Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Finished A Clash of Kings

After weeks of reading neglect, I buckled down this Christmas break and knocked out the rest of George Martin's A Clash of Kings, the second in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. I had a bit of trouble getting through this second book, as the middle section got bogged down in too much geopolitical intrigue for my liking. The end, however, picked up again with a vengenence. Martin kills off critical characters with a reckless abandon that always keeps the reader on edge. Once I hit the last hundred pages, I read to completion in one sitting.

So now I've moved on to the second of the series, A Storm of Swords.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Ever so recently, I wondered why more press hadn't connected Grand Theft Auto IV with Far Cry 2. After playing GTA IV for a couple of hours, I now know why.

The two games share some common game mechanics, but employ very different narrative vehicles. FC2 has the barest frame of a story wrapped around a traditional first-person shooter. Its characters are underdeveloped, its dialogue read too quickly, and its storytelling limited to one basic goal, finding the Jackal. GTA IV tells a compelling story. Missions often begin and end with cut scenes that are rendered in-game, but rival the feel of a Hollywood movie. Character development reigns supreme, not just for Nico, but for all the supporting cast. GTA IV uses elements of shooter, but running and gunning doesn't drive the game like it does in FC2. And for that reason, the games feel and play quite differently.

And that's why hardly anyone drew a comparison between the two.

Incidentally, I heartily appreciate GTA IV Independence FM. I transferred three Interpol CDs within the Rockstar game folder and now drive around Liberty City listening to music I like. It's a bit surreal to drive in this game. Traffic ebbs and flows like that of a major city. Since I drive in that muck daily, it's so satisfying to ram my stolen car through red lights, stop signs, and lallygagging drivers. Since the car is "borrowed," I have no problem smashing it into stationary and mobile targets alike.

It's like chicken soup for the commuter soul.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Gabe as DM

How cool would it be to have an artist like Gabe from Penny Arcade be your DM? Tycho and Gabe have been documenting Gabe's recent interest in DMing his very own campaign in their most recent strips and Gabe himself posted the illustrations he did for each of the party members. Very cool.

Actually, my group has a budding artist too. Pati, the DM's wife, drew and colored stand-up placards for nearly the entire group. They're really good; it's become as much ritual to prop up your player card as opening up the bag of Twizzlers or lining up the night's dice.

Having played 4.0 for nearly six months now, I still enjoy the latest iteration more than 3.5. But I think some of my companions yearn for the complexity and challenge that the previous edition offered. I know Craig, the DM, is frustrated by the party continuously bitch slapping his monsters. He blames the system for the lack of crunchy challenge. I had to remind him that 3.5 has gaping holes in its game system that you could drive a Mack truck through. He nodded agreement, but I don't think he was convinced.

Monday, December 22, 2008

10 Day Free Trial of Wrath of the Lich King

Watching X-Play the other day, I observed scrolling across their news ticker that Blizzard was offering a free 10 day trial to Wrath of the Lich King. Up till now, I haven't been motivated to buy and play the new expansion. But I am curious enough to try it for free.

After I downloaded all the necessary files and updates (which went flawlessly, by the way), I immediately logged in my mage, headed for Undercity, and took the zeppelin to Northrend. I grabbed some quests and completed them and then . . . got bored, logged out, and played Lord of the Rings Online.

The next day, I spurned Scepter my mage and rolled a death knight, the new hero class. I played all through the death knight story, right up to the last quest that sends you to Orgrimmar to throw yourself on Thrall's mercies. As you walk through Orgrimmar (you can't ride because you've been mysteriously silenced), the denizens of the city throw rotten fruit, spit, and shout out insults until you finally reach Thrall. The orc leader sympathizes with you, however, and commands the Horde to accept you into their fold.

All that was a lot of fun, but when I then made my way to Hellfire Peninsula, my interest faltered again. Not to mention that the death knight absolutely chews through mobs. I can see the nerf bat coming down on this class hard from a mile away. My mage can't kill stuff as fast as my dk can, and the latter is clad in plate and can heal himself!

I've got seven more days to play for free. I'll decide after break if I want to actually buy the game. It seems doubtful though. For every hour I play of WoW, I quit and play two of LotRO. We'll see though.

Merry Christmas!

I haven't been posting like I usually do because work has been kicking my ass these last few weeks. My last day before break was Friday and I spent the weekend playing D&D, playing Wrath of the Lich King (10 day free trial), and Lord of the Rings Online. The family and I attended a choir Christmas service at church last night and then went out for some barbeque. I don't know why those two things don't seem to give together, but I enjoyed both anyway.

I hope you have a safe and restful holiday break as well.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Encyclopedias

I got the oddest flashback today at work. My recent order of 2009 World Book Encyclopedias arrived at my school library today and as I was unboxing them, I suddenly remembered back to when I was a kid. Around ten, I guess. I was a cub scout or webelos and the pack was lingering at someone's house for the weekly meeting. We either hadn't begun an activity, had just finished one, or the activity was so craptacular, we were bored.

