Which game(s) are you looking forward to the most?

On the bus this morning, I figured it would be a good idea to create a poll relating to the updated list of games to be released towards the end of the year. For now the list only contains the games that I'm interested in, and the new generation console titles Assassin's Creed: Unity, and Destiny. I'll add any suggestions posted in the comments below. The poll will run up until 6 October,  the day before the earliest release date of a title on the list.

50 Display Seasons for the RAF Red Arrows

It's been quite some time since I've posted anything related to my other hobby, building model aircraft. That's partly because a majority of my stash, tools, and paints are sitting in another city, and partly because I've been almost completely absorbed by my newer hobbies, video gaming and photography. Planning a wedding is also partly to blame, as is the lack of a proper workspace to build any models in my new apartment.

Anyway, this year marks a significant milestone for one of my favourite display teams histories, with the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows performing its 50th Display Season. The occasion will be commemorated with a special design applied to the tail fin of the team's Hawk aircraft. 

I am particularly fond of this bold design as it features silhouettes of several Hawk and Gnat trainer aircraft (both of which have been flown by the team) leaving smoke trails which cross to form a stylised Union Jack.

I was fortunate enough to see a Red Arrows display in Cape Town in 1995 while Queen Elizabeth II was visiting South Africa, and would relish the opportunity to see the team perform again.

But back to model aircraft; both Airfix and Italeri are set to release Hawk kits featuring the 50 Display Seasons tail art. Airfix will have both 1:72, and 1:48 versions, while Italeri will only release a 1:48 version. In addition to the two Red Arrow Hawks, Airfix will also be releasing a 1:48 Gnat featuring Red Arrows livery.

I already have an Airfix Red Arrows Hawk in 1:72, as well as an older Revell 1:72 kit with the Red Arrows' millennium tail art. That wont stop me from adding the new Airfix 1:72 Hawk to my collection though, as if it's the same mould as my other Airfix Hawk, it'll be a beauty to build. I still want to build nine Red Arrows Hawks in various configurations, and liveries, and display them in the Reds iconic Diamond formation.

Banner image credit: SAC A. Fletcher; other images: www.raf.mod.uk/reds/

Q3-4 gaming release update. Now with pre-order details!

Since the news of the delay in release of Evolve, announcement of the development of the "old gen." exclusive, Assassin's Creed Rogue, and details emerging regarding various special editions of gaming releases I was already following, here's an updated list of gaming releases I'm looking forward to;

1. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (30 September) - pre-order exclusive: Dark Ranger skin
2. Alien: Isolation (07 October 2014) - Nostromo, and Ripley Editions
3. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (14/ 17 October 2014) - pre-order exclusive: Shock Drop Slaughter Pit challenge map
4. The Evil Within (21 October 2014) - pre-order exclusive: The Fighting Chance Pack
5. Assassin's Creed: Rogue (11 November 2014) - pre-order exclusives: The Ultimate Hunter Pack, and The Siege of Fortde Sable mission, as well as a Collector's Edition
6. Far Cry 4 (18 November 2014) - Limited, Kyrat, and Ultimate Kyrat Editions

I'm already starting to whittle down the list of titles I intend to purchase on, or near the release date. For now these are Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Far Cry 4: Kyrat Edition.* I'm still interested in the other titles, but the pre-order exclusives, or contents of the special editions, at present do not interest me. Now if either the Nostromo or Ripley Editions of Alien Isolation came with a replica Nostromo or Ripley, then I'd be interested. 

The Assassin's Creed: Rogue 'Ultimate Hunter Pack' content does look cool, but will the exclusive black Templar sails really change my gaming experience? I think not, although the additional mission may add an additional few hours of gameplay, so that could make pre-ordering Rogue at least a little more worthwhile than picking it up later. I'll continue to keep an eye on which content the various local retailers will be offering, as I have also seen a 'Commander Pack,' and 'Templar Pack' advertised locally, both of which share items with The Ultimate Hunter Pack. Sadly the Collector's Edition of Rogue does not include a figure of Shay Patrick Cormac, nor does it appear to include any of the item packs, but it does include physical copies of the official soundtrack, an art book, some lithographs, and a fancy box to keep it all in. Oh, and an additional single player mission entitled 'The Armor of Sir Gunn Quest.' I'm not sure these are enough to warrant an additional R300 for the Collector's Edition.

