The MMO Tourist

I recently read a column by Christopher Coke, the owner of the blog Game By Night, that I thought was really good. The fact that it mirrored my own thoughts on the F2P MMO market had nothing to do with my conclusion. In any case, he wrote a well-written piece on a subject that isn't being written about enough. Here is my shout-out:

The Mass Effect TV Series

Non-gamers have never understood our fascination with the Mass Effect Trilogy. Love the ending, hate the ending; its hard to argue that there has been a finer video game product this generation. An enterprising gamer has cut the entire trilogy into the vein of a television show. It's nearly 60 episodes right now, but it's about the only way your significant other is ever going to understand why this game is so good. So here it is, the Mass Effect television series:

Xbox Phantasmagoria

Microsoft recently unveiled its next generation Xbox, the Xbox One. The buzz around the internet has been mostly positive. After a long silence, Microsoft is hitting hard on all three fronts; hardware, software, games. The specs for the console are as good as or slightly better than announced for the PS4. Microsoft is upping their game on Xbox Live as well as with the OS for its next console. It’s more streamlined, closer to a PC system, and they are using better, more and stronger server technology. Lastly after an anemic last few years of publishing games Microsoft is promising 15 new games in the first year, with 8 all new franchises. The news was good, but there were dark clouds on the horizon.

To Missed Opportunities

I managed to miss my blogs' one year anniversary. I'm rather a little embarrassed. Although I suppose if time is circular as The Doctor says, I've not missed it at all. Still looking at these past 13 months, I am grateful for the support of my readers, and thankful that I've had this opportunity, it has been a great outlet for me. Looking at the past brings a desire to sharpen up my work, for that reason I shall be slowing down just a bit to edit, tag and shape up my previous posts. I've never been a great editor, but I suppose now I have a chance to get some practice. Thank you for keeping up with me, I look forward to another year.

Buying Into the F2P Myth

I’ve been playing a lot of The Old Republic lately, most leveling alts. I’m working on one character that I hope will help me get into endgame, a feature of most MMO’s that I avoid like the plague. Recently the 2.1 update dropped and out came the usual furor against BioWare and Electronic Arts. As I sat back and read the articles, opinion pieces, and comment sections I came to a realization; that gamers do not understand the mechanics behind a company choosing to move a game to F2P.

Sometimes Life Really is a Videogame

Because you can never scream loud enough or smile wide enough, soaring through the air going nearly 175 mph with a thin fiber keeping you afloat.

The Best of the Best VIII

The weirdest (and greatest) anime ever made. This list is full of the odd, the short and sweet, the magnificent, and the darkly prophetic. However they might differ, they have one single thing in common, they are great anime (in no particular order):

Is it worth it?

It’s always difficult to know what to spend your money on as a gamer. I haven’t bought a console game in nearly a year, longer if I don’t include games bought on store credit. However, I still hold onto my Gamefly subscription even if I don’t use it as much as I might. I look at the cost of the subscription as insurance against catastrophic failure of my PC. In my way of thinking, paying $200 a year is no different from the usury practices my cellphone company charges me for insurance, for the pleasure of taking my money and giving me nothing in return.

The Do-Nothings

I live in Pennsylvania, don’t remember if I’ve ever said that before; didn’t want my legion of fans to break down my door (…). In my hometown, lately there has been talk about whether or not to renovate the aging high school or build an entirely new building. It’s something every town goes through, especially in these difficult economic times. What is somewhat different is that this isn’t the first time it’s come up.