A Swift, Heavy Blow, Felling One's Foe Immediately (For Preference)

Went to see an interesting film this evening. It was called Sucker Punch, and was, as has been said, rather interesting. The premise can be boiled down to two things.
1) The Key to Freedom is in ones own mind.
2) Each Person has whatever weapons they will need for whatever they need to do.

I will also point out that throughout the entire film, there are naught more than perhaps seven of the major characters I would not cheerfully carve the Blood-Eagle into. And even one of those is questionable. That is roughly half the cast...

Anyway, basically, this woman dies. She leaves everything to her two daughters. Their guardian does not like this. Bad things happen. They end with younger daughter dead, and older daughter placed in a psych ward. A rather dodgy one. Like to the point where one of the orderly's is willing to take two grand in exchange for making those arrangements to have poor little daughter, referred to as Baby Doll, Lobotomized. Including forging the Doctor's signature.

Anyway, poor little baby doll takes refuge in her own mind, creating a fantasy world. And then, in that rather dark world, she proceeds to create even more fantasy worlds. And she drags her fellow inmates into them. They are rather fantastical ones too. Very Steampunkish, and one has shades of Final Fantasy in it. There be a very well done Dragon at some point. She is given a quest to do by someone in her dream, in order to win freedom. And the film follows that quest.

The ending was not how I'd have done it, and there were a few loose ends they neglected to tie up, but it was a fairly decent film, all things considered. My biggest quibble was that the lovely disk-pommeled Zweihander (it looked like a Zweihander hilt at least) remained in its scabbard the entire time... I mean seriously. On the other hand, they countered this with a Mammen-headed hatchet. And a very nice Flintlock pistol and Stilleto combo. And I suppose in theory, loathe as I am to admit it, There was a rather nice Katana. Which was fairly well used. I'd still have rather seen the Zweihander.

Of The C'Tan and the Ancient Enemy and the Mon-Keigh

Well. I promised when I finished another Soulstorm campaign, I'd give you a description. This feat has now been accomplished. The Eldar have now claimed victory in the Kaurava conflict, and it wasn't as difficult as I'd reckoned it would be.

The end video for the campaign was also rather good, as I hadn't been certain how they would tie it up.

Anyway, tactical details. The Eldar units tend to be a shade on the weaker side than most. Their greatest advantage is in mobility. Especially seeing as no unit is good at more than one thing. And for the standard infantry, Guardian squads, that one thing is falling over. Anyway. Back to the point. All the Eldar vehicles bar two are capable of jumping over obstacles. And one of the others is an Aircraft. A rather useless (in my opinion) aircraft, but then again, the only Soulstorm aircraft I have time for is the Tau Barracuda. And possibly the Ork Fighta-Bomba, but that remains to be seen. Anyway. The other major advantage the Eldar have is the ability to build Webway gates. This leaves them independent of Strategic points and HQ for siting buildings, as the Gates can go anywhere, and project a control area around them permitting building in the area. Oh. And they can be upgraded to cloak all buildings in that area. And they can be upgraded to heal nearby infantry. And to move buildings around. And they can be garrisonned with infantry with the end result being those infantry being capable of being instantly transported to any other Webway gate on the map. There were at least three HQ's which went down by having 4 Bonesingers (construction units) teleport (oh yeah, Eldar constructors can teleport) into the enemy base, put up a Webway gate, cloak it, and then teleport half a dozen plus anti-vehicle/building turrets while the gate disgorged anti-building fire dragon squads.

When I began to go up against the races that are very good at picking out invisible things, I changed tactics. I would build a pair of Fire Prisms. And pair them up with three Falcon transports loaded with Fire Dragons. They would bull their way in, disgorge their loads, and cry havoc. Alternately, six Wraithlords with brightlances make a rather effective assault force, tearing their way through an entire chaos base, defended by multiple defilers, horrors, and obliterators. And then, I got hold of Relics. Cue the arrival of Khaela Mensha Khaine. Oh, yes, the Eldar are one of the two races that can summon a deity to the field. And not a minor one. No Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God of Death is one of the major Eldar gods. And they can summon him. Or at least an Avatar of him. Who immediately boosts squad and vehicle cap. (Cue a squad of Howling Banshees, Melee troops extraordinaire, normally two of them, and a harlequin. And also a trio of Wraithlords and a Vyper jetbike.) About the time he shows up, my three squads of Fire Dragons pair up with my Farseer, however many melee troops I've rallied, and a seer council. Oh. and more tanks than it be wise to shake a stick at. Cue a berserk rush that felled the forces of Chaos. and the Sister's of Battle (Seeing an Avatar of Khaine dueling a Living Saint was amusing.) And the Imperial Guard.

