Avand in vedere ca scopul referendumului este, printre altele, reducerea numarului de parlamentari de la 471 la 300, eram curios cand o sa vedem un spot publicitar in care sa se faca aluzie la filmul “300“. Si se pare ca baietii destepti de pe YouTube nu ne-au dezamagit nici de aceasta data.

Spotul oficial al campaniei “Hai la referendum!” il puteti viziona aici, insa am o presimtire ca varianta spartana va face deliciul publicului. Haideti sa-l aplaudam!

]]> http://pxleyes.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/enlightened-spartan/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:50:41 +0000 fatabbot http://pxleyes.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/enlightened-spartan/

New image in the windy flags photography contest

…
enlightened Spartan photography picture

When I accepted my current position at FGCU I knew there was a strong chance I wouldn’t be able to travel with the team on the first road trip or two. Our Head Coach was very up front about this fact and I respected his honestly prior to me starting the job.

At the time I was making my final decision on whether or not to work at FGCU this season I didn’t really factor in that I might miss a couple road games. I knew that FGCU was new to Division I, and therefore had not yet reaped the financial benefits associated with full membership. Furthermore, Florida has been one of the hardest hit States by the current economic situation and as a result public schools have suffered financially.

When you add those circumstances to the fact that I was starting my job so close to the season where making additional travel arrangements for me would be quite costly, it is easy to understand why I accepted the job without any reservations.

Having all that been I was very surprised when Coach Balza called me into his office on Monday (we leave on our first road trip Thursday) and informed me that there was a good chance that I would be traveling.

You see over the past week since we started really focusing on our upcoming opener, against the #2 ranked team in the country Michigan State Spartans, I have been preparing myself to deal with the emotions that result from not making the trip.

Even though I had rationalized it earlier that it would only be one or two trips, deep down I always knew that not traveling would hit me hard when the time came. You see by not making the trip I am disconnected and don’t have the opportunity to share the experience as part of the team, which is one of the central enjoyments for me a Coach.

Furthermore, as a result of my feelings of detachment and disappointed I feared that I would become depressed while watching the game at home. To try and circumvent these emotions I had been planning a trip to Miami on the day of the game so that I wouldn’t just sit at home and feel bad for myself.

However, I will never find out how I would have felt as a result of being left behind, and I’ll have to visit Miami another weekend, since yesterday Coach Balza once again called me into his office and told me I would be traveling.

I’m not completely sure whether upon hearing this news that I was more elated or relieved, but I guess it was a combination of both. While I’m confident that I would have been able to cope with my feelings of disappoint it still never feels good to be left behind.

When it comes down it I am a Basketball Coach and everything I do every day is for the team and to help us get better. Sitting at home while we played Michigan State would have been agonizing since I wouldn’t have been able to contribute in any way to the program.

I feel very fortunate that this situation worked out for me, and that I will be making the trip, because I can guarantee you two things as a result of me traveling, 1) I will do everything in my power to help our team be successful and 2) I’ll send everyone a postcard from beautiful East Lansing, Michigan.

The Babysitter is the first of the seven short anime movies that will be contained in Halo Legends. Taking place after Halo Wars but before Halo: Combat Evolved, it tells the story of a group of ODSTs that are sent on an assassination mission and are commanded by a Spartan known as Cal-141. Studio 4˚C is the team behind this one who have done both The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight so they’ve had experience with this kind of thing.

An anime version of Halo will probably only appeal to fans of the game or people who really like anime so you should already know if it is for you or not. Of course it’s free to watch via Halo Waypoint for the entire of the 7^th of November so if you still have time while reading this you might as well give it a watch.

Due to it being very short there isn’t time for much character development but fortunately the focus is on a small group of people. The squad of ODST’s show resentment towards the accompanying Spartan, in particular O’Brian. O’Brian is the squads’ sniper and would normally handle assassinations but Cal is taking the shot this time. If it wasn’t for Cal though the ODST’s really wouldn’t stand much of a chance.

The main reason you’re going to watch this though is to see Halo from a different viewpoint. Seeing a Spartan in its entire animated glory kick ass while jumping about is great. This is helped by the animation which is very smooth as you would expect and fight scenes look top notch because of this. It shares similarities with a particular scene in Halo Wars involving a few Spartans in a fight.

The enemies from the games return to be defeated but it isn’t all about the combat here. The action scenes are good but its tries to balance this out amongst the story and character in the short amount of time it has.

Halo fans will appreciate the use of music which is taken straight from the games. It all fits in with the style and helps link the anime and the games together. As well as the use of music there are multiple references to the series. I won’t give them away but one involves one of the games characters acting as a side character here.

The Babysitter is a very enjoyable anime. It fits in well with the Halo universe and has been animated very well. Fans of the game will no doubt love it due to the music, references and seeing the universe from a different perspective.

More animation. This was a collaboration between me and http://shabizzle.wordpress.com/

The original to compare:

Ok so it’s not really anything like the original after the first part.

L’excellent Spartan (que l’on ne présente plus) a dressé pour vous une liste impressionnante de fichier PSD que vous pourrez télécharger gratuitement afin de pouvoir les étudier, les reproduire, voire, pour les plus fainéants, vous en servir tels quels… Merci qui ? Merci Spartan…Voici quelques uns des fichiers que vous pourrez télécharger (l’intégralité étant disponible sur l’article de Spartan) :

September 3, 2009

7:20 p.m. – 8:05 p.m., Greece

I had the most memorable evening swim complemented by a very touching and beautiful gesture. A love note on the beach meant for me.

I arrived at the beach on a beautiful sunset around 7:20pm. The place was empty and calm. I could only see two girls a few meters to my right lying on the beach facing the sunset and apparently taking looks at me as I made my way into the water.

I stayed in the water swimming for about half an hour till a beautiful full moon pinned like a silver plate took its turn on the sky.

I come out of the water and take a look around me. No one’s there any more. It’s getting dark and cold and the girls who were lying nearby are also gone.

