These sleek, affordable headphones (The Nokia BH-905i) are designed to produce the best possible aural experience. Constant noise control filters can cut out most background noises including the sound of an aircraft engine, so you can forget you’re on plane, maybe even if it’s crashing? These atmosphere inducing headphones could produce a theory for the plane crash plot-holes in Lost. Unfortunately I won’t be able to test that theory, but I may get the chance to test others on this impressive headset.
Fortunately The BH-905i is compatible with most audio devices , such as music players, laptops, airline entertainment systems etc. and comes with an impressive range of adapters inbox. If my car had Bluetooth, I imagine it may be quite dangerous to test these while driving, but hey it makes the crawl of traffic easier, right?
Crystal clear stereo sound and advanced noise cancelling technology are just some of the standout features of Nokia’s new wireless headset, the BH-905i. Other key features of the BH-905i include:
Wired or wireless Bluetooth operation
Enables voice call clarity even in noisy environments
Ultra lightweight with a compact travel case
Adjustable headband and soft ear pads for a comfortable fit
Extensive battery life lasting all day
It seems like these little gems are the best way to become lost in gaming or music on public transport, it’s very appreciated as people who populate the train are generally something to be desired, so thanks for providing the ultimate escape device Nokia.
The Nokia BH-905i headset is available now in two colours ‘Ice’ and ‘Black’ priced AUD$349.95 from Nokia
On May 31st spring will be in the air and new life will be springing forth from the trees and the ground as plants come back to life. Of course there are no plants when you live on Mars, especially considering the fact that you will be facing a very dangerous foe unlike any you have faced before in a Red Faction game. THQ and Volition announced earlier today that Red Faction: Armageddon would be seeing a release date of May 31st for the U.S. and June 3rd everywhere else.
Players will jump into the role of Darius Mason and will be forced to explore not only the frozen outskirts of Mars but even the molten core inside of the red planet. The completely destructible environment that the series is known for will return but the new feature of being able to rebuild what you destroy has been added. By using something called a Nano-Forge you will be able to rebuild anything that you tear apart which will allow you to rebuild things at your leisure. The game itself will be coming out on the PS3, PC and Xbox 360.
For those of you who can’t get enough rhythm action titles, IUGO are now getting their feet wet in the genre with their latest title, Pricklees. Pricklees is a new title that will have players “jump, duck, and roll” to the beat with in a 2D/3D world with the little characters you see above. This finger rhythm game also will be a FREEmium title, meaning that it will be free to download and more tunes and characters can be purchased for $1.99 in the IAP.
Features Include:
3 adorable characters you wish you could cuddle; too bad about those pricklees!
Unlock more content through IAP
3 levels of difficulty: easy, medium and hard for tons of replayability
Unique rhythm-based gameplay
Dead easy controls, intuitive UI
Dynamic 2D/3D environments
7 Fresh Electronic tracks
Look for more songs in future updates
“We see room for creativity and innovation in the music genre,” states IUGO’s VP of BD Sarah Thomson “What companies like Tapulous have done is incredible. They have proven their formula to be successful time and time again. But we feel there is so much opportunity to create a unique game mechanic and appeal to an even broader market. We wanted to combine the brilliance of music-based games such as the Tap Tap series with the cuteness and personality of broad appeal titles such as Angry Birds.”
I do agree that Pricklees looks to have some broad appeal and charm, and if past IUGO titles are any indication, we very well could be looking at the next big thing for the device. No date for Pricklees has been given as of yet but stay “tuned” as IUGO will be releasing even more information over the coming weeks. For now you can check out the trailer below which shows this addictive little title in full form.
Bulletstorm may have just hit store shelves today but don’t let that fool you. EA announced today that they already have DLC being worked on for the over-the-top FPS and it will be released this spring for 800 MSP or $10 depending on your console of choice. The DLC will be called the Gun Sonata pack and it will contain three different maps for Anarchy multiplayer mode and two new echo maps.
