The Realm of Chadness - A Gamer's Blog

Moving Time!

2009-06-22T08:09:00.003-05:00

This will be my last post here on "The Realm of Chadness - A Gaming Blog". I've made a new home on the Interwebs that gives me a more gaming-oriented domain - Gamerocity. That's where I'll be posting from now on. The new site offers improvements over this one and gives me a chance to start fresh and really focus more on the quality of the articles I write, whatever the subject.

So, I hope you'll visit me over there, and update your bookmarks. See ya around!

Some Changes Incoming

2009-06-17T23:12:00.000-05:00

Some major changes, in fact. I'm finally going to drop the title of this blog, which I've had for many, many years. It never was a gaming-specific blog name, but I couldn't come up with anything better, so it stayed this way.

But, today I purchased a new domain and some hosting, and will be going that route. I'll be using WordPress instead of Blogger (sorry Blogger). I'm not sure when it will go live, I still have quite a bit of work to do. In the mean time, posting will be light here, unless I can figure out how to clone myself so there's plenty of me to do multiple tasks.

The new site will definitely be gaming-specific in its title and focus. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a web designer, so I have to search for a suitable template to begin the process. I'll have more info when it happens.

Post of the Day: 6.16.2009

2009-06-16T19:19:00.000-05:00

Will FFXIV be awesome? Let's hope so...and let's hope they improve upon what they did with FFXI. Perhaps then I'll switch to this MMO full time when it hits next year.

Post of the Day: 6.15.2009

2009-06-15T19:59:00.000-05:00

Borderlands looks pretty nifty. I love the art style, too!

Post of the Day: 6.14.2009

2009-06-14T23:00:00.003-05:00

Forza 3 pre-order details are out of the bag. I think I might have to go pre-order my copy. I need a new racing game to get into!

Making the Grinding a Little Easier

2009-06-14T22:41:00.005-05:00

We all remember the days where RPGs required you to grind levels to have an easier time progressing the story. Some were even to the point of having some portions of the main game brutally unforgiving if you didn't spend hours building up your characters' levels and skills.

Those days flashed back into the front of my mind when I sat down to play Crimson Gem Saga this weekend. But, you know what? I didn't mind it so much. I've been looking up a bit of information on the game for a few weeks now, so none of the more "hardcore" mechanics came as any great surprise to me. In fact, I've been looking for something just like this.

Still, any help is appreciated, and I gained quite a bit of help in the early game from Gamertell, where some suggestions were given on how to skill up your party early on. I took those suggestions to heart and things seemed to go pretty well for me up to this point. Needless to say, I see a lot of grinding in my future. But, that's okay. CGS allows you to save anywhere, so I can fight a few battles on my break at work or work through an area mindlessly killing mobs during my lunch hour. Its all good.

Its cool that there's a lot of information out there on various games, especially the more difficult ones. (Although, to be honest, there's less info on CGS than I would have liked.) Perhaps, as I work my way through the game, I'll have some little tidbits of my own to throw out.

As a little aside to conclude this post, I love Atlus. The localization and dialog in this game is outstanding.

Post of the Day: 6.13.2009

2009-06-13T22:29:00.000-05:00

Is Sony ripping off consumers with the PSP Go? Yes. No need to read the article. ;)

Post of the Day: 6.12.2009

2009-06-12T10:05:00.000-05:00

Nice, big Assassin's Creed 2 screens!

Easier Travel in WoW

2009-06-11T16:21:00.007-05:00

The last year or so has seen a lot of changes in World of Warcraft that cater toward the more casual player - speeding up leveling, making raiding more accessible, daily quests and the like. The latest in this string of changes is once again focusing on transportation - most notably mounts. Here's the changes announced so far.

Apprentice Riding (Skill 75)
- 60% land mount speed
- Requires level 20
- Cost: 4 gold
- Mount cost: 1 gold
- Mail will be sent to players at level 20 guiding them to the riding trainer

Journeyman Riding (Skill 150)
- 100% land mount speed
- Requires level 40
- Cost: 50 gold
- Mount cost: 10 gold
- Mail will be sent to players at level 40 guiding them back to the riding trainer

Expert Riding (Skill 225)
- 150% flying mount speed; 60% land mount speed
- Requires level 60
- Cost: 600 gold (faction discounts now apply: Honor Hold [Alliance]; Thrallmar [Horde])
- Mount Cost: 50 gold
- Can now be learned in Honor Hold (Alliance) or Thrallmar (Horde)

Artisan Riding (Skill 300)
- 280% flying mount speed; 100% land mount speed
- Requires level 70
- Cost: 5,000 gold (faction discounts now apply: Honor Hold or Valiance Expedition [Alliance]; Thrallmar or Warsong Offensive [Horde])
- Mount Cost: 100 gold
Movement Speed Training By Class
- Druid
  - Travel Form: Requires level 16
  - Flight Form: Requires level 60 (150% flight speed)
  - Swift Flight Form: Requires level 70
- Hunter
  - Aspect of the Cheetah: Requires level 16
- Shaman
  - Ghost Wolf: Requires level 16
- Paladin
  - Warhorse: Requires level 20
  - Charger: Requires level 40
- Warlock
  - Felsteed: Requires level 20
  - Dreadsteed: Requires level 40

How do I feel about all this, being of the group of players who has been playing WoW from the beginning? Whatever has happened in the past and whatever play style I've had in the past, I'm a casual player now. So, I welcome this change and all similar changes to make leveling through old Azeroth quicker and make things easier for the newer players. That being said, some achievements and/or refunds to recognize players who had their mounts, flight forms or various other transportation-related quests before these changes go into effect would be nice. After all, some of those things we worked hard on. You have no idea how much I went through (and how much I put my guild through) to get my druid epic flight form back in the day. Granted, there is a feat of strength achievement for completing that quest chain. They should really carry that on and give feats of strength achievements for those players who purchased their riding skill at the (soon to be) old levels.

In addition to the above, they're finally making it easier to get from Thunder Bluff to Orgrimmar, by adding a new zepplin between the two horde cities. Also, they're throwing in portals in both Stormwind and Orgrimmar that go directly to The Dark Portal in Blasted Lands, for easy access to and from Outland.

I give a big thumbs up to all these changes, and balk at all those people crying foul. Sure, back in our day we might have had to walk to school, in knee-deep snow, uphill both ways, but that doesn't mean we're any better than the people now who get keys to their own car handed to them for easy transportation.

Post of the Day: 6.10.2009

2009-06-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

Nintendo DS software allows for classroom test taking. Only in Japan, of course.

E3 2009: A Few of My Favorite Things

2009-06-10T10:51:00.001-05:00

Instead of talking about who won and lost E3, I'm just going to point out a few of my favorite things - from everything I saw out of the expo last week.

First - the games. I thought Sony had the best lineup of games, but that doesn't mean Microsoft and Nintendo are slacking, either. I'm going back and playing through Assassin's Creed again, just because I think it’s a brilliant game and I'm preparing myself for the sequel, all the while trying not to have unreasonable expectations for the title. There's very few things I can find fault with in the original game, and it seems that Ubisoft can only improve on what came before. The look and feel of AC was invigorating, and knowing that the AC2 is set in Italy during the renaissance means that component will likely be carried on. My only question is - will they have pre-order bonuses of some sort? I'm thinking about it… (Note: Also available on the 360, which is the system on which I will likely purchase this title. However, Sony actually had the trailer and game play shown on the PS3 during their press event.)

Next up - Final Fantasy XIII. I've been waiting for this game for a long time, and I have little doubt that it will be outstanding. I'm on the fence on which system to purchase this game - the PS3 for old time's sake, or the 360 to add to my gamerscore? I guess it depends if both versions will be available on day one. Needless to say, I'm drooling on myself just thinking about it.

