Aside from my various adventures in WoW, I also tried a few of the many Free to Play MMORPGs out there. Here are my impressions.
Runes of Magic: I guess, if someone would want to play WoW without playing, I’d tell that person to play Runes of Magic. This is an RPG that plays a LOT like Blizzard's hit. Graphically, it is about on the same level; there are some nice effects and models, but the game suffer from a general lack of polish. While the character models from Warcraft are outdated, they have much more polish. Playing Rune of Magic, it is plainly obvious you are playing some free game. Not a terrible game, but if you play any subscription-based RPG, you probably don’t need to even bother with it. 3/5
Mabinogi: I heard a lot of good things about this game, and I would like to like it, but even if the fighting mechanics are interesting and the many side activities appealing, the interface is clunky and there is a serious lack of customization in it – or if there is, I have not managed to find a way to create a properly functioning interface. Some example: quests appear in your field of view, but for some reasons, I sometimes had trouble seeing it, as if somehow the pointers had disappeared… only to reappear later. I will probably retry the game one day, simply because of its charming appeal and its original concept, and maybe you won’t mind the interface as much as I. Since it’s free, you might as well try it.3.5/5
DDO: Dungeons and Dragons Online is a good game, the best of the free games I tried. It has good graphics, a nice interface and a very interesting skill system, compared to other MMORPGs. I don’t play it as much as I should, simply because I’m really into WoW and console games right now, but this is definitely a game that’ll stay on my computer. 4/5
Dofus: Note that I am not sure if there exists an English version of Dofus (I play it in French). The game is flash-based, meaning it has charming but very simple graphics. It has original classes, and stay away from the traditional tank-healer-DPS template so many games embrace. The game is also, interestingly, turn-based. However, it is not entirely free. Your time in Dofus will be limited unless you want to pay. Unless you really dig the French-Manga style and find some friends with whom to explore dungeons, you’ll be stuck in the beginners area, and the game does not, in my opinion, warrant a subscription. The graphical engine is too simple, and it suffers from a problem common to most Free games: spam-bots. Although, given the limited time I had with Dofus, the problem might have been punctual. 3/5 (it’d be more if the free to play zone would be bigger; as it stands, it is a glorified demo…)
8/19/2010
8/17/2010
My favorite games, part 3
Welcome to the latest addition to My Favorite Games. Today, let’s dive into the horror (and into the past!) with Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem and Killer7 for GameCube
Yeah, I know, GameCube is out (has it really ever been “in”?), but there is no denying that both these games are truly exceptional. Eternal Darkness is a survival horror game in which you play Alexandra Roivas, a young woman investigating her grandfather's tragic death by decapitation. Soon into your investigation, you’ll find the Tome of Eternal Darkness, the game’s equivalent to the Necronomicon, and by reading its pages, you “live” the adventures of past characters who have been confronted with the evil of the Elder Gods.
Each chapter puts you in the shoes of one of these characters, among them a Roman centurion, a priest in Medieval Europe, Alexandra’s own ancestor, and a Canadian firefighter. There are twelve of those in all (including Alexandra). After each story, you continue Alexandra’s investigation, now with new knowledge which allow you to use some of the items in the mansion, or new magic which allow you to unlock new areas.
Not only is the game’s story interestingly presented, through the pages of the book and multiple stories, but the game presents you with multiple fun and original gameplay mechanics: the magic system and the insanity system. To cast spell, you need multiple “components”, runes scattered through the game’s levels. By combining these, you can learn to cast spells, including a handy reparation spell (that also allow you to enchant your weapons), a shield spell and a dispel magic. Spells can each have different “alignments”, one per Elder God, and they interact with each other in a “rock-paper-scissors” way.
The insanity system is what really makes the game shines, as fighting the horrors spawned by the Gods will drain your sanity. When it drops too low, the game is going to play tricks on you: you’ll start having hallucinations, hearing sounds like voices and screams, and even the camera angle will start shifting subtly. Some of these are even breaking the fourth wall: the first time you'll see the TV lowering the volume by itself is a pretty unique experience in videogames...
My only complaints is that the game is too easy, and when you become experienced, you won’t lose much sanity. Sadly, back then developers couldn’t release patches, because an additional difficulty level would have been welcome!
Killer7 is another weird game. It is not for everyone: the game is strictly on rails, meaning you can only move in two directions, except at some defined intersections. that may be the reason why many gamers avoided the title. However, the game is one of the most unique experience you’ll get on any system.
You play as the seven personalities of the Smith syndicate. You can switch personality, and thus appearance, clothes and weapons, at any time. The game’s convoluted and cryptic story (there is a very lengthy FAQ on Gamespot, it is almost a literary essay!) will make you fight the Smiles, weird zombies that are invisible (until you use your vision ring) and whose attacks include only running toward you and detonating themselves. That may sound simple in theory, but once you start encountering the weirder mutants, like to ones that look like a rolling ball, or those whose only weak spot is the face on their back, you’ll understand how varied the experience can be despite simple control schemes.
