memories in our compulsive visits to places we’ve known and grown to love, there is a sort of sweet sorrow in their parting. Just as we must one day say goodbye to our parents, it feels there is an inevitable end to all communities – online or not. In a more directed note, while the Village may be the dear home of a few dedicated users who have stayed around for nearly the entirety of its life, the difficulty lies not in reviving the dead, but re-angling the community to be both ageless and timeless where simple trends don’t direct the life of the site as a whole. I’d say this has been the bane of countless sites with a targeted audience, because there was never any room allowed or even acknowledged to open the door for a broader scope of inclusion for outsiders and thus lays the self-imprisonment of sites with too little a mind to approach a large audience.
Simply putting it, the only means by which to survive in the rapid change and growth of the internet is to build and evolve with it, rather than staying focused on a single niche. A stubborn, slow mind will only be left behind as the community gathered moves on to bigger and better things, though they may still visit every so often (like an old man in a retirement home, perhaps). There can only be success where success is actively perceived and rendered into a useable model; building a strong community is great while there is community to build, but there has to be some means of bringing new users in and getting them attached the same way everyone else has become attached.
Thus, what happens to a memory of a place once you can no longer visit it or feel that connection you once felt? How often do you drive or walk down a new, but familiar street where memories seem to come alive and flood into your conscious? Where do you go when you begin to relive those days of happiness, the shared, raw energy of a community? The whole experience can be quite a downer once you start thinking about those childhood playmates or perhaps the teenage adventures while testing the world, knowing you had your parents as a safety net. Where, then do you go when that memory is an online community?
Too often I’ve found myself needing information and simply visiting search engines like Google and Bing to find a quick resolution to any situation which may arise. This includes anything from technological break-downs, news, or entertainment; basically anything which would be best served instantly. It seems, at least to me, that technical forums and online ‘gurus’ have become a thing of the past. Why? Most times, ‘Googling’ an issue will bring up a laundry list of posts in forums with the exact problem, usually followed with an answer. However, the post was made and answered anywhere from ten years to a more recent four years. In either case, unless it’s a new product, there is no real need for posting on a forum only to wait days (if you’re lucky) for an intelligent response and possibly longer to get a true answer.
So where do communities fit into this? It seems only natural that communities, though once warm and welcoming to the casual internet browser, has become a thing of the past. They’ve been replaced with blogs and social networking where, again, everything revolves on instant gratification for the end-user. What kind of communities have survived? Other than those directly linked with a brand (Dell Technical Support – Love them) or with a particular product (Tip.It – A fansite based on a MMO game), it would seem there is little opportunity for growth among other communities. Yet there are still communities with mixed interests (Runevillage – A fansite-turned-general interest) where a wisp of memory and the attachment of veterans keep the community together, even through difficult times.
Despite the fondness of memories in our compulsive visits to places we’ve known and grown to love, there is a sort of sweet sorrow in their parting. Just as we must one day say goodbye to our parents, it feels there is an inevitable end to all communities – online or not. In a more directed note, while the Village may be the dear home of a few dedicated users who have stayed around for nearly the entirety of its life, the difficulty lies not in reviving the dead, but re-angling the community to be both ageless and timeless where simple trends don’t direct the life of the site as a whole. I’d say this has been the bane of countless sites with a targeted audience, because there was never any room allowed or even acknowledged to open the door for a broader scope of inclusion for outsiders and thus lays the self-imprisonment of sites with too little a mind to approach a large audience.
Simply putting it, the only means by which to survive in the rapid change and growth of the internet is to build and evolve with it, rather than staying focused on a single niche. A stubborn, slow mind will only be left behind as the community gathered moves on to bigger and better things, though they may still visit every so often (like an old man in a retirement home, perhaps). There can only be success where success is actively perceived and rendered into a useable model; building a strong community is great while there is community to build, but there has to be some means of bringing new users in and getting them attached the same way everyone else has become attached.
LLL: Updated 1/07; info on my future in the scribery
Posted by Landerpurex on December 1st, 2011, 2:55 am. Category: Scribery Entry
**EDIT**
Alright, so I daresay you editors and high ranking officials at RV are not interested in pure literature or creative works being put on the front page. Though I think that is ludicrous, I also see why that is. The bottom line is that I go to the movies, like, A LOT. Think on a weekly basis, pretty much. I hope to make some topics there on the front page through reviewing new movies. I have already written two and dedicated several hours to doing so in an effort to help this place. I know they are somewhat outdated, Darkest Hour being most so but I intend to review newer releases soon. I plan on seeing The Devil Inside tomorrow, so perhaps you can expect that review soon.
I also know that there are tons of other movie review sites, far more comprehensive and those that have professional critics (HA), but I tried to take a frank, fresh approach to the movies that will help anyone who is looking for such information. I also have to say that I am inspired by Defeat, but no longer will I allow him to take the brunt of the responsibility here, and the glory along with it.
Bottom line is, I am not going to write nor post creative works if they have no chance of being used, similarly how I am not going to write to no end for the Villager.
If someone wishes to refute or update me on Scribery and subsequently, front page quality policy, I would be much obliged.
Also it should be noted that I would like to buy the new RPG coming out in February called Kingdoms of Amalur, so dibs on that review assuming I actually get the game.
***
This is the thread I'm gonna reserve for the (hopefully) many contributions I make to RV in its new direction. For now, I'm only posting one poem but expect more in the future. This is perhaps my favorite piece that I've written, and I believe it shows. Later, expect more poetry, short stories, and snippets from my novel/s.
That said, I need to post a small disclaimer: I hope to make a living as a writer someday, and much of what I post will be some of my best work. I retain all rights to my work as the author. In the unlikely event that I sell the rights to some of my work, I may ask for it to be taken off the site but that does not seem to be something that is possible for me to accept.
This was something I wrote for a two week intensive poetry seminar. I wrote this in response to my classmates who often said that my work was too triumphant, that it wasn't sad, depressing, or void of conflict. I hope you appreciate the satire. It's a form called "letter poetry" which I had never tried before, but I seem to be at least somewhat good at.
Alright, so I daresay you editors and high ranking officials at RV are not interested in pure literature or creative works being put on the front page. Though I think that is ludicrous, I also see why that is. The bottom line is that I go to the movies, like, A LOT. Think on a weekly basis, pretty much. I hope to make some topics there on the front page through reviewing new movies. I have already written two and dedicated several hours to doing so in an effort to help this place. I know they are somewhat outdated, Darkest Hour being most so but I intend to review newer releases soon. I plan on seeing The Devil Inside tomorrow, so perhaps you can expect that review soon.
I also know that there are tons of other movie review sites, far more comprehensive and those that have professional critics (HA), but I tried to take a frank, fresh approach to the movies that will help anyone who is looking for such information. I also have to say that I am inspired by Defeat, but no longer will I allow him to take the brunt of the responsibility here, and the glory along with it.
Bottom line is, I am not going to write nor post creative works if they have no chance of being used, similarly how I am not going to write to no end for the Villager.
If someone wishes to refute or update me on Scribery and subsequently, front page quality policy, I would be much obliged. Also it should be noted that I would like to buy the new RPG coming out in February called Kingdoms of Amalur, so dibs on that review assuming I actually get the game.
***
This is the thread I'm gonna reserve for the (hopefully) many contributions I make to RV in its new direction. For now, I'm only posting one poem but expect more in the future. This is perhaps my favorite piece that I've written, and I believe it shows. Later, expect more poetry, short stories, and snippets from my novel/s.
That said, I need to post a small disclaimer: I hope to make a living as a writer someday, and much of what I post will be some of my best work. I retain all rights to my work as the author. In the unlikely event that I sell the rights to some of my work, I may ask for it to be taken off the site but that does not seem to be something that is possible for me to accept.
This was something I wrote for a two week intensive poetry seminar. I wrote this in response to my classmates who often said that my work was too triumphant, that it wasn't sad, depressing, or void of conflict. I hope you appreciate the satire. It's a form called "letter poetry" which I had never tried before, but I seem to be at least somewhat good at.
Lander wrote:
Dear self,
You will never triumph against anything.
To presume otherwise is nothing
short of maniacal nonsense.
Wallow in your self pity,
Fill a pool with it,
Drown in it,
Glub.
Write your farewell poem in blood,
Then hang yourself.
Um, don’t do any of that.
I’m being facetious.
It surely wouldn’t kill you,
To let your weakness through
Every now and again.
Death dances around you.
He dances a jig in Swedish clogs.
He trips over his own robe,
Wreaking hellish havoc.
Pontificate.
Your father, dead by simultaneous stroke and heart attack
Your Uncle, dead by spidery spider cancer
Your cousin, dead by asthma attack
Your cousin, dead by drowning
Your mother, dead by house fire
Let a tear chart a new course
Down your cheek.
Taste bitterness.
Become angry.
Shout for no reason,
Curse the people who get under your skin.
Do it to their faces.
Your car’s a piece of,
Drive it til the wheels fall off,
Then light it on fire.
Loosen up and stop hiding
Your past and your trials.
They happened.
Pretending they aren’t real will only
Cause a quarter-life crisis.
Affectionately,
Me
You will never triumph against anything.
To presume otherwise is nothing
short of maniacal nonsense.
Wallow in your self pity,
Fill a pool with it,
Drown in it,
Glub.
Write your farewell poem in blood,
Then hang yourself.
