Best Valentine gift

This year for Valentines I took ophilye out for dinner, and bought her a few things. One of those things was an in-game item that I thought she would find cute. I did this because one of my favorite valentines gifts she gave me was an in-game item for Everquest. This was over 8 years ago and I still remember it. That is how awesome that gift was. And it wasn’t the item I got, but how it was given to me. The person she purchased it from came and met us in a very dangerous zone. He was a giant Ogre dressed in a diaper. He came and presented the gifts in a very amusing way. I was in awe. My friend who was there still remembers this as well. Ask me what the items where and I can only remember one, the bone mask. But I remember the event and that made it worth the very small amount of money she paid for a virtual item. I am sure what I bought her this year will not be as memorable. But it has changed my view on buying in game items. At least when done with some thoughtfulness and not just to advance you quickly.

So gamers, when thinking about gifts for any occasion. Don’t scoff at in-game items. With a little thought and some planning it can be something they remember their whole life.

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Posted in Misc Reviews, PC | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Plants vs Zombies inside World of Warcraft

I was exploring the other day and decided to take a look at South Shore and the surrounding area to see what has changed since Cataclysm. I stumbled upon a farm that has some flowers I have seen before. So I went to take a closer look. The farmer had a quest, protect his farm from zombies. I grabbed Ophilye and my daughter to come take a look, and this is what I found.

After playing this and winning all the rounds (which takes a large amount of time ) I was rewarded with a flower companion. I was super excited since I had never heard of this and thought I found a hidden treasure. ( the farm was in the middle of no where )
But after googling for this it appears it’s a well known feature, we just weren’t in the know. So I am doing my part to spread the word cause if you play World of Warcraft and you liked plants vs zombies, you really need to come play this.

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Dungeons

Any of you ever play Dungeon Master? It was a very entertaining game where you built a dungeon and slapped around some minions…among other things. It was a great game for its time but under appreciated. Dungeons is very similar to Dungeon Master but with a nice tower defense mechanism built in. The goal is to build a dungeon and lure in heros who want to gain loot and fame. You need to build the dungeon in a way that will keep them occupied while you kill them off. But you need to kill them happy! Yeah I don’t know how that is going to work, but it sounds like a good time! I wager this game too will be under appreciated but I am doing my part to bring attention to it. ( your welcome Kalypso )

Find the PC only game at http://us-kalypso.gamesplanet.com/shop/dungeons/ and enjoy yourself!

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Posted in PC, PC RPG | Leave a comment

World of Darkness

Just recently Ophilye and I have loaded up Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines. Despite never truly being finished, it was a very engaging and memorial game. Surprisingly someone has been patching the game non stop to polish it and make it actually work. Despite this though the game does not live up to our memory, and this can be directly associated to its very outdated graphics and controls. But we still love what it was built on. So with that said you can understand my excitement for the new MMO in development “World of Darkness”. Now if you have been a long time reader of couple gaming you will also know I am looking forward to “The Secret World” but that is based on the Cthulhu mythology where “World of Darkness” is based on Vampire the Masquerade. I am looking forward to both of course but I really hope this polishes up the game I am familiar with in bloodlines. I think “Vampire the Masquerade” has some excellent depth to it and I am really looking forward to seeing how they bring that into an MMO where it seems it should be a perfect match. Currently not a lot is known about the game, except that is based on Vampire the Masquerade. So here is hoping they do it right. Both of these MMO’s have huge potential and may actually bring us back into the MMO scene.

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World of Warcraft Cataclysm Video featuring Dwing

Ophilye and I stopped playing World of Warcraft some time ago.  We often talk about going back for the new expansion, but honestly it’s such a time waster that we miss out on to many other good games.  So we may not ever go back.  Time will tell.

With that said, you can’t help but love the cinematics that blizzard puts out.  Like this one for instance

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Casual games are taking over. Well they are trying anyway..

I use to pre-order or buy the day of release almost every triple A title that came out.  And I use to love it.  However as Ophilye pointed out, I still have games I bought over a year ago sitting there.  Still in their plastic.  I am not the only one who fell into this trap either.  I have spoken with many people who, when being honest, admitted the same thing. I think this is a product of instant gratification.  I wanted but once I got it there wasn’t a need for it.

Over the past year this has changed.  At least for me.   I no longer buy new games unless it’s something I know I want to play right now, not something I feel I need and have time to play.  Which surprisingly has turned into me buying only arcade games.  Because not only are they cheap, but they also don’t take 48 hrs to complete.  ( Thanks Darksiders ) and most if not all have a demo to try so you can see if it’s a game you would really enjoy.  A luxury a lot of big titles fail to give you.

Surprisingly the new line of arcade games also have a top quality feel to them.  Take for instance the new Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light game.  Now only is this a beautiful game, it is well designed, long enough to get some serious enjoyment out of it, short enough that you can complete it without ignoring taking a vacation for the year, and has enough replay value that you can pick it up months from now and still have fun replaying a  level.

