Take him to the dungeons!

So where am I with World of Warcraft at the moment?

Well as some of you may know I play on a regular basis as a trio with me using my firstborn Rithendal. However, we've reached the end of the game: We've done the majority of quests in Pandaland and, at level 90, there's not a lot left to do. Solution? Take up the dungeons.

Thus, for the past week and a bit, we've been traversing through the dungeons we missed the first time around. So far all of them have been in the Outlands but it's been great fun to wander around and take everyone out. Sure there's not much challenge being at a higher level but it notches up the achievements, builds up the rep for the Horde factions and, I can't state this enough, loads of fun.

Funnily enough I never really did enjoy the dungeons but to encounter them at a much higher level is actually really more enjoyable.
Of course this is an indication that my current time in WoW is numbered but if it were to end tomorrow then at least it'll be, unlike last time I quit, on a positive note

Destiny calling

I read that Bungie software and hoping that their new game Destiny would have the same cultual impact as Star Wars.
Sure they may be shooting themslevs in the foot for saying that but I give them credit for their ambitions.
So a cartoon:

Eureka

Recently I've been playing Command and Conquer Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge (there's a mouthful for you).

I've played, and thoroughly enjoyed Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 numerous times but Yuri's Revenge seems more an area of contention. An area that makes it more like a bastard child. Whereas I enjoyed the cutscenes in the original game, in Yuri's Revenge the actors seem tired and lacking in enthusiasm - That and Tanya's no longer a redhead! What the Hell?!

I don't like the soundbytes either - somehow having different voices for the tanks units doesn't seem to sit well with me. I can't put my finger on it but to different soundbytes for familiar vehicles seems unsettling - like a psychotic axe murderer who's disguising himself as a friend. I'm not too fond of the difficulty either - Gatling Tanks? Gatling Cannons? Well fuck you too!

Nevertheless, playing Yuri's Revenge now, after a long absence, has done little to change my opinion of it. Didn't like it then and I don't like it now.
Guess you can't win them all

Devil on your shoulder

A recent screen cap of Rithendal, Arendar and Jaewyn:

I've posted a lot of screen caps of World of Warcraft but this is one of my favourites. Aside from everyone sitting down in a row of seats, what I particularly enjoy about this is the placement of my Hunter pet - peering right over Arendar's shoulder.

"Don't worry: He doesn't bite.....much"

Fire up the Engine

I've been saying a lot of positive things about the classic Amiga game The Chaos Engine within this blog. Well it would seem that it's making a comeback. Starting next week, a new version of the Chaos Engine will be touching down on Steam and other platforms.
However this is not a complete remake but instead a restoration - it's the original game but with a new coat of paint.

Well I'm happy with this news: I loved the game and it's great to see it get a new lease of life. I just hope that the people may be inspired to check it out with the praises I've been heaping on it. I don;t know if Abstraction Games know if this blog exists but it would be nice to think that they do - for the romantics amongst us at least.

Still I do long for the day that someone does a full-blown remake - seriously the six PCs have enough personality to justify a full-blown script and voice acting, But who knows? A restoration may be a step in the right direction......

Dead Man's Chest

Hi there. Yep, I'm back after a week off. This wasn't planned though: I've spent the past week having been hit by a virus. Not the type that wrecks one's computer - the type that makes some unfortunate sod stay in bed and throw up a lot.
Still I'm back now and feeling a lot better thank you. 

However I would like to call a moment of recognition to a friend: Game Chest (mrk2)

Game Chest was retired last week. It was my hard drive where upon all my games were contained and the successor to the huge box of games I once had.
Game Chest arrived last year and was installed inside my computer. There, it made friends with the other drives: Amaranth, the home of the OS, and Planet of Sound, the survivor from the previous build turned music holder. Despite being the latest addition, Game Chest came across more akin to the Middle child, holding less than Amaranth but holding more than Planet of Sound.

Game Chest also had a past history: It was a second hand purchase but it found a new lease of life within my computer. It enjoyed twelve months of activity and, despite being small at 150 gig, managed to hold everything together.
We certainly spent many a great time together: Game Chest saw many games being installed, Mods being added, the advent of the space thief that is World of Warcraft and the arrival of Steam. It saw the placement of Scummvm and the completion of many games. It took on the role of game holder and did it's job with flair.

Towards the end of it's career, Game Chest was showing signs of age - it was making loud, uncomfortable noises and the response time was kinda slow. Eventually, it came to me that 150 gig might not be enough. So Game Chest was retired - in favor of the mrk3 version - a 500 gig hard drive. Thing is though it's not the same. Sure my new hard drive may have more space and may sound more healthy but somehow it doesn't seem the same, The ultimate irony is though that, so far, the new drive has yet to surpass the previous limit of 150gig of occupied space (ironic yes but how much space Elder Scrolls Online will fill has yet to be seen).

Still, I ask you, my readers, to raise your glasses to the mrk2 of Game Chest.....

She'll be coming 'round the mountain

Continuing the trend of posting screencaps of hilarious glitches in World of Warcraft, Grimcrag finds something odd in Northrend:

Hail to the Chief

As many World of Warcraft players would know, a poll has been circulating asking, in light of recent events, who will be the new Warchief of the Horde?
Whilst I like the idea of offering the players a chance to make a decision that will ultimately shape World of Warcraft in a major way, I have doubts it will actually work in that fashion. In my research, I’ve found that the real antagonists in Azeroth are the Orcs, Humans, Undead and Night Elves – everyone else is bound by alliance. Whilst I like the idea of having a member of an ‘ally’ race leading the Horde it won’t work because a) the players of the other races may cry foul that their favorite wasn’t selected and b) having a non-Orc Warchief would be moving away from familiarity and towards the weird.

Still I voted for Vol’jin – not because I actually care but I personally like the idea of the Horde being led by someone who speaks in a Rastafarian accent.

Wrestling an idea out of my mind

I've never been big on wrestling games. Sure they're good to have when you have some friends around and keen to have one-on-one punch ups but that's a niche that is easily filled with the fighting game genre. Thus there isn't anything wrestling games can offer that can't be fulfilled by the likes of Streetfighter or Soul Calibur.

But, in my book, if there is gaming genre that's not going anywhere then it is ripe for some reinvention. So how would I do a wrestling game?
Simple: I'd embrace the sheer absurdity of ti all. Now we all know that wrestling is all fake and the wrestlers are merely running through a series of staged movements. So why not build a game around that? Seriously, I'd like to play a wrestling game where it's the players role to build up a list of staged actions and then watch them all play out! It'll be like the Opening Direction option in Soul Calibur expanded into a full blown game!

Of course it may sound limiting but with some thought it can work: The player starts out with a small time wrestling stage but, through careful planning, can build up a staged wrestling match. Success is determined through audience reaction and generates money which can lead to bigger audiences and more elaborate matches.

Of course is this but a germ of an idea but with the right amount of polish it can work.
Any takers?

Come to Tasmania! Come to Tasmania!

As established previously in this blog I come from a magical land known as Tasmania – a land mass located off the arse end of Australia and is largely ignored by the rest of the world. Yet Tasmania is known for pristine wilderness and its natural beauty.

Such is the wilderness associated with Tasmania, I’m often wondering why many game developers aren’t looking there for inspiration. Here, is plenty of inspiration for any landscape-developing team and I’d like to see one rise up to the challenge.
In fact, I would like to see a shooter set in a Tasmanian-esque landscape. I kinda liked how, in Oblivion, how enemy encounters are sparing within the game world itself – the scenery creates such an immersion that when a bad guy does show up, it’s a real big deal. Considering how shooters are more or less a kill-fest, it would be an interesting, and indeed welcome, change of pace to have long pauses between enemy encounters.
Indeed, I’ve had this idea ever since I saw Zone Hunter nearly twenty years ago. It will also be a welcome change from a genre associated with settings like deserts and more ruins than the Battle of Stalingrad. Of course it would be strange to have a heavily armored space marine stomping around a pristine wilderness but somehow one would think that the point….

Spiked up

No matter how many times I see it, the approach to the Blades' Edge Mountains is still such an ominous sight: