Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Gauntlet

Platform: PC
Genre: Action RPG
Release Date: September 23rd, 2014
Date Reviewed: September 29th, 2014

      Finally a new Gauntlet game. Well....it's a remake of the original Gauntlet. It feels and looks new. Gauntlet is back, better than ever for PC only. You can get this game for $19.99! Gauntlet plays just like the original. You start off with 4 classes (like in every Gauntlet) and you can choose between a Warrior, a Wizard, a Valkyrie, and a Ranger. Each class are unique and have their own strengths and weaknesses. when you start the game there is a mini tutorial that lets you try a quick demo of each class to get a feel for them. After you complete the tutorial you are able to choose what class you want to play as. After you choose the class it will give you an option to play with mouse and keyboard or a gamepad. The mouse and keyboard work well for the Ranger, Warrior and Valkyrie. However, the Wizard is a bit more complicated and is easiest with the gamepad. You start off in the Gauntlet and if you complete that Gauntlet you will be rewarded with piles and piles of gold and riches. However, as you play through that doesn't seem to be the case at all...

      A lot of people compare this game as a Diablo clone. They are all false. Gauntlet is it's own style and has it's own very unique gameplay. Gauntlet has never been a Diablo clone, it has been out for a long time and was always a different style of gameplay. Gauntlet is however an action RPG but there are no levels, no experience, no loot, just lots and lots of gold. In this version of Gauntlet you go through each dungeon to get the shard which lies at the very end. There are three zones, and each zone has 4 levels. Each level has 3 levels of it's own where the final area in each zone is always a big boss battle. Gauntlet is very challenging especially on the higher difficulties. With this Gauntlet you earn gold, you use this gold to buy items which you can equip two at a time with your "Q" and "E" keys. Each relic does something to help you out. It could be summon clones of yourself or create a crystal that taunts enemies and blowing up after it is damaged enough. You can also use the gold to upgrade these relic to make them more powerful.

The Mastery System.

       As I said earlier there is no loot. As a reward for completing certain difficulties you can unlock and purchase cosmetic armor for each class with gold. Each class also has a mastery tree. Every time you complete a mastery like "Kill 12,000 Monsters" you will earn a buff for that class. Each mastery starts off as bronze and goes to gold. One buff can increase your damage by 10%, others will give you more gold from breaking crates or vases. With Gauntlet there isn't ALOT of replay value but there is some. After you have completed the 4 hour game you can go back with different classes, play a higher difficulty to get more cosmetic armor, or even complete all of your masteries. Do not forget there is also co-op mode which is way more fun and frustrating playing with your friends.

       There is nothing really visually amazing about Gauntlet. If your PC can run it on Max setting which should not be a big problem for most PC's running this game then it will look pretty good. The visual effects are nice, the level designs are repetitive but look good. Each level is not randomized, it is always the same design which is okay but this day in age a lot of games are taking advantage of that technology. The music is fantastic as well as the audio effects. Has a classic Gauntlet sound to it which I think people who've played the original Gauntlet will enjoy immensely. Even when you pick up items it still used the classic sounds from the original game.

Big Bosses.

       Overall it is a good game, nothing spectacular but a great nostalgia trip and is much more greater with your friends to experience Gauntlet. Playing on normal you will complete it in about 4 hours. Play on hard or Unfair mode and it will take you much, much longer. Overall I give gauntlet......

GOOD GAME
7.5/10



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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Red Sea Exodus

Platform: IOS, Android.
Genre: Point and Shoot
Release Date: September 2nd, 2014
Date Reviewed: September 9th, 2014   

    First off I would like to thank Runway Games for letting me beta test and review their first game! Looking forward to more from you guys!

    Red Sea Exodus is a game on the IOS store and Android store. As of writing this review it is currently only on Android devices. It will be on the IOS store very shortly. Red Sea Exodus is a simple point and shoot game. You help people cross the red sea. While you are helping them cross there are soldiers trying to stop them. The main goal of the game is to escort them to safety by using the water and other elements to stop the enemies. Your basic attack is the water around you and your enemies. The longer you hold your finger on the water the bigger and stronger the attack becomes. If it gets to hectic then you can always use the elements to help you. You may choose from powers such as a firewall, lightning, earth, and others. These powers have to be bought though with in game currency. While defeating some enemies they may drop coins which can be used to purchase more powers. They also offer a way to purchase more coins at very reasonable prices. Better yet, some of the profits go to charities! So by helping the developer you're also helping charities such as Brothers Brother Foundation, The Ronald McDonald House (of Pittsburgh), and K.I.D.S (Kids in Distressed Situations). Also, once per day you earn a free bonus token which you can spin to get a free power up. Bonus spins can also be purchased in game.



