What About Aiden?

Here we are on a Friday and a few days into playing some Watch Dogs a game many of us have been waiting for, for quite some time. I did my non spoiler review yesterday, but I figured for the Reader Post this week since myself and a lot of others would be in Watch Dogs mode it would be good to give someone else a go at it. So here is Whiphinio and his wishes to make Watch Dogs even better.

I have to admit, I enjoy this game so much, unlike GTA and Far Cry where you just jump into a vehicle or fast travel, I find myself on foot 90% of the time. It feels great, plus I find there's a lot to entertain yourself with on foot. It's not as if you have to go anywhere, everything comes to you. 

The hacking and Tailing are incredible, I love doing them. At this current time the "average time: 1minute" is complete Bull, but I understand its a new game ,its Ubisoft servers, its early days. However, once in a scenario it is heaven, that ability to observe someone and them not even knowing you are there, even better still, them not knowing you were there at all. The hacking has been a dream with so many times where I can see them running about me and not getting me, proof the profiler isnt an overpowered Sauron eye. Other times ive been so close til they find me, then I escape, not bragging and once again early days, but every hack has been some form of success, whether a hacker failed against me, I evaded with them discovering me, or a complete success where I hacked and was not detected.

I could go on with my enjoyment of this game.

However, there are a few things I would like Ubisoft to do, first of all the team decryption, NEEDS to be fine tuned in the "making up" of the game. In other words, joining in with friends is a LOT harder than it should be, lobbys move on too quickly. Secondly, trying to tail or hack friends NEEDS to be implemented, if you want to stop spamming of the points system, easy, have it so you two can only go into a match once a day, although this could get tedious and frustrating. (They can hack and tail you only once, you can hack and tail them only once). Or ideally to keep the fun going, you could have it so neither gain nor lose any points after 2 or so matches....

Now that I have mentioned two fairly critical points in this superb game, I would like to ask Ubi to PLEASE bring in a leaning and sitting feature much like the Assassins franchise. It would make being on a train more realistic and certainly make the 1v1's more enjoyable from a bystander's perspective, along with a very realistic atmosphere. Now im sure this is not that hard to code in, and surely a patch in the future would be also fairly easy to implement it in. My last wish may be a bit harder, but would like the ability to use an umbrella when its raining, this too would add realism to the characters persona. But these features make it harder to look at the player controlled character. Instead of going: "Hang on.... she's standing next to the wall, not leaning. OR They've all got their umbrella up, but that guy is just walking like its nothing." Now you think about it, when you see a person sitting down you immediately know, that character is not human controlled, because we cant sit down, whereas if you get that feature in, that's 2,4,10,15 people potentially that you have to look at because you are no longer sure.

I just think that these three things would turn an already 9/10 in my books into a solid 9.9/10.  

As always thanks for all of the submissions it would not be possible to do this without all of your contributions. Enjoy your weekend!

Looking At Watch Dogs

So here I am with my normal Thursday non-spoiler review. So as always this really is going to have to do with gameplay mechanics and how the game feels to play, and truthfully as of this moment I have not completed the game.

First I want to say I enjoy playing the game it is an open world game with details which I have hope will become the norm in this genre. There is something about scaninng off someone and knowing just random things about random NPCs. Like they are on a  liver transplant list. Now I thought at first this might be a to stop mindless killing of civilians and truthfully it does have more an effect then the meter which I still don't believe does anything.

There are tons of side missions and having the option of them becoming multiplayer is quite interesting and makes completely the same type of side quests less boring so I will give creators a high five on that point for the interesting idea. Excluding the car chases missions there really hasn't been anything I haven't liked.

Speaking of the car chases I really think they dropped the ball on this part. The controls seem off and no matter what car you have you cannot "win" unless you preform a "hack". Also the crashes seem rather gimmicky and have started to bug me. Now some of you may like this sort of thing, so it might be just not my cup of tea.

Speaking on the hacking. This really would be one thing I would have changed. I understand they didn't want the game overly difficult but one button "hacks" seem to push the difficulty curve to joke and I was actually hoping for something a little more complex. Not that it makes the game bad I was just expecting a little more difficulty.

Overall I like the game even with the one button hacks it makes you seem like you really are a hero in terms of the situation and the car chases aside I think the game is extremely well designed and a lot of fun to play. I  am extremely interested to see how the story plays out in the end as the story itself has become more complex the more I have played. It is definitely worth playing so if you haven't picked it up yet I would recommend you do so.

Hell, It's About Time

So here we are 1 day into Watch Dogs, but I will do my non spoiler review on that tomorrow. Today though is supposed to be all about lists. Now with Watch Dogs coming out yesterday with what many have called the most anticipated game of the year. So that begs the question, what really makes a game anticipated? What makes people want to play it? Then I thought to myself, what really are the games which have been the most anticipated games of all time? Well I figured I would take a shot at it, with what I believe are/were the most anticipated games of all time.


5. Duke Nukem Forever

The game which seemed to be delayed and in the making forever you were wondering what actually was going to be the result. What was it? A game which seemed to be stuck in a time wrap and was so bad it is now the punch line to jokes.