The new Anarchy maps are the Sewers of Stygia, Hotel Elysium and Villa. These maps range from being wide open areas to broken down ruins and look to provide players with plenty of ways to kill with skill. The two Echo maps are Crash Site and Guns of Stygia which are both brand new additions to Bulletstorm so at least they aren’t just repackaging everything and putting a price on it. Also in the pack will be two new leach attachments, called the Flamingo and Pulp but there have been no further details given about what they will do.
With the Nintendo 3DS coming in just over a month the launch games have been finalized and now you can start putting money away to purchase your pick of eighteen different games when the handheld releases on March 27th. The first-party games from Nintendo themselves will be going for $40 each with the third-party releases varying in price but expected to be around the $40 range as well.
The N3DS will be coming with Face Raiders and AR Games pre-installed so even if you don’t happen to have any pre-launch games that you would put your money down on, you at least have something to occupy your time with. Besides that however you can check out the full list of launch titles below, though unfortunately some of the larger titles will be released at a later date and do not appear on the list:
Looks like if you don’t have the cash at the moment to run out and buy the latest new releases at least the gaming companies are keeping everyone nice and supplied with bits of entertainment to satisfy your gaming need. Fans of Dragon Age II will be happy to know that the demo is currently available now for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace and will be soon on the PlayStation Store. Don’t forget that as long as the demo download count reaches one million then everyone who had downloaded the demo will be getting a couple of free items in the full game.
Also released today is the Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars demo which is nice to see of course. This way you can keep your little brother/sister occupied while you take a turn at playing Dragon Age II. Or the other way around if you fancy yourself some Legos.
Despite the fact that the thought of downloading a demo and the Wii Nintendo Channel usually don’t mix, occasionally a good one shows up to try out. Of course you only have a week to download it before it may disappear forever so as always it is good to jump at your chance quickly. Of course this one requires you to have a Nintendo DS.
The Okamiden demo has appeared on the Wii Nintendo Channel through the DS download area. This will allow players to get a taste of just what the young wolf god can do and hopefully will help boost Okamiden’s sales to justify a full sequel to Okami 2 because the best way to get people on the fence to buy your game is to give them a taste of the full product.
A new trailer has appeared on the US Nintendo Channel showing off PilotWings Resort for 3DS. Obviously we can’t see the 3D effects from the video as you need to view them on a 3DS screen, but you can still see the game running in 2D. The trailer features a Mii taking in the sights of Wuhu Island, flying around the resort in a number of different forms of transports, including jetpack and glider.
Is this one of the launch titles that interests you for the 3DS when it is released in March? Let us know what you think of the trailer below which is also available for viewing via the US Nintendo Channel.
Killzone 3 Platform:Playstation 3 (Reviewed) Publisher:Sony Entertainment Developer:Guerilla Games Genre:First Person Shooter Release Date:February 24 Price: $116 AU BUY NOW – $59 USD BUY NOW
If you’re still looking for a game to convince you to buy a Playstation3, well first person shooter fans look no further. Guerilla Games really have brought out the big guns on this one, constructing a must-have title for PS3 owners. Weather you’re a fan of the franchise or not, Killzone 3 will impress you in ways you didn’t even expect it too. Xbox and Wii owners grit your teeth; this is a game that you should be jealous of!
