Yeah, that’s pretty spot on.
Monthly Archive for March, 2009
Sheboygan, Wis. (AP) – A 60-year-old Washington woman arrested for drunken driving three times in three days while vacationing in Wisconsin has been sentenced to a month in jail. The woman was arrested first at 2 p.m. March 11, 2008. A deputy saw her try to drive out of a ditch, wearing only one shoe and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.21, authorities said. The legal driving limit is .08.
Twenty-four hours later, the woman was arrested after her car got stuck in snow in a park campground that was closed for the winter. The woman told an officer she had had four or six cups of wine.
“I am still finishing up the box of wine in my car from yesterday,” authorities reported she told the officer.
Authorities found a box of Black Fox wine in the car.
The woman spent 12 hours in jail. She was released and headed west, but was arrested a short time later after someone reported her driving “all over the road,” according to a police report.
An officer found a partial bottle of wine in her car. She had a blood alcohol-level of 0.16.
Court records released Wednesday show the woman was sentenced last week to 30 days in jail and fined more than $3,000.
IDW continues its classic Trek series in the new mini-series, Mission’s End. Writer Ty Templeton and artist Stephen Molnar bring us aboard the original Enterprise as they make first contact with a species that have evolved from bugs left on an abandoned space station.
Mission’s End finds Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise on Archernar IV, conducting a first contact mission with the insect civilization that has evolved. Accompanying Kirk is Captain Cassady, of the survey team that has been gathering intelligence on the civilization for pre-first contact preparation. Now you may be thinking to yourself, bugs? Yes, what was once popular about 40 plus years ago feels totally appropriate for a classic Star Trek mini-series. It’s something you’d totally expect seeing on an episode of the original series.
The first contact goes well until Spock stumbles across something that could potentially wreck havoc across the galaxy and it’s up to the crew of the Enterprise from putting a stop to it. Unfortunately they’ve got an entire civilization of insects they’re going to have to deal with, so you know it’s not going to be pretty.
Templeton offers a lot of narration and dialogue, but it doesn’t feel overpowering. He’s able to set up the story nicely and really makes it feel like you’re watching an episode of the show. He seems to have a good understanding of the characters and grasps their dialogue well. I look forward to seeing where he takes them next. Molnar does an excellent job with the characters and their resemblance to the actors. Even when the page is busy with all the aliens, everything looks like it belongs there and is clear to see who’s who. He does an excellent job with the characters expressions as well, so you really believe the way they feel when they talk. Overall, an excellent job all around.
Mission’s End has it all and Templeton has done an excellent job setting up what’s sure to be an exciting mini-series. It feels like a classic Trek episode and the characters look and feel like they’ve jumped right off the tube. This is a must buy for any Trek fan, whether hard core or just casual. Heck, even if you’re not a fan and are looking for a good story with good art then this is it. IDW’s has done a bang up job with the Trek series so far and one can only hope that it continues.
Halo Wars marks an end of an era for some, and new beginnings for many. Being Ensemble Studios last project, Halo Wars has brought in people that might have never played an RTS into the fold. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, RTS is a real time strategy game. Hugely popular for years on PC’s, consoles have never really been able to crack the RTS market. Sure there are RTS’s like Tom Clancy’s EndWar and the Command & Conquer series, but none have them have been able to pull in the hardcore console gamers. Halo Wars has changed that.
In a way Halo Wars has come full circle. It’s an RTS prequel to a series that was originally conceived as an RTS (Bungie later went the FPS route, which proved to be pretty popular). Set in the Halo Universe, and just using the name Halo in its title is sure to draw in people. Being the most downloaded demo in all of XBox Live’s history didn’t hurt the games expectations either.
Set roughly two decades before the events of the original trilogy, the story starts on the planet Harvest where the war between the UNSC and the Covenant forces rages on. Led by Sergeant John Forge, the UNSC follows the Covenant across the galaxy as they try to prevent Covenant forces from coming into possession of technology that could wipe out the human race. We’re also introduced to how a certain other group that featured prominently in Halo 3 first came on to the UNSC’s radar.
The game features a single player campaign, featuring 15 levels, a co-op feature allowing two people to complete the game and a rich and in depth multi-player gametype that pits players against each other. Unfortunately you can only play as the UNSC in the campaign mode, but you’re able to choose between the UNSC and Covenant in the multiplayer, in which up to six (three human and three Covenant) players can take part. You can even choose to play 3 v3 with two AI players on your team. It’s clear that Ensemble put a lot of thought into the multiplayer side, something that we’ve become familiar with in the Halo series.
The key components of the RTS remain untouched, you have to set you your base and manage it in a way that will ensure your success. Your base will be used to accept resources, through landing pads you construct, which allows you to spend them building and improving manufacturing facilities and barracks. You’ll train and upgrade your troops, leveling them up by giving them additional weapons and having a medic in each squad to help ensure they last longer. Upgrading vehicles and aircraft also help with your attacks on enemy bases or achieving given by your commanders.
Halo Wars is a console RTS that fully embraces the classical design of an RTS. Ensemble’s main concern was making it work on the 360, and they succeeded. I can’t think of any console RTS’s that have achieved that simple objective. Too often we’re faced with an RTS that becomes to difficult to control. You scroll with a stick and select with the A button. Shortcuts include select all units or all units onscreen with the simple press of a bumper. You can jump between bases and danger alerts with the D pad. The X button moves your troops and vehicles around the map. Attacking is made easy, you choose your target and hit X for a regular attack or Y for a specialized attack. By simplifying the control system you’re able to keep up with the quick pace of the game.
In the multiplayer you get to choose between six commanders, which alter your abilities. On the UNSC side, you get a unique unit and assorted bonuses to make it a little easier to build up your army. Playing as the Covenant, you get a different specialty unit and can take your leader onto the battlefield. You get a series of unique multiplayer maps to play the various games on.
Now that we’ve gotten the gameplay out of the way, what about its presentation? How does it look and sound? Thankfully, Ensemble have kept everything from the original Halo games that worked in the first place. The sound effects and voice casting are top notch. The musical score is just what you’d expect from a Halo game too. The game’s visuals look great too. The in game graphics, with the detailed vehicles, movements and terrain look fantastic. The cut scenes are gorgeous and some of the best you’ll find in any game. Ensemble did a great job from top to bottom, you can tell they wanted to go out on a high note.
Halo Wars succeeded in every aspect that Ensemble and Microsoft wanted it to. It delivers a simple and fluid RTS experience that’s a lot of fun to play. Best of all it remains faithful to while remaining true to the franchise’s roots. RTS purists will gripe and moan about the loss of some features or controls, but for a console it’s the strongest RTS game out there. Pick it up, you won’t be disappointed.
OMG, this looks awesome. Killer Special Forces rabbits operating in Iran. I mean c’mon, that’s fucking awesome.
