Company of Heroes Demo Impressions

In case you haven’t heard of the game, Company of Heroes is a new RTS due for release next month. It has a WWII theme and is being developed by Relic Entertainment (the Dawn of War people).
First off these ARE the best graphics yet seen in an RTS. You need to see it for yourself, but according to the developers almost all graphical technology being used in modern FPS games has been poured into this game (HDR lighting etc…)
The gameplay… from what I have played, The 2 demo levels + the tutorials, is very impressive. I think the thing that appeals to me most about the game however is the tactical depth. Troops need to be in a position of cover to avoid getting cut to ribbons, tanks are weaker when their rear armour is attacked, mine fields can immobilize or destroy enemy tanks, artillery strikes can destroy buildings the enemy has fortified. Speaking of which one of the most impressive aspects of the game is that nearly everything is destructible. Satchel charges will send pieces of rubble flying, mortars will destroy enemy fortifications, tanks can drive through walls and yes all of it does look amazing.
The game definitely has an emphasis on the action, as the resource system involves capturing points around the map, to earn munitions and fuel. This is then used to purchase units. Manpower which is the other resource is constantly generated and cannot be increased. This is a good thing, as even if you control no points you can still purchase some troops. Unlike Dawn of War however, all resource points captured need a direct chain of other resource points to your HQ in order for you to receive the resources. I imagine this will present interesting tactical opportunities, such as dropping paratroopers into enemy territory to cut off their resource gathering. While you can build fortifications to protect your base/resource points, such as MG nests, mines, sandbags (to provide your troops with cover), barbed wire fences. These seem to be more to assist your defence than complete it. I feel the majority of the game will be fought with your units as both offence and defence, but who likes turtlers anyway?
The last thing I can mention (while not fully featured in the demo) is that much like Battle for Middle Earth, you receive points for killing enemy troops/vehicles which can then be spent on upgrades. By placing your first point, you can choose between being an infantry/tank/airbourne general and then have access to their various special bonuses or abilities. This should make team multiplayer matches more interesting as you utilise each others abilities.
Well that’s about all I can write about the game as yet. I can say I am really looking forward to this one! A few questions remain unanswered though, the most important one for me is, how good is the AI ? (It is difficult to judge in the demo). But from what I have seen so far CoH is shaping up to be a strong contender for best RTS this year, that said Relic’s 2nd expansion for Dawn of War looks mighty fun also.

If you want to have a crack at the demo you will need to buy this months PC Gamer, as its an exclusive… OR if you dont tell anyone, go here and get your bit torrent client crankin!

Adam Sandler is an Asshole!

After reading The Inquirer this morning i came to the conclusion Adam Sandler… is indeed an Asshole.
Adam thought he would do his part to contribute to the Israel – Lebanon war.
His part consisted of donating 400 playstations to those who had lost/damaged homes as a result of the fighting.
What the FUCK is he doing giving these people playstations when the PS3 is nearly out, if thats not a slap in the face from a million dollar movie star, I don’t know what is.
No but seriously… Why the FUCK isn’t he giving people money to help repair their damaged / destroyed homes and how the FUCK are playstations going to be useful when you have no home and no electricity.
Clearly Adam Sandler is as retarded as he looks in the image above, and whats more, he feels it necessary to insult these people with a meager playstation rather than a preorder for a PS3.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention, Adam Sandler’s newest movie Click, sucked more than Stephen Hawkings wishes he wasn’t a vegetable. So go on Adam, send yourself to an early retirement!

Big ups to The Inquirer for the article that inspired me to write this

The Philosophy of Nizmox

On Friday night I had a discussion/debate/argument with my flatmate regarding many philosophical topics.
I would like to point out something I feel is important. When involved in these kinds of debates, there are pretty much two kinds of people. Those who can have debates and understand that it is… just that, a debate… and those who can’t. Those that should debate and those that shouldn’t. Sadly some people cannot, realise that it is just a difference in views, and that debating the topic is actually beneficial for both parties. Each, can seek to further their thoughts by listening to and arguing the points that others have on the same topic. These people get angry at having their views challenged, or even because they are being argued with. These people annoy me…
Fortunately! My flatmate was not one of these individuals, as I already knew.
A brief intro to my beliefs…
I believe there is nothing non physical and everything in the universe can be explained without the need for any non physical force/object/entity/whatever. Whether that explanation comes from Chemistry, Physics or even Quantum Physics. That’s not to say there is always an available explanation for everything, simply due to the limit of our knowledge of science. Our science will never progress to the point where we know everything as we are sadly never going to be able to unravel all of the mysteries the universe holds. However… absence of an explanation does not equal something being unexplainable.
Unfortunately, we, as human beings find it difficult to cope with saying “I don’t know” and it is because of this, we often end up creating explanations with no/little evidence to support this explanation, or using someone else’s explanations which was conjured in the same manner. When in fact we are better off saying “I don’t know” until presented with a good explanation, with sound logic and reasoning. It is because of this that Religion largely ‘succeeds’ (has many believers). Theories such as the Big Bang and Evolution, leave questions unanswered, yet despite having scientific backing people choose to instead believe religious theories. While Religious theories do explain the whole picture, as an all powerful, all knowing being could create the universe, these theories have NO scientific backing what so ever.
Well that took a lot longer to write than I thought it would so will stop here, will write about the below topics soon.
Evidence of paranormal phenomenon.
Letting trivial bullshit get the better of us…

I realise my views greatly different to most people. Generally those who do not believe in a god(s) still believe in non physical things. I… Don’t. Feel free to tell me your thoughts with your comments, remember I wont get angry because of it and be prepared to say “I don’t know” a bit more often, those who do are smarter than they seem.

Wow…. I have a blog!

Well I finally did it, I signed up for a blog, and here it is!
I know it will piss Hervard off that I’m using WordPress, but that’s always funny.
At present this isn’t going to be used for any very specific purpose, more just to spread my views on… Gaming, Role Playing games, Philosophy & Religion and possibly other topics in future.
Lastly if your a wordpress newb… much like myself you can post comments on my posts. However… you do have to register as i dont want my millions of screaming fans posting all the time… at least if they have to register it will cut down the numbers. That was the first of much sarcasm to come.
Well enjoy…