Presentation
It’s easy to see that a lot of time and effort went into Killzone 3, and it really shows in its presentation. While the storyline isn’t the deepest, emotive rollercoaster ride ever, the way the story is told is done with the most upmost cinematic style. From the camera angles to the voice acting, it is all rather superb. Sometimes the cut scenes are so intense it’s almost as if your just watching a really good CGI film. It really makes the campaign mode very intriguing. The multiplayer excels in its presentation as well, with an impressive class system that is really in depth that Killzone 2 fans should be very familiar with. It’s isn’t that much different, but it is explored a little more which is nice to see. There are a few down sides however, such as the co-op campaign mode. While it runs smoothly with no frame rate drops and is a lot of fun to play, a silly decision of placing the split screens really holds it back. Instead of the typical horizontal or vertical split, the screen is split diagonally with no options of changing it otherwise. With a lot of the screen being unused it seems unpractical and at times annoying, as even reading text on the screens becomes a challenge. However you can’t be mad at the developers for trying something different, it’s just a shame that there weren’t any other options to choose from like there is with customizing controls, which is done so greatly. To salt the wound, you can’t even do co op online, it has to be offline. There are some very rare occasional issues with loading, mostly in the beginning of the game, where everything will freeze for about a second or less to load a room beyond a door, but it’s nothing major and doesn’t take too much away from the experience but it would’ve been nicer to have gone without this. Oh yeah, and for you trophy junkies out there, Killzone 3 is a great fix, your going to be more than satisfied in this department I assure you.
Story
Killzone 3 takes place right where Killzone 2 left off, with our protagonists from the ISA have been left abandoned on Helga and are desperately trying to escape their enemy’s home planet. The story allows the player to explore more of the planet unlike the previous title which only really showed off the capital, which is nice to see. Players will see the story go from an artic landscape to a jungle not so much unlike the movie Avatar, to the ruins of the Helgan capital and various space stations among others, creating a lot of diversity and constantly keeping things fresh. The story constantly jumps between time frames which do create a few Hollywood-ish moments. The story has some emotive cut scenes which are nice to see, however it is a shame that the physiological sides of the characters aren’t explored as much as they’ve could’ve been with this plot, as it does touch base on these every now and then which are pretty entertaining. It does show a nice political side to the war, which is interesting as well. The story could’ve used a little more character development in some parts, which may have helped players feel more for the characters but cut scenes make up a lot of it in great direction and cinematography, as well as outstanding voice acting. Characters are mostly likeable, and should have players rooting for the good guys against the evil bad guys they’ll encounter. A nice feature added to cut scenes is a simple but an effective one: being able to just pause cut scenes. It doesn’t improve the in anyway, but it can help one appreciate it. You also have the option of skipping them as well, but if you’d want to do that on your first play through you’re an idiot, because these are some of the best you’ll see in the FPS genre.
Gameplay
Killzone 3 is a blast to play. It’s one of those very rare first person shooters that actually feel like you’re a solider in war, not just a camera with a hand and gun attached to it. Ranging from the way you walk and run, to how you look at your gun when it’s being reloaded, it all just feels right. The physics and weight of the weapons are pretty believable too, making the game to feel more realistic, without it playing to slow. Blindly running into combat is highly discouraged by the impressively intelligent AI. Prepare to be flanked and hunted down like a dog, in the true dirty sprit known as war. You’ll need to use a lot of duck and cover tactics, which the tutorial at the beginning of the game explains quite well, complimented by easy-to-use controls, and if you have any problems with them, their customizable, making it even more of a pleasure to play. Even using the Playstation Move is an option. It’s not as easy to recommend, but it’s a nice option to have and worth checking out, although using the standard controller is far superior. The choice in weaponry is spot on as well. You know those moments in a FPS game when you get a crappy gun and you get pissed off and you go looking for a better one? That won’t happen much here as they are all pretty fun to use. Sure having the right gun for the right job is a lot better, but you aren’t going to want to choke your PS3 over a gun for the majority of your playtime.
An awesome feature is the brutal close combat system, which is a beautiful highlight of Killzone 3. It works the same way how you would knife someone in a typical first person shooter, except it works more like an ‘instant kill’ button. The kills are gory and brutal, ranging from slitting somebody’s throat with a knife, to bashing an enemy soldier’s head into a wall, to my personal favorite: crushing someone’s eyeballs into the back of their skull! However the AI is usually pretty smart (and your friends that your fighting too!) and will most likely shoot you before you can pull off these type of kills, so you really have to earn them. Sure these can feel a little gimmicky at times, but who cares? They look awesome and are fun to pull off!
The pacing of the campaign needs to be commended, something I can see many gamers will most likely overlook and take for granted. Killzone 3 has one of those very rare campaigns in its genre that never feel repetitive or stale. Everything is constantly kept fresh to mix things up, weather if it’s a rail-gun styled level, to a stealth level, to riding around in a tank or other vehicle, to gun turrets and mini guns to what we all have been waiting for: epic jetpacks. Oh snap! Level design is also done with excellence as well, and not just in the campaign. Multiplayer maps are also a lot of fun, and you’re going to love them.
What makes the gameplay stand out so much though is how organic and natural everything feels. The audio, graphics, presentation and gameplay just flow easily into each other, working as one, creating a believable chaotic battle field. Hearing the aggressive voice acting will intensify everything over epic low-key music and realistic sound effects. The way the camera shifts and the physics of the game will not only feel more real, but affect your judgment. Everything is chaotic and it feels like war. A true masterpiece. Killzone 3 feels as if it is not a game, but rather an experience. You can’t play this for a quick five-minute game, expect to be sucked in and watch as your entire afternoon becomes lost in it.
Multiplayer
Let’s face it, about half the reason anyone buys a shooter these days is for the online multiplayer. And much like the title before it, Killzone 3 will keep players in front of their Playstation3 for a very long time. Killzone 3 contains everything the much-loved Killzone 2 had, whilst expanding on it and going even deeper. New classes, missions and vehicles are available to slaughter your friends with. Which class you select will dramatically change your strategy and the way you play the game, so selecting the right class for your style of combat is essential. Mission objectives change constantly and they’re all a lot more than simply ‘kill this guy’ and ‘go shoot that’, they’re all actually pretty interesting. The maps are constructed perfectly for multiplayer, and are a lot of fun to play. Teamwork is encouraged, and you will more than likely be all over the map within a game rather than being stuck in a particular area-sucked in campers! With experience to be gained for spending on various upgrades as well as skill points, leader boards and the ability to form squads with your friends, there are plenty of reasons to spend many hours in Killzone 3’s exciting multiplayer mode.
Graphics
Prepare to be amazed. These are some of the best graphics on the PS3 system by far. Everything is smooth and textures are great. The details in character models and scenery are outstanding, and there is some epic scenery in this title. There will be moments where you will want to stop, just stare and look around. Heck this game even looks impressive if you play it without using your HD cable, and to make things better Killzone 3 supports 3D televisions which are just even more delicious eye candy for gamers. There are some occasional moments that aren’t as impressive, such as spitting out fire whilst using a flamethrower which is pretty disappointing, but these moments are seldom seen. Many environmental effects and elements look absolutely outstanding, most notably a particular part of the game where players encounter an ocean. The waves are absolutely stunning, and are truly nothing less than beautiful. Animation so equally as great, and everything looks and feels realistic. Great job Guerrilla Games, you’ve truly outdone yourselves and blown us all away. Again.
Audio
The voice acting within this title is none short of amazing. You can really tell there was a high production cost behind this game. Everything sounds and feels believable, and realistic dialogue only compliments the superb voice acting. Same can be said for the sound effects. From the firing of a gun to the explosions and bullets flying past you, everything has been constructed to develop the atmosphere of war and chaos. The soundtrack does its job, and more. A perfect soundtrack for any movie or game is often barely noticeable because it gets you so involved, and that is exactly what happens here. You’ll be so lost in everything you won’t even notice it, a testament for the emotion put behind the score. Musically expect a very Hollywood feel the soundtrack, capturing the feeling of every situation perfectly with style.
