Retro Game Review #1: Spyro The Dragon, Gateway to Glimmer, Year of the Dragon

Spyro may be a small purple dragon, but he has a massive place in my heart due to the hours upon hours I’ve spent making him glide, charge, and plummet to his inevitable doom – but I don’t just mean as a child. Yes, Spyro The Dragon was one of the first games I’d ever played as a kid, but his legacy remains as intact as my old PS1 because I urge myself to play this masterpiece annually to this day. “But Jay!” you bellow at your screen, “This game is positively ancient! What on Earth would possess you to actively play it 17 years later?”. Well, allow me to begin my Spyro trilogy review back where it all started– right after you stop bellowing, it’s a quiet room. Thanks.

As soon as you surpass the nostalgic melodies of the PS1’s splash screen, after a quick cutscene filled with Insomniac Games’ witty, comical humour, we dive right into Artisans – the first of the six homeworlds. Immediately, the game looks vibrant – lush colours will dart into your eyeballs and you’ll love every second of it. This eccentrically colourful art style remains consistent throughout the trilogy, and even diffuses into Ratchet & Clank – Insomniac’s subsequent project after selling the Spyro franchise. It also becomes very apparent that Spyro was created to rival Crash Bandicoot – Naughty Dog’s prominent franchise at the time (and PlayStation’s mascot). Two cute anthropomorphic animals forced on an enduring quest to save the world, it’s no wonder they joined forced in GBA titles Crash Purple / Spyro Orange.

Let’s not forget that this was 1998. Video games couldn’t afford to include grand orchestras for their soundtracks – they were stored on CDs back then, so they had to be catchy and short in order to serve their purpose and take up as little space as possible. But who needs orchestras when you have Stewart Copeland – the drummer from The Police(!) to compose your game’s music! What an excellent decision that was. Copeland synthesises a beautiful melody for each of the game’s levels, giving them their own distinctive identity. Seriously, Spyro 1-3 win the award of my favourite ever video game soundtracks – and I’ve played Ape Escape. Listening to any of them unleash a flood of memories from my childhood, whether it’s getting 117% in Spyro 1, climbing to the top of Autumn Plains for that final orb in Spyro 2, or throwing my controller in frustration at trying to collect all the dragon eggs in YotD.

It’s difficult to describe what type of games the Spyro trilogy are. The goal of each level is to platform, charge, glide, or flame your way to the end portal. In reality, it’s much more fun than that. Gems are the main collectable, much like wumpa fruit from Crash Bandicoot. If not to fuel your game completion percentage, they unlock new abilities, unlock new portals, and set free new characters – although this is only in the second and third games. Fortunately Moneybags didn’t exist in Spyro 1. They were happy times. Peaceful, even. Moneybags is an arse. The end.

The sheer variety of levels in this game is also slightly insane. One minute you’re helping a vocal wizard save his land from a yeti, and the next you’re trying to beat a leopard in a manta ray race. However, Spyro 3 was the first to introduce new playable characters. Sheila, Sgt. Bird, Bentley, and Agent 7 all have their own respective levels in each of the four homeworlds. Don’t forget the abundance of bonus levels available, including the famous skateboarding minigames found in Year of the Dragon. If you haven’t played any of the old Spyro games yet, please do. They’re over 15 years old, but they stand up astonishingly well today. It’s merely a simple joy to glide around the several unique immersive worlds the game throws at you, and one that will always remain a part of my gaming life.

Godspeed, Spyro. May Activision be gentle with you in the future.

Why I Love PS2-era Textures

This is probably going to be a weird article. It might not make sense. My brain might be severely distorted. But these are my (weird) opinions.

Yesterday, I went back to play Hitman 2 on PS3, and one thing really struck me – I adore the graphics. It’s hard to explain, but the blurry, stretched PS2 textures really immerse me in this fictional world (despite being upscaled to 720p).



At first, I thought it was some sort of nostalgia section of my brain opening up for old PS2 memories, but that makes little to no sense. I, like many others, declare Sony’s Playstation 2 as the greatest console of all time, but I remember the graphics being super realistic – as I’m sure everyone else does. Textures never particularly stood out as being blurry and low-res.

There’s something so immersion breaking about realistic graphics. No, no, hear me out. As much as I appreciate the uber realism of GTA V, I’ve never felt the sheer joy and immersion of exploring the simple, colourful PS1 Spyro titles (even replaying them the other week I found myself getting so glued to the screen). Realism in games is overrated, and the truth is – real life is boring. We play video games to escape reality, so making games more realistic only stunts the immersion I feel when playing them. It sounds insane, but the fictional, simple, low-res textures we had in old-school Spyro and epics like Shadow of the Colossus really helped me get lost in such a world.



Perhaps that’s why I get so drawn to indies nowadays. As innovative as most are, the charming nature of the low budget graphics creates a wonderful fictional universe that I love exploring – especially in 3D outings like Rodina.

Maybe I’m slightly biased, because I adore exploration games. Whilst 80% of the gaming market right now get all their entertainment from shooting each other’s online avatars in gritty (brown) realistic (boring) FPS-es, I can’t help but fall in love with traversing the lush environments of Just Cause 2 or the open waters of AC: Black Flag.



Just because I’ve spent a whole article talking about simple graphics and exploration, here’s a picture from No Man’s Sky. You know, that game that could never get released and still be everybody’s Game of the Year.

Top 7 Anticipated Games from E3 2014

WARNING: OPINIONS

7) BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

To begin this list, I shall start with the final Arkham outing to end the legendary trilogy (we’ll just ignore Origins, shall we).

It’s not E3 without a brand new Batman announcement, except this time Rocksteady are going all out to bring us the biggest, baddest, most expansive Gotham yet!

Arkham Knight was announced at Sony’s conference, and it actually included gameplay – a rare wonderment for E3 – and it looks astonishing. From the few minutes we actually saw, a new Batman manor, the Batmobile, and the hugest free-roam Gotham ever seen was shown off.

You’ll be able to face off against the Arkham Knight him(?)self in 2015, only on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

6) SUNSET OVERDRIVE

As a Sony/Nintendo gamer, it pains me to say I’ll probably never get a chance to play Insomniac’s insanely chaotic ‘Sunset Overdrive’.

After Insomniac’s bland, forgettable attempt at a shooter ‘Fuse’, it seems like they’re going back to their roots with an action-packed, hilariously crazy open world third-person shooter, which was announced at Microsoft’s conference.

The love-child of Ratchet & Clank and Jet Set Radio will be blasting onto your Xbox One on October 28th 2014 (30th for UK owners).

5) FAR CRY 4

After Far Cry 3, it seemed like nothing was going to beat the lush open-world jungle filled with killer leopards and insane pirates. That was until Far Cry 4 was announced at Ubisoft’s press conference this year.

The gameplay video showed off the gorgeous capabilities of next-gen hardware, highlighting the breath-taking mountainous landscapes of Kyrat (fictional, yet stunningly similar to the Himalayas). All I could think about was the Nepalese section of Uncharted 2 (well, with added wingsuits).

In an earlier video, we met the crazy villain of Far Cry 4, and he is most certainly a match for FC3’s Vaas – taking a selfie with you within minutes of meeting you. If the elephants don’t kill you, those vibrant pants of his will.

You’ll be parachuting into Kyrat on November 18th 2014 (available for PS4, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC).

4) METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

If you’d shown me this announcement 2 weeks ago, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid, but I recently purchased the Legacy Collection. Consider me a fan.

Being a new fan, I haven’t looked into the plot. Like, at all. But from the trailer alone, it is definitely something I can get behind.

Graphically, it looks stunning, and with “Nuclear” playing in the background, I can’t help but get goose bumps for a game I know hardly anything about. And yes, I know, it was pre-rendered, but it still doesn’t mean it isn’t gorgeous.

I don’t know if this was planned, but The Phantom Pain is chronologically the fifth game in the series, as well as in release order. Taking place before Metal Gear, but after Ground Zeroes, The Phantom Pain is ready to sneak onto your screens on the…well… we don’t know actually.

It’s still in development, but be prepared if you own a PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 or an Xbox One.

3) THE LEGEND OF ZELDA WII U

If I made this list directly after the announcement, it would be a lot lower on the list, but Aonuma recently claimed that the entire announcement video shown was completely gameplay.

Yes, the stunningly beautiful open-world cinematic of Link riding Epona away from explosions was not only running on the game’s engine, but was all actual gameplay. I imagine it’s something like the cinematic sequences of Uncharted 3, but with Zelda!

This is probably the most ambitious Zelda title yet, some already summarising it as a “cel-shaded Skyrim”.

If this isn’t a Wii U system seller, I don’t know what is. But if you’re prepared to get this game, then have a Wii U ready for 2015. This is gonna be good!

2) UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END

I’m finding it excruciatingly hard not to just mash my keyboard in sheer excitement for this game.

Uncharted is by far my favourite video game franchise, and this new trailer made by heart skip 30 beats.

Nathan Drake, a now retired fortune hunter, is forced to get back in the game for personal reasons. Does this mean Elena’s been captured? Is Eddy Raja really dead? Will Sully ever get rid of his moustache? God, I hope not.

The title worries me, and also excites me. It could potentially mark the end of Nate’s adventure, or even Sully’s, and that terrifies me, but it might just be the epic send-off the franchise needs.

Nolan North has already mentioned that Naughty Dog are probably ending the series here, and I am completely okay with that. Each Uncharted game is an absolute masterpiece, so I’d rather Naughty Dog finish on a high note where they’re happy, than turn it into a yearly series like Assassin’s Creed.

Whatever happens, next-gen Uncharted can only mean great things. They already had fully simulated oceans in Uncharted 3, so god knows what to expect in A Thief’s End.

Hear one last “oh, crap” from Nate in 2015, with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, only on PS4.

1) NO MAN’S SKY

This game. This. Freaking. Game.

When I tuned into Sony’s press conference this year, I was expecting Uncharted 4, something from Ubisoft, and Metal Gear Solid V. Perhaps that’s what made this announcement all the more brilliant.

No Man’s Sky came out of nowhere – a gloriously vast exploration game made by a tiny indie game company.

This game promises a unique experience to every player with randomly generated worlds, animals, structures, stars, everything! You start out on your own planet, and you can explore anywhere. Think Minecraft, but 100x larger.

The gameplay video showed off dinosaurs, spaceships, outer space, different planets, enemy players, underwater traversal, unique structures. It’s every adventurer’s dream.

A procedurally generated open universe with infinite uncharted territories to explore await every single player who picks up No Man’s Sky – making its console debut on PS4 TBC.

 

That wasn’t too biased right?

Honorable Mentions:

• Tom Clancy’s The Division for the best game that lonely people aren’t allowed.
• LittleBigPlanet 3 for that cringeworthy announcement. Don’t worry, it wasn’t as bad as Mr. Caffeine.
• Dead Island 2 for the best misleading trailer. Let’s be honest, it’ll be nothing like that.
• Battlefield Hardline for the best Payday clone.

News–25/03/2014

He May Be Sentenced

On Valentines Day 2013, the south African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was arrested on suspicion of the murder of his girlfriend. 13 months later, the sprinter found out he would have to wait until (at least) May to be told of his fate. The delay in trial time was due to the prosecution not yet completing its case in the 4 weeks the trial has been happening. The trial will now give representatives from both sides an opportunity to rethink their witnesses and statements.

DETAILED ACCOUNT OF MURDER TRIAL – DAY 15

Debris Sparks Hope in the Baffling Mystery of Malaysian Jet

Over three weeks since the disappearance of flight MH370 which has dumbfounded the international community since its signals fell of the radar, it seems some promising evidence has been unearthed. In a search spread in an arc from the North West of China to the Indian Ocean just off of Australia, five countries have deployed leading search jets in the hope they will find an indication of what happened to the Malaysian jet. Over the past week, three potential sightings of debris from the jet have been discovered by the Australian search team, making the area the focus point of the search. Debris over 20 metres long was detected by satellite and aviation professionals have indicated that this debris has potential strong links to discovering the fate of the plane. Despite some scepticism over the debris, with certain professionals claiming it is unlikely that a part of the plane 20 metres long would stay intact after impact, Australia PM Tony Abbott is hopeful about the sightings in the southern corridor of the Indian Ocean: "There is increasing hope that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft". Unfortunately, not all involved in the mysterious disappearance of the airliner shares the Prime Minister’s hope. Family frustration has engulfed this story over the past week with families of the missing passengers accusing search teams of lackadaisical efforts. Families are angered that after three weeks there is still no conclusive evidence of indication of whether they are safe or not and in recent press conferences globally, frustration has become uncontainable. We continue to sympathise with these families and keep all of those affected by this mystery in our thoughts.

Mystery Shrouds Vanished Jet

The whereabouts of the vanishing Malaysian plane has been a topic on everyone’s mind since it’s unexplained disappearance one week ago. Now missing, 239 passengers were aboard flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing including 2 passengers with stolen passports. Speculation about how these two passengers managed to board the flight has been rife, and recent developments have provoked even further conversation. It was revealed today that signals from the plane were ‘deliberately disabled’ in a statement from the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. A plane then suspected, but not confirmed as MH370, turned back on its course before all signals were lost. Subsequent to the loss of radar contact, the plane continued for some 7 hours before altogether vanishing into the mystery encompassing the flight for the past 7 days. Theories from hijacking to crash landing have been surfacing in the international news; however Mr Razak could neither confirm nor deny any of these speculations stating in his speech earlier today that ‘all possibilities’ were being explored. Teams have been deployed to search for any wreckage or indications of the plane’s fate in the Indian Ocean and the globe stays strong in hope for any news about the wellbeing of the missing passengers. However, in a search that has been compared to looking for a needle in a haystack, conclusive developments look unlikely in the immediate future.
Thanks to Rachael Griffiths for the post.

THE NEW OJ SCHEDULE

Tuesday – Media/Music
Thursday – Sport/Science
Saturday/Sunday – General News

Also every Saturday at the start of each month we pick the Gamer of the Month!

Sony @ Gamescom 2013, Kerrigan's Debut, and Space Communication

Gamescom 2013 Highlights - SONY

During Sony's conference at Gamescom 2013, they covered a lot of ground, including the news that the PS4 had reached 1,000,000+ pre-orders already.

• The PS4 will be able to send live tweets including game screenshots. 
• New games were announced including Gran Turismo 6, F2P LittleBigPlanet Hub, GTA V, Murasaki Baby (VITA), Big Fest (VITA). 
• Indie titles announced: Rogue Legacy, Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, N++, Volume, Guns of Icarus Online, Wasteland Kings, and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Full list here.
• Twitch.tv was announced for the PS4.
• Sony Music Unlimited announced for PS4 from Day One. Lets you play games and stream music.
• New PS4 owners get free 14-day PS Plus.
• AC IV: Black Flag gets Remote Play with VITA.
• Watch_Dogs gets bonus PS4 content, and a movie is in the works.
• Minecraft (previously an Xbox One exclusive) is confirmed for PS4 release.
• PS3 12GB bundle price drop to $199.
• Certain cross-gen games give you a discount for owners of PS3 copies. (Buy it on PS3, get discount for PS4 version).

Kerri-gone

Sure to say it was a rough introduction to test cricket for Simon Kerrigan. Many people saw it as a strange decision to start Kerrigan but nevertheless were excited to see the Lancashire spinner in action. What they got was a horrible 2 over burst of full tosses and short deliveries which saw him leak 28 runs, and finish the day with figures of 8 overs no maidens 0-53.


