Wishing you all a happy holiday

What better way to celebrate endure Christmas Eve than with a black metal mix-tape courtesy of Anti-Gravity Bunny? Black (Metal) Mixmas IV is over 4 hours long, contains some of the year's best offerings from the sub-genre, and is free to download. 

According to Anti-Gravity Bunny, the mix-tapes have been split into traditional (Part 1 & 2), post (Part 3), and experimental (Part 4) black metal. Each part is also short enough to be burnt onto a CD, to help facilitate the spreading of the bleakness. My new neighbours will probably never experience a Christmas quite as black as this ever again.

CoD: Ghosts of Christmas present

It's almost time to celebrate the winter/ summer solstice, dependent of whether you're in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. Associated with this event, many also celebrate the holiday dedicated to Santa Claus's birthday by observing the cardinal sins; greed, envy, gluttony, and sloth, often in this precise order.

Fortunately those at the Call of Duty: Ghosts camp are being quite old fashioned, and are celebrating the occasion by giving us a gift in the form of the Festive Personalization Pack. The 'Festive Pack' contains a holiday sweater weapon camo, and seasonally themed reticle, playercard, background, and patch. 

If you're playing on an Xbox 360, Xbox One, or P,C the 'Festive Pack' is already available for download. However, if you're playing on a PlayStation 3 or 4, you'll have to wait a while longer for the holiday spirit to kick-in, as the release date is still 'TBA,' as per the CoD: Ghosts Micro Items site.

While to weapon camo looks utterly useless, I quite like the snowflake reticle and patch, which could work rather nicely for a soldier in a snow camouflaged uniform. Dependent on when the PlayStation versions of the Pack become available, and whether I can download it to my PC and transfer it to my PS3, will dictate whether I get this or not. On the top of my list if things to do next year, is to set up a wireless network at home, then I'll be able to start downloading all types of cool stuff for my PS3.

So this is happening... Tales from the Borderlands

So this is happening. Telltale Games, responsible for the successful The Walking Dead series, is making a series called Tales from the Borderlands that will be set in the Borderlands universe.

There has been no information released as to which platforms the game will be developed for, but going on the popularity of the Borderlands franchise, I'd imagine that it'll be playable on every platform available.

I'm pretty stoked by this news, but probably wont get around to playing this until at least a year after it's been released. Hopefully by then Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition will have been released here in South Africa, I will have been able to finish it, and all the episodes of Tales from the Borderlands will have been released on a single disc.

New tune from Sol Invicto

Sol Invicto have added another single to their Tapes series. Gleech starts of sounding like an anthem for the impending apocalypse, but at around 50 second mark the sounds of the lost souls begin to give way to an infectious beat.

I've had Gleech on repeat for the last half hour or so, and I'm loving it. Now to wait for the rumoured second offering from Richie Londres' other project, Okujira.

Nine Inch Nails announce live DVD and Blu-ray

Following the release of the Live 2013 EP, and several videos of performances and behind the scenes action from the Tension 2013, Nine Inch Nails have released a 90 minute video from their performance in Los Angeles last month. This also just happens to be one of the concerts I was planning to attend if I found myself in Los Angeles that week, but sadly the trip never went ahead.

The above video also serves as a promo for the expanded concert set for release next year on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital distribution. According to the nin.com minisite, and Facebook the full concert will be releases, with 5.1 surround sound audio mix, as well as additional content.

I'll be aiming to get the Blu-Ray, as I want to experience the Los Angeles show in full-HD, which will be the next best thing to actaully having been there myself. Hopefully I'll be able to catch Nine Inch Nails on a future European or North American tour, as I doubt they'll be heading to South Africa any time soon.

Stasis is funded!

Stasis, the indie horror game that I posted about a month ago, has been successfully funded over on Kickstarter. This is excellent news for local game developers, as it shows there is interest in the community. The Stasis project has also unveiled several 'stretch goals,' including:

• $ 105 000 - Suicide: Key items can be used on John, CAUTION... may be fatal!
• $ 120 000 - Mark Morgan: An extended Mark Morgan Soundtrack
• $ 140 000 - Cayne Chapter: A prequel chapter of Stasis added to the full game

If you haven't yet, I highly suggest giving the alpha demo a go. It took me a little over an hour and a half to complete, and sets up the story really well. The demo reveals just enough information to pique your interest, and leaves you wanting to know more about the Cayne Corporation and their motives.

It would be great if all these stretch goals could be met, but with only three days to go, I think the 'Cayne Chapter' goal might be just a little out of reach. Let's see what happens during those last three days though.

Beer versus coffee

Here's a neat infographic featuring two of my favourite beverages; beer and coffee:

Source: I Love Coffee

I'd imagine you could substitute 'beer' in the above infographic for any other alcoholic beverage, since it's the alcohol content of the beer that makes it a 'creative juice.' In which case, why not kick of a productive day with an Irish coffee!