Conclusion
Killzone 3 is doesn’t feel like a video game, but rather an experience. It is easily one of the greatest of it’s kind is all aspects. Graphically it is one of the best looking games on the Playstation3. The campaign’s story while not reaching it’s full potential, is still pretty damn good for an FPS game. Cut scenes are presented with impressive cinematography that will amaze you. Voice acting is extraordinary and will exceed your expectations. It has a flawless duck and cover system, and is accompanied by an intelligent AI as well. Campaign is fresh and is nicely paced with a great variety of rail gun and vehicle levels. Multiplayer is deep and will easily keep you busy for a long time, making this a title you’ll easily keep coming back to. Co op campaign’s split screen options hold it back, and the lack of online co op campaign is a let down, as well as not being able to have offline co op, but these things come no where close to taking away from the overall Killzone 3 experience. A game perfect in almost every aspect, Killzone 3 is a must buy for any fan of the FPS genre, or anyone with a PS3. A killer app for the console, pick it up asap. Don’t even finish reading this review, just run to your local store and buy it now!
PROS
Amazing graphics
Amazing soundtrack
Amazing voice acting
Amazing animation
Amazing cut scenes in campaign mode
Great duck and cover game play
Great AI
Great ‘feel’ to the game
Brutal close combat
Varied game play in both multiplayer and campaign
Deep Multiplayer
Lots of trophies
Dude, its just awesome, ok?
CONS
No online Co Op
Co Op’s screen issues are quite off putting
Story is good, but it had potential to be deeper
Killzone 3 gets a well deserved
As always, feel free to leave a comment below and tell us your thoughts on the game, as we’d love to hear your opinions as well about what you like and don’t like about it.
Date:22/2/11 (If you switch the 11 to binary it’s totally 2). Location:Waterloo, Sydney (Near Redfern). Event:Killzone 3 Press Event thing. When:4pm – ~7pm Why: General Awesomeness. Mood:Tipsy And so the day began…
It was a somewhat beautiful day when I awoke at approximately 10:30AM to take a shower. After the shower, the day was approximately the same. Anyways, so I go to get changed into the outfit I had planned to wear for the day when – ‘What the hell is this!?’ – I had discovered that some forward thinking smart-ass of a bird had left a bit of a crap on my jeans; I had to wash them. Then dry them. Three times. Evil flying flyer! Anyways, the jeans were dry and it was time to leave for the event.
So the time is now 1:45PM and I’m waiting for the bus. Because I don’t like to be too late to events and things; I try to leave early to account for any kind of obstructions to my travel. So I’m waiting there and, like, 2 minutes pass that were full of uneventful nothingness; so I whip out my trusty MP4 player and whip on some music. This trip would begin with the ‘Madworld OST’ that came with the Wii game ‘Madworld’. Its hip-hop derivative style was quite suitable for this rather uneventful bus ride. So I’m waiting for the bus and I check my phone. The time is now 2:08, one minute until the bus was to appear. I sat back down as it usually never comes on time… … …But what was this!? It was on time! ON THE DOT! A first! In EVER! What is this madness!? Awesome madness, that’s what. Seriously, this is the first time that this has ever happened. Goodwill +10; Total Goodwill -90, yeah, the one time it comes on time does not outweigh the eternity of late arrivals.
I’m sitting on this bus when suddenly a group of super-ninjas jump the bus and hold it up for ransom or something. Wait, that’s not right… I could have possibly imagined that bit as well as some other stuff that I probably shouldn’t mention here. Seriously, there was nothing exciting enough to write about on this bus trip, but it happened, so it needs a paragraph to portray the event. I might sum it up in the next sentence. There was a bus, I was on it, nothing eventful ever happened and I was still rocking out to the ‘Madworld OST’. At the end of the ~20minute ride, the bus pulled into the train station and I disembarked from the machine and proceeded to the nearby 7/11 for bottled caffeine.
