tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62739172103802249012024-02-21T00:07:58.879-05:00Nyte's BlogJust my gaming related rambling and commenting on things I find interesting from my digital world.Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-73910773311317363472015-09-20T10:05:00.001-04:002015-09-20T10:05:18.995-04:00Fallout 4 It's funny how life is. I had basically forgotten about this blog for a few years until Facebook Memories brought up one of my posts. I feel like I should start this blog up again now. Maybe just some posts, nothing overly fancy.<br />
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First thing I want to post about? Fallout muther humpin 4 is coming out in about a month! Oh I cannot wait. I've started playing through Fallout New Vegas again just to reminisce with the world a little bit. I cannot wait, all of the footage I have seen so far looks amazing!<br />
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More posts to come! Maybe about Fallout, maybe about my love of Hearthstone! Who knows. Hey blog-o-sphere! I'm back!Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-67799768148240849982011-05-17T19:30:00.001-04:002011-05-17T19:30:00.535-04:00Planking - Get over yourselves media, you did not discover this. [Video]So apparently a kid in Australia died while doing a "planking" photo... And now "planking" is being touted as some new fangled under ground thing. Here are some pro tips internet. "Planking" used to be called the "Laying Down Game" this was started in Europe by a couple of guys. The LDG was a spin off of a Korean MEME where you pretend to be dead. The main difference between the Euro and JP MEME is the Euro version you would lay out stiff like a plank of wood, hence the name. While the Korean version you would lay so it appeared you were dead, basically limply.<br />
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Now, I AM very saddened to hear someone died while taking a picture for this MEME (Even if he WAS drunk and doing it on a 7th story balcony). However, the media response to this is horrible... You did not "find" planking, you did not coin it.<br />
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Gawker has a good article up at the moment covering the time line for the "planking" (I am sorry to me it will always be the Laying Down Game) although they do leave out the original Korean MEME roots.<br />
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<a href="http://gawker.com/5802460/how-a-facebook-page-turned-into-a-deadly-internet-craze">http://gawker.com/5802460/how-a-facebook-page-turned-into-a-deadly-internet-craze</a><br />
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If you want to know even more about the Planking and Laying Down game Know Your Meme has a great video up on Youtube about the entire history, watch it here;<br />
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Be sure to check out Know Your Meme's other videos as well, they cover most of the big MEME's for the last few years.Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-51399024205289152522011-05-17T18:20:00.001-04:002011-05-17T18:22:07.489-04:00Fallout: New Vegas - Honest Hearts DLCSteam has just released the latest DLC for Fallout: New Vegas titled Honest Hearts. If the past is any type of indicator this should be the one that everyone wants to buy. Fallout 3's initial DLC offering was severly lacking while the rest were fully realized additions. This being the second addition to New Vegas let's hope Bethesda has put some good time into it. You can get it now on Steam for 9.99<br />
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<a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/72740/">Fallout New Vegas Honest Hearts</a>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-78430430357772450382011-05-17T17:00:00.000-04:002011-05-17T17:00:01.014-04:00GagaVille - Facebook's Newest Bad Romance<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Click here to read GagaVille, the Most Monstrous <em>FarmVille</em> Update Yet" height="120" src="http://betacache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/05/small_gagaville_splash.jpg" style="border-color: rgb(179, 179, 179); border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0pt 1px 1px;" title="Click here to read GagaVille, the Most Monstrous <em>FarmVille</em> Update Yet" width="190" /></div><br />
Yes, I admit it. I was hooked on Zynga's Farmville late last year. Somewhere between updating my status and checking out a friends new picture I ended up plowing and planting my first field. The next thing I know 6 months went by and I was 2 sizes bigger with near on 3,000 Facebook friends. (But man did I have a pimpy looking Oriental Themed Farm ^_^ ) As halloween drew nearer though I slowly started to find emptiness in Farmville, honestly why was I playing it? If I wanted a sim experience there are a dozen Sim games out there I could be playing. Was it because of all the friends? I did end up with quite a few Facebook Friends because of Farmville, was I attached to them?<br />
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No, in the end I realized I was simply addicted to the plow- harvest- seed routine. So I blocked Farmville and moved on. While I knew the game would maintain it's popularity for a long time I never expected it to sink to such low depths. Apparently not content with zombiefing the populace Zynga has teamed up with current pop sensation Lady Gaga to create what I would like to refer to as "The Black Hole of Gaming". <br />
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<i>~Kotaku </i><br />
<i>GagaVille itself is a bit of a let down. It's just a neighboring farm with a few silly things to click. But for </i><i>FarmVille regulars, the update brings new items, crops, and decorations-and a chance to listen to tracks from Lady Gaga's upcoming album before anyone else. It's insidious, brilliant pablum. <a href="http://kotaku.com/5802683/gagaville-the-most-monstrous-farmville-update-yet" title="Click here to read more about GagaVille, the Most Monstrous FarmVille Update Yet [Marry The Lunch Hour]">More »</a></i><br />
<div><a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Er/kotaku/full/%7E3/k-8au1Ydh5c/gagaville-the-most-monstrous-farmville-update-yet">GagaVille, the Most Monstrous FarmVille Update Yet [Marry The Lunch Hour]</a></div>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-71222008294873162482011-05-15T12:46:00.000-04:002011-05-15T12:46:00.447-04:00It came from the web [Comedy]A video showing off some rather well executed face acting, set to some popular video games. (I especially like his "female" ones)<br />
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</center>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-74284692786866037792011-05-15T09:45:00.002-04:002011-05-15T09:46:40.955-04:00Guild Wars 2 preview [PCGAMER]It is no secret that I spent a lot of time playing the original Guild Wars, over 2,000 hours in fact. And while I quit playing just before the last expansion came out I still like to keep tabs on what the developer is doing for the sequel, GuildWars 2. PCGAMER has some beautiful screen caps up along with an overview of how questing will work in the next iteration, take some time out and enjoy the breath taking majesty of my favorite MMO series.<br />
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Quests don’t exist in Guild Wars as we know them. In Guild Wars, you don’t bounce from exclamation mark to exclamation mark, ferrying llama skins. You explore, and as you explore, you stumble across events.<br />
<div style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/03/Guild-Wars-2-5.jpg"><img alt="" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/03/Guild-Wars-2-5-590x331.jpg" title="Guild Wars 2 5" width="400" /></a><br />
Skills come with violent visual effects.<br />
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<a href="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32730/f/510578/p/1/s/2ba37feb/l/0L0Spcgamer0N0C20A110C0A50C150Cguild0Ewars0E20Epreview0E20C/story01.htm">Full Guild Wars 2 preview at PCGAMER</a>: </div>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-75978328861045744292011-05-15T03:02:00.002-04:002011-05-15T03:02:53.357-04:00Study of 'Game Transfer Phenomena' Examines Why Some Get Tetris-on-the-Brain [Study][Kotaku]The guys over at Kotaku have a great article up about what I have been calling "Game Flashes". I have personally had these since my Quake 3 days, well over 10 years now. After playing any game for an extended period of time I can still "see" the game after I stop, while it never bothers my sleep it certainly does cause some odd things in my daily life.<br />
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<a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Er/kotaku/full/%7E3/CUS8r1QgKHY/study-of-game-transfer-phenomena-examines-why-some-get-tetris+on+the+brain">Study of 'Game Transfer Phenomena' Examines Why Some Get Tetris-on-the-Brain [Study]</a>: "<br />
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<a href="http://kotaku.com/5801951/study-of-game-transfer-phenomena-examines-why-some-get-tetris+on+the+brain" title="Click here to read Study of 'Game Transfer Phenomena' Examines Why Some Get <em>Tetris</em>-on-the-Brain"><img alt="Click here to read Study of 'Game Transfer Phenomena' Examines Why Some Get <em>Tetris</em>-on-the-Brain" height="120" src="http://betacache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/05/small_tetrissplash.jpg" style="border-color: #B3B3B3; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0 1px 1px;" title="Click here to read Study of 'Game Transfer Phenomena' Examines Why Some Get <em>Tetris</em>-on-the-Brain" width="190" /></a></div><br />
If you've ever closed your eyes and seen tetrominoes falling into place, or <i>Angry Birds</i> slamming into stone walls, you're experiencing 'game transfer phenomena,' and it involves more than mentally playing a game long after it's finished. <a href="http://kotaku.com/5801951/study-of-game-transfer-phenomena-examines-why-some-get-tetris+on+the+brain" title="Click here to read more about Study of 'Game Transfer Phenomena' Examines Why Some Get Tetris-on-the-Brain [Study]">More »</a>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-50540129762593043232011-04-30T10:06:00.000-04:002011-04-30T10:06:25.056-04:00FireFalls PvP RevealedFireFall is one of those game's I have been keeping my eye on this year. With a whole host of new games scheduled to release in 2011 it is hard to both keep up with them and try to pick a "favorite". FireFall though has been on my radar for quite some time now. The developers boast that it will be a free to play shooter, MMO style. It brings me back to my days in Planetside honestly. And while Planetside was a great game, there is certainly room for some approvement.<br />
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<script type="text/javascript">
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After watching the video below I cannot help but feel like FireFall is trying to be the next Team Fortress 2. I also realized that it definitely has an up hill battle on it's hands, TF2 is almost the epitome of team based shooters and trying to capture the same magic that it has is going to be tough. I will keep my eye on FireFall though, while many other triple A games are coming this might just be the sleeper hit of the year.<br />
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large army of monsters. Players are able to attack other villages in hopes of stealing some of the materials that player has gathered.<br />
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Using the now standard Facebook Games strategy players are able to post wall updates about their accomplishments ranging from the players level to what types of units have been researched or what level a building has been upgraded to. You are also able to send daily gifts to any registered friend who also has the application installed.<br />
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With both a unique look and a unique take on the classic RTS game Backyard Monsters is both a stand out and a step above many other games available on Facebook today. With promises from the developer to add more features in the future, this game promises to quickly become one of the premiere games on Facebook. One highly talked about feature is the ability to help friends gather material or repair after an attack.<br />
