The Return of 40K Neotube: Space Marine vs. Chaos

So it's been too long since I've done a 40K Neotube, but with the holidays I just haven't had the time to devote to sifting through all the videos out there to find ones I want to post.  So the return was made pretty easy when a new trailer for Dawn of War II: Retribution came out last week.  With all the holiday madness I missed it, but here it is.

Space Marine vs. Chaos, narrated by Gabriel Angelos, and setting up the next chapter in the Blood Ravens story.  It's brief and cool and I didn't see much of the Land Raider, but the last line gave me chills "Whether I'm victorious or slain, my sins will know retribution."

See the vid after the jump

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!  May Santa bring you lots of 40K goodies, and may your families only roll their eyes occasionally as you open that mini you've been asking for.

Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition on Sale at Steam

I'm not sure how many people were planning on picking up the recently released Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition, but Steam has it 33% off right now at their store.  I'm not sure how long the sale lasts, but I took advantage of it with some Christmas money that was burning a hole in my pocket.  I'll have a review of it up at some point.

40K Retro - Dawn of War: Winter Assault

With the coming release of Dawn of War II: Retribution; I’ve decided to replay all the Dawn of War Campaigns from the very beginning.  I wanted to see the story of the Blood Ravens as it unfolds in the video games.  This is the story as it appears on my computer screen, and in no relation is affected by any of the novelizations.  After completing the first Dawn of War game, next on the list was the Winter Assault expansion.

Dawn of War II: Retribution Space Marine Multiplayer Unit Revealed

After I posted the link to the Space Marine Campaign Heroes yesterday, Relic posted another entry featuring information on the new Space Marine Multiplayer Unit, the Land Raider.

Abilities:
Frag Assault – Launch a volley of grenades, knocking back and dealing heavy damage to most infantry units.

Retreat Beacon – When activated, all squads will retreat to the Land Raider beacon.

A late game behemoth, the Land Raider Redeemer is expensive and powerful.  Although it is not particularly agile or quick, it’s dual Flamestorm Cannons spew enough fire to melt any infantry to get near.  The Land Raider can serve as a base of operations for Space Marine players.  With the Retreat Beacon activated, squads can quickly retreat to the Land Raider instead of the Space Marine base.  Squads near the Land Raider can be reinforced, replacing lost squad members, and get back in the fight much more quickly than having to make the run to and from their base.

Needless to say I know a few Space Marine players I am going to have to fight really hard to keep from getting to Tier 3.  I'd consider switching to Space Marines for multi if this beast was a game-changer, but then I think Battlewagon and all thoughts of abandonment melt away.

Is it March yet?

Dawn of War II: Retribution Space Marine Campaign Heroes Revealed

Relic just released info about the Space Marine Campaign Heroes in Retribution.  Needless to say if I could insert cartoon sound effects used for hot women, I would.  Because this news is altogether excellent.

It is Diomedes that the Retribution campaign for the Space Marines focuses on.
Captain of Chapter Master Kyras’ Honor Guard, Diomedes is a decorated and respected member of the Blood Ravens.

He appeared toward the end of Chaos Rising and I'm intrigued to see how his devotion to Kyras affects his role in the campaign.

Back from previous campaigns are Cyrus who was effective but underused when I played through both Dawn of War II and Chaos Rising (for the record I did use him more in Chaos Rising).  Also it appears Techmarine Martellus survived and is playable in this campaign (cool, but he was the traitor when I played through the campaign...unless they decided that the canonical ending was that our hero fell to Chaos).

However, most intriguing to me is The Ancient:

He gives no name, and instead is known by his rank of ‘Ancient’, the honorific title given to marines who serve as bearers to the Chapter’s sacred standards.   He does not speak, having taken a vow of silence to atone for past sins, but his actions speak volumes on the battlefield.  His abilities vary widely, a testament to his experience and skill earned from centuries of battle.

Any character or unit with an element of mystery is always fascinating to me, so naturally I'm gravitating towards this character initially.

Now I have my gripes that both Avitus and Davian Thule are missing from the list, but Cyrus is included.  Not because I don't like Cyrus, I just loves me my Dreadnaught and Terminators.  I also know one person who is pissed that Gabriel Angelos is not playable again, so any other cripes, concerns, or comments on this news?  I'm all ears.

