You guessed it. We bought Puzzle Quest. Other than playing WoW, which is primarily the only game I’ve been playing on a consistent basis for almost 3 years now, another type of game I enjoy is puzzle games. There is something soothing about aligning and organizing geometric shapes to the brains predetermined satisfactory pattern. Combine the puzzle factor in an RPG styled game, and  you have the makings of the greatest and most economic ($20.00 retail) OCD therapy tool available. If you haven’t left already, go buy it now.

Erin mentions to me in the store we almost bought this for the DS, which was its initial launch. But they have made a version for the Wii.

First off you create your avatar with the most retarded name typing system since cell phone chatting of the late 90’s. We had to remake our avatars over and over till we figured it out so our names would appear as such, “HugoA” or “ErinA.” But for $20 I can’t complain even if the game didn’t come with a detailed instruction manual.

I made a warrior class out of the 4 choices. Erin made a druid. The remaining 2 classes are wizard and knight. As your level up through experience gems in battle mode or in questing, you get to allocate your points in specific regions of specialized play. I’ve focus most of my points in red and battle.

If you still haven’t left to pick it up, go do it now. Personally I’m devoloping an itch and will review more of Puzzle Quest later. Enjoy.

It has begun. Once again Blizzard has permeated the minds of so many World of Warcraft players with the idea of a new expansion and new content that current game play is not unlike your best friend’s sloppy seconds.

Yesterday a guild memeber announced that he was leaving the game temporarily until the expansion came out.  My natural response was, ‘See you in a few weeks.’ His last remarks to us were this: Being level 70 is boring as shit. Well now, how could that be? It sparked a bit of conversation in the guild about what was boring in the game and what one could do to make things better.

Suddenly I was launched into retrospect. Years ago when Burning Crusade was approaching launch we had some very similar things happen in the raiding guild I was in. People stopped showing up. And when there were enough of us on to do a run no one could find the motivation to spend 3-4 hours in Black Wing Lair farming gear that would obviously be out of date by the time the expansion hit.

So what happened was mass boredom. It was horrible. I was able to keep myself entertained by playing the BC Beta as a Blood Elf. Not all my friends had this opportunity however, and I felt sorry for them. They were forced to pvp on a regular basis and if that turned sour they would try to 30 man MC.

But all that is beside the point. I don’t really know what the fucking point is. All I know is that pretty soon players are going to start falling off the map (if they haven’t already because of Age of Conan). So, that leaves those of us who still plan on playing. What will we do with ourselves when there are not enough members on to raid? PUG perhaps? Hopefully nothing that sinister.

Based on my post below, you can assume that I downloaded Requiem: Bloodymare and you would have assumed correctly. It took me around 3 days to download, simply because of communication issues with my husband and brother in law about reconnecting the torrent at night when they were done playing WoW (bandwidth at my house sucks).

My first impressions were, ‘Wow, this actually looks good enough to play for a free MMO’. I started off as a female Kruxena. I envisioned going the way of the Soul Hunter. Soul Hunters are capible of dealing damage over time in curses and poison effects as well as being able to harvest hp and mp from their targets for personal gain. Sounded like my kind of evil.

This would have led me to the Dominator class which specializes in summoning the dead. Each summons can do special things like heal, deal magic dmg and enchance the Dominator’s stats.

I got to level 4 before the game crashed on me due to changing the Video Settings. It was late at night, so I decided that it was meant to be and went to bed versus restarting the program. Little did I know it would be the only time I would get to play.

The questing was pretty simple, excpet that the quest logs were not very detailed: “Go talk to this guy in the inn.” Well, where the fuck is the inn? And since I was experiencing some lag issues in which the NPCs would not immediately load, it took me a while to find the person I needed.

There were some minimal graphic glitches like blinking barrels and things just not showing up. This was all well and good and I didn’t mind to much. The thing I hated the most was the stupid f-ing noise the game made when I turned my quests in. It has to be the worst sound effect I have EVER heard! It seriously made my ears bleed. And unless I wanted to hear nothing at all, there was no muting it.

Also, there was a gold spammer in my area when I was leveling up. There was no way of muting him or reporting his annoying presence so it was something I had to suffer through. I did run up to him and try to kill him, but alas, that did not work.

Overall, it was an easy game to play and I would like to play more, except the beta is now closed. The servers will not reopen until the game is released. I can’t say there is any lasting value in the game, but then again, I didn’t get to experience the whole DNA thing and I didn’t get any class specific spells or abilities. Hopefully, once the servers are back up, it won’t be to challenging to get started again and give a good old college try.

I’ve been pondering for some time if buying into the whole WoW TCG thing would be smart and economical. I doubt it would be either. However, I’ve had a sort of love hate relationship with card games in the past and since I have had a great love affair with Warcraft for some time now, I thought it would be the next logical step in our eventful and troubling relationship.

But have I decided to late? There are, what, a good three or four expansions out now for the card game? In order to keep up with current players I would need a fairly large sum of money in order to compete. Not that I’m against allocating funds for such a thing.  Then I tell myself that if somehow God decides to bless me in the best way possible he would have me randomly pull out a Spectral Tiger loot card - I would sell that bitch in less than 10 minutes flat. At least, I would like to think I would.

But that is beyond the point. I’ve heard that WoW TCG offers deck building a raid content that is so similar to the game that you forget you are actually playing face to face with other people and not over the Internet. I’m very curious to test our these mechanics for myself.

To kick things off, I could sell my multitude of Marvel VS cards and LOTR tcg sets. Nerd? What makes you think that?

As far as MMO’s go, I’ve only ever played the fantasy based type; such as Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft and so on. I’ve been waiting for a scifi game to be released that would peak my interest. There are a few in the works that I’m rather giddy over, but who knows when they will be released.

Requiem: Bloodymare is launching relatevly soonish and it looks interesting. Being a huge fan of everything horror and undead (hello! the website title?), my girlish squeeks of joy over this game are understandable. Squee! Squee!

But alas *heavy sigh*, is it going to be better than WoW? Probably not. Most MMO developers do not have the financial backing to create an entirely new and different genre for massive gameplay. Right now, most companies can only offer different content and new graphics (for example, Age of Conan). But when it all comes down to it, most will agree that WoW is the better game and not worth giving up.

But, this post was not meant to discuss that crap.

(more…)

Any of you who have played WoW have probably heard the old add more midlevel content arguement. With any game releasing an expansion there are those players who want to see additions to all levels of gameplay rather than restricting content to high level toons.

This has got to be the stupidest thing to get upset over. Games in general are made for progression. You don’t just stop playing the game after Cloud goes nutso and decide thats the way you like the story. You have to keep going! You have to break out of the coma and go after Sephiroth and kick his ass. That is the way the game is meant to be played.

So, when I hear about people beating this dead horse called Midlevel Content, I do this:

Those WoW players who are content staying levels 30-40 should really just find another game to play; like solitaire. World of Warcraft was meant to be played and enjoyed. You are meant to explore the new areas and level up so that you can see and partake in the new content.

I used to side with the midlevelers about content. When I leveled up another toon, I thought it would be nice to have new content to explore rather than doing the same old grind to 70. Blizzard sorta touched on midlevel content back in patch 2.3 when they added new quests in Dustwallow Marsh. But now with the new expansion looming, I have to admit that I’m not longer tempted to side with those pro midlevel content. Just get to 70 already!

Blizzard is not going to provide midlevel content and honestly they should not be expected to. The changes they make towards the game are solely for the experience of those who actually play it to its fullest potential.

If you are one of those players who only logs on casually to play for an hour or so a day and you’re turned off by the idea of having to eventually reach level cap and you have no desire to raid - I can’t help but wonder why you are playing an MMO. If being cooperative with your fellow server mates scares the hell out of you and you have no desire to PVP, Arena, or PUG instances… then what in the hell are you doing playing WoW?! I mean, really?! I don’t get it.

People keep saying WoW is like a chore. These people have obviously never played FFXI - cause that shit is a fucking job.

There are a lot of things that Blizzard could do to put some life back into Old Azeroth. But how much time, money and effort should they spend making the old world a better place when its clear that Blizzard wants us to spend our time in the new world? Sure being level 70 becomes a drag after you’ve done all the quests, done all the instances. But why in gods name would you want to putter around at level 32 wandering through the area looking at flowers and smelling the damn trees? There are plenty of quest lines to carry you through the levels and the quests to get 70 are far from boring.

If people want an improvement to old content - I say make heroic versions of MC, BWL and NAX. I miss doing some of those fights (LOOT THE PUPPY, DAMN IT). What Bliz did in Dustwallow Marsh was smart and I would encourage more of that - but anyone expecting an overwhelming effort in midlevel content should just shut the hell up. Srsly.

You would be a fool to have not noticed that the world around us is changing in regards to the way we think about our environment and the steps we can take in order to save it. More and more gaming companies are taking their own step by providing box-less gaming.

We are approaching the digital days where everything is done online and the use for paper is becoming less and less. Companies like Square Enix, EA, Direct2Drive and Penny Arcade’s Greenhouse are providing games for download through client software or via their websites.

I have been downloading my Sims 2 expansions recently through EA’s download software. It beats having to spend the gas going to the nearest gaming retailer. However, things are far from perfect. You have to be logged into EA’s download manager in order to play your games. From what I’ve heard, if their service is down, you’re screwed - and you won’t be playing till its back up. This has not happened to me in the two years I’ve used it, but I’ve heard stories.

Another problem I have with EA’s service is this: once you download a game it will stay in logged on your account for a certain period of time. After that time it will disappear. This means, once the game you paid for disappears, you will have to repay in order to re-download. This is crap, considering the insane amount of times I like to reformat my computer or do clean installs of my Sims games. On EA’s part, its genius, it provides them more ways of milking you for cash than previously thought of. Not only do you pay for the game itself, but you can pay for a special license that will keep the game in your queue for an extended amount of time. Once the time period is over and you want to reinstall the game, you have to pay them again.

No one should be surprised at this point the depth at which gaming companies will go to earn your bucks. We live in a capitalist world.

I, for one, enjoy the ease in which digitally downloading a game provides. But I know others who enjoy having something tangible after spending $50 or so.

Direct2Drive is owned by IGN, btw, so I don’t like them - but sadly they are one of the few companies who offer a multitude of games for download off the Internet. If you are looking for an alternative to Direct2Drive and like downloading games legally, DonkeyStream.com  and Terragame.com offer the same services.

I realize now, after re-reading it, that my first review of Age of Conan was a bit… unfair. I have been playing the game whenever I get the chance and my opinion on some things has changed.

First, the graphics have greatly improved after tweaking my video settings. I still admit that I like the look of Guild Wars better, but for the most part, Age of Conan looks the way it should (if you base it off the books). Now, I have noticed a lot of graphical errors and for all I know it could just be my system (I didn’t update my Vista like it asked me to. I was afraid my computer would explode). For instance, I have a Herald, lvl 10, and whenever she changes to demon form, it takes a few seconds for my game play to catch up. What happens is I end up with a headless, armless, legless lady.  FYI, I like to call the demon form my: Super Saiyen Predetor Form. That is trademarked by the way, so don’t take it.

Graphics aside, the only other issue that irks me is the voice thing. When I’m creating a character, the sample voices don’t work. So I have no idea if my female characters are getting a sexy bedroom voice, or the voice of a constipated old woman.

Last, but not least, the game play is.. interesting. The only way I can describe it is: it’s like playing arcade Street Fighter in the back of a dimly lit skating rink where the carpet smells like feet and cigarette smoke. My family can hear me playing AoC all the way across the house. I literally bang my keyboard in selfish effort to secure combos and keep myself alive. If the battle is long.. my fingers cramp up. I would not be surprised if in the near future someone sues Funcom over developing carpal tunnel from playing their game. Needless to say, if you only have 1 hand, you surely could not play this game without some kind of third party help. I can barely play on my own. At one point, my hand got so tired of mashing buttons that I employed my 15 year old brother in-law to press the buttons while I turned my character to face the right direction.

 Maybe the reasoning behind this system is simple. AoC, having acknowledge that the there are slutty ladies in the game, decided to make their combat system button pushing heavy so that young men are less likely to get sidetracked and thus play one handed. No more afk players before a battleground or instance. Thanks, Funcom!

It’s old news now, but some Wrath of the Lich King class talents and spells have been leaked across the internet. Who saw this coming? Everyone.  The same thing happened pre Burning Crusade.

I’ve read through the trees that this site posted up and I confess that I laughed absurdly. Has World of Warcraft become a circus? Is Blizzard trying to hard or not hard enough? Are there 15 year old’s developing this new expansion?

I have selected my top 5 favorite WotLK talent tree enhancements and interprut it for you. *ahem

In order from least to most favorite.

#5. Arcane Barrage(Mage Talent) - “Launches several missiles at the enemy target, causing 936-1145 Arcane damage.”  ERIN’S THOUGHTS: Arcane Missiles 2.0; they could have at least been more creative. Why not? ‘Launches several arcane infused badgers at the enemy target, causing 900-1000 humility damage.’

#4. Divine Hymn (Priest Spell) - “You recite a holy hymn, granting your party protection from attackers. Any attacks done to you or your party will cause the attacker to be afflicted by sleep for 20 sec. Divine Hymn will last 10 sec.”  ERIN’S THOUGHTS: An accurate portrayal by Blizzard of what its like to go to church. What are we teaching our youth? Why not: ‘You recite a holy hymn, causing party members to equip tamboreens and dance for 3 hours. Any attackers will also be afflicted by Divine Hymn. After the buff wears, a debuff called Sunday After Lunch Nap will cause all party members to sleep for 20 sec.’

#3. Martyr (Paladin Spell or Talent) - “Redirect all harmful spells directed at friendly targets to yourself.” ERIN’S THOUGHTS: Why not call it: Imprinting - ‘Blame yourself for all your friend’s problems. Absorb all their damage taken. Your receive a debuff called Emo in which cut yourself and bleed for 40sec or until your parents send your ass to boot camp.’

#2. Titan’s Grip (Warrior Talent) - “Allows you to equip two-handed axes, maces and swords in one hand, but you attack 28/26/24/22/20% slower then normal.” ERIN’S THOUGHTS: Why not: Cloud’s Grip - ‘Allows you to equip any two-handed weapon in one hand. Your hair suddenly becomes spikey and blond and you have fond memories of a bartender girl with big boobs. You also wear sunglasses and don’t like to smile.’

AND MY MOST FAVORITE!!! *Drum Roll*

#1. Living Seed (Druid Talent) - “When you gain a critical effect from your Swiftmend, Regrowth, Nourish or Healing Touch spell you have a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to plant a Living Seed on the target for [a %] of the amount healed. The Living Seed will bloom when the target is next attacked. Lasts 15 sec.”  ERIN’S THOUGHTS: This is what I read: ‘You impregnate the target with your seed. When the target is next attacked, your unborn fetus will burst through their chest cavity and absorb the target’s damage.”