I emerge from the 7/11, bottled caffeine in hand, and notice that the train that I was supposed to be on had just pulled in and left before I ever got the chance to reach it in time. Curse you Caffeine, Curse you and your evil corporate family! I launch myself from the 7/11 and head towards the nearby train station at a heightened pace of walking speed (this is in comparison to standing speed). The stairs are slowly getting closer to me, as though my feet could feel their lift, but before I could be bothered ninjaing them; I noticed the escalator was working. Screw you effort, I’m being lazy! And besides, escalators are awesome. The escalator took me to an empty narrow walkway and straight into the train station where I was able to quickly and proficiently purchase a ticket and quickly head down onto the platform.
The train was due in ~15minutes and I had absolutely nothing to do during that time besides listen to my MP4 player. I’d normally whip out my DS and try and conquer a level or two on Megaman ZX, or Zero, Or Level up some pokemon or something, but I was unable to due to having lent out my device to my mates girlfriend to grind my pokemon to max level or something. Hope that they’re still recognisable to me in some way. Anyways, the ‘Madworld OST’ finishes and switches over to one of Galneryus’ albums ‘Reincarnation’; man that album is epic. The train pulls in and I board it. w00t!. The time is now approximately 2:45PM.
I find myself a rather comfortable seat in the lower cabin of the train, or was it upper? No, it was the upper-cabin. Yeah! I think. Maybe… Who knows? Anyways, So I’m sitting in the carriage and waiting for the train to travel to Redfern station. During the trip, ‘Reincarnation’ finishes and I change the album over to Galneryus’ latest one – ‘Resurrection’. After about four songs the train pulls into Redfern station and I disembark the train. Now, incase you’re wondering what Redfern is, it’s a suburb just off of Sydney (like, just off of it, you can walk into Sydney from there) that is notorious for being quite dangerous or something. Everyone that I told where it was that I was going claimed that it was likely that I’d get rolled on the way to this event. Luckily I didn’t, but the way I was dressed (and my various gaming related accessories) would have made me a prime target. So anyways, I exit the station and pull out my map. It takes me 2-3 minutes to work out where I am, due to my perfectly good vision which isn’t slowly dissipating or anything, and I take out my phone to check the time. 10 Minutes until the event starts. Total travel time according to the map: 18minutes. Challenge Accepted.
I totally would have conquered the challenge had I not taken a wrong turn at the roundabout and headed the wrong direction up the street the event was on. Seriously, I was like right in front of the event at eight minutes but turned the wrong way. Gah! I pulled out my phone and called Phil, who was also there, and he was able to direct me to to my destination. I almost got hit by two cars in those 50meters. I swear that I am unkillable or something, seriously, I’ve been almost hit by roughly 50 cars in the last 8 years. The Force must be strong with this one.
Anyways, I make it across to the building thing and Phil approaches. We greet each other and some of the Bouncers direct me into the inside of the event where I bump into this lady and she takes me to the desk thing to get my pass or something. I greet the counter ladies, who were both very nice and quite pretty, and pass them along my name and the place that I’m from (Capsule Computers) and they give me these Killzone 3 Dogtags and a group number. I’m a part of group two. With Phil. And two others from another publication. Anyways, I head in and Phil has mysteriously vanished, leaving me nigelated and alone to explore the showroom. After a quick exploration I noticed that each group kind of just stuck together and there wasn’t much inter-group chatter going on, usually there’s always that one other person who’s alone and you can go and talk to. Today there was none. Luckily Phil appeared and it was all good.
