Too Much TV!

I know I've been watching too much TV when I see this pop across my screen and my first thing I think is that the crazy lady in the Best Buy commercials actually punted poor santa off her roof.  >.< .... -facepalm-

Early Reflections from the SWTOR Beta

I gotta admit, the SWTOR Beta was one of the very last places I was expecting to find myself mucking around. I'm sure it's some form of sacrilege that a relatively "meh on the topic of Star Wars" person ended up playing in the beta. Now, now, before you go all  gasp, jaw drop, and accusing finger on me, let me admit that it wasn't officially -my- beta >.> I'm staying with some friends for the time being and it was my friend who was in the Beta. He suggested I try it out, and I figured, heck, why not?  I'm usually all about fantasy and epics and faeries and elves and whatnot, so I figured it would be healthy to venture into something else and try it out instead of getting stuck in a... niche... -sigh-... fine, a rut.

It's a rut. I admit it. However, it is mostly due to self preservation of sanity - just like there are just too many books out there to read ALL of them... there are just too many games to play ALL of them so I tend to stick to the ones I feel I have the best chance of enjoying. Needless to say, I was not too sure if SWTOR would grab my attention, much less hold it.

It did.

The first things I noticed were the little things.

-   Area loot is just awesome. It was the first time I'd encountered it. The lights shining off of the defeated people also clue you in to whether there is just average or above average loot. It's a little thing, but a great time saver.

-   The avatar automatically turns to face targets and attack. They will also follow them if they move. I must admit, I love it. It was one of my favorite things about Aion, and when I dabbled back into WoW, one of the things that I found I really missed.

-   I made it to level 10, and I never ran out of bag space. It is a major pet peeve of mine to never have enough bag space, especially at early levels. My first purchases are almost always bags, bags and and more bags... (Yes, I am a pack rat, loot whore and... digital hoarder. >.>) and it was really nice to play a game where I didn't even have to think about my bag space and instead just focus on the storyline and quests.

-   Quests are nicely grouped together. There was no getting 15 quests and running all over the place in some sort of mad happenstance matter. After getting one quest for the storyline proper, it then opened up a couple more in the same general direction. It was very straightforward and made the storyline seem much more seamless.

-   You can create and use multiple bind points. You aren't stuck to just one bind point - which is a major time saver, and convenient.  Pay attention though! I didn't figure it out right away and ended up walking a lot of places I didn't really need to, heh.

-   I love the fact that the map can be viewed full screen and by itself, but if you move your character (before closing out of the map screen) the map will auto fade half out and allow you to move and see the  map. Very awesome for those of us who are directionally challenged and get hopelessly lost.

-   I like the UI. It's a matter of personal preference, by and large, but I really liked it. I especially liked that when one mouses over their powers, it is off to the side and out of the way, not right over the power bar and covering up other things. In the same vein, I love that the quests stay on the screen and are written in a short manner so that they don't run all over the screen. (At least, in so far as the amount of time I played.) The chat being at the top was a bit odd for me, but since I wasn't really using it >.> I appreciated it was out of the way.

After noticing all the little things, I realized that I was really into the storyline of the game. I think of games as stories, and I adored the fact that every NPC that one talks to involves a cut scene of dialog and choices. I found it awesome for a variety of reasons:

-   A vareity of choices allows the players to personalize their experience, and for the RP'ers out there it allows them to be more connected with their character. For most dialog choices (that I experienced) there are usually three different choices. Sometimes they are just dialog, and at other times, the choices will move your character farther along on either the light or dark spectrum.

-   For those who are hard of hearing (or just unable to hear the dialog because of a screaming two year old) the cutaway dialog is shown on screen as well in subtitle format. 

- It is possible to click through the dialogs and cut scenes speeding them along. Which is great for those people who may not be so into the whole rp aspect of playing (or just don't care) and want to get back to tossing grenades and blowing things up ASAP without missing the gist of the storyline.This is one of the bits of the game that speaks to the amount of flexibility in how one can choose to play the game.

