ARPG Fans Rejoice… a saviour is night…

Ok.. maybe not a saviour, but probably one of the best looking ARPG’s to date is due to release tomorrow. What am I talking about? Torchlight – created by a bunch of folks who were behind the ill-departed Mythos, as well as a few talented folks who worked on that obscure title.. Diablo.

There are many videos on YouTube right now from press-release copies, the reviews have all been outstanding and I, for one, am agreeing by just what I have seen. There are also some live streaming videos from people with reveiw copies, on Livestream.com, uStream.com, and Justin.tv.

So get ready folks, a brain blasting addicting ARPG is on its way… if you haven’t pre-ordered it yet do so now! Theres a link on the left hand navigation to the pre-order page on GamersGate, but its also on Steam, Direct2Drive, PerfectWorld and will be on TorchlightGame.com and WildTangent soon. Its only $20.00… you cannot go wrong there.

PS – I guess I forgot to mention one of the best parts of this game… it will have a full featured Toolset provided free of cost with the game. The toolset is the exact same toolset that the developers designed the game levels with, and will be able to modify just about every single portion of the game.

Not dead :p

Haven’t updated the blog in a while but I want to assure my readers that I am still going strong – I have just been distracted lately, and coming up with an article idea for this blog.

What has been distracting me? Well, between Dragon Age: Origins (with its impending release and its ‘companion’ flash game: Dragon Age Journeys), looking at Torchlight (an upcoming ARPG created by talent that was behind FATE and… Diablo [and the much missed Mythos] now living together in Runic Games), and guest writing over at the Grey Wardens website.

I hope to have my article idea up here today some time, or at least this weekend. I doubt it will garner me more page views than I get daily right now (less than 30 on average) or more comments, but I hope it will be a good discussion tidbit .

Back to distractions!

Oh Bad Luck… Why do you love me so?

I am so seriously sick of having bad luck.. I mean seriously. Everyone gets a break now and then right? Not so it seems. Was offered an opportunity today that would have rocked my world… of course, my situation at home says that I cannot take the opportunity.

What was it? A person I do game content articles with had a chance to go to London to be w/ EA & Bioware when Dragon Age Origins was released… he couldn’t go so offered it to me… and of course.. I can’t go. @#%$!@#%#@#@$!!! What did I do in a previous life to get the run of bad luck I have been having the past few years?

Well, I think I will go wallow in self pity for a little while.

What difficulty gamer are you?

I have been thinking on this for a little while and am wondering… what difficulty level do you tend to play games on? There are a huge variety of opinions on the matter out there, from the ‘You aren’t a gamer unless you play on Hard [or Hardcore, or whatever the top difficulty is] to the ethos I follow: ‘Play on whatever level makes the game fun for you’. This tends to make me an Easy difficulty player, though sometimes this can backfire.

The way I see it is that I play games to relax and have fun, not to work. If Hard difficulty makes the game feel like a chore, then it isn’t fulfilling its role in my eyes – there are, of course, exceptions due to how different games code their difficulty levels. For me Easy difficulty levels tend to provide the most enjoyment for the time I put in, I don’t care for a ‘grind’ to get through areas/quests/missions – this isn’t always a good route to take though, as there are some games that Easy difficulty just takes away any tiny sense of danger (which I like a little of, though I hate my characters/avatars dying on me – I also don’t care much for a complete cakewalk). One of the games like this is Sacred 2 – in Sacred 2 I always start out on the easiest level (Bronze) but after about 10 levels move on to the next step up (Silver) because then enemies start scaling to your level better (and provide slightly more of a challenge w/ better drops, but not an insane difference). Sacred 2 does its difficulty different from some other games  though, you can change difficulty ‘on the fly’ without having to go through the trouble of exporting your character (a standard in the hack and slash scene).

Another game that offers true on the fly difficulty adjustment is Neverwinter Nights – I always start on the easy difficulty here, but I am again amongst the minority on this. In NWN enemies do less damage, and you do more (rather than it affecting their levels or HP amounts) on the easiest difficulties – for me, in this game, it is best to start out like this… however the game is balanced on Normal difficulty so it can seem to be way too much of a cakewalk early on, whereas for me Normal can be frustrating against some of the earlier ‘boss’ enemies.

Other games change the loot drops/rewards based on difficulty – reserving the ‘best’ loot for the higher levels; I can see the reasoning behind this (Risk v Reward) but it also means that I will never see the best loot in many games, which rankles a little bit; though I have no plans on changing my gaming style just to get better gear in a game. The upcoming Dragon Age: Origins will have a friendly fire mode that is off on Easy, on w/ 50% damage in Normal, and fully on from there – this has put me in a quandary. Why? Well, because I actually like the strategy behind not roasting my own team mates w/ an AoE spell… but I don’t necessarily want to deal with the increased grind of a higher difficulty level. This game will cause me to at least try Normal difficulty to start with I think.

Now, don’t get me wrong – if I ‘beat’ the game on one difficulty I will indeed try it on another level, though it has to be a good game to get me to try it again to begin with; If it is a game that gets me attached to the character, there is more of a chance of replay on a higher difficulty – though that leads to a catch 22: If I get attached to a character then I don’t want to see them die… c’est la vie eh?

Now to my couple of readers that drop by now and then.. what difficulty gamer are you?

(You don’t have to comment, you can use the poll in the left hand corner)

Technorati Tags: gaming,blurbs,difficulty level,neverwinter nights,sacred 2,article

Ethics in Blogging… is it possible to regulate?

Ethics in Blogging… is it possible to regulate?

Ethics in blogging.. according to the FTC. Seems like the FTC is going to try and crack down on bloggers who do reviews in return for free products.. and don’t disclose that fact. Yes, this is old news (hey, gimme a break will ya?!) but it keeps cropping up so I thought I would post on the matter.

This came across my Google Reader RSS feed today (click the link to read the full article):

This Blog Brought to You by the Federal Trade Commission – PC World

Bad news, freebie bloggers: The FTC is coming down on you like a tray of dishes — and not just on bloggers, but anyone who uses social media. If you receive money or something for free and you blog, tweet, write up a positive review on Amazon, or share something nice about it with your 4,987 closest Facebook friends, the FTC wants you to disclose that fact or face fines of up to $11,000.

What do I think about the matter?

Well, on the one hand I see it as a good thing for people to divulge whether or not they are getting compensation for their reviews – it can help filter out the wheat from the chaff; On the other hand, the FTC stepping into the blogging medium can have some scary conotations for the future of the Internet.. what is next? Personal websites getting over viewed by the Government? I am not much of a paranoia person, but at times lately I feel like digging out my [ Tinfoil Hat Of Paranoia +1 ] when it comes to the government and regulating ‘free’ speech on the net.

My personal ethics say that you absolutely should let your readers know if you receive compensation for your post, if you write nothing but glowing reviews for games/products and happen to receive compensation, then it might call to question your personal ethics – if, however, you are able to find the bad with the good after receiving a product/game then maybe your readers will take you more seriously and your reader base will increase accordingly.

Other bloggers have had some input on the matter as well, Tobold over at Tobolds MMORPG Blog had some insights into how he feels about the matter:

More on game reviewing ethics | Tobolds MMORPG Blog

In my opinion, accepting a free review copy of a game is perfectly okay, as long as you disclose having received it in the review you write. Which is pretty much the content of the new FTC guidelines as well. In the specific case of video game review copies one added factor is timing: As far as I know (never got one up to now) review copies of games are sent our BEFORE the game is available in stores, so that the reviews appear simultaneously with the game release. A review copy isn’t a cash payment in return for writing a favorable review, but a means to enable the blogger to write that review without cost to himself, and in time.

As for me? Well, I write positive and negative posts about games now and then.. and I have never been compensated for any of them [come on folks.. send me a free frikkin game already :p]. If I ever do get some sort of compensation I will definitely let the world know though (mainly because it will be quite an achievment for me! hehe).

What do you all think?

ftc, blogging ethics, compensation, blurbs

Returning to the Roots

I am going to be returning to my blogging roots, I am discontinuing the full blog domain and just going to  use this blog from now on.

I also am going to be blogging about games more, lots of stuff on my mind to put into words so expect some updates

Right now I have to get myself organized again and then start all over.

Updates coming soon to main blog

Updates will be coming soon to the main blog at http://www.blogofacrazynormalguy.com/

Check there for E3 2009 comments and more.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all a Merry Christmas

Lord of the Rings Online Welcome Back & Extra XP Weekend; GOG.com

Lord of the Rings Online Welcome Back & Extra XP Weekend

From October 2nd to the 6th, Turbine will be having a ‘Welcome Back Weekend’ with Enhanced XP for all to quote “get everyone ready for the Mines of Moria“. Starting October 2nd, past players will have their subscriptions re-activated for the weekend and be allowed to immerse themselves in the game once more to see what they have been missing out on (Yes, I am biased! So sue me ); Concurrent with this event, Turbine will be activating a +25% Experience Bonus for all players – this bonus stacks with the Rested XP and should help push you along towards your goals of getting into Moria when released later this year.

Quote:

Welcome Back to LOTRO Weekend with Bonus XP!

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Make sure you’re ready to take advantage of everything that Mines of Moria™ has to offer by participating in a Welcome Back Weekend which includes bonus experience for all!
From October 2-6, 2008, we’re offering free LOTRO access to our former players, and +25% bonus experience gain on mob kills* for everyone who logs in and plays. Returning players are invited to patch up, jump in, and start playing on their old characters to get them ready for Moria!
Prepare your characters for the wonder and dread of Moria by taking advantage of these bonus XP days! Tell your friends to log in and play, level your mains and alts, and get ready to Conquer the World Beneath™!
*Note: The bonus XP stacks with rest XP as well!

Source: Lord of the Rings Online Community Forums

GOG.com (Short for Good Old Games)

I have to admit that I dropped the ball on this one, originally announced as far back as July – this site is going to be a veritable treasure trove for classic gamers (like myself). The company is going to be offering DRM Free PC game downloads from the era when games were games and they didn’t hog  your entire Hard Disk (remember when 2MB was big?).

They are also guaranteeing that all of the games they offer will be compatible with Windows XP & Vista (that is a long shot in my eyes, as most older games I have tried to play on Vista have had major issues – but Kudos to them if they get it to work!); With prices ranging from $5.99 to $9.99 a pop, tech support, and unique ‘extras’ – this site is sure to become a Must Bookmark on the classic gamers computers.

Look for it to come later on this year (the site currently is in a closed beta and, while there is a small banner stating ‘Coming in September 2008′ they are still in negotiations with some publishers).

I certainly hope this site becomes a success and takes off – I have been wanting to find a good source for the classic games I miss so much.

 

Until the next time, good gaming!

 

Technorati Tags: gaming,classic games,retro,lord of the rings online,mines of moria,bonus xp,welcome back weekend,turbine,gog.com,blurbs

Almost time to Create…

…and Destroy Life in SPORE! Well, as soon as the bloody download finishes on this laptop. Got a finicky connection here in the Barracks that goes from ok strength (still not that good, 300kb or so DL) to jack for strength (200b [yes, bytes]) in see saw motions. Thats what ya get for not only being in a barracks with a bunch of other people, but being on a base who has a contract with Comcast.

As soon as I can get in the game and get some impressions I will update and let y’all see what I am up to. I hope that some of you out there fell for the temptation too!

 

Technorati Tags: spore,ea games,new release,gaming,blurbs