Mass Effect 2 - I'm excited that ME2 will be able to carry over the moral decisions you made in the first game and that certain characters will return. The only thing I'm worried about is if they focus more on the shooter aspect of the second game and less on the RPG aspect. What I liked about ME was that it combined both elements to make a unique and memorable title, leaning too far toward the shooter aspect will be a downer for me.

Other titles I'm looking forward to in the coming year: Super Metroid - Other M, Gran Turismo PSP, Forza 3, ModNation Racers, Final Fantasy XIV, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Borderlands.

Another aspect of these console wars that I think is of note is what I feel Microsoft offers the most - the "whole console experience". While its true, the games make or break a console, it doesn't hurt that Microsoft is going above and beyond to make the Xbox 360 the centerpiece of home entertainment. Things like improved Netflix functionality and integration with Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter all are exciting me.

I think this year's E3 was heads above the previous two years, and all three big companies gave me something to be excited about. I try (although I don't always succeed) to think of the three big consoles as equals - they all have good games and are good for various different types of gamers. That's a good thing - appealing to the widest amount of gamers possible. Maybe one console can't cater to everyone, but all three of them together can. E3 is more than just who has the biggest, baddest titles and exclusives, its more about gaming as a whole and what all three consoles do together to improve the state of the industry.

Post of the Day: 6.9.2009

2009-06-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

97% of teens play video games. Remaining three are in comas.

Post of the Day: 6.8.2009

2009-06-08T18:35:00.000-05:00

Tetris just celebrated its 25th birthday.

Post of the Day: 6.7.2009

2009-06-07T20:25:00.002-05:00

Good news! The moral choices you made in Mass Effect will transfer over to the sequel. Pretty nifty.

Post of the Day: 6.6.2009

2009-06-06T20:22:00.000-05:00

Booth babes return to E3. And there was much rejoicing!

E3 2009: Sony - My Thoughts

2009-06-06T14:28:00.002-05:00

I feel a bit sorry for Sony, one of their major announcements - the PSP Go - was leaked a week ahead of E3. But, Jack Tretton actually laughed up that fact on several occasions throughout the presentation, and the leak didn't really detract from the power of this press conference overall. Sony has some solid games and exclusives coming out in the next year or so, and that's something to definitely look forward to for PS3/PSP owners.

They started off with a couple heavy hitters - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and MAG. MAG actually looks really cool, if you're into that sort of thing, which I am not. I'd get lost so fast on a map like they showed, its not even funny.

They talked quite a bit about their PSP system, and announced some titles and packages for that, including the thought-to-be-dead Gran Turismo PSP, with 800 cars (?!), 35 tracks and 60 different track variations. They even dropped the release date of 10/1/2009, to coincide with the release of their new PSP Go.

Also announced was Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Resident Evil, Little Big Planet and Monster Hunter for the PSP.

As I mentioned in my post dedicated to the subject, I do think the price of the PSP Go is a bit high, but if that's the direction the individual gamer feels he wants to take his handheld gaming, I'm sure he wouldn't mind laying down the cash for it. Myself, I don't feel its worth it, especially considering all the content available for the PSP Go is going to be the same that is available for the PSP-3000.

All that being said, the lineup for the PSP looks amazing for the next year. Why didn't they do this at the start, it would have given them a lot more leverage in the handheld market than they have now. Imagine a Gran Turismo or MGS game being announced earlier in the PSP's life, that would have been awesome. But, no doubt these games will still spur sales, even more so now with the PSP Go just a few months away.

And yet, as exciting as all the PSP announcements were, nothing could prepare me for what was to come.

Assassin's Creed 2 looks outstanding. In fact, now I want to play the first game again in preparation for the second game to come out later this year.

Of course, the one game on every Final Fantasy fan's mind was FFXIII, which was showcased with an amazing trailer at this event. That trailer graced us with some new shots and also quite a few more English voices than the Microsoft announcement of the same game did. I am so looking forward to this game I can hardly contain my excitement. I'm such a Final Fantasy fanboy.

That fact made the next announcement even more exciting - who was expecting Square-Enix to bring out the big guns and announce Final Fantasy XIV? No one, that's who. I was an avid player of FFXI, their first MMO, for a couple years after it came out here in North America. When I moved over to WoW, I missed the heavy story focus of the game and its nice to see that its coming back in full force in the form of this new MMO.

I realize I was all about Microsoft's "Project Natal" the other day, but after seeing all three company's motion control technology, I have to say that Sony's got me the most excited. I could just imagine playing a Final Fantasy game with a sword and board like they showed off in one of their tech demos. I also thought it was quite interesting that they made the point to bring out that they would use it for more than casual-type games, which Nintendo seems content with. I'm all for that. Nintendo hasn't quite realized my RPG fantasy I just mentioned above.

ModNation Racers is also another title I'm quite interested in, as I pointed out in my post a few days ago, so I won't discuss it much here.

Also, thumbs way up for The Last Guardian and Gran Turismo 5!

After seeing all three press events, I think Microsoft and Sony are neck-and-neck, but I have to say, I think Sony is bringing it more than Microsoft with the games coming to their powerful system in the next year. I guess its a good thing I held onto my PS3. ;)

Post of the Day: 6.5.2009

2009-06-05T12:46:00.002-05:00

Why didn't the original Wii Remote have Wii Motion Plus? I've been wondering this myself. I always assumed it was because Nintendo is a bunch of money grubbing monkeys who create a new peripheral to sell for every new game that comes along.

Post of the Day: 6.4.2009

2009-06-04T23:44:00.000-05:00

I haven't purchased a Wii yet...perhaps I never will. But, if I do, I surely am waiting until this black Wii model comes out in the U.S. If it never does, I will boycott Nintendo. Its darn sexy.

Game Journal: Giving Fallout 3 Another Chance

2009-06-04T09:39:00.000-05:00

I've made no secret of the fact that I didn't much care for Fallout 3. I played several hours of it and all it did was depress me. This was, however, back shortly after the game came out, with none of the DLC and on the PS3. I've decided to give the game a second chance because I want to try to play it a different way.

There are many ways you can approach a game when you go into it: From a technical standpoint, from a graphical standpoint, focusing on the story or focusing on the game play, just to name a few. I think I got bogged down in focusing too much on the setting and comparing it too much to Oblivion. This time, I think I'm going to go into it focusing on the moral decisions that can be made. I always tend to make the upright moral decisions in just about any game I play - Fable 2, Mass Effect, inFAMOUS, etc. This game will be no different.

I feel that, perhaps, by focusing on the good in the game - not how good the graphics are, how good the game play is or how good the story is, but the good moral decisions you can make - it will draw me into the game more and I'll be able to place myself in the shoes of the protagonist. Focusing on good moral decisions might also take my mind off the bleak, depressing setting in which this story takes place. Its kind of like making the best of a bad situation.

When Katrina hit the gulf coast and there were days (or weeks?) of mass chaos in New Orleans and similarly distressed areas, each individual in that situation had one basic choice to make - do I want to wallow in my misery and make those around me feel it too by looting, complaining or just generally making an ass of myself or, on the other hand, do I want to do my best to be patient and help others who may have the same problems, thus making the best of a bad situation?

Now, apply that same basic scenario to Fallout 3 - in this post-apocalyptic world, would I help people because I can, or hurt them because I want them to feel the same pain I do? (Reality check: Did I just compare Fallout 3 to Hurricane Katrina? I think I did.) I'm hoping, if I approach the game from that standpoint, I will be able to see what quite a few other gamers out there have seen in this game - push beyond everything else and make it personal, make the best of a bad situation.

E3 2009: The Next Big Cart Racer?

2009-06-04T08:44:00.009-05:00

At Sony's press event a couple days ago, they introduced us to ModNation Racers - a cart racing game aimed at their "play, create, share" philosophy, much like Little Big Planet. You can dress up your little racers, customize their cars, play and share with friends or strangers all over the PlayStation Network.

Let's take a step back, I was really hyped about Little Big Planet. I played the beta for a couple weeks. I pre-ordered the game for the bonuses. I picked it up on release day and had, oh, about two to three weeks worth of fun with it. Then it just tanked for me. Designing levels was so complex and time consuming that it became more like work than fun. Granted, to some people that is fun, but not for me. I wanted to play a game, not spend countless hours perfecting the mechanics of a level I was working on, which was likely to be disliked by the masses anyway.

I did enjoy playing through other players' levels, but after a while even that got to be redundant. There was a huge learning curve for being able to create and that was what interested me most about the game. Although, to this day, I still think being able to customize your Sackboy or girl is one of the coolest things.

Now, with ModNation Racers, it seems that, while still focusing on the core "play, create, share" philosophy, Sony is making it less tedious to do the creating. The customization rocks, and I don't think you can ever have too many customization options for your racer, your cart, your Sackboy, whatever. I do think you can go a bit overboard on the tools given for creation of your own levels though, and I think this was LBP's biggest downfall.

MNR, as it shall be referred to eventually, seems to allow for some pretty hefty creation options, while still allowing the game itself to do much of the work automatically. You don't have to laboriously test every last piece of your track like you would in a LBP level. As we saw in the press event, they built a pretty good looking track in under five minutes. I think a nice balance needs to be struck, somewhere between not being able to do anything to create your own content and having 100% of the control of that content in the player's hands. Sure, some people may like having total control, but LBP seemed to falter with it, in my opinion.

This new approach is appealing to me, I think it'll allow less "hardcore" players the ability to create without all the time-consuming, meticulous effort that was require in LBP. Even my wife, who isn't really a gamer, said MNR looked better than LBP, and that's saying a lot. The new racer seemed to get little attention, being dwarfed by the Final Fantasy and God of War coverage, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what Sony has up their sleeve this time around.

E3 2009: Nintendo - My Thoughts

2009-06-03T16:38:00.007-05:00

*Enter lame plastic steering wheel*

After the intro, Nintendo began its presentation with the announcement of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Get it? We had New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, now we have one for the Wii. This game will have 4-player co-op multi-player and propeller suits. Odd combination? Maybe, but we've come to expect that from Mario over the years.

The game play they showed seemed a lot like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with the in/out of the camera as characters move toward/away from each other. No mention of online modes were announced, but Nintendo has always geared their games more toward the sofa experience than the online experience, so that's not really a biggie for me.

*Lame plastic steering wheel is shown off again in another segue clip*

Wii Fit Plus isn't a surprise, neither is a sequel to Wii Sports, called, not surprisingly, Wii Sports Resort. This title will take advantage of the new Wii Motion Plus, yet another peripheral Nintendo tacks on to make their system "better". At this point I was thinking, by time you add everything up - an extra controller, nun chuck, a couple Wii Motion Plus units - the thing seems to cost as much as a PS3. Oops, just mentioned a Sony console in a Nintendo post. My bad.

Now comes the part of the presentation that drew me in the most - they focused an entire ten minutes on RPGs for the Wii and DS - Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Mario & Luigi RPG: Bowser's Inside Story and Golden Sun DS. They all look amazing. My DS will be a busy little devil in the coming months.

After discussing a couple other titles for the DS, including the new IP COP: The Recruit, they focused on the DSi. New titles for that system (and that system only) are Flip Note Studio, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Wario Ware: DIY (Do It Yourself) and, surprisingly, a match-up with Facebook (along with Microsoft...darn, there I go again).

*More steering wheels...they will haunt my dreams*

Ok, now for the "WTF" moment. Wii Vitality Sensor? Seriously?

Enter Super Mario Galaxy 2 before we cut to the "hardcore" games, which are The Conduit, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles and Dead Space: Extraction. Ok, none of these really make my taco pop, so I didn't pay much attention...although they did bring out some of the best graphics I've ever seen on the Wii.

What I did pay attention to, however, was the new Metroid game, on which Nintendo is collaborating with...wait for it...Team Ninja! I paid rapt attention to this part of the conference, probably because Samus is hot. Wait, what? I would probably buy a Wii just for this game. 'Nuff said.

