Well I purchased Elemental: War of Magic yesterday and got some time to mess with the game today for a few hours. This is a game I've been waiting for a while. It was originally going to be called Master of Magic 2, but Stardock, the creators of the game, couldn't get the license cheap enough so they decided to create their own property. And I believe this caused them to rethink making a full remake, and allowed them to deviate a bit more from the old Master of Magic forumla.
I have a confession to make. I LOVED the original Master of Magic. And I was very much interested in the game. Even though Civ 5 is around the corner and the two games fill something of the same niche. Fortunately, it looks like Elemental does a good job of seperating itself from similar games of the same type. It's very Civ like; but with technology (fantastical) and magic to research. Lots of city improvements. Lots of spells (both tactical, overland, and conjuring). And it has a lot of customization.
I can already tell, this game has got a lot going for it. But, after just a few hours with the game I've definitely decided that it is way too buggy to be very fun right now. It is, in fact, very hard to get very far into the game without some major bug forcing you to restart (or even loose the entire campaign). Tabbing out is a serious danger...it usually crashes the client. In fact, this is the very sort of thing that gives PC games such a bad rep. These are the types of bugs that should have prevented the game from being released--and I'm guessing it will be a month, if not more, before the game is stable enough to be fun. That's a major flaw and one that is completely unnecessary.
The only other problems really relate to graphics. The game itself is pretty nice looking (at times), but the character models and effects are pretty damned bad. Trying to dress your character or unit is a very painful excersise. For this type of game, it's hardly a deal killer...but I prefer games where the characters don't all look like subhumans at best. There are also in-game graphic errors relating to the Raise Land and Lower Land spells...especially along coastlines. Again, not a deal killer but still a problem.
Hopefully Stardock will be pretty fast about fixing most of the major problems. If they do, I think the game is going to be pretty kick ass and stay on my hard drive for quite a long time.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
True Blood 8/15
Season 3 started off strong, but cluttered. It then just got bogged down with all of the new characters and story lines to the point where there was a lot of stuff happening on screen...but very little forward momentum with the plot of the season.
Now that we're entering the last stages of the season, things have reversed. And there has been a definite progression as the season's story lines have begun to converge and the pace increased. And now I can say with more optimism that Season 3 has a good chance of being the best yet for True Blood. Certainly better than Season 2 in any case. Though, there are still a few lingering doubts I have to a few of the story lines that just have not gone anywhere yet. Sam/Tommy, Crystal, etc, just suck all of the momentum out of every scene they are in.
Without recapping the episode (I got to this way too late to try to do that), several developments happened. Eddington freaked out after the death of his husband. Eric, preparing for war with the King, gets hijacked by The Authority to answer for the missing Magister. Bill and Sookie continue to have mad makeup sex. And Bill still proves to be by far the worst vampire father of all time. Jesus and Lafayette continue their gay romance, more mystical implications are dropped that still don't go anywhere. Hayley drops more hints to Sookie about what she is (but doesn't really say anything). Mott meets a inglorious end (cry). Tommy remains an ass with little value. And Sam goes overboard beating the crap out of Crystal's father...why? who knows? Bill figured out 'the truth' by visiting 'faery paradise'. And the King of Mississippi makes his move, hijacking a TV show to make ABSOLUTELY SURE that the Vampire Rights Amendment will never pass. 'And, now for the weather!'
Overall, a very good fast paced episode that moved the plot along. And the episode had probably the best ending that the show has ever had. Though the pacing still has some problems, and the end-game isn't really all that apparent yet. But, the show is back to being consistently entertaining (if still over-the-top cheesy) and I'm really looking forward to next week and beyond.
Now that we're entering the last stages of the season, things have reversed. And there has been a definite progression as the season's story lines have begun to converge and the pace increased. And now I can say with more optimism that Season 3 has a good chance of being the best yet for True Blood. Certainly better than Season 2 in any case. Though, there are still a few lingering doubts I have to a few of the story lines that just have not gone anywhere yet. Sam/Tommy, Crystal, etc, just suck all of the momentum out of every scene they are in.
