Thursday, February 23, 2012

Untitled Story


This is one that I have been working on for a long time. Usually it'll get shelved and then I'll stumble across it and write some more. It's the longest 'scene' I've ever written and also the first piece of writing that I ever started. I feel like I want to continue it... but for now I'll just post what I've written. 



Prologue:

Colonel Fraed Nielson flinched as a harsh explosion detonated alongside the crater, showering him in mud and debris. Weapons fire roared from the widows of huts of the small jungle village, two hundred meters ahead. The village was infested with Chaos. The crude huts pulsed with an unholy aura as the Warp seeped into reality from the psyker induced storm which raged overhead. The fearsome storm had appeared not long after the invasion force made planet fall, cutting off all air support and playing havoc with the Guard’s vox network. The intelligence auguries had thought the source of the storm originated at Balneer the capitol city of this sector and had co-ordinated all available Imperial units in a strike on the city. The Chaos defences had fallen easily, almost too easily for Fraed to believe it had not been a tactical feint. Now for the last 12 days his unit had pursued them into the dense rain-jungles of the lower Kyber valley, searching for the source of the storm which seemed to follow their every step.

Warp-crazed flashes of violet lighting illuminated the village and Nielson could see its previous inhabitants, hanging from crude poles on the town green. Their skin was daubed with sickening Chaos runes and obscene symbols which danced insanely under his eye and made his head pound and ache, were carved into their flesh. Some were lying dismembered in rancid puddles of congealed blood. The Djiini, a name the filthy heretics had taken after some local spirit superstition, had massacred them, sacrificing even the women and children to their foul deities. It smacked of ritual. The poles were arrayed in a crude star and as he looked closer Fraed could see that a pit had been dug in the centre of the green and filled with a dirty, dark liquid. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was.

With a quick hand single his men began to return fire and the air was suddenly filled with the snap-crack of lasrifles on full auto. Troopers Eekand and Bronsor opened up with the autocannons. The huge shuddering weapons raking punishing fire towards the buildings, shattering the hastily assembled flak board defences. The fusillade from the village ceased under the barrage of lead and laser and Nielson ordered his men up over the lip of the crater, fixing bayonets and drawing blades. The nearest hut, its walls, deep purple and quivering slightly was an assault on the senses and Nielson felt his stomach churn as he realised that there were faces, twisted and burned, melded with the walls. One screamed at him as he advanced and he shot it with his rifle, bursting it and spraying purple ichor. He signalled Sargent Malorn’s squad to cleanse the taint from the front row of huts with their holy flamers. The screaming of the daemon visages reached a crescendo as long spurts of liquid fire washed the woodwork of the huts. Major Kourt took his platoon and moved west in a sweeping manoeuvre attempting to flank the Chaos cultists around the edge of the village and drive them towards the Fraed’s men. Each team let off a short volley of las and solid rounds into the building that they had targeted; their cleansing ammunition, inscribed with warding sigils and prayers to the Emperor of Mankind burned into the flesh-buildings, blasting gory holes up and down exposed walls and pulping woodslat. Nielson took his squad and moved to a large two-story building to the left. The building was a dark, wooden structure and seemed strangely untainted compare to the rest. With a quick signal, Nielson sent Troopers Bronsor and Kalyn around to the rear. The towering guardsman, outlined by a dramatic lightning strike, disappeared quickly around the corner to cover the rear entrance.

Fraed discarded his lasrifle, the charge empty and drew his bolt pistol and chainsword. The large, ancient blade roared to life as he thumbed the activation stud. From the rear of the house he could hear the metallic whir of Trooper Bronsor's heavy autocannon. Its powerful high calibre shells shredding cultists and warp spawn. With a thundering kick Trooper Drell booted the door and sent it flying off its hinges. Las shots cracked past Nielson's head from the doorway. A malformed shape of Chaos, clutching an old model Las-pistol crouched in the shadows at the end of the entrance hall. Nielson dived to the left, raking bolt rounds into the hallway and doorframe. The Chaos spawned creature bucked and writhed as two of Nielsons bolt rounds smashed into its chest, spraying its blood and innards in a foetid rain of gore. Drell stepped through the doorframe, swinging his rifle left and right and snapping off shots through the open doorways on either side of the hall. Nielson followed him quickly, cutting down a mutant that emerged from a side room and blasting another as it tried to get a bead on Drell. Suddenly the wall ahead of them exploded inwards in a white hot ball of fire. Trooper Drell vaporised instantly, his component atoms cast to the four winds by the power of the blast and Nielson was blown to the ground choking as the oxygen was quickly burned away. As the air around him blazed hotter and hotter, the walls and ceiling quickly becoming a burning inferno Nielsons head swam concussed from the force of the explosion. His skin began to sear, hot blisters forming on his hands and face. His hair and clothing caught fire and burned as a scream formed on his lips. Pictures played through Neilson's mind. His wife and child back on Tondor. The grain-mills of Thracis Plex casting long shadows across his home. Certain he was about to die the words of the Emperors Benediction formed on his lips. He was almost unconscious when he felt a huge pair of arms lift him and the cool splash of flame retardant liquid being sprayed across his body.

The White Consul Space Marine emerged through the front door of the wasted building; Nielson flung over one shoulder, bolter dealing death and raining pain to any Chaos spawn that dared challenge him. Nielson felt himself being set down, his back against something solid but he couldn't quite work out what it was. He looked around him and realized that the Marine has carried him back to the crater.

"Colonel Nielson?" The vox-projector on the Space Marines power armour crackled to life.
"F... fine." Nielson gasped at the cool air around him, feeling it in his lungs. His very soul ached from the concussion of the blast.
"Sergeant N'Coll. White Consul Tenth. The village is secure Colonel. The Chaos fiends are either retreating or rotting on the ground around us. Tower command ordered us to push through in your wake. Glad we got here in t...”  A huge explosion erupted in the middle of the village. A great fireball, bright and burning intensely bloomed followed by a plume of thick, black smoke. Sergeant N'Coll slumped. White hot shrapnel had shredded the proud Marine, tearing great rends in his mighty Power Armour. N’Coll’s huge form was the only thing that kept Neilson alive.

Most of the Guardsmen had made it back to the crater before the blast and Nielson crawled up the side of it to get a better look at the village. It was gone. In its place was a blazing inferno, spewing the toxic black smoke into the atmosphere and burning everything it touched. Everything except for one thing. Nielson watched in terror as a figure emerged from the inferno. It walked through the flames, neither its clothes nor its skin harmed by the raging fires. It moved forwards slowly, its head bowed and hands raised, palms pressed together in a position of prayer. Hooded and robed, its hands were the only visible part of its form but Nielson could feel the fear emanating from it and the taint of the Warp leeched from its bones.

"EVERYBODY, OPEN FIRE!!!"

Ten White Consul Space Marines gained the crest of the crater and opened up on the approaching figure their synchronized firing patterns wreaking havoc on the landscape. Everything was torn apart by the maelstrom of heavy fire, except the man. He continued to walk forward, head down, appearing to not notice the bolter rounds tearing through his flesh. Nielson raked the man with bolts from his pistol. Each mass reactive shell landing true. The first struck his left shoulder and tore a massive gouge out of his flesh. Icy blue energy spewed from the wound, which simply closed over as if nothing had happened. The second and third shots caught the man square in the chest, punching two huge holes, which looked to be straight through him. But the figure was not deterred. He simply kept walking forward, his wounds visibly healing, until he was about 2 meters from the cowering troops. None of them could move, even if the fear hadn't seized their joints the powerful mind of the approaching daemon would have. Two Space Marines dropped to their knees, clutching at their throats as if they couldn't breathe. Another simply vanished, as if he'd never been there in the first place. The figure looked up. The hood covering its face fell away as it tilted its head to look at the remaining men. Guardsmen around Nielson screamed as blood vessels burst in their eyes and noses, filling mouths with blood and eyes with red tears as they died. The daemon, for surely it was a daemon, smiled. Its eyes glowing unearthly blue, like a Class O star in the prime of its life. Little tendrils of energy licked out of them across the creatures cheeks. Its face was handsome to look at. It was the distinguished profile of an upper hive lord, aside from the eyes. Nielson watched as the rest of the proud Marines burst into white flames, their power armour literally melting and resolving them into pools of white-hot slag and Nielson felt himself wrenched into the air. The abomination brought Nielson up to face it.