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Overall I was highly pleased with Backyard Monsters and would highly recommend everyone giving it a try, you might find that you are not overly excited about the game, but I promise it is worth a look.<br />
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Now, to the nity grity. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Graphics and Sound : 5 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As stated above, the art style and feel of Backyard monsters is very very unique. Everything from the buildings to the individual monsters in your army has been created specifically for this game with a very stylized direction. With a rare "Full screen" option available BYM is really a step ahead of other games on Facebook. <b>For Graphics I awarded a 4 out of 5</b>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Sounds however are another story. Most are bland and extremely repetitive, I ended up turning them off after hearing "Flight of the Valkyries" for the third time (it plays whenever you are attacked by wild monsters). The stock sounds for this game need some desperate attention, more variety and possibly some type of ambient music for background. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>For Sound I awarded 1 out of 5.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Social Interaction : 8 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b>Backyard Monsters is one very sociable game, allowing players to view each others yards and even attack your friends! It also does not force players into posting on walls, or constantly inviting friends to come and play. With the promise of more friend features coming soon I believe that Backyard Monsters is going to be a standard for social interaction here. Not to say that everything is perfect, there are quests tied to inviting friends to the game, but again it is nothing that is being forced on you. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One thing I like to see in a game on Facebook is the ability to send daily gifts to friends who play the same game as you. It is always a nice touch, and a good reminder, when you find a gift waiting for you in the morning. Plus you get the warm fuzzies going when you send a gift back or post on your friends wall a nice thank you image. Did I mention you can post rather comical images to friends who attack you while your offline? Getting and sending those can be more fun than actually attacking someone!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Learning Curve : 5 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I admit it, I am a hardcore gamer at heart. I love complex and precise games that require me to think and plan a strategy. Unfortunately Backyard Monsters falls a little flat on this one. Granted the game gives you a tutorial as well as quests to help keep you on track but once your past the tutorial and have a good grip on the quest system ( keep building, keep updating is basically it) the complexity of the game just disappears. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The most complex decision to make is what you want to protect while you are offline. Would you rather try to save your resources? Or do you want to protect that really great army you have built? Hopefully as time progresses and updates are made there will be more things for the hardcore gamer to look forward to. For now though, this is totally a casual affair. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Uniqueness : 7 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One thing Casual Collective has done right with Backyard monsters is the art style. The look and feel are spot on for both a casual as well as competitive game. The small blood splats that appear when monsters are killed, Ride of the Valkyries playing during attacks (Even if I did find it annoying after a while, the first time it was very gratifying) and the way the resource gathering buildings seem to move and come alive. Every aspect of the game as been very stylized and in my humble opinion it is perfect. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Reviewers Note - Some points were taken off for not adding anything new to the genre. Persistent RTS games are nothing special themselves, I would have liked to see some innovation to the genre) </i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Value : 7 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Value is one of those things that is really hard to quantify with a number. What I find valuable another might very well think of as trash. To that end I divided the value score into two parts. Time and Money, since Backyard Monsters allows you to purchase in game currency referred to as "Shiny" I felt this was the best way to go about it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Time wise, Backyard Monsters is a must play. The actual time *required* to play the game is very minimal, most days I login, collect resources and start building or upgrading. After that I am free to log off or start attacking other players to earn experience and resources.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>For Time I awarded 4 out of 5. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Money wise the developers allow both micro payments in the form of real world cash in exchange for more "shiny" or players can engage in incentive programs to earn more shiny. The Shiny though is not really needed in order to enjoy the game. Best example is your workers. At the start of the game you are given one worker, which means you can build or upgrade one building at a time. Using Shiny you can increase your worker count up to 5. While letting you build and upgrade faster, it is not required to play the game. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>For Money I awarded 3 out of 5.</b></div><b></b><br />
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Overall Score - <b>32 out of 50 </b><br />
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<b>Links </b>:<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=342684208824">Backyard Monsters</a><br />
<a href="http://www.casualcollective.com/">Casual Collective</a> Makers of Backyard Monsters</div>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-32132724225065100102011-04-24T12:30:00.000-04:002011-04-24T12:30:00.159-04:00Review - Frontierville<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYUDhuAbvF6ii6sLCp-7zqLJeDTlCDNRbZKCH1fN3ofQfwcWUfJTYvbaHRUchnuFuYLAOKkL-XnOvtVl7FZsVyXjmLqlmgCRjOfj9YTRcPIzdzvKsc-71z3E28pQFUdAz18Nbrl5ncD-n/s1600/frontierville+loading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYUDhuAbvF6ii6sLCp-7zqLJeDTlCDNRbZKCH1fN3ofQfwcWUfJTYvbaHRUchnuFuYLAOKkL-XnOvtVl7FZsVyXjmLqlmgCRjOfj9YTRcPIzdzvKsc-71z3E28pQFUdAz18Nbrl5ncD-n/s320/frontierville+loading.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Zynga is at it again, this time around though they have us clearing grass, chopping trees and clobbering snakes as aposed to harvesting crops and putting in decorations. Frontierville is Zynga's newest game released onto the Facebook social platform and while it may not be replacing Farmville any time soon it may be a welcomed update to those who find themselves getting burned out with Farmville or Mafia Wars ( Zynga's other big time Facebook game).<br />
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Where Farmville had players harvesting crops and managing a farm, Frontierville invites players to conquer the untamed wilderness from the earlier days of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_United_States_continental_expansion">Westward Migration in America</a>. As the game opens you are prompted to create your very own personalized prospector. Choices are more fleshed out than in previous Zynga titles, having spent a healthy amount of time on a Nintendo Wii with my daughter I liken the character creation process to more like making a Mii than just picking out a name and hair color.<br />
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As the game proceeds you are given a hand full of starter quests, clear your land by chopping down trees, clearing grassy areas and even removing some unsightly skulls. Some of the improvements are noticeable right away, every item on your land is prone to changing. From baby chickens that grow into full fledged adult chickens to grass that grows while you are away every thing "feels alive" in the game. Yes you read that right, everything "grows" in this game. Grass that was cleared the night before will magically be back in the morning. Trees that get chopped down but the stump was left will start to regrow. Fully grown trees will drop seeds and sprout others. There is an essence of persistence that seeps into every part of Frontierville.<br />
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Energy is a new mechanic that might be a little off putting to anyone who has played previous Zynga titles, but once you get into the nitty gritty parts of the game you may change your mind. In essence the flow of the game works like this;<br />
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* Spend Energy and Coins Planting Crops<br />
* Spend Energy Harvesting the crops, gain Gold / Experience and food<br />
* Turn Food into Energy to help replant and do other various tasks. <br />
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* Spend Energy Chopping down Trees, Get Wood, Exp and Coins<br />
* Spend Wood to create buildings, buy decorations. <br />
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This is a very generalized view of course, but I believe it helps to show how the developers have tried to expand on the pre-existing formula to give the more casual gamer a "core gaming" experience. <br />
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One of the most shocking things is the inclusion of "enemies" into the game. Snakes and Bears for instance will randomly appear while you are working on your land. While you may be tempted to leave them alone at first, whenever present, an enemy will raise the cost of activities by 1 energy. So instead of spending 1 energy to clear some grass, it will instead cost 2. Of course, clearing the enemies off the screen cost energy as well but I have found the rewards gained from defeating them to outweigh the cost of fighting them. <br />
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A surprising addition to Frontierville is the reputation system they built into the game. Basically, helping your friends and neighbors gives you reputation. While I have not found anything to spend that on per say, it is prominently displayed for all to see. This is going to go a long way towards making sure that all the friends you have added are actually coming and helping other people. After all no one wants a mooch for a friend :)<br />
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A nice twist to the helping mechanic is how you are informed that someone came to help. Instead of a bland message box coming up with vague dialog that so many people have come to help, you see the other persons character on your land. Hovering over the character will highlight what that person came to do and you are free to accept the help or dismiss the help. This is in my opinion one of the best improvements. Instead of wasting energy feeding my chickens, I can first hover over my friends character to see if they did. After all helping friends is energy free! If you ever find yourself out of energy to work on your land, spend a few minutes helping friends out! You still earn experience and coins just like you would if you were clearing your own land and you get some reputation points while helping a friend. Clearly a win-win for everyone.<br />
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One last little addition I wanted to mention is the ability to more or less create a family. While you decide on your first characters appearance and name. Later on down the road you will also be creating a spouse and even children! So while you are busy working a small section of land you will also be busy expanding your family. <br />