Lots of paint and talent here

Here's a video by Selina Mills, featuring a bunch of talented graffiti artists who have been given access to an abandoned warehouse, and a seemingly endless supply of paint.

The soundtrack is by a guy who goes by the name of DJ Butcher. You can download the Limitless EP here, if you liked what you heard in the video.

††† first music video

Earlier this month, Sumerian records released a promotional video that included a full stream of the audio for the ††† track, Bitches brew. Yesterday the music video for Bitches brew was released via Rolling Stone. 

Pre-order bundles of the full album also went live yesterday. The album will collect all tracks from the first three EPs onto a single CD. The vinyl editions are available as either a white or charcoal 12" double vinyl. All bundles include digital download of the album, and a 18 x 24" poster. For those who'd you'd really like to show your allegiance to the band, there are also several t-shirt designs, and a zip-up top available too.

The début album from ††† will be available 11 February 2014.

Queens of the Stone Age release live EP, '...Like Cologne'

Queens of the Stone Age have released an EP via Spotify entitled ...Like Cologne. I Imagine it contains a series of live recordings from the groups recent Cologne show, but I can't be certain since Spotify doesn't work in my region. 

I do however quite like the snot-green* cover. Perhaps Spotify should consider re-branding itself 'Snotify.'

After some scratching around, I was able to find the following video of the band performing The vampyr of time and memory in Cologne, Germany. Perhaps some additional digging will find other treasures...

Queens of the Stone Age - "The Vampyre of Time and Memory" live in Cologne from Matador Records on Vimeo.

--

* snot, as in nasal mucous, as per the second definition on Urban Dictionary.

Epic new track from aKING

Here'a a new track from one of my favourite South African bands, who also happen to be one of the lesser appreciated local acts when it comes to radio play, and getting opportunities to open for touring international acts. Follow is the first single from aKING's forthcoming full-length album, Morning After.

The vampyre of time and memory: An interactive video

Okay, so it took a little while longer to be released than originally claimed by the Queens of the Stone Age camp, but here it is, the interactive music video for The vampyre of time and memory. 

I don't get much further than the portrait of Josh Homme before the video stops. I'll have to wait until I get to the office tomorrow morning so that I can take advantage of the faster internet connection. Perhaps by then the demand by people trying to watch this may have eased up a bit. 

Uncharted for PS4 & The Last of Us DLC revealed

Naughty Dog have announced that the Uncharted series will get a PlayStation 4 release, and that The Last of Us will be getting some DLC treatment.

The new instalment in the Uncharted series will be a PS4 exclusive, and so far even the final title hasn't been revealed, let alone the story line of the game. There is a lot of speculation as to whether the new game will continue on from the story of the PS3 trilogy, be a prequel, or reboot the franchise for the new console. Personally, I'm hoping that this will be a new story arc that introduces a new cast of characters, and takes place contemporaneously with the timeline of the original trilogy.

What we do know so far is that the map in the trailer follows the southern African coastline, with the names around South Africa written in Portuguese. Bartolomeu Diaz sailed around South Africa in 1488, while Vasco da Gama repeated this feat in 1497. 

As Île Sainte-Marie, a small island off the eastern coast of Madagascar, is circled on the map, the narrator says, "I'll be there, sifting through the wreckage." Interestingly, the name of the island is abbreviated as 'I. St. Mary,' suggesting English occupation. This may allude to the story of Captain William Kidd, who salvaged all the metal fixtures from his vessel the Adventure Galley, before she was scuttled in 1698.*

The closing line, "You owe me," also hints at story plot that will involve Kidd and his friend, turned nemesis, Robert Culliford. In 1690 Culliford lead a mutiny against Kidd, which saw Kidd losing command of the Blessed William. When the two encountered on another again in 1698 on Île Sainte-Marie, Kidd plotted to capture the pirate's fleet, but ultimately his crew turned against him, joining the ranks of Culliford instead. A double-blow for Kidd, which left him with only 13 members of crew. It is this incident that likely lead to the abandonment of the Adventure Galley.

While I haven't played any of the previous Uncharted games, this could well be a games that will convince me to buy a PlayStation 4 over the Xbox One. At least I can play the trilogy first while waiting for all the bugs to be worked out, and allow for prices to drop. Win-win situation.

The Last of Us will be getting its first single player DLC in the form of Left Behind. I haven't played this game yet either, although it was the first game that I considered pre-ordering. What put me off was all the reviews giving this game 10/ 10 well over a week before it's release date. It just gave me the initial impression that all those were paid for reviews. Several months after release, I'm now torn between buying it on sale, or waiting for the obligatory 'Game of the Year' version that will no doubt be released next year. Either way this is one title I'd like to add to my collection.