"Hear me mortal and quiver in fear. I have awakened from a sleep so long that galaxies have died and constellations disappeared since mortal’s last spoke my name and trembled." Its voice echoed inside Nielsons head. His mind slowly slipping into insanity from hearing the thing speak, its voice was incipient, each word reverberating around his head a thousand times in a trillion languages of the damned.
"Fear me mortal and wish for the quick death of your comrades. You are mine and your soul is mine forever. Learn well the name of your new master mortal, the name at which a million galaxies quake and die for I am The Warpspawn, The Bringer of The Unholy Flame and Scourge of the Veil. I am Kharnigar the Black."

That was the last thing Colonel Fraed Neilson, Brae Wasps 10th Gunners, Imperial Guard, heard as he inserted his bolt pistol into his mouth, and ended his mortal existence.



Sunday, February 19, 2012

Thick As Thieves

I'm going to publish this now, half finished, as I haven't had time to work on it lately. I will add to it when I can.


Padric the thief was stuck. It was a precarious position he'd suddenly found himself in. He'd been rummaging through the personals of a high ranking city official when he'd heard footsteps coming up the stairs in the hallway outside. Like a shadow he'd slipped back out the open window. Unfortunately, unlike a shadow he had also literally slipped and was now hanging by his fingertips from the windowsill. His legs flailed under him unable to find a decent foothold against the stonework wall. He could hear someone opening the door in the room he'd exited oh so gracefully a moment before. It was only seconds before he would be discovered. 


Two days ago in the corner of a run down old pub on the corner of Westing and First Street an envelope was being exchanged. It was done in the manner of all shady deals everywhere. A slight, nonchalant glance around the room as it was nudged ever so slightly in the direction of the receiver. The subterfuge was not needed. No one in the bar took notice anyway. It was the home to the kind of morbid alcoholism that kept the liver transplant industry in new hats and it's patrons were generally more concerned with drinking themselves to oblivion than observing the finer points of criminality. The receiver leaned forward reaching for his drink and carefully placing his napkin over the envelop as he slid it back into his lap.
"Whats so imporn't yas drag me alla way out 't this shit'ole?" asked the courier displaying an unfortunate lack of scumbag diplomacy. The receiver was a small, sallow looking man wearing a brown corduroy suit. He smiled. It was the kind of smile you might see on something with fins as it slowly circles the piece of driftwood you're clinging too. With a small noise that sounded like fwip the courier leaned back in his seat with a sigh as the receiver stood, straightened his suit and exited the pub. It wasn't until after closing that night that the barman found the sliver of metal embedded in the mans throat.



Friday, February 17, 2012

Update

So things have been a bit quiet on the blog front and I'm sorry to anyone who has been reading it and wanting updates.

I have been busy working on another project lately which is related to the letter I posted recently. I won't be involving this blog with that project other than using it to host the letter.

I have a short story in the works which I am hoping to post up soon but the side project is currently taking up a lot of my time. I know you guys are all avid fans and readers (HAHAHAHAHA) but please try to bare with me.

Cheers,
Nick.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

You're Not Dragonborn

A little something I whipped up on xtranormal. I had to sell my soul and fill out online surveys to get enough points for this so I hope you guys enjoy it!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Longer than anticipated

I have started writing part 3 to my Battlefield guide, but it's taking longer than expected. At the current rate it's going to turn out to be a couple of hundred parts long. I'll have to see if I can figure out a way to make it a bit shorter but still include all the information that I want. I might even move it over to a word document and upload the whole thing as one guide, rather than trying to do it in parts.

Meanwhile I am working on a couple of different things at the moment. Hopefully I will have something new up for you guys to read early next week.

On another note I have had 78 page views since I started this blog. That's roughly 78 more page views than I was expecting, so thanks guys! 

Monday, February 6, 2012

The Great Dictator Speech

Put together by my mate Stewy. 





This speech is from Charlie Chaplin's first 'talking picture'. I think it's a powerful message that is still very much in context today. Stewy has chopped it together with some more current footage. You can learn more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Dictator

Battlefield 3 Guide & Gameplay Tips Part 2


Note originally posted on Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:09pm

Continued:
In part one we discussed some basics of Battlefield 3, made some comparisons to Modern Warfare and discussed two classes, the Assault class and the Engineer class.

In part 2 of this guide I will be discussing a few more basics as well as the other two classes, the Sniper and the Support class.

Attacking/Defending:

The objective of Conquest is to capture and hold points on the map, marked A, B, C etc. Capturing points will decrease the amount of tickets you lose per second and increase the amount of tickets the enemy team loses. Holding all points on the map will result in the enemy team losing tonnes of tickets , very quickly. Your main objective when playing Conquest should always be to capture points. Obviously there are many, many different ways to go about attacking points depending on the map, your class, how long the point has been held etc. I will try to outline some basics about attacking.

Firstly, if you are the Squad leader you should be marking any point you're currently attacking. This will (hopefully) rally your squad to you. It is much easier to capture a point with a full squad rather than by yourself. When you enter a certain radius around the point, you will see the enemy control start to decline. Once the point has been neutralised you will see your own control start to increase until the point has been captured. One tactic that you can use in this circumstance is to get into a corner or behind some cover and watch the control meter. If the meter stops moving at any point it means that an enemy soldier has moved into the capture radius and you will need to eliminate him before continuing to capture. It is sometimes advisable to wait for the enemy to find you, as often you will get the jump on him and eliminate him easily.

When defending points (which I don't really tend to do much as I feel it's not as productive as capturing and harrassing enemy points) again, there are countless ways to do this. Again, if you are squad leader mark the point for defence to rally your squad. Common sense says that a 5 man squad will do a lot better job defending a point than one or two soldiers, so rallying your squad is important. Set mines and claymores on roads and around the point itself and then move OUT of the points capture radius. The reason for this is that if an enemy moves inside the points capture radius, you will see the point start to flash and you will know someone is there. It is an early warning system which will give you time to seek and destroy the enemy attacker. Snipers and Support soldiers in particular should set up somewhere that gives them a good field of fire over the whole point, allowing them to neutralise any threats before they get too close.

Breaking Out & Holding The Line:
Sometimes the enemy team will just be too good. They will quickly storm across the map and capture all the points, leaving you with only your squad mates and Deployment point to spawn on. If the enemy team is sitting right at your front door it can be very, very hard to break out and recapture some points. Here are some tips to help break out:
  • Explosives are your friends. Often the enemy will be stuck attacking along a road or narrow alley way. This will bunch them up, making them perfect targets for RPG's, grenades and mortars. This is one place where the mortar really shines as you can sit back behind cover and pummel the enemy team with HE and Smoke until your infantry can break through and recapture your first point (the one closest to your base). 
  • Use your vehicles carefully. Whatever you do, do NOT charge in and attempt to break through. Sit back and provide heavy cover fire for your team using either your main cannons (MBT, IFV) or your .50 cal machine gun (Hummer, Jeeps). 
  • If all else fails use stealth to slip past the enemy cordon. This requires a bit of running around, making sure you're not spotted. When you do break through do not attack your first point. Attack the enemies first point at the other side of the map. You are almost 100% guaranteed that there will be no enemies guarding this point as they will all be at your base, attempting to hold the line. If you're successful, you will provide your team a new spawn point BEHIND the enemy line, which can be very devastating. 

