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Danska: Shadow Master

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Blog Entries posted by Danska: Shadow Master

  1. Danska: Shadow Master
    I have just had the most pointless day at college ever.
     
    First of all, second and third lessons were cancelled. This is great! I have first free anyway, so free morning! Just double computing in the afternoon.
     
    So I have a nice lie in, trundle into college about midday, hang around during lunch and then go to my lesson which I've come in specially for.
     
    So isn't it just typical that my teacher decides not to show up!?
     
    She is really starting to get on my nerves. Over the last year she's been - well, I say helping - us do our coursework. We had two pieces, each supposed to take an entire year. I think I've explained about them before. So, she gives us some guidance with the first. Or at least, shows us some stuff from the exam board. That really was the extent of her input. The rest of the time she spent asking whether we've done it and setting deadlines. Helpful.
     
    This is only for the first coursework. She barely gives us anything for the second, then expects us to get on with it. Having recieved nothing about it for months, we then come back after the Easter holidays and find she expects us to hand it in! What!?
     
    Eventually we manage to find some stuff and I have two days to get the piece done. It's about 100 pages, so you can see it won't take long...
     
    Now she decides she can't even be bothered to turn up to her own lessons, despite that being what she's paid to do. If WE don't turn up, teachers get in a big stress about it, but apparently it's perfectly fine for them not to do their job and skip lessons.
     
    In short: I am annoyed.
  2. Danska: Shadow Master
    YES!!!!!
     
    At last, I have a Wii! I do love birthdays! Naturally one of my first acts after getting it was to buy Mario Kart Wii. SO COOL!!! Simpler control system than previous games, but almost impossible to keep a substantial lead. If you're in first, you WILL get blue-shelled at least once. I never got blue-shelled on 50cc when playing Double-Dash. Get blue-shelled at least once per race now. 'tis annoying. Still, being able to use bikes is cool. I quite like them actually.
     
    Can't use the Wii Wheel to save my life though. Good old fashioned Gamecube controller works for me. So does the wiimote and nunchuck, actually. Not sure which I prefer. Possibly the Gamecube controller. Less tiring on the arms.
     
    But yes! I am now an ADULT! Which means I'm an AFOL!
     
    I can also buy alcohol.
     
    Eeeheehee!
     
    Had a very successful party this evening. Everyone seemed to enjoy it - I know I certainly did! Definitely a good 18th. Now, it's 20 past 1 in the morning, so I think some sleep is in order...
  3. Danska: Shadow Master
    Welcome once again to the realm of my blog. This poor thing has been devoid of life for over a year. An unfortunate lapse, if so long a time may be called so, on my part that I now hope to correct at least in part with this entry.
     
    I am sure most people are aware of recent spates of 'Bionicle is bad, it used to be great' topics. I want to throw in my two cents penny (I'm British! I refuse to use american currency systems!) on the subject, but I don't particularly want to make a new topic about it. This would firstly be repetitive and tedious, and could easily result in another opportunity for people to say 'argh, it's so bad!' seemingly without thought or reason (if you feel insulted by that then sue me...except don't! Because I don't have much money and it's much harder to sue people over here, so hah! )
     
    Now, what I think would be useful is for me to state exactly what I think has changed. I shall do this by comparing 2001 with 2006/2007, which for me represent clearly the shift in focus.
     
    In 2001, everything was mysterious and new. We were introduced to the huge, fascinating and geographically impossible island of Mata Nui, inhabited by strange Bio-mechanical beings (who, for any fan of the slizers before, wouldn't have seemed that odd) and threatened by the dark spirit Makuta. This shadowed being had cast his brother, the Great Spirit Mata Nui, into an eternal slumber and existed as a symbol of evil - forever hidden and shrouded in mystery. His appearence, powers and abilities were unknown, and his greatest strength came from the fear such an entity can create in his enemies. The island itself was lush and beautiful, each region spanning an incredible distance and hiding many mysteries. It was the privilage and joy of every fan to explore this wondrous landscape, uncovering its secrets and learning more about the fantastic world.
     
    Enter the Toa. Powerful beings whose coming had been heralded for centuries by the wise Turaga, elders of their villages. Each Toa was equipped to survive and harness their element to maximum efficiency, and seemed as one with the place in which they lived. They were more than just beings of power - they represented their element perfectly, with personalities and appearences flowing straight from them. It was their mission to uncover the powerful Kanohi masks and then to confront the darkness at the heart of Mata Nui - the Makuta himself.
     
    The story was one of adventure, mystery and intrigue. Every revalation and solved mystery for the characters was shared by us, and it was these mysteries that drove the story. You could truly emphasize with the plight of the Matoran and the struggle of the Toa as they desperately tried to save their island, because you truly felt it was worth saving.
     
    Cut to modern day. Toa are no longer the fabled warriors, each harnessing the full power of their element, but heroes born from the Matoran themselves. Makuta is not a shadow in the darkness, but a powerful entity - part of a brotherhood of equally powerful entities. We are no longer treated to the cinematic exploration of a lush land, but instead are given a barren island or a single city (which we see almost nothing of) and a huge expanse of endless...blue. The Toa burst in to fight very visible enemies, and indeed seem to do nothing else. Every step of their journey is halted by battles and action. Terrible, really.
     
    To look at it another way, we have a desperate race against time as the true plight of the Great Spirit is unveiled - he is not just asleep, as we all thought, but dying. Makuta has an entire Brotherhood to back him up, Dark Hunters stalk the shadows and the numbers of Toa are falling drastically. The universe is in peril, and all adventure must be put to the side as a last attempt to save the life of the Great Spirit is made. The island upon which the heroes find themselves is in desperate peril as the villagers struggle to forge even a basic existance. Worse, six powerful and ruthless villains have enslaved the entire population and are determined to take the one thing that can save Mata Nui's life - the Mask of Life - for themselves. They mercilessly dispense with the battle-hardened Toa Nuva, and the fate of the universe now rests in the hands on a rookie team who must find a way to achieve what the Toa Nuva could not.
     
    There. That's not so bad, is it? And for those crying for some character development, at least one character this year grows exponentially. Know who I'm talking about? Yup, it's Matoro. I would agree that there is less development (and less room for it) of character, but to say there is none is completely untrue. What is impressive is how such a large range of characters can be given screentime without becoming sidelined or too similar.
     
    Every story has its merits. The original style of 2001 was all about adventure and mystery, while the current storyline focuses more on action and combat. Both of these give ample space for character development, and I would say an action can let you know the characters even better. The original stories on the other hand allowed for much more detailed environments and (arguably) a more engrossing storyline.
     
    I've no doubt I've presented my points very badly, but what I'm saying is, whether you think the old-style stories are better or not comes down purely to your own preferences. Each story has its advantages and disadvantages, and each has its merits if you'll only look for them.
     
    Also, things cannot stay the same forever. By 2003, I honestly feel that all possibilities for the island of Mata Nui had been exhausted. How could they continue the style of 2001/2002 when there was nothing left to explore? It was really a case of "been there, done that...can we move on?" What's more, how could Makuta hide in the shadows forever? A villain you learn nothing about, who does nothing but hide, is a boring villain indeed. He needed to be flushed out sometime. Mysteries can only endure for so long until they're solved, but the best ones have new mysteries to take their place. For example, while we can now identify Makuta and know his abilities, we have no idea what his ultimate plan really is or just how he plans to achieve it. In many ways he is as mysterious as he was in 2001, except now it's his mind we can't see.
     
    Speaking for myself, I prefer mystery stories. I enjoy becoming engrossed in a good mystery and take great satisfaction in seeing it uncovered. I also find it very satisfying to see Toa using their intellect to defeat enemies (Bohrok) as well as, or even instead of, their powers. While I agree there's nothing like a nice, big confrontation to decide the fate of the island/world/universe, it's always fun to watch a good plan come to fruition - especially when it encounters problems that must be overcome. This isn't to say I haven't enjoyed more recent, action-based years. I definitely have, and believe them to be a necessary change. I would be very pleased to see more of a mysterious feel returning to Bionicle in the future however.
     
    In short, both mystery and action are good, there's nothing worse about today's storyline it's just different, but I like mystery.
  4. Danska: Shadow Master
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
     
     
     
     
    And on that mildly melodramatic note, may I take this opportunity to state how much I detest organising?
     
    Or maybe I'm just really bad at it, which makes me more prone to disliking it.
     
    Or maybe disliking it makes me worse at it.
     
    Or maybe I'm digging myself unnecessarily into two interconnecting infinite loops.
     
    Infact, who knows?
     
    Who even cares?
     
    Is it related to me typing every sentance on a new line?
     
    I sleep now.
     
    *snore*
  5. Danska: Shadow Master
    Hooray! New, reenforced joints! Isn't that wonderful? No more breakages!
     
