I guess it had to happen eventually…

I will be writing my final review of the game soon, but in the meantime, why not try it out!

I would have made a Dalek…

Also, if you think Edward vs Jacob is bad as it is, Burger King’s getting into the act:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la1bEHSK4bU

I never thought I’d say it, but I MISS this guy!:

Also included, a Russian TV production of The Hobbit!
As an aside, judging from the first vid, I never pictured Bilbo being the same size as Gandalf…

Once you create your character, you’re ready for combat. What better way to introduce you to the mechanics of the game than to land you smack dab in the middle of an alien invasion! Fortunately, you have the best superteam, the Champions, assisting you.
During this tutorial, you are introduced to the game mechanics such as attacking, draining power for energy, and blocking for defense. On the way you are given various mini missions, such as rescuing civilians, assisting emergency teams, gathering info on the invaders, and of course blasting aliens back to their home planet.
After you successfully finish the training mission and are rewarded for your efforts, you then have a choice of participating in two more instances (or crises) in the southwest desert, or northern Canada. In both, you will be introduced to arms, science, or mystic crafting, where you collect the necessary components to craft items for offence, defense, general utility, weapon/power enhancement, or various instant powers (summoning robots, healing, shields etc.)
After the crisis is resolved (for now) you can finally play the game proper. You can start by purchasing new powers gained by leveling through training, and crafting new items. You can also continue searching for missions through contacts in the desert or Canadian zones. If you feel you leveled enough, you can return to Millennium City, and start missions there.
The game zones themselves are worth mentioning. The second introductory zones, as mentioned are a desert, and arctic zone. The desert zone contains a ghost town (complete with ghosts) a radioactive wasteland, supervillain prison, and a wild west theme park, all with unique adventure possibilities. The Canadian zone includes patriot/terrorists, supernatural threats, and clone armies. All designed to be a formidable threat to your character.

In the next installment, I will cover Millennium City, some of the later zones, major villain groups, supergroups and teaming, powersets, and missions unique to this MMO.
In the meantime, here is a MashOn comic of my character Psyche. Enjoy!

Click and enjoy!

I’m not sure if this site has the ones that were ‘bulk erased’ by the BBC, but I’m watching some of the Patrick Troughton episodes, including the VERY first appearance of the good Doctor and the Tardis, followed by the VERY first appearance of those mechanical mutants we love to hate, The Daleks!

While watching, It’s interesting to note how little the Tardis interior, and theme music has changed, at least until the Colin Baker years. Otherwise, a good find.

Also, I plan on continuing my review of Champions Online. I want to wait for the next patch (the current one messed some features, plus they are supposedly introducing new zones)

Next up, gameplay

First, a bit of history…

Champions began as a pen and paper RPG back in the early 80s. It would spawn the HERO system, which could be used for a variety of different genres (fantasy, space, secret agents, etc.). Plans were made for a computer game based on the series, but was eventually scrapped. After a brief revival in the RPG field, the game has finally entered cyberspace.

The theme of the game is simple. You start out as an up and coming hero who can choose from a wide selection of powers, ranging from strength, speed, magic, etc, to help protect Millennium City. During gameplay, you will encounter a wide range of foes, almost all stemming from the RPG. These include the muscled monster Grond(basically a four armed Hulk) the furious and fun loving Foxbat (sort of like Die Fleidermaus from The Tick, except worse) and the ultimate arch fiend, Dr. Destroyer. Villain groups include my personal favorite VIPER(like COBRA, except with brains) PSI (an organization where all members have some sort of Psionic powers) and possibly others.

Next installment, I will cover game mechanics, and comparisons between the other Superhero MMO, City of Heroes.

Stili, It’s not the same without Dave yelling at Alvin, but that’s just me.

Plan 9 Teaser Trailer from Darkstone Entertainment on Vimeo.

Let us reward the innocent, and…
Aw skip it…

Or, God forbid:

Now this is how Pixar’s shorts SHOULD be done!

Rest in peace Mr. Cronkite

I’m just glad to be proven wrong.

SPOILER ALERTS

The story follows Carl Fredricson, who, when he was a young boy, dreams of going on adventures in a lost land somewhere in South America with his friend, and future wife, Ellie. After many years setting up their dream home, and trying to make their dreams come true, however, Ellie unfortunately passes away. This is all covered in the first 15 minutes of the film, through a series of clever montages, as we see the couple date, get married, build a live, and suffer misfortunes.
I can honestly say that no one can go through this part without shedding tears. I can also say that while shedding said tears, it is difficuly to dry one’s eyes while wearing regular and 3D glasses, but I digress…
Carl, in the present day, is in the process of being evicted to a retirement community against his will. To make things worse, he is being annoyed by Russel, an 8 year old scout trying to earn an elderly badge (ah, the scouting days). On the day he’s to be sent to the home, Carl had managed to inflate thousands of baloons, and make modifications to his house, to float away in the sky, to keep his promise to Ellie.
Unfortunately, Russel stows away, and hilarity ensues.

All in all it was a great film. Not as dynamic as The Incredibles, but it really doesn’t need to be. Ed Asner’s portrayal of Carl is on the ball, and Russel, along with the inevitable animal sidekicks, provide wonderful comic relief.

‘UP’ date:
A truly touching story…