Homework is a harsh mistress and grad school is an unrelenting taskmaster. But it's (basically) summer yo. Time to catch up. Kick the tires and light the fires you might say.
The portfolio of part-time and full-time games have been swirling faster and furious-er than a sack of angry honey badgers. Warframe, King Arthur's Gold, XCOM, Tera, League of Legends, Marvel Heroes, SMITE, Neverwinter, and of course, Firefall. PAX East happened too and is half the reason why we are drooling over some of the games we are, and some of the games we are yet to latch onto and hump into submission. Lookin' at you WildStar.
So, over the course of my break from the graduate-level slave pits, I plan on providing color commentary on our (mis)adventures in some of the new games, and anything that has changed/patched/updated since we last dug into it. Antilles is hard at work managing the stream and we're both working out fresh new ideas to integrate into our weekly shenanigans. Perhaps one of these days he will relearn how to type coherent sentences and grace us with his particular brand of humor.
So! Expect some more exploration of all the betas we are currently enrolled in and the pining for the betas that continue to elude us. Perhaps our goat sacrificing quota is behind schedule and the beta gods are angry. Perhaps we just need to make more Internet friends!
I've made a tentative list of some of the games on the docket I mentioned above that definitely deserve a post of their own:
- Warframe: Cyber Ninjas in space? Seriously, whoever thought of this game should get the highest possible medal their country offers. International medals too. The concept is solid gold and plated in... wait for it... platinum. Just play it, visit their store, and come back and laugh at my pun. The last time we played this game was before their big patch to revamp how the Free-to-Play system, mods, and skills work. Also added a bunch of new weapons, frames, environments, and modes from what one of my colleagues tells me. It's time to return to the stage and conduct the slick and sweet symphony of death and destruction that Warframe offers.
- Marvel Heroes: We were fortunate to be gifted beta keys from our community, and it was wasn't for their windows of server operations, I'd have spent a heckuva lot more than the first 2 minutes playing Thing before the server shut down. In those 2 minutes I was hooked on the idea. I got this tingly feeling in the hole in my chest that was created by Diablo 3. Is... is that my Action RPG heart beating again after it was broken by Actiblizzion? Stay tuned.
- SMITE: I've watched Antilles stream this MOBA variant and I have to say, I'm impressed with how the 3rd person view can totally change the tempo of the game genre. I haven't yet downloaded it, but I might try my hand at how well I can unleash the wrath of any particular God. Keep an eye on the stream and tune in to see Antilles team up with friends of the Tavern.
- Neverwinter: One of our most surprisingly fun finds at PAX East, Neverwinter take the Dungeons & Dragons brand to the burgeoning world of Action MMO's. Aside from the currently somewhat limited pickin's for Classes, this game is already offering up heaping helpings of fun. I have trouble reminding myself that this game is currently in Open Beta. I've tasked myself with generating some 8-Bit Tavern themed quests and campaigns. Those who know us and hear some of our stories will understand the background behind the Foundry quests in the making. Some of our inside-jokes are being weaved into place and will provide some windows into our rather silly histories. Come hang with us on the Mindflayer server if you want in on these shenanigans.
- Firefall: Don't worry, we didnt forget the game that helped crystallize the idea of 8-Bit Tavern. Open Beta drops this summer and the players and fans are collectively shitting themselves all over Hell and Texas. From durability, to having enough content to satiate the masses. I, personally, am keeping the faith. I want Red 5 Studios to succeed and I know they've been hard at work testing the limits of the game even if that means making unpopular decisions. I drank beer with the Tribe members that sojourned to PAX EAST 2013 and I'd be hard pressed to find a group of individuals that carry more passion about what they do and their goal of making fun. They got the drive and I can't wait to see what content is coming our way in the months to come. We're prepping for the influx of new players and would love to do what we can to help the new players get acquainted with the game we know and love.
Quite busy indeed. If WildStar or Elder Scrolls Online beta keys were to crop up anytime soon, I assure you there will be tears. It's hard to look at all these games you're having fun with and say "no, not today". 1st World Problems.
So we will do our best to spread out the gaming love. The goal is to capture our shenanigans in some form for your reading or viewing entertainment. Whatever I don't cover using the written word, the links on the left (somewhere over yonder) will lead you to the promised land of streaming on Twitch. There, you can watch Antilles cycle through whatever he feels like playing on any given day. If you don't catch the stream while it's live, have no fear. Check out the recorded videos. They disappear after a while, so get 'em while they're hot.
The summer beers are out in force so far. I picked me up this season's Sam Summer as well as some Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Company. Two thumbs, waaaaay up.
Sláinte
-WF aka Cuculainn
No comments:
Post a Comment