Candu Media

Third and final talk arose and was held by Neil Shand regarding working in film and television industry, many of the talks and lectures we have throughout our university lives are very informative but are shrouded by some form of white lie, maybe that a degree is essential or you can get a certain job as soon as you leave university but Neil laid it flat out on the table how to get into the industry and stay there.

He started by telling us the formalities of who he was and a brief outline of who he has worked for and so on, he then showed us two clips: first was a student film he made with his friends then the second was a clip from when he worked on Heartbeat and he began to explain that he went from being a media student just using the equipment whenever he could (which he advised those who were interested in getting into the film and television industry) and then he contrasted it to when he was an assistant director on the set of heartbeat.

Throughout the whole of the talk Neil didn’t talk of his CV or any of that he told of how to make it in the industry and that started with persistence: he explained that he wasn’t given a job straight away, he said that he would continually try to communicate with anyone within the ITV and other television companies until he finaly got a break for doing some television work with Essex police but even then he still wanted to work within ITV, several years down the line he left Essex police and moved back up to Leeds to chase his dream and eventually he got his chance, coming from and old friend who had recently been hired as a lens cleaner at ITV, he began to hang around with him and help him with work then he got offered a 6 month contract and it went on from there.

His strongest point throught the talk was his emphasis on passion, he said that without it you would go nowhere and usually this comes from people who are just trying to get your attention about something but with Neil you could tell exactly what he was talking about through his body movements, down to his voice, this was a man who knew what he was talking about and he knew what he was talking about, without a doubt he was the best speaker of the week.

This has been my reports of my 3 Enterprise Week talks at Leeds Trinity.

Starting a business

The second of the Enterprise lectures I attended was one concerning creating your own business hosted by Nigel Gorski who is an accountant who has worked with many different lucrative companies in his time, in this lecture he would cover the hurdles and pitfalls of running your own business but also what benefits there are.

Before going into the main areas of his talk he explained that there was a business start up master class within the university to help those who were very serious about starting their own companies, this struck me as being an amazing idea within the constructs of the university because after graduating many of us just try to make it on our own but this master class could give many people the leg up that they need to succeed in their working lives.

Within any business you create you will usually take part in over 14 different job roles, within a business you create there are the ups and downs regarding your views to being your own boss and incorporating an interactive aspect of his talk, Nigel conversed with us to talk about the positives and also the negatives furthermore he got us to write down what companies we invisage ourselves creating and rank them in probability which helps map out what goal you have at the start of the talk so that you can create an image of your business and apply his talk to your business which was a ace idea.

50% of new businesses brakes within the first financial year, many of the problems that they face were outlined by Nigel and then solutions were explained of how to solve the problems and keep any business afloat. Nigel proposed an idea which he backed up with finding within his job, he stated that with the rise in fuel prices many shoppers are starting to go to more local shops to try and save on fuel and this then builds upon small local businesses and they start to turn in a lot better profit margins whereas the bigger corporations margins are declining.

One of the final and main talking point throughtout the whole talk was one of finance and how that is the lifeblood of any business, everything revolves around the comings and goings of your money. 

Zeal Media

  With the Zeal media presentation Jane started by explaining how she started within digital media and talked about the change in the media scene and how she moved into the online side of things, and with this she talked about creating an online presence which reflects you in a good light and will help you either set up your own buisness or help you get a good job within the buisness area that you want.

When she worked offline with a few big companies she learnt the skills of how to do certain things and how to not do others and then when she discovered the huge success of many online buisnesses due to theyre exposure she set up her own comapny 'Zeal'.

As well as explaining her life within the media industry se also went on to explain some of the positions held within the company such as: SEO, PPC, Social Media, Account Management and Designer/Developer. The position that held my attention more than anything was the talk of social media because that is the related area im looking for, im looking to be a community manager within a video game company and the insight I received from her was great regarding how to gain the attention of new followers etc. and then how to maintain them on your page and how to keep your profile up to date and popular but without over saturating it.