I'm not familiar with the original story line, but a description of the DLC states that this story will feature Ellie, and serve as a prequel to the events of the original game. I'm not sure how I feel about prequel DLC, but hopefully this will add to the original story, not detract from it. Since there are no cool history easter eggs in this trailer, that's all I have to say about it. 

--

* There are contradictory accounts of the Adventure Galley's fate, Kidd says that she sank, while a crew member told of her being burnt after scuttling.

Heroes of the Storm Beta sign up available

Blizzard Entertainments's new mulitplayer online brawler, Heroes of the Storm, has opened a period of beta sign up for those wanting to get stuck into the game early. While I'm not a fan of always online games, I am a huge fan of all three of Blizzard's gaming universes. Heroes of the Storm will literally see these universes collide, allowing for epic battles such as those seen in the trailer below. 

Heroes of the Storm will feature several classes of hero (Assassin, Warrior, Support, Specialist), including several favourites from Blizzard's catalogue. The appearance and abilities of heroes will be customisable, allowing for a variety of playing styles.

While the cinematic trailer looks incredible, as does the gameplay video, I think what has interested me the most about Heroes of the Swarm is the inclusion of Nova from the indefinitely postponed project, StarCraft: Ghost. Given Nova's repeated appearances in StarCraft II releases, I wonder if there is still a plan to complete and release SC: Ghost? I was genuinely disappointed when SC: Ghost was announced as a console exclusive. With development on the game having gone on for such a length of time, perhaps this is one title better left incomplete, and unreleased, to prevent it from being another Duke Nukem Forever. However this is Blizzard we're talking about, and they're capable of miracles, as seen in the recent console release of Diablo III.

Anyway, I've signed up for the Heroes of the Storm beta, and if granted access I now exactly which heroine I shall choose. Yup, you guessed it, Nova!

Lego Marvel Super Heroes character list

With the release of Lego Marvel Super Heroes in South Africa taking place on Friday, I thought I'd share the list of the playable characters featured in the game, as well as a link to download the demo for PC.

1. A-Bomb
2. Abomination
3. Absorbing Man
4. Agent Coulson
5. AIM Agent
6. Aldrich Killian
7. Ant-Man
8. Archangel
9. Arnim Zola
10. Aunt May
11. Beast
12. Beetle
13. Beta Ray Bill
14. Black Bolt
15. Black Cat
16. Black Panther
17. Black Widow
18. Blade
19. Blob
20. Bruce Banner
21. Bullseye
22. Captain America
23. Captain Britain
24. Carnage
25. Colossus
26. Curt Conners
27. Cyclops
28. Damage Control Worker
29. Daredevil
30. Dark Phoenix
31. Deadpool
32. Destroyer
33. Doctor Strange
34. Doombot
35. Dormammu
36. Dr. Doom
37. Dr. Octopus
38. Drax the Destroyer
39. Elektra
40. Electro
41. Emma Frost
42. Extremis Soldier
43. Falcon
44. Fandral
45. Frost Giant
46. Galactus
47. Gambit
48. Gamora
49. General Ross
50. Ghost Rider
51. Green Goblin
52. Groot
53. Gwen Stacy
54. Havok
55. Hawkeye
56. Heimdall
57. HERBIE
58. Hogun
59. Howard the Duck
60. Hulk
61. Human Torch
62. HYDRA Agent
63. Iceman
64. Invisible Woman
65. Iron Fist
66. Iron Man
67. Iron Patriot
68. J. Jonah Jameson
69. Jane Foster
70. Jean Grey
71. Juggernaut
72. Kingpin
73. Kingpin's Henchman
74. Kraven the Hunter
75. Kurse
76. Lady Deathstrike
77. Lady Liberty
78. Laufey
79. The Leader
80. Lizard
81. Loki
82. Luke Cage
83. Magneto
84. Magneto Acolyte
85. Malekith the Accursed
86. Mandarin
87. Maria Hill
88. Mary Jane Watson
89. Mastermind
90. Mini Sentinel
91. MODOK
92. Moon Knight
93. Mysterio
94. Mystique
95. Mr. Fantastic
96. Ms. Marvel
97. Nick Fury
98. Nightmare
99. Nova
100. Odin
101. Pepper Potts
102. Peter Parker
103. Phoenix
104. Polaris
105. Power Man
106. Prisoner
107. Professor Xavier
108. Psylocke
109. Punisher
110. Pyro
111. Red Hulk
112. Red Skull
113. Rescue
114. Rhino
115. Rick Jones
116. Rocket Raccoon
117. Ronan the Accuser
118. Roxxon Guard
119. Sabretooth
120. Sandman
121. Sandman Goon
122. Sentinel
123. She-Hulk
124. SHEILD Agent
125. Shocker
126. Sif
127. Silver Samurai
128. Silver Surfer
129. Spider-Man
130. Spider-Woman
131. Squirrel Girl
132. Stan Lee
133. Star-Lord
134. Storm
135. Super-Skrull
136. Symbiote Scientist
137. Taskmaster
138. Thanos
139. Thing
140. Thor
141. Toad
142. Tony Stark
143. Union Jack
144. Venom
145. Viper
146. Volstagg
147. Vulture
148. War Machine
149. Wasp
150. Whiplash
151. Winter Soldier
152. Wizard
153. Wolverine

