Elder Scrolls MMO confirmed

I noticed a trailer when I got onto facebook this morning.  I saw the trailer posted and thought "well it was only a matter of time I suppose".  After watching it, I am very unsure about this venture.  I know they will try their best, but I am not entirely confident it will work out people have their hopes to.  The villain appears to be Molag Bal.  For anyone that doesn't know, he is a daedric prince of enslaving mortals, corrupting souls, and feeding on them. That sort of thing.  The way the trailer plays it off, the three factions will have to band together to stop the threat at the same time ambitions will be rekindled.  My theory there is that ambition will be in the form of factions trying to conquer lands.  Which will mean tons of pvp.  My biggest fear is the whole banding together common enemy spiel has been hashed way to many times.  I would not like this to be a throw back to the WoW mentality in those regards.  Though this is Bethesda, so I have some faith in their desire to keep this franchise strong.  More info will be released at E3.

The insert a video isn't working for me but still look up the trailer see what it's about.  A reminder we have no details about combat or anything yet, so please hold your judgments till after E3 or so. 

Guild Wars 2 Beta

So first off I wanted to say is WOW!!!. The beta for guild wars 2 this weekend was amazing.  There were a few glitches in the in the system but they were fixed in a reasonable amount of time. Now I am going to break down what I saw.

Character Creation: Creating characters in the game is a great improvement over the first.  The kind of customization that the creator has choice from is greater than most mmos that I have seen.  There are many hair styles, faces, and what not which you get to choose from.  One of the best parts is that all races can be any of the classes.  There are no restrictions what so ever in those terms.  For each race there are set of questions that the game asks you.  That resembles like most modern rpgs, but this to a lesser extent.  When you are asked a question, how you answer affects how your character turns out throughout the game.  There are three categories that define your character.  Dignity, Charm, and Ferocity.  Throughout the game when you talk to some npcs. There will be prompts that would add points into either of the three.  I am not exactly sure what they do later on.  My speculation is that it would turn out similar to dark and light side points in TOR.  It acts as a tool to define your character from other ones.

Combat: Combat is loads of fun.  I don't know how long I had this much combat wise in a mmo.  There are ten slots in which you get to customize your skill bar with.  Every class has their set of skills. Each weapon has their own set of skills.  When you reach level 7 you get the option to be able to switch between two weapon sets during combat.  As you use the weapon you unlock more skills.  There are no casting bars. By that I mean you can't tell what another player of mob is casting.  This requires the player to be paying to attention to the animations and predict what skill is being used.  The skills when out of range don't red out and yell at you two far away.  So you have to be watching your distance between enemies to ensure you are hitting them.  There is no mana just cool downs.  There is an endurance bar which allows you to evade.  This makes combat much more interesting than most mmos.  Which usually means standing still, not standing in pixels, npcs are moving around making combat much more mobile.  

Graphics and the Environment:  The graphics in my opinion were very well done.  I have a top of the line computer so I was able to throw everything on max settings.  With that being said the world is very beautiful.  While walking around Divnitiy's Reach and Lion's Arch I was pretty amazed how well the buildings looked as well as the other players and npcs that were roaming around

Story:  Now just like mmo there is a deep story going on.  As soon as the racial intro begins after character creation.  With all the answers from your questions take into account.  The intro animation goes over what is going on the world in relation to your race and character.  There are so far from what I saw character quests or maybe racial quests.  I haven't yet figured out if there is any difference in those quests, between the classes or the questions you answered  I don't know if those have any bearing.  At the very least each race has its own thing going and some where they converge on the main issue at hand.  From what I did experience the story was very interesting.    

PvP:  Pvp like the first game is very well done.  At anytime after the intro quest you can enter PvP part of the game.  When you do enter you are automatically set to 80 regardless given generic gear that every has, making the playing field level for all.  You first enter a lobby that goes over the basics of PvP in the game.  Afterwards there are numerous portals in which you can select from. There is World vs World and smaller objective based maps such has conquest.  World vs. World is the competition between three severs at all times.  There are three home maps one for each server and one current map that you right on.  There are many keeps, supply bases, outposts, and a giant  castle in the middle.  To get into any of bases that have walls you must first destroy the door first.  The door as large amounts of armor so it could take 10-20 mins to get through.  The fastest way to get in is with the use of siege weapons.  To get siege weapons you need supply.  To get supply you need supply bases.  Every 10 minutes there is a caravan that is sent from all the supply bases you control to your keeps.  Make sure you protect them because anyone from another team can ambush it if you are not careful.  There will be tournaments to partake in.  Which I believe will be similar to Temple of Ages style.  You enter in a team of members and go as far as you can till you loose or if you are lucking win it all.  I'm there will be guild vs guild action as well. 

