I personally find it hard to believe, but apparently there are people out there who still haven't played World of Warcraft. It's only the most popular MMO of all time, but somehow people still manage to get through life without the overwhelming urge to level a character to 80.
I recently wrote an article detailing the WoW Free Trial Account Restrictions and Download Instructions, and registering and downloading is really so easy these days, there's no excuse for having not played it. They've even introduced a streaming client download. Yes, you're no longer required to spend a day downloading before you can play the game, you start the download in the background and start playing the game almost instantly.
So, awhile ago I leveled two characters, a Warlock and a Druid, to 60 using the WoW RAF program. I learned some interesting tips and tricks for playing both characters simultaneously, and I turned my experiences into a guide for anyone who might be thinking about trying something similar.
I also earned a sweet Zhevra mount for my troubles. It did cost a little money, but considering it probably shaved a month or two off of my leveling time, I'd say it was worth it. Triple experience is the only way to go, I doubt I'll level any future alts without it.
So I spent a little time today with Red Faction: Guerrilla. I absolutely loved the original RF, back in the PS2 days. It was the first game to allow players to be truly creative with their destructive impulses. Locked doors were no problem, one could simply rocket launcher through the wall next to the door and go about their business.
The destruction is definitely back in RF: Guerrilla. Unlike other open-world games where plowing your vehicle into a building results in a spectacular fireball and no visible damage to the wall, in RF you can simply plow straight through, provided you have enough momentum. My favorite part is definitely the destruction objectives, and I spent most of today discovering new ways to tear apart buildings.
You can attempt to strategically place charges on load-bearing portions of the structure, if you like. You can also sledgehammer an entire wall into rubble, if you so choose. My new favorite tactic, however, is jumping into the largest vehicle I can find, getting up as much speed as possible, and trying to drive straight through the building before turning around for another pass. This has proven quite enjoyable.
The missions are kind of pissing me off, though. Volition tends to fall into the "make missions difficult by throwing impossible amounts of enemies at you" school of design. It was something that bothered me in Saints Row 2 until I unlocked unlimited SMG ammo, so I'm hoping a similar revelation will make Guerrilla slightly easier as well.
Until then, there are always buildings to destroy.
I can hardly believe it, but a fantasy (pardon the pun) of mine that I've harbored since the sixth grade has actually come true. Final Fantasy IV (II here in the U.S.) is perhaps my favorite game of all time. I played through it countless times as a teenager and always wished for a sequel of some kind, and now there is one. Available on the Wii Ware channel, I can now purchase Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.
It was originally released as a cell phone game in Japan, I guess. I'm very stoked about this. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy some Wii Points.
Here's one of my recent articles that I really enjoyed writing. Finding time to play video games, MMORPGs especially, since my daughter was born has been a challenge, but I've found some ways to balance family with gaming and I thought I'd pass them on for other frustrated parents who might think that they have to give up gaming entirely.
It is possible to finish daily quests and even raid and still take care of your parental responsibilities, you just have to be smart about it.
It's the little things that make you realize just how much your life changes once you become a parent. Take this picture, for example.
I mean, here I am, just wanting to sit down and wipe out some imperial scum in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (a game I would have given up on several times were it not Star Wars) and I notice that someone has added their own personal touch to my entertainment center. I mean, we've got the big TV, Xbox 360 and PS3, as well as the surround sound system and Blu Ray collection, so why not add a single My Little Pony?
I love my daughter. I love that even when she's not here she is influencing my life and constantly reminding me how much better my life is with her around to leave me these little surprises.
This horrible trainwreck of an excuse for advertising plays like every five minutes on G4. Usually it's the far superior (and only slightly less annoying) one minute version, but everything I have to say about it pretty much holds true for the extended remix version above as well.
First off, the commercial blatantly states that their "services" are only for PC computers, no Mac support over at finally fast. Why, then, are most of the computers shown in the commercial Macs? Both the stupidly-enthusiastic "kinda fast" (read: slow) kid and the amazingly-talented woman who is somehow able to talk on the phone and crash her computer at the same time are both using Apple computers.
Speaking of Madame Multitasker, not only can she do two things at once without even chewing gum, but she also possesses the power to cause the Windows bluescreen of death of a Macintosh! Keep that lady away from my PS3, I wouldn't want it to catch the red ring of death!
On a side note, I love that the chick is trying to connect to the fabulously generic "email.com." Definitely one of the web's most popular destination for generic ads that attempt to point you to actual email sites.
Don't even get me started on the "kid" who is attempting to play what looks like a shitty 1942 knockoff online, with a gamepad, no less.
I guess anyone who would be stupid enough to think a magic website will speed up their spyware-choked computer wouldn't notice these glaring errors, but it's a blatant affront to the intelligence of the average G4 viewer (at least those who tune in for AOTS or X-Play, those who watch solely for COPS or Cheaters may be slightly less geeky). You have to wonder about the marketing genius that decided that an ad for a service to be utilized by those with little to no computer aptitude would be a great fit for a channel devoted to tecnhophiles and gamers.
Excellent decision making.
Equally bad are the game-design school commercials targeted at people who obviously have no idea of the game design process or its inherent difficulty. Scott Sharkey did a write up on the best over at 1up.com.
