TallGuyCalif's Computer Gaming and Entertainment Site

Category: Games I’m Playing

  • Dragon Age II is great (plus PC failure)

    I got Dragon Age II on release day and it is great. It isn’t quite as compelling as the original, which I simply couldn’t stop playing, but it is still very fun.

    DA II is clearly much more aimed at console users than PC users, so the top-down view is gone – instead, the camera is closer to a 3rd person perspective. In addition, inventory management and skills are way dumbed down. This is a shame for those of us that love digging into RPGs, but probably makes it more accessible to casual gamers, which is likely where the money is.

    The graphics look quite good on my 2560×1440 monitor driven by a GTX280 graphics card. The bummer is that the automatic configuration decided I could use 4x antialiasing, which made the game stutter quite a bit. I turned AA off and the game runs quite well. The game looks better than DA:O, but there are still a few issues. As usual, the face textures look great, as we’ve seen in Mass Effect II, but the clothing and some other textures were apparently done in crayon and look pretty lousy. There is a high-resolution texture pack linked in this forum post, but I didn’t install it yet for the reasons I discuss below.

    Loading new areas is slow in DA II, but perhaps a bit better than in DA:O (and remember the horrible memory leak in DA:O that made loads really slow after a while). The fighting is a little faster and more action-oriented, again dumbing it down a bit and making it less strategic, but shinier and perhaps more fun. The spells and effects look better and most spells are quicker to cast than before.

    The game has different paths to choose in both conversations and actions, all of which affect how much people like you and may change future game events. So far, I’ve been playing a goody-goody mage and choosing all the nice answers. I may play again sometime as a rogue and choose the smart-ass answers. I don’t really like playing evil characters, so I probably won’t bother with that.

    Overall, DA II is great fun so far and seems stable enough that I’d recommend people with even a passing interest in RPGs should try it!

    I’ve been having very strange PC troubles lately that seem to be hardware related, particularly my graphics card, but it is unclear exactly what is happening. It seems that right upon login, my screen either goes black or fills with a color or pattern and the system stops responding. I think it is as Windows Aero is starting. It happens on my normal account and a virgin account I have for troubleshooting. The crazy thing is that powering off and back on sometimes fixes it. I’ve updated drivers and everything else, to no avail. It is getting worse, however, sometimes taking 5 or more power cycles to get working. And once it is working, it stays working until the next power-down (not reboot – that’s okay).

    So to solve this puzzling problem, I’ve ordered parts to make a nice Sandy Bridge i7 system with a GTX570, so it should be a significant upgrade in both CPU and GPU performance. Then I will install the hi-res texture pack for Dragon Age II.

  • Enjoying the story quests in Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO)

    I’ve really been enjoying the story missions in LOTRO recently. I had neglected them for a while, because I was having so much fun in skirmishes and generally exploring Middle Earth. I had completed the missions in Lone Lands and North Downs (Esteldin), so was sent to Rivendell for more.

    Elrond had me running all over the place talking to his sons and such, but that led to some really cool fellowship missions that could be done solo because I got a buff that gave me thousands to HP (Morale in LOTRO). Killed a bunch of trolls! All of this was to look for a Nazgul that escaped the flood at the Ford of Bruinen.

    Two days a go, I got to take a long, boring walk with Frodo, at Gandalf’s urging. Not very exciting, but nifty nonetheless.

    Yesterday, however, I got some fun missions! In one, I chased Gollum and nearly caught him (and killed an orc escort). In another, I went with Legolas to hunt forest trolls and their minions. In the end, we ran into the Nazgul commanding a boss troll, which we quickly dispatched. The Nazgul escaped, however, so I’m sure he will be back to cause us trouble.

    I also completed a Legendary Trait that allows me to use a sword as well as my Lore Master staff. This trait, based on Gandalf’s sword usage, makes me slightly tougher up close, though I can still die too easily. I’m also discovering that my Lynx pet seems to show more threat that the Bear that I had been using as a tank. The Bear (BigGrowly) is slightly tougher than the Lynx (Slynxy), but the Lynx keeps the enemies at a distance for longer. Plus the Lynx has the awesome sneak attack that can take down some enemies in one shot!

  • Why I like LOTRO so much

    Note: as I write this, LOTRO is down. There is big activity on Twitter where everyone is telling which server they’re on. Look for the #Servername hashtag. I posted mine.

