PS Vita: Make Your Own Bundle

Recently, I had a change of heart in regards to the PlayStation Vita and after sleeping on it over the past several days - thanks hun for helping me with the decision-making process - I got a unit sitting in my Game Room right at this moment. I decided to skip the Limited Edition, extremely ugly, Crystal White Vita. The main reason for that should be pretty darn clear: the unit looks really nasty. Secondly, the game included with the unit is not something that I desperately wanted to play and it didn't seem to run that smoothly on the Vita. Last but not least, the 4GB memory card that came with it would become obsolete because I also got the 32GB memory card and I wouldn't be able to use it with any other device. The cool thing here is that Fry's Electronics was selling the standalone unit at a much cheaper price and I was even able to score the 32GB memory card for a good discount. Add two really cheap $10 range games that I actually wanted to play and I got myself the L.G. PS Vita Starter Bundle.

The OLED screen is bright and beautiful but it isn't HD.

I haven't spent a lot of time with the unit yet. I still don't know how to change the lock-screen wallpaper even but I have tested the two games I got. I am happy to see that both of them do not have long loading times like I have experienced with the store display unit. I have heard that the digital version of Vita games have longer load times than the physical copies and that seems rather silly to me. I must say that I think Reality Fighters is a really cool game. Sure, it may not be the best fighting game ever but since you can use people's faces and customize your own stages using anything that you can capture on the Vita camera, the game sure is entertaining. As far as Dynasty Warriors Next is concerned, well, it's a Dynasty Warriors game and I just love the series. So yes, I must say that I am enjoying my little Vita. Perhaps I was too quick to cast it aside because from what I can tell playing around with it, the Vita seems to have a lot of potential. There's a sad amount of interesting games for it at this time though so I will probably end up playing the digital PlayStation Portable games on it a lot more than Vita titles for a while.

This game is what Nintendo's Photo Dojo should have been.

Expose Your Neck/Wallet to Steam

Visit the Steam store between now through October 31st and allow yourself to be seduced by a Valve form of financial vampirism. The Halloween sale is here and there are plenty of appropriately themed selection of games that you can get at savagely discounted prices.

 

Want to see something really scary?

Check your bank account after you finish buying from this event.

 

I went into the Steam client all healthy and perfectly plump, full of precious human blood (and a little bit of cash) and got out of there barely alive and was sucked almost competely dry. All I can say is that the bite may be deep and Steam's fangs nasty and sharp, but it felt really good to be nibbled on so greedily but ultimately, quite lovingly by Valve.

 

No need to check its pulse. Your wallet just died out of shock.

Games Played 10/22/2012 - 10/28/2012

- 10/22/2012 -

Culdcept - PlayStation 2

GunLord - Dreamcast

League of Legends - PC

Lumines Plus - PlayStation 2

 

- 10/23/2012 -

Culdcept - PlayStation 2

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light - NDS
League of Legends - PC

- 10/24/2012 -
Culdcept - PlayStation 2
Ether Vapor Remaster - PC
League of Legends - PC
Satazius - PC
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II - PC

- 10/25/2012 -
Dodonpachi Resurrection - iPad/X-Box 360
League of Legends - PC

- 10/26/2012 -
Dodonpachi Resurrection - iPad/X-Box 360
League of Legends - PC

- 10/27/2012 -
Dodonpachi Resurrection - iPad
The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match - PlayStation 2
League of Legends - PC
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - PlayStation 3

- 10/28/2012 -
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - PlayStation 3


Screenshot of the Week:

Mai always aims for the weak spot.

The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match (PlayStation 2)

PS Vita for the Sake of PSP?

