What Irks Me About Elitists

"I'm logged on to an MMORPG with people from all over the world and getting XP with my party using TeamSpeak." ~ Stan, South Park, Make Love Not Warcraft

Hey all,

There's a few things that annoy me about elitist gamers.

You know the people I'm talking about: The people that have an undeserved arrogance about them whether it's because they think they can crush anyone in their favorite, often meaningless, video game or because they muse about a topic they know nothing about and sound like they are talking out of their ass. One can't help but to imagine the stereotypical guy in his mother's basement when the thought comes to mind. Maybe you consider the high-pitched third-grader yelling at you over voice chat. Regardless, I think we can all agree that elitists are a bane on the gaming world. Even if they do have the skills to back up their big mouth, no one seems to like these people. Except maybe other elitists. And is it just me or does it seem like there are more of them on GameFAQs and Xbox Live?

There are three statements that really get under my skin. They arguments come from elitists far too often, thus I have heard these disputes many times in the past. I, for one, believe that anyone who ever makes one of these remarks needs a nice Falcon Punch to the mouth those words spurted from.

You can't compare Game A to Game B (because Game A is a Genre A and Game B is a Genre B.)
My simplest rebuttal here is that anything can be compared to anything. All things have properties that can be measured in some way. I can take two completely different objects -- for example an apple and a blimp -- and point out plenty of similarities and differences between them. I can compare their sizes, colors, textures, compositions, uses, and so on. Similarities? Perhaps they're both shiny or both irregularly shaped. If I can compare two objects that seem absolutely dissimilar, how can two things that are both games become incomparable? You want more solid proof that two very different games can be compared? Game of the Year. Writers and critics had to determine the better of Portal 2 and Skyrim this past year, so they had to make some kind of comparison to come to their respective decisions.

Game C can never be a competitive game.
I heard this disputed a lot when Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released, and it infuriated me to no end. If there is anyway to defeat or outscore another person in any kind of game, then chances are there are at least two people out there who are willing to make a reasonable wager for a chance to win something. That's enough for me to consider a game competitive. "Reasonable" is the key word. A game on which you would make no more than a $1 wager or requires too much luck to reliably produce a champion through skill does not produce reasonable wagers. Truly, the elitists argued Brawl could not be a competitive fighting game because it lacked the key elements of a fighting game. These disputes are inherently flawed not only because it did become a competitive game but also perhaps due to the elitists' narrow view of the game. If you do not consider it a competitive fighting game, then do not place so many labels on it.

This joke from Game D isn't funny anymore.
Just stop. Stop trying to sound cool because you're not. You know in your mind it's still funny, so don't try to jump on the bandwagon with all the others haters. That 1000th "Can't Let You Do That" or "Arrow in the Knee" gag is still just as funny as the first. If you honestly are tired of these jokes, then I feel sorry that you lost your sense of humor. I guess only the newest of memes amuse you, huh?

And I am not an r-tard!

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Are Video Games Art?

 
Hey all,

The question has been asked many times in recent years, but seeing and going over all my footage from the Art of Video Games exhibit has brought that inquiry back to my mind once again. The debate was first brought to my attention by Roger Ebert in an article a couple years ago. The critic attacked video games and egregiously denied that they are and can never an art form on any level, let alone that of paintings or fine cinema. Apparently he's been on and off the bandwagon ever since then. When I first read that article I found many holes in his argument and had always wanted to rebut his flawed logic, but I neither had the audience nor the means with which to impart my wisdom in the past. It is true that I agreed with little of what he had to say, but I have to agree with the message he was sending, at least in part.

