Just last week the new Game of Thrones RPG was released. After looking at reviews and trailers I went out on a whim and brought the game.
The gameplay is absolutely horrible. The graphics are absolutely horrible. The voice acting is absolutely horrible. However, the story is quite good. From listening to interviews the team behind GoT worked extensively with George Martin and it really does show, the storyline is truly gritty just like the books.
In the game, there are two leading characters which have their own separate story-lines at first until later in the game they merge. This is a very interesting technique, and the developers have used this to great effect. Often creating cliff hangers to make you really want to see what happens next.
The two main characters are:
Mors the knight from the Night's watch. Whom receives a request from the King's hand. (Currently Jon Arryn, who died at the very start of the first book)
Alester a man who ran from his duties at the first born son and became a Red priest.
Through out the game your also explained events about their past which really adds depth to the characters.
Sadly, the rest of the game is a shocker. The combat is largely just picking the enemies off one by one. There is very little tactics. Although, the game does try hard by introducing skills that have extra effects depending on the enemy's status. Ie, If enemy is bleeding an attack may do extra damage. However to actually cause these effects (like bleeding) is unlikely. If not impossible most of the time.
The graphics, whilst they look terrible, they also look as though the developers have taken the time to read through the book and recreate the imagery as much as possible. The North really does give you the impression that its a horrible place to live.
The only decent voice actor so far is Varys voice acted by the actor who plays Varys.. But he does a fantastic performance. The rest of the acting is shocking however. Really just terrible, I've found myself spamming space bar as soon as I read a sentence just to avoid listening.
On the whole, The Game of Thrones RPG is decent. But only if you already love the books and don't mind playing through boring sections of combat just to get to the juicy story.Its a shame, their are some fantastic moments in this game but its not a AAA title and lacks polish. So really, wait a few months, and buy this for sale on STEAM.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Criticize my writing!
I'm just interested in knowing what you think of my writing skills, don't be afraid to let loose, I'm just looking for honest constructive criticism, for understanding on what to improve. So leave a comment below, it'll be much appreciated!
Glitch
Glitch is a casual MMO by Tiny Speck. Now, often gamers shudder when they hear MMO and Casual in the same sentence. My self included, until Glitch I only ever thought of these casual games in the same vein as Facebook and many iPod games, with utter disgust and contempt. Glitch is honestly a fantastic game. Something to pick up and play for 30-60 minutes. Although that often turns into several hours.
Glitch has absolutely no combat. That closest you get is PvP 'games' with goals like capture the flag or King of the Hill. Instead it prides itself on crafting and recently, housing customization. The crafting is honestly the best I've played. Ever.
You are automatically given crafting recipes depending on skills that you've learnt ( These skills are learnt with the same skill system as EVE), and often these recipes contain multiple steps.
For example, to make a bed, you need:
- 3 Wood posts
- 8 snails (metal screws)
- 1 general fabric
- 240 fibres
- 8 boards.
Now, the boards are made by cutting down wood trees, which give you planks, you can then use a wood machine to craft these planks into posts and boards.
The snails are made by mining metal rocks. The metal rocks are then made into metal ingots, these ingots are fed to a Sloth. yes, a sloth. Which chew the ingots and spit out snails for you.
The fibres are gained by brushing foxes. You bait the foxes in specific parks or reserves and then brush them. They can then be crafted in fabrics and fibres.
Then you combine these items with a construction tool, and viola! Bed is made. This can be placed in your player owned house for your own pleasure or sold.
(Home, Sweet Home)
This is just one of many actives Glitch offers, other examples are:
- You can visit Hell and travel to a bar to receive and drink 'Wine of the Dead'
-You can create your own garden, with crop plots, trees, firefly hives and more.
-You can run away from 'Ju-Ju's'
+ So much more.
However, what truly makes this game great is, the 'imagination' system. Instead of gaining EXP, you gain Img from almost every activity in the game. Img can be used to either buy 'upgrade cards' which are passive abilities and buffs for your characters, or 'imagine' usable garden items.