Finally we were told about how to get into the media industry with regards to employment, all 3 of the lectures talked about this but this lecture was top dog within relation to me personally due to what I want to do when I leave university, she talked of how work experience was a great way to put your foot in the door and get their attention but also put onto your CV to show that you are capable of using the programmes and software that anyone in that industry uses from day to day.

The most important thing she said relating to media was to always be creative because that’s what many agencies want in their company. All in all the lecture taught me of how to be an effective and successful designer and community member in this digital workplace.

My love for Kaine

Scarlet Spider

Firstly i have to appologise for the lack of posts to the teams blog, the fact of the matter is that with me (loz) and ross being at work experience and jono being in his last term of Journalism for the year were all swamped with work and thats why i wanted to create a couple of short posts to keep the site going.

The first of these is gonna be focused around my latest addiction regarding comic books, i cant stop reading them and to be honest one of the main culprits within my reading is "The Scarlet Spider" which has gotten outstanding reviews due to its darker style of writing and composure it breathes freshness into the marvel scene.

The writer of the new Scarlet Spider series Chris Yost spoke of the series being almost brand new due to the fact that it assumes that the reader has no knowledge of the scarlet spider of the past:

"You don’t need to know anything to pick up Issue #1. We explain how he got here and who he is the best we can in the first few pages. We’re really doing our best to be fresh with it. I mean, this is a character with all of this history and crazy baggage, and you don’t need it. This is a guy, and he’s starting a new life. That's all you need to know."

I cant recommend this series anymore and if your looking to get into comics and the idea of an anti hero interests you then i highly recommend you go for Th Scarlet Spider and i gaurentee you wont be disappointed

Rating: 9/10

Varus, the Arrow of Retribution

With all of the spotlights being turned to Hecarim, due to his patch coming up most likely on Tuesday we also have news for another new champion which is making his way in an upcoming patch and this champion is: Varus, the Arrow of Retribution.

With this image being released of Varus me and Ross have been debating what he would play like and to be honest we both decided on a hybrid of Ashe and Ezreal and honestly that would be nice due to most of the past champions being melee or spell casters. With this only being shown at PAX we dont have much information on this new champion but stay tuned as we will continue to report on it when we get more information.

-Loz Jones

Hecarim, the Shadow of War: Part 3

First came the shrouded enterance of Hecarim then the image of what he would look like now come the Lore and the skills:

Lore

Since his first sighting on the northwestern shores of Valoran, the towering, armored specter known as Hecarim struck a chilling fear into the hearts of all who laid eyes upon him. No one had ever seen anything like his titanic, ethereal form before, and the mystery of his sudden arrival was deeply unnerving. When Hecarim began to march eastwards, leaving a trail of desolate, lifeless ground behind him, the villagers of the plains fled their homes for the safety of nearby Demacia. In the city's now-overcrowded taverns, rumors about this inhuman phantom spread in hushed whispers. Some claimed that he was the vengeful shade of an ancient warrior, intent on destroying all living beings; one man insisted that they had seen him leading an entire legion of spectral cavalrymen; others still believed him to be the creation of some hateful necromancer. One Demacian commander, seeking to dispel the terror that had gripped the city, assembled a few of his finest soldiers and rode out to turn back or destroy Hecarim.

 The commander led his soldiers to stand in Hecarim's path and braced for his assault. As the apparition bore down on them, an overwhelming sensation of dread gripped the warriors. The men, frozen in fear, could only scream as the ghostly titan ran them down, tearing them apart and trampling them beneath his iron hooves. Hecarim turned to the crippled, cowering commander and uttered a chilling statement: ''This is merely the beginning. No mortal army can withstand the might of the Shadow Isles.'' With that, Hecarim departed, resuming his grim march. Driven to insanity by his nightmarish experience, the commander stumbled back to Demacia, where his dire warnings were dismissed as the ravings of a madman. While Hecarim's origin and intent were still a mystery, his destination became clear when he reached the Institute of War and, in a voice both ominous and commanding, demanded entry into the League of Legends.

 ''You don't understand...the shadows will consume us all...'' - Former Demacian Commander

Skills

Warpath (Passive) – Hecarim ignores unit collision and gains attack damage equal to a percentage of his bonus movement speed.

