(This is a continuing series detailing my playthrough of Planescape Torment. You can check out the whole run on the Nostalgia Lane page.) Morte’s been kidnapped. I am not pleased. While the little guy wasn’t the best fighter in the … Continue reading →
Planescape Torment: Dead men tell plenty of tales
Shorties
No time to do a long post today, but I did want to make a few quick mentions: Tyler Edwards from the blog Superior Realities has written and self-published a new steampunk fantasy book called Rage of the Old Gods. … Continue reading →
TSW: Tonight We Dine In Hell
The Secret World Monday Night crew has been been raring to run some of the elite dungeons in Transylvania for a while now; we were just waiting for the right time. And apparently, this was the week. Out of the choices available we figured that The Facility was too “filthy”, and since you would have […]
Emergency AFK? 6 Ways to Handle It Like a Pro
Have you ever heard of the perfect storm of raiding? Not a single cloud in the sky. Calm and steady waves. You have enough players present even though 1 or 2 players have signed out for the day. But you can’t quite shake that feeling it’s just too good to be true. For us, it [...]
“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”
- Wayne Gretzky
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LOTRO – blue or red pill? Nah! Take the golden ring!
The monitor broke on my computer, dead, dead, dead… So I connected the comp up to the TV, the wonders of modern technology Today Arwynneth joined a fellowship down a hole (Haudh Iarchith) in southern Barrow Downs…lv80+ rune keeper( a killing machine) and a lv55 ish captain… Chat window was full of clutter and info, […]
The big "E" part 3.
And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the SONY Playstation E3 2013 conference recap. This was without a doubt the most attended moment at this year’s E3. Microsoft laid the cards on the table, and now it was the Japanese giant’s turn.
The show started with a video presentation of everything Playstation. This was followed by current gen support information for both the PS Vita (and the important future role it will play) and PS3.
It’s going to be a good year for SCE’s current work horse with many titles releasing for the Cell powered machine. The Last of Us (already out, and what a game!), Batman Origins, GT6, Beyond Two Souls, Puppeteer and Rain (both exclusives) and exclusive content for the GTA V PS3 bundle coming this year. This line-up shows that the PS3 still has some bite left into it and ready to tackle it’s future head-on. It’s good that Sony still gives the system the respect it deserves even in the wake of the new generation, they already demonstrated the same level of commitment with the PS2 years ago.
When the PS4 logo appeared on the giant screen behind the stage, it was time to start getting excited. There it was for the first time ever the PS4 box. A simple (too simple?) designed half dark gray and lucid black plastic box that will soon reside in may homes. Sony went for the most neutral design possible. I was expecting some futuristic looking machine, with LEDs all over, but hey looks are not all that important. At least it doesn’t look like a VCR (it looks more like a classic DVD player though).
Then the boring part started, people started talking about software services, movies, and other stuff no gamers really cared about. As I was watching it I was yelling at my monitor: Sony what are you doing….Sony…stahp!!! At thank god they did, and started talking about games again.
Shu Yoshida took the stage (sony should make like a stuff toy of this guy, he’s adorable). He talked about how social media will change the way we’ll play in the future and then showed us another reason to buy the PS4. On screen a trailer started playing. Santa Monica Studios and Ready at Dawn’s new exclusive IP called The Order 1886. Brilliant trailer that made everyone hunger for more info (here’s hoping for Gamescom).
The show continued with a video montage of 4 more exclusive titles coming to the PS4 (Killzone Shadow Fall, Infamous Second Son, Drive Club and Knack. Games that, with the exception of Killzone will be available day one. Quantic Dream’s latest project “The Sorcerer” took center stage and showed us what the new tech can do with facial animations. Here’s hoping this will become a game eventually.
The PS3 showed much deserved love to indie developers and Sony wanted that it will continue to do so with the PS4. Adam Boyes presented some indie developers and their projects which will grace our screens with the new console.
