Category Archives: Digital Playground

From 8-bit to whatever-the-hell-bit we are in right now, plug in and take a ride with us.

Digital Playground

We Are Builders of (Lego) Worlds

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but it was VSL night and I crashed after that. Sorry.)

We recorded Episode 5 of the podcast this past weekend. I’m in the process of editing it and it should be live by next weekend. Hopefully, because it is a busy one with a Cub Scouts camping trip followed by a drive to Providence for the Star City Games event. Look for my article about that next week.

We discussed Heroclix and Lego Games in this episode. I already covered several of my favorite super hero themed games last week, so what better way to follow that and the podcast than with more Marvel Madness. Both the Lego games and Heroclix have DC counterparts, but I am an unapologetic Marvel zombie. Also, that alliteration at the end of the last sentence was so worth it, amirite?

I never used to be interested in the Lego video games. I shared the sentiment of a friend who said, “why play Lego games when you can just play Legos? ” (sic. I have since learned that there is no plural to Lego.) I owned Lego Indiana Jones as one of the XBox promotional combos and didn’t play it for the longest time. It wasn’t until they released the Lego Star Wars game that I gave them a chance. Almost immediately, I realized my earlier mistake of equating the games to actual Lego. I would say that Minecraft is more comparable, but even that isn’t the exact same thing. All three fit a niche nicely and can peacefully coexist.

The initial games were fun enough to keep me playing. Eventually, the boys caught wind of the game. It started with them joining me to play. I found this very frustrating because you were limited in how much you could move by the other person playing the game. When playing with young children, this often meant not being able to advance in the level because they didn’t understand this limitation. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I tried to explain to them, nothing changed. I’m not proud of this, but these gaming sessions often ended with me dropping out in frustration and coming back after they went to bed. How funny is that visual? Instead of playing Dead Rising or GTA as I had been, I got relegated to playing Lego Star Wars while they slept so that they didn’t mess up my progress. Alas, karmic retribution will find a way.

The boys figured out how to work the XBox 360 by themselves. As a consequence, they loaded up their new favorite game, Lego Star Wars, and promptly deleted my saved game. There was only one save game slot in the game. Luckily, the designers tackled that and now games have multiple files for saves. I was almost 70% completed, too. All things considered, I think that I handled the situation well. I did what any well-adjusted adult would have done, I complained about it on Facebook and disowned them. I wish them well, as always, with their new families.

Jokes aside, I got over the transgression and have visual proof that I beat the game 100%. It is one of only two games that I do so without help, so I’m proud of the achievement. (For the record, Jak and Daxter, not Ratchet and Clank, is the other.) Adding more slots for saved games is a component of one of the major selling points of the Lego series. Take Two could easily simply churn out decent game after decent game, slap the Lego brand on them, and people would buy them. They don’t.

Not only did they add the save games, but they make other quality of live improvements, too. Remember when I mentioned that playing with young children was frustrating because of movement limitations? No more. It started with a smart split screen that offered more range of motion, became a gameplay mechanic by adding a new puzzle type, and now offers both players complete freedom to move via complete split screen. On the topic of puzzles, the puzzles have been improved and made more challenging. Granted, the games are still mostly geared to kids, but there was at least one part in Marvel Super Heroes that had us all stumped for several days and maybe even as long as a week. The puzzles are varied, too, and often able to be solved in more than one way depending on the characters available. This is important because each successive generation of the game offers more and more characters. In addition (and this is one of the favorite things forLiam and Aiden to do) you can create your own characters. They made their own super hero team and created an entire story while playing through the open world map in Marvel Super Heroes.

I can admit when I’m wrong. It happens often enough that I’m used to it. I never thought that I’d willingly play a Lego video game. It seemed like a silly idea given that Legos (I know, not a word) are a thing and we have so many of them in the house. While we still enjoy playing Legos (there’s that non word again!) and other family toys (Lincoln Logs, Thomas the Tank Engine, board games, etc), the Lego games have become an integral part of at least our father-son game playing time. Christine even noticed the recent announcement of Lego Dimensions, so it is spreading to the whole family.

The Lego games are not only fun to play. They are also constantly improved in nearly every way imaginable. Like actual Lego, they can inspire creativity in players beyond the main game. They are kid friendly, sometimes challenging to adults, and encourage families to play together as a result. Even if you don’t have kids, there is plenty to enjoy about the games. I compared them to Grand Theft Auto in the podcast and there are many similarities, right down to the senseless violence of little Lego men exploding. There is no blood, drinking, drugs, or other elicit activity. If that’s your thing, then stick to GTA. Otherwise, pick up your favorite Lego franchise, convince someone to join you, and have an absolute blast. You won’t regret it.

