Gears of War 3

I've completed all 3 Gears of War campaigns, and played a little online with Gears 2, I'm not a big online player so this only covers the campaigns.
First thing I noticed with GoW3 is the characters are no longer inhumanely large and muscular, now they are just great dirty beasts of men within human realms, and the addition of a couple new characters who are all allot slimmer. 

Maybe this was done to add to the far smoother and swifter feel to the game compared to the previous 2 titles. The environments played in are, as with the previous titles, dark and destruction filled, but there is far less underground action. I think player would have gotten fed up of the underground stuff if it continued with the GoW3. The movement feels far smoother and fluent, which I feel was needed in this game but not too much. GoW1 and 2, I feel, where massively let down by the sluggish movement, I know it pushes you to use the cover system much more, but titles such as Army of Two use a pretty much exactly the same cover system and also have fluent game play out of cover and it works fine. The cover system doesn't feel or act any different from the previous titles, but this is definitely not a bad thing as it’s the best cover system I have used on any game on any console! There is a bit more out of cover game play in 3 than the previous titles, and your AI teammates are often seen gunning it out of cover which is fun to watch at the least, sometimes they can get a little manic! This also allows you to sit back and pick off enemies whilst they take the attention, similar to Army of Two. The AI for your team needs a few minor tweaks, they seem to charge ahead of you sometimes, and don't come back to revive you if they have, resulting in a game over. On occasion they will get in the line of fire blocking your shots to the enemy, and will try to revive you when it would be smarter to clear enemies first. These issues often leave you very frustrated with the game but they are occasional problems. Enemy doesn't seem to have changed too much, just more aggressive, which causes the player to take more desperate actions, for the first time in any GoW game I have HAD to blind fire over cover to prevent enemies from getting too close whilst I recover. There are a few surprising twists in the story, but nothing that you wouldn't have seen coming if you had paid attention in the previous games. With Dom's death and confirmation that Marcus' father is alive there is enough to keep you in the game though. In GoW3 you get a better feel for the political side of things in the Gears universe, it wasn't until 3 I realised that immulsion is almost as oil is today, the most used fuel, controlled by corrupt governments and causing war! With added emphasis on this you feel more empathy for the Gears and the remaining civilians which is always a good thing in a game.
It’s not often you come across a game with game play and cinematic appeal. Gears of War 3 had plenty of both done very well. The ending was very simple, 'all the bad guys are gone so now we live happily ever after', but as you feel like you have been one of the gears from start to finish, you don't feel let down by this, almost relieved it’s over, which is odd for a video game of any type, probably due to the subtle changes in the characters from GoW1, not that the characters were clean cut then, but you can see they have grown and bonded. Such as arguments with Baird are much shorter as the team understand he's just pessimistic and Carmine having far larger balls rushing into action and speaking up when needed. I can’t see it a game I will be revisiting over and over, but can see myself replaying with a friends online. Over all definitely one for the keepsies pile!

Life with my Goldring NS1000s

They are still awesome! But since getting my babies I have come across a reoccurring issue. The detachable audio cable.... At first I thought that detachable cables are something that should be fitted on all headphones, but now I may re consider.
The NS1000s come standard with a chunky, gold plated, anti-oxygen cable manufactured by QED, one of if not the best quality cable manufacturer, but as neither end of the cable has a right angled grip fitting, they are susceptible for the connections becoming loose when used with mp3 players/mobiles due to all the moving about the ends have to go through. 'Just get a replacement' I hear you say, not that simple... The headphones have an about 1 cm deep recess before the jack port starts, meaning the replacement cable needs to have narrow/thin grips otherwise the jack will not even begin to connect, and an exact replacement cables start at around £20 and balls to paying that!
I'm currently waiting for my 3rd cable to arrive and this time I've opted for a right-angled cable.
So when purchasing headphones with a detachable cable remember to consider; the recess it needs to fit not just the jack size!

Bayonetta rip off...

Both this manga issue and Bayonetta were released early 2010... Who's the ripoff!?

CHAV has hit the far east!

Ugly dude, dressed out of the norm, drinking in public, bothering feeble looking smaller people, use of term 'Brap'.

It seems that CHAV has hit the far east!!

Errrrrr.... Why?

Prada phone?? I've seen many things endorsed in Manga, but the Prada phone!!!?....