I walk towards the spot I left my towel. As I make my way to reach it, I notice this note carefully placed on the towel with a stone acting as paper weight against the wind.

The girls I had seen earlier must have written it and placed it there. They were the only ones around. I didn’t take a good look at their faces but they did at mine.

I don’t know if they were Greek or foreigners but it doesn’t matter. I know they were nice.

And their beautiful gesture proves it!

If you’re not one of the girls but you clicked on the photo and read the note, you’ll agree it was very nice of them what they did.

Imagine their beautiful gesture for a moment.

They saw me getting into the water and swimming far away from the shore. They must have been observing me even though I didn’t notice them doing so. Most probably they spent a good part of their time talking about me while I was in the sea swimming for both of them

As they were “living” the beach, they scrapped a piece of paper and wrote those short and very nice words for me to read and remember the time, the place, the chance encounter that never happened, the presence of all of us being there.

No names. No contact details.

Just the memory of it on the paper whose back side hints at some kind of card game they might have been playing.

That was the kind of gesture to make the heart of any Spartan melt.

I’m “living” the place tomorrow so I won’t be able to come back and look for them.

But I can return the gesture, I thought, by posting this beautiful note online in the hope that one day one of the girls will stumble upon these lines, see the note and take pleasure from knowing that their thoughts of me were well received and greatly appreciated.

I have my reasons for not mentioning the name of the place.

If they come across this post one day and see their note, they will know it can only have been the sweet boy swimming for them as they were “living” the beach that 3rd of September evening in Greece. Only he could have gotten the note. There was no one else at the beach at the time.

I don’t know if they will ever get to read these lines. Even if they do one day, many years may have passed by then. But if the girls who wrote the note and left it on the beach ever decide to contact me, I would know it’s them because they will be able to tell me the name of the place.

Whoever you are beautiful-girl-note-droppers, please know that you touched the Spartan’s heart.

His only regret is that you weren’t around to see the smile on his face as he picked up the note and read it…

http://www.thinkaloo.com

I’ve been playing around with FPGA’s, and using Xlinx Spartan 3 from Digilent, I mainly wanted it for the Sump Logic Analyser, but now branching out with it a bit, lets ignore the nightmare install that ISE Webpack is, then the fact that Digilent boards don’t work with the ISE programming tools and focus on the rest of the oddness..

First off VITAL, this is a library that ought to be in the IEEE lib’s, but for some reason ( possibly being a cut down version of the software,  but if so wouldn’t it be nice if it said so ) . I managed to get this up and running by installing some software that had a VITAL2000 source code ( vhd’s) and adding them to my project as a new library, changed the USE and LIBRARY options to use VITAL2000 and VITAL_timing_2000 ( the lib i have appends _2000 to all of them ) , then its a case of marking some of the functions IMPURE, they’re just warnings so not really needed. XIinx’s website is no good, and their support forum didn’t turn up anything either.

I even switched to Altera Quartus at one point, but that had similar issues, seems they only have VITAL95 support, and I ran into other issues with it too.

After that the FMF library needs to be updated to use the new LIBRARY and USE settings… So i finally get to the point where the FMF library compiles, the VITAL2000 compiles, and off it goes to compile the model I’m using, brrp! nope, some mysterious error about ‘Port being unsupported in  a Block concurrent statement’  over on the FMF site someone’s noted it from an old build and the admin is wondering if ISE WebPack is indeed a crippled version.

As much used to cross development toolsets and so on, the FPGA has been the most difficult and painful route I’ve ever taken, and I’ve worked on some bizarre stuff, the programming itself is easy enough but the dev tools and support are horrible, I guess you just get spoiled by Microsoft’s level of  devtool’s and support.

Anyway my ‘allotment’ for FPGA time is up for today, so I figured jot down a note that i can fill in later., and hoping that the FMF admin will have a solution..

The ‘Classic’ challenge is probably one of the more annoying achievements ever to grace the Xbox 360’s icy cold heart(Aka, Achievement List). As most know this is one of the dreaded seven achievements that you must have in order to receive the highly regarded recon armor. The armor merely being a trophy in and of itself, showing ones most inner leetness. So thats why Dom, after spending hours trying to get this elusive one for ODST am here to help out those wondering why in the fuck they can’t collect this one.

Firstly you will need of course,

-A Xbox 360

-Halo 3 : ODST

-Xbox Live Gold Account

-Balls (Perferably steel)

You may be asking, “Dom, What is it I must do to get this awesome achievement?”  Well simply you have to beat a entire level without firing a SHOT or throwing a Grenade, there are some little annoying rules you have to follow as well..

-No shooting, none. Don’t even lay your finger on the triggers. Even if you charge the laser and don’t fire it spoils it, so don’t fuck with the triggers.

- No Grenades, just like up above.

-No horn honking, I don’t know why but the game won’t give it to you if you honk the horn on the warthog.

-No power slides in Warthog

-Boosting in Ghost is ALLOWED

-What you can do is, jump, melee, switch weapons, and hop in and out of vehicles and you can have gunners and shotgun riders.

-You MUST play on Legendary,

-Must be a solo game, no help.

-Must be connected to Xbox Live with a Gold Account

-Probably should do it on Uplift Reserve, easiest level to complete it on, (Not saying much :/ )

First, load up the level with all the prerequisits mentioned above intact.

Move forward into the large circular battlefield and keep to the left, ignore the turned over warthog and move towards one of the two driving around on the left, don’t worry one will eventually stop for you. When it stops kick out the driver and give him your spartan laser as you wont be needing it. Jump in the drivers seat and let him ride shotty, it really helps to have him/her with the laser. You might wanna sit afar and let the gunner take out the choppers as they can fuck you up major with a simple love-tap.