 Charities your purchases go to.
 
 Bonus Rolls can win you Powers!

Pesky enemies!

     Red Sea Exodus overall is very well put together considering it is Runway Games first game. It's a challenging game and a great game to compete against your friends and people around the world. The Leader board function is fantastic for that. I hope in a future update they will add a feature where you can challenge different people on the leader boards. The animations are very smooth and look really good. Very colorful. The music, although repetitive is very soothing and catchy, really suits the game. The game has Facebook connectivity to see your friends scores. I also like the look of the enemies.

Leaderboards! (I'm #8)

    Overall Red Sea Exodus is a great game, especially for the challenge and competitions. It does need a little work regarding a few bugs that aren't that noticeable, needs for variety in each level, and a challenge option would be great! They are however are adding updates to the game which is fantastic. I cannot wait to see how this game will evolve over time and I look forward to future games from Runway Games. Pick it up, it is a free game and please help support the developer it all goes to a good cause. Fantastic work on your first game!


Overall Rating: 7.5/10

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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas

Platform: PC
Genre: Online TCG
Release Date: July 22, 2014
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2014

A different review today. I will be reviewing the popular game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. To be more exact I will be reviewing the very first expansion for this game. This will be reviewed differently since it is a card game based in the Warcraft Universe.

Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas is the very first expansion set for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and it is a single player adventure. This expansion comes with 30 brand new cards including golden cards as well as a single player addition to the game. There is a new tab on the home menu which has been renamed from "Practice" to "Solo Adventures". When you access this option it will give you the choice between practice mode and Naxxramas. Naxxramas introduces us to 5 wings just like in World of Warcraft where you have to take down each boss in each wing. The first wing which is the Arachnid wing is open and
free to all players for the first month. Each other wing will open the following week after each other. You can spend real money to open these wings or spend your hard earned gold. It is 700 gold per wing or $6.99 each. It will cost you 2800 gold to get access to all of the wings, including the Arachnid wing when the free trial runs out.

My personal battle! Also a look at the naxx board.

Curse of Naxxramas offers a very fun and difficult challenge. Like in a typical raid in World of Warcraft you start off by facing each boss in normal mode. Defeating each boss will reward you with new cards to add to your collection. Defeating the final boss of each wing will reward you a legendary of that boss. So when you beat Maexxna you will be rewarded with the legendary card of Maexxna. Normal mode is not overall to difficult. After you beat normal mode you unlock two class challenges. I believe these are random classes. Right after you beat the class challenges you unlock the heroic mode version of the bosses
in Naxxramas. These are much harder with higher health (45 instead of 30) and a much stronger player power. The challenge is definitely there and might make you punch your monitor a few times.

The only issue I have with this expansion is that when you beat the heroic bosses you do not get nothing out of it. Personally I would have loved to gotten golden cards from defeating them. The only reason to beat heroic mode right now is mainly bragging rights, and nothing more. But if you're looking for a good challenge then please try to conquer heroic mode. For any new players out there with just the basic cards there is always a way to beat these bosses even on heroic mode without purchasing
new cards. There are a lot of guided out there you can follow that show you how to build your deck with the basic cards in order to beat these bosses. I am looking forward to conquering the other wings and highly recommend this expansion. It is free, so why not?

Just SOME of the cards that can be earned.

Overall Rating: 9/10

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Sunday, July 6, 2014

Shovel Knight

Console: 3DS, Wii U, PC
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: June 26, 2014
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2014

Gameplay:
Shovel Knight takes another whack at the classic plat forming genre. The style for Shovel Knight takes place in the NES era. With classic 8 bit graphics and 8 bit sounds/music. It has a mixture between Megaman, Castlevania, and Mario. It mixes these three great games together to make its own step into the classic plat forming series. The game plays just like you would expect it if you've ever played an NES plat forming game before. Feels exactly like the three games I mention above. Shovel Knight feels like a fresh entry overall. The basic principle of the game is going through different levels; beat each knight to advance forward and save the Shield Knight from the evil Enchantress. You are a knight that wields a shovel as his weapon of choice. You attack with your shovel and perform certain tasks to venture through each level with this mighty shovel. From downward thrusts so you can bounce on objects and enemies to swooping your shovel to deal with enemies, the shovel has many uses.  Each boss knight has its own special attack and abilities. Just like in Megaman you need to find out what their patterns are to defeat them. Some of these bosses are not the easiest.

Ahhhh Classic.

In Shovel Knight you can even upgrade your shovel to perform new attacks. Shovel Knight can also purchase new armor that has different effects to the player. Just like in Mario you are on an over world map and you are able to choose any level, any time. Sometime on the world map there are random events as in mini boss battles, and treasure to grab by using certain items. If you are the type of person that needs to collect everything than you can even collect music notes. Return these music notes to the bard in town and he will buy them off of you for 500 gold a piece. When you give the bard these music notes he will add them to your collection so you can go back and speak with him at any time and listen to the music you have unlocked. Shovel Knight provides an excellent difficulty level as well just like in the classic plat formers. It starts off moderately easy and then picks right up and ups the difficulty level. Some levels make you want to pull your hair out but in the end are very rewarding when you finally beat it.

Graphics/Visuals:
Shovel Knight is an 8 bit plat forming adventure. It takes place during the NES generation of plat form gaming. The visuals and style of artwork is outstanding. Very colourful game, great looking backgrounds, fantastic looking enemies, great animations and NPC’s. All in all it is a very nice looking 8 bit game and a fantastic edition to the NES plat forming series.

Epic Boss Battles!

Soundtrack/Music:
Wow. Shovel Knight has one of the most amazing soundtracks I have even heard in the 8 bit era. Each and every song is unique, different, and makes your ears sing. You can tell they put their heart and soul into this game, into the music. The music is so good that it’s making me unlock and find all of the music notes hidden in the game. I often find myself going back to the main town just to listen to the music I have unlocked. Each boss, each level, and zone has its own unique soundtrack and every single one of them is a breath of fresh air. You can even get the entire soundtrack on download; it is very well worth it. Some people even got this game just because of the amazing soundtrack.

Epic Soundtrack!

Final Thoughts:
Shovel Knight is a breath of fresh air to the 8 bit plat forming series. It feels very familiar yet very new. With a mixture of the greatest plat forming NES games with a hint of its own style, Shovel Knight is a fantastic addition. Beautiful music, addicting and challenging game play, and beautiful art work, Shovel Knight is a must purchase. In fact I purchased it for all three platforms! My recommendation is to buy it on the 3DS or the Wii U just because you can quickly switch between all of them items with just a tap of your finger. The PC version provided no quick select tool.

Overall Rating: 10/10

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Mario Golf World Tour

Console: Nintendo 3DS
Genre: Sports
Release Date: May 2, 2014
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2014


Ahhh good ol’ Mario Golf. I have fond memories from playing the very first Mario Golf game for the Nintendo 64. I was so into the game than I even remember one of the cheat codes from when it first came out 10+ years ago. KPXWN9N3 was the code me and my brother memorized and for some reason it is still stuck in my head. Mario Golf for the Nintendo 3DS is another great addition to the series.

Gameplay:
First off there is so much to do in Mario Golf. You can’t decide which mode to choose from first. I personally started with the Mii Castle Club. This mode allows you to gold with your personal Mii character in the game. The point of this mode is to challenge the three different course tournaments and try and get gold on each one. Doing so will reward you with an award ceremony cutscene with the Nintendo characters as well as a gold cup for that course. Winning one of these will also allow you to unlock the use of these courses in the challenge mode and all other modes. On top of that for completing certain goals in any golf game you will unlock a new piece of gear for your Mii character. These pieces of gear are used to upgrade you Mii. It could be to increase your Mii’s power, their sweet spot or control of the ball. So choose wisely and pick the gear based on how you play the game. You can even unlock character costumes to add to your collection for your Mii to wear. Wearing a Princess Peach costume as a man with a beard looks kind of weird. Once you complete the course tournaments you can then take to some challenge competitions to unlock more things for your Mii. Some of them are very challenging but worth it in the end. One other thing I would like to add is when you play in the Mii Castle Club you also earn a handicap rating depending on how well you do. This handicap is very smart because it allows the game to figure out the difficulty for the tournaments.

Great courses.

Another mode is the “Quick Golf” mode. This mode has other modes inside of the selection. Such as challenge mode to earn star coins. When you earn a certain amount of star coins you will unlock courses, and even new playable characters such as Birdo and Kamek. The other options are just basic modes to play if you’re in a hurry. It can be Vs. mode with a CPU character, Stroke Play to play a quick 9 or 18 hole round of golf by yourself and an offline point tourney mode. If you really want to test your golfing skills there is even an online mode where you play against other players. The online feature is really great as you can set your own rules, enter tournaments created by Nintendo to win in game prizes, and even community tournaments that other players make themselves.

In order to purchase the unlockable gear for your Mii characters you will need to buy them with coins. Coins are extremely easy to earn in Mario Golf. You earn them by simply just golfing. There are even courses that you can play where you need to get coins floating around the course which adds to your overall coin pool. With Mario Golf: World Tour there is an option to buy some DLC packs for the game. I highly recommend this because each pack adds a new character and a brand new course to play on. If you buy the season pass you get Gold Mario as a character which is a great way to earn some extra coins. Fantastic buy and really fun, especially for casual players.

Graphics:
The graphics and visuals in Mario Golf are actually really good for it being on the 3DS. All of the character models look fantastic with great animations. Each character has their own unique animation which really adds to the game. The environment on each course is very unique and is never the same. Each course has their own them like bowser’s castle or cheep cheep beach. You will always know which course it belongs too. Costumes look very nice; the customization option for your Mii also is great with a large variety of golf clubs, shirts, golf balls, etc…

Great Items Selection.

The 3D also adds a very nice effect to the game. I personally don’t really care for 3D but I was impressed by it. It adds a whole new perspective when you are golfing and is sometime breath taken. The best times to use the 3D feature are during the golf matches. It gives you a whole new view and the environment surrounds you. I find it really absorbs you into the game more than playing in 2D. Other than that the 3D doesn’t make too much of a difference while walking around or navigating the menus. It is still a nice feature overall.

Soundtrack/Music:
Not really much to say here due to it being a golf game. The music is pretty standard and quite. Nothing really unique about the in game music. The in game sounds are great overall and the menu music is really nice as well. Other than that it’s pretty average, not in a bad way just nothing the really WOWS you with the music.

Overall Rating: 9.0

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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Mario Kart 8.

Console: Nintendo Wii U
Genre: Kart Racing
Release Date: May 30th, 2014
Date Reviewed: June 20th, 2014


I’ve been a big fan of the entire Mario Kart series since the very first one on the SNES. I have played and owned all of them at some point. I even enjoyed Mario Kart: Double Dash immensely for the Nintendo Gamecube. I just recently bought a Wii U to add to my collection and decided to buy the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition. I to this day love my new Wii U and the games I have for it. Enjoy the review!

Gameplay:
Mario Kart 8 (MK8) is a breath of fresh air to the series. The very first Mario Kart game to be HD on the big screen! MK8 plays like any other Mario Kart game. There is a great new mechanic in MK8 that adds a “WOW” factor to the races. The new mechanic is anti-gravity. With this mechanic you can basically race in any direction! You drive upside down, around in loops, etc… This adds new dynamic to the Mario Kart. With this new mechanic they can create new and refreshing courses to future Mario Kart games. Even with Mario Kart 8, these courses are really enjoyable. MK8 also offers some new items to use against other racers. One of these new items is the boomerang. Using this item allows you to, you guessed it, throw a boomerang ahead or behind you and it comes right back to you. You can throw the boomerang up to 3 times in front of you or behind you. When you throw it, the boomerang will go ahead and then circle back to you allowing you to throw it again. Very handy item if you have the accuracy to use it like the green shell. Another new item added to the game is the “8” item. When you use this you will get 8 items that circle around you. Some of these items include a star, a bomb omb, a banana and a green shell. Whichever item is in front of you circling, you will use that item first.

Anti Gravity is the new Mechanic.

Coins make their way back into MK8 as well. These coins will help you unlock new karts, wheels, and parasails. There are a lot to unlock with these coins so make sure you collect them. You can collect up to 10 per race. Drift boosting also makes a return to MK8 but it is much easier to do this time around. Simply press and hold the right of left trigger to drift and continue to hold it to get a boost when you let go of it. There are also many different characters that you can unlock in MK8. Unlocking characters is extremely easy. By completing courses and earning cups you will always unlock a random character. Some of these characters include Rosalina, Toadette, and all of the Koopa Kids. The Wii U tablet can be used as a controller or can be used as a secondary screen which displays the race track and all of the racers. The same modes are back as well including Grand Prix, Versus, Time Trials, and Battle. All of these can be played online while Time Trials gives you uploaded ghost data to race against.

