Once again, I buy a game, get caught up in it, and forget to post. This time the culprit is Massive Action Game (MAG).

This was touted as being a new breed of co-operative multiplayer FPS… and in many respects it is. You do actually play games of 128-a-side (total player count: 256), and you are tasked with working together to attack or defend specific objectives in the same map. Read the rest of this entry »

Ok, I’m only writing this because I’m not playing. And the reason I’m not playing is that I’m at work on a Sunday. There’s a bunch of other posts I need to get out quickly too. Hopefully, I won’t lose momentum, and you’ll see those soon.

Mass Effect 2 picks up several years after the first game. Commander Shepard has joined the shadowy Cerberus network to continue his fight against the Reapers, a race of sentient machines that raise galactic civilisation only to destroy it. Read the rest of this entry »

MacquarieCon went really well this year. With over 100 pre-registered players, I think it was the most attended MacCon of the decade (including any of the ones that I had a direct hand in the organisation of). Everybody had a good time, and most (if not all) of the games were booked out.

Joshua (the chief conorg) did a fantastic job of organising games and promoting the con early and often, and that made a huge difference to the turnout and quality of the convention.

I helped P write and run a game of Cthulhu Invictus called “The Mean Streets of Rome”, in the style of Raymond Chandler’s noir detective novels, much like Lindsey Davis’ Falco novels.

As usual, there were some brilliant performances, as well as people signing up for an investigation module, even though they seemed to have no interest in following any of the clues laid out to them. Maybe next time, we should put in a disclaimer:

You know nothing of the supernatural, so don’t try to chase any of it down. Trust me. There is nothing there.

Anyway, we had a great time overall, and I wanted to extend a congratulations to Joshua for running a great con.

My silence lately is actually because I’m absorbed in Dragon Age: Origins. I haven’t quite finished my first playthrough, but I’m getting pretty close so I figured I might as well put some thoughts out there.

Naturally, when Bioware makes an RPG, expectations run pretty high. With Baldur’s Gate, Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights, and Mass Effect in their pedigree, it’s hard not to get excited about their latest title. Even adjusting for that, though, I do wonder if it’s living up to the hype. Read the rest of this entry »

I finally made time to see Avenue Q. Despite being in the last week of its run, the cast was amazingly energetic and delivered a top-quality show. I’ve been a big fan for years, having first being introduced at Radio Skid Row to “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”, and subsequently to the World of Warcraft machinima for “The Internet is for Porn”. While these two numbers are definitely showstoppers, obtaining the complete soundtrack [iTunes] revealed a complete and touching story. Read the rest of this entry »