Head across to the west side of the circular battlefield and zip between any enemies and into the trail, you will meet one chopper, one ghost, and two wraiths, remember DON’T powerslide, just be quick, it may take a couple times and follow the trail to a large metal entrance. There is a ghost there, you can use it if you want, its possible but you die a lot easier, and you can’t fire the weapon. You can boost, so you are faster. Whatever you decide to do continue through the cave entrance ( if you need it, theres a medpack on the little ( Bus Stop? lol) on the right side of the cave entrance. Theres some pavement and once you come out, go to the left, don’t deal with the enemies there, follow the shore to the left and to the north there is a ledge you have to get on, theres lots of stationary plasma guns and a few ghosts, just try to make it past them. DON’T go into the tunnel, go to the east and follow the ledge, it should bring you to a ledge you jump down and will follow another little twisty canyon. There will be a ship dropping off troops, just head to the left as its not railed off, follow the trail down and head to the left side of the large structure in the middle. Theres a few soldiers, a spartan laser, medpack, and a warthog. If you want a warthog or a new one, grab a medpack, grab the laser, give it to one of the soldiers then jump in the drivers seat. The soldiers will jump in after you. Head out and to the opposite side of the round battlefield, theres another windy canyon, you will run into Two Wraiths, a ghost and a chopper, there will also be a gunner above. This is probably the hardest part of the level, if you can get past this the rest is cake. When you pass them by you will go through a tunnel and then you will cross a bridge, some conversation will happen as the tunnel system collapses above, if you need a new Warthog theres one halfway across the bridge.  When you get to the other side, make sure to grab the medpack on the well next to the exiting bay door. You will follow yet another windy canyon and will come to a small circular field with a ramp leading up the right side, there should be a covenant anti gravity tower in front of you ignore it. As you go up the ramp you will see two gunners, don’t hesitate, just run them over or you won’t make it out alive. As you head up the trail there will be another bus stop like building on the left, theres a medpack there as well. Continue foreward, you will come to another large field with a big covenant plateau in the middle, keep to the right to the entrance to another long windy canyon, theres one wraith and one ghost, zig past them and continue up the long canyon.  You will see a series of purple covenant shields on the ground, ALMOST THERE!

Keep driving and as you come around you will see two wraiths, drive between them both and hug the wall as the canyon wall curves behind them, it will come to a ledge that leads to nowhere. Jump it! a cut scene will play and DON’T skip it, I heared it can fuck with your achievement, and I am superstitious so don’t temp the devil. As the next level loads the achievement should pop up.

If it doesn’t work the first time try and try again making sure everything you do is up to par. I know when I did it it took 10 tries to get it right, its hard to train trigger fingers NOT to fire.

Cheers,

-Dom

As the title has probably already told you, this is about the workout done by the cast of the popular movie 300.  It tells the story of the brave Spartan men that died at the battle of Thermopoly, defending their homeland against the invading persians.  I personally found this workout in a mens fitness magazine at a supermarket while purchasing grocies one day and decided to give it a try.  Boy am I glad I did.  In the span of 2 weeks, doing the workout laid out in the magazine every other day followed by situps and some cardio, I went from flabby to ripped.  I lost a good percentage of body fat and was very ’shredded’ in the abdominal region (an area most guys could seriously use some work on).  This workout continues to be a favorite of mine and I continue to spread the word about this workout to anyone willing to listen. 

The workout itself utilizes many different types of exercises for burning fat, and also excourages cardio as well to strengthen the heart.  An example below of the workout, from webmd.com shows the extremity of the workout:

25 pullups

50 deadlifts at 135 lbs

50 pushups

50 boxjumps with a 24 inch box

50 “floor-wipers” at 135 lbs

50 “clean and press” at 35 lbs

25 pullups

The total number of reps is 300, hence the name “300 workout.”  It is a crazy challenge, but it can be lowered the fitness level of the individual to suit ones’ capabilities.  The exercise was developed by Mark Twight, to whip the actors of the move 300 into shape in a very short period of time. 

Caution:

This exercise routine can be dangerous, and those with heart conditions should not attempt it.  Also, those who are very out of shape should not attempt it.  It requires a strong heart, strong mind and body to complete it and gain from it.

 To read the article click here:

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/the-300-workout-can-you-handle-it

For other tips and tricks, please visit: http://www.secretsforlosingfat.com

I haven’t written anything in a while, so i though i kick back off with a small tribute to one of my new

 favorite games;

This game is totally awesome.  I played with my brother who quickly became an inconveinance when he got in my way.  repeatedly he would cut in front of me trying to show off, thus blocking me from fighting. he quickly learned to move when i got the gravity hammer and hit him off the cliff.  He made me be second player, which i was totally cool with because i got to play as the Arbiter.

I love the Arbiter.  He is so much more cooler than that damn Spartan.  I play him every time even if it means playing second player.  Even when i play slayer i rather play as an Elite.  I feel more powerful in the game playing as an Elite.  Of course my elite is purple, and my weapon at hand is a gravity hammer or an energy sword.  My brother has learned ever so quickly that he may have played it longer, but i am better.  With my purple elite, with armor unlocked by the skulls, i pone my brother into the ground.  Anyway i love the game, the graphics are great, the weapons awesome, but the story line is too short.  Come on lengthen the sucker up a bit, because we all know Cortana will not die.  It wont hurt to have a few more levels.  That’s the beauty of Halo though; I have Halo 3 ODST burning a hole on my shelf, waiting to be played.  I just needs some batteries, damn wireless controller.

Some members of the painting group Sheffield Irregulars have decided to confess how much they have in thier unpainted mini hoard or grey army. My wife posted hers up last night, so i’ve decided to go through my historical hoard, and confess to how much I have and I’m pretty confident that I don’t have any where near as large a collection as my wife and friends.

Well here is the first image

This includes a box of Royalists, and in the bags are artillery. I have already painted up a unit of pike and musket for a Parlimentarian army, one of the sakers in this picture will be added to that.

The next picture is my collection of 54mm and busts, these are for competition painting. The Elizabeth the first bust will be painted for Salute, along with the resin Roman Orc.

I have a small selection of world war 2 bits and bobs, most of these will be built painted and then sold. I do play this period or rather in between the wars, in the form of a Very British Civil War, this army comprises of WW1 and early WW2  British.