    Eheheh. Yeah. Right.
     
    Now, none of the double sockets have broken yet (at least, not to my knowledge) and all my canister sets are holding up fine. Possibly because I've had them for less time. My Matoran however are dying horrible, horrible deaths!
     
    Of my four, two have broken pieces (perhaps the other two do as well). On poor Photok, his head connector is cracked. Not quite sure how this happened, but happen it did. On Solek, two pieces are broken! An arm and a leg both suffer from cracked connector pieces!
     
    Now this manages to be less annoying than before, with pieces still managing to grip somewhat, but I would not expect a set to break so soon after buying them! No set to date has managed to break this quickly, and the intensity of play to which I subject them has significantly decreased over the years. I'm nearly 18. Getting old, see.
     
    Back in the day (did I just use that phrase?) my poor figures had to endure a lot. I managed to completely snap Lewa's arm by whacking a Tarakava over the head trying to dislodge its mask. Now THAT is the kind of play I'd expect to break something! With my current figures, I've done very little indeed except stick them in a few cool poses.
     
    I've ordered replacement parts and hope they arrive soon, but in the meantime I'm two Matoran down. Infact, I'm not sure I dare touch any of my Matoran with a cotton bud lest they snap and bend in quite horrific ways that don't bear even thinking about.
     
    Conclusion: I am annoyed.
     
    Edit: I was wrong. Three of Solek's limbs are broken.
  6. Danska: Shadow Master
    Here we go! Tuyet and Nidhiki! I did a rendition of Nidhiki before in dark green and black, but the two colours are hard to see together. As you can see I've since revised it, and think his current scheme is good. I've always imagined him with a scythe, and I'm quite proud of that one. Anyone particularly familiar with my kits will notice I've finally got Zaktan's colour right!
     
    Tuyet's been sitting there a while, but I had no idea what weapon to give her and have been desperately waiting to hear what type of weapon she has. So there it is! A barbed broadsword! I'm fairly pleased with that too, although its slightly hard to see because it's lying over Tuyet. Here's a better picture.
     

     
    I tried to make it fit in roughly with the Metru style. I think I did ok. I certainly like the look of the sword.
     
    I've always been bad at designing masks, so Tuyet's came out much better than I expected.
     
    And I lied about the box.
  7. Danska: Shadow Master

    Boom!

    By Danska: Shadow Master,

    I recently picked up a copy of FarCry. Today I've learnt that hitting explosive barrels with a machete is not clever, and that driving a jeep into a tree tends to be detrimental to one's health.
     
    Who says games can't be educational?
  8. Danska: Shadow Master
    Smash Bros! Super!
     
    MELEE!
     
    Anyone guessed what I'm on about yet?
     
    Heehee, yes. Super Smash Bros. Melee! With Brawl coming out...whenever it's coming out...I'm getting very excited so have been playing SSBM a lot more. Getting better at it, too. Something to do with not fighting level 4s all the time, which really are pathetically weak.
     
    I expect most people are familiar with the game, or at least know of it. Gamecube game, lots of Nintendo characters and mad fighting! No health gauge, instead there's a damage meter measures in percentages. The higher it goes, the further attacks knock you back. The only way to die is to fly off the edge - any edge - although you usually have to be hit pretty hard to die in any direction except down.
     
    Now then, what to say about the game? It's awesome? Yup, a good start. There are 25 characters in all, but you only start with 14, I think it is. The rest must be unlocked through a variety of methods such as completing Classic Mode with a certain character, fighting so many battles, completing certain event matches and a variety of other criteria.
     
    Just unlocking all these characters can take quite a long time, but most of them are worth it. Not only are there characters, but there are stages to unlock as well, mostly by having set number of battles.
     
    The single player is quite limited. There's Classic Mode, which is a number of 'stages' consisting mostly of battles ending in a confrontation against the nefarious 'Master Hand' (yup, it's...a hand)!
     
    There's also Adventure Mode, which is slightly more exciting. Again, mostly battles, but rather than random brawls the characters you fight are dependant on where you are. You 'adventure' through the Mushroom Kingdom, Kirby's Dreamland and some other places and beat up the inhabitants, as well as whatever other things you're required to do.
     
    Finally, when you've unlocked all the characters, there's 'All Star Mode'. This involves fighting every other character in the game, first one by one then in twos and threes. Think that's daunting? Well, what if I told you your damage stays the same between each battle? No, you don't have to do it all in one. There are 3 'hearts' between each battle that fully heal you, except once they're gone they're gone! No lives either.
     
    I mentioned Event Matches before. There are 51 of these, each of them a different scenario. It could be an all pokemon round and you play as Pikachu, or you might be Mario teaming up with Luigi and Peach against a giant Donkey Kong. Who knows? There are lots, and they get progressively harder. I've managed to get upto 30 something, having just beaten an incredibly hard Link as Young Link (his inferior in every way). All good fun!
     
    But what really makes Smash Bros great is the multiplayer. This game is ideal to challenge your friends with either in a standard melee, a tournemant or a 'special battle'. These are standard brawls except with certain 'conditions', such as everyone being giant or the gameplay being slowed down by half. Any fight with 3 or 4 players generally descends into absolute chaos! Very hard to keep track of what's going on.
     
    Me and some friends often have competitions, and out of the five of us I'm generally ranked second. I'm working on moving up, and currently I am the best as our former champion is currently in university. Heehee. Of course, two of the others now have Melee too, so I expect they'll be improving. Things should start getting interesting soon!
     
    Something that really adds to the hectic nature of Brawl are the items. These come in all shapes and forms, ranging from guns to beamswords to food to shells to mines to hammers to umbrellas...yeah, loads of strange stuff. But it's great! A well-placed item can turn the course of a battle or, if you're not careful, screw it up entirely! Landing on your own mine is always embarrassing. Of course, I've never done that...*shifty eyes*
     
    Most of the characters are very unique in their playing style. You get a few clones, but not many. Mario is your average combatant with some decent up-close moves and fireballs. Excellent throws, and a very high jump (as you'd expect). Bowser is absolutely huge, quite slow but you don't wanna get on the wrong side of him! Very powerful, although perhaps less so than Donkey Kong who is one giant bag of muscle.
     
    Getting to know all these characters can be tricky, but important. It always helps to know your enemy, and the tricks they might try and pull. Beware Link! He can grab you from a distance with his chain (and does so far too frequently), shoot arrows at you, throw his boomerang, hurl bombs your way and is very vicious with his sword up-close! In my opinion this is the CPU's best character.
     
    I tend to favour Samus, Marth or on occasion Fox. Samus is lethal when used right. Very powerful, she can use her charge beam and missiles to devastating effect. Gotta love missiles. She can also drop bombs on people in her morphball form, and her jump is a screw attack (curls up and damages foes with a nimbus of electrical energy). She can also grab from a distance using her grapple beam. A wide array of attacks that can be utilised very well. A good aerial combatant too, which is always helpful.
     
    Marth is from Fire Emblem and is a purely close combat fighter, weilding a shiny blade! Mmmmmm, shiny. His lack of ranged attacks can be annoying, but he's nimble enough that you can close in on an enemy very rapidly when needed. His special attack charges up a lethal sword blow which can be unleashed at any time (although the later you leave it, the stronger it is). He also has a four-move combo attack which is hard to learn, as it is four attacks strung together of increasing power. Devastating if you manage to get all four to hit! He can also counter physical attacks, although this involves timing and his jump move is a completely vertical leap that has a tendancy to injure anyone who gets in the way. Well, he has a sword! Did you think it was just ornamental?
     
    Fox is speed. Tricky to control if you're used to slower characters, but excellent if you can get used to it. Decent in close combat, he also carries a gun at all times and can reflect incoming projectiles. In the blink of an eye he can zip from one place to another, damaging anyone in his path. His jump is also quite spectacular. A fiery 'platform' appears below him, and he effectively turns himself into a living fireball as he rockets off in a chosen direction! You really don't want to get in the way of that!
     
    As you may have noticed, I tend not to favour slow characters. The game gets very frantic, so I like to be able to keep up! That's if I don't end up horribly confused shaking my head wondering what on earth is happening. Heh, that does happen. But that's what makes it so fun! You'd never have thought a fighting game could be light entertainment, but this really manages it. Then, what do you expect? It's Nintendo!
     
    I so need to get myself a Wii. If they ever come back in stock. I may not get many games for it, but I'm definitely getting Brawl! It's worth it just for that! I mean, Sonic's in it! Finally the Mario vs Sonic battle can be played out (and has been in Japan. Sonic oh, I said a leet word - contact a Moderator to take proto from me!)! Unfortunately, I suspect the UK release will be no earlier than the summer. Grrr.
     
    Now, if you have a Gamecube but not Super Smash Bros. Melee, shame on you! Go get it! Now!
  9. Danska: Shadow Master
    As this blog's here, I thought I may as well use it to review Antroz, who I bought only an hour or so ago.
     
