So you're interested in the Star Wars MMO? Well, you've come to the right place. Having participated in a beta test weekend and halfway through the second, I can assure you that this game is good. But how good?
Good enough to capture the Star Wars universe. Rich in story and lore, this is a game for those who are looking to immerse themselves into an incredibly detailed world. Star Wars fans new and old will not be disappointed by ludicrously lush landscapes, towering temples, deep dungeons and incredible instances. (Alliteration award anyone?)
Of course you get to choose to start as a light or dark user of the force. Each side consists currently of four main classes which can spin off into subclasses to suit your fancy. Each subclass has three skill trees in which to progress your character through the game, whether doing DPS, support/healing or tanking.
So far having played a smuggler, Jedi knight and a Sith, each instance brought a good pace to the game. The first part of the game consists of several starting quests which are designed to set you up with a companion, designated subclass and a decent weapon. (Lightsabers! Woot!)
Unlike Star Wars Galaxies (Ugh!) this game allows anyone to become a Jedi. No longer a feature of chance, as long as you can complete the initial story quest line you will become one with the force. Although this does take a bit of the 'magic' out of the force, it doesn't penalize players in any way.
The Smuggler class I played allowed a 'cover' system in which you develop several skills that are best used while in cover. During or before combat, images of yourself will appear behind certain crates, trees, rocks or other such paraphernalia allowing you to take advantage of such skills. Which initially this does seem to limit you, it pulls off very well.
So in short, I pre-ordered because of how impressed I was with the beta. Hope to see you all soon.
May the force be with you.
-We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Dead Island - Dead Already?
Dead Island was released in the USA through Steam earlier this week at 9pm PDT. Of course being a pretty big zombie fan I had preorded it. So what exactly did I buy into?
Well the launch was one of the worst I've ever participated in. The good thing is that it released on time. The BAD news is that DeepSilver somehow released a developer version of the game's build which was riddled with bugs and issues. Let's list a few of the better ones shall we?
1) No-clip/Third person mode - The one that everyone seems to fixate on the most but yet affects gameplay the least is the no-clip, third person mode. What happens is that by just pressing the letter Y on the keyboard would instantly allow you to fly through the boundaries of the game. One video on Youtube actually shows someone completing the game in 20 seconds by using this no-clip mode and flying to the end. Another video by DopeFish shows the third person mode which is seriously the funniest thing I've seen all year. The fix? This bug was patched quickly within 24 hours of the release.
2) Corrupted/deleted savegames - This is the one that annoyed me the most. After the first patch that fixed the no-clip/third person mode, all savegames appeared to be broken or corrupted. So this means that now you must restart from the beginning with no weapons. However you did keep to keep your character's level so that's a ray of hope. But I lost all progress from my first night of playing along with many others. Since I only had about two hours of playtime, it wasn't so bad. Those who played all night... I feel for you. The fix? As far as we know it was fixed after the first patch.
3) Coop lag/disconnect or crashes - At the moment coop is completely disabled while its being fixed but at launch you could ACTUALLY PLAY COOP. I played with a handful of folks during the first night. While it was fun while it lasted, the problem was that it never did last. The game would crash constantly or it would lag horribly as soon as someone would join your game or vice versa. The fix? Coop was completely disabled so now you can only play singleplayer unless you use a third party program to emulate a LAN connected game such as Tunnler or LogMeIn Hamachi.
4) Screen tearing - A number of folks had horrible screen tearing in their games. I never personally had this issue so I can't describe it but quite a few others did. The fix? Was fixed with a patch about two days after release.
5) Key Mapping - Remapping keys in this game is a nightmare. Certain keys insist on not becoming unmapped when you reassign them. The F key seems to be a big one. I have this issue myself. The game will rebind the key but will not unbind it from the previous function so now you can perform up to two actions in one key. While this may be awesome in world of borecraft, it certainly sucks here. The fix? Has yet to be resolved.
Yes, there are others but I just realized how long this post became so I'll stop there. There are others but they aren't as bad or important to pick at right now.
But now just one question remains - HOW IS THE GAME? My answer: EPIC... when it works
-We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
Well the launch was one of the worst I've ever participated in. The good thing is that it released on time. The BAD news is that DeepSilver somehow released a developer version of the game's build which was riddled with bugs and issues. Let's list a few of the better ones shall we?
1) No-clip/Third person mode - The one that everyone seems to fixate on the most but yet affects gameplay the least is the no-clip, third person mode. What happens is that by just pressing the letter Y on the keyboard would instantly allow you to fly through the boundaries of the game. One video on Youtube actually shows someone completing the game in 20 seconds by using this no-clip mode and flying to the end. Another video by DopeFish shows the third person mode which is seriously the funniest thing I've seen all year. The fix? This bug was patched quickly within 24 hours of the release.
2) Corrupted/deleted savegames - This is the one that annoyed me the most. After the first patch that fixed the no-clip/third person mode, all savegames appeared to be broken or corrupted. So this means that now you must restart from the beginning with no weapons. However you did keep to keep your character's level so that's a ray of hope. But I lost all progress from my first night of playing along with many others. Since I only had about two hours of playtime, it wasn't so bad. Those who played all night... I feel for you. The fix? As far as we know it was fixed after the first patch.
3) Coop lag/disconnect or crashes - At the moment coop is completely disabled while its being fixed but at launch you could ACTUALLY PLAY COOP. I played with a handful of folks during the first night. While it was fun while it lasted, the problem was that it never did last. The game would crash constantly or it would lag horribly as soon as someone would join your game or vice versa. The fix? Coop was completely disabled so now you can only play singleplayer unless you use a third party program to emulate a LAN connected game such as Tunnler or LogMeIn Hamachi.
