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LEGO Universe unveils newest zone for flipping out and killing people
The LEGO brand is nothing if not a universe of heterogeneity -- race cars, aquatic explorers, space police, and even Batman have long existed side-by-side. The newest kid on the metaphorical block is the just-begun Ninjago line, and it's being celebrated in LEGO Universe with the addition of the newest zone, Crux Prime. But the zone has more to offer than just a cavalcade of ninja, with brand-new gear, weapons, and decals for players to unlock as they progress through the zone's new content. Players will be tasked with finding the long-lost Sensei Wu amid the ruins of the Ninjago Monastery to learn the powerful skill known as Spinjitzu. They'll need it, too, with Maelstrom Skeletons attempting to steal the beacon of Imagination from the tower in Crux Prime. With over 100 new missions for players to undertake and an ongoing story that promises to unfold over time, LEGO Universe players should find plenty to like about Crux Prime. Take a sneak peek at the zone in the gallery below as well as the trailer past the cut. %Gallery-113923%
Unboxing Ninjas kick back the fourth wall for the Nexus S
When is a YouTube video not a YouTube video? Every so often, a promotion pops up on the site that thinks outside the box, so to speak. In honor of the Nexus S (i.e. the best Android phone out there until the next best Android phone comes out), Google's re-teamed with Patrick Boivin and his ragtag group of tiny ninjas -- previously seen showing real unboxing power on a Nexus One package. We don't want to spoil the fun, so just click through and enjoy... and after all is said and done, keep an eye out for the nunchuks. Trust us.
Guest Post: 5 ways to become a master of disguise
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider. We've all experienced it: You're walking into Orgrimmar or Ironforge, intent on visiting the auction house to spend that gold jingling in your pocket, when suddenly you stop dead, dumbstruck. Your jaw goes slightly slack as you /awe in wonder. A strange creature unlike anything you've encountered before is dancing in the town square and emoting kisses to everyone nearby. A crowd has gathered. People are cheering. "That's neat ... and maybe a little weird," you silently muse as you crack a smile and continue on your way. I'm talking about player costumes. When the skin of your orc, troll, gnome or draenei becomes too heavy a burden, plenty of opportunities exist for a brief stay in the body of another creature (unless you're a druid, in which case you change forms all the time). These devices, elixirs and enchantments come in many shapes and stack sizes, but one key element runs through them all: They're a blast for the light-hearted player inside each of us. Ever wondered where they're from and how to get them? Wonder no more! Without further ado, I present five of the most delightfully awesome, portable, use-anywhere player costumes of all time. With Hallow's End just around the corner, you're sure to find something here that will suit you as you strut through your city of choice, sipping from a bottle of Autumnal Acorn Ale.
Introducing the iPod ninja
We here at TUAW fortunately passed on reporting the obviously fake story of Steve Jobs being denied access to Japan because of ninja stars he was reportedly carrying in his luggage. But we did like this fake Apple page from the folks at Scoopertino, featuring the iPod ninja, a brand new throwing star-shaped iPod. If Steve was carrying around ninja stars (and he wasn't), maybe he was just testing a more weaponized iPod prototype. For more yuks, be sure to read on about the "death grip" issue ("If you hold iPod ninja in a certain way, you may require immediate medical care."), and I like the fact that sharing music with the ninja is easy -- just wing it across the room at whoever you want to listen in. For just $149 for the 8GB model, Jobs may have something here with this new ninja model -- his fake Japanese dismissal was not in vain! [via Cult of Mac]
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for iPhone: Fun, but faulty
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a franchise in possession of a large fanbase must be in want of a video game adaptation. However hasty or flawed the execution of said game may be, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of media conglomerates that a video game is considered the rightful final step in a multimedia enterprise. "My dear gamers," said Freeverse to us one day, "have you heard that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is available for the iPhone at last?" We replied that we had not heard so, but, being great admirers of the zombie-slaying genre in general and Seth Grahame-Smith's ingenious adaptation of the Jane Austen classic in particular, we resolved to examine said game with alacrity. With a heavy heart, dearest readers, I must tell you that although the wry concept of the game is beyond reproach, its execution is wanting in many respects. Most grievous of all, I have been unable to carry the game to its proper conclusion; not because I did not wish to do so, for the game is in most regards diverting and congenial, but rather owing to a game-halting fault for which I was unable to find resolution. Read on to discover not only the merits of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for the iPhone (US$2.99), but also the inauspicious traits it possesses which, to my sorrow, render it unworthy of either praise or recommendation unless resolved with haste.