Intrigued? Curious? Well, great! Give it a shot, it may interest you, and in addition, it is 100% free, the only items you can purchase are costumes for you character and 'furniture upgrades' which improve the looks. The latter of which can be brought in game from other characters.
Glitch has absolutely no combat. That closest you get is PvP 'games' with goals like capture the flag or King of the Hill. Instead it prides itself on crafting and recently, housing customization. The crafting is honestly the best I've played. Ever.
You are automatically given crafting recipes depending on skills that you've learnt ( These skills are learnt with the same skill system as EVE), and often these recipes contain multiple steps.
For example, to make a bed, you need:
- 3 Wood posts
- 8 snails (metal screws)
- 1 general fabric
- 240 fibres
- 8 boards.
Now, the boards are made by cutting down wood trees, which give you planks, you can then use a wood machine to craft these planks into posts and boards.
The snails are made by mining metal rocks. The metal rocks are then made into metal ingots, these ingots are fed to a Sloth. yes, a sloth. Which chew the ingots and spit out snails for you.
The fibres are gained by brushing foxes. You bait the foxes in specific parks or reserves and then brush them. They can then be crafted in fabrics and fibres.
Then you combine these items with a construction tool, and viola! Bed is made. This can be placed in your player owned house for your own pleasure or sold.
This is just one of many actives Glitch offers, other examples are:
- You can visit Hell and travel to a bar to receive and drink 'Wine of the Dead'
-You can create your own garden, with crop plots, trees, firefly hives and more.
-You can run away from 'Ju-Ju's'
+ So much more.
However, what truly makes this game great is, the 'imagination' system. Instead of gaining EXP, you gain Img from almost every activity in the game. Img can be used to either buy 'upgrade cards' which are passive abilities and buffs for your characters, or 'imagine' usable garden items.
Intrigued? Curious? Well, great! Give it a shot, it may interest you, and in addition, it is 100% free, the only items you can purchase are costumes for you character and 'furniture upgrades' which improve the looks. The latter of which can be brought in game from other characters.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
How do you add a Blog Roll?
Just a simple blog related question. How do you add a blog roll to your blog? I love blog rolls, and have subscribed to many interesting blogs because of it., and would like to add one to my site for that purpose. Sadly, I have been unable to find out how to add it. Any help would be lovely. :)
Also, what about you, do you find blog rolls a necessity for your own blog, or blogs you read?
Also, what about you, do you find blog rolls a necessity for your own blog, or blogs you read?
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Small Gang PVP
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
This is the sound of my heart beating a thousand times a second.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
I had just joined a small gang with the Red Federation, and had been camping a gate for just a few minutes, when our scout alerted us to an incoming attack. Suddenly the Blue attacked.
(them)
2 * Frigs
1 * Destroyer
1* Cruiser
VS
(us)
Just 4 frigs
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
\
My hands were sweating, and fearful of a heart attack from the sheer excitement of my first pvp match.
They had the numbers and better ships. I locked onto their Cruiser, orbiting at 500m with my afterburn on, while I applied my webbifer on it. It tried persistently to attack me, and fail completely. It went boom. Their 2 frigs were also shot up in flame. One tried to flee, but I managed to get a lock in time and scram/web it. Although us to destroy the frig easily. The other, went for our rifter, and managed to destroy it, before he himself, went boom. Then it happened. The destroyer got a lock on me. Ahh, damn. i applied all my tanking modules praying that I would survive long enough to begin orbiting, at which point he would be helpless against me and my gang. I succeeded.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Then I popped. He had equip short range autocannons, removing my ability to speed tank him. I went pop within seconds. But the damage on the destroyer was enough. We killed it.
They numbers. We had luck. I had a great time.
This is the sound of my heart beating a thousand times a second.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
I had just joined a small gang with the Red Federation, and had been camping a gate for just a few minutes, when our scout alerted us to an incoming attack. Suddenly the Blue attacked.
(them)
2 * Frigs
1 * Destroyer
1* Cruiser
VS
(us)
Just 4 frigs
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
\
My hands were sweating, and fearful of a heart attack from the sheer excitement of my first pvp match.