Oh. And I was far more mobile than I normally am. Normally I tend to fort up, hold where I started and slam out surgical strikes repeatedly until I claim victory. With the Eldar it was rare for me to have less than three complete bases. All of them cloaked. And I tended to hold every strategic point, with cloaked listening posts on most of them, by the end of the majority of maps. All told, it was rather fun. Going to play their... less friendly brethren next. The first few Dark Eldar missions have been buggers. Especially the Guard HQ. But more on that later...

STAND UP AND FIGHT!

Stand up and step into the light
Pushing the clouds away

Stand Up and Fight
Stand up and watch the sky grow bright
Fight for a better Day
STAND UP AND FIGHT!

And now that that is out of my system... I be certain some folks will recognise that as lyrics from the aptly named song Stand Up And Fight, title track of the new album by Turisas. Which I shall now review. Said review taking the form of two seperate parts. please ignore the first. As it is basically the response of a massive Turisas fan and Vikingr Geek to hearing the album

Ahem! AWESOME BRILLIANT GLORIOUS!

And now that I have been able to restrain myself.

For those who don't know, you poor, poor, deprived souls, Turisas is a Metal Band. Specifically a Folk Metal Band out of Finland. They tend to sing of Vikingy things, with a particular emphasis on the Norse spread out east, into Novgorod (Now western Russia) and south to the Byzantine Empire (Think Turkey, only bigger, predominantly Christian, and regardless of how Roman they pretended to be, mostly Greek.)
In fact, a major theme of their second album, The Varangian Way, was travelling to Constantinople, known at that time to the Norse as Miklagaard. Now, in Stand Up And Fight, we have arrived, to join the Varangian Guard.

The first song on the album, The March Of The Varangian Guard is basically a description of the guard, and of how one got their from Norse lands. It is very well done, and one of my favourite tracks on the Album. After the title itself, it probably is the strongest track on it.

It is followed by Take The Day, which whilst a good song, has little I found excessively distinctive. On the other hand, song 3, Hunting Pirates is brilliant fun. Even those three songs show wildly differing styles, one of Turisas's major strong points.

Track four I would tentativelly describe as an attempt to repeat the successful pattern of In The Courts Of Jarisleif. Sadly it is only, in my mind, partially successful. The music does bring to mind the events it is meant to, or at least, their modern equivalents, but the words are spoken, rather than sung, and I personally much favour Jarisleif. Taken on its own merits, it certainly stands high enough, but I can't help but compare it to Jarisleif, in whose shadow it pales greatly.

Title Track is number 5. It's also an Epic song. And it gives a lesson that everyone should take to heart. No sense in just giving in to fate, we must struggle to make things better.

Track 6, to a student of Norse, or even Norman/English/Anglo-Saxon history is rather amusing. It be about the last great Viking raider. Or at least, the person most historians attribute that title to, slain in his prime at the battle of Stamford Bridge... But I can get into his history later, the poor unlucky sod...

Track 7, entitled Fear The Fear is in my mind the weakest track on the album, but this may just be the departure from traditional Turisas subject matter. It does however mention another valuable lesson, about how fear should never prevent on from doing what one believes needs done.

As for eight, it describes the end of the Byzantine empire, and is very well done. As for track nine, It is a quote from one Hakon Halfdanson, around 1043. I believe he was Norse royalty, possibly Norwegian, exiled by the sons of the Bloodaxe during their brief period on the Norwegian Throne. On the other hand I'm probably wrong.

In conclusion, I must describe the album as Epic. And quite possibly their strongest to date. Tune in Monday to see my ideal Turisas Setlist...

Dawn Of War

Well... I don't really have anything to blog about, on accounts of never really doing anything... So I have decided to do a write-up on Dawn Of War 1. The Wrhammer 40,000 RTS for PC. Specifically, its Third Add-On, and in more specifics, the Single-Player Campaign, and those three races I have completed it with, and the Fourth I am working on at the moment.

Now, the campaign is set in the Kaurava system, which contains 4 Habitable worlds, labelled Kaurava 1 through 4, and three habited moons, Irridene and Nan Yanoi, orbiting 2, and Lacunae orbiting 4. Anyway, the campaign starts shortly after the arrival in-system of a Warp Storm, which Delivers and or Traps nine feuding Armies in the system, all of whom have their own Nefarious reasons for wanting control of it. (It's what I love about the 40K universe. Not one of the Factions is out and out good. In fact there are good reasons to avoid all of them)

Anyway, seeing as how they didn't bring the 'Nids in till Dawn of War 2 I started out playing the Space Marines. Doing it on Normal difficulty. And rapidly discovered that few things can chew through two squads of Heavy Bolter armed marines backed up by one with Missile Launchers. Which will hold your base whilst you land drops pods or teleport in your Commander. And your Librarian. And your Chaplain. and A Dreadnought. And two squads (Minimum) of Terminatours. and a squad of Grey Knights. right into the enemy base. or you can build a few sets of Marine detachments and leapfrog them up. Or a Land Raider paired with two Predator Annihilators can smash right through most fixed defenses. True, the Dark Eldar HQ posed a problem, and the Battle Sisters HQ, but slight adaptation of tactics got me round that.