Um, don’t do any of that.
I’m being facetious.
It surely wouldn’t kill you,
To let your weakness through
Every now and again.
Death dances around you.
He dances a jig in Swedish clogs.
He trips over his own robe,
Wreaking hellish havoc.
Pontificate.
Your father, dead by simultaneous stroke and heart attack
Your Uncle, dead by spidery spider cancer
Your cousin, dead by asthma attack
Your cousin, dead by drowning
Your mother, dead by house fire
Let a tear chart a new course
Down your cheek.
Taste bitterness.
Become angry.
Shout for no reason,
Curse the people who get under your skin.
Do it to their faces.
Your car’s a piece of
,Drive it til the wheels fall off,
Then light it on fire.
Loosen up and stop hiding
Your past and your trials.
They happened.
Pretending they aren’t real will only
Cause a quarter-life crisis.
Affectionately,
Me
By far, the most exciting news in the last year was the announcement of the latest entry in the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim. Along with this announcement was a vast amount of detail on what would be included in the final product, as it would be released in less than 12 months, on November 11. The game is now out, and the biggest question series fans have had is this: Is it going to live up to previous games in the series?
I have to say what excited me was the announcement that this game would attempt to walk the line between Morrowind and Oblivion; Morrowind being one of my favorite games from childhood, and Oblivion being a technically good follow up set in a fairly generic setting. This is a pretty tall order. The magic of Morrowind, anyone can tell you, was in the discovery. You never knew what powerful ring you would find in that tomb across the river, or what daedric relic you'd pull out of the abandoned dwemer tower just outside of town.
Oblivion did away with this system, simply rewarding you these one of a kind items through quests; sure, a dungeon might provide a bunch of loot, but none of it had "pizzazz". None of it belonged to some great, unnamed warlock, and it certainly didn't belong to a demigod. You had to go talk to those guys in person, and you had to make sacrifices, but only when you hit the right level. Not the right level? Go back to Rockmilk and wait for those bandits and marauders to kill each other! Maybe after about ten delves you'll have fired your bow enough to get a level or two. It kind of got... boring. Not that other games don't have ridiculous amounts of grinding, but in a game claiming to be bigger and better than Morrowind, I expect even more relics to be dug up, not to just be handed to me for running between vendors and grabbing a shovel.
Skyrim, I'm happy to say, walks the line and leans toward the Morrowind side of the series. There's no telling what you'll find in any given cave, be it a powerful enemy wielding a magic weapon or a dragon wall providing you with immense power. The quests to find powerful artefacts often trigger just from discovering the tomb or strange item, so you still get the thrill of finding the artefact without feeling like you're a means to an end.
The world is wonderfully alien, just as it was in the good old days of the series. Expansive plains have herds of mammoths and giants wandering through, with beautiful mountains always in view. Rivers and streams flow through the landscape and look wonderful, although they are as much a nuisance as they are a beauty to look at. Often, there is no good way to cross a river without walking for what seems like miles out of your way. Attempting to wade across often goes awry, as there typically isn't a good way to climb out of said river. At this point, the best you can hope to do is survive the waterfall inevitably waiting 200 feet downstream and hope that you'll come out somewhere close to an actual road on the other side.
That's not to say that Oblivion's additions to the series were completely cut from the game; if anything, its shortcomings were tweaked until they became strengths for the game. While it didn't provide much in the way of setting, the fourth game in the series did a few things right: It simplified everything, and it added randomness in items. Skyrim expands on this.
Previous entries in the series required you to build your character around your Attributes, which governed skills, of which several selected as Major and [sometimes] Minor. You could only level up by increasing one of these selected skills, and then you had to weigh the pros and cons of increasing an attribute. These dilemmas are no more. Attributes: Gone. Major Skills: Nope nope. Minor Skills: That's been out of fashion for like ten years! All skills start the same, save for racial bonuses. You don't pick a class. You don't make a class. Whatever you use increases, and when a certain number of skill increases has been achieved, you level. You choose to increase your Health, Magicka, or Stamina bars, and then you get a perk to use to specialize in something. That's it. While I DO miss the challenge of increasing my luck, it's even better that I don't have to worry about respecializing in things after I've made my character. That isn't even a concern until after level 15 or so.
Building on the simplification of "Blade, Blunt, and Marksman", the weapon distinction has now become "One handed, Two handed, and Archery", with different sub-specializations within each skill tree that are up to you. One handed weapons include daggers, maces, swords, and one handed axes, and are great for damage dealers who don't want to take any damage. It goes hand in hand with the stealth tree, which only serves to make assassin characters even more overpowered (a common complaint I've heard of the game). From here you have the option to dual wield, a new feature to the series. It dramatically decreases your ability to block an attack, but the idea here is that you aren't going to be hit before this happens. Two handed is for people who don't mind getting punched in the face a couple times while swinging there weapon. These include greatswords, axes, and warhammers. Where does archery fit into all this? Very neatly, since it's so much more powerful than it ever was before. Put enough points into it, and it’s just as effective as any other weapon you could use.
Delving dungeons simply for magic items is always beneficial, especially at lower levels. Don't wear heavy armor, but still REALLY want that archery bonus? With the return of the Enchantment skill, items can be destroyed to learn their properties for use in making new ones. This means that equipment gathering is no longer the endless cycle of finding and selling and paying your first born to the Mage's Guild to make stuff temporarily better.
Oh, and dragons. With how late this review/rant is coming out, you've probably heard a lot about them already. Not a whole lot I can say on that matter except that they are far more fun than any of the other boss fights I have been involved with in this game up to this point. Fight them. Relish them, but remember that they are common throughout this game. If I had a nickel for every time I came out of fast travel and had to save a town, I wouldn’t have much money, because I don't think I've killed more than 20 dragons, and only like half those attacked towns. But I still feel like a boss.
Last, the main quest. I'm not going to get too much into this, because I honestly haven't done much with it. This shouldn't be a problem for many fans of the series, as no one really plays through it. From what I've seen of other people playing it, it is greatly improved story wise from Oblivion. What I can tell you is that guilds are back, with the Fighter's Guild and Mage's Guild being replaced by awesome. Dark Brotherhood is more disturbing than ever, and the Thieves Guild is... changed...
While a great game in and of itself, it stacks up with the best of the Elder Scrolls series. If you enjoyed any of those, give it a shot. It's definitely the best entry in the series. If you didn't, check it out anyway. Enough has changed that you may find yourself a new fan.
I have to say what excited me was the announcement that this game would attempt to walk the line between Morrowind and Oblivion; Morrowind being one of my favorite games from childhood, and Oblivion being a technically good follow up set in a fairly generic setting. This is a pretty tall order. The magic of Morrowind, anyone can tell you, was in the discovery. You never knew what powerful ring you would find in that tomb across the river, or what daedric relic you'd pull out of the abandoned dwemer tower just outside of town.
Oblivion did away with this system, simply rewarding you these one of a kind items through quests; sure, a dungeon might provide a bunch of loot, but none of it had "pizzazz". None of it belonged to some great, unnamed warlock, and it certainly didn't belong to a demigod. You had to go talk to those guys in person, and you had to make sacrifices, but only when you hit the right level. Not the right level? Go back to Rockmilk and wait for those bandits and marauders to kill each other! Maybe after about ten delves you'll have fired your bow enough to get a level or two. It kind of got... boring. Not that other games don't have ridiculous amounts of grinding, but in a game claiming to be bigger and better than Morrowind, I expect even more relics to be dug up, not to just be handed to me for running between vendors and grabbing a shovel.
Skyrim, I'm happy to say, walks the line and leans toward the Morrowind side of the series. There's no telling what you'll find in any given cave, be it a powerful enemy wielding a magic weapon or a dragon wall providing you with immense power. The quests to find powerful artefacts often trigger just from discovering the tomb or strange item, so you still get the thrill of finding the artefact without feeling like you're a means to an end.
The world is wonderfully alien, just as it was in the good old days of the series. Expansive plains have herds of mammoths and giants wandering through, with beautiful mountains always in view. Rivers and streams flow through the landscape and look wonderful, although they are as much a nuisance as they are a beauty to look at. Often, there is no good way to cross a river without walking for what seems like miles out of your way. Attempting to wade across often goes awry, as there typically isn't a good way to climb out of said river. At this point, the best you can hope to do is survive the waterfall inevitably waiting 200 feet downstream and hope that you'll come out somewhere close to an actual road on the other side.
That's not to say that Oblivion's additions to the series were completely cut from the game; if anything, its shortcomings were tweaked until they became strengths for the game. While it didn't provide much in the way of setting, the fourth game in the series did a few things right: It simplified everything, and it added randomness in items. Skyrim expands on this.
Previous entries in the series required you to build your character around your Attributes, which governed skills, of which several selected as Major and [sometimes] Minor. You could only level up by increasing one of these selected skills, and then you had to weigh the pros and cons of increasing an attribute. These dilemmas are no more. Attributes: Gone. Major Skills: Nope nope. Minor Skills: That's been out of fashion for like ten years! All skills start the same, save for racial bonuses. You don't pick a class. You don't make a class. Whatever you use increases, and when a certain number of skill increases has been achieved, you level. You choose to increase your Health, Magicka, or Stamina bars, and then you get a perk to use to specialize in something. That's it. While I DO miss the challenge of increasing my luck, it's even better that I don't have to worry about respecializing in things after I've made my character. That isn't even a concern until after level 15 or so.