Roger Ebert does start the article by conceding one important fact. He would consider that his game of chess may fit the definition of art. Of course, he clearly states it is the Wikipedia definition of art, so it really doesn't hold much water. Yet he does see the potential for games of any form to be art despite that a basis of his argument is that "One obvious difference between art and games is that...It has rules, points, objectives, and an outcome." He goes on to say that a game with no rules simply becomes a novel or play. I know for a fact that some people love watching video games like a movie, one medium that he defends as art. I have fond memories of my cousins sitting on the couch watching me play Shenmue, enthralled by its style and story. He makes the point that once you interact with a medium, then it cannot produce art. I find this hard to believe though since one can act in a play or movie, recite poetry, or sing a song. And how is there not a goal in any of this? The goal for writers, actors, and singers is to portray the emotion or story of their piece. Finally, he makes the statement that George Melies' "A Voyage to the Moon" is equally as simplistic as video games are now but vastly more artistic even though it uses limited resources. I honestly don't think he realizes how limited developers and designers truly are. They are bound not only by the hardware limitations of their games but also the nature of their medium (how much they can show at one time without lag, what they can and cannot use to make the game fun, etc.)

It is quite obvious that video games contain art. Video game companies employ huge art departments worth of people to design their games. In fact they hire more artists than programmers. (Although I'm not sure if MMORPGs create more jobs for network and server administrators than for the average game.) The art has grown more extravagant over time as well with hardware and graphics rapidly maturing in recent years to be almost photo-realistic. Music has become more elaborate as well. The "bleeps and bloops" that people like Tommy Tallarico have alluded to in the past have evolved into full orchestral numbers. Stories have also had to change with the times as now the most well-written plots make great games into the best games. Art, from the visual to the auditory to the poetic, has a huge impact in the video game world.

But can a medium that consists of art be art itself? If someone were to compile a book of the most famous and historic paintings of all time, is that book a work of art? The way I see it, the answer is "No." At it's heart the book is a logically arranged collection of artwork, which is much akin to video games. It is pleasing to look at and experience, but it doesn't require or bestow any artistic endeavor to put together a compilation of paintings. Now if such a book were arranged in a way that appeals to the senses in a unique way (and I'm not much of an artist so I wouldn't begin to know how that may be possible) then I would think of that book as art. Some games are definitely aesthetically stimulating in such a manner and only when that is the case would I call a game art.

I would consider games like Flower and Geometry Wars works of art, though Mr. Ebert would probably disagree with me on that point. Games with amazing storytelling capabilities like Shenmue and Heavy Rain could also be considered art in my opinion. However, it is hard for me to look at games like Postal or Doom and say they are works of art. Those games purely exist for entertainment purposes and appeal to baser emotions. The line is not so clear cut though: Grand Theft Auto may be fun for various inane reasons, but the series does tell some powerful stories of greed, corruption, and man's ability or desire to resist being on the right side of the law.

If games like Legend of Zelda and World of Warcraft can be massive, beautiful, well-conceived worlds in and of themselves, how can they possibly not be art?

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

You can find Roger Ebert's article here.

Argent's Vlog Episode 1: The Art of Video Games

Hey all,

I'm finally done editing the first episode of my new video blog! If you want to find out more about the past weekend's Art of Video Game's opening, check it out!

If you like this, please check out my YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/ArgentStew

Credits to: The Smithsonian Institute, The Art of Video Games, GameFest, MAGFest, Triforce Quartet, 8-Bit Weapon, Spontaneous Art, the makers of the various games in the video (Namco, Nintendo, Sega, Team Sonic, Blizzard, Bungie, Bethesda, and others)

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

First Impressions of Kid Icarus Uprising

 

"Prepare to meet the light!" ~ Pit

Hey all,

I picked up my reserved copy of today's new 3DS title and took it for a test drive once I got home from work today. Honestly, I wasn't expecting Pit's latest adventure to be classic or completely lame. Quite frankly I got what I anticipated from this game.

Kid Icarus Uprising begins with Medusa, the archenemy from the original Kid Icarus of the NES days, having come back to wreak havoc on the world once again. Palutena makes her return as well and guides Pit through various levels to defeat the forces of the underworld. She allows Pit to fly for the first part of each stage (for some reason this can only go on for five minutes or Pit's wings will burn up.) This air battle is much akin to Star Fox as Pit can maneuver around the visible field and fire his weapon at any point on the screen. Once the aerial fighting is cleared, you move to ground level for a more dungeon crawler gameplay. After that you fight a boss. It's pretty straightforward actually. Additionally many enemies come back from the old games. Reapers, in particular, are more annoying than ever. Not to mention their old theme plays until you kill them, and they last for -- what seems like -- ever.

