Game of Thrones - Season 4 Trailer

Who doesn't like Dragons...no-one that's who!

There's no WAAAAAGH Left

It has happened, one of the most enjoyable MMO's I ever played -  Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has closed. As of December 18th the last WAAAAGH bellowed throughout the lakes, never to be heard again. I have many fond memories of my time in WAR and I made some great friends too so I am sad to see it go, however it had been on the cards for some time so I'm not going to kid myself that it was going to continue battling on.

It was by no means a perfect game, but what it lacked in (and it lacked in quite a few areas) it made up for in lore, looks, game-play and how it made you feel when you logged in - it was like you were part of something greater than just you, a real struggle between good and evil. Yes the PvE was mediocre (although there were some innovative and very enjoyable elements like Public Quests) and it was plagued with bugs, *cough* TotVL, *cough*, but you could forgive that, to an extent because it was so much fun to play and the RvR was unrivaled and still is to this day in my opinion.

Praag RvR in all it's glory! - @Facebook Group

I'm not going to pick up on all of the reasons for it's failure, i.e. Producers talking complete tripe, ZERO (or very, very, limited) communication from the development team after the first 6 months, limited patch cycles, not enough bug fixes or a movement of critical man-power when the game needed it the most. But instead focus on the positives and what I got out of playing the game and the legacy it leaves behind.

Titchy git!

If I had to pick a side I'd have to go for Destruction, and to be even more precise, the Greenskins. The Goblins in particular were just superb, from the way they were animated to the hilarious things they said. I've never enjoyed playing a class so much as I did with that little Gobbo above. Don't get me wrong though, I did enjoy playing Order and rolled many characters, but I always found myself being drawn back to my Greenies :).

Kill or Die, the Choppa mentality!

My Choppa was a close second place, but to really get the best out of this grunt you had to be in a solid group and unfortunately by the time I managed to get him into the higher echelon's the game was already starting to dwindle and guild's/friends were moving on.

I hope that one day I'll find another MMO I enjoyed as much as WAR and with a few promising titles on the horizon you never know, but until then I'll look back and ponder about what could have been if the right people had managed the title all the great times I had roaming the RvR lakes, all the PvE dungeon runs and just chatting to friends in guild chat......... Goodbye WAR, you will be missed, WAAAAAGH!

Here's a really nice tribute video by an ex-player.

Ish

World of Tanks - 85mm Kabooooomy!

Snipey, snipey

I've been playing a lot of World of Tanks of late, mainly due to my enthusiasm for the current crop of MMO's starting to dwindle but also because it's a lot of fun.

I can't think of much there's not to like about the game really, I mean who doesn't like tanks, who doesn't like massive guns on tanks and who doesn't like a great looking environment to stalk in.

It is a Free to Play game and there are usually elements of F2P games that benefit those willing to spend some real life cash on them. WoT is no different, as you are able to purchase certain Premium tanks and Ammunition, however the tanks you can purchase with in-game gold (which is bought with RL cash) are by no means the best tanks in their tier and the ammo you can buy can also be picked up with in-game currency, albeit at an inflated price so it's not as bad as you'd think.

85mm gun is superb for tier 4, 5 & 6

That being the case the only other downside I find is working your way through some of the tank lines can take a long time. Taking my current route as an example, I've just picked up a tier 5 heavy-tank (KV-1) so I'm half way to "max level" and that's taken me a good 2 months of moderate-frequent game play - and that also takes in to account that I've only been focussing on one nation's tank line (USSR). One way I've tried to assist the grind however is by spending a little gold and temporarily converting my account to Premium, thus gaining 50% extra credits and experience each battle. On the flip side you could say that this helps the games longevity.

I envisage myself playing World of Tanks for a long time, it's a great game and really easy to pick up and put down - and once you get into the mid-to-higher tiers the sounds of the tank propelling those shells across maps will keep you coming back for more - Kaaaaaboooom!

Ish

Nordenwatch Shammy Fun

Decided to jump in to Warhammer Online and enjoy my little Gobbo a bit :)

- Ish

Some footage I found from last year. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is the game and mullering Orderlings was our game.

Contains some swearies, just so you know.

Fun times :)

Ish

Hmm, Back in SW:TOR Am I.

Well, well, well we've been on a break for 5 months or so but we're now back together - I'm playing Star Wars: The Old Republic again and oh how things have changed.

The biggest of these is that it's now Free to Play**, which I'm sure has brought a good few people back to the game after the shinyness of release wore of and players left in their thousands after the game was left wanting on broken promises. With a F2P account however you are limited to what you can do, see this comparison table to get an idea of how limiting it is. That being said if you really are limited in your available game-time then it may be ideal for you.

I decided, with a few e-friends to pick up things on Empire as after playing the Republicans (I gave them that name!) we found the character story-lines much more enjoyable on the baddy side, and hey, who doesn't like electrocuting people...

Crackle, crackle!

I'm currently getting to grips with gearing up my Juggernaut in the new kit that's available post the F2P transition. I've nearly completed by War Hero set and once that is done I'll begin the "Elite" War Hero set (must have taken ages to come up with that name) as you can't get the Elite without first obtaining the lesser set.

Sithage.

I have subscribed for a month and will assess the situation after that to see if I'm still enjoying it, but as things stand I am. They have added a little more PvP content to the game, albeit a sole new warzone but it is enjoyable and there's always something to do when you're playing an MMO with friends or have to grind out gear....

Ish


** In my eyes you're severely handicapped as a F2P player only.

GW2 Down, Medic!

I did enjoy my Necro and all her pets ;)

After giving Guild Wars 2 a good 5 or so months of my time I've realised it isn't the game I've been looking for. For many it will be, but there were a few aspects I didn't enjoy.

1. Graphics - Now I don't think it's a bad looking game, infact far from it but I just don't like the look of it. I had the same feeling about the original GW and that has carried over, unfortunately into this incarnation. 
2. World vs World (vs World) - It's a mess, firstly there's pretty much no use what-so-ever for melee classes, which have to resort to using ranged weapons as if they get near the front line fight they are quickly rolled over. It tends to become an unnecessary and unwelcome zerg-fest, which I think is caused by the idiotic mechanics of Squads & Commanders where by you can't just create a large group on your own, oh no(!) instead you have to gather up a stupidly large sum of money and pay for the privilege to form a party larger than a handful.
3. I don't like Puzzles, if I did I'd take up Sudoku. I can see why they've added it as it adds a little more thinking into the usual brain-drain that is leveling, but it annoys me and gets in the way of getting to end-game, which is why I play MMO's.

 All they needed to do was take a peak at the PvP and RvR mechanics of games like Dark Age of Camelot (pre ToA) and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and they'd have been on to a winner in my eyes.

Never say never though because as it's F2P I may jump back in at some point in the future to see how things are progressing, or not as the case may be.....but until then it's a /gw2quit

Ish 

So, Guild Wars 2.

Massive bosses straight out the gates

It's been a while since I last posted, but in my defence I have good reason for that... I blame work and the release of Guild Wars 2. I've had access to the game now for about a week and a half, if you count the problematic early access launch, which was OK.

My initial impression so far is that there's lots and lots to do, whether that be personal quest lines, PvE including public'esk quests and seemingly dynamic events, Scenario PvP and World vs World vs World PvP (WvW for short). If you're not doing any of that though there are hundreds of Vista's to find and figure out how to get to (think of a watered down Tomb Raider puzzle) and even more Points of Interest to gain credit for exploring, all in the goal of completing your exploration of the world map.

The Underwater element is pretty cool

Some of the issues that have been experienced so far include, but are not limited to:

• Being unable to log in
• Random crashes to desktop
• Blue Screens of Death
• A seemingly un-fixable Black Trading Post (Auction House to you and me)

For me these are minor issues that are sporadic and I did expect seeing as the game is fresh out the oven and you can do all the stress testing you want, but you can't account for that initial real-person traffic. Also in ArenaNet's defence they have been excellent at keeping everyone up to date on issues and the status of those issues, either via Twitter, Facebook or the Reddit forums - which goes a long way as players aren't so disgruntled if they know what the frigg is going on.... I'm looking at your Bioware you Warhammer Online: AoR butchers. 

My initial goal was to roll a single avatar and level that all the way to 80, that way I'd keep in touch with my guild-mates and I'd get a really good feel for my class.... However I should have known from my experiences in past MMO's I never, ever, ever stick to one slot on the character selection screen.

At this moment in time I have four characters and I'm enjoying them all in different ways:

1. Guardian - Seems adept at most things, they can heal pretty well, dish out good damage and get to wear heavy armour. What's not to like.
2. Necromancer - My original main and by no means a weak class, they can dish out plenty of damage, can AoE with their ground target spells and can last just as long in their alternate forms. Oh and they can spawn a mini-army of pets too.
3. Thief - These guys are a lot of fun in PvE, but I've found WvW particularly to be VERY range focused so I decided to go for something a little tougher and leave this guy for when I fancy a change.
4. Ranger - Dishes out loads of damage with either a Bow or Two-Hander and has more skills than you can shake a stick at to slow their foes and keep them at range. I've not spent too much time on this, but I will be in the future.

Grrr

At present my main is the Guardian, but I change my mind as ofter as I change my socks so don't put any money on me getting my GDN to 80 first or even ever :p.

To assist me in putting the gaming hours in I have convinced, well just shown the Fiance into playing too and she's enjoying it more than me. We have decided to not rush at all too and just take it at a nice pace taking everything in - which seems to work well as even at a low'ish level you can still be competitive in sPvP and WvW in this game.

Him and Her.

 
All in all I'm pretty happy with my purchase and I'm confident it will give me many hours of MMO enjoyment, whether than be in PvE or PvP or just trying to fathom how to climb a rock to find a Vista!

Ish

Bit of Fun With Guildmates in WAR

Had a play with Sony Vegas and have put a few clips together of me and a few guild-mates roaming around in tier 3 in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

It's sad really as this will probably be the last video I'll make of WAR :(

This was footage from earlier this week, but it's worth noting that some of the language used is rather fruity so beware if you're of a delicate disposition.

720P (HD) available :)

Ish

GW2 Decisions, decisions...

With the Guild Wars 2 fast approaching (28/08/2012) I've been scouring the official site and watching a bunch of YouTube videos to help me decide what Race and Profession to choose come release.

Races wise I've narrowed it down (lol) so far to three, which are the Asura, Humans and Norns.

GW2 Asura

At present my preferred choice is an Asura, just because they're so darn little and I have a thing for little avatars that can throw on a set of heavy armour and be un-killable - my Hobbit Guardian in LotRO springs to mind, man that Hobbit was awesome.

I also think the fact that they only stand a couple of feet up from the floor may give me some benefit in WvWvW, even if it's just that an enemy doesn't see me until late or that I'm able to harass someone and not be seen.

GW2 Human

Another possible choice for me are the Humans, which I know are a little dull and generic, but they do tend to be able to do all jobs pretty darn well and a versatile race is a bonus in my eyes. At this moment in time I don't think they'll be the race I choose for my main, but if I happen to make a DPS character at some point it will be a Human.

GW2 Norn

My sole reason for wanting to roll a Norn is the fact that they are hulking masses of steel, I mean if you're storming a keep you want Norn giants heading up the front-lines and scaring the bajezuses out of the enemy. I'm not sure if that will be the case however, as I have a sneaking suspicion that all the bloody tanks will be Asura's!










What profession I'm going to play has been a little easier for me to decide. I've tended to go for the stealther class or the solo-friendly, billy-no-mates class in my past MMOs, but I've decided to change that for GW2.

GW2 Guardian

My thought pattern is along the lines of me not wanting to reach level 80 and find myself struggling to find groups for the end-game PvE and WvWvW like I've found myself suffering in other games - I'm looking at your Warhammer Online, LotRO and DAoC. Therefore I've decided to go for a group friendly professions straight off of the bat!

At the moment the Guardian is floating my boat, notably because they can defend their group-members with a plethora of symbols and wards and can toy with their foes movement possibilities with bubbles and root-esk skills. My only bug-bear at the moment with the class is that there doesn't appear to be a guard skill, which I've grown accustom to and do like - that being the WAR implementation of the skill not the idiotic SW:ToR one.

GW2 Warrior

If I change my mind at the creation screen it will be for a Warrior however, as these guys can assist their party in other ways, notably by dishing out lots and lots of pain ;).

This guy I think does it justice.

I think a lot of people are hoping that GW2 will be the holy grail, as in it will give all of the PvE'ers their hit, but also provide enough PvP for the players that like killing one another. With WvWvW I just hope they can take 3-way PvP and do what DAoC did with it and make it really mean something!

We'll see how it goes on the 28th August.

Ish

Can Black Orcs DPS?

You bloody bet your arse they can...

Granted he's RR100, but that's some tasty damage and makes me want to play my BOrc some now ;)

Ish

Fighty, fighty.

Really looking forward to this guys GW2 WvWvW videos. I know him best from his Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning footage, which is certainly worth a watch if you have some spare time - lots of impressive fights/kills.

YouTube tag - joeyjackson9111

Fun stuff - makes me want to pull my finger out and record some WAR vids actually....

Ish