Vice versa to the above point; sometimes your team will be the one storming the map and keeping the enemy locked down. There are again some very important tips to keep the enemy from breaking out and turning the tables on you.
  • The point closest to the enemy's base should be disregarded for defence. Forget about it. Spawn on it and attack from it, but do not hang around and defend it. It does not matter if they recapture it as you will still have all the other points to attack from. 
  • Defenders should be mobile, preferably in Jeeps making quick trips between your other points to make sure any sneaky stealthers haven't slipped through the line to capture the points behind you. I often play this role and rack up tonnes of kills just driving around picking up strays.
  • Tanks and Engineers should be up front. Tanks need constant defence and repair as they will be the bastions of your line. All too often I will see a Tank neglected and then destroyed followed moments later by the entire front line degrading and being pushed back. If you look after your Tanks, they will keep the enemy contained and unable to form an effective counter attack. 
  • Snipers should focus on enemy Snipers as they will be looking to pick off Engineers who are repairing your Tanks. If not shooting, Snipers should be using their MAV's over the frontline to keep all enemy soldiers Spotted or SOFLAM's to target enemy vehicles for Engineers with Javelins.
It is very exciting when you are holding all the points and pushing your front line ever closer to the enemies base. Kills a plenty are available in these situations but be careful. All it takes is a few seconds for the whole front line to collapse and the enemy to swarm through.

Classes:

Back to classes; the Sniper and the Support are two very effective classes for their roles. They take more mastering than the Assault or Engineer classes but the rewards are high kill counts and huge points.

Suppression:
I have mentioned Suppression and Suppressive Fire a few times now and before I explain the Support class it is very important to know what Suppression is and how it works. When someone is firing at you and bullets are whizzing past your head and spanking into the cover in front of you, you are being Suppressed. When under Suppression your screen will go blurry and control response will become slightly sluggish, making it very hard to aim and kill your attacker. Suppression provides bonuses for the attacking soldier if the target is killed by another team member. You will gain a Suppression Kill Bonus worth 50 points which makes intentionally Suppressing targets a very valuable tool.

When under Suppression the best thing to do is get your head down. Get into cover as quickly as possible until the Suppression wears off. It's almost impossible to attack an enemy while Suppressed so don't bother trying unless there is no other option.

Support:
Ever since competitive FPS games have been around I have been attracted to the role of Support soldier. From Unreal Tournaments minigun to the latest military LMGs (Light Machine Guns), the idea of laying down huge volumes of firepower has always appealed. Battlefield 3 however takes the Support soldier to a new level with Suppression. Even a few rounds from an LMG passing close to a player will generate almost maximum Suppression and the huge magazine capacity of most of these weapons means that you can keep up the pressure or even Suppress multiple targets at once. Coupled that with the gadgets this class recieves makes it, I believe, the most powerful all-round fighting/support class in the game.

Here are a few ways that I like to play:

Heavy Support:
Using a LMG with the Foregrip, Red Dot Site and Extended Magazine gives you a weapon that is powerful, easy to control and can output a huge amount of firepower. My favourite LMG to use would be the M240 as it packs a 200 round magazine (Extended) full of high power 7.62mm rounds. The objective with this class is to provide your team with covering fire so that they can advance. You should be behind your team mates laying down short bursts of fire at any enemies you see. Firing in short bursts will keep your recoil at a minimum and you will make more kills this way. The exception to this rule is if you are shooting down a corridor or bottleneck. In this case, unload your entire magazine down the hallway. You will Suppress everyone at the other end and probably make some kills too. Make sure you Spot enemies so that your team mates can flank them as you force their heads down with Suppression. Use your ammo pack to keep yourself and your team supplied and drop claymores at choke points so that you can safely retreat if you need to. Squad Suppression is the go here.

Silent Support:
In this configuration swap out the Extended Magazine for the Suppressor. It sounds silly to put a silencer on a LMG but the benefits are huge. Your bullets will still carry huge amounts of Suppression however your recoil will be much lower, allowing you to fire longer bursts without having to correct your aim. Also you will not show up on the map when you fire which is a gigantic advantage on maps like Operation Metro. Your role in this class is essentially the same as Heavy Support. Hang back, lay down covering fire to pin your enemies while your team moves up for the kill.

All-Rounder:
With this config you will be able to do a bit of everything. Use the weapon config from Heavy Support but swap out your Claymores for the C4. You'll be able to hunt Tanks and vehicles and set traps for enemies. I use my C4 like mines, planting it on the road and waiting for enemy vehicles to drive past. This is a VERY effective tactic on maps like Seine Crossing and Kharg Island where vehicles are pretty much forced to use the roads to get everywhere.

Mortar:
I wanted to write a short section on the Mortar as it is potentially a game winning weapon if used correctly. I find that the mortar is almost useless on most maps, especially any large, open map. However on maps like Tehran Highway, Grand Bazaar and Seine Crossing it can be deadly. Swap out your LMG for a Shotgun or PDW as you won't need the long range Suppression of an LMG and sit right back. Use your Mortar to drop bombs on the choke points on these maps, especially on Objective B on Grand Bazaar and Objective C on Seine crossing. The Mortar is also an excellent breakout weapon (see breakout section), allowing you to lay down smoke for your team to advance through.

Sniper:
Last but definetly not least is the Sniper. Without doubt the Sniper is the most difficult class to play. Kill shots must be made on the head or upper chest otherwise you will not get one shot kills. Without one shot kills the Sniper is useless, so accuracy is a must with this class. The Sniper gets a couple of handy tools for it's trade mainly the Radio Beacon the T-UGS and the SOFLAM. The Radio Beacon will allow your squad mades to spawn on the beacon instead of you, allowing you to place it in a safe spot near an objective to get a constant stream of reinforcements. The T-UGS (Tactical Unattended Ground Sensor) will show up any enemies that are moving quickly near your position. Obviously very handy for camping.

SOFLAM (Special Operations Forces Laser Marker):
I think that the SOFLAM deserves it's own section as it is an awesome piece of equipment that NEVER gets used. The SOFLAM essentially is a laser designator that locks on to any vehicle it is pointed at and allows Rockets from your team to home in on that vehicle, even if it is not in their line-of-sight even if left unattended. This gadget is NOT USED ENOUGH. On large, vehicle oriantated maps you should be deploying it high, pointing it at a road or choke point and then leaving it unattended. This will ensure that any vehicle that passes will be marked for at least a few moments. If you are an Engineer and you have the Javelin, USE IT. It is very frustrating to spend time designating targets when no one is paying attention.

There are two ways that I play the Sniper class:

Spectre:
The obvious, classical hollywood Sniper. Set up position somewhere on the map, usually in a very high place. Use a high power, single shot rifle such as the M40A5, SV98 or M98B with a bi-pod. From this position your main goal is Spotting enemy targets for your team and eliminating enemy Snipers. This can be a huge amount of fun as you try and improve your longest headshot score. Mine currently sits at 318m but I have seen headshots as long as 1300m on YouTube. Spotting is very important here as you usually have an unrestricted view of the map and you're not going to be able to shoot every enemy you see. Spotting will mean your team has the advantage of getting a coherent overview of enemy positions. Also you should place your SOFLAM before you set up, somewhere well away from your position as the distinctive red laser WILL give you away if you stay too close. Use the 8x Rifle Scope in most instances. Very rarely should you use the 12x as it is simply too powerful, especially if some of your targets are within 200m. The Marksman bonus is what allows you to rack up points with this class. Any clean headshot over 50m will net you a bonus equal to the distance of the shot, so it's quite easy to rack up a huge score if you can hit a few 100m+ headshots. Squad Ammo should be used here so that you can shoot for a long time without having to go look for a re-supply.