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While casual gaming sims like Frontierville and Farmville might not be for everyone, I think anyone with a Facebook account owes it to themselves to check out Frontierville. The depth and complexity might just surprise you.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Graphics and Sound - 10 out of 10</b></div><br />
Breaking this category down into two parts, graphics and sound, each worth a total of 5 points. Graphics for Frontierville are VERY good, not only the cell shaded art style but the way the characters, creatures and plants are animated. From the tiny movements your character makes when they harvest or clear a spot of land to the zaney sounds and actions they take when dealing with an invading enemy everything is very refined and orchestrated to create a wonderful, if sometimes comedic, experience. Planting a tree for example, you start out by planting a tiny seedling requiring water. After each watering you will watch the tree transform until it finally becomes an adult tree at which point you can start harvesting it for food, energy and of course experience.<br />
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As for sounds the developers really went that extra mile. The ambient background music is varied and not annoyingly repetitive. While the action sounds and background effects combine to make a very polished final product. All in all Frontierville is a shining example of what is possible with a flash based game. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Social Interaction - 7 out of 10</b></div><br />
I believe one of the downfalls of any game running through Facebook is going to be the way some of them almost force you to spam posts to your wall. While Facebook itself has taken steps to curb the incessant spamming some developers just have not taken the cue. Unfortunately Frontierville is one such game. EVERYTHING you do that earns a prize is also shareable, and while the game does allow you to close the window without sharing, what self respecting Facebook gamer is going to do that? <br />
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However, there is one saving grace in the way you help your friends and neighbors. When I login and see two or three of my friends characters standing in my land ready to lend a hand I cannot help but get all warm and fuzzy inside. Likewise, helping my friends and neighbors, and thus earning reputation points, is almost as nice as sending someone a warmly written email.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Learning Curve - 8 Out of 10</b></div><br />
The introduction to the game is a very hand held experience for all of about 5 minutes. After that you are left to play as you want. While writing this report I decided to term this a "structured sandbox" because it really is a conglomeration of open ended worlds and a very linear side scrolling game. While quests do exist, they are really only there to give you a direction in case you get lost. <br />
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At the other end of the spectrum the game includes a basic crafting system which should keep players of all types busy with things to do. This game is a great example of what I am looking for in a Facebook game. Something simple that anyone I know can pick up, but with some type of end game content that can keep a more hardcore gamer like myself playing.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Uniqueness - 5 Out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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This category was tough for me to judge really. On one hand Frontierville plays just like its older sibling Farmville. Plant things, tend things and decorate. However the way the developers expanded on the original concepts and tried to tie different game mechanics together really does shake things up a bit. At best I would call Frontierville "Farmville 2.0", it has improved upon the original but is not stand out-ish enough to redefine the genre.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Value - 6 out of 10</b></div><br />
Breaking this category down into two parts as usual. Time and Money. One the time side of things Frontierville defiantly deserves a spot on your installed applications page. Even if you only get the chance to play once or twice a week popping into your spot of land and tending it can be a very rewarding experience. Money wise though, I do not believe the improvements FrontierVille offers warrant dropping any cash. Possibly down the road a bit as more features and functions are added to the game, but as it stands now there is really nothing other than luxury items to spend real world cash on. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Overall Score - 36 out of 50 </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Above Average</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>Links:</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><a href="http://www.zynga.com/">Zynga's Homepage</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><a href="http://apps.facebook.com/frontierville">Frontierville on Facebook</a> </b></div>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-39089173543516398562011-04-23T12:30:00.000-04:002011-04-23T12:30:00.921-04:00Review - Bushwhacker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhwQB67OTXzuz8W91RXMR8-LY0kkZekFnojrzGx7VLFanQubwiy1wg6htY_eUuZFu_HLv_hbNnuS92rgW7pYIfW753fC2xoejerxXk1MdXN7bLv8YJYYzVHjspCiRV0an1Ewbq77BNHY8/s1600/Bushwhacker+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhwQB67OTXzuz8W91RXMR8-LY0kkZekFnojrzGx7VLFanQubwiy1wg6htY_eUuZFu_HLv_hbNnuS92rgW7pYIfW753fC2xoejerxXk1MdXN7bLv8YJYYzVHjspCiRV0an1Ewbq77BNHY8/s1600/Bushwhacker+logo.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Bushwhacker, the newest game from <a href="http://www.djartsgames.ca/">DJarts Games </a> is a spin on the old NES classic Zelda.Combining questing with an over head 2d world the game takes place in a whimsical world of bushes, swords, lighting and monsters. While there is no main quest line to drive the player forward earning gold, collecting puzzle pieces and furnishing your house all give you something to work towards.While Bush whacker plays a lot like the old NES classic Zelda, it has a look and feel all its own.<br />
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The basic premise of the game is that your character needs to spend energy "whacking" bushes with his (or her!) sword to uncover jewels, gold, potions or monsters. All while managing your energy so that you do not run out. Energy can be replinished many ways, from buying energy from the in game store using gold coins you find, spending real world money on "Bush Bucks" or sending your friends energy packs that can be used to restore a portion of your energy bar. Every level your character gains their total amount of energy increases allowing you to chop down bigger bushes, when you level up you are also granted a free full bar of energy. <br />
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Part of the appeal of Bush whacker comes from the art style. Mixing a blend of old school Super Nintendo style graphics with cell shaded flash animations the game comes alive in a fun and entertaining way.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCAOI4eWabTEmxOTMHdmOxZi38ndjirG1yozej5-jNrM_lMsprrP7GPfGpbJiswsovvydFLoinS8Fih8nYdmlICNKihrOt3jkvfM8LWFr1awv89ERQJNRTOILvi-cGObVS59_mVTgoA0R/s1600/acheivements.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCAOI4eWabTEmxOTMHdmOxZi38ndjirG1yozej5-jNrM_lMsprrP7GPfGpbJiswsovvydFLoinS8Fih8nYdmlICNKihrOt3jkvfM8LWFr1awv89ERQJNRTOILvi-cGObVS59_mVTgoA0R/s200/acheivements.jpg" width="157" /></a> <br />
However, do not let the art style mislead you, Bush whacker comes with a veritable ton of things to work on, and brag about. Whenever you finish one of these achievements you are given the option to publish a bragging post to your wall to let your friends see what you have been up to.<br />
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The game tracks EVERYTHING you do and lets you see it in your achievements page, there are also pages showing you compared to your friends and a built in way to see your friends houses lets you see just how well they are fairing. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqFMhsNnh74Wkp0nWapjn8P4vtLqMemOkAc7rNITPRHHxI2H0H8kOkl5G5n4_UU5Hl4DmPmuDCPFx0dOpjuL7BzZm_3KCYHrOq0hPvmzHHabdA3jRO9FFGKY8wsPOE5w-ew8j2ZNC4GwB/s1600/map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqFMhsNnh74Wkp0nWapjn8P4vtLqMemOkAc7rNITPRHHxI2H0H8kOkl5G5n4_UU5Hl4DmPmuDCPFx0dOpjuL7BzZm_3KCYHrOq0hPvmzHHabdA3jRO9FFGKY8wsPOE5w-ew8j2ZNC4GwB/s320/map.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Along with a myriad of things to brag about the world of Bushwhacker is quite large. Sporting 34 unique areas at the time of this review. Each area has a puzzle that the player needs to finish, by collecting pieces. A unique monster to capture and a set number of customization items to find. Completing each level to 100% (by finishing the puzzle, capturing the monster and then finding the very rare customization peices) can take quite awhile. Thankfully though you are free to move to the next area after either finishing the puzzle or meeting the level requirement. A few sections require quest items that you can purchase from the market. There are also bonus areas that are locked until you get your friends to help you unlock them via Facebook wall posts. Speaking of posting to Facebook, this game barely requires you to post to your wall at all. The only thing that has to be posted are the requests for help with locked gates, and these can be gotten around by purchasing Bush bucks and unlocking them with "Lock Picks". <br />
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<hr /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Graphics and Sound - 7 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Bushwhacker is both visually appealing and at the same time mind numbingly <b> </b>annoying to your ears. As always I rated this category into two parts, each with a possible 5 points. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Graphics got a perfect score, 5 of 5. The game has clean animations, three detail levels in settings, and a uniformed look across the board. A shining example of what is possible with just some flash programing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Sound however... There are roughly 3 sound files. And some way to soft to hear ambient sounds. There is a tell tale "thwack" when you whack a bush, your lightning spell makes a bacon frying on the pan sizzle and well.. That's it. Sound got a paltry 2 of 5. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Social Interaction - 4 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Facebook games are all about the social aspect right? Well if so this game has a lot to learn from the big boys. The only *required* post to your wall is for unlocking special gates blocking off bonus areas of the map. Other than that the only reason you will want to post something is to flaunt your luck to your friends. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Learning Curve - 5 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">For such a simple premise, whack bush get stuff, Bush whacker has a decent learning curve. There are power potions, mana potions, monsters and bushes. The way you interact with these will definitely affect the way you level up and progress through the game. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Uniqueness - 8 out of 10</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Bushwhacker is one unique game. While there are other energy based game like Mafia Wars or other whack till you drop games where you find buried treasure (such as Treasure Island) Bush whackers unique art style and game play set it apart from the crowd. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Value - 7 out of 10</b></div><br />
There are far worse things you could do with your time than play Bush whacker. While you are never forced to spend real world money on the game you are forced to wait and in my opinion that can be a good thing. When compared to other time sinks such as Farmville which require near hourly dedication to properly enjoy Bushwhacker is best enjoyed in spurts. Play for 20 to 30 minutes here and there then stop and let your energy build back up.<br />
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<b>Total</b> - <b>31 out of 50</b><br />
<b>Above Average</b><br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.djartsgames.ca/">DJarts Games CA.</a><br />
<a href="http://apps.facebook.com/bushwhacker/">Bushwhacker</a>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-41485328741854473312011-04-22T12:30:00.001-04:002011-04-22T12:30:01.108-04:00Punch Out - Wii<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpWRYe9plVrLB1yL4Nz1SliB-GX9f4yURkRRY6fpP0jOgln9DflxSp7V-gYN796YoebhpFkmd8C9eJTPQRrgM98aWqAEFsPbP-9SrbTZDLOu-DSac5ibzHGSi0f3HKjStZQ3MkrevuD0i/s1600/wii-punch-out-box-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpWRYe9plVrLB1yL4Nz1SliB-GX9f4yURkRRY6fpP0jOgln9DflxSp7V-gYN796YoebhpFkmd8C9eJTPQRrgM98aWqAEFsPbP-9SrbTZDLOu-DSac5ibzHGSi0f3HKjStZQ3MkrevuD0i/s1600/wii-punch-out-box-art.jpg" /></a></div>Punch Out! (Wii) hopes to bring the feel of the classic NES and SNES franchise up to the modern age. Most of the beloved villains of yesteryear make a return in this reboot from Glass Joe, the games iconic first round boxer to Aran Ryan an Irish boxer who demands the player use cunning and perfect timing to beat. In this version the game play is nearly identical to past iterations, players are required to learn the opponents timings and "give away" moves to duck, dodge and block all the while landing return blows to reduce the other boxers health bar and ultimately earn a Knock Out (KO).<br />
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For anyone wondering if this new version has opted to appeal to the casual audience by "dumbing down" the difficulty be assured that Punch Out! (Wii) is still "Punch Out" after all these years. Each boxer has a unique set of moves that you must master in order to defeat them, some requiring precise dodging. While some of the first boxers will present no problems to anyone familiar with the series, once you enter the second circuit prepare to be challenged!<br />
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One of the hardest parts of the previous titles has been retooled slightly in this updated version. No longer are you required to start from the very beginning after losing a bout. The game saves your progress after each win allowing you to come back and pick up right where you left off. This may seem like a nod to the casual audience but in reality I believe it ultimately gave the developers room to make each individual boxer harder than their predecessor.<br />
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To anyone new to the series, Punch Out's story revolves around up coming boxer "Little Mac" who is just starting out in his boxing career managed by long time friend "Doc Louis". In between rounds Doc will help Mac by offering hints and tips about his opponent and ways to defeat them. While small cut scenes play between circuits in traditional Punch Out fashion depicting Mac and Doc training for the next round of opponents. <br />
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Punch Out (Wii) was developed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Level_Games">Next Level Games</a> with famed producer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigeru_Miyamoto">Shigeru Miyamoto</a> leading them and was released on October 27, 2009Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-13331834332512950772011-04-22T12:30:00.000-04:002011-04-22T12:30:00.778-04:00Call of Duty Black OPS: Wii<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCgrL21m-AWBZ8bsQujCpv00HRqNdsJhIISOY2MTSB5nrL4v_GxQYCEtZqQVUTPA_eGRVDixUc41c3sjbSEh7ArnnYq95ZMPRlAzk8XrD4x0P5E4hSKxGH1uLyl317CK1eskKG7AzNQBq/s1600/CoD+Black+Ops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCgrL21m-AWBZ8bsQujCpv00HRqNdsJhIISOY2MTSB5nrL4v_GxQYCEtZqQVUTPA_eGRVDixUc41c3sjbSEh7ArnnYq95ZMPRlAzk8XrD4x0P5E4hSKxGH1uLyl317CK1eskKG7AzNQBq/s320/CoD+Black+Ops.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>2010 is the year of the shooter for the Wii and Call of Duty Black OP's is leading the way. With support for classic controllers, Wii motion aiming, USB Headsets, 1 man online multiplayer and the complete zombie survival mode of the other versions the Wii port of CoD:BLOPs is on par with it's HD cousins. The only notable difference is a lack of split screen multiplayer and decal customization for weapons, two things that are very small when compared to the full package.<br />
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While the game is basically the same across all 4 platforms (360,PS3,PC and Wii) there is a notable difference in the graphics for the Wii version. While many will claim that it is simply a lack of hardware power on the platform we here at Wii-Core would like to point out that platform specific titles have all the fancy bells and whistles. I would congratulate Treyarch on making the multiplayer portion of the game look and feel just like one of the HD versions, however a few minutes into the single player and all thoughts of praise are gone.<br />
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Models look like they were pulled straight out of a late 90's DirectX 8 game, large heads with little to no detail make every thing feel clunky. Even with a strong voice acting cast the single player game feels like it was shoe horned into the game. This of course brings me to the actual story of the game, or it would if there was a story...<br />
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CODBLOPs single player story has about as much to do with COD as Chef Ramsey has to do with plastic surgery. At times it almost feels like the developers had a contract to fulfill and were very upset at having to do a story mode at all preferring to focus on the multiplayer aspects of the game instead. <br />
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Multiplayer however is deserving of every ounce of praise it receives. Each level feels fully fleshed out with multiple pathways to navigate the map, while always feeling unique. Gone are the kill count requirements on attachments in favor of a new "Call of Duty Cash" feature allowing players to purchase attachments for a gun as soon as they unlock it. Yes you still need to level up in order to earn a gun, however as soon as you do you can outfit it however you want.<br />
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The perk system feels much more streamlined this time around as well with most perks proving to be very useful. Gun camo is no longer tied down to a head shot count, opting instead to use the COD Cash to provide players a means to make each gun look and feel exactly how they want.<br />
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One of my biggest criticisms of past CoD Wii titles has been the way the developer handles the modes on the Wii. While the PS3, 360 and PC versions have massive battles with upwards of 18 players running around at a time the Wii is limited to only 10 (5 on 5). This makes some of the modes a little off, take for example CTF. With 5 on 5 and maps made to be played by double that it is simply a case of trying to cover to much with to few. I think for the next version of CoD on the Wii the dev's need to spend some serious play time and find a better way to balance the player count to the map/mode.<br />
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All in all though even with the serious flaws in single player CODBLOPs is one title no Wii owner should be without, it provides the very best shooter experience on the Wii to date and it even includes Zombies!!!<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty:_Black_Ops">Call of Duty Black OPs</a> was developed and released by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treyarch">Treyarch</a> and released on Nov 9th, 2010 world wide.Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-28017896790504091092011-04-21T12:30:00.000-04:002011-04-21T12:30:01.569-04:00[Review] Donkey Kong Country Returns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7irInBCVxVHmxQJVBFWErhdv-qHedQ8aaJjGvxjpfMO4tsHRB-mrExETT6q5HmF5TyOhkkzd3YaqfGL9bZQ63B6E_dtsIgQIISfP1LcWhiXgfAMX2R0BFosgQbdM2V-EdOslORy9p-w_B/s1600/Donkey-Kong-Country-Returns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7irInBCVxVHmxQJVBFWErhdv-qHedQ8aaJjGvxjpfMO4tsHRB-mrExETT6q5HmF5TyOhkkzd3YaqfGL9bZQ63B6E_dtsIgQIISfP1LcWhiXgfAMX2R0BFosgQbdM2V-EdOslORy9p-w_B/s320/Donkey-Kong-Country-Returns.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>One of my all time favorite franchises came to the Wii late last year, that's right everyone's favorite ape is back in town. I am talking of course about Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. A nostalgic revamp of an old Super Nintendo classic. Donkey Kong Country games are traditionally platformers requiring players to execute precise jumps while also avoiding or destroying enemies in their way. While the Super Nintendo versions of the game were crushingly difficult to master, some times requiring multiple tries at the same stage, I was worried that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_Studios">Retro Studios</a> might have tried to tone the game down to appeal to the Wii's more casual audience.<br />
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I could not have been more wrong! From the outset Donkey Kong Country Returns is a game that punishes the player for every wrong move. Where the Super Nintendo and N64 versions had players throwing their controllers in frustrations DKC:Returns promises to have them crying for their momma's!<br />
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DKC:Returns starts off with our friendly duo living the kind of life you would expect two heroic ape's to live. Tons of banana's and plenty of hammocks! Of course it is at this most blissful of times that an evil force desends upon the island, takes control over of all the inhabitants minds and has them steal, what else? The banana's! While it may be a slightly dry joke that the hero's are to dimwitted to fall under the spell, the game makes great use of it for some comedic relief during cut scene's.<br />
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While the game looks and plays just like its predessors the developers have taken obvious advantage of the new graphics abilities of the Wii. Stages have multiple levels and depths while also sporting some gorgeous background flashery that helps immerse you in the game. One particular stage during the first world takes place on a beach at sunset and creates a rather beautifully done effect.<br />
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As you can see DK and the foreground are bathed in shadow while the backdrop remains pleasantly warm and inviting. Of course it would not be a true DKC game without the series trademark humor, many of the creatures in the game (both good and bad) are displayed with a playful attitude keeping the experience light which balances out the rather difficult game that hides underneath. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOonFMJLk9XTa1UgdtBALrVL_eHP9YnEYeYl4l3OfU3LvzFrVnQT6pxRppYeYNe2fjZN26hyYtJ2kzlfGnlAOnKhMa8cXpdcp7VyHJOi9S_Y5HTFYxGcT60AyIaZjj0uIWW-F7QJ93Oief/s1600/Donkey_Kong_Country_Returns_Wii1-1024x576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOonFMJLk9XTa1UgdtBALrVL_eHP9YnEYeYl4l3OfU3LvzFrVnQT6pxRppYeYNe2fjZN26hyYtJ2kzlfGnlAOnKhMa8cXpdcp7VyHJOi9S_Y5HTFYxGcT60AyIaZjj0uIWW-F7QJ93Oief/s320/Donkey_Kong_Country_Returns_Wii1-1024x576.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
DKC:Returns looks and feels just like one of the old SNES titles from my teen's and I must say even my wife found it fun and challenging. She sat co-pilot with me for a few levels switching off control after a completed level or death (typically the latter). As for motion controls and controls in general, DKC:Returns has you hold the Wii-Mote sideways, AKA NES style, using the D-Pad to move about with buttons 1 & 2 running, jumping and throwing. There are a couple time you need to shake the controller to perform specific actions but all of them feel correct and do not require you to perform them often. I think DKC:Returns does a lot of things right without getting much, if anything, wrong. This is one of those titles that will end up being in everyone's collection so go ahead and pick it up now :)<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey_Kong_Country_Returns">DKC:Returns</a> was created by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_Studios">Retro Studios </a>in conjunction with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo">Nintendo </a>and released in the winter of 2010Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-66890489036834006762011-04-20T12:30:00.000-04:002011-04-20T12:30:01.388-04:00[Review] Lost in Shadow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAWIoBSpND1MwznWXkk-ZrzNAvqGSFoiPM-sPq9gO0MkYgb_EEsT4Ov7rOmIu1H6uTOe60x7lD1eYjN8Wb1mMVDi340Vk3osQD4vgtB8N0UL34GL8RmV202lmzakQml36Dh10LuyMEgzH/s1600/box_164291-hd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAWIoBSpND1MwznWXkk-ZrzNAvqGSFoiPM-sPq9gO0MkYgb_EEsT4Ov7rOmIu1H6uTOe60x7lD1eYjN8Wb1mMVDi340Vk3osQD4vgtB8N0UL34GL8RmV202lmzakQml36Dh10LuyMEgzH/s320/box_164291-hd.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>Lost in Shadow was one of those titles that probably slipped under your radar in 2010, with major releases coming for every big name franchise it would have been very easy to miss this little gem. A platform puzzler exclusively for the Wii, Lost in Shadow tells the tale of an un-named boy who is forcefully separated from his shadow. The shadow is thrown over the side of a tall tower, presumably to it's death. Thankfully though the shadow lives and it becomes the players job to reunite the two. <br />
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Navigating your way back up the tower is no easy feat, being that you are only a shadow and can only interact with other shadows, the game quickly becomes about manipulating light sources to move the shadows around. Some times this is as simple as simply swinging a light bulb while at other times you need to rotate the entire level around.<br />
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The rotating puzzles present the player with logic tests as a bad rotation can some times squash your character causing you damage in the process. Other times you need to move the worlds light source causing all the shadows to stretch across the screen. While on the surface the game may seem like a fairly straight forward casual affair as you progress farther and farther up the tower the complexity of the puzzles increases. Some players may find themselves quickly lost and wondering what to do.<br />
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I think Hudson made a very wise decision making this game a Wii exclusive, while it may have done just as well on the other consoles, moving it into HD probably would have caused some problems. Because you need to spend the entire game focusing on the shadows and not the actual world, players may have become confused often finding themselves to aggravated to continue playing. On the Wii however Hudson was able to find a very nice balance between maxing the system out and creating a world that looks good while maintaining playability. I personally found myself watching the foreground world instead of the shadow world, you might say all those years of playing video games were working against me here. After awhile though I was able to stop watching the world and really focus on the shadows, it was at that point I decided that I was actually having fun.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBRgEv3OoTINj_6aSJHBTrZGk0ZR2qSKnaKgjsZDvDs0k0GivEq6BhwL28k_hCcOdG0SrN_wgUOTUp9OV1aA-FtBFtPZi_jDxZ-1wiL8B4XjzLHnPsgA8piqZYyd__UaVYrbGRDVHg6ID/s1600/lost-in-shadow058-495x371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBRgEv3OoTINj_6aSJHBTrZGk0ZR2qSKnaKgjsZDvDs0k0GivEq6BhwL28k_hCcOdG0SrN_wgUOTUp9OV1aA-FtBFtPZi_jDxZ-1wiL8B4XjzLHnPsgA8piqZYyd__UaVYrbGRDVHg6ID/s320/lost-in-shadow058-495x371.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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In each level there are "Shadow Corridors" the player will encounter that whisk them away to what boils down to a mini-puzzle. At first I felt like these were simply a way to lengthen the total time of the game but I quickly found myself having more fun in them than when navigating through the rest of the game. Essentially you are taken to a small area devoid of color and tasked with getting out. It is within these levels that you are required to rotate the world around in order to proceed, sort of like Echochrome on the PSP or PS3. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1q5qFZpWsUgMrhOj-laICq8hag5VrvqPgrCHkfXcxkiomgJ4hp0GIcADkx_F2yA96IUycF23yl8PvIkYOBz8qNv1ARn7ABFmah4XGqL6fLExwJBGa5uYlH52TLdFxcLSVsDhY4V1fZka/s1600/Lost_in_shadow_0006_Layer-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1q5qFZpWsUgMrhOj-laICq8hag5VrvqPgrCHkfXcxkiomgJ4hp0GIcADkx_F2yA96IUycF23yl8PvIkYOBz8qNv1ARn7ABFmah4XGqL6fLExwJBGa5uYlH52TLdFxcLSVsDhY4V1fZka/s320/Lost_in_shadow_0006_Layer-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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As you proceed up the tower you find memories, presumably left by your body on your original climb, these memories provide you with helpful tips along the way. The more memories you collect the more "you", you become. Two or three floors up the tower you find a sword and start fighting enemies as well turning the platform puzzler into something that plays much like the old Castlevania titles.<br />
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While Lost in Shadow may appeal to hardcore and casual gamers alike, it may not be for everyone. This is one title I recommend every try though, even if you simply rent it from your local rental store or Gamefly.Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-38802647995453392992011-04-19T12:30:00.000-04:002011-04-19T14:54:28.923-04:00[Review] Monopoly Streets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV-P3kRWHu3K_p0Yvth227qwycMUlGTePRuzaY_pJOxejZVIBGw8nXKdypuQzyiRftWNNP4bPAkay3vIYRbg_ZatMXvVZK_Gl-sbVFhQcNe40lQVqO7XkqWI-h3J3v0RWnVYwu8sJbmNx/s1600/monopoly+streets+wii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV-P3kRWHu3K_p0Yvth227qwycMUlGTePRuzaY_pJOxejZVIBGw8nXKdypuQzyiRftWNNP4bPAkay3vIYRbg_ZatMXvVZK_Gl-sbVFhQcNe40lQVqO7XkqWI-h3J3v0RWnVYwu8sJbmNx/s320/monopoly+streets+wii.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>As a young child I have very fond memories of playing Monopoly with friends and family. Everyone gathering around the board, divvying out money and settling down for a 3-4 hour game a-thon the likes of which no other game could bring. The best part was when someone new came over, they always had a new "house rule" that usually ended up changing the way we played completely. I can clearly remember the first time I found out about the "Money on Free Parking" rule, instead of the car causing frustration it was suddenly the most coveted spot on the board!<br />
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Monopoly Streets is basically the same old Monopoly that we all grew up with, collect properties, build houses and hotels all while trying to out maneuver the other players. There is not much in the way of innovation here aside from an auction mode that you can choose instead of outright buying a property. However the simplicity of the game may very well be why it has endured this long.<br />
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The Wii version of the game plays exactly like the other consoles, players pick a piece and begin playing. Each of the traditional pieces also has a character to go along with it, a small girl rides in the boot while a zany old ship captain rides the boat around the board. While some players may grow tired of the single line sound bytes the characters use, for me they were a perfect match with the art style the game uses. Borderline cutesy with just a touch of cartoon humor.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pgycUc7dBBaAsVVtnpSqVfaGnbwSBERv05JQdlPMUrTmykn0uCVa64mDXPS8CKAKOj82BzvLNyECs8U7QQx2OnNEL1NvQ31ZpOOOQc97IQ0dFn6L-7OP_D1reIwDhTXdnYHEXFab5WQJ/s1600/Monopoly-Streets-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pgycUc7dBBaAsVVtnpSqVfaGnbwSBERv05JQdlPMUrTmykn0uCVa64mDXPS8CKAKOj82BzvLNyECs8U7QQx2OnNEL1NvQ31ZpOOOQc97IQ0dFn6L-7OP_D1reIwDhTXdnYHEXFab5WQJ/s320/Monopoly-Streets-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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One very noticeable difference between the Wii version and the other versions is the lack of online multiplayer. Players will need to have some friends and family over if they want to play with more than one person. While the computer controlled opponents all provide a fairly good challenge there is nothing quite like beating another person at monopoly.<br />
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Featuring a robust set of customization options players can also setup games to match their particular style of monopoly. Like getting money on Free Parking? Done! Want to get $400 for landing on Go? Done! Bankrupt players give there property to? Who they owe? The Bank? Your choice!<br />
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If you have friends and family around to play with you Monopoly Streets for the Wii would be a great buy. However if you are lacking in that department you may want to go with one of the other versions so you can get the same experience online, somehow I feel like beating complete strangers over Live! might be just as rewarding as beating your little brother ♥<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHduueTfsOM4PF5M7WotbCXufr_0jqTcP0W44HmWI5h12JdwL95G_62hzl7d-s9hgVuUViHaiPlxux0fN67vGarr71irq6PvCzAlZxAOABB63ZEl3lvQADqHcdB08UKYWKcjje5oUlFW3/s1600/monopoly+streets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHduueTfsOM4PF5M7WotbCXufr_0jqTcP0W44HmWI5h12JdwL95G_62hzl7d-s9hgVuUViHaiPlxux0fN67vGarr71irq6PvCzAlZxAOABB63ZEl3lvQADqHcdB08UKYWKcjje5oUlFW3/s320/monopoly+streets.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.ea.com/monopoly-streets">Monopoly Streets</a> released October 26, 2010<br />
And was Published by <a href="http://www.ea.com/">Electronic Arts </a>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-63625954890071580862011-04-16T10:52:00.000-04:002011-04-16T10:52:19.818-04:00A New Look, Same Dry Wit.<script type="text/javascript">
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Spent a good hour or so this morning changing the look and feel of the blog. Been meaning to do this for awhile now, the last time I made changes they looked great in the template designer so I saved them and closed my browser. Was not until I went back a week or so later to pull up a post on another computer I realized how horrible the column widths were. Anyone who suffered through those, thanks for continuing to read! For anyone just tuning in, well... nothing to see here! ^_^<br />
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Just started pushing over 100 hours in Team Fortress 2, still not found a hat yet but I have been having a great time. Finding my personal favorite modes are Control Point (CP) and to a lesser degree Payload (PL). Have not tried out arena mode yet, cant find a server for it. Medieval mode was fun for about 10 minutes... it just reminded me a lot of playing multiplayer Heretic/Hexen back in the day on local LAN.<br />
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Been trying to keep up with the Potato thing going on with Steam but honestly Portal was only a passing fancy and Portal 2 even less so. I do play Defense Grid:The Awakening though and have been trying to play the new levels, just trying to do my little part to help everyone unlock Portal 2 faster.Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-14017608039775990552011-03-15T15:44:00.000-04:002011-03-15T15:44:59.508-04:00What have I been missing all this time? [Daily Thoughts]I always thought of myself as a knowledgeable computer gamer. One who stays in the loop and knows which games are worth my time and which ones I should just black list. The only reason I can come up with for not playing Team Fortress 2 before now is that my PC could not run it well enough. <br />