My next image is of some colonial British Infantry from the period of the Zulu War, the plastic are from Wargames factory, and I was a little disapointed in the results of these minis. The metal one are from Foundry in Nottingham, and are an excellent sculpt.

The set set of images are a collection of odds and sods, there are some wild west minis from Foundry, bits and bobs such as an ACW artillery gun and crew, a medieval cannon and crew, pirates, Roman gladiators and 15mm minis.

The next image is my Napoleonic collection, which includes a diorama of Napoleon and Generals from Perry Miniatures, British Infantry, 1/72 scale Rocket Troop and some 40mm figures.

There is also a small band of French Infantry from Foundry as well.

The next couple of pictures include a 1/72 Ancient Greek Army, for a planned Greek States campaign, in the new year. Some Dark Age lords and charecters and a box that contains a French 7 years war army, or the start of one, 2 infantry units and 2 cavalry. Then last but not least a 6mm building which I’m painting for a review in Irregular Magazine issue 4. I also have a Celtic army which isn’t pictured here but consists of some infantry, 4 chariots and some lords.

Historia którą znacie z gier Halo w zasadzie rozpoczyna się w punkcie B historii tego uniwersum. Trudno zrozumieć generalnie co się dzieje i o co chodzi, o ile nie weźmie się pod uwagę wydarzeń sprzed 2552 r., przed inwazją Covenant (zwanego dalej Paktem/Przymierzem) i po odkryciu napędu, który pozwolił na podróże międzygwiezdne, jak i kolonizacje najdalszych regionów kosmosu. Czyli od 2150 roku, punktu A tej historii.

W tym czasie ludzkość pogrążona była w wewnętrznych wojnach pożerających Ziemię, jak i kolonie wydobywcze poza naszym układem. To rozlew krwi miał zadecydować, kto przejmie kontrolę nad Zieloną Planetą i jej najdalszymi osadami, a strony stanowiły tu:
1. UNSC ( United Nation Space Command – pochodna UN, powstała w połowie XXII wieku podczas Wielkiego Przeludnienia Ziemi),
2. armie prowadzone przez faszystę Joviana Friedena (sprowokował konflikt przeprowadzając zamach na doradcę od spraw kolonizacji z UN, który przebywał na jednym z księżyców Jupitera- tak też rozpoczęła się Joviańska Kampania Księżycowa w 2160r.),
3. wojska neo-komunisty Vladimira Koslova.
Po wojnie o lasy deszczowe w 2162 roku konflikt z Zielonej Planety przeniósł się na kolonie Marsa w okolice Argyre Planitia, gdzie działania militarne podejmuje grupa stanowiąca pierwowzór ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Team), by zadać kilka mocnych ciosów w rebelię Koslovica. Oczywiście odnoszą sukces, wynikiem czego, jest powstanie w przyszłości doktryny określającej prawa działania Marines, jako podstawowej jednostki biorącej udział w konfliktach na lądzie jak i w przestrzeni..
2164 to czas czyszczenia przestrzeni z niedobitków Koslovica i Friedena, po wycofaniu się z Ziemi, skrupulatnie usuwani są z systemu przez oddziały Marines UN. W tym samym roku Narody Zjednoczone (UN) zmieniają nazwę na UNSC. Niestety w obliczu gigantycznego przeludnienia oraz utrzymywaniu kilkumilionowej armii, która nie ma z kim walczyć, rynek załamuje się tuż po konflikcie o Lasy Deszczowe..
Kolejny poważny krwawy spór rodzi się w 2494 roku, kiedy to siły Insurekcjonistów (grupa rebeliantów) przejmują kontrolę nad Eridanusem II (planeta w systemie Eridanus), ustanawiając tam własne rządy. Przez 20 lat UNSC próbuje stłumić rebelię, jednak siedziba Insurekcjonistów ukryta w pasie lewitujących asteroidów nie zostaje odnaleziona przez ten czas. Jest to jedna z większych porażek ONI (Office of Naval Inteligence, wywiad UNSC).
W 2513 roku walki wyłamują się poza system Eridanus. Rebelianci prowadzeni przez pułkownika Roberta Watta tworzą flotę małych cywilnych statków, które przez krótki czas opierają się flocie UNSC, a potem wycofują się do pasa asteroidów Eridanus Secundus. Wojny przenoszą się też na Epsilon Eridani. Do tego momentu miliony cywilów wliczane są w ofiary wojny.
Należy wspomnieć też o dość istotnym w całości tych wydarzeń fakcie, iż UNSC przechodziło kryzys w 2517 roku – osłabione ciągłymi walkami nie mogło pozwolić sobie na straty kolejnych ludzi. Dlatego też dr. Catherine Halsey przeforsowała start projektu o nazwie SPARTAN-II.  Z 75 niezwykle uzdolnionych dzieci pobrano materiał genetyczny, który zmodyfikowano i zastąpiono go nowym – silniejszym odpowiednikiem. Poprzez ciężki trening fizyczny oraz wzmacnianie psychiczne klonów opartych na kodzie genetycznym uzdolnionych dzieci, zdołano utworzyć jednostki zwane później SPARTANAMI (szkolone od 6 roku życia jednostki do zadań specjalnych).
W 2525 roku pięciu Spartan infiltruje bazę rebelii na Eridanus Secundus i uprowadza Watta. Potem oddziały Spartan wysyłane są na Jerycho, by powstrzymać kolejne rebelie. Wraz z nadejściem Paktu (przymierze obcych ras prowadzonych przez Proroków- z ang. Covenant) liczebność Insurekcjonistów drastycznie się zmniejsza eksterminowana już przez wspólnego wroga. W ostateczności razem z oddziałami UNSC stawiają czoło obcemu zagrożeniu (2552r.) w bazie, która wcześniej została infiltrowana i, z której porwano Watta (w akcji udział wzięło kilku Spartan, Sztuczna Inteligencja o imieniu Cortana i W-ce Admirał Danforth Whitcomb). Koniec końcem UNSC i tak musiało się ewakuować, a baza została całkowicie zniszczona przez Pakt. 
Agresja ze strony Przymierza rozpoczęła się 3 lutego w 2498, gdy UNSC straciło kontakt z kolonią Harvest, a wysłany tam statek został zniszczony. Wysłano kilka tam kilka statków by zbadały sytuację, powrócił tylko jeden- Herakles -wraz z informacją w obcym języku, która po przetłumaczeniu brzmiała “Wasza zagłada jest wolą bogów, a my jesteśmy ich narzędziami”. W odpowiedzi vice admirał Preston Cole mobilizuję kosmiczną flotę, której celem jest odbicie koloni Harvest. W potyczce tej, ludzkość traci 2/3 swojej armii, jednak w 2531 roku Harvest wraca do ludzi, oczywiście by potem ją stracić. Wysoko zaawansowana technika zbrojeniowa Paktu, deklasuje wszystko, co posiada ludzkość. Systemy tarcz, uzbrojenie oraz konstrukcja z nieznanego materiału przebija się przez siły ludzkości niczym lodołamacz. Wojna pomiędzy ludzkością (jak później się okazuje nie tylko), a sprzymierzonymi rasami Obcych trwa. Pakt jest w trakcie poszukiwań wszelkich informacji, artefaktów i wszystkiego, co jest w jakiś sposób powiązane z rasą Prekursorów, która zaginęła setki tysięcy lat temu. Swoje działania opiera na własnych interpretacjach działań Prekursorów, którzy ich zdaniem stali się Bogami uruchamiając pierścienie Halo (gigantyczne konstrukcje w kosmosie, które sami stworzyli by chronić wszechświat). Według nich ponowne uruchomienie tych mechanizmów sprawi, iż tak też się stanie z Paktem. Oczywiście jedynym zagrożeniem ku zrealizowaniu tego planu jest ludzkość, która według ich dogmatów jest przeciwieństwem rasy Prekursorów. Do 2535 roku większość Zewnętrznych Kolonii (Planety niezwykle bogate w rzadkie minerały) zostaje zniszczone przez Armadę Paktu. Ustanowiony protokół Cole`a, ma na celu zatarcie wszelkich śladów ludzkości, które mogłyby nakierować Obcych na Ziemię. Zatem wszelkie statki, które trafiają na flotę Covenant mają automatycznie wchodzić w nadprzestrzeń i udawać się w nieznanym i losowym kierunku tak, by nigdy nie sprowadziły zagłady na Ziemię. Nie da się też zaprzeczyć, że technologia skoku przestrzennego Obcych przewyższa naszą kilkukrotnie. Pozwala na bardzo dokładne wchodzenie i wychodzenie z nadprzestrzeni, w konkretnymi miejscu, w konkretnej formacji. Natomiast ludzka technologia oparta na Międzyświetlnym Silniku Shaw-Fujikawa, okazuje się niezwykle nieprecyzyjna i niebezpieczna – przez co niektóre statki rozbijają się
o powierzchnie planety, wychodząc z nadprzestrzeni lecąc po losowym wektorze. Niestety jest to wliczone w koszty, jakie musi ponieść Ludzkość by Ziemia nie została odnaleziona. Akcja gry rozpoczyna się w 2552 roku, kiedy Pakt atakuje z zaskoczenia ostatni ludzki bastion stojący na Granicy (Bitwa o Granicę).

Kolejna część niedługo.
Pozdrawiam
Uth

Part 1

Part 2

Links to Everything covered in this Episode!

Sideshow Collectibles
Rocketeer Premium Format Exclusive
Rocketeer Premium Format Regular
Bowen Cable Statue
Indiana Jones Diorama Preview
Deathestrike vs X-23 Diorama Sneak Peek

Hot Toys
Biohazard 5 (Resident Evil 5) S.T.A.R.S. Figures Preview
Hot Toys DX Day at Toy Hunters in Hong Kong VIDEO

ThreeA
AVA body preview
Droopcloth Prototype Preview & Info on Coarse/3A Colab
Production Photos of the Heavy Tomorrow Kings Kato & Nasu

First 4 Figures
Phazon Samus @ F4F
Phazon Samus Still Available at Sideshow Collectibles

one2one
Spartan 1:2 Scale Bust

So with both teams not looking so hot last week, although there were two completely different outcomes, this week’s game is more difficult to call.  I’ve decided to cut the review since people already know what happened and it’s kind of tough to squeeze it in considering my schedule and I should probably be doing homework instead.  So here we go….

There is NO love lost between Michigan and Michigan State as they get ready to do battle for the 102nd time in the rivalry.  Yes, despite what Michigan fans say, it is a rivalry.  Tate Forcier is starting to look more and more like Colt McCoy as the season progresses and carries a clutch factor about him that is almost similar to John Elway.  That’s not to say he is as good as number 7, or McCoy for that matter, but there is definitely something special about this kid.  There is also something special about the quarterback on the other side of the ball as well.  Kirk Cousins should be the ONLY quarterback taking snaps this season for MSU as Nichol showed he can make plays, but doesn’t have near the arm of Cousins.  Both defenses have obvious holes in them.  The Spartan defense is lacking in the secondary, as does U of M’s, so weather permitting, it’s going to be the first team to 45.  The forecast is calling for rain, and I think that is going to help MSU.  They love being forced to run the ball and punching you in the mouth.  Michigan likes to air it out, and with a wet ball, and a Tate Forcier who still isn’t 100%, I don’t like U of M’s chances, regardless of MSU having the 10th best pass defense in the Big Ten.  Donovan Warren is giving State fans more of that same little brother talk that they got sick of when Mike Hart was around.  Both back-up quarterbacks are also expected to play for both teams.  I mentioned Nichol already, but he’ll see action regardless of what the popular vote is.  Denard Robinson is also going to see minutes and hasn’t proven himself as a passer quite yet, so expect to him to run EVERY time he is in.  The two teams were expected to have different results than what we’ve seen, and I don’t think that these records right now are proof of how they will finish.  Not just me, but many others, truly believe that MSU is not as bad as their records states they are, and U of M is not as good as theirs.  Bottom line, the defenses are awful, the quarterbacks shouldn’t pass that much with the weather, and so it’s down to who runs the ball the best.  Michigan’s rush defense is terrible also, so cue Glenn Winston.  The combination of him and Larry Caper should be enough to carry MSU, at least through the first half.  Everyone knows what Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown can do, but with Eric Gordon and Greg Jones checking them, U of M’s rush game should be relatively neutralized.  Usually a loss against Michigan comes after a 4-0 start for MSU and then the second half collapse follows calling for an S.O.S.  The Same Ol’ Spartans tag is going to end up being the call for MSU this season with a loss to Michigan.  This is MSU’s season, whether they win or lose.  If they lose, they should continue this downward spiral throughout the season.  A win could be the jump start the Spartans need to climb back up where they were at least two seasons ago.  In rivalry games, no matter the record, it’s always close and usually comes down to who wants it more.  Desperation prevails this season as the Spartans hold off the Wolverines, and hold on to the Paul Bunyan trophy for the second straight season, for the first time since 1965-67.