Shoot & Move:
This class is all about moving and shooting. Semi-Automatic rifles like the SKS and the M39 should be used here coupled with either the 8x Rifle Scope or the 4x ACOG to give you a nice, medium range view. If you want to use a higher power, bolt action rifle make sure you select the Straight Pull Bolt for quick shooting. You can use a Suppressor with this class, but I prefer not to the trade off of power for accuarcy is not worth it IMO. Headshots are still the key with this class but don't be afraid to crack off multiple rounds to kill an enemy. This class is also great for Suppression as emptying a clip at someone behind cover will ensure they are fully Suppressed and thinking twice about sticking their head around that corner. Use the Radio Beacon to give you a spawn point close to the center of the map, where you can quickly get to any objective and when you take up a firing position drop your T-UGS to give you early warning of anyone approaching. That being said, do not stay in one position too long. Shoot and move, shoot and move, shoot and move. One of your main targets with this class should be enemy Engineers who are repairing Tanks. It is very satisfying to headshot an Engineer and then watch your squad destroy the Tank he was repairing. Squad Sprint, Ammo or Suppression are generally the go with this class.

Ballistics: Due to Battlefield's realistic ballistics, playing a Sniper is much harder than in any other First Person Shooter. When shooting at long to extreme range you will need to learn to deal with Bullet Drop. This is the effect that gravity has on any projectile fired. It effects every weapon in Battlefield but is much more pronounced when Sniping and sometimes when shooting with an LMG. The rule of thumb that I use is that after about 100m, every addtional 100m requires aiming roughly half a cm higher. Generally I will expend my first magazine on 'practice shots' at various buildings to give me an idea of how much bullet drop I will be dealing with on certain parts of the map. Normally you'll be quite safe doing this as at the start of a round most players will be concentrating on attacking their initial points.

That brings me to the end of the class discussion. In the next episode of this guide I will get into my favourite part of Battlefield; Armoured Warfare.

Battlefield 3 Guide & Gameplay Tips Part 1

Note originally posted on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 3:13pm

Introduction:
Hey everyone. Recently I have been trolling the halls of Google for tips and strategies for Battlefield 3. There is a real shortage of information online for advanced players unless you want to go ahead and buy a proper guide. Well, I thought; fuck that. I have racked up 90+ hours on BF3 now so I feel like I am qualified to throw out a few tricks that I have picked up along the way.

This guide will be written in a few different parts as if I were to put it all in one note it would likely be very long. So sit back, relax, have a drink and hopefully you'll pick up a few hints to help boost your Score Per Minute (SPM).

Guide Overview:
This guide will not cover anything to do with the Single Player or Co-op modes of Battlefield 3. I am focusing solely on competitive multiplayer in the Conquest and Conquest Assault modes as they are the ones I play most. Some of the tips may be applicable to Rush and the other modes and I may write a seperate guide for those modes later. This also will be an Xbox 360 guide as that is what I own the game on.

Battlefield 3 Vs. Call Of Duty:
I think that it's necessary to compare these two games before we start, as a lot of people are moving from the COD series to Battlefield. While both games are First Person Shooters they are very different games. I find that COD is much more of an Arcade style game. It is a fast paced, run and gun, pure adrenalin shooter. Playing COD doesn't require much more skill than to keep moving and be decent at aiming. Sure there are some naunces that take some time to work out, like where to place your Claymores for max damage or the finer points of being a Sniper, however it is essentially still an Arcade experience.

Battlefield 3 is much more of a war simulation than an Arcade game. It features much more realistic ballistics (bullet drop), gun sway, reload times etc than the COD series. As such a player moving from COD to BF might initially be frustrated on most levels, especially the larger ones as quite often firefights happen over a long distance and require a different style of shooting than COD. One thing that people don't realise about BF compare to COD is that kills don't matter much anymore. I can get the MVP (most valuable player) Ribbon on any given map without making a single kill. It is much more important to be focused on your objectives and using your abilities to the full, rather than worrying about kills.

Tickets:
Battlefield 3 uses as a ticket system where each team starts with a set amount and they are drained as each team respawns, like reinforcements. Once you hit zero you lose. Holding all the Command Points causes the enemies tickets to drop very fast, so this is the main objective of any battle.



Squads:
A prime feature and one I feel is much underused in BF3 are Squads. Within each 12 player team are a number of Squads. Each Squad can contain up to 5 players. Squad mates can spawn on each other and receive bonuses for teamwork related activities, such as Spotting (see Spotting section), Suppressive Fire, Healing, Repairs and more. It is highly important that you try to work with your squad as much as possible. Spawn on them and stay with them for support, especially if you are a medic or an engineer. You will survive a lot longer on the battlefield if you are with your squad. Depending on your class you should be using the following tactics:

Storming: 
Medics with M230's, Engineers with Rockets and Mines and Support with shotgunsor smaller LMGs (not the M60) and C4 should be up front laying down a heap of fire, attacking vehicles and storming towards the objective.

Supporting: 
Medics with Medpacks, Snipers with Radio Becons and SOFLAM and Support Soldiers with Ammo kits or Mortars should be to the rear either healing, re-arming or laying down suppressive fire for the boys at the front.

Within each squad will be a squad leader. The squad leader can mark objectives for attack and defense. Again this is a feature that is not used as much as it should be. If you are the squad leader, make sure to mark your objectives so that your team mates know what they should be doing and then (this is important) actually attack/defend that objective. Do not go off on a tangent. You can tell the squad leader from the star that appears next to their name.

Spotting:
Another feature of BF which I feel is extremely underused is Spotting. Unlike COD where the UAV provides the locations of enemy soliders; in Battlefield you are required to 'Spot' them. When you see an enemy, place your sights over him and press the 'back' button on your Xbox control. This will 'Spot' the enemy for your team, marking him with an orange arrow and making him show up on the map. This is a very cool mechanic as it makes it a lot harder to know what your enemy is doing unless your team is good at Spotting. The only other times you will see enemies on your map is if they fire an unsuppressed weapon or if there is a MAV (Micro-Air Vechile, similar to a UAV) around.

Make it a priority to spot BEFORE you shoot. If you spot someone, shoot at them, miss and they escape they are at least marked for one of your team mates to take out. Snipers & Pilots (Tanks, Helicopters, Jets) should all prioritise Spotting. It takes less than a second to Spot someone and then start shooting at them, so SPOT BEFORE YOU SHOOT (can't emphisize this enough).

Classes:
Battlefield 3 features four distinct classes. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages which I will discuss here. I will write up the Engineer and Assault classes in this guide. The Support and Sniper classes will be in the next one.

Assault (Medic):
Since BF2 the 'medic' class has been merged with the assault class. The assault class has lost the ability to drop ammo packs and has gained medipaks and the defibrillator instead. Assault can be played in two ways:

Assault:
For this version of the class you should be using a rifle and the M320 grenade launcher, rather than the medipak. The idea with this class is to be the frontline of any battle. You need to be constantly attacking objectives, using your rifle to pick off targets at mid-range and your grenades to destroy cover and take out groups. The advantage of this class is that you still have your defib so you can revive fellow frontliners (and get a ticket back), even if you can't heal them. Storm and take Command Points and then move onto the next one, don't hang around, don't defend unless there is no other option. Rifles like the AEK-971 and the AN-94 are EXTREMELY accurate and powerful at mid-range. Your M320 is your best friend with this class. It will cause huge Suppression on enemies and force them to keep their heads down. It is also a one-shot-kill weapon on enemy Jeeps, provided that you can land the grenade square on the front or side. The Squad Grenade or Squad Sprint specializations should be used here.

Medic:
For this spec you should be using either a rifle or a shotgun with the Medipak instead of the M320. This class should hang slightly back, picking off targets when able but mostly concentrating on getting your medpaks to the people that need them. As you get refunded a ticket every time you defib someone, this should be your top priority as potentially you can almost stop losing tickets altogether if you have a few good medics. Keep your eye open on the map and your surroundings for the distinctive symbol (skull) that shows someone on your team has died, get to them and defib them ASAP. This spec is absolutely awesome for racking up points. If you can get your medpak into a group of friends taking fire, you will watch your points skyrocket. Squad Sprint is a must here as it will let you get to your downed team mates and defib them faster.



