Battlefield Heroes: Trailer Revealed!

EA/DICE released the above trailer recently (though the copy on their official website doesn't seem to enjoy loading):

Battlefield Heroes Trailer Released! Feb 29

Ben Cousins, Senior Producer

Hello Heroes!

The Battlefield Heroes team - sitting in our little fishtank in Stockholm - are very proud to show you the first trailer of the game today, available in the video section of this site. I’m sure you are interested in seeing the gameplay footage and explanation of the experience, but I’m personally more excited about people starting to drop the term “businessivity” into normal conversation.

Versions of this movie have been around since before summer last year, and it has done a lot to get people excited inside and outside of EA, so it’s great to finally see a public reaction. It’s not so nice to see that one of our “trusted” media outlets broke the embargo yesterday meaning everyone saw the crappy YouTube version first… but anyway.

There should be some press previews and some on-camera interviews of me and James (the guy playing Rock band so expertly in the video) hitting the web right now, so get searching! Also, please leave your opinions on the movie in the comments thread below.

Yes, it looks hella' cartoony, but I'm still gonna' give it a go. After all, 1) it's free, 2) running people over with cartoon tanks is humiliation death and 3) I need less stress from the morons who after playing COD4 since November, still don't understand the point of Sabotage.

Plus, I'll need something to do when AOC is patching, right?

Wahahahaha.

Requiem: Beta Key Giveaway

If you weren't a member (just need to be registered) of FilePlanet, then no worries. MMORPG.COM is giving away 5000 beta keys to "Requiem: Bloodymare" first come first serve:

http://www.mmorpg.com/betas/requiem_beta.cfm

So get those nipple pasties and booty shorts out (and I'm talking about the guys) and dive in!

Requiem, a title developed by Korea-based Gravity, focuses much on the depiction of action and cruel scenes. Violence and blood are vividly displayed in Requiem. Requiem refers to the Mass for the Dead, implying conciliation to the dead's soul. The grand and gorgeous graphics blend well with the miserable and glorious atmosphere and the unique charm of darkness.
In addition to pet raising, item collection, communication, adventure and other features commonly found in traditional MMORPGs, Requiem also incorporates such elements as sense of accomplishment, horror, competition, political alliance and betray.

And if you miss that, supposedly MMOSITE is giving away keys as well, but I'm too lazy to look around.

Requiem: Booty Shorts & Satan's Reindeer

Since there's a maintenance going on, here's another useless screenie from "Requiem." Apparently I'm going to go fight crime today...hence the (booty) shorts. Heheh.

Anyhoo, normally I go healer since I don't trust a lot of people to heal me but, just for the armour I went this route. (The plate armour pics later on look pretty hot albeit completely revealing.) Lots of killing shit (some questing) but luckily the loot drops are still abundant, and hopefully (after the maintenance) I'll get a chance to visit one of the instances for more money and more problems.

As a warning though, there are some performance problems for some folks which result in the Blue Screen o' Death every 15 minutes, but I personally have not experienced anything like that so far.

And now, for lunch!

Dragon Ball Online: The WoW Killah!?

Gamewatch has released a series of screenies of the upcoming (2009) "Dragon Ball Online : Age 1000" MMORPG being developed by Bandai Korea. I ain't a big Dragon Ball fan at all (not since the 80s), but hey, I like to keep up with shit.

Check out this character screen:

From the accompanying article, players will be able to play as Humans, Nameks (the green folks) and Majin (the pink guys) races, and choose from classes like Martial Artist, Chi User and Engineer. Sorry fanbois but Saiyans WILL NOT be playable as the story takes place 250 years after the manga/anime...HOWEVER, players can use a time machine to travel back in time to meet their fave characters like Goku and Vegeta and even Trunks.

PvP will be based on the "Tournament" and have one on one bouts or four vs four team bouts.

Here's a battle versus one of Toriyama's famous dragon critters:

And don't worry, the actual dragon balls will be making an appearance as well. Though collecting them won't grant you a wish, you will instead receive a random rare item.

Alls I know is that if it does make its way to the States, or they develop a Japanese version, I'll definitely check it out! Don't forget to look at more screens at Gamewatch:

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20080227/korea_21.htm

p.s. Currently the game will be entering the early beta testing phase over in Korea.

Oh Noes: A Bloodymare Maintenance!?

I managed to get into "Requiem: Bloodymare" for like an hour before alas, it went down for maintenance. *sad*

On Wednesday, February 27th 2008, from 10am to 12pm PST

All Requiem: Bloodymare servers will be down for a regular maintenance period.

So far so good though. Character customization is a bit lacking (8 faces, 8 hair cuts but no hair colour?) but it seems that a few things have been turned off during the beta period. Still, not sure what else will be going into it.

As for the bloody part, I'm not sure if the game really constitutes the 17+ rating it seems to carry as the most violence I've seen is a wittle bit of blood splatter on my hotness and twitching/quivering bodies that explode occasionally...BUT, nothing too bad. (Woot, I guess I've been numbed.)

Anyhoo, here is the obligatory skank shot:


There are taller (bluer), and fatter (buffer) skank versions as well depending on what class you want to play. I picked the human bitch for the Templar thingy.