Motorola Droid Shadow / Xtreme pictured again, powered by Ninjablur?
Because we can't seem to get enough Motorola Droid Shadow / Xtreme teasers in our lives, here's a few more with which to tide you over. First on the docket is a pair of pics from Droid Life, with the screen-saving film intact (and a still-visible Verizon logo underneath) and a cleaner side shot of its bulbous derriere. If that wasn't enough, the clue-dropper wnrussell of HowardForums -- who gave us the vast majority of the previous leaks -- is back showing off a 1500mAh battery and claiming a name for that monochrome Motoblur-esque skin we saw earlier. In his words, "Ninja Blur is Blur running without the user knowing. For those who don't like Blur." Translation: it's an Android skin that does very little but make aesthetic differentiators and probably slows down the processing speed a bit. Any chance the ninja can go into hiding in lieu of a vanilla robot experience?
Officers' Quarters: Mailbox roundup
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available this spring from No Starch Press. Here at Officers' Quarters I receive a number of e-mails every week that don't get featured in the column. Sometimes they are too personal and the sender requests that they do not appear on the site. Others are topics I've already addressed. Some are questions that don't require a long and detailed response and thus don't have quite enough depth to merit an entire column. This week I am featuring a few of these latter e-mails with the common theme of loot. If you think the topic requires more discussion than I've given it, tell us about it below! Culling the Strong Scott, I am a part of a raiding guild which has been having a lot of growing pains. I have been with this guild for several years and many of the new players that we get are very poor players in general. I can often out dps someone in my same class running with my spec who has better gear. My guild has a loot policy which gears the lower dps players first in an effort to help progression, even if they have better overall gear than me.
Holiday weekend giveaway: Ninja pack!
Memorial Day: in the US, this is the holiday where we honor the service of our brave men and women in uniform who have given their all in the defense of our nation. Also, we have fireworks, attend barbecues and often go to the beach. Viva America! We know that TUAW readers love three-day weekends almost as much as they love free swag, so we thought "Why not combine the two?" We'll be posting giveaways all weekend long to help you get set up for summertime. Our first pack of goodies comes courtesy of Shawnimals and Venan Entertainment, who are the folks behind the new $1.99 Ninjatown:Trees of Doom game for iPhone.
Frozen orbs to be greed only in patch 3.3.3
Well, this is a welcome change -- now that Frozen Orbs are going to be the new crafting tokens, exchangeable for Frost Lotus and Eternal Fire, among other things, Wryxian announced that they will be greed only in the upcoming patch. Wryxian No, you won't be able to exchange Frozen Orbs for Emblems of Frost. Yeah it just takes one person to press Need after everyone's pressed Greed on the Frozen Orbs and you miss out. But the good news is that in patch 3.3.3 this won't be the case anymore -- the roll for Frozen Orbs will be an automatic Greed roll. Rejoice! source I wonder whether this is now some sort of flag in their database that they could use for other items. Like Books of Glyph Mastery. Nothing is more annoying than someone ninja looting jerk looting something that everyone gains equal benefit from. Edit: Ninjas are cool. People who steal from their peers are not. Stop calling them ninjas. Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Tiny ninjas unbox the Nexus One on Google's dime
Wondering where Froyo is? It seems the boys and girls in Mountain View took a quick breather to commission one of the crazier stop-action short films we've seen in a while -- and probably the craziest stop-action unboxing we've ever seen. If you questioned the Nexus One's real ultimate power before watching this, you won't any longer. Follow the break for video! [Thanks, NordicOten]
ZEN Pinball's Ninja Gaiden table trailer slices and dices
Wondering what the official Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 table for ZEN Pinball looks like in motion? Wonder no more -- the video above will show you all of the Hayabusa-style bumper action you'll be able to find, complete with ramps, flashing lights, ninja spirits and... burning pagodas? Boy, those ZEN folks aren't really pinball traditionalists, are they? But it does look fun. The table will bring new gameplay modes and missions along with it to the PlayStation Store on Thursday, January 14, for $2.49 (€1.99). Of course, it's DLC for the original ZEN Pinball game, so you've got to have that, too. Wait, we just rewatched it -- did Ryu just slice the ball in half? That's pretty awesome!