    I have been enjoying Lord of the Rings Online a lot recently. I have 4 characters (the natives call them “toons”) on the Gladden server, one a mid-level Lore Master, a lower-level Hunter, a similarly low-level Minstrel, and a very low-level Rune Keeper. There are several more classes that I have yet to try. Each class is so different that it really makes the game very interesting and not boring to replay the missions (mostly). For example, the Hunter is quite the badass at low level, and has only died about twice, and then only when mobbed. The Lore Master can reach out and touch the enemy and has a pet to help, but dies pretty easily when approached. The Minstrel can play music that does damage and heals, but can also use weapons. I haven’t played the Rune Keeper long enough to be able to comment on him.

    The crafting system in LOTRO is very good (and much better than in Star Trek Online, though that has improved a lot). To craft, you need materials and recipes, which you either need to gather or otherwise get. Being in a Kinship is great help here, because your kin will send materials and recipes to you (as well as give you other goodies). Then, when you make something nice, you can send it to appropriate kin. Essentially, you don’t need to be self reliant. One of my characters is a jeweler and a cook, while another is a farmer and woodworker, and a third is a scholar (potions and scrolls) and weaponcrafter. With crafting, you can often make better stuff than what drops from your kills.

    If you this sounds like fun to you, check out LOTRO, create characters on the Gladden server, and, when you decide you want to stay, look for members of the “Thirst for Power” kinship and join up!

  • iPad/iPhone Best App voting

    A website called BestAppEver is having votes for the best iOS app in many categories.

    If you have some favorite apps, cast your vote at:
    http://bestappever.com/vote/

    I have cast my votes for outstanding games, such as the amazing Pocket Legends and the delightful Pocket Frogs! If you’re not playing those two, give them a look!

  • Star Trek Online only gets one chance a day

    I’ve been trying to play a bit of Star Trek Online since the Season 3 release, but they’ve had some server troubles and bugs. Today, while I was in the middle of a mission, I was “disconnected from server.” Well, this sort of thing doesn’t seem to happen so often in LOTRO or other games I’ve played, so forget it. I’m only giving STO one chance a day, and if it craps out, then I’ll happily move on to the other games I have to play.

  • Star Trek Online Season 3 First Impressions

    I started a new character in Star Trek Online to see what the Season 3 update is all about. So far, when just starting out, the changes are just cosmetic. Sector space looks a lot better and less cartoonish. I think the developers wanted to make things look more cinematic, so there are small touches when your ship warps into or out of a system. The timing on these touches isn’t quite right, as sometimes there is a short period before or after the cinematic effect when things look odd, but I like the intended effect and think it helps draw players into the Star Trek universe.

    I also joined a fleet called Elite Force, so we’ll see how that goes. Last time I joined a fleet, it was for a day until I figured out what a bunch of weenies the leaders were, but I have a hunch Elite Force is better. I’ll let you know…

  • Too many games!

    Gosh, it’s a real problem that I have too many games to play and not enough time. Lord of the Rings Online had a recent update that fixed Lore Masters a bit and made positive changes to crafting. I’m really enjoying LOTRO!

    But now, Star Trek Online has put out the Season 3 update, so I need to check that out, perhaps with a new character, as they too claim to have improved crafting, among other things.

    I haven’t even had time to get back to Alan Wake for a week now, let alone Pocket Legends, Pocket Frogs, Dragon Age DLC, and all the other games that appeal to me. And I haven’t turned on either PS3 in over a month! Well, perhaps I’ll get some time over the holidays!

  • Alan Wake is creepy fun

    I finally had a chance to start Alan Wake last night and it’s quite good. The mood is very creepy and scary and the game really dragged me into it. I have really enjoyed other Remedy games in the past (Max Payne series) and this is more of the same. The unshaven male character wandering around in the dark being attacked by baddies is similar, but so far, I haven’t run across anything like Max Payne’s bullet time mechanic. In this game, Alan weakens creatures through light, then blows them away with guns once they are sufficiently weakened. Flare guns are a real treat, as they cause major carnage.

    I’m still unclear why all the baddies are attacking Alan, but I’ll keep playing to find out! Good fun!

  • Too Many Games, Not Enough Time

    While I have spent what little free time I’ve had lately enjoying Star Trek Online‘s great Weekly Episodes and Lord of the Rings Online‘s vast virtual world (and skirmishes), I have acquired or ordered some new games that I don’t know when I will have time to play.

    I bought Alan Wake a week or two ago when Buy.com had it on sale. It arrived, but I have yet to put the disk into my Xbox 360 (or even turn on a console recently).