Killzone 3 = EPIC
After chatting for a bit one of the Sony reps got us to take a seat and Rebecca Rice from Sony took to the stage and welcomed us to the event. She would be the anchor of this Killzone 3 event. After a short speech she queued up the video and got them to play it. The video itself was of the developmental ideas behind Killzone 3, things like why they made the story the way that they did, why players can carry three weapons, new gameplay stuffs and multiplayer goods. The one thing that I was dissappointed with personally was that, according to the video, they removed the server browser from the game and replaced it with Matchmaking. While I understand the theory behind matchmaking, as a PC gamer primarily, I like being able to choose a game that I know will have a decent ping, has players that I get along with and more importantly, being able to lockout known disruptive players. With matchmaking, you don’t get that. It’s just a group of randomly selected dudes/dudettes thrown together with (often) some player with a poor connection or is across the world from you hosting the match. Of course, you can set up a pre-existing group to help make it more comfortable, which will probably be preferable for many players. That is really my only gripe with the multiplayer, though I’m sure that you can set up a private game with friends via invites. Aside from the matchmaking, the multiplayer looks epic. There’s this game mode that reminds me a fair deal of Unreal Tournaments ‘Assault’ gametype, where you have one team trying to complete a set of objectives while the opposing team must prevent them from doing so. It looks quite fun. Another game mode I was most impressed with is the one that is a mixture of all the game-modes together, it goes from one game type to the next in some kind of large battle which is quite unique (or atleast to me, I think there may have been another game that did something like it, but I can’t remember which and it’s likely that I’m remembering incorrectly) and interesting, also very fun. They also showcased two fan favorite maps from the previous Killzone games that will be available for free to players who pre-order the game, and for sale on the PSN (I believe) for everyone else.
The Commando!
After the video was finished Rebecca called out the Commando, Commando Steve. You may recognise him from ‘The Biggest Loser – Australia’ which is currently running on Channel 10 (we have a video interview with him, he’s a really nice guy, which will be uploaded to the site and linked in the video box below). He basically gave us a speech about how we have to prepare for some kind of obstacle course or something, which we all believed would consist of physical activity (which would have sucked as I’m certain that a fair few of us would have been so very out of shape judging by the groans heard from behind me), and he got us all to make our way down the back and assemble into our group order. Mine and Phils was two (remember, I spoke about this earlier). We all turned around and the curtains swept to the sides, unveiling the room behind… as well as the Helghast soldier ready to decimate us. Lucky for us, he was just a cosplayer or something and was quite harmless. Behind him laid the ‘Obstacle course or something’ from earlier, which was a whole lot less physical than we expected. Heck, there was even booze! ♥ Sony. Our group was marshalled over to the Playstation Move demonstration version of the game, which was frustratingly hard to get used to in the short amount of time we each got to play with it. I am not a fan of that control type, or atleast the way they had it set up in the gun peripheral, maybe if i had been able to use it nunchaku style like Red-Steel on the Wii; then I may have been more receptive to it. But after you get used to the setup, it is actually quite an entertaining way to play the game. Though, I don’t think that the compressed water/bubbly stuff that they were shooting at us helped with the whole Move sensor thing, which may have been the source of many of our problems. Also, it was in glasses 3D, which was pretty cool.
Shooting those DAMN Bubbles !!
After our group had a couple of goes on the 3D Move station the siren thing went off and we were quickly marshalled to the next station. Dubbed ‘Mess Hall’; it was a table of drinks, varying from beer to wine to non alcoholic drinks like water and orange juice. I went for the White Wine, because it’s my favorite and it’s yummy. I was mostly fine after that first one that I had. I started talking to one of the dudes running the station about games and stuff. He was actually a personal trainer or something outside of the event and only really played sport games, which we talked about for a bit. The conversation then turned to World of Warcraft somehow and when I explained that I hadn’t played it in five days (because of a hike I was on from Friday to Sunday, then on Monday I didn’t have the time to play it and I haven’t played it today either); everyone was quite surprised that I had no withdrawal symptoms. As I explained to everyone, the game needs to be played in moderation and I only play it for ~2 hours a day, usually, unless it’s the weekend, or I’m raiding. There was too much time standing around and drinking so our group and a few other enterprising groups jumped on the multiplayer booth in the middle and had us a game of team deathmatch. I don’t think that we were allowed to as the other side were kicked off while we were well on our way to victory. I had a 5 kill streak at one point. Go me. Anyways, after completing my drink and pointing out to everyone that the other team had left the buzzer sounded and we were whisked off to a shipping container or something.
