Hunting for Pandas

Recently a new addition had been attached to the World of Warcraft family. Everyone say hello to obligatory Panda character Kyuzo!

Well with a new race being introduced into Azeroth one would think that creating a character based on said race is somewhat inevitable. Still, having taken Rithendal through Pandaria, I found the narrative rather compelling and I become curious to see how it may work through the perspective of a Pandarian. The Pandarian campaign, of course, is based around the Alliance and the Horde blundering their way into a foreign land - and the inhabitants of said land being less than thrilled with the intrusion and being forced into picking a side.
Therefore, there is appeal in seeing the Pandarian campaign through the eyes of a Pandarian: A countryman bringing a newly found conflict to his homeland. And I have no hesitation admitting that the Pandarian starting zone is indeed one of the best.
And another Hunter? Well this warrior class proved so successful the previous time around that I decided that I might have another go – only this time it would be a Marksman hunter than a Beast Mastery hunter. And whilst I may be used to the pet doing all the work, I am finding some appeal in the shooting and the pet has done well at holding their own in the fighting.

At time of writing I am at level 26 – a long way from the Pandarian campaign to be sure but still there is some interest to be had. What is interesting however is that this past week I’ve invested more hours in WoW than I have in previous weeks. This in turn reinforces my theory that WoW is at its strongest and most appealing during the first 60 levels. Why else would I lavish so time on a new character when I have three stuck in the Outlands?
 But going back to the hour investment, whereas previous weeks I was, according to Raptr, investing 4-6 hours on WoW per week, this week however I’ve sunk over 20 hours. One could make the argument that any new character would make the world of Azeroth seem completely new no matter times one has been over the same locations – but I’m reminded of the suggestion that game developers going out of their way to make their game addictive as possible to in order to make sure people play it. And if that suggestion is indeed correct, one can only wonder how many psychologists Blizzard have on their payroll.

Goin' Calypso

During my travels on the internet, i came across an ad for a new MMO named Planet Calypso.

First thought:

You're not the only one

Something I threw together in Photoshop:

Throwing a bone

It's official: A successor to the Xbox has been announced. It will be dubbed the XBox One...and will feature zero backwards compatibility.

Well thanks a lot Microsoft. The library of 360 games and original Xbox games is now looking useless. The songs I downloaded for Rock Band is looking equally pointless. And the money I've spent on customization for my XBLA account, with the games, wallpapers and avatar features, is looking hazy.

So good move there Microsoft. Have fun not getting my money.

Of course, there's plenty of other rage over the recent Xbox One announcement over the internet - but rather than repeat them, I'll just say that if the Xbox One doesn't do what I want it to then there's not much hope for it.

And one can only wonder what Microsoft was thinking.
Geez, and they said Sega dropped the ball....

Hunger Games

Here's something I came across recently: Apparently Ubisoft are convinced that gamers are starving for the next console generation. 

Funny, I wasn't aware that I was.

Oh well then, better head to Steam and GOG to get filled up

In the grim darkness of the far future there is ony war

Ever since my teens I've had a long-standing interest in Warhammer - as teenagers with more money than brains are wont to do. Although that interested has waned in more recent years, I still maintain some degree of interest. That being said, the Warhammer universe, both Fantasy Battle and 40k, has proven to be fertile ground for game settings over the years. But my problem is that they’ve either been shooters (ie Space Hulk, Space Marine) or strategy games (ie Dawn of War, Shadow of the Horned Rat).
If anything, I would really like to see the Games Workshop give the green light for a roleplaying game. It is indeed a crying shame that they won’t because I find both Warhammer universes solid enough settings for an RPG. So why aren’t the Games Workshop doing anything – aside from inspiring rival companies to make their own Warhammer-inspired IP? (Warcraft anyone?)
Okay, sure there was Warhammer Online but if history has taught us anything it’s that if you’re a MMORPGur that isn’t World of Warcraft then you’re Dead on Arrival.

Whilst the Warhammer Fantasy Battle world is a decent enough setting it may be difficult to say something new when similar worlds exist *coughAzerothcough*. Therefore I really want to an RPG set in the 40k universe: It is far more volatile with every faction are out for themselves and little to no sense of unity (with the possible exception of the Imperium of Mankind), and thus makes for a more fascinating setting with tonnes of potential.
If we go by the Mass Effect model, I would certainly like to take a ship and travel from one end of the 40k universe exploring many of the planets therein. There is a decent enough lore and many recognizable locations that would sweet to see rendered in computer graphics.
There is certainly enough races in the 40k universe to build up a decent party of NPCs. Indeed the diversity would be a key selling point because a party built solely of Space Marines would only be interesting for so long.  But if the diversity comes into play then who would the player control? A possible solution would be an Inquisitor – his party could be built up of henchmen and killing daemons certainly holds a lot of appeal. But an even better option would be a Rogue Trader – it presents a substantial grounding for a diverse party. And better still, it offers the unique opportunity to describe the 40k universe through the eyes of an outsider who isn’t tied to any faction – or at least an average Joe.

And I just pulled that off the top of my head – so why on earth aren’t Games Workshop green lighting something like this?!?!?

Take up this blade

This week I’ve been playing a lot of Xenoblade Chronicles.
Yes after some bafflement at it’s selective releasing, I finally have my claws on Xenoblade Chronicles. It may have cost me an arm and a leg but there is enough curiosity to justify such an investment. The reinvention that JRPGs were in dire need of? The last gasp of the Wii? A shining beacon in amongst a barren RPG-starved platform? A game that was so good that it was only released once in Australia? And before the US for that matter? Well that’s enough for me.

So what do I think about Xenoblade Chronicles? Well I’m six hours in and so far it’s looking good. Now I’ve played numerous Final Fantasy games so that will ultimately influence my perception of JRPGs in general – indeed, when playing other JRPGs I’ve found it very hard not to notice the fingerprints of Final Fantasy abound. That being said, I’m so far finding that Xenoblade Chronicles is doing a lot of things differently: I’m enjoying the combat and the necessity for being mobile on the battlefield. I like how the time cycles work and the difference in day/night environments. The random encounters are handled great through being in purely optional manner. The mecha designs are pretty good and I’ve enjoyed the vast array of subquests. The environments are very beautiful too and the graphics are incredible to a point that I never thought possible on the aging Wii. I’m also enjoying the British Accents throughout the game and the fact that the PC, Shulk, isn’t an incompetent, whiny, little bitch.

Of course this only the beginning – whether this welcome will last or fall flat on it’s face is only matter of time. I find the subquest completion system a bit odd (you do certain quests and they’re automatically done? No return for confirmation? O….K….) and this being part of the Xeno series I strongly suspect there’ll be some heavy handed condemnations of the Catholic church (as JRPGs are wont to do).
But ultimately I can see the claims that Xenoblade Chronicles does things differently have weight – and going against the grain is indeed something that should be championed. Indeed, I’ve been playing this after a long absence from JRPGs and it is great to finally be having some fun again.

Indeed, it would be interesting to see, as I progress deeper into this game, if this pace can be kept up…