Update Ides of March

A lot of stuff is going on for RNA. With Bad Anime Night posted, it marks the official return of our reviews! Familiar faces will be appearing more often, and new video production will be more frequent, maybe not weekly just yet, at least monthly. Plans for an audio only podcast as well as collaborative YouTube videos with a new cohost are in the works. Not to mention our own Beanie becoming a father! Oh it's exciting times for team RNA! Be on the listen, be on the lookout!

Where's Beanie?

Visitors to RNA and Kyle's Muzak Corner may have noticed that at the end of the Christmas Holiday, Beanie disappeared and has not reappeared yet. They may be wondering where he is and what he has been up to. Well, I'm here to tell you that as of now, there is no information on his whereabouts. The Ninja, Francis and Kyle have been searching for him with no results. Even Carl and Wilhelm have been brought in to pool their collective intelligence to the case.

From the editor: On a more serious tone... Beanie's disappearance was to be a set up for a new plot thread, which as of yet has not come to fruition. The creative team at RNA has been locked in several matters concerning scheduling conflicts, budgetary disputes, and equipment issues. Beanie will eventually return, but for now, please enjoy the continuing episodes of Muzak Corner, the new RN Follies videos, and reruns of Power On.

From the other editor: News in a Nutshell will be taking a short hiatus while it is undergoing cosmetic adjustments. It's low ratings has greatly bummed the producers here at RNA. The Puppet Time Players videos will appear once a month instead of weekly like Nutshell was attempting. Currently the Power On Finale (which was supposed to appear in October) is still being edited and has no official release date. A new video segment titled Bad Anime Night is also in the works and is past its initial release date as well. These set backs are largely due to the aforementioned issues RNA is dealing with and the fact that the RNA team is short handed. Please bear with us as we work to get the videos out as soon as possible.

From the Ninja: Several ideas for story arcs and plots have come across my desk lately. All have potential, yet we cannot do all of them this season. Our writers are feverishly working to see if some can be combined, and where the adventures of Beanie and Francis will go from here. Of course they would all make more sense if the Power On Finale was complete and online for all to see. We thank you for your patience and your support.

First Thoughts - Dragon Age: Origins 2

Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite Next Gen titles. It's an action RPG where you create your character and quest to save the kingdom from the horde of Darkspawn commanded by the Archdemon. Along the way you gain companions, help cities and towns with their own problems, while ever-gaining support for your own cause. Like other RPG titles made by BioWare, you have multiple choices within your quests and subquests, making the overall story open to chance. Apart from your quest to kill the archdemon, it may not turn out the same each time you play. With various rewards (ie. trophies or achievements, and in-game rewards) it encourages multiple play-throughs - each time with a different character or motivation. I greatly enjoyed it, and have yet to unlock all of its mysteries.
Last year it was announced that a sequel was to be released. My eyes widened at the prospects. However, at first I was turned off, because it seemed like you weren't able to make your own character. From the promos it seemed that you would play a "generic" character with their own story. So my hopes had dwindled. Until...
This past week, the demo was released for download on X-Box live and the PlayStation Network. I immediately jumped on the chance to download it and see for myself what was in store for me.
Right from the get-go, I knew two things: the art style was similar but different, and the music style was the same as before. So far, I was excited. Starting a new game, I was given six character choices. I could choose to play a male or female character, and whether they were a warrior, mage, or rogue. There was no choice for race. Already I'm liking this game less that the first.
The demo's opening cutscene began. The graphics have definitely improved from the previous game - still in the same style. The voice work, like before is promising. A dwarf is being questioned about someone called "The Champion." He is being forced to tell the tale. Immediately you are thrust into battle with darkspawn alongside your sister. The darkspawn look nothing like the ones from the previous game. They appear to be related to Skeletor from He-Man. Wave after wave of Darkspawn attack, finally a giant Ogre appears. Once he is defeated, you and your very attractive sister are surrounded when a dragon appears and swoops down.
The scene is interrupted by the interrogator spouting that the story is BS. Finally she gets the dwarf to tell the truth.
The real game begins, and you are given the opportunity to customize the character you've selected. However, in the Demo, you can't. The story takes place as the dwarf tells it, and is during the events of the previous game. You and your family are on the run from darkspawn.
Here you get a sense of the new controls. The focus is more on action this time around. Instead of selecting your move and it plays out, you have physical control of the attacks in real time. The "X" button is for attack, and you do with every press of the button. The other buttons, as before, are used for your special attacks and item use. Only items and attacks that require you to aim pauses the action. The menu screen is also different. This time it is a radial menu instead of a page/list format. When leveling up, you can select the skill tree to use. They are displayed almost like a DNA strands.
Everything seems geared to make combat easier and more fast-paced. Oh, one thing I forgot. Dialogue uses the analog stick to choose your choice in a radial menu, and the player character is fully voiced. That...is...awesome! Finally a fully voiced player character in an RPG! This includes dialogue as well as the cutscenes.
Unfortuanately, I cannot say more. While I was playing the power went out. I have yet to try again. But I can't wait to play the full game when its released.

Puppet Time Players - Episode 1 "Bunny Upon A Park Bench"

A new segment featuring the writing and direction of Eric Hesselberg in the style he's known best for - a little humorous, a little dramatic, a little cute, and slightly off.
This section involves fully-scripted teleplays where the parts are played by puppets and stuffed animals.

Channel RN Follies - The News in a Nutshell - Episode 3 "Politics and Grammy's"

Chip is away this week so Political Expert Frankfurt Scott steps in to report the news. There is also another commentary by Kyle Sullivan of Muzak Corner.

Special Thanks for this week's episode goes to Kyle for filming and editing this broadcast with short notice.

Remember to submit your questions to the Samurai in the comment section below.

Possible T-Shirt Design

This is a possible T-shirt design for Random Ninja Attack. It is a Random Ninja Mushroom based on the original Power Up mushroom from Super Mario. The RNA type is based on a pixelated font. The entire image and font were crated in Adobe Illustrator. Wouldn't you like a shirt with this image on the front? I would.