Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And onto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow…
Ah yes, when I first heard those lines I got goosebumps all over. Conan was my window into the world of fantasy and metal. Arnie was an action idle for a lot of people but somehow Hollywood manages to screw that up too.
There is going to be a third Conan movie without Arnie. There is absolutely no way that could give the same effect. They could CGI Arnie and it was cost like hell and look stupid or find an equal actor with the same muscles, killer look and cheesy screams. Some thought that The Rock can pull it off. I doubt it though he looks too much like a nice guy. I think they should get some bodybuilder from the Balkans. That would suit Conan's character nicely at least in the physical part.
If you are not familiar with the screams take a look at this go to about 3:50 on the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsHLbZyA2Uk
Now that you know what Arnold's "Aaaaghaaa" is we should take a look at his whole character. What better to do that then to take a look at some of the situations he has been in.
Killing the huge snake scenes was awesome! There is no other way to say it. Seeing his huge eyes while chopping that snakes head of was brilliant. Blood gushing out and later being covered over a topless women. Seriously is there anything more brutal.
Well Conan can do better! How about killing a demigod in front of all of his followers and the demigod is Earl Jones (Darth Vader).
Ok so the new movie has to be a variation of cheesy lines and awesome brutality. However what it shouldn't be is:
Conan's kid (seriously no!)
prequel (that's like the first part. Children should not play main characters in this movie)
I am eager to hear your thoughts on the movie. What would you like to see in it, what actor should play Conan?
Thanks for reading and pray to Crom for a good movie!
Jack is back in Black and other metal associations such as spikes,axes and of course the guitar!
Tim Schafer has done it again! For those of you who don't know him he is the creator of one of the best adventure metal game Full Throttle. Some of you mature players maybe remember that jewel. With metal sounds, great voice acting, creative storyline and just fun all around game play the game was a great success. However it never got a sequel due to poorer quality of the game and Lucas arts just axed it.
No fear fellow Shafer fans because we are offered to experience the awesomeness of the metal culture in video games once again trough this new peace of art.
The story is that you (e.i. Eddie Riggs) was going along with the worst metal band in the world on tour and some of your blood managed to get spilled on your belt buckle. So the natural thing that would follow is that you get transported to a world dominated with metal culture and demons and what do you know, thats exactly what happened.
Your character is based on Jack Black with a bit more muscle in it and the characters name came from Iron Maiden's symbol Eddie. For those of you that don't know Jack Black is in the self-proclaimed greatest band in the world Tenacious D.
You find yourself in a room that seems similar to a stage with some crazy cultists going at you with swords. Luck strucks when you find a huge axe in the middle of the room which you handle quite naturally and slaughter the cultists who were in fact demons.
So you bash your way out and take a look at the world around you.
You will find yourself surrounded by lots of metal culture objects such as huge swords, pipe trees, fires and of course references to metal bands such as Halford and Iron Maiden.
Your weapons as far as the producers showed us are the axe and the guitar.
This is as much information the game developers gave us but it is visible that they really intend to make this game fun for all metal fans.
If Shafer delivers we will have a mighty fine game on our hands. For us PC fans let's hope that they will release the game on the PC at some point. The game will be released some time in September of 2009. on Xbox360 and PS3.
Rock on!
Ready to grab you sword and slash some people online? Yea well a lot of games offer that but what separates Mortal from others is real time combat where you fight and do all the moves. Thats right fellow gamers! No more waiting for your avatar to shoot or attack. No more hitting trough walls or trees. This game is for the hardcore sandbox players.
Star Vault (the producers) put a lot on their shoulders when starting to create this game. Using the Unreal 3 engine for example really reduces the amount of players they want to play the game. Suffice to say they don't want to attract as much players as possible, they want to create something new. Most people who saw videos and screen shots compare it to Oblivion.
Sure it's like Oblivion only bigger, better, more complex and about 9.999 more players can play at once.
The team that is making the game also listed a nice amount of features that will be present such as:
1. no levels or classes
Thats right folks! You have your skill bars that go up or down depending on how much you use that skill during the game. So in a way a new player can join in with experienced players no problem. Except the problem with not knowing the game, not having your skills developed or having good gear. At least you won't get killed with one hit. Also your character can learn any skill at any time. However there is a limited amount of points you will be able to use at a time meaning you can't max out all your skills but can turn from using to magic to using a sword just by using the swor
We can only hope.
2. Full loot
If a player dies you can take all of his stuff. Same goes if you die. Epic item carriers beware!
3. Better AI
Since the game will be much more skill based the AI will have to be greatly improved then just charge at an enemy and attack. These guys group up, surround you, flee if they have to, regroup etc. They also won't attack you for no reason unless they are just really really really evil. Hopefully there will be a lot of evil to kill or join in the game.
4. Traders
There is no global market. How cool is that? The caravans journey from town to town selling and buying goods that NPCs or players make. The player can also make his own caravan by hiring NPCs or other players to escort him from one place to another.
5. Government
This isn't official but there have been rumors of government playing a big role in the game. Guilds starting wars, NPC lands attacking one another and such. Let's hope that this gets developed then we would have a really interesting game on our hands.
6. Epic monsters
Yup there will be epic monsters but be sure to get to them first and survive because once they die thats it. They won't respawn and you won't get an epic sword from a dragon. But you could take his teeth, skin, fire glands and such that can be used for various magic, item crafting and such.
7. Mounted combat
Nothing much to say here except FINALLY! Mounted combat here we come!
8. Crafting
Crafting in this game is a crucial part of your survival in the world of Mortal. Not only will you be able to craft weapons and simmilar stuff you can do in most other MMO's, but you can craft ships. Ship building is the part I am really looking forward too. Huge frigates getting boarded shooting at each other. A pirates life is for me!
Also a big part of crafting is that you can hire NPCs to work for you so you can basicly make your own industry. Of course having so much players around it should be very well protected.
Well these are some features from Mortal online that will start a possibly new age of MMO's. Now I know some of you heard of Darkfall that has been compared to MO a lot. The developers ensure you that other then the sand box game style there is really nothing similar. It's like comparing all MMOs that use the leveling system.
So be not afraid that this game will be bad! I am confident that they will be able to make a game that will glue hard core players to the screen! Then again thats what I thought about Darkfall. Let's wait and see what the future holds...
If you are interested go to the official Mortal online site and apply for the beta. If you are lucky you'll get in and experience it all first hand and then I will probably envy you a lot.
The beta testing will be out in about 2 weeks and will start with 2000 players. Each 2 weeks new 2000 players will be introduced until they reach the cap of 10.000. After that the game should go gold and more servers should be up and running if it gets popular enough.
It's P2P and you should have a pretty nice machine at your disposal to play this at full details.
To those that apply for the beta I wish you all the best. I shall see you on the battlefield gentlemen!
Mount and blade is a blend of a sandbox RPG and RTS. You start of as a one man army on a horse in the middle of nowhere with pretty crappy equipment. Although I found it interesting that you start with better equipment and a small army if your history says you’re a noble.
Gameplay:
Like most RPGs, you move around the map and intercept enemies. Before a battle, the player is given several choices: attack, surrender, run away and leave some soldiers behind or tell your soldiers to attack without you (auto combat). These choices are a big plus for the game and empower the player. Battles don’t look very impressive, but the core game makes up for these shortcomings.
Battles are real time. They are something akin to Oblivion but better. The player is equipped with a sword and bow. Battles take into account several elements. Weather affects the trajectory of arrows, skill stats effect a players precision with the bow, charge bonuses are awarded based on how fast you were traveling when you make contact with your weapon, you can shield or attack specific body parts, and order and manage NPC during a fight.
All this depth never becomes overly complicated. The game is well thought and simple to learn. The game stays manageable even as it moves up to larger 50v50 matchups. Perhaps the graphics were pared down so that most machines
There are 5 provinces in the land of Calradia and most of the time they wage war. A player can approach any king and attempt to become their vassal. Of course like any other self respecting king, he will laugh in your face and mock your puny equipment. After some delivery quests, village raids, leveling up and amassing more people in your army you’ll be a hot shot. The king will grant you a village to run and protect. You will also be at the King’s service to wage war and increase his empire. But who needs a big old king anyway? Mount & Blade allows the player the choice: conquer for a king or conquer for yourself. Amassing your own army and starting your own province is the much harder route, but it is very rewarding. You can make your own province where you can collect taxes, train units, and build in cities, forts, and villages, though the structure selection is limited.
Sound
The sound and music in the game is nothing fancy. Music is good, although I prefer to put on my own. Sound effects are pretty good but nothing special since there is almost no verbal communication and voiceover work.
Conclusion
When the developer, Taleworlds said Mount and Blade was a sandbox game they really meant it. Not only does it offer a huge amount of freedom but is also very mod friendly. There’s also a great attention to details that really matter such as persuading lords to join your cause, momentum of attacking, etc. Of course no game is perfect and there are some things that are lacking in this game.
There is currently no multiplayer but it is planned for the future and will be able to sustain 32+ players. More depth could be added to sieges. Right now, they aren't exactly sieges since there are no catapults or ballistae to destroy the walls or gates. A major improvement would be if the player could manage the town in a RTS mode and not just by clicking to build something. This would add a lot of strategy in defense. As mentioned above the graphics are not exactly top-notch either.
Despite these deficiencies, Mount and Blade is a great strategy game. The game is everything s sandbox game should be and more. This game consumed my time for about 2 months now and I still get can't enough (I have tried out different mods and the native expansion mod is by far the best I played).
Verdict: 91%
If you are a fan of medieval epics, RPGs and strategy games, this is the game for you period.
Well here I am. I finally brought up the courage in me to create a video game blog in hope of landing some jobs in the video game journalism. I have to say I am pretty excited to start and would like to give a big thanks to http://www.videogamejournalismjobs.com/ for giving really helpful tips on how to start your VG journalism career.
For now I have a heap of ideas on what to write here (mostly based on MMO/RPG) and excluding games also various other topics such as music that could go with certain games and why. In fact in the end it would mostly boil down to games but not to just look at the whole experience from one perspective I figured why not help out the readers with stuff such as: hard wear, ambient, what time to play (if on a tight schedule) etc. Pretty much the info about the game and everything that surrounds it.
I shall begin my journey into this new land and wish me luck!