New Syndicate trailer features more eye stabbing goodness

I just saw that EA has put up a new trailer for the upcoming Syndicate FPS game. This trailer explains how the special chip implanted in your brain is going to make your life a whole lot easier.

Syndicate should be out in February, so it won't be long until we can force people to commit gory suicide by hacking into their brain embedded hardware. I'm sure no parent organizations will have any problems with this at all!



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The best Sci-Fi movies of 2011

I have another guest post for you today. I've just been busy with bringing you my thoughts on the best sci-fi games of 2011. Now it's time to look at what great sci-fi works that we got from the world of cinema in 2011. Tyler has penned out his thoughts on which movies were the best at really tickling our sci-fi craving fancy (let me just state right away that I disagree strongly with Transformers 3 being on the list, but to each their own ;) )

Even though it seems the multiplex was stuffed with crappy romantic comedies or unnecessary sequels this year, 2011 did have its fair share of quality science fiction cinema. If you missed any of these, you should rent, download or stream them at warp speed.

1. Super 8
   
   Combine the writing and directing talents of J.J. Abrams, add in a side order of Spielberg channeling the early ‘80s magic of E.T. and sprinkle in some incredible acting done by kids no older than 12, and you’ve got a recipe for the year’s best sci-fi movie. From the intense and chaotic train crash, that everyone saw in the trailer way too many times, to the tension that comes from not knowing what’s going to happen next, to the superior performances and nostalgic ‘70s era cinematography, this was easily the year’s best.
   
   

   

   
   

2. Source Code

What may initially seem like Groundhog Day on a train is actually a taut thriller that consistently keeps the audience guessing and rooting on Capt. Colter Stevens. As a soldier who wakes up in the body of a man on a train that was eventually destroyed by a bomb, Jake Gyllenhaal gets only eight minute increments to investigate whatever he can to find out the identity of the bomber before they can wreak even more havoc. Yes, the premise sounds idiotic and redundant, but Source Code leaves you feeling thrilled and thoughtful.

Early Christmas present! Win a Steam copy of Fallout: New Vegas

It is the season for giving and so there is no better time for me to offer up a Steam copy of Fallout: New Vegas to a lucky reader.

Fallout: New Vegas is an excellent sci-fi RPG from 2010 that puts you into the boots of a courier in post-nuclear war wasteland Las Vegas.
It's a great open world game that is very similar to Skyrim in many respects (aside from the radioactively mutated ghouls, of course).

Check out this Gamespot video review for further info on the game.

So what do you have to do for a chance to win this super sci-fi title of 2010?
Simple, I want to hear about your best sci-fi experience of 2011. Whether it was the best sci-fi game you played, the best sci-fi movie you saw, your favorite sci-fi book or some other sci-fi related thing.

Just post your  personal favorite sci-fi "thingie" of the year below and let us know why it was so great and you'll have a chance to win the game. I will pick a winner based on most persuasive arguments and added points for an interesting story behind your nomination.

The contest will end on the 22nd of December 1PM CET, which means you will be able to spend some quality Christmas holiday time exploring the nuclear wastelands if you win. Fun for the whole family!



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Two new Command & Conquer games announced - One is a Generals 2 and the other a Browser game... WTF EA?!

In a great bait and switch, not seen done with such flair since George Lucas brought us the Star Wars prequels, EA has announced that they'll be bringing us two new games in the beloved C&C franchise.
This was followed by much cheering that was immediately turned into cries of outrage and despair as the nature of these two new installments was revealed.

The first new C&C game announced was a sequel to the very so-so 2003 game "C&C: Generals".
It's not that generals was terrible but it was certainly the least interesting outing in the C&C franchise if we ignore the horrible steaming pile of cyber poop that was C&C 4.
At least we can take solace in the fact that it's being developed by a new BioWare studio, so fingers crossed. The game won't be out until 2013, so it's much too early to say if it's looking good, but I'm going to miss my Brotherhood of Nod stealth tanks.

At least there appears to be Orcas in the game. That's always a plus

While I can at least maintain some semblance of cautious optimism about Generals 2, I have a whole lot more trouble feeling up beat about the other new C&C game; Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances.


Details about the game are not yet available, save for this one soul crushing one; it's going to be an online browser based game... 


Take a look at the announcement trailer yourself and make your own call:

Bleh, I would much rather have had another Red Alert game..



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Announcing the winner and runner up for Sci-Fi Game of the Year

Last week I went over the games that managed to claw their way to the top 5-3 places on our Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 list. Today it’s time to finally reveal which game ends up snatching the title of the greatest science fiction themed video game of 2011 and which game made has to make do with the not quite so glorious title of runner up.

So without anymore further introduction let's dive right in.

Runner up: Portal 2

When the first Portal game came out with the “Orange Box” in 2007 I was pretty blown away by the game.

Initially by the really cool gameplay mechanics of the portal gun, which allows you place a two way portal on most surfaces of the game and allows for some truly mind bending puzzles that make you feel insanely clever when you finally figure them out. 

