18.8.11

Spotlight: Upcoming Releases

I've felt ways about many different upcoming video games, but a few of them stand out as ones that I am actively trying to acquire to play. Here are just a few of them:

1. Assassin's Creed: Revelations

With the final installment of the Ezio Auditore da Firenze story arc taking place in this game, and the connections between Ezio and Altair (along with the game taking place around the old Masyaf fortress), I'm sure Revelations will bring some of the best story driven gameplay that Ubisoft brought to the table with the earlier Ezio games.

Also, that E3 trailer with Woodkid's Iron playing in the background. Incredible.

2. Red Orchestra 2 - Heroes of Stalingrad
With the game close to release, I still want to put in a word or two about the newest game by Tripwire Interactive. Their first game (and the first game in this series), Red Orchestra - Ostfront '41-45 is still one of the most widely played and popular first person shooters online. I can't say enough about how incredible this game will be. I've come to place Tripwire at about the same level as VALVe in some respects, with their ability to really listen to the community and include features that not only make gameplay challenging but also exciting. Also, every single game you guys have made (bar The Ball) has been awesome. Keep up the good work.
3. Warhammer 40000: Space Marine
Relic Entertainment is known for bringing the Warhammer 40000 universe to life, most notably through the last two Dawn of War sequences (Dawn of War, Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm and Dawn of War II, Chaos Rising, Retribution). Having done more than enough real time strategy games, Space Marine is an action adventure shooter much in the same vein as Gears of War. While I usually wouldn't care for a game like Gears of War, I personally enjoy the Warhammer 40k universe and always look for ways to do things within it.

Just keep Matt Ward away from it, and I'll be fine.

4. Defense of the Ancients 2
People who know me in real life would probably raise an eyebrow at this next one. I have for the most part been against DoTA and it's other MOBA spinoffs (mainly League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth) finding them to be dull, unentertaining and for the most part, unfun. Having recently seen what VALVe has done to this new version of the popular WarCraft III custom map in conjunction with the DoTA team has made me take a fresh look at this game. As of this writing, VALVe is hosting a tournament with a $1 million prize and the game is still in beta. If VALVe has the confidence to host such a tourney, then I should be a bit more open-minded and give this game another try.

5. Path of Exile
I recently got into the closed beta of this game, and I like what I'm seeing with it. Path of Exile is an Action RPG in the vein of Diablo I and II which is being developed by Grinding Gear Games. As of right now, the game has 5 different character classes, and spans across 2 different Acts. The game will launch as a free to play title and will be constantly updated with new content.

6. Saints Row The Third
For the sandbox GTA category, I have decided on Saint's Row III. Why? Well, Saint's Row is about awesome. It's a million times better than GTA and I loved Saint's Row II. That's about all I need to say about this awesome game.
7. Dead Island
In the horror genre, Dead Island stands out as a real competitor. The game takes place on a resort island that has fallen to what is basically a zombie infection. Your character must try to survive on this resort hellhole.

8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
To be clear: I'm not buying this game. I'm going to acquire it to play single player. I've put too much time into this ass backwards story (starting with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, then going full retard in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2), and I'm going to see this damn thing through. Activision can go screw itself, for all I care.

And finally:
9. Diabl- LOL JUST KIDDING
The more I look and hear about the newest installment of one of the best RPG's I've played ever, the more I want to weep. Between the art style getting shat on by that Warcraft influence that StarCraft II also suffers from, to the recent reports of Blizzard removing single player and LAN functionality, along with the money grubbing auction house bullshit that reeks of Bobby Kotick, I'm going to skip Diablo III. Granted, I'll acquire a means to play it on my own. I'm just not going to spend $60 dollars like I did with StarCraft II. Talk about buyers remorse. Instead:

9. Torchlight II
I'm buying Torchlight II. It's literally done by all the old members of Blizzard North (makers of all those classic Blizzard games that came out before World of WarCraft and it's ilk.). This essentially makes it the spiritual successor to Diablo II and Lord of Destruction. I'm also buying it as a big "FUCK YOU TOO" to Blizzard, who has really betrayed my trust as of late.

1.8.11

Sudden Realization

I have seen the light. I need a break.
It hit me a few days ago when I was lying in my bed thinking yet again about ways to defeat your average Riku of Two Reflections EDH deck. I had been in a foul mood over being yet again stomped by Tooth and Nail + Riku's UR activation + other similar shenanigans. Earlier on in the week, I had ragequit from playing Dino D-Day after a team I had been playing on put on the worst possible performance I had ever been a part of. Before even that, I was starting to get sick and tired of the numerous ways a Grey Knight army could rape my Imperial Guard corps. At that time, I had also lost the will to play League of Legends, Team Fortress 2 or any game I had at one point thought of as "fun" during my 2 month summer vacation from the hustle and bustle of the university. On top of this, old mainstays such as World of Tanks and Shogun 2: Total War had become slow and dull for my poor self.

I sat there, cards in hand, wracking my brain when that small thought had crept into my head. "Yo Chris," the thought had opened with, "you really should step back from gaming for a bit." It was true. In my eternal quest for true entertainment, I had lost the reason why I had enjoyed the Traditionally Virtual games that I had based a good portion of my life around. Fun. I had stopped having fun. It was a disgusting feeling, a nugget of truth at the back of my mind. I needed a break. A break from all things.

Either that, or at least something different to do. With 21 days left until the university restarted classes again, the state of me being bored out of my mind was very very close to being a reality.

I used to believe in fun once. I don't know what's happened to me. I... guess I just need a break.