Washing dreadlocks

I wanted to grow dreadlocks from a very young age. It may have something to do with seeing the father figure in my life growing them since I was a child, it may have something to do with acknowledging my black heritage, could be the fact that it makes bushy hair easy to manage, but is most probably because they look awesome when done correctly!
Anyone with decent dreads will know about the mental preparation required. Growing dreads is not something you will do for a long time or well if your not prepared, mostly because of most peoples ignorant views on dreads, creating false representations, such as not washing them, having to be black or  Rasta, or have a rebellious nature or your against society. Honestly I couldn't care less about what people with that type of mind set think about me, but ignorance to ignorance is still ignorance. Its shocking just how many people out there genuinely believe that you leave your hair and don't wash it to locks up. Some of these people are intelligent and open minded, but due to an almost secret mysterious like air surrounding the topic there isn't allot of information out there about the hair style, and what information is available seems to lack consistency. Please know that all I write here is based 100% on my research into growing, growing my own, and helping others to grow their own dreadlocks.
First thing is first washing. YES you can wash your dreads, its heavily recommended. People who tend to not wash dreads are commonly known not do so for believes/faith or reasons along those lines, or are just lazy. It not essential to wash them but most dread heads do wash them, especially those with Caucasian or mixed type hair. If you don't wash your dreads or don't wash them properly they will smell, they will be nasty, and they may even rot. Those with Afro type hair do not TEND to wash there hair AS MUCH as it is not needed. People with Afro hair scalps do not produce as much grease as with other hair types, and this is what keeps your hair hydrated and healthy. Washing too much would wash what little there is there causing flakes, irritation, and very dry unhealthier hair. Washing dreads properly is no simple process, for starters you don't even want to think about washing them with anything you'll just pick up of a shelf at the supermarket. If you take a look at the label of, and I'm confident to say, ANY hair care product available from your super market you'll see chemical you cannot pronounce after  chemical you cannot pronounce. These chemicals are commonly known as residues. These are what is left in your hair after you have rinsed out the shampoo or conditioner in question, and are what leaves hair smelling nice, feeling soft, and 'looking' healthy. Even commercial specialist dreadlock The problem is you don't want to leave ANYTHING in your dreads, especially if you really don't know what it is! These residues in the most extreme cases can start to mould and cause dread rot, literally when your dreadlocks rot away... not pleasant. I personally use a mixture of baking soda, various essential oils, sea salt, and sometimes lemon, orange and lime juices, to wash may hair. Baking soda is the best thing to use in your hair I found for washing out grease/wax and is not aggressive on the hair itself, essential oils as many people know, carry properties that are good for the skin and hair, such as tea tree oil for keeping away bacteria and is good for the scalp. Sea salt and lemon are used to help your hard dread up nice and tight and also a bit quicker too. Everything but the oils eventfully dry out of the hair if dried properly, this is why only small amount is usually used.
If dreads are not dried out properly the dreaded dread stink WILL happen. Imagine a towel still damp thrown down and not let to dry out evenly or fully, it gets that nasty dampish smell. Well its the same with dreads. Do you honestly think that anyone with dreads would want to walk about with this smell around them constantly?
Now, if I know exactly what it is I'm putting in my hair, surely I would know how clean my hair is better than someone who does not really know what's in their hair, no?
I am often displeased when I receive a compliment regarding the scent from my hair, the way people say 'oh your hair smells nice' or 'what shampoo do you use, it smells nice' or whatever along those lines, it's said with genuine shock. So as I have decided to grow locks you assumed I would have to let my hygiene slip? If anything any one who has dreads that cares for them properly is likely to have more hygienic hair than someone using commercial hair care products, it's just because we are lead to believe that the chemicals in their products are good for the hair and scalp. What needs to be realise is floral smelling, grease like shiny/shimmery hair is not hygienic, its nice, not hygienic. Surely what is natural and what has been used for century's and proven many times to be most effective would be better over man made, (sometimes)aggressive chemicals, that are apparently what you need for your hair, but are changed to be the 'best ever formula' almost monthly.
The fact of the matter is most people who believe dreads are made from having dirty hair will 9 times out of 10 have dirtier hair that people who do clean their dreads properly, and with this entry it will no longer annoy me when people make the assumption I'm not hygienic, now I know the knowledge is out there, it will make me chuckle with pity for their ignorance.
 

Brothers in Arms - Hells Highway

Another FPS for the 360. I know its an old one, but after playing through it (quite some time now) I feel it deserves a mention.
Unlike most other 1st/3rdPS's this is not trying to be as action packed and chaotic as you would expect from a world war shooter. It seems to veer toward story,  I say seems as its not very obvious until your well into the game at least, and by this time I had find myself caring about the characters, which is a first for ANY shooter, even more so than GoW.
The  game play is a little slower, and the rate of play is broken up nicely with a cover system. It takes a little longer than most other shooters to get used to, so there's allot of pad watching and scoped aiming, but once your into it you'll find your self dashing across lines of fire and charging at enemies with confidence. I mentioned this games rate of play is slower, this is mostly caused by the command feature, that has you ordering squads of 2-4 men across maps and in and out of cover. Obv there different squads have different uses and this type of this has been seen many a time, in many different genres of game, this is nothing new or special. Often I found myself screwing as I clearly should have got a head shot in, but the enemy was not even damaged on a couple of occasions then killed me! Overall game play is okay.
Visuals are poor... VERY poor, I would even risk saying PS2 quality. I failed to notice this as much once in game play though. Cut scenes can sometimes drag on, and aren't that exciting most of the time. Weather this was intentional or not to give the game a more serious tone, I don't know but its hard to break eye contact with the characters during scenes probably due to the glossy effect used. This creates respect for the characters in a way I've not experienced before, I dare say this alone may be what made the game so memorable to me. The personal story is easy enough to follow, but like other shooters the action side of the story, is a complete mystery, probably why I was shocked to have completed the game not knowing I was anywhere near the end.
Yes its an older title, yes its slow at points, no its nothing terribly original. But somehow this game is well respected by those who have played it through. I cant say exactly what about this game that makes it so memorable, but I recommend this to not just shooter fans  but all gamers.