-   The dialog choices aren't exact. At times this was awesome - I didn't read the entire dialog choice only to listen to my character repeat the same thing back to me. It also makes the talking part quicker. For instance, your response may be "So What," but what your character will actually say is different and longer, but by and large, encapsulates the "So what" sentiment. Great for brevity, but there were a couple times I thought my character was going to say one thing and they said something else. >.>

Other than ending up saying something I wasn't intending on occasion, there were only a couple other things that drove me crazy. The first was the map markers created by the quest log. At times, the markers were dead on exact. I began to rely on them. However, there were also times when the markers seemed to be indicating a general area and not a specific point, and there was no way of actually knowing that until one got to where the map said they should be and then one had to look around.  The only time it was a serious issue was when the map marker in the ruins was directly in front of a archway and pathway up, but that had absolutely nothing to do with where I was supposed to go. It was rather misleading.

 The second thing that drove me nuts was that I had to get used to mouse targeting - as tab-targeting didn't seem to work for me. I'm unsure if it was a option to turn on or off, I didn't get a chance to figure it out (and didn't want to mess with my friends settings too much). It will be quite an adjustment for me if the game does not allow for tab targeting, and I tend to be a mouse clicker for powers instead of using the keyboard.

The last thing I feel I should mention - and a note of caution - as of the beta - when you reset a quest (which is an awesome feature, by and large!) due to whatever reason (bugged, want to try another variance of answers, etc)... it will send you back to the very beginning of the quest line, not the last part of the quest progression you just completed.

Ultimately I am left with a great deal of curiosity about other facets of the game I didn't get to such as the guilds, dungeons (how it works with companions), and crafting. I think the game is a wonderful combination of MMO and RPG that is the most immersive I have ever played. Which could be dangerous >.>

Fashion Friday: Fashion by the Book

The majority of the men's fashion I saw in the main city of Freedom Harbor in Forsaken World seems to be very textbook. I almost felt as if I had my costuming through historical ages book out in front of me. Kinda cool.  Unlike the women's fashion where they have a zillion different paths to go with it - from gypsy, to stripper pasties, to circus sideshow and so on... there must have been some sort of weird male fashion...(right?!?)... I just didn't notice them >.>  Perhaps I should log in and look again.

I appreciated the variance. However, the "costume book" fashions that the NPC's wore, all the NPCs wore the same exact outfit of a particular style. The red/pink dress styled one was red/pink on ALL of the npc's that wore it. The blue one, the same blue on all of the varied NPC's that wore it. I wish they would have used a variety of color on the outfits instead of having 15 NPC's all wearing the same exact outfit. >.<

Free Festive Holiday Games

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

I'm sure you already know all about these, but I figured I'd share anyway. I must confess to liking the holiday themed slant of per-existing games. It's a great way to try out a game, have some fun and not feel like you are getting short changed with the "trial" version, even if, when all is said and done, these holiday games (for the most part) are. If there are any games you have been keeping your eye on and are curious about - check to see if there is a version for the holidays that will let you try it out. I haven't played most of these, but I hope you will find something to enjoy and help put you in the Holiday spirit!

For the non Christmas celebrators - I didn't have too much luck finding free games celebrating the holidays from other faiths - do you have any suggestions I can add?

For Android:

(all free as of time written)

Angry Birds Seasons

Beyond Ynth Xmas Edition 

Bubble Blast Holiday

Holiday Hangman

Jingle Balls 

Polarity Christmas

I also ran across this article in my hunt for free Holiday games from The App Times:  

Free Android Games for the Holiday Season

For iOS:

(all free as of time written)

Beyond Ynth Xmas Edition

Beyond Ynth Xmas Edition HD

Cover Orange Xmas Gift

Cover Orange Xmas Gift HD

 Cut the Rope Holiday Gift

And on that note - Holidays = Freebie Palooza. I imagine if you've had your spiffy device of whichever variety for a while now, you are aware of this. I can't speak to much for the Android end of things, but for iOS, there are freebies and deep discounts going on frequently to capitalize on the (what I imagine they hope) is the new flock of people to playing their games. Keep your eyes peeled! There are commercial sites such as AppSpy and AppShopper (which I prefer because I can see if a game has been discounted before and to what degree before deciding to take advantage of a sale price) as well as one of my favorite spot to lurk for deals at the Touch Arcade Forum. 

WTF Weds: The Cabbage Carrot

When is a giant carrot, like a cabbage?

When one is in Atreia!

Sadly, I happen to like carrots. Sigh. Now if they had asparagus more like broccoli...

