Archive for June, 2013

A Barnacle Tells All

Posted by Nikki On June 29, 2013 ADD COMMENTS

Half-Life was introduced to the masses in 1998 and was a game that revolutionized the shoot ’em up genre forever.  Yes, I know that Wolfenstein 3-D was supposed to do that, but sorry folks, Half-Life wins.

The Half-Life series consists of:

  • Half-Life  (1998)
  • Half-Life: Opposing Force  (1999)
  • Half-Life: Blue Shift  (2001)
  • Half-Life 2  (2004)
  • Half-Life 2: Episode One  (2006)
  • Half-Life 2: Episode Two  (2007)

And in all of these, there’s the infamous Barnacle! Before you start running for well lit area, hear me out. I recently sat down with a barnacle, Snacksalot, to get some insight on their reputation and why the eat like they do.

Me: Welcome to the interview. Why were you willing to hang around for this interview?
Snacksalot: To tell the truth! (burps out a human skull)

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Comics Newbie – FCBD

Posted by Ben On June 28, 2013 1 COMMENT

For my review this week I am looking at some of the titles I picked up for Free Comic Book Day.  Before I start a quick shout out to the legends at All Star Comics. I missed actual Free Comic Book Day but those lads were nice enough to give me some titles after the fact.

The two titles I will be giving a quick fire review of are Mass Effect by Dark Horse Comics and Finding Gossamyr by Th3rd World Studios.

Mass Effect

For those out there who are not familiar with gaming, Mass Effect is a science fiction, action role playing game spanning three games. I have to admit that at this stage that I have not played Mass Effect. I bought the trilogy for my X-Box 360 and am waiting for some time off to give it some attention.

This short story comic written by Mac Walters and Jeremy Barlow follows an attempt by Jeff, a crippled pilot, to show that he is worthy of more than the equivalent of a taxi driver. Being a freebie the story is not that expansive but from my perspective it has achieved what it has intended, I now want to play the game (hurry up holidays!) and would like to read some more.

The artwork by Garry Brown was quite good. The Turian representative looks particularly cool.

For these reviews I will change my rating system. Does this comic make me want to look into the Mass Effect universe more?  The answer to that is a big Yes.

Finding Gossamyr

The second title I am reviewing is Finding Gossamyr. I do not usually start a review by talking about the art in a comic but this title is going to be the exception. The illustrator of this comic is Sarah Ellerton and I have to say it looks absolutely beautiful. I absolutely adore the art style used. It feels very Disney inspired.

The comic is written by David A Rodriguez and the story is a fantasy tale involving magic, weird and wonderful creatures and theorem solving. The story on the first read was a little tricky to follow but became clearer on a second reading.

The Volume 1 Hardcover for this book is coming out in July and I will be definitely purchasing this title.

Hope you enjoyed my quick fire looks at these two titles. Would like to hear what you thought about these two comics and any other comics you read for Free Comic Book Day. Please comment below or you can contact me via Twitter @bennykane1983.

For my next review I will be looking at A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting by Guy Delisle.

Enjoy your comic reading!

Benny

Oz Comic-Con Video Newsletters

Posted by David On June 26, 2013 ADD COMMENTS

Regular visitors to the Oz Comic-Con Facebook page will know that they have been posting video newsletters that are both fun and informative! And if you’re not following their Facebook page, why not!

The videos include some tips for those who Oz Comic-Con Melbourne may be their first convention – Convention 101’s, as well as some messages from some of their guests, such as Doug Holgate & Tristan Jones, and Bill Farmer.

And don’t forget that Oz Comic-Con recently announced that the one and only Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy, Beauty and the Beast) will be attending the Melbourne event, joining other top name guests like William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) and Shannen Doherty (Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed). The hall wont be able to contain the awesome!

For further information visit www.ozcomiccon.com.

Podcast – Episode #53

Posted by David On June 23, 2013 1 COMMENT

The New NCP 52 NOW episode!

5 minute Popcorn Junkies: Oblivion, Masters of the Universe, Eagle vs Shark & Wreck it Ralph

Interviews: Andrez Bergen & Gail Simone

 

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Oblivion
Masters of the Universe
Eagle vs Shark
Wreck it Ralph
Who is killing the Great Capes of Heropa?
Batgirl

Bloodspiller spec 5.2

Posted by Brian On June 23, 2013 ADD COMMENTS

Another updated spec, this time it’s for Arms Warriors, allowing the blood to flow out of their enemies’ veins while keeping their own. The one thing that the Arms Warrior has to be sure of is to have a good 2 handed weapon with them at all times. This is how they deal most of their damage via Seasoned Soldier, gaining 25% increased damage. Thankfully, 5.2 has made things a bit easier with this spec, removing Rend and tying it into Mortal Strike, and allowing Mortal Strike to grant the warrior 2 uses of their signature ability, Overpower.  Also, due to the new version of Blood and Thunder (which used to be a talent requiring 3 points for this spec), Thunder Clap not only reduces physical damage dealt by enemies, but also applies Deep Wounds. Victory Rush is still your main go to ability for whenever you are low on health, however there are a few changes for the better for this spec.

Click here to see the spec on WoWhead!

One example is that I actually used to stay away from Execute. The reason was because it cost all of your rage when previously my Overpower would do approximately the same amount of damage to my enemies, due to the cutoff of 30 rage. However, Sudden Death brings new life to this skill, since both Mortal Strike is free to cast, and grants 2 Overpowers, and if an Execute is used before the Overpowers, then the Overpowers will both also be free to cast, as well as any others within a 10 sec duration (which from counting Mortal Strikes alone can be a total of 4 Overpowers due to the 6 second cool down). Blood Spiller also has a wonderful new ability granted at level 90, aptly named for the spec, Bloodbath. Every minute this ability can be triggered to give all of your attacks the effect of dealing an additional 30% more damage as a bleed effect over 6 seconds. So, what I have done for fun, against groups of 5+ enemies, is to use Thunderclap, reducing their damage and causing a bleed, followed by Bloodbath, Sweeping Strikes, and lastly Bladestorm. This combo will tear all foes around you to pieces in a matter of moments. Plus, anything that doesn’t die is easily killed afterward, considering that with the Glyph of Sweeping Strikes you gain 1 rage for each enemy that was hit.

As for keeping the Warrior healthy, a few new additions have been made here as well. Disrupting Shout, Warbringer, and Mass Spell Reflection have come to join the fray, allowing the warrior to prevent spell casting (although Warbringer has to be done from afar so this will more than likely be a PvP related caster delay, unless something was done to agro a far way opponent). Second Wind is still old reliable, and has gotten better due to healing 3% at all times while under 35% hit points. This ability now also generates 50% more rage than it used to pre-5.2. Also, while at higher levels, don’t forget about your Banner abilities, they can get you out of bad situations via giving the warrior additional crit chance, reducing enemy damage, or if in a party, then redirecting enemy attention to the Warrior (which I have used to actually prevent a wipe to protect a Druid during a battle Rez from getting killed).

This spec is back in action and it has blood in its eyes (not necessarily its own!).

Friends