MMO News and Links

Age of Conan Review

2008-06-05T08:21:00.002-06:00

Here are my impressions of Age of Conan, after playing hard for 15 days or so. I have tried out many different classes. I am now playing a Priest of Mitra, as it best matches my play-style. Let me start by saying that this game has many redeeming qualities and will probably be vastly popular. My main character is level 35 (out of 80) and I fully intend on taking him all the way to 80. With that said, there are many things that need to change to make it my "dream game". Here is how I rate it in my "Big 8":

Graphics: 10/10 Absolutely the best in the industry. The result of this is high system requirements. I don't rate on this...maybe a should, but my 15-month-old system runs it fine and I didn't spend an arm and a leg for it then, so I don't feel that the requirements are outrageous.

Stability: 9/10 I have had very few (3-4) crashes out of the game while I was playing...none of these resulting in deaths. I have run into a couple of buggy quests, but for the most part, very stable and polished. This is how games should be released.

Linear/Sandbox: 3/10 This may be a matter of personal preference for me, but it is one of the main deciding factors for me when it comes to long-term playability. The game is very linear. You go from one quest area to the next and follow the story that is laid out for you. I much prefer games that give you the framework of the game and let you make your own decisions.

Tradeskills/Hobbies: 3/10 This category matters and it falls short in AoC. To get high marks here, a tradeskill must be a viable play method all by itself, I must be able to run my own vendor, and the goods that I make must be sellable. This game falls short.

Ease of Travel: 7/10 Again, this reflects some personal opinion, but running from place to place more than once is NOT FUN and does not substitute for content. In this game, getting from one zone to another is very quick, but moving within that zone is still prohibitively slow.

Uniqueness of Classes: 7/10 Let me clarify this rating a little. How the classes do their jobs in this game is unique, especially the priest classes who heal like no other game that I have ever seen. This is a good thing. However, there is not enough differentiation between the different classes in the same archetypes (priests, soldiers, rogues, mages). This was close to being perfect. A couple of examples of games that got this right are EQ2 and Vanguard.

Fun Factor: 9/10 This is a hard one to define. It kind of bundles up all the little intangibles to make a rating based on how fun the game is to play. Overall, this is a good one.

Interface/Customization Options: 4/10 When I first started playing, I thought this was going to be a strong suit for the game, but after playing for a while, it has some glaring deficiencies. The biggest is the quest tracking system. Most of the new-era games do quest tracking in exactly the same way and they do that because it works. Wow, LotRO, Vanguard... all of these did it right. AoC didn't. The interface is somewhat customizable with the built-in tools, but it mustn't be very easy to customize outside the game, because the mods that I have seen so far have really just been new skins. Stay tuned as hopefully this rating will improve over time.

Overall Rating: 52/80 Hey, I'm a tough customer. I'm also pretty disillusioned with the whole MMO industry right now as they seem to keep sending out different derivations of the same game. Give me something unique, fun, pretty and deep and you will get a high rating. Until that happens, take your score in the low fifties and be happy with it. It isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it is almost as good as WoW. That is good enough to make the creator a lot of money and that seems to be what everyone is concerned with these days. Sigh.

Brief Review: The Last Mimsy (*** 3 stars)

2007-03-26T12:34:00.000-06:00

I took my almost-eleven-year-old daughter to see The Last Mimsy on opening night. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read a few reviews of people bashing it based on it's "Mysticism" and liberal views. I didn't see it. I saw a nice sci-fi story which was a fun, quirky, family-friendly movie. It was no ET, but it was pretty good. I could have probably gone to 3.5 stars if the acting was a little better. Both of the kids were a little rough at times and Michael Clarke Duncan proved once again that he should have retired after The Green Mile. On a positive note, Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute in The Office) was very good.

So, in conclusion, I would say don't hesitate to take the kids and see if you all enjoy this as much as I did. I think you will be pleased.

Vanguard Review at Gamespy

2007-02-14T10:08:00.001-06:00

This is a very good review. It tells it like it is...both the good and the bad:

Vanguard Review at Gamespy

Vanguard SOH Maps

2007-02-14T09:20:00.000-06:00

One thing that seems hard to find this early in the game is maps of the continents. As we progress in levels, we are compelled to explore new regions. Here are links to some maps that I have found useful. They are on one of my favorite sites, TenTonHammer:

Continent Maps

Spawn Maps

It's all about the f(r)action in Vanguard

2007-01-24T10:52:00.000-06:00

As a wise, dusty maintenance engineer once told us, it's all about the fraction...

Vanguard, Who Hates Who - Your Quick Guide to KOS Status
Feel free to repost this elsewhere.