That's one heck of a list, and by no means exhaustive as there is sure to be additional DLC characters in the future. As you may see though, some of these characters are not super heroes, and a few others are merely alter-egos. I wonder if this means that the Peter Parker figure will not be able to transform into one of the Spider-Man figures though? Several of these characters, most notably Iron Man, will also have several skins that will wach have different abilities. Some of these characters have also been slated as being DLC exclusives, and not part of the core game.

I pre-ordered the Toy Edition of the game, which comes with an exclusive Iron Patriot Lego mini figure. I didn't order this especially for the figure though, it just happened to be the cheapest option. This will be my first gaming figure, although probably not nearly as impressive as the figures included in a few of the other releases so far this year. Splinter Cell: Black List (5th Freedom Edition), and Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag (Buccaneer Edition) come to mind.

How to Death Metal

Here's a quick video tutorial from the Super Quest just for all those aspiring guitarists out there. this one will teach you how to 'Death Metal!'

Super Quest's series of How to Metal videos are pretty hilarious, even if at times a little silly. But that's the point. Also, that's a rad shirt, even though I don't like yellow.

New Sol Invicto and Okujira tracks

Richie Londres has been a busy guy. On Monday (Sunday if you're part of the Comiti) Londres' project Sol Invicto released another track as part of their Tapes Series. Unlemon was manipulated and recorded live. As Londres described it, "nothing fancy just some noise." 

This morning Londres released a video for the début track from another of his projects, dirty hip hop group featuring Amy Yanick, Okujira. The song is called Black gold, and it reminded me of Saul Williams' work. This might explain the recent Sol Invicto remix of the Williams' track Break last month.

Call of Duty: Ghosts - I've earned my mask

Call of Duty: Ghosts is the first title from Activision's multi-billion dollar franchise that I have played. I'd read a few reviews saying that the single player campaign would take approximately six hours to complete on the regular difficulty setting. A little sceptical that the campaign would be that short, I started playing Ghosts late Friday evening. Most of Saturday was spent out of the house, but I managed to progress about two-thirds of the way through the storyline by Saturday night. On Sunday morning I managed to 'earn my mask.' 

I didn't take note of how many actual hours I'd spent playing Ghosts, but I managed to complete the campaign during three relatively short sessions, which also had a few rounds of Extinction thrown in for some variety. So the single player campaign really is quite short.

Regardless, I still enjoyed playing the game, which is the whole point of playing the game isn't it? Yes, the graphics aren't quite as good as all those screen shots being thrown around of the game being played on next-generation consoles, but at least I got to play it at 1080p. All that 'resolutiongate' stuff doesn't really matter though, because the action is so fast-paced there will be very little time to stop and clip the foliage.

The constant on going action was actually an aspect that I didn't particularly like about the game. I found it difficult to follow the dialogues, and concentrate on where enemy gunfire was coming from simultaneously. I guess this is since Ghosts is based around missions which make up standalone levels, as opposed to the free-roam type of shooter (e.g. Tomb Raider and Borderlands) that I am used to. This non-stop action definitely adds to the intensity of the game experience.

I now need to sit down and organise a proper internet connection for my console. Then I'll be able to get stuck into playing some online multiplayer, and experience the real reason the Call of Duty franchise is so popular first-hand. That said, my inability to follow dialogue, and enemies at the same time may mean that I wont make a particularly successful online soldier, but I wont know until I've given it a go. This might be a good excuse to get that head set I've been eyeing out for the past few weeks though. Either way, I'm especially looking forward to playing Extinction with someone else to help me take out all those damn zerglings, as well as seeing my customised soldier in action.

Overall, Call of Duty: Ghosts hasn't been my favourite first person shooter title (that would be Borderlands), but I did enjoy playing through the single player campaign. I thought that the games ending was absolutely brilliant. I had just breathed a sigh of relief, as the credits rolled, and then back to another cut scene. I was left thinking, 'did that just happen?' Without spoiling the ending too much, this was an obvious way to leave the door open for the development of a sequel.

Given the shortness of the campaign, I will likely play through Ghosts at least once more on a higher difficulty setting in order to try find the remaining Rorke Files, and unlock a few more trophies. But before I do so, I want to spend some more time exploring the intricate worlds of Sanctuary and Pandora.

Stasis - A South African indie game

Stasis is a 2-D, 'point and click' adventure game, created by Chris Bischoff, and presented in an isometric view. The story is set in the not too distant future, and follows John Maracheck as he explores the derelict research vessel, Groomlake, which appears to be mostly abandoned. 

