Compassion
So I put together my own version of god. Almost an imaginary friend. I was also influenced by the movie Anbe Sivam (Compassion is God) in which the main character (played by Kamal Hassan) calls various people he meets god because of their acts of compassion or mercy. (I translated the title song of this movie. You can see it here.) This idea was also influenced by other Hindi poems (like Sneh Shapat) which talked about the power of love to overcome everything and reach anyone and my early exposure to Ahimsa (non-violence) and Gandhi philosophy which I have written about here. I liked to believe that god and love are closely related if not the very same thing.

Nature
I have always found Nature beautiful and fascinating. How did the tiny ants walk one behind each other like that? Why do different leaves smell so different? I had read books like Protector’s Club when I was eight which made me actively want to protect all life, rescue animals, cure the sick ones etc. I was naturally inclined to love nature. Just a little after the Hindi poetry, in History classes, we learnt about the early Vedic times when people worshiped Nature. Agni (fire), Vayu (wind), Varuna (water/rain), Bhooma Devi (earth) and considered rivers sacred etc. This made sense to me. After all, Nature gives us everything. Life would be impossible without the Sun. At home Nature was always talked about with respect. Within Hinduism many practices are reverent of, or at least sensitive to Nature and in my family its healing and nurturing qualities were openly acknowledged, so it didn’t take me long to attach a sacred value to it. Of course, going to a school full of trees, streams and lakes, fresh air and occasional visits from wild animals, where the welfare of the environment was valued also enhanced these feelings. I talk about these influences in some detail in a post I wrote a few years ago about god and love (You can read it here if you like.)

Deep Ecology
The appeal of Nature grew as I took up Environmental Science in my 11th and 12th grade. and studied Deep Ecology, a philosophy that I think humanity would really benefit from. The main aspects of it which stuck with me was the respect and right to exist that all life forms deserved irrespective of their utilitarian value to humans. This philosophy also lays out a basic principle of right and wrong;

” A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise”
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac.

I believe this extends to all types of diversity, be it of life forms, the geological integrity of a mountain or cultural diversity including types of food, clothing, languages, philosophies, and knowledge they as a culture have gained over time. It goes further to talk about deep experience, deep questioning and deep commitment. I believe this is part of my spiritual path for, if we cannot respect where we come from and what we are so intrinsically linked with, we cannot make any spiritual progress.

Buddhism
In a Krishnamurthi school, one is taught to question and think for oneself. I had adopted the view that I would find my own spiritual path, and not follow any spiritual teachers, so-called holy men and women, or organised religions. In fact I became so sceptical about organised religion that I believed people who needed it were being spoon-fed and not making the effort to find their own answers or paths. That they liked to be led like mindless sheep. I carried this critical outlook on religion to Bylakuppe, A Tibetan settlement in the foothills of Coorg when I was seventeen. I was suspicious about the Dalai Lama because as far as I understood, Buddhism is a philosophy which encouraged individual mental discipline, compassion and meditation, in which a leader was irrelevant. Buddha never claimed to be god and it was indeed ironic that he was considered one by the Buddhists. I assumed that the Dalai Lama may simply enjoy the power. How wrong I was! In each of his speeches that we watched, he exuded a consistent and sincere humility which astounded me. My respect for him grew exponentially. In the three days I stayed there, I learnt enough about Buddhism and their leader which touched me and made me believe that if at all I were to choose a religion, if there was a wise and really spiritual leader, he would be it. The value they give compassion and critical thinking, their ability to stay peaceful despite the horrendous atrocities the Chinese inflict on them at a physical, emotional and cultural level, and the suffering they endure on their way into India through the mighty and dangerous Himalayan range, evoked my deepest respect. Although I still didn’t believe in organised religion, I took a lot from this brief exposure to theirs.

Basic Atheism
As a child I was taught to worship Hindu gods in temples and during Poojas (auspicious days/festivals) at home. I was told stories from Krishna’s childhood, Ramayana and Mahabharatha. But when I was seven, I had a dream that I rose above the clouds and found the gods in the sky. It looked like a king’s court with one in the middle and several on either side. As I was taught to do, I knelt before them in the Namaskaram position (similar to Shashankasana). When they saw this, they started laughing at me. Feeling insulted, I got up and decided that gods aren’t worth worshiping. This dream got me thinking about god and what I had been told about ‘him’. I started wondering why so many people believed in god(s) even though no one had ever seen one. I took note of the kinds of violence and atrocities that happened in the name of this invisible concept. I began to gather reasons why the whole concept was bad for the world and totally irrational. Then I started arguing with believers, at the age of eleven, trying to convince them that god can’t exist. I read some Richard Bach books like Running from Safety and Illusions. One of the first people who challenged my arguments and got me back into thinking was my dad. Bach had said that since there is so much bad in the world, either god exists but is very mean, or he simply doesn’t exist. My dad explained that the concept that god is only good is flawed. He told me god is part of everything, is indeed everything; no matter how we define good and bad. Even now I bounce my thoughts and ideas off him and thoroughly enjoy our discussions.

Kabir and the Bhakti poets
At the age of thirteen, I started studying Bhakti poetry as part of Hindi lessons at school. I became interested in Kabir’s ideas of god. He said god could be Nirgun (without any qualities, undefinable) or Sargun (given any form that humans can relate to, infinite definitions and identities). He introduced to me the concepts of Maya-jaal (the illusory web of this world), Athma and Paramathma (soul and the ultimate soul/Unity), Samsara (materialistic world) and Moksha or Mukthi (ultimate freedom from the cycles of birth and death, bliss/Nirvana). He and the other Bhakti movement poets (like Meera-bai) that we studied talked of the yearning of the individual soul to merge with the ultimate soul and how the materialistic life and the illusions of this world distract us from working towards that bliss/enlightenment. He also said that though we may look for god in temples and mosques, we have him right within us because he is part of us all. Now these ideas really got my attention. God isn’t external to us? He/She/It is open to definition, yet indefinable? Everything and nothing?

Basic Atheism
As a child I was taught to worship Hindu gods in temples and during Poojas (auspicious days/festivals) at home. I was told stories from Krishna’s childhood, Ramayana and Mahabharatha. But when I was seven, I had a dream that I rose above the clouds and found the gods in the sky. It looked like a king’s court with one in the middle and several on either side. As I was taught to do, I knelt before them in the Namaskaram position (similar to Shashankasana). When they saw this, they started laughing at me. Feeling insulted, I got up and decided that gods aren’t worth worshiping. This dream got me thinking about god and what I had been told about ‘him’. I started wondering why so many people believed in god(s) even though no one had ever seen one. I took note of the kinds of violence and atrocities that happened in the name of this invisible concept. I began to gather reasons why the whole concept was bad for the world and totally irrational. Then I started arguing with believers, at the age of eleven, trying to convince them that god can’t exist. I read some Richard Bach books like Running from Safety and Illusions. One of the first people who challenged my arguments and got me back into thinking was my dad. Bach had said that since there is so much bad in the world, either god exists but is very mean, or he simply doesn’t exist. My dad explained that the concept that god is only good is flawed. He told me god is part of everything, is indeed everything; no matter how we define good and bad. Even now I bounce my thoughts and ideas off him and thoroughly enjoy our discussions.

Kabir and the Bhakti poets
At the age of thirteen, I started studying Bhakti poetry as part of Hindi lessons at school. I became interested in Kabir’s ideas of god. He said god could be Nirgun (without any qualities, undefinable) or Sargun (given any form that humans can relate to, infinite definitions and identities). He introduced to me the concepts of Maya-jaal (the illusory web of this world), Athma and Paramathma (soul and the ultimate soul/Unity), Samsara (materialistic world) and Moksha or Mukthi (ultimate freedom from the cycles of birth and death, bliss/Nirvana). He and the other Bhakti movement poets (like Meera-bai) that we studied talked of the yearning of the individual soul to merge with the ultimate soul and how the materialistic life and the illusions of this world distract us from working towards that bliss/enlightenment. He also said that though we may look for god in temples and mosques, we have him right within us because he is part of us all. Now these ideas really got my attention. God isn’t external to us? He/She/It is open to definition, yet indefinable? Everything and nothing?

