I haven’t played Magic for that long but I wanted to try out the new core set to see how it fairs. The best way to get started is to buy the Fat Pack; you get the following to start your collection:

• 40-card basic land pack
• Eight 15-card booster packs from the M11 core set
• Player’s guide with visual encyclopedia
• Special edition Spindown life counter
• Excerpt from Planeswalker Novel
• Nice box to keep it all in

Now the one thing I am disappointed about in this Fat Pack, is the lack of plastic dividers for your cards. Older Fat Packs used to have them, but it seems they are skimping on what you get these days. However, you do get 8 booster packs which is pretty good. All I need now is several hours to plan and create my deck of destruction!

So what’s been going on in the world of game and tech etc. during this time? What I should have done was do a post for each of these but here is a very condensed version! In no particular order…

Starcraft 2 – Beta
I did a post about this on the Girlygeekdom blog, but to summarise… it is smokingly hot and I’m not talking about the summer heartwave we are getting in the UK. It is due to be released on 23rd July. I’ll try not to disappear when this arrives, and also promise to step outside once in awhile.

Apple iPad
Great for some, mediocre for others. Your lifestyle dictates whether this is a good match for you or not. Personally speaking, there isn’t much room for this slab in my life. I need a full OS, I need power, I need an open platform and I need to run existing applications I currently have. Also regardless of what Steve Jobs said in his keynote speech, this for me is not going to replace a netbook. And it’s too damn heavy.

E3
I personally prefer the Tokyo Game Show than E3, but this year I think the event has been very interesting. Microsoft announces Kinetic, Sony with their 3Dness, and Nintendo with their new 3DS portable console. Out of the three industry heavyweights, Nintendo outshines the rest. I’m buying the 3DS without a doubt; Kingdom Hearts, Zelda, Kirby, Final Fantasy, Kid Icarus the list goes on. And NO 3D GLASSES REQUIRED!

Sci-Fi London
A great event every year, I couldn’t go to the entire event because of fencing commitments. However, I did go to the Anime All-Nighter; 10 hours of anime movies back to back starting at midnight (with the odd RedBull/toilet break inbetween). I absolutely loved it, it’s like a pub lock-in but in a cinema. The best anime was Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks. I cannot tell you the sheer awesomeness of seeing this on the big screen; if you love Rin, Lancer et al then you must watch this. Unfortunately for some, it was the last anime shown that morning and the majority of the audience were fast asleep. I made sure I was completely awake for it.

iPhone 4
To grip or not to grip, that is the question. Either way, I am getting the HTC Desire running Android in a few weeks. At least people who are experiencing death grip woes get a free bumper case, offer valid until 30th September.

World Cup 2010
The tech angle for this is that I will never, ever, forgive ITV for their “transmission error”: showing a Hyundai ad JUST AS GERRARD SCORES THE FIRST GOAL FOR ENGLAND. Insert rage sentence here.

IT Crowd – Series 4
Our beloved geek series is back on Channel 4. Join Moss, Roy and Jen as they embark on more ridiculous IT shenanigans with utmost hilarity. Street Countdown!

My birthday
I got insanely drunk and played LAN games; apparently I can headshot quite well while inebriated. Everything else is a blur; I think we spent an hour trying to blow up the airbed at 4am. I highly recommend Danzka vodka with Mountain Dew.

Final Fantasy XIII
I completed it! You either love it or hate it, I personally liked it a lot. The battle system is to die for, yes the game is mostly on rails but the game does get going after awhile. There are some insanely difficuly bosses to beat, namely Proud Clad and Gigantuar if you find him on Gran Pulse. I’m just happy that I saw the ending after clocking in around 70 hours of gameplay. Also, I hate Barthandelus.

And finally…

Inception
I saw this movie when it was released on Friday. I have sat here for awhile thinking of how to review it and in summary, I just can’t. It’s such an amazing experience, that any words uttered on this page would not do it enough justice. Not to mention it’s rather difficult to describe, my mind was blown. If you think Memento was a mind masher, try this on for size… only Nolan can produce something like this on the big screen and succeed. A plot peppered full of twists and turns, stunts galore, and a great protagonist supported by a wonderful cast; these are the makings of a movie that will pull you in. I also love the music score by Hans Zimmer, it fits in with the film sequences perfectly.

I don’t like how you can’t change your characters. In fact the freedom of team customisation that is akin to say FF 7 or 8 is almost completely removed. Why Squeenix why? I tell you why, because they replaced this with something called the Paradigm Shift. You will soon realise just how important this function is, and how you cannot progress through the game without it. One time, during a 2 minute battle I must have switched Paradigms about 8 times; each Paradigm in the deck comprises of different tactical stances and roles for each team member. Your team works cohesively and dynamically depending on the situation. I like it, in fact after awhile I started to like it a lot. But walking into the next battle with full health is a bit weird, and I think takes away some of the real mechanics from the game. The left shoulder becomes a bit overused though. My index finger is testament to that.

The graphics are gorgeous, it’s so lush and lovely I just want to jump right in there. But everything seems to be on rails, rather like the old fashioned gun-toting Time Crisis. It does take the fun out of exploring, I am hoping that later on it will open up a bit more. I presume it will be, as you can catch a Chocobo to help you travel around. I encountered my first summon on Monday, or Eidolans. Shiva is a sister pair, which transforms into a rather awesome bike. It’s cooler than Fenrir for God sake. The game really picks up at this point, as the earlier chapters are too easy and slightly boring. Mainly they are used for tutorial purposes, which in a way is good. It would be too overwhelming to introduce so many new features in one go, so that was probably a good idea.

This game is gargantuan no doubt about it, I will write something more substantial once I complete it. Whenever that may be!

It took two evenings to draw up the script and storyboard using good old fashioned pencil and notepad. Then a whole day to draw and compose the comic strip which is done entirely in Photoshop. The graphic tablet came in very handy for some of the doodles. It was tough squeezing the dialogue in such tiny boxes though.

Without further ado, I present to you… 2001: A Twitter Odyssey! Enjoy

As ever, I have taken some pictures and video footage of the event. The first video is a general tour of the expo, and the second contains clips from the Cosplay Masquerade competition that was held on Sunday. I have to apologise in advance for some of the commentary, it was completely on the fly but there are no profanities that I am aware of!

London MCM Expo – A quick tour, with a bit of randomness thrown in.

London MCM Expo – Sunday’s Cosplay Masquerade

Short version: It is awesome, drop what you are doing and go to the cinema.

And now for the longer version…

As the movie reel starts, you are immediately thrown into the thick of the action. A Starfleet vessel is under attack from a ship that is far superior in terms of size and firepower. The only clue to the identity of the aggressor is that it is a Romulan ship. The opening sequence neatly introduces you to Kirk, and the legacy that is attached to the name. The story unfolds at a nice pace, steadily cascading into what seems to involve a temporal change in the time line and you know there is going to be trouble. As Janeway puts it “Ever since my first day on the job as a Starfleet Captain, I swore I’d never let myself get caught in one of these Godforsaken paradoxes. The past is the future, the future is the past, it gives me a headache.”

The characterisation is fantastic; the entire crew from the Star Trek original series is there. Their introduction eases in as a background story of how their paths cross, which ultimately leads to their forming of the USS Enterprise crew. Ah the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, she is beautifully rendered and given a very modern facelift. In keeping with the series (and every Star Trek series/movie I can think of), the computer voice is done by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry by using past sound clips and the reminiscent beeps and blips are all there. Even with the cosmetic changes, it still feels like the Enterprise of yore.

Going back to the characters… it is amazing how much work they have put into keeping all the traits for each. Kirk was always a brawler and a womaniser, Spock with his undeniable logic and the list goes on. The script is superb; all the famous lines are uttered with such fluidity and natural conviction it brings back so many memories. However, the one character that stands out for me has to be McCoy. The furrowing of the eyebrows, the voice (he absolutely sounds like DeForest Kelley), the mannerisms and his lines! There are so many gems, such as “Are you out of your Vulcan Mind?!” and “I’m a doctor, not a physicist”. My hat goes off to Karl Urban, his performance was flawless and he must have been practicing in his sleep to get it as good as this.

I have to mention the humour as well, again it does not feel forced and does not detract from the overall action packed storyline but it brings a lot of fun, which was always there in the original series. The film feels so complete in every way; it will definitely cater for Star Trek fans and an entertaining introduction if you are new to the Star Trek universe. The plot itself is engaging, thoroughly compelling and well worth the cinema ticket price. If there is one movie you need to watch this year, make it this one.

Now I have to talk about some slight blemishes on an otherwise brilliant spectacle, spoilers ahead so I suggest you get to Warp factor 8 and stop reading now…


I do not think that the future Spock should have met and talked with the young Spock at the end of the film. If past Star Treks are anything to go by, meeting your future self is a big no no. Having said that, the establishment of the temporal prime directive could be later on, so such rule may not have existed yet. Even so, it did not seem right somehow. Secondly, how can the brilliant Spock miscalculate the release of the red matter so that it was too late to save the planet Romulus? It seems like such a huge mistake on his part to have arrived at the supernova location, only to find that it was already engulfing the planet. I guess this is just me speaking as a fan and I have a bad habit of questioning plot holes sometimes.