    I'm going to skip the packaging. It's interesting, the front detaches and the canister lid is small, almost invisible and pops off. Anything else you can learn at face-value through the numerous images available online.
     
    Yeah, no images either. Well, no images intended at the time of writing this sentance. Who knows what might happen?
    Images there be!
     

    So, the parts! They're...dark. Very dark. What you'd expect from a mixture of black and dark red, really. Plenty familiar here, although the new pieces really dominate the scene. The wings are very nice creations; huge, batlike and spiked and really defining the set well. The torso is much larger than I thought. Love the design, too. Very nice indeed. I can see a lot of MOCing potential there - something you've no doubt heard numerous times from numerous sources. So what? It's true!
     
    Well, apparently generally accepted opinion actually, but that's besides the point. The weapons are unusual, curving to a very sharp and deadly looking point. I imagine them being unwieldy, but that's probably just me. A very solid design without many gaps or spaces, but fairly detailed. Not my favourite tools, but I do like them.
     

    New parts
     
    The Matoran connector piece looks astoundingly useful and is simplistic in its design. Was that last part even necessary? Who knows? Anyway, moving on. The Mask. Wickedly fearsome with spikes protruding from numerous locations. Its wider base reminds me strongly of the Olmak. I can imagine Brutaka's Olmak looking something like that after its mutation. It's a very large mask too, and like all the evil guys in this half of the year (except for Icarax, who just had to be different) is two-toned, combining Antroz's red and black colour scheme to good effect. It's a nice touch and the colours work well together, but I imagine it reduces MOCing potential slightly. Nevetheless, I love the mask - although in reality it's more of a face. I mean, who's gonna manage to bite someone with a mask? Tricky, at the very least.
     
    Finally, the Tridax pod and launcher. The chestpiece is made of a softer plastic than other parts, which I didn't expect at all. it's obviously designed to fit snugly onto the main torso, and so it does, following the shape perfectly. The design is spiked, like so much of this set, and really befits the set well. It has an extra connection point at the back too, so I can imagine some creative uses for it being found. The pod itself is highly reminiscant of the old Rock Raiders rocks and other similar pieces, and even comes with axle connection points on the top and bottom! Unlike the rocks each part curves, so there's only one (two if you're pedantic) way(s) to put it together. I must see how well Pohatu (old version) can kick this thing.
     
    Now, the shadow leeches! Aaaaahh, wonderful things! They feel great to hold - so squishy and spikey! The combination is truly divine. Then there's those wonderful faces - they do make me laugh. I also love how they can connect to sets! A couple of them have currently become confused and tried taking the place of a Matoran on Antroz's back. Not sure he's too happy about this.
     

    Get. Off. Now.
     
    Okey-dokey! Now, the set itself! Quite fun to build, if very simple. Didn't bother with the instructions - then, I don't think a canister set has been invented yet that I've genuinely needed them for. The torso adds the only real element of interest, as everything else snaps together like all the other sets over the past two years. Very generic arms and legs with, of course, the obligatory Metru head. Really getting tired of that piece. I thought it looked quite frankenstein-esque when I first saw it, and my opinion hasn't changed.
     

     
    As I mentioned, the arms and legs are very simple. So simple in fact, there's no variation in them at all and you can do the same thing four times.
     

    Arms are the same as legs...right?
     
    Having the set built, I'm not quite as impressed as I was when I saw pictures of him [late edit] actually, I've changed my mind since I wrote that. I am[/late edit]. The feet are a bit odd, as the sudden inclusion of gunmetal grey looks out of place. Most of the set is also black rather than red, which is supposed to be its primary colour. Kinda dissapointing there. The Tridax launcher also slips nicely back into the body, hardly standing out at all which makes the set appear quite flat. Some new limb pieces would have been nice too. As a last negative comment, the tools are really quite strange. If you face them forward they stick out awkwardly, but if you face them sideways it can look less natural. What to do, what to do? I don't know yet. On a final final note here, the torso looks a bit empty. The upper torso is nice, having the tridax launcher, but the lower torso (particularly where the two pieces join) looks very thin and empty, being only one hole wide at a certain point. A smidgen or two of red wouldn't go amiss there either.
     

    I...AM...COMPLETE!
     
    Ok! That will do for negativeness, I think. What's good about this set? Any fans of poseability will, naturally, be overjoyed. All the standard points of articulation (why does that word apply to points of movement and methods of speech?) plus those for the wings, which add a new dimension to the set. I really do thing the wings make the set, adding a bit more bulk and giving it that fearsome bat-like appearance. It wouldn't be the same without them at all. It's also possible to push the head all the way back so it faces up; ideal for flying. This guy definitely looks best soaring through the sky, although he'll have to settle for ground-level work most of the time. I think my arm would get tired otherwise.
     

    Obligatory nonchalant front pose
     
    It's a bit irksome that every movement of the arms causes the wings to move, but it's not that big a deal. I think they provide enough extra playability (or poseability. Or both) to more than make up for that. He's a very menacing figure, and poor Lewa's looking quite scared. Or, he would, except his mask only shows one expression, so he's not looking very scared at all really. A pity he doesn't have his old Nuva mask anymore. They could have compared fangs!
     
    Now then, what haven't I talked about? What playability feature have I neglected to mention? The Tridax launcher of course! I've only tried this out a couple of times, and it's pretty fun. Not really designed to be a launcher, more a scatter bomb to be dropped on unsuspecting foes from above. Is that a bad thing? Not really, no. He's designed to be played with as a flying set, and it's very satisfying to see a glowing orange orb smack a Toa clean on the head before scattering leeches all over it. Poor Lewa. He's not having a good day.
     

     
    Don't expect to be setting any distance records at all. Infact, perhaps it's better to cut out the last three words of the previous sentance. As I said, definitely not intended as a projectile. Be warned! Leeches are tricky creatures to control, and despite Greg's assurances that they move like snakes, it is my opinion that they get around by hopping, jumping and bouncing. They're unfriendly critters too, making every possible attempt to escape into those hard-to-reach places, and seem to have a natural affinity for dark spots below large piles of sets, books or whatever that you simply don't know are there. I guess as creatures of darkness, that's only natural.
     
    Another fantastic feature is the ability for this year's canister sets to pair up with their smaller counterparts. Sadly I don't own Radiak (one of the two Matoran I have yet to find), but I've played about with Tanma and Lewa a bit and the feature is pretty cool. The Makuta do it slightly differently, with their Matoran sitting at a 90-degree angle. I guess they're supposed to appear upright when the Makuta are flying. A pretty nifty idea, and finally brings back the notion of playing with sets together rather than as individual models. I still miss the days when all the sets could interact with each other by knocking off each other's masks.
     
    So, what do I think of the set overall? I like it. Actually, it's grown on me over the course of this review. The head-wobbling is a bit annoying, but I might see a way to fix it already. See? I'm such a genius!
     
    Alright alright. You don't have to disagree so loudly. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, final thoughts! It's a very nice looking set. Could do with some more red, but all the sets this year seem to be suffering from a colour deficiency. If I was going to make a canister Makuta, this is the way to go. Tall, menacing with a powerful appearance, not to mention the whole bat thing...yeah. Very nice! It's got plenty of poseability plus a function that is NOT a cheap tag-on launcher that's huge, cumbersome and terrible looking on half the sets equipped with it, which is a major plus in my book (wait, I have a book now?). The weapons are quite cool looking, but look odd when held and aren't my favourite, given my lack of preference for that kind of weapon (swords ftw!). Just a personal thing, though.
     
    I've been waiting for new limb pieces for quite some time. Still waiting, sadly. Still, the Piraka limbs look good on this set, and its nice to see a relaxation of the constant Metru and Vahki legs. They have quite a distinct style which doesn't really flow with this year's sets.
     
    So yeah. Overall I'm very impressed by this guy. I'd give it 8/10 and would definitely recommend it to anyone who's been sitting on the fence about buying it for a while. I only bought it because my local store had run out of Kopaka sets (and was only going to buy him because they'd run out of all sets except him and Antroz), but I've yet to regret it! If anything I'd say it was a better purchase.
     
    I might decide to review Lewa sometime. That's if he's in a fit state to be reviewed, anyway. Being a Toa, he attempted to sabotage the review by killing off Antroz. A bit rude, really. I mean, What's Antroz ever done to hurt anyone?
     
    Fortunately, he didn't do too well and I managed to capture the highlights of the confrontation!
     

    "You think your pathetic weapon can harm a Makuta, Toa?"
     
    "A Makuta...who can teleport!?"

    "You won't be needing that anymore."
     

    "Such a valiant attempt. But now..."
     

    "You will join us!"
     
    Villains really like the sound of their own voice, don't they?
     