Communicating using a space walky-talky

There have been many highlights over the past few weeks when it comes to space and science, as well as a lot of hard work for the people involved, but the work and preparation will all culminate in the space walk to take place at 11:40am BST when Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin will leave the international space system to take a walk into space.
On this walk into space, the two will be working on a communications device that will improve communications with the Earth from the station, and allow the crew to interact with the whole of the Earth's 7 billion residents to share all the advancements that are happening on board as we speak.
The space walk will last for more than 4 hours so there are plenty of opportunities to watch for those interested. You will be able to watch the coverage in its entirety on NASA TV.

Game Review: Batman: Arkham City

Game Review: Batman: Arkham City (written by new team member: Dan)

Arkham City, the sequel to the 2009 hit 'Arkham Asylum' provides a unique and atmospheric setting that builds upon its predecessor in every single way. Keeping its much loved Unreal Engine from the first game, which provides an elegant yet simple fighting style that gives you satisfaction every time you lay the hurt on a group of thugs. And this even makes you feel as though you are stepping into Batman's shoes. Another integral part of Batman's armoury is his gadgets: batarang, freeze blast, explosive gel and many more gadgets appear. All of which are fun to use and make you feel like a total and utter badass. Then there's the story, credit to Sefton Hill and the creative team at Rocksteady who have created an immersive and truly intense world and a deep story with more twists and turns than a roller coaster. The voice acting really completes the story with voice acting genius Mark Hamill's last performance as The Joker being one of his best, and Kevin Conroy giving a strong believable performance as Batman. Arkham City really ups its game with characters and for the first time in the Arkham franchise we see the likes of Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Two-Face and even Ra's al Ghul and a few more surprises in the new side mission feature which fits hand in hand with the story perfectly. Overall, Arkham City is without doubt the finest super hero game in history without question, with a simple elegant fighting system and an immersive world and story. This is one for the ages.

YouTube Review: LDShadowLady

Fantastic YouTube vlogger/gamer appears out of the shadows

LDshadowlady, or Lizzy as she is known is an English YouTuber most famous for her gaming videos and vlogs (like 'Ask LDshadowlady'). The 5' 2" YouTuber is well known for her different hair colours, English accent and cute personality by the fact she is only 20. She has a bright future ahead having already achieved 127,480 subscribers (correct at time of writing) and her fan base is continuing to grow. Her mix of 'awkward' humour and love of what she's doing creates an enjoyable experience for all who watch her videos resulting in ultimate enjoyment for all! Thank you Lizzy and continue the great work!! Below is a link to her most recent YouTube vlog. Feel free to comment who sent you there. (Warning: may include spoilers for Kick Ass 2 but does not really give anything away) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh4hrfFl7ps&feature=youtube_gdata_player

'Harmon'y restored for Community's Season Five!

Community fans have officially heard the greatest news ever since Season Five was announced, and that's the return of the original showrunner Dan Harmon! Rumours were rumours until 1st June, when he tweeted: "Yes yes yes! I'm back I'm back I'm back. You can thank @joelmchale" from his account @danharmon. After Season Four's ultimately disappointing run (despite a few memorable moments), it's safe to say that Dan's return is nothing but great news, and I can't wait to see what he produces. Unfornately, Chevy is unlikely to return after his row with the creator, and Ben Chang (played by Ken Jeong) has also replaced him in the group.

Happy Birthday To... Me

Thought I'd make a quick post to let you know it's my (Jay's) birthday today! This half of 'OJ' has had an awesome day, but also at the end of it all, very tiring. Big shout out to the Sun for his extremely welcomed appearance today. Also, being the Whovian that I am, it just wouldn't be right not to mention Colin Baker's 70th birthday today as well. Good to know I'm born on the same day as a former Time Lord! Heh, night guys!

NEW FEATURE LAUNCHED: Space Wednesday/Thursday

AT THE PEAKE OF HIS CAREER

This Monday, the science and industry world of the United Kingdom was sent into the stratosphere... Quite literally! With the announcement of the first British astronaut getting the go ahead to fly in 2015. Despite the 2 years of waiting for spectators and space fans, it’s definitely not going to be a quiet couple of years for Major Tim Peake with the training for the flight both for the trip up and down to the International Space Station (ISS) but also life on board the space station.
Major Peake will be up on the space station for 6 months, during which he will be on a space walk and helping take part in many of the investigations that would help the research of not just NASA, but of the whole world and I think I speak on behalf of the world and especially the people of Great Britain when I say... Good Luck Major Peake, Fly Safe, God Speed.

