I know I totally missed doing Short Story Saturday the last two weekends. I completely fail. But I do have good reasons!

I have been working on two freelance projects this month, and I just haven’t had the time to write any short stories. I promise by next month I should be getting back into writing one each week. Also I might change it to Short Story Sunday. Possibly. Don’t know yet.

Anyways, that’s why there’s been a lack of posts lately. Sorry about that!

I have been playing a lot of first person shooter games recently, such Halo and Call of Duty. While playing I have noticed a lot of people making small, simple mistakes, but those mistakes usually get them killed and actually cost their entire team the game. Depending on what shooter game you are playing can affect your game style, and that is completely up to how you play, but in all shooter games there are some small things that you can do to ensure your survival, and maybe even get a lot more kills before you die and be the star on our team!

One thing i have seen a lot of people do is rush. In some games it is okay to rush, like in objective game types (capture the flag, king of the hill, etc.), but if the game calls for getting to a certain amount of kills before the other team does then rushing them is usually not the best thing to do. You are not Superman. You cannot take out the entire team by yourself! Instead, try using team work and communicating on enemy positions so you can have the jump on them and gang up on them.

Ever find yourself in a gunfight, run out of bullets and die in the middle of reloading? Well, a couple things you can do to change that is after every gunfight, take cover and reload. Taking cover while reloading is extremely important! You could be running while reloading and next thing you know you’re getting shot at and you can’t fight back! Instead take the extra second to hide behind a wall or something, reload, and get back into the action. It could save your life! You should always have a full magazine.

While running or sprinting around the map, always check your corners! I have heard lots of people complain about “campers” but if they simply check the corners in rooms then that won’t be a big issue. Besides, they aren’t going anywhere, if you find one toss a grenade and that will teach them a lesson about roasting marshmallows during battle! Flanking campers is another good way to kill them as well. Also, sometimes sprinting everywhere is not the best idea. You could be in the middle of a sprint, find a enemy, and next thing you know your dead! That could be the result of your enemy having the draw on you. Drawing your rifle after sprinting may take a second or two, and that is plenty of time for your enemy to put a few shots in your character.

In certain shooter games there are “power weapons” or weapons that do more damage when picking them up, like in Halo or Gears of War. Examples of power weapons in Halo would be: Shotguns, Rocket Launchers, Sniper Rifles, and Energy Swords. In Gears of War, some power weapons would be: Boom Shot, Grinder, and Sniper Rifles. Using power weapons in any game is important: it could get you those few extra kills you need to win the game and keep your kill-death ratio positive!

My final tip for shooter games is trigger control. Instead of pulling the trigger down and spraying everywhere, try aiming down your sights and burst fire. Recoil in shooter games is made for this purpose. Taking controlled shots is highly effective versus spraying and praying. Also knowing when to fire is a factor. If you are a long distance away from your enemy, don’t use a sub-machine gun or a pistol. Either get closer and try and flank them with your smaller guns, or aim with your rifles and take controlled shots. Don’t try and play sniper with pistols or shotguns, every weapon has a certain range to it and is used for different scenarios!

If you just follow these small tips then hopefully you will be able to survive longer in battle, become the star of your team, and actually enjoy your shooting games as well! Keep at it, keep practicing and eventually you will become a feared enemy and a very valuable friend to others. =)

This was based off a side-story I used to have in my Legend of the Orbs Trilogy, back when they were being written in book form and way too many side stories going on. Obviously this was one of the side plots that didn’t make the cut, so it was rewritten for your entertainment. Enjoy!

Anour stood, teetering on the ledge of the tower, staring at the darkness of the ravine below. The wind whipped about her, blowing through her long blonde hair. The thin snake of a river flowed through the bottom of it, but it was so far away it looked like no more than a silver thread.

It was a long way to drop. She leaned forward slightly.

In the past Anour never would have even considered killing herself. Now, after everything, she couldn’t believe all of the things she used to care so deeply about. They were so insignificant. So…material. They meant nothing to her now.

Her life had once been so simple, or so she had thought. It was all fancy parties, lovely dresses, handsome suitors hoping for her hand. She had been a spoiled brat.

And then, while she had been out picking flowers in the garden outside her father’s castle, she had been taken.

She didn’t know where they had come from. Too focused on her frivolous task, she hadn’t been paying attention, never heard their approach. Never heard them cleave a blade through the throat of her hand maiden. Never heard the gurgles of her death as they quietly laid her on the ground to die. They snuck up behind her, put a hand over her mouth before she could scream, and they took her away.