    Well, that wraps it up for this review! Don't expect many more - I only did this one on a whim. Who knows what I might decide to do next?
  10. Danska: Shadow Master
    I used to hate shooters. Was very bad at them and dreaded playing them in those gaming sessions I sometimes have with my friends. This was until a few weeks? Months? A short time ago, anyway, when I went to PC Arena (small place in town, 20 computers, LAN + many games) when I played Unreal Tournemant 2004. Loved it! Frantic as anything, crawling spider mines, wierd green goo guns...brilliant! So fast, too!
     
    I decided then and there that I had to find the time to play a few more shooters. I borrowed my friend's copy of Timesplitters 2 and played that for a bit, enjoying it immensely. It didn't really compare with Timesplitters: Future Perfect (will be abbreviated to TS3), but fun it was!
     
    I have a friend who's a complete Xbox fanatic. He loves everything Microsoft and probably hero-worships Bill Gates. Having spoken with him lots, I must agree that the 360 at least is an excellent console and, now that its past some initial problems, has managed to do the majority of things right. Now, this friend is predominantly into Halo, as well as other games like Call of Duty, Bioshock and Gears of War. He's despairing somewhat at my choice of Timesplitters as an introduction to the FPS (First Person Shooter) genre.
     
    Well too bad! I picked up TS3 a few days ago, and have yet to regret it. It's manic, mad and insane. Yeah, I know. Mad and insane basically mean the same thing, but I thought it was a point worth mentioning twice. It is a bit strange running around as a monkey or a dinosaur or an undead priest with a shotgun, flare guns, a harpoon gun or whatever else. But that's why I love it! Anyone who's met me would struggle to describe me as sane, so a bit of wierdness is right down my street.
     
    I've no idea what the game's story is. I think it involved travelling through various time periods fighting alien things (as well as zombies and who knows what else). I've spent all my time in the Arcade. This suits me fine! There are so many different modes. There's the standard Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag Bag. Then there's Shrink, where I believe your size is dependant on your position, Virus where you're set on fire when you respawn (or if you touch someone who's on fire) and Monkey Assisstant! Whoever's in last place gets a horde of monkeys who go around shooting everyone - mostly (or maybe exclusively) the person in first place. What's not to like!?
     
    Like most of the games I play, it's best played with other people. Being a Gamecube player, this is hardly surprising with titles like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart at the forefront. Making a sudden dash for the opponent's bag while your friends attempt to cover you is great fun - and then the desperate flight back to your own base when your friends have been shot is the height of franticness (is that a word? Must check). Brilliant!
     
    It's worth it simply for the sheer range of weapons and characters. Shotguns, rockets, machine guns, pistols, plasma rifles, electrotools, injectors (causes people's heads to explode), baseball bats...such variety! My favourites have to be firstly the SPB - a powerful machine gun that really can rip through opponents - Tactical 12 Gauge - a powerful shotgun that's incredibly fun to behead people with - and the K-SMG (x2) - two sub-machine guns that reload very quickly! The carnage these weapons can inflict is simply beautiful. I detest rockets, though. Can't shoot them for the life of me, and I just get shot when trying to use heatseakers.
     
    No, running around decapitating people in video games does not inspire me to be violent in real life. If anything, it does the opposite! Great stress relief, and incredibly useful to have if I'm angry or annoyed. I simply do not understand the people who say violent video games inspire people to be violent in real life. Anyone with even the vaguest notion of the differences between a virtual world and real life shouldn't have a problem there, and if they do...oh dear. I hardly think that's the video game's fault.
     
    Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some monkeys to shoot.
  12. Danska: Shadow Master

    Penguin

    By Danska: Shadow Master,

    Has anyone wondered why I have, of all things, a penguin as a personal photo?
     
    No? Thought not. But for the benefit of those non-existant few, I shall explain!
     
    It all began with a rather large muffin... As anyone who's seen my kits will know, I've dabbled a bit in pixel art. I don't consider myself a great pixel artist - quite the contrary in fact - I'd say there are a number of people on BZP who have a much better grasp of it than I. This has not, however, stopped me from experimenting. My first major, non-bionicle experimentation was the penguin.
     

     
    Yes, he is annoyed. And he's looking at YOU!
     
    Well actually, he's looking sideways. But that's hardly the point, is it?
     
    The Penguin here is an unusual creature, for he is no normal penguin! His quiet demeanour hides a deadly rage which can consume entire worlds! Armed with fearsome laser vision and the power of telekinesis, you don't want to get in his way now, do you?
     

     
    See? Deadly! But how can such a dangerous foe be defeated? Join me next time to find out!
  13. Danska: Shadow Master
    As shocking as it may sound, I have actually made some progress in designing the New Nuva next year. Of course, the set designers' almost dogmatic and highly unimaginative approach to Toa sets these days does help as most of the work is done for me, but there were still some new elements I had to design.
     
     
     
    So, I suppose you want to see them! Well I'll show them to you then.
     
     
     
    Yes, I will.
     
     
     
    Really.
     
     
     
    I'm not joking.
     
     
     
    I'm actually going to show them to you.
     
     
     
    Of course now!
     
     
     
    Look, I'm serious!
     
     
     
    You don't think I'm lying, do you?
     
     
     
    Honestly I'm not.
     
     
     
    Because I have made them!
     
     
     
    They're just below, look!
     
     
     
    I promise you'll see them.
     
     
     
    Here, see? They're right here!
     
     
     

     
    Alright, who thought I hadn't really made them? Own up now.
     
    Obviously they aren't perfect. I'm certain Lewa's sword is far too big, and at some point I expect the launchers will need a redesign along with Kopaka's mask and Pohatu's spinny...things. Ok, so that's most of the new pieces (tragic that there are so few), but they're good so far.
     
    I'll release the kit soon, should people wish for it.
  14. Danska: Shadow Master
    It has been pointed out to me that I have yet to write anything about a subject which holds considerable weight on my life. That is, GAMES!
     
    Games are brilliant. A good game can be immensely satisfying, providing many hours of entertainment. Whether you're shooting something, solving a puzzle or commanding an army, the fun is there and each genre has its own merits.
     
    One of my favourite genres is that of the RPG. These games tend to be epic in length and if made well, have a deep and twisting storyline that keeps the player engrossed for hours on end. Along the way you discover the answer to many mysteries surrouding the plot, the characters and many other things that drives you on. You watch as your characters become ever more powerful, starting from a simple rookie and progressing to a master warrior who can slay even the toughest of foes with blade and magic. In the space of a few days you develop from a nobody to one of the most powerful people in the entire world because not doing so would make a much less exciting storyline.
     
    If the game is suitably good, you may even grow to care about the character(s) in the game. One game that I particularly feel is a prime example of an RPG is Knights of the Old Republic.
     
    This is, as you no doubt know, set in the Star Wars universe. It's about 4000 years before the events of Episode I (correct me if I'm wrong) and most definitely proves someone in Episode I wrong when they say there hasn't been a war since the formation of the Republic. They evidently didn't brush up on their history.
     
    The Sith are waging an all-out war against the Republic, battering them with seemingly infinite resources and great fleets of ships. This comes shortly after the Mandalorian Wars when the Mandalorians, fierce warriors who live for war, set out to test themselves in battle against the Republic.
     
    Two key figures, Jedi obviously, are Revan and Malak. They led the forces against the Mandalorians (in defiance of the Council) and defeated them. But then, something happened and they returned as Sith with an infinite army and the intent to overthrow the republic (but let's face it, does any Sith ever want anything else?).
     
    The Republic hold on to one hope: the Jedi Bastila. She has the rare power of Battle Meditation, which inspires allied forces and increases their strength in combat while sapping the will of the enemy. She was part of a strike team who attacked Revan's ship to try and end the Sith incursion. Malak, sensing an opportunity, fired on his Master's ship hoping to kill the Jedi and Revan in one go. The Jedi escaped, leaving Malak as Dark Lord of the Sith.
     
    You come in as a soldier on a Republic ship which is under assault from the Sith. Bastila is aboard, naturally, but escapes (as do you). Events then unfold, you recieve Jedi training and are sent on a mission to save the fate of the Galaxy. No I do not want to go into much more detail for fear of spoiling the plot.
     
    This game has one of the best storylines I've ever encountered. It lives up to and quite possibly surpasses that of the movies in just about every way. As you venture across worlds like Tatooine and Kashyyyk, you learn more about your party members' histories as they're fleshed out into very 3-dimensional characters. One of my personal favourites is HK-47. He's an assassin droid who refers to all organic life as 'meatbags' and takes an unnerving amount of pleasure in his job. He's a much better companion than C3-PO, that's for sure.
     
    "Stupid, frail, non-compartmentalized organic meatbags!"
     
    Bet you'd never find C3-PO saying that now, would you?
     
    The graphics are incredible. Sure, not the best, but need they be? This game was made 5 years ago after all, yet I still find myself in awe at just how gloriously shiny those Sith trooper's armour is. Mmmmmmmm, shiny.
     
    The scenery is a real treat sometimes. From the lushious plains of Dantooine to the barren rocks of Korriban, there's much variety in the locations you visit. Each brings with them their own atmosphere and combined with the music, truly helps you get right into the game.
     
    Ah yes, the music. A wonderful score true to the Star Wars legacy. It's a very defining feature of the game, sounds brilliant and is always appropriate. It's never overpowering, but it is always present and gives a real feel to the worlds.
     
    The number of quests and sub-quests can seem overwhelming at times, especially when you simply do not know how to solve them! But that's ok, because you can choose not to complete most of them or, with a bit of digging and investigation, can probably find the answer. These quests really enrich the game, giving it far more substance than that of a simple quest. Even more interesting are the events which relate to the histories of your party members. There are a few, and they again add further depth to the game.
     
    Minigames! Playing a game within a game! Insanity surely, but they rear their actually quite pleasant head in the world of KOTOR. Swoop racing involves riding a swoop bike along a track littered with obstacles and boost pads, and trying to get the highest time. Not always an easy feat, but I'm proving to be very proficient at it having played through the game a few too many times.
     
    Another entertaining (if frustrating) game is the turret control, when you get to blast enemy fighters out of the sky with your ship's gun turret. Great fun, but not so great if they manage to destroy your ship. Thankfully I have tactics which have proven to be quite potent against the rather predictable sith fighters.
     
    There's also one more minigame called Pazaak, but to discover more you'll have to play the game yourself. It's fun, of that I can assure you.
     
    Needless to say there's a massive plot twist, and the final battle against Malak is very dramatic. After the ordeal you've faced trying to reach him, it would be a terrible shame for it to be anything else. And no! I shall reveal no further details about this either!
     
    Ooooooohh yes. I forgot to mention one of the game's most important features! Your actions and decisions affect your alignment. You get to choose throughout the game whether to follow the side of the light and bring order to the galaxy, or become a sith and threaten it with your own darkness. Each alignment, good and evil, presents a different ending. Fortunately for you, your alignment does not effect what force powers you can use. A light side player is allowed to run in and blast everything in sight with force lightning if they so desire. But it's not cost-free. Being opposed to such malpractises, the force point cost for using such powers is greater. The further towards the light you go, the more it will cost. Unsurprisingly, the further towards the dark side you fall the more easily you can use such powers. As you may also have guessed, the same applies to light side powers.
     
    There's still a lot I haven't mentioned, because there's such a lot to be mentioned! But I think I'll leave it there. The game is easily one of the best I've played, having a gripping story that sucks you in and makes you strive to uncover the game's mysteries. The musical score and graphics add atmosphere to the game and are in themselves entrancing, adding much to the game's allure. If you have an Xbox or PC (if you don't have a PC, how are you here?) then get this game! Now! You will not be dissapointed.
     
    Wow, my second blog entry in two days. What's happening to me!?
  15. Danska: Shadow Master
    I thought I needed to post something, so this is just a quick update on what's happening in my life. The answer, in a nutshell, is not much. I've recently bought LEGO Star Wars, which is great fun. I've just spent longer than is healthy saving up to get General Grievous. Who can resist the four lightsabers of doom?
     
    Apart from that, I had a Young Leaders meeting (Scouts) on friday, where I did 'Module A'. This is the compulsory module that all people between the ages of 14 and 18 are supposed to do before they're allowed to help out with a Scout group. I've been helping out for 2 and a half years and have only just done the module. Oops!
     
    Plato is strange. I'm learning about him in Philosophy, and he seems to think that wise people who spend all their time pondering about the absolute truth are the best people to rule. Well, fair enough, they're wise and stuff (hey, that rhymes!), but they have no idea what the real world is like for anyone who is not them, especially if they spend most of their time pondering greater things that have nothing to do with our reality. So, nice idea Plato, but a bit more thought next time.
     
    Next up should be Aristotle, who sounds much more reasonable. I'll just have to wait and see.
     
    Tommorow's Wednesday, and therefore Scout day! It'll be my first Scout meeting as a qualified Young Leader! We're supposed to be doing stuff about food safetly (so the usual - don't swallow knives, forks or chopping boards and mixing tomatos and liquorice will result in the offender being hunted down and stabbed). It won't he half as exciting as what's happening in December. We're having a Scaletrix (did I spell that right?) competition and a quiz show! If it works, it should be highly entertaining and just plain silly. What more could a person want? Oh yes, food! Well we have that too! Perfection in a bus!*
     
    Well this hasn't been quite as short as I thought it would be to start with, but it isn't exaclty long now, is it? No, not at all. So I shall bid you all farewell and leave you with this final thought:
     
    If a monkey falls out of a tree, does it make a mess?
     
    *The bus is very important. It wouldn't work properly without it.
  16. Danska: Shadow Master
    Anyone who's payed attention to Bioniclestory.com, the S & T forum or the software forum has probably noticed by now that the first chapter of Dark Mirror - the Takanuva podcast - is up. It's pretty cool, I have to admit, but there are a few things I don't like about it (which may end up sounding like everything. I can be over-critical at times).
     
    If you have not heard the biocast and do not want it spoiled, STOP READING NOW!
     
     
     
     
     
    First things first, the shadow leech. I'd like to know how it got to Metru Nui, and why it effects Takanuva's appearance (the Matoran in the Core had to be mutated) although that to me is one of the less important things. Now, the idea of him being able to control both light and shadow is cool, but why oh why would it matter which hand he uses? The light/darkness thing is to do with the character's spirit, not their body, isn't it? If he could control both but only one at once, that would be fine. If he could control both but had a lesser control over each than a Toa of any single element, that would be fine. I don't like the idea that 'this hand uses this power, this hand uses the other'. Nevertheless, the whole light+shadow thing is pretty cool.
     
    Ok. Now onto the alternate dimension. Cool idea - Tuyet and Nidhiki betray Lhikan, Tuyet becomes master of the universe, existing organisations have no choice but to fight back. I like that. What I don't like is why suddenly, the Toa decide to back this. From what I've seen, Toa are very noble beings who simply do not stand for injustice, wherever it's coming from. This certainly is true for most Toa in the story, but suddenly the Toa Mata's personalities have changed completely and they've turned evil for no other reason than another Toa decided to. Huh? That really doesn't seem in character. I can't imagine any of them following a totalitarian regime that actively oppresses Matoran, whether it's run by Toa or not. I'd have thought they'd be horrified at the thought.
     
    Also, why on earth are the Toa Mata there in the first place? Their task is to awaken Mata Nui if and when he ends up in a coma. Evidently this has not happened, so there's no purpose for them to be out of their canisters.
     
    I really dislike alternate universes that suddenly make all the characters we know both exist and be evil simply because it's 'cool'. Half the time the characters we know have no reason to exist, let alone exist in the same time, place and position they do in the 'real' universe. If the universe differs for a specific reason (like Tuyet using the Nui Stone), I would like the events that spring from that difference to be both credible and believable, please. No "oh look, these characters are evil because this character's evil!" because that's just lame and completely unrealistic, especially when the characters who have reportedly turned evil are reknowned for being unwavering heroes of justice.
     
    Oh yes, one last thing annoys me: we didn't find out Toa Tuyet's tool!!! I want to know!
     
    /End rant.
     
     
     
     
    I'd say that came across too critically, wouldn't you? Perhaps something to do with having just had a Critical Thinking exam and generally enjoying any opportunity for a good rant. Anyway, with any luck, the discrepencies I mentioned will be explained/cleared up and I'll be a happy bunny (wait, I'm a bunny now?). Until then, I shall be contemplating this question:
     
    If there are 6 biocasts this year, 3 at the start 3 at the end, they're the same length (same length as last year's ones) and they're being released one chapter at a time, that would mean the first ones will take 30 weeks to be over. The second ones would also take 30 weeks. But that means we're 8 weeks over the 'yearly limit', as it were. I mean, we didn't get one in the first week, so if all goes well there's another week to compensate for!
     
    I'm hoping it means we'll get a few multi-updates. That would be awesome. 3 weeks is too long a wait for something so short.
  17. Danska: Shadow Master
    It's 2008! High time I wrote a new blog entry, I think.
     
    Let us start with Christmas. That happened recently, as I think one or two people might have noticed. Now shocking thought it might sound, it did not escape my attention either. See? I can be observant!
     