Aion Botany Exhibit of Asmodae: Ishalgen & Altgard

My favorite digital landscape is still Atreia from the MMO Aion.  The majority of the screenshots lurking on my hard drive are from Aion because I find the scenery and world so beautiful with all the vibrant colors. It is incredibly inspiring. <....gets distracted realizing she wrote a sentence with four words all starting with the letter I...>  One of the times I was wandering through leveling up, I found myself fascinated with the Flora of Asmodae.

So I proudly present to you the Aion Botany Exhibit of Asmodae: Ishalgen & Altgard!

From Lake Tunapre in Ishalgen

 From Altgard

 

If you enjoyed these, feel free to peruse my other screenshots on Flikr. ^_^

Fashion Friday: The Battle Quilt.....

Don't have tons of plaid yardage to make a kilt? No worries! 

Just pull out your grandma's quilt and wear it instead!  

Dear Hordie Who Smote Me,

Dear Hordie Who Smote Me,

While I appreciate the extra helping of DEATH while I was visiting Undercity during the Pilgrims Festival, I was really there for the CAKE. Sharing is Caring is obviously not already one of your achievements, unlike the others at the table with me who pleasantly passed food. I find it curious that we can pass each other in Shattrath and Dalaran, but when I come to your home city to honor your roots and family, you attack me blindly. It is because of people like you that there will never be peace in Azeroth. Sad, really.

                               Sincerely, That Damn Mage


-le sigh-

I did find it fascinating that by using a white turkey strider mount I was able to get a lot farther along than I would have otherwise had I been using one of the other alliance faction mounts. By all logic to me, it shouldn't have made a difference, as I imagine I'd still have shown as red to the opposing faction even on the white turkey strider. Curious. Or maybe I just got lucky and had  streak of nice people willing to let me alone.

In any case, I'm not against faction rivalry. I actually found the situation highly amusing. It's one of my more favorite things to go skulking about opposing faction cities for the sheer entertainment value. Well, I find it entertaining... >.>  (I still have yet to get that damned fish from Orgrimmar! >.<) I had been sitting at the table on the outside of Undercity passing food for about 15 mins before someone decided to freak out and kill me. I was grateful of course that they had waited that long and I had gotten a chance to finish what I needed to for the achievement I was going for. Faction rivalry gives lots of fun and purpose to the game, and I have found that it can be even more fun when you run across someone of the opposing faction and you mutually don't outright attack one another.

On deeper pondering though, I found myself getting uncomfortable when I realize how many players have this blind and instantaneous  -OPPOSING FACTION KILL- mentality. In and of itself, it is not wrong or bad or evil or anything, beyond annoying and just part of the game. However, I fear that it reflects back into the real world, with brain pathways already lined and oiled, for thought patterns like: "Whatever I dislike/ am anti-of/etc (be it racism, homophobia, whatever).... I attack instantly without thinking, putting into context, or trying to understand."

I'm not fond of thinking that I could be contributing to perpetuating the synapses that allow for that kind of intolerance. I am very thankful that there are more and more people that are speaking out against intolerance in games and studying ways to make the gaming world friendlier.

An Absurd Adventure: The Mushroom Age

The Mushroom Age HD by G5 Entertainment

If ever there was a spoiler proof game, this is it. Spoiler proof it is, my friends.

However, just in case... 

CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!! :

You begin the game by visiting Dr. Einbock's laboratory. I think he is meant to come off like a mad scientist, but instead he comes off more like a half zombie nutcase because of the animations while he is talking. I don't think I will ever look at a portrait of Einstein the same way again. >.>

The game is very playable for the most part. It is a combination of hidden object scenes and puzzles. Sparklies go off leading you and giving you guidance as to where to touch.

In fact, it is almost too easy with all the sparklies (which are sometimes nice, and at other times very irritating as the spots continue to sparkle regardless of whether or not you have already visited that area and done what needed to be done for the scene). Sparklies aside, there are times when the game is not as playable as it could be.

The first time this is the case is in the first chapter when one needs to combine two items. The task given is clear enough, "Wet the handkerchief with the ammonia chloride," and for anyone who has played this genre of game before they would instinctively know what to do in order to combine the items. For those who are new to this type of game, however, I can imagine how this part might have been very frustrating as it is never explained to click on one item and then on the other item in order to combine them.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about the hidden object part of the game was that there were  cupboards and curtains to open and close as well as locked things that needed to be unlocked. It lent a more realistic take to the search aspect of the hidden object scenes with multiple layers and it ultimately made that part of the game more submersive than it otherwise might have been.

