Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Not so Legendary in League of Legends















Well for the first time this week, I can say that I am enjoying my time in LOL. Still have not had success in finding the mmorpg that will replace my time in Azeroth, and I like the lore so much that I am seriously thinking of investing in WC3 Battlechest.

I never got to play WC3 much back in the day, and even though this is not a blog about RTS games, we are all sort of in holding mode until GW2 and other games drop. As far as LOL is concerned, there is something very addictive about a game where so much strategy depends on both the cooperative play of your team and one's own contributions and it is satisfying to see a match develop, especially if your team is making a push toward victory.

This was only my fifth time playing and I have yet to kill a champion, though I am not dying as much and I did get an assist. Playing bots is not like playing against others in pvp, but you have to start somewhere, and this game is not very forgiving to newbies.


Will I try to level my summoner to 30 and try to to get into some competitive matches? Probably not, I was never one to look at rankings or game ladders, but as long as I am having fun I will continue to play this game as a diversion to my mmorpgs.

I still think that the sandbox and open world feel of a lot of modern mmos pwn the frenetic pace and slightly more limited play of Mobas and Dotas, but I am beginning to understand the appeal of both game genres, it really depends on which play style one enjoys most.










Friday, October 21, 2011

Still in search of the perfect f2p mmorpg


Another week gone by and I am no closer to replacing wow as my mmorpg of choice. Why would I even try to replace Blizzard's mammoth mmo for another game world you say? Well, call me a cheapskate, but with the economy being as bad as it is, I almost hate to dump $15 out of pocket, or $45 every 3 months on gaming, especially when there are so many good games you can play for free or are nearly free.

Or are there? I have played a number of games of late, trying to substitute that feeling of accomplishment and wonder I used to get from playing wow, but to no avail thus far as we approach the waning days of 2011.

November is just around the corner and with the climax of the year come new releases: GW2, SWTOR, Elder Scrolls V, just to name a few. So in the interim, everybody seems to be playing different games. Some swear by RIFT, others have gone back to wow in anticipation of the Blizzcon announcement of another possible expansion.

Personally, in the past few weeks I have tried: Guild Wars, Pirates of the Burning Seas, Everquest 2, Dark Age of Camelot, Forsaken World, Warhammer Online and a few others.

There is a problem with nearly every game on this list. Guild wars had me bored to tears and it is nearly impossible to find PUGs unless you join a guild, and even then. POTBS was interesting for one night and then the idea of running around in a game world as a pirate where the game's mechanics depend so much on simulated sea battles, even though it is unlike a lot of mmos out there, the game wore thin after one night. Maybe I need to play as the other nations to get more fun out of it.

Forsaken world was pretty, but it's not fun because you can't group, so I may as well be playing a single player game.

EQ2 costs money to play, and if I am going to sub, I might as well sub for a superior game like wow, or like DAoC. Out of all these, DAoC had the most intriguing atmosphere, for an old game it's a rare gem, but I can't help and feel that the epic scale of rvr and battle ground battles is lost in a game world where the population is small and makes the whole thing seem less epic than it should be. Also there is a pesky subscription.

So I am taking suggestions, what games are out there that are as fun as wow? or is warcraft still the ultimate immersive be all, end all of online gaming?

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Guild Season 5 FINALE

The Season 5 finale of the Guild is online. My original plan was to review every episode this season, but somehow that plan went to hell.

No matter, this season's finale went live yesterday, so did the season live up to expectations? I would have to say that for the most part it did, though fans missed the interactions between all the characters, which took a backseat to the many cameos on the series during the Mega gaming convention.

Felicia Day still makes this all work, her one moment in the denouement with the creator of "The Game" was really well put together, accentuating Codex's personality. I really loved her wishy washy persona.

"The last 2 episodes finally felt like the guild we all love and enjoy," said user Mcajmus on watchtheguild.com, "Don't get me wrong. All the cameos were nice. Kevin Sorbo was the funniest. But overall it didn't feel like the guild series b4 due to the lack of interaction between the guildies. Granted that was the theme in the season but it took the "magic" of the series away when these characters have so little interaction.

I would have to agree with this assessment. While all the subplots are wrapped up rather neatly, the finale begs the question, will the show be back for a 6th season, given the fact Felicia Day is busy with "Dragon Age Redemption" and other projects.

So not to spoil the ending, it does look like this climax could nicely and neatly wrap up the web series, if the producers decide to end it. It is no secret that "The Game" is based on "World of Warcraft" and given wow's upcoming challenges with SWTOR, GW2 and other mmogs, it remains to be seen if "The Guild" will keep up with RL developments and go in other directions, or risk becoming culturally irrelevant. That's a fate worse than the end of "The Game." for all our guildies.