Aside from the aforementioned cryptic story, the increasingly weirder enemies and settings and the totally out-of-this-world atmosphere, the game gives you some of the most violent cutscenes in recent memory. The game was even targeted by Jack Thompson (the lawyer who tries to get every videogame more violent than Pacman banned) despite its low profile, but ironically, it is not the violent scene I mentioned that he was stuck on, rather it was the short and totally un-explicit “sex” scene (to be honest, it is so un-explicit that no skin is showed and while I have a good idea what the characters were doing, you cannot be sure… how is that pornographic, I have no clue.)
The game keeps pitting weird things at you one after the other, some are simply crazy (you’ll fight some sort of Power Rangers…), some completely disturbing (simply picking a new chapter is enough to make you jump!).
Yeah, I know, GameCube is out (has it really ever been “in”?), but there is no denying that both these games are truly exceptional. Eternal Darkness is a survival horror game in which you play Alexandra Roivas, a young woman investigating her grandfather's tragic death by decapitation. Soon into your investigation, you’ll find the Tome of Eternal Darkness, the game’s equivalent to the Necronomicon, and by reading its pages, you “live” the adventures of past characters who have been confronted with the evil of the Elder Gods.
Each chapter puts you in the shoes of one of these characters, among them a Roman centurion, a priest in Medieval Europe, Alexandra’s own ancestor, and a Canadian firefighter. There are twelve of those in all (including Alexandra). After each story, you continue Alexandra’s investigation, now with new knowledge which allow you to use some of the items in the mansion, or new magic which allow you to unlock new areas.
Not only is the game’s story interestingly presented, through the pages of the book and multiple stories, but the game presents you with multiple fun and original gameplay mechanics: the magic system and the insanity system. To cast spell, you need multiple “components”, runes scattered through the game’s levels. By combining these, you can learn to cast spells, including a handy reparation spell (that also allow you to enchant your weapons), a shield spell and a dispel magic. Spells can each have different “alignments”, one per Elder God, and they interact with each other in a “rock-paper-scissors” way.
The insanity system is what really makes the game shines, as fighting the horrors spawned by the Gods will drain your sanity. When it drops too low, the game is going to play tricks on you: you’ll start having hallucinations, hearing sounds like voices and screams, and even the camera angle will start shifting subtly. Some of these are even breaking the fourth wall: the first time you'll see the TV lowering the volume by itself is a pretty unique experience in videogames...
My only complaints is that the game is too easy, and when you become experienced, you won’t lose much sanity. Sadly, back then developers couldn’t release patches, because an additional difficulty level would have been welcome!
Killer7 is another weird game. It is not for everyone: the game is strictly on rails, meaning you can only move in two directions, except at some defined intersections. that may be the reason why many gamers avoided the title. However, the game is one of the most unique experience you’ll get on any system.
You play as the seven personalities of the Smith syndicate. You can switch personality, and thus appearance, clothes and weapons, at any time. The game’s convoluted and cryptic story (there is a very lengthy FAQ on Gamespot, it is almost a literary essay!) will make you fight the Smiles, weird zombies that are invisible (until you use your vision ring) and whose attacks include only running toward you and detonating themselves. That may sound simple in theory, but once you start encountering the weirder mutants, like to ones that look like a rolling ball, or those whose only weak spot is the face on their back, you’ll understand how varied the experience can be despite simple control schemes.
Aside from the aforementioned cryptic story, the increasingly weirder enemies and settings and the totally out-of-this-world atmosphere, the game gives you some of the most violent cutscenes in recent memory. The game was even targeted by Jack Thompson (the lawyer who tries to get every videogame more violent than Pacman banned) despite its low profile, but ironically, it is not the violent scene I mentioned that he was stuck on, rather it was the short and totally un-explicit “sex” scene (to be honest, it is so un-explicit that no skin is showed and while I have a good idea what the characters were doing, you cannot be sure… how is that pornographic, I have no clue.)
The game keeps pitting weird things at you one after the other, some are simply crazy (you’ll fight some sort of Power Rangers…), some completely disturbing (simply picking a new chapter is enough to make you jump!).
8/13/2010
My favorite games, part 2
Time for another one of these. Today: The World Ends with You.
The World Ends With You
This game with such a unique title is a Nintendo DS RPG. however, forget everything you know about RPGs. Coming from the company that buries one of my favorite series a bit more with each release (Final Fantasy - more on that another time) and who publishes generally sub-par RPGs of other franchises, along with a few gems (Dragon Quest), this was surprising, as it abandons all trappings of regular games.
You play as Neku. When you wake up, having forgotten part of your past, you realize you are still in Shibuya – the hip area of Tokyo – except you are like a ghost. People can’t see or hear you. You are then attacked by monsters and find a partner. Apparently, you are in some kind of “game”, the winner of which will be revived. that’s the initial set up, anyway.