The game can be fairly challenging. Once you reach the third or fourth level, you may find yourself hurting for life unless you learned to dodge efficiently. For those who really like a challenge or can't handle the complexity of the game, you can raise or lower the difficulty before each round. It costs you hearts to do anything but standard, but higher difficulties tend to yield better rewards. The controls start out being pretty awkward if you're not used to using the stylus as your targeting and moving mechanism. The ground movement is particularly clumsy as you must flick the stylus to start turning and press it down to stop. I got the hang of it though, and as I stated before you can make the game easier if needed until you make the adjustment.

The gameplay is enhanced by a weapons system. There are many types of weapons in the game that Pit can use, each with their distinct advantages and disadvantages. Some weapons can also boost stats such as defense and run speed. Pit can wield your typical bows, blades, and clubs or more exotic implements of wars such as orbitars. What seems out of place here are the cannons and staffs, like the Flintlock Staff, that probably shouldn't be in a game considering the setting. And what's with the Angel Bow? It shoots hearts at enemies. Hearts! Anyway, these weapons can be combined to forge new weapons. Stats get combined as well in certain ways, although I haven't figured out the pattern yet.

The dialogue and voice acting in this game tend to be somewhat cheesy. Pit and Palutena talk through most of the game. Their conversations are accompanied by anime-style pictures on the bottom screen. If you stop to look at them though, you will miss the action on the top screen and end up taking damage. Some of their speeches are out of place as they attempt to be funny with fourth wall breaks ("Dark lord? Isn't that cliche?") and out of era references ("I was trying to get my driver's license.") Most of the humor missed the mark for me, but it is worth a chuckle or two. Maybe even a guffaw. The story starts out lacking as well. For the first five chapters, you seem to be playing a mish-mash of random missions against Medusa's forces. There's not really much plot development during this time. The future chapters do seem promising although the oft dragged out light vs dark conflict comes into play.

The graphics are quite eye-popping though. It looks good for a 3DS title, and you can tell a lot of work was put into the game's display. The anime-style characters are a nice touch too if you happen to get the chance to look at them. The 3D really enhances this game, especially once you reach Pandora's Labyrinth of Deceit. Being able to judge the depth of your foes can be very helpful at times.

One last thing: Sakurai and his gang have left their footprint on this game as various concepts from their previous series are used in this game. A trophy system a la Super Smash Bros. is utilized with Play coins and rewards from each level granting idols. Unlockables are achieved with a system similar to Kirby's Air Ride and Super Smash Bros. Brawl with a grid of challenges that must be completed to obtain various upgrades, hearts, and idols.

Overall I give this game a 7/10 so far. Maybe 6.5. It hasn't quite won me over yet, but I am enjoying it. I haven't gotten into multiplayer as of this writing either so maybe that will make the experience better.

Now I only hope Team Sora has started on that new Smash Bros. game...

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Past Times in World of Warcraft

Hey all,

Today I just feel like talking about some of my past experiences in gaming. The one game in particular that stands out in my mind on this day is World of Warcraft. Although it is not the first MMORPG I ever played (the old school isometric game The 4th Coming actually gets that honor), my memories of the title once 13 million strong are perhaps some of the most vivid in my mind.

As with most newbies to the Warcraft universe and being the goody two-shoes that I am, I started off playing for the Alliance. The class that most piqued my interest at first was the Druid class. A shape shifting fighter that could take on any role in the game? I said, "Sign me up!" However, I didn't know that was the case at level 60 and it did mean I had to play as a stupid elf. It was well worth it though. The early leveling experience had me hooked. The environment for the night elves had a mystic, whimsical feeling to it. Getting up to level 10 was easy as well, partially because I rolled need on a bunch of gear in my first group. I was an unknowing ninja to a couple other lowbies. But I digress. I stared at the three talent trees in front of me, uncertain of what the best choice would be. After some quick reading, I decided to go Feral to make further progression easier.