4. Starcraft II

Brood War was a game which really proved gaming itself could be competitive on a massive scale. For years we kept hearing about Starcraft II and Blizzard even joked about the waiting process with the opening cinematic "it's about time"

3. Final Fantasy VIII

Even wasn't even a true sequel, but after what is known by many as the greatest game ever made there was massive excitement to what could possible come next. The game was a masterpiece in itself but is viewed as many as a disappointment because honestly no game could ever live up to the hype it was given.

2. Diablo III

For years we were unsure if we were ever going to see another Diablo game again. When it was finally announced it was happening the build up was something of legend. With what probably was one of the longest beta periods in the history of games. When the game was finally released the servers exploded which will forever be known as Error 37

1. Half Life 3

This game still isn't a thing. It has become a running joke if it ever is going to happen or not. I suppose one day it will but then how could we ever imply something said really meant Half Life 3.

So there is my list. What do you think? Agree or disagree let me know as you always do.

You Fail At Being Ready For Watch Dogs If...

Fail Day! Not only is it Fail day though it is the Release Day of Watch Dogs a game which not only myself but many of us have been waiting for what has seemed like forever. That all comes to an end today because we get to play. So I figured why not combine two events of the day into one.

You Fail At Being Ready For Watch Dogs If...

• You didn't mark this release date on your calendar
• You didn't pre Order one of the 5 collectors editions
• You are not curious to see the power of the new gaming engine Disrupt
• You have no clue who Aiden Pearce is
• You didn't know it was a third person shooter
• You are not sure what it means to be a "gray hat hacker"
• You are not familiar with information warfare
• You don't think Assassin's Creed meets the future
• The plot of the game doesn't make you think
• You haven't heard about redefining Open world games
• You don't wonder why Chicago
• You are hoping the game is good enough that they will keep the commitment to the movie

and finally

• You have no idea what Watch Dogs is

There you have it this week's edition of Fail. Here is hoping you are going to be enjoying Watch Dogs with me.

Hearthstone Lore

Monday, you know that day after Sunday which is always the cool thing to hate? Yes it is that day. Monday's aren't all bad though because I show a random video which just makes the day worth continuing. This week showcasing a video from the youtube channel Lore where they always have random lore videos about a minute long which gives you the run down on your favourite games. This one for Hearthstone was rather amusing so I thought I would share



And now your life is complete

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes it is that day. The last of the weekend. You may now take your moment of silence for the weekend which has passed and the time you wasted. Even if you wasted your time with other things you can still waste your time reading the questions I am about to answer today. So here goes.

Are you excited for Watch Dogs?

Actually yes. I have liked everything I have seen from the game and I really think it has so much potential. Ever since the first reveal from it I have got the feeling it was going to be a game which not only was going to do well but a game I was going to enjoy playing. Add that to the fact it is coming from the same studio as Assassin's Creed series just makes me think it is going to be even more epic. Of course with all this build up there is the chance it could be a let down but I am choosing not to think that way.

So Diablo Anniversary buff is here to stay. Your thoughts?

I think it is a good thing. Now the buff doesn't guarantee you are going to get the legendaries you want but does make them drop more obviously. This also increases your forgotten souls so those who already have the gear they want can then keep rerolling their gear without the fear of using resources which are going to be hard to replenish. One thing I think people are not looking at is how they also permanently increased the amount of rift fragments which will be dropping therefore once again stressing the fact is that really is the best way to play end game. Also this will making completely the tiered rifts when they come out much more accessible without mindless grinding bounties.

So Murky.

Isn't he special. Looks like such a fun hero to play

There you have it all this week's questions answered and now ready for more to be sent in. As always if your question wasn't answered here I will still get to it and you can expect a response soon enough. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

The Kul Tiras Question

So it actually happens quite often when I get into Lore Warcraft Lore conversations with people. We go on and on abut various things. What we believe has been missing or what could actually come to pass. Recently I was having a conversation with Littlepawny and we were talking about Kul Tiras. Figured for this week's Reader Post would share what he had to say.

I feel that they missed their opportunity with Cataclysm to introduce Kul Tiras in the Alliance. They could have easily had Kul Tiras being invaded by the Horde considering that it is an extremely strategical location with proximity to all Alliance positions. It would also serve as adding an Alliance faction with extremely hateful behaviour (ala Admiral Rogers) against the Horde for Derek and Daelin Proudmoore's death. It would also add tension because the Kul Tirans would considering Jaina's actions in Theramore and Varian's forgiveness (assuming he knows, which would make sense), a grand betrayal; this explains their non-existence in the Alliance. They could have also added Calia Menethil as Queen of Kul Tiras along with Admiral Tandred or even having some new dynasty being Lord Admirals with Jaina challenging their claim or something. The possibilities could have been endless and certainly more interesting that what we got with Gilneas. (Although Gilneas made sense in order to introduce a new Alliance race.)