DOCTOR WHO SERIES 7 PART 2 FINALE

THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR *SPOILERS*

Saturday 18th May 2013 saw the release of the Series 7 Part 2 finale of Doctor Who, and what a finale it was. Current companion Clara has only been on the show for half a series, but she has shook the Who-niverse so much in that short time. From day one we’ve speculated and rumoured about who this impossible girl may be, and The Name Of The Doctor brought that information to us at long last.
*SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT*
Jenny, Vastra and Strax make a big return in the episode, as they have a ‘psychic tea party’ with Clara and River regarding the Doctor’s biggest secret. The Whispermen are on the hunt for the Doctor’s closest friends (the human, the lizard and the Sontaran), and the only way to save them is to travel to the one place a time traveller should never go – his grave.

Yes, Trenzalore is revealed to be the Doctor’s burial planet, and what a grave it is. The TARDIS leaks its ‘bigger-on-the-inside’ technology when it dies, and grows. The perfect monumental grave for our time travelling hero. Breaking into his grave is a massive paradox, as he crosses his own timeline, but he’d owe anything to his friends. River Song accompanies the Doctor and Clara as an echo.

Clara starts to remember things she shouldn’t, for example her forgotten conversation with the Doctor about how she’s died twice already. We finally meet our villain, the Great Intelligence in the shape of Dr. Simeon. He forces the Doctor to open his grave by saying the single activation word – his name. With Jenny, Vastra and Strax and Clara at stake, the Doctor’s in a tricky posiition but the door opens by command of River. As she’s an echo, nobody heard her say his name, but the grave still opened.

Inside we see the Doctor’s timeline. Everything he ever did or will do, and the Great Intelligence steps right through it, ripping him apart, but also contaminating the Doctor’s timeline. Every victory he ever won was reversed. All of the planets and civilisations he saved, was gone. The Doctor was being rewritten. Strax was now pure sontaran, attempting to kill Vastra, but she kills him instead.

Eventually, Clara figures it out. She was born to save the Doctor. It was her in the Dalek Asylum, and in Victorian London. She steps into the timeline, scattering herself across the Doctor’s life, saving him whenever she could. We see her help the First Doctor choose the right TARDIS, look for the Sixth Doctor in the TARDIS, chase the Third Doctor in Bessie, watch over the Tenth Doctor in the library. She is soufflé girl after all.

This is when we get some real closure on River Song. The Doctor confesses to always being able to see and hear her echo, but never saying anything because it would hurt too much. They kiss and he finally says goodbye, and she fades away.

Jenny, Vastra and Strax couldn’t see her so god knows how the kiss looked to them (good old Who humour). Then the Doctor steps into his timestream and finds Clara in a part of his timestream with just incarnations of him. The Doctor sends Clara’s red leaf down to her, and then he falls down to the same room she’s in.

The timestream closes and they see a figure in the distance. Since everybody in the room is him, how come Clara has never seen him before? Choosing the name ‘the Doctor’ is a promise. That man broke that promise. He is the Gallifreyan we know and love, but not the Doctor. He turns around then we see John Hurt, who is starring in the 50th as, what we can safely presume to be, the Valeyard – a dark incarnation of the Doctor between his 12th and final regeneration. This is a massive build up to the anniversary special and I cannot wait. There you have it. Brilliant!