Compassion
So I put together my own version of god. Almost an imaginary friend. I was also influenced by the movie Anbe Sivam (Compassion is God) in which the main character (played by Kamal Hassan) calls various people he meets god because of their acts of compassion or mercy. (I translated the title song of this movie. You can see it here.) This idea was also influenced by other Hindi poems (like Sneh Shapat) which talked about the power of love to overcome everything and reach anyone and my early exposure to Ahimsa (non-violence) and Gandhi philosophy which I have written about here. I liked to believe that god and love are closely related if not the very same thing.

Nature
I have always found Nature beautiful and fascinating. How did the tiny ants walk one behind each other like that? Why do different leaves smell so different? I had read books like Protector’s Club when I was eight which made me actively want to protect all life, rescue animals, cure the sick ones etc. I was naturally inclined to love nature. Just a little after the Hindi poetry, in History classes, we learnt about the early Vedic times when people worshiped Nature. Agni (fire), Vayu (wind), Varuna (water/rain), Bhooma Devi (earth) and considered rivers sacred etc. This made sense to me. After all, Nature gives us everything. Life would be impossible without the Sun. At home Nature was always talked about with respect. Within Hinduism many practices are reverent of, or at least sensitive to Nature and in my family its healing and nurturing qualities were openly acknowledged, so it didn’t take me long to attach a sacred value to it. Of course, going to a school full of trees, streams and lakes, fresh air and occasional visits from wild animals, where the welfare of the environment was valued also enhanced these feelings. I talk about these influences in some detail in a post I wrote a few years ago about god and love (You can read it here if you like.)

Deep Ecology
The appeal of Nature grew as I took up Environmental Science in my 11th and 12th grade. and studied Deep Ecology, a philosophy that I think humanity would really benefit from. The main aspects of it which stuck with me was the respect and right to exist that all life forms deserved irrespective of their utilitarian value to humans. This philosophy also lays out a basic principle of right and wrong;

” A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise”
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac.

I believe this extends to all types of diversity, be it of life forms, the geological integrity of a mountain or cultural diversity including types of food, clothing, languages, philosophies, and knowledge they as a culture have gained over time. It goes further to talk about deep experience, deep questioning and deep commitment. I believe this is part of my spiritual path for, if we cannot respect where we come from and what we are so intrinsically linked with, we cannot make any spiritual progress.

Buddhism
In a Krishnamurthi school, one is taught to question and think for oneself. I had adopted the view that I would find my own spiritual path, and not follow any spiritual teachers, so-called holy men and women, or organised religions. In fact I became so sceptical about organised religion that I believed people who needed it were being spoon-fed and not making the effort to find their own answers or paths. That they liked to be led like mindless sheep. I carried this critical outlook on religion to Bylakuppe, A Tibetan settlement in the foothills of Coorg when I was seventeen. I was suspicious about the Dalai Lama because as far as I understood, Buddhism is a philosophy which encouraged individual mental discipline, compassion and meditation, in which a leader was irrelevant. Buddha never claimed to be god and it was indeed ironic that he was considered one by the Buddhists. I assumed that the Dalai Lama may simply enjoy the power. How wrong I was! In each of his speeches that we watched, he exuded a consistent and sincere humility which astounded me. My respect for him grew exponentially. In the three days I stayed there, I learnt enough about Buddhism and their leader which touched me and made me believe that if at all I were to choose a religion, if there was a wise and really spiritual leader, he would be it. The value they give compassion and critical thinking, their ability to stay peaceful despite the horrendous atrocities the Chinese inflict on them at a physical, emotional and cultural level, and the suffering they endure on their way into India through the mighty and dangerous Himalayan range, evoked my deepest respect. Although I still didn’t believe in organised religion, I took a lot from this brief exposure to theirs.

The other cheek of Christianity
During my undergraduate course, I joined the choir and sang songs praising Jesus. I attended Mass to sing as part of the choir for the first time within the first few months. I would like to mention here that until this point all I knew about Christianity was that Jesus said love thy neighbour and if someone slaps you on one cheek, offer them the other, don’t offer violence in return. This sounded pretty much in line with compassion, which was good enough for me. So imagine my shock, nay, horror, when between the songs we sang, the priest said, “Jesus is the only God. If you worship any other gods, you will surely PERISH”, and nobody laughed. I felt suddenly surrounded by strange people who took such things so seriously. I, who had until that point, not cared two hoots about Hinduism, longed for some pluralism and tolerance which I had taken for granted until then. After the initial shock passed, I got curious about Christianity and how rational people can take things like immaculate conception literally. After all, we had stories in Hinduism too, about impossible things like multiple headed snakes and strong god-boys who can lift a mountain with his little finger and show the whole universe in his mouth. But I always knew that these stories were metaphorical or symbolic, certainly not real!

I was twenty when I found my good friend from Sydney after eight years of no contact. Since she had taken up philosophy and I was interested, I asked her whether she had developed her own. She had chosen Christianity when she was seventeen. This was the beginning of our Dialogues on religion. (I managed to put up three parts in all and may at some point put up more.) Through these exchanges I learnt a lot about Christianity. I found though, that unless one has faith, one can simply not accept the ‘miracles’. She quoted C.S. Lewis to me. In effect he said that Jesus claimed to be the one and only god, the only path to heaven and salvation. If Jesus wasn’t a madman, the only other option is to take him seriously and abandon the belief of all other gods. This sounded very absolute to me. Why couldn’t Jesus be one more of several rivers that lead to the same sea? Why did he insist on being the only one? I also couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he died for humanity’s sins and that sacrifice was a gift from god which we had to accept in order to go to heaven. I would say to Jesus, thank you so much for offering, it is very big of you, but I would rather take responsibility for my own actions. You don’t owe me anything and needn’t have been so tortured for me. My friend explained to me that my own sacrifice and efforts to be good would never be enough for god because I am a sinner. God can only accept a pure sacrifice. As someone who always tried to see the best in people, I certainly never saw myself as a sinner. In fact, I’m a good person. Sure, I’m not perfect but then if there was an external god who was omniscient and wise, surely he/she would understand that and adjust his/her expectations accordingly? It sounded to me like the Christian god was playing around. Creating a species in his image, making it impossible for them to be perfect with so many rules, making them flawed by birth and nature, sending his son, who was himself, to be tortured and killed as an act of kindness to his flawed species, and making it so that the only way to gain his favour again was to believe in this sacrifice and praise him constantly. If he wanted to be kind to humanity and forgive us for our sins, surely as an omnipotent being he could do it directly? Why put Jesus through such violence? And why does he need so much praise? Indeed it would seem that the Christians define their god to be pettier than an average good human. Many of these thoughts came up during our conversations but I didn’t find a clear voice for them until I was exposed to radical atheism.

Ka, Doniger, Joseph Campbell
Before entering the waters of atheism again, let me mention the other influences I had during and a little after my undergraduate years. I did a term paper on religion for which I read the book Ka by Roberto Calasso. I wrote a piece on that earth shattering book
which I have put up on this blog. I also read ‘Dreams, Illusion and other Realities’ by Wendy Doniger which is heavier in content. These two books sent my mind into warp for three months. I was seeing the world differently, dreaming differently and was in such a solipsistic state that I questioned this reality. I later got into Joseph Campbell (‘Myths we Live by’ and some Audio lectures) and comparative mythology, and read Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra. I felt drawn to Hindu mythology and symbolism like never before. I also understood that most Hindus don’t know of these wonderfully stimulating ideas because it is never taught or they are satisfied with the ritualism of it. In fact, degrees in philosophy even in India focus on Western philosophy. I also found that there are very few Hindus who study their own religion from an outside, academic perspective. In the study of all other religions believers and non-believers study it together so if the non-believers come to conclusions which miss contexts, the believers may be able to correct them from their experience or knowledge of it. As someone raised Hindu in most practical ways, this void tempted me to take up studying it formally. Perhaps some day I will.

Schizophrenia: The Inward Journey
The Inward Journey is a chapter from the book by Joseph Campbell called ‘Myths to Live’ by and the one which connected very well with my interest in neuroscience. It talked about the experience of a schizophrenic person in terms of mythical structure. Then it drew a comparison of those who go through this experience voluntarily like Yogis or Shamans and those who encounter it accidentally, or with no preparation like those who take hallucinogenic drugs or get one type of schizophrenia. Campbell compares how these disparate groups deal with the experience to trained swimmers and those who’ve never been in water before and thus end up drowning. The common structure of myths worldwide which Campbell illustrates in his works, as well as a chapter on temporal lobe lesions by V.S. Ramachandran in his book ‘Phantoms in the Brain’ where people experience the divine and create symbols, suggested to me that perhaps belief in god and making similar myths was evolutionarily advantageous and it was an inherent biological feature similar to other mammalian emotions.

Yoga
I took up Yoga classes in the holidays between my BSc and MSc mainly to address a back problem I had developed by using a tilted chair. I went on every weekday from eleven to twelve thirty with women of the neighbourhood. In two months I noticed my back had stopped aching but there was another effect which I didn’t expect. I was a lot calmer and happier. I didn’t think I had a specific temper problem before I started going but in retrospect, I had been quite irritable. I continued more eagerly for the next two months and became more interested in meditation, which they introduced to us in the later part of the course. I began to read about the philosophy behind Yoga. Of equilibrium and harmony between the mind and the body. Of the layers of existence beyond the material level and how some advanced exercises lead to more optimal use of the brain and body. I have come across several papers since I started my career in neuroscience where meditation has been used to reduce chronic pain, depression and other ailments. I would also like to learn more about this.

Radical Atheism
After almost a year of intense email exchanges about god with my friend in Sydney, I went to Edinburgh for my Masters in Neuroscience. (This blog has a series ofall the letters I wrote home from there under the name of Letters from Edinburgh (LfE).) Here, due to my interest in the biological origin of belief in god, I met a radical atheist who thought that religion was extremely dangerous to humanity. He introduced me to a heated debate in the western world between the atheists and the Judo-Christian religions. He showed me videos and books by people like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins etc. where they talk about the contradictions within this religions and the dangers they pose, or debate with leaders of these religions themselves on the same. The reason I call this ‘Radical’ Atheism is because at times their approach was caustic, sarcastic and hurt the beliefs of the people they talked to or about. I would have better commended a more open, rational and peaceful conversation. This friend had a copy of both the Bible and the Koran. When I expressed my moderate and tolerant views to him and asked why not respect everyone’s faith and let them believe whatever they want, he opened the books one by one and showed me sections in which there is use of extreme violence towards children, unfair treatment of women and the brutality with which they dealt with non-believing communities in the name of god. This violence was justified and considered right in the religion. I was so utterly disappointed in these ‘holy’ books. I was so disillusioned and emotionally affected by these sections that at that time I considered their use of the word god a corruption of the concept. I realised that a philosophy which excludes and condemns all possibilities except its own to ‘hell’ is, in it’s very nature, violent. Further, he told me about how in today’s world people get away with unbelievable things like abuse of children because of the respect moderates like me have for their faith. I was swayed by this, especially because it meant that people under the protection of religions didn’t have to answer for the trauma they inflict on little children. The violence of these religions ranged from the obvious acts of suicide bombing for seventy-two virgins in paradise to attacks on the diversity of cultures worldwide through missionaries and conversions. I started to understand how faith can be dangerous too, not just a benevolent source of solace.

Spiritual Experiences
Spiritual experiences are hard to describe and harder to acknowledge when one’s primary stance is quick to dismiss them as momentary lapses of reality or an overactive imagination. Nevertheless, if I left them out, I would end up having only talked about concepts at the level that is accessible by language and the mind, and this would render my account incomplete.
The first ever spiritual experience I had was when I was twelve or thirteen; I felt one with the trees in a relatively quiet part of my school. It felt a little like music and comfort with a light breeze. I don’t remember thinking until afterward. A couple of other times around the same age range or a bit older I felt one with existence and overwhelmingly grateful for everything big and small. Though these were fleeting moments, when they were happening, they felt like time didn’t exist. There was another time when I was fourteen and full of anger and when I let it go and forgave, I could see some kind of light. I don’t even know if the light was actually there but it felt good, even benevolent. During meditation during yoga once I felt like I was Shiva, slightly blue, bigger than I actually was, and sitting with his/my eyes closed. That was beautiful and very peaceful. It’s hard to describe these experiences in real terms because they are not really of the conventional five senses we are used to using. Anyway, they are out there now, in words, to be interpreted as the reader wishes.

Views on other beliefs
I retain a relatively moderate view on people who take an external god literally, so long as they never cross the line of violence especially with children, nature or other cultures. I understand the need many feel for organised religion, that most people love to be told how to live and lose themselves in rituals because this is an effective method for many to feel peaceful, forgiven and loved by an almighty power. At the same time, Campbell emphasises the positive necessity of a rich mythology to delve into at a time of personal crisis. Some organised religions (like parts of Hinduism and Buddhism) also contribute some guidelines which an aware individual could use as exposure to explore new aspects of her spirituality.
However, individualisation of spiritual paths would dissolve the potential for political power play and communal violence caused by attachment to strong religious identities. The more individual thinking and/or experience is involved in the spiritual path, the more original and strong it has the potential to be.

Current Beliefs
After I started my PhD, I pondered on the concept of god less and less. As I soaked myself in science and critical thinking, and agreed with most of the arguments I heard during my exposure to Atheism, I became less open to things lacking straightforward evidence. I still speak of god as a mythically and metaphorically important concept that has been relevant for human cultures world-wide (Joseph Campbell) but I believe the time has come when, just as children of the Occident grow out of Santa Clause, we as humanity need to grow out of the delusion of an external god.

If god exists, it is in the wonderful universe around us, in everything, no matter how we judge it with human values. It is the forces of nature and in humans, in plants and in gadgets. So much so that if god is everything, there is no need for a god at all, merely the understanding of the interconnected nature of existence itself, and the laws of physics, discovered and undiscovered, that govern it. Just as nature is sacred, so is the human capacity for growth. At this early point in our spiritual evolution we, as a species, may seek more growth at the material level in the form of accumulation of monetary assets and comforts, but I would dare to hope that at some point, more of us would look to less limited realms; towards our highest mental, emotional, physical and spiritual potentials.

 0. Intro

Gears of War 3 is one of the greatest shooters I have ever played. It has an amazing skill curve. But unlike most tactical shooters, it has an interesting unlock system. Every unlock is purely cosmetic (to keep the game fair). It is in my opinion a well-balanced tactical third person cover based shooter game. The worst part of the game is the fact that this is (hopefully not) the series finally.

1. Campaign

The campaign in Gears of War 3 is one of the best I have ever played. Its standard mode is hugely story based and especially challenging, and the arcade mode is made with equal parts competitive and cooperative. One of Gears of War 3’s best features is the fact that you gain a shared pool of experience in every single game mode there is. Overall the campaign is a truly incredibly fun game mode.

2.Versus

Versus is a game  mode meant to highly advise teamwork.

It is compromised of quite a few modes.  You play either as the Locust or COG. And face the opposing team. You can play either private or  standard matches. Both are fun. The battles are usually intense.  There are many game modes including: teamdeathmatch,warzone,execution,king of the hill, capture the leader, and wingman.

3. Horde

Horde is an interesting game mode. In it you attempt to survive 50 waves of the Locust Horde at an increasing difficulty. Every 10 waves you face a boss wave after that the enemy count resets. The locusts also get a perk (double damage, double health, or double accuracy). there are multiple medals, ribbons and achievments for this mode.

4.Beast

In beast you command the powerful locust horde and attempt to defeat all cog and stranded forces within the time limit. You earn cash to afford even stronger beast. There are 4 beast levels: level 1: wild ticker, ticker, wretch, savage drone, and butcher. Level 2: kantus, mauler, and beast rider.   Level 3: savage corpser,  seripede, savage grenadier, and boomer. Level 4: berserker, armored kantus and savage boomer.

5.D.L.C

As of current  time there are 4 d.l.c packs available: fenix rising, raam’s shadow, horde command pack, and forces of nature. Each includes 250 achievment points (totaling 1000) and new characters 3 of them include new or old maps and raam’s shadow includes a new campaign.

0.1           conclusion

This was my gears of war coverage goodbye.

The all new maps though are highly detailed with weather effects taking place in the background and sometimes making their way over into distactrions i.e. vision blurring and quakes that shake your aim. The reason I enjoy the new maps so much probably lies in the fact that they’re quite large with plenty of room for drawn out assault riffle battles as opposed to shotgun only fights. Although Raven Down is the smallest map in the game, mean you’ll definitely have to get your Gnasher out.

The DLC also offers a number of new weapon skins. Two which have to be earned through various achievements and all looking very interesting strapped to your character’s back. Speaking of characters, you’re also ‘treated’ to another four playables. Three of them are limited editions of the pre-order characters, but the one ‘all new’ Locust character (the savage hunter) looks absolutely amazing! I switched over to him right away and haven’t changed since (a very rare feat. in Gears).

Another secret addition to this DLC is the ‘elemental cleavers’ hidden in four of the maps. Each has a secret unlock situation which will no doubt lead you to checking Youtube for the criteria, although I can probably tell/upload videos on ‘how to’ here if you ask me. The cleavers are there for an achievement, but using them in Horde is great fun. Each has a very different feel and attack. One lets out a torrent of water, another seems to poison enemies with imulsion. It all leads to another fun filled ‘easter egg’ hunt through the new levels adding some fun varients to the gameplay.

The final new piece to the Gears puzzle is the return of Guardian! It’s certainly regained it’s place as our team’s favorite game-mode. It also offers an ‘easier’ method to obtaining the ‘untouchable’ and ‘captivating’ ribbons meaning you’ll be able to fly through the medals…. I’m very close to a few more onyxs now.

In all it’s a great finish to the DLC collection, although EPIC have stated that it may not be the last to brighten up our gametimes. If you don’t have this add-on already and love playing Gears of War 3…. Get it now!

Return to Sera

When Gears of War 3 launched in September of last year, we were promised a string of high-quality DLC that would expand both the single player campaign and the top of the line multiplayer. Ever true to their word, Epic has delivered every step of the way and that streak continues now with the Forces of Nature DLC.

The final piece of the Season Pass offer (not to say there won’t be more DLC in the future), this DLC, priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) for non-Season Pass subscribers, provides five more new maps that can be played in all multiplayer modes, sees the return of the fan favorite Guardian mode, and includes seven new gun skins and four new character skins. Not to mention all you achievement hunters out there will have fun going after 10 more achievements for a possible 250 points from this DLC just like all the others before it.

For those who are unfamiliar with Guardian, it is basically a game mode where one player on each team of five is named “Leader” and the rest of the team has infinite respawns as long as that player remains standing. Forcing players to balance going on the offensive to try to remove the opponents’ leader, and to stay back and help protect your own leader, who is permanently marked with a bright star above their heads so both teams know where they are at all times, is the beauty of this game mode. Sometimes entire matches can be finished in five minutes, while other times you’re looking more at a series of 10-15 minute rounds depending on skill and play styles.

The five new maps are also something to behold and can greatly affect matches due to their stark differences. Three of them (Artillery, Cove, and Aftermath) are completely original while we see Raven Down from Gears 1 and Jacinto from Gears 2 re-imagined to the point where they are unrecognizable. Raven Down and Cove are extremely tiny maps forcing constant confrontation while Jacinto has many nooks and crannies to dig into and provide a natural formidable defense. Artillery is also much more spread out than any other map and encourages your team to move as a single unit to hopefully pick off your foes whereas Aftermath has a lot of high points perfect for sniping.

The skins are also nice touches and I know a great many people were thrilled to see Mechanic Baird as there were sometimes entire teams of Delta’s resident wise-guy as I was playing. Along with this, Commando Dom (best described in the Gears novels), Savage Grenadier Elite, and Savage Hunter were also included in the skins.

So how does this latest Gears DLC compare to those that have come before it? Quite simply, it provides the same level of quality we’ve come to expect from Epic with the Gears franchise. There were, however, a couple of Day 1 glitches that popped up in the post-game stat tracking, but I’m sure that’ll be patched sooner rather than later and really doesn’t take away from the overall game play experience. So, if you are a fan of Gears of War and find yourself easily sucked into online match after match, much like yours truly who kept saying ‘just one more’ until 5AM yesterday evening (morning?), then this is easily a must have.

SUMMARY: With new and re-imagined maps, the return of Guardian mode, and some new weapon and character skins, the Forces of Nature DLC maintains the streak of high-quality DLC that Epic has already delivered to us for Gears of War 3.

• THE GOOD: Return of classic Guardian mode
• THE BAD: Day 1 stat tracking glitches
• THE UGLY: This is the last DLC of the Gears 3 Season Pass

SCORE: 9.0

Gears of War 3: Forces of Nature DLC is an Xbox 360 exclusive.

Hating humanity is their creed, corporate-fascists its patriarchs, pseudo-scientists its priest-class, brain-addled cultists its practitioners.

Video: Church of Malthus evangelist, Paul Gilding in his “the Earth is Full” talk, tells us one million years of human progress has “finally” reached its limits. This is a tale that has been fallaciously told for at least the last 200 years since crackpot economist Thomas Malthus warned of imminent societal collapse based on a growing population – a prediction, like those of a suicidal doomsday cult, that has been demonstratively and repeatedly proven wrong. Gilding also attempts to link “climate change” in as a manifestation of our reached limits.

….

April 14, 2012 - Paul Gilding describes himself as an “independent writer, advisor and advocate for action on climate change.” He is not a scientist, nor does he appear to participate in any sort of productive industry. He is a modern day Malthusian evangelist – preaching the limits of population growth as hysterically as Thomas Malthus did over 200 years ago, warning of imminent societal collapse. Gilding’s contemporaries include John P. Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who in 1977 ludicrously concluded that the United States would collapse when its population reached “280 million in 2040.”

America’s population stands well over 300 million today, and the only collapse it faces is due to a maniacal government attempting to carry out global imperial conquest through trillion dollar decade-spanning wars, and mega-trillion dollar banker bailouts paid to the order of institutionalized degenerate gamblers.

Clearly, whatever “science” men like Gilding and Holdren are basing their system of beliefs on is divorced from the science that gives us technology and progress. It is analytical, theoretical, and compiled by men who have little experiential knowledge of how the world actually functions. They are priests and evangelists perched in ivory towers and behind podiums shouting out their patently false conclusions to the crowds before them. Their resumes are devoid of accomplishments in applied science and technology, and instead filled with ridiculous predictions and “academia” that have humiliatingly and repeatedly been proven false.

Worst of all, their work is carried out on behalf of a “Green Vatican” of sorts – not based in Rome, Italy, but on Wall Street and in the financier capital of London – who in reality are the greatest purveyors of environmental catastrophe. Like many cults and organized religions before them, they shift the burden of reconciling “sin” onto its growing flock of followers instead of taking responsibility for its own actions, resultant from perpetual greed.

