Battle: Los Angeles Review – Callin’ out the Haters!

Halo: The Movie will never be made. And even if it is, you can guarantee it will be about as far off the mark as a sniper with parkinsons. 

But if a director ever musters up the testicular fortitude to try, I strongly recommend that they watch Battle: Los Angeles first, and take some serious notes. Why? Because here we have an example of a near perfect action/invasion/sci-fi movie for our generation of virtual gun-maniacs.

 

And I mean this in the nicest possible way; Johnathan Liebesman has merged Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Halo 1-3 in the most seamless and gritty way possible. For the first time this year, I have watched a movie that I sincerely hope gets the sequel treatment. But more on that later.

Eurogamer Expo 2011 - An Unmissable Event!

5am, Saturday October 2^nd, 2010. A small, converted farmhouse in West Yorkshire. I awake to the gentle sounds of my iPhone alarm, and immediately, a wide grin manifests itself across my face. Why am I so cheerful at this most ungodly hour of the morning? Because today is a special day. Today is the Eurogamer Expo.

England is different to America in many ways. One disadvantage of living on the British Isles is the relative lack of geeky conventions. To all intents and purposes, there is only one such event in the UK: Eurogamer Expo.

FEATURE: Nuclear Travelling Wave Reactors - Can Bill Gates Save the World?

What would you do if you were the richest person alive? New car? New house, huge TV, pool and gym? Well, Bill Gates is one of the richest human beings on the face of the planet, and has enjoyed that privilege for many years now, so he probably has all of those things. But what’s amazing is what he’s spending the majority of his money on now.

Bill has reached an interesting point in his life, it is pretty much impossible for him to spend all of his fortune before he dies- he’s just that rich. So, he has nobly decided to focus his efforts on leaving this planet in a better way than he found it. Let's get one thing clear: this is not just about generically pumping money into random charities; he is actually making serious, real efforts to revolutionise YOUR life. How?

Watch the Next Shuttle Launch Live on your Playstation

Got a Playstation 3? If you do, you might want to take the opportunity to watch the upcoming Shuttle launch streamed live. The event is currently slated for  February 24 at 4:50pm EST.

Launch to be streamed live to Playstation 3

Don't forget that this is one of the final Space Shuttle missions that will ever be launched, so please take advantage of this opportunity to witness essential nerd history. This is one of the coolest missions in a long time; the crew consists of 6 humans and 1 humanoid robot!

The Physics of Mass Effect

Recently I have been playing Mass Effect 1 and 2 for the second time. During these play-throughs, I have taken more time to read the codex entries, and I have become fascinated with the Mass Effect Universe. Naturally, one of the parts that really fascinates me the most is the science behind Mass Effect.

Then I stumbled onto this video, in which Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku examines the various aspects of Mass Effect, and tires to comment on the plausibility of each aspect. 

For example, how far off of ‘invisibility’ are we? Are Biotics physically plausible? Could we travel faster than light using “the Mass Effect”?

While the video is enjoyable and all of what he says is accurate, unfortunately it seems as if Dr Kaku has never played the game, as he doesn’t actually address the “mass effect” in good detail. Instead he talks about dark energy and matter, which is nothing to do with the mass effect. I will now attempt to jump in!

Why It's Never Hammer Time in Space

Have you ever been watching a sci-fi show, and heard the captain of the ship yell “All Stop!” at the helmsman? Have you ever wondered what that actually means?

Orion CEV

I once had a long debate with a fellow astrophysics student over the question of what ‘all stop’ really means for a spaceship.

See, for a real life spacecraft (lets say the Shuttle or Apollo missions) the vessel itself never stops, from the moment it leaves the planet to the moment it lands again. It is constantly moving: either orbiting earth, or the moon, or moving between the two. But it is always moving at speeds of at least 17,000 mph (all the way up to 24,000 for a lunar mission). You can only imagine that for interstellar missions, the same principle must be true, probably to an even greater extent. 

Well I decided to try and imagine the physics and do some simple calculations.

Wheaton’s Law – Why I Don’t Negotiate With Terrorists

I like to think of myself as a level-headed, tolerant person. I get on with 99% of people, and I try to conduct myself in public fairly, and with a sense of humour. As a British person, I strive to be a gentleman in all ways that I can – that’s the true mark of a man. This code of conduct applies equally to real world interaction and internet interaction.

The internet has become a place where controversial statements are considered humorous. There is a general understanding among our generation about things said on the internet; how they should be accepted and interpreted. 

There’s only one hard fast rule, one unwritten internet law that is unofficially enforced by the hive mind. This rule was first formally vocalised and by renowned ‘geek’ overlord Will Wheaton. That rule is known as Wheaton’s Law. Google it.