They had the numbers and better ships. I locked onto their Cruiser, orbiting at 500m with my afterburn on, while I applied my webbifer on it. It tried persistently to attack me, and fail completely. It went boom. Their 2 frigs were also shot up in flame. One tried to flee, but I managed to get a lock in time and scram/web it. Although us to destroy the frig easily. The other, went for our rifter, and managed to destroy it, before he himself, went boom. Then it happened. The destroyer got a lock on me. Ahh, damn. i applied all my tanking modules praying that I would survive long enough to begin orbiting, at which point he would be helpless against me and my gang. I succeeded.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Then I popped. He had equip short range autocannons, removing my ability to speed tank him. I went pop within seconds. But the damage on the destroyer was enough. We killed it.
They numbers. We had luck. I had a great time.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
First Kill in EVE
http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=16444822#lostLoadout
Sure, I may be using a rookie ship, Since my destroyer got killed within seconds because of a drake. Sure, I may have contributed exactly 0 damage to the fight. But guess what, it still counts. =P
Sure, I may be using a rookie ship, Since my destroyer got killed within seconds because of a drake. Sure, I may have contributed exactly 0 damage to the fight. But guess what, it still counts. =P
First Week And a Bit Of EVE
Great week of EVE. Initially I sought to find a low or null sec corp that used the AU time-zone, sadly I was out of luck as their was only a handful and all required at least 5million Skills points (Skill points are trained in real time, even when your not playing, and simply advance your character depending on the skill being learnt.) So that was out of the question. I had to settle for a high sec care-bear corp, that ran frequent mining corp runs. The mining was a bit dull but was making me a couple of million ISK per day. So far good. However, just last a few days ago, during a mining corp we were attacked by a new corp member and his friend.
It was quite exhilarating, I had just spent 10 million on a new mining ship + fits, and had no way to replace it easily (I completely ignored Rule Number One of EVE: Only fly what you can afford for the first and only time) but I got out just in time. My corp mates weren't so lucky, 2 Hulks, 1 Retriever and an Orca were lost.
About 5 minutes after I screamed out loud like a hooligan, "NO MORE TO MINING, I WANT TO PVP" and joined the fantastic Red Federation of RVB. Which is one large corp that are constantly at war with each other. Although do ally to fight any 3Rd party war declaration. So far I'm loving it, I'm trained to fly a Rifter effectively enough that I can hold my own and even though I live in Australia I still see plenty of action, and as I type this there are rumours that the damned Blue Republic are gathering a large fleet of Frigates and Cruisers to camp our home system!
RVB is fantastic fun, am I losing millions and millions of ISK? Yes. Do I care? Hell no. I recommend RVB to every new player, and even recommend it to veterans whom are looking for a frequent buzz from PVP.
UPDATE: There was a HUGE battle, sadly I just missed it, by a few minutes =( Will link more information about fight when available.
It was quite exhilarating, I had just spent 10 million on a new mining ship + fits, and had no way to replace it easily (I completely ignored Rule Number One of EVE: Only fly what you can afford for the first and only time) but I got out just in time. My corp mates weren't so lucky, 2 Hulks, 1 Retriever and an Orca were lost.
About 5 minutes after I screamed out loud like a hooligan, "NO MORE TO MINING, I WANT TO PVP" and joined the fantastic Red Federation of RVB. Which is one large corp that are constantly at war with each other. Although do ally to fight any 3Rd party war declaration. So far I'm loving it, I'm trained to fly a Rifter effectively enough that I can hold my own and even though I live in Australia I still see plenty of action, and as I type this there are rumours that the damned Blue Republic are gathering a large fleet of Frigates and Cruisers to camp our home system!
RVB is fantastic fun, am I losing millions and millions of ISK? Yes. Do I care? Hell no. I recommend RVB to every new player, and even recommend it to veterans whom are looking for a frequent buzz from PVP.
UPDATE: There was a HUGE battle, sadly I just missed it, by a few minutes =( Will link more information about fight when available.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Excessive Gaming
Sadly, I have not had enough to to Blog recently, which is a shame, because I'm still loving it!
