Time the Avenger

Here's something I came across: Someone trying to establish a time line of history across a large number of games.

Well someone's keen....

Hiliariously bad voice acting

Not  much to say for today so what to do? Post an amusing youtube video!

Falling back into third gear

Some random thoughts about my progress insofar with Mass Effect 3 (in the middle of Priority: Palaven at time of writing):

 - I didn't like the idea of a reduced crew in ME3 and I still don't like it now. These people were loyal to me dammit, so it's kinda puzzling to see them pack up and go. No to mention that is kinda depressing going about the Crew Quarters and not seeing Kasumi, Garrus, Thane, Samara and Legion where I'd left them.

 - Where once I was irritated by the Scions a new foe has arisen to annoy me: The Brutes! Oh what joy is there to be had when you're facing not one but two Brutes and a whole of mercs are shooting you. Oh Bioware, you sadistic bastards...

 - I'm not too fond of Diana Allers either: She looks more like a lingerie model and she pinched Zaeed's room. In fact Diana's presence raises an interesting question: if a journalist is coming aboard the Normandy to keep track of Shepard's progress then why couldn't I have Emily Wong instead?  I liked her a lot better than Diana dammit!

 - Where are the neutral dialogue options? Don't tell me by selecting the Paragon options my Shepard will result in getting a romance going with EVERYONE....

For the Masses

Well it happened: I took the plunge and picked up Mass Effect 3. I said I would buy it only when the fracas over the ending would die down so now seems good enough - that and it was on sale.

Going in I'm not sure what to make of it: The general consensus I gathered was that: "it's a great game UNTIL..". Such a mindset seems to suggest that the journey may not be worth taking and thus my perception is ultimately shaped by it.
So what do I think of ME3 so far? Well it's not bad. It still has some ME2 familiarity and the graphical quality is staggering. What does bother me though is the continual highlighting of items on the screen which comes across as kinda messy. And I'm still cut up over the fact that many of the crew from ME2 have packed up and left (some loyal crew-member you are!). And indeed, there are some moments that come across as heavy-handed - ie the kid on Earth in the prologue.

Still, this is all first impressions. It would be interesting to see where we go from here...

Touched by the hand of God

You know what I'm sick of? Villains that aspire to godhood. I've seen plenty of them in JRPGs - the Final Fantasy series being a frequent offender - but the same could be said for movies, TV, and books. It's something that I've heard so many times that now it comes across as being run into the ground. Granted in gaming terms it does raise the stakes quite considerably with the villain seeking the infinite, universe-shaping, powers of a divine entity but the 'villain-seeking-godhood' has been so many times it seems more like an endorsement for secularism. Or worse, a lazy writer doing a half-arsed job.

But despite my grumbling, I still think there is an idea there. As stated above, it does raise the stakes for the player for a mortal man to defeat an immortal is certainly an incredible achievement (just ask Kratos). However, if that is the case then balance must be determined - in the form of the villain's task to achieve godhood being a grueling undertaking in itself. You never see a villain do such a thing don't you? You never see the lengths the villain goes to in their quest and with such a goal one can assume said quest will never be easy. Okay so maybe Kratos could be an exception but it should be noted he wasn't actively seeking godhood - he just happened to replace the guy he bumped off.
How come you never see the lengths the villain goes to secure his goal of godhood? Previous experience shows such villains are either dismissed as just being bonkers or seeing divine ascension as a way to a) exorcise some childhood resent and/or b) get revenge one some prick. However, with the right thought behind it, the 'villain-seeking-godhood' trope could be made to work. It is, after all, the story of a person of a humble background doing something that ultimately changes the world around them in a major way. And those stories will never get old - because if it's not Jesus Christ then it's Luke Skywalker. Or G'Kar. Or Harry Potter. Or Twilight Sparkle.

That being said if I were to write a villain based on the 'villain-seeking-godhood' trope what would I do? Well, I would do an extensive exploration of his motivation. Not the tried and tested motives explained above - no my 'villain-seeking-godhood' would be someone who would use it to justify their existence. He/She would be leading an empty life and, upon seeing the adulation lauded on the heroes figures around them, concludes that such adulation would suit them very well - and give their life meaning. So believing that divine ascension is goal worth fighting for, they set out to get it. 

That's what I'd do and that's what I believe the 'villain-seeking-godhood' trope needs to get some life back into it - and hey, the further the villain movies away from the Chaotic Evil alignment the better.
But I still think people won't buy it - at least in a gaming sense. After all, why would anyone play a game where they have to fight a villain who is doing what they do in an attempt to find meaning in an empty life?

Bastion your head in

As some of you may have noticed, there is a XBLA tenth anniversary currently going on (at time of writing). I myself used this to pick up, at half price, something that I've been wanting to play for a while: Bastion!

Beyond that though, there's not much I can say about Bastion that hasn't already been said before. I like the setting, the art direction, the narration and the idea of rebuilding a world. I guess I'm getting the same feeling I got when I played through Braid: Much has been said about this game that's not much room for something completely new. I'm going through the same experience that many people before me have already been through so what more can be said/experienced?
Still I haven't made a lot of progress in Bastion so it would be interesting to see how this turns out....

Equal Rights

With Mass Effect 2 I’ve heard a lot of complaints aimed at the large selection of characters – stating it was difficult to keep track of them all and it seemed futile when all you’re going to do is use the same two characters with each mission.  I however don’t think so: I thought the loyalty missions was a masterstroke on Bioware’s part where we get to know the characters and see them develop significantly from what they were at the beginning of the game.
So I decided to try an experiment: With a recent run through of ME2 (if anything to have a decent Shepard to take into ME3) I decided to keep track of where and when I used characters and to see if it’s possible to have everyone give an equal share of the action.

The results are as follows:

Conclusion from this experiment?
I have far too much time on my hands XD

It's the End of the World (no.4)

Well it’s been a week since I quit World of Warcraft – so what of the aftermath?

Truth be told, I’d actually quit weeks earlier. You see, I was part of group with two other friends where’d we meet twice week and do quests. Then one of us decided he’d had enough so he left. And in doing so the group more or less disintegrated. Suddenly everything looked different and I was a lot less enthusiastic about visiting this world called Azeroth. In a classic tripod fashion, when one leaves the others crumble in their wake .And thus I didn’t feel like playing World of Warcraft anymore.

Weeks prior to this event, however, my view of World of Warcraft has been in a state of decline. Whilst World of Wacraft may have been exciting at first it was only through the progression of time that the enthusiasm slowly eroded away.
Don’t get me wrong: World of Warcraft has been fun to play and great on a sociable level but to me there a number of factors that come across as a deal breaker. I don’t like the repetitious nature of the game (seriously: how many times have the Blood Elves been granted admission into the Horde?!), I hate the grind, I’m finding not much left to see having travelled from one end of Azeroth to the other, I’m seeing similarities in both Alliance and Horde quests, I’ve reached the realization that I’ve done the same quests several times, It occurred to me that once you hit level 60 things start getting dull, I’m not too fond of coughing up fifteen bucks a month and I’m particularly irate with the abolishment of the talent trees with Mists of Pandaria. All of these reasons are reason enough to quit and all I needed was a catalyst: And one came with the afore-mentioned group disbanding.

And then there’s this blog. Those who’ve been following my blog will note that I’ve been playing World of Warcraft a lot this year – even to the point of playing exclusively as the other games in my collection have been gathering dust. In addition, I’ve been talking about World of Warcraft a lot in this blog – even to the point where it’s taken up the big text in the subject cloud on the right panel - a sign, if any, that it may be a good time to shut up about it. Indeed, the lack of World of Warcraft-related posts in recent weeks may have been something of a clue I was already in the process of moving on.
When I started this blog back in 2010, I had no plan in mind – However it only took a month before one emerged: I made a post listing my Hall of Shame. And suddenly I found a purpose for this blog: To play all the games I’d left unfinished and document my progress as I went. However this mission has been derailed this year with me sinking so many hours World of Warcraft. Now I don’t want to think about how many hours I’ve invested in World of Warcraft but it does draw attention to how big a time commitment a MMORPGer is. And suddenly playing a MMORPGer now seems like a counteractive move when I have so many games left unfinished.

Ultimately though, playing World of Warcraft has been my first stab at a MMORPGer (I’ll never stop using that term: why stop saying that’s so much fun to say?). So what do I think of it? Well I have enjoyed it: It was great doing quests with other people and there was a lot to be gleamed form a social level – indeed, as mentioned earlier, going on your own suddenly seems a whole lot different. Will I try again? Well in a way yes –True it is inexcusable of me to take up something that demands a lot of time when I have so many gems uncompleted but I really enjoyed romping through so many quests as a part of a group. So much so, I will admit to miss it and am interested to get back to it sometime. In the meantime though I've being going back to the Xbox and enjoying it - needless to say it will be a long time before I commit to a time-thief that is a MMORPGe. 
But when that day comes, who’s going to step up to the plate? Guild Wars 2? The Elder Scrolls Online (when it comes)? Well whoever it is, it won’t be for a while yet. Not while my Hall of Shame continues to exist anyway…

Not a Lunar anymore

Recently I've been having a crack at the Sega CD game Lunar: the Silver Star.