Building on the simplification of "Blade, Blunt, and Marksman", the weapon distinction has now become "One handed, Two handed, and Archery", with different sub-specializations within each skill tree that are up to you. One handed weapons include daggers, maces, swords, and one handed axes, and are great for damage dealers who don't want to take any damage. It goes hand in hand with the stealth tree, which only serves to make assassin characters even more overpowered (a common complaint I've heard of the game). From here you have the option to dual wield, a new feature to the series. It dramatically decreases your ability to block an attack, but the idea here is that you aren't going to be hit before this happens. Two handed is for people who don't mind getting punched in the face a couple times while swinging there weapon. These include greatswords, axes, and warhammers. Where does archery fit into all this? Very neatly, since it's so much more powerful than it ever was before. Put enough points into it, and it’s just as effective as any other weapon you could use.
Delving dungeons simply for magic items is always beneficial, especially at lower levels. Don't wear heavy armor, but still REALLY want that archery bonus? With the return of the Enchantment skill, items can be destroyed to learn their properties for use in making new ones. This means that equipment gathering is no longer the endless cycle of finding and selling and paying your first born to the Mage's Guild to make stuff temporarily better.
Oh, and dragons. With how late this review/rant is coming out, you've probably heard a lot about them already. Not a whole lot I can say on that matter except that they are far more fun than any of the other boss fights I have been involved with in this game up to this point. Fight them. Relish them, but remember that they are common throughout this game. If I had a nickel for every time I came out of fast travel and had to save a town, I wouldn’t have much money, because I don't think I've killed more than 20 dragons, and only like half those attacked towns. But I still feel like a boss.
Last, the main quest. I'm not going to get too much into this, because I honestly haven't done much with it. This shouldn't be a problem for many fans of the series, as no one really plays through it. From what I've seen of other people playing it, it is greatly improved story wise from Oblivion. What I can tell you is that guilds are back, with the Fighter's Guild and Mage's Guild being replaced by awesome. Dark Brotherhood is more disturbing than ever, and the Thieves Guild is... changed...
While a great game in and of itself, it stacks up with the best of the Elder Scrolls series. If you enjoyed any of those, give it a shot. It's definitely the best entry in the series. If you didn't, check it out anyway. Enough has changed that you may find yourself a new fan.
28 February 2008 - Development Diary - QA
Posted by Don Toboy on February 28th, 2008, 12:16 pm. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
Being a games tester is a dream job for many, but does the reality live up to the dream? In this month's Development Diary, we take a look at the various Quality Assurance teams at Jagex. Is it all just about RuneScape? Do they play games all day? Could it be the job for you? Read the Diary to find out.
28 February 2008 - Postbag from the Hedge - Player Takeover!
Posted by Don Toboy on February 28th, 2008, 12:15 pm. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
For the second time this month, Postie Pete arrives with a bagful of letters. Instead of being packed with questions for your favourite characters, this bag is full of replies from YOU! If you want to read your business development plans for Balnea, your popular truths about the mahjarrat or read LT's favourite limerick, then check it out here.
Next month, the Postbag returns to normal, with Wise Old Man's plans for the Temple Knights included. This certainly won't be the last you hear of the Player Takeover, however, as there were so many responses. It even broke P.P's sack!
Next month, the Postbag returns to normal, with Wise Old Man's plans for the Temple Knights included. This certainly won't be the last you hear of the Player Takeover, however, as there were so many responses. It even broke P.P's sack!
27 February 2008 - Subscription Price Change - Canada
Posted by ZxC on February 27th, 2008, 11:45 am. Category: RuneScape News
Jagex.com wrote:
The price of a RuneScape credit card subscription in Canada has reduced from CAD7.30 per month to CAD5.00. There are a number of factors that determine how we set our prices (for example, currency and sales tax changes), and these have allowed us to lower our monthly credit card rate for our Canadian customers.
Both new and existing members can benefit from the reduction. The price changes will affect credit card payments in the following ways:
* If you wish to pay for a new subscription, the revised price is available now.
* If you make automatic monthly payments, the revised price will take effect on your next payment date.
Both new and existing members can benefit from the reduction. The price changes will affect credit card payments in the following ways:
* If you wish to pay for a new subscription, the revised price is available now.
* If you make automatic monthly payments, the revised price will take effect on your next payment date.
Yay 2,30$ more for me each month
28 February 08 - Changes to Vinesweeper and more...
Posted by Don Toboy on February 25th, 2008, 9:31 am. Category: RuneScape News
Quote:
Vinesweeper:
Last week, we felt that there were a number of improvements we could make to the rewards of Vinesweeper and how fun it was to play. These have now been made:
* All requirements to play Vinesweeper have been removed. Anyone can play.
* The Farming experience you receive for cashing in Vinesweeper points has dramatically increased
* The price of flags has reduced when purchasing them with coins OR points
* The price of seeds from the Winkin shop has reduced, so you can purchase more with your Vinesweeper points
* Ogleroots are now available from Blinkin for 10gp each
* Players leaving Vinesweeper with their flags are able to retrieve them from Blinkin for free, without being reimbursed for them
* The rabbits haven't been getting enough ogleroots in their diet and it's had some strange effects. The rabbits have grown in size, making them easier to target with ogleroots
* The Vinesweeper rabbits seemed to be very quick at eating seeds before the farmer could get there or you could stop them with an ogleroot. To solve this, you can now distract the rabbits with an ogleroot at a larger distance, allowing you to more easily protect your flags.
Other changes:
You may also notice that the Friends and Ignore tabs have changed. This is to allow for future compatibility with FunOrb, helping you to have a natter with friends on both games with ease!
Several market values of items have been adjusted. Broken items, such as Woodcutting axes, now have a market value that differs from their fixed version. This difference is equal to the cost that a player would incur if they repaired it.
The Farming patch spirit will no longer visit players who've attained a Farming level of 16 or above when they're standing near a Farming patch.
Last week, we felt that there were a number of improvements we could make to the rewards of Vinesweeper and how fun it was to play. These have now been made:
* All requirements to play Vinesweeper have been removed. Anyone can play.
* The Farming experience you receive for cashing in Vinesweeper points has dramatically increased
* The price of flags has reduced when purchasing them with coins OR points
* The price of seeds from the Winkin shop has reduced, so you can purchase more with your Vinesweeper points
* Ogleroots are now available from Blinkin for 10gp each
* Players leaving Vinesweeper with their flags are able to retrieve them from Blinkin for free, without being reimbursed for them
* The rabbits haven't been getting enough ogleroots in their diet and it's had some strange effects. The rabbits have grown in size, making them easier to target with ogleroots
* The Vinesweeper rabbits seemed to be very quick at eating seeds before the farmer could get there or you could stop them with an ogleroot. To solve this, you can now distract the rabbits with an ogleroot at a larger distance, allowing you to more easily protect your flags.
Other changes:
You may also notice that the Friends and Ignore tabs have changed. This is to allow for future compatibility with FunOrb, helping you to have a natter with friends on both games with ease!
Several market values of items have been adjusted. Broken items, such as Woodcutting axes, now have a market value that differs from their fixed version. This difference is equal to the cost that a player would incur if they repaired it.
The Farming patch spirit will no longer visit players who've attained a Farming level of 16 or above when they're standing near a Farming patch.
22 February - Bounty Locate and Vinesweeper
Posted by 5l1pkn07 on February 22nd, 2008, 10:44 am. Category: RuneScape News
Quote:
It became clear that the Bounty Locate spell was being used as a way to escape from combat in Bounty Hunter. This was never our intention and made it harder to get bounty rewards, so we have altered the spell. If you are in combat, you will run or walk towards your target rather than teleport there. You will still teleport to your target if you are not currently in combat.
Also, the Bounty Locate spell will no longer work if you are 'held' by another spell - Ice Barrage or Entangle, for example.
These changes are effective immediately.
Vinesweeper:
Having read your Forum posts, we felt that the rewards for Vinesweeper needed to be more worthwhile than they currently are. This enjoyable minigame is now having a shrewd eye cast over it. We plan to update the XP and seed rewards, amongst other Vinesweeper changes, next week.
We recommend that you keep hold of your Vinesweeper points until these changes have been made. We don't want to stop you playing the minigame; after all, we are not changing the amount of points you can earn - only what they are worth.
We also plan to make the rascally rabbits a little easier to deal with. Currently, they are too fast to be effectively stopped and will often eat your seeds before you can deploy an ogleroot.
To clarify, all of these Vinesweeper changes, and a few more, will be made next week.
Also, the Bounty Locate spell will no longer work if you are 'held' by another spell - Ice Barrage or Entangle, for example.
These changes are effective immediately.
Vinesweeper:
Having read your Forum posts, we felt that the rewards for Vinesweeper needed to be more worthwhile than they currently are. This enjoyable minigame is now having a shrewd eye cast over it. We plan to update the XP and seed rewards, amongst other Vinesweeper changes, next week.
We recommend that you keep hold of your Vinesweeper points until these changes have been made. We don't want to stop you playing the minigame; after all, we are not changing the amount of points you can earn - only what they are worth.
We also plan to make the rascally rabbits a little easier to deal with. Currently, they are too fast to be effectively stopped and will often eat your seeds before you can deploy an ogleroot.