However, I wish they had set it so that when you did things in one scene, they would then stay done in the next part. For instance, when you first meet the dinosaur, you have to find a bunch of melons. But then you have to do a search right after that for a bunch of eggs. But the eggs weren't in the previous scene, and are often found in the exact same hiding spots that the melons were. Later in the game, there is a magical moving doughnut tower that moves around the room. It moves around between the mini games and storyline progression, even though there are no new people or events happening that would cause it to move. In the Stone Age when I could move an idol around freely the first two rounds but suddenly on the third round I couldn't anymore. This attribute becomes the most vexing when there are three or four layers of drawers and cabinets to unlock and you do that on round one, then again on round two... an then again on round three... -grumble-

In any case, when I first jumped into this game I found the story to be irritating and annoying... but somehow compelling. I'm not entirely sure why I kept playing... maybe it was that whole can't look away from a train wreck mentality. The terrible voice acting at the start didn't help either >.<  (more on that later). As I continued playing the story just kept getting more and more ridiculous. It is obvious that there is offbeat humor in the game, like when the main character needs to gather up the tools Nostradamus needs to make his prediction because Dante Alighieri's ghost had an argument with him and scattered them all over his house.

Dead writers, -le sigh-, temperamental things...

Nostradamus also hits on the main character, which is only as lecherous and creepy as it is because of his creepy cannibal facial expressions.

 

Seriously. He looks like he'd eat you for dinner and enjoy every minute of it.

While gathering the "tools" (aka astrological symbols) from Nostradamus's house for him to do his predictions, I found myself annoyed that I could not pick up one of the symbols that was clearly visible to me (and appears to be sometimes and not others, depending on the contrast of what screen I'm looking at. It was very visible on my ipad and laptop, but isn't currently on my desktop) because I had not lit up the appropriate area properly yet.

It's nitpicky, yes, but I find it very vexing. If I can see it, I should be able to click on it. GAH. Anyway, Nostradamus does his predictions and his great powers see a lizard....

 Your lizard is looking a bit limp... and floppy... and wet...

...and decides that is the reason we should go to the Dinosaur age next. Which is all fine and dandy as he ever so handily sends us on our way with a potion that will allow us to speak with intelligent creatures that we otherwise would not be able to speak with.... your still with me right?  >.> So yeah, you time travel your way to the Dinosaur age and are given this task:

Glorious. Perhaps it wouldn't have been quite so shocking if this completely ambiguous task wasn't the third chapter of the game and well before when one would have had a chance to become more acclimated to the unique logics of how this game seems to function. It was at this point that I became very thankful to the makers of the game that there was no penalty for clicking too much as I found myself digitally stumbling around trying to figure things out. (For the record, there is also a hint button. However, the hints are not always particularly enlightening.)

I told myself the story couldn't possibly get any stranger...

But then you meet a talking Dinosaur. Who pops up and keeps saying Rwarrr... Rwarrr... in this pathetic voice that makes me think of very very flamey things while doing the potty dance. Bafflement over the rather curious dinosaur aside, I found myself wondering why the hell the main character isn't running away screaming. I'd like to think it's a right proper reaction to vocalize and flee when suddenly finding oneself in the dinosaur age facing a T-Rex... Maybe it's just me.

So our main character is vying for a spot as a Darwin Award candidate... until one realizes that the T-Rex (who himself admits he eats everything) is not trying to eat this woman for a lovely dinner snack.   0.o   Hmmmmm. And even more perplexing... he just... waits while she gets 18 melons to feed him, instead of just chomping down and eating her. Nom, Nom, Nom....?

The explanation is quite simple. Apparently he has a toothache from being a naughty naughty dinosaur and eating all the poor innocent any and everything living it runs across. (Soooo... apparently our Darwin Award candidate just got lucky that the dinosaur ended up with a bunch of cavities when she ran across him....) It can't possibly get any weirder right? Then the dinosaur opens his mouth and lets this woman clean out his teeth. Not so weird for the dinosaur I suppose. But again, our Darwin Award candidate goes at it, fearlessly cleaning out a T-Rex's mouth. WTF. 

