Rawr... Raptr?

While I was streaming some Rift Lite gameplay for the Personal Computer last night on my twitch.tv page - I am in the process of getting a character all the way to level 20 to prepare him for the upcoming free-to-play launch of the game - a viewer informed me that I could get the full game and its expansion, Storm Legion, by using Raptr and "playing" the game for a set number of hours. Took a lot of convincing for me to eventually take the plunge for I had never been a fan of Raptr, which is just another gameplay tracking social networking program. I just don't see the validity of what Raptr is trying to promote - it mostly celebrates gameplay hours so if you just leave a game running while you are out on a week long vacation, you'll get to the Elite spot so easily. Still, I love the idea of getting Rift and its expansion for free because having access to these will provide me a larger number of both character and bag slots when the ftp kicks in, not to mention the additional character classes. The little rewards here and there is nice too but they are nothing special... Like the two avatar t-shirts I automatically unlocked when I linked my LIVE account to Raptr. I really don't like that I can't even install the desktop application where I want it to be installed. I will definitely be uninstalling it from my PC once I am done with chasing the Rift rewards but I suppose I will just keep my profile there so that it could feed on my PlayStation 3, Steam, and X-Box 360 activities. I really don't care if it doesn't track my League of Legends hours nor any other games not associated directly with those platforms for I have Origin to do just that since I am curious sometimes about such data. If you are a Raptr user, I am interested to find more acquaintances there so feel free to send a friend invite to AlexWorth. See you there!

Loner Gamer's desktop has recently been invaded by a strange creature named "Raptr".

The X-Box One Announcement is a TV Show

While the PlayStation 4 announcement was a comedy show with the console designer trying his best to convince us that only a new console can bring new gaming experiences, the reveal of the new X-Box One today prioritized the non-gaming entertainment portion of the console. It was all about television and movies and how the console is capable of interacting with your live television. Yes, this console, just like the X-Box 360, doesn't prioritize gaming. It's all about everything else with gaming on the side. The fact that they tackled the non-gaming feature first and during the majority of the reveal is very telling. Oh, and I love how they tried to claim that the X-Box One is the only way you can use Skype on the big screen in the living room. I find it really funny how everyone has forgotten that the Personal Computer can be connected to the big screen. I am so done with these so-called "new generation" consoles. When they finally rolled out the new games coming out for the console, there was really nothing new nor exciting. That Quantum Break trailer was lame. "Visual so real" one of the presenters blurted out. Oh please, I have seen better. As a matter of fact, I just saw something more remarkable last night. This was an opportunity for Microsoft to take a big risk and gain greater rewards with getting into PC gaming via Windows 8 and they failed. There was no mention whether or not the LIVE service would be free on X-Box One but since they are going to have more servers to support the service, I am quite sure that it would be there, perhaps a little more expensive than before. I also have a feeling that they will bundle TV services with it too. Between the PS4 and the X-Box One, I prefer the former. Still, I wouldn't touch the PS4 for a long time to come.

X-Box One: The real way to... watch TV!

Update Note: 12:00pm - Confirmed. LIVE Gold will require a fee on X-Box One.

Why not just give us free 3 months of Gold nsa to celebrate the 360's untimely death?

God of War: Ascension Holy Galaxy

I just started playing God of War: Ascension for the PlayStation 3 and oh my galaxy... So far, this has to be the best looking PS3 game I have ever seen and most definitely without question, one of the best looking games so far in existence. For the first time, I have finally seen what the PS3 hardware is truly capable of producing, with the last two Uncharted games not even close to matching the quality of work seen here. The level of detail on Kratos himself and the environments is just staggering. The sense of scale is quite epic. The horribly PlayStation 2-ish graphics of God of War III is nowhere to be found! Now let's ask ourselves this question: How come no other games on the console look remotely close to this? Because the developers are lazy and they don't care about fully utilizing the hardware no matter how powerful they are, that's why. The PS3 is a crazy, unfathomable beast of a console yet before any more games could be released to look like this ultra sexy Ascension, Sony is jumping ship to the PlayStation 4. The same thing will happen with the PS4 where developers will not harness its full potential so why bother ending the PS3 at all? As much as I am excited to keep playing Ascension, my heart is bleeding deep inside of me. I am so annoyed. Why would Sony allow developers to abandon this wonderful console soon before its potentials can truly be taken advantage of. Why does it have to come to this? The video game world can be such a disgusting place sometimes and I feel somewhat dirty for my participation in it.

The frame rate may be a bit challenged but the overall graphics are impossibly beautiful.

Click play on the video below to see an incredible set piece from my first session with the game.

Games Played 05/13/2013 - 05/19/2013

- 05/13/2013 -

Audiosurf - PC

Devil May Cry 4 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Streets of Rage 2 - PC

- 05/14/2013 -

Bio-Hazard Battle - PC

Eschatos - X-Box 360

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Proteus - PC

Neverwinter - PC

- 05/15/2013 -

Audiosurf - PC

Bejeweled 3 - PC

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

- 05/16/2013 -
Audiosurf - PC
The Cave - PC
DOTA 2 - PC

Guild Wars 2 - PC
Irem Arcade Hits - PC
League of Legends - PC
Silverfall - PC
Silverfall: Earth Awakening - PC
Space Channel 5: Part 2 - PC

Vanguard Princess - PC

- 05/17/2013 -
Guild Wars 2 - PC
Irem Arcade Hits - PC
League of Legends - PC
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - PC

- 05/18/2013 -
League of Legends - PC
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - PC

- 05/19/2013 -
Bioshock Infinite - PC
League of Legends - PC


Screenshot of the Week:

To think that many people in the real world live their lives like this.

Bioshock Infinite (Personal Computer)

Just Go Digital Already: Fall of a God

We got another winner here of desperate developers doing their best to shamelessly cut the cost of physical distribution through production shortcuts while still trying to charge expensive prices at launch. And look at that, it's another Sony developed game - God of War: Ascension. And to think that they are still unwilling to go all digital for their upcoming PlayStation 4! I have a feeling that all the PS4 retail games will be packaged just like the Vita retail games: where there's no printed materials to be found inside the game casing at all! Just move on to the next big thing Sony... Just move the heck on.

Manual on the back of the cover! Take that physical game fanatics!

Update Note: 8:40pm - When I popped in the game disc, I found a digital manual accessible from the PS3's Xross Media Bar. Yeah, certainly wishy-washy. if they were so thrilled about the idea of digital manual, why not just skip physical distribution in the first place and aggressively push for the smarter distribution method for the future?