G4MER

This weekend was the Open Beta for GuildWars 2, and I have mixed feelings of the game, but honestly, it was all in all; good.

My first thought was WOW! No not World of Warcraft but WOW, as in amazed. The Character Generation was alright, not as involved as I thought it would be, but good enough to make some really original looking characters, the built in DYE thing is really awesome.

The Story arch they start you on is also really cool, a few question in the beginning takes you on a roller coaster ride in game to about level 20, or so it did in the demo. Kinda makes it personal... even though 400 other people are also on the same story arch, but if you ignore that and think I'M SPECIAL, no one else is like me, then yeah it really works.

The Learning Curve start zone, is really steep for a total newb, as it goes by really fast and there is no real instruction on what your UI is and what buttons do, etc. Also the Bag Button is I for inventory, instead of B for bag. Your Character bring up button is H for HERO instead of C for character. Just minor things like that are a little annoying but not critical, and you get used to it really quick. The Start zone should have a bit more instruction and get you to level 2 at the very least before setting you loose on the real world.

Speaking of the World, It at first feels way too big, I mean its massive. But once you get a few way points, travel is fast and easy. They did do a good job of spreading the starter missions in an area and then migrating you to the harder stuff. Part of that is also due to the story arch that is all about you. It blends in with what you're doing and where your at. I am an explorer and had to uncover all I could this weekend. One thing They needed to do and they did it so much better than anyone else was Under water areas... and they are the first to actually do waterfalls nicely. They have one with a secret.

I finally found a bank in Lionsreach, a cool free zone city. Speaking of Cities, they are awesome, you feel like you're in a real bustling city, they are massive, and not mere facades. There are homes and business, people all over, all of them you can interact with in some way. Just kinda wish they had your housing in your home area, a place to store trophies and so forth... maybe they will have that in GUILD lodges, if they do that like in the original guildwars.

Back to the Character Sheet, they did a good job on that and the UI. The Trait points is pretty straight forward and easy to figure out, some games make that extra stuff really difficult, GW2 did a great job making it easy even for "this Idiot" to figure out. lol.

I saw in the loading screen there are a group of blank flags and so forth, and one of them said TREASURE HUNTER, then in the description said something about finding hidden loot scattered thought-out the world. This makes me HAPPY! I love that feature in other games, as I love to explore and find stuff.

One word of caution, this game is not for SOLO play, many monsters run in packs of 5 or more. Or are packed close enough that if you grab one others will join in. But one good thing is there always seems to be a group of people bear by who run in and help save the day. And should you fall in battle anyone can revive you, or you can pay a small fee to revive at a nearby way point.

This game is very pretty, the environments are well done and very pretty. One problem I found that many games like this have, is the reuse of the same monster model with a different color scheme added. Kinda sucks some of the wonder out of the game... but really its not that bad... just seems kinda lazy, but then again when you look at everything else around you, you can forgive them that.

As I started with all in all, the game is good, I am not disappointed, and look forward to my next time I get to play, and for the many improvements and changes that I am sure will be coming due to some minor glitches that these sorta things expose. If you have any questions about the Game please ask.. I will do my best to answer.

COUNTERSTRIKE:GLOBAL OFFENSIVE

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched 12 years ago.

CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new game play modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.

That is the Spin that Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment have taken in their press release. Here is my opinion as a long time player, level designer and supporter of CounterStrike from its conception. CounterStrike has been many things, has had many faces, from Condition Zero, to 1.6... thought to be the best of the CounterStrike versions in history, if you ask the majority of Players that is. So many ways and ideas on how to improve the game, many over look the fact that it draws thousands if not a million+ players daily. So there must be something right about the game that does not need improving. But “Hidden Path” has made some major changes, and I for one don't think they are all good.

I got my hands for the first time on CounterStrike Global Offensive ( CS-GO ) at the Penny Arcade Expo ( PAX ) 2011. For standing in a long line, I got a kick ass t-shirt and a card to be part of the closed beta. The game we played at PAX and the game they put on steam were two very different games, they down graded what they put out on Steam, why I don't know... but we had to live with 4 weapons 2 maps and a really bad physics model. Recently they have updated the game for us closed beta players, adding more weapons and classic maps, and that brings me to my next point.
Why fix what is not broken. Many of the maps they have introduced are the classic maps we have all grown up with, de_nuke, de_dust, and so forth. They have removed many of the paths from the old game entirely, changing not only the tactical play but the whole feel of the environment. The Game feels cartoony now, more BattleField 2 and less CounterStrike. The Models are bloated and fat, although still kinda cool looking if you can get past the bloated look.

The Environments are nice, the way the maps are closed in now on some of the maps like de_dust and de_dust two feel more real world, it is not just a wall and then sand dunes like in the older version. The buildings and models used feel more natural in these two maps. Even though I find it kinda funny to see an old 1.6 CS Model still being used in this version of the game, they look dated and out of place. Oh and please for the sake of all that is sane, get rid of the big ugly plastic nuke bottles as the bomb sites, every defuse map has had the same ugly nuke logo and the plastic thing in the bomb site.. the overview map is more than enough of a clue as to where a person plants the bomb, and besides it just looks so out of place in some of the maps. In dust and dust2 how about setting up a scud missile site, in train any kinda cargo will do, also on train why did you remove so much of its tactical play?

Shooting is wild and uncontrolled. I do like the yellow tracer fire, so you see where your shots are going, but the shots are so wild, we look like 3rd graders holding small arms for the first time without any prior training or instruction. In other words its so random and scattered walls fear us more than an enemy should. The new weapons we have seen and the ones we hear about coming are great, the Molotov cocktail is a great addition. But the buy menu I am not a fan of.

