So…

I’ve been playing Skyrim religiously.

It’s the best. I’m also burnt out of SWTOR. It’s kinda shit now.

The Three Musketeers: shit.
The Rite: EXCELLENT.
Touch (TV): WOOO KIEFER.
Game of Thrones Season 2: FINALLY!
The Legend of Korra: about time. Decent for a kids show, but still, fills in the time between waiting for Touch and GOT S2 episodes to come out

What I suggest: get all of the above, except the three musketeers, and play Skyrim. Then maybe (perhaps) mod it to the point of no return, and profit from that.

Also, The Witcher 2 EE is now out on Xbox 360, and the patch has been released AND turned on for all PC owners of the game. You can also get a free digital backup copy of the game from GOG.com who happen to be a division of CD Projekt RED. Who possibly, is the best developer in the world. Not possibly, they ARE.

SW:TOR And PVP

SWTOR made one huge mistake – stun locks.
The thing everyone hates, yet they add in in this game which is meant to be fresh.

Don’t get me started on how one side always wins.

SW:TOR

It launches in about 2 – 3 weeks. Less if you preordered (2 weeks, 5ish days).

My main gripe is the graphics and character customisation.
The story is somewhat good. The bonus quests are annoying (like killing 45 of x, kill leader, turn in) and the main quests are nothing new. Though you have a class storyline that rocks.

It is a beta, yes. But I seriously hope quests are something new, and graphics are a lot better than what they are. I can suffer with everyone looking the same, but quests are a big thing for an MMO. Graphics also play a major role.

I kinda enjoy it. Though a Jedi tank is a pretty shit class to play. I might try inquisitor or the Jedi dual-wielding DPS class-thingy.

For a 100 million or more costing game, it looks depressing. I hope it improves. If not, I’ll have a good statuette to put on my shelf with the other collector editions I have bought, and I’ll go back to playing single-player RPG’s and the one MMO I will ever play for a prolonged period of time (EVE, though I’m unsubbed atm due to boredom.)

Fingers crossed, I hope it will improve in the next 2-ish weeks.

Heroes of Newerth

Heroes of Newerth is a DOTA-like game.

I actually bought it for $10 when it wasn’t free-to-play but either way, it’s now free to play.

The game is practically like DOTA. You get to choose a out of a bunch of heroes – strength, intelligence and agility. Support, DPS, Tank.
It happens to have an item shop – which mind you is quite good. It’s not a pay-to-win game which is a good thing. However you can purchase early access to some specific heroes before they are released to the general public.

For free to play players, you don’t get access to the whole line up of heroes, which may put you off – however I’d look for a way to get them. I’m not too sure on how you’d do that though.

All in all, it’s a fun enough game, and will entertain you for many hours. But there is a major drawback which puts me off – and that it the community.
The community absolutely sucks. Whether you’re a newbie or an expert, public games are definitely full of cancer.
If you plan on playing this game, get yourself in to a clan as soon as possible so you don’t get cancer.
I myself actually tried to find someone who could mentor me early on. But after a week of no replies I decided to withdraw the application. I felt it would be a smart move to find someone to teach me the ropes, me being a 1500 PSR and all. But the players with a lot less PSR than I were getting mentors left right and centre. I’m still looking for a good group to get myself in to, but alas it may not be for me.

The game runs native on Linux, Mac and Windows. I’ve yet to find a bug or crash whilst playing it on Ubuntu 11.04, which is great!

Rating: 6/10. It’s fun, the graphics aren’t bad. But the community stinks.
I’ll definitely be getting DOTA 2 though.

The Witcher 2 Review

Okedoke guys, a review for ya.

The Witcher 2 – the sequel to one of the best RPG’s in my books. Based on the books done by Andrej Whoop Whoop Bang Bang. The Last Wish, The Blood Of Elves etc etc.

Overall – the story is non-linear, as they advertised. Stunning world. Combat system is basically the same, but I like it more this time around. The game isn’t all about the combat after-all.

Chapter 1 and 2. Excellent. I loved the areas. The characters. The sexing. The killing.
Chapter 3 – a little too short. You kinda get placed right there, and then the end happens. I sometimes found it hard  to navigate around.
Epilogue – OMG THE END NOOOO.

I want more.

But overall, the minigames (save for dice) are excellent. The sexing of womens is also good. I like the story. The way the choices actually do impact (lol DA2). And the way that CDPR actually LISTENED to their player-base (insane difficulty).

Sure, there’s a rough launch. But the patch was released, and they are trying hard to appease us gamers. They practically gave all DLC to everyone for free.

Anyway, without spoilers – which is what I do. Brutally honest review. Me actually playing the game, not getting paid for these reviews. I give this a 9/10. The last chapter is a little rushed.

Happy? Yeh. Angry? No. Good? Yes.

The Witcher II: Assassins Of Kings

I’m currently playing this game.
I’d like to comment on one particular issue:
It had one bit censored for Australians, however I got mine off of Amazon, with courier delivery. In Australia on the 2nd day, at my doorstep the 3rd day. DHL worldwide. CouriersPlease locally (also owned by DHL).
But low and behold – some smart cookie has released a de-censorship patch. Go Google for it. It’s a win-win really.

I got the collectors edition. I must admit the quality of the contents is amazing. It would have to be THE BEST collectors edition game I have ever bought. You get 3 stickers, a letter, a gold oren, 2 DLC packs, bonus DVD, game guide, artbook, marble mock bust of Geralt, maybe some other shit that I’ve missed. But by far, it is really awesome.

