[ESO] Curbed Enthusiasm

Frustrated as I was with the announcement of ESO's preorder and CE bonuses, I felt it would be unfair to the game and my journalistic integrity* to discount the game purely because of one hitch. After all, I played and loved Skyrim despite numerous critical bugs (Left Eye of the F**KING Falmer) and balance issues. So I did some more research into ESO and sadly all it did was make me less inclined to play. It's disappointing to me that every upcoming game sounds fabulous until I dig a little deeper and the flaws start to become apparent. But if I am going to be so fervently against supporting ESO, I feel it only fair to explain why.

[ESO] Preorders and the "Imperial" Edition

My foray into the Elder Scrolls series began with Oblivion. Put away your pitchforks, I’ve nothing against Morrowind it just wasn’t my first step. Since Oblivion I’ve been in love with the series and have spent until hours in Skyrim living my fantasy of being a wizard, knight, thief, assassin, and occasionally “weirdo that fills the house with cheese wheels.” I am reasonably sure anyone who has ever played Skyrim has at some point been in a dungeon or on an adventure and said to themselves, “Wow, I wish I could bring my friends with me.” So naturally I was intrigued by the idea of an Elder Scrolls Online. It being an MMO I have been skeptical and held it at an arm’s length. My personal feeling about IPs going the MMO route, as I have said before, is that “an MMO is where a series goes to die.”

[Wildstar] Why 40-mans are a bad idea

I have fond memories of Vanilla WoW. I remember the feeling of awe when I first walked into Molten Core as part of a 40-man group. It made such a mark that I can even remember in detail how I ended up in the group; I can remember the first time we killed Ragnaros; I remember rushing home from class to make it home in time for the raid. There are plenty of fond memories but that is because I blocked out most of the negative ones. Like the dozen times the raid almost shattered over loot or strategy disputes. The times we had to cancel because we couldn't get 40 keyed people. Spending hours standing at the beginning of the raid while we tried to fill spots. The list goes on.

[WoW] Gatekeeping and risk aversion

I was reading Liore's post, a response to the posts of two other bloggers, about gatekeeping in MMOs, and I found myself pondering. The issue is that gaming is leisure time, and thus we want to ensure we have fun, which for most of us means success or at least a feeling of progress. In a game involving multiple people that means ensuring that each person in our group is as dedicated and skilled as we are.

To 2014

It has been an interesting year in gaming, and yet one I think will be lost to memory. "Things" happened, but none of them stick out in my memory as I wave farewell to the year past and welcome the year ahead. For me little of note occurred in the gaming world. Certainly there have been ups and downs, but the industry itself sails on, continuing on its meandering course. I would say that in terms of social justice, the year has been better than some, but there is a long road ahead, so while a victory is worth celebrating I'll save the champagne for another day. Even the series games seem to have done a little better this year, with GTA5 and AC 4 Black Flag exceeding expectations. I find myself optimistic regarding the coming year, with several interesting looking MMOs (Wildstar, Elder Scrolls Online, Everquest Next, Warlords of Draenor) on the horizon.

So as I wrap up this brief post I wish you all a Happy New Years, bring on 2014.

[Hearthstone] Mini-post; Card changes, sky falling

Blizzard is soon to be updating Hearthstone with a few minor changes to a few cards that see far too much use, and a change to how gold is acquired. Most of these changes people saw coming a mile away, as they were the cards showing up in 2/3rds if tourney decks, or every deck of a particular class.

[WoW] Dreams of Diablofication?

Though it still may change going onward, at this point Blizzard appears to plan some sweeping itemization changes for Warlords of Draenor. Among them is the random chance for an item to have one of three qualities: warforged (high item level and presumably slightly better stats), gem slots, and "tertiary stats" (movement speed, extra durability). The response to this is mixed, but some of the more hyperbolic have begun claiming that Warlords is adopting the often loathed itemization of Diablo 3...and to a degree, rightfully so.