Guess my wallet isn't going to take quite as hard a knock, come October, as I had initially anticipated. Of the four games listed above with October release dates, I'm only actually interested in pre-ordering Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. The others can wait until they receive a price drop, or a 'Game of the Year' edition is announced. This will also mean others will have had time to review these games, allowing me to re-assess if whether I really need them in my collection. This pertains to Alien: Isolation particularly, as even though the information released looks very promising, there is still the abomination that was Aliens: Colonial Marine lurking in the back of many people's memories. 

This leaves only the Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag remake, and Far Cry 4, which I'm not even sure will offer the same experience on older consoles. Perhaps I'll wait until after I've gotten my hands on Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel to decide whether to purchase them, as by then  there should be more than enough fresh information available to help me decide the pros and cons of these releases. 

The physical content of the Kyrat Edition does look pretty sweet though,* and I did have a lot of fun playing Black Flag, so the decision between the two titles will definitely require some thought. Maybe I can use the money I save in October to buy both.

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* I'm a sucker for collector's editions that include replicas of props from within the game, hence these purchases.

Assassisn's Creed: Rogue - Polar bears, gangs & air rifles

A few days ago, two Assassins's Creed: Rogue gameplay walk through/ demos videos were released by Ubisoft. The first starts with a naval battle, and showcases the Morrigan's more nimble manoeuvring abilities compared to the Jackdaw from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, as well as a few new weapons. 

After defeating a few of the adversaries ships, we get to see new Assassin, turned Templar character, Shay Patrick Cormac, taking to land in order to liberate the gang (Assassin) controlled headquarters. This sequence looks very similar to the fort capturing side missions of Black Flag, but with a few added objectives, such as destroying the barrels of poison in this case.

The second video starts off in much the same way, even demonstrating the new arsenal of ship weaponry again.

After defeating the enemy ships, instead of heading towards a gang headquarters, we get to see the ice-breaking capabilities of the Morrigan, as well as the updated sea battle mechanics. Now when an enemy ship rams you, opposing crew are able to board your ship, starting a fight sequence on the deck of the Morrigan.

Profile of the Morrigan (Source)

At the moment Rogue is looking a lot like the previous Assassin's Creed title, Black Flag, with a few minor tweaks, and the addition of a some new weapons, a gas mask, and an 'Eagle sense.' In the above videos the HUD is the same, as are a lot of the finishing move animations, and even the sound effects while scrolling through the inventory, etc. I'm not sure whether this is the case due to this representing an early build of Rogue, or because a majority of the game is in fact just a 'copy and paste' of Black Flag, with a new skin for the lead character, and a new setting with snow and ice. That said, the story of an Assassin, turned Templar, hunting down Assassins is still a plot that sounds fairly interesting and exciting.

A perceived hole in the game's plot, is why an Irishman would be helping the British cause? During the period of the Seven Years' War (1754-1763) the Kingdom of Ireland, while still a separate entity to the Kingdom of Great Britain, fell under the rule of King George II, and later King George III. So at the time the Kingdom of Ireland was a British ally. It wasn't until a few decades later, during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, that the parties in opposition to the British rule of Ireland received military support from the French Revolutionary Government. 

I guess this is how the story arc of Assassin's Creed: Rogue will tie-in with the events of Assassin's Creed: Unity, which is set during the French Revolution. One can now assume that the Templars were supporting the British war effort, while the Assassins sided with the French. This further blurs the lines as to whether the Assassins, or the Templars are the good guys.

In the second video while Cormac is exploring the frozen shipwreck, at around the 06:50 mark, a flock of black and white birds can seen on the ice. At first I thought these were penguins, which would have been a mistake by the developers, given that penguins don't occur in the Arctic naturally. After confirming that the great auk was not extinct yet during this period, and judging by the large size of the birds, this seems a far more likely identification.

So while Far Cry 4 will have elephants, rhinoceroses, and honey badgers, Assassisn's Creed: Rogue will have polar bears, narwhals, and great auks.

Slipknot - .5:The Gray Chapter

A few weeks after releasing The negative one, which was not the official first single, but rather a "gift for the fans" according to vocalist Corey Taylor, Slipknot have now released the official first single, as well as the title of their upcoming fifth studio release.