Blizzard and how they deal with ninjas
Wojtek sent us this thread in which he posted a long series of emails between him and Blizzard about the ninja of an Onyxia Drake. There's a lot of back and forth, but eventually, the bottom line is that Blizzard was not able to help him, whether that's because he didn't have the information right, they couldn't find what they needed in the chat logs, or they just didn't want to. Later on, the thread is locked, and Wojtek is given the usual feedback address for the GM actions. So what does all this mean? We've heard in the past that Blizzard will occasionally help with ninjas, and we've even heard unofficially that if you get the main looter in a PuG raid to state the looting conditions ahead of time, Blizzard can go back, look that up, and then reward loot based on who really deserves it. But of course, all of that is unofficial, and there are so many variations and issues in situations like these that there can't really be a hard and fast rule -- sometimes Blizzard can help, sometimes they can't.
Author of World of Warcraft and Philosophy interviewed
World of Warcraft and Philosophy got released a little while back -- it's a book by Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger that examines WoW-related topics like roleplaying and the Corrupted Blood plague, and ties them into philsophical ideas and thinking. TechFlash has now posted an interview with Nordlinger, and it's a good read as well. Nordlinger says that one reason they chose to talk about World of Warcraft in this way is that it's so incredibly big -- when you have 12 million (give or take a few at this point) people playing a game with a GDP larger than some smaller nations, you're going to touch on all sorts of interesting ethical, moral, and other philosophical ideas. He says the book has been pretty popular, and a few universities are currently considering teaching courses based on the material, not only because it's interesting, but thinking about the game in this way helps improve abstract thinking in general. And perhaps most interesting, he says that reading the book could help players better make ethical and moral decisions in the game. Just ninja-ing the mount from an Onyxia raid might not mean much to you, but when you look at the bigger picture, and what those actions mean for ethics in general, Nordlinger says the book might help players "make more aware decisions, if not different decisions." Of course, in practice, trying to explain higher philosophy to ninjas might not have the desired effect, but it does seem true that exploring the higher meanings of this game and the intents of the people playing it might put a little more meaning into the pixels as well.
First Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 DLC released, revealing
Listen, it's scientific fact that as ninjas shed their clothes, they become better at executing their ninja duties. So, if you see us purchase the Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 costume pack, which was released on the PlayStation Store yesterday for $3.99, it's not because we're pervs or anything. It's because the skimpy outfits you see above were meticulously engineered to maximize our capacity for flipping out and killing people. Also, we realize Ryu's new costume (which was previously handed out as a pre-order bonus) isn't more revealing than his standard duds. See, the above rule only applies to female ninjas. Hey, don't look at us like that. We didn't write the ninja rulebook, okay?
Breakfast Topic: Would you ninja the Onyxia mount?
We mention a ninja of the Onyxia mount in this week's Guildwatch, and while researching that, some other forum threads came up, including these two, both from General, where people say with conviction that given the chance, they'd take the Onyxia mount and never look back. They have a point -- it's one of the rarest random mounts in the game, on a raid that's definitely PuG-able. Chances are low that you'll ever see it, much less win it on a random roll, and so for a lot of people, it'd be worth the namechange and the server transfer you'd have to pay to escape your new ninja reputation. Personally, I wouldn't do it, but that's really only because I know there are lots of rare mounts in the game that I'll never get (sigh, Red Proto-drake, I covet you), and one more isn't that big a deal. Not to mention that I like the guilds I'm in and the people I play with, and who knows what they'd think of me if I stole the mount from them or someone else. But not everyone feels the way I do, I'm sure, so let's ask: if you had the chance, in a PuG or a guild run, to steal the Onyxia mount as your own, would you take it? And if you would, is it just because it's so rare and special?
