What do ArchangelUK, £900 bottles of cognac and the Paralympics team of Gibraltar have in common? As it happens we were all at Gatwick airport last Thursday, though whilst the cognac was gathering dust and the Gibraltans were off to some sort of training camp I myself as the Online Community Team’s resident representative for all things Nightopian was off to Edinburgh to the very heart of the NiGHTS fan base.

The reason for this was very simple - it was a lot cheaper to send me to them then get them down to us.

So, armed with a bag full of NiGHTS merchandise a suitcase containing a Wii (and looking at the weather a sense of foreboding) I marched off to do battle with the airport check-in system… at 3:45am. 

Let me tell you strange things happen at 3:45am, for a start paying £20 for the slim chance of winning a Ferrari they’ve somehow got into the departures lounge  sounds like “a good idea” - you imagine yourself with “Magical Sound Shower” blaring from the speakers as you zip along the straights of Malibu.  Feeling rather worried by this and keeping the £20 firmly in my pocket I instead headed straight for the arcade and blasted off a quick few laps on OutRun2.

Speaking of arcades is it me or is the entirety of the Arcade system now solely resting on machines produced by SEGA and Namco? I swear there are more SEGA machines around than any other publisher - and the rest seem to be Time Crisis.

The plane boarded on time and we were soon in the air, the pilot finishing his welcome by inviting us to “enjoy all the marvellous facilities we have on this aircraft… Not.”  So as we sailed into the sky with the strains of Dreams Dreams 2008 in my ears I was really looking forward to the trip, I was even looking forward to the surprisingly tasty looking in-flight breakfast which was served pretty much immediately.

Yup, everything was going smoothly… and then I made the mistake of opening my tub of orange juice.

Like some sort of cosmic switch the plane all of a sudden lurched sideways as we hit a terrible bout of turbulence which did its best to cover me in the orange liquid. I clamped my palm over the top of my cup in desperation to try and prevent further spillage but still I fear looked rather like the recipient of shrapnel wounds from a Tango grenade when all was said and done.

We landed on time (and for a while on one wheel) at Edinburgh airport which seemed surprisingly small and as I set foot for the first time on Scottish soil I was pleased to see that absolutely no stereotypes about Scotland were to be seen. Yup it was windy, rainy, cold, bagpipe music was playing as I entered the arrivals area and the first man I saw was in a kilt trying to sell me shortbread. Absolutely no stereotypes at all.

After a brief scare when I almost left my case at the airport I exited to find freezing sheet rain and dragging my belongings onto the shuttle bus rode off to my hotel room and my first meeting with TRiPPY and DiGi…

Hi guys,

Welcome to our second Viking: Battle for Asgard Q&A. Keep your questions coming!

Q. About the searching for relic missions, are we talking Zelda style dungeons with puzzles and stuff like that?

A. In some quests you will need to seek out relics such as a dragon gem so that you may communicate with the dragons. There aren’t puzzles as such as Viking: Battle for Asgard is more combat-focused. Each of Midgard’s three Islands are over a kilometer square in size and offer many different environments to explore such as caves, forests and forts.

Q. When in Stealth mode can you go up against walls, peek around corners, hide and all that kind of stuff? What is the depth of the stealth mode?

A. To navigate safely around Midgard, stealth can be a valuable tactic to approaching objectives. You can of course charge in and attack the Legion head on, but sometimes its better to infiltrate the area unseen, liberate and recruit reinforcements and then attack the Legion in greater numbers. Skarin can climb up vines, shimmy along ledges, and swing across chasms to avoid the enemies below. He can even sneak up to execute them with special stealth kills.

Q. I’ve read that we will be able to face off against some mythical beasts from Norse mythology, How will this play out?

A. While we would like to keep these encounters a surprise, let’s just say that some of the enemies will be much larger then our Viking champion. Each will require a lot of skill, cunning and dexterity to overcome them.

Q. Can you talk to NPCs in towns and villages?

A. Characters will give you quests and provide tips. If you can earn their trust through the completion of secondary quests, they can be convinced to add their number to your pool of forces.

Q. Are there any QTE (Quick Time Events) in the game? If so, how many and where?

A. Yes there are Quick Time Events. Some opponents will require attacks to be executed in a certain order to target their unique weaknesses. A giant for example could only be toppled if he is first brought down to size. Other enemies require completely different tactics in order to defeat them, such as Shamans who are protected by a magical force and assassins who use their agility and stealth to gain the upper hand.

Q. As far as the Xbox 360 version goes, can you tell us what the unlockable achievements will be like?

A. It is important to make the achievements both fun and challenging to encourage players to get the most out of the game. Only the most skilled warriors will be able to tame dragons, lead mighty armies to victory, liberate all of Midgard from Hel’s evil clutches to prevent Ragnorok (the end of the world).

Q. When will the official Viking: Battle for Asgard webpage be up?

A. Very soon! We are currently putting the finishing touches on the official Viking: Battle for Asgard website, which will feature exclusive information and screenshots, character bios, videos, downloads and much more. I will keep you all informed when it is ready to launch so stay tuned!

If you haven’t already, be sure to add Viking: Battle of Asgard as a friend on MySpace and join our Facebook group!

Thanks,

Mark O’Connell

It’s that time of year again, when New Year thoughts turn to getting a little bit fitter, and with lots of football fans in the office we decided that our get-fit campaign should come in the form of a five-a-side football team.

So, we found a league, we entered, and yesterday we played our first match; and guess what? We won!!!

Unfortunately a couple of our team (myself included) were unable to make the game due to meetings, so we had a little help from a couple of chaps from the Sports Interactive Test Room. And, despite falling a goal behind early on, goals from our web developer Kai and a couple from the SI boys put us 3-1 up in an ill-tempered affair.

Muze, our opponents, grabbed a goal back late on to set-up a nervy finale, but SEGA Online FC managed to hang on for their first ever victory, thanks in no small part to Jim, our goalkeeper, who I’m told pulled off a string of great saves that even Peter Schmeichel would have been proud of.

We’re off to a winning start, so visit the blog next week to find out how we get on against Bunny Army; and also check out our official team photo for the season ahead!