The Game is in closed Beta, I understand that this is testing, and from this they will make changes and improvements. The rumors we hear daily from Hidden Path and Valve about game options and play, make this long time fan a bit nervous. Some I look forward too, others I slap my forehead and ask myself what are they thinking, as an example only one CT with a defuse kit.. what the hell are you thinking?

The one thing I am liking about the game, is the many new formats of play, from the casual to the hardcore, gun game is now included as a mode of play. The fact it will now be cross platform, well that maybe its biggest bane or greatest achievement, this will only be seen with time.

That is a quick run down and opinion of the new CS:GO game. More to come about this in future writings, thanks for reading.
G4MER

Back in 2009, I had the pleasure of going to PAX PRIME for the first time. My Buddy D. got us tickets to BYOC. I met Joshua Sniffen that year and we struck up a friendship. I had no idea about case mods and all that jazz at the time, and Josh was the one to introduce me. I also found out another friend of mine was a case builder, Charlie Falcone, who also builds some very awesome cases. This last year 2011 Charlie won the case mod build off at PAX with his cool version of a Warmachine from a game of the same name by Privateer Press. These two people have inspired me to give it a try.

Since then I have made new friends like Bill Owen who also does some very awesome work with Case mods. Bill has furthered my interest in case-modding and design. If your curious about any of these peoples work, Google them, or ask me to provide you with links.. I think you'll be amazed, just like I am. They build things of beauty.

Joshua Sniffens Web Site: http://nfc-systems.com/

Bill Owens Web Site: http://mnpctech.com/

Charlie Falcone - No Site to my knowledge.

Greetings,

I hope this message finds you in good cheer, and good health. The Holidays are upon us, and we should be thankful for all we have, and for the friends and family that share our lives. There are some though that have very little or who are in hospitals this holiday and need a little caring. So I am asking that you donate to a charity of your choice this Holiday season, and help make the Holidays great for those who may not quite have enough to celebrate.

Here are a few I like..

http://kaboom.org/

http://www.wish.org/

http://www.toysfortots.org/

And My Favorite is Childsplay, Being a Gamer, I like the idea of helping kids in Hospitals find joy and distraction through games.

http://www.childsplaycharity.org/

This is but 4 of the great Charities out there, please find one you like and donate what ever you can.. be it a dollar or more, every little bit helps. Just think if one million people gave 1 dollar, that would be 1 million dollars that charity would gain. So Please give and if your in need I hope that find the help and charity you need to get you though your hardship.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all and too All a GOOD NEW YEAR!

Greetings,

Most of the time I like to use this blog as my place to talk about games and gaming related topics.. too many people talking about politics and religion out there, and more talking about celebrity gossip. So, I like to focus on my hobbies. Well This time I wanted to talk a bit about my going back to school.

I just started back 3 weeks ago, with just two classes... easy ones in what the school calls Mini-Mesters. I am Enjoying it, Learning quite a bit, but the one thing I hate to do, is Read. Don't know why, but I just don't get all excited about reading books. And man in College you have to read all sorts of books. My two classes I started off with in my Criminal Justice Degree, were Art Appreciation and History 1302. These two classes seem to be over lapping each other with topics and info found in either of them, and I quite enjoy the connectivity of it all, because one builds on the other builds on the other. So each class is more effective in teaching the subject matter.

I hate to read.. yeah I just cant seem to get into it, only a couple books have ever captured my attention to where I could not put them down. They are, Roger Zelazny's - Amber Series, and Another Day, Another Dungeon By Greg Costikyan. My Wife can read the same book over and over, enjoying it each time. I tend to break books down to a series of images, and I can recall them almost like a movie in my head... so if I try to read them again the movie starts playing and I know whats taking place 10 pages ahead, and by the time I get there I am bored, I have already seen this scene 10 pages ago. I have always had a very visual mind, I am overly attentive to my surroundings, seeing things many people over look. I am also intuitive, guessing what is happening next or what the person says way before they say it.. This often can get me into or out of trouble, partly because it makes me impatient and I have things to do, people to see, blah blah blah.

So I was given a chance to get some extra credit, and it involves reading a book, and writing a report on it. There were two options, a feminist book, and the one I took because we read about it in my art class.. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" - By Sherman Alexie. I am only a few pages into it, and I seem to be relating to this poor guy. Not so much the nerd aspect or the retard aspect, but the feeling of being on the outside looking in all the time. I never belong to a certain group, instead I was a floater, I floated to all the different groups. But inside I was a closet gamer, a guy who sat around a table with a few other closet gamer's and rolled funky dice and had fantastic adventures. Out side of that I ran with a tough crowd, one of the guys from back then heard I opened a game store and stopped by to visit, and said "Its a good thing we did not know about this back in our school days, or we would of kicked your ass". I told him they would of tried, and grinned. I hated the drama of High School and dropped out early.. went to Community College and got some education, decided at 17 I needed to be married and join the Army.. only proving what a retard I truly was.

This Book by Sherman Alexie, has given me something to think about, and taught me a thing or two so far. One aspect I like in this book is the guy loves to draw, I love to draw as well, he explains why he loves to draw and I wanted to share that with you because I think it is the most profound reasoning for why we draw.

"I draw because words are to unpredictable, I draw because words are too limited, No matter the language you speak be it Englosh, Spanish, Chinese or some other language it is limited to a tiny percentage of the the humans who will get your meaning, BUT! when you draw EVERYBODY understands you". -Retard

That was the great lesson I got.. and maybe one of the biggest reasons I hate to read, I am visual, pictures speak more to me than words do. Wonder if I can get the college to print all the books in picture format.. lol. I also like how he views the world with a sense of humor, how he can kid and joke about himself, we are all too uptight and concerned with our image. What a world we would have if we all were not so vain.

So Did I mention I am back in School, and loving it.