Officers' Quarters: More loot-rolling shenanigans
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. Last week, I addressed a situation where a married couple who leads a guild were using the old double-rolling scam to get extra loot for each other. Normally I don't like to address the same topic two weeks in a row, but based on some of the comments from that post and the following e-mail that I received, some people still don't get why this is a problem. So here we go again! I read your article and while I understand it I disagree in principle. Myself (holy priest) and one of our other guild officers(Lock) routinely run in pugs for 25 Naxx, we have on several occasions rolled for gear that neither of us need. Why? Long story short, we do not need the gear but we also try to make sure than one of our less geared guildies in cloth is along for the ride, and now that we can trade the stuff to them we can use three rolls per item to help them gear up faster. We are not selling the stuff to them merely giving it to them so they can gear up faster. If I do not need gear from the raid and niether does the lock, there is a reason we are there, I don't have a problem with it and would not have any problem with anyone else doing the same thing, in fact I would commend them on the efforts on their behalf to help their guildmates. The only time I have an issue with loot distribution is when it is a straight ninja job, player looses a roll and still gets an item or there is no roll at all and Lootmaster gives it to someone anyhow.
Guildwatch: More common than you think
We've seen quite a few guilds go back lately and take on Sarth 3D for the first time. Of course, it's got to be much easier now with Ulduar-level gear wandering around, and ToC giving out gear and tokens relatively easily. But especially if your guild has the time, why not go grab an "Of the Nightfall" title for everyone? That's what our friends in The Risen here did, and they look pretty snazzy. Lots more guild progress, as well as recruiting and drama, in this week's edition of Guildwatch, which starts right after the break. If you have a tip for us about your guild or one you've seen on the forums, please format it just like the news you see below and send it along to guildwatch@wow.com. Thanks! Enjoy!
Drama Mamas: Too many cooks in the kitchen
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com.Meet the drama llama: the attention-starved, manipulative player who seems to get more of a charge from being immersed in emotionally charged social situations than from actually playing WoW. They're the ones responsible for creating friction in your raids, fanning flame wars on your forums and running guildmates out of Vent, right?Not always.Oh sure, drama llamas take top billing in many an online drama, starring in guild breakups and social meltdowns all over the globe. But the Drama Mamas see just as much drama generated by well-meaning players who take it upon themselves to "fix" unsavory situations -- when far be it from their place to do so. The heat feels hottest when there are too many cooks in the kitchen ...
Guildwatch: Beware of tourists
This Guildwatch is running a bit late, and apologies for that -- your narrator is slightly out of pocket lately, and clamboring as quickly as possible to get back in. But the guilds featured in today's GW have no such problems -- they are rolling through content like nobody's business. From Yoggy (above) to all the modes of ToC, it's a downstravaganza in Azeroth lately.Drama and recruiting notices after the break as well. If you want to see your guild (or a sweet forum thread full of drama -- please make sure it's guild-related, no random ninja whining) right here next week, send us an email at guildwatch@wow.com. Hit the link below to read on.
Ninja Kunai USB Drive: the tech equivalent of getting a foreign language tattoo
You know how the vast majority of us would like to be ninjas, but don't know where to start? Well, we have found the answer -- that missing link between geek and ninja -- in the form of the Ninja Kunai 2GB flash drive. This USB accessory-cum-gimmicky 90s toy is inscribed with ... something, and, well, looks mildly threatening. Here's the really awesome part: it costs $125.35. Some might scoff and others might scowl, but just think of how exclusive this thing is going to be. Buying one of these will mark you out as truly individual.[Via TechnaBob]