The audio for the single, The devil in I was released earlier this morning (listen below), while details concerning the the new album were only released a few hours ago.

The album will be titled .5: The Gray Chapter, an obvious homage to late bassist, Paul Gray. As well as the standard 14 track release, .5: The Gray Chapter will also be released in a deluxe edition containing two additional tracks. Here's the list of tracks released via Facebook;

1. XIX
2. Sarcastrophe
3. AOV
4. The devil in I
5. Killpop
6. Skeptic
7. Lech
8. Goodbye
9. Nomadic
10. The one that kills least
11. Custer
12. Be prepared for hell
13. The negative one
14. If rain is what you want
15. Override (bonus track)
16. The burden (bonus track)

In addition to all this news pertaining to the album, Slipknot also announced the North American Hell Tour, with special guests Korn, and King 810. .5: The Gray Chapter will be released on 21 October, with pre-orders available here. Still no word regarding identity of the drummer on the new album though.

About paying more for peace of mind

I forgot to place a pre-order for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition before it's 19 August release date. My biggest concern was that I'd missed out on the 'pre-order exclusive' items, particularly the Infernal Pauldrons. 

After realising I'd missed the pre-order date I emailed Kalahari's support centre, as they were my preferred online retailer. I enquired as to whether the day one copies of the game also included the codes for the Infernal Pauldrons, etc. I received an automated response saying, "We are working extra hard  to respond within 24 ~ 48 hours."

By Friday afternoon I still hadn't received a reply to my question. So today I went to my favourite 'brick & mortar' shop for all my gaming needs, BT Games. The game was more expensive in-store than it was on either BT Games' and Kalahari's online stores, but regardless, I picked up a copy and asked the store clerk if they still had copies of the day one release that included the DLC codes. He said he wasn't sure. So I asked if I could open a copy to check its contents. I was told that I could, but then I'd have to buy the game, whether the DLC codes were included or not. It was a risk I was willing to take.

Initially the clerk tried to open the packaging in such a manner that if the codes weren't inside, he'd be able to reseal the packaging. Unfortunately this wasn't working out, so the clerk resorted to ripping the shrink wrap. The clerk told me that he could feel the disc was loose inside, so it was a good idea to open the packaging and check for scratches anyway. My heart sunk a little when the cover opened, and there was no DLC insert immediately noticeable. Instead I all I could see was the generic PS3 insert for the default controls. The insert looked pretty thin too, so I didn't get the impression of there being more than one. Fortunately I was mistaken, as upon leafing through the insert I discovered that there was indeed more than one,* and that one of these was the redemption code for the Infernal Pauldrons DLC. I thanked the clerk for his assistance, and happily paid for the game. 

At the end of the day I paid an extra R80 more (~18-20%) for the game than had I ordered it online, but at least I knew right there that it included the content I wanted. Ordering online may at times be more convenient, and cheaper, but in instances like this, it's great to have a local games shop like BT, where one can interact with staff who are genuinely passionate about the hobby, and eager to help customers. As the release dates of Alien: Isolation, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and Far Cry 4 draw closer, I'll definitely consider ordering from BT Games again, over their competitors.

Despite it not even being 21:30 yet, I'm just too knackered to switch on my PS3 in order to redeem the DLC codes, link gaming accounts, and then create a new character to check the 'exclusive' items stats, etc. So guess what I'll be up to first thing tomorrow morning while my wife is making me Belgium waffles for breakfast. Maybe I'll even post some pictures.

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* As an added bonus, there was a third insert advertising an additional Legendary Ring being available through a creating, or linking a Battle.net to a valid PSN account.

'Sonic Highways' full trailer

Every time more details are released regarding the Sonic Highways album/ T.V. series I get even more excited about the project. From the trailer, the series looks as though it is going to be the best thing on T.V. since Game of Thrones finished a few months back. The audio sounds very promising too. 

It would be great if Sonic Highways were to be performed in it's entirety during the Foo Fighters' South African tour. This could tricky though, given the number of additional contributors featured in the video, and on the album.

Venomous vs poisonous II

Just in case you're still confused about the difference between venomous and poisonous, here's a neat comic from Snake Buddies. Check out the link below if you're interested in a more detailed description of the differences.