Engineer:
The Engineer is an extremely versatile class. Armed with a carbine, rocket launcher, grenades and gadgets; an engineer can be a very formidable opponent. There are many ways to play the engineer class but there are a couple of things that Engineers must do to be sucessful:

  • Do not neglect your rocket launcher. You can use this to take out enemy cover and allow your squad into buildings. It is not necessary to actually kill enemies, just taking out their cover is usually enough to either make them retreat or allow your team mates a clean shot. If you are not using your rockets, you're not using your class properly. 
  • You are on the map to disable vehicles. DO NOT NEGLECT THIS ROLE. The Engineer is the only class capable of consistently taking out enemy vehicles. An enemy tank with a competant driver is a HUGE problem for your team and your job is always to take them out as soon as possible.
  • If you have the Repair Tool equipped then use it. Too often I will be duking it out with another Tank with engineers all around me, not one of which can be bothered to repair my Tank. If you are near a Tank you don't need rockets, you need to repair the Tank. 

Again here are a couple of ways to play this class that I enjoy:

Tanker: 
Without doubt the most time I have spent on the battlefield has been in either the MBT (Main Battle Tank) or the IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). I currently have 2 service stars with the MBT and 605 kills. Your objective when Tanking (lol) is just like in WoW. You are there to draw fire from the enemy, deal damage and capture points. There is no need for funny, tricky manuevours in Tanks. Drive in, shoot anything that moves and capture the point and then move on quickly. When taking on other vehicles the key is speed, flanking and being a good shot. It's no good charging in at full throttle or sitting in one spot if every shot goes wide. You have to be able to consistantly land hits, even from long distances and while moving at top speed. It takes a lot of practice, but there is not much better in BF than roaring down a highway on Caspian Border or Kharg Island pumping shell after shell in to some poor T-90 driver who has no idea what to do. Squad Suppression is the go here.

My recommendations for the MBT are; HMG/Canister Shell, Thermal Optics & Reactive Armor.

The HMG is great for anti-infantry at moderate to long distances but it is unweildy and inaccurate close range. The Canister shell is much more suited for close range work as it is basically a massive, tank sized shotgun. Canister shells are perfect for taking out people in Jeeps as it will just shred them.

Thermal Optics is a must. It highlights everything in black and white and makes spotting enemy armour very easy. It also allows you to see and kill enemy Engineers much quicker and easier. Enemy Engineers are your worst enemies and I find I die a lot more to them than to other vehicles. Finally it will allow you to spot mines on the road. They will show up bright white and should be shot with your main cannon before proceeding. Zoom Optics is okay for extremely large maps like Operation Firestorm and Caspian Border, but I perfer thermal.

Reactive Armour gives you extra armour on your flanks and rear. I cannot tell you how many times I have been saved by this perk. Basically it will allow you to absorb almost 100% more damage than usual. Make sure you turn side on to any enemies if you can.

Tank Hunter: 
With this spec I spend my entire time on the map laying traps and ambushes for other enemy vehicles. Find choke points that vehicles pass regularly and either mine them or wait in ambush. This is a great spec to use on very large maps. You should always hang around Command Points as that is where the vehicles will go. When laying mines, always lay two very close together. One mine will definetly disable a vehicle but won't always destroy it. Two will light that puppy up like a christmas tree. When attacking with the RPG or SMAW try to hit the rear of the vehicle where the armor is lightest. One good rocket fired up a Tanks arse can sometimes destroy it outright, so don't be afraid to take a few seconds to get behind it first. When using the Javelin however, you want to be far away. It's much harder to lock-on and get a kill from close range as most tank drivers will go fairly spastic when they hear the Lock tone. Don't waste time with this class trying to kill infantry. Your Carbine/Shotgun/PDW is for personal defense only. If you see an enemy who is a decent distance away, spot them and move on. Don't bother trying to light them up as 9 out of 10 times they will kill you. If you have to attack them, use a rocket and aim at their feet. Squad Explosives is easily the best specialization for this class as it will give you TEN rockets and a few addtional mines.

Well that will do for Part 1 of my Battlefield 3 Multiplayer guide. Hopefully I will have more written soon.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

The Wait

Note originally posted on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 12:47pm

I hate this time of year. It's cold, the flu is running rampant (oink oink) and video game developers are all in hibernation in their snug little caves made of $100 bills. Its basically 6 months of replaying the same excellent games and drooling over scraps of news until spring.

On a better note however, I just picked up a new GeForce 9500 GT and a 1TB external HDD. Since I've been running my PC for a while without a Grapics card at all, it's good to finally be able to PC game again. I can also recommend Steam to anyone who's interested in playing PC games. (http://store.steampowered.com/)

Steam basically allows you to buy and download most games available at the moment. It's incredibly easy and only requires a credit card to make the purchase. Once you buy, the game is stored online until you decide you want to play it, at which point you download and install it. Obviously, you need a good internet connection for this. It took me about an hour to download Dawn Of War II.

I also need to point out that Dawn Of War II is totally awesome and has saved me from gaming boredom for the last few weeks. The mechanics of the game itself are sweet and easy to get into (except for those freakin Terminators and their tendancy to run the fuck away from everything! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HARDCORE!!!) and it totally differs from the originals. It's well worth picking up if you're bored and into WH40k.

I'm probably going to pick up Crysis later this week. I downloaded the demo the other day and it impressed me and since I can pick the original up for $29.95 or the full pack with Warhead for $59 (everything is waaay cheaper on Steam) I think it's definetly worth the look. I had it running at 60fps on medium so I think I should be able to bump some of the settings up to max and make it look really shiny.

So that's life at the moment. Gobbling scraps of info on all the sequals coming out later this year and indulging in some much needed PC gaming.

Cheerio cats.

Update: Just got a second set of Terminator armour and gave it to my assault squad along with a Thunder Hammer and Storm shield... They now do 740 damage in melee which is about 300 more damage than my FRIGGING DREADNAUGHT! I rescind my previous statement about Terminators... Thaddeus took on almost a whole map full of Tyranid's by himself with minimal healing help from my commander and a bit of heavy cover from my Devastator squad.

How far are you prepared to go to save someone you love?


Note originally posted on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 1:23am

  So it was inevitable that I would eventually get around to playing Heavy Rain. Anyone that knows me at all knows I would have to write at least a few word on this game.

This is possibly one of the most unique and coolest games I have ever played. I really, really hope that another one comes out. Not Heavy Rain 2 because it would kind of ruin things, but just another game in the same vein. The fight scenes are some of the most interesting, exhilerating things I have ever experienced in a video game. I really felt like I was there.

I'm not going to spoil this one by revealing anything except a plot synopsis. It's too good to give away, like a good detective novel. The only thing I'll give away is that the title is not a misnomer. It rains... a fuckload... for the whole game.

Basically the story goes thus: A serial killer is on the loose in the city, kidnapping kids and killing them by drowning them and dumping their bodies in the wasteland with nothing but an Orchid on their chest and a small Origami figure clenched in their hand. He's quickly dubbed The Origami Killer (stupid americans pronounce it Ori-gamy). A father's son is kidnapped and you take on the roles of four people whos stories intertwine on the way to solving the case. Incase you've noticed, this game is not for children. It features sex, drugs, nudity, violence, torture, almost rape and of course... MURDER!

Ethan Mars is the desperate father who's son has been kidnapped by The Origami Killer. He will do anything to save his son.
Ethan Mars - Loving father.

Madison Paige is the savvy female journalist who accidently stumbles on the story of the decade.
Madison Paige - Did I mention nudity? Oooh Yeah!

Norman Jayden is the FBI agent (with the coolest set of sunglasses I've ever seen) who is drafted to the local PD and partnered with a psychotic Lieutenant to help catch the killer.
Norman Jayden - or as I like to call him, NEO!
Scott Shelby is the ex-cop turned private eye who is hired by the families of the victems to track down the murderer.
Scott Shelby - Fat ex-cop with a drinking problem.
The game switches between these four characters at regular intervals and the descisions you make with each affect the eventual outcome of the game.