Major Areas:

Martok (Orc/Goblin Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Half Elf
Kills on Sight: Kojani Human
Kills on Sight: Raki
Kills on Sight: Wood Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Mordebi Human
Kills on Sight: Qaliathari Human
Kills on Sight: Dwarf
Kills on Sight: Halfling
Kills on Sight: High Elf
Kills on Sight: Thestran Human

Tanvu (Half-Elf/Kojani Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf

Caial Brael (Wood Elf/Raki Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf

Hathor Zhi (Dark Elf Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Half Elf
Kills on Sight: Kojani Human
Kills on Sight: Raki
Kills on Sight: Wood Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Mordebi Human
Kills on Sight: Qaliathari
Kills on Sight: Dwarf
Kills on Sight: Halfling
Kills on Sight: High Elf
Kills on Sight: Thestran Human

Mekalia (Gnome Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Kurashasa
Kills on Sight: Dwarf
Kills on Sight: Lesser Giant

Qur'xa (Kurashasa Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Raki
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Mordebi Human
Kills on Sight: Qaliathari Human
Kills on Sight: Vulmane

Khal (Except for Foreign Quarter) (Qaliathari/Mordebi Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Kurashasa

Lomshir (Varathari/Kurashasa Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Gnome

Bordinar's Cleft (Dwarf Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Varanthari
Kills on Sight: Lesser Giant
Kills on Sight: Varanjar
Kills on Sight: Vulmane

Rindol Field (Halfling Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf

Leth Nurae (High Elf Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Vulmane

Halgarad (Lesser Giant/Varanjar Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Dwarf

Tursh (Thestran Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf

Dahknarg (Vulmane Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Half Elf
Kills on Sight: Wood Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: High Elf

Ahgram (Qaliathari/Mordebi Starting Area)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Kurashasa

New Targonor (Thestran Starting Area)(Tursh)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Beta Review

2007-01-11T13:04:00.000-06:00

Well, the NDA is lifted on this game, so I can let you all know what I have found so far. I haven't spent an abundance of time in game yet, but what I have seen so far, I like.

I haven't seen anything particularly innovative yet, but they seem to have plugged in some of the best features of some of the most popular games in to make a "super game" with very nice graphics. The quest system/leveling is very World of Warcraft(WoW)-ish. The pace of the combat and spell systems are very EverQuest(EQ)-ish. The faction system is very Dark Age of Camelot(DAoC), with 3 distinct, allied "nations." The graphics remind me very much of Guild Wars. The housing system is suppsed to be very Star Wars Galaxies (SWG), though I haven't seen that yet. The transportation system sounds like it will be fairly unique. It will be somewhat like Wow, only you control your own mount (boat, griffon, dragon, horse, etc.).

From an economy standpoint, it looks to be a hybrid. I wouldn't say that it is going to be like any other trade/economy system that I have seen. More like parts from many others. Here is a link to their official website: http://www.vanguardsoh.com/

Look for more updates as it comes closer to the un-official release date (1/29).

Beautiful Minds

2006-12-22T13:13:00.000-06:00

Here are some amazing videos from a series on savants:

Human Camera

Take that Windows!

Clay Animals

The Original Rain Man

There are a few more videos in this series. Each of the individuals are amazing and they have very different talents.

Golden Oldies: The Great Santini

2006-12-08T09:48:00.000-06:00

Track this one down and give it a rent. Great performances by Robert Duvall, Michael O'Keefe (Danny Noonan in Caddyshack) and Stan Shaw (Harlem Nights, Snake Eyes). Also includes Blythe Danner (Meet the Fockers) and David Keith (An Officer and a Gentleman).

IMDB entry for The Great Santini

Obscure Weird Al song (is that redundant?)

2006-12-06T14:24:00.000-06:00

This is for Ryan who is shocked by my moral ambiguity on this issue..

Don't Download This Song

Getting the Lumps out of your Couch Potatoes

2006-12-06T13:57:00.000-06:00

My family is enjoying the Wii immensely. I highly recommend it if you are looking at one of the new game systems. The Wii Sports games that come with the system are all fun. I was very impressed at how intuitive the new controls are. The boxing WILL give you a workout. The bowling is very, very fun. We had a bowling tournament weekend-before-last and it was great. Check this out for more hype:

Wii Demo

Red Steel on the Wii

Welcome

2006-11-22T13:18:00.000-06:00

I plan on discussing a wide variety of topics, including (but not limited to) the NFL (with a decisive Seahawks bias), MMORPG's, movies, tv shows, and the trials and tribulations of raising teenagers. Enjoy and hop in on anywhere you want!