Source: SnakeBuddies.net

Foo Fighters forever!

Foo Fighters have confirmed that their upcoming, eighth studio album will be called Sonic Highways. The album shares its title with the HBO documentary, directed by Dave Grohl which will detail the recording process of the album, as well as explore histories behind each of the eight studios visited during the creation of the album.

The cover for Sonic Highways (left) features landmarks from each of the eight cities the Foo Fighters recorded the album in, condensed into a single, inter-connected metropolis. The numeral '8' figures prominently in the centre of the artwork, as well as being hidden a further eight* times throughout the piece.

From the video below, it's evident that '8' not only signifies the eighth album, but is also used to represent infinity, or forever. 

I haven't been this excited for a new album since the announcement of Queens of the Stone Age's '...Like Clockwork' last year. I'm already counting down the days until 10 November 2014!

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* There could quite possibly be more hidden '8s,' but I stopped searching at eight.

New single from Zebra & Giraffe

Zebra & Giraffe have been relatively quiet for quite some time now, but that's mostly because they've been recording their fourth studio album, Knuckles. I wasn't able to make their recent stint of acoustic shows in Johanesburg, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to their new album any less. In fact, after hearing the new single, I've been bad, I'm looking forward to the new album even more, and regret not making the at least one of the acoustic shows last month.

The video shows the band performing for a group of people who wouldn't look out of place at a Sons of Anarchy barbecue.

Mad Max - fourth movie, and a game coming in 2015

For the last couple of weeks I've spent most of my gaming time exploring the desolate future of Rage. In my opinion this game is an absolute gem. Yes, it has a few niggles, like a lack of an autosave feature, and the texture pop-ins, but it was exactly what I was after as my next game to play.

Rage is an open-world shooter with a terrain that essentially looks like a more realistic rendition of Pandora (Borderlands), with the vehicles and weaponry of the original Mad Max movie. In fact the game shares a lot of features with the original Borderlands, such as the bounty boards, looting, and of course, the various bandit enclaves.

Before I found out about the existence of Rage, I was getting quite excited over the future release of the open-world Mad Max game being developed by Avalanche Studios. While the in-game Max looks very little like Mel Gibson, and more like Joel from The Last of Us, I'm guessing the game's Max is actually modelled to look more like Tom Hardy.

What does the Bane actor have to do with Mad Max? Well Hardy is playing the titular character in George Miller's fourth instalment, Mad Max: Fury Road, which is also set for a 2015 release. I'm guessing it makes more sense for the game's Max to look more like Fury Road's Max, than like the original Max, Mel Gibson. This will help the game and film tie-in with one another, even if that was not the initial intention. 

We'll have to wait to see how these new additions to the Mad Max franchise will be marketed. But it looks like my desire for another open-world game, set in a dystopian future will be satiated by Mad Max. In the meantime though, I'll quite happily continue to get that fix from Rage.

All rise...

Yesterday, Foo Fighters shared the following 8 second clip.

While there aren't too many details concerning the clip, it's likely the either the opening vocal of the record, or part of a verse or chorus for one of the new tracks, possibly the first single. Either way, I'm really stoked for the release of 'Studio Album Eight,' especially since I'll get the chance to hear some of the new songs from the album being performed live in December. 

Fincher's 'Seven' as an 8-bit video game

I'm a big fan of David Fincher, and Seven (sometimes stylised as Se7en) is easily one of his best works. If you haven't seen it yet, then here's a summary re-imagined as an '8-bit,' side scrolling adventure game. Actually, if you haven't seen the original yet, go watch it first, then come back and watch the 8-bit version. You'll appreciate it a lot more.

If you liked this video, here's a similar one for Iron man 3.

Announcing 'Assassin's Creed Rogue'

This year Ubisoft will giving the gaming world a double dose of Assassin's Creed, hidden-blade stabby stabby. Earlier this week the "old gen." exclusive title, Assassin's Creed Rogue was confirmed, with a release date for November this year.

Rogue is said to include sailing (a popular feature from Black Flag), wrap-up the North American storyline, and tie-in with the "new gen." exclusive, Assassin's Creed: Unity.