Also, it is note-worthy to mention that Tol Barad is technically Kul Tiran territory (Stromgarde territory before 2nd War) which means that Blizzard did seem to have plans for Kul Tiras in Cataclysm at some point.

As for how they can introduce them post-Pandaria. Considering there won't be another conflict with the Horde, their only hope is with a naga invasion and introducing Kul Tiras as a besieged zone with also potential Vashj'ir like areas. Or, they could simply start reintroducing them when Kul Tiras realises that need to pick a side in the conflict and which returns them to the fold without showing Kul Tiras on the map until the day is right. Or a lovely book which details the participation of Kul Tiras during the Third War (Garithos, Naval War, Theramore) with Daelin Proudmoore and the current-Lord Admiral (e.g. badass Lord-Captain) being the main PoV characters.

However, if they intend to add Kul Tiras, I want them to actually be properly represented and not just being dark green clothed humans. I want Varian to bite his nail and glance towards Jaina in discomfort when he hears that the Lord Admiral is coming to Stormwind.

As always thanks to everyone who sent something in, and enjoy your weekend.

You Twitch

So you may or may not have heard. YouTube is looking to acquire Twitch. So why is this such a big deal? Well it is a monster deal to say the least. Twitch if you are unaware allows gamers to stream themselves playing their favourite games. They are also able to interact with all of those watching them play no matter how many are or aren't. This has produced massive communities and really is what has allowed professional gamers to really be a "thing".

So why is this a good thing?

Well it has the opportunity to bring the non gaming community to the gaming community. It has the potential to push Esports to the mainstream by showing how entertaining these events actually are. While also showing off the streamers which may not be the best players but are true entertainers in every sense of the word. All of these are great things and I cannot see any downside to any of it.

So why could it be a bad thing?

YouTube favours large and established channels. It is extremely hard now to be an original content create and get yourself out there. If you are an established channel you are doing great and always continue to do so. There is also privacy issues where to avoid anything companies and have your videos taken down and all your work is for nothing. Right now none of these concerns are even on the radar with Twitch which is why it has been one of the best things to happen to gaming.

I understand why Google wants Twitch. It has the opportunity to be a massive advertising machine and generate massive amounts of money. It just needs to bring in the audiences without ruining what Twitch is and I am really not sure they can accomplish this.

There Isn't A Thing I Don't Cherish!

Here we are smack dab right in the middle of the week. Time to throw everything together and make ourselves a list of some sorts. Last week as you know I put together a list based upon my favourite Villains, and this week as promised I will be giving me Heroes. Although they tend to be less interesting then villains there are still many of them that are quite complex and interesting. So let's have a look at my list.

5. Tassadar - Starcraft

The one who gave everything so that others those believed in him or not could live. A true hero really knows what has to be done. Tassadar knew and truthfully the only reason he isn't higher on this list is because he didn't get as much screen time.

4. Joel - The Last of Us

All he was trying to do was survive. His world and life was destroyed and he took it upon himself to protect someone he didn't even know. Took her across the entire United States in a journey which will be remembered as long as gaming is a thing. If anyone had the opportunity they would be Joel

3. Nathan Drake - Uncharted Series

A hero doesn't only need to do whats right, but he has to have some charisma as well. He is the hero you cheer for and the one who never ceases to amaze you.

2. Ezio Auditore - Assassin's Creed II Trilogy

The man with the golden voice. The one in the shadows making sure even though the world will never really knew who or what he was he was important more than anyone could possibly imagine to the world as we know it becoming something it was never supposed to be.

1. Cloud Strife- Final  Fantasy VII

The one who overcame everything including himself to save the planet. When you look to what a hero really is Cloud really is everything you look for. He has the complexity of a villain while having the charisma and the drive a hero needs to have. 

There you have it my heroes list all wrapped up to be broken down and told why it is wrong. So let me know.

You Fail At Chirping If...

Fail Day! Yes here we are yet another Tuesday yet another time to point out why others are not as awesome as we are. I got the this idea while my we were chirping at one another playing Diablo the other day, but that only reminded me about how awful some of the chirps I have heard over the years. So here goes.

You Fail At Chirping If...

• Your only insults involve someone's mother
• You only play CoD to get new material
• You believe repeating the same insult actually makes it more threatening
• You go after someone for the same shit you do
• At any point you have said "I do have friends"
• You get parental chirping advice
• You record others chirps and pass them off as your own
• You frequently misspell your insult
• You have to explain yourself on why something was awesome
• You play a Pally in WoW
• Your voice is so high pitched I think awful things are happening every waking moment
• Your stories to explain your awesome skills happened at a time no one was able to witness them 

And finally

• You believe your headset gives you super powers

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you all learned a little something.

Diablols Happy Anniversary

Happy Victoria Day Everyone, well mostly to my commonwealth brothers and sisters everyone else it is just like any other Monday. So what is there to celebrate this Monday? Well really not too much but on the 15th we did have the anniversary of Diablo III and with it my favourite animator over at Carbot Animations gave us a great episode of Diablols. So check it out if you haven't seen it and have a great laugh.



