Archive for the ‘Guest Writers’ Category

Nerds of War

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

By Michael Kelsch

Another article about Battlefront II you say? Yep, another. :)

Emoticons are sometimes used in BFII, but mostly you get LOL!!! There are some folks who abuse the language, but they’re usually booted from the session.

**Klaxton alarm sounding**

And means we discovered our Battlefront II Term of the Day.

boot·ed [boo-tid] – adjective: Wasting any slag, no matter how insignificant, just for the joy of counting how many cartwheels their broken corpse does before it tags the ground.

(See, it is a sport) :)

The other guys get upset and throw you out. The reasons you can get thrown out are varied, as we will see in a moment, but the above-mentioned reason is one I’m trying to work my way up to.

Usually I get booted for inactivity. I forget to end my session when I finish playing and come back later to find I was booted from the session. For a while there, I didn’t realize it was rude to hold the spot that someone else could be using on the server. The reasons for booting are different from server to server. It’s tough to get booted from Empire Ownage because they will let the more advanced players of the game use their detailed knowledge of the boards’ dark side. The secret nooks and crannies that are difficult to hide in just really excite some people. They certainly excite me. I’ve learned a few of the tricks (typically because they’ve been used against me so often), but tend not to rely on them.

It is important to know when it’s fair to use these dirty secrets. If you’re up against superior odds, then it’s a good idea to do some spawn camping. If you’re getting beat down like Robin Givens, then go take a tank into the walls and lay waste to any spawn campers. Just know the right time to use these techniques. Otherwise I may vote to boot you… :)

Man, I’m like a tiger on a Vegas performer today! Speaking of…

It’s been reported Siegfried and Roy (not a sport, though rumor has it they do employ many Greco-Roman wrestling techniques) are planning a comeback? The truth is stranger than fiction.

(What does this have to do with a Star Wars-based online game? Nothing really. I just needed mention a story fifteen months out-of-date and couldn’t work it in. Frankly, I can’t get over it. How do you get mauled by a tiger in front of an audience, barely survive, and have the desire to do it again. Roy, we understand if you just hang up the sequined cape. Nobody is going to call you a quitter. We’ll call you ‘smart’. As they say, once bitten, twice… Roy?)

Uh, back to the nerdy stuff…

The Golden Rule when you’re playing BFII online against other enemy opponents is: Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. DEnis09 is a master of that principal. He plays mainly excellent defense, but can consistently chop 40-75 kills per battle without significant spawn camping. He loads other people’s tanks up with mines and sends them to the frontline to ram other tanks and – BLAMO!! – the battering ram bomber brings their tank back to get some more ammo and DEnis09 obliges.

The Golden Rule will win you respect among your peers in Battlefront II. I give folks mines all the time. Another fun tactic is sneaking into the enemy field on Kashyyyk and stealing enemy speeders and tanks. I don’t get them all the time, but when I do, it’s very satisfying. Not only is it a crippling blow to enemy forces, but then DEnis09 puts mines on your hot ride and you can go off into battle to score or tank kill.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQmAHWAba-Q[/youtube]

Another rule is play well. Moby just kicks me around like an empty can every time he sees me. He just rolls and dodges and then effortlessly drops a “Det-pack” right at my feet. BLAMO!! Have you ever watched old footage of Tyson laying waste to an opponent?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeL2VAEaAEU&feature=related[/youtube]

It’s kind of like that but with computers and Star Wars music.

Out.

Nerds of War

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007

By Michael Kelsch

 
Some folks may agree that certain video games can be considered a sport. If you play them online against live opponents, it is, at the very least, a competition and meets Canon Fodder’s strict guidelines for being considered a sport.

 
I play Battlefront II online. What’s up Wolfpack Clan server and Empire Ownage server!! Hey Megatron, thanks for showing me how to handle the tanks on Polis Massa, or should I say Polis Massacre? Is David glitching in the wall again?

 
Have you ever heard of a stat called bantha fodder? Basically, the guy that gets wasted the most times earns that moniker. I’ve gotten it once or twice. My kill ratio lately is slightly better than 13:8 (kills to deaths). Every once in a while, I come in on top of the heap in terms of numbers. But that’s only when the premium players are off, busy doing something other than butchering me.

 
What really continues to impress me is the sportsmanship. Nothing I love more than spawn camping NOOBs. I like to strategically plant mines where the new guys will spawn after getting wasted by some kid who spends his free time dreaming up ways to improve his World of Warcraft night elf! AWESOME!! Of course this is about as much of an example of good sportsmanship as a Todd Bertuzzi blindside attack.

 
Man, I’m on a tear tonight.

 
So here’s what I like most about playing Battlefront II. I love the fight. I’ve never been into “tradition” sports but I can imagine the bloodlust I feel when surprising a sneaking opponent with a blast from my laser cannon is akin to a linebacker blindsiding a quarterback. When I’m up against a smuggler and a heavy guy, and I’m out of rockets… buh-bye. Time to bug out and head to the sidelines.

 
In the end, there’s really not much difference between playing in the World Series and battling the Galactic Empire.  Both pit two titans in an epic battle that will be remembered throughout the ages.  Or at least until I hit ‘reset’ and start a new game.  Maybe it’s not the same, but I still love it. And if someone like Ray Lewis makes the mistake of wandering onto my playground, he could expect to see a few of my pregame moves before I unleash the terror.

 
Bring it, Ray.  I’ll be waiting.

The Wisdom of Drinking

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

You’re getting a total cop-out today.  It’s time to renew my brewery membership and that inspired me to seek out a slew of drinking quotes.  I couldn’t focus on writing with the call of dark ale beckoning me.

(I have a personal goal to publish at list one article under each Canon Fodder category.  I guess I can check “Drinking” off the list.)

Cheers!

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
-Dave Barry
 

Prohibition may be a disputed theory, but none can say that it doesn’t hold water.
-Thomas L. Masson
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