I think I'm on the Lintra server, but who knows. Meanwhile I hear you can turn into some beast thing. Will we see more were foxes on were tigers riding a manta ray!? I hope so!!

Come on maintenance, be done with! I want to slice and dice some moar!!

First Impressions: Cabal Online

As you know, I recently downloaded the US version of "Cabal Online" yesterday out of desperation for a hack n' slash fantasy game. It was just me and a couple folks so luckily I didn't start out all alone in "BLOODY ICE" (oooHhhHh.)

First off, this is another freebie game powered by an item mall, so don't expect anything TOO extravagant. It's definitely no "Perfect World," (which I consider the bestest AZN F2P), but it's not terrible. The graphics are pretty nice a la "Rappelz,"' but with much more customization character wise (though certainly not as much as "PW".) You have six classes to choose from, which include the tank classes, mages and damage dealers (physical and magical versions of each.)

I picked a force shielder (who makes her own magical shield in battle), and my friends picked a warrior (think Cloud with short pants), force archer and wizard. (Click here for more character info.) We all ended up looking different, so that was a good deal.

Anyhoo, so we started on "Venus" which according to the blazing letters was "HOT!!" and noticed there were like 20 "channels" to choose from much like the worlds in "Dungeon Runners." You can freely move amongst "channels" as much and as often as you like depending on the server loads that day or to find a friend (escape an enemy.)

As for game play, you basically beat the shit out of everything. I believe there is an auto-attack however I enjoy mashing buttons over and over again. I thought the combat to be a ghetto ass DDO with way over sensitive WASD movement. Of course, after I learned I could char a snow bunny, knock it to the ground then pummel it with my sword, I quickly got over the oversensitivity issues.


Skill wise you buy the base skills, then by using said skills over and over again, you earn "skill points," which you can put into your basic skills to better them. Not a terrible system, and you can make a decent amount of cash whupping on shit. It seems that the number of skill slots you have per level are slowly unlocked, so choose wisely (I guess?) You can tailor your character to your liking through a combination of weapon skills, generic magic skills (like regen) and special class based skills as well.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of questing (looks like lots of grinding), but there are also a number of dungeons to battle through solo or with friends. I wasn't able to finish too much yesterday as COD4 was calling, but according to the broken ass engrish on the server, it appears that outside of the 3 small areas you can start in, there are other unlockable areas which you gain access to as you go along.

And of course, there's glowy weapons/capes for later on, world PVP (sometimes completely random), and stupid looking personal shops (a girl in a maid outfit for chicks, a butler looking thing for boys.) There is the occasional Loot-Kake, but mainly of the gold variety (boo.) Plenty of + weapons/armours to be had as well.

Over all, it's nothing new, it's nothing spectacular, and nothing really original. However, it does take on something like 2Moons or 12Sky and updates it with better graphics/animation, and improved gameplay. Like I said, it's free so give it a try if you're bored of "SRO" and want to try something a bit different, but if you're looking for something "new"...this ain't it.

Requiem: Bloodymare Closed Beta News

Just noticed that FilePlanet is giving away closed beta codes for members starting today. HOWEVAH, not to worry, because on Friday, MMORPG.com is also giving out codes for those who want to try it. They said 2Moons (not really unless green is the new red.)

Here's the official blurb:

The Requiem: Bloodymare Closed Beta Launch is scheduled to officially begin Friday February 29th.

To guarantee access to the Requiem: Bloodymare closed beta you will need to acquire a Closed beta access code for the registered account, which will become available from the following sources.

• Starting Tuesday February 26th, Fileplanet will have a limited quantity of Closed Beta codes for Requiem, available only for Fileplanet registered users.
• Friday February 29th, MMORPG.com will have closed beta codes available.
• And also on Friday February 29th, MMOSITE.com will also have a limited quantity of closed beta codes available.

As a special promotion for early registrations by Fileplanet registered users, those accounts will have access to Requiem, 3 days before other users, starting

Tuesday February 26 at 4pm PST.

For those that register on the website but are not able to acquire a closed beta access code for that account we will be offering another chance to participate in the closed beta. As space allows we will randomly select from the pool of registered, but not game-accessible, accounts and grant them access to the Closed Beta as the Beta period progresses.

The closed beta period is scheduled to run from

Tuesday February 26, at 4pm PST until Wednesday March 26, 10am PST

The registration page for both the Forums and the Website will be made available on

Monday February 25th.

From what I can tell this is another AZN (Korean?) F2P game from Gravity Interactive. You can watch a trailer below. Meanwhile, I'm starting my 2G download:

Cabal Online: Going Live Tomorrow!

Well, in my desperation I visited FilePlanet and downloaded the US copy of "Cabal Online." It's freeeeeeeeeee!! And I got big titties again!

Silly Jimmy Kimmel

I don't normally watch late night shows, but for some reason, Jimmy Kimmel's alright in my book. I think it's hormones, but I found this pretty funny (if you're a big celeb hag). Plus, I actually like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and it's good to see that the other folks in the video aren't total douchebags like some other celebs seem like.