Besides a few standout moments, the Nintendo conference kind of bored me and I swear they hate the environment with as many plastic zappers and steering wheels they were throwing around in those little "commercials" between segments of the event. No where near as jaw dropping as Microsoft (and, in hindsight, not even close to as cool as Sony's event). This year once again, for me, Nintendo stands in last place for their E3 showing.

Post of the Day: 6.3.2009

2009-06-03T09:41:00.000-05:00

Wipeout HD expansion details released. I might have to start playing again, it looks nifty!

E3 2009: PSP Go vs. PSP-3000

2009-06-03T08:07:00.008-05:00

I swear I am a zombie in the morning. I don't think of anything except my regular routine to wake up, get ready for work and get out the door. My routine doesn't seem to have picked up on adding my notebook to my work bag yet, so all my E3 notes sit at home on the sofa. I'll get to writing about Nintendo and Sony's conferences later today (and tomorrow, I'm sure).

For now though, let's talk PlayStation Portable. We've known for a week or so about the PSP Go. Rumors, at first, sure. They were confirmed yesterday at Sony's press event, and some information regarding how the PSP Go and the PSP-3000 will co-exist. I was at first worried that Sony would pull a Nintendo and provide content exclusive to the PSP Go, leaving all the other PSP owners in the dust. My fears seem to be unfounded.

As announced, all future PSP games will be available for download on the PSN, but they will also all be released on physical media, in this case the UMD. So, no longer do I have to worry about titles like Gran Tursimo for PSP or Dissidia: Final Fantasy only being available digitally. This is good news, as the more I think about it, the more I will likely stick to a normal PSP and forgo the $250 PSP Go.

Speaking of which, $250? Really? I'd rather spend $250 on a Wii, to be quite honest. I was expecting under $200, and a price-cut for the PSP-3000, much like Nintendo did with their DS Lite and DSi prices.

As it stands right now, I'm just likely to upgrade to a PSP-3000 (I currently still have a release day 1000 model) and a larger memory card. As an aside, I'll have to get a larger memory card anyway because I'm so buying Final Fantasy VII off the PSN, and its 1.37GB in size.

Like was mentioned at the press conference yesterday, the PSP Go will appeal to a certain demographic, but I see the PSP-3000 still being the mainstay of Sony's handheld gaming. I really think its too early to go to a download-only format for a console or handheld, although this is certainly what both Nintendo and Sony are pushing. Granted, it works better now on a handheld device than on a console, but I still like having physical media, regardless of the extra costs involved.

Still, the PSP Go does have some attractive features, such as 16GB of on board memory, which would, at least at the start, cut out the need for purchasing a memory stick. (Of course, previous PSP owners will likely have one anyway with some media they may want to transfer over.) I'm not going to lie, the PSP Go is a sexy device. For me, its not sexy enough to drop $250 on, though.

Post of the Day: 6.2.2009

2009-06-02T18:49:00.000-05:00

The psychology behind item collecting and achievement hoarding. Interesting read.

E3 2009: "Project Natal" What If

2009-06-02T11:52:00.002-05:00

As cool as the new "Project Natal" technology is to see demonstrated, a lot of things have to go right for it to be a success. Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head.

IF...the technology is sound and precise.
IF...the applications and games are done well, which will obviously require a lot of developer support and many extra resources. After all, designing comprehensive AI like Milo for multiple NPCs in a game will likely be a daunting task.
IF...its cheap enough for the average Joe to afford - the price of a typical 360 game, $60 or less - without being cheaply designed or built.
IF...it is more than a gimmick with a few quirky "games" like the Wii was (and still is?).
IF...both hardcore and casual gamers can embrace the technology and not feel alienated (again, we don't want to get into another Wii situation).

All these factors and more have to align just right for this "Project Natal" technology to take off, perhaps with the addition of a small miracle. But, if anyone can do it, Microsoft can. These are the things people said about Xbox Live several years ago, and look where that service is now. Sony is still playing catch up.