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The Pause That Refreshes

One of the worst things about MMOs, in my humble opinion, is the requirement usually for a block of uninterrupted time to play.  Uninterrupted is the key sticking point.  The pregant wife needs laundry carried up the stairs, a new episode of Fraggle Rock needs to go in to the DVD player, the dog dares you not to take him out, the roommate burns popcorn in the microwave, or your significant other decides to talk to you about the day “right now.”  All of these things are temporary.  The game just needs a pause.

Continue reading The Pause That Refreshes

Blizzard Authenticator Follow-up

The authenticator I ordered for my wife arrived recently and we set it up. It comes with a slip of paper with a web address to visit. When you go there, it asks you to log in and then you add the 10-digit code from the back of the device.

After that, every time you play World of Warcraft it asks for your normal password and follows with a box asking for the code from the authenticator. Press the button on it and enter the code. Log in and done. Couldn’t be more simple.

Wouldn’t complain if it had backlighting though.

– Ethic

Warriors End

Lately, I have inordinately enjoyed Warriors End at Whirled. It is a flash game that plays like bilging in Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates, except that instead of water levels going down, you have warriors on the top who are blasting each other. If you have played Corpsecraft, their headline game, you know the same mechanic. There are no graphics to speak of, although that could be awesome. My team is based around Rex, who has the Distracting Pants power. Without this game, I might have gone my entire life without thinking, “My pants are insufficiently distracting.” And what kind of life would that be?

A new grind: emotionally satisfying for a while, and available in very small doses. And I am a stellar bilger, so this is right up my alley.

Also, Whirled will apparently give me candy or something if you sign up from my link. Full disclosure. I have no idea what you can do with the points and coins, but I will learn someday. Like Kongregate, another site for little games with points and trophies attached.

: Zubon

Yeah, “Warriors End,” no apostrophe. Like Rainbows End.

Why you need to play Braid

(it’s coming for PC on Q1 2009, or if you have an Xbox you can get it now from XBLA)

You need to play Braid because it’s beautiful. I don’t mean just visually – and it is a visual treat. I mean the whole package. It’s just a precious, beautiful gaming experience as a whole. Easily one of the most emotionally/intellectually rewarding games I’ve played in years, and that’s not a qualifier I throw around lightly. In these times of formulas, repetition and franchises, to find a game that challenges and engages you not because of its difficulty, but conceptually as a whole is rare. And to find it in the shape of, basically, a 2D platformer is just a miracle of design.

But it’s there, and it’s beautiful. Everything, from watercolor painting visuals, to its amazing soundtrack, its clever design and superb writing combines to make something unique.

Yes, there is life and original thought in today’s gaming. You can get it from XBLA for (I believe) $15 which is a steal for the experience you receive in return. Or it’s coming for PC soon. Whatever your case, this is not something you wanna miss. It’s smarter, more beautiful, more engaging, more thought-provoking and better designed than many, many of the games out there which took an army of people to make.

P.S.: Yes, I got a 360 for xmas. Games I’ve been playing: Rock Band 2 (which is awesome), Kung Fu Panda (which I stole from the kids because it’s great), Lego Indiana Jones (which is nice to look at but horrible to play, just like every other Lego game), and I’ve been beating the everliving crap out of the Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Remix (which I love and I don’t care what you think).

Tao of the MMO Gamer

Plenty of people put forth their forward–looking posts, and I am going to do it as well.  Whether it is from a Steam-driven library of games, an aging MMO population, an economic recession, or plenty of different business models coming in to the MMO world, I believe that the subscription model of today is nearly done being “the way.”  Walk with me a second…

Continue reading Tao of the MMO Gamer

Casualties of War in LotRO

Last night was the second round of a new project we are starting within the Casualties of War guild. We have formed two small static groups that play Lord of the Rings Online. This is not an “official” guild supported game as of yet, but if enough people become interested it may. The group I am in plays on Tuesday nights on the Landroval server. The other group plays on Sunday nights.

Players (level at the end of the night): Syrna- Guardian (me) (13), Eostemir- Champion (13), Fairley- Warden (13), Cirwyn- Loremaster (16) and Fargin- Hunter (13)

Finished thru: Book 1, Chapter 10.

We ran around and did a few quests while waiting for everyone to arrive and once we felt there would be no more coming we started on Book 1. We gathered around a fellow named Strider to begin the quest line. He told us to run around a lot and some of us seemed to make running look easy. Smoking a pipe *and* running, that’s how the big folk do it. All the running led to a joke at the expense of the Hobbits.

FIGHTING! It’s not running.

It all led to Tom Bombadil’s house in the Old Forest. Who is inside? Well, I wonder.

I found out I can do the backstroke when swimming. Neat!

Next week we plan to do some questing to get a few levels before we continue the Book 1 quest line.

– Ethic