Sith, Rifts and Pandaren... Oh My!

I write to you in a state of withdrawal.  Cold turkey, if you will - my drug of choice removed from me, leaving me in a condition of perpetual longing.  Of course, I refer not to an addiction to a narcotic, or some other substance.  I refer to the Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta, which is currently in between builds and leaving us Testers shivering in a corner and breaking our F5 keys as we refresh the forums endlessly, awaiting its return with baited breath and damaged keyboards.

So, sadly, I write to you not as a Tester, but as someone who has returned to another MMO.  No no, not World Of Warcraft (although I will be discussing that shortly), but rather another I played earlier this year: Rift.

I played Rift at the beginning of this year, when the game launched (I actually purchased the Collectors Edition, not one of my wisest buys ever) and, whilst it was a decent MMO it had substantial problems - especially during the World Events - that made myself and my wife ultimately unsubscribe and return to World of Warcraft.  I am told that these problems have now been solved so, after getting an offer sent to me of a brand new Rift account and 30 days worth of play for free, I decided to take another look at it.

I'm currently a Level 12 Rogue on a PvE server (carebear, I know, but I cannot be bothered with high levels ganking in an established game) and things seem... fine.  Not thrilling, not in any way enticing me to re-subscribe at the end of my 30 days, just... Fine.  Something to tide me over, and nothing more.  And therein lies Rift's problem - it's simply "more of the same".  Nothing spectacular, no great innovations - yes, the Rifts themselves are fun, yes the PvP Warfronts are enjoyable.  But that's it.  I hate to say it, but it's Warcraft with a different skin and a couple of mild changes - certainly not enough.

It's a shame, to be honest.  Trion Games actually have a decent product with Rift, but for me at least it doesn't do anything new, or have a good enough IP to convince me to stay.  Not, for example, like the above-mentioned SW:TOR.


Which leads me nicely to my old addiction: World Of Warcraft, and the announcement of their next expansion at Blizzcon last week.

Yes, dear readers.  Pandaria - homeland of the Pandaren race.  Pandas, if you will.  Now, for those of you unaware of their history, allow me to quote from WoWWiki:  "The pandaren started as a creation of the Blizzard artist Samwise Didier and an April Fool's joke". 

That's right, folks.  With WoW's slowly dwindling subscriber numbers (they've lost almost a million subscribers this year - a drop in the ocean, maybe, but still significant nonetheless), Blizzard have decided to rely on a joke race to bring back subscribers.  I suppose the question is this: is it a clever ploy that will appeal to younger fans, or perhaps an even cleverer ploy to entice Chinese players to World of Warcraft?  Both, of course, could be very true, and perhaps it will work for them.

The way I look at it is this - World of Warcraft, despite its' numerous detractors, has been unbelievably successful.  I don't think anyone could have predicted the sheer numbers that have played this from it's small beginnings in 2004.  Three expansions later - two of which, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, were the biggest selling games in their respective launch years - and it's fair to say that, perhaps, World of Warcraft has had its' time in the spotlight.  Indeed, Blizzard themselves may be beginning to realise that themselves, as they prepare for their next MMO, codenamed Titan, which they believe will be their Next Big Thing.

One thing is for certain - with the upcoming launch of SW:TOR in December and Guild Wars 2 in 2012, Blizzard are going to have to up their game when Mists Of Pandaria releases.  I for one am doubtful that they can.

Thankyou for reading.  Please feel free to comment below, and follow me on Twitter @crazybladeuk to hear my daily thoughts on games, life and politics.

Must... Stop... Playing... This... Game...

As a Gamer, there are certain times in your gaming life where a game comes along, slaps you upside the head, ties your arms to the keyboard and mouse / controller and keeps you there indefinitely.  You feel compelled to play with every waking hour, the game drawing you to it like a fated moth to the flame, and nothing and no one can stop your compulsion.  This has happened to me twice before - Baldurs Gate II and, of course, the juggernaut that has been World of Warcraft.  Both these games sucked me in and would not let me go until I'd either completed it (several times) or, as was the case with Warcraft, they finally released content I no longer found compelling.

Only took six years...