I played the Tau next. I favoured advances of my Commander supported only by my Hammerheads and Sky Rays (Missile Barrage is broken. Especially when dealing with infiltrators) I'd use Barracuda's for surgical strikes on specific targets, and got the Orc HQ that way. The Tau don't get any fixed defenses, but the XV-88 Broadside is a deployable infantry unit that does one hell of a Job. Twin-Linked heavy railguns. Fell most things with ease. A fact which makes fighting the Tau a bugger (I favour Terminatours or Dreadnoughts with Assault Cannons, or fast melee troops. Or the Bloodthirster.) Also, Kroot Carnivore squads equipped with a shaper will chew through most infantry. Throwing Kroot Hounds at Gretchen is amusing, although I've never really found much use for the Krootox.

Now, as can be seen, I like swift, hard-hitting strikes, or deep-strike deployments. Something that posed me problems playing as the Imperial Guard. I wound up having to play them like their fluff demands. Human Wave attacks backed up by Basilisks. At times I tried wave attacks of Hellhounds or Sentinels, or even both. The Guard campaign was, for me at least, a long boring slog. Never do it again. But that's probably just me. I never did like the Imperial Guard.

And that bring us neatly to the fourth and final race I be going over here. Chaos Undivided. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, having tried them a few times before, and never enjoyed it, but I like the play style I've developed for them. I tend to use Mostly Chaos Marines. With Bolters. I'll pair my Commander with a squad of Possessed (At least I would. He's a full-blooded Daemon Prince now, so the Sorceror goes with the Possessed.) Stick four defilers at his heels. And a Sorceror. 5 Squads of Bolter armed marines will guard my base, backed up by a pair of predators. Normally Annihilators. As soon as my Commander, his Possessed, and the Defilers hit the enemy base, they tend to get a squad of Obliterators and a few of Horrors dropped on them. And as soon as I have a relic the Bloodthirster joins them. The Chaos forces start sharing Kaurave IV with the Dark Eldar. I've ignored the Dark Eldar, fortified my HQ to The Warp and Gone. I started by moving in on Kaurava II and wiped out the Space Marines. The battle was mostly a straight up rush by Hell Talon fighters to get close enough to bombard their HQ while I dropped Obliterators and Horrors on it. Took two attempts to get it right, but get it right I did. The Orcs fell next, as I gradually secured most of the planet. That battle we systematically slaughtered them. There was not a single, living Ork or Gretchen in the Rokclaw mountains when I destroyed their Settlement and won the mission. After that it was a simple matter of regrouping, reinforcing and launching an attack on the Tau HQ of Nan Yanoi, where I did basically the same. I then moved onto Kaurava I. I started by seizing every territory bar the Battle Sisters and Imperial Guard HQ's. I then moved in on the Sisters. Systematically destroyed everything bar their final base, which by a fluke of chance I left mostly intact. (Their forces had effectively wiped out my assault force whilst the Living Saint, Anais, went toe-to-toe with a Bloodthirster of Khorne. When the Living Saint decided to flee, the Bloodthirster decided to destroy their HQ)

Am even now (Or at least I will be when I load the game again) reducing the Guard HQ, which has basically been reduced to a few scattered, ineffective bases, and their main HQ. But I have a Daemon Prince, and free access to a relic, and thus they will soon be in reciept of a major incursion (A Bloodthirster, a Daemon Prince, a squad of Obliterators, and whatever supports I feel like rustling up. Probably Horrors and Hell Talons, its what I've been going with so far...)

Anyway, When I complete a campaign, I may give a rundown of tactics used, and how it went...
Assuming people are interested... 

Of Wolf and Tau

Out from the new days mist we run
Out from the new days mist we have come...

And on that note, was at Wargaming again today. The Space Wolf forces under the command of Veteran Wolf Guard Battle Leader ( Using Wolf Lord Rules) Lorlen found themselves fighting against the forces of the Tau.

Not certain which sept, but their colouration was pale blues and greys. (Or at least it was on those painted.)