    Now I’ve ordered Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood for PS3 because I enjoyed Assassin’s Creed II so much and I had some game credit from Amazon.com.

    It’s an exciting time to be a gamer with all the seemingly great games coming out and well-reviewed older games coming down in price. Now if I could just buy some free time…

  • On “Freemium” Games

    I’ve been playing a lot of “freemium” games lately and have had some thoughts on them. A freemium game is free to play, but builds in mechanisms for the user to pay real money for premium features or goodies. Some of my favorite freemium games include Pocket Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, Pocket Frogs, and ElementZ HD.  In all these cases, the game is free to download and play and you don’t have to put any money in to have fun. There are other games that are very money grubbing and annoying about needing money to play well. Examples of that include GodFinger for iPhone and pretty much all the “farm” and “kingdom” games on iPhone and iPad. In these money-grubbing games, the grind would be made easier if you just had more mojo or power or whatever valuable stuff, and the game maker would be happy to sell you some. In most cases, you can earn mojo or power or gold, but at a pretty lousy rate. I’ll discuss premium features of the games I like in turn below.

    Some games, like Pocket Frogs, are freemium, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment one bit. In Pocket Frogs, the consumables are coins, stamps, and potions, each of which can be bought in the store for real money. The good news is that if you play the game “right,” meaning you play to earn experience to rise in level, you spend a bit of time out in the pond with your frogs gaining experience. In the pond, you occasionally come across gifts, most of which are a few coins, a stamp or two, some potions, or another frog. Sometimes, however, you hit a red gift that has 300 coins or a new habitat (usually worth a lot. Never buy habitats — you’ll get all you can use in the pond.). So if you have a modicum of patience and like taming the frogs in the pond, which I do because it is relaxing, then you can play the game without ever putting in a penny. While I really like this model and this game, it may not be making too much money for the game devs.

    In ElementZ HD, the commodity is “coins.” Certain special buttons that can provide significant advantage cost some number of coins to use, and while coins are occasionally won during the game, the total quickly dwindles if you use those power-ups. Since my wife and I play ElementZ HD for fun rather than trying to always beat the high scores (which we’ll never do), we have lots of coins and never use the power-ups, so again, not the best business model, but a fun game.

    Lord of the Rings Online, however, might have a viable business model. You can have fun without paying a penny, but if you put a little bit of money in, the game will be a lot better. Things you can buy from the LOTRO store include quest packs, more inventory, horse riding skills (and horses), small character upgrades, and potions and such. Some of the items, such as the quest packs, are unlocked for all characters in an account, while specific upgrades are linked to a particular character. The store also has occasional sales, so wait for them to buy things like quest packs, which you will get to later, but probably don’t need just now. I have bought the riding skill, inventory bags, quest packs, and perhaps one minor trait upgrade. You can buy horses in game for 500 gold, once you have the riding skill, but that took me a long time to get as a newbie character (but I did it). The truly lazy can buy horses in the store for somewhere around $8-10. The game awards Turbine Points (the LOTRO store currency) for certain deeds, but it does so at a slow enough rate that plonking down $20 will allow you to have more fun and less frustration (particularly with inventory – buy the bags).

    Since Pocket Legends is an MMORPG on the iPad (and iPhone), it too is made more fun with premium features. The items available for “platinum,” the store’s currency, include weapons and armor, outfits, potions, and quest packs. I bought some armor and a good weapon in the store for just a few platinum (less than 5 total, I think, so less than a dollar’s worth) and it made the game a lot more fun. I played with two others few some levels last night and it was terrific. I was a level 7 warrior, and my compatriots were a level 9 magic user and a level 5 archer, which was a great combination. While I tanked, the magic user healed us and blasted enemies and the archer did ranged damage. With my new armor, I was able to handle more punishment from the zombie hoards and my new weapon kicked butt! I haven’t bought quest packs yet, since I’m just getting started, but will do so soon. I don’t yet know if quest packs are account-wide or character specific, but I assume the weapons and armor from the store are character specific.

    So the bottom line is that putting some money into premium features makes good sense for the freemium MMORPGs, but perhaps less sense for more casual games. In any case, the amount of money needed is fairly small to make noticeable enhancements to the MMORPG games. With each of these 4 games, the feeling that you need to pay money to play is not prevalent and obtrusive, as it is in some other freemium games that I don’t want to play for that reason even if they were fun.