As she stared down from the tower, she absently wondered whether her father was even looking for her. Not that it mattered. There was no way to escape, and no way for him to find her. Her captors had told her that, and she believed them.

After she had been taken, she thought she would have been thrown into a dungeon to wait until a reward came. A dungeon with a window, and a comfortable bed. She thought, her in naivety, that she would be taken care of, because she would be worthy of a handsome reward from her powerful father.

Well, she did get thrown into a dungeon. But there was no bed, and no windows. In fact all that had been in the dungeon was a set of chains bolted to the cold stone wall, and a door. The only decoration were some dried blood stains on the floor, which Anour was careful to never step in. On purpose at least. There were times when it couldn’t be helped.

Anour’s blue eyes flashed with anger. Some of the blood on the floor of the dungeon was her blood now. Her captors had never wanted a reward. In fact, she didn’t know what they wanted. She didn’t even really care anymore. They had hurt her, put her in more pain that she had ever thought possible, and she had no idea why.

Not that she hadn’t asked. She had, several times, whimpering and bleeding from the floor, asked why they were hurting her. What did they want from her? Why couldn’t they just let her go? They never answered.

Eventually she just stopped asking.

She didn’t know how long she’s been trapped here. She tried to count the days, but without a window to watch the passing of time, she had no way of knowing when one day ended and another began. After what felt like months, they eventually let her leave the dungeon and roam through the hallways of her prison. She didn’t know where she was, whether she was in a castle or a fortress, or who owned it. All she knew was the cold stone walls that surrounded her day and night.

This was the first time she had seen the sky since her capture. It was dark and moody, rain threatening to drench her at any moment. It wasn’t the beautiful blue sky she remembered.

Anour lifted a bare foot from the floor and put it out over the open void beneath her. She’d been thinking about this for months. Once she realized that the men who took her really didn’t want anything from her except her pain, she knew what she had to do. She’d been planning it.

But she didn’t know if she could do it.

The leg beneath her, the only one keeping her standing on the ledge, stopping her from falling to her death, shook violently. This was going to take more courage than she thought. She thought she’d be able to do it. But the leap into emptiness was costing her more than she expected.

And she didn’t understand why until a voice spoke gently behind her.

“Please, don’t.” It was a voice she recognized instantly, the only voice that had shown her kindness in this damned hell she’d be stuck into.

Jacin. He was one of the men in charge in this place. And the only one who hadn’t hurt her.

His fingers touched her shoulders. Anour slide her foot back onto the ledge. She looked back at him.

She had hoped he wouldn’t find her before she jumped. It would have been easier if she didn’t see his brown eyes look at her the way they were looking at her now.

“I have to,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “I can’t stay here anymore. I can’t live like this. This isn’t even living.”

“I know.” Of course he did. He had been there with her through it all, helping her. He gave her water after she’d been hurt, bandaged her up, fed her. He had brought her a blanket to give her warmth in coldness of the dungeon. It had been taken away the next day by his superior, but at least he had tried. She even suspected he had something to do with the small freedom she had been allowed of wandering around the halls.

“But I told you I would help you.”

She smiled. “You have.”

“I can do more.” He took her hand. “I can get you out.”

“You said that already. You told me to give you time. I gave you time.”

“I mean I can get you out now.”

Anour blinked. Of course. It had been too easy for her to escape and get to this ledge. This had been part of his plan all along. No, not his plan, their plan. She’d forgotten it the moment she saw the window. It was an easy way out, but not the way out that she wanted. Not really. That was why she had hesitated, she realized. She wanted out, but not that way.

There was a loud bang on the door in the room behind her. Muffled shouted echoed through the walls.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She squeezed Jacin’s hand. He smiled. “It’s not going to be easy.”

“I know.” The corners of her mouth faintly lifted upward. It was the closest she’d gotten to a smile in a long time. “But you’ll be with me.”

She wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, locking her hands around her own wrists. Jacin held her for a moment. There was a deafening crash as the door they had locked behind them burst open at the hinges.

Jacin leaned over, holding her tightly, and leapt from the tower. They dropped fast, the air flying past them as they plummeted toward the ground.

Then the rope tied around Jacin’s waist pulled taut , and they veered sideways into an open window. Jacin dropped Anour onto the stone floor and flung his arms out to keep himself from swinging back outside. Anour quickly helped him until the rope from his waist.

