Dragon Age now in Anime form…

  I would say that this is interesting.  But I’m getting a little afraid that people get sick of Dragon Age before #3 can be released.  I really love the world; but even I’m getting a little tired of this stuff.  If it was going somewhere, that would be great.  But considering the Mark of the Assassin DLC where you couldn’t play with your new character for the rest of the campaign.  I’m kind of soured in general by the stuff they have all ready put out.  I’m really excited about Dragon Age #3 but not so much for all this other stuff.  I’m leaving the third book and this Anime on the shelf for now.  Hopefully, #3 comes out soon and I can get back into the Dragon Age groove.

Yoshinori Ono Talks Street Fighter X Tekken with PS Magazine UK

Warhammer Wrath of Heroes(Preview)

     This game is a Free 2 Play offering from EA.  This property is closely linked to the Warhammer Online Age of Reckoning MMORPG.  As someone who played and enjoyed(for the most part) the MMO; this game is incredible.  The most interesting part of this game is that for the two current scenarios that they have, there are four teams vying for dominance.  Not just two.  Which makes this increasingly crazy.

    Mourkain Temple is the most popular scenario right now.  There are four flags that the can be controlled by any of the factions.  Once the team has at least one flag they can go to the center and capture the artifact.  The longer a team has the artifact and one of the flags the more points that team gets.

   The other scenario Black Gate Pass, is similar except that this time the factions must control four artifacts by carrying them back to their own base and defending them.  The longer you control these artifacts, the more points you get.

    Each player gets experience; for captures, kills, assists, heals, etc…  This experience eventually gets you mastery points.  These can be attributed to different tactics making your hero stronger.  Each hero also comes with perks, these are usually simply hero specific but not all ways.  They are working on these systems right now.  But so far it looks like the game is shaping up wonderfully.

    The thing I really like about Warhammer Wrath of Heroes; is that it plays so much like Warhammer Online Age of Reckoning but without the lag when playing PVP.  Even with the graphics turned up all the way, I never had any slow down.  While judging by the lack of scenarios Wrath of Heroes probably has a long way to go before release.  It will definitely be a great game when it comes out and not just for a Free 2 Play either.

Witcher 2 gets console release! Yay!

        For all those folks out there that don’t have a good enough PC to run Witcher 2, you can get it for your XBOX 360 on April 17th this year.  Which is awesome! While my PC might be able to run the game; I’m probably just going to wait for this; I don’t have time to play a 40 hour RPG right now anyway…

Insomniac is done with Resistance but Sony isn’t…

    The last Resistance was definitely the best.  Which is why I’m a little confused as to why Insomniac doesn’t want to do any more of them.  However, I think it’s both gutsy and cool for a developer to know when to stop.  Especially if they are going out on a high note.  Perhaps other developers like Nihilistic will have some success with the franchise.  However, I think many fans of franchises feel like no one can make the games they want to play the way the creators of that franchise can; which probably just means that this franchise is financially dead.

    I have seen the new Resistance Burning Skies for the Vita and it is an interesting game.  However, I didn’t see anything that was SO uniquely Resistance that it couldn’t have just been another FPS for the Vita.  But perhaps my vertical slice was not sufficient to see the greatness of this new game.

   In conclusion, I love Insomniac and other than the Ratchet and Clank Heroes mess; I’ve loved every game they have ever made.  So good on them!  Make some new, awesome Franchises folks!

No Blizzcon? That’s ok…

     Oh Blizzard, it’s ok that there’s no Blizzcon this year.  Because we will all be playing Diablo 3 by then, Right?!

COD MW3 Downloading the Elite New Stuff! Really???

Wow, considering this system is EXACTLY the same as all the other online passes that are out there makes me wonder about the lengths to which our hands are being held these days.  I figured all this out way back when Mortal Kombat came out with it’s season pass last May.  Oh well, public service message or not, I guess SOMEONE will benefit from it.

A WHOLE LOT of Street Fighter X Tekken Footage from Giant Bomb!

On the Backlog: Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalker 2012 Review!(PC version)

***Hey all your probably wondering what, “On the Backlog” is; it’s a new feature where I review a kind of old game that for whatever reason, escaped my purview.  There will not be any scores for these games.  Some will be older than others…***

        Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 is one of the least reviewed games.  When it came out, I was pretty surprised at the lack of general interest.  After all, the game is very easy to learn and the animations are really good.  The game will also run your laptop or if you have a really old computer it still works.  The rules are basically from the Magic the Gathering card game; which if you want to learn the real card game this will make it easier.