The games showing didn’t stop there. Diablo III was mentioned again. It will have exclusive items inspired by Playstation franchises characters. Square Enix presented a new Final Fantasy game, Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy 15 will come exclusively to the PS4. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag fans were rewarded with some gameplay, but due to technical issues this was halted near the end. Watch Dogs new footage showing off the games impressive graphics. (Sony and Ubisoft seem to really like each other as of late). Some facial animation was demonstrated using Lebron James’s head as a guinea pig. Bethesda’s TES Online was announced with it’s beta coming first to PS4. Last, but certainly not least, the road warrior is back! A Mad Max game trailer gave us proof of that (can’t wait to see more of this).
Jack Trenton came on stage, and started a speech that will define E3 2013.
-PS4 Supports Used games
-Won’t require you to check online
- PSN service will now charge you money for multiplayer games but will be expanded.
- Drive Club will be free for PS+ members at launch day. (among other games).
- The cloud service will be available for the PS4 and Vita in 2014.
And the final nail in Microsoft’s coffin came in the form a price tag. 399$! 100$ less then the Xbox One. Following these announcements the crowd started chanting “SONY, SONY, SONY..”. I got goosebumps at that moment and felt revenged as a gamer. Sony listened to it’s fans, and sided with them against obvious publisher unethical politics. The company stood firm along it’s supporters where others failed.
Thank you Sony for listening!
Financing games with Free2Play
If you are contemplating a career in programming games, you need to be aware that it isn’t necessarily easier or has shorter hours than programming let’s say financial software, but it pays a lot less. But even with rampant exploitation of games devel…
Alting with an Ele
I am rather amazed at the moment as my Elementalist should be reaching 80 shortly to become my first ever max level alt. I have no idea why I play mains excessively above all others, it just feels right to play one character and be the best at it you possibly can be. It kind […]
Why Card Hunter is unique
From questions in the comments section I realized I didn’t do a very good job to explain what Card Hunter is to all those not in the closed beta. When people hear that it is a mix between a turn-based tactical board game and a trading card game, they …
500 / 23 = ~22
I have argued before that seeing a game’s achievements tells you a bit about how the developers expect you to play and therefore whether you are likely to enjoy their game design. Even without explicit categories, you can see that a game awards achievements for beating the game, for 100% completion, for beating bosses with [...]
500 / 23 = ~22 is a post from: Kill Ten Rats
Influx incoming!
Now that I’m not training the new person at work anymore, I can spend more time on content for the website, and so I shall! Expect to start seeing an influx of trolls and articles to the website over the next few weeks, especially Trolls, as I have time to do them. I plan to [...]
Rate me and I will Berate you
I have recently been reminded of how annoyed I get at being rated. I have just played through Gears of War Judgement, which is a decent sequel, of the not really as good as previous games type. They haven’t made many changes to the…
Contains Moderate Peril Episode 108: I Mean to Have You, Even if it Must be Burglary!
Another week, another Contains Moderate Peril Podcast. In episode one hundred and eight Brian and I consider our changing attitude towards E3 and wonder if it is actually pitched at us or a different customer demographic. We discuss the recent console wars between Sony and Microsoft and whether there is or will be a definitive winner? Plus there was a distinct [...]
Hitchhiking back into RIFT
Well here’s something I wasn’t expecting: I downloaded RIFT and rolled a new character this past weekend. By my blog records, I exited the game back in late February and hadn’t felt the pull to return. It wasn’t a bad … Continue reading →
Lilikate’s Creatures Episode 8: Old Forest Spiders.
More Spiders. I have been spending a little time camping in the Old Forest with an Old Gaffer called Gill Brandybuck by the banks of the Withywindle. Such a decent chap who let me copy his map of the twisty paths. This adventure was somewhat dangerous, some spiders were hurt in the making of this [...]
Handheld consoles
I was in a shop this weekend, holding a “Nintendo 3DS with Fire Emblem Awakening Pre-Installed” in my hands, but ended up not buying it. I am pretty sure that I would enjoy playing Fire Emblem. But as I don’t have the 3DS handheld console, buying the game would mean buying the console. And at €220 for the bundle that is a lot of money for a single game. There were a few other games that looked interesting as well, like some Zelda game, but nothing except Fire Emblem which was really must-have for me. And when looking at the demo 3DS on display in the shop, I couldn’t help but think I was looking at a type of machine that was already outdated.