4) Screen tearing - A number of folks had horrible screen tearing in their games. I never personally had this issue so I can't describe it but quite a few others did. The fix? Was fixed with a patch about two days after release.
5) Key Mapping - Remapping keys in this game is a nightmare. Certain keys insist on not becoming unmapped when you reassign them. The F key seems to be a big one. I have this issue myself. The game will rebind the key but will not unbind it from the previous function so now you can perform up to two actions in one key. While this may be awesome in world of borecraft, it certainly sucks here. The fix? Has yet to be resolved.
Yes, there are others but I just realized how long this post became so I'll stop there. There are others but they aren't as bad or important to pick at right now.
But now just one question remains - HOW IS THE GAME? My answer: EPIC... when it works
-We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
Monday, August 1, 2011
Chantelise - A Tale of Two Sisters
EasyGameStation, the creators of Recettear, have recently delivered Chantelise through Steam. The game focuses on Chante and Elise as they struggle to locate a witch that has placed a spell on the elder sister Chante which transformed her into a fairy. They feel once they can find the witch they will be able to reverse the spell.
Unlike Recettear where combat is optional, Chantelise is centered entirely around combat. Armed with a small dagger, Elise can quickly dispatch enemies. Although a fairy, Chante can still lend a hand with magic spells. These spells are cast using differently colored jewels that monsters may drop when struck or defeated. The good news is that monster do drop them often, the bad is that you can only hold up to six at a time. This presents the need for strategy in deciding which jewels to pick up and when.
So far I'm digging the fluid animation and story, the combat is so-so. I seem to have a hard time timing my physical attack and end up getting hit a lot. It could be just me though because I'm not usually gaming with a controller and using a controller for this game is a must. What I don't like is that there is no leveling system. Instead of gaining levels, you equip items and purchase medicine which increases your overall health. When you die, you don't lose the money you've collected. This is done so that if you run into a difficult area, you can keep dying and eventually purchase more health. While not as good as an actual level system, it works for the game.
Chantelise is not for everyone I'd say, especially those that are expecting a leveling system like an RPG. But
this game is a lot less like an RPG and more like a third person adventure game. A good price for this game would be around $10. Going by the natural trend, I'd expect this game to dip around the $5 mark this Christmas season if Steam hosts their annual winter holiday sale.
-We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
Unlike Recettear where combat is optional, Chantelise is centered entirely around combat. Armed with a small dagger, Elise can quickly dispatch enemies. Although a fairy, Chante can still lend a hand with magic spells. These spells are cast using differently colored jewels that monsters may drop when struck or defeated. The good news is that monster do drop them often, the bad is that you can only hold up to six at a time. This presents the need for strategy in deciding which jewels to pick up and when.
So far I'm digging the fluid animation and story, the combat is so-so. I seem to have a hard time timing my physical attack and end up getting hit a lot. It could be just me though because I'm not usually gaming with a controller and using a controller for this game is a must. What I don't like is that there is no leveling system. Instead of gaining levels, you equip items and purchase medicine which increases your overall health. When you die, you don't lose the money you've collected. This is done so that if you run into a difficult area, you can keep dying and eventually purchase more health. While not as good as an actual level system, it works for the game.
Chantelise is not for everyone I'd say, especially those that are expecting a leveling system like an RPG. But
this game is a lot less like an RPG and more like a third person adventure game. A good price for this game would be around $10. Going by the natural trend, I'd expect this game to dip around the $5 mark this Christmas season if Steam hosts their annual winter holiday sale.
-We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Altitude is Plane Crazy
Do you like planes and weapons? If so, you might want to give Altitude a try. Available on Steam for a mere $10 price tag, its playability makes it well worth it. Four styles of planes, over half a dozen game modes, a slew of perks to customize your plane makes for a fun and addictive frag-fest.
Despite the focus on shooting down other players, the most enjoyment I got was from the 'Plane Ball' mode where you capture a spiked ball and try to shoot it into the opposing players' goal. Sounds easy, but when you're getting shot at, trying not to stall out, avoiding planted mines it can be quite difficult.
In short, this was definitely a worthwhile addition to my collection. If $10 seems a bit steep (I think its well worth it) Steam does put on quite a few sales. In fact I picked Altitude up for only $5 during a sale and that was only because I wasn't aware the game existed until it showed up in the Steam sales menu which I frequently check.
I will return sometime in the future. Until then, keep watch off your port bow for bogeys.
We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
Despite the focus on shooting down other players, the most enjoyment I got was from the 'Plane Ball' mode where you capture a spiked ball and try to shoot it into the opposing players' goal. Sounds easy, but when you're getting shot at, trying not to stall out, avoiding planted mines it can be quite difficult.
In short, this was definitely a worthwhile addition to my collection. If $10 seems a bit steep (I think its well worth it) Steam does put on quite a few sales. In fact I picked Altitude up for only $5 during a sale and that was only because I wasn't aware the game existed until it showed up in the Steam sales menu which I frequently check.
I will return sometime in the future. Until then, keep watch off your port bow for bogeys.
We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Duke Nukem Forever: Ball of Steel Edition
Attention Duke fans! We are now able to preorder the Duke Nukem Forever: Balls of Steel edition! This hearty collection of Duke themed items will be available the same day as the game itself, May 3, 2011.
You can preorder from Gamestop or Amazon.com. The current price for PC is $89.99, Xbox 360/PS3 is $99.99.
More info will be released soon. Already got mine for PC.
We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
You can preorder from Gamestop or Amazon.com. The current price for PC is $89.99, Xbox 360/PS3 is $99.99.
More info will be released soon. Already got mine for PC.
We should be consistent with our perception of past, present and future; not only they themselves, but in relation to the others. The past keeps us within sight of lessons learned, the future keeps us within sight of our goals and the present keeps us within sight of ourselves. -TheChiaGod
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