For a game being put together by an independent developer only during his spare time in the evenings and over weekends, the visuals for Stasis look absolutely astounding. You can tell that Bischoff, and the the rest of The Brotherhood are passionate about the project. The Brotherhood has launched a Kickstarter project in order to raise sufficient funds to make this sci-fi horror game a reality. Stasis has been under development for three years already, which probably accounts for why it looks so damn good. 

If you're still not convinced, and want to see more, you can download the alpha demo for yourself and give it a go. I downloaded it last night, and only spent about 15 minutes wandering around the Groomlake, accessing the odd computer terminal, and reading some of the background information.

I was quite blown away by just how good this looks, and it is evident from several interviews (scroll down for links) with Bischoff that he has a clear vision for how the storyline will pan out. Apparently the alpha demo will take between 1 to 2 hours to complete, depending on your familiarity with 'point and click' style games. I'll spend more time exploring the Groomlake during the next week, and depending on the experience will depend on how much I pledge to the project. The sculpture looks great, but at $449, the Definitive Edition reward is a little out of my league. Even the $78 Classic Edition is a bit much, so I may just settle for the Digital or Expanded Editions, even though I do like physical copies over digital downloads. Alternatively I could wait to see if a post-Kickstarter physical package of the game is released.

Gaming goals for the rest of the year

I seem to be amassing quite a backlog of games to play. At present I have around seven titles that I either haven't started, or intend to restart because I didn't make much progress with them in the first place. These include God of War III, Far Cry 3, The Resistance Trilogy, and Call of Duty: Ghosts, which arrived yesterday evening. 

I'm still in two minds whether to try restarting Midnight Club: Los Angeles and Need for Speed: Most Wanted, or just carry on where I left off a couple of months ago. I never really felt comfortable with the default controls for either, which is why I stopped enjoying the games, and thus stopped playing them.

I am currently spreading my gaming time between three titles; Mortal Kombat, Borderlands, and Diablo III. I'm having some difficulty defeating Shao Kahn, the final boss in Mortal Kombat. I've tried reading a couple of walk-through guides for advice, but none of the tactics discussed in these have worked for me. I haven't given up on defeating him, and completing the story mode yet, I'm just putting it off until later. 

I've managed to finish the main story, and the first DLC, The Zombie Island of Dr. Zed in Borderlands. I played a bit of the second DLC, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, but since no experience is gained, and no loot is dropped while playing these levels, it got pretty tedious playing it on my own very quickly. I dropped the Underdome DLC in favour of the third DLC, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx. This has actually been my favourite addition to the main title so far. I've managed completed the main story arc of the DLC, but still have a few of the side missions to to finish, including the 'Secret Final Boss,' which I plan to leave until my character has reached at least Level 50, perhaps even higher. 

I'll start playing the fourth and final Borderlands DLC, Claptrap's New Robot Revolution as a means to gain experience and level-up, and if that's not enough to get me to Level 50+, then I'll replay the main title a second time on a higher difficulty.

To have a bit of a break from first person shooters (FPS) the week before the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts, I started playing Diablo III. Like Borderlands though, this game is probably going to take some time and dedication to complete it. This game is great though, and I'll be happy to whittle away hours of the day slaying monsters in Sanctuary. I'll probably play CoD: Ghosts this weekend, and possibly try finish the short single player campaign before the end of the weekend. If I succeed then I'll probably split the rest of my time evenly between trying to level up my Borderlands and Diablo III characters.

My plan is to add CoD: Ghosts, Mortal Kombat, and Borderlands to my list of completed games by the end of the year. Hopefully next year I'll also be able to finish the God of War and Resistance trilogies, as well as Diablo III, Far Cry 3, and a few more games I'm planning on adding to the backlog over the next fem months. These include The Last of Us, Assassins Creed Heritage Collection, Borderlands 2: Game of the Year, Lego Marvel Super Heroes (already pre-ordered), and possibly The Walking Dead: Game of the Year, although it looks as though my brother will be getting this for his Xbox 360. At least I'll have plenty to keep me busy while waiting for all the bugs, and teething problems to be worked out of the next generation of consoles. As an added bonus the price of these consoles may drop a few months after the launch dates too. I'm in no rush however to ditch my PS3 or its games, especially since I'd still like to replay some of the games I've already completed, such as Heavy Rain, to unlock additional trophies and end sequences, and to experience other titles, such as Tomb Raider, and pretty much all the FPS I own, through some online play against other humans. There will still be people playing PS3 games online after the launch of the PlayStation 4/ Xbox One wont there?

It has begun...

I finally got around to finishing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction last week, more than a decade after its original release. To be honest, I don't really remember what the outcome of the game was. Other than the fact that the loot dropped by Baal was pretty useless, I barely remember the closing cinematic. Come to think of it, was there even one?