Fast track past a weird moonkin quest and an annoying Aquatic Form journey that took me all over the freakin' place back in vanilla and we come to the activity that really made the game for me: PvP. Warsong Gulch was my battleground of choice. Being a Feral Druid with Improved Cat Form and then Travel Form for all the extra speed and pugging with some players that were dumb even for Alliance standards back then, I rapidly developed a skill and love for running the flag in the capture-the-flag style warzone. I took plenty of odd routes and tried many tricks to outrun and outwit the Horde, and it worked more often than not.

It worked maybe a little too well. I often played Warsong Gulch while on my way to 60 -- questing during the week so I could be a decent level for double honor every other weekend or so -- and there was no cross server battling at the time. That meant everyone learned each others' names. I learned later on that my Druid had caused quite a stir among the Horde players that were leveling at the same rate I was. I didn't need to hear it straight from them though; I knew I was a target. The same people would hunt me down time and time again. There was a pair of troll hunters, whom I later learned were with each other all the time because they were husband and wife. There was an undead warrior, whom I found out marked me as kill-on-sight every time we were both in the same battleground. There was an undead priest who spammed fear on me every chance he got. There were a couple shamans who would watch for me and follow me all the way back to the Alliance base, casting Frost Shock on me until they chased me down. I still shiver just thinking about all the Frost Shocks.

I didn't do much raiding at level 60. Instead I joined a PvP guild. We became known on our little server of Vek'nilash for our double Druid assault. Another druid and myself were the twin flag runners in Warsong Gulch. We rolled over most Horde groups on our server. I remember one funny thing that happened one day in between battlegrounds. While a bunch of us were waiting for the next fight, we were all dancing near the battlemasters in Stormwind. All of a sudden I hear one of my guildies start laughing over Ventrilo. She told everyone that a hunter walked up to her and asked, "How did you get your pet to dance?" It quickly dawned on all of us that he was referring to my Druid, which was in his Cat Form at the time. We all had a good laugh.

Some time before the Burning Crusade was released, I got fed up with fighting against the seemingly unbeatable Horde and jumped ship with a new Druid. It turned out the guilds of all my rivals had merged together into the Band of Thorns. It was an obvious choice for me to join them. I had fun doing PvP and raids with all my once hated enemies along with a bunch of new characters that had transferred over to our server. I stayed with that guild until I eventually quit the game.

Of course, I did start playing again. No one ever seems to really quit WoW. I changed servers and played with my cousins. I have one funny moment that sticks out in my mind from that period too. And I happen to have a video of that!

Those were the days...

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Photos from Art of Video Games

Hey all,

Before I start editing my first video blog entry, I thought I would provide a link to some of the pictures I took during the past weekend. You can find them here. Be sure to check out the rest of my Facebook page while you're at it.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

The Original Name Team (yeah!)

Hey all,

Are you tired of seeing the same names over and over in your favorite MMO? Do you hate seeing that 50th DarkAssassin on Xbox Live? So do I. That's why I came up with the concept of The Original Name Team (yeah!) I tried to find a way to define how to spot or classify such overused names in online games, hopefully to hilarious effect!

Find out more The Original Name Team (yeah!) here.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

PS: I'm sorry for the lack of recent updates this weekend. I have been busy visiting GameFest. I plan on compiling the videos of my trip and posting them. In short I plan to make up for the lazy appearance.

Quote of the Week 5

"My parents couldn't get a Wii when it first came out, so they ended up shelling out $600 for one. They told me I had to buy them games for Christmas... One night I had to get out of bed for a phone call. It was 10:30 at night. My mom asked me how to hook up two controllers for their game. I asked her what game, she told me, and I let them know that it was a one-player game. Then I heard a frantic 'I have to go. It's my turn!' and then *click*." ~ GameFest panel (paraphrased)

One of *those* people...

Hey all,

That's what one of my coworkers said when I told him I would be standing in line tonight for the new iPad. And here I am now... painstakingly typing up this post on my phone. You would figure writing up a post on Google's Blogger would be a little easier on their own Android platform. Seriously now... In any case I can take my time writing this up.