I was not a fan nor was I a believer of the PlayStation Vita. I thought it was cool when it was first announced but then everything turned sour when Sony decided to become really, really - for the lack of a better word - idiotic when it comes to the unit's storage space as well as its digital distribution commitment. Then, after I tested the unit myself, the overrated non-HD screen (it's qHD folks, just a quarter of true HD and not even 720p, wake up) was a true disappointment and from that point forth, the Vita was dead to me. Recently however, I have been thinking about things differently. If you look at my "Purchase List", you will see a long list of PlayStation Portable games that I want. Some of these are available on the PlayStation Store and I would prefer to get them digitally - still too pricey though that is why it hardly ever happened - and looking at the list of compatible digital PSP titles for the Vita, only 3 games out of the 31 PSP games I have listed do not work on the Vita. I have researched the comparison between playing PSP games on an actual PSP vs. the Vita and it's conclusive that even though upscaled, the games look nicer on the Vita. But is it even worth getting a Vita just to play 28 digital PSP games? Probably not. And since the UMD drive on the PSP is probably not going to last forever, wouldn't it be a better investment to eventually get a second PSP instead? Something that could easily tip the scale in favor of the Vita would be exclusive games and even though there are several that I am interested in, I don't have faith that they will remain Vita-exclusive because I believe that they will eventually come to the PlayStation 3. I even listed these games in my Purchase List as upcoming PS3 titles. Hot Shot Golf: World Invitational lost its Vita exclusivity and it will be released PS3 in Japan this November with better features and I doubt that Sony would stop themselves from doing exactly that to other Vita bestsellers if doing so would translate into them making money and getting rich.

 

This soon-to-be-released bundle seems to be a nice deal but a white Vita is kind of ugly.

 

Will I be getting a Vita? Who knows. If I were to get one, it would be the bundle pictured above. I like the prospect of playing those digital PSP games on it because I have seen how nice they look but that's about it. Supposed Vita exclusive games like Assassins Creed III: Liberation will be ported to the PS3 (complete with unaltered ugly Vita graphics mind you) and I doubt that I would be satisfied with just having 4GB of memory - what is that, just 4 PSP digital games, maybe even less? I sure wish my spouse is into gaming. It would be nice to have someone close to me to discuss something like this with.

My First X-Box 360 PAL Game?

When it comes to console game imports, the European versions are normally the one to steer clear from because of how horrific the packaging normally looks but when it involves Dodonpachi Resurrection for those who only own the unmodified North American X-Box 360 console, this becomes unavoidable. I have played this game for quite a bit on my iPad 2 but I finally succumb to the temptation and picked this EU "Deluxe Edition" release up. As much as I love playing the game on my iPad, the thrill of dodging millions of bullets on the big screen is just too irresistible and since I didn't pick up the HD version on the iPad - Cave should have given the HD re-release for free to those who purchased the original - I also get to enjoy a nice graphical boost to the game.

 

It looks like I will only be playing the iPad version while I'm away from home.

 

One thing to note if you choose to follow suit with acquiring this game for your NA system: DRDE is indeed region free between EU and NA but strangely, the downloadable contents are not. Unlike the region-free Japanese releases from Cave, the DLCs are not readily available to be downloaded using a NA X-Box LIVE account, which is quite lame. Apparently, one could have this unlocked using a EU LIVE account but I am not even sure if I want to go through all that hassle. I knew about this issue with the game before I got it but it doesn't make it any less disappointing because one of the DLCs is non-other than the Black Label release. I suppose that I just can't have everything sometimes. At least this release comes with a soundtrack CD and 4 gameplay modes and you should be able to find it easily at a good low price.

 

That PEGI rating box is so very distracting.

Random Yoshi Moment

But it's not Halloween yet sweetie.

Evelynn: Won't Be Touching That

I may like buying discounted skins in League of Legends on the Personal Computer but as I do not have the intent of unlocking all of them. Just because a skin is on sale, it doesn't mean that I will get it. Now, there are some lame skins and then there are some REALLY lame skins... Like this Shadow Evelynn skin:

 

She may not be blue but she still loves it when you scream. 

Now I have yet to have an alternate skin for Evelynn and right now, even though this skin is currently on sale at a ridiculously low price, I am not getting it. This ominously named skin is just a basic color swap but worse than that is that it's not even imaginative. So yeah, we know that Elevynn is... blue and that this skin gives her a more natural skin tone but instead of having her in that S & M outfit, wouldn't it be better to have her wearing something more modest to complement her more human look? Bring on the next set of discount skins, Riot Games, I want to spend some cash on you this Halloween!

A 2012 Dreamcast Game?