Digital Playground

Currently Playing…Vol.11

Leave a comment

fighter_history--article_image

Fighter’s History (SNES): Commonly referred to as Karnov’s Revenge, this game is actually nothing like the first Karnov, which was a platformer/shooter for the NES. Fighter’s History is actually a fighter (re: Street Fighter clone) that was released on the SNES and the Neo Geo. This game is probably the closest thing to Street Fighter that I have played on the Snes, although not as good as Street Fighter (duh). In fact, It’s so close that Capcom actually filed a lawsuit against Data East. Enough about that unpleasantness though. As far as fighters go this game is really decent. I usually don’t have high hopes for any fighter released during the Genesis/Snes era, with the obvious exceptions of MK, SF, Killer Instinct and Samurai Shodown, but I have to say this one is worth picking up. There are 9 fighters to choose from, and as is the case with all 2D fighters, they have their own set of special moves complete with fireballs, flying spinning kicks, jumping uppercuts..hey..wait a sec…ahem..moving on! The controls are decent, there is no lag as you pull off a special move and go straight into a combo, and the backgrounds are definitely on the same level as Street Fighter 2. I actually found that the 1 player mode is fairly easy, even on the hard setting, so there isn’t too much replay value there. Karnov is the last boss, and his moves are predictable, so once you figure the pattern out he is easy to beat down so it takes the challenge out of the game a bit. I think the replay value lies within the Vs mode where you and a buddy can beat the bajeezus out of each other. Of course that value is limited as there are only 9 characters but still it’s worth the money as this game only goes for around $10 on eBay. Helpful hint: the speed can feel a little slow, especially when compared to today’s fighters, but go to the options menu and change the speed to fast and the game flows much better.

Digital Playground

Revisiting 2 “Marvel”ous Games

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: I know that I promised a video for Fallout 1 and 2 and haven’t delivered. Marvel Puzzle Quest is running a video contest, though, so I am planning a video for that game soon.)

We are recording episode 5 this weekend. The show is about Heroclix and Lego video games. We are going to concentrate on Marvel Super Heroes and Batman. I mentioned both Marvel Heroes and Marvel Puzzle Quest on last month’s show. They are both games that I play daily. I’ve planned to write about them several times, but haven’t featured them on the page yet. I thought this would be a perfect time to finally focus on comic book themed games on the website. All of these forces have conspired to come together as this article.

Let’s start with Marvel Puzzle Quest. In case you don’t know, the Puzzle Quest games are of the match three variety like Bejeweled or Candy Crush. Unlike either of those games, Puzzle Quest has a storyline that accompanies the sometimes tedious gameplay. Sure, Candy Crush has a story, but it is mostly an afterthought. The stories of Puzzle Quest are actually good and worth playing through the games to advance. I would say complete, but the Marvel version constantly adds new chapters.

The first Puzzle Quest story involved a typical fantasy setting with all of the usual cast of characters and plotlines. I’m a sucker for most fantasy, even the cheesy kind, so it was enough junk food for the brain to keep me entertained for about a year of playing a half an hour per day. It helped that the game is kid friendly at a time when we had two young children in the house. Liam enjoyed watching the game as I played and even asked me to make him a Steam account to play Marvel Puzzle Quest after he saw me playing it. He has done pretty well in the game. Aiden has an account, too, and we have made a clan in the game with a friend. It is an excellent family game.

In addition, as one of the match three games, it has been ported to mobile devices. I have only tried it a few times on mobile because I don’t know of a way to move my account data and I don’t want to start over again. I already lost my account once and it sucked to go back to the beginning. Luckily, they were able to retrieve my data, but I haven’t been able to find a way to transfer from PC to mobile. Just be warned if you decide to get started that you need to choose one or the other.

I’ve talked about Marvel Heroes on the podcast before and I have mentioned it on the web site, too. In case you missed it, Marvel Heroes is an ARPG like the Diablo or Torchlight games. The game stumbled out of the gate and people hated it with good reason. You could only choose from two free characters and there was no end game. The story was decent, but not enough to encourage replay. I stopped playing after defeating Dr. Doom (the end boss at the time) and I suspect that many others did, too, if they even made it that far.

Luckily, the designers of the game listened to player feedback and worked to improve the game. As I mentioned in my previous article on Diablo III, it was voted as most improved MMO in 2014 or 2015. They have added many new heroes, opened all heroes as free to play to level 10, implemented several end game options, buffed loot drops via weekly events, and many other improvements. The game is much more fun to play now. I play it on a daily basis and have even spent money on the game even though it is free to play. I want to encourage them to continue to develop and improve the game.

Liam and Aiden both started an account for this game, too. Liam and I even got a few chances to play the game together. The game isn’t quite as kid friendly and they’ve been more interested in Pokemon recently, so they haven’t played much of either this or Marvel Puzzle Quest. It is nice to know that we will have two more games to enjoy as a family that aren’t just Dance or Mario. Sure, those games are fun, but variety is the spice of life and such.

Both games are free to play, as mentioned. Marvel Heroes is constantly being improved. Marvel Puzzle Quest also updates regularly, but it is often unclear whether those changes are for the better. Most recently, they altered one of my favorite powers and made it decidedly weaker. I’m not going to be one of those guys that threatens to quit the game over such a minor adjustment. Still, I don’t quite understand what they’re trying to accomplish and it is frustrating to have to deal with something like that. (Side Note: I looked at the patch notes and I now understand, but it still makes little sense from a player point of view. Oh well, might be time to find another combo to abuse.)

If my children are any indication, then the games are relatively kid friendly. There is some questionable material in Marvel Heroes (mostly from Deadpool, of course) but it is easily avoidable. You should be aware. Puzzle Quest is simply a match 3 game, so it is much tamer and better for kids if you don’t want to take the chance. You could do worse than trying out both games. If you played Marvel Heroes and didn’t enjoy it, then give it another chance. It is a much better game and you won’t be disappointed. If you do try either game, let me know. I would be glad to play a round or two or let you get started in our clan on Marvel Puzzle Quest. At the risk of being sued, Excelsior!

Digital Playground

Dismantling the A-Bomb (Take 2)

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: Yes, another Fallout article. Yes, another Fallout 3 article about how I’m going to go back and finish the game. This time I have my gamer’s resolution to play new/different games, so I might actually go through with it. Stay tuned for the next Fallout 3 article, coming to 2 Guys Gaming in 6 months.)

