Apr142010
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Spirit v1.1 update
And now you have even fewer reasons to hold off purchasing this top title as just the other week Marco released version v1.1 of Spirit, introducing the much anticipated OpenFeint integration, adding a new ‘Extreme’ difficulty mode, tweaking gameplay and smoothing out some kinks under the hood. The OpenFeint feature adds online leaderboards meaning, if you’re like me, you can now quantify how horrifically bad at the game you truly are. If however you’re vaguely competent, you’ll enjoy measuring up against all your friends (you did get your friends to buy the game too, right?) and rubbing their faces in your sheer excellence. The Extreme difficulty mode kicks off right from 1-1 with a full board of busy enemies who appear to have been hitting the Red Bull all night. Everything is quicker and more aggressive and again, if you’re like me, your ass will get handed to you in very short order. But, if you like a challenge and want to prove your legendary gaming prowess, getting to the top of the Extreme leaderboard would certainly go some way towards doing so. The update is of course free so everyone smart enough to have snapped the game up already can enjoy these new features simply by visiting the Appstore again. Everyone else, buy the game. Now! Tags / apple / Gaming / iphone / ipod touch / mobile / spirit / |
A little while back I
Feb162010
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Spirit for iPhone and iPod TouchA few days ago a friend of mine, Marco Mazzoli, released his first iPhone/iPod Touch game called ‘Spirit‘. It really is a great game, one which I thoroughly recommend and I’m not just saying that because Marco will find out where I live, and beat me to death with a sock full of batteries while I sleep if I don’t… is a friend but because it looks great, it’s very slick and the gameplay is incredibly more-ish. Previously, you’d have to go along to the iTune Store page and stare vacantly at the screenshots presented there, trying to imagine what those lovely images would look like if only they moved… as if by magic! Well, not any more as Marco has put together a video of the gameplay and made it available on YouTube. Now, in theory, I should be able to embed it on this post… Phew! So, as you can see, an excellent game and definitely one you should rush off and purchase right now! Especially since it’s still available for the low, low price of $0.99 / £0.59!
Tags / apple / Gaming / iphone / ipod touch / mobile / spirit / trailer / youtube / |
Apr22009
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Stinker, looking for love
I am of course talking about the mighty Stinker. Now, I’ve already managed to obtain this pet (as detailed here) but was quite amused to find the bods at Blizzard have given this critter a little extra oomph in the personality department. Quite clearly inspired by the legendary skunk philanderer Pepé Le Pew, it seems our little Stinker has a thing for the ladies. And by ‘ladies’, I mean cats. Specifically, the Bombay Cat and the Black Tabby Cat. Whenever Stinker spots either of these felines, he falls instantly in love, chasing his prey around the area until he is finally scorned and his heart breaks. All together now… awwwww. Don’t worry though, old Stinker has the memory of a goldfish and will again be pursuing the unobtainable within seconds. Tags / achievements / blizzard / expansion / Gaming / pc / world of warcraft / wrath of the lich king / |
Although the Valentine’s day inspired ‘
Feb252009
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The Proto-Drake Whelp is mine!
The Proto-Drake Whelp comes from the Cracked Egg, which comes from owning a Mysterious Egg for the alloted 7 days – after which, it transforms and the roulette of what you get can begin. The Mysterious Egg can be bought from Geen, the Oracles Quartermaster once you have Revered reputation with them (and 3 gold to spare). You’ll find this race of Gorlocs in their village at Rainspeaker Canopy, in Sholazar Basin, Northrend. Yep, you’ll need to be tootling around in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion for this reward. Now, building reputation with these beasties requires you to have finished the Oracles quest line, ending with ‘A Hero’s Burden‘. This quest has you taking down an elite mob, Artruis the Heartless (so maybe bring friends) but during the fight, you’ll be attacked by a Gorloc and a Wolvar (the Frenzyhart Tribe being the other warring faction in the Basin – by this point you’ll have met them already). Who you kill decides which faction’s daily quests you can take. If you’re going for the Oracles rewards, you’ll want to beat the puppy to a pulp. Complete the quest chain and you’ll be honoured with the Oracles but hated by the Frenzyhearts. Meh. Never liked those slave-driving morons much anyway. Right, now just do the daily quests in the Basin to earn that Revered standing and you can purchase an Mysterious Egg. Stick it in the bank for a week and forget about it. When you come back, crack that sucker open and then cry because, chances are, you’ll just get some Aged Yolk for all your effort. Don’t worry, you can buy another egg but that means another seven days. Yay! If you happen to get lucky, you’ll receive one of four possible vanity pets. In order of how common they apparently are, you could get either a Tickbird Hatchling, a White Tickbird Hatchling, a Cobra Hatching or our friend up there, the Proto-Drake Whelp. If you’re really, really lucky (2% drop rate according to Wowhead), you could wind up with the Reins of the Green Proto-Drake, a flying mount! No. I haven’t got that yet. *mutter* *grumble* Note – you can get the same pet even if you’ve already learnt that one. Great for flogging on the auction house, not so great if you’re impatient for some other reward. So there you have it. How to get your very own Proto-Drake Whelp. It’s not a hard process and not particularly expensive either, just time consuming. Yes, I’ll probably be swimming in Aged Yolks before I ever get the flying mount but I’ve got my mind set on it. Oh, and if you do get everything and become Exalted with the Oracles, don’t forget to switch back to the Frenzyheart Tribe faction, complete their daily quests and become Exalted with them so that you can earn the Mercenary of Sholazar achievement! Tags / achievements / blizzard / expansion / Gaming / pc / world of warcraft / wrath of the lich king / |
Okay, okay, I promise not to announce every single thing I acquire in World of Warcraft like this but this particular vanity pet has me more than a little pleased for the moment. Partly because it completes the ’set’ and partly because it’s one of those long slog kind of rewards to get. Let me explain (and show you how to get your hands on the flying bundle of fun to the left)…
Jan122009
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Meet Stinker!
So ever since that day, I’ve kept an eye out for new vanity pets. An auction purchase here, a quick quest or two there and a few trips to previously overlooked vendors, slowly adding to my collection until Sunday night when I hit the magic number – 50 and gained the achievement ‘Shop Smart, Shop Pet…Smart‘. Moments later, a letter from Breanni, the NPC pet-store owner in Dalaran, arrived commending me on my pet care and asking me to look after… Stinker, the vanity pet skunk. So here I am with my collection of 51 vanity pets and of course I felt the urge to brag share the news of my accomplishment. It’s not such a tough feat all told – especially considering there are apparently over a hundred pets in game. But I’m still pleased. In fact, I thought I’d share with you my favourite ten pets… listed after the ‘jump’. Tags / achievements / blizzard / expansion / Gaming / pc / the burning crusade / world of warcraft / wrath of the lich king / |
Jan72009
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One more Persona 4 review
I have to say, their reviews are pretty much the only kind I bother with these days for checking out new games. While most magazine & website reviews out there are reasonably passable, Gametrailers.com reviews are concise, give you the basics and don’t need to do a half-arsed job of describing the visuals, audio or gameplay mechanics – it’s all up there on the screen for you to see. In an age where some piss poor websites encourage their self-obsessed writers to disappear up their own backsides, where they spend most of the review trying out second rate comedy routines wrapped in third rate flowery prose, I find game reviews that actually focus on the game to be surprisingly refreshing. The games gets a solid 9.3 out of 10 from Gametrailers, and with this one more than any of the reviews I’ve linked to before, if you don’t want anything spoiled, I’d probably avoid checking this one out. As lovely as viewing clips from the game is during the review, it does tend to reveal a few scenes & settings that you might want to discover yourself. You were warned. Tags / atlus / consoles / gametrailers / Gaming / persona / ps2 / review / rpg / |
Okay, so in my
Dec82008
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Even more Persona 4 reviews
Given the number of people visiting the site looking for information, it’s clear that quite a few of you will soon be neck deep in a murder mystery and busy molesting TV sets in a picturesque Japanese countryside. While you’re enjoying yourself, please spare a thought for us unlucky European bastards who have anything up to half a year to wait. Hey! Stop laughing! Since the reviews are all picking up on the same points and have a general theme of appreciation, rather than comment on them individually, here is a list of the new reviews and their scores…
As you can see, this new series of review scores closely match the ones posted last time. Certainly encouraging for anyone with the game on pre-order or considering popping into their local ‘house of games’ to purchase Persona 4. If you were previously on the fence, get the hell off and get the game bought. Tsch! Another related tidbit is this article from Siliconera, expanding their series of previews of the game with a look at the dungeoneering aspects. As with other previews, if you want to experience the tweaks to the game fresh, avoid but if you’re nosey like me (and you’re looking forwards to months of waiting for a European release), have at it. Speaking of which, Square Enix have confirmed that they’ll be releasing Persona 4 in Europe next year with a slightly firmer ‘Spring 2009′ (so any time between late March and late June) in their December newsletter. I think this will be the last Persona 4 review update. They all seem to be of a single mind (the game is great!) and there should be enough nuance in the eight to ten reviews I’ve linked over the last few weeks to help you decide if the game is for you. Simply put, it is. Tags / atlus / consoles / digital chumps / game vortex / gamecritics / Gaming / honestgamers / persona / ps2 / review / rpg / square enix / thunderbolt games / |
Along with the reviews mentioned in my
Dec42008
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Step away from the Mechanostrider, lady!Like a drunken adult trying to ride a child’s playground ’springy’, I bring you this screenshot of my World of Warcraft character in full Frost Vrykul disguise sat on his (yes, the disguise changes your sex if you’re a fella) swift, green mechanostrider. Riding on mounts that are clearly waaaaay too small for you is one of the delights that await you in the new expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. The mount considered too tiny for anything but a Gnome or a Dwarf to ride is apparently strong enough to support the weight of a hulking, frozen warrior in full battle armour. It’s Gnome technology at it’s finest! Wrath of the Lich King is great fun. I’ve really been enjoying it. Of course, people are devouring the new content at a lightning speed and if that’s your thing, go at it. For everyone else, I’d recommend taking things at your own pace. Enjoy the sights, take in the lore and for God’s sake, read the damn quest instructions, you morons! Sorry… sorry. One of the returning plagues from the launch of The Burning Crusade (heck, even the start of World of Warcraft itself) is the dumbasses who think yelling out to everyone else in the area to give them a point-by-point breakdown of every step a quest entails is somehow quicker than simply reading four or so lines of text. Still, before long you find yourself in the next area and well away from those knuckle-dragging bozos. People seem to be handling the change of scenery in WotLK a lot better than TBC and feel quite at home in the Dun Morogh-esque snowy landscapes it provides. The gap between end-game TBC player items and WotLK new greens seems to be less drastic than the first expansion, quietening some of the masses this time round though there are murmurs that Blizzard might have gone too far in the opposite direction – that people rarely find the quest rewards a worthwhile upgrade to anything they already had. What can I say – you can’t please everyone. New game mechanics in the form of vehicles have been the occasional questing highlight while playing through the expansion and a new slew of recipes are sure to keep me and my alts busy (and financially secure) for a long time to come. I can’t say I’m too enthralled with the new Death Knight class. Some people are having a whale of a time, to be sure (and others are crying that they’re too over-powered), but for me the late 50s and very early 60s are a real drag for my alts so having a class dropped right at the foot of that particular mountain just doesn’t inspire. Maybe a month or two down the road I’ll have an itch for something different but in what roughly amounts to three levels of DK starter quests, I can’t muster the energy to put aside my main and embrace the traitorous DK lifestyle. So WotLK is lovely and I’m looking forward to getting as much blood from this particular stone as I can, as is MMORPG tradition but looking ahead, I really think Blizzard have to step up their game and try to adhere to their statement of providing something close to one expansion a year. Two years is too long to wait, if you ask me. I have to wonder if the majority of WoW’s playerbase would wait another two years for the next one. And of course, I can’t end an article mentioning drunken adults on a playground springy without linking to this webcomic from Cascade Failure. Tags / blizzard / expansion / Gaming / pc / the burning crusade / world of warcraft / wrath of the lich king / |
Dec32008
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Persona 4 reviews-a-go-go!
First up is Gamepro, who in this review, give Persona 4 a 5 out of 5. The reviewer is an old hand when it comes to the series and brings up (and lays to rest) the worry that P4 is merely P3 but with a minor dust and polish. While he acknowledges that the gameplay will feel familiar to fans of the series, it appears that everything Persona 3 already did well has been tweaked and fine tuned to perfection in the new game. The game scores a lower, but still commendable, 8.7 out of 10 in this review from GameZone. Despite some odd reaching to link the game’s inspirations to other sources (wait, pyramidhead from Silent Hill?), the reviewer still admits the game is one of the best RPGs on the PS2 in recent history. A fair review, if not a little focussed on that fact the game is ‘old gen’ rather than a PS3 or Xbox360 title. Next comes another top mark with 10 out of 10 in this review from Gamervision. Another review from a devoted fan who wasn’t expecting Persona 3 to be improved on. Like the Gamepro article, this gamer appears to have come away very pleased with the results. This review from Hardcore Gamer Magazine gives Persona 4 a healthy 4.75 out of 5 (an average taken from the 5 out 5 of the reviewer and a 4.5 out of 5 from another writer). This time the reviewer enjoys the new storyline from the series as well as all the improvements made to the game mechanics. They also note the increase in activities to fill the protagonist’s days leading to fewer ‘what now?’ moments and the improved social link development. Finally, 1UP gives Persona 4 a shining A+ mark in their review. This reviewer appreciates the bite-sized chunks of dungeon Persona 4 serves up in comparison to the sometimes daunting colossal tower of Tartarus. They also feel that the characters are better placed in this title than the previous one. Overall, the theme that runs through all these reviews is that everything we love from the Persona series makes a happy return with a new lick of paint and some minor niggles (such a lacking team control or no fast travel) have been exorcised. It all adds up to a game I’m really looking forward to having eat up a considerable amount of my free time. …when it finally hits Europe, of course. Bah, I’d almost convinced myself I was a US citizen and Persona 4 was only a week away. No such luck! Tags / 1up / atlus / consoles / gamepro / gamervision / gamezone / Gaming / hardcore gamer magazine / persona / ps2 / review / rpg / |
Seems like I should have held off posting my previous
Nov302008
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More Persona 4 previews and info
The first item and probably the most important, personally, is a hint… rumour… vague indication that Persona 4 will be hitting European shores before too long. According to French gaming website ‘Jeuxpo.com‘, the German classification organisation, USK (*deep breath* the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle) have rated Persona 4 (for ages 12 and over). It also mentions that it’ll be released in Europe by SquareEnix and that it should be expected early next year – though from the translated text of the article (original here), I’m not sure the entry actually says that. Oh well, fingers crossed whatever. As, previously mentioned, the US gets Persona 4 in just over a week on the 9th of December and Japan is already enjoying the game. At least it’s nice to know that we haven’t been forgotten and plans are afoot to get the title in our grubby European mitts. If you’re still jonesing for whatever Persona 4 information you can get, you might want to pop over to this Persona 4 Hands-On article from Gamespot posted earlier in the month. Obviously, avoid like the plague if you want to go into the game fresh and without having any of the gameplay elements spoiled for you but if you’re fine with a little preview (and let’s face it – we all know the gameplay isn’t going to be a million miles from Persona 3, anyway), then have at it. The same can be said for this article from the Siliconera website covering the part that the protagonist’s home plays in the development of your social links and stats. It’s a bit more in-depth than the previously mentioned preview, focussing as it does on one specific area of the game so if you prefer to uncover details like that for yourself, you probably should stay away. All in all, ‘early next year’ just can’t come quickly enough.
Tags / atlus / consoles / gamespot / Gaming / persona / preview / ps2 / rpg / siliconera / |
Since a lot of people visiting the site seem to have just as much a desire for Persona 4 information as I have, I thought I’d post a quick round-up of a few things I’d spotted while wandering the intertubes wasteland.