News –19.MAY.13

COMMUNITY GETS SEASON 5

It really couldn’t have been a more down to the wire decision, but NBC have decided to renew sitcom Community for a fifth season. It’s been quite a year for the show, with actor Chevy Chase and ex-show-runner and creator Dan Harmon leaving after quite a dispute. Perhaps because of this, the show continued to have low ratings this year, but it didn’t look so bad compared to the rest of NBC’s struggling schedule (including The Office and 30 Rock). Despite all of this, yesterday (Friday 10th May) Community was renewed for a fifth 13-episode season. Just minutes after the announcement, US fans trended #LongLiveCommunity on social networking site Twitter.
(source)

DAN HARMON COULD RETURN TO COMMUNITY

While on the subject, a new report has suggested series creator Dan Harmon could potentially return to his position of show-runner for Community. I wouldn’t get too excited yet, as no official news has been announced, but www.deadline.com speculates about the possibilities of his return. Now that season 4 has ended, emotions have calmed down between Harmon and Chase (who left this year), so there is certainly a good chance, especially if this is Community’s final season (which hasn’t been announced, but is pretty likely). Deadline are a good source of reliable information, so their information must be coming from someone in-the-know, but for now it’s just a wait and see moment.
(source)

STAR WARS EPISODE VII FILMED IN UK

Star Wars producer LucasFilm says the latest instalment is to be made in the UK. The seventh movie in the series is due to start production next year, and the release date is scheduled to be 2015. “Star Wars is finally going back to its roots, where it started all those years ago in 1976”, says actor Warwick Davis who played an Ewok in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. LucasFilm has not confirmed exactly where the film is going to be shot, but fan website JediNews has speculated that Pinewood Studios may be one of their sites. The Sun also reported that scenes would be shot in the Highlands and the Isle of Skye.
(source)

EMERGENCY IN SPACE

On the 8th May 2013, two astronauts living and working on the international space station (ISS) reported to ground control about seeing flakes flying from part of the craft that NASA later discovered was an ammonia leak on board the space craft. The ground control then went in to hyperactivity and managed to organise a space walk within 3 days and on 11th May, 2 astronauts headed out on a space walk to fix the problem which was eventually solved after 4½ hours.

OKAY GLASS…

Google’s brand new product to be released to the market at the end of the year has been announced as a pair of glasses...
These glasses have a special feature though... They not only include changeable lenses, but a computer system built into the glasses allowing the user to do things such as take a photo or search for something online by using the trigger phrase 'okay glass'. Quite remarkable!

Gaming Update - 5 May 2013

BATMAN ARKHAM ORIGINS

Information from www.batmanarkhamorigins.com: Arkham Origins will feature an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline occurring several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Taking place before the rise of Gotham's most dangerous villains and assassins, the game showcases a young, raw, unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his career as a crime fighter that sets his path towards becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, witness identities being formed, and relationships being forged.

This all sounds very exciting, but fans of the series are having their doubts as UK developer 'Rocksteady' stated they will not be returning for Arkham Origins. The third in the award-winning series will also not feature original Batman voice-actor Kevin Conroy, as DC are trying to make the younger Batman sound as realistic as possible.

TERRARIA 1.2 NEWS

Could the 1.2 update for Terraria on PC be one of the most anticipated indie updates of all time? After February 2012, Andrew Spinks (creator) announced that Terraria 1.1 would be the final update for the game, though still the largest. This upset a lot of devoted fans as 1.1 is hardly much of a game, so when Spinks announced he was going to resurrect the game in March 2013, the anticipation scale began to skyrocket. Not only is the game getting a new update, it is getting the biggest update the game has ever seen, and yes that includes 1.1. Along with new items, biomes and mobs, Spinks has promised players they will have to create multiple worlds and replay the game multiple times to see everything. With that said, it has obviously been confirmed that the game's 5 world limit will be increased, along with the character limit. For a list of full updates (so far), click HERE.