Once again, though, I find myself in the same situation, and this time with a Beta.  This is where I have to be careful - there is still an Non-Disclosure Agreement in place for the game in question, so I do not in any way want to risk losing my access.  So, I will refrain from naming the game and will certainly not give any details on it.

I will, however, say the Force is strong with this one.  Very, very strong.  And God do I wish I could say more - I could literally ramble on for hours.

With the Christmas season rapidly approaching us (where the hell did this year go?), games companies are pulling out the big guns ready to take our cash and spare time away readily.  Whilst I'm not a First-Person Shooter fan - mainly because I suck at them worse than a street walker in the midst of her day job - I have to admit the Battlefield 3 v Modern Warfare 3 battle is shaping up to be extremely interesting.  We've seen tidbits of both and, frankly, no winners can yet be announced. 

Hell, either one could well tempt me online.  If nothing else, I will provide the cannon fodder for someone, somewhere.  I see it as a public service.

EA are, naturally, releasing their yearly "updates" by the shed load, all with "brand new features" and all the other advertising guff they use to sell these things.  FIFA 12, for example, has become the biggest game of the year within a week of release.  How much has changed from FIFA 11?  I would hazard a guess at "not much".  Sadly, though, consumers will be consumers; and gamers always want the newest version of a game. 

Maybe one day we'll learn.  I won't hold my breath.

It's not just EA, of course (although they do seem to be the worst of the offenders), with Pro Evolution Soccer 12, Forza 4, and many others heading our way between now and Santa's busiest day.  My money, however, will be spent on December 22nd, and a little known game called Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Be warned - Christmas is cancelled, I'm locking my doors and hiding away.

In a Galaxy far, far away...

CB

Eurogamer Expo and The Old Republic

Saturday 24th September, 2011.

"It shall be a day long remembered..."

A first games exhibition is, as myself and my wife found out this past Saturday, a strange but exhilarating experience.  The 4th Annual Eurogamer Expo was held at Earl's Court for the second year running and expected to host over 20,000 gamers in its' four day run this September, boasting many of the major current and forthcoming releases in both PC and Console gaming.

We headed down to London on the Friday night, staying at the Travelodge at Heathrow Terminal 5 (one word - bargain!) over the weekend to enjoy some sightseeing as well as the exhibition, and on Saturday morning headed into London and joined the good-natured geekville that was the queue into Earls Court.  Honestly, I've never seen more tablets and smartphones in one area ever in my life - nerd heaven!

Despite the huge amount of games on display at the Expo, I was personally only there for one game - Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Now, for those of you not aware, Star Wars: The Old Republic (or SWTOR) is the forthcoming Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game from Bioware and Lucasarts, set in the Star Wars universe in a time long before the movies and following on from Bioware's classic RPG "Knights of the Old Republic".  If that sounds like your cup of tea, click on the link above (after you've finished reading this of course!) and take a look.

Needless to say, I headed straight to the SWTOR stand, and very luckily within minutes was sat in front of an Alienware laptop, grinning like a maniac and loading into one of the Origin Worlds.  Now a little disclaimer here - I've been waiting for this game since before it was officially announced, and am planning on playing a Sith Warrior when the game is finally released but, as I didn't want to spoil the storyline at all, I decided to take a look at the other faction - The Republic - and the Smuggler class.

Now if you're a follower of Bioware in any way, shape or form, you'll probably be aware that they have been making role-playing games for many years, back to the days of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, to the epic Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises.  At the heart of most, if not all Bioware games, is a true sense of a deep story to each and every character, and even as you start your character in SWTOR, this is brought to the fore.  Now I'm going to be very careful and try not to spoil anything here, but as you click into the game world you begin on the planet of Ord Mantell, and are shown a cutscene of your Smuggler landing in their spaceship and then talking to a fellow Smuggler, before heading off to a task that they're given.  That's pretty standard stuff for an MMO, of course, but the presentation is what sets it apart from what has come before - each conversation is voiced over in full, so no reading through boring quest logs to be told to go and kill eight thousand boars, and a real sense of choice is given with each conversation.  It drags you into the game right from the outset.

And then you're into the combat.  Now, I should just prefix this with an admission of sorts - I am a World Of Warcraft player, and have been for almost six years.  Yes, yes, I know, such a bad addiction.  If you've played WoW, of course, you will know that, at least in the beginning of the game, it tends to be a case of "Kill one mob, rest, move, kill one mob, rinse and repeat...".

I am very pleased to be able to say that that is absolutely not the case in SWTOR.

Right from the first group you encounter, its three or four mobs at a time, having to use more than just an Auto Attack in order to take them out.  For the Smuggler, the use of your Cover ability is, frankly, paramount and I can imagine at later levels it will just become more and more important.  I cannot begin to describe how refreshing it is to be a Level One character and have to actually watch your health bar!!  Even at this early stage the combat feels engaging - yes, its essentially a hotkey MMO in the same vein as the aforementioned WoW and Rift, amongst many many others, but the 15 minutes that I experienced far exceeded the first 15 minutes I've had on any other MMO.

There are going to be people who feel its a "WoW clone" or something of that nature.  Are there similarities?  Sure, of course there are - but that can be said of countless other MMOs out there.  What also has to be remembered is that I saw two character levels, barely scratching the surface on what I hope will be an awesome game.

If what I have seen so far is any indication, I have absolutely no doubts whatsoever.

I'll post my thoughts on the rest of the show at a later date, taking in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and the ridiculousness of having a 40 minute demo at a games conference - yes, Guild Wars 2, I am looking at you!

I'll leave this "review" with two things - firstly, a mention to the wonderful Bioware / SWTOR team at Eurogamer who were, frankly, awesome, Stephen Reid and Daniel Eriksson in particular to whom I am eternally grateful; and secondly, leave you with this, a video of the second half of the Bioware Developer Session with Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk filmed by the awesome Totalbiscuit.  Those of you who know me will, I'm sure, recognise the guy at the front to the left and the lady sat next to him.  Believe me when I say it was an amazing feeling to be there and hear the Release Date announcement!

A Must-see Bioware Talk presented by "The Bioware Doctors"

Till next time, The Force will be with you...

CB

And so it begins...

"The beginning of all things are small..."
Cicero.

So this is it, my first blog, and as with all beginnings, I feel it is wise to begin with a greeting and an introduction.

So Hello All, and welcome to Crazyblade's little part of the World Wide Web.  Actually, it's like the little cubbie hole in the arse end of nowhere, but that's ok.  Cicero was indeed correct, and I am a patient man.  Oh, and yes, the observant among you will have caught the "arse" instead of "ass" there - I am a Englishman, a Brit if you will, so don't worry if spellings look a little strange, we just spell things correctly.

:)

So who am I?  Well, I'm a 30 something year old man from the North of England.  I'm your average joe, I guess.  A lover of movies and music and, yes, love and romance.  I'll happily face the music, but be warned, I don't dance.  At all.  Something to do with balance, and a lack of co-ordination, amongst other things.  I'll tap my feet along, but I'll leave the dancing to the dancers, thankyou very much.

I'm a big gamer - yes, adults play games too - and love a variety of genres from racing to RPGs to shooters and everything in between.  I'm sure I'll discuss games at length very soon.  I am a 'metalhead', for want of a better term, but my I-Tunes is an eclectic affair.  There are certainly the head nodding bands on there - the wonderful new album from Machine Head, "I Am Locust", being my latest purchase and an absolute masterpiece - but I'm also known to listen to soundtrack albums; a little rap every now and again; hey, even the odd show tune if I'm in the mood (and if the wife has had "Glee" on in the background! Grr...).

Am a also an amateur writer (aren't we all?) working on my first full novel currently.  It's not easy to do, but I am absolutely determined.  I hope that I can keep people up to date here.

So there we go for a first blog, and a little bit of an introduction.  Where do we go from here??  Only time will tell.  If you do like what you hear so far, and you'd like to kept up to date with when my blogs go up, and hear my daily babble on all things Star Wars, my beloved Sheffield United, and the world in general, feel free to follow me on Twitter @crazybladeuk.

Keep smiling!

CB