Over the weekend was my third game of Uncharted Seas and my third loss. The encouragement is that in the past two games it has been the lack of grace from Lady Luck that has been my undoing. I am probably not nearly as gracious in defeat as I should be either…

My purpose today is to give an overview of one of the Fleets that is available in the game, but before I do that I’ll give an overview of the game world so that you can get a feel for things. This game is a fleet based naval combat game, you roll initiative each turn and then whoever wins gets to move a ship or squadron of ships and fire with them before the opponent does the same, this goes back and forth until everything has been used and another initiative roll is made for the next turn. The rulebook has scenarios in it and we are currently just playing the “I am going to kill you” one while we learn the rules. I can see all kinds of interesting campaign play and scenearios in the future though as the game is a solid system. Everything works off D6’s and the line of sight system is easy to understand. As we are using broadsides, Cannon in most instances but some races have magical weapons, this being a fantasy setting after all, most attacks get more potent the closer you get to the enemy. Everything is of a Galleon style but you have the traditional fantasy races fulfilling their stereotypes here;

Humans are loaded with guns all over. Orcs want to get up close and personal. Dwarves (both kinds) have tough steam ships brimming with guns. Elves are lightning quick. Bone Griffins (Undead) are slow but tough to kill. Dragon Lords are a kind of Human/Elf cross though.

You roll an amount of dice that varies with how far you are away from your target in range bands that are 8″ each, anything further than range band 4 (32″) is out of range, most ships don’t have weapons that will reach that far anyway. Wind can slow anyone that sails into it by half their speed, but this doesn’t play too much of a role in the game and it just something else that you have to consider, some fleets by their nature ignore the wind and therefore end up with a slight tactical advantage although this also tends to mean that they are slower than anything powered by sails.

So, the Human fleet, I played it on Saturday so what’s it all about?

Well, I suppose the best way to start is to say that the Humans are really kind of middle of the road. They have attacks available in almost all of their fire arcs with the number of attack dice increasing in line with the size of the vessel. Getting up close with the Imperial Navy Battleship is not something to be taken on lightly as they chuck out a horrendous amount of firepower up close which can often be supported by cards in their deck that provide bonuses to these attacks. They are also effective out to Range Band 3. The Humans are not long range, nor are they short range masters, they are very capable at both and this is where their strength lies. No matter what is coming at you the starter set you play with (2 * 3 Frigates, 1 * 3 Cruisers and 1 Battleship) gives you enough to counter whatever come across at you. The Cruisers are very capable of putting out some hurt as they close in, softening targets for the Battleship.

Playing as Humans you’re also not faster or slower than anyone else. Outmaneuvering is not really going to be something you’re going to achieve very well but this is compensated again by the amount of guns you have. Also, you will not want to be doing any ramming as the ships are not built for it, neither in the strength of their hulls nor the number of crew on board to fight in boarding actions. Yet, anyone wanting to ram you is going to have to brave a hail of fire as they try to close, meaning the potential for lost crew that will make that subsequent boarding action even less effective.

The card deck that accompanies the fleet is fairly mundane also, you have a number of damage repair and shooting buffs/debuffs. The two standout signature cards are a ranged 8AD (8 attack dice) attack that can hit any ship on the table and my own personal favourite “From Hell’s Heart I Stab at Thee”. The first card can be used to soften a target before you really let rip, the latter is used to changed the result of a sinking. All ships in the game have two ratings, a Damage Rating and a Critical Rating. When you attack a ship you roll the dice and count up how many hits there are, if you beat the Damage Rating then the ship suffers one hull point of damage, if you beat the Critical Rating you roll on the Critical table and this will see at least two hull points of damage caused but normally you will get a secondary effect that will hinder the ship. The Critical Chart has number from 2 to 12 and everyone normally hopes for a 2. If this happens the ship’s magazine has been hit and the whole thing goes nuclear spraying an 8″ area with flaming debris, normally meaning you can take the enemy with you as the most effective gun fire normally takes place inside 8″ as you’re at Range Band 1. Your ship doesn’t have to be destroyed by a critical though, once it has lost its last hull point down it goes. Cruisers and Battleships of all fleets are classed as Capital ships, what the aforementioned card allows you to do is when a Capital ship is destroyed it has the same effect as if that double 1 had been rolled on the critical table. If you have this in your hand (as I did on Saturday) this makes the destruction of any of your more powerful ships a potential issue for your opponent. Now, as this was the first game I had played with this fleet this was an unexpected trick that came out, the only problem being that the 16AD it generated meant I only hit the enemy’s Battleship three or four times… way lower than averages would declare and that pretty much sealed my fate, his battered Cruiser squadron sank though as did a Frigate squadron of my own.

The Human fleet therefore is pretty dependable, you know what you’re going to get out of them. Being sail ships they are affected by the wind and you need to account for this but you’re going to be chucking out firepower on the way in to soften up your targets before unleashing hell once things are up close and personal. Also, just because someone manages to sink you doesn’t mean you are out of options for striking back. They are a solid fleet and I had some fun playing with them. I just need to go ahead and finish their construction and add them to my painting schedule.