Dungeons:  From what I heard and saw, dungeons the player goes into will never be the same thing twice.  The first time will be for story purposes.  Anytime after that new bosses will show up, you can make it harder.  This sounds very intriguing sadly I didn't get the chance to do one.

Guilds:  Guilds are going to have customization off the bat.  When you have members log in and spend time online the guild gains influence points.  With these influence points the guild can unlock many perks.  Such as experience boosts, unlocking merchants with what I believe are guild halls.  There are tons of things to spend influence points on.  Rewarding active guilds and having a great time with your mates is going to be a good time to be had.  

Overall I think this game so far is very well done and I can't wait to play again the next beta weekend.      

Guild Wars 2 Beta weekend 27-29

The next beta weekend will be taking place the last weekend in April.  This even is public so no NDA.  I will be taking a bunch of screenshots and making a follow up post to this.  I will try to cover all aspects of the game. Pvp, Pve, and everything else.  Hope to see you then.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13.... OH! I Play This Game!

I am afraid this one is going to be a little short. There isn't really much to say about PGA Tour 13, but I will go over it all anyways. The game was developed by a division of EA studios called EA sports. PGA Tour 13 requires a lot of dedication and skill for a sports game. Which is probably why I don't like it. It is not a game that you can pick up and play. After playing for three hours I only managed to finish one hole without going over par. The controls are overly sensitive and the gameplay is a little "too" realistic. But I'll get into that later on. Before I start I want to establish the fact that I have absolutely nothing against golf games. I have enjoyed playing some of the older games. This one in particular, I found more frustrating than enjoyable.

Visual - 7

Overall the graphics of the game are very good. The movement is realistic, the character design is fantastic, but there are some flaws. During some sequences, for example, tracking the ball while wind is blowing through the trees, the frame rate drops down slightly. Also, the textures on trees, and grass phase in and out from time to time. Even when your golfer looks nice, when the terrain around him looks gaudy, its pretty unappealing.

Audio - 8

The soundtrack for the game is very relaxing. It has a mixture of calm, background music, that is actually hard to notice if you don't pay attention. Yet another relaxing feature is the calming, natural sounds like the wind in the trees, birds chirping, or bubbling brooks. The announcers however, are not so relaxing. They have a very limited set of lines that they say and you'll find yourself listening to the same comments about your own shot as your opponent's. It isn't so bad at first, but after a while it becomes quite annoying.

Story - 6

Now you'd think that a sports game wouldn't have a story, but this is not the case with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. In PGA Tour 13, there are two different "story" modes: a career mode, and the Tiger Legacy Challenge. In career mode you can create your own golfer and make your name for yourself as a professional golfer. The character customization in this mode is spectacular, but even so, the mode itself is nothing special. In the Tiger Legacy Challenge, you are basically playing a tutorial combined with Tiger Woods biography. It gradually explains new concepts in the game, while you play as Tiger Woods growing up into the pro golfer he is today. Most of the people I've talked to who wondered if the mode would also teach you how to cheat on your wife. Bad joke I know, but in essence it is a simple tutorial, also nothing special.

Gameplay - 5

You are probably why I gave such a low score to it here. Well, it is because of the newest addition to the game. It has great potential, but learning how to use it is more painful then its worth. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 introduces a "total swing control" system. You use various methods to plan out the shot then take the swing. To plan out the shot you can select the area you're want to aim for, position your feet, adjust to the wind factor, and change the angle you hit the ball. Then when it comes to the swing you pull back on the joystick and then push foward when you have the power you want. In theory it sounds great. But the controls are so sensitive and the realism causes the wind to change frequently. It takes hours of practice to master this system well enough to be able to actually play the game without struggle. In total, the new system is more like torture then entertainment.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 had great potential to be another enjoyable golf game, but instead it made me too frustrated to really enjoy it. I imagine that the game is very enjoyable to those who want a realistic feel to their golf game, or to those who actually play golf on a regular basis and know how to plan out a shot better then the average person. In the end I'd personally give the game about a 5, its an ok game, not something I'd pick up and play on a regular basis. The overall quality of the game gets it a 6 though.