I may have missed out on Last Hope: Pink Bullets and Fast Striker by the German independent developer NG:DEV.TEAM that were released several years ago on the Sega Dreamcast but I knew that I would not be able to forgive myself if I allowed their latest, GunLord, to become unattainable. I ordered the game last week and it has finally arrived on my doorstep this morning. GunLord was released for the Dreamcast in June of this year but as you know, import games are not that cheap and with my recent revelation about game pricing, I was having a difficult time justifying the purchase. I found this Limited Edition with a $60 price tag, which isn't that bad I suppose and since those 2 older games I mentioned earlier are all gone the way of the Dodo, it was harder to justify not to get it. GunLord is basically a Turrican clone with a little bit of Metroid and even Thunder Force IV added into the mix. It's a 2D side-scrolling shoot-'em-up with plenty of exploration and platforming. I like what I have played so far and I appreciate that the game comes with a worldwide leaderboard - you do have to write down the code at the end of the game and plug it into the website. The packaging itself is very beautiful and the game as well as the soundtrack discs are very colorful. I like how they have Japanese text all over the packaging to appease their main target audience. I want more Dreamcast games from this talented developer in the future, especially since that other seemingly awesome shooter Sturmwind seems to be stuck in delay hell possibly for eternity.

 

Anime-inspired cover art.

 

You know he's bad @$$ because he emerges from some fiery explosion.

 

Playing it on the big screen with the VGA adapter.

Games Played 10/15/2012 - 10/21/2012

- 10/15/2012 -

League of Legends - PC

 

- 10/16/2012 -

Borderlands 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

 

- 10/17/2012 -

Borderlands 2 - PC

Ether Vapor Remaster - PC

Fairy Bloom Freesia Demo - PC

Fortune Street - Wii

League of Legends - PC

 

- 10/18/2012 -

Ether Vapor Remaster - PC

League of Legends - PC

 

- 10/19/2012 -

League of Legends - PC

Shoot Many Robots - PC

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I - PC

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II - PC

 

- 10/20/2012 -

Borderlands 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

 

- 10/21/2012 -

Borderlands 2- PC

Costume Quest - PC

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light - NDS

League of Legends - PC

Lollipop Chainsaw - X-Box 360

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II - PC

 

 

Screenshot of the Week:

 

And the award for the most worthless sidekick in gaming history goes to...

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (Personal Computer)

Victorious Janna Regret

I have made some life-changing decisions in my personal life yet I never have any regrets about them. Gaming does bring its fair share of sorrow however and today, I am regretful over the fact that I will not be a recipient of the Victorious Janna skin in League of Legends for the Personal Computer that will be rewarded for all Summoners who were able to reach the Gold tier or higher in ranked matches in Season 2. I was only able to reach Silver from the total of 32 Season 2 ranked matches that I played. I know that I would have been able to reach Gold but I just didn't participate in ranked matches often enough when I should have. And now, I will be denied one of the best looking alternate skins for one of my favorite champions in the game:

 

Call me Breathtaking Janna.

 

I know what I should do for Season 3. I must not allow this to happen again. I must make it a habit to do at least 5 ranked matches a week. Yes, that sounds pretty reasonable. Besides, with the recent implementation of the Honor system, perhaps things are a lot friendlier now in ranked matches as well. As for my Victorious Janna... You will forever be in my dreams.

Update Note: 10/20/2012 - There is still time! I was so entranced by the utter beauty of this skin that I missed this part: "Also of note is the soft Elo reset to Twisted Treeline and Summoner’s Rift on November 6. This new date is better in line with the arrival date of new Season 3 content, and gives summoners more time to compete on the Fields on Justice to wrap up Season 2." I thought that the November 6th was just the date when Season 3 begins and that the deadline for the reward happened with the end of the World Championship. Oh yes Victorious Janna, I am going to do my best to have you in my arms - I mean - in my skin selection screen!

Karthus: Dress Appropriately

It's time to unlock another alternate skin in League of Legends for the Personal Computer and the champion of choice is Karthus! Oh how I remember playing a lot of Karthus during the beta and I remember never liking his awful arch bishop outfit, not to mention the odd way he glides across the map... But today is not a day to morn Karthus' outdated champion model but it is a day to celebrate his Grim Reaper skin, which happens to make him look pretty darn deadly. I am surprised that the "Death" vibe didn't get used as his default look to begin with.

 

Too bad he can't cut people up with that wicked scythe.

Game Treasury Reshuffle

After I got my backup PlayStation 2 on Saturday, I was immediately faced with a storage dilemma. My Game Treasury - the walk-in closet in my Game Room - was getting full. I was having trouble finding a place for my old PS2 as well as a spot for the box of the new unit. When I looked at the way that I organized the plethora of gaming boxes on the pre-installed shelf, the solution to my problem was immediately apparent. I had placed these boxes with the front part facing forward so by turning them sideways, I was able to reclaim plenty of room! I still haven't completed the process of having everything reorganized but hopefully, everything will be done by sometime tomorrow. It's hard for me to game though while in the middle of a project like this one because it just doesn't feel right to play anything while things are scattered around the room.

