Win A Counter Strike/Counter Strike: Source Server for Free

Yes, my good friend F!SH is giving away a server for Counter Strike or Counter Strike: Source (whichever you prefer) to the person, or group, that designs the best banner to advertise his website and clan, and I assure you this is 100% genuine.

Full details, terms and conditions, and rules are all here

If you think you can create a banner good enough to win this competition, register with us and post your entry before 1st September [ 01.09.08 ] for your chance to win.

Martin ‘F!5H’ Andersson is kindly giving away a server, completely free, and all you have to do is create a banner for us. Details and rules are below.

The banner must link back to the Sensitivity website homepage, and must be as appealing and interesting as possible. Preferably featuring either CodD 4, Warcraft 3, CS, or CS:S. The size of the banner must be 600×140. The banner must also include the slogan ‘More Power In Game’ and the title ‘#Sensitivity’.

Post all your entries HERE to enter.

There will only be one winner, although a clan/multiple people may enter as one entry. The server can be used for either Counter Strike 1.6, or Counter Strike:Source, and the winner will receive their own server, completely free with full admin status for 6 months, no fee’s are required and there are no payments of any kind.

Good Luck!

For your completely free chance to win the server, Enter here

Echochrome - PSP Review

Echochrome is a release on the PSP which I totally missed. It was only after being told about its existence by a friend that I found out about it. If I had missed out on this game I would never know about one of the most challenging and unique games out there.

Echochrome is a puzzle game. It does not rely on graphics, music, special effects, or even a plot or storyline. There are no real characters to speak of (only a few tiny stick men type people with no faces) and there is no end goal. So why then, is this game so amazing? Read on.

Echochrome’s brilliance is in it’s simplicity. The puzzles involve manipulating the perspective that you see. You move the camera around the paths in order to create new paths for you character to walk across to reach their goal. This starts very simple, and gradually becomes harder and harder. If you’re looking for seriously tricky logic puzzles or spatial awareness puzzles then this game is 100% for you. Imagine you are standing very high or very low near a skyscraper, then being able to walk to the adjacent building because the sides are touching in one line. Here is a gameplay video to help.

It’s not only about creating new paths however. There are floor pads which shoot your little man into the air to reach a new path, and likewise, there are holes in the floor to fall to other paths. Combine all these elements and you have a complicated way of thinking the puzzle through already. Sometimes it’s trial and error but you quickly become accustomed to the game’s unique style.

One of the reasons the game works so well on the PSP is that its great to have a few minutes spare and do one or two puzzles. You don’t get bogged down in storyline or cut-scenes, and above all, it’s fantastic to have an original and innovative game in the current era of next-gen super HD graphics and SFX.

The game isn’t perfect though, and there are flaws in the actual concept - brilliant as it is. The most evident is that there is not much in terms of longevity. Once I’ve done a puzzle I have little to no desire to do it again. The level and map won’t change if I do it again. It’s unlike say, Burnout, GRID or FIFA, where the game is different each time you play it. Another thing is the music while relaxing is jading to me and I always have it off. After a while the maps do seem repetitive and it is incredibly frustrating at times.

I think you would have to WANT this game to buy it, I mean, a lot of people will find it boring and pointless. On the other hand, I find it intriguing and genuinely a fun experience, and however frustrating at times it is, this challenging and frustrating mix actually makes it somewhat addictive.

Overall - 8/10

Elliot Minor HQ Widescreen Wallpapers

Taken from this weeks, 23.07.08, Kerrang! Magazine. They are all in widescreen, so if you want a square screen you will need to leave a request in the comments.

1280×800
1440×900
1680×1050
1920×1200

Hayley Williams’ New Piercing

Yes, Paramore’s leading lady has had a septum ring put in (lame news I know, but it’s a slow day and it’s also an excuse to post some more pics of Hayley)

Good on her for doing what she wants. I’m not sure I like it that much, but it’s her nose so she can do whatever the hell she wants with it. She’s not going to care what I think. I don’t really think it’s that big a deal, so as long as the amazing songs keep coming, which I know they will, good on ya girl!

Thoughts?

Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs - DVD Review

Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs, is not the snappiest of titles. This won’t stop the legions of Futurama fans from buying the feature length DVD. The previous DVD release, ‘Bender’s Big Score’ to me was an absolute triumph in all respects. It was everything I wanted it to be; clever, witty, touching, and even managed to keep the continuity of the series going, even after several time travel outings into previous episodes. TBWABB directly carries on (although does not mention the previous film at all) and is number two of four direct to DVD outings for Futurama, which will essentially make up a new series.

Unlike Bender’s Big Score however, TBWABB fails to deliver to the incredibly high standard that Futurama has set for itself. The main problem with it for me was the plot. It weaves in and out of so many needless story lines that the central theme is entangled and ends up being confusing and uninteresting. At times, it even seems like the guest stars are added just for the sake of it, rather than actually having some meaning to the story. This is most evident when the Robot Devil and Stephen Hawking appear, for no real reason other than to ‘feature’ and then disappear for the rest of the film. The recurring theme of togetherness and love doesn’t really make for an interesting episode, at least not at this length.

I think it was trying to be clever and mix together all the parts which make up love and relationships into the plot, using the sub story lines, and maybe it lost some of its direction along the way.

The classic Futurama wit is still in there though, and there are lots of scenes which will get plenty of laughs. The Death Ball scene is fantastic and the marvellous Zapp Brannigan appears on screen much more this time around, which can only be a good thing. There aren’t as many laughs as in Bender’s Big score, but there are still enough to keep the fans happy.

The film is still snappy, funny, and worth a watch (it’s mainly one for fans though) but the plot is key, and the dull main story just doesn’t grab you the way Benders Big Score did.

Overall - 6.5/10

Diablo 3 HQ Wallpaper #2

As promised, here is selection number two of three Diablo III wallpapers.

1024×768
1280×800
1280×1024
1440×900
1600×1000
1600×1200

Daily Mail; “Facebook Generation Are Bored By Reality”

Yes, another week another load of horse shit from the Daily Mail. This week, online social networking and IM communication is being blamed for the suicide of a group of young people in Bridgend. I guess My Chemical Romance were busy….

The headline of this article and the subsequent details are saying that social networking makes real life seem dull and boring, which could lead to extreme behaviour; I.e suicide;

“The popularity of Facebook and other social networking websites could be creating a generation of children who find it difficult to form lasting friendships and find real life boring, doctors have warned.

The annual conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists heard those born after 1990 have grown up in a world dominated by online social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.”

Well, no arguments against that, although I would point out that not everyone uses such sites.

“Dr Tyagi, of the West London Mental Health NHS Trust, said: ‘This is the age group involved with the Bridgend suicides and what many of these young people had in common was their use of the internet to communicate.

….Possible examples include the spate of suicides in Bridgend.  Twenty two young men and women from the South Wales town have taken their lives in recent months, amid suggestions of an Internet suicide pact although there is no clear evidence of this.”

See, here is the problem. The Daily Mail as usual does 2+2 and ends up with 92,678,462. Yes, twenty two people took their lives and also used Myspace, Facebook etc, except roughly 120 million other people use the same sites and live perfectly normal and healthy lives. Using dramatic headlines is what sells papers, and the shocking language is obviously used to get people onside. What the article conveniently neglects to mention is the vast benefits of utilising the Internet to stay in touch with people. Friends and family who may have been scattered all over the country, even the world, can chat in real-time for free over the Internet. If the Daily Mail really knew what they were talking about they would say what an incredible tool the Internet is for people to stay in touch and socialise more, not less.

Looking for (and usually inventing) connections in tragic events that simply don’t exist, is what the Daily Mail does every single week. Looking to blame something whether its technology or a band or whatever, when there is no blame, just sturs up unnecessary anger in people. However sad and tragic these events are, assigning blame just for the sake of it, does no good at all. The facts given are irrelevant to the article, the quotes from psychologists are biased, and the way that using social network sites are blamed does not make any sense. The sooner people stop buying this rag the better.

Rugby Replaced With Pr0n!

I find this more amusing than I probably should, but what can I say except that yes, I am very immature at times. When the report came (OK, bad choice of word for this particular blog) onto the radio earlier this week I was almost crying with laughter.

New Zealand rugby fans watching a regular sports programme found themselves viewing hardcore pornography instead on Sunday afternoon.

Four minutes of pornography interrupted sports coverage on the Prime Television channel, after what a spokesman described as a distribution mix up.

The pornographic footage was meant for an adult pay-per-view channel. Instead, it found its way onto a regular free-to-air programme called “Grassroots Rugby”.

Rival television channels reported that some viewers were angry about the broadcast, which may have been seen by children.

I was always thought Rugby was just an excuse for all sorts of sexual activity, so it’s reassuring to know that this ‘distribution mix up’ proves it. It could easily have been a prank within the TV network - It’s the kind of thing I would do, only I would use The Antiques Roadshow instead of a rugby game. Or better yet, do it the other way; interupt the hardcore porn with an episode of The Antiques Roadshow. I’ll add that to my ‘things to do before I die’ list.

Source: BBC News