To fight, you must use Pins. These are real pins, little round items. Each Pin carries an ability that you can use. You can equip multiple pins, as well as prepare multiple sets of pins, and each of these levels up separately. In combat, you control two characters at the same time: one on the upper screen, which is controlled by either the buttons (A, B, X and Y) or the D-Pad. The main character, Neku, is on the bottom, and controlled with the stylus exclusively.
To activate your powers, you need to use the stylus in particular ways. Some Pins only require you to press on the enemy to jolt them with electricity; others require you to draw lines to create walls of flames, yet others require you to hold the stylus in one place to generate an explosion at said place. So in addition to varying powers, to need to make sure some pins don’t have the same activation method (although there exists a way for such Pins to coexist).
Battles are thus frantic as you try to control both characters at the same time, avoiding attacks in the process. The good news is that your character can gain level as well as equipment. Every piece of clothing and Pin is associated with a "style" that has bonuses and penalties depending on the area you fight in. You can also upgrade your stats by eating. Eating diverse foods will fill a meter. When your character has finished digesting his food, he will gain bonuses in some stats. This allows you to customize your chars even more.
Each Pin can level individually, and even evolve into other Pins. The way you make Pins evolve involve the multiple types of experience a Pin can earn: rest xp is gained through not playing for a while, and battle xp is gained from winning. Some xp can be earned through a mini-game. To evolve, you require some xp of each kind (for instance, Pin A could require 100 rest xp and 200 mini-game xp to evolve into Pin B, or 300 xp of any kind to evolve into Pin C). Some pins are very rare, and you can adjust difficulty on the fly to increase your chances of finding a rare Pin.
The game is thus very much unique. The setting and the gameplay are one of a kind, but it is the story that is the piece de resistance. The story is appropriately convoluted, and features many interesting characters. If you own a DS, you have to try this game, there is no way around it.
I was supposed to mention other favorite games, notably BlazBlue, Killer7 and others. However, it seems long enough. It will be for another time.
---
Sidenote: I mentioned the Scott Pilgrim movie the other day. You can also try the Scott Pilgrim game, on sale on the PSN, and soon on XBox Live. It is reminiscent of Double Dragon and River City Ransom, with a modern touch and references to many classic videogames. Definitely worth a try!
The World Ends With You
This game with such a unique title is a Nintendo DS RPG. however, forget everything you know about RPGs. Coming from the company that buries one of my favorite series a bit more with each release (Final Fantasy - more on that another time) and who publishes generally sub-par RPGs of other franchises, along with a few gems (Dragon Quest), this was surprising, as it abandons all trappings of regular games.
You play as Neku. When you wake up, having forgotten part of your past, you realize you are still in Shibuya – the hip area of Tokyo – except you are like a ghost. People can’t see or hear you. You are then attacked by monsters and find a partner. Apparently, you are in some kind of “game”, the winner of which will be revived. that’s the initial set up, anyway.
To fight, you must use Pins. These are real pins, little round items. Each Pin carries an ability that you can use. You can equip multiple pins, as well as prepare multiple sets of pins, and each of these levels up separately. In combat, you control two characters at the same time: one on the upper screen, which is controlled by either the buttons (A, B, X and Y) or the D-Pad. The main character, Neku, is on the bottom, and controlled with the stylus exclusively.
To activate your powers, you need to use the stylus in particular ways. Some Pins only require you to press on the enemy to jolt them with electricity; others require you to draw lines to create walls of flames, yet others require you to hold the stylus in one place to generate an explosion at said place. So in addition to varying powers, to need to make sure some pins don’t have the same activation method (although there exists a way for such Pins to coexist).
Battles are thus frantic as you try to control both characters at the same time, avoiding attacks in the process. The good news is that your character can gain level as well as equipment. Every piece of clothing and Pin is associated with a "style" that has bonuses and penalties depending on the area you fight in. You can also upgrade your stats by eating. Eating diverse foods will fill a meter. When your character has finished digesting his food, he will gain bonuses in some stats. This allows you to customize your chars even more.
Each Pin can level individually, and even evolve into other Pins. The way you make Pins evolve involve the multiple types of experience a Pin can earn: rest xp is gained through not playing for a while, and battle xp is gained from winning. Some xp can be earned through a mini-game. To evolve, you require some xp of each kind (for instance, Pin A could require 100 rest xp and 200 mini-game xp to evolve into Pin B, or 300 xp of any kind to evolve into Pin C). Some pins are very rare, and you can adjust difficulty on the fly to increase your chances of finding a rare Pin.
The game is thus very much unique. The setting and the gameplay are one of a kind, but it is the story that is the piece de resistance. The story is appropriately convoluted, and features many interesting characters. If you own a DS, you have to try this game, there is no way around it.
I was supposed to mention other favorite games, notably BlazBlue, Killer7 and others. However, it seems long enough. It will be for another time.
---
Sidenote: I mentioned the Scott Pilgrim movie the other day. You can also try the Scott Pilgrim game, on sale on the PSN, and soon on XBox Live. It is reminiscent of Double Dragon and River City Ransom, with a modern touch and references to many classic videogames. Definitely worth a try!