At any rate, one of the scouts started in on another, the pack leader's son, when all the adults seemed distracted. He started making fun of him for, get this, reading too much. Stupidity and ignorance remains highly valued even in today's United States, so not much has changed in twenty years. Anyway, the insulting scout said a bunch of stuff, most of which I can't remember, but the one line I do recall, and will likely never forget, is the the crack about the pack leader's son reading the A encyclopedia cover to cover.

I guess that was pretty insulting back in the day because the accused scout sheepishly denied it over the pack's hooting and hollering. As a kid, I thought long and hard about that insult. Both why someone would ever read an encyclopedia like a book and why someone could be made fun of for doing it. I never did come to any remarkable revelation about it. I don't think the memory provides any insight, except as a snapshot to a time that seems light years ago to me. It almost makes my head swoon thinking that some freshly printed reference books could so seamlessly trigger an obscure memory more than twenty years old.

Puzzling and amusing stuff.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Tropic Thunder

Wifezilla and I watched Tropic Thunder last night. I laughed so hard throughout, I cried. Crying morphed into a coughing fit at the part where Jack Black is tied to a tree to tough out his heroin addict and offers to, uh, "service" anyone who lets him go. I think I missed the next two minutes of the movie from blinding laughter.

The "full retard" conversation was equally hilarious. I know the movie drew flak for crossing this line, but in this day and age, I think pretty much anyone and everyone is up for ridicule. Plus, I think Stiller was making more fun of actors trying to snag Oscars by playing retards than retards themselves.

Maybe.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Just Like Michael Jordan

I blew up Megaton the other night. I also snuck into an underground warren and murdered a revolutionary ghoul. In his sleep. The ghoul proved sturdy, as a point blank head shot failed to take him down. A couple more plugs after he leaped out of bed did the trick though.

I’m playing Fallout 3 evil now and am surprised at how hard it is for me to do the bad thing, even under simulated circumstances. As fun as it was pushing the red button that detonated Megaton’s nuke, I felt guilty pangs of regret afterwards. I got urges to reload to the point before planting the remote charge and save the town, even though I had already played through that way. Same thing with stealing. I’ve been passing phat lewtz up, for no other reason than they rightfully belong to someone else. WTF? That’s no way to play evil, and I better shape up if I want to explore new moral territory in Fallout 3.

I’m still having fun mind you. It’s just playing evil is like trying to write left-handed; I have to stick my tongue out and concentrate while I do it.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Far Cry 2 = GTA IV

I’ve played a bit more of Far Cry 2 and thoroughly enjoyed roaming the African landscape as a mercenary hired to hunt down The Jackal, the region’s most powerful gun smuggler. The game is like a cross between Fallout 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, open-world sandbox play from the former, hardcore first-person shooter from the latter.

Actually, Far Cry 2 resembles more closely another recent release, Grand Theft Auto IV. In fact, other than setting, the two games could almost be fraternal twins. FC2’s core game play model is almost lifted directly from GTAIV. I’ve read numerous reviews of FC2 and am surprised that no one mentioned the uncanny resemblance between the two games. For instance, my Irish mercenary receives missions via his cell phone. And when I need to get from point A to point B, I simply jump into the nearest abandoned vehicle. There is no currency in the game but diamonds, which I can use to buy equipment—mostly guns, but later in the game I think I can buy other stuff too.

I’m not criticizing FC2, just pointing out that many reviewers hailed it for its open-ended game play and sandbox nature without mentioning the obvious inspiration the developers got from other bestselling material. I mean, even the game’s cover art looks like that of GTAIV!

Be that as it may, the game is a lot of fun and now that I’m done roaming the Wasteland, I plan to hunt this Jackal down.

Fallout 3's Ending

***Spoiler Alert***

I finished Fallout 3 yesterday. Well, the main campaign at least. Even with 50+ hours with the game, I’m left with entire sectors unexplored. I did enjoy the ending, including the final cut scene; it was Hallmark poignant, but moving nevertheless.

My character dying in the very end was fitting with the story as a whole, especially coming off the heels of the father’s death under very similar circumstances. The only problem is the game ends right there! The cut scene starts, the credits roll, the game stops despite large tracts of the Waste I have left to explore.

Sure, I could load a previous save game and continue on my merry way. I just find it curious that Bethesda put a game ending climax to their main campaign in the midst of the most open ended game on the market today. The two seem at odds with each other and as much as I enjoyed the ending, I felt disappointed to be plopped back to the game’s main menu.

Small quibble to be sure because Fallout 3 will be contender for game of the year across platforms. I’ve already rerolled. I plan on playing as diabolically as I can, starting with the nuclear denotation of Megaton’s megaton.

Muhahahahaha.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

WTB More Will and Fate

Lukenbach fought off the Watcher in the Black Pool last night. Upon finishing the Book, I got a minstrel class slot item, a teal medium armor headpiece, and access to the Mines of Moria. I spent just enough time in Moria to tag the stable hand before exiting immediately; I’ve got a ton left to do Eregion before I’ll return to Moria.