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That all changed a couple weeks ago when I finished my new computer and started looking for a new shooter to play. All of the current ones seem lack luster to me though, Black OPS is basically just Modern Warfare 3, Homefront looked ok on paper but I want to wait for the reviews to start pouring in and FireFall is still months away. Then I noticed a friend on Steam playing TF2 and thought, hey! That is a really popular game lets check it out.<br />
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According to my log in Steam I have played this game for over 20 hours in the last week. (Which is a lot considering I have a job, wife and 2 kids that eat into my gaming time) I just cannot seem to stop playing for some strange reason. The game feels fun, balanced and has all the elements of a great shooter. Team play, objectives, and most importantly a big Russian guy with an even bigger gun!<br />
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If you are one of the other 10 people on this planet who have not tried Team Fortress 2, go! go now and download this game.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNF9psOfba0bwvDylDYmwBU7eHe-SyZY0RlbrowgOOb-U60nSxxhrvEfB18RGGMVbbHRrgTmRc32pvIdjc9jbrZSXhAn4KV9f3O7b6f1B3cWpOmydnXjuDCZe5ru8ILbgOvA203ZBDXYg/s1600/lots+o+pieces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNF9psOfba0bwvDylDYmwBU7eHe-SyZY0RlbrowgOOb-U60nSxxhrvEfB18RGGMVbbHRrgTmRc32pvIdjc9jbrZSXhAn4KV9f3O7b6f1B3cWpOmydnXjuDCZe5ru8ILbgOvA203ZBDXYg/s320/lots+o+pieces.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Any game with a kill screen that looks like this is doing everything right!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-5656851954185413462011-03-12T11:35:00.000-05:002011-03-12T11:35:11.396-05:00You Must Die! I Alone am Best! There is simply nothing better than knowing I have completely destroyed someone else at a competive game. League of Legends, Team Fortress 2 or Quake Live, it really does not matter what game it is as long as I am completely and utterly dominating all the other players. I liken it to high level chess or Igo players who get a rush from beating an equally skilled opponent, neither they nor myself wishes any real harm to the other players, we simply want to use our reasoning and wits to beat the other guy.<br />
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This part of the blog post is supposed to have some really classy stuff about how gamers and everyone else are really looking for the same thing, confidence and reassurance that they are good at something. But you know what. It's not classy. It wont install a sense of self worth in anyone. What this paragraph is really going to do is convince anyone who reads this blog to understand one thing. Gamers want to win. You want to win when you buy a lottery ticket right? Well I want to win when I connect to a server. And not only do we want to win, we want to be the biggest and most winneryest person ever in the history of winningdom.<br />
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Maybe it is vanity, maybe it is wrong. But winning is about expressing my desire to better myself. It took many years for me to get exceptionally good at the Quake series. Hours and hours practicing my aim, learning the intricacies of the game's engine and setting up a completely customized configuration that fit my personal play style perfectly. During all this time I was working towards one goal, becoming the best Quake player I could. <br />
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Sure. I could go on at length about gaming giving people better reaction times (Shooters) better money management (RTS) better social interactions (MMO's) but ya know what? If you are over the age of 18 and not a gamer, chances are you will never be one. So to you I urge you to do one thing. Stop playing Farmville, Cityville or any other "ville" game on Facebook for just one month. During that time pick one of the free "Big Boy" games and give it a try. I will list a few and have some links at the end of this post for you. <br />
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Before you join a game full of other people there is a quote I want you to read, this was from a great billiards player about being the best at playing pool. "You have to be willing to spot your grandmother 49 points in a game to 50, THEN be willing to beat her." Understand that? If you are playing an online game against other people you need the mentality that YOU are #1 and no matter who or what is standing in front of you, you will win.<br />
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While an outsider would never understand my world I hope that one day everyone can feel the rush and excitement that comes with a well developed and properly executed StarCraft 2 build order, or getting a headshot from across the map in Call of Duty. <br />
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Free Shooter: <a href="http://www.quakelive.com/">Quake Live</a> Be warned, these guys mean serious business. Do not even bother creating an account unless you are willing to put in some serious time learning the game.<br />
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Free MOBA: <a href="http://www.leagueoflegends.com/">League of Legends</a> Not as much of a time sink as Quake Live, you can have fun playing and learning at the same time.<br />
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Free MMO: There are thousands... Google "Free MMO" and use one of the lists to pick. Each are different and set in different fantasy worlds, pick one that appeals to you and give it a try! Lord of the Rings Online is semi free and quite worth the download. <a href="http://www.lotro.com/">Lord of the Rings</a>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-75664438266084382732011-03-08T16:56:00.000-05:002011-03-08T16:56:13.958-05:00Controlling the Serpent - Playing Cassiopeia Effectively.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUc1ohuhjmOI91-GlDwePvvOdfRbE15eQUkP7AWGSlrrXCsV7IU5Iwh3HEIhWhH6N5lCGMpwxwKW821Jqe9kfMGXEw-ejB6xQG-XSarfVPTnplJt0wgAeMcnZhLhwwVLWRAZc2H7JOlpM/s320/Cassiopeia_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUc1ohuhjmOI91-GlDwePvvOdfRbE15eQUkP7AWGSlrrXCsV7IU5Iwh3HEIhWhH6N5lCGMpwxwKW821Jqe9kfMGXEw-ejB6xQG-XSarfVPTnplJt0wgAeMcnZhLhwwVLWRAZc2H7JOlpM/s200/Cassiopeia_0.jpg" width="110" /></a></div>A lot of players tell me that I am the first "good" Cassiopeia they have saw. Well... Thank you! (I guess?) I have good games and bad games with her just like any other champion, but I have NEVER seen another Cassiopeia while playing so either I am doing something really different or no one else wants to take the time to figure out how to play her. So I figured I would write down, not really a step by step guide for her but just, the way I play her and the reasons why I buy / do certain things with her.While I will describe my runes / masteries and a semi specific build order the most important parts of this to take home are the strategies for playing as her, and how to properly utilize her Ultimate during a game.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>First - Know where you are laning.</b> </div><br />
Before the Champion load screen comes up, KNOW exactly which lane you are going to be in. Solo Mid, Top Duo, Top Solo or Bot Duo. This will determine both your second summoner spell as well as your starting items. You should ask for Solo Mid because Cassiopeia excels at early game harassing, however if there is another champion that will do better at solo mid (Annie for instance is an almost guaranteed kill at level 6) by all means let them have it. (Also, until you are really comfortable with Cassiopeia I would recommend going Duo/Bottom, you wont get as good of a farm early but you probably wont feed the enemy carry either. Do not lane with a pusher under any circumstances, Sivir/Mordekaiser will not like it when you take all the last hits because of your DoT spells, plus you push a lane pretty hard so the two of you will be constantly over extending and inviting ganks)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>-=SOLO MID/SOLO TOP=-</b></div><br />
Take Ghost and Teleport. <br />
Teleport is so you can B, shop/regen and then return to your lane without letting the enemy wail on your tower, Ghost will get your into or out of fights. Ghost helps you land Q's on fleeing enemies while getting you in range for E.<br />
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Starting Item(s) - Meki Pendant + 2 Health Pots - The increased regen and health pots will let you harass and stay in the lane longer<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>-=TOP DUO/BOT DUO=-</b></div><br />
Take Ghost and Clarity<br />
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Clarity will let you stay in the lane and let you farm far more effectively. Cassiopeia requires a good bit of money to be effective mid/late game so you need a GREAT early game. <br />
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Starting Item(s) - Because you are with a friend you can buy a Doran's Ring instead. Just be a little more judicious with your Q spamming early on. <br />
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If you're team does not have a jungler you can farm both the Wraith Camp and the Wolf Camp alternately in between waves if you go solo mid. Start with W, then use a Q in the middle of them, one Twin Fang[E] to the biggest enemy and they all normally die quickly and together. Anytime after level 4 you can safely kill either camp. This is good for you because you push the minion wave fairly well so instead of overextending in your lane just fall back and farm a creep camp. The enemy carry will be constantly calling MIA on you and when you are ready to go gank top/bottom they might be slow about it / the other lanes might ignore it.<br />
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If you're team does have a jungler do not extend past the middle of the river unless you are going for a kill. Cassiopeia is one squishy champion and while she can be devastating 1on1 you will normally die in a well executed gank. Let the jungler have AT LEAST two runs through the jungle then, provided they did not die, tell them you want to start farming the wraith camp. Most junglers wont care after they have 2 runs through the jungle, some will. If they do let them have another run or two then by all means start farming wraith/wolf. By this time the jungler should be ganking and getting dragon anyway so they wont miss the exp/gold from those two camps to much. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>---------------Runes and Masteries for Cassiopeia --------</b></div><br />
My Mastery page looks like this;<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo18WOYZJBJiUAe5LucY60eeuXKDiYZxSzylzyGsO9JKXD3gkHHYyTtyqbPHJuzdMrlLA10V-YiqHHa2CpLPCp-oiYeayr8ipFLgStU4iECUvU-lYKuCp0yf8h6uDEaLRz83gryVd8xYU/s1600/Cass-Mastery+Setup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo18WOYZJBJiUAe5LucY60eeuXKDiYZxSzylzyGsO9JKXD3gkHHYyTtyqbPHJuzdMrlLA10V-YiqHHa2CpLPCp-oiYeayr8ipFLgStU4iECUvU-lYKuCp0yf8h6uDEaLRz83gryVd8xYU/s320/Cass-Mastery+Setup.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In this image I have taken the extra point in Teleport and Ghost, if you are going to use Clarity take the extra point there instead.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Going 9/0/21 Focusing on the extra Magic Penetration and regeneration.<br />
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Runes I use a VERY basic setup.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqZQIrVk8nNTt5Hw7RTnEB_zHULPPL_vhuX62o_pLfgxM8U8gmkMnoRPF_wBKOlAx93BM7S2z845aASIwmuuLrdP4N53K0XmSFwihaTMAtX2tFsu8n89dbKM3TYZje7MIq-6YZ0IiNVE/s1600/cassiopeia-rune-setup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqZQIrVk8nNTt5Hw7RTnEB_zHULPPL_vhuX62o_pLfgxM8U8gmkMnoRPF_wBKOlAx93BM7S2z845aASIwmuuLrdP4N53K0XmSFwihaTMAtX2tFsu8n89dbKM3TYZje7MIq-6YZ0IiNVE/s1600/cassiopeia-rune-setup.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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I like this as it gives me more of a bang early on. Focusing on the regeneration masteries allows me to ignore regen here and focus on the two things Cassiopeia needs, Ability Power and Magic Penetration. All total you get 14 magic pen and 14 flat AP to start the game with, giving you a great amount of harassment potential. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>--------Skill Order for Cassiopeia--------------</b></div><br />
There are two distinct ways to skill up for Cassiopeia, and it comes back to what lane you are in and who you are against for which path you will follow. <br />
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Solo Mid or Solo Top(vs1) / Duo against non pushers<br />
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In general you want to take [Q] first, then start maxing out [Q] and [E] as quickly as possible, focusing on [E] over [Q]. There are some games where I wont take W until level 11 or 12 because I want to focus on damage first and CC second. *As noted above, if you have no jungler feel free to take W early so that you can free farm the wraith/wolf camps, otherwise ignore W and focus on E then Q.<br />
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Solo Top(vs2) / Lane with pushers<br />
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Do [Q]-[E]-[W] then proceed to max [E] then [Q]. The basic distinction is you take W to help hold the minions. If you are Solo Top against 2 then you will be pushed to you're turret. If they push VERY hard go ahead and take [Q] then [W] so that you can AoE farm the minions and not get pressed to hard. Likewise if there is a strong pusher in you're lane like Mordekaiser or Sivir you want that extra minion damage to help keep the pressure off. In the time it takes for you to get level 2 try and make a decision about the enemy champion. If you *KNOW* you can kill them go ahead and take [Q] - [E] - [E] and get a kill. Otherwise play safe, play smart and take [W] a little earlier, just do not waste points in it.<br />
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Just remember, W early means you intend to push/farm. Only take it for those two purposes, otherwise ignore it until later on. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>-------------- Building as Cassiopeia -----------------</b></div><br />
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My main theory when buying items for Cassiopeia is to focus three different things in this order, AP first, Survivability Second and Mag Pen Third.. Because of this mindset my typical build looks something like this,<br />
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Meki Pendant + 2 Health Pots<br />
Meki into Tear (on a very rare occasion I will turn it into a Chalice, normally if I am solo vs another mage and they are out playing me, otherwise I go tear to build my mana pool up for a later arch angel)<br />
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Boots 1 into Sorc Boots <br />
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From here most people will build Rylai's. And while I consider this a good item for Cassiopeia, I also think there are some better alternatives. The main reason people get Rylai's is for the slow (and to a lesser degree the extra health), however once you have mastered landing [Q] you gain a permanent movement speed buff. Instead I like to focus on higher AP items boosting my damage output.After all the enemy can't run or kill you if you make them dead first ;)<br />
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Buy 2 blasting wands. ( If I had a great lane phase I sometimes buy the 1600g Large Rod first, then turn that into Death Cap, most games however I end up porting back because of team fights or gank attempts by the enemy so I buy 2 blasting wands)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Rod is 1600 gold for 80AP</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Two Blasting Wands are 1680 gold for 80AP</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The biggest difference is having extra AP during the game while you are waiting to buy/build the Death Cap. You will end up with an extra 12 AP once you finish the Cap because of the bonus 30% the Cap gives. This is my personal theory but, if you are at spawn and can afford something for your build then buy it... This will only increase your chances of living or getting a kill your "next time out". Either way though, your focus should be on building a cap for a first item. </span><br />
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Turn the first one into a Rabbadon's Death Cap<br />
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At this point it should be nearing the end of mid game so build a defensive item that counters the enemy team and compliments you're build. <br />
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Frozen Heart / Banshee's Veil are both great choices (FH against AD heavy teams, BV against AP heavy teams)<br />
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And finally turn the tear into an archangels staff. You should be *near* 400 AP at this point and able to deal out amazing amounts of damage. <br />
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With the final two slots I like to buy wards and something to cut into the enemies Mag Res. Abyssal Scepter / Void Staff are both great choices. (Just remember to look at the enemy team setup BEFORE you decide, look at what type of damage they deal, the CC they have, and what items they bought. There have been games where I bought a QSS as my last item because of a CC heavy enemy team that failed to get mag res items.) <br />
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And remember, Elixers are your friends! Even if all 6 of your slots are filled you can still buy an elixer or oracles!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>------------- Playing As Cassiopeia -----------</b></div><br />
First things first. Learn the range on your Q. If you hover over the Q spell while in game you will see the range marker. I "believe" it is roughly the same distance as Karthus's Lay Waste spell. <br />
League of Legends Wikia indicates that it is 850 units. This is farther than most ranged carries can attack so feel free to harass any enemy champion in your lane. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7HaBgzAEI4WunFqcDt49oSqzfmTJiKBwhK6CMeV_WfeM79Y27lLYxTei0tawp-Ay-q2-idsxlHz9ziKzVJcsNrVTFRoYseFFwjmFuhITnUCA45K0ngALBkagZK4YM95ZCKy7t2duqjs/s1600/lol-20110304-153641.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7HaBgzAEI4WunFqcDt49oSqzfmTJiKBwhK6CMeV_WfeM79Y27lLYxTei0tawp-Ay-q2-idsxlHz9ziKzVJcsNrVTFRoYseFFwjmFuhITnUCA45K0ngALBkagZK4YM95ZCKy7t2duqjs/s320/lol-20110304-153641.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The range of Cassiopeia's Noxious Blast [Q] spell is fairly large, use it to your advantage!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Early game focus on harassing the enemy champion when they come within range of the minion's. Ideally you want to cast your Q spell so that it will hit the enemy champion and one or two minions. Once you have the enemy champion zoned keep them there is easy, simply focus on last hitting minions and casting Q at the enemy. <br />
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Cassiopeia has some of the highest sustained DPS of any caster in the game. However, it all comes down to being able to land her Q consistently throughout a fight. If you miss a single Q your output drops over 75% because Twin Fang goes back on full cool down. <br />
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Using her Passive to it's utmost requires you to basically spam, two of your spells are AoE so you ARE going to be pushing a wave of minions pretty hard and pretty constantly. While this is great for keeping pressure on the enemy champions just remember not to over extend and get caught in a gank.<span style="font-size: x-small;">(As solo mid, fall back and farm wraiths/wolves in between waves if you fear a gank, just make sure it is ok with the jungler on your team)</span><br />
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Cassiopeia 's Q grants you a movement speed bonus if you land it, learning how to land it is crucial to early game kills. Spend a few minutes in a practice game getting the timing down between casting it and it going off. Generally speaking you need to cast it where the enemy champion will be 1 second from now. And unlike Karth's Q there is no damage reduction for hitting multiple enemies. Any enemy caught in the blast will take the full damage. <br />
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The main source of Cassiopeia 's damage comes from her Q and E combo. Landing a Q will give you a speed bonus, and reduce the cool down of your E to .5 seconds. Generally speaking you can get 2 Twin Fang spells cast for each Q you land. (Actually it's three, but aside from jungle creeps I never get a chance to cast the third against a champion. So fighting a champion Cast Q, E, E then repeat. Fighting jungle mobs like Dragon or blue lizard do, Q, E, E, E then repeat.) <br />
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You have two distinct types of spells. Q/E are for damage while W and R are for Crowd Control. W has very little damage even late game with 6 advanced items. It does however slow down any enemies that move through it. So try and setup combinations where you lead off with Q, get your movement bonus, throw a W where you believe the enemy will go and then start blasting them with the Q/E combination. You can think about the W like you would singed's pool of glue, on it's own it is useless but when combined with poison and twin fang it can help you get kills. <br />
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Your Ult is <b>not </b>the most OP thing in the game. I know the first time I read it's description I thought to myself "OMG I AM GOING TO RUSH OUT AND STUN ALL 5 OF THEM MWUAHAHAHA" Try it. Die a few times and then start looking for it's real uses. Saving yourself or a friendly. Stunning the enemy team's tank when they go for your carry. Stunning the enemy teams Carry? (Harder but doable) SLOW! Yep that's right. Instead of looking at the ULT like a giant "IMA STUN JOO ALL!!" think about it like an AoE slow... You can slow the entire enemy team! So remember, your ULT is basically a form of CC that does some damage, while your Q/E combo is where the money's at.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjS3EixvC6-RX1TXDRGEqvY1J6nIkhOfncFlT7QcuDo1wrPdmScjkgy4oK4hqeUY0k4_u9sgDL7xGb5ISQVthVkJbVzmb1bcUJC2Qz-yJKLcrshR9MtlJgU8TUXsOYEjwZzzBapQ2hRs/s1600/lol-20110304-154038.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjS3EixvC6-RX1TXDRGEqvY1J6nIkhOfncFlT7QcuDo1wrPdmScjkgy4oK4hqeUY0k4_u9sgDL7xGb5ISQVthVkJbVzmb1bcUJC2Qz-yJKLcrshR9MtlJgU8TUXsOYEjwZzzBapQ2hRs/s320/lol-20110304-154038.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can aim Cassiopeia's ULT just remember you only stun enemies looking AT you.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>----------Ganking Top/Bottom as Cassiopeia -------</b></div><br />
If you end up going Solo Mid one of your jobs will be ganking top or bottom lane. Be sure your ULT is ready before you leave. Like any gank try and come out from the bushes in the river BEHIND the enemy champions*. This will force them to run past you or run into your team mates, meaning it should be very easy to land your ULT stunning them. If another champion in that lane has a stun you should be able to pickup a double kill easily. Just remember to use your Q/E combo and LAND THOSE Q's!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*(you can take a turret hit so you might even want to try coming out from in front of the turret, this will force the enemy into your team mates or down the river, having a jungler in the bushes can be a great 3 way pincer attack but requires some coordination)</span><br />
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Landing a last minute Q under the enemy turret gives you a movement boost and lets you get out of turret range quickly. Typically they get away with just a sliver of health and die to a well placed final Q. If you cannot Twin Fang them for the kill, normally your Q will take care of them. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>--------------- Team Fighting as Cassiopeia ------</b></div><br />
You should never. I mean. <b>NEVER</b>. Go in first. EVER. EVER, EVER? EVER! EVER! While you posses the arguably highest sustained DPS in the game, you are also one of the squishiest champions in the game. Respect your frail nature and let someone with health and armor go in first. <br />
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Use your Q spell from afar and keep harassing the enemy team. Wait for ANYONE on your team to initiate then move in a bit. You want to keep at least one team mate between you and the enemy team at all times if you can. Granted this may be hard as you are harassing with Q but just make sure you are not completely alone. <br />
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One of my first lessons with Cassiopeia was expecting my ULT to stun an entire team. It never happens. Oh sure there are occasions where you can nail a whole team hiding in a bush, but for 99% of the team fights you will use it to stop one or maybe two enemy champions. <br />
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The best way to use it is to wait for the enemy team to "fall" together. During a team fight it is fairly common for the enemy team to focus which ever team mate extends just a little to far. When they "fall" in on that poor guy rush forward and ULT them. Quickly cast your Q/E combo on the enemy carry then back up. Do not stay around. You are squishy and unless you are VERY fed you will die. Instead burst the enemy carry, back up and then start harassing again with Q and W. Remember, W slows it is hardly ever going to kill someone. Q and E kill, W and R are for CC.<br />
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In some games there comes a time where your team knows the enemy team is hiding in a specific bush, waiting for an opportune moment and blindly casting your ULT into the bush can some times be highly rewarding. While I try and save her ULT for specific targets or saving an ally, it can also be rewarding when you catch an entire team hiding in a bush all on top of each other.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>-------------Final Thoughts about Cassiopeia -------</b></div><br />
Cassiopeia is one of the most under rated champions in the game. However, she is also the single hardest champion to learn to play properly. Where Corki could be considered a high skilled champion, Cassiopeia is miles higher on a "Skill Required to Play" chart. Insane amounts of sustained DPS but it all hinges on your ability to consistently land her Q spell.Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-48293880521121993512010-12-21T17:33:00.000-05:002010-12-21T17:33:56.103-05:00Call of Duty Black OPS : WiiBeing a consummate PC gamer I would love to start this review off with a good old bashing of console based shooters. How the inaccuracy of the analog stick will never mach the precision of a gaming mouse, maybe talk about TV speakers being far inferior to headsets. Unfortunately if I did so my opening paragraph would not mesh well with the following.<br />
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Call of Duty Black OPs for the Wii has to be one of the best games I have played this year. Decent graphics, multiple control schemes and a badass zombie mode make this well worth any gamers cash. Granted I have been playing the Wii version and as such the "worst" looking one I have still become enamored with it. <br />
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Having put in some hours using the Wiimote on CoD:Reflex and CoD:WaW I decided to use the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Controller#Classic_Controller_Pro">Classic Controller Pro</a>, a modified Classic Controller that more closely resembles a Playstation style controller. This gives CODBLOPS a more traditional feel, something like you would see on a PS3 or 360. <br />
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Of course not everything is sunshine and rainbows for CODBLOPS (Wii) one of the biggest issues I have with the game is the developer did not customize the game modes to match the reduced player size. While the other two consoles and PC versions can support double the player count in an online matchup the Wii version is limited to 8. Problems arise in some modes because of the reduced number of players. In S&D for instance rounds can end VERY quickly because of the smaller team sizes, coupled with the score limit being set low it can some times feel like you spent longer waiting for a game to load than you did actually playing the game. I would like to have seen a higher score limit to compensate, instead of a team winning after 4 victories move it up and require a score of 7. This would put a single match of S&D on par with the other versions. <br />
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A nice change in the way the game doles out weapons has happened as well. Gone are the head shot requirements on guns in order to unlock attachments. Instead you earn "COD Cash" which you can use to purchase guns and attachments. While the guns themselves have level requirements to unlock the attachments can be bought and equipped as soon as you open up the gun. This allows players to use the sough after Red Dot Sight as soon as they get a gun. <br />
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If you are strapped for cash this holiday season and can only get one game for your Wii console I would highly suggest Call of Duty Black OPS as it will provide you with hours and hours of enjoyment. Just stay away from the Single Player part of the game, there is a reason I never mentioned it ;)Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-8497609209660971022010-11-10T19:30:00.000-05:002010-11-10T19:30:21.341-05:00An update from the land of the lostI have been so busy moving this last month I feel like I have completely lost touch with all things gaming... Call of Duty : Black OPS has launched, Gran Turismo 5 has been delayed, un-delayed, delayed again and <a href="http://kotaku.com/5684443/someone-is-already-playing-gran-turismo-5">apparently someone started playing it already</a>... Where does time go? <br />
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Thankfully though the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_cave">man cave</a> has been semi setup in the new house and I can get back to gaming. Fallout New Vegas launched entering the world with a ton of bugs complete with horrible performance even on new machines. Thankfully though a <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/news/4629/">patch released last night through Steam</a> has made it so I can start playing. Normally I would have been irrate over not being able to play a game I purchased but with everything moving entails it was pushed to the back burner. <br />
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In the process of moving I picked up a couple more casual centric games on Steam, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/3590/">Plants VS Zombies</a> was on sale during halloween so I grabbed that. I also indulged myself in one of the best tower defense games available at the moment, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/18500/">Defense Grid: The Awakening</a>. Both games were able to satisfy my need for gaming while allowing me to focus on getting everything from one location to the other without losing my mind, or worse one of the kids!<br />
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I tried to stay as current as I could during this time keeping up with my RSS feeds, forums and news sites. One little gem I found was a game called FireFall due out in 2011. The game developers call it a "Persistant world shooter" in my opinion you could call it a MMOFPS and be dead on the money. Either way it looks gorgeous and I cannot wait to try it out! Here is the 2010 PAX Video complete with Developer Commentary. <br />
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Devloped by r5Studios you can sign up for beta and join in the forums here;<br />
<a href="http://www.firefallthegame.com/">FireFall</a><br />
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Hopefully I will have some posts up about my thoughts on Fallout New Vegas and Black OPS (Wii Version) soon, stay gamed!Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-4028271089983501342010-10-18T17:26:00.000-04:002010-10-18T17:26:32.182-04:00Fallout New Vegas Dev Diary #6 - The CharactersIn less than 12 hours New Vegas will start landing into the hands of eager gamers, ready to venture into the mojave desert this time in search of fame, fortune and machine gun grenade launchers. As the specified time draws near Bethesda has released the final Developer Diary this time taking aim at the games characters, specifically the voice actors for the game. <br />
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<center><br />
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</center>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-46076048284403171102010-10-15T18:35:00.000-04:002010-10-15T18:35:58.425-04:00Fallout New Vegas - One of the most evil quests available.Post apocalyptic world? Check. Various Factions vying for control? Check. Brahimn being roasted with flame throwers? Check. Framing a father for the murder of his own son? It must be Fallout. <br />
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G4TV.com Has an exclusive video showcasing one of the more darker quests available in Fallout New Vegas. While the interactions between the hero and the rest of the NPC's was great, the robot made me remember all the twisted humour the Fallout franchise is known for. <br />
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<center><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="418" id="VideoPlayerLg49184" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://g4tv.com/lv3/49184" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://g4tv.com/lv3/49184" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="VideoPlayer" width="480" height="382" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" /></object><div style="color: #ff9b00; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0; text-align: center; width: 480px;"><a href="http://g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/index" style="color: #ff9b00;" target="_blank">Xbox 360 Games</a> - <a href="http://g4tv.com/e32011" style="color: #ff9b00;" target="_blank">E3 2011</a> - <a href="http://g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/61733/fallout-new-vegas/index" style="color: #ff9b00;" target="_blank">Fallout: New Vegas</a></div></center><br />
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You can read the full article <a href="http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/707998/Fallout-New-Vegas-The-White-Glove-Society-Mission-Exclusive-Look---Fallouts-Darkest-Quest-Ever.html">here</a>.<br />
Check out Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273917210380224901.post-36319673266502180912010-10-14T11:35:00.000-04:002010-10-14T11:35:37.202-04:00Fallout with drunken stoopers and gamblingAs the 19th inches closer and closer more tidbits are making their way out onto the internet about Bethesda's new game, Fallout: New Vegas. In these two Developer Diary videos you can get a feel for how many factions there will be to join as well as some of the fun things you can do once you make your way to the Vegas strip. Drunken Stoopers, gambling and lewd behavoir await!<br />
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<center><b>Developer Diary 4 - Factions</b><br />
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<center><b>Developer Diary 5 - The Strip</b><br />
<object height="295" style="background-image: url("http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/x7r2idnbfPc/hqdefault.jpg");" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x7r2idnbfPc?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x7r2idnbfPc?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="295" width="480"></embed></object></center>Kirk (Nyte) Emenickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11024369368353392514noreply@blogger.com0