I have to wonder how well games will look on this thing. It must look cool with a 3.1 million pixel, 2048x1536 resolution display. That's better than my TV anyway. I will update later tonight when I have it in my hands. (Midnight release at Walmart, all!)

Edit: So I lied about updating last night. I've been busy getting a screen protector to fit on it right. I hate putting those things on. It's the sole reason I didn't get one for my 3DS. (I also was at the opening for the Art of Video Games. More on that later.) Anyway I am quite impressed with the new unnamed iPad so far. I haven't decided what games to get yet, but I'm sure I will get some soon. I hope anyone else who got one is enjoying theirs as well!

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

[MW3] Assault Rifle Classes

Hey all,

Continuing forward from my post on SMG classes, I wanted to share my builds for my next favorite class of guns. With assault rifles the name of the game is still versatility. The lack of close quarters firepower and hipfire capabilities of the assault rifles is compensated for by increased range. Some assault rifles have the ability to kill efficiently across the map. Depending on your choice of weapon, attachments, and proficiency, you could have a fast and powerful attack or a mobile sniper.

Note: I won't include the oft hated Type 95 in my assault rifle guide. That gun does quite well on its own. I do use it sometimes though, so I might revisit it later on.

Surprise

The trademark AK-47 has high killing power. When paired with a class made for speed, it becomes especially deadly. For mid-range effectiveness the AK-47 is equipped with the Kick proficiency and a red dot sight. For close quarters combat, Sleight of Hand is used to reload faster and Stalker for better strafing. Everything else is included for additional killing potential. The killstreaks can all be utilized to get kills while Hardline, the Stinger for taking out enemy killstreaks, and Final Stand all help the player get those support attacks faster.

Paintball

My Paintball class is aptly named for the use of Recon Pro, which lights up enemies on radar when shot. The MK14 is a single shot semi-automatic assault rifle and the most powerful of its class. While a double tap will usually kill your enemy, Recon Pro and Hardline Pro will fuel your killstreaks through assists. Two attachments are added to this gun: The silencer to help stay invisible on radar and the thermal scope for multiple reasons. The thermal scope has 3x zoom, shows enemies that aren't using Assassin, and is particularly useful in low visibility maps like Outpost. The enhanced zoom is improved with Marksman so you can see who you are shooting; however, it isn't much of an improvement so SitRep Pro or Dead Silence might be more helpful. The other two perks could potentially be switched out for Blind Eye and Assassin to bolster stealth instead. The claymore keeps you safe from behind, and the smoke grenade can hide you from enemy sight but keep them visible in your thermal scope's white hot vision. The killstreaks are there as another method of lighting up enemies on radar, but the deathstreak is arbitrary. I just use Dead Man's Hand as a gauge for when I should switch to another class.

Assault rifles can do a lot. Depending on your preferences and build you can be mobile, still, short-range, long-range, or extremely annoying. There are a long list of assault rifles to use too, so these classes are highly customizable. If you aren't very high level, I suggest trying the SCAR-L or the CM901. If you simply don't like my suggested weapons, the ACR 6.8 is also pretty popular. You really are limited only by your imagination when it comes to this class of weapons.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Check out my SMG class guide here.

My Thoughts on Pokemon

Hey all,

It blows my mind that Nintendo's monster phenomenon have existed on this side of the Pacific Ocean for 13 years. That is half of my entire life. Yes, that means I am 26 years old and talking about Pokemon. While some people may have their reservations about this series, there is no denying the significance that these colorful titles have had on the world. It used to be one could not go around without seeing a reference to the games in pop culture. Pikachu seemed to make an appearance everywhere. I still see Pokemon commonly in video game culture, whether it is the occasional Slowpoke or Professor Oak advice meme or a full-blown comic strip from sketchy drawings by novice artists to the evil masterminds behind Penny Arcade.

Underneath the kiddie connotations, the atrocious anime, and the monolith of money-making merchandise, you will find a deep and surprisingly complex RPG. At the heart of the games is the various species of Pokemon each one aligned to one of 17 elements, or a combination thereof. Part of the complexity lies in the way these elements, or types, interact with each other. Each type has weaknesses, resistances, and immunities to the other types. To be truly effective in battle, one would have to know all 289 of these interactions. I imagine not many kids can memorize the entire chart that details all the effects of attack types against defenders.

Beyond this base formula, the gameplay has been refined over time with each generation not only adding a new feature that makes the strategies ever more profound but also improves upon the changes of its predecessors. For example generation two brought about items that enhanced the battle capabilities of the Pokemon. The third generation introduced passive abilities that affected each battle differently. Other battle situations were also added over the years from double and triple battles to rotation battles and "Little Cup" battles that involved a new level of strategy with Pokemon that would rarely be used in a normal battle.

On top of the battle system is the highly customizable party system. Many Pokemon exist in the games, thus the old saying "Gotta Catch 'Em All", and they all have statistical builds and move sets that are unique among species. Even more, each individual member of that species has its own build of natural and trainable stat boosts that can also be customized if you know how breed and raise your creatures correctly. Regardless of whether or not two parties are built the same way, it is likely they defer in some small way. Some Pokemon may be lacking in one stat or one person may have chosen a different attack. All in all it is a probability geek's paradise, but most people don't need to delve into the mathematical depth.

It is obvious that Pokemon is a thoroughly refined game. Now consider that this series still adheres to a formula that most other games -- aside from clones and the occasional indie game -- no longer use. The old style of turn-based RPGs where speed determines order, attack power determines damage done, and defense dictates damage prevented is considered outdated. Many gimmicks have been used in more recent games to make the turn-based combat more interesting. For example Final Fantasy has gone through several transformations. Such revolutionary endeavors include the Active Time Battle system, the Gambit system, and the Paradigm system. Other similar games have gone in the direction of the card battle or the action RPG. Nothing else retains the straightforward gameplay and success of Pokemon.

Pokemon has been around for a long time. The series combines the simplicity of its turn-based formula with the complexity of a multiple element system and the fundamental diversity of creatures for building a party. Pokemon remains true to the roots of RPGs, yet it has topped sales charts for over a decade. The undeniable fact remains that Pokemon is a strong force in the gaming world.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Quote of the Week 4

"[Lord] Grathan's trouble, see? Big trouble. Mad scientist type. Likes weapons, cyborgs, droids, ergonomic chairs..." ~ Captain Bryn, Star Wars: The Old Republic

A Little Slow on the Draw

Hey all,

I figured I would give a more standard meme a try since I saw the departure of Peyton Manning as a fitting topic for Slowpoke to handle. Especially since Brett Favre receives so much media attention even when he isn't playing. It sounds like something someone would troll about. I be trollin', mon!

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Mass Effect 3 Release

Hey all,

I hope you're all enjoying the shiny new game! Mass Effect 3, by far the most critically acclaimed game of the relatively new year, was released today. Finally, Commander Shepard's fight against the apocalyptic might of the Reapers will end starting today. That's what I have to believe at least; I haven't really picked up the game myself. The demo was certainly interesting, and I might be persuaded to play if I had the opportunity to start from the beginning with the original Mass Effect. For now I will stick with Bioware's other recent release, Star Wars: The Old Republic.

While looking up the scores on Metacritic (which includes a perfect score from AtomicGamer) I noticed that after 603 user ratings, the game has had a completely opposite reception with its fans. The players on the website have given the game an abysmal average of 2.5/10 at the time of this writing. Some quick research shows some of the rating problems are caused by the possibility of watching a cutscene with implications of homosexuality. An option. That means people can avoid viewing the scene by looking up which option not to choose beforehand or shutting off the game and making a different choice. This inclusion in Mass Effect 3 has been popping up in news stories as well as reporters and writers are quick to criticize or question it for an easy news story. But should people really be surprised at this move? About a month ago, the media was mocking Bioware's option to have same-sex relationships in their Star Wars MMO.

Of course, it would be shallow for anyone to believe this gay sex scene is the sole purpose for the negative reaction to the game. Many players also cited their disappointment in the quality of the game, the lacking storyline, and the potential graphical issues. I'm not sure I understand where all the hate is coming from, but it annoys me to see such a storied trilogy crumble in this way.

I'm more bothered, yet not really surprised, by the fact that the Xbox 360 version of the game is compatible with Kinect. I guess I can't really comprehend how that works exactly. With the Wii and PS3 Move, you have something physical in your hands that you can point at the screen. I can imagine people waving their hands with invisible weapons donned in their non-sweaty palms. Perhaps I'm just naive and they are instituting video chat or voice recognition in the game. If not, then why are they trying to target casual gamers with a title like Mass Effect 3? I hope the rumors of filling in the story up to the current point are true, or else it was probably a lost cause.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Edit: After hearing more about it, the options given by the Kinect actually sound cool. Enhancements like choosing story options by saying them and giving verbal commands to comrades seem like they would add a new level of neat interactivity to them. Still it seems kind of lazy. Honestly, do you really need to say a command into the Kinect instead of using the left stick and pressing A?

The Waylay of Challenge in WoW

Hey all,

It pains me to see what is becoming of World of Warcraft. A post on Facebook alerted me to some of the changes that are coming to the game's new expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Blizzard has done quite well with these expansions in the past. Burning Crusade was a needed upgrade in my opinion that allowed more classes and specializations to be actually viable in both PvE and PvP. Wrath of the Lich King further improved the gameplay for everyone and even introduced a new class with the ability to tank in any spec, something considered unique at one point. The new expansion promises a neutral race and a new class capable of healing or tanking.

Partly through the lifespan of the previously mentioned second expansion, I noticed that the game had become particularly easy. From what I can tell, the game seems to be continuing this trend. Most series that are hugely popular take this approach to draw in newer players. That's my best guess anyway. The loads of complaints I have seen on forums definitely does not make me think it helps maintain a game's original fan base. Regardless of the reason, it seemed like a lot of the challenge was eliminated from the game as lowbie dungeons became friendly to careless players and raids became puggable (to an extent anyway.)

Ghostcrawler details some of the changes in his recent blog post. The first update he noted was the removal of spell resistance and spell penetration. I may be missing something, but does this make it impossible to negate magic damage? It can't be dodged. It can't be resisted. It will have to be balanced in some way. Second, he details some changes that remove some of the math from the game. For example, stat "caps" (the amount of points needed for one stat to make any further increases to that stat meaningless) will be lost. Critical hits will also do double damage as a baseline for all attacks. Third, and perhaps the most petty change, the renaming of PvP stats (like "Resilience") to something along the lines of "Power (PvP)" and "Defense (PvP)". Does Blizzard really think new players are so dense that they need to have it spelled out for them so blatantly?

All of these changes are coming after other simplifications late in the game's lifetime. Spell power and healing power became spell power which in turn was rolled up into intellect. Attack power was included with strength or agility based on class. Weapon and spell hit were combined. Armor penetration was removed. Resilience provided resistance to critical hits, damage over time, and mana drains in PvP; this stat eventually was reduced to only give protection against crits. Is it truly making the stats easier to understand when each stat improves your character in ten different ways? Is it really better or easier to balance when classes and specs that were once separate from each other now have to compete for similar gear in raids?

Gear stats were altered and boosted in such a way that dungeons were no longer challenging. I ran many dungeons with a new warrior tank, and there was little need for me to maintain threat. Most mobs were downed quickly and healing the party was effortless. Impatient hunters tended to go off on their own and dispatch enemies while the healer was drinking. They made me realize that the precision and teamwork needed to complete an instance was gone. With it went the majority of the challenge in Warcraft.

I don't blame Ghostcrawler or any of the other devs for any of these potential problems. Being a developer myself, I know that their job is simply to take whatever information or changes they are given and turn it into a working program. I do blame him for this though:

"Please note that we actually aren’t making many stat changes compared to the ones we made in Cataclysm (“armor penetration -- gone!”)" ...a few lines later... "Spell resistance is gone."

Seriously now...

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Based on the blog post here.

Post Cleanup...I mean videos!

Hey all,

I'm doing some cleanup on some of the posts I did in the past, making sure I follow the same format I put in place on any posts that are supposed to be done in the same format. In addition, I will be adding quotes to the start of all my "What Irks Me" posts in the future. For past "What Irks Me"s you will find those quotes here as well as in the posts themselves. I will have another update ready tomorrow. In the meantime enjoy the videos linked to some of these quotes.

"I was beeping to let you know about the beeping." ~ Fi Annoys Link

"There's literally a metric frag-ton of other shooters out there doing the same thing Halo does. At least a few of them are at least as good or better." ~ MeatSpace, Halo vs Pokemon

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Quote of the Week 3

"Would I recommend [the PlayStation Vita]? Well, I’d probably recommend getting an iPod Touch before buying a Vita. There are more games for the Touch and they’re a lot cheaper. But the quality of the gaming on the Vita is significantly better." ~ Mark McArdle, PlayStation Vita offers a good portable gaming experience

What Irks Me About Halo

"There's literally a metric frag-ton of other shooters out there doing the same thing Halo does. At least a few of them are at least as good or better." ~ MeatSpace, Halo vs Pokemon

Hey all,

There's a few things that annoy me about Halo.

I don't understand what made this game so popular in the first place. I don't understand why everyone who owns an Xbox owns a copy of at least one Halo game. Everyone. Even I have a copy of Reach. I've played it once since I bought it. Once. I bought this game because I knew a lot of people that played it. Apparently not enough. And having this game on my shelf has brought me shame among the ranks of my coworkers. Not to mention this game is forever etched into my profile, so there is no hiding this disgrace. But I digress. There are better multiplayer shooters out there in my opinion. Call of Duty has better gameplay. Gears of War has better action. Team Fortress 2 has a better concept (and is free.)

Why do I harbor such contempt for this game do you ask? You didn't ask? I'm going to tell you anyway. It mostly has to do with the first iteration of Halo. I found the story to be very bland and not engaging. Here's the story in a nutshell:

People on spaceship. Hero wakes up. Ship gets attacked. Kill aliens. Crash on alien planet. Some people die. Kill aliens. Move forward. Some people die. Kill aliens. Move forward. Awaken ancient evil. Some people die. Kill aliens. Move forward. All people die. Kill aliens. Move forward. Escape alien planet. The end.

I may have exaggerated about the simplicity of the story but not by much. I just don't get how a tale that is so uninteresting gets so much praise and a series of books. It simply boggles my mind.

It might have been better if the characters were any good. They were as engaging as a bucket of sand. Their personalities were all very static, there was little character development, and they were all cookie-cutter life-or-death honorable military people. It was hard to relate to any of them. Of course it must be hard to develop character when you're fighting for your life throughout the entire story. You would at least figure a cadet would grow in some way or a veteran would realize something about his platoon. But I guess that's all hard to do when the camera is focused consistently on Master Chief up until the point when you're killed off.

Speaking of Master Chief, he's as bad as the rest of them. His character doesn't develop at all; even throughout the series as a whole! He is a very generic action hero, similarly bland like the rest of the characters, and I know this is a huge complaint from some people. You could practically substitute any other action hero for Master Chief, and the game becomes much more compelling.

Except for maybe Arnold Schwarzenegger. (This video would probably be a good indicator of his role as a Spartan in Reach, jetpack and all.) How about Keanu Reeves? Steven Seagal? Clint Eastwood? Harrison Ford? Chuck Norris? Can you imagine Halo with Chuck Norris in place of Master Chief? I guess it would be too short if that were to happen. Also we would end up having jokes like "Chuck Norris beat the campaign on Legendary without using guns." and "When Chuck Norris saw the Flood, he thought it was a Puddle." There are already a ton of jokes like that? I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

And what's worse: This all warranted a $40 remake on the Xbox 360!

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage