Mega apologies!

Hi guys,

I am so, so sorry I have not been updating my blog recently, things have been very busy, and I will be back very soon with some new stuff for you all ^_^

<3

Youtube oddity of the week - July 2nd

Its that time of the week again! This week I've plumped for a battlefield 3 compilation from youtube user katulobotomia. Its ten minutes of people being shot at, blown up and stabbed in all various manners (although I DO NOT condone the teabagging and spawn killing ¬_¬ - bad bad donkey!), this is definitely a fun video, with a bit of a humourous edge, so I urge you to watch it!

Any comments? Leave them in the comment section below! If you have any submissions for a video to be featured, feel free to contact me!

Youtube Oddity Of The Week - 25th June

Its monday, so its that time again - Time to look for things in that strange part of the internet. This week I've got some animation for you from a guy called Cyriak. This is one of the barmiest, but impressive things I've seen in a while, I'm pretty confident you will think so too!

If you always wondered how Emoticons were made - I think this just about answers that question (Bill gates you evil evil man)

So what did you think of the video? Drop me some feeback into the comments section and let me know!!

Nintendo do it again - 3DS XL incoming!

Shigeru Miyamoto was posed the question in an interview dated the 12th of June if Nintendo plan on releasing another remodel of the 3DS console. Miyamoto claimed that he believes the 3DS is "the best for this generation", and he is happy at where the 3DS is in terms of quality, and believes there is no need for any further upgrades - stating that any new handheld would be a next generation unit.

Caught red handed -  Shigsy hold his hands up

Fast forward to June 22nd, and Nintendo unveil the 3DS XL. Sporting 90% larger screens, better battery life, and a slightly remodeled shell. So why is this being done? Nintendo have already suffered such an angry backlash regarding the original launch of the 3DS, when they infamously slashed prices on the consoles no longer than five months after the initial release - causing outrage among the Nintendo faithful.

The console in question

They are no strangers to such practices however. The original DS unit was released in 2004 which saw a remodeled effort appear in 2006 in the form of the DS Lite, offering a new redesigned casing and reduced size. Two years later Nintendo pull another ace by releasing the DSi, which featured front and rear facing cameras, expandable memory, improved processing power and RAM. A year later an "XL" edition was released. 

A similar thing happened with the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Advance, seeing no less than four models of the original Game Boy being released (One could argue the Gameboy Colour was a backwards compatible "semi next gen unit however), and three different models of the Game Boy Advance.

Quite a few no?

Thats a lot of handhelds released, which is why it feels like a further kick to the consumer that they plan to release a revised 3DS console, especially seen as it is no longer than a year and a few months since it has been out. Maybe this was to be expected at any rate, looking at previous company behaviour, but with Mr Miyamoto's claims ringing untrue - its going to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of most fans - It certainly has for this one.

What are your thoughts on this? Are you chuffed about it? Indifferent? Enraged? Leave a message in the comments below!

Guitars can make Carly Rae Jepsen sound good?!

You heard. I stumbled across a Youtube user by the name of 331Erock, and he  has a whole host of amazing guitar covers on his page, as well as a rather spiffing wardrobe!

Here are my top five that I've heard so far!

5. Carly Rae Jepsen - Call me maybe?

This is the current irritating tune of the moment, but oh my this sounds EPIC! check out the sweet solos towards the end - thrilling stuff!                                                  

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme

I loved TMNT as a kid, and this cover does it justice, he even switches it up halfway through and starts playing the ninja rap from the film.

3. Final Fantasy mashup

Who isn't a Final Fantasy fan? Unless you've been hiding under a rock, or never picked up a controller in your life, you would have came across one of the many in the series. This song featuring some of the more modern games music....your hair will stand up on end when you hear one winged angel, and you'll chuckle when you hear a little snippet of the Chocobo races =)

2. Dragonball Z / Dragonforce

Dragonforce might not strike a chord with everybody (see what I did there?), but when its slammed together with Dragonball Z, you've got a recipe for a phenomenal track!! I'm loving the split screen trade off with the Dragonforce part!!!

And that leaves one more video.....

1. The Legend of Zelda

I'm a little bit biased....I LOVE Zelda games, so the inner fanboy in me kind of took over. Regardless, this is absolutely amazing.

I strongly urge you all to get over to 331Erocks channel on Youtube, and sub to his videos - he really is a talent. If you have already heard some of his stuff, what are your favourites? Drop them into the comments section below!

Ciao!

Super Mario air hockey? You're on!

The title says it all! Ever wanted to shove a Koopa shell around like our favourite portly plumber? Ever actually tried to jump on a turtle - not quite having that same effect? (I really hope you haven't.....and please -  DON'T!)

Well this might just be the closest you are going to get to that! Strapya World sell this awesome Super Mario Air Hockey, and its a steal at roughly £10 (don't forget the shipping - its coming in from Japan!!)

 

The shell takes two AAA batteries, and is designed for use on any smooth surface. What are you waiting for? Buy one now!!!

You can get yours by clicking right here.

Peace!!

Fun online games you say?!

The past week or so I've been shown quite a few time-consuming but amazing online games, thanks to Felicia Day, and if you value your social life you should turn away now ;)

Echo Bazaar

http://www.fallenlondon.com/



Echo Bazaar is an addictive text based browser game, where you wander the streets of London completing various quests, and meeting a host of colourful characters on the way. You level your character up by completing quests with various options, each having a different difficulty depending on your level for that particular attribute.You have 10 action points, which are displayed as a candle in the top left corner of the screen, and each mission you undertake uses one of these, and they replenish one action every 10 minutes or so, making you pick your choices wisely, as you may waste all your action points (as I have done a few times now) on options which are way out of your skill range.