While questing, the flow of new gear pieces has been steady. But in the process of replacing key pieces, I managed to gimp Lukenbach. Before, he had around 2.4k health, 2k power. I’ve been selecting pieces that favor morale and might over will and fate. As a result, my in-combat power regeneration went from healthy and robust, to almost non-existent. Somewhere along the line, I shed too much will and fate and now I’m running out of power towards the end of fights.

It’s a problem easily fixed as I haven’t sold any of the old gear for just such a contingency. My goal is to strike a balance between morale and in and out-combat regeneration. Ideally, I’d like to be left with at least half power left at the end of average fights. Otherwise, I spend too much time waiting for out-combat regeneration to fill before my next pull.

Forgotten Birthday Leads to Houston’s Destruction

The other day when I wrote about our excursion to the Greek restaurant Niko Niko’s, I got Wifezilla’s birthday wrong. I said it was the 11th and it’s actually the 10th. Hell hath no fury like a wife’s birthday confused.

I really do know it’s the 10th and almost always manage to coordinate presents and cake and decorations on the appropriate day. But pesky Veteran’s Day interferes and now Wifezilla is on the rampage, destroying key American infrastructure as we speak. She’s on CNN as I write this, swatting F-15s out of the sky as she levels downtown Houston.

Who knew she actually read the blog?

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

I Am Legendary Weapon

Lukenbach got his first legendary weapon last night, a shimmering mace. I had a host of one-handed options, but unfortunately none of them an axe. I earned the mace after the thing in the Black Pool attacked the mining party of dwarves trying to unearth Durin’s collapsed door. The waters of the Black Pool were an eerie calm until they erupted violently and the tentacled thing lashed out, grabbed a dwarf, and ate him. Lukenbach fled the scene and reported back to the main encampment. The dwarf there speculated that only a weapon of the Old Age could possible defeat such evil. And so I quest on.

Before the incident at the Black Pool, I relived the Fall of Moria. Session play in Lord of the Rings Online involves taking over another avatar to tell a story. In this case, I assumed the role of Nafni, an assistant to King Durin VI. At this time, mithril was running scarce in Moria and the dwarves were mining ever deeper to find more. At the same time, King Durin received elven emissaries to discuss mithril trade. The session play outlined all of this, culminating in a sight-seeing tour of the latest mithril find, dug deep within Moria. I won’t spoil what happens next, other than to say the party finds both mithril and the Lord of Fire and Shadow, all 513,000 health of him.

I’m still not finished with Book 1, Volume 2. I have to level my legendary to 10 before I can proceed. I peeked ahead and can expect to add a legendary class slot item, a book of songs for minstrels. And a teal headpiece. I hope to wrap up the rest of the book tonight.

Huzzah!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Dynamic Map of Lord of the Rings Online

And it's current! Just in time for new questing in Eregion and the Mines.

Check it out here:

http://dynmap.ruslotro.com/breeland.html

Far Cry 2

I got Far Cry 2 the other day and it’s been a blast to play so far. It’s an open world first person shooter, very much in the vein of Grand Theft Auto IV, right down to copious amounts of driving various vehicles back and forth across the African landscape. There are mission and side mission galore, and some diamond hunting to sweeten the deal.

The graphics are phenomenal and the adrenaline really gets pumping when a jeep load of gut-toting thugs bursts out of the jungle raining fire and death. I took one out with my trusty RPG and cackled with delight at the exploding carnage and shrapnel.

A good game so far, very similar to GTA IV. So if you’re a fan of that game, FC2 is a safe bet. I plan on tearing into it more when Lord of the Rings Online and Fallout 3 have there claws out of me.

Call Me Ironsong

Yeah, I gave Lukenbach the surname “Ironsong.” Shut up, it’s cool.

When I hit level 50 last Friday, I steered Lukenbach towards Eregion, the entry zone of the Mines of Moria expansion. I forgot about levels and gear and gold for a time while I got consumed with questing. Before I knew it, I was level 51. I’m now at the gates of Moria and doing a ton of quests that are directly tied into following the wake of the traveling Fellowship. Turbine has done an absolutely stunning job of merging Tolkien’s main storyline into their game plot. One of my most favorite scenes so far has been circling the Black Pool toward a crumbled gate currently being excavated by dwarves. The dwarven miners even comment that the blocked door looks recently collapsed, forcing me to slowly peer back toward the ominous lake waters.

And the loot! I’ve replaced numerous pieces, including a headpiece that not only thoroughly thrashed my old gear statistically speaking, but also looks damn taiiiiight. It’s got a Greek thing going on at the top, but I dig it. Plus, my beard shoots shoots out the bottom, giving me some Cousin It flair.

Volume 2, Book 1 is the quest line just outside the Mines. As I understand it, it’s the precursor to wielding a first legendary weapon. A kin gave me a legendary class slot item, but I can’t equip it until I finish the first Book. I think it’s largely soloable, but we’ll see soon enough.

I also received a quest to track down the most famous pony in fantasy literature, Bill. Seems the elves have caught sight of him wandering well west of the mountains. After I finish Book 1 and get my legendary item, I’ll head out and see about rescuing him.