As a writer, I learned that you need a hook to get people interested. As a fisherman, I learned that you need to set that hook before you start to reel in your catch. Fallout 1 and 2 both have that same hook of story as the third. So far, they have yet to set that hook to keep me playing beyond the introduction. Fallout 3 does not have that problem. I keep coming back to the game even to the point that I restarted it because I had forgotten some of the story at the beginning. Eventually, I do want to finish the game to move on to the DLC and New Vegas. Eventually starts today!

I grew up with video games. My family owned an Atari 2600 and then a 7800. I received a Commodore 64 for Christmas one year and drooled over the Amiga ads in the magazines. Those same magazines offered programs for video games that I almost never got to work. Still, they inspired me to collaborate with a friend to make a game together. We never made it past the design phase, but a fun experience and I still enjoy programming when I have free time.

Eventually, our parents caved and bought us an NES. After getting my first job, I bought a Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. When I moved out, money became more of a priority, so I took some time off until the infamous full price Playstation purchase. Since then, I have owned an N64, XBox, XBox 360, PS 2, and Wii. I intend to buy a PS4 if the new Orcs Must Die Unchained game works as well on consoles as on the computer. What’s the point of this? Relax, you must be new here. I promise that the point is coming soon.

You could possibly tell the exact same story as I just did. That’s part of the point. We are alike and you probably enjoyed Fallout 1 and 2. As a result, you may have paled a the thought that Fallout 3 was going first person. When first announced, the internet (as it does) went absolutely nuts over the decision. Similar to Diablo III, I should like the first two games. But, I don’t. What, then, about Fallout 3 appeals to me as an aging gamer when compared with its predecessors?

I have already covered my thoughts on graphics in my previous article. In case you missed it, graphics are not a huge consideration for me. I have played and enjoyed games since they were single color blobs moving across a single colored background. Besides, it’s not like the graphics of Fallout 3 are that impressive. Sure, they are more modern. Comparatively, though, the game came early in the life of the XBox 360 and the graphics show their age.

I’ve already established that I love the story behind the games, too. That is universal. Fallout 3 hooked me from the opening cinematic. In fact, all of the games have incredible opening credits and character introductions. The story kept me playing the first two games longer than I might have normally. On the other hand, instead of avoiding Fallout 3, I find myself drawn to the game and want to play it to the end. More than that, I also have Fallout: New Vegas and all of the expansions for the game that I need to experience. Story, alone, shouldn’t be enough to keep me coming back to the game. Especially when you consider that I could just watch the story on Youtube. That’s what I did with Dead Rising rather than play through the frustrating final battle. I regret nothing.

That brings us to the gameplay. As I mentioned earlier, the internets hated that thought of Fallout 3 when it was announced. You know who you are internets. Don’t try to deny it now. Also, face it. You might have been right about Diablo III and the real money auction house, but you were dead wrong about Fallout 3.

Look, I understand the sentiment. Ever since Doom (really Wolfenstein and I’m sure there’s some nerd more well versed in the history of video games that will point to an earlier iteration of the FPS), game designers have tripped over themselves to capitalize on the success of the FPS genre and it looked like that’s what Bethesda was doing with Fallout 3. This goes against the spirit of the games. Stop trying to be something you’re not, blah blah blah. I don’t know why the decision was made to go from third person RPG to a first person shooter with RPG elelements. However I can (and will) wildly conjecture about their motives.

First, I think that those third person RPG and RTS games were a time and place phenomenon. There will always be exceptions (most notably Starcraft because of the highly popular competitive scene), but go back to play any of those games; Warcraft, Bard’s Tale, Fallout 1 and 2. They are boring. Now matter how interesting the story, the click to move mechanics and the endless searching for clues make for a dull experience. At least the D&D games were mostly linear. I know that sounds weird because D&D isn’t, but it makes for a much better video game. You might argue World of Warcraft or Skyrim in favor of 3rd person RPGs. I will agree with Skyrim. While designed as a first person, I immediately searched for a way to make the game 3rd person and I was better for it.

On the topic of World of Warcraft, I offer the counter argument that its success is due more to the social aspect. I used to play WoW much more than I do now because I used to have friends who played the game and no longer do. Still, it proves that 3rd person RPGs can work and work well. Even so, I have never tried WoW from a first person point of view, but many tanks do and I suspect that it is because of the main point of this article. Finally, all your hard work and dedication to reading this whole article is about to pay off.

If I know anything about story (and sales of my book indicate that I do not), part of the reason to go first person in Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls series was to enhance the already superb story. I mention Skyrim again because I initially wanted to experience the game third person due to not being as familiar with the story. I quickly changed my mind and point of view upon being faced with my first dragon encounter. I wanted to experience the power and horror in the full glory and magnificence. I was not disappointed.

Similarly, my favorite parts of the first two Fallout games were when you interact with the NPCs via the full screen interface with the occasional voiceover. First person makes a great story more intense, immerses you in the action, everything feels more immediate, and it personalizes the game to make the experience much more entertaining and enjoyable.

Do you prefer the first person intensity of newer RPGs? Or, are you an old school gamer who just wants whippersnappers like me to get off your lawn with my fancy graphics and engrossing point of view gameplay? Who knows? Maybe I can be persuaded to go back to play the first two games.

Digital Playground

Currently Playing…

Leave a comment

legomarvel

 

Lego Marvel Superheroes (360): Yup. A Lego game. After our last podcast, we decided to do a comic book theme for our next show which will be recorded on April 11th. To stick to the theme Shawn thought it would be a good idea to do a segment on the Lego superhero titles. I told him that it was a great idea BUT I have never played a Lego Batman or Marvel game. Long story..uh..shorter…I picked up a copy of Marvel Superheroes at Best Buy because it was on sale (I’m cheap, what can I say?). I popped the disc in with a sigh, not really expecting all that much. I mean it’s a damn Lego game, these things are meant for kids…right? Wrong. The game is insanely fun..I expected a mindless PG rated beat’em up, but instead I found myself playing a really good puzzle game with some beat’em up segments sprinkled in. Honestly, this is the kind of game that you would want your kids to play. It tests your critical thinking skills, it’s entertaining as hell, and it’s not over-the-top violent. Despite the lack of violence and the fact that these are little Lego characters running around solving puzzles, this game can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages. I highly recommend this one.

<I refuse to insert a picture of the next game>

Afro Samurai (360): Okay, we go from a great, well-designed game, to a steaming pile of dog sh*t cooking in the hot summer sun. I really liked the Afro Samurai anime series, so I thought the game must be, at the very least, playable. Can’t win them all I guess. If I had to choose one word to best describe this game it would be repetitious. You run around hacking the crap out of a bunch of Japanese guys. That’s it. The voice acting is decent, (hot damn! A compliment!), but wears thin after awhile..(aaaaand compliment retracted). Between the wacky camera angles, the boring combat system, and fighting what looks like the same enemies over and over, this game isn’t worth the 5 bucks I paid for it.

Digital Playground

Days of Future Past

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: Look for the companion video coming soon!)

Few game series have captured my imagination in the way that the Fallout games did. Similar to the Diablo series, I had never played the first two games because of my lack of PC gaming experience. I simply heard good things about the third one. When I saw it for twenty dollars in the bargain bin, I did what I always do as a cheap gamer. I bought it.

I know what you’re thinking. Okay, I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking. Though I’ve tried, I have yet to perfect the talent of reading minds. Plus, I don’t know even how many of you are out there, so I couldn’t even hazard a guess. Except for you guys who are thinking, “I really want pizza and wings.” You guys are my people.

Let’s get back to the subject. If you have been paying attention to the website or podcast, you will be thinking that I often buy games, especially discounted games, and then they sit in the closet and suffer the fate of never being played. You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that did not happen in this case. Not initially, at least. I played through the game, hooked from the opening credits until–well, let’s wait on that. I have an article planned for next week specifically for Fallout . I will tell the rest of this story in that article. How’s that for a tease?

I’m not sure what about the story and world captivated me so much. I’m not usually one for post apocalyptic stories, unless it is zombies and even those are losing some of their appeal, but this one fascinated me. My obsession started as research for a novella that I am writing that takes place in a similar post nuclear America setting. What got me was the thought and creativity that went into creating a well constructed history for the games. The scope of that history added a new dimension to the game world and I developed an appreciation and admiration for the creators of that world.

Eventually, I moved on to other games, most notably Lego games, Just Dance, and other games that we could play as a family. Still, I never forgot about the games and especially the story. I kept going back to website after website to read timelines, alternate histories, fan fictions, and more. When I discovered that Steam offered both Fallout 1 and 2 plus Tactics, I went into full “shut up and take my money” mode. Given a chance to explore that world and history for myself, I bought all three. If you guessed that these games suffered the fate of countless (or 30, but rising, so essentially countless) other games in my Steam library and went unplayed, then give yourself a cookie. I still haven’t played Fallout 1 or 2. However, that is about to change. I want to do a video on whether or not the games are still fun as an entry point or if I should just stick with the third game and my quest to follow a walkthrough to fame and a fortune of bottle caps. This article will serve as a companion piece to that video. However, the video will focus more on whether Fallout 1 and 2 are still “good” games when compared with current games. I can use this article to focus more on the why or why not.

We all know what makes a good game for us. For instance if graphics and special effects are one of your main reasons to enjoy a game, then these games most likely not for you. Luckily for me, graphics are never a consideration when playing a game. Sure, we all like pretty pictures and impressive effects, but there’s a reason that I still play the original Tetris after all these years and it has nothing to do with bits or polygons. So, what makes a good game? As I’ve gotten older, story has become one of my primary reasons for playing a game. We have already established that the larger story of Fallout interests me, but is that story reflected in the earlier games?

Before focusing on that, though, let’s discuss the rest of the game. My main factor of whether to play a game is, not surprisingly, gameplay. How are the controls? This is especially important for PC games that use a keyboard and mouse for literally hundreds of button combinations. Fallout controls aren’t necessarily intuitive, but they are easy to figure out and learn. I imagine that when the game was released that it came with instructions. Games don’t really do that anymore because nobody ever reads them. Instead, then have a tutorial. Without instructions or a tutorial, I had to learn how to move and attack by myself. I used Google for some of the more troublesome of the PipBoy commands.

Closely related to gameplay, the lack of a linear quest line hurts the game by increasing the challenge unnecessarily. Not only did I spend the better part of my time in Vault 13 at the beginning of the game punching rats (not even with brass knuckles) instead of stabbing or shooting them because I didn’t know any of that was in my inventory. Now I have to search around and find a rope without any hints or clues? Ugh, post apocalyptic first world problems, amirite, Twitter?

I understand that discovery and adventure used to be the MO of these adventure type games, but I’m a spoiled old man gamer without much time to spend playing these games. I like that more recent games lead you by the nose with carrot quests and then you can choose to explore via side quests or just because you don’t want to blow up that person’s car right now.

While these traits might detract from the gameplay, they actually perversely add to the story. Undeniably the strength of the series, it is not as strong in Fallout 1 as the other two games, but it is still impressive for its time. Cinematics and voice acting both bring the world to life and kept me playing even though the rest of the game felt a bit lame.

Unfortunately, most of the rest of the game is not as strong as the story. As far as that game itself, it is a bit slow in the beginning. All you do is kill the rats that I talked about earlier and then maybe kill some bigger rats without much indication that you should be doing anything else. I may have just been in WoW quest ignore mode, but once I got to Vault 15, I felt like the game just sort of abandoned me to die in the wasteland and have my corpse eaten by the descendants of the rats that I killed. “Hello, my name is Inigo Ratoya. You killed my father, starved to death while on a quest to save the people in your vault, and rotted to my preferred level of carrion. Prepare to be gnawed slowly over the next few months.” Not nearly as catchy, but still scary.

Maybe that is how the game is supposed to end. I haven’t looked at a walkthrough to confirm, but maybe you are just supposed to end up rat chow. If so, then this is the fastest that I have ever completed a game to 100%. Yay, me! On to the second game. Maybe I can beat that one even faster. Okay, okay, seriously, though, the game is quite confusing at first. Then again, I might just be an idiot. That isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

I want to play a game that will be challenging, but not too challenging. I like being able to pick “Easy” or “New Player” instead of “Insane”, “Inferno”, or “Nightmare” mode because then I don’t have to dedicate too much of my time to the game and the bosses can still present a challenge. Hey, I’m the Noob of All Trades! This game went a bit too far in the figure it out on your own for my tastes.

We come, at last, to graphics. It’s an older game, so I don’t expect great things from the graphics. As mentioned, the cinematics are cool. The actual game, though, is monochrome like Diablo, making it difficult to find any inspiration in pretty pictures while playing. Seriously, though, what is it with game designers and their aversion to using the whole rainbow? Hell, Gauntlet needed only 16 colors or whatever to make a bright and colorful play world and that world was dark, Man. Do you remember “Wizard needs food badly?” Just thinking about it now sends shivers down my spine.

Given everything about Fallout 1 (and to an extent Fallout 2) that I’ve experienced, I would not pick them up as a stand alone game. They look and feel impressive for their times, but times change and sometimes culture does not translate over that time change. While Fallout 2 looks to pick up immensely as far as story goes, I’m not sure how much it improves upon the formula in the first game. Independent of my enjoyment of the story and third game, I probably wouldn’t even bother with the first two games. However, I will stick with them and hope that the story can carry me through the warts. If not, well, we’ll always have Megaton.

Digital Playground

Currently Playing…Vol.10

Leave a comment

dark2

Darksiders 2 (360): I was a fan of the first Darksiders, mostly because I’m a huge fan of Joe Mad’s artwork, and also because I liked the Devil May Cry/God of War/Zelda hybrid-feel to it. Was it the most original game? God no. Anytime you can call a game the hybrid of <insert game titles here> then it’s not all that original. Strangely though, despite the less than the original concepts, it was a really fun game with some mind-blowing bosses. Last week, during my nightly eBay perusing, I saw a copy of Darksiders 2 about to sell for $4.75 with free shipping, so I swooped in with 8 seconds to go and got it for an even $5.00, ruining someone’s night and making mine a bit better. Double bonus. After playing it for a few days, I can say that this game is much different from the original Darksiders. The biggest difference being the addition of loot. You now get coins and more importantly, equipment that you can either use, sell, or sacrifice to level up the equipment you have. Just this one aspect makes this game more enjoyable to me. Also, I like the fact that the battles are not one after another after another after another..etc..so you actually get some time to explore the enviroments. It gives the game an RPG kinda feel to it. The puzzles are a lot more interesting, a couple reminded me of Portal, (you have to fire portals to get from point A to point B),and generally they didn’t piss me off like some of the puzzles in the original. Not that the original’s were incredibly difficult, just incredibly frickin’ long. I actually really enjoy playing as Death more than I did playing as War in D1 (tired of typing Darksi…damn..<sigh>…Darksiders). Death’s abilities are more interesting and just plain cooler. He can create doppelgangers of himself, wall-walk, summon monsters, and opens doors and chests with ghostly hands. His scythes are pretty damn neat too. The bosses from what I’ve seen so far are huge but not as challenging as the bosses in D1. We’ll see if that holds true as I get deeper into the game. Speaking of which, I read earlier that this game is larger than the D1, so that’s another bonus. Overall I’m really happy with this game, definitely worth 5 bucks. And ruining someone’s night.

Digital Playground

Into the Mouth of Hell All By Myself

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: Ever been so sure of something only to be proven completely wrong? Enjoy watching me eat a nice helping of crow.)

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of World of Warcraft. I have not enjoyed this latest expansion as much as I thought and I might even be in the twilight of my WoW playing days. I start with this statement to immediately clear up any misconception right away. I like Wow, which immediately brands me as a Blizzard fanboy. As with most generalizations, this one is simply not true. I enjoy Heroes of the storm and occasionally tolerate Hearthstone when I can, but I have never even played any Starcraft game and only played Diablo III completely by chance.

I knew of the Diablo games, but only came upon Diablo III as a result of a WoW promotion. Unlike many players in the game, I never even played Diablo II. I know that is considered a sin because DII is widely thought to be one of the best games made and possibly Blizzard’s greatest game. I just wasn’t much of a PC gamer at the time. By the time I started gaming on my computer, WoW became my loot filled addiction. As tends to happen, that addiction became a potential gateway into others.

Blizzard ran a promotion that got you access to Diablo III if you signed up for their WoW annual pass testing. I had nothing to lose and another game to gain, so I joined the test. True to their word, I received a code for Diablo II and downloaded it using their Battle.Net app. Having never played DII might have worked to my advantage. All I kept hearing from other players was how much DIII sucked mainly because it wasn’t DII. I came into the game without that baggage and could decide for myself. Unfortunately, whether or not you played the previous game, DIII was not that great of a game. I played it for a couple of weeks or maybe a month, off and on, and then stopped in favor of other games. It wasn’t terrible. It just was not very fun. Blizzard pats themselves on the back for making fun games. They really missed on this one.

More recently, Scott Johnson from The Instance podcast mentioned how much he liked the console version of the game as a couch coop game. He is an admitted Blizzard fan boy, so I considered the source. Nevertheless, always on the lookout for new games for the web page and podcast, I ordered the game from Gamefly. When Chris and I got too busy over the holidays to play or record, the game sat at the bottom of my gaming bag. We started recording again and I suggested DIII during our most recent game night as a topic for the digital playground.

Part of the problem with the game is that it starts off slow. Really slow. I know that games are supposed to start off with training wheels to give you time to find your footing (sorry for the mixed metaphor), but DIII’s beginning is annoyingly slow. There is entirely too much talking and not nearly enough action. I know that Blizzard prides itself on story (mostly ripped off from other sources) and those stories are sometimes actually very good, but there has to be a balance. Diablo III, in my opinion, goes too far in the direction of story at first. That certainly led to my less than favorable first impression of the game. It nearly made me just say forget it and go back to the drawing board for the podcast.

Luckily, it didn’t take too long for the action to increase. We were soon up to our eyeballs in zombies, demons, skeletons, and other supernatural foes. Once that happened, the game was really fun. We played through until our tired brains wouldn’t allow us to focus well enough to progress anymore. After we played, Chris wrote in an article that he enjoyed himself and I finally did, too. For me, Diablo III is much better as a multiplayer game. Heck, it might even only be fun on consoles as a couch coop like Scott Johnson mentioned. I do know that i wasn’t fun to play by myself. But, I’m going to try it again. Hey, you can’t say that I didn’t give it a chance.

Maybe I’m stubborn. Maybe I’m just trying to figure it out. Like most gamers, when there’s a game that I don’t like but probably should, I want to know why. For what it is, DIII is a good game. Other gamers who play it really like it. I play the game by myself and I don’t like it and I’m not sure why.

Maybe it just isn’t my style of game. That’s often where you start when trying to assess a game. I always thought that I didn’t like MOBAs until I started playing Heroes of the Storm. Turns out that I jus tdidn’t like playing with the jerks who normally play those games. Heroes of the Storm is less competitive (offers less competitive game modes, at least) so you can avoid much of the toxicity of the MOBA community. That’s not the case with DIII, either. I have played other ARPGs extensively and they are fun. Another game that had a dubious launch was Marvel Heroes. People hated that game. Initially, so did I. The roster of heroes (and especially free starter heroes) was horribly small. The story was strong, but the gameplay was repetitive with little payoff. However, the the developers took feedback seriously, tuned the game, released more heroes, and the game became the most improved MMO of last year. The gameplay is still repetitive, but now there are more ways to play the game to keep it fresh. I play Marvel Heroes daily and have leveled two characters to max level with a third almost there. Even though the game is free to play, I even bough a character to support the developers and encourage them to keep improving the game.

The other game that I really like from this genre is Torchlight II. Around the time that I abandoned DIII for the first time, I learned of the Torchlight series. Several people called it “the game that DIII should have been.” It wasn’t F2P, but it was only 20 dollars on Steam. Even though I wondered how such a cheap game could compete with one that cost 60 dollars, I bought it. That was when I learned that my life long pursuit of being a cheap gamer would finally pay off in a big way.

(Before I proceed, let me explain. Skip ahead if you want. It won’t hurt my feelings. Once upon a time, I paid full price for a Playstation. Not a Playstation 2 or 3, but an original Playstation. That tells you how long ago this happened. As these stories generally go, a couple of months (or weeks, I remember it as weeks) later the price dropped. I vowed after that to never pay full price for a game again. Other than a couple of games (ironically, mostly when I was unemployed), I have stuck to that vow. One of the side effects of this is that I rarely get to play a game when it is new. Usually that isn’t a problem because I’m not much of an online gamer. Lately, it has been even less of a problem because of the proliferation of F2P.)

Thankfully, I was wrong. Torchlight II is amazingly full featured for such an inexpensive game. Everyone who suggested it as a substitute was right. It played nearly identical to Diablo III at one-third the price. Furthermore, I played the game both by myself and with my friend Kevin. I had fun playing both modes, but I actually played the hell out of the game by myself. Like Marvel Heroes, I played all the way to the end. i haven’t gotten a character to max level yet. I have done some end game and started another to play through again. What about those games makes them more fun than DIII? Let’s explore.

Diablo is much darker than the other two games. I don’t mean the story. While that might be true, the colors of DIII are very dingy. It reminds me of Batman from The Lego Movie if he added brown to his palette. Kevin and I both talked about this in Episode 2 of the podcast that got lost in the murky nether realm of dead hard drives. Even with a less than happy tale, Torchlight II still manages to use many shades of all the colors of the spectrum. Marvel Heroes, of course, inhabits the colorful comic book world. Granted, color scheme can’t be the only reason, but it can make for a dull play experience.

There is also the slow story ramp of Diablo. I don’t think that I can overstate that. Not knowing much about the story of Diablo might have hurt me in this regard, too, because I didn’t care too much about the characters or what was happening to them. The thing that got me through the Marvel Heroes introduction was my connection to the characters and stories. Like Diablo, I knew nothing about the Torchlight story, but the Outlander class kept me interested in the game until I got interested in the story. Perhaps that is my problem with Diablo III.

Let’s try something else. I’ve got the new video capture card for the computer. Maybe I can test it out with Diablo and try again. Up until this point, I’ve picked a Witch Doctor. Maybe that is the problem. Maybe I just don’t like class of Witch Doctor. I thought that it might be cool with the description and the spells available, but let’s try something else. I really liked Outlander in Torchlight II. Is there anything like that in Diablo? Turns out that the Demon Hunter looks similar to the Outlander. I’ll pick that. Also, as I was setting up the video capture card, the introduction of the story played through. I had skipped through it every other time playing the game.

Both the introduction and the new selection of class seems to have worked. It changed my mind about the game. I love hearing the *bang, bang* of the Demon Hunter’s gun as I blow stuff up. Not literally, yet. I don’t know if enemies explode when you kill them like they sometimes do in Torchlight II. If not, add that to the list of things that make TII better. In either case, I was wrong about Diablo III. The game is a fun game as long as you find the right class to play. My final piece of advice. Witch Doctor might not be the right class. Get out there and kick some demon butt.

Digital Playground

Emrakul is my backup plan

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: I cast Black Lotus. I cast Elesh Norn.)

When’s the last time that you heard any of those previous statements in your game of Magic? If you are Mr. Joe Average Casual like me, then answer is “Never.” Until last night when I saw several Black Lotus plays and all three cards in at least one game. Intrigued? Let me explain.

The night started like any other. I watched Guardsmannbob, one of my favorite streamers until about 9:00 when he signed off for the night. There were no other enjoyable Hearthstone players, so I clicked on the only Magic stream that I currently follow. He, too, was in the process of signing off. As he did, though he mentioned the official Magic stream and something called the Vintage Super League.

With nothing else to watch because I was too lazy to move to the living room to watch Netflix, I followed his recommendation. Sure, I could have watched Netflix on my laptop, but I’m spoiled and only want to watch on the television. I know very little about Magic’s pro scene or the various formats, so I had no idea what to expect. Surprisingly, I recognized a couple of names of the players. That was the last recognizable thing on the stream. I saw decks that I never considered possible. They played cards and combos that existed only in my dreams until that point. Kai Budde, one of the names I knew got beat two in a row in very convincing fashion. The first match that I watched ended one game on turn 2 and the other on turn 3.

After that match, I got so excited that I went to Facebook to tell Chris about my discovery. He knew more about vintage than me. He asked about legality of cards and that sent me on a search. I learned that while there is a ban and restricted list, basically the whole of the history of Magic is available to the players to build a deck. That got me even more excited about the prospects of the stream. Suddenly, I started paying attention to the games instead of just having it on as background noise. Holy cow, did he just play a Black Lotus. What is that card in his hand? Emrakul? This is awesome.

Two players played a deck called Omnitell and the announcers kept talking about something called “Shops”. Shops did not interest me much, but I went on a search to find the Omnitell list and some strategy. I will most likely never be able to play the deck, but the blue control aspect spoke to me on a deep level. Then, I saw the full deck and it is right in my wheelhouse. The core deck has only one creature (the aforementioned Emrakul) and plenty of spells to make life miserable for the opponent.

I actually had a brainstorm while in the shower earlier (why is it always in the shower) that there might be a way that I’d get to play all of these cool vintage decks without having to drop tens of thousands of dollars on cardboard. I’m not entirely sure that it is exactly legal, but when has that ever stopped me? Because of the questionable legality, I’m not exactly going to advertise this method. However, I will verify that it worked and I put together an initial list that I found for the Omnitell deck. So far, I have only been able to test it against itself, but I hope to find some other decks to put together those lists and play around with them, too.

The stream had the added effect of renewing my interest in the game. I had been a bit lukewarm about magic since the release of Fate Reforged. I just wasn’t too impressed with a Fat Pack purchase that I made and put the cards away for a while. Watching this stream made me excited again about the prospects of Magic and I can’t wait to try some of the deck ideas that I’ve been considering. So, I say thanks to the Vintage Super League for my renewed interest and dedication to Magic and look forward to the next episode on Tuesday.

Digital Playground

Boredom of Draenor?

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: Do I really want to pay 15 bucks a month to play Pokemon?)

I have played World of Warcraft since just after the release of the Burning Crusade expansion. My journey began, as I suspect many did, with a free trial account. I started a Night elf druid for potential role playing possibilities. As I read the introduction paragraphs to each class and race, the druid’s connection to nature spoke to me. Having no previous connection to Warcraft, I chose Night Elf because I saw the races of the Horde as evil and I wanted to fight on the side of good. I’m not opposed to evil characters and I even admire many of them from books, TV shows, and movies. I just enjoy games more when I am the hero. I suspect that many others are like me because there are so few games that feature a villain or even an anti-hero as the main playable character. Fewer still become major successes.

I enjoyed WoW greatly and became immersed in the expansive story that felt so much larger than my character, a helpful community that mostly treated noobs like me with respect and a world that was just as massive as the storyline and really pretty in spite of the cartoonish graphics. I remember walking up to the gates of Ironforge for the first time and being awed by them. It was like the AD&D stories of my youth were coming to life on my computer screen. Keep in mind that I had not even experienced dungeons or raids yet. I just wandered the countryside with my PvP flag on (I know this because I unwittingly became bait to catch a stealthed rogue causing havoc in Astranaar) happily completing quests and reading lore to fill in the huge gaps from never having played any of the games.

The community was not a small consideration. There are several reasons that I have not played League of Legends. Gameplay, which I wasn’t sure about, certainly wasn’t one of them. I have since started to play Heroes of the Storm and I rather like the concept of those games. Primary among the reasons is that the only legendary part of the game is the toxicity of the community. I experienced this first hand. In three games (my entire LoL career), I played with exactly one helpful person out of twelve teammates. More than half of them (7 or 8) insulted, bickered, flexed internet muscle, and lamented that none of them were LoL pros because of all the noobs holding them back.

World of Warcraft never felt like that. Sure, there were unhelpful (and downright rude) people in the game, but those willing to answer even the most basic question outnumbered them at least two to one. I vividly remember stumbling upon a hunter during my early days of adventuring. The poor soul was being ravaged by a wild beast and completely unable to defend himself. I did what any honorable hero would. I killed that dirty animal and saved his life…or so I thought. He whispered to me “What the hell?” before explaining that he was trying to tame it as a pet. I apologized and we both had a good laugh about it.

I have run the gamut of noob to semi-obsessed raider before settling on my usual role of filthy casual. My original character, the druid, is still active. He has gone through a name change, several server moves, and a brief consideration of a faction change to be able to play with a friend. Instead, I created a new character (a shaman) who has become a second main. That character is now in the guild that was started by Scott Johnson, the host of The Instance. My account was compromised once and all of my gear got sold or disenchanted. I know that it is often a joke, even among gamers, that WoW is for no-lifers, but I really have experienced so much in game that it sometimes feels like a second life.

After taking another break for a couple of months, the Warlords of Draenor hype got me. I heard about the game getting a graphics update on character models, getting to go back to Outland (sort of) to meet many of the legends of the game, and an overhaul on the game that some were calling WoW 2.0. Once classes let out for winter break, I came back to the game. I enjoyed it for about a month as I leveled to 100 and chased after a core hound mount that I honestly had no chance of obtaining. Ever since, though, I have been in one of my WoW funks and I generally only log into the game to immediately log back out This is the earliest into an expansion that I have felt this way.

I even said to my wife, “I might finally be done with World of Warcraft.” That is a loaded statement because you aren’t ever truly done. Another expansion will get me interested again and I might repeat the process, but what if it is just another month or so and then I’m putting it back on the shelf. I can’t keep justifying the cost for so little entertainment value. There’s nothing wrong with moving on. People and circumstances change and it might just be time. I’d be lying if it didn’t make me sad. I have a history with this game that goes back almost a decade. Even if it is “only a game”, that’s not an ending that you take lightly.

So, you could say that quite a bit is depending on Patch 6.1 of the game. The main problem is that I don’t actually know what I want from the game. In the past, I have fallen back on other pursuits. Most recently, I really started to enjoy pet battling. For some reason, not that has me excited and I haven’t collected a single pet from Draenor other than two crafted Engineering pets. I have also traditionally leveled alts to keep busy, but the story this time wasn’t interesting enough to do again and there aren’t enough dungeons to keep me entertained through another 10 levels.

So, let’s see if 6.1 has anything to entice someone like me to keep playing. Some “no news” is that flying isn’t still prohibited in Draenor. I, personally, don’t mind that flying has been disallowed and flying isn’t something that would make the game any more enjoyable for me. A new raid is being released to some fanfare, but I’m not even geared enough for the current tier of raid content. No, not even LFR. Maybe if I stick around, I will get around to it at the end of the expansion like I did in Pandaria. Raiding just isn’t my thing anymore.

Initially in the expansion, I kept busy with garrisons, but I’ve maxed all that I wanted there. Is there anything new for garrisons on the horizon? Actually, yes. First, and maybe not overwhelming, is customizable music in your garrison. I may not be an obsessive raider anymore, but I do like collecting things in the game and this gives me one more thing to collect. It probably won’t be my first priority, but I will get around to doing it eventually. Actually, now that I read that, I realize that I haven’t even opened my pet building in the garrison.

I once dreamed of being Azeroth’s greatest Pokemon (er, battle pet) trainer. Maybe it is time to put on the old Safari Hat and tackle the tiny beasts of Draenor, especially those bastards that have infiltrated my garrison. After that, I think that I will level my skinning toon to make some gear that might get my shaman closer to LFR ready. So, there are some things that I can do in game. None of them are directly related to the new patch.

This is the first patch of Warlords, so you can’t expect the best content. Still, it is quite underwhelming. The only “new” stuff is for raiders with a few added features for the filthy casual collectors like me. If you left the game before Warlords released, come back to experience some cool new stuff. If Warlords wasn’t quite what you hoped, patch 6.1 doesn’t add enough new to make it worth returning. Maybe the next patch will have more. Otherwise, I might drop out for a break the earliest into an expansion since Cataclysm.