       The new game with the expansion has a ton of modes.  I purchased the game with the expansion.  I believe this is best way of doing it.  The game has a ton of content.  Once you finish the main campaign, you can play the Revenge campaign with the enemies with harder decks.  You can also play an Archenemy mode where it’s you and two other summoners against another with higher hit points and some special advantage cards.  The flip side of this is that in the expansion you can play as that Archenemy.

      In the multiplayer mode you can also play with another person both straight up fights, an Archenemy, or two people against another.

      The most important thing about the new Magic the Gathering Online games that are available for PC, XBOX 360, and PS3 is the dedication to teaching people how to play.  In some card games in the past, they were solely for the people who understood the game to begin with.  Duels of the Planeswalkers teaches the player quickly and elegantly how to play and puts them in situations to learn how to play better.  I would say that this is what separates a good game from a great one.   This one is a must try for anyone even passingly interested in Magic or in collectible card games.  Finally as all ways the art on the cards is first rate as is the art  in the short cinematic, and the loading screens.  I believe regular price for this package is around $20, and it’s worth every penny.

On the Backlog: Jamestown Review(PC)

***Hey all your probably wondering what, “On the Backlog” is; it’s a new feature where I review a kind of old game that for whatever reason, escaped my purview.  There will not be any scores for these games.  Some will be older than others…***

    Jamestown is basically a bullet hell shooter set in the time of the pilgrims.  That is, if the pilgrims had space ships and were trying to repel invaders from Mars.  The title is up on Steam and has support for both the keyboard and mouse as well as a controller.  I found playing with the controller the best way to go.  The controls are tight and the graphics are appropriately wonderful.  The game plays kind of like a easier version of Ikaruga.  At least on the difficulty levels I’ve played on so far.  That is one of the other great things about Jamestown it has a nice progression system of playing the same level on higher and higher difficulty.  This makes the game a lot more fun.

   There was never any slow down on my computer even when running at max graphics.  This is a wonderful little game that has multiple modes and the ability to “buy” ships, modes, etc… From the in-game store.  I played through for about 2-4 hours and I couldn’t get enough.  This is definitely a game that you will find yourself constantly going back.  Also, there is a low priced DLC pack available so if you want more fun you can add that.  I found the core game pretty challenging and locking out parts of the game until you meet the star/difficulty requirements for it is a wonderful incentive to progress.

  I bought this game over the holidays on a sale, but I think the normal price is around $20 or less; you can’t really go wrong.  There is just as much depth here as there is in any full priced bullet hell title.  I would recommend that anyone who likes bullet hell shooters pick this one up.  It’s a wonderful game that will keep you coming back.

Chicago got it’s Second Snow Day and Video Games…

        I will be the first to mention that this post has very little to do with video games.  Except that today, we got a ton of snow and because I’ve been working on it and resting from working on it; I haven’t posted anything.  But as things progress today, I’m sure I’ll find my way clear to get some actual writing done today.

       I’m looking at one Backlog for today.  So watch for that, sometime before Midnight central time.  I would like to mention that the site was down early this morning for some, yet to be troubleshooted reason.  Sorry for that if you were looking for us at 2 AM central time and couldn’t find us.  Hopefully one of the cached entries answered your questions.  Also, on a personal note(not like all this wasn’t personal); I’m selling my old PS3 and spent half the night last night troubleshooting my silly website problem and the other half reformatting and deactivating my PS3.  Fun!  So look for a new Backlog today… Sometime…  And hopefully tomorrow will be less snowy, less technically challenging, and more likely to get me a new PS3!  Not sure that last one is going to happen before at least Tuesday, but hey; I can dream…

Preview: Kingdoms of Amalur The Reckoning!(XBOX360 version)

       The first time I heard about Kingdoms of Amalur, I think I was actually at E3.  Which was also probably the last time I was at E3.  Anyway, since then I’ve been casually to rabidly interested.  The demo that just came out on XBOX LIVE, PSN, and PC doesn’t disappoint for the most part.  I do have a few things I need to mention about this demo as a responsible journalist.  Even though I really liked the demo overall; there were a few problems that I need to mention.

      Kingdoms of Amalur is a wonderful action/adventure game but it’s demo has some serious problems.  The first time I’d loaded up the demo, after about 10 minutes into the tutorial the whole demo froze, hard stop not a crash; just a complete and utter freeze.  The last time a game froze on my XBOX 360 the system had just launched.  But knowing that this was probably just a minor problem, I restarted the system; cleared the system cache and started all over again.  Then when I loaded it up my character appeared for around 5 minutes headless.  After that her, head finally reappeared.  I then proceeded to play through my tutorial and my allotted 45 minutes.  However, I was exploring around in the world and ended up getting cursed, twice.  I eventually made it back to town where the game told me a healer could cure my curses.  I got to the healer with plenty of cash, but the game would not let me select the cure curse tab.  I tried every button and stick to move the selection but nothing happened.  There are certainly some combat situations where the framerate slowed down quite a bit.  But that too, I’m guessing is just the demo.

       All of this was probably due to the demo being an old build.  Which was fine, I generally experienced the game the way it should be played.  I did have a very good time and the game plays as advertised.  I would say it reminds me of the new Dungeon Siege 3.   While I did have a lot of problems with the performance in the demo, I do have to say that it showed how the player can quickly switch from one type of ability to another and certainly has a wide range of choices.  The stealth is a lot of fun and while the magic might be a little overpowered.  The game throws enough enemies at you so that this isn’t an issue.

       While I ended up doing most of the quests, I think the game is at it’s best when the player is just wondering around enjoying themselves; by discovering different areas.  I loved the wide array of abilities and equipment.  I did really like the game, as I said, the game is pretty much like Dungeon Siege 3 with a little bit better graphics and a snapper combat system.  Here’s hoping that the final game is technically better than the demo.  One thing I can say, if you have the XBOX 360 version of the game, your probably going to want to install it to the hard drive.  It’s not anything more than a guess, but I’d say it’s a good one.

New Resident Evil incoming! (Announcement trailer)

Darkness 2 Preview!

         I was a big fan of the first Darkness.  There were a few parts that I absolutely hated(world war hell), but overall I really enjoyed it.  Especially the Darkness mechanics.  But nothing really could have prepared me for the Darkness 2.  The shooting and Darkness mechanics in this game are amazing.  The game makes you feel, more than any in the recent past; like a badass.  The cell shading is barely noticeable as you move from one roller coaster-like sequence to the next. 

       The other interesting thing about this game is that while the open world elements have been dropped.  The player is able to upgrade your Darkness powers by spending experience points you earn by killing enemies.  It will be interesting to see how the full game is laid out, considering the game definitely keeps referring to the first title.  There are televisions strewn around and even one of the Darklings from the first game returns.  He is guide arrow and your little helper.  You don’t have any control over him this time; but he does help you out in story sequences, puzzle solving, and somewhat in combat.  This too, will be interesting to see in the final game.  Too often A.I. companions are too stupid to keep up with fast paced action.  But they have certainly toned down his involvement to lessen the chance of this, but still..

       While playing the demo, I realized that a little bit of this has probably been changed or condensed due to this being a demo.  But I really loved the way things were stitched together.  I’m sure the final game will be just as lovely edited.  Being able to wield two guns and two Darkness tentacles is probably the best thing they could have done.  The best thing about the Darkness 2 is not only is the game obviously mechanically sound but the demo makes me want to know what happens next.  This is a rather difficult achievement in most games. 

    The demo is around a fifteen minutes long and is incredibly action packed but it is story driven.  Even people who have never played the Darkness before will probably be able to easily follow the Darkness 2; which is great.  I WOULD recommend to anyone who likes shooters to play the Darkness.  Starbreeze did a great job with it.  This game is being developed by Digital Extremes, so far they have done an incredible job.  The Darkness 2 demo is up on XBOX LIVE and PSN right now, so go check it out for yourself.  I’ve seen plenty of hands off demos before this and it doesn’t make the same kind of impact as actually playing it yourself.

On the Backlog: PixelJunk Shooter 2 Review(PSN)

***Hey all your probably wondering what, “On the Backlog” is; it’s a new feature where I review a kind of old game that for whatever reason, escaped my purview.  There will not be any scores for these games.  Some will be older than others…***

         I really love PixelJunk; while I have a horrendous record for playing XBLA and PSN games;  but I really love them when I get around to it.  The game adds online battles to the franchise with this installment.  Along with this there are multiple liquid types and while playing I often thought about what this beast must have been eating while I floated through one level to the next.  The main goal of the game is collect all the scientists, gems, and other treasures on your way out of this beast you’ve been swallowed by.

    My only real complaint about this title and one that can be leveled at any PixelJunk games; man are these controls floaty.  You definitely get used to them after a while but right off, I was dying like I was playing MW3 online for the first time.  The inventiveness of the game is pretty apparent where you use your grabber in so many different ways.  As well as shields and all the other little upgrades you can get for your ship over time.  I really loved playing the game, even though I did get frustrated here and there.  Especially when you lose upgrades when you die. 

  This does make PixelJunk Shooter 2 is a kind of an old school arcadey shooter.  I can’t think of a better way to spend 5-8 hours of my time.  But this is definitely a little title with an extremely good reason to purchase.  I believe you can demo the game on PSN before you buy it.  Here’s hoping this franchise drops somewhere else in the future(other than iOS).

       I also missed PixelJunk Sidescroller, that review will be coming soon, hopefully…

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

“Sorry” from the Bombcast!

I just had to, it’s really good! SORRY, if you don’t like it!

On the Backlog: Orcs Must Die Review!(PC version)

   ***Hey all your probably wondering what, “On the Backlog” is; it’s a new feature where I review a kind of old game that for whatever reason, escaped my purview.  These reviews will not have scores.  Some will be older than others…***

 If you like the above picture you can find more from the artist here.     

    Orcs Must Die! is a Tower Defense game with a bit of a twist.  The game allows the player to place different traps and defensive characters around a limited map-like dungeon to protect their nexus.  The premise is pretty basic, but add to that the ability to use a weapon and magic to kill enemies on your own.  This adds a whole new dimension to the equation. 

    The game rates your performance based on how many enemies hit your base(it’s kind of a nexus/crystal type thing) and how many enemies you took out.  Once the player gets past a particular point in the beginning portion of the game you get access to witches that will grant you special powers that can either buff your character or buff the traps.

   With the downloadable content they have all ready put out the game really has legs.  For the modest price on either Steam or XBOX Live; Orcs Must Die! is a great deal.  I dropped about 15 hours into the game, trying to both level up my traps and also trying to five skull(five star), all the levels. While this game is one of those that you will probably play every day or set aside time for; it’s certainly a cool game to play on your laptop while your out or while doing something else.

  There is a certain amount of speed needed in some of the harder levels, and there is a certain amount of on the fly maintenance needed; once you get used to it; you’ll probably play this game more to relax than for it’s challenge.  Of course, there are three difficulties you can play with and getting five skulls can get pretty difficult in the later levels.  Once you’ve battled all the fast enemies, flying enemies, and exploding enemies you’ll know one thing; ORCS MUST DIE!

Here’s some gameplay courtesy of Giant Bomb!

Preview: Asura’s Wrath

     Every time I’ve seen this game; it’s been as a hands-off demo.  So I was thrilled to actually get more than a two minute look at the game.  I loved it.  But it’s not going to be for any means.  Asura’s Wrath is the greatest interactive movie I’ve EVER seen.  At least the fifteen minutes of the demo I was able to play.  Asura’s Wrath revolves around a Japanese version of old Asian mythology.  It is interesting to try and pick out Archetypes and concepts that the developers might have drawn on when creating the game.  So I guess that adds a small interesting aspect to the choice of subject material rather than just creating things completely from scratch.  

    All the aspects of something like Heavy Rain are present.  But none of the things that Heavy Rain did poorly.  Movement control is perfect as you only given it in a very limited scope every once in a while.  The controls are simple, yet playing with them in different ways creates different effects.  My main problem with Heavy Rain was that it kept changing the quick time controls for things without any notice and expected you to be able to pull off the move quickly.  Asura doesn’t do this, it uses mostly the same button and movements for the same things.  It will even give you a couple seconds to pull them off.  Overall, the system is very forgiving.  While you can’t really effect the outcome of the fight as you would in a standard game.  The ending is the same.  What I mean by this is that in every game there is a story that you cannot deviate from.  Unless that is the aim of the game.  Asura’s Wrath just goes a little more linear path than anything out there.

    Although many people will REALLY hate Asura’s Wrath and many people will probably criticize the game for having no replay value.  But as a one off experience I can’t imagine anything cooler.  While I haven’t played the full game, so far this looks like a definite rental.  At the very least give the demo a shot on XBOX Live.  Asura’s Wrath isn’t the standard faire that we are all used to and that’s what makes it so cool.

Preview: EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2

A few years ago I was massively into Tennis.  Yes, I know I’m American and massively into Tennis; doesn’t happen.  I was playing Top Spin back then.  An incredible game and I probably spent 30+ hours playing it.  I wanted to be world champion in the worst way.  Another words, having beaten all the Grand Slams.  But other games came out, and I eventually veered away from Top Spin.  But every year since, I’ve at least tried the latest installment of Top Spin hoping that the game would match my memories of the original game.  Well, after Top Spin 2, I got pretty disillusioned.  I either didn’t have enough time or patience; perhaps the games were just too hard.  I don’t know…  Whatever the case, I went into EA Grand Slam Tennis 2(have no idea what happened with #1, perhaps it was Wii only and I missed it), thinking that I’d give it a shot for just a few minutes.

     The demo turned out to be stellar.  The graphics are fantastic for a game that moves this fast.  I loved the right stick control for serving and swinging.  As much as I liked, in general how the game looked.  I was blown away by the how responsive the game was; I was even able to dive for the occasional shot.  I never felt like I was just guessing or getting by.  I loved how wonderful the serving is, once you get it down; you can do some serious damage.

    The only serious flaws in the demo were the crazy animations that would occur here and there, making your avatar look like it was magnetically attracted to the ball.  Also, while the commentary is excellent.  It is too good, I was distracted more than one time to the point of missing the return because I was paying too much attention to what John Mcenroe was going to say next.  I’m sure it’s repeated a great deal in the full game and I’ll get used to it.  But that is seriously the first time a sports commentator in a game has actually distracted me from the game.  Good job John… 

   As much as I wasn’t even interested in Grand Slam Tennis 2; I’m now anxious for the game to be released.  Because it looks to be pretty freaking sweet for a Tennis game.  While the demo is extremely limited, it is good.  If you get the chance and you’re a Tennis fan check it out on XBOX Live.

Ten Tips for Star Wars the Old Republic… Or Maybe we DO need a manual?

       I’ve been playing MMORPGs for quite a few years now.  I’m kind of a junkie, quite frankly; I’m in love with the persistence of the MMO space and love creating my very own character.  The latest in this series of publisher/developer attempts to capture folks loose cash is Star Wars the Old Republic.  I was in the beta and I absolutely hated this game.  The only thing I liked about the game was the voice acting.  But once the game came, I was presented with other friends experiences and soon decided I needed to try the game again.  What a difference a few months made.  The game was amazing, one of the best MMOs I’ve ever played.  A all most perfect blending of the old and the new.  I’ve played every class on the Imperial side(you know the Empire!) and I’m around 17 levels into a Jedi Knight. But I’ve seen a lot players having trouble with various aspects of the game.  I just want to let folks know what I’ve found out through research or just being in right place at the right time.  So here you go:

1) Your game is performing badly? Head over to this link.  With some clarification, if you are running a Windows Vista 64-bit machine you want to change the mode to Windows XP Service Pack 2.   As there is NO Service Pack 3 according to Microsoft.  This worked for me and has had no effect on my PC otherwise, so try it.

2) Do you only know folks that are your class?  Yeah, I’ve had that problem too.  So rather than not grouping up; go into system preferences in game, go to the social tab, and allow people of the same class into your story events.  You WILL have to do your storylines multiple times to progress your individual story but at least if your friends are of a higher level than you; they can help you out.

3) Not enough credits?  Wow, you MUST be doing something wrong.  Make sure to grab a crafting crew skill along with your two gathering skills.  You can do multiple things with this.  To level your crafting skill you can reverse engineer your creations to regain some of your lost materials from unwanted items.  You can also put these items on the Galactic Market(read Auction House), this mostly works but let me tell you selling dark side materials or equipment on the Republic side or selling light side materials or equipment on the Imperial side really doesn’t work.  Finally, make sure to take any weapons or gear that isn’t bind on pick up to the Galactic Market.  The game is relatively expensive, so you may have to do both of these things depending on your class/level.  As a Jedi Knight for example, I have consistently had around 10,000 credits just from doing the above and before level 13, I had a running total of 8.000 from doing nothing but selling vendor trash.

4) Why can I only have 3 crew skills?  I don’t really know.  But the best way to fix this is to have alts that you ARE playing on the same side on the same server that can share final equipment.  Like having an Artifice, Armortech, Cybertech, Synthweaving, and Armstech characters.  Or pick your top three, if your not going to have that many alts.  This will also help with the upcoming Legacy advantages and perks.

5) Wait, why doesn’t any of my gear work anymore?  Well, perhaps you made an alignment choice that turned your Dark Side I or Light Side I gear unusable.  It’s very possible that you did this without even realizing you were close to the threshold.  Or you made a decision that added a very large number of dark side or light side points to your total and changed your alignment drastically.  This happened to me with my main character about a week ago.  You have two options; slog through getting those points back through regular story mission choices or flashpoints.  Or you can take the Diplomacy gathering crew skill and gain some points on one side or the other very slowly.  But you will have to spend time and credits on the leveling the Diplomacy Skill.  I’ve been working on doing both and I’m homing in on getting back to Dark Side I.  Yay!

6) Seems like everywhere I go, there is no one there!  I haven’t had this experience personally, as my server is full to busting and even with the zoning/instancing that Bioware has been doing we still DO experience lag from the server from time to time.  But I have heard this complaint from people around the web.  My best advice is to either change servers while your character is low level and you haven’t invested in them too much yet.  Or just wait for a while.  Most of the low population servers will probably either be absorbed by larger ones or fill up; it’s an MMO staple.  Also, most of the game was designed for a full to overflowing server population and only minimal instancing so, places look like they can hold far more people than are currently there.  The VERY BEST thing to do is to play with your friends and don’t worry; this kind of thing takes care of itself.

7) Since launch Bioware/EA has been applying lots of patches and there certainly have been quite a few maintenance nights a week that many folks think is probably a little crazy.  But as this is a new game, this sort of thing will happen.  Make sure you head over to link, to check server status and keep an eye on your launcher for the game in order to know about upcoming patches.

8) I’m getting bored with this game!  Yeah, OK….  Well, I have a few questions for you: 1. How often do you play? More than 5 hours a day, how many days a week.  Play less, fewer hours, fewer days, etc…  2. Do you play with others? If not, you REALLY SHOULD!  Join a guild or just pick up a group from flashpoints or heroics.  Either way, find some cool folks and do a bunch of quests with them.  Doing this changes the game drastically.  3. Have you played any PVP or Operations?  If you are max level, you will want to at least try one or both of these.  4.  Did you play one class all the way to the end and are now bored with that class?  Role an alt, make sure they have a different class style.  If you are playing a Jedi Knight, play a Smuggler or vice versa.  Or play an Imperial Agent if you haven’t all ready.  Star Wars the Old Republic represents a minimum of 40 hours of gameplay.  If you’ve rushed through it, I’m not surprised your tired of it.  If nothing else, take a couple of weeks off.

9) I’m feeling under-leveled every time I face a story climax or I keep dying and I don’t know why!  There are any number of reasons for this but I will try and give you the most common ones.  Are you doing ALL the quests, not just your story quest?  If not, then that’s probably why, unlike World of Warcraft most of the areas are designed with the idea in mind that you are going to do all most all of the quests.  And for the most part, they are easy and good, so don’t miss out, do them.  If your not doing Heroic quests, that’s ok, but it will definitely help you as you level.  Almost all Heroic quests are pretty easy with the recommended number of people(Heroic 4=4 people recommended, Heroic 2= 2 people recommended).  Also as you level, probably around 24+ you will want to invest in some gear off the Galactic Market(Auction House), because some of the gear from completing quests can be on the weak side.  Even to complete later quests.  This used to happen a few years ago in World of Warcraft before they fixed it.  I believe Wrath of Lich King was the first time this was addressed.  I’m sure as time goes on Bioware will address this issue as well, but for right now, it’s up to you.  Finally, there could be one more reason…  How well equipped is your companion?  If they don’t have gear that is at least around their level, they could be too weak to support you.  You can buy them gear, but the easiest fix is to simply find them gear from the random stuff that drops off enemies.  This works best for light or medium armor wearers but I’ve found it’s functional with everyone.