So this weekend I decided to get started on Diablo III. I'd watched the opening cinematic for Diablo III when I installed the system updated, but I decided to watch it again for inspiration before creating my character. It's mind-blowing how much more realistic the Diablo III characters, Leah and Deckard Cain are drawn, when compared to Marius and The Dark Wanderer of Diablo II. Even more amazing is just how good the controls for Diablo III are mapped to the PlayStation 3's DualShock controller. It feels as though the game was developed specifically to be played on a current generation console. Initially I was a little sceptical of how the mouse and keyboard controls would recreated for console controllers, and I'm relieved to say that this was actually done exceptionally well.

For now the only advantage of using a mouse comes in the form of being able to left-click (or right-click, depending on what action you've assigned) on the monster I wish to attack, and by holding the mouse button, my character would continue to attack the enemy until it died. I find selecting which monster I want to attack with the controller a little more hap-hazard, and continually having to mash 'X' to attack is beginning to get a little frustrating. That said, I haven't tried holding 'X' while attacking, so that could be easily solved. But while attacking with the mouse in Diablo II, I never accidentally looted chests, used shrines, or opened doors. All of which have happened to me so far while playing Diablo III on a console. While no biggie, I have also unintentionally dropped chandeliers while fighting one monster, and waiting for another to step under said chandelier. Perhaps the 'loot/ use/ break/ open' action button is the one thing I would change, and have it assigned to another button. Since I've only played a few hours, maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Based partly on the results from the Diablo III character class poll (thanks to the person who voted), the fact that Act V of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is set on the foothills of Mount Arreat, in the heart of the Barbarian homeland, and that I have never played using the Barbarian, I created a Barbarian class character.

Despite not having spent much time playing Diablo III, and apart from the few quibbles above, I've enjoyed every other aspect of the game so far, and am looking forward to spending many more hours exploring the world of Sanctuary, slaying beats and monster, while searching for better loot, and levelling up my character.

Lastly, here's a link to a cool infographic that Blizzard put together for the one year anniversary since the release of Diablo III.

Download first two parts of Batman: Arkham series for less than $5

While catching up on some gaming news over at Lazygamer this morning, I came across a post about a charity site called Humble Bundle. They sell game bundles through a 'pay what you want' scheme, were you can also choose where the money goes, either to the game developers, sponsored charities, or Humble Bundle itself. 

This iteration of the Humble Bundle contains four WB Games titles, that can be bought for as little as $1, however if you pay/ donate more than the average buyer, you'll get an additional two titles.

The four main titles are:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum (Game of the Year Edition)
• F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
• F.E.A.R. 3
• Lord of the Rings: War in the North

While those who donate more than the average, which is currently $4.62, will also receive:

• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• Batman: Arkham City (Game of the Year Edition)

So for less than $5, not only can you get a host of epic games to add to your backlog of games to play later, but you also get to support a worthy charity; in this case We Can Be Heroes.

If you're like me, and not an avid Steam user, then you can still show support for the cause by sending the Steam codes to someone else as a gift, or by purchasing some merchandise from the We Can Be Heroes store. Despite not being a huge fan of DC's superhero line-up, I do particularly like the looks of the grey shirt, and coffee mug. Maybe I should get one of these as a gift for my brother.

Stream ††† new track, 'Bitches brew'

Yesterday Spin.com announced that the groups first track off 'EP †††' could be listened to online. We heard teasers of the new track, Bitches brew, back in August and September, via the promotional videos released by Sumerian Records.

††† are set to release their third EP in February 2014. Pre-orders for the album will go live on record label Sumerian Records' website later this month. The EP will be available in both digital and physical formats, and will include tracks released on EP † and EP ††.

I'm wondering if the, "five additional songs," mentioned at the end of the Spin.com article will be made available as a stand-alone download for those who have already downloaded the first two ††† releases? Maybe that is the digital release, while the three EPs bundled together into a full length album could represent the physical release. Either way, I'm definitely interested in the physical release, as I'm not so sure I'd be prepared to pay to download these EPs again, just for five extra tracks, since I've already paid for the high-quality audio files of EP † and EP ††. However, I wouldn't mind paying again for the physical release.

Barcelona time-lapse

If you've been fortunate enough to visit Barcelona, watching Alexandr Kravtsov's video will make you long to return. If you've never had the privilege of visiting Barcelona, watching Alexandr Kravtsov's video will make you wish you could. And if you live in Barcelona, then you'll see exactly why so many tourists flock to your beautiful city.

BARCELONA. MOTION TIMELAPSE from Alexandr Kravtsov on Vimeo.

I'd love to return to Barcelona, and have more than one day set aside for sightseeing. Even though I spent a week in the city during July, most of my time was spent attending a conference. Fortunately I was able to eat quite a variety of tapas, sample the local beers, and share a few pitchers of sangria with colleagues in the evenings, but there was very little time to explore the city. Despite having seen relatively few of the sites it has to offer, Barcelona is one of my favourite cities, and is high on my list of places to return to one day.

