The EndWar boards were so nice and clean...Now we have about five pages of topics saying "I CAN HAS CODE NOW PLZ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" and three pages of "OMG WHERE MY CODE?!?!?!?!?! WHY CANT DONWLOAD BETA YET?!?!!???! I HATE UBISOFT THEY IS SATAN!!!!!!!!"

It also brings out a lot of random trolls or otherwise idiots spamming the boards trying to figure out what genre the game is instead of looking it up.

God I hate pre-release betas.

I know, sorta soon, but I felt like doing another already. Again, sources are mostly from Military.com and some of their affiliates.

Airborne Laser Closer to Reality

More tests were recently completed for the COIL (Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser) to be mounted in the Boeing Airborne Laser system. The system consists of a COIL laser mounted on a heavily modified 747. The laser was tested in a controlled environment that simulated flight conditions and "atmospheric conditions consistent with those at the altitude at which the aircraft will fly."

The test results say that the Airborne Laser has sufficient power to destroy a ballistic missile in flight. Boeing says that the project is "on track." A "real" test is scheduled for August 2009, when a completed prototype will shoot down a dummy ballistic missile while in flight.

Bloody Pirates!

Somalian pirates seized a Ukrainian vessel Friday. The cargo? Thirty-three T-72 main battle tanks and a large number of spare parts and ammunition. The ship had a crew of 21 sailors, three of which were Russians.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Yekhanurov says that the ship, the Faina, was carrying the shipment to Kenya. Alfred Mutua, a spokesman from Kenya, confirms that the Kenyan government had bought the 33 tanks and various spare parts and ammunition for the Kenya Army. The T-72 is the country's main battle tank of choice, with some 110 in service.

Russia has deployed the frigate Neustrashimy to the region, and the US Navy has diverted ships from the 5th Fleet to "monitor the situation." The governments of the US, UK, Russia, Ukraine, and Somalia are working together to see that the issue is resolved.

It is suggested that the pirates didn't know what the cargo actually was and are now working with what they have. The pirates are now demanding $20 million for the release of the ship, crew, and cargo.

However, given past responses by Russia and former Soviet Blocs to acts of terrorism, the ransom will most likely not be paid and the situation will probably end with the ship being retaken by force, or the Somalian pirates being convinced to surrender before that happens.

Female Brits Serving on the Front

For the first time, the British Army is allowing female soldiers to serve in combat units.

The British Army has not allowed women to serve in combat units since its foundation. Indeed, most modern armies restrict female soldiers to non-combat roles such as artillery, logistics, and so on.

The decision comes after stories of heroism by female soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of which was even awarded the Military Cross, a British military decoration awarded for "exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy."

The British military is already preparing for potential backlash against the decision.

US-Pakistani Tensions High

Pakistani government officials warn US troops not to violate their territory Friday. This comes after a brief exchange of fire between American and Pakistani troops several days earlier. The Americans claim they were still in Afghanistan, while Pakistani troops claim the US soldiers were in Pakistan.

This is nothing new. Pakistan has expressed their displeasure at other recent alleged American strikes against Taliban and al-Qaida hideouts across the border into Pakistan. The Pakistanis claim this is a violation of their sovereignty, and that it could worsen the situation in an already unstable country.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari praised American support for his country's war on terror and attempted to downplay the brief engagement last week, but his opinion is not a popular one amongst Pakistanis, and many see this as just another event that will undermine the already shaky friendship between the two anti-terror allies.

So Long M4

In a rather shocking move earlier this month, the US Army has released a statement to the arms industry to submit ideas to replace the M4 (And probably the M16).

The most shocking part? There are almost NO limitations. The Army calls for a new carbine with improved "accuracy and dispersion...reliability and durability in all environments, modularity and terminal performance." They didn't even put a limit on caliber, meaning they are open to the idea of a new service rifle that doesn't use the standard 5.56mm round that has been in use for decades. It seems that they are finally listening to our soldiers complaining about the 5.56mm's lack of stopping power, especially against enemies with modern body armor.

All this comes in the wake of numerous tests over the last few years that show many modern alternatives to the M4 performing much better in a wider range of environments and conditions while still being the same size and weight. It also comes after SOCOM announced that they will be replacing their M4s with the new SCAR series of assault rifles.

So, after all these years, it seems that the M16 and its little brother, the M4, are finally seeing the end of their time as America's weapon of choice.

XM25 Closer Than Anyone Expected

The XM25 is a 25mm air-bursting rifle that came from the controversial and now dead Objective Individual Combat Weapon program of the 1990s. Many of the projects from the program never went anywhere, but the program has spawn numerous spin-offs like the XM25.

The XM25 is a revolutionary weapon that allows troops to kill enemies behind hills, in buildings, or behind other cover without resorting to more destructive weapons like rockets or mortars. It has an advanced laser range finder and various other systems that allow the weapon to put a 25mm grenade through a window and detonate it, resulting in minimal collateral damage while achieving the same effect as some heavier weapons.

The weapon weighs 12 pounds and is about the size of an M4 carbine. The standard magazine is four grenades, but there are plans in place to increase that to as much as ten. Many different types of rounds are being developed, such as anti-armor rounds, rounds for breaching doors, anti-personnel, and even less-than-lethal. Range is between 16 and 600 meters.

A single XM25 will cost about $25,000, and grenades are about $25 each.

The prototypes are almost ready for evaluation, and the Army could be fielding limited numbers in the field for testing in March 2009. If all goes according to plan, the weapon could be in full service as early as 2014.

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I know, it was a long one this time. There were even more that I wanted to mention, but I felt that I already had a very lengthy blog. As you can see, September was a busy month.

I just have to vent my pure hatred for a particular part of this otherwise solid game that has me so pissed I am ready to give up and break the disc, and hope the people at Blockbuster don't notice.

I'm near the end of the game and I have to pull a Star Destroyer out of low orbit with The Force. You do this by using Force Grip to grab it and manipulate the analog sticks in the directions indicated onscreen.

Problem is, there is an infinite stream of TIE Fighters that attack in waves of about eight or so that appear about every 20 seconds. This means you have to stop what you are doing and destroy them. The problem is, the camera angle at this part is terrible (Like it is in ALL the boss fights in this game) and the targeting system is NOT suited for hitting such fast targets accurately. By the time you kill them, you have lost quite a bit of progress and must re-manipulate the Star Destroyer before you can pull it down further.

It is extremely tedious and downright ****ing FRUSTRATING. It is like trying to pleasure a woman who is numb from frostbite all over her body. I've been at this for over an hour now and just can't do it. The onscreen prompts also take their sweet time telling you which direction to move the analog sticks in sometimes as well, time you don't have as you watch the TIE Fighters flying ever closer.

I keep hearing people rant about how "easy" this game is. These people are either absolute freaks or are secretly playing on the "I'm a Baby" difficulty setting, because this game gets frustrating at times. I just had to beat a boss with an attack that he can use at any time (Including right in the middle of you slapping him around with your lightsaber) that you can't stop once it starts and eats up about 1/4th of your health. So many parts in the later stages of the game rely on pure dumb luck and not skill, so I don't know where people are getting this "the game is too easy" crap from. Admittedly, yes, most of the battles with stormtroopers and other grunts are easy, but I'm not talking about those.

Honestly, this is probably the first time I got so pissed at a game I actually rather like because of a single sequence that I have absolutely no desire to keep playing. Yes, this part really is that bad. I've been looking around recently and several reviews point out how difficult, tedious, and annoying this part is, and the Gamespot boards are literally flooded with topics asking for help on this part.