That's really all I want to say on this game other than if you play it, I recommend playing it from start to finish without stopping. It took me approximately 12 hours. But it was one of the best 12 hours I've ever spent infront of a screen, movies, games, porn included. It feels like you're watching a really good movie.

9 out of 10 because sometimes the camera/controls can get fucking annoying. If the game wasn't as spectaular as it is this would be a major problem... but the story is so good that I couldn't put it down and more than overrides the camera problems.


Play it... now.

Update

So I have moved five notes over so far. It's a bit harder than I thought it would be as all the formatting gets screwed up when I copy across, so I have to re-do it all. Otherwise I am quite happy about this decision. If anyone has any suggestions on anything I can do to improve this or if anyone knows places where I can list my blog for free, please let me know.


Hopefully I will get a few more across this afternoon and have something brand new posted up sometime early next week. I am thinking another article at this stage, 'My top something something blah blah'. I quite enjoyed writing the game themes one so we'll see what my nicotine addled brain can come up with.


Watch this space.



Friday, February 3, 2012

Rage Against The Machine

Note originally posted on Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 4:02am

Oh boy. The trolls, lobby groups and Steve Fielding will love this one.

So when did Australia finally slip into a nanny state mentality? Since when has it become okay to suspend adult rights and privileges because of our need to coddle and over protect the kiddies or pander to the religious? How do we fix this growing problem of political correctness, religious politics and overbearing government legislation that seems to be continually infringing on our lives, our rights and our freedoms?

I understand that protecting our children is a very important priority for Australians. I don't want our children exposed to things that they shouldn't be like drugs and porn and violence, but seriously people, banning junk food advertising? Are we for real? Shouldn't it be the responsibility of, oh I don't know let's just toss this one out there, the PARENTS to monitor what their children eat? Parents if your kids are hassling you for Hungry Jack's because they saw an add on TV, here's an idea, say NO instead of giving in and letting them stuff their fat little faces and then crying out "Oh but the advertising!".

It's time Australian parents stand up and take charge of their children instead of trying to foist parental responsibility on the rest of the country. I'm not interested in having my internet filtered, my games and movies censored and my cigarettes covered up for fear that the kiddies might see them and decide to take a puff. Sorry parents you won't like hearing this, but if your kids are smoking cigarettes it is your fault. If your kids are playing violent video games it is your fault. If your kids are watching pornography or talking to strangers on Facebook or gorging themselves on junk food and fizzy drinks, guess what? All of it is your fault. You are their guardian and it is your job to check these things. Stop blaming the government, the cigarette companies, the police, the media, the internet and everyone else except yourselves because your child is doing something that 'might' be harmful to them. It is your responsibility to make sure your children are raised in the way that you want and no one else's so stop infringing on my rights and whining at me. The moral compass that your children will grow up with should be guided by your hand and not the rules of a society in which you have schemed and manipulated to meet your own selfish ends.

I saw something on the news recently which made me really, really angry. A young, dumb dickhead teen stole a car while drunk and while evading police, slammed into another car killing two parents and their newborn baby. This stupid idiot died by his own stupid hands and took three innocent people with him. The next thing I saw was this young kid’s mother blaming the police! THE POLICE! Just for doing their job trying to catch this dickhead. She threatened that they would pay for what had happened. Then the media joined in! Crucifying our police force for simply doing what they're supposed to and trying to keep idiots like this kid off our streets! This is what Australia has come too when idiots like this kid can be absolved of blame for their actions simply by people pointing the finger and saying, "Oh well if the police weren't chasing him then he wouldn't have been driving so fast and he wouldn't have killed all those people!". Get fucked. The level of responsibility and accountability in Australia is declining daily. It’s always someone else’s fault. But I digress.

Another thing I understand is that Australia is a multicultural society. I think this is a fantastic thing! I have met some great people from different countries who are good friends of mine. I have Indian mates and American mates and Persian mates and Asian mates and they all offer me different perspectives on life and fun and everything which is great.

But being multicultural also means having many different religions and while Australia is primarily a Catholic or Christian nation there are also tonnes of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and many other religions in this country. I also think this is a great thing! People should be free to worship whatever/whoever they like and the more choice the better. But what people should not be free to do is impinge on my basic rights as a human because their religion says they can. The Australian Christian Lobby is a prime example of this. This group of... people... think that its okay for them to make decisions about the way I live my life based on their religion and their beliefs. Well, fuck off. They wouldn't like it if myself and a big group of atheists came into their homes and censored their bibles and took down their crucifixes and said, "We are atheists and because there are now more of us than there are of you, you have to abide by our laws and believe what we believe!"

They would give us their religious equivalent of the middle finger and a swift 'fuck off'.

It's no secret that I like violent, bloody video games or that I like to watch porn or that I smoke cigarettes like a train and drink alcohol until I fall over or that I think religion is a bunch of hocus pocus bullshit. And I don't care, at all, if that offends you or your kiddies; but just because I like the above things doesn't mean that I want kids to get a hold of them, yours or eventually mine. Sure, if you see full on graphic sex, violence or blasphemy on prime time TV you should complain. I would and have in the past, complained about such things, but Australia is supposed to be a free country and I have as much right to access what I enjoy and what is legal as everyone else. Stop trying to ban and restrict everything that you don't agree with just because you can't handle your kids or it offends your delicate religious beliefs.

Here are two simple solutions to the problem:
1. If you have kids how about taking responsibility for them? Raise them correctly and discipline them when they're out of line. Don't let them smoke. Watch what they eat and what they do online. Take note of the classifications on the media that you purchase for them. Take an interest in your children's lives instead of palming them off to the internet or TV and then complaining when they see something you don't like. I think being a responsible parent is what I'm getting at.
2. If you are religious how about just ignoring the things that offend you. Isn't that what you preach? Turn the other cheek? Everyone has free will? All of that? I find almost all religions to be heinously offensive but I don't storm into your churches, mosques or synagogues full of atheistic zeal and demand that you stop worshipping your god because I'm offended by it.

When I have children I will raise them in the way I see fit. That means they won't be eating junk food all the time. They won't be playing the same violent video games as I do until I make the decision that they're mature enough. They won't be smoking cigarettes until they're of legal age and they can make their choice themselves but like a responsible parent I will educate them on the dangers. I will discipline them appropriately when they do something wrong and I will say no to them when I think it's necessary. I will teach them the values, morals and ethics that I think are right. They will be free to choose a religion that suits them when they are old enough to make an informed decision. Do you see the theme emerging here? I will make these decisions for my children until they are mature enough to take control of their own lives and I will make them as a responsible adult with my own moral compass. What I will not do is whinge and whine at you and the government and the corporations because I can't handle being a parent.

You will not make decisions for me or my kids. Not you. Not the government and certainly not your 'God'. And by your imaginary friend in the sky, if my kids turn out to be screw ups like me, well then we’ll all know exactly who’s to blame.

Massive Effect

Note originally posted: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 11:50pm

I couldnt be arsed thinking of an original name for this one so anyone who's familiar with my notes should know what I am about to write...




Yes this one is going to be about Mass Effect 2. I've written briefly about Mass Effect 1 in one of my very early notes and commented on how much I loved the game and couldnt wait to see what number two had to offer. Well, I'm here to tell you that it offers a whole heap.

Geth. Ugly suckers.


Mass Effect 2 continues a few weeks on from Mass Effect 1. Shepherd and the crew of the SSV Normandy are on patrol in an outlying system looking for any remaining Geth. The ship is attacked by an unknown cruiser of gigantic proportions and, outclassed in every aspect, the Normandy is annihilated. Shepherd being the ever honourable hero that he is sacrifices himself to save Joker and we're treated to a fantastic scene of Shepherd slowly drifting through the vacuum of space above an unknown planet as his suit is compromised and he suffocates to death.


What!? The protagonist is dead? Wait a minute back up a bit here... Isn't he supposed to save the galaxy from the Reavers? How can he do that if it's dead? Enter Cerberus, the secretive human organisation dedicated to advancing the human species at any cost. You might remeber Cerberus from the first game. A certain mission on Luna perhaps? Anyway suffice to say that Cerberus works some magic to bring Shepherd back and the game starts from here.