8/09/2010
The future is DLC?
If you’ve been around the videogame world these past months, you’ve probably seen those three letters come around a lot. DLC. DownLoadable Content. For good or ill, the videogame industry has entered a new era, that of additional content via Internet.
What DLC means to you?
DLC This isn’t an easy question to answer, as DLC varies a lot. Some DLC are expansions – GTA4 is notable for having a few DLC expansions, like Ballad of Gay Tony (gotta love the name!). Dragon Age Origins also has its share of expansions. Other DLC are of lesser importance: they range from actual cheats (Trinity Universe, for instance, allows you to download items, some for free, some for a few bucks; Dante’s Inferno does the same) to costumes and characters.
Bad DLC: Maps, Cheats
I labeled cheats as bad DLC because they feel like an easy way to make cash out of lazy gamers. Not only that, but in my mind, they water down the game experience. I have nothing against unlockable cheats, but paying to get a few free potions in game in a game you already paid for is loserish. Unless the game has extreme difficulty (in which case, it seems like a scam: make the game so hard people have to pay for extra items in order to survive!), it is absolutely useless. I mentioned Trinity Universe before, which is an RPG, and whose DLC offers rare items. OK, I get the idea, still feels bad.
Wait… what? Extra maps are a bad DLC? Why? The reason is simple, really. Say you’ve got a game like Modern Warfare 2. You play online, snipe some guys and having a generally good time. Next comes the new DLC batch: 5 new maps! Unless it’s free, I think this is one of the worse kind of DLC. Even though it offers good value (more maps means more multiplayer fun!), this DLC becomes almost mandatory. Players who don’t pay for these maps cannot play against players who do. It effectively divides the player base. I’m not saying you should never buy map packs, because when you like a FPS, you don’t wanna frag your friends and foes on the same maps forever. In a game as popular as MW2, a divided player base isn’t much of a problem. When it comes to older games or games whose multiplayer component is less popular, it becomes a true issue. I’ve noticed it on Metal Gear Solid Online (AKA MGS4’s online component). So your choice as a player is either pay up, or be limited to play with other players who didn’t pay.
(Side note: it is still possible to play with players who have the maps, but then it’s the players who have paid for who feel stolen; to take back my MGS example, after paying for a map pack, I realized a lot of other players had stopped playing these maps and were more likely to be found killing each other joyously on the regular maps or on maps from a more recent pack)
Good DLC
Good DLC would be expansions. Of course, “good” is relative, as an expansion can still suck. Even great games can be cursed with bad expansions, and sometimes the price tag will be too heavy.
In between
What about costumes? Extra costumes in a fighting game, for instance. Are new costumes worth a few bucks? How about a few tools for LittleBig Planet? The truth is, most DLC’s quality will depend on what you find fun and useful. I like having multiple costumes in fighting games, but I found that SFIV's costumes, for the price, were not worth it. How about songs for music games? 2$ apiece might be a lot, but it can make you play the game a bit longer (a lot longer if you download a particularly tough one, or if you suck!).
Controversy
Lately, I’ve been lurking around BlazBlue forums, in hope of getting real information on a balance patch (please increase Rachel’s damage! Please!). There has been some controversy about the latest DLC: a new character.
Is a new character in a fighting game good or bad DLC? Some players complained, since Makoto (said DLC fighter) is sold for 8$ and can't be played in all modes. There has been some conspiracy theories about whether or not she was on the disc, about the morality of charging for her since her data was downloaded through a patch anyway, and so on.
On the disc?
SFIV’s extra costumes were on the disk – fact. Capcom admitted to it, explaining otherwise players wouldn’t be able to fight each other, because one who would not have paid for it wouldn’t be able to “see” entirely new costumes, a bit like the maps in FPS (see above). As a rule of thumb, DLC that is on the disc is a RIP OFF! This is a company stealing cash from you.
In BB’s case, however, only some data was available on the disc (as evidenced by gamers who have uncovered the next DLC characters through data mining). However, data was incomplete. The whole data was added to the game through a patch. Is this more morally defensible than data on the disc?
In my opinion, it is. The developers, Arc System Works, wanted to add content to their game without releasing a third game in the series. However, they did not want to force players to buy a character only to be able to play with players who did. So you can choose between buying or not, your call.
In a way, you still pay for data you have (through patch). But it is complementary to the whole game, something that was added later. The whole game is on the disc; they decided to add some more characters after the game was complete.
In my opinion, this system works because, unlike maps, it does not divided the player base; it is not charging for something that is already in the disc in its complete form; it is like a fighting game’s equivalent of expansion.
What does the controversy tells us? That some players are greedy and want everything for free; that some companies are greedy and charge you for something that is on the disc; and that point of views on DLC vary a lot. It is, after all, a relatively new concept in console gaming. However, my feeling is that it is here to stay. I for one love DLC. As long as I get a full game at retail and that DLC's quality match that of the game, I think it is an excellent way to add replay value to a game, and for companies a good way of making honest money.
