It's been pretty quiet around here, for various reasons that I won't get into, but I thought since I was on a roll with queuing posts at Tumblr I'd have a go at throwing up a quick blog entry here.
The title is the name of the game I have my eyes on right now. Some time ago I quit playing World of Warcraft, an MMO that I had been playing for six years. Some friends from my old Warcraft guild then invited me to come and play a new MMO with them instead; Star Wars: The Old Republic.
I'd said no on account of the fact that I don't actually like Star Wars; but there was the void left by WoW - no game to play with my friends, no game to suck up all of my time. I had signed up for an account on Star Wars for the hell of it, so when I was invited to participate in the massive weekend beta stress test I thought I'd have a go. I'd see what it was like, maybe I would like to play after all.
I loved it.
There is a strong emphasis on storyline and character development. All of the quest dialogue is voice acted, and you get to choose from various responses which can alter the outcomes. You could go out of your way to save a guy, or you could just let them die - it's up to you! Obviously how you react affects how 'light' (Jedi-like) or 'dark' (Sith-like) you are.
The graphics are also fairly decent, with a large amount of detail going into the characters and world around you. It's not as amazing as some other computer games, but very adequate, and not too much of a resource hog.
I played two characters during the two beta tests I was invited to (I was invited to the final test a week after the stress test!): a Jedi Consular (level 19), and a Trooper (level 10). I actually enjoyed both, but unsurprisingly I preferred the Jedi Consular, which I made into a spell-casting sage.
I could have levelled her further than I did but I intend to roll Empire when the game comes out and I didn't want to spoiler myself by entering a location that would later be visited by an Empire character, so I finished up on Taris.
Plus, you get your own ship and a lightsaber. What more could you want from a game?
So, the Firelands were opened today in World of Warcraft and thus, I am going to bore you with a bit of a gaming blog. It's better than nothing, surely?
Patch 4.2, Rage of The Firelands, continues Thrall's story, and the plight of the Earthen Ring and Cenarion Circle to protect Mount Hyjal and the World Tree from Ragnaros and his fiery invaders.
So far there wasn't really much to do apart from the very annoying quest line to rescue Thrall from the elemental plane. It starts with The Nordrassil Summit where you get to witness a meeting between the guardians of Hyjal, from which Thrall is torn. Aggra enlists you to help Thrall overcome the torment of the elements. It's fairly simple.
I say it's annoying because right now (soon after patch release) the whole area is a zergfest and there's bound to be an odd person who has PvP enabled who you accidentally tag in the ongoing melee and get yourself killed. Each time you die, your progress meter resets. It's not like the usual 'kill x mobs' quests. You just have to keep going until your progress bar fills - without dying. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like on a PvP server. However, your reward for saving Thrall is an iLevel 365 cloak - definitely an upgrade for me, at least!
There are also new dailies unlocked starting from the obvious place - the Warchief's Command Board (or Hero's Call Board, for you scummy Alliance) with Guardians of Hyjal: Call of the Ancients. I won't go into more detail, though, because WoWHead already has an excellent guide to 4.2 dailies. At the start there are only a few, and progress is personal. That is, you can't be lazy and wait for other people to open up all the content for you - so get going!
Do you want to play World of Warcraft? I do have some invitation codes that I can send out which can be used to create a 'Starter Edition' of World of Warcraft (European servers only, sorry!) which allows you to level a character to 20 (maximum level 85 if you purchase the game). That way, you can just try it out - no strings attached. Email me at kachii@gmail.com if you'd like to play!
In my spare time, besides knitting, I actually like to play computer games. Mainly role playing games, first person shooters (in the style of Left for Dead, Bioshock and such - not deathmatch nonsense), and some platformers and strategy games. About a year ago I was introduced to Portal - BEST. GAME. EVER. Possibly apart from World of Warcraft. Actually, maybe not even apart from World of Warcraft. The main problem with the game that it was too short.
Portal?
The premise of Portal is... oh, well, here:
That was a trailer for the original Portal. Just this morning, however, Portal 2 was released! A much anticipated sequel to a game they didn't imagine to be as popular as it was. Probably the only video game release I've anticipated besides World of Warcraft since Final Fantasy X-2 in 2004 (which was, by the way, a total pile of crud).
So, Portal 2...
Portal 2 is set some hundreds of years after the original game, and introduces a new co-op mode of play. I jumped out of bed at an obscenely early time, and dragging my housemate with me, loaded up Portal 2 at 8:30am - just early enough to play for half an hour before I started work. So, this first impressions post is going to be based on co-op.
The characters you and your friend play are Atlas (blue) and P-body (yellow) - the inviter gets to be Atlas, and the invitee P-body. You are robots who display rather human characteristics, which GLaDOS--just as evil-mannered as always--seems to observe. You have to advance through levels co-operating together (duh!) for example, casting portals for each other, guiding each other around mazes, passing objects to each other, and pressing buttons in synchronisation. Not always the easiest of tasks - I couldn't imagine doing it without voice comms!
Oh, and by the way... don't jump on the springboard without a portal above you...
Want To Play Portal?
One more thing: I do have one remaining spare copy of the original Portal game that I can gift to anyone who has an email address - you download it online (approx. 5GB). If you'd like to play and have never played before, just let me know in a comment. It will come from Portal on Steam.
I don't imagine many people haven't played this game, and this is no formal giveaway. I received it originally for free myself, and have been given two free copies since in special offer game bundles. I may gift it to the first person who displays interest, or otherwise pick someone at random. :) I don't mind if I don't know you, so don't feel shy - ask away. I'd rather it go to someone, anyone, than sit in my Steam account unplayed. But I'd love to know what you think when you've played it!
Since nobody displayed any interest in receiving my Portal game, I gave it to my little brother who to my shock and awe actually wanted to play it.
.jpg "P-body helping Atlas over toxic waste with a laser directing cube.")
.jpg "Splat!")