Dawn of War II: Retribution Units Revealed

Oh man, I didn't realize that Relic had been releasing unit information for Dawn of War II: Retribution, but they have and the anticipation has actually grown.

The units they are revealing are multiplayer units and campaign heroes.  Let's break down what they've released so far by race.

Eldar
Campaign Heroes
The Eldar will have 4 heroes available to them in their campaign:

• Kayleth, an Eldar Autarch who leads the Eldar of Craftworld Alaitoc
• Ronahn, a former Pathfinder of Craftworld Ulthwe who renounced his ties to that Craftworld and wanders the stars
• Veldoran, an aged and wise Warlock
• Elenwe, a Farseer who helps guide Kayleth through the Eldar campaign.

Multiplayer Unit
The new Eldar multiplayer unit is the Eldar Autarch:

Abilities:
Fleet of Foot – Greatly increases the unit’s speed but reduces the Autarch’s damage output for the duration of the ability.
Leap – Soar through the air and land at the targeted location. Upon landing the Autarch increases the speed, damage, health and of nearby infantry units.
Skyleap – The Autarch jumps high into the atmosphere, returning to the global ability bar to be called in for a reduced cost.

The Autarch descends to the battlefield when called in from the global ability bar. The unit can be dropped into any hot spot on the map, provided you have line of sight on the drop zone.

Tyranids
Campaign Hero
The Tyranids have a unique campaign that has only 1 hero, the Hive Lord who strives to bring together the scattered remnants of the Tyranids in the Aurelian Sub-Sector.

Multiplayer Unit
The new Tyranid multiplayer unit is the Tyranid Swarmlord:

Abilities:
Leech Essence – The Swarmlord drains the life from surrounding infantry units for a duration which increases his health regeneration.
Blade Flurry – Unleashes the full strength of the Swarmlord, heavily damaging and knocking back adjacent infantry.
The Swarmlord isn’t going to be on the field until late in the game, given its cost and the Tier 3 requirement.  The Swarmlord’s status as a powerful late game unit results in it being nearly unstoppable in melee combat, wielding four bone sabers, but it also increases the movement speed of all Tyranids within range of its synapse.

Orks
No Campaign Hero information has been released yet, but you can guarantee I will be watching very closely for that news.

Multiplayer Unit

Abilities:
Deff Rolla Rampage – Spin up the Deff Rolla for a short period, knocking back and potentially crushing nearby infantry.  Temporarily increases the speed of the Battlewagon.
Mega Boomshot – Fire an explosive long-range artillery shot.  Deals heavy damage to most units.
An expensive late game unit, the Battlewagon can tear into enemy formations and receive little damage.  It is a heavy assault transport vehicle that has anti-vehicle as well as anti-infantry weaponry.

Okay needless to say this is all such cool news.  But the coolest news is the Ork Battlewagon.  Oh my god, I cannot wait for that unit.  And a Deff Rolla Rampage?  You can better believe I'm looking forward to lining up some non-greenskin scum in my sites and runnin' 'em down wit da rolla!  Definitely March 2011 is way too far off.

Dan Abnett Speaks

Mostly about the Ultramarines Movie that gets released this week.

The movie is supposed to start shipping this week, so hopefully we all get it soon (and I can figure out how to open it and watch the movie without my wife catching me so I can get a review up before the end of the year).

A Boatload of Information on Dark Millennium Online

PC Gamer has a great write-up of the coming 40K MMO, Dark Millennium Online.

It's obvious from the article that they are still working out a lot of details (like the fact the only announced playable faction is the Space Marines), but Vigil is really trying to make this a game changer.  They have some harsh words for the MMOs on the market now, and give some details on how they plan to make DMO a better MMO experience by making it truer to the 40K fluff (i.e. no gathering item such-and-such for some nameless denizen of a small village).

Needless to say my excitement level for this game has gone up substantially.

Also, the pictures and captions are highly entertaining.

Black Library Horus Heresy Contest

Black Library has posted a contest based around Graham McNeill's next Horus Heresy novel.  The gist of the contests is to guess the name of the novel based on Neil Roberts' rough sketch for the cover artwork.  Winner will get a signed copy of the book well before it's released.

Corporae Doublespeak, or How Codex Talks to Fans

A new update hit the web today regarding the utter failure by Codex to release the Ultramarines Movie on time.

Here's the whole post:

We can update today that the unexpected production issue has been resolved. We still expect and are working to be able to commence shipping next week but are awaiting final confirmation from our suppliers and fulfilment houses.
We apologise once again for the delay in ship date and very much hope to have confirmed information about the new dispatch date tomorrow.
Codex Pictures

This little message sums up everything about this debacle that has pissed me off.  First, no real information was given.  We still don't know what the production issue was that caused the biggest blunder in all things 40K I've ever seen.

Second we are still without an actual ship date.  Look next week is great, but I want something concrete that I can look to, and if Codex is gunshy about making themselves accountable, then they shouldn't have let the first ship date be a failure.

Finally, this was written by a lawyer.  Or at least approved by one.  I don't want vague promises of potential delivery, or phrases like "unexpected production issue".  I want plain English.  I want to know what happened, I want to know what was done to fix it, and I want to know what's been done to make sure it never happens again, and I want to know when I'm getting my stuff I paid for.  And believe me, for Codex's sake, if they are allowed to make another 40K movie (because if I was Games Workshop, I'd be having serious discussions about that) they had better realize that 40K nerds are nerds.  We're smart.  We see through crap like this.  And we won't be watching the buildup around the making of a new movie.  We'll be watching that release date, with torches and pitchforks ready if they screw it up again.

An Important Public Service Announcement

Sorry, no 40K Neotube this week.  I really am not in the mood to go through looking for videos about 40K.

What I do want to talk to you about is a very serious situation that has slammed the small town I live in.  I have never covered a non-40K item here on this blog, and I don't plan on doing it again.  However, I want to talk about these three boys:

These are Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton.  They have been missing since Thanksgiving.  If you live in the United States you may have heard about their story.  Basically they were last seen in their father's backyard Thanksgiving afternoon.  Their father, John Skelton claimed he gave them to a woman he knew to bring to their mom while he attempted to commit suicide.  The father has been arrested for Parental Kidnapping, and the boys have not been seen since.

This story hits home for me on several levels.  First of all, they are from Morenci, Michigan which is where I live.  I know the family, or at least some of them.  This has shaken our little town to the core, and yet it has withstood the pressure, set aside differences, and come together to support and protect the family.  Christmas is considered a season of hope and love, and I have seen that here.  Hundreds of people have volunteered to brave the elements and help search for the boys.  Others have cooked food for the volunteers, or the family.  So many people have set aside so much to help this family, and word is the family has said it helps.

The other way it hits home, is all three of those boys go to the same school my daughter goes to.  Alexander is the same age as my daughter, but a year behind her in school.  I look at his picture, and the pictures of his brothers, and I can't imagine what state I would be in if this happened to my daughter.

If anyone out there knows anything about the whereabouts of these boys are, please contact the Morenci Police at 517-458-7104.  There is a $10,000 reward for their safe return, and I know so many of us here in this small town just want closure.  We cling to the hope that they are still alive, but we are braced for the worst.  Either way, we just want this to end so the family can come to terms with this.

Please, if you are reading this and know something about the whereabouts of these boys, please call.  We need this over with.

Another "Ultramarines Movie Trips and Falls Out the Gate" Update

Let me say it's nothing personal to Codex Pictures when I say this whole situation with the delayed CE release is ridiculous and should never have gotten this far.


I'm not sure what happened where, but what I do know is that I should not have gotten an e-mail the day the movie was supposed to be released saying it hadn't shipped yet.  Codex today announced that they STILL cannot give a definitive release date.  Why?  What's the problem?  What happened?  When did it happen?  Why did they not tell us until the day the package was supposed to ship?


I've sent 2 e-mail inquiries to Codex regarding this and have received no answer, but based on their latest news update they don't seem to want to tell us what happened.  So until I know where the problem is I will be blaming Codex, and with each day without a release date or anything definitive I can't help but think that this release is a failure.

I hope Games Workshop is watching this closely, because right now their baby isn't being treated with the proper care it deserves, and this release that isn't a release is an embarrassment for everyone involved.