 

It's a slow process though because I want to make sure everything looks just right.

 

Mr. Skeleton was there to lend a helping hand.

Not Sweet, Just Bitter

I was so happy to see that the Bittersweet Lulu skin was on sale for League of Legends on the Personal Computer when I logged on this morning. I think that this skin is the most perfectly named skin in the whole game. Just look at the splash art and you'll clearly see what I mean:

 

Those eyes... That sinister expression on her fat round face...

 

This splash art is almost as creepy as that retired "altered-state" Poppy skin. Lulu is a weird little champion to me but this uh, witchy thing who reminds me much of a fantastic old Famicom game from my youth, Magical Doropie, does have a potent slow and her trademark polymorph spell. Usually she can turn her enemies into squirrels but with this nasty skin, she transforms them into cupcakes! Yeah, that part is a win for me thus I got the skin unlocked! I hope I won't get cavities from using this skin too much.

w00t! Free Borderlands 2!

As you may recall, I upgraded my video card to the totally awesome EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW at the beginning of this month. I picked it up from my favorite electronic retail store and so far, it's one of the best gaming purchases I have made in my life. Several days ago, I went back to the store to do my usual game hunt and I noticed that they were having a promotion in which those who purchase select EVGA cards will get free copy of Borderlands 2. I wasn't sure if this promotion was there when I made the purchase and I thought perhaps I have overlooked the details on my receipt so when I got home, I checked it out and noticed that there was no mention of it. I then decided to email the store to inquire upon the matter - I love keeping a written trail for something like this - and after a couple of days of waiting, I received my code for the game this evening! The manager explained that the reason for the delayed response was because they ran out. I was so impressed with the service so you know that I will be heading back to Fry's Electronics again very, very soon!

A nice little Tuesday surprise, thanks to Fry's.

Achievement Whoring Doesn't Pay

Like I have said to so many X-Box 360 achievement whores in the past... Achievement whoring doesn't pay. Achievements don't mean anything. They turn players into mindless zombies whose task when getting a game for the X-Box 360 is to look at the list of things that they needed to do in the game and then do them before moving on to the next list of achievements to get. They turn the fun of gameplay into something mundane and now, even Microsoft has agreed with the totally worthless nature of accumulating achievements by introducing the new MyAchievements program where those with high achievement scores are rewarded with virtually nothing. How magical! Take a look for yourself:

 

Who is being rewarded here, seriously?

 

Apparently Microsoft thinks that a good way to reward people is to have them purchase more things from the X-Box LIVE Marketplace. You even have to be a Gold member to be rewarded, oh my! It's a horrible bait to get people to return to Gold. May I be bold and guess that the "Special Gift" promised for the account holder's birthday is some kind of game discount so that the birthday boy/girl can then spend more money on LIVE? That or some silly avatar item. I really find it funny that the achievement score threshold is set pretty low for these 3 tiers. So those who have whored their ways into the 100K are being placed at the same level of recognition as those with just 25K. Yes, keep whoring you shameless achievement whores... Get to a billion achievement points and experience the emptiness of this reward program. Don't you be laughing trophy whores, you know your PlayStation 3 trophies collection doesn't mean squat either.

Random Yoshi Moment

The new Papas & Beer mascot?

Games Played 10/08/2012 - 10/14/2012

- 10/08/2012 -

The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim - PC

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Rocket Knight - PC

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - PC

 

- 10/09/2012 -

Dragon Age II - PC

Rocket Knight - PC

Shatter - PC

 

- 10/10/2012 -

Code of Princess - 3DS

League of Legends - PC

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - PlayStation 3

 

- 10/11/2012 -

Code of Princess - 3DS

League of Legends - PC

Risen 2: Dark Waters - PC

 

- 10/12/2012 -

League of Legends - PC

 

- 10/13/2012 -

Code of Princess - 3DS

League of Legends - PC

Maximo: Ghosts to Glory - PlayStation 2

Risen 2: Dark Waters - PC

Rocket Knight - PC

 

- 10/14/2012 -

Final Fantasy XII - PlayStation 2

League of Legends - PC

Rocket Knight - PC

 

 

Screenshot of the Week:

 

Here we go again! Hopefully my recent epiphany will help me get through the game.