Moment of silence for Deckard can now be taken.

Ask Gauss

Sunday and here in good old Canada it is Victoria Day weekend. What does that mean? It means it is a long weekend and there is no work tomorrow. So sorry to all those non Canadians out there who don't get Monday off. Regardless of long weekend or not though it is Sunday which means time for some questions. So let's get to it.

Do you  feel graphics are too important in games now?

Honestly there are games that have great visuals and the game is not that great or not one that I would enjoy, but I don't think the makers of those games concentrated on graphics that much. There were days when games would have amazing visuals and that would be the selling point, and the game itself was awful. I really believe those days in gaming are behind us and isn't a true excuse anymore. Now if the story or gameplay is bad no one ever thinks they focused too much on the graphics it really just is the game was bad.

When do you think we will see Heroes of the Storm Beta and release?

I really think it will be going into beta soon, and because from what I have seen from the alpha it appears to be going well. I don't expect it to be a long beta and mostly just for server strain and such. Which makes me think we may not even see a closed beta they might hop right into an Open Beta. The main thing which needs to be finished before the Beta though is the development of the ranking system. They want to do this right. They have had practice with Warcraft III, WoW, and Starcraft II to develop a matchmaking system that works, but they also need to take into account a system which will also match singles into a team system effectively. Blizzard always wants to do things the best they believe possible which is why I believe this has taken longer than many have expected.

How do you plan to spend D3's Birthday?

Farming legendaries, and hopefully ones which my DH can use.

There are the question for the week thanks to everyone who sent something in. As always couldn't be possible without your contribution. Long weekend or not enjoy what is left of it.

Be A Useful Tester

Friday! End of the week and what is everyone up to? Around here it is the start of the long weekend, which is never a bad thing. Really who doesn't like a long weekend? As we approach this weekend I am sure many of you which have been granted access to the Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha will be having a blast playing it. This is a good thing but it is important to remember it still is in Alpha this isn't the final product of the game. This brings me to this week's Reader Post submitted by Vittorino. He has a lot to say to all you testers out there something I think is extremely important.

I don't participate much in discussions on the forums, nor am I a streamer. I don't make videos to show off my skills to the community because, if I'm honest, I'm not really that good at the game. What I am good at is testing software. I'm good at finding problems and exploiting them. I'm good at making the software do things that it was never meant to do, and then report those things in great detail so that they aren't done in the final product. That's my job. That's how I make my money every day, and it's what I love doing. I've been a software tester for about 6.5 years, and a gamer for close to 30. I've participated in several alpha and beta tests for various games through multiple genres. Elder Scrolls Online, Diablo 3, D3: RoS, Final Fantasy 14, LoL, DotA2, Hearthstone, and WildStar just to name a few of the more recent ones. It's safe to say that I speak from a position of moderate experience.

My complaints aren't with Blizzard or with the game. They're with the whiners. The people who moan and groan about the state of a game that is, by the creators' admission, only partially complete. The technical alpha isn't the time to gripe about how difficult it is for you to earn gold. It's not the time to whine about the lack of map variety. You shouldn't be focusing on which maps you don't want to see in competitive play because the game isn't finished so there can't even be any competitive play. 

We're in the Alpha stage. We're being given the opportunity to help Blizzard make the best game possible, and far too many of us are squandering it complaining about not being able to purchase all of the Heroes fast enough. This isn't just a chance to play the game early. This is a chance to make a game that is fully functional as well as a lot of fun to play. There are more important things to worry about beyond your gold stacks or how much you hate the Haunted Mines map. Not getting credit for your Hero quests, for example. Or yesterday's issue with F2P Heroes being locked. Certain Heroes being underwhelming, for example:

• Sgt. Hammer really shines in siege mode, but takes too long to get in or out. She is so weak everywhere else that she's not worth playing most of the time.
• Lili has a nearly broken spammable heal with weak Heroic abilities
• Falstad is squishy with a ridiculously situational stun that also stuns him for the preceding 1.5 seconds

Feedback like that helps. Seeing a fresh "I don't like this specific thing" post on the forums every day doesn't help, especially when it's not accompanied by any sort of helpful criticism. Unless you've got idea on how to improve the system, you're just whining. Use the alpha to help them fix problems with the engine or the mechanics, not to gripe about how much you don't like playing Cursed Hollow.

So enjoy your weekend if it is a long one or not, but remember testing is not the same as complaining.

Destruction Is What Makes Life Worth Living

So I figured I would expand on yesterday's list with a little explanation. What truly makes a villain a good villain? This seems like a simple question, but really is quite complex. I would argue it is much more difficult to create a great villain than a hero. 

Heroes? Well heroes simple do good based on normally a single line of motivation. Villains? They need a more complex driving force. More so than a complicated backstory designed to give him depth, a villain needs one thing: presence. When center stage, all eyes must be on him, and when absent, the looming threat he possesses must be noticeable in every corner of the world.