While Rogue might sound a bit like a 're-skinned' version of Black Flag at first, after watching the trailer I'm sure the darker, potentially more interesting storyline will attract a lot of interest.

To be honest, based on the trailers alone, Rogue is a bit more appealing to me in terms of the story. Add the fact that I don't have a "new gen." console, and Rogue becomes the obvious choice for my next third-person, stealthy, stabbing, sailing game.

Unlike Unity, Rogue will not be getting a PC, or Wii U release.

Evolve delayed till February 2015

Evolve, the game that I was most looking forward to coming out this year, has had its release delayed until early next year.

I guess one of the advantages to the postponement, is that I'll now have more time to play Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Alien: Isolation, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Far Cry 4, etc.

The new release date is set for 10 February 2015, which means that it'll be out just before Valentine's Day. I've already been dropping my wife some massive hints about wanting this game, I hope she's been taking note...

Far Cry 4 will have honey badgers

You may be asking yourselves what's so special about a honey badger, well it's probably the most bad-ass animal of all time, Well at least according to this video:

I get the impression that the honey badger will take the role of the Komodo dragon from Far Cry 3, i.e. if there's long grass/ tall vegetation around, you're more likely to hear it than see it. And by the time you see the little blighter it'll be too late to run.

The distinctive 'hiss' of the Komodo dragon in Far Cry 3 is definitely what creeped me out the most while playing the game. I'd be aware of their proximity because of the hissing, but due to the vegetation I'd have no idea which direction the fast moving lizards would be attacking from. Even once located the buggers would absorb quite a bit of lead before dying mere metres from my feet. It seems I'm not the only one who felt this way about the Komodo dragons either.

I'm really looking forward to hearing more about Far Cry 4 before it's release, especially regarding how the "old gen." versions stack up against the "new gen.' versions with regard to gamelplay. I imagine there may be quite a bit of texture pop-ins, but if the PS3 version offers the same solid gaming experience, without the need to cut any content, then I'd consider a compromise in graphics acceptable. I mean both Borderlands and Rage (two of my favourite PS3 games) have noticeable texture pop-ins, but these don't have any negative effects on my gaming experience.

I'm still waiting to see whether I should consider placing a pre-order for Far Cry 4, especially since the Kyrat Edition looks pretty bad-ass itself, or wait for the first few reviews to come out.

New Track from Okujira

Okujira's second track, Sick of syncronicities* is even harder hitting than their first. Hopefully this will be made available for download in the future. Check below for the link to download Sick of syncronicities.

-- Updated 30 December 2014 --

* The track was originally spelt "Sick of syncranicitys" at the time of release. The track name has been edited on Soundcloud, but the downloaded file name still contains the original spelling.

The negative one video

Today saw the release of the video for Slipknot's latest single track The negative one. The video was directed by band member Shawn Crahan, and features 'naked' women, severed goat heads, chains, and flowers. I'm guessing the video is meant to depict a ritual of the occult, and get the impression this was done for no reason other than trying to shock the general public.

A double-headed goat icon (above) is shown briefly at the end of the video, which may be the new interpretation of the bands well known 'S' logo.

If you're wondering why I described the woman as 'naked,' it's because they were covered in body paint and the nipples blurred out in such a way that their breast look like prosthetic breasts Marilyn Manson used for the album cover of Mechanical Animals.

Coming soon: Dave Grohl's 'Sonic Highways'

New Slipknot - The negative one

After a slew of teaser videos from Slipknot, we finally get the first opportunity to hear some new material. The negative one can be streamed over at the band's website, with the video set to unlock on 5 August.

From The negative one it sounds like Slipknot have picked up from where they left off after the All Hope is Gone sessions, despite losing founding member Paul Grey, and the recent departure of Joey Jordison. After the announcement of Jordison's departure, many people began to write the band off. Fortunately, Slipknot seems to have found a more than capable replacement; if you didn't know better, you probably wouldn't even realise it wasn't Jordison drumming.

I'm intrigued to hear the rest of the album. I'm especially interested to know if the new drummer continued to emulate Jordison's playing style for the recording of the entire album, or if they brought something new to the mix. As yet, the new drummer has not been named, but I suspect Shawn 'Clown' Crahan has taken of the role, while various others have also been rumoured to have filled the position.