Final Fantasy XII (PlayStation 2)

The Garage Gamer

I saw something interesting while I was walking Yoshi out this evening. We walked by a house that had its garage door open and inside, someone was playing some first person shooter deathmatch - maybe one of the Call of Duty games. The setup was minimalistic but nice enough. There were multiple bean bag chairs in front of a large high definition screen. The most fascinating thing about this for me is the fact that this guy was just sitting there with his back to garage door, yelling and screaming at the screen because he got killed by his opponents. I don't know about you but to me, gaming is such a personal activity that I just cannot see myself sharing with the public in person. Sure, I don't have a problem testing out game demos at the store in front of other people but to allow non-gamers to watch me play from the comfort of my gaming space... To me, that equates someone watching me as I am enjoying a naked shower underneath a majestic waterfall. When the spouse has visitors while I'm gaming, the door to the Game Room will remain shut. I think the whole garage gaming situation I encountered would have been less strange if the guy was playing with a bunch of friends but he was just alone in a dark garage. Maybe he wants the neighborhood to know that he's a hardcore gamer. But who am I to judge?

 

Gaming in solitude. That's my thing.

Of PS2 and Mortality

I found out that my favorite electronic retail store restocked their PlayStation 2 systems so I decided to pick one up today. I have always wanted to get another PS2 because I have invested so much in this system as I own 464 games, the second largest in my Game Library across all platforms. Sure, I play my PS2 on my Personal Computer these days via PCSX2 but not every single PS2 game runs well on it. I was excited at first when I was setting up the system at home, putting the old PS2 away into my Game Treasury, but it's actually a bittersweet moment. I realize how game systems, with the exception of my Personal Computer that will be maintained constantly over the remainder of my lifetime on Earth, don't last. What will happen when my SegaSaturn finally breaks down? Then again, it is possible for it to stay alive until the day I die. And what about the other platforms? Does this mean that I have to get a backup unit for them as well? I tell myself that if those systems were to fail me, I would just handle the situation then. There is no need to worry about them now. I realize that instead of concentrating on securing more backup units, I should work on proper distribution of my free time to ensure that I enjoy my games as much as I can. The freedom of having so many games in your hand is certainly liberating, but it is not something that I should never take for granted.

 

The trick here is to start playing those PS2 games again.

Don't Get Crabby, Just Get Crabgot

You know that the mechanical bottom half of Urgot in League of Legends for the Personal Computer prevents him from ever getting crabs (or any kind of action) but do you know that he can turn himself into one? Yeah, I got myself another alternate skin for the game in the form of the Giant Enemy Crabgot. I like the idea behind this skin and it looks pretty neat but I am disappointed that he is not carrying a victim around as shown in the splash art... That would have made the skin epic beyond anything else, especially if she is twitching and kicking on his shoulder. You never know, they may do a visual upgrade on this in the future.

 

Looks like a crab and smells like a fish.

Games Played 10/01/2012 - 10/07/2012

- 10/01/2012 -

Awesomenauts - PC

Batman: Arkham City - PC

Diablo III - PC

Saints Row: The Third - PC

Sleeping Dogs - PC

Sonic Generations - PC

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - PlayStation 3

 

- 10/02/2012 -

League of Legends - PC

Sleeping Dogs - PC

Street Fighter x Tekken - PC

 

- 10/03/2012 -

League of Legends - PC

 

- 10/04/2012 -

League of Legends - PC

Street Fighter x Tekken - PC

 

- 10/05/2012 -

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Street Fighter x Tekken - PC

 

- 10/06/2012 -

League of Legends - PC

Lollipop Chainsaw - X-Box 360

Street Fighter x Tekken - PC

 

- 10/07/2012 -

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - PlayStation 3

Persona 4 Arena - PlayStation 3

Street Fighter x Tekken - PC

 

 

Screenshot of the Week:

 

Showing a thug what it means to lose face.

Sleeping Dog (Personal Computer)

Lollipop: Sweet to the Suck

I haven't been excited about gaming on the X-Box 360 ever since I stopped playing Sine Mora earlier this year but alas, my 360 is going to be alive again for quite some time. It is not surprising then that the game that got me all giddy being back on the 360 is from the same people who were partly responsible for Sine Mora - Grasshopper Manifacture. The game I am referring to is Lollipop Chainsaw, which was just inducted into my Game Library. This zombie mayhem action game is full of vulgarity, zombie violence, extreme sexuality, and nonsensical humor that just translate into fun time on the long-forgotten console. I can definitely see myself obsessing over this game over the next couple of weeks. Does this mean that I will jump back on LIVE Gold? No. This is a single player game anyway but the spouse did express confusion over the reason behind my decision to leave the service. "$60 a year is not so bad," the spouse said when I explained the logic behind getting Dead or Alive 5 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on the PlayStation 3. No, it's not but online multiplayer functionalities should be free. When the zombie slayer cheerleader Juliet Starling blurted out that "Zombies suck d$%# at driving", I thought to myself, "Well, Microsoft suck d$%# for charging money to access online multiplayer."

