Websites for Geeks: Loot Crate

Have you ever craved to order a box full of random geeky toys, clothes and collectibles sent to your house every month for a nominal fee? Well, there's a website that provides that very service! I discovered Loot Crate last summer while browsing through the interwebs, likely looking for nonessential things to spend money on. Loot Crate is a website that allows you to subscribe for a service in which they send you a box full of goodies every month. Every month has a theme; for instance there was a survive crate which included zombie related items such as the zombie survival guide and a punny Walking Dead t-shirt. The value of the items packed into the crate is advertised as at a value of more than forty dollars. It's all pretty geeky stuff ranging from Star Wars to Doctor Who and everything in between like superheroes and all kinds of game related gear.

However, there is a catch; you won't know what exactly is in the crate until it's dropped off at your door and you open it up. This is why I was a little skeptical to sign up in the first place. While you can get the crates fairly cheap (maximum you pay with shipping is under $20) I wasn't sure how I felt paying for completely random items. Part of the idea is fun and the idea of being surprised is cool but at the same time, you might also worry about receiving something you already own or just have no interest in. So it's kind of a coin-flip. There is the possibility of being the winner of the fabled mega crate though. One customer every month will win the mega crate which is valued at nearly eight hundred dollars. Wow! These puppies contain exclusive collectible gear, replicas and in some cases consoles and video games. You can browse through the past crates on their site and see what the contents were to get a better idea of what to expect though should you decide to sign-up.

You can also just be like me and wait for a theme that really excites you, like dragons. That's right, the theme of April, is dragons. I like that as opposed to the more general themes the website has chosen over the past few months like celebrate or launch. I feel like with those themes, I don't know what to expect. But dragons, well there can only be one thing inside, and that's dragons! So I caved. I'm hoping for some cool Skyrim related swag or anything awesome to do with dragons, because, well, dragons. I have faith the loot crate team will impress me and I plan to do a video review which I'll post here on my blog. Their website is definitely worth checking out and while you don't have to subscribe right away, you can always keep your eyes peeled for a theme that interests you!

The Darth Maul Game That Could Have Been

It looks like there was a Star Wars game in production before Lucas Arts was sold off that could have rivaled the much anticipated bounty hunter adventure, Star Wars: 1313. I was reading an article on GameInformer yesterday about such a game that had been being developed at Red Fly studios that focuses on one of Star Wars' most badass characters, Darth Maul. Yeah just let that sink in for a moment. I know, it's incredibly depressing because this looks like it truly had potential to be an awesome game worthy of Darth Maul and we won't ever get to play it. You can see some gameplay for yourself in the video below, courtesy of GameInformer.

What's even more surprising is this is all prototype and concept stage material. (I posted some concept art below) Red Fly didn't have a script or a clear idea of where they were going with this game. I feel that doesn't even matter though, just looking at how beautiful Maul looks slashing through Mandalorians with that double bladed lightsaber feels so satisfying. There would be no shortage of possible plot-lines the studio could have chosen to follow as well and with a team of writers, a script would have been a cinch. While I would have preferred an origin type story line that takes place before Maul's appearance in Phantom Menace, I wouldn't mind taking control of a cyborg Maul as he rises from the ashes.

This Twi'lek appears here and in the art above. She may have been some kind of companion

Unfortunately, since Disney's acquisition of Lucas Arts, we may never see games featuring Darth Maul or something similar to Star Wars: 1313. EA still holds the rights to Lucas Arts video game properties though and Battlefront III is definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully they step up their game and take cues from concepts like this in the future. Check out some of the concept art below (again, courtesy of GameInformer) and feel free to let me know just how bad you would have loved to play this game.

It looks like Red Fly was planning a story after Phantom Menace due to the robotic legs