TCoS: Beta Looms Closer

I've been in a bit of a COD kick so I haven't been paying attention to my usual forums but...check this post out from Freeze from the TCOS boards out:

Things are going extremely well here at the Spellborn office. The game is looking, sounding, feeling and playing better every day. Over the last few weeks we matched the development schedule with the release schedules of our publishers and we are happy to announce that we have defined dates for open beta and for release. Open beta can be expected to start early April 2007 and release in Europe is planned for May 2007 with other continents following in Q2 and Q3. The third closed beta phase is planned to start early February 2007 and we are looking forward to the feedback from all our closed beta members.

These last few months the entire team will focus on finishing the game and preparing all services needed for launch such as customer support and billing. To ensure that we have a clear and direct channel of communication we decided to close down our open irc channels and focus all our communication efforts on our official forums.

The next few months are going to be very exciting and we want to thank you all for taking this journey with us. We hope to welcome you in our closed or open beta soon!

At this point, I'm so starved for an MMO that I'm willing to pay for a sub to a European server...if the game's good that is. :) My FilePlanet subscription is good to go too. Hope I can reserve a beta spot!

Another Server Bites the Dust + (Girls w/ Stupid Names)

:(

Goodbye stupid servers filled of people who think they are godly. It's too bad you guys are so full of yourselves that you can't imagine any one person or any clan being better than you. I can only imagine how the conversations go (names have been changed to protect the stupid):

|EcG|Douchebag: We're so 1337!
|EcG|Camper: Yeah! No one will find me camping back at the spawn (because everyone else I play against in TDM non/HC camps too.)
|EcG|Douchebag: Whoa wait, why are people killing us on our own server?
|EcG|Camper: Yeah! I don't have UAV Jammer and I've been sitting here like FOREVA. HOW COULD THEY HAVE SEEN ME!!!????Eleventyone!!??
|EcG|Admin: BANNN THE HAX0RZZZZzzzz!!

Then like half of them alll went to spectator mode to watch people living in reality play/able to shoot a slowly moving targets (hope you learned something). Unable to find any hax going, what else could they do but kick/ban.

*snurf*

Sorry (most) of your guys suck.

On to the next rant!!

If you're going to name yourself SexKitten or GirlwitGun or LadySomething that makes you blatantly a woman, learn to play please. Don't perpetuate the stereotype that we women suck. Practice practice practice and kick some ass. At least try instead of sitting back and spamming the fuckin' chat with:

StupidGirl: Gosh, you guys are so good! XOXOXO
StupidGirl: OMGZ, I'm just a girl!! <3
StupidGirl: Owwwiee! Don't shoot me!

...

Dumb.

It makes my teeth hurt when chicks do shit like that and give the rest of us a bad name. GTFO if you're trying to find a boyfriend in a fuckin' Public Server. (At least go HC.)

PotBS: What to Expect In the Near Future (Patch 1.2)

Other than the stupid Froggies getting a grandiose make over to their town (THEY GET MIMES GODDAMMIT), here are a few other things going on soon...including some mini "raid" content. It's good to see they're adding more shit since all we've been doing is ganging up on level 50 NPCs and taking their precious precious bootays. (The port battles actually don't interest me that much since I'm a lazy Patriot and...urm...well, COD4 keeps distracting me.)

Oh, and I picked up a FREE in game sexy heart pendant courtesy of Gamerzines. It looks sexah nestled against my freckled ass boobies.

New Devlog: Hello Again!

02.20.08 by Joe

Although I’ve been on Pirates of the Burning Sea since before it had a name, and have posted lots of dev logs and many replies in the forums, I don’t think most of you have heard of me. John Scott Tynes (aka “Rev”) is going to work on other things, and I’m stepping into the role of Producer on Pirates, so I wanted to re-introduce myself and talk a little about what’s coming up in the next few weeks.

To start things off, we have a new hire! John Zipperer joins us as a new client and tools programmer. His years as a programmer on Guild Wars at ArenaNet will be a real asset to the Pirates of the Burning Sea team. John will be working on a new art pipeline in order to greatly increase the rate at which our artists can get new environments into the game, and I’m excited to have him here.

The other big news is the 1.2 patch. This is our first major content patch and it is so chock full of good stuff that we have to spread it out across a series of Devlogs that you’ll see throughout the next week. To kick things off I wanted to give you an overview of what’s coming up.

One of the biggest new features in 1.2 is the new French Capitol. Pointe-a-Pitre has been reborn with an entirely new look. This includes a bunch of new mission content to match the new town, tailored to match Point-a-Pitre’s new look. I saw the town lit and textured for the first time over the weekend and it looks amazing. Just wait ‘til you see the screenshots.

We have a couple open sea upgrades on the way. The first and most important of these is that placement in battles off the open sea has been changed to put reinforcements in a more reasonable position, so you shouldn’t ever end up spawning on the far side of an island miles away from your group. We know that has been really frustrating and we rewrote the spawn code from scratch to make this work the way it should. We’ve also added a prompt to ask you if you want to join in when a group mate enters a battle. This will make it much more difficult for a single ship to tie up a group of players, since you can opt whether or not to join. We also made it so NPCs return to the open sea if they survive their battle with a player, so you can’t just snag NPCs and then run away in order to deny them to the enemy. And we’ve upgraded the UI for ports in the open sea so you get more information about towns you’re sailing by.