They should be ready sometime around 2064.

Guy Denning 'Gorgo Spartan' Timed Edition Size: 45 x 75 cm £95 Each

This weekend Red Propellor are offering a super sized 45 x 75 cm print of ‘Gorgo Spartan’ by artist Guy Denning for the shameless price of £95 each and on sale NOW until Monday 28th September at 10am EST and one lucky buyer will receive the original sketch, a 23 x 30 cm pencil drawing on paper for FREE!

Check it out HERE

Esta semana hemos visto que en nuestro videoclub han traído juegos nuevos y uno de ellos es Halo: ODST, el nuevo juego de Halo. Primero vamos a presentaros este título. Empezamos con la historia que nos explica que el Covenant ha podido penetrar en las defensas terrestres y han arrasado la ciudad de Nueva Mombasa. Nosotros somos “El Novato” de la última esperanza de acabar con la nave que había penetrado la barrera defensiva. Miembro de un comando especial con los mejores agentes. Pero algo sale mal y caemos a Nueva Mombasa solos y teniendo que buscar a nuestros compañeros para intentar llegar a la nave que está encima nuestro.

Salimos de nuestra cápsula en un espacio lleno de Covenant y muy peligroso. Llevamos la típica Pistola de Halo, pero con silenciador y una ametralladora semiautomática. Lo primero que deberemos hacer es curarnos, si vamos hacia la derecha encontraremos un puesto con vida, recordad que los grandes saltos des de una zona a más altura no las soportaremos demasiado bien, tened cuidado. Después de conseguir vida, puede que nos sintamos un poco desorientados, pues tocamos la “X” para activar el “Visir”, que nos ayuda a posicionar a los enemigos, a los aliados y a poder analizar la zona en busca de pistas o algo útil. Así podremos avanzar hasta una zona con Covenants, así pues, tras acabar con todos deberemos llamar por teléfono para poder conseguir el mapa que nos guiará durante el juego. Veremos que encima de la vida aparecerá una brújula en la que se nos apuntará cual es nuestro objetivo. Nuestra misión: localizar a nuestros compañeros y para ello tendremos que ser un poco detectives y buscar pistas de por dónde han pasado ellos.

- La primera pista, un casco y el recuerdo de una de las conversaciones que hubo a bordo de la nave.

BUCK

Después de una pista reviviremos los pasos del personaje al que corresponde la pista encontrada, hasta que cumplamos una misión que debe realizar y volveremos a ser “El Novato” para seguir investigando y avanzando tal y como lo hizo este personaje.

Buck, el jefe del escuadrón. Empezamos viendo a través de las cámaras de la ciudad como cae una de las naves, en la que va Buck. Nuestra misión será encontrar a Verónica, la técnica del grupo después de contactar con ella y saber que no puede salir de su cápsula. Avanzamos acabando con leves amenazas del Covenant hasta encontrar a dos compañeros. Estos nos recomiendan que entremos a través de los edificios para poder franquear a los Brute que hay en la calle. Pero cuidado porque estos dos aliados no tienen mucho aguante y si nos despistamos los Brute nos atacarán por detrás. Una vez acabamos con la amenaza, bajamos y seguimos por la calle y en poco recorrido encontramos a otra compañera y Verónica nos habla, deberemos entrar en el edificio para intentar acabar con todos los Covenants que nos encontramos. Si podéis os aconsejo que llevéis a mano un arma de largo alcance, ya que hay un Brute con una Carabina de plasma y tres o cuatro más con armas de corto alcance. Además en un puesto privilegiado hay un Chacal con otra Carabina. Os aconsejo tener una Carabina también y apuntar a la cabeza de los Brute para intentar acabar con ellos, normalmente en 5 o 6 disparos salta el casco y luego con un tiro más en la cocorota lo mandaréis al otro barrio.

Pasando por el puente donde estaban la mayoría de sus efectivos, encontraremos una puerta, recomiendo que no la toméis, ya que es una trampa y acabaremos en la calle delante de dos Hunters. Si queréis un reto bajad por ahí e intentad que uno de ellos entre por las escaleras, así podréis con él. Para acabar con el segundo podéis usar el mismo método o salir a la calle y utilizar el autobús chamuscado para cubriros.

Para no caer en la trampa deberemos ir por la calle de la derecha si miramos des de dónde venimos. Cuidado! Porque hay un cañón de plasma, con un arma de larga distancia acabaréis con él fácilmente. Si no tenéis balas hay más en el puente, recordad que un Brute llevaba una. Seguiremos adelante y llegaremos a una plaza donde hay tres Grunts atacando a una cápsula, bajamos, acabamos con ellos y la abrimos. Verónica no está…

NOVATO

Volvemos a la noche, donde “El Novato” tiene que seguir buscando pistas y encontrar a sus compañeros. Debemos salir a la calle y en el mapa se nos marca una baliza que tenemos que encontrar. Emprendemos el camino, recomiendo ir con sigilo, porque estos personajes no son como el Jefe Maestro y no cuentan con escudo. La dificultad a la que he jugado es Normal y ya tenía problemas por culpa de la vida. Llegaremos a una plaza y tened mucho cuidado porque hay tres Brute y un Rastreador, una aparato que parece de Biotecnología y que nos rastrea con dos rayos de luz hasta encontrarnos. Si lo hace nos seguirá y cuando se acerque explotará a nuestro lado. Ojo! Cuando lleguemos a la baliza, atentos a los francotiradores que hay en las posiciones más altas.

- La segunda pista es una cámara tirada en el suelo.