For instance, Gilding in his TED Talk, claims that humanity has exceeded Earth’s carrying capacity by 1.5 times – a number drawn from the “Global Footprint Network” funded by a myriad of corporate-financier funded foundations, not the least of which is Biotech GMO giant, Syngenta (2010 Annual Report, page 26 of the .pdf). A recent report published by investigative journalist Patrick Henningsen titled “Big Green Oil Money: WWF founded and run by Royal Dutch-Shell,” exposes how yet another denomination of the Church of Malthus is indeed funded by Wall Street and London. It should be noted that the WWF is linked directly to the “Global Footprint Network.”

Following this pattern is Deutsche Bank, one of the “leading participants” in the carbon credit market, who had erected a monolithic “Carbon Clock” in New York City to add a sense of moral justification, public urgency, and support to their newly devised pyramid scheme. This is not some sort of new culture of “corporate responsibility” but just the latest in a long line of lies told by banking and industrial cartels to market their products and services to an infinitely exploited and purposefully misled population.

The Fallacy of Anthropogenic-Driven Climate Change Explained.

In order to deconstruct the dogma of the Church of Malthus it helps first to understand that the planet Earth is in a constant state of change. Beneath its surface are geological processes that literally turn the planet inside-out over the ages through tectonic shifts and the volcanism that results. When land is thrust up above sea-level resulting in the creation of an island, it in turn shifts weather patterns. Atmospheric moisture that would otherwise carry on until it reached landfall upon the ever shifting major continents of Earth, would instead condense and fall due to new variations in pressure and temperature.

Collectively these geological changes result in new global weather patterns. Weather patterns then directly affect biological adaptation. Species that lived in previously cool regions may adapt significantly to deal with an increase in regional temperatures. Their ecosystem may be so vastly affected in such a short period of time, some species may even go extinct – a process that has been ongoing long before man arrived.

Images: According to Discovery Magazine, this dinosaur (top left) existed in the “rainforests” of Antarctica, which today is a frozen wasteland (top right). The map (below) shows what the world looked like some 65 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. North America is covered with an inland sea, as is Africa’s now arid Sahara Desert. Antarctica is depicted as covered in forests. Climate change is nothing new, nor is the “change” we are experiencing now the most extreme in terms of either temperature or CO2 levels.

….

To illustrate this, we can look at the state of planet Earth in terms of biology, geology, and climatology, approximately 65 million years ago, where the continents we now know today were already taking recognizable shape. CO2 levels were over 10 times what they are now, and sea levels were so high that North America featured an inland sea centered on what is now theMississippi River. Global temperatures were also many times greater than they are today, so much so, that Antarctica despite already shifting to Earth’s southern pole, was covered in temperate forests and was home to a thriving dinosaur population.

Collectively, these changes and shifts in biological diversity across the planet’s surface then feed back into atmospheric conditions which in turn affect the weather. Since at no point in Earth’s history has its geology or biodiversity been the same, it stands to reason that weather driven by these two constantly changing variables would also constantly change. Therefore, the concept of “normality” in Earth’s climate is a ridiculous notion. The best one could do is claim that the indefinitely changing weather and biodiversity of the planet is being altered by human activity before proving how weather would have naturally changed and how it is now artificially changing. Since the ideological doctrine of the Church of Malthus is an irrational climate “status quo” it is clear that their conclusions and the “science” used to arrive at them are significantly flawed. As we will later see, real environmental damage is being done by human activity, but by precisely the sponsors of the charlatans pushing “anthropogenic climate change.”

Image: The Sun is a star. All stars have a life-cycle during which it exhibits varying characteristics in both physical size and intensity. Between major stages of a star’s life-cycle lie many poorly understood forces that affect a star’s intensity during shorter time spans.

….

Another factor conveniently overlooked by the Church of Malthus’s priest class, is the role the Sun plays in driving not only Earth’s climate, but the climate of extraterrestrial planets such as Mars and the moons of the jovian planets (gas giants), such as Titan of Saturn. The Sun, like all stars, is a fusion reaction that exhibits drastically different characteristics throughout its life-cycle. Additionally, the internal cycles and anomalies that occur within the Sun on a daily basis are just now being examined and understood by stellar astronomers. Variations in the Sun’s intensity, however minute, can have wide-ranging affects on planetary climate throughout the entire solar system.

Image: Jupiter’s moon Io has volcanism so extreme, eruptions can be observed from space. Io’s volcanism, unlike the Earth, is not primarily driven by plate tectonics, but rather the powerful tidal forces warping the moon’s geology much the way Earth’s moon warps our oceans. The Earth’s moon may affect Earth geology in a similar, though more subtle manner adding yet another variable to the incomplete and dubious calculus of men like Gilding and Holdren (or Al Gore for that matter).

….

Additionally, observations of the gravitational effects gas giant Jupiter has on its moons’ geology also hold profound implications regarding Earth’s geology, and subsequently the climate affected by that geology. Jupiter’s pull on it’s moons is so great that it literally causes tidal shifts of their mantles in the same way the sea is affected by tidal forces of Earth’s moon. These forces are so great, the friction caused by the moons’ flexing mantle so extreme, it creates volcanism on a scale that dwarfs any volcanic display seen on Earth.

How the Earth’s moon has affected Earth’s plate tectonics is also now only beginning to be understood. The moon’s distance from Earth is constantly changing, thus its effect on Earth’s geology is also in constant flux – and adds yet another variable to the very incomplete calculus used by “environmentalists” and “climatologists” who insist CO2 emissions from human activity are the primary drivers of an otherwise “static climate.”

Like priest-classes throughout history, the Church of Malthus abuses the ignorance of the general population regarding the basic forces of nature, oversimplifying planetary climatology that otherwise involves factors including geology, biology, meteorology, Newtonian physics, and stellar astronomy. Not only do they do this in order to sell their version of “indulgences” in the form of ineffectual “carbon credits,”and to assert their control over society in what they themselves call a planetary regime (Ecoscience, pages 942-943, 1977), but they are ignoring naturally driven climate change and the consequences that may indeed jeopardize human civilization. This priest class and their political and monetary “solutions” leaves civilization with no plans or contingencies in the event that the conditions seen during the Cretaceous period revisit us once again.

Climate change is indeed real – it occurs with or without humans, and can drastically change the face of the planet giving rise to great masses of biodiversity or killing off great numbers of species in what are called “mass extinction events.” Carbon credits, carbon taxes, forced sterilizations, destroying the family, piling humanity into micro-managed cities, and instituting a “planetary regime” to administer “global governance” will do absolutely nothing to stop climate change, but it is a great way for an elitist oligarchy to exercise megalomanical domination over humanity, as dreamed of by all tyrants since the dawn of human civilization.

The Church of Malthus is Regressive, not Progressive.

Without a doubt – the planet Earth, humanity’s sole refuge amongst the vastness of the universe, is being destroyed. It is not being destroyed, as we would be led to believe, by people having children, consuming natural resources, or expelling carbon dioxide (CO2). Instead, it is demonstratively being destroyed by reckless genetic engineering by big-agricultural corporations like Monsanto and Syngenta. It is being demonstratively destroyed by immense, ludicrously centralized supply chains like those of Pepsi and Coca-Cola supplying the world with poisoned sugar water.

Read the full article here.