Rampage – Hecarim cleaves nearby enemies dealing physical damage.


Spirit of Dread - Hecarim deals magic damage to nearby enemies for a short duration. Hecarim gains health equal to a percentage of any damage those enemies suffer.Devastating


Charge - Hecarim gains increasing movement speed for a short duration. His next attack knocks the target back and deals additional physical damage based on the distance he has traveled since activating the ability.

Onslaught of Shadows (Ultimate) - Hecarim summons spectral riders and charges forward, dealing magic damage in a line. Hecarim creates a shockwave when he finishes his charge dealing additional magic damage to nearby enemies causing them to flee in terror.

With the article i wrote yesterday concerning the new champion  Hacarim, the Shadow of War, the new video has been released which shows what he is going to look like:

With this video we see that he is a horsemen with a jousting lance but we see that he is an undead horsemen but the most exciting part is the ghost army that he has behind him, im hoping that you can use it as his ultimate LOTR awaaaaaaaay!!!! We're all hoping to see the champion spotlight out soon. 

Good talk see you out there

-Loz Jones

Its been another three weeks and that means another LOL champion is being brought into the fields of justice and with this new champion they pretty much outright said what it would be and i think its going to be a little bit dump due to the fact that by the sounds of it its going to be a dps class modeled on a jousting knight and if your wondering; "Loz how have they told you all this? do you have some form of insight?" no sir just read what they let out in theyre sneek peak and ill highlight the most important parts:

"So if you enjoy leveling your lance and charging headlong into the brunt of the enemy ranks leaving only the trampled corpses of lesser foes in your wake, we’re pretty sure that Hecarim, the Shadow of War will have you chomping at the bit come next patch!"

Oh come on!!! its so obvious and im in no mood for another DPS we need more support and hey why cant you create something brand new and fresh that hasnt been seen before.

Good talk see you out there guys.

-Loz Jones

Female bad asses

Okay considering it was International Women's Day yesterday, I've decided to compile a list of 5 awesome female video game characters. These are not a top 5. Just some awesome people. I know the day is over, but still I had assignments to do. Uni work > Blog right now

Samantha Byrne (Gears of War 3)

Samantha Byrne is here because of the fact she literally came out of nowhere between Gears 2 and 3 and literally made it hell for the Lambent and the Locust. Her father fought at Anvil Gate and has the same name as her. Not to forget she saved Marcus' life by running over a stranded with a bike in the Karen Traviss novel Anvil Gate. If you wonder why it's not Anya here. She changed her face and hair too many times.












Jenny (The Darkness II)

Okay this one comes with a massive spoiler warning. If you don't want to know the end of The Darkness II then do not read on.

Jenny may die in the first game, but since then she has been chilling in The Darkness' imprisonment. Not cool enough yet? How about this.. This chick is host to The Angelus. The complete opposite to The Darkness, she can only have human hosts, represents light and has been waging a war with The Darkness since before Moses. She uses Jenny's body to trap both Jackie and The Darkness in hell. If you think it should be Angelus and not Jenny, then simmer. It's Jenny's body.









Cortana (Halo)

Okay so pretty much the only reason I added her was because of Halo hype. She is still awesome in her own right though. How many women do you know what have the co-ordinates of earth inside her? or have to be destroyed if the covenant capture her? None.. maybe one...
She has seen the fall of Reach, The destruction of all the Halo rings and has even been in both Master Chief and Noble Six (not in a rule 34 way.)
She even spoke to Gravemind the Flood (kind of) leader. Who knows what he really is. Stupid Flood.









Ashe (League of Legends)

Okay, I'm going to be honest. I needed one more idea before I could unveil my ultimate! I play Ashe a lot in League of Legends. With the ability to attack quick and get crits over 500 with the right build she is awesome. She's also a Frost Archer, I don't know many of them..















Commander Shepard - Fem Shep (Mass Effect)

So with my copy of Mass Effect 3 expected to arrive in more respectable hours of the day. My ultimate female bad ass over here is Fem Shep. She's been a Spectre, she brought back her entire team from a suicide mission (or if you're Loz lost most of them.) Fought the Reapers, punched reports in the face AND invented the Shepard Shuffle. She keeps it real








I know it's the male Shepard but still!

(video taken from BlakeMah. Not owned by me or this blog)

- Jonathon Aalders

Assassins Creed 3

Today saw the release of the "Reveal trailer" for Assassins Creed 3 and if you have been living under a rock and haven't seen the trailer. It's here:

It basically shows our hooded hero killing British guys before looking at the American Revolutionary War from a tree. From the trailer we are basically shown the setting, character, and some of skills (like shooting a guy in the face with his own gun... but in a cool way.)

Some of the features we have been told already include:  

• The main characters name is Connor / Ratohnhake:ton a mixed race fellow with an English dad and a Native American mum.
• Connor can climb trees. 
• hunting is now a key way to recover resources.
•  Winter fighting puts soldiers at a disadvantage due to ice. So I think there may be a form of season cycle or maybe just changes as the game progresses.
• Gear is upgradable 
• The story will be deeper than 'Good guys, bad guys' with morality involved.
• Connor is smarter than his ancestors and can therefore can dual wield weapons!
• The use of the new Anvil system will allow a couple of thousand people on screen at once.
• For those worrying, Connor does have some form of access to a hidden blade

Finally and the most important part of the game. THERE IS NO TOWER DEFENCE!


Has this game been rushed out with AC: Revelations still doing ok? Or is it time to close the 'Trilogy' (even though this is the fifth game)


- Jonathon Aalders 

Sense of humour

With many games now a days focusing on war and terror, it's refreshing to know that developers of the free to play game League of Legends show they have a sense of humour with a blooper reel of the trailer for season 1. This video is nearly a year old, but hey.. It's worth a watch the 'lulz'

In a time when gaming seems to be churning out game after game (I'm looking at you Call of Duty) we all enjoy seeing the annoying Master Yi, being kicked in the nuts

-Jonathon Aalders

Halo 4

It has arrived the first glimpses into the new game from 343 studios.......HALO 4...... the Halo series needs little introduction seen as how this huge juggernaught started many different projects such as many YouTube Machinimas and also brought a huge audience to Major League Gaming and gave them the momentum and power to become a huge company. Halo 4 is set to build upon Halo 3's ideas and buff them to almost perfetion but as you can see from the video 343 Studios has put their own stamp on the game by altering the Mark IV armour and altering the weapons and vehicles to look upgraded and futuristic. You've got to see the video to know what im talking about but all in all so far the game looks immense and i cannot wait

- Loz Jones

Forces of Nature DLC screens

As the new DLC looms there have been screen shots released on the upcoming Gears of War 3 DLC: Forces of Nature. with these new screen shots we see some of the new maps but also some of the new character skins.

First of all i've got to address the last post concerning the Gears DLC, in it i said that the new locust hunter skin looked exactly the same as the savage marauder but as we can see the savage hunter looks ridiculously good i cant wait but the other three skins are a bit of a let down seen as how they are already in the game. As well as the release of the character skins we also see different map pictures and battles have a look for yourself, they look pretty awesome.

Games, Tech and fun times ahead

It's that time of year again where we find out the new technology, games and every thing else fun and to start of the long list of new stuff EPIC studios have released information about they're upcoming Unreal Engine 4. Epic has officially announced that the engine will be showcased next week in San Francisco during GDC 2012.

Within the announcement, Epic stated that it will unveil Unreal Engine 4, the “next-generation game technology”, to “select licensees, partners and prospective customers during the exhibition.”

VP of Epic Games Mark Rein stated his excitement for the debut of their “ass-kicking” new tech:

          “What’s really exciting about seeing this love letter to hardware manufacturers is understanding how Unreal Engine goes from iPhone right up to the most ass-kicking PC you can buy that’s hopefully representative of what the next-gen might be. And it’s ready today.”

The images that have been shown so far are ridiculous and if they put out a performance at this years conference like they did at last years they will be fighting off buyers


-Loz Jones

League of Legends: New character Rotation

It's that time of the week again in League of Legends, the new character rotation is out featuring some of the best spell casters out at the moment and also some great melee characters. Good luck out there!


-Loz Jones

League of Legends: Fiora

Its that time again where we are introduced to a new champion in the League and this one excites me more than others have in the past. Fiora, the Grand Duelist, is shown in the comic reel below wielding a single blade against a large opponent in the streets of Demacia. Unlike other customs of Demacia, duels are a time honored occurrence and can be seen quite regularly. Yet anyone that walks into Fiora’s path rarely comes out alive.

Adding Fiora to League of Legends will help bolster the ranks of female melee champions. Perhaps Riot Games is making a statement that female characters can be as tough as any other champions in the league which is undeniably true. Summoners have known this ever since Katarina walked on the Fields of Justice.

Abilities:

• Duelist (passive) - Fiora regenerates health over 6 seconds each time she deals damage. Striking champions will cause this effect to stack up to 4 times.
• Lunge - Fiora dashes forward to strike her target, dealing physical damage. Fiora can perform the dash a second time within a couple seconds at no mana cost.
• Riposte - Fiora's Attack Damage is increased. When activated, Fiora parries the next basic attack and reflects magic damage back to the attacker. Works against champions, monsters, and large minions.
• Burst of Speed - Fiora temporarily gains additional Attack Speed. Each basic attack or Lunge she lands during this time increases her Movement Speed. Killing a champion refreshes the cooldown on Burst of Speed.
• Blade Waltz (ultimate) - Fiora dashes around the battlefield to deal physical damage to enemy champions. Successive strikes against the same target deal less damage.

Lore:

As the youngest child of the noble House Laurent, Fiora always considered herself destined for greatness. The Laurents had dominated the dueling culture of Demacia's aristocracy for centuries, and Fiora's father was regarded as one of the finest swordsmen the nation had ever seen. Inspired by his tales of glory, Fiora began training as soon as she could wield a blade and quickly showed greater talent than any of her siblings. As she grew older, her self-confidence and rigid discipline only widened the gulf of expertise between Fiora and her peers. Her fellow duelists perceived her confidence as arrogance, but none could defeat her in combat, and each victory only heightened her lofty self-esteem. Even so, Fiora never allowed herself to become complacent in her training, and she drove herself ever harder to become a worthy successor to her father's legacy.

Her devotion turned out to be misplaced. On the eve of an arranged duel, Fiora's father was caught slipping a slow paralysis poison into his opponent's drink. Following the incident, many of his past opponents came forward with their own accusations: envenomed weapons, bribery, blackmail, and more. In an instant, he had destroyed his family's honorable reputation. Fiora was outraged. Not only had her hero betrayed her ideals, but Demacia's dueling elite now doubted her own ability. She desperately wanted to wipe the stain from her family's history but, even more, she wanted the world to acknowledge her mastery. She found her solution in the one arena where she could fight the world's strongest warriors without being accused of dishonesty: the League of Legends.

“Fiora’s ego would be insufferable if it wasn’t so . . . justified.” – Jarvan IV

All in all the new champion looks like something that could hold its own against alot of powerful pains in my ass like Master Yi and so on, as usual she will probably coming out late this week or early next to coinside with the next free champion rotation

- Loz Jones

Barcraft!!!

Fans of the video game StarCraft II can take their passion to a new level this Sunday.


On Feb. 26 the first BarCraft event in Victoria will take place at Hecklers Bar and Grill, 123 Gorge Road East.


"The game is not much more than a year old, it was released in Summer 2010," said event organizer Tristan Clausen.


StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a military, science fiction, real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. "This is the first game that really exploded on the spectator scene," said Clausen. "And it's only recently that technology has caught up to the point where we can do this."


The Victoria BarCraft event will broadcast Major League Gaming tournament, StarCraft 2 Winter Arena from New York City. Thirty-two of the world's top online competitors will battle head-to-head for the top prize of $10,000.


Due to the time difference, locals will watch the games on-demand beginning at 4 p.m.


"You have to purchase a pass to be able to watch the event," said Clausen but there will be no charge for fans at this first BarCraft event. "Major League Gaming posts them online the following week all the time. But they want those who want to see the event, but maybe can't afford to buy a pass, the ability to enjoy it - it's a way to pool our resources."


Clausen likened the game to digital-age chess. "The typical game can be over in as few as seven minutes or up to a half-hour or 45 minutes," he said.


The first version of the game was released in 1998, when Clausen was a younger man. "Now I'm a gown-up, married with a job, but I still like to watch a match here and there. As the interest has grown and it has increased in popularity, I saw some interesting possibilities." He had always wanted to attend a BarCraft event, but none had been held in Victoria. "Then it occurred to me if I wanted to go to one, I would have to organize it myself," he said.


While he's not worried about attendance, he does want to make sure those who have never seen the game don't feel as though they can't drop by to watch for a bit. "Anyone who has a passing interest is welcome to come. All the games have live commentary. They do a wonderful job so you know what's going on."

Ps4 you sneaky Mofo's

The Sony PlayStation 4 could pack in Xbox graphics chips, according to Forbes. Sony may abandon Nvidia, its faithful PlayStation 3 graphics companion, in favour of Xbox buddies AMD.
AMD currently produces the GPU for the Xbox 360 and is likely to do the same for the Xbox 720. If Sony follows suit with the PlayStation 4, Nvidia is going to be left out in the cold on the console front. Just as well Nvidia is making a push for the phone market, then.

If the rumour turns out to be true, fans can expect comparable mega-quality graphics from the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 – so the next round of the console wars is unlikely to be fought on visuals. Instead, gamers struggling to choose between the heavyweights will have to use exclusive titles and add-ons as the deciding factor. Or they could just pick the one with the prettiest box.
Sony is likely to announce the Playstation 4 later this year

Ivy Bridge Delay?

Chip giant Intel has confirmed that its next-generation microprocessors, code-named Ivy Bridge, will arrive around two months later than initially planned.

Delays have been rumoured for some time, amid speculation that the economic crisis has led to a slump in notebook sales, with several of Intel's top-tier notebook vendors unable to get rid of their Sandy Bridge notebook inventories.

However, speaking to The Financial Times, the company's executive vice-president Sean Maloney said that the delay was not caused by a lack of demand, but because of the new manufacturing process needed to make the smaller chips.

Originally scheduled for an April launch, mass shipments of Ivy Bridge – the processor set to succeed Intel's Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, currently used in Core i3, i5 and i7 chips – will begin eight to ten weeks later than initially planned, according to Maloney. Intel said that the company was on target to start shipping Ivy Bridge “in the second quarter”.

The most notable difference between the Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge processors is that Intel is building the next generation CPUs using 22nm architecture – a nearly 30 percent drop in size from the existing 32nm chips. Ivy Bridge CPUs will consume less power and make more room for the integrated graphics chip, allowing Intel to boost the graphics processing capabilities bt up to 60 percent. They will also support Microsoft DirectX 11.

The news comes as mobile operator Orange launches the first Intel-based smartphone, called Santa Clara, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Today, ARM-based processors dominate among smartphones and tablets, but Intel is putting a lot of resources on getting a slice of this growing market. The Santa Clara has an Intel Atom Z2460 processor at 1.6 GHz and runs Android OS.

“It's always good to have competition, because it gives consumers more choice. It also allows technology to improve faster, and at the end of the day when you have competition it also has an impact on pricing,” said Yves Maitre, vice president for Devices at Orange Group.

Gears of war 3: Forces of Nature DLC

ATTN Gears fans, Gears of War 3's Executive Producer Rod Fergusson appeared on the latest edition of GT.TV to announced the final Gears of War 3 map pack entitled "Forces of Nature". As outlined on the show, each map is set either in the middle of, or amidst the aftermath of, a natural disaster in order to fit with the theme. The show featured footage of the 3 brand-new maps (Aftermath, Artillery, and Cove) and 2 remakes (Jacinto and Raven Down) that will be included in the DLC, which is coming on March 27, 2012, but we also reached out to the devs to get official descriptions right here on Side Mission which you can read below:

The Maps:

• AFTERMATH – Aftermath is a government park after a tsunami. There is seaweed and wreckage everywhere, and the main play space sits under a huge cargo ship which was deposited on top of a building during the storm. The area floods and quakes during gameplay, as the whole thing is teetering on the edge of falling into the water below. This has gameplay implications as it is difficult to aim during the quakes, and difficult to be stealthy while splashing through the water

• ARTILLERY – Artillery starts out looking like an ordinary military base, but during gameplay a storm kicks up. Lightning begins to flash on the horizon and eventually a tornado develops and sweeps near the play space. Dust and debris are kicked up making it difficult to see, and the buffeting winds can mask your approach.

• COVE – Cove is a small port that the Stranded have taken over and turned into a little village. The map is very open with long lines of sight, but there is a really, really heavy layer of fog that masks just about everything. There’s a really nice sniper nest inside a central ship, but the sniper’s form is silhouetted by the low angle light shining through the fog.

• JACINTO – Jacinto was a beautiful city, but huge stalks have popped up through the buildings and flooded the entire area with imulsion. Half of the map is dead and crumbling, with imulsion fumes hanging in the air. To make matters worse, the drizzle that is present when a match begins quickly develops into a heavy rain storm that impedes visibility and lines of sight as water starts sheeting off the buildings.

• RAVEN DOWN – Raven Down is a very small crossroads that is blanketed in a blinding snow storm. A Raven helicopter has crashed in the storm, and crashed through an elevated train on its way down, so there’s train wreckage to deal with as well. The snowstorm ebbs occasionally, but is more often so heavy that it’s difficult to see more than a few meters ahead at any given time.

In addition to the maps, Fergusson revealed to GT.TV that the DLC will include a few Easter Eggs of sorts – four special weapons hidden in the maps called “Elemental Cleavers”. As an example of what you can expect, you'll be able to locate a “snow cleaver” that can gust an icy breeze at an enemy and stun them from a distance or an “emulsion cleaver” that explodes on impact and does a small amount of AOE burning damage to nearby enemies (in addition to the normal cleaver damage). Also, there are Achievements tied to these weapons for anyone that can find these cleavers and get 25 kills with them in Horde or Beast mode.

Characters:

Lastly, Epic let us know that those of you who purchase this DLC will get 4 new character models (pictured above – including the never-before-seen "Savage Hunter" on the far right) and 5 new weapon skins for immediate use, and 2 additional weapon skins (that were designed based on community feedback) that can only be unlocked through gameplay in the 'Forces of Nature' DLC which, again, is scheduled to land on Xbox Live in late March.
With these characters alot of the Cgears community is angry and annoyed that they are just releasing the pre-order bonus skins due to the fact that many people went out and tried to aquire all of the bonus skins before launch and now all of that was just a waste in my opinion EPIC need to release maybe another female like locust character: maybe skorge, queen myrah in regal attire, who knows but there are alot of characters that could be created and used in Gears of War 3 for example they could look deep ionto the law or the graphic novels and select Anya's mother who was part of the COG until her death and they could also bring in a tribesman like Tai skin, there are many options but EPIC seem almost resistant to new characters being brought in.




    -Loz Jones

Guild Wars 2 Crafting

Endless amounts of people have been biting at the bit to try and gain some news on the up coming Guild Wras 2 MMORPG and one of those people being me who could not stop playing Guild Wars and i am still playing it to this day, Guild Wars 2 sits proudly on top of my most anticipated games list and for many other people like me this short video entailing the crafting in Guild Wars 2 is a wonderful look into the way that NCSoft have taken my beloved franchise. 

Guild Wars 2 Beta sign up is done.

NCSoft posted that they are having a closed beta soon and that you had to sign-up for a chance to gain access and ofcourse i signed up staraight away.
One million users have signed up for the upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta as of yesterday, according to the official ArenaNet twitter account.
The firm quickly released a video on Facebook showing the studio's celebration of the milestone.
Beta sign ups ended yesterday at 6PM GMT after being open for 48 hours. Beta testing will begin this spring.
No official date has been announced for the release of Guild Wars 2, however.