New tutorials have been added so that a player’s introduction to the game will be tailored to the nation of their choice. We also have new tutorial missions to teach Pirates to use the Capture Ship skill and the Careening Camp, as well as a tutorial to teach all nations how to use the Claim Prize/Scavenge skills. We hope these will ease the learning curve for new players while leaving the game just as sophisticated and interesting for our advanced players. (And as an added bonus it should help to reduce the frequency with which somebody asks “How do I capture a ship?” in Pirate nation chat.)

Five of our pirate NPC gangs are getting a visual upgrade for their crewmen. You will start to notice unique outfits for them in boarding and land missions. We are also adding some new NPC loot that give you missions. This should make loot a little less predictable and give you surprise opportunities for adventure.

We’ve had a strike team working on improving the UI for chat and the social window. The Unsecured Cargo icons in 1.1 were the first thing you saw from them, but they have much more coming in 1.2 including chat bubbles, floaty names over everyone’s heads, and much more. I’ll leave the details to Fraxl’s upcoming devlog, but there is lots of good stuff in there and it will make a certain segment of our community Very, Very Happy.

The last big new feature in 1.2 is Bey’s Retreat. Bey’s Retreat is a mission that will take a full group of experienced players 4-6 hours to complete. This is the first of many epic missions that our Content Team is working on. If you’ve played Red Tide, you’ve gotten a peek at the kind of gameplay we’re working on these days, but Bey’s Retreat is much, much bigger and cooler. You may have heard a bit about it from the playtesters we’ve had in here over the past month, and if you didn’t, you’ll hear quite a bit about it this week.

We also have a number of open issues that we’re tracking. The biggest fix in the pipeline is a change to prevent turn-ins from pushing a port all the way into contention. That build will go live early next week. Also on the list of things we’re looking at are avatar combat improvements, more rewards for PvP, and lag. For lag in particular there should be some significant improvements in 1.2. In addition we’re making a ton of improvements to the flogger that you won’t see, but that will allow us to do a better job of keeping up with customer support requests.

All of these changes are in addition to the tons of bug fixes and minor features in the patch. If all goes according to plan you will be able to check out the new build on the Testbed server the first week in March and play it on the live servers a short time later. As I said before, many of these changes are big enough to warrant Devlogs of their own, so keep an eye out for those to read all the juicy details. I can’t wait to get this build into your hands so you can start checking out all the new stuff. :)

Your new producer,
Joe Ludwig
8 year FLS veteran and former Director of Development

Earthrise: A New Hope?

I do like me some good science fiction movies/books and games so I've been reading about this game called "Earthrise" lately. It looks to be in line with "Anarchy Online/Tabula Rasa/SWG" combo meal. (Dericious!?)

According to the game developer's site, Masthead Studios, is planning for a 2009 launch for Earthrise.


This is per their official site:

Earthrise is a post apocalyptic science fiction MMORPG set in the distant future.

In the aftermath of the Third World War, mankind has managed to survive and build a new society: the prosperous city of Sal Vitas. Cloning, nanotechnology and quantum engineering are part of a new reality. Thanks to these technological advances, the human species has become immortal; each individual’s consciousness is stored in a data vault, ready to be uploaded into a cloned body as necessary. New energy sources have been discovered. There is a unified government that takes good care of those citizens who abide by its strict laws. Paradise, it appears, might really have come to Earth, and the people have embraced it.



But not everything is as perfect as it appears. By exercising full control over the cloning process, Sal Vitas' government decides who will live and who will not, playing the role of God on Earth. Insurgent forces have accused the city's rulers of crimes against humanity. Armed factions fight for resources and power within the new system. And from the waves of discontent, a rebellion has fomented and formed a shadow government: Noir.



Featuring a unique skill-based advancement system and player-driven economy, as well as extensive, meaningful player-vs.-player combat, Earthrise gives you innumerable choices to forge your destiny. Whether you're a noble soldier in the raging conflict between the Utopia and the rebellion, a criminal hiding from the law or a world-renowned engineer whose power extends into intricate trade and politics, your actions will echo throughout the game world.




Key Features:
A unique post-apocalyptic setting where the cloned remnants of mankind battle to survive and rebuild. Yet while humanity may have evolved, human nature remains as treacherous as ever…
Highly customizable characters with over 100 different skills, abilities, and tactics. No artificial "class" restrictions get in the way of making the character you want.
Fast-paced action combat featuring dynamic targeting, customizable power armor, huge mechanized exoskeletons, and hundreds of high-tech weapons.
Sophisticated Player versus Player (PvP) mechanics that let you fight for the established order, join the revolutionary underground, or carve your own bloody path as an independent criminal.
Territorial conquest and defense that matters. In your domain, you create your own rules – or let anarchy reign.
Character progression that keeps you advancing in your career even when you’re not logged in.
An advanced market-based economy with in-game supply and demand based on player activities.
Deep crafting mechanics that let you design and manufacture unique items from customizable blueprints and raw resources.

Brain control headset for gamers

Wow, gamers are getting even more hi-tech (read: lazier and lazier.) Soon you won't even have to type, or touch a mouse!? How much fatter do they want us to get?

Worse, check out this little tidbit from the full article:

"If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous," she explained.

Well fuck, I guess I'll be getting admonished a shit ton playing COD4. (And yes, I giggle a lot especially when I sneak behind the attacking force and cause a wittle havoc.)