The Tau forces reacted swifter than the Wolves expected, deploying troops in response to our incursion, and even launching a counterattack before we were in position. As the first Space Wolves took the field, they found a pair of squads of Fire Warriors, each a dozen strong, and a Crisis Suited commander with a pair of gun drones. But even as Lorlen and the two squads of five Grey Hunters took their positions, a Hammerhead, a Piranha, another Crisis Suit, an XV88 Broadside, and a flight of Gun Drones moved up from reserve. They fired on the Marines, Railgun submunitions felling a Hunter. In response, a Land Raider Redeemer and a squad of Long Fangs advanced to support the Grey Hunters. On the Wolves left flank, the remaining Hunters took a sand-bagged position, and on the right, they moved out from cover to fire upon the Fire Warriors. The long fangs formed a well spaced line on a rise, and the Korgon rolled forward, Assault Cannons cutting down a trio of Fire Warriors. They proceeded to withdraw, occasionally regrouping but never for long. Now the battle was joined in earnest, the Tau firing away at their foes, but to little avail. The Korgon rumbled forward, shrugging off fire, and the Long Fangs disabled the Hammerheads main gun. the XV88 glanced a round off the front of the Korgon but fell to its fire. Meanwhile Lorlen rushed the Tau Commander, and in the end, slew him, as the Korgon rammed the Piranha to no avail. As a Stealth Suit team infiltrated towards the Long Fangs position, they were gunned down by the few remaining grey hunters who held the sandbagged trench, with the last being finished off by the long fangs themselves, taking two Lascannons at point blank range. Even as they did so, the Korgon pivoted, drenching the Piranha in flame as Lorlen immobilized it with his Plasma Pistol... The Fire Warriors the Korgon had intended to fire upon had moved out of its line of sight, so it instead gunned down the crisis suit. Then, as the last of the Grey Hunters holding the Sandbags blew himself up with his plasma cannon, the Long Fangs obliterated the remaining fire warriors, whilst the Korgon gunned down the drones.

All told, the battle was a Victory for the Space Wolves, with the loss of Seven Grey Hunters and 2 Fenrisian Wolves for some 24 Fire Warriors, 8 Gun Drones, 2 XV8 Crisis Suits, 3 XV25 Stealthsuits, an XV88 Broadside, an immobilized Piranha and a Hammerhead shy its main gun...

FOR RUSS AND THE EMPEROR!

Pogue Ma Thoin

Well, last night saw me again at the pub in town that derives its name from the above. The Pogue Mahones Irish Alehouse, Kamloops B.C. They had an indie rock gig. Now, I don't tend to listen to much Indie Rock, but seeing as I can't make it to Rock Night back at uni (Bloody Oceans and Continents getting in the way...) I figured I'd give it a go.

The first band to take the stage was the Saucy Wenches. Now, to paraphrase a certain historian who will remain nameless (Mostly because I don't know his/her/its name) In what way were they Saucy, or indeed, Wenches. Seeing as they were all male. Such a shame. I'd been expecting hot lasses in Corsets and short skirts. Ah well. They weren't bad, and finished on a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover (don't ask me which. I'm bad at remembering such things when I'm sober. I wasn't)

The next band was a group called Angel Down. I approved of them. And still do. I approve mightily. Wouldn't call them rock, I personally thought them closer to metal, myself. They made an announcement, not long after beginning their set. Any Man, or Woman, who stood to the fore, and rocked out hard, wouldst, after, be given a free copy of their EP, entitled Little Red Devil. The title track is rather good. See. I was right at the front. And mindly inebriated. And already headbanging away happily. In my kilt. Wearing Tyr, and Pagan pendants. The chappy at the merchandise desk saw me coming a mile off. He was already handing me the disc when I was starting to ask if they had been serious. It's rather good. Must go hear them again at some point. They even gave us an Encore when we demanded it.

The third and final band was one called Throttlecaster, and again I'd tilt them more towards the metal side of things. But again, they were good. Sadly, they did not give me a free cd, but they made up for it by closing with Metallica, For Whom The Bell Tolls. I'd heartily recommend them, as well as Angel Down. And bid them luck. And Gangleri's Guidance, and the Ward of Farmognudr. And carve Raidho Fehu for them. All of which strike me as suitable for touring rock bands, even unsigned ones. Perhaps especially unsigned ones.

Of course, epic as the music was, the gig was then followed by an Hour and a Half worth of tipsy trekking through a rather heavy flurry to get back to where I was sleeping. And a hangover I'm certain was gifted by the Half-Dead Daughter of the Trickster. Which I shouldn't have had, I be certain. Not on as little as I was drinking... and most of it was Love In A Small Boat Beer, to boot.  Anyway, that be the tale of my Saturn'sDay night. 'Twas fun. I regret none of it. Well... Almost none of it...