Hope you enjoyed this review of PGA Tour 13. Do you enjoy playing golf games? Do you like them to be realisic, or easier to just have fun with? What would you like to see in Tiger Woods PGA tour 14? Once again, leave your answers, questions, and comments in the comment box below! Don't forget to subscribe for weekly updates!

NEXT TIME ON OH! I Play this game!: Xenoblade Chronicles. Is it just another JRPG, or does it bring a whole new classic to Nintendo's Wii?

April is a new month.

April is a start of a new month. What new wonders will be coming into the world of gaming in this month. The next call of duty won't have any perks in it at all.  That's correct no more juggernaut, last stand, etc.  Rejoice out dream come true.  Also heard that the guns will have different stats. New sights and the  infamous missing recoil that we haven't seen for years.  More players will be allowed per map possibly up 64. Long have we awaited for more players like battlefield maybe we can hold out for vehicles.

For it's maps they are going to be making bigger more intricate maps for the first time in a long time. Activsion originally wanted to do this with the last title but didn't have the time to meet this with their almost yearly model. "Oh my god bout time" said my friends when I just told them this right before I started to write this post. It is a long while these fans have been waiting in the dark.Waiting in the dark for ages to get their game back.  What a  stupendous day this is.

Dust 514

For those that don't know what Dust 514 is it is a new mmofps coming from the creators of Eve Online.  Now some may say that this game is just another mmo that is going to hit a market full a mmos that fade within months. You are then missing the bigger picture.  This game could be potentially groundbreaking on multiple levels.  One this game will be coming out for the PS3 and the vita.  Now they have brought mmos to the PlayStation before such as DC Universe and the Final Fantasy mmos before, but nothing like Dust.  What Dust has over all others previously stated is the scope of the game.  Dust is going to be able to work with the Eve Online on the PC.  Both games will be on one server.  This one server will able to hold all players at one time from both games.  In Dust the player will be in control of Dust marines which will be fighting over control over planets.  Players will be able to create corporations just like in Eve.  Corporations will be fighter over planetary control all times for themselves to make money or the will be being paid as mercenaries through Eve corporations.  Now when the game hits release planets will hold 64 player action with the intent of being able to hold 128 or more.  During the battle Dust marines will be able to purchase guns and vehicles to use to take over control points. The planets these battle will taking place will only be the earth like planets.  The Developers stated that the will try their best to generate as much unique terrain as they can.  The best part is that this game will be free to play.  I think the reasoning behind is that Dust will be great awareness to Eve Online to bring new customers that want to see the other side of the game.  This is definitely a game to keep tabs on.

Street Fighter X Tekken... Oh! I Play This Game!

Street Fighter and Tekken are two of the most well known fighting games in the world. First released as an arcade game in 1987, Capcom's Street Fighter featured 12 characters in total and 6 who would proceed into the following games. Of those characters the two friendly rivals, Ken and Ryu, have captured the spotlight of the series. As the popularity of arcade fighting games increased Namco joined the party with Tekken, released in 1994. Tekken had 5 more characters than Street Fighter's original title upon release. Though the Tekken franchise was less popular than Street Fighter, it still kept a large fan base through out the years.

Street Fighter X Tekken, also known as Street Fighter Cross Tekken, sets the most popular characters of both games against each other. It was released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and will be released for the PC on May 11th, and on the PlayStation Vita in fall 2012. Having followed both games off and on over the years this crossover caught my attention. At first I thought that the different styles of each series would lower the quality of the game, but I found the two to mesh quite well. New innovations in online fighting have also been added, but how does the cross over stand up to it's parent games?

Visual- 9

Street Fighter X Tekken has very stylized graphics. All the character and stage designs follow the cell shaded style of Street Fighter 4. Namco is currently working on their own version of the game called, Tekken X Street Fighter, which will change the style to look more like Tekken. The game takes advantage of the current generation's graphics with strong high definition visuals. With smooth transitions from intro cinematic to gameplay, as well as smooth graphics through gameplay, SFxT stands out among fighting games.

As you can see from this cinematic trailer, there is a lot of stylized graphics using water. This is due to part of the story, which I will address later. This style is overused however throughout the game and is somewhat unappealing. Although the graphics are good they still don't take advantage of the full potential of the game due to the style of the game. The stylized graphics are both a plus and a minus to the visuals.

Audio- 8

Though there's nothing really special in the sound department of the game, Street Fighter has some excellent voice actors. Both the English and Japanese dubs of the game have big name voice actors like, Kyle Hebert, Fumiko Orikasa, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Unsho Ishizuka. The music and sound effects however are nothing to write home about. They simply follow the generic fighting game sound effects and bring back classic background music from both series. Overall the music and sound effects aren't bad, just nothing special. The voice acting is really where the talent lies, even though there isn't all that much actual speech through out the game.

Story-7

Street Fighter X Tekken's story revolves around a mysterious cube that falls to Earth in a meteor. Researchers flock to the unknown object to study it and determine its purpose. Soon conflict arises over the cube. When the fights break out the cube reacts, releasing a liquid that makes the nearby combatants stronger. Because of this, it is named "Pandora". Soon more conflict arises, due to the cube's nature. Who will end up in control of this wondrous power?

Most fighting games are lacking in the story department, Street Fighter X Tekken is no different. Though the story has potential, it isn't well executed. As mentioned earlier, the water special effect is caused by the "Pandora Mode", which is similar to "X-Factor" in Marvel vs Capcom.

Gameplay-8.5

Combos, Super Combos, Ultra Combos, Hyper Combos, almost every fighting game has them, as does Street Fighter X Tekken. But this crossover brings some new elements to the table, as well as some familiar ones from a different title. One of the key features is tag team gameplay. Similar to other games like Marvel vs Capcom and Tekken Tag, Street Fighter X Tekken allows you to switch between two fighters in a fight. This also allows for special "cross" combinations, which involve both members of your team. Also, your character in reserve will gradually recover a set amount of health over time. However, if one of your fighters gets knocked out, you will lose the fight.

Another new feature is the Gem system. It allows you to customize your fighter to fit your playing style. You can have up to five gems equipped at one time. Gems have special conditions for use, and are activated instantly in combat when those conditions are met. Yet another new feature is the ability to play cooperatively as a team. One person can control one member of the tag team, and the other character can be controlled by another player. Still, only one character can be used at a time. The Exception is when you use a "Cross Assault". This expends 3 special bars and allows both characters to be used simultaneously.

The final addition to Street Fighter X Tekken is "Pandora Mode". To utilize it you sacrifice your partner and gain a number of bonuses: multiplied damage, decreased damage taken, and an unlimited special bar. The downside is, you lose a partner, and your health decreases over time. So, if you're in the middle of a super combo and your health reaches zero because of Pandora mode, you will lose the fight, even if the super combo would have finished your opponent. Pandora mode seems to be just a gimmick. Though interesting, it doesn't really seem worth using. If I were to use it, it would be as a last ditch effort to finish my opponent, but overall it doesn't add much to the gameplay. Here's a video explaining the new gameplay features in a bit more depth.

In the end Street Fighter X Tekken is a good game, and a new and interesting fighter. It does a good job at combining the two classic arcade series into one game. I love seeing some of my favorite characters like Heihachi and Yoshimitsu or Ken and Ryu face off against each other. Also the new features like multiplayer tag teams is definitely a welcome innovation to online fighting games. I look forward to seeing Namco's side of things later. Overall I give the game a personal score of 8.5, and a quality score of 8. I like the game, but I probably give it more credit than it is due.

Are you looking forward to Tekken X Street Fighter? What do you think of Pandora Mode? Do you think that fighting games need to try and make more newer innovations, or do you think that classic style fighters are better? Once again, leave your answers, questions, and comments below! And don't forget to subscribe for notices when new articles are posted!

NEXT TIME ON: OH! I Play This Game! - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, Will it be a hole in one, or leave you twenty over?

Author's note:

I will be writing reviews weekly now on weekends. Check back weekly or subscribe for new reviews! Also, from time to time I will post special "episodes" of Oh! I Play This Game! reviewing older games, board games, card games, or any other kind of game I can think of! Hope you find my reviews helpful and enjoyable!

Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception... OH! I Play This Game!

Uncharted has been a series to follow since the beginning. In the first game, "Drake's Fortune", the story was very compelling but the gameplay was somewhat lacking. The following game, "Among Thieves", did a very good job at keeping the story interesting while working the kinks out of the prior game. But how does the third installment in this trilogy measure up? Very well, but not nearly as I had hoped.

Visual-9.5

Drake's deception definitely makes use of current generation's graphics. The graphics are crisp and and defined. During my play through of the game I noticed very few problems with the graphics. On one or two occasions there were terrain pieces in the distance that weren't completely rendered. Sometimes an enemy or even yourself when killed would land in such a way that parts of their body would be inside terrain fixtures. Though these are easily overlooked.

Cut-scenes are very well animated, as is the overall gameplay. Uncharted 3 has really mastered making a character look real, not just by making them look realistic, but making them move realistic. Here's some gameplay supplied by game trailers, enjoy.

Editing Note: Sorry for the lack of audio in this video, it isn't uploading well for some reason.

Audio-10

The voice acting for the Uncharted franchise has always been superb. With Nolan North (Deadpool in Marvel vs Capcom 3, Desmond in Assassin's Creed) leading as Drake himself, there's not much that can go wrong. But no talent was spared selecting the rest of the cast. Other main voices are played by Richard McGonagle, Emily Rose, Claudia Black, and Graham McTavish.

The voice acting talent is not the only thing that makes the sounds of Uncharted 3 stand out for me. The sound effects and soundtrack is also very well done. The music adds to the game significantly. It amplifies the intensity of shoot outs, and raises the emotions of touching or trying moments within the game. The sound effects are extremely realistic and add a feel of immersion to the gameplay. Where there's fire you hear fire. Where there's raging waters, you can definitely tell. All around Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is not lacking in the sound department.

Story-9

Uncharted has always had a good storyline. Similar to movies like Indiana Jones, it is a treasure hunting adventure. The story starts out with Scully and Drake meeting with a new character about selling Sir Francis Drake's ring, a personal treasure of Drake's. Their buyer tries to cheat them using counterfeit bills and a fight breaks out. After fighting through thugs and running into an ally only to fall into the hands of the game's main antagonist, Kathleen Marlowe. Apparently Marlowe, Scully, and Drake have a bit of a history. Kathleen reveals that Drake may not be who he is, then shoots them both and takes Drake's ring.

How do they make it out of this one? Well, You'll just have to play the game to find out. The story focuses on finding the lost city of Ubar, the "Atlantis of the Sands". Through out the game you experience flashbacks to Drake's childhood to help provide some backstory to his relationship with Scully and Marlowe, and help his character development. Drake's Deception features a lot of development in Drake's personal relationships, specifically between Scully, and Elena (Drake's love interest). It seems that through the game he learns that his relationships with who he considers his family are more valuable than any treasure in the world.

Sappy comment aside, the storyline is well rounded, but falls short compared to the other games. Where the previous games have used the story to keep the player on the edge of their seat, and leaving your jaw hanging wide open as you watch the death defying stunts and twists unfold before your eyes, Uncharted 3 seems to piggyback off of them. The story is not bad, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped.

Gameplay-9.5

A game can have better visuals, audio, and story than anything else in the industry, but without gameplay, it's just a movie. Uncharted supplies good gameplay, but like its story, it is lacking in new developments. Overall the game hasn't changed much since Uncharted 2. The only new improvements are an update to the melee system to streamline hand to hand combat more efficiently, and a better stealth system. Other than that there wasn't much done to freshen up the game.

However, Drake's Deception does offer a better multiplayer experience than its predecessor. It adds a new buddy system allowing you to spawn with a friend or other player and use him as a spawn point. It also allows for treasures to be collected by either you or your buddy and it still counts for both of you. If that's not enough, it gives you a nice buddy taunt option, like a fist bump, or secret handshake when you take down an opponent. The multiplayer also allows you to create and customize your own character and load out to allow each player to have their own personalized online experience. Finally, the multiplayer allows for two players to participate in the same online match, on the same console, using split screen. This split screen function is often lost in current generation games and it is nice to see it return.

Uncharted 3 also provides built in co-op missions, unlike in Uncharted 2 where they were only available as downloadable content. I myself have not played the co-op missions, so I don't have much to comment on it. I will say how once again, split screen is allowed for co-op allowing 2 players to play without needing an internet connection.

In conclusion, the gameplay for Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception is still good, but it didn't get any fresh new changes. The multiplayer however received the most attention and is definitely a highlight of the game.

Drake's Deception is a great game, though it did disappoint me a little. I had hoped and expected for something better then Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, but I found that this 3rd game was about the same. There were a few intense moments in it, but nothing that had me almost falling off my chair like climbing across the top of a train or jumping out of a building that was crumbling to the ground. Even the ending of Uncharted 3 felt a little lacking. Overall it's still a great game, I had just hoped for more. Personally, I'd give it an 8, but that's just based on my own expectations and disappointments with the game. Overall I'd give the real quality of the game a 9.5.

I hope you found my review helpful. Would you like to see the series continue with an Uncharted 4, or do you think it should stop before it ends up beating a dead horse? Did you find yourself somewhat disappointed like I did, or do you think this is the best Uncharted yet? Leave your answers, questions, or overall comments below!

NEXT TIME ON: OH! I Play This Game! - Street Fighter X Tekken, will it measure up or get Ultra K.O.ed?

Any Spyro fans out there?

So I recently just found two interesting things about Spyro that intrigue some people.  I was randomly server the web and I came across a Spyro movie poster. I though since when was Sypro going to be a movie? I then proceeded to research into this and did indeed find that it was going to be made.  I also found to the plot to my dismay. A special dragon egg was hidden in a woodland full of dragonflies by Ignitus to save it from evil forces that were hunting it. Brought up alongside Sparx, Spyro is led to believe that he himself is a dragonfly who just happens to be slightly bigger and purpler than the other dragonflies.Until one day when the village is attacked and Spyro is found. Instinctively using his unknown powers, Spyro realizes just how different he is. Confused and upset, he learns that he is not in fact a dragonfly, but a dragon who carries the role of being part of a great prophecy that will bring peace to all the land. Spyro, along with his trusty sidekick Sparx, pursue this epic adventure and attempt the impossible; the demise of the deadly Dark Master. However, between them stands Cynder, a very powerful black dragon powered by the red crystal around her neck, which enslaves her to the Dark Master.  The film was then cancelled based of Activision's decision. They had other plans which ended up being Skylanders the second reboot of spyro. Which in my opinion is just a cash making scheme aimed at kids. That's a different story for another post.  The second bit of information I found out was Sypro was set to be a rated m game around 2009.  Yet again cancelled after conception to be transformed into Skylanders by a toy company aim at kids to make hordes of cash.  Maybe one day the series will see the true love it deserves.  That love is I hope in the form of Insomniac taking back it's first love.


I would like to use the Spyro wiki as a reference for the Spyro plot as it came directly from there.

Hi, My Name is... OH! I Play This Game!

Hi, I Play This Game here,

Some of you may read gaming reviews before buying a game. You go to Gamestop.com and look at what people are rating it as... Or you look the game up on a site like IGN or Gamefaqs. Some of you may look forward to when someone like Ben "Yatzee" from the Escapist's "Zero Punctuation" releases a video harshly criticizing games. I'm not here to do that, I just play games.

I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore gamer, just an objective gamer. I look at the pros and cons of a game and weigh why a game is good based on quality, not sales. Honestly, let's face it, people are sheep. If a lot of people start playing a game, then more people will follow. So I'm going to review games based on the quality of the visuals, sound, and gameplay. Then add my own personal spin on things. So I'll be piggybacking off of Nerdking's blog to share my own views on gaming, and review newer games, and sometimes older ones. Hope you enjoy.

Elder Scrolls MMO???

So there is some rumors going around that there is a mmo in the works down in Bethesda.  Now this inevitable due to Bethesda making an online division in ZeniMax dubbed ZeniMax Online funded with millions of dollars.  So they have to be up to something.  Since the legal fallout with Interplay over the Fallout mmo it was safe to assume Bethesda would continue to work on it or do something with it.  Maybe they will, but as the rumors say just not now.  This information about the mmo is coming out of Tom's Guide. Which is a website that publishes news articles that pertains to anything that involves electronics. Now the information they could give us from the article states that the setting will be thousands of years before skyrim and hundreds before any of the other titles.  Even though that doesn't really gives much of anything.


 It does tell us that it's in the second era based on that time frame in which the game will exist in.  The article also tells us there is going to be 3 factions represented by 3 animals. A dragon, lion, some type of bird like an eagle falcon or a phoenix.  Yet again this doesn't tell us much of anything.  For anyone that does know Elder Scrolls lore they can take a great guess as to what these factions are.  Lets break it down.  The dragon is pretty good indicator that this means the Akavir.  Now for anyone that doesn't know what Akavir is it means dragon continent which is east of Tamriel.  Within that land there are four nations called Kamal, Tsaesci, Tang Mo and Ka Po' Tun. 


 That dragon could also mean the faction under Talos which would be the empire that would usher in the 3rd era.  For those that don't know who Talos is.  Talos is the greatest human hero ever to have lived and the only that ascended to god status making it the nine divine rather than eight.  He was also a dragonborn being able to speak the language of the dragons. The sign of Talos is a dragon which also appears on one of statues in oblivion on his shield.  This will lead into the 3rd faction which I believe would be making an appearance,Aldmeri Dominion.  This logically makes sense as the 3rd faction based on the fact from the time frame given is the second era.


 Also they were a promidnet force during this time along with the other factions I mentioned. Plus the fact that Talos used  The Numidium to destroy the elves.  Given the information which was given and all the lore I know the second era makes absolute sense to make this mmo. It's before any of the other titles so it gives the writers room to work with.  The major factions and peoples have lots of conflict, mystery, and intrigue that all the Elder Scrolls titles give.  Overall I am very excited to hear this news and I have complete faith that Bethesda will not screw this up.

Syphon Filter

Does anyone remember this memorable franchise out of 989 studios for the ps1?  I know I sure do.  I turned of my psp started playing syphon filter 2.  Wow this brought back memories.  For anyone that doesn't know the overall plot of the series.  It's centered around a virus called syphon filter.  You play agents Gabriel Logan and Lian Xing trying to uncover the conspiracy behind this bio weapon.  What makes this series stick in my mind? Well I played this as a child, but more importantly the story and mechanics was just amazing.  The game was a 3rd person shooter stealth with action missions and stealth missions.  Both types of missions were pretty hard at times especially when enemies had flak jackets on.  Why was that hard? Well because of the aiming system was like golden eye.  You could lock on and fire but if you wanted head shots you had to manual aim.  Which was a pain if enemies were swarming you and had to find cover try to manual aim.  Also I just loved the characters and their voice actors.  I feel the story was well done and just a great time to sit back and game. The series has a lasting influence in many other games like splinter cell and hitman. The both have similar conspiracy like stories going on and very heavily emphasized stealth elements.  I would highly recommend brushing of the dust if you haven't play the game in a while or pick this up on the psn ps classic store. To end on a light note look at this clip above.  To me this is what make syphon filter 2, the Russian disco club.  To the game developers Russia thought disco was alive and well circa late 90's

Guild Wars has puzzles

So apparently guild wars has jumping platformer puzzles.  These puzzles described by Total Halibut are out of the way explorable areas that promote wondering around.  Now these aren't pushovers. From what I saw in the video from Total these puzzles are quite challenging.  He died multiple times from spike traps and fire traps.  When he did get to the end there was a boss to kill that was levels ahead of him.  When you complete it you get rewards such as loot. So if you like exploring in the mmoverse and like a challenge the Guild Wars 2 is the game for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYj2QMEPRT0 That is a link to Total Halibut video that I was describing. The video up top is another example.

Sim City 5 Rumored

There has been a few pictures floating around the internet at a new sim city game.  These pictures were in a German gaming magazine.  These few pictures can tell us a lot. From the art of the game to some of the features that will be appearing.  Dissecting this video of pictures the new art gives off a Sim City 3 feeling combining with the new graphics engine maxis is making.  The biggest feature I am looking forward is the fact you can finally curve roads without a mod.  With that I hope that means building a bridge that is diagonal again without a mod that makes your cities water disappearing.  With the placement of the buildings I get the impression that style of city building is more free and less restrictive. Multiplayer was also mentioned, I believe it would be something like Cities XL.  Resources would be traded between players most likely in a generated region.  The best part with no monthly fee which was the down fall to that game.   Also rumored was that the game is 30% done and will be released next year. Assuming we all survive an ending calender.  Next week in San Francisco in the Games Developers Convention EA will have a big announcement so cross your fingers.

Guild Wars 2

Man I can not wait for this game.  Yesterday I watched some of the open world pvp. All I have to say is wow well done.  I have a good feeling about this game.  PvP seems just like the first one but even better.  If you are one for pvp then this the mmo for you.  There is no brackets, as far as I know no gear, it's all about what build can you make to beat the other players build. At a early leve your character it seems to have access to the pvp content. You totally by pass having to level your character or getting your gear.  As soon as you go in, your character becomes a pvp character and you hit level 80 with pvp gear already on you.  From there it is all skill. Plus you get to interact with mounted weapons as well as build them with blue prints to destroy doors to assault  keeps and castles.  Overall this is a game to watch if you like pvp as well as great story.   This video I have on the top there is good insight on what I was taking about.

The Sonic of Old Vs The Sonic of New

Sonic is been gaming icon for 20 years now and has influenced a generation forever.  Over these 20 years we have seen the golden age Sega with all of it's amazing games to recent years of an abomination of recent games.  Surprisingly with the release of Sonic 4 episode 1 and Sonic Generations the retro community can breathe with ease.  Any hardcore game that played games in the early 90's has to give some respect to this series  whether you like it or not.  

Sonic has always been about going fast whether if it's in 2d or 3d.  Now everyone should know the best games of the series where the first 4.  The first attempt for a 3d type game sonic 3D Blast.  The reason why the game didn't do very well was the main fact you couldn't go fast. Since you couldn't go fast they the action seemed to pretty much vanish.  More or less  the game was a long fetch quest of obtaining flickies to get to the new zone.   Also the music wasn't very good which doesn't help at all.  Sonic should always be about going fast no matter in what dimension, with good music that fits the stage, along with intricate platforming parts where you slow down.

The series hit a good stride after that with the dreamcast but I feel it still had flaws.  The voice acting was okay at best.  New characters were being introduced like Big the Cat and the robot.   These characters didn't really add much to the story in anyway.  Big the Cat ran around yelling froggy then made me feel like I was pro bass fishing.  Sonic Adventure 2 was fun but thn again I still felt like there were characters that are not needed like Shadow, Rouge the Bat, as well as cream later down the line. Shadow effectively a clone of Sonic not story but in spirit.  There already is a Hedgehog his name is Sonic and he runs fast not Shadow.  Then we get Silver just yelling Iblis trigger and time traveling.  I understand that over time games evolve we get new characters.  But these characters feel so gimicky that me and as well as other can't connect to this characters.  Until the end of time sonic will always be based on running fast and amazing music.  You don't even need voice acting for a story. Sonic 3 and Knuckles used the cut scenes to tell a story and it was perfectly great. 

The Gaming World

The gaming world is fascinating place, but just like any place it has it's ups and downs. With my first blog post I would like to talk about the negative things that are going on in the world of gaming today. My hopes here are to educated the current generation of gamers growing up as well as enlightening new gamers of the current gen that are just starting  First of when someone plays any game whether it is new or old I feel like they should have some context going in what the game is they are getting into.  By that I mean have some sort of background or history of the game if it's a franchise or some understanding of the style of the company if its a new intellectual property.  As avid gamers like me know that is not the case with the majority of the population.  I stress this as my first and main point because if anyone doesn't a single thing about the game they are playing, they don't do any research then stagnation occurs.

Stagnation occurs when gaming companies find a system that works once let's say call of duty for example.  Early in the franchise the developers found the money maker and made big hits such as Call of Duty 1 and 2.  By the time Modern Warfare 1 came around  we see what the game is today.  Now yes that game brought new things to the table such as perks and kill streaks which were fun... the first time around.  With that big hit and all the revenue they accumulated from that hit.  Activision did something that most companies do and sadly most people don't realize.  They capitalize on that idea of that one game then for intent and purposes effectively copied and pasted from one game to the next.  Nothing really changed from one to the next.  Every year there is a new call of duty and Activsion knows people are going to buy it.  They know this because the consumer is blinded by names and shiny things.  Which doesn't allow for them to think on their own 

 I played pretty much all the call of duty games.  Now if one of my background of gaming were to play these series of games they would of picked on this issue of stagnation,  I think another issue contributing to this problem is media such as IGN and Game Informer.  Not to say they don't do a bad job on researching but when Call of Duty receives at least a 9 out 10 every where as well as sports games.  At the same time games such as Catherine receives a score around a 7.  If I remember correctly the biggest problem people had with the game when they reviewed it, they said it was to hard.  When the game came out the company that made the game had to put in a patch to for an easier game mode just to appease.  Now why should a company have to stunt their creativity just to make it easier one gamers? Well they shouldn't. One has to think what is going on with these reviewers.

As I said this is my first post. My name is Nerdking.  I hope you got a taste of what I am trying to accomplish with this blog. If you don't well I think you are in the wrong place.  Please post your thoughts and tell your friends.