DUTCH

Este soldado ha caído en la Reserva Natural de la ciudad (cambiamos los escenarios de ciudad por un escenario abierto y muy bien iluminado). Tenemos suerte y en este tramo del juego encontraremos muchas de las armas pesadas de Halo, el láser Spartan, el rifle de francotirador, el lanzacohetes… Tenemos que usar el Warthog, pero recomiendo que subáis y bajéis para que los compañeros lo usen y cojáis vosotros la moto de los Brute. Para acabar con los tanques de los Covenant yo he utilizado el láser Spartan a larga distancia, pero si os gusta más la aventura podéis ir con la moto Brute. Si después de esta primera escaramuza tenemos poca vida, a la derecha de la puerta que tenemos que pasar hay vida y un Ghost. Yo lo he cogido, es más manejable que la moto de Brute pero un poco más frágil. Entramos a un valle, con dos tanques Covenant y cuatro torretas láser. Primero acabad con las motos de Brute y los Ghosts que hay en la valle y después ir al edificio central, allí hay un lanzacohetes y un rifle de francotirador. Si os quedan disparos del láser, usadlo para el tanque, si no es así (como yo, que acabe con las torretas con él), usad el lanzacohetes, si falláis (como yo, jajajaja) no os desesperéis, usad el rifle de francotirador para acabar con el Brute que controla la torreta del tanque (nunca fallo con este rifle…) entonces acercaros al tanque con cuidado y con un par de granadas de plasma o granadas Brute estará listo.

No hemos acabado. Avanzamos montaña arriba y encontramos una zona que un estructura Covenant, acabad con los enemigos como más os guste. Después seguid subiendo por la derecha de la valle. Bajarán un par de Banshes, pero con acabar con uno los demás se acojonarán. Destruid las torretas (creo que son 3) y luego tendremos que saltar al vacío.

NOVATO

Llueve si seguimos el rastro de los demás. Me ha costado entender el juego, pero ahora lo veo claro. Mientras avanzamos tenemos que ir usando el mapa, porque nos indica donde están los enemigos y podemos ir rodeándolos por dentro de los edificios o pasando por otras calles. Si no podemos evitar toparnos con uno de ellos, puede que la marca signifique un grupo o uno solo. Si es un grupo recomiendo la larga distancia para acabar con ellos rápido y antes de que los refuerzos lleguen de otros puntos de la ciudad. Si es uno solo, podemos matarlo a golpes y así no haremos ruido. Tenemos que ser un poco Splinter Cell cuando jugamos con “El Novato”. Cuando llegáis al punto de la baliza, no os desesperéis para encontrarlo, mirad arriba.

- La tercera pista un cañón Gaus que tenéis que ir a mirar. Subid al edificio por las escaleras para llegar allí.

MICKEY

Aparecemos en una plaza en la que vemos el Escorpión, que tendremos que conducir para llegar a través de las calles destrozando a los Covenant como si matásemos a moscas a cañonazos. Cuando lleguemos a nuestro destino, no demasiado difícil con el tanque, hay dos barreras que no nos dejan pasar a donde está Duck y tenemos que bajarnos para seguir. Entonces en el punto de reunión nos tienen una emboscada, con un tanque Covenant y una horda de Grunts, Chacals y Brutes. Recomiendo acabar primero con la infantería, podéis cubriros en las zonas altas que hay a derecha e izquierda porque sino os franquearán por ambos lados. Cuando acabéis con la infantería, acercaros al tanque para destruirlo. Hay un sistema de puentes por el que podréis ir para acercaros sin ser vistos des de la perspectiva del tanque. Usad las granadas de plasma para dejarlo frito!

NOVATO

La tarea de “El Novato”, sigue su curso y nosotros no queremos desvelar más datos de la trama para que os enganchéis y descubráis los demás retos y pistas por vuestra cuenta. Pero antes de acabar para los nuevos seguidores de la saga y para recordatorio de los más expertos, vamos a ver los puntos débiles de los enemigos.

ENEMIGOS:

- Los Grunt: Un tiro certero en la cabeza acabará con estos pequeñines sin problemas.

- Los Chacal: Algunos van con escudos y otros no. Para los que no, cualquier tiro va bien. Pero para los que llevan escudo, deberéis apuntar en la pequeña entrada que tiene el escudo para desequilibrar al atacante y entonces podemos llenarlo de plomo.

- Los Brute: Unos cuantos disparos con una carabina des de la lejanía es lo más sencillo a parte de usar las armas pesadas del juego.

- Los Rastreadores: Necesitaremos unos cuatro o cinco disparos de un arma de francotirador para poder hacer que explote.

- Los Hunters: Tenéis que dispararles en la espalda, en la parte naranja de la misma. El arma que me parece más efectiva en caso de no disponer de armas pesadas es la pistola de munición perforante.

Para finalizar me gustaría daros un par de consejos:

- Usad el sigilo y la oscuridad de la noche para pasar desapercivido y no tener que enfrentaros a los enemigos sin aliados.

- No malgastéis los tiros de las armas pesadas porque seguro que más adelante lo lamentaréis.

- Cuidado con la vida, manteneros a cubierto, estos soldados no tienen escudo.

- No saltéis des de lugares muy elevados, al igual que el Jefe Maestro no le sentaba muy bien.

Bueno espero que disfrutéis de este juegazo, con grandes gráficos y con una banda sonora verdaderamente muy acertada. Con canciones llenas de acción el las batallas y con desesperación en los momentos en que buscaremos pistas y avanzamos por la ciudad desolada y arrasada.

Os dejamos con el tráiler con actores del juego.

# Titulos alternativos: Halo Wars
# Director: Amanda Wyatt / Scott Martin Gershin
# Nacionalidad: USA
# Genero: Acción, Ciencia Ficción
# Idioma: Original
# Subtitulos: Español
# Sinopsis: Halo War es una Película basada en el vídeo juego de estrategia en tiempo real, esta ambientado en los primeros años de la guerra contra el covenant, en el juego se tendra acceso a todo el arsenal ya sea humano o alienigena, asi como el mando de mil tropas spartanas, marines y un sin fin de vehiculos para libra la batalla contra la fuerza invasora, cabe destacar que asi como su homologo independiente HALO 3 RECON el protagonista no sera el jefe maestro tan bien conocido como spartan 117.
# Formato: AVI

Via Taringa.net

Saludos