Gaming Break So to Speak

It's been quiet from a gaming perspective for me so far this year and this has been due to a number of factors, notably:

Dun, dun, dun.....

I will become a father for the first time on or before April 24th! I cannot tell you how excited, but also apprehensive I am about this. I mean on the one hand I'm fulfilling my biological purpose, but on the other I don't want to drop her :). 

No more gitface ;(

Warhammer Online shut down, /sadpanda. I was sad when I heard this news, but it's not like we didn't see it coming - I just hope EA/Mythic get their come-uppance for screwing up such a great IP.

Nice horns.

SW:ToR isn't very good. I did play this on and off during 2013, but always found myself with reasons to not play, whether that be playing some free DAoC or just going to watch telly. Not a good sign.

How many daggers?

Neverwinter isn't very good. I picked this up as a bunch of my e-friends were playing it, but I just couldn't get in to it. It reminded me a lot of LotRO for some reason, but with less appeal and not much fun.

Where my Pen!

World of Tanks lost it's vavavoom and just felt like a massive grind. I played this religiously towards the end of 2013 and did enjoy it, but as the time passed I felt more like a robot than a player just mechanically grinding the EXP to unlock that next tier tank. At that point I lost interest, but I may pick it up again, depending on how good/bad War Thunder: Ground Forces turns out to be.

I hope I can find some time with the new arrival pending to indulge in a little Elder Scrolls Online, Wildstar or next year, Camelot Unchained but we'll see what happens.

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

We're Hit!

Cruiser Mk. I

As I've ran out of puff for the current iteration of MMO's currently on offer I thought I'd give World of Tanks a shot. I'd watched plenty of YouTube clips, notably on SideStrafe's channel (that guy has some great video's, and not just of WoT) and thought as I wasn't throwing money at any other game I may as have some fun with tanks.

So far I'm really enjoying it, it is completely free and as far as I can see there is no pay to win element that I've read and heard about. Yes you can purchase armour piercing shells with in-game gold (which you buy with real-life cash), but you can also purchase these rounds with in-game credits (albeit at an inflated price), but to be honest I've not seen many people that actually use them.....but maybe that's just me.

Let's go!

I've decided not to rush to the higher tier tanks (lots appear to do), as there are 10 tiers to work through and I agree with the masses who say if you do that you're not going to learn the skills you need along the way to get the most out of those big-boys. At time of writing I've worked my way into the tier 3 tanks of a number of countries, these being the might Brits, ze Germans and the Americans and I'm starting to lean towards a particular type - the speedy, maneuverable Light tanks are for me. They are just so nippy and it's GREAT fun to run circles around a bigger tank all the while plinking away until it explodes :p

Kaboooooooooom!

I'll report back further as I progress in to the mid-tiers (as I hear that's where the heavies and big guns come alive) and I'll look to record some footage of lower-tier fights!

- Ish