STRYKER

Has anyone bought/played the game yet ? Please let us know. Thanks.

On the other hand, the current system is a cheap and easy way of getting some of your lev1 troops trained up, which I like. You send out the big guns to do battle while leaving the noob in the pod, and after the mission, the noob gets a share of the points. You do this enough times and eventually he or she will level up enough to take the place of one of the big gun while they're in training, or injured in sick bay.

shiremct, do you have the same plans for the psionics as well ?

I'm currently wrestling with a bug that causes random jagged shards to swamp my screen. Can't get rid of them no matter what I try. Goddamn ! Any moment now, I'm gonna have to take a break to go bash my head against the wall.

Playing Ironman and Super ironman style is a luxury I can't afford right now. I have to save and reload frequently simply because my game is all buggered-up to hell and gone.

Oh, Puhleeese ...

The only info I can contribute to the above applies only if you live in London. The game can be bought at HMV Oxford Circus and HMV Piccadilly Circus. You'll probably have to search the bottom shelves to find it though.

You know, I used to buy PC Zone all the time because it's well written and illustrated. Until I started realising that the only kind of game they were interested in were FPS's, with the ocassional side order of RTS's and the odd ridiculous article about how to play your games whilst completely drunk. RPGs barely get a mention. I began to get really PO'd when issue after issue after issue I found myself reading about DOOM 2 and HL2 and HALO again and again and all over again. So I simply stopped buying it. Nowadays I prefer to waste my six quid on some other trivial pursuit.

Same here. I'll probably get stuck in again after I get my hands on Aftershock, and Hammer and Sickle.

"What ?" Juliet asked. "I'm actually a vampire" Jack of Kent replied. "Oh, dear" Ali said, unable to hide his glee. "That has to play hell with your love life, no ?" "As a matter of fact it does, unfortunately" Jack of Kent said with a sad shrug. "All my previous girlfriends have quickly expired due to sudden excessive blood loss. And this is only in winter." "What happens in summer ?" Ali asked. "Well, around that time a seasonal physiological adjustment occurs and suddenly I begin to crave human flesh in large quantities." Jack of Kent explained. " In short, I am transformed into a werewolf." "Oh, you poor baby," Juliet said with genuine sympathy. "And that isn't the worst of it," Jack of Kent complained bitterly. "During spring I turn into an Elf and can eat only flowers and a special kind of hay which is havested in Finland." "Wow," Ali regarded Jack in awe. "From meat eater to vegetarian in one fell swoop ! That can't be good for the digestion." Jack grunted in agreement. "There's more. At the begining of every autumn another change occurs in which I am transformed into a Troll. During this cycle I tend to feed on rocks of all kinds, with a preference for granite, quartz and limestone. I also imbibe diesel fuel in large quantities." "Isn't there some kind of a cure ?" Juliet asked, distressed. "As a matter of fact there is," Jack replied. "This unusual lifestyle is the result of a curse inflicted upon me by a particularly nasty witch who lives in the southern mountains." "Why, what did you do to her ?" Ali asked. "Well, she and I used to date." Jack replied. "But I got fed up of her strange ways and eventually dumped her." "That explains everything" Ali nodded knowingly. "Well, something needs to be done " Juliet said indignantly. "Nobody should have to live the way you do. We must do something " "There is only one way to lift the curse," Jack explained. "First of all ......"

They arrived at the jail at fourteen hundred hours exactly and immediately surrounded the facility in a pincher movement. The prison governor sounded the alarm and raised the level of prepareness to DEFCON 4. What happened next was that ...

... and Ali promptly loaded the loot into some hefty sacks bought off the pawnbroker at a discount. He immediately retired to a nearby pub and began partying in earnest, buying drinks for all and sundry and generally celebrating his good fortune. At some point however, he began to miss Juliet terribly and grew remorseful of his betrayal of her. A couple of hours later found him crying inconsolably into his pint. He explained his problem to the bartender. "Wait here" the bartender said, and disappeared into the smoke-filled gloom. The bartender returned moments later with a burly looking individual in tow. His companion was encased in a suit of armour, carried a burnished shield and wore a huge, jewel encrusted sword. "Ali," the Bartender announced expansively, "Let me introduce you to mister Robin Hood." "How do you do, sir," Ali greeted, offering Robin Hood a limp handshake. "Very well, thankyou" Robinhood replied, accepting Ali's hand in a bonecrushing grip. "Listen, Ali," Robin began, "Leroy here has explained your problem and I would like to help." "How ?" "By initiating a hostage rescue contingency operation." "Meaning what, exactly ?" "We spring your girl out of the can." Sobering up fast, Ali digested this dastardly piece of proposed strategy. "You're proposing breaking Juliet out of jail ?" he asked incredulously. "Well, actually I was going to stage a rescue operation of my own at the same correctional facility sometime today, anyway. You see, the sheriff of Nottingham nabbed a couple of my boys last week. They didn't do anything wrong, just earning an honest days graft on the Queen's highway. But they got nabbed anyway. And now I intend to get them back. Might as well grab your girl on the same mission, what ?" "Count me in" Ali declared, leaping off his stool with alarcrity. "Lead the way, dear knight. Juliet my love. Here I come " Robin Hood whistled twice and forty vicious-looking thugs stepped forward from all over the pub. Some were armed with swords and machetes. Others with AK-47s and RPGs. "Mister Ali," Robin Hood declared with an expansive gesture, "I'll like you to meet my merry men." "Before we leave, I'll like to propose a toast. "Ali declared, raising his pint. "For Queen and Country " "For Queen and Country " Robin Hood and his merry men echoed boisterously. Downing their drinks, the motley assemblage left the pub and marched in earnest towards the city jail.