The golden rule of DLC: Inform yourself about what you’re getting, then ask yourself if it is worth it!
Best DLC:
“Iron Maiden” album pack for Rock Band 2;
“Metal Gear Solid” for LittleBig Planet
Makoto Nanaya for BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Worst DLC:
Street Fighter IV Costumes
Metal Gear Solid Online map packs (on account that I bought them after they were relevant to the online community…)
What DLC means to you?
DLC This isn’t an easy question to answer, as DLC varies a lot. Some DLC are expansions – GTA4 is notable for having a few DLC expansions, like Ballad of Gay Tony (gotta love the name!). Dragon Age Origins also has its share of expansions. Other DLC are of lesser importance: they range from actual cheats (Trinity Universe, for instance, allows you to download items, some for free, some for a few bucks; Dante’s Inferno does the same) to costumes and characters.
Bad DLC: Maps, Cheats
I labeled cheats as bad DLC because they feel like an easy way to make cash out of lazy gamers. Not only that, but in my mind, they water down the game experience. I have nothing against unlockable cheats, but paying to get a few free potions in game in a game you already paid for is loserish. Unless the game has extreme difficulty (in which case, it seems like a scam: make the game so hard people have to pay for extra items in order to survive!), it is absolutely useless. I mentioned Trinity Universe before, which is an RPG, and whose DLC offers rare items. OK, I get the idea, still feels bad.
Wait… what? Extra maps are a bad DLC? Why? The reason is simple, really. Say you’ve got a game like Modern Warfare 2. You play online, snipe some guys and having a generally good time. Next comes the new DLC batch: 5 new maps! Unless it’s free, I think this is one of the worse kind of DLC. Even though it offers good value (more maps means more multiplayer fun!), this DLC becomes almost mandatory. Players who don’t pay for these maps cannot play against players who do. It effectively divides the player base. I’m not saying you should never buy map packs, because when you like a FPS, you don’t wanna frag your friends and foes on the same maps forever. In a game as popular as MW2, a divided player base isn’t much of a problem. When it comes to older games or games whose multiplayer component is less popular, it becomes a true issue. I’ve noticed it on Metal Gear Solid Online (AKA MGS4’s online component). So your choice as a player is either pay up, or be limited to play with other players who didn’t pay.
(Side note: it is still possible to play with players who have the maps, but then it’s the players who have paid for who feel stolen; to take back my MGS example, after paying for a map pack, I realized a lot of other players had stopped playing these maps and were more likely to be found killing each other joyously on the regular maps or on maps from a more recent pack)
Good DLC
Good DLC would be expansions. Of course, “good” is relative, as an expansion can still suck. Even great games can be cursed with bad expansions, and sometimes the price tag will be too heavy.
In between
What about costumes? Extra costumes in a fighting game, for instance. Are new costumes worth a few bucks? How about a few tools for LittleBig Planet? The truth is, most DLC’s quality will depend on what you find fun and useful. I like having multiple costumes in fighting games, but I found that SFIV's costumes, for the price, were not worth it. How about songs for music games? 2$ apiece might be a lot, but it can make you play the game a bit longer (a lot longer if you download a particularly tough one, or if you suck!).
Controversy
Lately, I’ve been lurking around BlazBlue forums, in hope of getting real information on a balance patch (please increase Rachel’s damage! Please!). There has been some controversy about the latest DLC: a new character.
Is a new character in a fighting game good or bad DLC? Some players complained, since Makoto (said DLC fighter) is sold for 8$ and can't be played in all modes. There has been some conspiracy theories about whether or not she was on the disc, about the morality of charging for her since her data was downloaded through a patch anyway, and so on.
On the disc?
SFIV’s extra costumes were on the disk – fact. Capcom admitted to it, explaining otherwise players wouldn’t be able to fight each other, because one who would not have paid for it wouldn’t be able to “see” entirely new costumes, a bit like the maps in FPS (see above). As a rule of thumb, DLC that is on the disc is a RIP OFF! This is a company stealing cash from you.
In BB’s case, however, only some data was available on the disc (as evidenced by gamers who have uncovered the next DLC characters through data mining). However, data was incomplete. The whole data was added to the game through a patch. Is this more morally defensible than data on the disc?
In my opinion, it is. The developers, Arc System Works, wanted to add content to their game without releasing a third game in the series. However, they did not want to force players to buy a character only to be able to play with players who did. So you can choose between buying or not, your call.
In a way, you still pay for data you have (through patch). But it is complementary to the whole game, something that was added later. The whole game is on the disc; they decided to add some more characters after the game was complete.
In my opinion, this system works because, unlike maps, it does not divided the player base; it is not charging for something that is already in the disc in its complete form; it is like a fighting game’s equivalent of expansion.
What does the controversy tells us? That some players are greedy and want everything for free; that some companies are greedy and charge you for something that is on the disc; and that point of views on DLC vary a lot. It is, after all, a relatively new concept in console gaming. However, my feeling is that it is here to stay. I for one love DLC. As long as I get a full game at retail and that DLC's quality match that of the game, I think it is an excellent way to add replay value to a game, and for companies a good way of making honest money.