10) If you have not all ready done so; be careful when choosing your advanced class.  Also, with the idea that Star Wars Old Republic is someone’s first MMO they handle advanced classes poorly.  The player must speak with one of the two quest givers on their respective fleets.  As this is the first time you are going to this area the idea that these quest givers might be missed is natural.  If you are a new player be sure to explore the fleet thoroughly as I missed about half the areas in it to begin with; thinking it was much smaller than it actually was.

  That’s my ten, I’m sure there will be more tips in coming as I play deeper into the game.  But for now, see you online; And may the Force be with you.(the Jedi say that entirely too much, don’t you think?)

Star Wars Old Republic First Major update trailer!

Your Star Wars Old Republic Primer: From Giant bomb!

A Quick Look Giant Bomb did for the MMO, courtesy of Jeff and Ryan!

 

Or perhaps you’d like to hear from the head writer for the game!

         This is only the beginning folks… The Hades Times is going to be your source for all things Star Wars the Old Republic!

New Stuff Coming Up in 2012! And the End of the World?

        My friends, it’s nice to see you’ve all made it into the new year unscathed. Dubstep aside of course(see last post).  2012 is going to bring us games like Bioshock Infinite and Diablo 3.  The crazy part is that one game, that I’ve bagged on practically since I first played the beta turned out to be an incredible game; that being Star Wars the Old Republic.  While an in-depth review is incoming(it’s an MMO, give me some time), I can say the game is incredible.

       While this month has been very slow with game releases.  In an effort to create some more content.  I will be beginning to post previews!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen the most evil of all video game content.  Why evil?  Previews are usually a PR driven snooze-fest where nothing is really known and because of that, the conclusions are usually overwhelming positive.  While I can’t say that I won’t be positive, I don’t really have enough PR contacts to get bogged down in making nice with anyone for sake of advertising or access.  Perhaps this is the future, no access equals no bias.  Unfortunately, it also can change the flow of information drastically.  So bare with me while I explore this new area of content for the site.

       As with any year, we are all waiting with anticipation of what comes next.  What will be the big three’s next move.  There is no shortage of rumors and false information.  In fact, over the past two weeks I counted three stories that were put up only to promptly denied by the folks those stories were about.  You know what I’m talking about Valve, Blizzard, and Sony.

      The best part of this year is that there may be announcements of two new consoles and possibly a nice hefty amount of information before the release of the Wii U.  I’m thinking E3 this year will be killer.   There is, of course the another possible scenario, that being the Wii U comes out this year without any news of anything else.  For the first time, there will be three consoles with about the same amount of power competing for around the same number of customers.

      The hardware sales of the XBOX 360 and the PS3 are selling like hotcakes.  The idea that either Sony or Microsoft is going to be overly interested in splintering their own market any time soon seems wrong headed.  However, share holders are funny little devils; without growth, company no matter how successful stagnates. 

      Considering the Vita probably isn’t going to set the world on fire and the Windows Phones haven’t exactly been beating the iphone my guess is that new consoles would probably reinvigorate both companies portfolios.  Developers have all ready started complaining about the lack of power each console affords.  They are all most 6 years old, after all.  I buy a new computer every 5 years and that usually is too long.  So a new console, would make all the sense in world for a November/December 2013 release.

     All of the major developers are on reset or will soon be.  This is the perfect time for new consoles.  So, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo; get your devkits out there.  Because with no launch software, your console is DOA.

     Speculation aside, this year is looking like an amazing year to be a gamer.  What’s more interesting than this year however, is the lack of information we have about 2013.  Which just adds in to the rumors of something changing soon.  I suppose we will just have to wait and see.  June can’t come fast enough… Well, March can’t come fast enough(Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3, Diablo 3(?), Street Fighter X Tekken, etc…)  Then June…

 

Happy New Year with Some Giant Bomb Dubstep!

If you don’t get it, don’t worry; just head over to http://www.giantbomb.com and hang out for around a month or so.  Then watch this again.  You’ll pick it right up… Probably…