I would like to take a brief public service announcement to wish everyone around the world a Merry Christmas.
I caught wind of this tonight and saw that Nintendo may be pairing up with Dentsu to bring TV and select programming through the Wii. I see that this is applicable to anime and other shows that can hit the US- and I think the idea can hold its own against big name cable companies in the US if you can select and watch the shows you want from different channels instead of waiting to record. I want to elaborate on this more when more info is released- but for now it seems like Nintendo is going to make a test run in Japan first- who knows, if the programming is good I may chip in some bucks to watch.
December 25, 2008
December 21, 2008
Heres One to Keep an Eye On: Star Wars TOR
Here is one I am keeping a close eye on: Star Wars: The Old Republic. Back around 2006 there were rumors in the Star Wars Galaxies community that Bioware was initiating a takeover. Instead, Bioware and LucasArts have come together to form a new MMORPG, TOR. This MMO will feature everything a MMO should have up to this date, but with more story, purpose and meaning to the game. There is no release date yet for TOR, nor is there a date Beta will launch, but I will do my best to get in on it.
This is not a SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) game so I expect a different customer service experience and a different gameplay experience than what I got in Galaxies. Can any Bioware game fans confirm that? I'm not saying Bioware is horrible- I don't know enough about them to make an accurate statement as to how TOR will be. If its any consellation prize- I have played KOTOR and I enjoyed it.
Star Wars Galaxies was launched in 2003 as the next generation MMORPG. The game was fun but lacked serious polish and Star Wars feel to the game. All that was really needed was a quick polish, an addition of game items as necessary, and perhaps some quests/missions that actually meant something in the Star Wars universe. For the longest time, SOE refused to initiate any Role Play content and instead wanted the players to create their own- so they hired a guy by the name of Pex to run events and players could go to an event dealer in hotels to get necessary things for their event (for example, a token that spawned Storm Troopers).
In 2004 I believe the Combat Upgrade was initiated and many people had had it with SOE. Multitudes grinded the Jedi Village so that they could become Jedi, only to be screwed in the arse when Sony released the NGE, "New Game Enhancements" in 2006 that made Jedi a starter profession. Veteran Jedi got a small, meaningless buff and that peed off a lot of people. They took away most of the professions in the game, and narrowed them down to 9 (copying World of Warcraft). They then added an expertise tree where you could spend expertise points (copying World of Warcraft). After a long fight with SOE, developers finally added Creature Handler back, and since I was going to College I had to leave the game. I eventually did around November of 2007.
The game was a lot of fun- I would play a mix of Combat Medic and Creature Handler as a support role. For the entire length of the game I remained Imperial (The Empire). Space combat was a lot of fun for me as well; and then I started an asteroid mining company and made some profit. Late in the game the server (Eclipse) died and maybe 50 people remained on the server (pitiful). I also left the game.
I am willing to hop back into MMORPG land when TOR comes out- I have been searching for Guild Wars (my CDs) everywhere so I could get an MMO fix- they are addicting. World of Warcraft is too expensive for me at the moment and I feel I am not getting the most out of it for my money. If it was $9.99 a month I would consider it. I will be watching, Bio-Ware!
Bio-Shock and GTA Coming to the Wii?
Some may know that GTA: Chinatown Wars is coming to the Nintendo DS, but Take-Two is thinking about bringing games over to the Wii due to an "increase in development assets". ROCK ON TT! The Wii is in lack of good hardcore games- I play Brawl from time to time but that is it other than a few more titles- it will be nice to see some shooters (some "good" shooters) coming out for the Wii.
December 20, 2008
Microsoft, Disk Scratching and the Red Rind of Death
Microsoft, Disk Scratching and the Red Rind of Death (article from the Gaming Guild Newsletter)
I was sitting down over Christmas break looking at an article regarding the Xbox 360. Now maybe some of you 360 owners know about these issues (like my roommate) but the idea that there were no preventative measures put into the 360 to stop the lens from scratching disks scares me, especially when at the manufacturing level it will cost Microsoft 50 cents per console to put in bumpers.
As a gamer, I understand not to move a console while it is in use- Many of you in the MPR know that I have placed my Wii upside down (ok laugh at me know), and when we tried to flip it over I heard horrible, horrible noises coming from my Wii. The disc was fine, but many others (who can remember Josh’s 360 and that incident with Soul Caliber?) were not so lucky. I am not a big 360 guy, but some of the stuff I have seen from it are truly impressive- Gears of War 2, Lost Odyssey, Halo, I have seen a lot of great games for the Xbox 360.
My favorite experience was with playing Grand Theft Auto 4- I was still new to the game and accidentally drove my car into an apartment building. Not knowing the controls, I wedged myself between the building and the car, and I couldn’t get out. Trying the trigger button to try and jump, I dropped a grenade and said “Oh my God”… and he flew like a mix of an angel and a sardine! I sat there, on my ass laughing for a good 10 minutes as I enjoyed a BLT. By the way, the BLT was good- they were some Middle Eastern tomato and they tasted great.
Any tips on saving disks? Disk doctor is an option, but I have heard folks have had no problems with game discs keeping the console perfectly still and horizontal. I remember the first model PS2s (the bulky ones) had this problem when game discs were run when the console was vertical- I had that problem but never had any discs go inoperable as a result. This little conundrum makes me go “ehhhh”, but I still want a 360 when I can come across some money.
As a gamer, I understand not to move a console while it is in use- Many of you in the MPR know that I have placed my Wii upside down (ok laugh at me know), and when we tried to flip it over I heard horrible, horrible noises coming from my Wii. The disc was fine, but many others (who can remember Josh’s 360 and that incident with Soul Caliber?) were not so lucky. I am not a big 360 guy, but some of the stuff I have seen from it are truly impressive- Gears of War 2, Lost Odyssey, Halo, I have seen a lot of great games for the Xbox 360.
My favorite experience was with playing Grand Theft Auto 4- I was still new to the game and accidentally drove my car into an apartment building. Not knowing the controls, I wedged myself between the building and the car, and I couldn’t get out. Trying the trigger button to try and jump, I dropped a grenade and said “Oh my God”… and he flew like a mix of an angel and a sardine! I sat there, on my ass laughing for a good 10 minutes as I enjoyed a BLT. By the way, the BLT was good- they were some Middle Eastern tomato and they tasted great.
Any tips on saving disks? Disk doctor is an option, but I have heard folks have had no problems with game discs keeping the console perfectly still and horizontal. I remember the first model PS2s (the bulky ones) had this problem when game discs were run when the console was vertical- I had that problem but never had any discs go inoperable as a result. This little conundrum makes me go “ehhhh”, but I still want a 360 when I can come across some money.
December 19, 2008
So You Want to get into Trading Card Games
I hear you are interested in starting to collect TCGs- or trading card games. TCGs are an old past time of mine and they are a lot of fun. There are a few things to take into consideration should you want to begin collecting cards.
Storage
Before you go out and buy hordes of cards, or any collectible for that matter, consider a cost effective solution to storing them. I play the World of Warcraft TCG and at one point I played Yu-Gi-Oh!. Lets crunch some numbers real fast shall we? (I'll do it!) My WOW collection has a whopping 1,156 cards in it (I hear the collectors screaming and scoffing that that amount is pitiful). You can get those 9 slot card pages that you can fit into a binder, but at 20 cents each I will need 129 of them to keep my collection happy.
That is $26 USD right there on storage, then I need binders for them. If 30 pages take up a 1 inch binder, I will need approximatly 4 binders and change! I may have to spend around $12 USD there. Another disadvantage to sleeve pages is that if I need to take cards out, holes will exist that need to be filled, and categorizing them in the pages can be time consuming.
A better solution is a card box. If you head into a comic or cards store, they are the white cardboard boxes typically sold for storing baseball cards. These boxes work just as well for Trading Cards, and there are many sizes to choose from, ranging from a 200 count box all the way to a large 5000 count box. These boxes range from $0.50 USD to $2.00 USD. They are a great solution to indexing (sleeve pages) and you can use small index cards (3 by 5s?) to sort by type, rarity, set, name, you name it. For my WOW cards, I would like to sort by card type for easy access.