The reason for this, is that EVE is just so enjoyable for me, and has consumed every spare second I have.
This is both a blessing and a curse, on one hand its great having a game I can play for hours at a time and let it consume me, and when I do stop playing I end up very satisfied about what I have achieved. Even if it is some trivial, like high-sec cruiser mining. On the other hand it is quite horrible when I realize mid-morning that I have to wake up in 5 hours and catch the bus. It also forces me to delay RL responsibility, like, school work and study. Which I believe is incredibly unhealthy. Which is why I have had to force myself to step back from EVE and only play 3 hours at most a night.
So I ask you, have you ever become so absorbed in a game, that you have been forced to step back and take a break, or set a personal limit on playing. Or have you ever ignored RL responsibilities in order to play a video game?
PS. You can expect far more regular posts from now one, no more late night binges playing EVE for me ;)
The reason for this, is that EVE is just so enjoyable for me, and has consumed every spare second I have.
This is both a blessing and a curse, on one hand its great having a game I can play for hours at a time and let it consume me, and when I do stop playing I end up very satisfied about what I have achieved. Even if it is some trivial, like high-sec cruiser mining. On the other hand it is quite horrible when I realize mid-morning that I have to wake up in 5 hours and catch the bus. It also forces me to delay RL responsibility, like, school work and study. Which I believe is incredibly unhealthy. Which is why I have had to force myself to step back from EVE and only play 3 hours at most a night.
So I ask you, have you ever become so absorbed in a game, that you have been forced to step back and take a break, or set a personal limit on playing. Or have you ever ignored RL responsibilities in order to play a video game?
PS. You can expect far more regular posts from now one, no more late night binges playing EVE for me ;)
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Goals in Gaming
Since starting to play EVE I have quickly discovered the importance of goals. Goals help give you meaning and incentive to perform tasks, especially in Sandbox MMOs.
For instance, I'm currently working towards owning more Blueprints (otherwise known as recipes in most MMOs) in order to increase my ISK revenue with manufacturing. Profitable blueprints are incredibly expensive, especially for a newbie. So to get the ISK required I mine. Mining in EVE is INCREDIBLY dull. Yet, despite this, i find myself enjoying the activity, every mineral sell means I am better enabled to buy blueprints. So despite working on a normally incredibly boring activity, I feel great as I watch my ISK rise steadily towards fulfilling my goal.
What about you? Have you found a normally dull activity in a MMO that just feels satisfying when your using it to work towards a personal goal?
Friday, May 4, 2012
Why I Started Blogging
Thanks to Kaozz from Ectmmo who gave me the great idea to write about why I started this blog. Which I hadn't even thought about talking about. I've been reading MMO blogs for a few years now and have always wanted to start my own. But, I was a little afraid that it would take years before I got any readers on my blog (Let alone comments) and that I would have a huge amount of difficulty getting help with any potential problems. However, thanks to Syp and his great idea of the Newbie Blog Initiative, this is no longer an issue. So thanks Syp! :)
Another reason why I started this blog was recently I've been itching to try out EVE Online, after reading many articles on Burn Jita and Hulkageddon events. Which meant I found myself being offered a fantastic support system for blogging and a new interest in MMOs. The stars have truly aligned.
Although i haven't been blogging long, I found myself today very excited to get home and start writing, and I am looking forward to developing my writing skills and making this blog the very best it can be.
If you have ANY constructive criticism, ideas or suggestions, please email me at Toastman68@gmail.com. I have a thick-skin so please don't be afraid to voice your opinions. :)
If you have ANY constructive criticism, ideas or suggestions, please email me at Toastman68@gmail.com. I have a thick-skin so please don't be afraid to voice your opinions. :)
Thursday, May 3, 2012
First impressions of EVE
Last night was my first time playing EVE Online. I had in fact intended on posting my first impressions of EVE last night, intending to play for just 2-3 hours last night. But, well, I logged on about 5, and the next thing I knew it was 3 o’clock in the morning and despite my exhaustion I simply didn’t want to stop playing..
