The Steam summer sale reminded me that I own and installed The Witcher 2, so maybe I should try it out sometime? Trying it out reminded me of the two things in general circulation from review at the time: it is reportedly one of the great PC RPGs out there, but good luck playing it because the game features difficult combat involving many abilities with little to no explanation of how to use them. Penny Arcade had it about right: Continue reading Witchin’
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Промоакции для игроков не только в шутерах — воспользуйся промокодом Vavada от наших партнеров и получи бонусы, которые подарят азарт и атмосферу, сравнимую с игровыми победами.
.Premature Climax
Many of my multiplayer gaming frustrations can probably be attributed to the excessive deployment of high variance tactics. Gamers take outrageous risks where they would normally not be warranted. If the risks pay off, they win big and feel awesome. If the risks do not pay off, they lose quickly, call something OP, then get another round to try to win big. After all, the downside of losing an online game is not that huge, especially if you down-weight the negative.
If you are the sort of person who plays Civilization on settings like “epic” and “marathon,” the idea of “win big or lose fast” is probably anathema. Whatever game you are playing, you are planning to settle in, focus on the fundamentals, operate efficiently and perhaps aggressively, and build to a satisfying climax. And then this twerp decides to throw absolutely everything at his first attempt, either failing miserably and quitting (smack talk on exit optional) or winning and declaring himself the best player ever (smack talk required).
This is where I place the distinction in an RTS between “rush” and “cheese.” Continue reading Premature Climax
[GW2] New Player’s Guide to Bazaar of the Four Winds
Much of the Living World updates in Guild Wars 2 are designed so that characters of all levels can join. Bazaar of the Four Winds is no different, and this guide is written for those just buying Guild Wars 2 now.
The Core
If you play normally, you will run across Zephyr Sanctum Kite Baskets located throughout the world. Looting these advances an achievement and gives the new crafting supply, quartz, and a rare chance at some other goodies. Enemies will rarely drop Kite Fortunes, which can be cracked for a short buff and Fortune Scraps.  Fortune Scraps can be amassed to buy the exclusive skins at the new zone.
What Will I Miss?
If you do ignore this Living World update, it is believed that in early August the small zone Labyrinthine Cliffs will become unavailable. This will also make the Sanctum Sprint minigame, a Mario-Kart-parkour-type race, unavailable. You will also miss the rewards for the meta-achievement to get a personal quartz resource node. Continue reading [GW2] New Player’s Guide to Bazaar of the Four Winds
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?
The most ancient and wise Wilhelm Arcturus says a lot of words on the apparent status of the MMO blogging community. He seems to wonder if the golden age of MMO blogging, where the ‘sphere was a thing, is fading or gone. Things used to be so good… then, he says.
Wilhelm references the New Blogger Initiative, and I want to reference my post on the subject as well. A few people got it, but using a cowboy as a metaphor for a veteran blogger of the MMO ‘sphere speaks on many levels. Â Maybe Wilhelm got it too since he spoke of not getting worked up at the latest drama rodeo. Continue reading Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?
[GW2] Bazaar of the Four Winds Impressions
ArenaNet has been inviting fan sites and journalist sites to preview the new content the weekend before it drops. I really appreciate all the work the team is doing for this because it gives the sites time to think, write, and develop well-rounded impressions and guides. This is the first time I have been able to join in on the preview, and for the content coming July 9, we checked out the Bazaar of the Four Winds.
New Map, Labyrinthine Cliffs
Although kind of unspecified in the official site’s Bazaar of the Four Winds page, the majority of this content update takes place on a brand new map called Labyrinthine Cliffs. It’s about the size of Rata Sum, or a small capital city, but it does have some enemies to combat. Labyrinthine Cliffs is located east of Mount Malestrom, and it is beautiful. Kites are the theme, and the sense of wind and freedom permeates the map. All the artists have done a remarkable job, as usual. It is also where the giant, nomadic airship – the Zephyr Sanctum – docked. Continue reading [GW2] Bazaar of the Four Winds Impressions
Adjustable Grind
I have been playing Defender’s Quest: Valley of the Forgotten, which is pretty good. One unusual feature of its advancement system is a slider for how quickly you gain experience points and cash. Want to triple your rewards or stop them completely? You can do that. Want to remove the penalty for failure beyond “start over”? You can do that.
Defender’s Quest also classifies its achievements by difficulty. The hardest amount to “do everything perfectly in New Game++ with only one of each tower.” The in-game text goes on to note that New Game++ is really hard and that you probably want to turn on triple xp.
: Zubon
More American Standards
This is the ESRB warning box that accompanies recent ads for Rift (now F2P! Oh, you’ve heard). There is talk of alcohol, other harsh language, mild naughty themes, imaginary consumption of alcohol, and — oh yes — the game is all about murdering sentient beings to death so you can loot their corpses and feed your soul(s) with power harvested from your victims.
Pink body parts will not be more than mildly suggested because we would not want to offend anyone.
: Zubon
[GW2] The ArenaNet Service
I was going to write about necromancers today. ArenaNet decided otherwise. Their public face has swung a gigantic hammer today. Not only do players hear about the next new thing: The Bazaar of the Four Winds, but ArenaNet put up a wave of discussion on the service they want to provide. I highly recommend listening to the Game On podcast at mmorpg.com and reading and watching Colin “The Serious Don’t Smile†Johanson’s official post.
Stepping back to view our favorite genre, MMOs are a service. At the base level the developer hosts a playground. In the current MMO market, the service must also include updates to be a viable studio. Updates are the lifeblood of MMOs. What other genre has fans chomping at the bit to read patch notes? Patch notes can bring swarms of players back to the game. They are like treasures such that people are willing to break contracts to leak them out. For quite some time, MMOs have been living worlds and their living documents have been the patch notes. Continue reading [GW2] The ArenaNet Service
[GW2] Sea of Sorrows Review
Sea of Sorrows is the last book in the planned series of three Guild Wars universe novels. I’ve reviewed the first two, Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny, already. This book stands apart for two reasons: it is the only novel that has been released since the Guild Wars 2 launch, and it is the only novel wholly written by an ArenaNet employee (Jeff Grubb of ArenaNet co-authored Ghosts of Ascalon with Matt Forbeck). The time it appeared to have to mature made this book the best of the series. Any Guild Wars 2 fan looking for a little bit more out of the Guild Wars universe will enjoy Sea of Sorrows. Continue reading [GW2] Sea of Sorrows Review
Selective Vocabulary
I am playing Scribblenauts Unlimited, which is good. I discovered today that the game does not have “beer” in its dictionary. It does, however, have “shoggoth” and “parantha.” Guided by American standards for what is acceptable in children’s entertainment, you can kill people with rocket launchers, but alcohol is edgy. (“Naked” is an acceptable adjective. It puts a big mosaic over the object.)
: Zubon