The golden rule of DLC: Inform yourself about what you’re getting, then ask yourself if it is worth it!
Best DLC:
“Iron Maiden” album pack for Rock Band 2;
“Metal Gear Solid” for LittleBig Planet
Makoto Nanaya for BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Worst DLC:
Street Fighter IV Costumes
Metal Gear Solid Online map packs (on account that I bought them after they were relevant to the online community…)
8/04/2010
Healing anxiety
No, I’m not speaking of ways to heal anxiety. Rather, I’m speaking of anxiety to heal. An article the other day on http://www.wow.com/ was interesting. It was about tanking anxiety.
I rarely tank, if ever, but I did heal. My main was a Restoration Shaman, now Elemental. I healed from level 16 to level 80, then stopped a bit. When I picked up healing again, I had trouble.
See, after a few deaths, and maybe one or two wipes as well in Forge of Souls, I started suffering from healer anxiety. I looked at what went wrong. Somehow, facing the second FoS boss, the tank found a way to be two-shot faster than it takes to say “Riptide”! Not my fault, right? Then, my bad, I stood in the fire. Then DPS stood in the fire. OK, three wipes. Two of those were not my fault: if the tank dies too fast for me to insta-heal, I can't be blamed, can't I? If the tank does not pickup adds while DPS take damage from the literal fire, I can’t do everything. Yet, somehow, I felt responsible. During the whole run, I saved people by the skin of the teeth, and made mistakes.
So now it’s been weeks, and I don’t want to heal. Not that healing heroics was really fun. During the levelling process, people are usually more casual. Once they hit level 80, it seems they assume you overgear the content. When you do, it’s a breeze. But it does not take much for things to go awry, and the healer and the tanks are often the ones blamed.
In my experience as healer, I found that the non-heroic instances are, because of this, more fun. Not because they’re easier, rather because players don’t rush. They don’t do the instance hoping to get their precious emblems of frost ASAP, they’re either enjoying the contents, or they’re happy to get the XP and to take the time to, you know, loot the corpses!
However, I found that the RDF (that’s Random Dungeon Finder) is very helpful to level as a healer (and probably tank). If I heal other heroics, maybe I’ll go with a premade instead.
Two sidenotes:
Leveling as a healer is viable and even quicker than you might expect! I levelled as a Shaman Resto because 1) I wanted to try healing and 2) because other healers seemed fragile (my low-level experience as a Druid make me think this class is underpowered in PVE before long, and I never levelled priests very far, usually dying to goblins of some sort). As a Resto shaman, you can kill mobs rather quickly for a healer, with Searing totem and shocks and lightning bolts. Plus, when you queue up for a dungeon, you have a shorter wait time, and dungeon experience is good, especially with some instance quests. I ended up levelling faster than my friend, a Hunter! Admittedly, he was chatting a lot, but I also wasted time trying different professions… So try it, you’re in for a different experience!
Second sidenote: Even though I said I didn't like as much healing heroics than regular dungeons, I still feel as a healer. I always check changes made to Resto first, and plan on levelling a Discipline priest. I’ll just have to get over the healer anxiety, and start doing Culling of Stratholme again (my favorite instance, yay!).
So there it is, healing anxiety and tanking anxiety. Is there DPS anxiety too?
I rarely tank, if ever, but I did heal. My main was a Restoration Shaman, now Elemental. I healed from level 16 to level 80, then stopped a bit. When I picked up healing again, I had trouble.
See, after a few deaths, and maybe one or two wipes as well in Forge of Souls, I started suffering from healer anxiety. I looked at what went wrong. Somehow, facing the second FoS boss, the tank found a way to be two-shot faster than it takes to say “Riptide”! Not my fault, right? Then, my bad, I stood in the fire. Then DPS stood in the fire. OK, three wipes. Two of those were not my fault: if the tank dies too fast for me to insta-heal, I can't be blamed, can't I? If the tank does not pickup adds while DPS take damage from the literal fire, I can’t do everything. Yet, somehow, I felt responsible. During the whole run, I saved people by the skin of the teeth, and made mistakes.
So now it’s been weeks, and I don’t want to heal. Not that healing heroics was really fun. During the levelling process, people are usually more casual. Once they hit level 80, it seems they assume you overgear the content. When you do, it’s a breeze. But it does not take much for things to go awry, and the healer and the tanks are often the ones blamed.
In my experience as healer, I found that the non-heroic instances are, because of this, more fun. Not because they’re easier, rather because players don’t rush. They don’t do the instance hoping to get their precious emblems of frost ASAP, they’re either enjoying the contents, or they’re happy to get the XP and to take the time to, you know, loot the corpses!
However, I found that the RDF (that’s Random Dungeon Finder) is very helpful to level as a healer (and probably tank). If I heal other heroics, maybe I’ll go with a premade instead.