Online racing in MK8 is fantastic. The Wii version had a lot of lag issues while racing online. MK8 puts you up against 11 other people per race and I have not experienced any lagging or hiccups in my connection while racing. If you need something to do besides earning trophies in Grand Prix then give the online modes a try. It is great if you are racing competitively or just for fun. You start off with 1000 points and depending how well you do you will earn a certain amount of points. But if you’re coming in 10th, 11th, or 12th all of the time then you will slowly start to lose points. It’s a good system especially if you are very good at the game. What I mean by that is Nintendo tries to promote “just have fun” feel online instead of “you have 18 losses and 2 wins, you suck”. This way people don’t really care and race to have fun. At the time of this review my score is at 1600.

Awesome character Roster.

Overall reaction for MK8 has been very positive for me. I am still having a lot of fun with the game just by racing online and with communities I know and enjoy playing with. I am very happy that you are able to join communities to play with your friends, live streamers, youtubers, etc… MK8 is very fun, beautiful, fast paced and cheerful as it always has been. This is a great edition to the series and probably one of the best since Mario Kart: 64.

Graphics/Visuals:
MK8 is the first Mario Kart game to enter the HD market with Wii U being able to do so now. The characters look so good; all of them have received a major HD upgrade. The character animations are very good as well. The biggest thing you will notice when playing MK8 are the environments of the courses. I have caught myself multiple times not paying attention to the races themselves because I was just amazed by the environment. They are very colorful, detailed and look outstanding.  The visual effects are extremely well done and the game runs incredibly smooth. No lag, no frame drops, just smooth gameplay all the way through.

Soundtrack/Music:
The second you load up MK8 the music starts up. The menu music is fast paced and sounds great. Gets your adrenaline going. The menu music has a nice rock feeling to it with small sections with an electric guitar. Compared to MK7, the music in MK8 is much much better. The new courses are no remixed versions of older tracks. All music in the new tracks is brand new editions to the series. The music in the older tracks from previous games are the same obviously but sound so much better and updated to today’s standards.

Menu music is sooooooooooo good.

Final Thoughts:
MK8 is a breath of fresh air. Yes it remains to be basically the same as the previous games but the game has been amped up to HD quality with a brand new anti-gravity mechanic that adds a lot to the game itself. With the amazing quality, to great online play MK8 is definitely a breath of fresh air. You will enjoy this game immensely with endless game play. I highly recommend this game to everyone.



Overall Rating: 9.5/10

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Sunday, June 8, 2014

Wolfenstein: The New Order



Console: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2014



Wolfenstein has always been a huge part of my life. I have played every single one including Wolfenstein 3D. I have always held this series close to my heart and always found each game in the series to suck me into the action and story. This is my review on the newest edition to the Wolfenstein series. Wolfenstein: The New Order. I am reviewing this for the Xbox One version.

Game play:
Wolfenstein: New Order is not your ordinary FPS. It has two campaigns, mostly very similar to one another but different outcomes. Without spoilers you basically choose a campaign for one of two characters. At the beginning you do not have that option. You have to select which character is part of your campaign right off the first mission. Once the game has been beaten you are able to go back and choose the other character for you campaign. Wolfenstein has stealth mechanics and well as full blown action packed mechanics. Depending on which difficulty you choose you will be using more stealth the harder it is and more running and gunning on the easier difficulties. Wolfenstein is a very challenging game. If you're looking for a real challenge then go and try the Uber difficulty. You may throw a controller or two. Wolfenstein has a mixture of good FPS action, movie like cinematics, stealth gameplay, a perk system, and a fantastic story that action made me use some of my emotions.

The Perk System is great!

The perk system is a fantastic way to customize your play style. Whether it be stealth, demolitions, run and gun, etc... Each tier of perks has it's own prerequisites you need to do in order to unlock that perk. One example is you have to kill 5 guards while being stealthed with throwing knives. Once you do this challenge you unlock a new perk allowing you to carry more throwing knives with you. If you're a completionist then you will want to try and get all of the perks. But that is not all there is too do for you completionists out there just like in the other Wolfenstein games in the series.

