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So......

June 1st 2010 17:43
I'm looking forward to E3 news, not many new games out lately. I've been playing a little Heroes of Newerth. It is a near replica of DoTA with different names of items/heroes/abilities. But why fix what isn't broken? I'm getting better, finding out what heroes I really mesh with. I had a ridiculous game with Pestilence on my first play-through with him. It didn't even make any sense, he is way too easy.

Every now and then me and my buddies meet up at a lan and play it. It's fun as shit, having everyone there to play. The transition from DoTA was surprisingly difficult for me, I can't really recognize all the heroes as easily as I could before. It's just taking time, I play like once a week.


Anyway it's a game worth picking up, it's great if you have an hour to play here and there, always exciting, good teamwork wins games, etc. My type of game. If you have a local lan center that has the game you can get a "Lan.*name*" tag and you can use it at home too, no need to even buy the game. So even if lan's aren't your thing, thats worth it. ERR update -- NVM, I literally played a game last night just fine, but logged on today and it's wanting me to pay up crazy.

I don't see any good games on the horizon. OHHH WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review


First off, let me say that I realize this game is more centered around the multi-player, much like MW2 (I'll be using that as a comparison). I love both multi-players, they are FUN, but I'm here to talk about the single-player. It seems kind of pointless to even judge a SP of an entirely MP-focused game, but whatever, still going to do it.


Bad Company 2, for the most part, puts you in the shoes of Preston Marlowe a normal guy in a unit of 4. He'd be the guy most of us would probably relate to in this group of guys. Interesting. The other members of the team try to have these personalities to make for comedic moments, but I really wasn't feeling it. I understand the idea here, but it would have just been better if they took war a little more seriously, instead of failed to make me laugh. I wanted to like them, but it was just average for me.

The intensity of the game was nothing like MW2 for me. I finished MW2 in a single sitting because I literally could not take my eyes off the game/story. It was nothing oscar-worthy, but it was so god damn intense. Bad Company 2 couldn't really do that for me, and I was really hoping it would. One problem for both games is that they were ridiculously short. I think BC2 took me a little longer to complete. Going back to how MP-centered these games are, why even create a SP if its beatable on the first play-through in ~3 hours? By no means do I not want them to create it, I enjoyed both, but it seems kind of stupid.

Graphically BC2 is pretty up there. I have a fairly high-end computer and it was heating up a little bit, but even on high, it ran smooth. The keystone, the "nano-suit" the "gravity gun" the "grappling hook" of this game is the destructible environment. It absolutely changes this game for the better, and I'm REALLY giving them points for pushing this mechanic further. It makes MP one of the best experiences in FPS I've had. It also makes SP very fun as well. To be able to just blow a hole in a building then use it as cover is a concept that I love. When talking about advancements in video games, this is what I am most excited about. I want to be able to play an MMO and literally level a castle that another guild built (not in a pre-determined way), build my own, then defend it.

The story is about as average as MW2, it's a little less engaging, but I enjoyed it. You are trying to find this super weapon that is kind of like a nuclear EMP. It was really hard for me to get attached to any of the characters or get involved in the story. (spoiler).................... ............................. ......I at least was REALLY pissed when Shepherd killed Roach and Ghost. And the way they Portrayed Makarov was just insane, and quite frankly, disturbing. I never really felt that emotion toward any of the characters/story in BC2. Which is kind of a bummer, because I'm all about the story.

Overall it's a solid game, it flows pretty well, game-play felt just like any other battlefield game, and it was well worth my time. Like MW2 it was way too short, but also it lacked an engaging story, it never really excited me, I couldn't get attached to the characters. Regardless, fun to play, loved the environments, destruction, etc.

7/10
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Planetside Announcement Is....

May 20th 2010 17:01
Really Long Link


If you are reading this and haven't already clicked the link, It's some shitty re-hashed in-game event, not a PS2 official announcement. Both Bioware and SoE are pissing me off with these countdowns. You guys really want to know how to do a countdown? Do you remember the Blizzard Diablo III announcement? Remember? The gaming developer that makes more money then small nations? Might want to not disappoint your fans like this.

NOBODY needs a website countdown for things like that. The idea behind a countdown on your website is to hype something up, for us to get excited about it. You are a game developer, don't be assholes like every other industry that sucks the life out of it's fans by selling out to bullshit like this.

Suck my balls, SoE.

But please make PS2 THX
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Cataclysm Beta Opt-In // Sign-up

May 14th 2010 21:55
Really Long Link

Even if you don't want to play the beta, I'd sign up, it may be valuable to other people


This game will no doubt meet and exceed expectations, but I just feel like I already know what to expect, and in the end, will feel like I do now with the WOTLK x-pac wrapping up. I raided in a top <100 U.S. guild for awhile and met a lot of cool people, did some pvp, got 2nd place in 5's, etc, but my teams/guild died. So with that, I feel like I just wasted the past year and a half of my gaming life. I'm still on pace with what I was talking about earlier in my blogs. I can't wait to try FF14/PS2/TERA/TOR. But for now, it's still WoW.

Anyway, like I said, Sign up.
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Portal on Steam for FREE.

May 14th 2010 15:46
Portal Free Valve


Really Long Link

Portal is free and well worth any gamer's time. It's a puzzle-physics based game on the source engine and its very intuitive and fun. It's pretty short / quick, but like I said, if you got free time, what do you have to lose?

Don't go in with any super high expectations, it is what it is. I loved it, you might too. It actually has a kind of interesting story to it as well, make sure you listen and keep an eye to stay involved.

I'm a couple days late on this, so some of you may have already heard of this deal, but for anyone not in the know, now you do.
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Starcraft II release date.

May 4th 2010 15:24
I'm no Starcraft expert but I realize how big a game it was, so I felt it necessary to post the release date on this blog. I'm not going to try and act like I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this series, but I do know it's big.

I think I might give this one a solid attempt, I'm a big fan of RTS and have played a ton of them, anything from age of empires to red alert. And let's be honest, Starcraft was pretty much the epitome of competitive RTS. I think everyone is expecting the same of the Sequel.

Anyway, this is the headline of the blizzard press release:

STARCRAFT® II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™
IN STORES STARTING JULY 27, 2010

It's going to be huge like anything else Blizzard does.
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Planetside 2?

May 2nd 2010 22:18
Planetside 2 Countdown ?


Really Long Link

This could potentially be the official announcement a lot of us have been waiting for, or it could be something else. Rest assured, if it's something else, I will be ROYALLY pissed off. If it's a "Planetside Bazaar" I'm going to start crying. Also, remember this comes a few months after the "survey" and hints/rumors that they were working on a new game.

I was an enormous fan of the first 2-3 years of Planetside, nothing compares to it, nothing comes close to it's satisfaction. If you never got a chance to play Planetside in the first couple years, I really feel sorry for you, it was magical. I'm just really hoping that if it is PS2, that it's not like... 2-3 years away, with hopefully a more reasonable release date.

Mark it on your calendar, this could be the official announcement.
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Cry-Engine 3 // Crysis 2

May 1st 2010 23:32
Cry-Engine 3 Crysis 2 Cryengine
Cry-Engine 3

Can anyone else not wait for these to make their way into the gaming world?

I don't know if you've seen any videos on it, but they are on youtube, check it out. The engine looks unreal, and I'm glad they are pushing the barrier once more. It's stated that crysis 2 will have LESS computer requirement then the first. Maybe not necessarily at the higher levels, but regardless, it's an insane statement.

By no means were Crysis or Crysis: warhead gaming gems, but they were both very solid. The only real reason they held their popularity is because they were the standard in visuals, physics, destructible environments, etc. FOR LIKE 2 YEARS.

I'm super hyped for Crysis 2, I was a pretty big fan of both games, played through them many times. I was a fan of the visuals, the nano suit, but not so much a fan of the AI, the overall registration of gameplay, and the high computer requirement. I've since built a better computer, and have re-played warhead and it only makes it that much better having a smoother experience.

Keep your eye out for any Cry-Engine 3 games, and Crysis 2.
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Roller Coaster Tycoon.

April 25th 2010 16:34
Roller Coaster Tycoon Game Gaming Gamer Review

I'm not talking about 2, or 3, the original PC game. Really this is more of a PSA then anything, if you haven't played this game, you need to play it. It came out in like 1853 and I swear I spent hundreds of hours on it.