YouTube Review: OfficialNerdCubed

There are lots of YouTubers out there who post gaming commentaries, yet none do so with as much humour and wit as Dan Hardcastle (more commonly known as ‘NerdCubed’ or more simply ‘Nerd³’). His ‘Nerd³ Plays…’ series is extremely clever, as he doesn’t string out the game into dozens of videos to create a walkthrough, he simply shortens one play session of the game into a single 20-60 minute video. This means we get to watch all of the hilarious, witty moments at once, instead of waiting through a bundle of boring ones. Something else I like about him is his urge to play some unknown, yet brilliant games (see Nerd³ Plays… DLC Quest). Something all of his fans adore is his ability to make any terrible game funny, and that is a huge part of why he became so popular (he is currently riding on a huge 678,000 subscribers) – he plays a lot of ‘Simulator’ games. These are made by small companies with small budgets and are usually pretty badly designed and animated. This manages to gain him millions of his views because we just love to laugh along with him. With it being Friday, it seems fitting to mention another of his series’ – Three Free Games Friday. In this, he plays 3 free games (usually Flash Games) which he finds interesting, and talks along with it. This gives fans the ability to play the games that he enjoys without having to spend valuable cash on them. Recently, his Dad started a channel following the popularity of Dan’s series ‘Father and Son-Days’ (that pun illustrates his maturity, which is why we love him). Apparently, people like to see a father with an Essex accent struggle to play video games because that account alone has already gained 115,000 subscribers within just 6 days of posting his first video. Dan’s other series’ include ‘Permadeath’ (in which he plays a game until he dies once, then it ends) and ‘Nerd³ Completes’ (in which he does a complete walkthrough of the game, though edited to maintain humour). Overall, Daniel Hardcastle is one of the funniest YouTube commentators out there, and his low subscriber count (compared to millions some get) could be due to the controversy over what he likes (PS3 over Xbox, dislikes popular games such as Halo and Skyrim) but as long as the content is good, why should that matter? I personally agree with Dan over the previous points, which might just be why I prefer him over a lot of other gamers. Oh, and he also owns a Vlog channel in which he talks about his life every once in a while, and abuses his roommate, Wot. Links to some of his content below!

HIS GAMING CHANNEL (OfficialNerdCubed)
HIS VLOG CHANNEL (OfficiallyNerdCubed)
Nerd³ Plays… Cleverbot
Nerd³ Plays… Bully
Nerd³ Plays… Just Cause 2
Nerd³ Plays... Farming Simulator 2011

The Custard Cream vs. The Bourbon

Ahhh, the humble Custard Cream.... The leader of the biscuit status, with every bite a mystery. The apparent need for chocolate in a lot of people has meant the unruly demise of the custard cream to its brother: the Bourbon Biscuit. Really?

What are your views? (The views of many people may differ and thanks to our English teacher for the inspiration).

Olympic Torch Run, Robin Gibb Dies, Suicide Bombings in Yemen, Death of the ASBO? [22/May/12]

Olympic Torch Route

The Olympic torch has been set off and the route is being shown on the official Olympic website. The torch is being relayed all around the UK so check out the website to find out when it passes by you!

Interactive Map

Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb Dies At 62

After a long battle with cancer, Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb has died at age 62. Millions of people have paid their respects, even if just on Twitter. Bruno Mars, Duran Duran and Dannii Minogue are just some of the stars who have gave kind words to the singer.

Suicide Bombings Kill 96 Yemeni Soldiers

During a rehearsal for a military parade, a Yemeni soldier detonated a bomb hidden in his uniform. 96 were killed and at least 200 injured. The soldier was supposedly targeting Yemen’s defence minister, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed. He was unhurt.

ASBO's To Be Ditched?

Theresa May says we need to get rid of ASBO’s completely. She referred to them as gimmicks and we must try something more effective. Police officers can now give them different punishments, such as making them fix the damage they’ve caused, etc..

Any requests? Send in your news stories or videos for the Linkathon to superojproject@gmail.com ~ The OJ Team

Summer is on its way

Look how light it is at 9pm. You can tell it's May!

Linkathon [1 May 12] Crash Course, Razorlight and The Super Amazing Project

1) A great series by the Vlogbrothers Hank and John Green. Episode One:

Episode One of Crash Course World History

2) The music video for America by the amazing Razorlight:

Copyright Mercury Records 2006

3) Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil present onto you The Super Amazing Project. Season Two finale below:

Season 2 finale for Dan and Phil’s Super Amazing Project!