In New Order, there are a ton of things to collect. Some of them are harder to find then others due to them hiding in secret locations. Sticking to the old Wolfenstein system you are able to find secret doors and switches to open up secret areas to add to your collectables. One set of collectables that I really enjoyed finding are the golden items. They are scattered everywhere and most of them are tough to find on your own. They can be hidden behind the smallest cracks and you will walk past them. Besides golden items you can also find encryptions. When you find all of the encryptions you can go into the main menu under extras and try to encrypt the codes to unlock cheats and funny little additions to your campaign. There are also things like models, letters, and audio files to collect which make exploring much more enjoyable.

The gameplay overall is very fun and addicting. If you rush through the game you will complete it in roughly 5-6 hours. But if you spend the time exploring and collecting everything it will take you 10+ hours. Keep in mind that there are two campaigns you can play. The cinematics and cut scenes pulled myself into the game even deeper. Some characters make you hate their guts and want to hunt them down while other events and characters make you want to sob and weep. Each character has their own unique
story and some of them you really get to know. Finally, there is a wonderful easter egg hidden in the game. When you are in your hide out go to the very top floor. You will see a mattress with pictures above it. Look at the mattress and it will show an icon to examine called "Nightmare". Hold X to sleep on the mattress. When you fall asleep you will be in the very first Wolfenstein game and you have to fight your way out of it.

Duel Wielding guns!

Graphics/Visuals:
This review was done on the current gen consoles. It was reviewed on the Xbox One so it will be graphically superior to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions although it still does look great on the last generation.

The graphics in Wolfenstein are overall very well done. I wouldn't say exceptional due to it being on Xbox One. It doesn't look "next gen." The cut scenes are very beautiful and cinematics are great and really get you involved in what's going on as well. The gameplay visuals are good but like previously stated, doesn't feel "next gen". Overall I was still impressed with the visuals in the game. There is a lot of gore in the game and some people may feel uneasy. In one cut scene after you escape the labour camp there is a cut scene that happens and it was even making me somewhat uneasy. But it added great effect to the game overall.

Soundtrack/Music:
The audio in the game was really great. The soundtrack really impressed me overall. I have always been a fan of heavier music. As soon as you enter the main menu you hear this wonderful soundtrack. It has a "Wolfenstein" feel to it. The music in game and music in the cinematics and cut scenes were all very well done and added to the already great experience of the story and action within the game. Overall it was fantastic!!

The Main Menu music.

Overall Rating: 9/10

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Update!!

Hey everyone! Sorry for no new posts! I will explain why! So I recently moved to a new province and the move has been tough. On top of that I recently started a new job as well that's been keeping me very busy. So I have had little to no spare time. I will be doing a ton of reviews soon as I now have an Xbox One! Stay tuned and you will see some posts very shortly.

Thank you for the support!

- Aerialslayer (Cody)

Thursday, January 9, 2014

  Hiatus and a Message to the Readers

Dear readers, I feel that I owe you at least an explanation of the infrequency of my blog posts, and why I haven't written for a few days. Recently my interest in this game has basically hit an all-time low, and at the same time, my general disgust with Wargaming's antics and behavior towards players and their game has hit an all-time high. I feel that this company, while obviously very successful, is simply trying to squeeze as much money out of WoT as they can, while they still are able, at the expense of their veteran players. As I've mentioned in previous articles, I have absolutely no problem with a company making as much money as they can. However, the way they do it, can be an issue with me. The way WG is going about it, is simply despicable in my opinion. WG knows that this cash cow will not last forever, and they're putting all engines on overdrive. Evidence of this is them releasing an obviously broken overpowered vehicle, the WT E-100, and not nerfing other obviously overpowered tanks literally for months (years?), the T57 Heavy and Foch 155, among others.

Almost every day on the WoT NA forums, another veteran player writes an 'I quit' forum topic, and sometimes there are several of these topics. I personally know at least 5 vets who have quit and gone on to other games. WG depends almost entirely on the big-time clan unicums (players with 60%+ win rate and 2350+ WN8), players who simply are willing to put up with the large degree of frustration for tens of thousands of battles for whatever reason, and new players. There is however, a large number of other players, such as myself, who see the wolf in sheeps clothing that WG is. 