Mass Effect 2 really builds on the original adding more characters, bigger guns and a much more polished feel. The combat has been overhauled to make it easier, the weapons are much better and feel more realistic and the classes are now each given a unique superpower which makes deciding on class a much harder option.

Gears anyone?
I went with a soldier this time because I wanted to check out the weapons systems and honestly, biotics arent really my style. Blasting through hordes of enemies in this game is definetly more fun than the first. It feels a lot more Gear'sish this time rather than an underdone attempt at a third person shooter and your comrades actually seem to be able to use their powers to your advantage rather than your detriment. However it really is the typical Bioware attention to detail and story that make this game shine. It's something that you'll wish you could play again for the first time.

If you played Mass Effect 1 and even remotely enjoyed it then it's a given that you need to play Mass Effect 2; if you haven't played either then you need to go out to your local game store, give the nice man behind the counter some money and then go home and play until you can't possibly play anymore.

9/10

Cheerio.
Thane. Best assassin ever. Ezio can suck it.



Mordin. Possibly the funniest/most badassed doctor since Doctor Who.


Thursday, February 2, 2012

Nostalgia

Note originally published: Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 12:00am

I recently had the fortune (Suzanne's misfortune) of getting my hands on Suzanne's old Nintendo 64. Suzanne had a whole bunch of old games that I haven't played in years and it made me feel a bit nostalgic, so I thought I'd share with you all a few of the video games that have consumed large portions of my life. These aren't in any particular order.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64):

I will start with the best. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has been almost universally praised by critics and often slated as 'The greatest game of all time' almost every list places it in their top 5 greatest games. For those of you not familiar with the Legend of Zelda series of games, they centre around a young boy called Link and his efforts to save the land of Hyrule from the evil Gannondorf.

Our Hero!

The series usually includes a mystical artifact known as the Triforce. The Triforce will grant the wish of anyone who touches it and the legends says that if someone who's heart is full of truth makes a wish Hyrule will enter an age of peace and prosperity; however if someone who's heart contains evil makes a wish the land will be plunged into darkness and chaos.

Ocarina of Time introduced a number of gameplay mechanics and features that would go on to become mainstays in the RPG/Action Adventure genre such as a specific action button for interacting with the environment and a target lock system. Game Trailers even went as far as to describe the game as a 'walking patent factory'.

This game gets a 10/10 in my book.

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistral's (Super Nintendo):
Lufia II is a turn based RPG game centering on the life of Maxim the monster hunter. When a bright ball of light is spotted streaming through the sky of his quiet town to land somewhere in the ocean, a feeling of great darkness comes over the land. Maxim is confronted by Iris, a seer who tells Maxim it is his destiny to fight and to lead men against the all powerful beings known as The Sinistral's. The Sinistral's are god-like figures of immense power who have come to earth in search of a great weapon, The Dual Blade, said to be the only weapon capable of defeating a Sinistral. Maxim begins his quest meeting companions and learning of Dual Blade's existence along the way.

By far the best thing about this game is the story. It is an epic of grand scale and personally, for me, rivals some of the best novels and movies you can name. I became emotionally attached to the characters in this story from an early age and the game has stuck with me as one of my all time favorites ever since.

10/10

Floating SkyFortress of Doom. Emperor Papatine's summer vacation house.
Secret Of Mana (Super Nintendo)
Another classic SNES RPG, Secret of Mana is the story of a boy who finds a sword. Much like the legend of King Arthur, the hero (who has no official name in the game) discovers the sword and pulls it from a stone. Breaking the seal on the sword unleashes a wave of monsters onto the town and the towns people, seeing the sword as an evil omen banish the hero. Before leaving the hero is confronted by Jema, a Mana Knight who recognises the sword as the legendary Mana Sword, used to defeat the god-like beasts controlling the Mana Fortress in the wars long ago. Jema charges the boy with unsealing the eight Mana Seeds and restoring the swords power.
Again one of Secret of Mana's main strengths is it's story. It is engaging and compelling and it makes you want to continue to play the game. Secret of Mana was also one of the first RPG's to allow Co-Op play with another person. If you had a second control, pressing Select would allow you to take control of one of the three party members. Secret of Mana had an awesome menu system for selecting spells, weapons and items and rather than taking you to a seperate screen, a ring of icons would appear around the character allowing you to quickly select what you needed. This feature was replicated in another, similar game entitled Secret of Evermore.
9/10
It's a very big game.
Legend of Zelda: A link to the past (Super Nintendo):

The year is 1992. The year the Maastricht treaty is signed, forming the European Union. Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced to life in prison, Microsoft releases Windows 3.1 and the world simultaneously declares the first World Ocean day 5 days after test firing four nuclear missiles into the Pacific Ocean proving that mankind not only hates Planet Earth but is quite prepared to throw a big FUCK YOU to mother nature as well.
Humans.
Another life changing event happened in September of 1992. Nintendo released their new AAA title, "The Legend of Zelda: A link to the past" and the gaming world changed.

You basically owe all those cool RPG style games where you have an inventory, collect items and go on an epic quest to this game. If you've never played it, shame on you. You're not a gamer.
Epic.
I'm not going to ruin the story or even describe the experiance of playing this game. Go and play it for yourself.

10/10

Goldeneye (N64)

Everyone knows this game. Even if you've never played it, you've seen the movie. Even if you've never seen the movie you've played the Card Game.

First came Wolfenstein 3D and then Doom and Duke Nukem 3D and we loved these games. They introduced us to the feeling of control and skill that comes with playing an FPS. They were all epic in their own right, but the problem was that at the time Windows 3.1 was only just released, MS-DOS was still in it's prime and a PC cost the same as a car.

Goldeneye brought FPS to the console masses and it did it in style. It wasn't the first FPS on the 64 (anyone remember a certain pissed off indian dinosaur hunter?) but it is the one that will always be remembered. From sneaking around the much loved Facility to shooting it out with Trevelyan on the Array, Goldeneye blew away audiences world wide. As with Call of Duty now, the most outstanding thing Goldeneye had was the inclusion of 4 player split screen, so you could spend hours and hours blowing your mates up with proximity mines. I was a dab hand myself as some may testify and I remember many long nights spent huddled around a TV swearing and hitting each other with the controllers as we battled it out.
Sideways! Oh fuck that's a killshot!
Goldeneye was a big part of what forged the First Person Shooter genre as we know it today and while it's graphics are now outdated and it's console mostly relegated to antiquity it will always have a place in history.

10/10

There has been some epic new games out recently too. Red Dead Redemption, Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops to name a few. I'm currently playing through Fallout: New Vegas and contemplating finally completing Dead Space soon, seeing as the sequel will be out soon. I'll write more later on some of these as they're definitely worth some attention.

Anyway, that's me done. I do have other games I want to talk about so don't hate on me if I didn't mention your favorite's but it's taken me like, 2 months to write this note and if I don't hit publish soon, this note will remain in Note Limbo forever and that's a horrible thing to happen to a good Note.

Ciao geeks. I'll leave you with this tasty bite.

Apparently you can't embed video in FB Notes so your stuck with a link. Watch it godsdamn you!

Awakening

I have wanted to write something for a while now. Thanks to Tim Hayes and Jason Davey whose stories I read and have helped me to remove my writers block slightly. Also thanks to Suzanne Rogers for continually pushing me to do things that I want do. I like Warhammer 40k so here is a short story. For the Emperor!

It was dark. Not like a dark night or a dark alleyway in some scum ridden gang slum. The darkness was utter, complete, absolute. It was as if the universe had been snuffed out like a candle. The Consciousness drifted slowly through the darkness. It had been someone once. Who? When? Yesterday? But what was yesterday when you'd existed for eternity? Confused, alone, abandoned in the darkness it drifted, for a second or for a billion years. What was the difference?