Sure some villains are evil just for the sake of being evil. The Joker is probably the best example of this sort of villain, but what do we truly know about him? Not much really and that is the most intriguing thing. What was it that made him this way? What really is his motivation.

To me a true villain has to be truly evil. They can't have any good motivations behind them that happen to cause harm on others. Illidan is the prime example of this type. Truly he has the best intentions and wants to be the hero but his process is what makes him appear to be the villain. While comparing this to someone like Sephiroth and he just wants everyone to die because he believes it is the right thing to do. In his eyes no one deserves to live.

The most interesting thing about villains to me is always what brought them to that point. No one is evil just because they are evil. At least no one who is a villain you love to be up against. It really is the motivations which keep us on the edge of our seats waiting for more, waiting to know "why". I have found myself disappointed in games for the very reason that question wasn't answered. You want to know you want to even for a second want to see things from their side and be in their shoes. 

The greatest villains are the ones we remember. Which haunt us, and will always strike fear just with the simple mention. We remember them because of what they put us through and we won't forget them because of what they went through to get to that point.

What You Remember, That Is The Illusion

Here we are smack dab in the middle of the week unsure of not only what has already happened but also unsure of what is to come. Truthfully though if we knew would it really be that interesting? Looking back on the lists I have done I was quite surprised at what lists I have done. I know I always try to put them into contest, but really why have I never done a best villain or best hero? Then came the question which to do first? Everyone loves a villain so why not. So here are the 5 best Villains in gaming according to me

5. Kefka - Final Fantasy VI

He may not have super powers or any truly special abilities but he is probably the best psychopath ever in the hostory of gaming. I get people who say he is a somewhat joker rip off, but really he is a better Joker then Joker could ever hope to be.

4. Ganondorf - Legend of Zelda Series

There may be countless Links who take up the sword, but there will ever only be one Ganondorf. I am not ever the biggest Zelda fan and I know the impact of such a character to gaming. He is the definition of the classic villain type and pulls it off even in the current gaming world.

3. The Queen of Blades - Starcraft, Starcraft Brood War, Starcraft II

Notice how I didn't include Heart of the Swarm. It is for the very fact that she isn't the same person who murdered countless people in the pursuit of vengeance and destruction. One could say she is one of the only villains to truly win, as we saw at the end of Brood War. She was the Villain you were terrified of and also the one which you just want to see more of.

2. Arthas Menethil - Warcraft III, The Frozen Throne, Wrath of the Lich King

There truly are not many heroes who have fallen as far as Arthas has. He was supposed to be the protector of the light, but was the one who almost destroyed everything. He was calculated and diabolical. He also would have one if it wasn't for the precious Light, he once protected, getting its revenge. 

1. Sephiroth  - Final Fantasy VII

A great villain is one whose name only needs to be spoken and everyone nods their heads. Few villains have the power to be recognized from people who have not even played the game they came from. If there was a picture of someone beside villain in the dictionary it would be him.

There you have it this week's list all wrapped up for everyone to begin complaining about. This is actually one list I actually thought about making larger just so many I had to leave off, and doesn't feel right to do so. So go ahead let me know which you would have put on.

You Fail At Dark Souls II If...

Fail Day! Yes it is that day of the week isn't it. I thought it would be amusing for this week's Fail Day to go with something which it is not only pretty hard not to fail at, but something so many can relate to if they have had the pleasure. If you haven't had the pleasure then what are you waiting for.

You Fail At Dark Souls II If...

• You think the game is unfair
• Your skills in rage need work
• You consume souls you get from bosses
• You have this thing with attacking wooden chests
• You keep talking to merchants then don't get the hint when they leave
• You think going to the tower of flame early is a waste of time
• You think deaths will get easier
• You have no idea what is going on at any one point because you really don't pay attention to what is around you
• Anytime you died it is because something is OP
• You commit suicide when you are invaded
• You have been praying for unlocked bonfires
• You use a mule
• You got directly into a fetal position when an invasion happens

And finally

• You think it will get easier

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you all got a kick out of it. Now you can return to your rage through.

Death By Design

Yes Monday is here I know I know you really didn't want it to be. Welcome to the club which no one really wants to be a part of. Anyways, let's forget about all the Monday grumbling and just get to the days events, and by the days events I mean showcase everything for all of you to see for Machinima Monday. Now I don't normally recommend recruitment videos for WoW guilds mostly because it would appear like I am pumping a guilds tires. This guild recruitment video by Death by Design is really something special. I don't know much about their guild but I do know this machinima is extremely well done and presented. Now if I was interested in finding a guild this would definitely spark my interest, which truly is the point is it not? So have a look and maybe you will be as impressed as I was.


Enjoy your Monday

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Damn that weekend went by rather quickly didn't it? Seems almost like it didn't even start yet. If you remember it or not though doesn't change the fact that it actually is coming to an end. Also means rain or shine I will be here answering some questions. So why not get right to it.

Do you think Heroes of the Storm will be a game for casual MOBA players and not professionals?

I really don't know people's obsession with this. I really don't get the arguments about how because you don't have a carry that the game isn't as skillful. Heroes requires so much more team play and organization. One player on either side although can be a better player and can be seen as such. Will never decide a game. Heroes wants the team to be the focus not on if such and such a player farmed enough to get ahead and crush the other team.

Besides that I think people are reading too much into how the game is right now. There is no ranked play in the alpha so every regardless of skill level is playing against others. So it is obvious the game seems easy to the "better" players. There really is no coordination in the current build and that is intended. When things get into a beta it will become much more clear the game will be for everyone. You know like every Blizzard game? 

Are you planning on picking up and reading War Crimes?

I have it and will be reading it. I have always enjoyed the Garrosh character and I am really interested in how his story is being developed. I don't think I will be disappointed but I will be sure to let you all know if I am.

The story itself should also have great insights into the new expansion and how it will evolve much like The Shattering did and to a lesser extent Tides of War. You may say high hopes but really I think with everything that the expansion is going to offer us there better be a pretty good plot which brings us to it, and not just something that was thrown together and it is hoped no questions are asked about it.

Best thing you have seen all week?


You are welcome.

There you have it some questions answered for the week. Hopefully the answers were worth it. Enjoy what you have left!

Shall We Moderate?

Wow it is Friday already that really seemed to get here rather quick didn't it? Not that I think anyone would complain about Friday's coming out of nowhere. Seems like a win-win situation to me. Something which really isn't a winning situation at all is Public Games in Diablo. For every capable person you may find there is going to be countless ones who are just wanting to be carried. Part of the reason I stay away from them in general unless it is normal bounty farming. Others though play in the mall the time like Bolkain who has submitted this week's Reader Post and has a suggestion for how things could work to improve the experience for everyone involved.

I frequently join T6 games with the hopes of a rift being open because I usually always open them and I run out (and am too lazy to farm). I have this problem occur to me many times recently. I join, and I now start the game by checking out the gear people wear. I check out the character sheet DPS. I know it's not a good way to judge, but I also look at their items to see if they can handle T6. When a monk who uses crippling wave with concussion rune tells me he is in game and helps by lowering their defense with 200k DPS and 2 mil toughness, I take it with a grain of salt. I don't say anything, and see inside the rift what they can do. Once I see them get one shot by an arrow or something, I proceed to tell them in kind words that their gear isn't good enough and they should consider going to a lower torment. In no way do I say this in a bad way, because I know no one likes attitude from some stranger when they may just be a casual gamer. When elites come and they die like a billion times and I eventually clear it, I tell them again, kindly, that they should reconsider. Many times I do this to get to 70-80% of the rift by me solo clearing with 1-2 people on my back. And I guess when they have enough, they kick me. I get told I am getting kicked. For carrying their game to the rift guardian (or almost), for stating kindly that the highest difficulty in the game isn't for them. 

So, I find that recently more people do this. I join T6, I tell people that they aren't ready, and they kick me. Usually 1-2 people every game. Their reasons for being in T6 with less than 50 paragon and lv 60 gear sometimes are as follows: "I want to have fun", "Want to try it out", "Carry me", etc etc. I know what I am about to say will probably be never implemented, but paragon levels should be used to exclude people who have hit 70 recently from being able to do higher torments. Some kind of restriction needs to be in place. I play this game a lot, but am I no means hardcore. But going through T6 and getting kicked. Keep getting in these situations where I am the bad guy for playing at the hardest level. I hate being the stickler, but I hate even more that when I tell them kindly, the truth, that I get kicked. Everyone knows unless you are godlike, higher torment is no joke (especially with 4 people). Spending sometimes up to 25 mins for 1 rift to be kicked... It is not fun. I already have to put up with the loot system being broken (finding Tal's armor on a WD, or strength gloves on DH, but we know the 15% error or whatever so I'll put up with it) among other things in search of gear everyone else seems to find so easily. Please Blizzard, I ask that you read this and think of something. If I have to put up with more people blatantly wanting to be carried in T6 just to be kicked at the end, I don't know how many hours I can log into this game before I move on. I do commend Blizzard for all the new things they are doing and the patches I just want this game to be the best it possibly can be.

As always thanks to all the submissions couldn't be possible without all of you contributing. Hope your weekend is a good one!

Recycled Warfare

So I never make it a secret how I have a distaste for Call Of Duty games. This really has nothing to do with the toxic community it has. Although it is only so much you can take hearing kids voice crack when they tell you they banged your mother all night. It also has nothing to really do with how the games style isn't of interest to me. I can appreciate FPS games for what they are. They are never going to be my favourite games or ones I will be playing non stop, but I know a good game when I see one. So what is it really then?

Well it is simple they release the games so close together with at most minor changes and repackage it as new. Ea even changes more for their yearly sport games then the changes in the CoD games. Most games release new maps and changes this minor in patches. You know patches, which are free. Or sometimes in expansions or DLCs for a fraction of a cost of a brand new game. Not only do these games have DLCs with even less content then most games they still release these "new" games at a yearly rate. They also charge new price as in $60+ for these games, which is disgusting.