    Now, about Christmas. As always, this constituted a family event - gathering at my gran's house in a small town on the coast of nowhere. Man it's an exciting place. Anyway, many presents were recieved. I myself enjoyed the pleasure of gaining books 2-5 of the Belgariad series by David Eddings (I have the first one) plus the first book of The Mallorean (also by David Eddings - a sequel series to The Belgariad). Oh, and Nightrise by Anthony Horiwitz, the third in his 'Power of Five' series. Oddly enough, all those series' have 5 books in them. Strange. Anyway, I also recieved Pirates of the Carribean III on DVD, Knights of the Old Republic II for PC (fantastic game), some chocolates and some moneys. Needless to say, this has all kept my quite busy. Particularly KotOR II.
     
    New Year was something of a failure, as absolutely nothing happened. Ah well. I've never done much for it in the past anyway.
     
    Now the new year has begun, bringing with it the inevitable return to college and the mountanous pile of work I should really have done but have conveniently forgotten about due to Christmas. Oh yes, and exams. They're quite soon, too. But working on my kit's more important, right? Of course, there's no question about KotOR II. That's obviously more important!
     
    Oooooh yeah. I now have Photok and Solek. I really like them, although once again feel patronised by the painful simplicity of their construction. Admittedly they're only small sets, so I wouldn't be expecting a highly intricate and complex design, but something that involved even the tiniest glimmer of thought would be appreciated. Despite that, I find them highly playable as their size and relatively excellent poseability is simply perfect. What's more, their masks are great! It's almost as if they've jumped back a few years and grabbed some masks from the Mata/Metru era. Photok's in particular is impressive, actually having some holes and bringing with it a nice, sweeping curve that is so reminiscent of masks such as the Hau or Miru. Solek's makes him look like he's just taken a large mouthful of water and is about to spit it out, but it's still not too bad.
     
    Thanks to these guys I've been able to reinforce the work I've done so far on the Av-Matoran, thus bringing the finished 2008 kit one step further to completion. I need to get a couple of shadow Matoran now so I can see what those annoying feet of theirs actually look like. Perhaps Radiak and Gavla - that way I get one with the new feet + tools I have yet to acquire, and can play about with Radiak and his four-leggedness. Here's hoping Woolworths has them!
     
    Well that was a long ramble about nothing too important or interesting. I hope I haven't bored you too mu - hey! Stay awake! I'm almost done, honest! And with that said, good morning!
  18. Danska: Shadow Master
    Which question do you want answered first? The second? First? Second? First? Second it is! And the answer is yes!
     
    Now to answer the first question. I have been playing a fantastic game known as Knights of the Old Republic II. I've completed the first one numerous times, and after my friend foolishly bought the second having never played the first himself, I decided to suggest a mutually beneficial exchange: I lend him the first, he lends me the second.
     
    I completed the game in a week. It's quite long. Does that tell you why I haven't been around much?
     
    Alright alright, maybe I was obsessed/addicted for a bit. Well, I'd tend to claim otherwise, but others might not. Anyway, the game is amazing! Considerably darker than the first, sees the return of a disgruntled HK-47 and introduces a fantastic new character: Kreia! Surprisingly enough, I hated her at first and instantly labelled her as a "manipulative old witch-woman." I've now refined my opinion in some ways...and more I shall not say for fear of revealing too much.
     
    There's nothing quite like charging into a palace and taking out an entire army single-handed with two silver-bladed lightsabers, is there? I mean, what's not to like? Also, if you're a Jedi Weapons Master you become so proficient at using two weapons you are pretty much granted a bonus, damage-wise, for it! Cyan lightsabers also look amazing - blue but better! And yeah, that was alliteration. Cool, huh?
     
    Enough of my ranting. I suppose being told there's a kit update is quite frustrating when you can't see the update anywhere, yes? Then here it be: Danska's Bionicle Builder 2008 version 0.5! Contains the three Nuva and Toa Ignika.
     
    But which to do next, Makuta or Matoran...? I believe slaughtering countless sith assassins and civilians shall reveal the answer. Yes...
  19. Danska: Shadow Master
    I should probably make it clear that I do not intend to start ranting about 2006 in general. I intend not to make the slightest comment about the storyline or to particularly critiscise the sets.
     
    So what on earth do I plan to talk about?
     
    Well the answer is two-fold. Firstly, there are the Piraka torsos. Secondly, the Inika torsos.
     
    When I first saw them, I was quite excited by the idea. They took Bionicle in a whole new direction - one that easily allowed poseability. It opened up numerous doorways and was a good step forward. Unfortunately, the set designers appear to have become complacant and refuse to budge from their current position.
     
    I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing just how much the torso pieces are cropping up. This screams 'dull' to me in a thousand different ways. Up until that point, almost every canister set had tried to be different. Noteable exceptions are the Nuva and the Kal, and the Kal certainly proved to be a huge mistake. The situation now is also slightly different, as it is not a line that's being cloned but an individual set. The Mahri and the New Nuva do, for the most part, copy previous styles to such an extent that, weapons and masks aside, you could practically build them yourself. Obviously pieces might not exist in those particular colours, but between an old piece in a new colour and a completely new piece I'd say the latter is much more interesting. Now I'm not saying every set should have completely new pieces for everything either. A certain amount of copying from previous sets is inevitable, not least to address the clone issue. But really, does that mean no new pieces can be released?
     
    This year there has been precious little that is genuinely new. Not a single new arm or leg piece was made, and next year appears to be following here, and only one set introduced a single new body piece - Kongu Mahri. Unfortunately his proportions and colour scheme were so atrocious (there's only so many metru green and bley sets I can stand) it almost negated this fact entirely.
     
    As much as I like humanoid sets, some originality in their construction wouldn't go amiss. I cannot bear building exactly the same set over and over and over again with every purchase, and steadfastly refuse to buy any canister set unless there's something worth buying it for. Infact, this goes for all sets, hence my only purchase this year being Maxilos (maybe I should consider Mantax - only Barraki with an interesting non-stick design).
     
    Next year's evil Phantoka sets show promise. I'd need to look more closely, but they appear to have something new in terms of body design. Definitely need to check up on that.
     
     
    I strongly suspect I've missed my own point somewhere along the line, but ah well. The odd rant's always fun, and my opportunities for them are so few!
  20. Danska: Shadow Master
    On wednesday 25th October, the Young Leaders of the 55th Scout group, codenamed Club 55th, set out on a great adventure. Their mission: to arrive safely at the Cinema with nothing but a map and a compass to guide them. This is their story.
     
    The weather was bleak. The sun hid behind an uncaring blanket of clouds, and rain trickled irratically upon the cold ground. And so the journey began. At 9:45, we left the safe comforts of The House and ventured into the unknown realms of the cycle track. Equipped with our map and two packets of Haribo, we set upon our path. Little did we know that the innocent looking compass that we had unwittingly brought with us held a deadly secret!
     
    We trekked along the cycle track for at least a mile before coming upon a most peculiar sight. There, before us, completely untended, was...a suitcase! It stood alone on the ground, and we were drawn towards it for this was no ordinary suitcase. Our efforts to move it proved unsuccesful, as were our efforts to discover what lay inside. It was as if the suitcase were fixed to the ground!
     
    As we took out our compass, the shadows seemed to darken around us. The suitcase seemed to shiver and pulsate the closer the compass came to it. Suddenly, the realisation dawned: this compass was evil!
     
    We hastily packed it away and left the scene of the suitcase as far behind as we could. So perturbed were we that we did not dare speak as we walked sullenly down the long, cold road. It seemed as if the world had become a much darker place.
     
    It was not long before the next obstacle presented itself: a dark, dangerous-looking tunnel. All light seemed to falter and vanish around it, and the air inside seemed fearful constricting. We found that we could not go on, and we came to a halt outside the tunnel's gloomy entrance. Chewing slowly on Haribo, we realised that the object we were sat against was not a wall, as we had thought. Instead, a great musical instrument rose before us! It was old and worn, and parts were chipped and broken, but we knew that it was not random chance that had placed it there.
     
    With newfound hope we played upon it, and at once our spirits were lifted. Suddenly, we found we had the strength to confront the tunnel. So, with fear in our hearts and a last piece of Haribo, we stepped into the tunnel.
     
    It was a hard journey through the darkness. Water dripped in, echoing eerily off the walls. More than once, strangers passed us and we had to hide, fearing that they knew of the compass. More than once we almost faltered, but our resolve stayed true and we finally made it out of the tunnel into the light beyond. Here, our journey on the cycle track came to an end as we left it to join the main road.
     
    Here, our path was blocked by roundabouts. With careful deliberation and incredible cunning, we traversed the roundabouts, but found ourselves in more unknown territory. The road was quiet and small, and one wrong turn would find us lost forever!
     
    We carefully consulted the map once more, taking absolute care on finding our route. When we were all agreed, we set off once more into the unknown, praying that we had chosen the right path. We were in luck. The path led us straight to the next leg of our journey. Unfortunately, this was not a part we had prepared for because, in front of us lay two fields that boded ill for any who dared cross them without walking boots. Naturally, this included us, but through a great act of heroism and courage, cross them we did!
     