Related Articles

• Haters of Humanity: The Church of Malthus (activistpost.com)
• The Church of Malthus (blacklistednews.com)
• Food Consumption and the Depopulation Agenda (oneway2day.wordpress.com)
• MIT Predicts Half of Humanity to Be Culled in Post-Industrial Crash (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• Population control (bizgovsociii.wordpress.com)
• dry cleaning: What is it that sets it apart? (boldstate.com)
• 10 Economists Who Changed the Course of History (antiworldnews.wordpress.com)
• Feeding the World While the Earth Cooks (slate.com)
• Rio +20 Earth Summit will tie population into green knots (junkscience.com)

Reblogged from CNN Photos:

(1) Numbers of Characters

I’ve able to cut back on a number of useless / incidental characters in the story – however, having gone through the latest draft (after recent constructive critique) a couple of times – there definitely needs to be even more refinement in this area – which is a good thing!

(2) Character development

Most of the main characters are coming along nicely – but one or two are still deadpan by comparison – so more time needed here to allow for a natural process to take place.

Other Blogs:

http://asabovesobelowfilms.wordpress.com/

http://futurefeature.wordpress.com/

http://www.maelstrommediaproductions.com/blog.html

The other creation of the weekend was a special cake for my local GAME store to show both my appreciation and thanks for their years of great service. I only decorated a purchased cake as sadly I didn’t have the time to make one from scratch. Needless to say it went down a storm and everyone there was very thankful for the support we’ve been showing towards the company.

martynii’s birthday is fast approaching now and with my new cake decorating and T-shirt making ‘skills’ under practice I hope to make something memorable as a present. Watch this space….

For some reason last night the Gods of luck were smiling down on me and I managed to ‘finally’ find a group of people to do the latest managerial task of getting five players each as either Mechanic Baird (LE) or Commando Dom (LE) to defeat a lambent Zerker. The feeling of satisfaction was certainly a rush after that sound of achievement unlocked knowing I’d never have to arrange that situation again and hoping that another one won’t occur further down the line.

My only suggestion would be that maybe Horde could get it’s own playlist for DLC owners in just the same way that the verses mode has. EPIC were always keen to point out Horde was the most popular gametype in Gears of War 2, so it doesn’t seem that unreasonable that they could help out co-op gamers wanting to play levels other then Hotel and Overpass (for a change).

The fourth Gears of War 3 DLC package (and final one for Season Pass holders like me), “Forces of Nature,” has been out for a little over 24 hours, and as I’ve never written on Gears specifically despite it being my most-played game since September, I thought I’d take a few moments and evaluate the Season Pass as a whole. Was it worth it for me? Is it worth it for you, Mr. Holdout? Let’s see.

Prior to Gears 3‘s release the Season Pass (hereafter SP) was announced as a way for players to save money on inevitable DLC that would roll out for the six or so months following the game’s release. For $30 SP owners would get $45 worth of content — a 33% savings for those who would ultimately buy all four. As of today, those four packages are Horde Command Pack, Raam’s Shadow, Fenix Rising, and the aforementioned Forces of Nature.

If you’re really impatient or just short on time (in which case, you should know better than to read something of mine, so shame on you), click here for my overall thoughts on the season pass. Note: most of these packs also offer new weapon skins. I don’t consider those make or break aspects of the DLC and have thus ignored them.

On to DLC 1: Horde Command Pack

Horde Command Pack – 800 MSP ($10)
New Maps: Azura, Rustlung, Blood Drive (remake)
New Characters: Bernie Mataki, Big Rig Dizzy (variant), Onyx Guard
Other: Greatly expands upgrade capacity in Horde, adds rockets to silverback

The Horde Command Pack released less than two weeks after the game shipped, making a bit of a splash due to its small size — less than 2MB. Arguably the nastiest of the DLC, the HCP isn’t even actually downloaded content; it’s a script to unlock expanded Horde fortifications and character models already on the disc. I’ll let others argue over ethics of charging for access to disc content. Certainly it’s nice not to tie down your connection for half an hour waiting for the pack to download.

But is it worth buying? That depends on what sort of player you are. For many people, Gears of War multiplayer is synonymous with Horde, and they’re going to spend hundreds of hours fighting Locust waves. In that case the HCP is a no-brainer; the upgrades are not only practical life-savers (especially the high-end laser wires), but the new levels on all fortifications will provide greater motivation for those who are achievement-driven. It’s a bit crazy to think that I’ve been playing this game since day one and I’m still working on fully upgrading my HCP fortifications.

That said, not everyone plays Horde. Chances are if you’re only a casual player of Gears you don’t even know who Bernie is or care about a different outfit for Dizzy. The Onyx guard offers no inspiring dialogue to differentiate him from other generic guard skins. This leaves the maps, which are among my favorites (across all DLC/shipped maps). Unfortunately for the DLC, Epic released those for free (with two others: Clocktower and Bullet Marsh) several weeks later as part of the Booster Map Pack.

This is what $10 gets you. In one screenshot.

So, to review: if you love Bernie and Dizzy or plan on playing much Horde, definitely grab this because it’s the only way to get the full upgrade experience. Otherwise, just grab the Booster Pack.

Verdict: Maybe

On to DLC 2: RAAM’s Shadow

RAAM’s Shadow – 1200 MSP ($15)
New Maps: None
New Characters: Tai Kaliso, Minh Young Kim, Alicia Valera, Michael Barrick,
General Raam, Theron Elite
Other: A fully-realized five-chapter backstory campaign complete with
walking-death-machine sequences as RAAM himself

This whopping 2GB package is the bulkiest and most expensive of the SP components, and for good reason: it’s also the fullest. Boasting six playable characters (all, mercifully, with actual personalities), the real selling point for RAAM’s Shadow is its story.

In a move rarely made with console shooters, Epic decided to use DLC to deliver an extended campaign instead of just another handful of shooting galleries. Using characters from the extended Gears universe (specifically the comics) and introducing a new female lead, RAAM’s Shadow functions as a prequel to the trilogy. As such it channels the darker, more horrific tones of the first game while providing players with a look at a still beautiful, less ruined Sera.

So-called Zeta Team sequences provide a good mix of old-school Gears feel and freshness, feeling just different enough from the standard campaign as to avoid the easy more-of-the-same pitfall such content risks. But the star of RAAM’s Shadow is RAAM — a hulking, evil brute who commands death with the point of a finger — and in a Beast-esque twist several chapters afford you the chance of pointing that finger yourself. No, you won’t be killing your own COG heroes, but there are plenty of faceless lookalikes to mow down with Kryll. Intriguingly RAAM’s main offensive capacity is also his only defense, so releasing Kryll on higher difficulties comes with a risk of getting gunned down.

RAAM is the center of his chapters, but as the whole campaign features four-player co-op he’s not alone. His right-hand man is a really cool Elite Theron (with a bayonet-charging sawed-off), and the two are assisted by Mauler brutes which have bullet-reflecting shields. Ostensibly the second, third, and fourth members of your team will fill those three Locust boots. And herein lies my only real complaint with RAAM’s Shadow: there’s no way to choose which character you are.

In standard campaign, that caveat didn’t really matter because (arcade weapon selections aside) character choice didn’t alter gameplay. But in the Locust parts of RAAM’s Shadow, each character plays entirely differently. Moreover, there are achievements tied to each character, meaning that players without several friends with which to play will find themselves out of luck when it comes to getting, say, ricochet kills as a Mauler.

Play as RAAM. Is that "shut up and take my money" I hear?

Nevertheless, RAAM’s Shadow provides a satisfying and entertaining three-hour experience which is a must-have for anyone who liked the main campaign or cares about the Gears universe in general.

Verdict: Yes

On to DLC 3: Fenix Rising

Fenix Rising – 800 MSP ($10)
New Maps: Academy, Anvil, Depths, The Slab, Escalation (remake)
New Characters: Recruit Clayton, Savage Marauder,
Thrashball Cole (variant), Savage Kantus (variant)
Other: Introduces a multi-tiered prestige/re-up rank system

Each of the four new maps in Fenix Rising shines with polish. Whether you’re slogging it out on the brightly-lit steps of Academy or having a close-quarters gnasher duel in The Slab, these maps were made with a very clear sense of catering to versus matches and as such they tend to avoid the awful spawning and level imbalance exhibited by some prior maps (here’s looking at you, Bullet Marsh). Conversely, Escalation — the one returning map — is so infuriatingly unfair and unpredictable that it leads one to wonder why it ever got nominated for a remake in the first place.

The four characters are primarily a way for Epic to charge players for not buying their copy of Gears at specific stores, as most of them are simply slight variants of pre-order exclusives. Recruit Clayton is basically a COG Gear with Carmine’s voice and, achievement aside, there’s little reason to choose him over the more interesting and colorful version we’re familiar with. I suppose if you really, really need one more version of Cole then the Thrashball variant is popular, but from the looks of the versus landscape most people already have a Thrashball Cole and don’t need the “new” one.

The real reason you’ll buy Fenix Rising, ultimately, is if you’re ready to rise — that is, if you want to be able to level up after hitting the shipped cap of 100. Fenix Rising gives you the opportunity to “re-up” not once, not twice, but thrice, rewarding you with new colors for your rank, new skins, and a couple new achievements. While not as extensive (I’d say ridiculous) as the prestige modes of other shooters, the re-up system is certainly good enough to tide over all but the most insane over-achievers (yeah, you, Ms. Level-70 blue) for months, if not years.

In a loophole sure to be exacerbated by the recent Forces of Nature download, not having Fenix Rising also severely limits your access to dedicated multiplayer servers. “Player’s Choice” and “No DLC” notwithstanding, choosing not to buy this one also more or less guarantees you won’t be able to play in future weekend events/most gametypes. Those which you CAN still play will be player-hosted, opening the door for fantastic lag and other blemishes of online gaming.

Depths has a Bioshock vibe going on, and the funniest loudspeaker announcements since Airplane.

So, if you love versus, or even just want to keep enjoying it as is — or if you want some fantastic maps for Horde and Beast — then you’re going to want to pick up Fenix Rising even if you don’t care for leveling up. If you’re fine with playing Horde and private matches with your friends, then skip it.

Verdict: Maybe

On to DLC 4: Forces of Nature

Forces of Nature – 800 MSP ($10)
New Maps: Aftermath, Artillery, Cove, Jacinto, Raven Down
New Characters: Commando Dom (variant), Mechanic Baird (variant),
Savage Hunter, Savage Grenadier Elite
Other: Guardian playlist

My twitter feed exploded with joy when Forces of Nature (hereafter FoN) was announced, as (apparently) “Guardian on Jacinto” had been the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now that FoN is out, however, the joy has receded a bit as, like most things, both Guardian and Jacinto have changed.

Guardian, for the uninitiated, is the precursor to two separate gametypes that Gears 3 shipped with, Capture the Leader (CTL) and Execution. The objective is to kill the other team, but with a catch: so long as their leader lives, the enemy team will continue to respawn. Find and kill the leader and the game switches to elimination as you pick off his or her remaining followers.

It’s a nifty idea and immediately enjoyable, but past Guardian players will be quick to point out that it is largely undermined by the CTL TAC/COM dynamic which allows the leader to have an x-ray view of the play field and therefore identify approaching would-be assassins long before they get close. When your team’s leader is dead, this affords your opponents with an unprecedented advantage, rendering the actual objective of Guardian games to cut off the other team’s TAC/COM more than to stop them from spawning.

With the TAC/COM and ribbons/medals from CTL carrying over into the Guardian playlist, it’s pretty clear that this “new Guardian mode” isn’t so much a new mode as a CTL variant that only FoN buyers have access to. One wonders whether a similar experience could be recreated in a private CTL lobby. Speaking of private lobbies, Guardian isn’t an option there at all, and Epic has officially said that making it an option in private games is, for now, not possible. Perhaps that’s why Guardian isn’t even mentioned on the official Xbox Live listing for FoN.

All that aside, the FoN maps are absolutely gorgeous examples of how to do a map pack right. In addition to the great play balance that these maps have in common with Fenix Rising, each one introduces a weather dynamic that keeps play lively. Much like the sandstorm on Trenches, Raven Down, Cove, and Artillery feature weather patterns which obscure visibility and thus cover movement well, resulting in many surprise confrontations and a unique challenge while playing Horde or Beast.

Aftermath is lovely and tells a story in its ruin, prompting me to start a private game just to wander around and look at, say, the giant ship lodged in the rubble of a skyscraper. And Jacinto, bathed in imulsion and drenched with rain, proves a sobering arena with the most impressive network of paths, stairs, and tunnels on any map yet. Its verticality makes it, even with its deviation from the old Jacinto, the ideal place to play Guardian; though, of course, you can’t actually set up a game for that purpose.

Artillery looks beautiful at sunset. But there's a tornado warning in effect...

It’s very rare for me to embrace paying for maps, as I’ve always considered them overpriced and they tend to be purely recycled versions of old maps or to use in-game assets with little originality. But the sheer artistry and impressiveness of the Forces of Nature maps earns my full recommendation. Add to that the easter egg hunt in each map for the Rube Goldberg process to unveil each hidden element-based cleaver, and Guardian or not I can’t recommend this pack enough.

Verdict: Yes

On to Final Verdict

Gratuitous Carmine picture to conclude.

Season Pass – 2400 MSP ($30)
Maps -  13
Characters – 17
Other - Horde upgrade expansion, three-hour campaign,
Tiered prestige mode, guardian playlist,
Full access to dedicated servers

Cynics might argue fanboyism or an effort to ignore buyer’s remorse, but I can honestly say that I, personally, have no regrets over my decision to buy the Season Pass. Having been largely unemployed since the game’s release I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy every aspect of the game thoroughly, and so whether it was new campaign, new maps, new characters, or simply more achievements to motivate me each new DLC pack has been worthwhile in some way.

Going off my four verdicts alone, the two unqualified yeses are for DLC costing $25 (unless you’re lucky enough to snag them on sale). Each of the maybes had a different caveat: for the Horde Command Pack, it was basically “don’t buy it unless you mostly play horde;” for Fenix Rising, it was basically “don’t buy it if you mostly play horde.” As most Gears players will fall into one of those two camps, then in addition to the two “must-haves” they’ll buy a third $10 DLC anyway — at which point they’ll have spent more money for less content than the Season Pass delivers.

Having said all of this, though, I recognize that some people will want a smattering of all the game has to offer but don’t have a lot of time to invest in any one angle. For those people, it’s less a matter of “is this DLC good” and more “can I really justify spending almost as much for add-ons as I did to get the whole game?” And, honestly, my answer has to be no.

The Gears 3 Season Pass, as with most season passes, is ultimately for people who plan to devote a reasonable amount of time to Gears of War. If you’re already a CoD Elite member and just bought Halo CEA then the likelihood is that Gears 3 shipped with more than enough content to keep you entertained. You also probably know better than I do how much of an aggravation it can be to try to play online games if even one of you is missing some (or all) of the game’s DLC. Sadly, as the industry heads further in the DLC direction, it’s going to become nearly impossible to play a game online this far after release without also buying add-ons.

In closing, then, you just have to decide whether you want to play Gears of War online and, if so, with whom. If you don’t, or if you only want to play privately with friends, then you can skip the Season Pass and almost all the DLC (though I still recommend RAAM’s Shadow). But if you plan on playing public matches (with or without friends), then the Gears of War 3 Season Pass will be well worth the money.

Verdict: Yes

Epic Games released Forces of Nature, the latest content pack for Gears of War 3, today on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Gears of War 3 Season Pass owners will receive the update for free.

The download includes five new multiplayer maps, each one paired with a unique weather condition. Raven Down, for example, features snow storms, and players will have to deal with heavy fog in Cover. The other locations include forceful winds, strong rain, and a sinking city.