Without recapping the episode (I got to this way too late to try to do that), several developments happened. Eddington freaked out after the death of his husband. Eric, preparing for war with the King, gets hijacked by The Authority to answer for the missing Magister. Bill and Sookie continue to have mad makeup sex. And Bill still proves to be by far the worst vampire father of all time. Jesus and Lafayette continue their gay romance, more mystical implications are dropped that still don't go anywhere. Hayley drops more hints to Sookie about what she is (but doesn't really say anything). Mott meets a inglorious end (cry). Tommy remains an ass with little value. And Sam goes overboard beating the crap out of Crystal's father...why? who knows? Bill figured out 'the truth' by visiting 'faery paradise'. And the King of Mississippi makes his move, hijacking a TV show to make ABSOLUTELY SURE that the Vampire Rights Amendment will never pass. 'And, now for the weather!'
Overall, a very good fast paced episode that moved the plot along. And the episode had probably the best ending that the show has ever had. Though the pacing still has some problems, and the end-game isn't really all that apparent yet. But, the show is back to being consistently entertaining (if still over-the-top cheesy) and I'm really looking forward to next week and beyond.
Final Fantasy XIV
I have a big confession to make. My first MMORPG was Final Fantasy 11, and I was originally dead set against the whole genre. My experience with FF11 was a very positive one, even though I was on dial up at the time (FF11 was very forgiving about that). By the time I finally quit the game and switched to WOW, many of my in-game friends that I'd played with since the US launch had long-since quit, or moved on to other linkshells. And, considering most end-game content was beyond boring (it basically all involved camping, with various linkshells vying for the spawn and the difficult being tagging the mob and not actually fighting it), I left at a good time. But I've always had a soft-spot for the game, and have been looking forward to its spiritual sequel ever since.
But, why is it the only things I hear about the game is how damned terrible it is? Now, there has never really been a lot of information about the game out there (not that I could find anyway). It's certainly not been marketed as heavily over in the US, and I don't really see evidence of a thriving gaming community like you did with, say, Warhammer Online, or the upcoming The Old Republic. While the beta has been out for a while, there hasn't been a lot of information about the game overall. Just some impressions and the lingering sense that the game world is completely sparse, barren, and empty. With a rather retarded control scheme, clunky combat controls, and a questing system which is backward and difficult to understand.
In fact, considering how scathing the impressions of the game are, I'm actually getting hesitant to try it. From what I understand, the original FF11 had some very bad teething problems...in the beginning. But most of those had been worked out by the time the first expansion shipped (which coincided with the US release). So US players started the game with a lot of new, and changed game mechanics which made the game much more playable than before that. FF14 sounds like its having a lot of the same issues--but are people going to be willing to put up with that and just hope it's fixed with the next expansion? I just don't know about that.
Another thing that's actually starting to put me off is just HOW similar it looks to 14. Instead of being nostalgic, it's starting to actually looking boring, uninspired, and creatively lacking. Sure it looks good...I've seen some outside screen shots that are really great. But the style is lacking. Considering the artistic style is important to every FF game...the bland, derivative nature of 14's graphics seems to point to other, even deeper issues.
Hopefully better impressions will come out as the game approaches release. The limited edition ships Sept 22, I believe, with general release following on the 30th. That gives a full week or so from the time the game hits production and people start talking about it to make my mind up on whether it is worthwhile purchasing or not. If not, the WOW will remain the MMO game of choice through Cataclysm's release...at least until The Old Republic ships.
But, why is it the only things I hear about the game is how damned terrible it is? Now, there has never really been a lot of information about the game out there (not that I could find anyway). It's certainly not been marketed as heavily over in the US, and I don't really see evidence of a thriving gaming community like you did with, say, Warhammer Online, or the upcoming The Old Republic. While the beta has been out for a while, there hasn't been a lot of information about the game overall. Just some impressions and the lingering sense that the game world is completely sparse, barren, and empty. With a rather retarded control scheme, clunky combat controls, and a questing system which is backward and difficult to understand.
In fact, considering how scathing the impressions of the game are, I'm actually getting hesitant to try it. From what I understand, the original FF11 had some very bad teething problems...in the beginning. But most of those had been worked out by the time the first expansion shipped (which coincided with the US release). So US players started the game with a lot of new, and changed game mechanics which made the game much more playable than before that. FF14 sounds like its having a lot of the same issues--but are people going to be willing to put up with that and just hope it's fixed with the next expansion? I just don't know about that.