Brain control headset for gamers

By Darren Waters Technology editor, BBC News website, San Francisco

Brainwaves controlling a video game

Gamers will soon be able to interact with the virtual world using their thoughts and emotions alone.

A neuro-headset which interprets the interaction of neurons in the brain will go on sale later this year.

"It picks up electrical activity from the brain and sends wireless signals to a computer," said Tan Le, president of US/Australian firm Emotiv.

"It allows the user to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally and intuitively," she added.

The brain is made up of about 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, which emit an electrical impulse when interacting. The headset implements a technology known as non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) to read the neural activity.

Ms Le said: "Emotiv is a neuro-engineering company and we've created a brain computer interface that reads electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that a video game can accept and control the game dynamically."

See how the headset works

Headsets which read neural activity are not new, but Ms Le said the Epoc was the first consumer device that can be used for gaming.

"This is the first headset that doesn't require a large net of electrodes, or a technician to calibrate or operate it and does require gel on the scalp," she said. "It also doesn't cost tens of thousands of dollars."

The use of Electroencephalography in medical practice dates back almost 100 years but it is only since the 1970s that the procedure has been used to explore brain computer interfaces.

The headset could be used to improve the realism of emotional responses of AI characters in games Tan Le, Emotiv

The Epoc technology can be used to give authentic facial expressions to avatars of gamers in virtual worlds. For example, if the player smiles, winks, grimaces the headset can detect the expression and translate it to the avatar in game.

It can also read emotions of players and translate those to the virtual world. "The headset could be used to improve the realism of emotional responses of AI characters in games," said Ms Le.

"If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous," she explained.

The $299 headset has a gyroscope to detect movement and has wireless capabilities to communicate with a USB dongle plugged into a computer.

The Emotiv said the headset could detects more than 30 different expressions, emotions and actions.

They include excitement, meditation, tension and frustration; facial expressions such as smile, laugh, wink, shock (eyebrows raised), anger (eyebrows furrowed); and cognitive actions such as push, pull, lift, drop and rotate (on six different axis).

Gamers are able to move objects in the world just by thinking of the action.

Emotiv is working with IBM to develop the technology for uses in "strategic enterprise business markets and virtual worlds"

Paul Ledak, vice president, IBM Digital Convergence said brain computer interfaces, like the Epoc headset were an important component of the future 3D Internet and the future of virtual communication.

THOUGHT-CONTROLLED GAMING HEADSET Sensors respond to the electrical impulses behind different thoughts; enabling a user's brain to influence gameplay directly Conscious thoughts, facial expressions, and non-conscious emotions can all be detected Gyroscope enables a cursor or camera to be controlled by head movements The headset uses wi-fi to connect to a computer

Onion, Mignon, Cauldron...and the Gambit!!

I don't watch Friday Night Lights, but I guess one of the guys from that is gonna' be Gambit. HMMMMMMM. Also, isn't Deadpool the one that knows he's a comic book character? It's been awhile since I kept up with comic books. *snurf*

Reynolds, will.i.am join 'Wolverine'

Taylor Kitsch to play Gambit in Hood's 'Origins'

By MARC GRASER, MARC GRASER, MARC GRASER, TATIANA SIEGEL

Reynolds Kitsch will.i.am

Twentieth Century Fox has added three more superheroes to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," with Ryan Reynolds set to play Deadpool, "Friday Night Lights" regular Taylor Kitsch to star as Gambit and hip-hop artist will.i.am joining the cast as John Wraith.

Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston and Lynn Collins round out the cast as Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Col. William Stryker and Kayla Silver Fox, respectively.

Hugh Jackman reprises the role of Wolverine in the "X-Men" spinoff that Gavin Hood is lensing in New Zealand, Australia and New Orleans. Pic bows May 1, 2009.

David Benioff penned the script, which would reveal the origins of the Wolverine character and introduce other mutants not yet seen in the "X-Men" franchise.

Marvel has been eyeing the possibility of casting Reynolds as Deadpool, an assassin with self-healing powers, for some time with the idea of spinning off the character into his own film series should the character prove popular among moviegoers.

Fox and Marvel have also long wanted to add the card-throwing character of Gambit to the "X-Men" franchise but could never find a way to give him enough screen time among the many other mutants that have appeared in each film.

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am will play Wraith, a mutant who has the power to teleport, and is another test subject of the Weapon X program that created Wolverine and other mercenaries. It would be his first film role.

Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter are producing with Jackman and his Seed Prods. producing partner John Palermo. Marvel's Kevin Feige exec produces.

What Accent Do You Have?

You know, I am a sucker for these online quizzes, but I also like to read about the different way certain words are said/pronounced/used around the country (mostly because I get a lot of flak from folks who don't expect a Jersey accent from an Asian girl).

Lately, I've forced a bunch of people to take this one:

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have

It naturally pegged me as Northeastern (NY/NJ) to now surprise. It gets my Midwestern friends, but has trouble with people from Cali and who've lived overseas a lot.

Did it get you!?

Also, this just in!! Apparently, cows moo in dialects too according to the BBC. I wonder if a Jersey cow here would be like, "MOUUU mother fucker."

An interesting article about accents:

How did regional accents originate?