Two sidenotes:
Leveling as a healer is viable and even quicker than you might expect! I levelled as a Shaman Resto because 1) I wanted to try healing and 2) because other healers seemed fragile (my low-level experience as a Druid make me think this class is underpowered in PVE before long, and I never levelled priests very far, usually dying to goblins of some sort). As a Resto shaman, you can kill mobs rather quickly for a healer, with Searing totem and shocks and lightning bolts. Plus, when you queue up for a dungeon, you have a shorter wait time, and dungeon experience is good, especially with some instance quests. I ended up levelling faster than my friend, a Hunter! Admittedly, he was chatting a lot, but I also wasted time trying different professions… So try it, you’re in for a different experience!
Second sidenote: Even though I said I didn't like as much healing heroics than regular dungeons, I still feel as a healer. I always check changes made to Resto first, and plan on levelling a Discipline priest. I’ll just have to get over the healer anxiety, and start doing Culling of Stratholme again (my favorite instance, yay!).
So there it is, healing anxiety and tanking anxiety. Is there DPS anxiety too?
Not totally related to videogames, but what the heck
I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World the other night at Montreal’s Fantasia festival. Gamers will likely enjoy it, as there are many nods to videogames and comic books. Really fun movie, but it’s not for everyone. You gotta like absurd humour to appreciate, though, but the whole cast is fun, and the action is WAY over the top.
Reviewing things
This has been bugging me for a while. People can’t review things! They literally cannot. I can’t count the number of times I read a terrible review. Not terrible because I disagreed with it (though when I do, it’s even more obvious), but terrible because:
a) the review does not match the score. This is a frequent problem. The reviewer tells you how amazing a product is and gives it a 7/10. So, is it OK or is it awesome? Or they insist on the negative sides of a game (or movie, or book), then gives it a good notes. You could get through reading the review that it was not so bad, but you wonder why 90% of the text focus on the bad things. People, when reviewing something, make sure your score is consistent with your review! “Amazing”, “Superb”, “the Best” are not words you use when you give an average score.
b) the score is an extreme. Go to www.imdb.com. Look at the ratings for a movie, then look at the breakdowns. More often than not, you’ll see that most notes are 1 or 10, with a lot of 9 and 2 sprinkled for good measure. It’s a fact that people will too often give one of the extremes and not for good reasons. Think about it, 1/10 means there can’t be worse! In a movie, that’s a crap beyond crap, something Uwe Boll shat while drunk and blindfolded. Even (not all of) Uwe Boll movies probably do not deserve entirely such a bad note. In a game, it’s probably a bug-filled game, barely playable (such games do exist, sadly). It is clear to me that even movies I hated do not deserve such a note, on an objective perspective. Likewise, 10/10 means the absolute best. Rare are the games and movies and books that would deserve such an honor. However, I feel 10/10 is more understandable, since I guess a good part of giving a 1/10 is pure trolling. Liked a game or a movie? Put your score into perspective! You cannot thrust ratings such as Imdb’s or IGN’s Reader Average if the only notes are 10/10 and 1/10.
c) Give a score for the good reasons! If you give 0/10 for StarCraft2 on account there is no LAN play, or only the Terran campaign, don’t be surprised if you are called a troll, as they are but minor gripes that might reduce a score slightly, but not to the bottom! If you want people actually think twice about buying SC2 because you were disappointed in said points, give a reasonable score; a 5/10 or 4/10 is less likely to be seen as mere trolling. I have enough of reading comments like “I loved the movie, but I feel it’s overall rating is too high, so I’m giving it a 1/10”. True story: some dumb person did this to the LoTR movie because at the time, it’s average rating on Imdb was higher than The Godfather, and the user thought it was not appropriate.
Objectively, 1/10 scores should be rare. I understand there is a part of subjectivity in every review, and that 10/10 scores are unavoidable, just like 1/10. But people will take you more seriously and average ratings will be more representative if you limit yourself to 1 or 2 points of subjectivity.
Then there is the matter of disappointment. If you had expectations, but it did not live up to it (as I think many players feel with SC2, for instance), take the time to think I through. Don’t review until you’ve slept on it. In my experience, going in with too much expectations can be bad, and time can put everything in perspective. When I came out of the theatre from seeing Van Helsing, I had a good time. Upon thinking about it, however, I realized I remembered mostly things that annoyed me, and now I don’t wanna see the movie ever again.
a) the review does not match the score. This is a frequent problem. The reviewer tells you how amazing a product is and gives it a 7/10. So, is it OK or is it awesome? Or they insist on the negative sides of a game (or movie, or book), then gives it a good notes. You could get through reading the review that it was not so bad, but you wonder why 90% of the text focus on the bad things. People, when reviewing something, make sure your score is consistent with your review! “Amazing”, “Superb”, “the Best” are not words you use when you give an average score.