Another thing that's actually starting to put me off is just HOW similar it looks to 14. Instead of being nostalgic, it's starting to actually looking boring, uninspired, and creatively lacking. Sure it looks good...I've seen some outside screen shots that are really great. But the style is lacking. Considering the artistic style is important to every FF game...the bland, derivative nature of 14's graphics seems to point to other, even deeper issues.
Hopefully better impressions will come out as the game approaches release. The limited edition ships Sept 22, I believe, with general release following on the 30th. That gives a full week or so from the time the game hits production and people start talking about it to make my mind up on whether it is worthwhile purchasing or not. If not, the WOW will remain the MMO game of choice through Cataclysm's release...at least until The Old Republic ships.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
StarCraft 2
I'm not going to post a long review of StarCraft 2. I finished the campaign this weekend, and overall I'm very happy with the game, and the campaign itself. Game play was top-notch across the bored. Though the graphics aren't quite as top-notch, it's style and design--it's speed and fluidity more than makes up with the lack of photo-realistic visuals. The game itself is beautiful, and well animated. And the core game play is surprisingly good--it doesn't really reinvent the game, but the refinements are seemingly well thought out and provide a lot of new opportunities.
But, I have to say that the story and campaign itself bring everything down a bit. Starcraft 2 plays a lot like an RTS version of Wing Commander. You have your missions; your cut-scenes, and a central hub where you can talk to characters. It's all very good. But the Raynor-as-mercenary style of the campaign really kinda brings the whole thing down a bit. Essentially you have 6 or so ongoing story-arcs. You have Raynor helping a group of random settlers try to flee the Zerg. You have Tosh, trying to save his Specter buddies from a Dominion Prison. You have an artifact hunt, where you keep running across Kerrigan whose after the same artifacts. You have a Raynor-centric attempt to discredit the Dominion by exposing what actually happened on Tarsonis. And you have Zeratul asking you to relive his memories so you can understand why Raynor must save Kerrigan instead of destroy her. After those missions are complete, you can jump to Char and take on Kerrigan directly.
The structure of the campaign really prevents a single flowing narrative, and that's a shame. Each mini-plot has it's own build-up; but each plot line can be completed in any order. Dialog choices and options change depending on where you are at during each mission; and the flow is such that each new mission grants you new units, and more money/research to buy upgrades. It's a good setup for a game, but as a story, it falters as you never really get a good sense of the war; or why Raynor would be trouncing about like he is when billions are dying around him.
Another issue I had was the structure of many of the missions. Now, don't get me wrong there is a lot of variety here. But, at the same time almost every mission imposes an artificial time limit of some form; and most of them have some form of gimmick that is fun the first time but will certainly grate with later play through. There are very few, if any, more traditional mission objectives here. And the scale simply seems smaller as a result. In Starcraft, a loft of the Terran missions lacked scale as well--but things really opened up by the later Zerg and Protoss missions. By the time things do start opening up on Char near the end, it's too little, too late. There is only 4 Char missions, and you can only do 3 of them. And the last one has a pretty strict time-limit imposed on it.
I think the nature missions means that in the long run the campaign will be less interesting to play through. And the game itself never reached the epic-levels I was expecting (at least from a story perspective). But, having just played SC recently, the game is certainly more fun and more interesting, with more choices to make than the original or Brood War. It's still certainly a game worth playing, even for those who normally avoid RTS games. But, it's just doesn't have the level of pure awesomeness that I was expecting going in. I guess my my expectations could not have been met anyway. But it would have been nice!
But, I have to say that the story and campaign itself bring everything down a bit. Starcraft 2 plays a lot like an RTS version of Wing Commander. You have your missions; your cut-scenes, and a central hub where you can talk to characters. It's all very good. But the Raynor-as-mercenary style of the campaign really kinda brings the whole thing down a bit. Essentially you have 6 or so ongoing story-arcs. You have Raynor helping a group of random settlers try to flee the Zerg. You have Tosh, trying to save his Specter buddies from a Dominion Prison. You have an artifact hunt, where you keep running across Kerrigan whose after the same artifacts. You have a Raynor-centric attempt to discredit the Dominion by exposing what actually happened on Tarsonis. And you have Zeratul asking you to relive his memories so you can understand why Raynor must save Kerrigan instead of destroy her. After those missions are complete, you can jump to Char and take on Kerrigan directly.
The structure of the campaign really prevents a single flowing narrative, and that's a shame. Each mini-plot has it's own build-up; but each plot line can be completed in any order. Dialog choices and options change depending on where you are at during each mission; and the flow is such that each new mission grants you new units, and more money/research to buy upgrades. It's a good setup for a game, but as a story, it falters as you never really get a good sense of the war; or why Raynor would be trouncing about like he is when billions are dying around him.
Another issue I had was the structure of many of the missions. Now, don't get me wrong there is a lot of variety here. But, at the same time almost every mission imposes an artificial time limit of some form; and most of them have some form of gimmick that is fun the first time but will certainly grate with later play through. There are very few, if any, more traditional mission objectives here. And the scale simply seems smaller as a result. In Starcraft, a loft of the Terran missions lacked scale as well--but things really opened up by the later Zerg and Protoss missions. By the time things do start opening up on Char near the end, it's too little, too late. There is only 4 Char missions, and you can only do 3 of them. And the last one has a pretty strict time-limit imposed on it.
I think the nature missions means that in the long run the campaign will be less interesting to play through. And the game itself never reached the epic-levels I was expecting (at least from a story perspective). But, having just played SC recently, the game is certainly more fun and more interesting, with more choices to make than the original or Brood War. It's still certainly a game worth playing, even for those who normally avoid RTS games. But, it's just doesn't have the level of pure awesomeness that I was expecting going in. I guess my my expectations could not have been met anyway. But it would have been nice!
True Blood 8/8
Sunday's True Blood episode was something of a transitional episode. Most of the episode dealt with the ramifications of the previous week's activities. Sookie was saved, but now admittedly scare of Bill. Tara was free too...but still tormented by Mott at some level. Sam now has Tommy, with all of the good and bad behind that. Bill was sad. Everyone was now back at Bon Temps. And Eric moved forward with his plans against the King. Despite being a transitional episode, however, the ending closed with a bang and a large 3-way fight and an ending which had serious consequences for all concerned.
Overall it was another strong episode. And as plot lines finally start to merge, the whole show is picking up speed as a result. It's still not completely obvious where things are going here, and at this point in the show they seem to be following S1 & S2's not-so-subtle setup for Season 4. Also there are still a few plot-lines that don't seem to be going anywhere useful (Sam & Tommy). Though the Jason/Crystal plot line seems to be getting more interesting, finally. Though, I'm not convinced. I like the hint that Lafayette might be a magic-user of some form...this will give his character something more to do. And it suggests that, perhaps, Jesus may have more to him than meets the eye--in fact, you have to wonder...why is he there watching Mom?
By the end of the episode, the attack on Sookie's house is pretty cool. The Sookie/Debbie girl fight was pretty cool. The King/Bill fight was suitably one sided. And Jessica got to let out some frustration. But the implications of that fight are going to be big, and the stakes are getting raised even higher now. Lets just hope that as the season enters it's third act, that the show can avoid the some of it's past 3rd-act shortfalls.
Overall it was another strong episode. And as plot lines finally start to merge, the whole show is picking up speed as a result. It's still not completely obvious where things are going here, and at this point in the show they seem to be following S1 & S2's not-so-subtle setup for Season 4. Also there are still a few plot-lines that don't seem to be going anywhere useful (Sam & Tommy). Though the Jason/Crystal plot line seems to be getting more interesting, finally. Though, I'm not convinced. I like the hint that Lafayette might be a magic-user of some form...this will give his character something more to do. And it suggests that, perhaps, Jesus may have more to him than meets the eye--in fact, you have to wonder...why is he there watching Mom?
By the end of the episode, the attack on Sookie's house is pretty cool. The Sookie/Debbie girl fight was pretty cool. The King/Bill fight was suitably one sided. And Jessica got to let out some frustration. But the implications of that fight are going to be big, and the stakes are getting raised even higher now. Lets just hope that as the season enters it's third act, that the show can avoid the some of it's past 3rd-act shortfalls.
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