To clarify, all of these Vinesweeper changes, and a few more, will be made next week.
21 February 2008 - The State of Play
Posted by 5l1pkn07 on February 21st, 2008, 9:46 am. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
If you look back at the last few months, you may have mixed feelings about some of the releases. Unbalanced trade removal; Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars; LootShare; the Assist System; the Grand Exchange: these were all massive changes affecting a huge number of people. They were so big, in fact, and released in such a short period of time, that we could not get everything right while also making every player happy. We certainly aimed to do so, but we still came some way short.
We decided, soon after their release, that we could address many of your problems with them. Your feedback on the Forums has really helped, and we have even been able to consult you on a number of instances. This led to the 'Future Changes to Recent Updates' in January: a list of our proposed changes to our recent content. It's been a while since we released that newspost, and many of you seem worried that we've forgotten about the changes to LootShare, Grand Exchange and our other releases. Well, we can assure you that we haven't forgotten. In fact, we have allocated nearly half of our content developers to getting these recent updates back on track!
We plan to release a State of Play regularly, to give you a real idea of how the most anticipated updates are progressing, so keep your eyes peeled for more news in the future.
The green progress bars will give you an idea of how close each project is to being released.
Grand Exchange Improvements:
Some changes to the Grand Exchange interfaces are entering the final stages of testing. We've listened to your feedback and we are finishing off interface changes to really speed up your selling and purchasing.
We also promised 'a new web page...which will allow you to track item prices over a long period of time'. This is very close to completion and is currently with our Quality Assurance team. This will be a comprehensive and very visual means for you to find out item values and compare them with others, or see how they fluctuate over time. As you can imagine, we believe that this will be really useful to any merchants out there.
Finally, the Grand Exchange pricing errors are being fixed in what will be an ongoing process. We have staff members dedicated to collating information from the Forums and in-game sources, so you'll see amendments occurring as the weeks go on. Here are a few examples of pricing issues that we have remedied:
* We've allowed Summoning items to be traded on the Exchange for a wider range of prices over a prolonged period, and allowed their prices to adjust with their large number of sales.
* We have made the price of items such as jewellery, poisoned dagger and clockwork toys behave more consistently, so that you are always getting a fair deal.
* We've allowed a more generous range of prices on the Exchange for those items that are sold in shops.
* We've also fixed a number of bugs that have been highlighted in the Forums, such as how potions behave.
We'd also like to remind you that the 'Grand Exchange Price Feedback' thread in our Suggestions Forum is the place for any constructive feedback you have on our market prices.
Fairer LootShare:
One of the most requested improvements will be to our LootShare feature, which has been worked on solidly since its announcement in the 'Future Changes to Recent Updates'. We will be calling these changes 'CoinShare'. With it activated, a clan will not receive a high-value item as a monster drop; instead, the item will be put on the Grand Exchange at the median price. The team of LootSharers will immediately gain a share of coins equal to that item's lowest market value, without waiting for that item to sell on the Exchange. This is in final testing, at a similar stage to the Grand Exchange tweaks.
Item Lending:
Currently at a briefing stage is the item-lending feature. It has been incredibly difficult to find that balance between versatility and stopping cheaters from abusing it. We believe we've found a solution that achieves this, and we will give you more news in future articles.
New PvP Minigame:
Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter did a fair job of offering new PvP gaming choices, but they weren't without their problems; in particular, Bounty Hunter was dominated by large clans, which just wasn't how we intended Bounty Hunter to be used. We are aware that this week's Bounty Hunter changes leaves only Clan Wars for multi-way fighters, which does not offer the level of danger and reward that Bounty Hunter did. We can reveal that changes to the Clan Wars arena are at a proposal stage and future multi-way minigames are planned, all of which should alleviate these concerns.
It must also be said that Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter were never alone intended as a replacement for the Wilderness. We saw them as the first in a series of PvP minigames, with other games being briefed that would attempt to cater for all types of PKer. Well, the next PvP minigame is now finishing development and entering the first round of quality assurance. We're certainly very excited about this single-way, one-versus-one safe minigame.
Summoning Improvements:
When we started work on Summoning, we made the decision that it would be interesting, fun and rewarding, while also taking longer than most skills to level up. We feel now that we weren't so hot on the 'rewarding' aspect, which has been an obstacle to many people enjoying the skill. Despite a few tweaks, we still don't believe that it is as rewarding as it can be, and the worst thing we can do is to keep making tweaks every week for a long period of time.
So, we have decided to rebalance Summoning and release it with Summoning Batch #2. This rebalancing is about 20% complete and we will keep you informed about how it progresses. As you can imagine, this is a huge priority for us, so you can expect this percentage to rise rapidly.
We do appreciate that all of these changes are taking a while, and that a lot of people are urgently awaiting them. So, we are treating them as a priority. This is not the last you will see of progress reports like this, either: you can expect similar updates in the future, as we make more of an effort to inform you about the state of play...
We decided, soon after their release, that we could address many of your problems with them. Your feedback on the Forums has really helped, and we have even been able to consult you on a number of instances. This led to the 'Future Changes to Recent Updates' in January: a list of our proposed changes to our recent content. It's been a while since we released that newspost, and many of you seem worried that we've forgotten about the changes to LootShare, Grand Exchange and our other releases. Well, we can assure you that we haven't forgotten. In fact, we have allocated nearly half of our content developers to getting these recent updates back on track!
We plan to release a State of Play regularly, to give you a real idea of how the most anticipated updates are progressing, so keep your eyes peeled for more news in the future.
The green progress bars will give you an idea of how close each project is to being released.
Grand Exchange Improvements:
Some changes to the Grand Exchange interfaces are entering the final stages of testing. We've listened to your feedback and we are finishing off interface changes to really speed up your selling and purchasing.
We also promised 'a new web page...which will allow you to track item prices over a long period of time'. This is very close to completion and is currently with our Quality Assurance team. This will be a comprehensive and very visual means for you to find out item values and compare them with others, or see how they fluctuate over time. As you can imagine, we believe that this will be really useful to any merchants out there.
Finally, the Grand Exchange pricing errors are being fixed in what will be an ongoing process. We have staff members dedicated to collating information from the Forums and in-game sources, so you'll see amendments occurring as the weeks go on. Here are a few examples of pricing issues that we have remedied:
* We've allowed Summoning items to be traded on the Exchange for a wider range of prices over a prolonged period, and allowed their prices to adjust with their large number of sales.
* We have made the price of items such as jewellery, poisoned dagger and clockwork toys behave more consistently, so that you are always getting a fair deal.
* We've allowed a more generous range of prices on the Exchange for those items that are sold in shops.
* We've also fixed a number of bugs that have been highlighted in the Forums, such as how potions behave.
We'd also like to remind you that the 'Grand Exchange Price Feedback' thread in our Suggestions Forum is the place for any constructive feedback you have on our market prices.
Fairer LootShare:
One of the most requested improvements will be to our LootShare feature, which has been worked on solidly since its announcement in the 'Future Changes to Recent Updates'. We will be calling these changes 'CoinShare'. With it activated, a clan will not receive a high-value item as a monster drop; instead, the item will be put on the Grand Exchange at the median price. The team of LootSharers will immediately gain a share of coins equal to that item's lowest market value, without waiting for that item to sell on the Exchange. This is in final testing, at a similar stage to the Grand Exchange tweaks.
Item Lending:
Currently at a briefing stage is the item-lending feature. It has been incredibly difficult to find that balance between versatility and stopping cheaters from abusing it. We believe we've found a solution that achieves this, and we will give you more news in future articles.
New PvP Minigame:
Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter did a fair job of offering new PvP gaming choices, but they weren't without their problems; in particular, Bounty Hunter was dominated by large clans, which just wasn't how we intended Bounty Hunter to be used. We are aware that this week's Bounty Hunter changes leaves only Clan Wars for multi-way fighters, which does not offer the level of danger and reward that Bounty Hunter did. We can reveal that changes to the Clan Wars arena are at a proposal stage and future multi-way minigames are planned, all of which should alleviate these concerns.
It must also be said that Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter were never alone intended as a replacement for the Wilderness. We saw them as the first in a series of PvP minigames, with other games being briefed that would attempt to cater for all types of PKer. Well, the next PvP minigame is now finishing development and entering the first round of quality assurance. We're certainly very excited about this single-way, one-versus-one safe minigame.
Summoning Improvements:
When we started work on Summoning, we made the decision that it would be interesting, fun and rewarding, while also taking longer than most skills to level up. We feel now that we weren't so hot on the 'rewarding' aspect, which has been an obstacle to many people enjoying the skill. Despite a few tweaks, we still don't believe that it is as rewarding as it can be, and the worst thing we can do is to keep making tweaks every week for a long period of time.
So, we have decided to rebalance Summoning and release it with Summoning Batch #2. This rebalancing is about 20% complete and we will keep you informed about how it progresses. As you can imagine, this is a huge priority for us, so you can expect this percentage to rise rapidly.
We do appreciate that all of these changes are taking a while, and that a lot of people are urgently awaiting them. So, we are treating them as a priority. This is not the last you will see of progress reports like this, either: you can expect similar updates in the future, as we make more of an effort to inform you about the state of play...
19 February 2008 - Bounty Hunter Combat Changes and Rewards
Posted by ZinyX on February 19th, 2008, 8:11 am. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
When we introduced Bounty Hunter in December 2007, we intended it, alongside Clan Wars, to be the first of a series of enjoyable PvP minigames. Three months on, we have had a chance to look at your Bounty Hunter feedback and comments, and have come up with changes that will really improve it!
For information on future PvP content and minigames, keep your eyes peeled. We have news for you in the coming weeks!
Combat Change:
First on our critical ticklist was the multiway aspect of Bounty Hunter. Occasionally, players would walk into Bounty Hunter and be ambushed by clans wanting to kill them for their items. This was not how we intended Bounty Hunter to be used.
So, this week, we have made Bounty Hunter single-way combat, meaning that only one player may attack another player at any time. There are two exceptions to this rule:
* You are able to attack someone who is in combat if they are your Bounty Hunter target
* You can be attacked when in combat if you are the Bounty Hunter target of your opponent
We would like to remind you that Bounty Hunter is a dangerous minigame, and you risk losing your items when entering the caverns.
Cash Rewards:
We have introduced another reason for being a bounty hunter: cash rewards for defeating your bounties.
Mandrith loves to reward bravery, so players who kill 10 or more bounty targets will earn cash rewards based on the market value of their combat items. This cash amount is worked out by taking only the second, third, fourth and fifth most expensive combat items you are carrying and giving you access to an amount of coins based on their value. You will have to defeat at least 10 bounty targets to receive your reward, which you can do by speaking to Mandrith.
There is a limit to the amount you can receive per 10 kills, according to the crater you entered:
* Low-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 40,000gp for 10 kills
* Medium-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 80,000gp for 10 kills
* High-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 120,000gp for 10 kills
A summary of your kills will be given when you exit each crater. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go - Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.
Bounty Locate Change and Rune Rewards:
Some of you felt that the Bounty Locate spell was only available to members and was slightly too high-level, giving the advantage to more experienced players.
Well, we have made tweaks that should make the Bounty Locate spell more accessible and affordable! Firstly, we have reduced the Magic level required to cast Bounty Locate to 32, and reduced its cost to 1 law rune, 1 air rune and 1 fire rune.
We have made the spell available to F2P, and once you have made 10 Bounty Hunter target kills, you will receive a prize of 15 law runes, 15 air runes and 15 fire runes - the number of runes required to cast 15 Bounty Locate spells!
To get a running total of how many targets you need to kill, or to receive your rune rewards, visit Mandrith outside of the Bounty Hunter volcano. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go - Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.
------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
Where to access Bounty Hunter:
In mid-level Wilderness, north of Edgeville.
Requirements to use these Bounty Hunter changes:
None! Bounty Hunter and the Bounty Hunter changes are available to both free-players and members
Access to:
Single-way PvP combat, without being ambushed by clans
Cash rewards for killing 10 Bounty Hunter targets when you carry expensive items
Bounty Locate spell available to F2P
Bounty Locate spell reduced to level 32 Magic
Rune rewards for killing 10 or more Bounty Hunter targets
------------------------------------------------------------
In other news...
Mandrith has decided to make some amendments to his tutorial, so you may visit him at any point to read more about the Bounty Hunter changes.
Due to the recent improvements to Bounty Hunter, it will no longer be possible for you to take Summoning scrolls, pouches or summoned familiars into the dangerous minigame. This is because familiars cannot help you fight in single-way combat areas.
Players who return to their own gravestone in time can now pick up their Recipe For Disaster gloves if they died with them.
We've had a few words with Ordan at the Blast Furnace about his maths skills. He was getting a bit confused but he should now quote you the correct price for the amount of ore you wish to uncert.
The bank scrolling issue has been fixed so that it will now jump to the row of your bank that you were looking at when you last opened the bank interface.
For information on future PvP content and minigames, keep your eyes peeled. We have news for you in the coming weeks!
Combat Change:
First on our critical ticklist was the multiway aspect of Bounty Hunter. Occasionally, players would walk into Bounty Hunter and be ambushed by clans wanting to kill them for their items. This was not how we intended Bounty Hunter to be used.
So, this week, we have made Bounty Hunter single-way combat, meaning that only one player may attack another player at any time. There are two exceptions to this rule:
* You are able to attack someone who is in combat if they are your Bounty Hunter target
* You can be attacked when in combat if you are the Bounty Hunter target of your opponent
We would like to remind you that Bounty Hunter is a dangerous minigame, and you risk losing your items when entering the caverns.
Cash Rewards:
We have introduced another reason for being a bounty hunter: cash rewards for defeating your bounties.
Mandrith loves to reward bravery, so players who kill 10 or more bounty targets will earn cash rewards based on the market value of their combat items. This cash amount is worked out by taking only the second, third, fourth and fifth most expensive combat items you are carrying and giving you access to an amount of coins based on their value. You will have to defeat at least 10 bounty targets to receive your reward, which you can do by speaking to Mandrith.
There is a limit to the amount you can receive per 10 kills, according to the crater you entered:
* Low-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 40,000gp for 10 kills
* Medium-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 80,000gp for 10 kills
* High-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 120,000gp for 10 kills
A summary of your kills will be given when you exit each crater. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go - Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.
Bounty Locate Change and Rune Rewards:
Some of you felt that the Bounty Locate spell was only available to members and was slightly too high-level, giving the advantage to more experienced players.
Well, we have made tweaks that should make the Bounty Locate spell more accessible and affordable! Firstly, we have reduced the Magic level required to cast Bounty Locate to 32, and reduced its cost to 1 law rune, 1 air rune and 1 fire rune.
We have made the spell available to F2P, and once you have made 10 Bounty Hunter target kills, you will receive a prize of 15 law runes, 15 air runes and 15 fire runes - the number of runes required to cast 15 Bounty Locate spells!
To get a running total of how many targets you need to kill, or to receive your rune rewards, visit Mandrith outside of the Bounty Hunter volcano. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go - Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.
------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
Where to access Bounty Hunter:
In mid-level Wilderness, north of Edgeville.
Requirements to use these Bounty Hunter changes:
None! Bounty Hunter and the Bounty Hunter changes are available to both free-players and members
Access to:
Single-way PvP combat, without being ambushed by clans
Cash rewards for killing 10 Bounty Hunter targets when you carry expensive items
Bounty Locate spell available to F2P
Bounty Locate spell reduced to level 32 Magic
Rune rewards for killing 10 or more Bounty Hunter targets
------------------------------------------------------------
In other news...
Mandrith has decided to make some amendments to his tutorial, so you may visit him at any point to read more about the Bounty Hunter changes.
Due to the recent improvements to Bounty Hunter, it will no longer be possible for you to take Summoning scrolls, pouches or summoned familiars into the dangerous minigame. This is because familiars cannot help you fight in single-way combat areas.
Players who return to their own gravestone in time can now pick up their Recipe For Disaster gloves if they died with them.
We've had a few words with Ordan at the Blast Furnace about his maths skills. He was getting a bit confused but he should now quote you the correct price for the amount of ore you wish to uncert.
The bank scrolling issue has been fixed so that it will now jump to the row of your bank that you were looking at when you last opened the bank interface.
19 February 2008 - Vinesweeper and Amulet of Nature Update
Posted by ZinyX on February 19th, 2008, 8:10 am. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
Vinesweeper:
Winkin the gnome has taken his crops to market, so Farmer Blinkin has been left in charge. Simple instructions have been left: harvest the Farming patches while Winkin is away. Unfortunately, a family of hungry rabbits have moved into the neighbourhood and they are eating the seeds before Winkin can say,"Get off my land"!
As if this wasn't nuisance enough, the hired farmhands have had one too many blurberry specials and forgotten where they planted their seeds. It has all become a bit too much for poor Blinkin, so he has opened the farm's doors to any adventurer who is willing to help.
It's not all bad news, however. Everyone knows that gnomes are magical creatures and industrious, to say the least; so, the farmyard has been imbued with magic that will let you know when you are close to a seed. So grab a spade, start digging and improve your Farming levels while helping out poor Blinkin!
Oh, and be sure to pay a visit to Mrs Winkin's Farming Emporium. Here you can trade in your hard-earned points for prizes, like seeds and chunks of Farming XP!
------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
Where to start Vinesweeper
Speak to one of the Farming patch leprechauns across RuneScape.
Requirements to play Vinesweeper
A Farming Level of 10 is required to visit Winkin's Farm
Access to:
A brand new Farming minigame
The ability to win Farming XP and high-level seeds
------------------------------------------------------------
New Farming Amulets:
The magical amulet of nature has been revised by the clever druids of Taverley to provide budding farmers with even more assistance! Not only will it retain it's previous functions - updating it's owner on the state of their Farming patch - it will also offer you two welcome additions and the ability to talk!
You will now be able to contact a farmer that is near your patch, and you can use the amulet to teleport to your diseased plant. These changes will certainly allow you to manage your patches much more effectively.
But that's not all! The druids have been able to put some of the original amulet's magic into a new amulet of Farming, which can be bought from Farming stores throughout Runescape. These lesser amulets have only a limited number of uses and will only work with vegetable or flower patches. These will inform your of the state of your chosen Farming patch, much as the amulet of nature did previously.
Winkin the gnome has taken his crops to market, so Farmer Blinkin has been left in charge. Simple instructions have been left: harvest the Farming patches while Winkin is away. Unfortunately, a family of hungry rabbits have moved into the neighbourhood and they are eating the seeds before Winkin can say,"Get off my land"!
As if this wasn't nuisance enough, the hired farmhands have had one too many blurberry specials and forgotten where they planted their seeds. It has all become a bit too much for poor Blinkin, so he has opened the farm's doors to any adventurer who is willing to help.
It's not all bad news, however. Everyone knows that gnomes are magical creatures and industrious, to say the least; so, the farmyard has been imbued with magic that will let you know when you are close to a seed. So grab a spade, start digging and improve your Farming levels while helping out poor Blinkin!
Oh, and be sure to pay a visit to Mrs Winkin's Farming Emporium. Here you can trade in your hard-earned points for prizes, like seeds and chunks of Farming XP!
------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
Where to start Vinesweeper
Speak to one of the Farming patch leprechauns across RuneScape.
Requirements to play Vinesweeper
A Farming Level of 10 is required to visit Winkin's Farm
Access to:
A brand new Farming minigame
The ability to win Farming XP and high-level seeds
------------------------------------------------------------
New Farming Amulets:
The magical amulet of nature has been revised by the clever druids of Taverley to provide budding farmers with even more assistance! Not only will it retain it's previous functions - updating it's owner on the state of their Farming patch - it will also offer you two welcome additions and the ability to talk!
You will now be able to contact a farmer that is near your patch, and you can use the amulet to teleport to your diseased plant. These changes will certainly allow you to manage your patches much more effectively.
But that's not all! The druids have been able to put some of the original amulet's magic into a new amulet of Farming, which can be bought from Farming stores throughout Runescape. These lesser amulets have only a limited number of uses and will only work with vegetable or flower patches. These will inform your of the state of your chosen Farming patch, much as the amulet of nature did previously.
14 February 2008 - Players' Gallery
Posted by ZinyX on February 14th, 2008, 10:40 am. Category: RuneScape News
RuneScape.com wrote:
It is not only RuneScape that has seen a sudden increase in creatures thanks to Summoning. Postie Pete has had animals popping up left, right and centre in this month's Players' Gallery.
Be it the wolves of White Wolf Mountain, your faithful feline followers or even an abyssal demon, you will be able to find a wide variety of beasts for you in this month's great selection.
Pete also wants you to know that he's particularly interested in dragons - if you produce a dragony image, the KBD might take a swift look (or three) at it.
Be it the wolves of White Wolf Mountain, your faithful feline followers or even an abyssal demon, you will be able to find a wide variety of beasts for you in this month's great selection.
Pete also wants you to know that he's particularly interested in dragons - if you produce a dragony image, the KBD might take a swift look (or three) at it.
14 February 2008 - Postbag from the Hedge - Player Takeover
Posted by ZinyX on February 14th, 2008, 10:38 am. Category: RuneScape News
RuneScape.com wrote:
Postie Pete has some letters written by RuneScape characters, and this time he wants you to answer them! Read through these letters, then get replying and we'll choose the very best for this month's Postbag from the Hedge.
Can you assist Reldo's research into ancient topics? Do you have a better idea for the goblin Chosen Commander? Do you have 5 minutes to spare for Balnea's quick informal survey into future business growth opportunities? If so, get over to the Postbag and start replying to their letters!
You can write your reply to the usual Postbag from the Hedge address and they will post up their favourite responses later in the month.
Can you assist Reldo's research into ancient topics? Do you have a better idea for the goblin Chosen Commander? Do you have 5 minutes to spare for Balnea's quick informal survey into future business growth opportunities? If so, get over to the Postbag and start replying to their letters!
You can write your reply to the usual Postbag from the Hedge address and they will post up their favourite responses later in the month.
Assassins - Over!
Posted by Metternich on February 13th, 2008, 10:24 am. Category: Global announcement
Assassins
A Game of Stealth and Luck
Tasty important info's so that you can attend:
Where: Varrock Square. World 15
When: February 24th, Sunday. 4 PM GMT, 10 AM CST.
What: Assassins, created by Shadow7 (see rules) for the RVA. Now brought to the entire RV populace.
Who: Anyone is welcome to play, there are NO REQUIREMENTS so anyone can play. Please sign up if possible, it makes everything easier later on.
Host: O Bismarck, you will need to get me to add you if you'd like to play.
How the game works:
We will use my clan channel when playing, and if you get assassinated, you will need to inform me either through PM or clan chat.
These are the boundaries:
(Yes I know that's Old-Skool Varrock, the GE is not included in this game)
Everyone will also need to be wearing this outfit, so that you can tell who is playing:
No worries, you can buy the outfit at the Varrock clothes shop for 6 GP and I have a few spare outfits.
Some sexy pics to get you all excited and interested. o.O
Pictures of Assassins 1:
Pictures of Assassins 2:
Pictures of Assassins 5:
On account of that last post being hella long in the editing process, I'm putting the attendance sign-up list thing here.
So that you don't make this thread miles longer than it has to be, put your RVN/RSN in spoils in alphabetical order following my example:
RSN
RVN
A Game of Stealth and Luck
Tasty important info's so that you can attend:
Where: Varrock Square. World 15
When: February 24th, Sunday. 4 PM GMT, 10 AM CST.
What: Assassins, created by Shadow7 (see rules) for the RVA. Now brought to the entire RV populace.
Who: Anyone is welcome to play, there are NO REQUIREMENTS so anyone can play. Please sign up if possible, it makes everything easier later on.
Host: O Bismarck, you will need to get me to add you if you'd like to play.
How the game works:
Shadow7 wrote:
1. Everyone is assigned a name of a person to "assassinate". When the event starts, everyone will scramble to different locations with there private messages off. After a few minutes, everyone MUST turn their private messages on. At this point, everyone should basically be hiding throughout the city (hiding doesn't necessarily mean being in some back alley, it just means being somewhere where not everyone knows where they are). Quest locations will be out of bounds (in other words, you must be somewhere where everyone can go).
2. After you are all "hidden", I'll private-message everyone the name of the person they're supposed to assassinate. You must then assassinate that person by "tagging" them. You tag them by trading that person.
3. Once you've been assassinated, you are out of the game and you'll join me in a specified location in the city (ex: Varrock central fountain). If you tag someone, you then must now tag the person who that person was supposed to assassinate. For example, let's say Bob is supposed to tag Joe, and Joe is supposed to tag Tom. If Bob tags Joe, then Bob will now be assigned to tag Tom (the person Joe was supposed to tag).
4. This continues until only two people are left. The names will be arranged in such an order that you will never need to assassinate yourself. Of these 2 remaining people, the winner will be the one who assassinated more people.
2. After you are all "hidden", I'll private-message everyone the name of the person they're supposed to assassinate. You must then assassinate that person by "tagging" them. You tag them by trading that person.
3. Once you've been assassinated, you are out of the game and you'll join me in a specified location in the city (ex: Varrock central fountain). If you tag someone, you then must now tag the person who that person was supposed to assassinate. For example, let's say Bob is supposed to tag Joe, and Joe is supposed to tag Tom. If Bob tags Joe, then Bob will now be assigned to tag Tom (the person Joe was supposed to tag).
4. This continues until only two people are left. The names will be arranged in such an order that you will never need to assassinate yourself. Of these 2 remaining people, the winner will be the one who assassinated more people.
We will use my clan channel when playing, and if you get assassinated, you will need to inform me either through PM or clan chat.
These are the boundaries:
(Yes I know that's Old-Skool Varrock, the GE is not included in this game)
Everyone will also need to be wearing this outfit, so that you can tell who is playing:
No worries, you can buy the outfit at the Varrock clothes shop for 6 GP and I have a few spare outfits.
Some sexy pics to get you all excited and interested. o.O
Pictures of Assassins 1:
Hidden:
Hidden:
Hidden:
Hidden:
Pictures of Assassins 2:
Hidden:
Pictures of Assassins 5:
Hidden:
On account of that last post being hella long in the editing process, I'm putting the attendance sign-up list thing here.
So that you don't make this thread miles longer than it has to be, put your RVN/RSN in spoils in alphabetical order following my example:
RSN
Hidden:
RVN
Hidden:
13 February 2008 - Catapult Construction
Posted by Gil Galed on February 13th, 2008, 7:10 am. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
11 February 2008 - Catapult Construction
Following your disruptive behaviour in the Tyras Camp, things are not going well for the catapult guard. Already unpopular with his comrades after various security lapses, he's now neglected the catapult, allowing damp to seep in and rot the frame. General Hining is furious, the replacement catapult parts haven't arrived and the rookie catapult engineer has gone missing in hostile Isafdar.
It's a good thing, then, that a bold adventurer with your Construction knowledge is in the area; however, this will take much more effort than simply building furniture. You'll need to source some schematics, collect the finest materials and exert your mind as well as your hammer-hand...and that's just when building the catapult. You will also need to put it through some rigorous tests before the fearsome weapon can be deployed. After all, you'll want to be pretty sure of where your boulders are going to land!
As well as some Construction know-how, you will also learn to be more effective when using Castle Wars catapults. Needless to say, this Catapult Construction quest will help make amends for the carnage you caused during your last visit.
Summary
Where to start Catapult Construction
Speak to the Tyras Guard at the catapult, to the north of Tyras Camp.