I used to take a handheld console (a PSP) with me during summer holidays. Easier to transport than a laptop, easier to play in a comfortable sofa chair. But when I’m planning what to take on this year’s summer holiday, the handheld console is staying home. I’ll take the iPad instead. The iPad is larger, but thinner, and the charger is much lighter, so overall it isn’t any more difficult to stow into a holiday suitcase than the PSP. I have a lot more iPad games than PSP games, as the iPad games are much cheaper. The screen is much bigger, offering more elaborate games. Touch controls are often less fiddly than console controls. And for other applications than games, like reading e-mail or surfing the web, the iPad is so much superior to the PSP that there isn’t really a contest.
So as much as I regret missing out on some games which are exclusive to handheld consoles, I don’t think I will buy any new handheld consoles any more. Neither a Nintendo 3DS, nor a PS Vita, nor anything similar. For me tablets have made those handheld consoles somewhat obsolete. And some of the games I used to play on the PSP, like Final Fantasy Tactics, have since been released on the iPad. So maybe one day I can get Fire Emblem on the iPad.
Maybe not so niche?
I love Card Hunter, currently in closed beta. So much that I gave them more money than I considered necessary to play comfortably, just because I wanted to vote with my wallet for the game. You see, I’m a bit worried about the financial success of a g…
[LoL] Toxicity Case Study
We had a request for League of Legends Tribunal highlights, and SynCaine linked to a guildmate’s post. I clicked a few “warning” punishments from my case history, and this one stood out. You can view Tribunal records even if you are not a logged-in LoL player, but just in case this link does not work [...]
[LoL] Toxicity Case Study is a post from: Kill Ten Rats
Innovation of Goliaths.
After watching the big reveal about the XBone, and the Play station 4 I have been left underwhelmed by the offerings for this next generation of console. Don’t fear though, I’m not going to write a blog bashing the creative choices of multi-billion dollar corporations, that would be redundant.
To hold hate or contempt for Sony or Microsoft for doing what they do best would be like hating a monkey for eating banana’s, or give a cow crap for eating grass.
The offerings from both companies are a hot topic all over the internet but what no one has discussed is that the problem does not sit on the shoulders of the console manufacturer but with the developers of software.
Gaming has been stagnating for a while now with most triple ‘A’ developers churning out ‘safe’ bets. EA are a great example of a company afraid to venture far from the path. It wasn’t always like this though. For a brief shining moment EA stood tall with new ideas like Dead Space and Mirrors Edge. Then quickly they reverted back to old habits like Madden.
Dead Space did well with sales and they made Deadspace 2, a bunch of animated movie and comic book spin offs and another game then a Wii game, mobile games and a whole bunch of other things.
Meanwhile, Mirrors Edge sold less, not badly but less than the EA behemoth expected. It was promptly forgotten by them, even though it was a solid game with many gamer’s hailing it as an important new sidestep within the FPS genre.
Its only now that new ideas are few and far between as well as the sudden drop in sales across the board that EA are talking about revisiting the Mirrors Edge franchise.
A new idea of any sort within business is a gamble. While the standard and expected concepts and products make money what is the incentive for developers or even console manufacturers to produce new things that gamer’s actually want?
The real innovation, genius and interesting things are happening where money comes second to creativity. There are literally dozens of indie (as well as smaller) developers doing wonderful things such as ‘Thomas was alone’, Little Inferno, Hotline Miami and countless more.
‘Indie game the movie’ even proved that there in an interest that goes deeper than the games themselves and more into the minds of the developers. maybe its not even that much about the games but instead about the process and open dialogue that these people have with the audience that is appealing.
I wonder how long before we begin to see ‘indie consoles’ turning up on kickstarter and other crown funding sites.