The pack costs 800 Microsoft Points, or $10. It includes four new multiplayer characters: the Savage Hunter, and variants of Commando Dom, Mechanic Baird, and Savage Grenadier Elite. Completists will be pleased to know that they can unlock 250 points worth of new achievements.

This is the fourth batch of DLC released for Epic’s popular third-person shooter, following the Horde Command Pack, RAAM’s Shadow, and Fenix Rising.

Coinciding with the release of Forces of Nature, Gears of War 3 is now available as a Games on Demand title. Xbox Live users can download the full game for $39.99.

We most often notice the forces of nature when they appear to us

on a grand scale –­ disrupting, scaring or impressing us.

Those awesome powers are with us all the time, however.

Whether it be a light breeze that has been pushed at us from a land

on the other side of the earth, a ray of sunlight that travelled millions of miles

to warm our face or the creeping advancement of tidal water, tons of it

 inched on by the staggering pull of the moon so far away in the sky.

Author’s note:
At the beginning of each season this year (according to the Gregorian-Calendar), I plan to release a poem about each season-I’ve written several poems about the seasons, particularly the four classic temperate seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each of these seasons represents different stages of existence, in this Material-Existence of ours, which we gradually evolve towards. My goal is to inspire reflection for whomever may read these poems, to strongly reflect upon their own lives, what season of life that they are currently embracing.

Spring!!!

It’s the rebirth of the Earth.
It contains so much worth.

Grass springs from the ground.
Birds sing & chirp all around.

Like our own beginnings, it’s all brand-new.
The colors of the season are all a bright hue.

The blood in our veins flow, as fast as a river, down a snow-capped Mountain.
It seems like our lives are just like this, heading towards a bottomless Fountain.

It is the time of year for growth, as well as youth.

Plants & Trees blossom beautiful Flowers & bear fresh Fruit.

The once dead land is now alive, with much couth.

Spring is like a person’s Childhood, fresh, yet delicate.
It must be sheltered, to avoid any type of impediment.

We are all Spring, at one point, in our lives.
These are the precious moments, which flee so quickly.

Just the mere thought of aging, we despise.
Before you know it, we grow up, so sudden & swiftly.

It’s the most innocent time of our existence.
We just frolic in life, without any instance.

Gareth Bryant/2009

The weather for Laramie today looks like it if going to slowly start creeping up to those beautiful warm rays reaching the 60′s by Wednesday afternoon! Make sure you make all of your plans around being outside. Here is your Daily Dose brought to you by the Laramie Area Chamber of Commerce.

1. First Day of Spring. Get out of your work clothes and into something comfy. It is the first day of Spring and that means it is time for frisbee, picnics, long walks and more sunshine. Tonight enjoy all activities outside. Head to Washington Park and walk the path, throw a frisbee or start gearing up for summer softball leagues.

(source)

2. C. J. Box National Book Tour Kickoff. Head to the America Heritage Center and enjoy the first day of the C.J. Box National Book Tour. This is a free event and open to the public.

“National best-selling author Wyoming native C. J. Box will launch the national book tour for his latest novel, FORCE OF NATURE, at the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center. He will read from the book and sign copies. The American Heritage Center, a nationally-renowned archives, is proud to be the repository for Mr. Box’s papers.”

- American Heritage Center

For those of you who have bought the season pass for Gears of War 3 or follow the DLC on the side, Forces of Nature will be released on the 27th of March. This DLC adds tsunami, fog, and snowstorm effects as well as three brand new maps. Four new character models and and seven new weapon skins will also be made available.

Until then, a title update has been made for players! Here are the release notes posted by Epic in regards to updates and bug fixes:

IMPROVEMENTS

• Savage Drone and Savage Grenadier can now “swat” turn in Beast mode
• Spectator mode now starts viewing a player instead of a battle camera
• Alternate control users in multiplayer will no longer look at DBNO characters when pressing R3
• The crosshair for the Longshot and Hammerburst will now show an X if a shot is obstructed.
• KOTH – ring locators are now visible in spectator mode
• KOTH – some hill locations have been adjusted

BUG FIXES

• The Onyx Guard decoy in Horde will not drop his rifle after exhausting the Vulcan ammo
• Clients will no longer be stuck with a “Waiting For Players” message up if the host quits Horde during the progression screen
• Chainsaw audio loop will now persist for listeners who leave the audible range and re-enter it
• Fixed some instances where special event ribbons would not be properly awarded
• COG pistol firing rate has been adjusted to be equal on host and clients
• The Flaming Retro Lancer is now available for attendees of the first special event
• Fixed some issues fixed related to the destruction of meatbags
• The Slab start up screen no longer has debug text
• After a host migration in Horde, the waves will no longer go past 50
• Cover near the elevator on Hotel no longer allows players to lean outside of the visible area
• Grenade throwers that are killed mid-throw will receive credit for any kills that grenade causes
• Silverback will be disabled if hit by a smoke grenade when the driver is in the middle of the exit animation
• Team Deathmatch time limit no longer resets to 3 minutes when both teams are out of respawns

This DLC will get a review as I am an eager fan of the Gears of War series, so check in a day or two to see my thoughts about it!

1. Theme (Dirty S by Lord Bubba’s Nu-Jazz Project)
2. Polyamorous- Kinky Natalie (Kinky Natalie)
3. Same Old- Sharon Musgrave (Outflow)
4.  Come Closer-Frances Livings with 4UrbanArtists (Sticky Traxx)
5.  Hive Mind- Forces of Nature (Journeys in Time and Space)
6.  Big Baby- Lord Bubba’s Nu-Jazz Project (The Nu-Standards)
7.  White Trash Disco- Planet Earth (Twenty Miles From Buffalo)
8.  African Kings- Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra (Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra)
9.  White Rice, Brown Sugar- Jessica Stuart Few (Kid Dreams)
10. On The Level- Jef Kearns (On The Level)
11. Lorelei- Cole Jacobs (Cole Jacobs)
12. Forward Motion (In Progress)- Rinsethealgorithm (Locutions)

CLICK DOWN HERE FOR MIXCLOUD LINK

Podcast 1-13; March 19th, 2012 by Nujazzfunkradio on Mixcloud

Natural Selection:
20g Complete all 12 waves of Beast on all Forces of Nature maps.

Horde Natural:
20g Complete 20 waves of Horde on any Forces of Nature map without going down or dying.

Unstoppable Force:
25g Complete all 50 waves of Horde on any of the Forces of Nature maps.

Elemental:
25g Get 25 kills with any of the hidden elementally charged Cleavers in Horde.

Stock Piled:
20g Achieve the maximum level on all fortifications in Horde mode.

Force Multiplayer:
25g Win a match of Guardian on all Forces of Nature maps.

Witty Repairtee:
25g Build or repair 50,000 worth of fortifications as Mechanic Baird LE.

Hunter Gatherer:
20g Bag and Tag 20 opponents while playing as the Savage Hunter in Versus multiplayer (any mode).

I’ve Got This!:
20g Kill 10 opponents as the leader in a round of Guardian on a Forces of Nature map.

Force Multiplier:
50g Kill a Lambent Berserker with a team comprised of 5 Forces of Nature characters in Horde.

I know I’ll be spending many hours/days/months working on some of these.

~  During your yoga retreat cruise aboard ssc Island Dancer you visit the lower Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Here, amidst the abundant flora and fauna of the surrounding rainforest you begin to understand how Hindu philosophers recognized the sacred in the supposedly mundane, and how they developed sensitivity and the mental power to communicate with all of the forces of Nature in order to fully worship our divine planet.  ~

Also great to have a handful of friends and know a few associates who are all working on their own feature screenplay projects – makes it easy to:- enter into useful discussion; benefit from exchanging ideas, provide encouragement /receive encouragement and of course help each other develop as writers when it comes to the essential area of absorbing constructive critique.

http://www.simplyscripts.com/