But as I got deeper into the game, the quirky humor became a great part of the experience, and I found myself actually laughing out loud several times during Chell’s daring attempt to escape the Aperture Science facility.

My favorite Portal 1 comedy moment was probably this gem that GLaDOS, the AI antagonist of the game, delivers to you as you are getting quite close to escaping: 

“We are pleased that you made it through the final challenge where we pretended we were going to murder you. We are very very happy for your success. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Place the device on the ground, then lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party. Make no further attempt to leave the testing area. Assume the Party Escort Submission Position, or you will miss the party”.

(By the way, you can find a comprehensive list of GLaDOS quotes here, there’s some top notch quality comedy in there)

GLaDOS is still around in Portal 2, even if she's looking a little worse for wear

The first Portal game was a pretty short affair, so when Portal 2 was announced and it was revealed that it would be a full 6-7 hour gaming experience I was happier than a test subject who just found out he was in the placebo sample group.

BioWare hints that they'll eventually add "Guild Capital Ships" to The Old Republic

I was just having a look over at the official SWTOR site and I found this page outlining the planned additional content that BioWare will be working on adding to the game.

It should come as no surprise that BioWare is going to be adding more flashpoints and operations into the game, nor that they are planning on bringing additional PvP content to the game. That's all pretty much standard MMO content patching stuff.

But what came as quite a nice surprise was this juicy piece of info: "Eventually we even want to deliver on the promise of the long hinted at “Guild Capital Ships”."

Hopefully your guild capital ship will be a little less... on fire and crashing through the atmosphere

Now admittedly for all practical intents and purposes a guild capital ship is probably not going to be a whole lot different from just a guild hall, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm enough of a Star Wars geek that the idea of having a Star Destroyer (Sorry, I mean a Sith Battlecruiser) as guilding housing is pretty damn cool.

BioWare, shut up and take my money!



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Sci-Fi Do Want: ED-209 from Robocop

It's time to go for another trip down the halls of the sci-fi archives and pick out another "do want" from the crowded shelves, just overflowing with awesome futuristic gadgets and gizmos. After the last entry, which was the rather peaceful Spacing Guild Highliner from the Dune universe I thought it was time to pull out something with a little more punch.
Like maybe three 20mm machine guns. Oh, and a rocket launcher would be sweet.

Well, do I have just the thing for you! I present the mighty mech-like robot "ED-209" of "RoboCop" fame.

Awww, he's so cute when he wants to hug

Yes, it's the Enforcement Droid series 209, the friendly robotic neighborhood policeman available soon(subject to approval, may not happen) near you. Brought to you by your favorite almost non-evil multi-national corporation OCP (Omni Consumer Products).

Light Speed Gaming Sci-Fi Game of the Year "Readers' Choice" - Augmentations FTW!

It's time to find out which game won the "Readers's Choice" Sci-Fi Game of the Year here on Light Speed Gaming.
When I last gave you an update on the situation Deus Ex: Human Revolution was leading by a single vote, with both Portal 2 and Dawn of War 2: Retribution right behind this elbow blade waving RPG.

Since then there's been a massive show of support for Deus Ex and in the end it ended up with a very comfortable victory, completely obliterating eclipsing the competition, like Lady Gaga at a high school talent show.

I think a victory smoke is in order, Mr. Jensen

I can't say that Deus Ex taking the title was a big surprise, but I was expecting that some of the other titles, particularly Portal 2, would give it a real run for its money. There's no doubt that Deus Ex was a fantastic game and Eidos has done an incredible job at bringing this once most beloved franchise back into peak fighting form.

Stay tuned for my last post on the Light Speed Gaming Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 on Thursday, which will reveal the my winner and runner up. Will I agree with the choice of the readers or did something else grab me as the ultimate fictitious of science gaming experience in 2011?

Also, a huge thanks to everyone that voted in the poll. I appreciate you taking the time to vote!



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The final hours of the Arisen Imperial flagship ”The Lightbringer” - September 4933 (Part 1)

Today I thought I'd bring you something a little different. Aside from my blog writing endeavours I have also been doing a bit of fiction writing on the side. I'd like to share a bit of my writings with you and I hope you'll enjoy them.
Any feedback would be most appreciated. If this is something that people enjoy, then I might share more of my writings here from time to time. 


Alpha Admiral Djenkato stared at the monitors with horrid disbelief. Somehow this supposed rabble of crazed fanatics were beating back her masterfully planned invasion. There could be no doubt now that, after three weeks of fighting, the Imperial forces were beaten.
And it all started so well, the admiral thought. The Arisen force had arrived 23 days ago as a silvery gleaming fist of unbridled power. Her ship “The Lightbringer” had spearheaded the attack on the orbiting planetary defences and obliterated them all in short order with minimal loss of support craft. The planet invasion force had launched from her fleet and within days, all but two of the strategically significant locations had been captured.


Then the Neo-Luddite reinforcements arrived. It started with reports from the planet of massive counterattacks from forces that had seemingly been kept out of the initial combat. It became apparent that large parts of Foenix’s underground was hollow and filled to the brim with Luddite fanatics, who rose up in a coordinated move that wiped out half of the entire invasion force in less than 24 hours. After the initial shock of the surprise attack the Arisen force had managed to consolidate their perimeters and were holding their ground, albeit only barely. For a time Djenkato believed the operation could still be saved with liberal use of the massive orbital bombardment capabilities of her, still almost completely intact, orbiting space fleet.

“Admiral, the final ships from Foenix are aboard the fleet. There are no more Imperial forces left on the planet.” The voice of one of Djenkato’s subordinates broke her line of thought and she looked up from the monitors, blinking a few times to clear her head and focus on the matter at hand. “Very well, lieutenant. Order the fleet to begin withdrawing from orbit and set a course back into Imperial territory. We will remain to hold off the Luddite forces along with the Vengance and Justice until the rest of the fleet is safely away.”

Coming up in the week of December 12 on Light Speed Gaming

Another week has been forever lost to us in the hazy depths of time and that means it's time to look back at what nurturing digital gruel was served to you here on Light Speed Gaming and what we have cooking in our cyber pots for next week.

The first big blog nugget this week was my review of Skyrim, which saw me finally get down to the gritty business of passing judgement on the latest medieval shouting sim from Bethesda. 

Next up it was time to reveal the games that made it onto the top 5-3 places in the Light Speed Gaming Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 awards. Warhammer 40k made its presence known in this outing by wrapping its ceramic armored hand around two of the places.

A guest post introduced us to the TV show "Alphas" and why it could be the show that "Heroes" was supposed to have been. Thanks goes to James Ged for this post.

Kicking off the weekend was my attempt to create a Christmas gift buying guide by making a top 10 of great sci-fi blu ray movies. This list had the unintentional side effect of almost tricking myself into buying several of the movies and thus using precious funds that are earmarked for gifts to other people... stupid Christmas.

The week was rounded off by my post detailing my overall impressions of the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta test and a terrific guest post by Simon Horrick, who contributed with a great post on sci-fi and the movie he is working on called "Third Contact". A big thanks to Simon.

My god... it's full of stars!

So as we stand upon the precipice of the termination of this week and the initiation of the next, let's see what's in the works for you to consume on Light Speed Gaming.

A Living Machine With A Human Heart

Today I have another great guest post for you. This time Simon Horrocks  has taken some time to give us a fascinating look at the disturbing sci-fi movie "Third Contact", which he is currently working on.

Science fiction, known as a ‘literature of ideas’, has emerged as a genre only in relatively recent human history. We looked out into a vast, unfathomable universe and saw that we were far from the centre of it. So, something of an irony, then, that the more science enables us to dominate our environment, the less in control of it we feel.

Set in dystopian futures where civilisation has broken down, or inflicting on us irresistable warrior-races from alien worlds, or even monsters of our own making (from Frankenstein’s creation to The Terminator’s Skynet and beyond), sci-fi reflects an age of human paranoia, where every new discovery forces us to question everything around us.

American novelist Philip K. Dick’s stories were mostly driven by one theme; a question central to our existence – what does it mean to be human? Are we no more than a genetic machine? Are we merely a device for carrying memories around? If one day we can replicate this machine, so that neither we nor the machine can spot the difference, will this machine be human too?

But now some science has apparently lost the plot entirely. Yes, at the sub-atomic level, things are looking increasingly weird. You can be put in a box and be both dead and alive at the same time. The Quantum Suicide thought experiment suggests the conscious mind is immortal. As The Joker says in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight – “Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you… stranger.”

The Steampunk trend is perhaps a reaction to these uncertain times, harking back to a day when science was as unsettling as a chemistry set on Christmas morning. H. G. Wells time machine was, somewhat quaintly, made out of nickel, ivory bars and ‘sawn out of rock crystal’. The intrepid Time Traveller embarks on his journey by pulling smartly on the machine’s ‘starting lever’.

However, there is perhaps a suggestion Wells had some foreknowledge of the Many Worlds theory and immortality. As the Time Traveller is about to set off on his journey, he describes the moment he is about to operate the machine as “a suicide holding a pistol to his skull”. Did he somehow get a premonition of the Quantum Suicide idea?

At some point in the (probably not too distant) future, ideas we now consider the height of cutting-edge sophistication, will inevitably seem humorously quaint to those looking backwards. But we science fiction creators hope we will have touched on some timeless theme, even if it’s a little bit by accident.

So it was, in 2007, I began to write a story about the uncertainty of everything. That story, through various incarnations, eventually became a movie, Third Contact. At the time, I was moving through many dark places in my mind. They’re not always the most pleasant places to be, but what I brought back from those lightless caves went into the screenplays I was writing.