Putting the cards in a box takes them away from sunlight. The Sun's light won't have an effect on your cards until about 5 years down the road when they may begin to wear, depending on the condition you keep them in. These white boxes I am talking about generally last a long time and should treat you fine if you treat it fine. I kept a box for my Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and it lasted around 5-6 years, and it still is going strong (though it may be a good idea to replace the box and save the old one). Many Yu-Gi-Oh! players also keep their cards in a tin- this is great for beginners too-but be wary when your wallet depletes and your collection grows- you won't have room for those cards.
For games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic the Gathering and World of Warcraft, cards will be played on the table often. To protect your cards, you will definitely want to consider sleeving them. Card sleeves are individual sleeves that will stand up to tough wear and use. If you are considering or playing Yu-Gi-Oh!, you will need to sleeve your cards because Upper Deck produced the cards in a more flimsy manner than what Konami did in Japan (by the way, Upper Deck just lost their rights to produce Yu-Gi-Oh!, and it is heading back to Konami to print in the USA).
Sleeving your cards ensures they will last a long time. I sleeved my decks of Yu-Gi-Oh! early on in my collecting and it has provided me satisfaction (and value) in my cards knowing that they are in near mint shape. One brand I swear by is Deck Armor and Ultra Pro- I bought a $10 USD box of 100 sleeves 8 or 9 years ago for my Yu-Gi-Oh! deck and they are STILL going strong. My friend uses Deck Armor and I love them too. Before playing with card sleeves, you may notice that they are bent from the factory- if they are flatten them out or bend them in the opposite direction for a while- this is "breaking in" the sleeves, otherwise the sleeves will break your cards in (ouch).
Economics
Lets face it- at the time of this writing (very late 2008) the economy sucks, bad. When we look at the economics behind a game, sometimes looking at the game with better cost efficiency may be the way to go. World of Warcraft cards cost at retail roughly $.20 USD. Yu-Gi-Oh! cards cost at retail roughly $0.45 per card. When you do the math, Yu-Gi-Oh! can get expensive compared to MTG or WOW. Why is WOW and MTG cheaper? because they give you more for your money. In Yu-Gi-Oh! the best cards are secret rares or are hard to get cards, driving up the price of tournament decks to around $400 USD (ludicrous). In WOW, there are some awesome cards that are hard to get, but there is a way to easily remove that threat (and prevent said threat) AND they give you good stuff right off the bat.
Also, look at a game's popularity. Naruto and Bleach may not survive long- the Zelda Twilight Princess TCG didn't sell for long, and unfortunately one must realize that sometimes folks are in it for a small profit, then they exit the industry. MTG is the grandfather of all CCGs and TCGs, and it will not die (at least my friend says it won't, I agree with him). Yu-Gi-Oh! has seen a rebirth and Blizzard has enough money to run a miniatures and card games for their World of Warcraft series.
Self Control
TCGs can be ADDICTING. I buy a lot of WOW, but at the same time I set forth a budget. For younger collectors: CHRISTMAS AND BIRTHDAYS! This is how I always did it. As I have gotten older I can expand my collection and at the same time spend my money very wisely, especially in this day and age. Getting a part time job for your TCG charity fund is always nice, but also budget your money. This can be hard in Yu-Gi-Oh! due to economics, but a lot easier in WOW or MTG.
More at a later date... I am a bit tired... *sneezes*. Merry Christmas to all!
Storage
Before you go out and buy hordes of cards, or any collectible for that matter, consider a cost effective solution to storing them. I play the World of Warcraft TCG and at one point I played Yu-Gi-Oh!. Lets crunch some numbers real fast shall we? (I'll do it!) My WOW collection has a whopping 1,156 cards in it (I hear the collectors screaming and scoffing that that amount is pitiful). You can get those 9 slot card pages that you can fit into a binder, but at 20 cents each I will need 129 of them to keep my collection happy.