At length Juliet and Ali-Mustapha St John arrived at the village Pawnshop and walked in. The owner eyed them sleepily from his place behind the counter. "Hello there," Juliet announced breezily, "I've got some stuff here that I would like to exchange for some cold, hard cash." "How much cash did you have in mind ?" asked the pawnshop owner, straightening. "About two hundred grand, maybe two fifty ? Juliet replied. The pawnshop guy grunted. "Okay, lady. Let's see what you've got." Juliet walked up the counter and up-ended her bag on the countertop. Diamonds and jewelry spilled forth. The Pawnshop owner grunted his approval. "This brings back fond memories of those guys who came to see me right after the Brinks bullion robbery" he said. He cracked his knuckles and began sifting through the glittering pile. Then he got up and went to the back of the shop, returning moments later with an electron microscope. He switched on the device he began subjecting the choicest diamonds to spectroscopic analysis. "This isn't going to take too long, is it ?" asked Ali-Mustapha St John impatiently The pawnshop owner ignored him, adjusting the controls on the microscope and studying a readout. At length he straightened. "I can offer you one fifty" he announced. "Dollars ?" Juliet asked, aghast. "Grand" the Pawnshop owner said. "Oh, one hundred and fifty grand ?" Juliet said, brightening "Yep." "In dollars ?" "Yep. But I can also pay you in roubles if you want." "Roubles ? What's that ?" "Soviet currency. " "Er, I don't think so." "For the record, I also offer a good rate in Indian Rupees, Columbian Pesos and Algerian Dinars. " "What about Ugandan Shillings" Ali-Mustapha St John wanted to know. The pawnshop guy shook his head. "Sorry sir, can't help you there." "So how much is our merchandise worth in Pesos ?" Juliet asked. The pawnshop guy whipped out his calculator and jabbed at the keyboard. "About ten thousand billion trillion" he said. Juliet brightened. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Okay, we'll accept payment in Pesos." "In that case," the pawnshop owner responded, "you'll have to excuse me for a moment while I go fetch my wheelbarrow." He left the counter and disappeared into the recesses of his shop. While Juliet and Ali-Mustapha St John waited for his return, the front door of the shop swung open suddenly and in walked ....

... wards the village pawnshop, Jullet's handbag bulging with expensive jewelry, Ali-Mustapha St John's pockets stuffed with wads of banknotes from the Jeweller's safe. "Things certainly are looking up" he grinned happily, dancing a jig on the cobbles. "At this rate, we'll have our story all wrapped up by next month. We'll be famous. We'll be big-time celebrities ! They'll be falling over themselves to print our pictures in the Sun and O.K. Magazine." "Yes darling," Juliet concurred lovingly. "Who knows. We might even get to appear on Celebrity Big Brother." "Yeah ! And maybe even on `I'm a celebrity get me out of here' " Ali-Mustapha St John added. "Of course you'll have to marry me immediately afterwards" Juliet pointed out. "Just like Jordan and that musician guy did after they appeared on I'm a Celebrity." "NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT " somebody yelled ferociously to their left. The startled couple looked in that direction to see Romeo leap out of a side alley, his soot-encrusted features twisted with vengeance and unbridled lunacy. Craddled in his arms was the dead Jeweller's shotgun. "First you steal my share of the loot and then you steal my woman ?" he screamed at Mustapha-Ali St John maniacally. "Well, this time I'm gonna kill you for sure ! And then after that I'm gonna take your loot off your dead body. And then after that I'm gonna take back my woman. And then after that I'm gonna take her to the Bahamas for a long deserved holiday. And then after that I'm gonna get us both on Celebrity Big Brother for some big-time media exposure " He pointed the shotgun at Ali-Mustapha St John. "Here's where we part company, partner " But just as he was about to squeeze the trigger ....

.... Ali-Mustapha St John ?" "Over here" Ali-Mustapha St John, slumped in a corner, mumbled through swollen lips. "Please forgive me. I'm not looking my best today." "That's quite all right, pal," the postman said, ambling over. "What kinda name is Ali-Mustapha St John anyway ? Are you a muslim or a Christian ? I mean, how does a guy end up with a name like that ?" "Do you want the long version or the short one ?" Ali-Mustapha asked tiredly, reaching for the parcel. "Er, sorry pal," the Postman said, pulling the parcel out of reach. "I'm afraid you're gonna have to sign for that before I can hand it over." "No can do, friend" Ali-Mustapha St John groaned, gesturing weakly in Romeo's direction. "That gorilla over there already broke all of my fingers." "I'll sign for him " Juliet said eagerly, rushing over. "You okay with that ?" the postman asked Ali-Mustapha St John. "Yeah. Let her sign." Juliet signed for the parcel and the postman departed. "So who is it from ?" Romeo asked curiously, inching closer. Juliet studied the return address on the parcel. "It says here from someone named Osama Bin something or the other. Sorry, can't make out the last part." "Why is it ticking like that ?" the Jeweller asked suspiciously. Juliet held the parcel to her ear. "Sounds like there's a clock inside." "A clock ?" Romeo asked, frowning. "Yeah. A big, fat clock." Juliet turned the parcel over in her hands. "With wires attached." "Let's open it up, shall we ?" She smiled at Ali-Mustapha St John. "I bet this would look great on your mantlepiece." She began to unwrap the parcel. "No " screamed Romeo. "No " screamed Ali-Mustapha St John. "No " screamed the Jeweller. But it was too late. Juliet had already ripped the parcel open. BOOM ! A powerful flash enveloped the shop, occasioned by a thunderous roar.