More Champions, more TV...
"Champions Online" continues to evolve, with all of the quirks and bug-fixing that sort of thing involves. At the moment, two missions I know of aren't startable (the location you have to go to isn't "built" yet), one isn't finishable (the NPC you have to escort is missing), and one is half-finished. The half-finished one is interesting in the same way that getting to look behind the curtain at how Oz works is. This mission requires you to find Professor Plummet in some "lost caves." Looking up a few posts on the forums, I discovered there are two caves that don't appear on your map. One leads to an "alive" Professor Plummet, along with a few side quests, and the other leads to the "nothing left but a skeleton wearing a hat" Professor Plummet, and a side quest to find his (presumably) just as dead sidekick. Neither cave completes the mission, but it's like you're seeing thought process A and B for a given scenario at the same time. I'm hoping that this might mean there will be multiple versions of the same quest, so everything isn't identical for each run-through.
And speaking of being run through, I've yet to be able to solo any of the 5-person missions, even when I'm some 10 to 15 levels over where I was when I accepted it. The author of the Escapist webcomic, Stolen Pixels, has been playing a bit, noting the effect heroes must have on infrastructure, and highlighting the unique moral quandaries of Superhero MMOs. He also has a "cute gun-girl" heroine named Concealed Carrie.
Following up on last post's look at "Flashforward," the producers say the show needs three seasons to do its endgame properly. Given that the show will probably focus on the predictions surrounding the main cast along with one larger over-arcing plotline, there should be plenty of material. What I'm wondering is if the "big idea" from the book will have a place at the end. Since nobody in the cast is a Nobel prize winner, unless they introduce someone from CERN, I'm guessing that point may be left out.
And here's a headline I thought was in the realm of impossibility: The Hobbit movie may have funding troubles. Or rather, MGM, which is co-financing the film, is having trouble raising money. I'm all for a cosmic karma slap to hit MGM for canceling the "Stargate" shows when nothing that much better was waiting in the wings to take its place, but c'mon... this is the Hobbit we're talking about. Sell the casino if you have to, but if Ian McKellen is signed on for the movie (and maybe the sequel. Wait, sequel?), then it must be made.
Speaking of direct-to-DvD, there's talk that the Sarah Connor Chronicles might see some continuation in that form. Given the way the series ended, I'd welcome at least two discs explaining how they'd planned for the story to go on.
And "Heroes" is still a bit of a mess. As far as I can tell, only Sylar (or the bit of him in Parkman's head) is the only character who seems to have a clear goal at the moment. I also realize the teenager with raging hormones inside me is upset at my saying this, but I'm ready for a Cheerleader-free episode. Her new roomie is vying for a level of annoying somewhere between "Snarf" from "Thundercats" and the "Wonder Twins" (the original ones, not the newly ironic ones they've had doing bumpers for Adult Swim).
On to more pleasant things:
- Okay, the gameplay is difficult and may not be everyone's cup of tea, but BMX Rex has you controlling a T-Rex riding a Penny Farthing while wearing a top hat. It just doesn't get any better than this.
- I ran across some of the work from this site and thought it was pretty nifty. Shinobi Glass has some interesting and unique glassworks by various artists (click on the names to the right for the galleries). Their Miscellaneous Art gallery deserves a look-see and a search for "Bender" if you're a Futurama fan.
- Here's a collection of images depicting the portrayal of Russian characters in comic books. I'm not sure who the Soviet Wookie-guy is supposed to be, but I'm intrigued...
- Forget Halloween use only, I want these things on my car every day of the year!
- Though if you do need to stay up and at 'em late into the night on Halloween, there's an energy drink Count Vlad would approve of...
- I'm not advocating the induction of "horking" in housecats, but I would like to know if this really works?
- The new game "Scribblenauts" is apparently quite easy to beat via the use of a vending machine, handcuffs, and/or a basket.
- It's been a while since someone showed off a really cool-looking MAME cabinet, so here's a very impressive steampunk model.
- A rather challenging platformer appears in the form of Lint. Guide the gray, jumping ball through a side-scrolling world of infinite demise.