That is $26 USD right there on storage, then I need binders for them. If 30 pages take up a 1 inch binder, I will need approximatly 4 binders and change! I may have to spend around $12 USD there. Another disadvantage to sleeve pages is that if I need to take cards out, holes will exist that need to be filled, and categorizing them in the pages can be time consuming.
A better solution is a card box. If you head into a comic or cards store, they are the white cardboard boxes typically sold for storing baseball cards. These boxes work just as well for Trading Cards, and there are many sizes to choose from, ranging from a 200 count box all the way to a large 5000 count box. These boxes range from $0.50 USD to $2.00 USD. They are a great solution to indexing (sleeve pages) and you can use small index cards (3 by 5s?) to sort by type, rarity, set, name, you name it. For my WOW cards, I would like to sort by card type for easy access.
Putting the cards in a box takes them away from sunlight. The Sun's light won't have an effect on your cards until about 5 years down the road when they may begin to wear, depending on the condition you keep them in. These white boxes I am talking about generally last a long time and should treat you fine if you treat it fine. I kept a box for my Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and it lasted around 5-6 years, and it still is going strong (though it may be a good idea to replace the box and save the old one). Many Yu-Gi-Oh! players also keep their cards in a tin- this is great for beginners too-but be wary when your wallet depletes and your collection grows- you won't have room for those cards.
For games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic the Gathering and World of Warcraft, cards will be played on the table often. To protect your cards, you will definitely want to consider sleeving them. Card sleeves are individual sleeves that will stand up to tough wear and use. If you are considering or playing Yu-Gi-Oh!, you will need to sleeve your cards because Upper Deck produced the cards in a more flimsy manner than what Konami did in Japan (by the way, Upper Deck just lost their rights to produce Yu-Gi-Oh!, and it is heading back to Konami to print in the USA).
Sleeving your cards ensures they will last a long time. I sleeved my decks of Yu-Gi-Oh! early on in my collecting and it has provided me satisfaction (and value) in my cards knowing that they are in near mint shape. One brand I swear by is Deck Armor and Ultra Pro- I bought a $10 USD box of 100 sleeves 8 or 9 years ago for my Yu-Gi-Oh! deck and they are STILL going strong. My friend uses Deck Armor and I love them too. Before playing with card sleeves, you may notice that they are bent from the factory- if they are flatten them out or bend them in the opposite direction for a while- this is "breaking in" the sleeves, otherwise the sleeves will break your cards in (ouch).
Economics
Lets face it- at the time of this writing (very late 2008) the economy sucks, bad. When we look at the economics behind a game, sometimes looking at the game with better cost efficiency may be the way to go. World of Warcraft cards cost at retail roughly $.20 USD. Yu-Gi-Oh! cards cost at retail roughly $0.45 per card. When you do the math, Yu-Gi-Oh! can get expensive compared to MTG or WOW. Why is WOW and MTG cheaper? because they give you more for your money. In Yu-Gi-Oh! the best cards are secret rares or are hard to get cards, driving up the price of tournament decks to around $400 USD (ludicrous). In WOW, there are some awesome cards that are hard to get, but there is a way to easily remove that threat (and prevent said threat) AND they give you good stuff right off the bat.
Also, look at a game's popularity. Naruto and Bleach may not survive long- the Zelda Twilight Princess TCG didn't sell for long, and unfortunately one must realize that sometimes folks are in it for a small profit, then they exit the industry. MTG is the grandfather of all CCGs and TCGs, and it will not die (at least my friend says it won't, I agree with him). Yu-Gi-Oh! has seen a rebirth and Blizzard has enough money to run a miniatures and card games for their World of Warcraft series.
Self Control
TCGs can be ADDICTING. I buy a lot of WOW, but at the same time I set forth a budget. For younger collectors: CHRISTMAS AND BIRTHDAYS! This is how I always did it. As I have gotten older I can expand my collection and at the same time spend my money very wisely, especially in this day and age. Getting a part time job for your TCG charity fund is always nice, but also budget your money. This can be hard in Yu-Gi-Oh! due to economics, but a lot easier in WOW or MTG.