Requirements to complete Catapult Construction
Regicide Quest
Level 44 Construction
Level 42 Fletching
Level 54 Smithing is recommended
Access to:
A Castle Wars reward and a new piece of clothing
A tricky shape puzzle!
In other news...
Over the past week, the new music system has been causing issues with server load, leading us to remove some of it so that it doesn't interrupt your enjoyment of the game. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you over the past few days - as you can imagine, it is difficult for us to know the exact effect that hundreds of thousands of players, both members and free, will have on servers when we release a new piece of content like this! We have put in a lot of work to optimise the music system, so you can now use it without any server issues at all.
On another musical note, we have looked at those songs that players cannot unlock, due to them being related to completed quests. Anyone who missed out on unlocking a quest-specific track while the music system was deactivated, and who can't return to the area to unlock it again, will have the the track unlocked for them in this update. As always, if you notice any further issues with this or any other content, please do send us a bug report. Your support is incredibly helpful in these matters.
Following your disruptive behaviour in the Tyras Camp, things are not going well for the catapult guard. Already unpopular with his comrades after various security lapses, he's now neglected the catapult, allowing damp to seep in and rot the frame. General Hining is furious, the replacement catapult parts haven't arrived and the rookie catapult engineer has gone missing in hostile Isafdar.
It's a good thing, then, that a bold adventurer with your Construction knowledge is in the area; however, this will take much more effort than simply building furniture. You'll need to source some schematics, collect the finest materials and exert your mind as well as your hammer-hand...and that's just when building the catapult. You will also need to put it through some rigorous tests before the fearsome weapon can be deployed. After all, you'll want to be pretty sure of where your boulders are going to land!
As well as some Construction know-how, you will also learn to be more effective when using Castle Wars catapults. Needless to say, this Catapult Construction quest will help make amends for the carnage you caused during your last visit.
Summary
Where to start Catapult Construction
Speak to the Tyras Guard at the catapult, to the north of Tyras Camp.
Requirements to complete Catapult Construction
Regicide Quest
Level 44 Construction
Level 42 Fletching
Level 54 Smithing is recommended
Access to:
A Castle Wars reward and a new piece of clothing
A tricky shape puzzle!
In other news...
Over the past week, the new music system has been causing issues with server load, leading us to remove some of it so that it doesn't interrupt your enjoyment of the game. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you over the past few days - as you can imagine, it is difficult for us to know the exact effect that hundreds of thousands of players, both members and free, will have on servers when we release a new piece of content like this! We have put in a lot of work to optimise the music system, so you can now use it without any server issues at all.
On another musical note, we have looked at those songs that players cannot unlock, due to them being related to completed quests. Anyone who missed out on unlocking a quest-specific track while the music system was deactivated, and who can't return to the area to unlock it again, will have the the track unlocked for them in this update. As always, if you notice any further issues with this or any other content, please do send us a bug report. Your support is incredibly helpful in these matters.
09 February 2008 Music system temporarily off
Posted by Tyler on February 9th, 2008, 6:50 pm. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
We've had to turn off some parts of the new music system because they'd been causing problems with server load.
This means that:
Music tracks may not be automatically selected for you as you move from area to area. But you can still always select a track to play manually from the music player interface.
You may also find that you're not getting new tracks unlocked as a result of this. If you miss out on a once-only quest-specific music track during this time, we will ensure that it is unlocked for you after the problems are fixed, which will hopefully be in the next week.
Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.
This means that:
Music tracks may not be automatically selected for you as you move from area to area. But you can still always select a track to play manually from the music player interface.
You may also find that you're not getting new tracks unlocked as a result of this. If you miss out on a once-only quest-specific music track during this time, we will ensure that it is unlocked for you after the problems are fixed, which will hopefully be in the next week.
Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.
Where is that darn bump button?
Posted by Henner on February 6th, 2008, 12:49 am. Category: RuneVillage News
The bump "button" only appears on topics of your own. It appears above the first post in the topic, in the same line as subscribe/unsubscribe etc.
The list appears as:
Unsubscribe topic | Bookmark topic | Print view | E-mail friend | Bump topic
Here's an image -
It will appear two days after the last post of your topic. When you select to bump your topic, the last post in your topic date and time will change to the current date and time. Thus making it like a new post, bumping your topic back to the top of the view topics page.
Here's the current list of forums that allow bumping -
The other forums not listed do not allow bumping, so you won't find a bump button in them.
I hope this explains more then before and helps. Thanks Tweedy for bringing this up, Mogo for the information, Donut Juice for the image, and RS_MASTA for the list of forums that allow bumping.
The list appears as:
Unsubscribe topic | Bookmark topic | Print view | E-mail friend | Bump topic
Here's an image -
It will appear two days after the last post of your topic. When you select to bump your topic, the last post in your topic date and time will change to the current date and time. Thus making it like a new post, bumping your topic back to the top of the view topics page.
Here's the current list of forums that allow bumping -
- Goals and Achievements - viewforum.php?f=237
Party and Events - viewforum.php?f=236
Marketplace - viewforum.php?f=272
Questions - viewforum.php?f=240
Graphics Stalls - viewforum.php?f=75
Homework Help - viewforum.php?f=205
Technical Discussion - viewforum.php?f=221
Clan Recruitment - viewforum.php?f=231
The other forums not listed do not allow bumping, so you won't find a bump button in them.
I hope this explains more then before and helps. Thanks Tweedy for bringing this up, Mogo for the information, Donut Juice for the image, and RS_MASTA for the list of forums that allow bumping.
5 February 2008 - Audio Week and Improved Edgeville Dungeon
Posted by Glodenox on February 5th, 2008, 9:02 am. Category: RuneScape News
Runescape.com wrote:
The New Music System:
The bards of Runescape have been handed the task of creating a music player that is simpler to use, offering more advanced options. Well, they have certainly managed it, and this week sees its release!
Previously, travelling across the world of RuneScape meant frequent changes of music, often playing only the early parts of songs. Now, our new music system plays songs all the way to the end, at which point a new song is chosen that is appropriate to your area - provided you have unlocked it of course!
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule: if you unlock a track by entering a new area, the system will interrupt your current song in favour of the new tune, ensuring that you hear all new songs. Also, if you encounter a boss NPC or start a cutscene with added music, the system will, of course, interrupt your current song to play the appropriate tune to accompany the action.
You still have the ability to manually choose your tunes by clicking on the song name. This will, of course, interrupt the current song to play your chosen tune, as it always has. We have also kept the 'loop song on/off' button (which now looks a little like a recycle symbol) so you can listen to your favourite song repeatedly.
Song Unlocking Information:
We have added a right-click option to locked song names in the music player, which will tell you exactly where to unlock it. This means that you don't need to hunt through the Knowledge Base to find out where "Throne of the Demon" can be unlocked, for instance.
The 500 Song Emote:
We have introduced a brand new emote, which is only available to those true adventurers who have unlocked 500 songs. As soon as this 500th song has been unlocked, you will be able to use the brand new 'Air Guitar' emote, with added sound - enjoy!
Sound Effect Improvements:
We have revisited many areas and quests, adding missing sounds and making various improvements to them. As you travel the world, you should notice new and improved sound effects, including:
There are too many changes to list here, but hopefully the extra atmospherics will make your game experience more immersive and interesting!
Improvements to existing songs:
We have also made improvements to many existing songs and instruments in the game, some of which are obvious, some more subtle; see if you can find which ones have been changed!
We hope you enjoy the changes we've made to Runescape's audio this week. We are open to future suggestions, so keep them coming in!
- The Audio Team.
Edgeville Dungeon area improvement:
Venture, if you dare, into the depths of the newly-improved Edgeville Dungeon. Whether you want to dice with chaos druids or stand tall amongst giants then come on down, the graphically improved dungeon awaits you. Who knows, you might make it out alive - unlike some of the other inhabitants!
In other news...
Balance has been restored! Players can now obtain Summoning XP from the Tears of Guthix minigame. Genie lamps can also grant your Summoning wishes in a similar fashion.
Kebbit fur no longer floats when dropped on the floor. Now, it actually obeys the laws of gravity and will appear at the correct height.
The Carrallangar teleport in the Ancient Magicks spellbook wasn't teleporting to the right place. This has been fixed and you should now teleport to the correct location instead of arriving slightly further to the west.
The ogres and spiders outside of Oo'glog have been relocated slightly, as they were scaring the chinchompas away. Players can now hunt these creatures without as much interruption.
The bards of Runescape have been handed the task of creating a music player that is simpler to use, offering more advanced options. Well, they have certainly managed it, and this week sees its release!
Previously, travelling across the world of RuneScape meant frequent changes of music, often playing only the early parts of songs. Now, our new music system plays songs all the way to the end, at which point a new song is chosen that is appropriate to your area - provided you have unlocked it of course!
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule: if you unlock a track by entering a new area, the system will interrupt your current song in favour of the new tune, ensuring that you hear all new songs. Also, if you encounter a boss NPC or start a cutscene with added music, the system will, of course, interrupt your current song to play the appropriate tune to accompany the action.
You still have the ability to manually choose your tunes by clicking on the song name. This will, of course, interrupt the current song to play your chosen tune, as it always has. We have also kept the 'loop song on/off' button (which now looks a little like a recycle symbol) so you can listen to your favourite song repeatedly.
Song Unlocking Information:
We have added a right-click option to locked song names in the music player, which will tell you exactly where to unlock it. This means that you don't need to hunt through the Knowledge Base to find out where "Throne of the Demon" can be unlocked, for instance.
The 500 Song Emote:
We have introduced a brand new emote, which is only available to those true adventurers who have unlocked 500 songs. As soon as this 500th song has been unlocked, you will be able to use the brand new 'Air Guitar' emote, with added sound - enjoy!
Sound Effect Improvements:
We have revisited many areas and quests, adding missing sounds and making various improvements to them. As you travel the world, you should notice new and improved sound effects, including:
- Torches crackling in caves and dungeons
- Floorboards creaking in Draynor Manor
- Improved sounds for doors
- Sounds for lighting/extinguishing lanterns and candles
- Various improved background sounds
There are too many changes to list here, but hopefully the extra atmospherics will make your game experience more immersive and interesting!
Improvements to existing songs:
We have also made improvements to many existing songs and instruments in the game, some of which are obvious, some more subtle; see if you can find which ones have been changed!
We hope you enjoy the changes we've made to Runescape's audio this week. We are open to future suggestions, so keep them coming in!
- The Audio Team.
Edgeville Dungeon area improvement:
Venture, if you dare, into the depths of the newly-improved Edgeville Dungeon. Whether you want to dice with chaos druids or stand tall amongst giants then come on down, the graphically improved dungeon awaits you. Who knows, you might make it out alive - unlike some of the other inhabitants!
In other news...
Balance has been restored! Players can now obtain Summoning XP from the Tears of Guthix minigame. Genie lamps can also grant your Summoning wishes in a similar fashion.
Kebbit fur no longer floats when dropped on the floor. Now, it actually obeys the laws of gravity and will appear at the correct height.
The Carrallangar teleport in the Ancient Magicks spellbook wasn't teleporting to the right place. This has been fixed and you should now teleport to the correct location instead of arriving slightly further to the west.
The ogres and spiders outside of Oo'glog have been relocated slightly, as they were scaring the chinchompas away. Players can now hunt these creatures without as much interruption.
2-Weekly Skill Competition - 1st-15th - Firemaking - Sign U
Posted by Skulled Robe on February 4th, 2008, 9:11 pm. Category: Global announcement
Intro
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the RV "Skills Competition" thread! My name is Skulled Robe and Iam the Host/Leader.
About This Event
To Sign up:
At some point before the training week starts, everyone who wishes to participate will have to post their RS name, so I can go on my special account I made Rv_Skillcomp and add you. Or you can add me "Skulled Robe" and we'll go from there
Skill of the Month
I gave you the chance to vote for the next skill you all wished to train. You voted, the results are in and:
This month's skill is: FIREMAKING
________________
Information to Remember
Dates:
Participant List
Thank you all who participated! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and you can look forward to another one this time next month
Winner Archive
April 14-21st - Firemaking - Erty2002
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the RV "Skills Competition" thread! My name is Skulled Robe and Iam the Host/Leader.
About This Event
Hidden:
To Sign up:
At some point before the training week starts, everyone who wishes to participate will have to post their RS name, so I can go on my special account I made Rv_Skillcomp and add you. Or you can add me "Skulled Robe" and we'll go from there
Skill of the Month
I gave you the chance to vote for the next skill you all wished to train. You voted, the results are in and:
This month's skill is: FIREMAKING
________________
Information to Remember
Dates:
- April 14th : This is the last day to submit your name as a participant. Anyone else after this date will not be accepted into the competition
- April 14th - April 21st : This is competition week.
Participant List
- Tsknight9
Staring Exp: 491,977
Ending Exp:492,297 - Erty2002
Starting Exp: 33,614
Ending Exp:369,006 - Tmssoccer
Starting Exp: 2,536,535
Ending Exp:2,583,785
Top 5
Thank you all who participated! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and you can look forward to another one this time next month
Winner Archive
April 14-21st - Firemaking - Erty2002
The January 2008 Villager - BAZANGA!
Posted by Gamestar on February 4th, 2008, 7:19 pm. Category: RuneVillage News
Welcome to the January 2008 edition of The Villager!
Man, do we have a big haul for you this month xD Theres... what.. 24 articles? So its a big read ^_^
A big thank you and congratulations goes out to all of those who worked hard to bring you this edition - H K, Richboi0, Josh, Bartoron, The123king, Tornado Lava, dr henry, Elanthiel, and Toa. But a VERY big thank you goes to Doughnut Juice and Rocky Martin. They edited / coded nearly every single article that was submitted.
We're a few days late this month, due to exam periods and such. Good luck to everybody who is currently taking, or about to take exams!
Anyway, heres the January 2008 Villager
~Gamey
Man, do we have a big haul for you this month xD Theres... what.. 24 articles? So its a big read ^_^
A big thank you and congratulations goes out to all of those who worked hard to bring you this edition - H K, Richboi0, Josh, Bartoron, The123king, Tornado Lava, dr henry, Elanthiel, and Toa. But a VERY big thank you goes to Doughnut Juice and Rocky Martin. They edited / coded nearly every single article that was submitted.
We're a few days late this month, due to exam periods and such. Good luck to everybody who is currently taking, or about to take exams!
Anyway, heres the January 2008 Villager
~Gamey
1 february 2008 - Behind the Scenes - February
Posted by devil fly on February 1st, 2008, 12:38 pm. Category: RuneScape News
http://www.runescape.com wrote:
This month will start with a fanfare. February plays host to Audio Week - a collection of nips, tucks, changes and improvements that will jazz up your listening experience and make the music system easier to use. You can expect to hear songs all the way to the end, without them constantly changing as you move from area to area. Ardent adventurers who unlock 500 songs can expect an air guitar emote. Gnarly!
There's no room for this kind of tomfoolery in the graphical improvement for this month. The Edgeville Dungeon residents have been pretty grumpy ever since overground Edgeville got a rework - Postie Pete even got an irate letter from Vannaka. So - and not because we are scared of Vannaka, honestly - February brings a new look to Edgeville Dungeon which will make it seem suitably dank and dangerous.
After failing once in the Regicide quest, the Tyras Camp Catapult Guard has managed to fail again, this time by allowing damp into General Hining's catapult. Needless to say some unwitting/bold adventurer will be needed to repair the catapult and bring some much-needed security to the camp. Your Construction skills will have to be sharp and your puzzle-solving even sharper in this Catapult Construction quest, where you will be able to make amends for the carnage you caused in Regicide - with the added bonus of a Castle Wars-based reward, of course!
February means that Spring is approaching, so the rabbits of RuneScape are getting feisty. They've got a taste for ogleroot, a gnomish vegetable that is grown in only one known area, and they are doing everything in their floppy-eared power to get hold of it. This frenetic and strategic minigame will require you to dig up seeds and ogleroots before the evil bunnies get a whiff of them, using your powers of deduction and speed-shovelling. Not only will you be able to enjoy a fantastic new type of gaming, you will be able to access some great Farming rewards. Hard-to-find seeds and Farming XP rewards will be available for those swift with the spade and quick off the mark.
To continue the fun Farming frolics in February, we will have a fab new Farming amulet for you to fiddle with. The amulet of Farming will be available from most Farming stores and offers some abilities of the amulet of nature. Owners of the amulet of nature will also find that it gets a fresh infusion of magic this month, offering teleports to diseased patches and allowing you to remotely pay farmers to protect your patch. Oh, and it'll talk!
Add a sprinkle of Player's Gallery, a clove of Development Diary and a tablespoon of Postbag from the Hedge and you have a February that is looking pretty tasty!
There's no room for this kind of tomfoolery in the graphical improvement for this month. The Edgeville Dungeon residents have been pretty grumpy ever since overground Edgeville got a rework - Postie Pete even got an irate letter from Vannaka. So - and not because we are scared of Vannaka, honestly - February brings a new look to Edgeville Dungeon which will make it seem suitably dank and dangerous.
After failing once in the Regicide quest, the Tyras Camp Catapult Guard has managed to fail again, this time by allowing damp into General Hining's catapult. Needless to say some unwitting/bold adventurer will be needed to repair the catapult and bring some much-needed security to the camp. Your Construction skills will have to be sharp and your puzzle-solving even sharper in this Catapult Construction quest, where you will be able to make amends for the carnage you caused in Regicide - with the added bonus of a Castle Wars-based reward, of course!
February means that Spring is approaching, so the rabbits of RuneScape are getting feisty. They've got a taste for ogleroot, a gnomish vegetable that is grown in only one known area, and they are doing everything in their floppy-eared power to get hold of it. This frenetic and strategic minigame will require you to dig up seeds and ogleroots before the evil bunnies get a whiff of them, using your powers of deduction and speed-shovelling. Not only will you be able to enjoy a fantastic new type of gaming, you will be able to access some great Farming rewards. Hard-to-find seeds and Farming XP rewards will be available for those swift with the spade and quick off the mark.
To continue the fun Farming frolics in February, we will have a fab new Farming amulet for you to fiddle with. The amulet of Farming will be available from most Farming stores and offers some abilities of the amulet of nature. Owners of the amulet of nature will also find that it gets a fresh infusion of magic this month, offering teleports to diseased patches and allowing you to remotely pay farmers to protect your patch. Oh, and it'll talk!
Add a sprinkle of Player's Gallery, a clove of Development Diary and a tablespoon of Postbag from the Hedge and you have a February that is looking pretty tasty!