I do need to see it again though, mainly just so I can experience the thrill of the ride once more. Since the timeline changed, the creators have opened themselves for a sequel. I hope this is the case and that JJ Abrams is once again at the helm.

Interesting thing to note, the Christopher Pike character makes an appearance also as the second captain of the USS Enterprise. I shall post my thoughts on the movie afterwards, I really hope this is as good as the hype.

There were five anime films in total, shown back to back with 15-minute breaks in between. The whole shebang started at midnight on Sunday and it finished at 10am. There were ample supplies of Red Bull and ice cream, which was all included in the price plus a goodie bag. At £30 a ticket, it was well worth the money. The best anime from the five was definitely Ghost In The Shell 2.0, a remake of the original movie with added CGI and in fantastic HD. I simply cannot put into words how amazing it looked; being a GITS fan myself, it really was a visual treat. There was a slight mishap with the PS3 they were using for playback, but they got there in the end. By the way, I can only imagine how good it must be to play a PS3 game on a cinema screen.

Unfortunately, the whole evening was marred by the diabolical Naruto: The Movie 3. To put it bluntly, it was eye cancer and the cheesiness of it all was absolutely unbearable. I could not understand how anyone can like this in any form. The dubbing was dreadful, and Lord Shabadaba? How anyone can dream up of this name and keep a straight face is beyond me. In the end, it was so ridiculous that everyone in the audience laughed at every turn. Sarah’s partner commented that it was the worst anime he had ever seen, and this event was his first taste of anime. I can understand if this movie puts him off anime for life.

The funniest was definitely Panda! Go! Panda! Again bad dubbing, the “daddy” panda sounded like it had an Indian accent with the famous catchphrase for the evening “That’s nice!” The hilarity continued, the accent, the bad dubbing that did not match the subtitles (for some reason there were subtitles even though it was in English), and the hint of panda fondling with the girl in the movie was just too much to bear. I myself could not stop laughing and neither did the audience. The night ended with the catchy “Panda Pa Panda Pa Panda!” song, of course many others and I had to clap along to that one. Overall I had a great time.

I took some pictures of the manga wall, some rather interesting doodles to say the least. I have to apologise for the blurriness, I snapped them on the way out and the Red Bull wings left me.

On another note, I have a whole string of blog posts to publish. Because of my Netrillium “incident”, I had to put everything on hold until the technical hitch was rectified. A busy evening for me tonight…

Fortunately, the film lives up to expectations, and more besides. To be honest, I am not into comics at all but I do appreciate the art. Therefore, I have not heard of The Watchmen before, and cannot say that I am a fan prior to the viewing. Having said that, any previous knowledge is unnecessary, as the storyline and action warps you in an instant to a reality that could be our own. Some historical events are true, so there are definite parallels and this is used as a stunning backdrop for our retired super heroes.

The plot steam rolls along at a steady pace, like a snowball plummeting down a slope, it picks up momentum as the tension is heightened by new developments. The story unfolds via voiceovers from a journal written by one of the protagonists, Rorschach. His relentless quest for the truth draws you in, and as the other characters get more involved the film intensifies reaching its climax. A final revelation is uncovered, while the possibility of global destruction hangs in the balance.

Rorschach has some of the best lines in the film; I have started reading the comic book and the script/storyline is very close to it. This will please diehard fans wanting a movie experience that can bring this faithfully to the large screen, without deviating too much from the original work. I look forward to completing my reading. I have heard that other Hollywood stars were initially drafted in for this movie, and I am glad that they did not make the final cut. I would not change any of the current actors; I doubt the voluptuous Silk Spectre, the anti-hero The Comedian or the omnipotent Doctor Manhattan, could be depicted as good as this by anyone else. I have mentioned Rorschach three times now, but he is my favourite character out of all of them. The utter complexity of his nature and disgust with the world he tries so hard to save, was portrayed to perfection.

Overall, if you are after a visceral and involving movie experience then this is for you. It is a rather long film though, with a running time of 163 minutes plus the obligatory cinema trailers beforehand. You can understand why though, given the depth and scope they wanted to accomplish. I have to warn you that some of the scenes are extremely violent if you are susceptible to such things, however personally I feel it does not detract from the experience. If anything, it adds to the bitter reality that you see before you.