I am not here to actually state that Casual Games are going to replace full games, that would be silly.  But I am here to say it is my belief that aracade games have found their way into our hearts and have made themselfs a nice spot in our beds.

If for some odd reason you have neglected arcade games, please try these out.  Most can be found on the PS3 and XBOX 360.  ( sorry wii )

  • Limbo
  • Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
  • Death Spank
  • Castle Crashers
  • Puzzle Quest
  • Peggle
  • Plants vs Zombies
  • Shadow Complex
  • Comic Jumper

This is a VERY small list of games that we have played and love.

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Posted in Playstation 3, XBOX 360 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gears of War 3, Wii gets Netflix Streaming and DeadSpace gets a paperback novel.

First is the anticipated announcement of Gears of War 3, the trailer can be found below.   Not much to say about this, but I can complain that it’s a whole year away!  But good to see 4 player co-op in it.  This is one of my favorites game series.  Right along side God of War :)

Netflix is sending out disks for the Wii this week, ours is suppose to be here today, lets see how well the tiny machine does with streaming shall we?  I know my daughter has been waiting for this forever.  Just wish that the Wii and PS3 could stream without the silly disk.

And last and probably the thing most people won’t see.  A new paperback book based on DeadSpace will be release July 10 of this year.

Dead Space™: Martyr (A Tor Trade Paperback; $14.99; July 2010), the first novel based on the award-winning Dead Space videogame franchise. Dead Space: Martyr delves into the back story of the fiction including the history of the Church of Unitology, the discovery of the enigmatic “Black Marker” and the mysteries behind an alien artefact of unknown power. Dead Space: Martyr will be available in July 2010 at select retailers worldwide.

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Posted in Misc Reviews, news, Wii, XBOX 360 | Leave a comment

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge

As you have seen previously, an RPG became a family affair, and to this day we are still trying to finish Dragon Age.  But we also still really really enjoy it.

So I am not looking forward to Hunted: The Demon’s Forge by inXile.  Not only is it a new RPG that looks amazing.  But it also has co-op!  Seriously, Co-Op an RPG with the wife will be awesome!

More info on the game;

“Set in a dark fantasy world, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge is an unforgettable cooperative action game, pitting you and your partner against waves of vicious enemies. Taking control of either E’lara, a ranged weapon expert, or Caddoc, a master swordsman, you must use a variety of weapons, powerful spells, and cover tactics to battle your way through menacing dungeons, overgrown ruins, and downtrodden towns. Discover secrets and complete co-op-based puzzles whilst exploring the sinister world to discover answers to the game’s deep, dark mysteries.”

For the PS3, 360 and PC

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Posted in PC, Playstation 3, XBOX 360 | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Digital: A Love Story

Way back in the day.  I was a young man sitting in a dark room.  With nothing but the glow of the monitor to light my face and fingers as I typed away in the Lower Lights BBS to what I thought was a girl.  Now, we will never know if it was, but I remember many nights like that.  I know Ophilye use to be on lower lights doing something very similar.  So when a game like this comes along, everyone who use to use a BBS should really give it a go.

Digital: A Love Story is a great little game that brings back many memories of being on a BBS trying to meet some hot nerd girl.  Go check it out at http://www.scoutshonour.com/digital/

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Posted in PC | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dark Void

Dark Void finally arrived.  I have been looking forward to this game for some time now.  Flying around in a jetpack, taking cover vertically, hijacking UFO’s.  What’s not to love?  This game.  Thats what.

I am SO disappointed in this game.  The story line is shallow, the graphics are not up to par with what this generation of consoles can do, and the game  play is seriously lacking.

My daughter and I sat down to try this game out.  She loves watching me play games and she loves aliens.  So this should have been a good experience for us both.  You start the game flying around with your jet pack and you have NO idea how to control this thing.  So its just you, zooming around trying in vein to shoot UFO’s.  And then BAM! It’s a cut scene and you are starting all over.  And by all over I mean the game is finally starting.  You are no just a normal joe flying over the bermuda triangle.  The of course you crash after seeing a UFO.  Now you are exploring the jungle for some reason.  And then you see an alien robot kill  a guy.  The alien leaves and you go grab the guys weapon.  A huge gun.  Ohh and he has another on him for your partner.  That’s right, he was carrying two huge guns…..anyway! I am not going to tell you everything, for those of you who want to play this game there is no reason for me to spoil it.  But lets just say don’t expect much of a story and don’t expect the game play to live up to the hype.  I do understand maybe this hype was all my own.  But regardless I am disappointed.  What could have been a good change of pace for shooters is just another disappointment and now I am going to go back to Darksiders where I actually enjoy myself and possibly where it ends and my daughter isn’t crying and begging me to stop playing.

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Posted in Playstation 3, XBOX 360 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment