Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition is due to release on PC August 24th. What a lot of people might not realise is that this supposedly 'definitive' version of the game, is not being optimised for the PC platform it is finally making a move to.
I originally bought Dark Souls for the Xbox 360 after plenty of recommendations from friends and rave reviews I'd seen all across the gaming community. I was immediately sucked into the dark, twisted and unforgiving world that the game immerses it's players in. The game itself is incredible; tight controls, challenging but never unfair enemies and an atmosphere that most other games could only dream of.
The problem for me is the way the game struggled to perform as a console title. The constant frame rate drops that Dark Souls is plagued with drove me mental. I don't understand why console gamers are expected to put up with problems like this. Perhaps I'm spoilt as a PC player, but why should I pay full price for a game that has a technical issue that I feel can be such an immersion breaker.
The precise controls are tainted when too many enemies appear on screen or a massive attack from a boss fills an area. Time and time again I was left attempting to dodge or block an attack and ended up feeling even more of a walking tin can than I already did. This was also a major problem while trying to navigate through narrow ledges or traps. I would end up falling off or sliced to pieces due to a quick off-putting stutter.
No, that's not fear holding me back. It's the freaking frame lag!
I played a fair amount of the game before I originally heard the news of a PC release, and was so relieved that I decided to wait and carry on the game once it was out. I had hoped I would then be able to play Dark Souls in it's full twisted glory, without the worry of these issues ruining my experience. So much for that. It would seem that these technical issues are totally acceptable to producer Daisuke Uchiyama.
In an interview with Eurogamer he stated that:
“In terms of the PC version, the quick answer is no, [we will not be fixing the frame drops]. Because we wanted to get the PC version out as soon as possible." He goes on to say that “it’s more strictly a port from the console version. We haven’t been able to step up into doing any specific optimisation for PC.”
I'm no game designer by any stretch; so can someone explain to me why games that are originally designed on a PC need to be ported from their inferior console versions to create a working PC copy of the game? Or is this just the easiest route to take? I would have happily waited longer to get an optimised version of the game rather than some half arsed port, especially as it was the main reason I was looking forward to a Dark Souls PC release to begin with.
Now PC gamers are expected to pay the full £29.99 for a game that is being re-released and porting all its issues along with it. From Software are at least including three new areas, four extra bosses and a number of new weapons to supposedly make up for the lack of optimisation, but I guess I may as well just go back to playing the copy I already own on my Xbox. It just seems like these new additions are something the original adopters of the game should have received as much cheaper DLC content to begin with.
The ironic thing is that From Software have obviously "wanted to get the PC version out as soon as possible" for its easy returns, but due to this decision I'm sure many players will no longer be interested in buying the game at all. If you haven't had chance to play Dark Souls I would highly recommended it. It's a deeply rewarding experience. Just make sure that if you own either a PS3 or 360 you're probably better off buying the previously released and probably cheaper copy for your consoles instead.
Last Wednesday ArenaNet opened up their server doors once more for
another stress test. So after getting back from work I jumped on Mumble, coffee
and biccys at the ready (biscuits to you normal folk) and eagerly hammered the
log in screen just in case they opened up the servers earlier than expected.
They didn’t, but as good ol’ karma would have it the test ended up stretching
on longer than the original four hours we had all expected. Huzzah! There was a good dollop of lag and a sprinkling of disconnects but other than that the stress test was extremely smooth.
The stress test went swimmingly! :D
Even in this short space of time, my guildies and I had an
absolute blast finally getting involved in World versus World, and then towards
the end of the night we were also treated to participate in one of ArenaNet’s
end event. This was alongside a few of the ArenaNet staff, who graciously led
the hordes of enthusiastic players through the madness they had created for us
to blatter our way through. It was a real treat, as none of us had got the
chance to participate in any of the previous end events. They always seem to happen
in the early hours of the morning for us UK players. I can just about manage to
go to work with five hours sleep, but unfortunately I think two hours may have
just been pushing it a bit. It was tempting though!
The highlight of the night for me was finally getting round to
giving World versus World a proper go. It’s the Guild Wars 2 answer to world
PvP, and is in-keeping with what I like to call; ArenaNet’s ‘stop players annoying
the shit out of each other’ policy. It keeps PvP away from the GW2 questing
areas while at the same time offering players the opportunity to participate in large
scale battles in an open world environment. For me World PvP has always been a
particularly favourite element of MMOs (aside from all the griefing) and it’s
great to finally see a whole portion of a game dedicated to just that. Even
better as it avoids aggravating PvE players who don’t want to deal with all the
crap that comes with it.
World versus World (also known as WvWvW or WvW) places three
different servers against one another. It’s an onslaught of resource gathering,
objective capturing and experience boosting PvP warfare which is set across
“four large maps with up to several
hundreds of players per map.” Players can also “besiege structures such asKeepsandTowerswithsiege
weapons” and makes for a very interesting blend of
PvE and PvE. So whatever your preference in MMOs, there's always plenty to do for both
types of players. Your character is also boosted to top level while you are
within the WvW area, so it gives everyone a chance to participate no matter what
stage of the game you are currently at.
Someone got here before us huh?
It’s easy to jump straight into, just
bring up one screen and hit the join button. You will either be queued or placed
straight into the WvW area, no fuss. At first I felt a bit lost, the maps really
are huge and there are so many objectives to consider attacking. It’s easy to
feel a bit overwhelmed to begin with. Luckily there are a number of NPCs to
explain things, or you can just follow the crowd or players running to whatever
objective they are focused on skipping merrily and hitting anything that comes your way, much simpler.
My guild and I noticed to our dismay that
one of the other servers had already claimed pretty much the entire map when we started. This
was the first worrying factor of WvW we came across. The enemy server had
managed to do this in an incredibly short space of time (we had only logged a
little while before), leaving us and another server with very little
opportunity to fight back. We now had to deal with all the elite NPCs that defended these once neutral areas, plus
the outnumbering players that had claimed them.
You do receive a buff that boosts
your health and damage when your server is outnumbered, but this seems to do
very little to really balance the situation as a whole. When it’s just one of
you versus a group of fifty, there’s very little you’re going to be able to do
before having your head ripped off and stuffed down your neck.
The keeps and towers that we needed
to win back to get a foothold on the battle can be incredibly tough to recapture. Just breaking down the gates to get into
just one keep or tower can be a nightmare, especially when you are being
showered with arrows and burning oil from the defending players. You just end
up feeling like fish in a barrel.
Just keep hitting it guys, I'm sure it will break eventually!
The best way of attacking is by building
various siege weapons which bring down the enemy defences far quicker that just
smacking your head on the walls. But this also poses another problem; unless
you are near a supply cache you have to carry resources back and forth to the
build sites. Each player can only hold a limited number of resources so it
becomes tedious work. Even more so if they enemy team manage to quickly jump
out of their keep and smash what your trying desperately to build. I saw red a
good few times, and it becomes disheartening when you see all your efforts
smashed to bits in just a few swings.
I had hoped that we would have been
able to build our siege weapons away from the battle first, and then move them
closer to an attack position afterwards. But apart from the golem (which is
basically a walking robotic wrecking machine) none of the other weapons could
be moved once they were built. I was sure I had seen footage of battering rams
moving towards keep gates before. Perhaps this had not been implemented yet due
to pathing or balance issues, but I feel it would be a major improvement if
ArenaNet could allow players to tactically move siege weapons into positions
come launch.
When we couldn’t get into the keep
for some time me and my guild mates decided to go in search of the enemy supply
lines. We made attacks on the resources they were using to constantly rebuild
what we were trying to tear down. We
ransacked supply routes, and ambushed players who were trying to make their
way back to the keep to help defend it.
It made a huge difference that you
can also do things as a smaller group rather than being made to feel stuck fighting
with the general mob of players, who usually just want to throw themselves to the
slaughter against the gates of a keep. It’s just a shame there isn’t more you
can do as a smaller unit in order to help the bigger picture, unfortunately most
objectives are just far too tough for a small party to take over and hold. It would be great to see more of these smaller objectives on the map.
I might just stay up here...
When WvW really comes into its own is
if your team does finally pull their resources and work together. We managed
start building a golem just outside the keep.
Once we had gathered enough to
build it we ploughed right into the heart of the enemy fortress running behind
the golem sneering like weedy kids behind a big bully as it pummelled down the
gates and then everything in its sight.
It’s extremely satisfying to charge
into a keep and begin tearing into the weaker internal defences, putting an end
to any of the enemy team left defending it, while your teams catapult and trebuchet
rounds come pouring in over the walls while you’re fighting. It’s then just a matter of charging at the NPC
lord (the really tough bastard) and bringing him down together to retake the
keep. You can even claim it for your own guild afterwards having your banners
displayed all around it.
WvW is a truly worthwhile PvP experience
even for players that aren’t even that keen on PvP. You don’t have to feel as
pressured to throw yourself into the heart of the battle as you have far more
room to play how you want. What’s more is that there is quite a strong feeling
of pride, a need to fight back. You don’t want your entire server to look weak
against the others you are up against after all do you? Not that we did that
well, but fought valiantly anyway dammit!
You can easily end up spending an enormous
amount of time in GW2 WvW, but the fact that you will still be receiving just
as good an amount of experience towards your characters levels means that
anytime spent doing it is just as worthwhile as anything else.
I wish I had spent more time on the
PvP side of things in Guild Wars 2. It seems it’s going to be yet another
element of the game that will be very worthwhile. Hopefully next time I will
get the chance to explore the traditional arena style combat on offer as well.
I guess that will just have to wait till July 20th, until then I have
to find something to fill the void.
SQUARE-ENIX confirmed the RE-re-release of Final Fantasy VII on PC today. This comes after original rumours emerged nearly two weeks ago, which showed the domain name registration of FinalFantasyVIIPC.com by the company. Since the official announcement the site has now gone live.
I covered the major new details of the game in a previous post. None of these leaked statements turned out to be incorrect; so achievements, cloud saves and the character booster will all be features of the game. I'm still very sceptical of the character booster, and would urge any new players of FFVII to try their best to ignore this feature, just enjoy the game how it was meant to be played. Pretty please!
Who are you? EA? *Grumbles*
The other disappointing piece of news is that the game will not be available on Steam, but instead will be available exclusively on the SQUARE ENIX Store. I can understand the reasons why they have decided to do this, but having achievements for the game that I know barely anyone is going to see is a real shame. I want friends to see that I have beaten ruby and emerald weapon... again! The problem is only a select few of the people I play with will have a SQUARE-ENIX Store account.
Well I guess you can't have it all, but at least this version of FFVII is being optimised for current PCs.
SQUARE-ENIX have also released a new trailer, just to get you in the mood. It actually gave me goosebumps. Just try to ignore the typical awful voice over that could otherwise ruin the amazing music of Nobuo Uematsu that is featured in the trailer.
I'm so looking forward to playing FFVII again, and I hope all of you that never had the chance to experience it until now give it a go.
The Nintendo 3DS XL is set to land in the EU July 28th and the US August 19th. It's less than a month away now before I have to start considering upgrading to the new 3DS model, but is it really going to be worth the £179.99 asking price?
Nintendo have decided to have a few slightly new colours that will be available of the XL on release. Both the EU and US will be receiving red and blue variations with a black trim. Europe will also be getting the option of a silver and black version as well. The 3DS XL will come with two screens that are a massive 90% larger than its predecessor. So now you might actually be able to see what your doing when playing games such as Rayman Origins. The XL will also come bundled with a 4GB SD card for everyone who loves to buy from the Nintendo eShop.
It's great that Nintendo are offering quite a decent sized SD card, but the problem isn't a lack of space. It's the fact that almost everything is so ridiculously over priced on the eShop. It amazes me that Nintendo actually get anyone to buy a single thing off it? Each game I have downloaded on it so far was given to me for free, seeing as I'd already been screwed over by the initial 3DS release price. (I don't think being a Nintendo Ambassador was a cool as Nintendo made it out to be.)
I don't think I can choose!
The new device will not be shipping with an AC adapter in Europe. Nintendo have stated that this is to keep costs down, as they believe than anyone buying the new handheld will probably have a 3DS already. Well that's all well and good... but what if I want to trade in my my old one to put the money towards the new XL huh? Thanks again Nintendo, guess I may as well just keep mine and leave it sitting on the side collecting dust while I use its AC adapter for my new model.
Nintendo have also said that the XL will have a larger battery life, even though it now has to give out and increased power to the two larger screens. This would definitely be a welcome addition; the amount of times my 3DS has died on me even after having power saver on, setting brightness to minimum and having the 3D turned off pretty much all the time. What's the point of having a handheld that I am constantly scared to play in it's best quality as at any point I know that bloody red light is going to start flashing to tell me, "No more game time for you, suffer on this long arse bus journey without me mwwhaha!"
I do believe the 3DS XL will be a big improvement to its little bro. I think the rounded edges of the new design coupled with its larger size should make for a much more comfortable and enjoyable experience. But unless I can get a decent trade in or sale price for my own 3DS, I don't think I could ever really justify the upgrade. As much as I would want to. (They better not bring out a limited Zelda edition, or Miyamoto will go missing I swear.)
A little while back I read a small post on Kotaku which showed a video concerning how you would feel as a gamer on your death bed. Would you regret all the time that you spent with your console, PC, phone or the journeys you took with your trusty little handheld to keep you company?
It got me thinking, is all the time that I spend on these games really worth so much of my my life? Should it be better spent doing something that perhaps others would believe were more productive? I've always wanted to learn the saxophone or piano, why I don’t just do that instead? Perhaps take up sports training, go to rugby or swimming a few times a week?
Why are these things considered to be more productive? Why does gaming come with the stigma that it isn't a ‘real’ hobby? Do people really believe that these games and their stories that I surround and immerse myself in are such a non-productive part of my life?
When I was little games had always been a security blanket for me. I was usually left alone in my house as my mum had to work non-stop. I began to enjoy the peace and quiet it offered. Mainly as it meant that I could also play games to my heart’s content; well, for as long as I could get away with it anyway. I would sit on my own getting lost in my N64. Ocarina of Time is probably the most nostalgic game on the planet for me.
Sometimes I wouldn't even be playing the game as I should, I would happily just wander the fields of Hyrule travelling from place to place making up little stories of my own. Pretending that I was asked to vanquish troublesome monsters that were plaguing a town or that I was a secret assassin that lived inside the Kakariko village windmill.
"Remember the first time you stepped out onto Hyrule field?" - AIBryce
Then my little bubble would burst, my mum would come home I would be told I was “spending too much time in front of the damn screen. You know your eyes will go square right?” Till this day I don’t think my mum will ever understand why I spend most of my free time on the games I enjoy. Then again, why would she? You never will understand something if you have no interest to try it begin with right? After all, I'll never get how she can just sit and watch the endless amount of reality T.V shows she likes either.
Gaming has also been one of my greatest sources of inspiration. The stories that are told through the countless games I've played, and the moments in those stories that make so many of them special to me. It amazes me sometimes how I can have so many fond memories brought back just by hearing a piece of music or a conversation about a scene from a game that stood out to me.
Even the first time that I discovered how much I enjoyed writing, it hadn't come from a book. I was only ten and my class were asked to write our very own fantasy story. It only had to be three pages long but I ended up writing up far more than I or my teacher ever expected. In fact, she even took the time to type it all up for me and gave me a cool gold ribbon for it being best in the class (Insert smug face here.). Can you guess where I got my inspiration from?
Later I came across Final Fantasy. I was a late comer to the series and the first time I actually set eyes on it was at friend’s house. He had stuck FFVII into his PlayStation and I watched as a flower girl surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a polluted city walked slowly through the streets. A train roared into a station and an unknown soldier with crazy spiky hair leapt down from it. My eyes popped out of my head the first time I saw that scene, and then I took control of who I later found out to be Cloud Strife. (He sits next to my PC on his Hardy Daytona, he's so awesome.)
Who needs Disney to show you romance? You can get it all from the love stories of characters like Squall and Rinoa, Tidus and Yuna. Link doesn’t even have to talk and he gets his girl every time. I knew I wanted to write about characters like the ones I was seeing, and make other people feel the same way I did when I played these games.
At around the same time I discovered RPG Maker,and finally I had a medium that I could pour all my ideas into. I began to learn the basics of ASCII coding and game creation. I would do research online on how to write certain events and make characters move. I still remember how happy I was the first time I got the animations right on something as simple as a chest being opened. I was actually making a game, and it was amazing for me to see my ideas come to life.
As I got older I became more involved in PC gaming, I started to chat with people online who enjoyed the same things I did and were just as passionate about them. It was refreshing to speak to others who were so like-minded. I've never felt more comfortable when talking to others on the outside of my friend group than I have when I'm online. Not just because I'm behind a screen, but because the people I talk to usually end up having the same mentality. We all still like to go out and ‘socialise’, but I always feel so comfortable when I get home at the end of the day, crash into my chair, and chat with people I don’t feel like I have to force awkward conversation with.
Even with friends that I don’t get a chance to see much of any more many of them I still keep in regular contact with thanks to the games we play online together, or the voice chat servers we use whilst we’re playing. Gaming can easily bring people together and strangely enough it was the social side of most online games that kept me playing long after I had grown tired of them.
PC gaming also got me interested in building my own computer. I had never had any experience at it, I just always liked the idea of doing it my self. If it wasn't for trying to get the most out of the games I played I probably would never have bothered. So I took the time to understand how things went together, and the friends that I spoke to online gave me the extra advice I needed.
In the end I saved up enough and decided to take the plunge. Now I have another little accomplishment sitting right next to me. My very own home built gaming rig. I'm still constantly learning from it, but now I have a skill that actually has some 'real use' in this day and age. It feels wonderful to know that I took the time to learn all of that thanks to my 'unproductive hobby.' The same hobby that made me want to write this blog, and hopefully have people read it who enjoy gaming as much as I do.
Even Snake could salute his gaming days at the end with pride.
So…do I think that I will regret all the time I’ve spent playing computer games when I’m on my death bed? How could I? Could you regret something that has given you so much, and has attributed to one of biggest parts of who you are today? Gaming can be an art form, a way of expression, a means to bring people together and perhaps even keep your mind active and healthy. I'm sure I could think of far deeper things that I could regret on my death bed, rather than all the hours I spent happy and content in my little gaming bubble.
It seems that Nintendo have decided to break away from their standard colour choices for sequels and this time decided to go for a numerical title. Hopefully this means that these games will end up being much more than just the typical merge of its predecessors.
Meet the Pyro is now available, and Valve certainly don't know how to disappoint. Delve into the sick and twisted mind of the raving masked arsonist. Listen to the fears of the other classes as they twitch and squirm at the mere thought that 'that thing!' might be somewhere close by. Heavy, spy or scout. No matter who they are they all live in fear of the pyro's presence, and so they should!
"One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask...what dreams of chronic and sustained cruelty" The Spy.
Now you can finally go behind the mask and discover what makes the pyro the thing it has become. Don't come crying to me if it's mind is just too much for you to handle, because once you've "watched it, you can't unwatch it!" Enjoy.
I like to think that's what goes through my mind every time I zone out from the rest of the world and just play games. Ahh bliss, the pyro is a thing after my own heart. Now I just need the flamethrower. *Twisted sideways grin*
The Guild Wars 2 release date was officially announced yesterday. It will be available from Tuesday, August 28th and pre-purchasers will be getting a 3-day headstart on the 25th. I couldn't be more excited. In fact, I think I may have had to excuse myself to the bathroom when I heard the news.
It's been over five years since ArenaNet announced that they would be starting the project back in 2007, and what an amazing accomplishment the game seems to have turned out to be. In the final couple of months leading up to its release ArenaNet have stated that they will be spending all their "remaining time optimizing, polishing, and balancing the game." We will even be lucky enough to get one last chance to help them do this; the last Beta Weekend has also been announced for July 20-22.
It's great to finally get a solid release date, I just wish they hadn't decided to put it right at the end of the bloody school summer holidays. I get a glorious six weeks off work and only in the last few days will I get to spend it finally getting to play GW2, why couldn't ArenaNet have just let me binge on it all summer long?
Well at least I might get to enjoy the sun now (if there is any), rather than hiss at it every time the breeze twitches the curtains. Screen-glare; bane of my life.
It's been a while since I sunk my axe into a good ol' game of Team Fortress 2, but today's news from valve spurred me on to take up my flamethrower once more. We will finally get to 'Meet the Pyro' this coming Wednesday, and to celebrate Valve are announcing the 'Pyromania' countdown.
There isn't many other games where I can chase down other players, setting them alight in a blaze of flaming glory whilst cackling wildly when their character shrieks in pain yelling 'FIRE! FIRE!' only then to pull out a shotgun or batter them to death with an axe for good measure. This, of course is the kindly way to end their miserable suffering existence.
Yes I am one of those annoying feckers who loves to play a pyro; hunting spies, blowing players off cliffs and hiding round corners is all in a rounds work for me. Well at least it was for a very long time.
Ever since I started playing TF2 I had always been pulled towards the pyro class. In every other FPS I had played up to that point, I had always chosen to be the cool calculating sniper a.k.a dirty camper. I wanted to take the complete opposite approach with TF2, so I decided on the most in-your-face class I could possibly be. At first I was awful, I lost count of the amount of times I died as I ran in just holding down the mouse button like a complete muggins. Don't get me wrong it was still fun, but my K/D ratio left me extremely infuriated by the end of the game.
I found myself gravitating towards the sniper time and again, desperate to get out of the line of fire and to just be able go for a headshot spree. But I stuck at it, and learned that I could play the Pyro not so much in-your-face but more burning-yo-ass! Finding ways behind the enemy team is the most enjoyable thing when playing a pyro, especially if you pull it off well.
Seeing how many of the enemy team you could have burning at once before they notice you is still just as hilarious to me today as it was when I started playing. It's such a satisfying sight; almost like a beautiful bonfire made up of dancing pixies who just happen to be burning to death. I think you have to be a special kind of psychopath to appreciate the inner workings of the pyro.
It's been a long time coming, and I'm looking forward to see how Valve finally portray the true nature of the pyro. Will we get to see it's face? Is it actually a guy or a girl? All may be revealed on the 27th June. Plus TF2 players will also be receiving "Doomsday" a "new map with a brand new game mode that lets you relive one of the darkest days in TF history." It will even include a number of new achievements for you to go for.
Guild Wars 2 will be launching completely subscription free this year, and one of the points that I didn't get to talk about in my review was how micro-transactions work within the game.
I'm normally in support of subscription based MMOs, because I have always lived by my '£ an hour' philosophy when it comes to games. To sum it up; if a game costs me £30 I expect it to last me at least 30 hours worth of playtime. This doesn't necessarily mean that the main story has to last that long. But that the game needs to be engaging enough to hold my attention, or has enough additional content to keep my playing. (This philosophy works out pretty well as far as Steam deals are concerned.)
So when it comes to MMOs, paying £8 a month for something I enjoy playing on a daily basis and getting hours and hours worth of playtime from, meant that the subscription never really bothered me. In fact, I was getting a lot for more game time for my money, especially when compared to other games.
Now the main issue I've been having lately is with MMOs like SWTOR. I currently have no drive whatsoever to pay my subscription (I'll spare you the reasons why). But at the same time, I would still like the option to be able to jump on and play with the friends that are currently sticking with it. It would be nice to be able to join them on occasion for 'dailies' or just to help out, even though in the long run I don't feel like I can commit fully to the game.
In this case the subscription plan just does not work in my favour. So I feel barred from a game that I have already paid for because I don't want to fork out the extra money to receive game-time I won't utilise. Now on the flip side we have Free 2 Play / Sub free MMOs. Originally I was very wary of these. I had always worried that all they did was allow players who were spending the most money 'overwhelming godliness' over their gaming space, creating extremely unbalanced play for others who wouldn't want to spend as much.
True many games have done this in the past, but these days it seems that the use of micro-transactions are that much more of a viable solution. It was my experience with GW2 that really enforced my opinion on this.
Pimp cat.
“… it’s never OK for players who spend money to have an unfair advantage over players who spend time.” (Mike O’Brien, president of ArenaNet)
Mike O'Brien pretty much cleared up all my worries back in March when I first read that quote on the GW2 blog. But when I got to see it for myself, I was glad that this wasn't just going to be another empty promise from a game developer. Micro-transactions in GW2 work in a way that opens the game up just that little bit more to make it worthwhile, but not enough to ruin another players experience.
Gems are the currency used for micro-transactions and they can be bought for real funds or in-game gold. So if you're somebody who is pretty handy with your auctions or just likes farming gold, you will never have to pay another penny. You can also do this in the reverse, so goodbye to gold sellers in GW2 (I hope.)
All you have to do is open a window in game, add gems to your account and choose from the many unique, quirky or helpful items that will then be granted instantly to your character. They range from one hour experience, damage or karma boosts to funny civilian gear to wear around town, extra dyes for your gear or pots that can turn you into any random creature.
My Mini wasn't so mini...
Among my favourite items you could buy, were packs of Minis. These were pets you could collect for your character that weren't account bound and the packs could even contain doubles. Well... I was hooked on them almost immediately, I like pets anyway in MMOs but being able to swap doubles and show off rares with my guild over the beta weekend just made things worse (MUST COLLECT THEM ALL!). These could even be sold on the auction house to avid collectors, which would normally go for a tidy profit for the rarer ones.
Lastly there where items such as the Box o'fun. You could place this in a highly populated area of the world and every player could click on it. They would then receive a random transformation ranging from huge, turning invisible, being able to shoot off fireworks to just exploding and flying backwards. It created such a simple yet fun break from the game, and made for some interesting chat among the players who were brought together by it.
I had a great time messing around with the Gem store. So if this is what the future of micro-transactions in MMOs will be, then I happily welcome them with open arms.
Over at LEGO Cuuso a Legend of Zelda concept design has reached over 10,000 supporters.
Now it has the chance to actually become a reality. It will be sent to the "LEGO Jury" for consideration and if they deem the concept worthy of success and that it would be possible to manufacture, we could have ourselves one of the greatest LEGO sets ever! Ok I'm being a little bit biased, I'm LoZ fanboy after all. Still this certainly would be a great thing to see on the shelves of any LEGO store.
It was through LEGO Cuuso that the recent Minecraft LEGO concept was approved and is now available for pre-order. (I may have to get my hands on at some point as the idea of having real life Minecraft blocks is pretty incredible.)
I have to say that LEGO have been extremely fortunate with Cuuso. Not only has it become a hub for talented individuals to have the chance to get their ideas created, but LEGO will now have a steady stream of new ideas pouring in to mull over, and completely free of charge.
One of Ocarina of Time's most memorable moments... IN LEGO!
I really hope the LoZ concept goes through and that Nintendo will approve it's production. I would certainly be one of the first to have little LEGO LoZ figures covering my desk. I already thought that my LEGO Bobafett key-chain was cool enough, but having Link with a Master sword certainly tops it for me.
Make sure you check out the site, and even vote for any of the other concepts you like. You never know, your votes could make it happen.
Today Bioware finally announced the release date for Mass Effect 3's extended ending DLC. Coming to PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 as a free download from Tuesday, 26th June.
I was among the many fans of the Mass Effect series that were disappointed by the lacklustre finale to the game. As much as I enjoyed the concept of the 'synthesis' ending, I still couldn't help but feel as though a void needed to be filled, that there were just too many unanswered questions and plot holes that needed to be tied up and addressed properly.
Some real choices that were genuinely effected by what you had done across all three titles wouldn't have gone amiss either.
I'm pleased that Bioware have taken the time to listen to their fans. Not that they were given much of a choice; with all the charity fundraising, cupcake sending protests going on across the internet. Even a lawsuit stating that Bioware had used false advertising was pushed for. In all, it's been a manic few months for Bioware and EA and it's nice to finally see things settle down.
Well... I guess that now all depends on exactly what the DLC content is like. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there with their torches and pitch forks at the ready, and they can be a scary bunch.
Good luck Bioware!
For more detailed information on the DLC visit the Mass Effect 3 website.
I've always wanted to be good artist, really I did. I took Art at GCSE and Graphics for A-levels. The countless anime series' I've watched over the years, comic books I read and the incredible concept art I saw for games and movies on a daily basis. These all made me want to create things like the ones I saw. If just for one day I could produce pieces of art or draw an anime, comic book or game characters as good as them.
A friend of mine (who is also an unfairly good artist) sends me a link to these videos. I sat grudgingly amazed that someone can actually create something like this and then just rub it away, because If you gave me a piece of tracing paper, the original image and a pen. I still wouldn't be able to create an image better than this guy can... with salt.
Guess I better just stick with writing, at least I can do that. Sort of.
Final Fantasy VII has been rumoured to be making a return to the PC today, but it seems it could be something a little bit more than just the original game in this particular re-release.
A link from Google Cache was sent to Joystiq containing information on a website that had been recently registered under the domain name FinalFantasyVIIPC.com. Using a whois search reveals the site is owned by Square-Enix and is even registered under CEO Yoichi Wada's name.
The site supposedly housed a wealth of information featuring a number of details that could possibly be taken as Micro-transactions, which would be offered alongside the game. Just a few of the things on offer could be achievements, cloud saves (hehe) and *spits on floor* a "character booster" allowing players to increase their HP, MP, XP and even receive items.
Cloud: "It's all good Sephy, I'll just boost up to be as awesome as you!"
Sephiroth: "Fml ..."
/rant I can't possibly understand why this would ever be a considered a good idea, especially for use in an RPG that bases such a large investment in the satisfaction of building your team. So that Cloud can then Omni-Slash a boss apart who is crucial to your emotional investment to the game. (You know the bit I mean.) Where is the tension in trying to beat a boss you can just face roll over... seriously.
But now apparently today's generation of gamers need to be so spoon fed that at "the simple click of a button" you are left to "enjoy your adventure." What possible enjoyment could someone get by just sailing through a Final Fantasy game. Yes the story is incredible in FF7, but you may as well just go sit through a 'watch me play' of the entire game for all the enjoyment your going to get out of it. At least you won't have to pay the £7.99 they may be offering it at then. /endrant
Aside from this, it's the chance of seeing possible graphical mods being developed for FF7, that make it an incredibly exciting prospect. Players have been asking for a remake for a long time, and this could be the closest chance they get. Or... this could just be one elaborate hoax, what do you think?
It's been a long time coming, and pretty much the main reason why I haven't posted a single thing in days.
But my Guild Wars 2 Beta review is finally up! I can't get over how long it actually took me to finish it, and I still can't believe I didn't quite cover everything I had originally planned, because it just got ridiculously long. Personally I just blame ArenaNet for making a game that I just have far too much to talk about. It's just unfair. Anyway for those who read it, enjoy!