X-Men: Days of Future Past - Official trailer

I hope this film is going to be as good as the trailer suggests. I recently watched X-Men: First Class, and really enjoyed it, apart from a rather lame looking Beast. This instalment of the X-Men story looks to sort that out, while introducing a few new mutants, and re-acquainting us with a few old, familiar favourites.

I ordered Call of Duty: Ghosts

I finally gave in and ordered the Call of Duty: Ghosts (Hardened Edition). I realised that I had a gift voucher from one of the retailers offering pre-orders, for a similar value as the difference in price between the regular edition, and the Hardened Edition. So I'm getting a CoD: Ghosts collector's edition, but only paying the price of the regular edition. Score!

Contents of the Hardened Edition

While there aren't a lot of physical goodies in the Hardened Edition, it does include quite a few digital items, including a season pass. Hopefully having a season pass to CoD: Ghosts, will help motivate me to fianlly getting around to connecting my PS3 to the internet. Then I'll not only be able download all the extra stuff (not just for CoD: Ghosts, but for several others titles too), but also play CoD: Ghosts online, as that seems to be where all the fun is to be had.

I haven't played any of the other CoD titles, so this will be my first experience with the series. I wont lie, I'm really looking forward to playing the underdogs in the single player campaign, as well as seeing what all the fuss is about the franchise. I'd also like to see if all the smack-talk from the Battlefield fan-boys is really warranted, although I haven't played Battlefield yet either. If I like enjoy playing CoD: Ghosts, then I reckon it was money well spent, and the Battlefield guys are wrong, if I don't enjoy the game, then I'll know to stay away from both franchises and rather stick to Borderlands for my first person shooter fix

Lastly, in case you are still unsure of whether to pre-order the game, here's single player campaign trailer. And watch those 'south of the equator' comments, I'm from south of the equator...

The vampyre of time and memory

Queens of the Stone Age will be releasing an interactive video for their next single, 'The vampyre of time and memory,' at the end of the month. Here's the teaser trailer which features Josh Homme, a lot of stuffed animals, and a woman in a French maid's outfit. It looks as though the final video could be rather interesting.

 

Will you survive the Extinction?

I happened to be looking at pre-order offers for Call of Duty: Ghosts when I came across an Instagram video from the CoD development team. On the right is the image from the video that caught my attention.

My initial thought was that this 'ghost mask' looked a lot like a chimera from the Resistance series. Turns out that there has been a much rumoured 'Extinction mode,' which as a result of the video, updated profile pictures on Facebook, and an album of screen shots (WARNING: here be potential spoilers!), now seems to be confirmed.

Extinction looks to be Infinity Ward's answer to Treyarch's hugely popular 'Zombies' mode from the Black Ops story arc.

I was considering giving Ghosts a miss, but after this 'announcement,' and after re-watching the multiplayer videos, I may reconsider that decision.

Animated Kurt Cobain interview

Here's an incredible animation by Blank on Blank of an interview that took place between the late Kurt Cobain and Jon Savage back in 1993. After watching this I'm feeling kind of 'happysad,' as my buddy Siam would say.

 

Hundred Million's skull shaped sugar spoons

I was having a quick browse through Kickstarter, when I noticed these quirky skull shaped spoons designed by Hundred Million. I was really impressed to see that the project has already surpassed it's target, and with 26 more days to go. Even more impressive is that Hundred Million has only 155 followers on Facebook, yet there are currently 164 people backing the project. This means they've gotten more exposure through their Kickstarter campaign, than through Facebook!

I'm really tempted to order a pair of these (or perhaps even the mug and spoon set) but at £8 a spoon, they're really pricey, especially with the present exchange rates. Interestingly a set of six spoons costs £40, which equates to roughly £6.66 per spoon. Coincidence? 

The special edition mug, which features a Mexican Day of the dead inspired design is downright rad. As is the catch phrase, 'dying for a coffee.' Sod it, I may just spoil myself with an early Christmas present, although I've already made the mistake of telling Em how much these are, so I may end up paying for these both literally and figuratively. Maybe I should get Em the wood pigeon cutting board...

What is your country best at?

Dog House Diaries compiled the following map of the world, showing which 'commodity' each country is the global leader of. Here's the list of sources if you want to see which countries save the most energy (Republic of Congo), or are the happiest (Costa Rica), or are the most corrupt (Turkmenistan).

Source: Dog House Diaries (bigger)

This video is mind blowing

After seeing this video, I'd love to know what these statistics are for South Africa.

More incredible videos from the GTA V community

Okay, so If these gameplay, and time lapse videos from Grand Theft Auto V haven't persuaded you to buy the game yet, then perhaps this next collection of videos from Rockstar Games, along with these photos, taken from within the game will. Just look at the incredible attention to detail!