    More roads awaited us on the other side, which we traversed easily with our new-found confidence at having safely passed the fields of doom. Before we knew it we had reached a pub, where we sat and ate a delicious meal of chips!
     
    Reluctantly, we left the safe confines of the pub and ventured once again into the dangerous lands of the unknown. But this time, we prepared to face it with the greatest weapon known to man: cookies! While cookies were in our possession, we knew that no force would dare oppose us on our quest!
     
    So once more we set out upon the journey across roads, grass and bridges. As we came closer to the cinema, the compass became a gradually heavier burden, until it became laborous for any one of us to carry it. But not even this could stop us! We toiled on across a last bridge with steep steps, across a rolling hill and through a narrow, treacherous valley until finally, our destination faced us!
     
    As we walked through the doors of the cinema, the weight of the compass vanished! A strange black mist floated from it, never to be seen again. Not only had we arrived safely, we had vanquished the evil that inhabited the compass!
     
    With excited anticipation we consulted the list of films, but soon realised, with growing surprise, that there was, nothing at all we wanted to watch. It occurred to us then that we had walked at least eight miles to reach the cinema, only to turn back and go home. What a waste of time!
     
    But we did not waste our time! No! Instead, we caught a bus straight to one of our houses, and wiled away the remaining hours playing Super Smash Bros. Melee and other fantastic games on both Gamecube and Playstation 2. Then, the hour arrived when it was time to depart, and we left each other with heavy hearts and fuller stomachs.
     
    And so ends the harrowing tale of the expedition! A tale of great courage, nobility and adventure! Remember, as you read this, that I am lucky to be alive to recount the tale!
  21. Danska: Shadow Master
    Well the answer's obvious, isn't it? Of course I will skate! And why? Because I can! Yeah!
     
    As you may or may not have guessed, depending on your guessing capabilities, I can ice skate, and will be ice skating. Infact, not only will I be ice skating, I will be ice skating tommorow. I am also going to get shot if I say ice skating once more in this paragraph.
     
    So I'll start a new one! Mwahahahahaha! Ice skating! Tommorow! With people! Live people! Who I haven't kille- *shot*
     
    At least I have something to enjoy before getting horribly lost in the unforgiving wilderness that is the scout hike. When confronted with a scout hike, say no! Scout hikes kill!
     
    Recently, I've been spending my (offline) time doing two things: one, is reading the Inheritance Trilogy (minus the third book, which hasn't been released yet) again. That consists of Eragon and Eldest, which are written by Christopher Paolini. They're about a person called Eragon who finds a dragon egg, and in doing so becomes a Dragon Rider - the first for over a century. Because, you see, dragons are not the evil beasts we all think they are. Oh no, they are infact highly intelligent. Each Rider is bonded with their dragon, and the two can share thoughts. Also, every dragon is a different colour, and their scales shine brightly, like jewels. Saphira, Eragon's dragon, is blue.
     
    Well, Eragon goes off on an adventure with his dragon and the storyteller Brom, after two creatures for reasons you shall never know until you read the book. The creatures serve the King, Galbatorix: he is important in two ways: first, he is the king. Second, he is (or was) a Dragon Rider, but he killed off all the other Riders and has been ruling for over a century. He's also incredibly powerful, and grows more powerful each year. As you may of guessed, he's also evil.
     
    Each Rider grows stronger and faster over time, can use magic and have incredibly long lifespans. This is just as true for Eragon, who is lucky that Brom knows so much about the Riders and magic.
     
    Well, to cut a long story short, he will have to fight Galbatorix in the end, somehow finding the power to overthrow him. More than that I will not say. If you don't want to read the book, watch the movie! It comes out on December 15th.
     
    The second thing I've been doing (ah, you thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?) was to build a non-Inika version of Toa Nuparu, giving him the orange he so rightly deserves. Sadly I have no pictures yet, but I shall try to get them at some point.
     
    Finally, you may all gaze in wonder at my latest kit creations: side views of the Toa Nuva!

  22. Danska: Shadow Master
    Yeah, for those interested, I've finally gotten off my lazy backside and written a blog. I thought it was about time I took advantage of the feature.
     
    Why did I really make a blog, you don't ask? No reason really, other than I thought it might be interesting. This is my first experience with blogs, so don't expect anything too fascinating or meaningful.
     
    I've been a bionicle fan right from the word go. I still remember being astonished at just how tall the Toa Olda were, towering above the Slizers. Things really have changed since then. I guess there are some similarities between my life then and my life now. For one, when I got into bionicle I was just about to start secondary school. Now, I've just started sixth form. My interest in Bionicle is one of the few things that has really endured since then, and it would seem that both it and I have matured since those early days. Once, the story was a simple tale of collecting masks to defeat a greater foe. Now, the foes are not always in plain sight and objectives less clear. Comparing MoL to WoS is an obvious way to show the increase in maturity, with MoL being obviously a kids film and WoS being much darker and more sinister.
     
    In my early days on BZP, I was very different to who I am now. I was incredibly spammy, like many in those days. I find it quite embaressing to see some of my early posts. Once I'd got 'settled in' you would frequently see me in the top 10 posters list, with most of those posts being meaningless. Now, I expect I would easily make a bottom posters list, but I like to think that what I post is a bit more meaningful.
     
    Where is this going? I don't know. These are just some of my thoughts on me, BZP and bionicle at the current time. I'm not expecting anyone to find them especially interesting, but they're there for anyone who wishes to read them.
     
    Well, that's it for meaningless thoughts for now. In the meantime, I would like to point anyone reading in the direction of my kit. I put a lot of work into that, and still am. I would appreciate people's thoughts and views on it.
  23. Danska: Shadow Master

    Why Blog?

    By Danska: Shadow Master,

    What is the purpose of this blog? Why do I write it? I think somewhere along the way, I've lost sight of that. When I started blogging aaaages ago, it was a new feature I decided to try out. A place to write down whatever happened to be in my head or recount interesting tales of real life. I then stopped updating, before reviving it some time later when I realised I had things to say. There were various subjects, mostly bionicle-related, that I had opinions on which I wanted to share. Often this was related to a topic that had been heavily debated at the time, but I was too late to contribute or felt furthering the discussion on the forum itself would be flogging a dead horse which had long since passed away and was never really mourned in the first place. So it became a receptacle for various opinions and, of course, somewhere for me to share whatever I happened to be working on at the time.
     
    Eventually what I wanted to say was said and my inspiration started to dry up, so this became more of an everyday blog. What was happening in my life and whatever else I wanted to say at the time. Now it's more a case of "I'll find something to say when I update it." In many ways, I think these changes have reflected my mood. When I was happy to fire off long, (hopefully) intelligent-sounding entries, I was going through a very good phase. I was generally happy with life and in myself and I had inspiration enough to do it. Things have gone downhill since then possibly due to recent events but also possibly due to less-recent ones lurking at the back of my mind which I haven't managed to fully face yet. I could go into all sorts of reasons why and probably be very uncomplimentary about myself in the process, but that's not something I especially feel like putting down, least of all here.
     
    In terms of recent events, my major concern was having some teeth out on Monday. Not exactly pleasant, and I can no longer effectively use the right side of my mouth because there's a hole there. Worse, the tooth next to it seems to have been broken during the extraction, which I am not happy about at all. I was also feeling quite ill next week to the extent that I went to A&E for fear that it might be carbon monoxide poisoning. Next door have an open fireplace which they've been told not to use, but they do anyway and it causes smoke to get in which was speculated to be a/the cause for my illness. After two blood tests (I hate needles btw) it was concluded that I was as healthy as any ill person, so was sent on my way. Fortunately I've recovered from that illness now, so it was likely nothing more than a cold/flu or something of that nature.
     
    I'm also losing sight of any kind of purpose. When I was at school, I was there to get my grades and hopefully manage to enjoy myself along the way. This year most of my friends are already at University, I'm stuck volunteering at a charity shop and won't be going anywhere until September/October when I finally go to University which is simply too far ahead to focus on for the moment. I'd originally planned to get a job not a volunteer post, and while that would have got me some money I'm not sure how much better it would have been. When I do something in life, I need to see some sort of point in it. With a job, I would be spending most of my day there doing something I probably wouldn't enjoy so I could make money so I can...what? Spend it in the short amount of time I'm not working? Earn it so I can keep on working to earn more money to keep on working in an endless and ultimately futile cycle? For my that's not an especially pleasant prospect, so maybe I'm not cut out for a full-time job just yet. I certainly don't feel like I am. I would speculate that a job is worthless without some other goal in mind - without something else to achieve in life. This may be to live as comfortable life as possible, to raise kids, to achieve goals such as writing a book or maybe the more practical mind works because it's a necessary part of life and can be content with that. Being a former and prospective Philosophy student, I spend far too much of my time thinking about the abstract, trivial and frequently useless to maintain much of a sense of practicality in regard to life. I'm not sure that's entirely what I mean, but it makes sense in my own mind, so you're all going to have to become mind readers I'm afraid.
     