Last night I completed the Tutorial and Career missions for my region in space, which give you a decent impression on SOME of the activities available in EVE. I LOVED the industrial missions. Scouting for minerals needed to create schematics which full knowledge that hulkageddon is on, and some random pirate may just kill me for ‘lols’, then using those resources to create modules to sell, while it may sound simple is highly satisfying. I am generally excited to start purchasing schematics which are profitable and reasonably priced, once I have some initial capital.
Last night, I made an easy 3 million ISK, which may not sound like much, but for a complete newbie, it seems like a fortune. Enough to buy all necessary skills books for the near future with plenty left over.
I have quickly discovered that goals are very important in EVE, necessary even, to fully enjoy the game. So currently my goals are:
Short Term:
-Buy a schematic for manufacturing for a t1 frigate, module or ammunition that is profitable. (Time to get the excel running for this one ;) )
-Make 10 million ISK in a single night
-Start P.I for materials.. (i’ll need to subscribe for this one)
Long Term:
-Join an Aussie Worm-hole corp
-Make 100million ISK in total
-Start manufacturing Cruisers/Medium sized Modules
PS. A GM sent me a message asking how i’m enjoying EVE, and offered to answer any questions I have. I was quite impressed.
PPS. If you have any constructive criticism, please send me an email at toastman68@gmail.com =)
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Introductions
Hello, I'm Toastman. Thanks to the newbie blogger initiative, I'm going to try out blogging! Woo!
My generic name comes from when I first started playing WoW, when I was just a young teenager and i wanted to give my Shaman a really 'cool' name, the name has stuck with me and I still, oddly enough, like it.
I've been playing MMO for about 6 years, and started with Runescape, which I played as a youngish kid. I played for a few years before I got into WoW which I played for the entire Lich King Expansion and some of Cataclysm. Since then I've become an MMO tourist, unable to find an enjoyable enough MMO, and since 2010 I've played, in no particular order:
-SWTOR (About 3 months)
-Darkfall (About 6 Months)
-STO (About 2 Months)
-Aion (about 1 Month)
+ Many more that may have lasted just hours.
Recently i have become very interested in EVE online, especially reading about recent events. I'm going to be focusing on Manufacturing, although, it is very likely that i will create a 2nd Combat Pilot account, if I enjoy EVE enough.
While i will largely be focusing on EVE online, I also plan to write about other MMOs such as Guild Wars 2, Single Player video games, books I've recently read and enjoyed, and more.
This week, I plan to write about my first impressions on EVE, Impressions on TF2 (A team-based FPS bby Valve which i recommend to anyone with an interest in shooter games. (Plus its free! 100% free!), as well as Glitch, which is a casual MMO made by Tiny Speck. Which I'm enjoying and has just had a huge update released.
My generic name comes from when I first started playing WoW, when I was just a young teenager and i wanted to give my Shaman a really 'cool' name, the name has stuck with me and I still, oddly enough, like it.
I've been playing MMO for about 6 years, and started with Runescape, which I played as a youngish kid. I played for a few years before I got into WoW which I played for the entire Lich King Expansion and some of Cataclysm. Since then I've become an MMO tourist, unable to find an enjoyable enough MMO, and since 2010 I've played, in no particular order:
-SWTOR (About 3 months)
-Darkfall (About 6 Months)
-STO (About 2 Months)
-Aion (about 1 Month)
+ Many more that may have lasted just hours.
Recently i have become very interested in EVE online, especially reading about recent events. I'm going to be focusing on Manufacturing, although, it is very likely that i will create a 2nd Combat Pilot account, if I enjoy EVE enough.
While i will largely be focusing on EVE online, I also plan to write about other MMOs such as Guild Wars 2, Single Player video games, books I've recently read and enjoyed, and more.
This week, I plan to write about my first impressions on EVE, Impressions on TF2 (A team-based FPS bby Valve which i recommend to anyone with an interest in shooter games. (Plus its free! 100% free!), as well as Glitch, which is a casual MMO made by Tiny Speck. Which I'm enjoying and has just had a huge update released.
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