But what I really want to know is why there is a PSA in my game....brush your teeth kiddies!

It was at about this point that I was getting over the shock of the train wreck and more or less getting on board with the whole... wtf aspect of this incredibly absurd adventure. Which is good, because I assure you, the game only gets more and more bizarre.


You've been warned about the spoilers, so I'm going to share some of the more interesting... QQF moments with you.

At some point you meet Socrates. And GIVE HIM A MASSAGE.

Nice tattoo there buddy...

Actually, I must say, aside from the sheer ridiculousness of it... I thought it was an incredibly clever way to incorporate what might have been a very boring puzzle mechanic otherwise. Later on you also rescue the city from a tyrant forcing a rule of nakedness upon it's hapless citizens.



...and you also get to play pinball with god (another rather clever use of game mechanic within story imho) reminiscent of that episode of Futurama where Bender ends up in space.


The geek in me was quite impressed with this ludicrous tour de force. The feminist in me, not so much. I'm not actually sure where the creators intent lies and how much was intentional versus a byproduct of those invisible things we do in our cultures that are perceived as lame and sexist. Whatever the case, it came out all wrong for me.

I think it was awesome that the main character is female. However, the voice acting at the start was absolutely atrocious. Most of the voices are fine, but the woman's voice (the character you are playing) is just.... awful. Her intonations are too controlled and there isn't enough inflection, leaving the lines sounding flat and lacking emotion. For example: "Some crazy deadline" - sounded more like an impatient person; and  "He must've passed out" - is said like an airhead, not someone who should have been surprised and creeped out that a zombiesque loon was sniffing her then just fell to the floor. I imagine her body language as the lines are being read to have been more a wink, shrug, and a "teehee" than anything resembling concern or worry that Einbock passed out. When she says, "Are you kidding? I demand you take me to his desk" - it was demanded in a near monotone, and comes across as very uncommanding. When she is "commanding" the voice is more like some adult speaking to a child in a patronizing and condescending tone. I don't believe that she has any concern, worry, fear, or even bridezilla panic that her fiance has been missing, "for a few days".  "You are obviously hiding something" is said more like a playboy bunny that wants to do dirty dirty things rather than someone who is angry that she is being kept from her finance right before their wedding. -Sigh-  "Oh wow, look at this prehistoric forest. How Interesting" sounds like a teacher tyring to hard to make the subject interesting to those who find it anything but.

All my gripes aside about the early voice acting aside, I found that the farther I got into the game the less it bothered me. My mind seemed to just shuffle it into the WTF part of the game and accept it for what it was without being totally thrown off by it. That isn't to say though that I'm still baffled why they had her voice acting that way. The only thing I can imagine is that they were attempting to have the character not be threatening. The main character is an obviously intelligent woman (as evidenced by various bits of dialog about things like physics... don't be fooled by her early onset stupidity in the early chapters of the game) but she has this singular focus on finding her fiancee before their wedding despite the obviously MIND BLOWING things happening. She's really smart, but has no apparent curiosity about the fact she suddenly finds herself time traveling. It makes me wonder if they went with the everything but the kitchen sink method of planning. (Which, in truth, worked really well for the overall story, but not so much for the creation of the main character.)

I can imagine the planners trying to figure out how to have the main character outlined: "Let's make a female character for women, but make her have a sexy voice for men...oh! and we need to have a motivation these women gamers can relate to - how about a romance book cover boyfriend and she's obsessing about her wedding? Yeah! But what would motivate a guy to play... oh! Lets make her super smart for the geeks...." -Headdesk-

 

Harlequin novel escapee Tom

All it ended up doing for me was taking every stereotype and amplifying it in the worst way possible.

I want to say that the art and music were totally cohesive in some sort of insane way, but they weren't for me. I haven't entirely put my finger on why exactly that is. Perhaps it's because of the "cut out" nature of the characters being too different in styling... but all the same that unique styling lends extra personality to the characters. Not entirely cohesive, but somehow, it still works. The music is the same way. Not cohesive, but somehow oddly functional. 

Over all the game is glorious. If you you can get on board with the sheer preposterousness of it all, it's a fantastic game. 

Rubber Duckie... Your the one... 

WHO'S GOING TO ANNIHILATE THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE!!!