Now there will be people saying well people are buying it so they will keep doing that, and that is true. Doesn't mean the practice is correct though. Do you think people will complain if they paid less or if it was just some sort of addon pack? This doesn't even mention how horrible the gameplay of these "new" games seem because it is just a patched up older game.

This is the kind of practice the gaming world needs to rid itself of. It is disgusting and won't stop while people are still participating. We as gamers need to let these companies know it is not ok.

No Old Friend, You Have Freed Us All

So here we are in the middle of the week where I was just sitting around and thinking. I know can be a dangerous thing to do at times. I wasn't really thinking about this  week's list, but then it did come to me making a decision about it. I was thinking about how cinematics have become just an important part of the gaming scene. It used to be it was all about the credits and what you would see before the final "The End" showed up. Now we don't just have cinematics at the end of games they are all throughout. So with that I thought about what are my favourite cinematics of all time? Are they ones which served for great story telling? Ones which just had the epic feel? Or Ones that just made you want to play the game? Well let's find out shall we?

5. Letter To Claudia


One of the best intros to a game you will ever find showcasing the skills of one of the best characters ever in gaming history. This cinematic shows what it truly means to be an Assassin and really makes you appreciate what you did in previous games to get to this point, this revelation.

4. You Cannot Judge Me


Tyrael is one of the most beloved characters from the Diablo franchise and seeing him as a mortal is extremely weird and feels off once you find out it is him. This cinematic really is the definition of epic and has the line no one will ever forget even if they forget everything else about the game itself.

3. En Taro Tassadar


There are few cinematics which give you "dem feels", but this is certainly one of them. I have not known anyone who knows even the most minuscule knowledge of Starcraft who doesn't love Tassadar. There are characters in games who would do anything for their people, but would they give the ultimate sacrifice for everyone because they knew it could only be them.

2. Final Fantasy VIII Intro


Without a doubt the greatest into to any game, and I challenge any game to top this. This game cinematic is one that introduced a countless gamers to the world of RPGs. Every time I watch it I want to start of a game of Final Fantasy VIII. Even though I know everything about it. It still has that power, which really is remarkable 

1. Grom Kills Mannoroth



You see Tassadar was basically a God amongst mortals. He could do anything and chose to sacrifice himself because he knew it was the only way. Grom was nothing like that. He was the Orc who started the demon curse, which lead to enumerable horrifying acts. Some would save he doomed the Orcs to the life they found themselves in. This is not only the moment of his redemption it is the moment which allowed the Horde to exist. Lok'tar Ogar Grommash Hellscream.

There you have it my favourite Cinematics. There were so many to choose from and realyl I feel bad about leaving some off the list, but 5 means 5. Let me know what you all think, which would you have included?

You Fail At Mourning Hardcore Deaths If...

Fail Day, but not your ordinary Fail Day. One which leaves you with a heavy heart. Sunday night I entered a Rift looking to get some more Set Pieces for my Hardcore Demon Hunter. Sadly though she didn't make it out, as you can see from the screenshot above. So today's Fail day is all about Hardcore Deaths and the proper practice.

You Fail At Mourning Hardcore Deaths If...

• You make jokes or poke fun at any deaths before 10 minutes have passed
• You don't sit and stare at the screen hoping it didn't actually happen
• You don't archive your hero
• The first thought which comes to your mind is stupid lag
• You don't go through and think about how the death could have been prevented
• You vow to never play hardcore again
• You call Customer Service demanding they revive your character
• You cannot laugh about the death later
• You never thought the death was going to come
• You might actually be sadder about that Calamity you had equipped
• You don't remember all the times you cheated death before this point
• You forgot about your promise to protect Marco
• You are not proud of your hall of Fallen Heroes

and finally

• You died in the same way you had in the past

There you have it this week's edition of Fail. Another Demon Hunter has been started the IV will keep the tradition alive. So to all the fallen Hardcore Heroes I salute you.

Best Ceilings

Monday...Yes that is the day we find ourselves being stuck on at the moment. I assume you have had your moment of silence for your weekend. If you haven't this post isn't going anywhere so take it. With all of that out of the way it is time for me to showcase something after all because it is Monday. This is different then the normal things I would showcase more so a pointless top 10 I actually found interesting. Wowcendor really doesn't countless of pointless things and they normally all are quite entertaining. So take a few and enjoy the top 10 ceilings in WoW

 

Now back to whatever it is you are supposed to be doing.

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Here we go the first Sunday of May and maybe just maybe see the sun shine for the first time since Thursday. So what does one do on a day like today? Well doesn't matter really, but I do have to answer some questions first. So let's get that over and done with.

Do you think anyone will ever be happy with Diablo 3?

I think there are plenty of people happy with Diablo III. I have enjoy RoS. You can see this easily by the amount of characters I have leveled on Hardcore and Softcore and the amount of time I have put in. There is always this vocal group of people in any community which will always have something to say. They will never be happy even if they are given exactly what they want. This people may have 200+ hours into a game and complain it is awful and they want more. Diablo III and its expansion are great games you would be hard pressed to find anything close to the same quality for a loot driven ARPG. This is why I hate this Diablo is the popular thing to hate. You don't like the genre then so be it but don't say a game is bad just because you think it is the cool thing to do.