I feel that the hours and days of work I've put into this blog have been somewhat fulfilling, but also, possibly not worth the effort. I really have no idea how to generate as much interest as blogs such as FTR, Overlord's blog, and others. I thank all of you for reading, following and commenting. Perhaps it's because my blog is not from the perspective of the average WoT player, perhaps it's because I write editorials and commentary about the game, instead of discussing up-to-the-minute news or real-life historical happenings, perhaps it's none of these. At any rate, it has been an interesting experience.

At some point, War Thunder ground forces will go into open beta, and be released. WG is already getting ready for this, and they know that it could potentially be a very big deal. Even if that game doesn't pan out, eventually someone will create another PVP online tank game that is direct competition for WoT. And, barring that, games like Star Citizen, Planetary Annihilation, and other massive games will take people away from WoT. While I don't really trust Gaijin to be much better or any better than WG, at least there's a chance they won't be the trolls that WG is. 

For now, I'm taking a hiatus from writing. I might come back and write again sometime, and I might not. I urge you to read the entirety of this forum post that has become very popular recently, as it describes just about everything that is wrong with WoT, in great detail:

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/319852-dear-wot-i-am-breaking-up-with-you-for-10-reasons/

That's a great post, I couldn't have said it better myself. 

As for me, I will be robbing banks in Payday 2, killing zombies and surviving in Contagion, commanding forces in Company of Heroes 2 and Tank Operations: European Campaign, and generally playing anything but WoT. There are always other games to play. Thanks everyone for your time and attention, and I hope to see you all in War Thunder Ground Forces, or perhaps some other game.

- Vector03  

Monday, January 6, 2014

My Top 10 Games of 2013!

Top 10 Personal Games of 2013!

10.
Bioshock Infinite

9.
DMC: Devil May Cry

8.
Metro: Last Light

7.
Diablo III

6.
Animal Crossing New Leaf

5.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

4.
Tomb Raider

3.
Pokemon X/Y

2.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

1.
Fire Emblem: Awakening


Saturday, January 4, 2014

Cleaning old data

Battle-Watcher is almost 2 years. Because at that time database has become a very large, it was necessary to remove some outdated data. Therefore, as of today disappeared charts with history of BH of battles older than 3 months, and history of minibattles of battles older than six months. All other details of battles, minibattle results and heroes TOP5 remained unchanged. I hope that this will increase...

COSMOS Mage Day 15 to Day 19

Hey guys and especially mages! Cosmos Mage is growing strong and here is the development Day 15 to Day 19 and a few words from me to support the pictures.

I was initially going for the legend 40 set but changed my mind and started gathering for the 50 set. this is because I got sufficiently strong to be able to get ~500 to ~1000 honor per Battle Ground so technically I don't need urgently the 40 set. Now I already gathered about 100 crystals for the 50 set so soon I will be getting I think the 50 hat.

In the meantime I also grabbed the arena 45 neck piece just for the time being. It did cost me some insignia but it helped me be stronger for the battle ground fights until I get the 50 item.

For catacombs I actually managed to beat the 90 boss as well as the 95 boss so only the 100 boss remains. He is a lot stronger so I need to wait a little bit before I can bring him down. Still this was an awesome accomplishment to do while having something like 25k BR.

In the Battle Ground, as I mentioned, I am doing alright. You might have seen the BG video I uploaded on LavashGames. If not I put it here below this post for you. Last 2 BGs I made ~900 honor which I think is great given how new Cosmos Mage is, my BR and condition of items. Of course I can't compete with the established monsters, but I do fine.

Here below are the screenshots from COSMOS Mage Day 15 to Day 19 from Wartune Kabam Server 4 Europe. I also highlighted for you as much as I could the main changes from day to day.

The plan still remains to hold the level but it is not easy at all. For example I did a small summoner run and due to the double experience event each summoner fight was giving me 200k experience which I could not avoid as I have to get the loids and legend stones. So I am now Level 53 and have to do my best to not become Level 55, but it is tough, experience just seems to fall down on me :)

When you look at this pictures from Kabam Wartune note that the BR fluctuates depending on the Academy Blessing Wheel that I have for the day. I wrote on each picture what is the Academy buff.

KABAM Day 15 - COSMOS Level 51 - BR 27429


KABAM Day 16 - COSMOS Level 51 - BR 27182


KABAM Day 17 - COSMOS Level 52 - BR 26122


KABAM Day 18 - COSMOS Level 52 - BR 31229


KABAM Day 19 - COSMOS Level 53 - BR 29836


And here is the video from my Battle Ground few days back if you didn't see it:

 
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