Game Review

Recently, I’ve given into my internal closet nerd and picked up a copy of Cryptic Studios new game, Star Trek Online (STO). Having always been a Star Wars fan, I’ve partaken in more than my fair share of name-calling and joking at the expense of the nefarious Trekkie. In a fair fight, I’m confident any Star Wars fan could pummel a Trekkie into the ground.

I love games that are complicatedly simplistic in design. Aion, game of the year in Korea, and westernized and distributed by NCsoft, delivers this in amazing doses.

Hot Dogs and Cartwheels: Random observations from the online world.

Top Five Reasons to Play Everquest.

Hot Dogs and Cartwheels: Random observations from the online world.

Warhammer Hits Sophomore Slump

Warhammer (WAR) is a great pvp game, but it misses the mark on immersion. Immersion in a MMORPG is very important.

Rushing forward into the enemy lines, I clash with a dwarf Ironbreaker and begin slashing away violently. Quickly, I notice he is being healed by his wing-man - a Rune Priest. Turning my blade to him I snare his legs, slowing his escape, and begin to throttle his face with my axe. Overcome by blood lust I fail to realize that his reinforcements have arrived. Surrounded by five enemies, I realize that I'm surely doomed but, with determination, I swing as hard as I can to take at least one of them down. In the grips of certain death, and a trip back to the spawn point, arrows begin to shower my position - dispatching one of my attackers and finishing off my target. With three opponents left, I start to think that the fight is finally getting fair. To my surprise one of the assailants was harpooned right in the chest by a ballista, reducing his health to half. Realizing their disadvantage, the enemy begins to retreat to the bridge. More arrows rain down and I'm quickly joined by others in my warband as we push towards to the bridge. Four elven warriors hastily move across the bridge in our direction. They slam their shields down in front of them to form a wall. With a loud battle cry our warband clashed into them trying to push them back; arrows rained down and magic burst all around us searing the ground where we stood. This is WAR!

I braved Games Day Baltimore in order to score the scoop on EA/Mythic’s highly anticipated game Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (WAR). There is nothing more disturbing than seeing pale, pasty tabletop gaming nerds mixed with Baltimore’s finest homeless crack whores. It was a bit like a scene out of “The Wire” that went horribly wrong. Pushing my way into the convention center I was greeted with the roar of a million fanatics screaming “Waaargh” as loud as they could. When the doors finally opened, fans went screaming in as if they were storming an enemy castle, frantically going from station to station to satisfy that inner child.

I love new games. I especially love new games that offer something that is truly unique, something exciting, something refreshing, something that I haven't seen before. Warhammer has snagged me out of my WoW (World of Warcraft) fairy tale and slung me into the thick of battle. It has awakened in me the primal calling of epic battles and elaborate plans to destroy my enemies.

Tabula Rasa and Pirates of the Burning Seas have been out for some time and so far were the only MMOs alternatives to the fantasy genre. Until now, the world of Ethegia invades the MMO market with their horror style world in Requiem: Bloodymare. No news about its production was ever noticed. It just came out of nowhere, like that hot stripper chick you met in Las Vegas, but yet tracks you down to where you live and it’s your wife/girlfriend that opens the door. First of all I will admit I’m not a fan of Korean style MMOs. One thing I hate about them is the steep learning curve of the game mechanics and the confusing UI interface. The Asian player base is focus on hardcore style gameplay, while North American and Europe are more casual and simple. After trying out each new Korean MMO title, they seem like a clone after another, mostly base on systems used in Lineage 2. But Requiem was different in a way that it caught my eye. It was the first in some time that did not use Orcs, Elves, Dwarfs, or pink fluffy ferries. The story of the character had nothing to do with saving the world from evil or fighting another faction in the name of a god. It was a simple task, surviving the horror infested world of undead, demons, and monsters.

I was fortunate enough to be able to try out the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning preview weekend. I appreciated the opportunity for numerous reasons. The biggest reason is that was a chance for me to decide if I want to play the game upon release, and what type of character I'd like to start with. Many people were looking forward to this long awaited preview, and the confusion over the pre-order open beta access did little to help ease the aching anticipation.