Musings II...

I’ve re-subbed to The Old Republic again. I suppose it’s in preparation for the new expansion/DLC Hutt Cartel. I seem to come back every three or four months, like a habit I can’t kick. Though things are looking up for TOR, the next six to twelve months will likely determine how it is remembered. When World of Warcraft first launched, people said it was too quest heavy and didn't have enough party-based grinding. Then they fell in love and out of love with it; in the end though WoW stands at the top of the summit in the MMO world. 

Avabel Rising

There’s a game I’m playing this past week. It’s a fairly standard MMO dungeon crawler; six classes, a starting town and a dungeon to climb floor by floor. There’s one thing though that separates this game from the pack; Avabel Online is a mobile game for the iOS and the Android. Avabel Online, the latest game from Japanese developers Asobimo, launched open beta last week and it is incredible. This game would be impressive if it came out on a console, but on the mobile market it is a breath of fresh air. Gone are the binding ‘energy’ restraints and ugly Facebook era wannabe mobile MMO’s, and gone are the squarish PlayStation One era graphics of the Everquest-lite mobile MMO’s; Avabel is visually impressive, structurally sound, and a joy to play.

O Captain, My Captain

John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, resigned yesterday. Effective March 30^th, he will no longer be working for the company he steered through tough economic waters. I don’t often say good things about the business side of the industry. Faceless suits, golden parachutes, too many well-published grievances to keep track of; however these are hard times make no mistake. It’s doesn’t take a genius to see the studio’s closing up in droves, to take heed of storms ahead. Riccitiello entered the job trying to develop new IP but the downward trend in the economy worldwide left him with few options. The fact that EA is still doing well economically means that when, if, the economy gets better EA is in a good place to try new things. EA is stronger now than it was then, and after all, isn’t that the best marker for success? Let’s hope the next guy (or gal) does as well.

The Faceless Developer

Developers should never be faceless, I've said this before and I'll say it again. Bungie isn't faceless, and because they're not, there is a connection between themselves and the players. Case in point:

Bungie does it better than just about any developer, and they have reaped the benefits.

Cloud Atlas Sextet

This is my last Cloud Atlas post. It’s too good of a movie to be as underrated as it is, however I believe this will have to do.

Voice Activated Excitement

I was playing Closed Beta’s last weekend, specifically Marvel Heroes, Neverwinter Online, and Warframe; there is such a contrast between the three games and how they use voice to tell story. Marvel Heroes is your basic dungeon crawler, and I do mean basic; the combat is a step back from the popular Marvel Ultimate Alliance games of yesteryears. The game is better than your average movie license game, but considering the company that’s hardly more than a backhanded compliment. Neverwinter Online is perfectly serviceable and I’m sure in a year the Foundry will be the chief point in its favor, but the lack of quality voice is telling. Warframe is a game that can easily suck hundreds of hours of your time. It’s fast, dependable, and guaranteed to give you small bite-sized gaming; but it’s unlikely to ever be your primary MMO. It doesn’t give you enough story to be more memorable than LAN parties with your friends; fun while it lasts but not notable for anything other than the camaraderie of Co-Op.

The Best of the Best VI

What is a great movie without a great villain, a good movie? With apologies to the heroes of the story, no great movie can withstand the absence of a great villain. Without further ado, the greatest villains in modern movies (in no particular order):