b) the score is an extreme. Go to www.imdb.com. Look at the ratings for a movie, then look at the breakdowns. More often than not, you’ll see that most notes are 1 or 10, with a lot of 9 and 2 sprinkled for good measure. It’s a fact that people will too often give one of the extremes and not for good reasons. Think about it, 1/10 means there can’t be worse! In a movie, that’s a crap beyond crap, something Uwe Boll shat while drunk and blindfolded. Even (not all of) Uwe Boll movies probably do not deserve entirely such a bad note. In a game, it’s probably a bug-filled game, barely playable (such games do exist, sadly). It is clear to me that even movies I hated do not deserve such a note, on an objective perspective. Likewise, 10/10 means the absolute best. Rare are the games and movies and books that would deserve such an honor. However, I feel 10/10 is more understandable, since I guess a good part of giving a 1/10 is pure trolling. Liked a game or a movie? Put your score into perspective! You cannot thrust ratings such as Imdb’s or IGN’s Reader Average if the only notes are 10/10 and 1/10.
c) Give a score for the good reasons! If you give 0/10 for StarCraft2 on account there is no LAN play, or only the Terran campaign, don’t be surprised if you are called a troll, as they are but minor gripes that might reduce a score slightly, but not to the bottom! If you want people actually think twice about buying SC2 because you were disappointed in said points, give a reasonable score; a 5/10 or 4/10 is less likely to be seen as mere trolling. I have enough of reading comments like “I loved the movie, but I feel it’s overall rating is too high, so I’m giving it a 1/10”. True story: some dumb person did this to the LoTR movie because at the time, it’s average rating on Imdb was higher than The Godfather, and the user thought it was not appropriate.
Objectively, 1/10 scores should be rare. I understand there is a part of subjectivity in every review, and that 10/10 scores are unavoidable, just like 1/10. But people will take you more seriously and average ratings will be more representative if you limit yourself to 1 or 2 points of subjectivity.
Then there is the matter of disappointment. If you had expectations, but it did not live up to it (as I think many players feel with SC2, for instance), take the time to think I through. Don’t review until you’ve slept on it. In my experience, going in with too much expectations can be bad, and time can put everything in perspective. When I came out of the theatre from seeing Van Helsing, I had a good time. Upon thinking about it, however, I realized I remembered mostly things that annoyed me, and now I don’t wanna see the movie ever again.
Starcraft 2 impressions
I’m not going to do a full review of SC2 anytime soon, since I’m now in an overload of games to play (damn you, BlazBlue!!!), but my friend gave me a guest pass, so I could try it.
After a long download (my poor bandwidth suffered), I was happy to see I could play the game with medium graphic settings, eve after a warning about my video card. And I hopped in. I did not start the campaign. Rather, I went back to my old love: skirmish mode and Protoss.
As all reviews will tell you, and from the few hours I spent the game with tell me, Starcraft 2 isn’t a huge step from its predecessor. However, the game is still nice. The production is over the top, the graphics are great, and the controls and the interface are streamlined. You will find familiar units, but that was to be expected, along with a few new ones, and refinements all over the place, from new abilities to new mechanics (climbing hills, obstacles, line of sight, and so on).
This is exactly what I expected. From what I hear, the single player campaign is vastly different, allowing you to buy upgrades and stuff in between missions, and I like the idea of a trilogy. For those complaining about the lack of a proper Zerg or Protoss campaign, the game will ultimately deliver not three short campaigns, but three full fledged ones. I’m convinced it’s a good idea, from both a player standpoint (more stuff, better production all the way, a story that feels more epic – at least that’s my guess), and from a marketing one (yeah yeah, Blizzard’s a company, get over it dammit!).
Given the production value and the number of missions and modes and all that, you can’t seriously claim this is not a full game. So far I’m enjoying my time with SC2 and have no doubt that it’s going to be a game people will still play in many years.
After a long download (my poor bandwidth suffered), I was happy to see I could play the game with medium graphic settings, eve after a warning about my video card. And I hopped in. I did not start the campaign. Rather, I went back to my old love: skirmish mode and Protoss.
As all reviews will tell you, and from the few hours I spent the game with tell me, Starcraft 2 isn’t a huge step from its predecessor. However, the game is still nice. The production is over the top, the graphics are great, and the controls and the interface are streamlined. You will find familiar units, but that was to be expected, along with a few new ones, and refinements all over the place, from new abilities to new mechanics (climbing hills, obstacles, line of sight, and so on).
This is exactly what I expected. From what I hear, the single player campaign is vastly different, allowing you to buy upgrades and stuff in between missions, and I like the idea of a trilogy. For those complaining about the lack of a proper Zerg or Protoss campaign, the game will ultimately deliver not three short campaigns, but three full fledged ones. I’m convinced it’s a good idea, from both a player standpoint (more stuff, better production all the way, a story that feels more epic – at least that’s my guess), and from a marketing one (yeah yeah, Blizzard’s a company, get over it dammit!).
Given the production value and the number of missions and modes and all that, you can’t seriously claim this is not a full game. So far I’m enjoying my time with SC2 and have no doubt that it’s going to be a game people will still play in many years.
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