I know I'm definitely regretting my decision to cancel my order, even though I still have quite a few unplayed games in my collection.

Free download from Ghost

Last week I shared the first track off the forthcoming EP from Ghost, which was produced by Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters). In that post I mentioned that if you pre-ordered the EP you'd receive a free download of the live recording of Secular haze. Well it turns out that any one can download the track for free, simply by providing an email address. Best of all, this isn't in a lossy format like most free downloads...

Dead Beats and Sol Invicto remixes

Before releasing the last track to Initium II, Sol Invicto treated us to a remix of Saul Williams' Break. The track originally appeared on Williams' album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, which was produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

Speaking of which, local production duo Dead Beats released a remix of Nine Inch Nails track, The hand that feeds this weekend too. It's been a while since I've listened to the original With Teeth version, but hearing this reminded me of how much I liked that song when it was released in 2005. Dead Beats have taken all the elements I liked from the original, and breathed new life into it. This is well worth a listen if you're a fan of Nine Inch Nails, and like hearing other artists interpretations of relatively well-known tracks.

If you enjoyed the remix then check out Dead Beats other offerings. They also have three EPs that can be downloaded for free. Two of these were released under the duos previous name, Sparrow.

Apologies to Sol Invicto

Halfway through writing the previous post I realised that I've been spelling the title of Sol Invicto's EPs Initium and Initium II incorrectly for almost a year. Bugger.

At least it's a pretty easy mistake to correct, and since no one corrected me, I'm assuming no one had even noticed.

Also, you can find where to download both EPs by clicking on the links above. The first track from Initium III will be released next weekend. Yes please!

Sol Invocto 'Initium II - 12.0'

Today saw the release of the final track making up Sol Invicto's second album, Initium II. The track follows on the naming convention for the Initium series, and is named 12.0. Unlike other tracks from Initium II however, this one features contributions from several members of the Sol Invicto fan base. As such, the full list of contributing artists quite long; 

Sol Invocto featuring Kyle Sams, Jaakko Eskelinen, Chris Murphy, Sal Marsh, Maja Pasaric, Frankie Giustino, Soren Toft, Erik Bustos, Gussemburger Laurent, Dan Koetter, Logan, Endira F J, LC Chantre, Jorge, Nicholas Melton, Nicole G, Natalie McGeehan, Clinton Stonich, Tyrian Purple, David Yu, Gibson J, Lauren Bradley, Miles Kalbach, Darla Tempel, Alex Boswell, Jake Hoffman, NdSansbury, Chuy Naj, Haff, Appacasiapeyus, Steve Joliffe, Gianluca Grippa.

As well as having one hell of a list of contributors, 12.0 clocks in at over 10 minutes, making it the longest track on the EP. The resulting track sounds absolutely astounding, which is a testament not only to the artistic skills on the Sol Invicto members, but also to all the fans who contributed something to the project. Well done to all parties involved.

Bloc Party - Obscene (Kele Okereke remix)

Kele Okereke (Bloc Party) is poised to a release a compilation album that will feature a remixed version of Bloc Party's track Obscene. The remix departs from the familiar Bloc Party sound, Okereke makes the track work incredibly. The bouncy beat makes this an immediate club banger for the UK clubbing scene.

Okereke's Obscene remix will be available exclusively on the Bloc Party Tapes compilation, which will also feature tracks by artist who have influenced both the direction of Okereke, and Bloc Party's sonic exploration.

The list of contributors is quite extensive, and the number of musical genres their skills encompass is inspiring. this adds further insight into just how complicated the sound of Bloc Party has become as the band has assimilated all these sounds and ideas, and formed something new from it all.

While admittedly not for all Bloc Party fans, this is a great way to be get a feel for the type of music the band, and more particularly Kele Okereke, listen to for pleasure and when looking for inspiration. If this sounds appealing, then take a listen to this 20 minute preview, or go have a look at the full track list for Bloc Party Tapes.

Dave Grohl produces new Ghost cover EP

Ghost (a.k.a. Ghost B.C.) teamed up with Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) to record an EP of covers by artists such as Depeche Mode, ABBA, and Roky Erickson. The EP takes its name from Erickson's single "If you have ghosts." In addition to recording and producing the first four tracks of the EP, Grohl also lends his superb drumming talents to the title track.

To promote the release of the EP, Ghost are also releasing a pretty sweet looking T-shirt bundled with either a CD or vinyl copy of the EP. Here's a look at the track listing:

1. If you have ghosts (Roky Erickson cover)
2. I am a marionette (ABBA cover)
3. Crucified (Army of Lovers cover)
4. Waiting for the night (Depeche Mode cover)
5. Secular haze (Live from the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Pre-order now to receive an instant download of the live version of Secular haze.

October brain teaser solution

Last week I posted the following brain teaser:

Here is the solution, showing all workings