Your Weekly Lockwood Fix
by Terra_Cide, HSM Editor
Talk about your opposite ends of the spectrum here.
Apparently, someone over at Lockwood is talented enough to pat their head and rub their stomach at the same time, at least metaphorically speaking. On one hand, this week’s update has Lockwood adding more cute to our virtual lives in the form of two new wild African animals: Kubwa the gorilla and Kiboko the baby hippopotamus. On the other hand, we have more action-packed awesome for fans of Project Velocity with the unlockable Legendary Pilot outfit.
So where to start?
Let’s start with the animals.
Everyone loves animals. There’s practically a “Save the___” bumper sticker for just about every wild animal in existence. This love of animals has been – for quite some time – clearly illustrated in Home.
Thanks to virtual reality, you can now have that menagerie you always wanted but couldn’t have because your parents said no/allergies/they were too expensive to keep/you didn’t want them to eat one another/you lacked the space/didn’t want to get kicked out of your apartment for breaking the “no pets” rule/you didn’t want to get arrested because keeping certain animals (*cough*tiger) as pets are against the law.
And just what is it that makes people go bugnuts about having companions in Home? Are they – like personal spaces and fashion – just another item for people to collect? Is it because they are in fact a means of fulfilling a real life desire, fueled by a vivid imagination? Is it something else entirely? Exploring the desire to have pets in a virtual world would certainly make for interesting reading from a psychological point of view.
So now then, Kubwa and Kiboko.
Their names are quite accurate – Kiboko translates to “hippopotamus” and Kubwa to “great” or “large” – so we can see that the attention to detail Lockwood is known for is present. Lockwood’s signature sense of humor is present too, as evidenced in the descriptions of the two (especially about Kubwa) in their PR statement:
Tembo is back and this time he’s brought some friends along. Kubwa is an impressively huge gorilla with some questionable habits and Kiboko is an unbelievably cute baby hippo who sometimes gets tired out playing all day. Open up your home and your heart to some exotic wildlife!
…Do I even dare to want to know what those “questionable habits” are? Granted, I have a four-year-old preschool boy, so I know my fair share of habits that are certainly questionable, but this I somehow feel is going to be a lot different.
Now let’s go to the other end of the spectrum – Sodium2’s Project Velocity.
The Sodium universe will be celebrating its third birthday in Home at the end of this year, and Project Velocity has made a significant splash in the community in this, its first year, alone. Home Community Volunteer JERRY-666 even hosts a weekly Tuesday night racing event there (which everyone reading this ought to check out). Back when I had some semblance of a life outside of this magazine, I enjoyed playing it myself. And once my son has a better grasp of the fine motor skills needed for handling the Sixaxis, I’m sure he’ll try his hand at it, too. He already lights up like a Christmas tree when the promotional slide for it shows up in Home’s loading screen.
What they’ve done here is rather ingenious: not only have they delved in deeper into the back story of Project Velocity, but they’ve also offered up a carrot for those speed demons to push themselves to the utmost limit. Direct from the blog over at Lockwood, we get just a tiny taste of the story of the Legendary Racers:
Two racers have returned to Project Velocity, forgotten heroes of this high octane sport, intending to regain notoriety once more. Already it’s happening – these Legendary Racers are gaining a following of keen young sportsmen and women eager to follow in their death defying footsteps, by racing and dressing just like them.
Only the finest racers can expect to don the Legendary Pilot outfit though. The Legendary Racers don’t let just anyone copy their style. If you want to dress like a winner, you have to BE a winner. Reach level 40 to unlock the complete Legendary Pilot Outfit.
Now bear in mind – this unlockable outfit won’t let you level up past level 40 – though I can see something eventually allowing you to do so in the future, with enough community clamor – but it does unlock some new XP rewards for those daring and ambitious enough to obtain Legendary status.
So there you have it – your weekly Lockwood fix. What will you go for? Will it be a dream pet or a high-octane kick in the pants? Will it be both? We’ll all just have to wait and see after the update on Wednesday.
April 17th, 2012 by Terra_Cide | 2 comments
Terra _Cide is the former Community Manager for Lockwood Publishing and Editor Emeritus for HomeStation Magazine.
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I cant wait for the little hippo. The gorilla is a little scary looking but I still like it. I am just slightly bummed that i noticed a safari bundle being offered. I wish i had known that before getting Tembo. But it’s Lockwood so it’s always worth it.
I have been looking forward to the outfit as well, just wished i had to work for it
I’m already level 40. We definitely need a higher level to reach for. Sodium 2 has plenty of reason to return though, I have to keep fighting friends’ times constantly and I can’t wait for the arcade mode that’s supposed to be coming soon.