This shipping container was air-conditioned to arctic climates, I swear it was so bloody cold. Inside the container they had a single player portion set up for us to get through while we were freezing our #$!# off. I didn’t notice the cold really (which is weird because anything that is room temperature or below is absolutely freezing to me normally), it was probably because I was distracted by the game and didn’t really notice. Phil, on the other hand, was incessantly whinging about the temperature and ejected himself at some point. So did one of our team mates. It was me and the lady reporter at one point, then just me. Man, I get so into games sometimes. I noticed that everyone was outside at some point and proceeded out. The Siren went off again and it was time for the next activity.
So we were marshalled over to the gun building station. I asked Phil “How is your guncraft skill?” to which he replied “Not that good.” So I took to the weapon building first and go it built in one minute ~flat~ IN THE DARK! Now, just so you know, the average time for getting it build in the light was ~50seconds. The dark was quite dark and it only took me a couple of groups of five seconds extra to complete the weapon. Phil took like ~35 seconds or something in the light, after watching me build it first. He also began to chat to the gun lady for an inordinate amount of time. (About Killzone 3 of course and his super guncrafting skills )
MasterAbbott and his Guncrafting Skills +10.
Shortly after catching up to the group the Siren went off and it was Multiplayer time. 10 Attendees were selected and pitted against each other in an online team deathmatch, which caught the attention of everyone in the crowd (with the exception of Phil who took the time to discuss Killzone 3 a little more with the guncraft lady). The winner was to be awarded the Collectors Edition of KillZone 3 (valued at approx $250 – buy here). Epic! Sadly, neither I nor Phil were participants in the match. I would have totally taken it home if I was in there, for sure. The winner of the match lead with upwards 20 frags, which was quite the effort. I believe he was from PALGN, so props to them 😀
After the team-deathmatch, we were required to attend any stations that we had not yet completed and get them done. The only one that I had not yet done was the kiosks to the left of the Multiplayer set-up. As I headed over, I grabbed another wine from a dude giving them out and drank a bit of it. Note: This was strong wine. Anyways, I picked up the Move Controller (this one was non 3D) to give it another go. After the practice from the first kiosk we visited, I found that the controls were much more easier to pick-up and use. It is certainly a practice makes perfect thing, but it was most certainly entertaining and not as bad as I called it earlier in this article. After messing with it for an amount of time that I have no idea of (seriously time is distorted while you’ve been drinking) I headed over to where Phil was and joined some chatter over there. It turns out that there’s some kind of social nodding cue where if you want to chat to someone you just kind of nod at them and if they nod back you’re all good. I swear, took me 20 years and alcohol to work it out, but I did and it was awesome. So I was talking to the Sony lady (I’m so very sorry about not remembering your name) and learned that she’s been in public relations for a while now and that she plays games and stuff. It was cool. I also got to talk to the winner of the multiplayer comp and gave him a ‘Gratz!’; and he didn’t ask me what it meant which is awesome, man I love gamers, you don’t have to explain your lingo to them because it’s their lingo too.
After chatting for a short while another rep began to try and marshall us out, but I’m certain none of us wanted to leave. Games! Socialising with other gamers! Will this happen again! This may be my only chance to make myself a household name. Worship me damnit! (Just kidding, but if you do, send me pics of your shrine at [email protected]). I finished my wine and started to leave when Phil managed to score an interview with Commado Steve. I was *supposed* to take some decent pictures, but Phil never told me to have the flash on in order to make the shots not blurry and so I’m fairly certain we have barely any usable photos from the interview. Totally not my fault, you want me to take photo’s, you teach me how to use the camera. Also, I was tipsy. Always blame the booze, heh heh.
All up, the event was awesome and I had a great time while not only playing games, but also learning a little about myself and humanity. Nodding = success.
