As Kris D. mentioned in a previous post, games can be hard. Hard to the point where all the joy of playing them is sucked out. And sometimes that extends to games that are not even MMORPGs -- I'm talking about the games that hold such promise, and then they completely suck. I'm talking about the game you spent your hard earned cash on that turned out to be the worst thing you've ever played up to that point. I'm talking about the games that got good enough reviews, but for some reason or another it just didn't resonate with you. For me, that game was Ghostbusters. And Resistance 2. And Tekken Tag. And Halo 3. And several others collected in my 31 years of gaming. Sure, those games got positive reviews, but they just didn't resonate; and with the exception of Ghostbusters, I played the hell out of them. Why? Because I put down good money for those games, and they owed it to me to be enjoyable.
This is when games become work for me -- when the fun stops, and I have to force myself to keep playing and searching for that nugget of a decent game in the $60 pile of crap. I'm told that our viewership is up to somewhere around 4 people right now, and I'd like each of you to leave a comment, and tell me about a game that you should've loved, but ended up being work.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Raiding is hard - No malarky
So I just got done reading an editorial over on Massively.com that I thought I would bring over here and share. The article is from their "Soapbox" feature and it is discussing Eliot Lefebvre's perspective on how it came to be that he and his wife were elitist jerks.
I can say that I have had nearly exactly the same experience; I applied to a guild that was already clearing BT and was ramping for their foray into the Sunwell. I had just rolled a fresh and fantastic Elemental shaman and I was 70 for a hot minute. The rationale for me to have the ele shammy was really free lightning bolts. I was just completely enamored with the idea of free damage just happening because of the precise amount of awesome I was...
The guild I joined was looking for dedication and not gear which was lucky for me because I had the time to be dedicated and the will to be a great raider.
Now it helps that I am an above average video game player and I knew my class in and out. What my skill lacked elitistjerks (Binkenstein rules) cleared up for me along with a little help from my old friend Autohotkey.
So I started raiding and in the beginning the addiction to upgrades is blinding. When you are wearing gear that is holding you back and you get an upgrade and get the instant gratification of the graphical change along with the increased numerical representation in Recount it is a real buzz.
The challenge is that over the years you end up in these repetitive wipe festivals trying to progress on content that would simply break the will of lesser organizations. You feel buffered by your friends in the guild in these situations; but the reality is that it is painful, long, tedious hours staring down fight mechanics that feel like or are borderline impossible; hundreds and hundreds of wipes later you get into the rage of missed upgrades that massively.com refers to and feed off of that energy within your raiding organization.
What is more is that it is likely that you become "competitive" - that is to say that perhaps it turns out that your guild is competing to be in the top 100 guilds in the US or something to that effect. This meta-achievement is what continues to compel you to compete even though the joy in it is long gone...
It starts off fun and exciting but it quickly turns on you and before you know it you are compelled to do something you dont actually want to do.
Source: Massively.com
P.s. Yes - I realize I just revealed to you precious internet just how much of a complete and total nerd I am <3
I can say that I have had nearly exactly the same experience; I applied to a guild that was already clearing BT and was ramping for their foray into the Sunwell. I had just rolled a fresh and fantastic Elemental shaman and I was 70 for a hot minute. The rationale for me to have the ele shammy was really free lightning bolts. I was just completely enamored with the idea of free damage just happening because of the precise amount of awesome I was...
 |
| BEHOLD! the "Majesty" of Shammy T6 kids! |
Now it helps that I am an above average video game player and I knew my class in and out. What my skill lacked elitistjerks (Binkenstein rules) cleared up for me along with a little help from my old friend Autohotkey.
So I started raiding and in the beginning the addiction to upgrades is blinding. When you are wearing gear that is holding you back and you get an upgrade and get the instant gratification of the graphical change along with the increased numerical representation in Recount it is a real buzz.
The challenge is that over the years you end up in these repetitive wipe festivals trying to progress on content that would simply break the will of lesser organizations. You feel buffered by your friends in the guild in these situations; but the reality is that it is painful, long, tedious hours staring down fight mechanics that feel like or are borderline impossible; hundreds and hundreds of wipes later you get into the rage of missed upgrades that massively.com refers to and feed off of that energy within your raiding organization.
What is more is that it is likely that you become "competitive" - that is to say that perhaps it turns out that your guild is competing to be in the top 100 guilds in the US or something to that effect. This meta-achievement is what continues to compel you to compete even though the joy in it is long gone...
It starts off fun and exciting but it quickly turns on you and before you know it you are compelled to do something you dont actually want to do.
Source: Massively.com
P.s. Yes - I realize I just revealed to you precious internet just how much of a complete and total nerd I am <3
DC Comics: The New 52
Just a few weeks ago, DC Comics did something that can be viewed as the riskiest corporate move in recent comics history: They rebooted their entire line of comics. Now, and DC reader will tell you that this is not the first time something like this has happened in this universe. But this time, they're also incorporating Jim Lee's Wildstorm Universe into the main DC universe - they're also folding the Vertigo titles back into the DCU proper.
What does this all mean? It means that the Justice League is just gathering for the first time. Superman and Batman aren't old buddies. Wonder Woman has not yet been sent to the world of Man as the Amazon ambassador. Everything is fresh and new, and the public at large in the DCU seem very apprehensive about these new super-people (and presumed super-people like Batman) flying around in costumes.
Being a Marvel guy, I have to say that it all feels a lot like the Marvel Ultimate line, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Of the new titles, I've only read Justice League #1 so far, and I highly recommend it. I mean, it's got Jim Lee's art and Geoff Johns' words in there...do I really need to say anything else?
What does this all mean? It means that the Justice League is just gathering for the first time. Superman and Batman aren't old buddies. Wonder Woman has not yet been sent to the world of Man as the Amazon ambassador. Everything is fresh and new, and the public at large in the DCU seem very apprehensive about these new super-people (and presumed super-people like Batman) flying around in costumes.
Being a Marvel guy, I have to say that it all feels a lot like the Marvel Ultimate line, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Of the new titles, I've only read Justice League #1 so far, and I highly recommend it. I mean, it's got Jim Lee's art and Geoff Johns' words in there...do I really need to say anything else?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
CoOp Avengers? Cancelled?!? WTF?
What the HELL do we have to do to get these developers to realize that we want to play video games together?!! World of Warcraft has bleventymillion subscribers people! We want to play together!
1UP.com reports a video leaked to the internet on Reddit for an unnamed game apparently from THQ tied in with the upcoming Avengers movie.
The video is amazing and shows footage of Iron Man hovering and shooting hand lasers as well as Hulk sprinting/jumping and doing AIR COMBOs against hapless foes...
So how did I make the leap to CoOp? In one part of the video Hulk clap smashes a mob and detonates an Iron Man mine! Further there is one part where Hulk and Cap are in the same shot... Now maybe it is a stretch but c'mon what is more "Avengers" than having a video game where you free roam as a superhero posse of limitless power?!
Why do these companies have such contempt for us?! If you build it I will buy two copies of it so we can play CoOp in the house!!
Source: 1UP.com
1UP.com reports a video leaked to the internet on Reddit for an unnamed game apparently from THQ tied in with the upcoming Avengers movie.
 |
| HULK SMASH |
So how did I make the leap to CoOp? In one part of the video Hulk clap smashes a mob and detonates an Iron Man mine! Further there is one part where Hulk and Cap are in the same shot... Now maybe it is a stretch but c'mon what is more "Avengers" than having a video game where you free roam as a superhero posse of limitless power?!
Why do these companies have such contempt for us?! If you build it I will buy two copies of it so we can play CoOp in the house!!
Source: 1UP.com
Movie Review - Contagion
I am a bit of a connoisseur of apocalypse movies, television shows, and books. I love the stories about how society/humanity gets destroyed and about how the people left behind have to begin to deal with the "restructuring" of their problems.
Warning! I might have a few spoilers here that some folks would not appreciate!
Contagion stands out as a bit of a spin on the subject; the whole movie exists in the space between Day 0 and day 200. Its the story of the decline - not just the story of the aftermath. What's more is that the movie does an amazing job of creating a reality that we all live in everyday. Which it then summarily disassembles right in front of us causing us to question the assertions we work off of everyday. The movie's virus kills in 4 days and can be transmitted in many, many ways. Making it virtually impossible to remain uninfected if you have been in contact with someone who has. All of the key reactions you can wonder about have been covered, the CDC, government, blogosphere, facebook, municipalities, local neighborhoods - the story is very thorough in leaving no stone unturned from an apocalypse geek perspective.
The real genius of Contagion is the presentation of the horror angle - it could really happen; and Contagion tells a story about what it might look like if it did, and it looks very scary. It is expertly directed and performed by an amazing cast of people who make it look effortless. Finally - I think you should see it in the theatre so that you get a real feeling for the scale of the epidemic. The small screen may take a little bit away from that...
Warning! I might have a few spoilers here that some folks would not appreciate!
Contagion stands out as a bit of a spin on the subject; the whole movie exists in the space between Day 0 and day 200. Its the story of the decline - not just the story of the aftermath. What's more is that the movie does an amazing job of creating a reality that we all live in everyday. Which it then summarily disassembles right in front of us causing us to question the assertions we work off of everyday. The movie's virus kills in 4 days and can be transmitted in many, many ways. Making it virtually impossible to remain uninfected if you have been in contact with someone who has. All of the key reactions you can wonder about have been covered, the CDC, government, blogosphere, facebook, municipalities, local neighborhoods - the story is very thorough in leaving no stone unturned from an apocalypse geek perspective.
The real genius of Contagion is the presentation of the horror angle - it could really happen; and Contagion tells a story about what it might look like if it did, and it looks very scary. It is expertly directed and performed by an amazing cast of people who make it look effortless. Finally - I think you should see it in the theatre so that you get a real feeling for the scale of the epidemic. The small screen may take a little bit away from that...
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