“That was the hard part, right?’ she asked as they ran toward the door at the other end of the room.

“Nope. That was the easy part. The hard part is next.” He shot her a devilish grin, and she couldn’t help but smile back. They were far from free, but closer than Anour had ever felt. She would be free. And Jacin would be with her through it all.

She knew now that she wanted to live.

We may still not know what it is called, but at least we know what the new Riddick movie is about:

The infamous Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he’s encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty.

The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won’t leave the planet without Riddick’s head as their trophy.

Riddick also sees the return of Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Bourne Supremacy) as Vaako and introduces to the series Jordi Molla (Bad Boys II, Colombiana) as Santana, the arrogant captain of the mercenary ship; Matt Nable (Killer Elite) as Boss Johns, a man looking for answers; Katee Sackhoff (TV’s Battlestar Galactica) as the Nordic mercenary Dahl; and Bokeem Woodbine (upcoming Total Recall) as bounty hunter Moss. Rounding out the cast are Dave Bautista (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption), Conrad Pla (Immortals), Raoul Trujillo (Apocalypto), Nolan Funk (TV’s Aliens in America) and two-time Grammy Award-nominated singer Keri Hilson.

This definitely sounds like the movie is leaning more in the direction of Pitch Black. No reference of Necromongers (save for Karl Urban returning as Vaako), no Helion, or anything from Chronicles of Riddick. I’m still excited to see how this movie is going to turn out.

I have always been a huge fan of movie soundtracks.

Recently on Youtube I came across this crazy-talented violinist, Lindsey Stirling, who has recreated a couple of soundtracks into a medley and posted them on her channel. But not only is the music gorgeous, but the filmography is absolutely stunning. Lindsey dances around in costume as she plays her violin in some extremely beautiful landscapes.

The first one here, which was uploaded back in November, is the Zelda medley.

The second one is the Lord of the Rings, which also features Lindsey’s lovely singing voice.

The Zelda Medley is available for purchase through iTunes, and I assume the Lord of the Rings one will be soon as well.

I really need to read these books.

I have to say, the car industry is really starting to cater to the geeky crowd lately, which is great for us geeks, because we get way more enjoyment out of them.

Final Fantasy 13-2: January 31st

Soul Caliber 5: January 31st

The Darkness 2: February 7th

Mass Effect 3: March 6th

Prototype 2: April 24th

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier: May 22nd

Borderlands 2: June 30th

Darksiders 2: Summer of 2012

Resident Evil 6: November 20th

Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengeance: December 31st

Bioshock Infinite: December 31st

Halo 4: Holiday Season

Diablo III: They are still undecided.

This is a list of just some of the bigger games coming out, but there will also be other games released this year. From this list alone gamers all around should stay pretty busy, and it looks like it’ll be a good year for games

But even though very little is known about the movie, what we do know is enough to get me thoroughly excited to see this film.

First of all, the cast of the new movie has many movie and TV geeks thrilled, namely the casting of Katee Sachkoff. Most people know Sackhoff from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, in which she played badass pilot Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. In the new Riddick film she will be starring as a character named Dahl, a bounty hunter chasing after Riddick (kind of a perfect role for her).

The villain, which IMDB claims is named Santana, will be played by Jordi Mollà, who has starred in movies such as Bad Boys II, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Columbiana.

And other than the pivotal star playing Riddick himself, Vin Diesel, and Karl Urban returning once again to portray Vaako, there is only one other cast member that has been announced. Nolan Gerard Funk, who has made appearances in many TV shows such as Castle, Supernatural, Dead Zone, Warehouse 13, and Smallville. No news on what his character’s name is yet, but many are suspecting that this movie could finally be Funk’s breakout role.

There really isn’t a whole lot known about the movie’s plot, other than this very vague synopsis:

“Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick (Diesel) fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.”

According to various sources, the new Riddick film will be tying into Pitch Black as well as Chronicles of Riddick, and that the spooky monsters from the first film will be making a return. A short while ago Vin Diesel shared some concept art on a new monster that Riddick will be battling.

Also check out these other two pieces of concept art, the first one showing a design for Necro armor, and the second, an epic battle between Riddick and some monsters.

This really is all that is known about the film, but as someone who loves the first two Riddick films, I am very excited for this new one.

The new Riddick film is slated to come out in 2013.

The whole music video – voices, graphics, and music – was made by Youtuber Harry101UK, which is extremely impressive. It looks professionally made.

Check it out below and let me know what you think.