    Anyway, this is all getting quite depressing which does no one any good. I mentioned in my last entry the possibility of doing a story based on my responses to the Glatorian. Well, I've started work on that. I have a map, and I've sketched out the detail of one of the regions and its inhabitants. I even have the barest notion of a plot forming in my mind. Whether this will amount to anything I don't know. I hope so, because I'm liking it so far. I might even decide to adapt it because right now, it bears no resemblance to Bara Magna and its story/characters whatsoever. Oh, except that there's a desert. But that's only one part of the world. I've used the Glatorian and Agori figures as templates to create my own world and characters which have nothing whatsoever to do with the official storyline, so I could potentially go one step further and remove it from Bionicle altogether. I'm hesitant to do that though, as I have by my own admission used Bionicle as more than just an influence. It would feel wrong somehow to label it as entirely my own work with so many strands drawn from the Bionicle universe, even if they're not necessarily present in my story.
     
    As any of my friends can tell you, I've been spending a lot of time playing Half-Life 2 and related games, including something called Garry's Moderator. I don't mean Moderator of course, but the filter prevents me from using that particular word. This is a game in itself (but it requires Half-Life 2 because it uses its items, textures, maps etc) but it's not really a game game. It's the ultimate sandbox, basically. You can spawn any item from the Half-Life 2 series + other Valve games and use them how you like. To help you, the game gives you a couple of tool guns. One is the physics gun that lets you move, turn and freeze objects however you want and is a core element in building. The other is a series of tools from the menu including weld, creating wheels, keeping things upright, making them intangible and my personal favourite, ignite. It is literally designed to fuel your imagination (or your flames). You are given the tools, you are free to build whatever it is you want to build. Or you can just watch NPCs mindlessly slaughter each other. That's fun too. My friends devised something called Antlion Football. This uses a large custom-build stadium, Antlion Guards painted different colours to represent a team, a goal on each end and a football inside an invisible rollermine. The Antlions view the mine as an enemy so they charge at it, and the mine views them as enemies so it gives off a considerable charge on impact which sends the mine flying. Antlions, being the tough creatures they are, tend not to die and instead provide lots of entertainment for the onlookers.
     
    My friend also made his own ecosystem by spawning lots and lots of different NPCs that move around by themselves onto a map and...well, seeing what happened. The game provides many amusements.
     
    Oooh, on a good note, I visited Reading University on Wednesday. That is the University I will be going to, and they were quite smug when I visited. In December (I think), the Government published the results of something or other designed to gauge the efficiency and 'goodness' of a University's department based on its research quality. From what I gathered it's only done every few years, and involves the department sending off lots of research they've done over the years since the last one presumably, so it's quite extensive. Reading did quite well. At least, the Philosophy department did. Third in the country apparently, above both Oxford and Cambridge which for those who don't know are the country's 'elite' Universities. That got mentioned once or twice. Y'know, just in case we hadn't heard them mention it once or twice before and as a precaution should we miss them mentioning it another couple of times in the future.
     
    You know what else I've noticed? I'm tired. I have a feeling I say this a lot in my blog entries, which says something about the time I write them. I'm not convinced just before I go to bed is the best time to write anything, but there we go.
     
    Oh! One last thing! I've played the Beta of Dawn of War II and it left me with one question: Where's the war?
     
    Goodnight!
  24. Danska: Shadow Master
    Hello! I have been woefully lax in updating this for the past month or so. About time I did really, so here we go! Another entry! Just what everyone - um, anyone? has been looking forward to! Ignore the title again, btw.
     
    Let's start with Christmas. I had a good Christmas. As usual I went down to visit family, although it was all a bit more complicated this year. Both sets of grandparents live in the same town, so I see all of them, however my parents split up this year. This meant my dad went to one set, my mum to the other and I was free to choose whichever. I spent time with both sets though I spent Christmas itself with my mum's side.
     
    I took both my laptop and my Wii down with me, so I wasn't short of entertainment. I managed to get my family playing the Wii, too! That proved entertaining. Unsurprisingly I won most of the time. I have had rather more practise than anyone else there. We all agreed that bowling was the best sport in the Wii Sports pack.
     
    The two best things I got for Christmas would have to be The Dark Knight on DVD, and The Orange Box for PC. Excellent film, excellent games. I completed Portal quite quickly, and I'm now working my way through Half-Life 2 and playing the odd game of Team Fortress 2 with some friends. The pyro is so awesome! *is not a pyromaniac, honest* Half-Life 2's good, too, though Ravenholm is creepy. I have never in my life played a zombie game before, or even watched a zombie film (or had much to do with horror in general) so that was a new experience for me. I am of the opinion that all headcrabs and headcrabs zombies should burn in a blazing inferno of burning...stuff! I also think normal headcrab zombies sound funny when they're burning. ^^
     
    Portal is, of course, magnificent. Fun and challenging gameplay combined with hilarious and downright creepy humour become what has to be one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. Solving the puzzles can be very satisfying, and listening to GLaDOS' unnerving suggestions and comments adds a whole new element to the game. And the turrets! I think they scared my uncle a bit. I can understand why! It is not normal for turrets to say "I don't blame you" in a strange, almost cute voice when you knock them over!
     
    Skipping ahead, New Year! I was back in Bristol for that. What did I - oh, I remember what I did! I went to a party not at my friend's house, but at the house of one of her friends who lives opposite to my aforementioned friend. Between tasty food, terribly cheesy music that we sang and danced to anyway and the odd drink, it was a very enjoyable party!
     
    Since New Year I have been spending most of my time playing games. The Orange Box has delivered with it Steam and all the delights therein. I also know a few people online who own the box, and I'm able to talk to them (actually talk, not write) through a little application called Ventrillo. Those conversations tend to be entertaining. I met most of them through an MMO called Eve Online, so we play that a lot too. I probably play it too much. Still, it's fun, and is one factor in my complete lack of kit-related work recently.
     
    Most of my time may have been an exaggeration. I've spent quite a bit of time with my friends too, doing all sorts of things. Bowling's a popular option, though last time I went I did abysmally. I blame the caffeine. Unfortunately most of them are going or have gone back to Uni, so less opportunities for such things now.
     
    That reminds me! Uni! I am almost certain I have mentioned The University of Reading at least once in previous entries. I have a place there, which I have accepted, and I cannot wait to get there. I'm going there on the 28th January for a Visit Day, the purpose of which I believe to be learning more about the course and the University. It's probably intended to convince people to go to that University and not another one, but as I've already made my decision there's not much for them to do in that regard. Still, I'm looking forward to it. I enjoyed the Open Day, so with any luck this will be just as good.
     
    Other things. Ah yes. I'm working at a local charity shop, which again I'm sure I've mentioned. I now have some regular shifts - Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Not being a morning person, this is quite a chunk of my time taken up, but I do enjoy it and reckon it's much better for me than slouching in front of a computer monitor all day. The manager is a wonderful person, and I can't think of a nicer person to be working under.
     
    On a more Bionicle-ish note, I'm getting Glatorian! They recently became available on amazon, if not in any local stores, so I've ordered them. I was sorely tempted to order them from the Lego website before, but the ridiculously high P&P costs were a heavy deterrent. I've ordered Malum, Strakk, Tarix and Gresh. Hopefully they'll be arriving soon. When they do, not only will I be consumed by waves of great joy and happiness, I'll be able to start work on the 2009 kit! I say start, I've already started, but I haven't been able to find suitable reference images for everything I wanted to. This gets round the problem entirely.
     
    I'd say I've rambled enough. Until next time!
  25. Danska: Shadow Master
    I've been wanting another Blizzard Blade (Kopaka Phantoka's miniature weapon thing) for some time now. My initial thought was to buy one off a website, but given the P&P costs (and all the other pieces I'd inevitably buy) I couldn't help but wonder if buying a second Kopaka set wouldn't be cheaper - or at the very least better value for money (an entirely different concept from cheaper. Don't let the adverts tell you otherwise).
     
    Well, I was right! I was happily wandering around town when I happened to spot Kopaka Phantoka in Woolworths. I've seen him there before, but I was loathe to pay full price for a set I want a single piece from. I check the price tag: £3.49 - less than half price. "Hey, that's not bad," thinks I. It takes only an instant for me to decide whether to buy it or not.
     
    I get to the checkout, set in hand. The cashier scans it. "That's £2.00 please," she says.
     
    £2.00! I could hardly believe it. That's fully a quarter of the price! Complain I did not and out I walked, a very happy customer indeed!
     
    I also have Pocky. They are very tasty.
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