The Sega/Mega CD has been a continual source of fascination for me. In the early nineties I recall Sega drumming up interest for it promising better graphics & better sound then what was going around and the incorporation of videos into gameplay. Yet my ten/eleven year old mind was skeptical: These features sounded great but how would they fit into the game? And what were the games like anyway?
And as it turned out, such a mindset was prophetic: The Sega CD was plagued with lousy games that relied more on FMV than actual games. Nevertheless, with a such a wretched track record, the Sega CD did however boast some decent games - and to me seeking out these diamonds in the rough sounded something of a challenge worth rising up to.

Which now brings me to Lunar: the Silver Star. I never knew Sega as having much in the way of RPGs so to see an RPG on a Sega machine that isn't Phantasy Star or Ultima certainly raises an eyebrow. Furthermore, the Lunar series came courtesy of Working Designs who were noted for taking little known Japanese games and giving them wacky translations. Some game fans might consider this blasphemy but I'm more curious to this. Why? Well sometimes a free translation may result in something even better than the original (e.g. the anime Ghost Stories and Samurai Pizza Cats) and after playing so many serious RPGs I think it was high time I tried something fun and light hearted. Keep in mind that Lunar was released in the US in 1993 - the following year Final Fantasy 6 would arrive and commence the ultra serious path that the Final Fantasy games have been following ever since.

So far I'm finding a lot to enjoy in this game. The graphics are nice and colourful and the music is great. Okay, it is a bit odd how the music stops and starts - as opposed to following in a continuous loop - but there are some nice themes and a great use of the sound capabilities of the Sega CD, In particular I really love the Overworld theme this game has:



Also of note is that game is fun to play. Now I've had my share of grind in RPGs - even 4th generation RPGs - and here it is no different but somehow it doesn't feel tedious. Yes I've had some moments of grind but they haven't happened very often and the few that have, have gone by at more more quicker pace and never once did I find it dull.

Of course this is only a first impressions and it would be interesting to see how this game ends up for me. But for now I like this game and I look forward to playing more (and eventually it's sequel!)

Its the End of the World (no.3)

Those who’ve been following this blog for the past year would know that I did make infrequent updates on the characters I was guiding through World of Warcraft. Of course, now that I’ve departed from WoW, it seems only fitting to make a denouement. So, after so many countless hours of game time, here’s where my characters ended up.


Rithendal

The firstborn and the only one to make it all the way to level 85, Rithendal went from Outlands to Northrend and Mount Hyjal, Kelp’thar Forests and the Twilight Headlands in between. It’s the furthest any of my characters had even got and what has Rith got to show for it? A devilsaur, a Jormungar and a corehound! Now that I think of it, I did enjoy using the Hunter a lot - being the lazy arse that I am I have to say Beast Mastery hunter is great because you have someone else do all the work.
Not a lot else I can say though: Rith was there at the beginning and stayed with me to the very end. Even when my time has been divided through other characters (both listed here and deleted) I’ve kept returning to my favorite Hunter.  And it is indeed satisfying to know that even if there are millions of characters in Azeroth there is only one Rithendal.


Beldrath

As established previously there were attempts to get a Paladin character going but few of them proved successful – thus it is indeed satisfying to see one paladin character make it all the way to Outlands.
One thing I find interesting about Beldrath is there have been various elements that have cropped up  that suggests that he be something of a mirror image to Rithendal. Rithendal has back hair, Beldrath has white hair. Rithendal wears darkened armor, Beldrath has white armor.  And there is only one Rithendal in Azeroth but there are many Beldraths (and I only got the name from an elf name generator!).
Again there’s not a lot more I can add: Beldrath was a great character and a lot of fun to use. I particularly enjoyed the mining and backsmithing and building up a complete set of plate armour - and it is kinda fitting that a paladin ended up in white amour.
Indeed, looking at Beldrath now it’s kinda hard to believe he grew from such a wimpy looking prat.


Naesandra

My long-suffering mage. Despite the many, many, MANY deaths this is a character that I simply refused to give up on. Whilst there may have been other WoW characters that I’ve scrapped, Naesandra simply refused to go away. I’m not sure why this is so but it is indeed satisfying to see a character make it all the way to Outlands – bloodied and beaten yes but triumphant through persistence.
Nevertheless, despite my frustration about Naesandra dying too easily, I will admit there was some fun to be had with the mage class. I really enjoyed casting the spells and flinging fireballs at the baddies.  However I’ve heard some say that mages are fun for soloists and that makes me call it into question as they tend to be rather brittle in combat situations….
Therefore if I ever decide to take up another MMPORGer I think I will take a mage – although, without question, I would benefit greatly with having someone else to watch my back.


Grimcrag

Hooo boy has this character had a story and a half. If you recall the previous posts where I’ve talked about my WoW characters, Grimcrag started out as a paladin. That didn’t work out so I got rid of the character but kept the name for a Shaman. The Shaman didn’t do much for me either so I returned to the paladin – but this time with a twist: You see, this incarnation of Grimcrag started out as the previously mentioned Drenai paladin Kholek. What happened there was I did tire of the Drenai but I’d progressed far enough to find myself unwilling to part with a paladin character. Solution? Change the characters race and name.
And so, at the end of the day Grimcrag returned to where he started from. And thankfully this dwarven paladin turned out to be far more fun to use than his previous incarnation. So why use another paladin when I already have Beldrath? Well whereas Beldrath is a Protection paladin, Grimcrag is a Retribution paladin. And it certainly makes a change using two different specializations of the same warrior class where one is Tank but the other is a DPS.
So in the end, considering all the problems I’ve had with this character, across various incarnations, it is indeed satisfying to come out with something that ultimately proved successful.


Razormane

And even in a post acknowledging the end result of my various WoW characters, there is still some room for some newbies. Razormane came about because I wanted to try a Worgen – the only other race in the Alliance that interests me. Why such an interest? Well aside from the appeal of being a werewolf, I enjoy how the Worgen speak in such an intimidating-sounding cockney accent – who would’ve thought it possible eh? In addition, I’ve been wanting to try out the Druid class so this was a good enough opportunity to try so.
So yeah, I did find some enjoyment in this character: the starting zone for the Worgen, along with their eventual admission into the Alliance, proved quite compelling – indeed it was quite exciting running through the city as it was being invaded by the undead. And the Druid class proved quite fun – somehow, in any RPG, I find the ‘mixed’ classes far more interesting and satisfying to use than the ‘pure’ classes. Still it’s how I play RPGs and, as far as I’m concerned it’s a damn good way.


Darthenis

Another newbie and yet another Blood Elf - Only this time it’s the obligatory Death Knight character (Well everyone seems to have one). An experiment of sorts, Darthenis came about through me wanting to see how using a Death Knight character would turn out. So how did it go?
Well it was interesting to say the least: I liked using the hero class character where you automatically start at level 55 and already have numerous skills already under one’s belt. Yet at the same time, I kinda hated how limited my resources were (eg finding cloth to make bandages) and, like so many of my other WoW characters, I kept dying far too easily. Still I will admit I did enjoy the Death Knights with their background and seeing some familiar faces of Azeroth being corrupted – seriously, who else could make the phrase “Tomorrow’s Another Day!” sound completely evil?!


So after nearly a year of playing World of Warcraft, these are the six that were there at the end. Whilst there may have been others that may have fallen (ie Deathfist, Kholek and Dunmore) these are the ones that lasted until the very end of the journey. And they shall live on – and who knows? One day I might return to them……

Its the End of the World (no.2)

Its the End of the World (no.1)

 There you go folks: It's right there in black and white. World of Warcraft and I are officially parting ways.
I may go into more detail with the posts to come but for now, seeing as I've talked about World of Warcraft a lot this year, it garnered an official announcement.

Planet of Sound (no.12)

Name: John Boston
Birthdate: 2nd November 1978
Instruments: Drums
Affiliations: Tension Heads
Bio: John is an experienced drummer and a journeyman musician who has played in a number of bands prior to joining the Tension Heads. Little is known of his past life but he has a wide knowledge of music and has enough talent to be actively sought out after by Spike.
For some years John has been a contributor to Demon Flower with several song-writing credits to his name and playing both guitar and bass on studio recordings. He even played with Demon Flower for live performances on several occasions. Such was the connection to Demon Flower that when Spike got the Tension Heads together, he offered the role of drummer to John.

Something of a dark horse, much of John’s background is up for speculation. He doesn’t speak much of his past and is extremely defensive when the subject comes up. What is known is a) he has known Thom for years prior to joining the collective, b) he enjoys fast cars and owns a Ferrari and c) he has a wide knowledge of metal music. However, regardless of his mysterious nature, John gets on well with the other members of the collective and often relies on experience to help them with problems – which, in turn, strengthens the mystery of his background….