The graphics are orgasmic. The voice acting is better, and I must give this an A+ for improvement. The story is the same quality stuff. The combat has had some overhauls – and I must admit, I like it.
The game is a challenge, however it has varying difficulty levels. I tried on hard for some of the game, and it is quite a challenge. I’m not going to touch the hardest level – where you die and have to start over.

But seriously CD Project RED are one hell of a developer. They truly listened to their community, and despite some major issues (such as the game not installing off of DVD) they seem to be doing quite well.

I’m only up to chapter 1, but I already want more Witcher games to come.

10/10 so far. Much better than Dragon Age 2

Homefront Xbox 360 Review

Ok, I normally PC Game, but I wanted to play this game on a comfy chair, and use my lovely surround sound and large TV.
Sorry for those that have just lost faith in me because of the title.

I’m currently replaying Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood so I can write a review.

BUT ON TO HOMEFRONT.

It’s set in the not too distant future, North Korea has taken over the world basically, and they are fighting the yanks. The opening scene basically tells you that much, with some shit in the middle.
Watch the trailer to get a feel.

Singleplayer: excellent, very very good. But ever so short. I wont go into detail though, :spoilers:.

Multiplayer: a breath of fresh air. Xbox dedicated servers, EXCELLENTE!
Look, some people hate it, I like it. Sure the classes -may- be inbalanced. But look at it like this: in real life, you’d die from 1 or two shots generally. So it adds a little to the realism.

It’s not Call of Duty, which is good. Lol. I think it was made by a game studio that generally wanted to make a good game. I have fun on multiplayer. Teamwork generally exceeds in this game, which is another good idea. You have ranks, and save up battlepoints for vehicles. Vehicles in games are great too.

All-in-all, ignore the hype, and get the game. For $40 off Play-Asia you can’t go wrong really.

Overall: 8/10. Singleplayers short. Graphics are a little dated. And there are -some- bugs.

Dragon Age II Review

Dragon Age II puts players in the role of a Hawke. Male of Female human, outside Lothering around the time of the blight.

You find yourself in Kirkwall after meeting Flemeth, and killing an ogre and some darkspawn.
Soon after you make a choice, and viola, you’ve entered Kirkwall with your mother and family. Depending on your choice of class, you may or may not be with all of your family.

You then spend about 3 years game (3 days IRL if you do everything) time making a name for yourself, and some other shit, and somehow become the champion of Kirkwall.
All the while, the elves are still fucked, mages are still feared. And you somehow manage to find yourself in the same dungeon no matter where you are.

You also spend some time in the deeproads, and the fade.

These are the two most FUCKING ANNOYING BITS OF DA:O.

I’m going to get right into it, without going any further into detail.

The good:
The graphics in DirectX 11 are amazing. And also easy to drive.
The fully voiced character is also another great thing.
The choices you make somewhat shape the world.
The talents and trees.

The bad:
EA have screwed Bioware over.
Story isn’t compelling.
There’s a lack of decent character customisation.
No companion customisation.
Dragon Age Origins and Awakening choices are either subtle, or not present in Dragon Age II.
Glitches in the end game.
Rushed product.

I actually just finished the game, with all side quests done. I did it in a week. The story isn’t very long, and I feel there will definitely be another product and DLC in this line-up.
EA have had too much of a say in this game, and it’s about the same as Awakening in terms of the story and quality of the product.

I feel as if Bioware has let me down. I am also seriously concerned with any future product they release. I for one was looking very forward to playing this game, but upon the first 3 hours in the game, I knew it was just wasting time.

Overall I’ll give this game a 7/10. It would receive a 10/10 if EA had less hold on it.

There’s just too much things wrong. No toolset. Lack of community engagement. And not listening to the fans.

I also try not to give much spoilers, because I like my readers to try the game themselves. But this is pretty much just a money monger game. I’d recommend getting this game as cheap as you can, don’t spend over $60 on it, or you’ll be disappointed.

I’d also like to mention – there is a NUMBER of good improvements. UI, combat, and a number of side and secondary quests which are very fun. But it leaves some things to be desired.

King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame

Neocore games made an awesome game. Released in 2009 King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame brings in elements of an RPG to a real time strategy.
While I personally have never played a game like this, I feel it has done a pretty good job of doing it.

3 days ago from the time of this post, I was looking for a game to play, because the US/AU timezone in EVE Online is a bit lacking in my current alliance. So I figure: “While I’m waiting for a Jabber alert, why not play a game?”.
I think, hey I like Empire: Total War, but even with DarthMod, before I can get towards the end of the time span with the more modern units I’ve already won the game. So maybe Napoleon: Total War might be good….
For $50 it’d be a bit of a money sink for a game with has an appalling AI, and E:TW didn’t exactly deliver.

I’ve heard good things about King Arthur: TRPWG, and for about $40 I can get the whole game, all expansions and DLC’s. Hey, and it’s got an AI way better than N: TW and E: TW.

The game, overall, is good. It takes you to the land of myth, in a time of magic. With Merlin, Arthur, Guinevere and other historal peoples from that time. It’s got a nice Chronicle to it, and the story develops as you play the game, and send your magic wielding heroes on quests, and make decisions.
While the graphics are a bit lacking, I noticed one really cool thing: the people in the units don’t all have the same face. WTF?
It is little things like this that make me like a game.

If you’re looking for a fun game, while not necessarily looking to spend a lot of money, this game will deliver.

Overall: 8/10.