More at a later date... I am a bit tired... *sneezes*. Merry Christmas to all!
December 8, 2008
Allegations Blown Out Of Proportion
12/21/08- The cause of the accident was due to an engine malfunction. Fox was wrong to produce false allegations against the military that their pilots are inexperienced.
Well leave it to Fox NEWS for blowing things completely out of proportion. This is military related so I wanted to post it- an F18 pilot coming out of Myramar (approaching to set up a landing run) had to punch out over a populated neighborhood, destroying 2-3 houses and a couple of cars. He punched out approximatly 2 miles from the airfield. Those emergency personell from the area have not found the black box. The pilot punched out safely before crashing, and unfortunately the crash killed two innocents on the ground when the jet hit.
Already, Fox is calling the incident "irresponsible" of the pilot without even knowing the full facts, an example of poor journalism that the masses follow without question. There could have been a maintenance malfunction- or perhaps instrumentation broke down or the engine failed- F18 Hornets are very complicated pieces of machinery that could have an infinite amount of problems with them. People can simply say "oh, its your job to check that stuff" and it is, however a machine as complicated as a fighter jet is prone to problems. Be thankful that the aircraft was NOT carrying ordnance, it seems that the crash site isn't large enough to evidence that.
December 2, 2008
Criticisms of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
I have a plan to counter Stardust- 3x divine wrath, 3x penguin soldier, 3x guardian sphinx.I have played this game since its launch with the launch of starter deck Yugi and starter deck Kaiba. This game has evolved through so many sets and so many metagames that it is crazy to think about. Yu-Gi-Oh! truly is the Warhammer 40k of CCGs, tournament decks start at a minimum of around $400USD and the best cards are secret rares, which can be hard to get. Despite being such a large and widely played game, I have my beefs with it.
- Cards you need to complete your deck may be out of print. This is probably the most annoying aspect of the game- the Legacy of Darkness booster set helped warriors- I run a warrior deck because I think it's fun and economical. I have to acquire LOD boosters or singles if I want to modify my deck with A-forces, and then some (other sets) for cards such as Penguin Soldier. Thus, I am forced to scour other people's collections and buy up cards to compete.
- There are 9 cards per pack. This fact is annoying because CCG nowadays feature on average 15-19 cards per booster pack, driving up the price of Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards to retail 44 cents per card. For such a flimsy cardboard this is very expensive for a card game, not to mention the cost of custom built decks, especially ones for the tournament level. I luckily pulled a dark armed dragon that is retailing right now for $130 on Ebay and I am getting rid of it before it depreciates. I also pulled an Honest- not sure what I will do with that card it seems people may not be buying him right now.
You must keep up with the metagame to have fun. My warrior deck does NOT have a chance against a tournament deck, I will admit that fact. I always have to keep up with the latest cards to catch up in the metagame. This is frustrating with card prices and rarities.
- 4.) Too many card types. Plant, Aqua, whatever- there are so many types and so many cards to go with them they are all not updated each booster set- adding to a bias in the metagame. This further adds to the problem. I understand there are certain combos you can pull off, however reread issue #1.
So there you have it- WOW TCG worries about 9 classes, thus it can more evenly cover its bases in terms of helping a certain class with a set. Also, I get 19 cards per booster, bringing the unit cost per card approximatly half of Yu-Gi-Oh!, AND the added bonus that the cards are more sturdy. The game is fun and not as frustrating as Yu-Gi-Oh!, which can have complex rules- if you misread one thing in a card's effect you may not get to play the card. WOW is in a downturn right now, but this is natural for the holiday season. I'm not sure why people play Yu-Gi-Oh! still, I agree its a fun game but I am turned off by the negatives. "What else is there to play?" Magic the Gathering and WOW TCG are options. Yu-Gi-Oh! is pricey, definitely unbalanced in respect to providing cards that aid each type, and I am not the person to go hunting for rare cards from sets that are 5-6 years old.
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