Do you think we will get any information on Legacy of the Void?

I am hoping Blizzcon will have the big reveal for that. I expect Heroes of the Storm to be in Beta maybe even close to release and same goes for WoD. This would really only leave Legacy of the Void as really the only new thing to be coming into its own. I not only have big expectations for the expansion itself but for Starcraft as a whole. This expansion will really be the determining factor of where the series is going, and truthfully where the RTS genre is going as well.

My monk died in Hardcore today.

Lies monks don't die.

Questions answered. Thank you to every who sent something in. If they didn't get answered on here you will still get a response so don't worry, and maybe next time it will get on here. Enjoy waht is left of your weekend!

What is Bravery, Without a Dash of Recklessness

Now Dark Souls is mostly a reminder video games cans till be brutally difficult but yet still fun. What many people don't realize is the story behind Dark Souls itself is very complex and interesting. There is also a great deal of mystery with practically everything. So as always when there is mystery it leads to discussion about what is the truth behind everything. This comes in perfectly to this week's Reader Post where Digken has his own theory. Now truthfully I am not normally a fan of it was in their head or they were sleeping or dying in a hospital or such and such sort of theories. Why? Because truthfully anything can come down to that and it also seems like a silly way of ruining a story. On the other hand Digken makes quite the point on how this could go well with the Dark Souls Story. Now obviously there are slight spoilers here so keep that in mind if you keep reading.

In Dark Souls, you are locked in an asylum. But why an asylum? Because you were an undead? cursed? Or perhaps this is all just in your head and that in fact you are crazy and EVERYTHING in Lordran including escaping the asylum was all just in your head. To think about the Dark Souls world, to be cursed. To be able to die over and over is impossible but inside your head what is not possible? 

If you think about how the game was designed storywise, it is imaginative yet simple. What do I mean by simple? Simple as the story doesn't present it to you but rather with the lore in items descriptions. If you were the one in asylum, say you went hollow and the entire journey in Lordran is your imagination. This explains how the npcs do not tell you the detailed story. Only bits of lines of dialogue. As for the item descriptions, memories perhaps from his old life? This theory could explain the vicious cycle of NG+, and NG++, so on. You never actually left the asylum and everything was in your head.

In Dark Souls 2, you begin with an eerie introduction where this old woman is telling you about a murky place , a dream perhaps? A woman holding a baby starts to melt and you appear on the ground of a raining forest. Suddenly, you appear on the door of the firekeeper. Perhaps you never got up from that forest, perhaps you already went hollow in thinking there was a place called Majula and some goal you had to go on to break this curse of the undead in order to keep going. If you didn't realize, every npc you meet has some form of memory loss. Perhaps this is a reflection of youself. The process of losing your own mind and that you already went hollow. And wasn't it weird that you could choose a female character or male character AFTER you meet the fire keepers. How the hell can this be possible? A possible explanation is that the moment you started the journey in things betwixt, you are already in your own imagination. 

Quite interesting indeed. Not saying I agree but really is something to think about. Things go together pretty well. I would like to thank Digken for the submission and everyone else who sent something in. Enjoy the rest of your Friday and obviously for the coming weekend.

The Passion Which Unites Us All

Today I want to be slightly serious. The world isn't ending so don't worry, and you also aren't dreaming so don't bother pinching yourself. I really just got the itch to talk straight up about something. So that's what I am going to do.

I am often asked why I have such a passion for gaming. Why really is the question. Ever since I was little I enjoyed the thrill of being able to do something I thought was difficult. When I beat such and such a level  keeping at it until it drove me crazy. As I grew older I learned to appreciate other things within games. The setting, the music, the characters, and how they all came together. It was still about having a good time and enjoying it, but became so much more than that. It also became more about those who you played with and those who you could talk to about your experiences.

One of my favourite gaming experiences was the first time I logged on World of Warcraft and really was there within Azeroth. Such a simple thing, but seeing the places not only I read about and played in other games brought to life around me. It really was something which truly is hard to describe. So yes I have a passion for gaming. I would argue though everyone who truly games though does.

Gamers are some of the most vocal people in the world. EA was voted the worst company in America why? Because gamers were angry and they let it be known. Every moment I game just like you is your time and you want to feel like your time was worth it. If you enjoyed something you want others to know you did and will tell them. I bet there has been countless times when you have approached someone saying "You have to try this", or "Simply amazing". Just like there has been times when you did waste your time and you want no one else to do the same. You are vocal about it, you are passionate and respectful of yours and other gamers time.  

We all have this passion. Once you get a gamer stating his opinion it doesn't stop. It doesn't matter if you play on such and such a system, like those types of games or won't go near anything with this or that. We all are gamers and that's why we keep at it that is why we spend our time doing something we love doing. To take something from my Maple Leafs it really is "The Passions Which Unites Us All"