Raise Your Freak Flag

I was reading an article the other today espousing the dangers of having too much story or putting too many resources toward story. I read this article a little disappointed. I’ve always loved story and the idea that there can ever be too much story is such a foreign thought to me. As I contemplated the article I began to realize that it wasn’t the article that disappointed me, or the quality of the writing, the me-too feeling of bashing The Old Republic; what I had issue with was far more basic, the idea that story doesn’t matter.

What's The Matter Charlie Brown?

What’s wrong with gear progression? It’s a big topic these days, the so called ‘endgame treadmill’. Gamers are up in arms over the idea that Guild Wars 2 has a ‘vertical treadmill’. I chuckled when I saw the uproar, three months is just about time for the new paint to be off a MMO, but as I delved deeper into the meaning behind the brouhaha, I was puzzled. My question is who cares? I don’t know what RPG anyone else was playing over the last two decades but gear progression is the name of the game. Cool sets of armors, that sweet sword that can only be gotten by trading a really nice sword halfway through the game. Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Dragon Age, Diablo, you name it they all had it. I understand gamers want progress or innovation with regards to the structures of MMO’s, or at least they say they do, but why with regards to gear progression? It’s a time tested method of proving that all that time and hard work is paying off.

Thankful

It's that day again, a day we all love. Eating turkey, hanging out with family and friends; its the best time of the year. As a gamer, especially one who lives in America, I am often thankful for the time and place where I've been born. This year has been an especially great year for gaming and for all the ups and downs it has been a great year for me as well. So I am thankful, I get to do what I love and it's the greatest feeling in the world.

Cash Shop: The Old Republic

The Old Republic went F2P last week and brought with it cash shop. Here is what I've gleaned about what works and what you should avoid (Special Thanks to Darthhater and Dulfy for research purposes). First of all, there are tiers of packs to buy Cartel Coins; the cash shop currency in TOR, each one is bigger than the last. Buy the largest pack, the $39.99 pack; it’s the only one that makes sense. Look some things are cheap in the cash shop and some things are not, but getting the biggest bang for your buck is ideal when looking at any cash shop. Essentially the $5 pack comes out to 90 coins per dollar and the $39.99 pack is 137 coins per dollar. That’s a nearly 50% increase in spending power. What you use those coins on depends on your playing style and how much time you have.

Love Me Tender

Video games have changed in recent years. It appears as video games have become bigger business, gamers are less inclined to love a company. Previously the breadth of a companies work would be the weights in the scale of greatness, now it’s their words against their deeds. We see this with the recent public denouncement of BioWare, Blizzard, and now ArenaNet. It’s an interesting phenomenon, more often than not these companies haven’t changed at all; they make top quality product for money and love of the industry. I sometimes wonder if it is gamers who have changed or at least their perceptions. Maybe it’s the explosion of the news now cycle and smaller attention spans, or maybe the widespread use of the internet to disseminate information and closer examination of detail. I can’t quite make heads or tails about where it comes from though. All of these companies are still making top shelf product, so how did they fall from grace?

Do as I say, Not as I do

‘Why don’t people just say what they mean’? A few weeks ago I was watching The Good Wife and I heard those words. The character, an accountant turned glorified debt collector, was talking to a woman who had tried to use him and his position to hurt the firm whose debt he was trying to collect; she reacted badly when he turned her ruse back on herself. It’s been ping-ponging in the back of my mind that phrase. Three things happened this week to bring it back to the forefront of my mind.

The Best of the Best III

The Most Visually Impressive Movies ever made, the awesome, the awe-inspiring (in no particular order):