A light. Such a simple, tiny thing at first. A million, trillion light years distant. The Consciousness had known light once. Pure and white it came closer, slowly, becoming brighter and larger. The Consciousness turned its corporeal form to wonder at the marvel unfolding before it. A light in the darkness. A beacon shining from another world, another dimension. The darkness burned away from its touch with a shriek as if it were alive, unravelling around the edges and streaming back on itself as the light unfolded and spread. The Consciousness watched as the light streamed past it. Engulfing it. Wrapping it in serenity and peace like it had not known since it died. Died? It thought. I died.

Suddenly The Consciousness was aware of a choral upwelling of noise. Like a million choirs all praising their maker with sublime song. The Consciousness thought it caught snatches of hymns and devotional prayers all intermigling in a beautful symphony of hope that seemed to match the intensity of the light. The darkness was gone now and The Consciousness drifted in a sea of pure white. A voice spoke from the light, powerful and all encompassing. This voice could ignite stars. This voice could create worlds and spin the fabric of time and space to suit its own needs. This voice could create universes. “It is not your time." Were the words had anyone been there to hear. Instead The Consciousness simply knew. It is not my time. Then the world turned red.

Aeons passed. The Consciousness was aware of the red and the choral voices and nothing else. Knowledge flooded back through neural pathways that hadn't seen thought in months. The Consciousness remembered. It remembered dying. The last thought through its mind a benediction to The Emperor of Man for allowing him to die in glorious battle. Him. Allowing him to die. Is this death? He thought to himself.
"Relax Captain Tyrus." A voice said as the red slowly began to fade away and resolve.

Tyrus. 
He was in a room. A large workshop it seemed. Tools and various instruments adorned racks around the walls. In front of him stood a Techmarine. 
Tyrus. He thought. Yes, I was Tyrus once.
Knowledge continued to flow through him like electricity. Speak.
"W...What... Where?" His voice was deep and resonant; no trace of his original accent or speech remained.
"You are aboard the Hand of Castigation Sir. In the Sanctum Technicae." the Techmarine said. Readouts began to scroll across Tyrus' vision. Data reams, weapon specifications, power levels, hull integrity. He took a breath out of habit and realised that it was not necessary to breathe anymore.
“I... feel..." His voice a deep robotic purr.
"Rest Captain. The interring will leave you feeling slow for a while until you get used to your new body." A snaking mechadendrite which sprouted from the Techmarines back made some adjustments to a panel in the front of Tyrus' armour. Tyrus felt the power surge within his frame. Such huge energy sparking within him, bringing him back to life. His memories flooded back. The drop from the Hand of Castigation to the surface of Militane IV had been brutal. The battle through the Halls of Misery against Archon Daetor's heretics. Finally confronting the vile Archon in his filthy sanctum. The fight had been a thing of legend. A battle which would decorate the Chapters records for millennia. He had struck down the daemons which Daetor had summoned with his Thunderhammer and crushed the arch heretic's skull just as a bolt round had detonated deep within his sternum ending his life. With a whine of servos Tyrus raised his hand. A huge Powerfist replaced his left hand and he could feel the fearsome power of the assault cannon on his right.
"You have been brought back from death Captain, to continue your service to The Imperium of Mankind and The God-Emperor." The Techmarine said as the mighty Dreadnaught took his first ground shaking step.
"For The Emperor." Intoned Captain Tyrus.


                                





The Raving Nerd

Welcome to The Raving Nerd!


So I have decided to start a blog. At the moment I write pretty much all my stuff in my Facebook notes, so what I'll be doing to begin with is transferring most of that crap over to here. The first article I've copied across is My Top 10 Video Game Theme Songs. There will be more gaming related goodness coming shortly, including my Battlefield 3 Guide.


Why have I started this blog I don't hear you ask? Well, I like to write. I've posted 39 notes of Facebook so far (not all of which will make it to here) and I wanted some place other than Facebook to keep my writing. Somewhere where I could make it a bit more customizable and also somewhere in the public sphere, separate from all my personal stuff.


I'd like you to know that anything you see, read or hear on this blog is all my personal opinions. No one is forcing you to read anything I have to say so if you don't like it, piss off. As the title suggests a lot of this blog is just random lunatic ravings from me. Usually about video games and other nerdy topics but occasionally it will be more serious stuff or even angry rants against whatever is pissing me off that day.


My plans at the moment are pretty vague. I am going to migrate some of my writing to here first and then I will hopefully start updating, maybe once a week but we'll see how we go.


Thanks for visiting my page. I hope you'll stick around and read some of the things I have to write. If you like my stuff please share it with anyone else you think may enjoy it.


Cheers,
Nick.

My Top 10 Video Game Theme Songs


So I've been playing Skyrim a lot recently in an attempt to break my horrible Battlefield addiction (seems to be working! Woo!) and there is a ritual that I go through every single time I play. I sit at the title screen until the entire theme song is finished.

I know that sounds nerdy, but it is a really powerful, well written piece of music. People are putting more and more effort into video games these days with a lot of AAA title having larger budgets and making more income than top Hollywood blockbusters. So listening to the Skyrim theme the other day I got to thinking about all the other classic pieces of video game music that I've enjoyed over the years. Here they are in convienient list form, linked to the video on YouTube.

10. Final Fantasy VIII - Eyes On Me
To understand why this song means anything you really need to play the game from start to finish. I always felt that it really captured the fractious relationship of the main characters and it's also not often that you hear a fully written song with lyrics in a video game.

This is the first FPS game that I really enjoyed the music for. There wasn't many songs throughout the course of the game that I didn't enjoy, however the main title theme is so epic it makes me want to grab my Shotgun and go hunt some Convenant!

There remains to this day only a couple of video games that have had such a strong emotional effect on me that they have literally influenced the way that I live my life. Lufia 2 is one of those games and the ending theme, even though it's in 8-bit midi was such a bittersweet song that complimented Maxim's pyrrhic victory perfectly. (Careful - Video contains end of game spoilers).

7. Mortal Kombat - Mortal Kombat
Yes, I know that this song is not from the actual game, but come on! This song was just outrageous. If you claim you didn't like it, YOU SUCK!

6.  Super Mario Bros  - Super Mario Bros Original Theme
This game makes the list because basically it's the most recognizable video game tune ever created. There are people living in caves in Botswana, Africa that will instantly know this tune if you start whistling it.

5. Gears of War 3 - Heron Blue
This song was from the trailer and edited versions are in parts of the game. I saw a comment on a Gears video a while ago that sums it up for me; "Halo music makes you feel like a hero. Gears music makes you feel like you've been through hell and back."

4. Resident Evil 2 -  Police Station
 This game scared me shitless when I was a kid and a lot of it had to do with the music. Sitting up at midnight with all the lights off and a blanket over my head, just peeking out enough to see the screen. I'll always remember the pants shitting terror I felt every second of playing through this game.

 I love the intro to Bioshock. You're thrown out of a plane wreck into this crazy, underwater, dystopian world. I think it needs to be watched/listened to with the voice over from Andrew Ryan to fully appreciate the piece. Skip to 0:46 in the video.

2. The Elder Scrolls - Morrowind Oblivion Skyrim
I've had to throw three in here because they are all gorgeous pieces of music. Morrowind is slow, graceful, building. Oblivion is a bit more urgent, adventurous and grandiose. And as for Skyrim, another famous internet commenter said, "Listen to this song in the morning at full volume. Guaranteed to make you want to go to war with your day!" and I think that sums it up nicely. 

Bonus Elder Scrolls Song -  The Dragonborn Comes 
 This is an actual bard song that you can hear the bards signing in Taverns throughout Skyrim. There are heaps of covers of it, but I think this one is the best.

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Overworld
Everyone who's a serious gamer knows this song in some form or another. My personal favourite piece of video gaming history. Enjoy the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 25th Anniversary edition of this song.



There are a lot of epic game themes out there so feel free to add your own favourites in the comments. 

Until next time dear readers. Until next time.