I just loaded it up this weekend and it's already pulled me in for ~3 hours, so if you got some free time, be careful. You can probably get like a package deal with the others, or find the first one really cheap somewhere. Bottom line is, this game is what started all the crazy tycoon addiction. Okay, maybe it didn't but it is the pinnacle of it.

I'm sure RCT 2 and 3 are just as fun, but I'm not really looking to spend the money on those. Mainly because with the first one were talking about a classic, a game that is timeless (as long as amusement parks exist). It had everything you really needed to have a crap load of fun.

Give it a shot if you got some free time, the graphics are terrible, but max out the resolution and you will forget about it quickly while knee deep in COASTER MADNESS.
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Global Agenda Review.

April 22nd 2010 14:36
Global Agenda
Again, I realize it's been awhile, but lets talk about Global Agenda.

It's hard to call this a mmofps, as it's not your typical MMO world. It also begs to be compared to Planetside, which is unfair, it's like comparing WoW to all the new mmorpgs. Bottom line is, you still to keep it in the back of your mind, you should be playing the game that is most fun to you.

Planetside is long gone(compared to what it used to be), and I, like many, are hoping the planetside 2 rumors are not just rumors. But back to GA, one thing people should know about this game before getting into it is it's more like a normal fps in that you get on, join a game, then you leave it, then you join a game, and leave it. Rinse and repeat. You have some customization aspects, you level, you can get different gear, craft implants, pick devices to use in combat, pick a spec, etc. This means that you'll see a variety of different ways to play the 4 classes. But other then these types of features, this game is too similar to a normal fps.

But it's not all bad, the combat is very fast, objective orientated, and pretty damn fun. It requires basic teamwork to win games, so if you get players that actually care about winning and not just their k/d ratio, you will most likely win. There are many devices to learn about, guns, etc, and choke points to attack and some to avoid. The more you learn about the game, the smarter player you can be. You don't necessarily have to be the best shooter to be a high quality player in the game, which is a good aspect. A lot of the design features such as the jet pack don't really get any innovative points, but I'm glad they added it in.

It also has PvE missions, which are by no means the best thing in the world, but I was pleasantly surprised by the difficulty of the higher missions. It's a legit and fun alternative to just pvping your way to 50. They even put in random rooms where you have to kill mobs while avoiding moving laser, or you have to avoid the falling roof, sneak around the patrol robot, etc. I was impressed with the PvE, I really thought it was going to be a joke. Granted, it will get repetitive very fast, just like everything else.

The visuals are enough to make you feel like you aren't playing a 5 year old game, which is really all a MMO needs to do these days to make anyone happy. The gameplay is smooth and fluid, which is important. Shot registration is pretty solid, the game is fairly balanced. Mechanically, functionally, it's a well-rounded game, which is huge.

Now up until this point, everything I've talked about, you get with the one-time purchase of the game. Something that I've hardly touched on personally is conquest, which is just agency vs agency, doing very similar missions. Because I don't have much experience with it, I'll give you my quick interpretation of it. It's basically like subscribing just so you get agency vs agency, instead of pug vs pug. At the core, that's all it really is. The team-size is still the same, the maps are similar // the same, the objectives are the same, etc. You get a little hexagon on a map to claim as your own... lol. What they need to do to bring in subscribers is intelligently design maps to support something higher then 10v10, preferably the higher the better, and bring in a couple open zones.

Now this is where Hi-Rez gets HUGE points not only for me, but from other players, they are planning on these fixes to bring in subscribers. They already have development and patches incoming with open zones, and they realize that they need to make agency vs agency feel more epic, instead of just the same old thing. This makes the game worth a re-look in a few months, it's barely been out for 2 months, and they've already released significant patches, with pretty much ALL player-requested changes.

This game right now for me is just like a CS, or a MW, or UT. I log in, play a couple games, and log out. It's worth the buy just because of that capability.

But as a subscribe, i'd recommend waiting a couple months.

The fact that they even have the ability to play the game without subscribing is a testament to this team. I will definitely be watching out for these guys in the future.

My score will include things like how not worth subscribing the game is, but also include how hard the developers are working at making it worth it, an overall look at it.

7.5
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