Back to article

On the hot, humid streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, it's easy to pick out the locals with just one word: "'Nawlins". That's the name of their fair city, pronounced in the proper Bayou drawl. Far to the north, but equally striking to a visitor's ear, Boston natives can be heard ordering "clam chowdah" or giving someone directions to "Hahvad Yahd."

So what causes these distinctly different dialects?

"There are a number of reasons that dialect changes throughout America," says James Lantolf, Penn State professor of Spanish and linguistics and director of the Center for Language Acquisition. "First of all, the patterns of settlement when the area was first discovered and developed have a huge impact."

Illustration by James Collins

For instance, Lantolf points out, the regional dialect of New Orleans is largely attributable to the many different nationalities that developed the area. French, Irish, African American, Creole, Spanish and other European influences can all be heard within the Crescent City version of American English.

"A region's geographic location also has a direct influence on the development of a local tongue," Lantolf says. "Isolated areas, such as New Orleans, develop different dialects," he explains. "Where there is no contact between regions, entire words, languages and vernaculars can grow and evolve independently.

"Social standing and education also affect the vernacular of an individual person—and that extends to a particular area as well," Lantolf notes. "There is certainly a difference in the speech of the lower, middle and upper classes."

Lantolf points out that much of Pennsylvanian dialect "is a reflection of the influence of English and Irish settlers. Scranton has a particularly heavy Irish influence.

The pioneer settlers in Pennsylvania's anthracite region (which encompasses Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, and surrounding towns) were largely Irish and German Catholics who worked in the area's coal mines. Many Europeans—particularly Slavic and Italian immigrants—followed and contributed to the distinctive Coal Region culture and dialect.

The English spoken by their descendants is colored by their mother tongues: The word brogue itself (to describe an Irish accent) originally meant a "stout coarse shoe worn formerly in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands," and insultingly implied that the Irish spoke English so poorly, it sounded like they had a boot in their mouths.

The impact of Italian is heard in the regional tendency to elongate words—turning Acme supermarket into "Ack-a-me. And when locals replace the "th" sound in words with a "t" sound—"three" becoming "tree" or "cathedral" becoming "cateedral"—you're hearing the influence of Polish and other Slavic languages.

Pennsylvania's urban centers such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have their own vernacular. The word "yunz"—a kind of Northern "y'all,"—is quintessential Pittsburghese, whereas Philadelphians favor "yiz" to mean the same thing, a plural of "you" that doesn't exist in standard English. "These might seem like local slips of the tongue, but really they are the aspects of language that make dialects unique regionally." Lantolf says.

"It's interesting," he muses. "We call America the 'melting pot' because it eliminates the differences between individuals. But language—and its development—retaliates against that concept. Regional dialect separates people, to an extent. One region speaks this way, another region speaks that way; and the differences between the cultures that have influenced those regions become obvious in the language alone."

—Sarah Etter

PotBS: Just A Wittle Sexiness

For you face!! (And mine.)

I gots me a new ship (the Alexander 4th Rate), and it's dead sexy! It may be boxy like a VW and it's just as safe!

And here's my ass. Yup, I don't know who the douchebag is on the back, but it's tacky tacky tacky. Still, when an ass has 4 DR, tacky goes to sexy.

OMG!! I NEEDS THIS!! (For Alligator Lovers Onry)

I love alligators and crocs. I can't explain why, but they are the most adorable things to me. Too bad I suck at sewing. Still, I'll buy 'em and find someone to make them for me.

Oh, by the way,

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Moar Terrible Movies Incoming! The Dragonball Movie & Mortal Kombat the Reboot!

After learning recently about the upcoming "Tekken" movie, I did a bit of digging...and sure enough, I was awarded by some more junk. Hurry for Hollywood is right because only they could dream up movies with the potential of being SO SO terrible that you have no choice but to pay money to watch them (like a train wreck, but infinitely more painful.)

So, first up, Mortal Kombat the Reboot. Lucky for us it will not be based on Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Instead, the director hopes to "recapture the magic of the first movie." ...Wai...what!? When did this magic ever happen!? WHEN!?

Director talks Mortal Kombat reboot
Date : February 8, 2008 Writer : Clint Morris

Filmmaker mink, attached to direct the third installment – or is it a reboot? - of the “Mortal Kombat” movie series, dropped by the compound today to answer questions about the video-game cum film.

The status of the film, as of today, is that “...the Producers are working out their deals with the studio and arranging their financing”, says the director, who helmed Steven Seagal's “Into the Sun”.

mink says the project isn't so much a sequel as it is a “re-envisioning(if that is a word) of the Mortal Kombat franchise from top to bottom. Todays audience is a savvy involved group so the film must be A plus plus in every area in order to capture the magic of the first film. It is taking the entire concept to the next level across the board in every area visual design, story, cast, FX, photography and most importantly the fighting scenes. The original Mortal Kombat game was born a child of many visual loves by the creators at midway so this latest version borrows heavily from that pioneering spirit and must be thought out and executed at the highest level in order for it succeed in today's market place. This is no overnight task.''

Though the IMDB has Christopher Lambert returning as Rayden, mink says casting hasn't begun yet.

“First things first, is the way these larger projects need to be done. It is still in the business stages but once that is squared away all casting options will be explored along with the continued development of the best story line.”

The last we heard the film was supposed to be shot in Louisiana.

