A Tau Project

Something I meant to add on the bottom of that last post... (but then thought hey, it deserves its own little page)

If you are a fan of Warhammer, specifically Warhammer 40,000, then feel free to check out this thread over on the popular wargaming forums Warseer. Myself, along with a couple of friends have decided to try and paint 1000pt armies and will be using that thread to show what we've done so far.

My current army is based on the Farsight Enclaves which is a supplement to the standard Tau Empire Codex.

If you have no idea of what I'm talking about then perhaps that link isn't for you!

GTA Inbound

If you are here, looking at this, then I doubt you'll need to be reminded about what is being released on Tuesday. OK, so you've got the big names in gaming, you've even got Call of Duty, but no videogame can come close to the hype levels of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series.

Gaming press, mainstream press, friends, family...hell even your nan has heard of/spoken about GTA these past few weeks. Its been delayed a number of times which has caused forum commenter's to rage, but all is forgiven in the world as we are only days away from the release of the biggest game of the year.

I saw an image on Facebook the other day (which I sadly forgot to download or remember who posted it) showing a small independent game shop's front window. Displayed in it was a small notice, announcing that the shop would be shut on Wednesday 18th September due to everyone (including themselves) being at home playing GTA V. It made me chuckle as its true, I fully expect my own shop to be quieter than normal (in stark contrast to Tuesday, which will be horrifically busy).

Personally I'm really looking forward to taking a spin around Los Santos and see for myself it can live up to the hype that has been generated. The trailers have certainly left more of an impression compared to GTA IV, which don't get me wrong was a great game but like many others boredom set in as the environments didn't have enough diversity. Something tells me based on the trailers and the leaked map (see below) that diversity will not be an issue with this title.

 

I feel sorry for a lot of the upcoming unreleased games that are just coming out on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 as the timing of GTA has been timed really well. With tons of content I've had a fair number of customers state that it'll (hopefully) keep them going until the launch of the new consoles (starting with the Xbox One on November 22nd). A number of regulars are already holding back on purchases due to GTA and the new consoles. While sales of Saints Row IV were good sales figures from other notable releases such as Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Diablo 3 I would expect to be higher if they'd been released further forward in the year, possibly even as late as a month ago.

If both/one of the machines had backwards compatibility then yeah, maybe people would be more keen to splash the cash now, but as I mentioned in a previous post it wouldn't have been financially viable for Sony and Microsoft to work compatibility into the new machines without giving something up or adding further cost to the consumer.

E3 Coverage

So today is the big day!

E3 is ready to kick off this evening, starting with Microsoft's presentation at 5.30pm. EA follow at 9pm, with Ubisoft finishing the day off at 11pm.

Early birds (not including me, I'm afraid ill be watching a re-run afterwards) can catch Sony's presentation at 2am tomorrow morning. To finish off with have Nintendo, albeit not an E3 presentation per say, releasing a new Nintendo Direct video which will focus on the Nintendo Wii U.

I'll be tweeting (amongst everyone else) during the presentations. Why not join in? You can follow me on Twitter, @TeldurUK. Use the #E3BP hash tag to join in with my fellow processors views.

Console Wars: The Next Generation

Just about enough time to type up a few words!

OK, so we've known for a long time that Microsoft have been busy behind the scenes creating their newest piece of hardware. Lets be honest, they've done a terrible job at trying to keep the project under wraps.

On May 21st we shall finally see the unveiling of the new Xbox via a live stream. Microsoft have already raised their hands and said that the announcement in May is purely a taster of whats to come when E3 rolls around in June, but hopefully we'll see enough to wet out appetites.

Will you need to be online at all times? Is it true that it'll have Blu Ray capabilities? Will they step up and bring some new IPs to the table? Is the focus still very much on entertainment 'apps'?

So many questions.

We do know however, that we shall get a glimpse of the new Call of Duty during the conference. Activision have announced Call of Duty Ghosts, and aside from a teaser video little else is know. It is however confirmed thanks to the new official site that we'll learn more during the Xbox showcase.

We've already had a peak at what Sony have planned for the Playstation 4 while Nintendo already have the Wii U on the market. With all this new tech hitting retailers the gaming industry should hopefully have an uplift compared to the decline in sales and new releases. The decline points towards the recent recession and the inevitable end of console cycle lack of new, exciting titles (alright, we've had a few exceptions!).

Another phenomenon that occurs when so many new consoles and games launch are the attack of fanboys.

Ahhh....fanboys.

Yes, they can be aggressive, one sided, hitting forums with jaded views...

Would a new console cycle be as exciting without a horde of game hungry fans wanting to prove to others that their favourite console is better than everyone elses?

No it wouldn't.

While the 'console wars' will never be as 'entertaining' as the glory days with SEGA squaring off with Nintendo (check out this for a direct advertisement aimed at your competitor!) the new Xbox and Playstation will still create a stir between friends.

I've got some articles and projects on-going (mainly related to my actual job, but a few journalism based ones too), which I hope to unleash soon. In the meantime, if anyone has access to a time machine, or even a cloning device, give me a shout yeah?

New Work

< enter excuse for not posting on here for a while here >

I have got one major update however! I've started writing news articles for Grainger Games, a UK-based videogame retailer. My first article (regarding the Nintendo Direct video posted last week) was posted a few days ago while a second is on its way.

While at the moment they won't be super regular I am hoping to get the opportunity to post more often in the near future. Watch this space!

Due to lots of things I've been unable to kickstart the Blast Process podcast into action. Tom (fellow Blast Processor and regular podcast co-host) has gone and created a new podcast in the meantime alongside his friend Matthew. It's called Tom + Mat Attack and they currently have two episodes online. Follow this link to listen or alternatively search for them on iTunes.