Wednesday, 26 September 2012

Eggs and Daleks: Soufflé Girl's winning recipe



I've been most remiss in not posting my thoughts on Doctor Who series 7, which is about to conclude its first half-season run with this weekend's The Angels Take Manhattan! A potentially infamous storyline witnessing the departure of longterm companions the Ponds. I'll shed a tear for the girl who waited...

Back to the present. Series 7 opens audaciously with Asylum of the Daleks, the Ponds estranged, and an unexpected cameo from forthcoming new companion Oswin Oswald, played with chutzpah by Jenna-Louise Coleman. The best-kept secret since the Cybermen's surprise return in Earthshock steals the show in a riveting, scarlet-lipped, performance as the girl trapped in a haunted house.

A haunted house filled with menacing, dysfunctional, Daleks. Note the use of the words menacing and dysfunctional. Terry Nation's creations are always best served in a shadowy world and here we're treated to an inspired mashup of The Dead Planet and Genesis of the Daleks: set within the walls of an asylum.

These Daleks are the rejects; broken; too dangerous to control; nightmarish. All the better for it. A rare return to the Daleks home planet of Skaro provides the icing on a deliciously dark cake.

An epic exchange between the Doctor and a Dalek culminates in the chilling revelation: "We have grown stronger in fear of you!" A line worthy of Star Wars' Darth Vader.

Bravo, Mr Moffat.

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Star Wars Origami at MCM Expo



In July I wrote about Chris Alexander's upcoming Star Wars Origami book. Martin Hunt is a homegrown talent and recently connected with me on Twitter...

Martin is a Maths graduate and software engineer, currently living in London with his wife, son, and two enormous cats.

He started designing his own origami models while at university and has never looked back. You can see his stellar designs atStarwarigami.

Martin's work was most recently exhibited at the London Film and Comic Con this year, courtesy of the British Origami Society, and will be on display again at the upcoming MCM Expo at ExCel London in October.

Monday, 17 September 2012

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2012



Get Christmas off to a galactic start with the LEGO® Star Wars Advent Calendar!

Featuring 24 gifts, including iconic starships, minifigures, and accessories:

Mini-figures include Santa Darth Maul, Snowman R2-D2, Gonk Power Droid, Gungan Warrior, Hoth Rebel Trooper, Imperial Officer (Hoth), Rebel Trooper, Snowtrooper, Security Battle Droid, and Super Battle Droid.

Models include AT-AT Walker, Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator, General Grievous' Starfighter, Gungan Shield Set, Gungan Submarine, Guns and Lightsaber, MTT, Naboo Flash Speeder, Naboo Royal Cruiser, Naboo Starfighter, P-Tower Turret, Separatist Shuttle/The Lapiz Cutter, Super Star Destoyer, and Vulture Droid.

This great advent calendar is the perfect gift for Star Wars fans of any age.

Last year's sold out quickly due to demand. Buy yours today.

Friday, 14 September 2012

Wii wish U you a merry Christmas



For the first time in sixteen years a new Nintendo console will launch with a Mario title!

Wii U launches in Europe and the US this November ahead of December's debut in Japan. New Super Mario Bros. U is a day one title and Bayonetta 2 a surprise platform exclusive. She'll shift additional units to hardcore gamers.

Three UK bundles have been announced: Basic Pack (8GB), Premium Pack (32GB) and ZombiU Premium Pack (32GB).

Here's a breakdown of each bundle:

Basic Pack (8GB)
Wii U GamePad
GamePad stylus
Wii U AC adapter
Wii U GamePad AC Adapter
HDMI cable

Premium Pack (32GB)
As Basic Pack
Wii U Sensor Bar
Wii U stand
GamePad stand and charger
Nintendo Land
Nintendo Network Premium

ZombiU Premium Pack (32GB)
As Premium Pack
Wii U Pro Controller
ZombiU replaces Nintendo Land

Prices are at the discretion of retailers and wildly fluctuate from £250 for the Basic Pack to £330 for the ZombiU Premium Pack and that's before any shortages this holiday season. Best Buy, Toys "R" Us and Target have stopped taking pre-orders in the US. Amazon maybe your best bet!

“The standout feature is the quality of the software line-up – the strongest we have seen on a new Nintendo console,” said Tesco’s games buying manager Jon Hayes.

GAME boss Martyn Gibbs added: “It is safe to say that anybody that gets their hands on it and plays it for half an hour will see exactly why they should be excited.”

I've pre-ordered a Premium Pack for £264, which is less than a N64 sans game pak in 1998. We're in a double-dip recession and new games consoles are not a priority for most consumers. However, the pack-in is excellent value when you factor-in a bundled game (Nintendo Land), accessories, Nintendo Network Premium and increased memory. It's worth noting there's no sensor bar included with the Basic Pack! There'll be a few unboxing faux pas on Christmas Day!

The Wii U is backwards compatible with most Wii games and accessories. However, there is no native GameCube support (including WaveBird controller). Storage space is expandable via external HDD, SD card and USB flash drive.

What do you think of the Wii U? Are you interested in pre-ordering one before its release? Let me know in comments.

Monday, 10 September 2012

Star Wars collection for sale!



A friend is selling his vintage Star Wars collection, which includes loose action figures, vehicles and playsets from the original trilogy!

Highlights include the Palitoy Death Star playset, which was only released in the UK and differs to the US edition, and boxed Slave I.



Any readers interested in making an offer for all (or parts of) this collection, please email for further details.

Friday, 3 August 2012

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan



Exploring the Mass Effect universe has dominated most evenings! The franchise is a stellar mashup of sci-fi concepts from the minds of Isaac Asimov, Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas to name but a few.

BioWare has officially confirmed the first premium single-player DLC on a par with Mass Effect 2's Lair of the Shadow Broker. Leviathan. Players will be able to further explore the origins of the Reapers in the oceanic depths of the planet Despoina.

Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard must discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever. Discover more about the origins of the Reapers as you race across the galaxy to find the Leviathan. Unravel the dark history of the Reaper Race before it is too late.

Taking place during the events of Mass Effect 3, players will be thrust into the darkest corners of space where they will hunt a mysterious being rumored to be powerful enough to destroy a Reaper. As they race against time, they will begin to unravel the secret of the Leviathan.


The developer has reiterated that Mass Effect 3 for Wii U will be more than a pedestrian port! Are you interested in replaying the game on Nintendo's next generation console or is Shepard's story at an end?

Thursday, 2 August 2012

Daleks, dinosaurs... Doctor Who is back!



A spectacular new promo image for the upcoming Doctor Who S7!

Generations of Daleks, dinosaurs on spaceships, Weeping Angels and the demise of Amy Pond?

Starting this Autumn on BBC One and BBC America! Watch the trailer here.

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

OS X Mountain Lion arrives on the App Store



Alas, my iMac (Late 2006) is too old to play nicely with OS X Mountain Lion! Let me know what you think of the latest iteration of OS X in comments. Apple's press release follows...

CUPERTINO, California—July 25, 2012— Apple® today announced that OS X® Mountain Lion, the ninth major release of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, is available as a download from the Mac® App Store℠. With more than 200 innovative new features, Mountain Lion includes iCloud® integration, the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Facebook integration*, Dictation, AirPlay® Mirroring and Game Center. Mountain Lion is available as an upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for $19.99.

“People are going to love the new features in Mountain Lion and how easy it is to download and install from the Mac App Store,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With iCloud integration, Mountain Lion is even easier to set up, and your important information stays up to date across all your devices so you can keep editing documents, taking notes, creating reminders, and continue conversations whether you started on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.”

With more than 200 innovative new features, Mountain Lion includes:

*iCloud integration, for easy set up of your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and keeping everything, including iWork® documents, up to date across all your devices; the all new 
*Messages app, which replaces iChat® and brings iMessage™ to the Mac, so you can send messages to anyone with an iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch® or another Mac;
*Notification Center, which streamlines the presentation of notifications and provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps; system-wide *Sharing, to make it easy to share links, photos, videos and other files quickly without having to switch to another app, and you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo; 
*Facebook integration, so you can post photos, links and comments with locations right from your apps, automatically add your Facebook friends to your Contacts, and even update your Facebook status from within Notification Center;
*Dictation, which allows you to dictate text anywhere you can type, whether you’re using an app from Apple or a third party developer;
*AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what’s on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV®, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay; and
*Game Center, which brings the popular social gaming network from iOS to the Mac so you can enjoy live, multiplayer games with friends whether they’re on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Additional features in Mountain Lion include the revolutionary new Gatekeeper, which makes downloading software from the Internet safer; Power Nap, which automatically updates your apps and system while your Mac is asleep; and a faster Safari® browser. New features for China include significantly improved text input, a new Chinese Dictionary, easy setup with popular email providers, Baidu search in Safari, and built-in sharing to Sina Weibo and popular video websites Youku and Tudou.

Pricing & Availability OS X Mountain Lion is available from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). Mountain Lion requires Lion or Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6.8 or later), 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space. For a complete list of system requirements and compatible systems, please visit: apple.com/osx/specs. OS X Server requires Mountain Lion and is available from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). The OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge from the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 11, 2012.

Download OS X Mountain Lion from the App Store

Thursday, 19 July 2012

My Xbox LIVE updated for iPad



A couple of weeks ago Microsoft updated its free iOS companion app with media control functionality. At the time I bemoaned lack of support for iPad…

This Tuesday that complaint was rendered moot! This is a welcome addition, but will leave users clamouring for more! For example you can't switch on the Xbox 360 or purchase games in-app. Presumably the good stuff will arrive in the form of SmartGlass later this year.

Download My Xbox LIVE (iTunes)

Saturday, 7 July 2012

Star Wars Origami session at Comic-Con 2012



If you are going to Comic-Con 2012, definitely stop by Room 7AB from 2-3pm on Friday, July 13th for the Star Wars Origami folding session with author and master origami artist Chris Alexander.

Chris will be leading a hands-on class, teaching you step-by-step how to fold an exclusive Comic-Con Boba Fett helmet, as well as a lightsaber and Han Solo in Carbonite. This is an event you won’t want to miss!

ABOUT THE BOOK
The Jedi Master of origami, Chris Alexander teaches young Padawans how to fold 36 amazing projects from a galaxy far, far away. All your favorite characters, creatures and objects from the Star Wars universe are here. Included in the book are 72 sheets of specially designed origami paper, so that once folded, the models look like they stepped out of the movie. August 7, 2012 | ISBN 978-0-7611-6943-7 | $16.95

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Alexander began doing origami at the age of four. Since then he’s created dozens of original designs, many of them Star Wars themed. He has a large Star Wars fan base and tours the country folding at conventions and museums. His website is www.starwarsorigami.com. He lives in Lancaster, California

Star Wars Origami will be available in bookstores August 7, 2012. Pre-order here.