''At one point Louisiana was on the table for various reasons. It still maybe in the future if that is appropriate place to work for the picture''.

Though Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan wrote the original draft of the script, “the writing has been handled by the Producers and their writers at Threshold Studios in conjunction with Midway, of course.”

So there you have it. Not quite time to “Fight!” just yet, but when it is, we'll scream “Get Over Here!”.

Meanwhile, the Dragonball movie is coming to us in August 2008 according to IMDB!! YAY!! Here's an old article about it from the Hollywood Reporter. The most awesome thing about this movie, aside Hollywood once more usurping AZN roles from my people and giving them to Canadians and hookers, is that Chow Yun Fat (MR. CHOW YUN FAT to you) will be the dirty Kame Sennin--Roshi or whatever. I'm sure it was the idea of getting "puff puffs" from bitches that sold it to him. Even betterly awesome, it looks like "Spike" from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will be lean green Piccolo.

I don't know about you, but these movies have the potential of being even more awesomely badder than the Super Mario movie + anything on the Lifetime Movie Channel + "Over Her Dead Body."

Can't wait!!

Tekken: Lead Actor Cast!

Oh what the fudge crackers!? According to ComingSoon.Net:

Luke Goss is Steve Fox in Tekken

Source: Jeri

February 8, 2008

Luke Goss (Blade II, upcoming Hellboy II: The Golden Army) has announced on his official website that he has been cast to play Steve Fox in Crystal Sky Pictures' Tekken adaptation.

Directed by Dwight little, Tekken is a futuristic martial arts action film based on the best-selling Japanese video game from Namco. The film plays out as a science fiction story set in the near future, about a rebel who rises up against the Tekken Corp. to seize freedom for his people.

Steve Fox as in, Nina William's wittle boy. But but but!! He's not even a good character!!? I mean, come on, we couldn't make Bryan Fury the lead? Or better yet, GON!? Steve Fox!? Come on, when you think Tekken, you think of Heifuckinghachi and Mokujin, not Steve Fox. *hiss hiss*

PotBS: New Patch Notes

Can be found here!

http://www.burningsea.com/page/news/article&article_id=10623

It's hella' long, but what irks me the most is that my vocabulary has been further limited thanks to this:

• Added some additional words to the profanity filter.

Boo!! Bad Flying Labs!

COD4: New Zombie Mod Updates

Yay. I'm not sick any moar...and here be some new info about the Zombie Mod from the COD Forums:

The http://cod4zombies.com Call of Duty 4 Zombies mod team has recently released a new beta version and also have some new zombie skins to show off. Check it out below:

CoD4 Zombies Beta3 has been installed on the US and UK 82ndID Zombie servers!

In this new version we have added:
• Ranks system = Build your rank like the normal game
• Added a loud sound to when the round restarts.
• Added more admin tools (for us admins only)
• Renamed Hunters to Survivors

Fixes:
• Invisiblity glitch fixed
• Invinciblity glitch fixed
• Zombie character when hunter fixed
• No weapon when spawning fixed
• Round not restarting when last Survivor leaves or gets kicked

Here are the temporary character skins. Skins by: Jb.Wyatt, render by: Seven.



IP: 64.34.213.105:28960 (US)
IP: 78.129.143.72:28960 (UK)

So if you're interested in trying out this new version of the mod, be sure to connect to one of the IP's listed above. You can also visit their website: http://www.cod4zombies.com for all the latest info.

Looks good! Where by my Zombie machete!?

COD4: Everyone Loves Them Some Hooters!

I noticed a bunch of new player made maps had come out recently that didn't consist of a square with a blue strip and a tanker truck, so today, myself and a few clannies went to visit the Hooters All Modded Map servers. I don't remember what it's called, but the IP is:

8.12.23.2:28960

Thankfully, the got rid of those terrible "sniper" maps and put in some really really good ones. My fave of the night was "Car Park." Very well made, four stories of mayhem and even a floor where you had to bust out the good ole' night vision goggles.

We also played us some Matamat (sp?) which was another very good city map (lots of places to hide and hunt), and Village, which was awesome, but a little too big for the 10 of us on it. "Office" was another very well made one, and I admit that I went, "AWWWWWWWWWW" when we played the "Toy Soldiers" map (great concept/not very well balanced I think.)

Anyhow, if you grow tired of Crash HQ then I recommend checking out the new maps....and a few old. Yup, there's the good ole TV Station on "Sharqi Peninsula" (awesome) and also "Harbor" from COD2. Can't wait to see Carentan.

A couple duds, but over all, very good times....until a certain venereal diseased squad got on and started throwing their stupid accusations around. Then it got to be very great times using the RPG, Knife, Pistol and C4 onry to kill 'em. Thanks! (But Snake VD, you're a good spot.) <3

If you guys end up checking it out, be on the look out for my alter ego, =SDF= Minmay or my friends at =HP=.

Mecha Mecha Iketeru!

Ahhh, I've actually been skimping on my gaming time lately because I recently found the "Mecha Mecha Iketeru" specials on Stage 6. Their big deal is springing pop quizzes on celebrities a la, pop C.A.Ts (although I don't even know if they still give those out) and then crowning the "dumbest" celeb which NO ONE wants. Anyhoo, it's like "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader ~ Celebrity Edition," only, people actually want to get on the show and prove how stupid they are. (For example, labeling Canada as "Pakistan" or "New York.")

Damn you terrible TV shows keeping me away from shooting people! (Although I can always pretend it's research for my translation!)

Anyhow, I just finished watching the "Sports Festival" featuring the Morning Musume. (I never liked them but they were funny as fuck trying to do the hurdles.) It's hella' funny. (Well, for me.)

And then my dumb ass found a show called "Bara no Nai Hanaya," (A Flower Shop Without A Rose.) Talk about tear fest. I started crying during the first fuckin' five minutes. EVIL! I think there is a subbed version out there but not sure. If so, check check it out if you like tear jerkers and former/current JPOP boy banders (SMAP for your face!) Actually, I don't, but damn it sucked me in.

I just found a bunch of episodes of "Galileo," which I guess is like CSI: Tokyo or some shit involving a physicist (sexy!) solving crime, so gonna' give it a try.

Oh, and of course I watched a bunch of the newer "Gaki no Tsukai" vids. For those of you who haven't heard about 'em, no matter what happens, they're not supposed to laugh...or else!

COD4: More Maps Coming...For Console Onry!?

As if the 1.5 patch wasn't an insult in its 10 meg self, more sad news for us PC folk:

2008-02-04 | Written By: CHARLIE OSCAR DELTA STAFF

Great news, Charlie Oscar Delta! Activision and Infinity Ward report that new global conflicts are planned in the form of downloadable multiplayer maps for the award-winning Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. In development for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into a hot zone of added combat across a variety of intense multiplayer locales. "We've demonstrated our commitment to delivering the best multiplayer experience in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and that continues with our plans for new downloadable content," explains Infinity Ward's Community Manager, Robert Bowling aka Fourzerotwo. "We're excited about the new maps, and the added gameplay variety, and we can't wait to wrap things up and get online with everyone." The new downloadable content is scheduled for release this spring, and will be available on Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network. Stay tuned to CharlieOscarDelta.com for more information and updates on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare!

Sure we get mod tools, but I'd much rather play an official map than a two dump truck map with a river in between and over active kill triggers. *tear* I am interested in mp_village though. That actually looks pretty sexah.

PotBS: Who's your Pirate Valentine?

I know mine won't be Tom Brady. *snurf*

Who's your Pirate Valentine?

02.04.08 by Rhaegar

In just 10 days it will be Valentine’s Day. In the past you might have marked this most joyful of days by taking your loved one out for dinner. Perhaps you bought them a charming bunch of flowers and a box of exquisite Belgian chocolates.

This year, you dont need to do any of that! We at Flying Lab Software understand that sometimes you want to give the special person in your life something unique, something breathtaking. Behold the “ARRR You My Valentine?” Facebook application!

This application lets you send a selection of Pirates of the Burning Sea themed cards to your friends and loved ones. What more could they want?

Enjoy. Wont you?

/ Rhaegar

Rambo: Say Hello to My Really BIG Friend

I watched this recently, and wow, despite the lack (absence!!??elevetyhundredone1!!!??) of plot, I was quite impressed with the carnage. Don't go see it if you're expecting Oscar worthy performances, but do go if you love a bloody action movie. Seriously, so many little Asians get shit blown the fuck up (and over and under and into things.)

Right now, Rambo > Chuck Norris any day. Rambo > Cloverfield Monster with just one hand. The shit ancient as all shit Rambo can do with one claymore is amazing, but then give the geezer a mounted machine gun and see what hilarity and hijinks ensue!

p.s. That sniper dude is total HAX!!

Welcome Back PBBans!

The DDOS attacks had taken it out of commission for two weeks but it's back and already a few of our fave COD4 hackers have been caughted (like, within hours of the damn site going back up)!

Welcome back to PBBans. After a two week "vacation" we are now back and ready to bust the cheating punks again.

All systems are online including the MPI, Streaming, the works. New game based signatures are also live. Please check your servers in the account manager to be sure your good to go.

We are still working out the bugs as we redid our server structure. So welcome back everyone.

Yay, me missed you!

New Iron Man Trailer?

Although it's supposed to show during the Super Bowl, but Marvel has it first in HD. It's longer than the previous one I believe, and even if it ain't, the thing looks hella' tight the second (or fifth) time around. I just hope it's as good as it looks.

The new trailer:

Here!

Smash Brothers: Final Smash Mash Up

Yes, Star Fox did go there against Dedede. One of my faves for sure, although the Ice Climbers' move was pretty awesome.

Soul Caliber IV: Pretty Screenies

I was looking at a few more pictures of the upcoming "Soul Caliber IV" game for the PS3/XBOX 360, and I must say, they're gorgeous. Looking at the character illustrations attached to the article, it also looks like our fave SC ladies have picked up a few extra pounds as well in the T&A department (although according to her profile, Cassandra claims that she's lost weight).

Here's the official site (with Ivy's huge boobage to lead the way):

http://namco-ch.net/soulcalibur4/index.php

Meanwhile, gorgeous Hilda, gorgeous!!


And here's Cassie. You be the judge of whether the Hollywood Cabbage diet worked or not:

Still no more news about the SC movie though.

Pirates of the Burning Meooowww?

For some reason, my kitty loves this game:

Good thing it's not during COD4!