You also receive opportunity cards, which present you with new quest lines and bonus missions. You can also drop by the bazaar and buy mission related goodies and such. If you enjoy your text based adventures, I highly recommend Echo Bazaar - Its a stylish and dark humoured gothic romp with a surprisingly intricate and deep story, which will captivate and draw you in for hours - you have been warned!

Realm of the Mad God

http://www.realmofthemadgod.com/

Realm of the Mad God is an RPG/MMO/Shooter hybrid, where you complete quests by killing monsters, and upgrading your weapons and armour. At the beginning you have only one class available to you, but as you level up your initial character, more classes will unlock, giving you a wide choice of different playing styles. You can create guilds, and band together to take on tougher challenges as a group, to collect better rewards.

The one draw with Realm of the Mad God is that once you've created your character, you have one life with them. Once their health is depleted, that character dies, and you have to make a new one. This mechanic gives you a reason to be careful in your approach to enemies, as you can often find yourself being overrun and killed rather brutally.

You attack by aiming in the direction you want and clicking the left mouse key, and you can unleash special attacks as well. The controls are fully customisable as well, making it flexible for left and right handed gamers.

It has a cool graphical style, it almost looks like the mad lovechild of Diablo and Minecraft (Not a bad thing), and is highly addictive to play. I've sat and lost myself in this game for two or three hours without even realising it - its that fun! Its free to sign up and play, so head on over to their site and give it a try!

So there you have it - The two major albatrosses around my neck at the minute, enjoy them! If you come across any games or cool stuff you want me to feature, please E-mail me!

Ciao!

Nintendo's Wii U: My picks from E3

Slightly old news now I guess, but E3 (or for those of you who don't care for abbreviations - The Electronic Entertainment Expo) was held this month from the 5th till the 7th. I've run through a few of my favourite moments from Nintendos press conference, and stuck them all together for you >.< 

Nintendo finally unveiled the final form of the Wii U, the console which is making me rather giddy with excitement, a nice feeling as I fell out of love with the big N quite some time ago, and have only just re-acquainted myself with their charms. The final design is really no different from what has been shown before, other than a few minor changes.

The pad now features clickable analogue sticks, as well as a slightly different button configuration, including a TV control button, and two features which they didn't really touch on: the NFC (Near Field Communication)  dock, which you can see in the thumbnail just beneath the D-pad. They didn't even mention this in the video, which is strange as people have been screaming for this technology for some time.

The second cryptic feature was the mysterious "Accessory Connector", which was mentioned as a port which allows new peripherals to be attached to the tablet controller, although at this time there is no news on any of the possible applications for this particular feature.

A total of 23 "new" games were shown, with few real highlights, and little in the way of surprises. I'll cover some of the more interesting one below, Starting with Pikmin 3.

The trailer highlights some new Pikmii (is that a term?), as well as some cool gameplay mechanics. Having never played the Pikmin series myself, I can't really say too much about it. It looks like a charming game though, something I will probably get myself.

Batman Arkham City: Armoured Edition was also shown, which on the surface isn't much different to the multi-platform version which came out at the end of last year, once you've scratched beneath the surface its apparent this version has had quite an overhaul.

The armoured edition will come with all of the DLC which has been released for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC editions. A new gameplay mechanic called the BAT system will allow you to fill a gauge up as you battle your way through your opponents - this then allows you to unleash brutal special attacks on your enemies.

The gamepad itself also has some pivotal gameplay functions, acting as a wrist mounted computer (although wearing something that big....wrists like a tree trunk - Bruce Wayne must be lonely). You can use this to access your inventory screens, scan the surrounding environment for clues and hidden extras, and even use the gyro controls to steer weapons and gadgets through the air.

The standout game for me however, was Ubisoft's Zombi U, a tense and dark looking game which looks to make the most of the consoles dual screen functionality with a myriad of features, I won't spoil any of the details for you, just watch the trailer below and make your own mind up.

What did you think of these? I know I missed out many other games, but I didn't want any TL;DR going on!

Feel free to drop me some comments in the space below!!

Youtube oddity of the week!

I'm still ironing out the kinks with this whole blogging thing, so be warned - contents are subject to change! I have come up with something which I think I will do on a weekly basis, which is post a video of something I've found on the internet which makes me amazed, confused - or just plain disturbed.

I shall call it "Youtube oddity of the week" and I guess this is the very first time you get to see some of the wonderful and crazy things I have to share with you all :)

Here is the first video -

Thomas learns how to read braille

I never said anything I would post in this segment would ever make any sense did I? So I'm starting my first segment with something that should leave you either cursing me for destroying your speakers, or applauding me for uncovering an underrated gem.....although I think the former is more than likely going to apply:

I mean come on....this is 63 seconds of absolute nonsense, and I truly hope none of you are on any kind of mind bending journey with any kind of drugs, because if that is the case - I'm so so sorry for whatever nightmares result from this madness.

I am pretty fond of the repeated "help me.....pleeeeease" though, how sinister can a tank engine get?  

That awkward first post.......

Hey, welcome to Less than three! I'm hoping to update this blog weekly with various features and other fun things which excite me - and hopefully all of you, from all over the internet!

I guess I should tell you all a little something about me before I do anything else? Well there isn't much to tell really! My name is a good start, you can call me Jim =) When I'm not working I spend my time scouring the internet for bizarre oddities and other bits and bobs which pique my curiosity. I'm a bit of a gamer, and a bit of an anime fan, currently hyperventilating whilst I wait for the Wii U to come out - "holiday season 2012" isn't cutting it Regginator!!

I like a load of other stuff too - you'll find out more if you stick around though ;)

So keep an eye out on the blog, and hopefully it will be quite the journey =)

- Jim