 

Now that's love.

Civilization V Mega Giveaway Extravaganza!

It's 10 past midnight. I should be going to sleep but here I am still awake and very excited to provide you a chance to win Sid Meier's Civilization V for the Personal Computer! That's right! Civilization V! This game is valued at $29.99 and can be yours with no purchase necessary! All you have to do for a chance to win is join this site using the Google Friend Connect located on the right hand side of the page and then post a simple (or complex) comment on this article to express your interest in winning the game. Please make sure that your email address is in your profile so that I can contact you if you win. All qualified entries must be received by 8am PDT on Friday, 10/12/2012 and the announcement of the randomly selected winner will be published shortly after. Good luck! And oh by the way, since no one won the Bioshock 2 giveaway, the first person who post a comment on that article, which can be accessed by clicking here, will win the game - providing of course that person follows the site as described previously. You need to have a Steam account to claim these games if you win!

 

Who doesn't want to conqur the world?

 

Update Note: 10/12/2012 - We have a winner! Congratulations Pieter Voogt! Wow, you got two free games in one week. You should be pretty happy with that. Make sure to check your Steam inventory for the delivery of the game!

September 2012 Gaming Analysis

The results shown below are of course based on the combined data from the Daily Game Log which should provide a clear indication of a game's usage frequency. Bear in mind that even if a game is played twice or more during a particular day, it would still register as 1 in the Day Count column below. In a sense, "merits" are given based on how often a particular game can make me play it again throughout the entire period of the month on a daily basis. A game that makes a gamer play it over and over again or at least spend a lot of time with it... Isn't that what we mostly want from a great game? I don't think it's really fair to count all the way down to the number of hours played since some games only require a short amount of time to properly serve their purposes.

 

OVERALL BREAKDOWN:

 

 

Total Games Played: 30

 

It is obvious that League of Legends for the Personal Computer was yet again the most consistently played game for the month. After last month's comeback, there hasn't been anything else that has managed to take my attention away from the game. I thought that I would jump back on Diablo III after that Paragon leveling introduction but as you can see, there was only one instance when I actually played Diablo III and that ended up being a short session too.

 

Guild Wars 2 for the Personal Computer did manage to stay competitive though I was expecting to play it a lot more than I do these days. I like the game a lot but the motivation to play it hasn't been that strong. The problem for me is the disjoint in terms of the storyline with the area-based quests outside of your personal story objectives. The game is too convenient when it comes to providing you a path of progression that it almost feel transparent sometimes but then again, none of my 5 characters have hit level 20 yet so I am pretty much just starting out. I have stopped playing my Ranger and went back to my Mesmer - of course this doesn't help me get to the higher levels any time soon. Maybe it's a good idea to limit the number of characters that one could create in a game like this and allow the players to create more once the level cap is reached.

 

 

This Month's Inductees:

 

 

Total Inductions: 30

Less Abysmal, More Abyssal

Oh my, the three alternative skins that are on sale right now for League of Legends on the Personal Computer are all looking mighty pretty. I was thinking of unlocking all three, but that would just be a little bit of an overkill. So I ended up with two: Abyssal Nautilus and Sabretusk Sejuani. I am sorry Demolisher Nunu, maybe some other time, okay? While I like to lane with Nautilus, Sejuani is primarily the champion I would choose when I have to jungle.

 

Haunting the ocean depth...

 

...lost in the wilderness.

 

Meanwhile. another champion visual upgrade is ready to be released and this time around, the lucky champion is Twisted Fate. Just like the recent Soraka beautification, the new character model for Twisted Fate looks really good, I can't wait to see it in the game. I have a feeling that Riot Games will not stop with the visual upgrades until all of the older champions have been redone. I wonder who is going to be next on the list... Karthus I hope?

 

This game keeps getting better and better each day.

League of Legends: Return to Honor

I have been away from League of Legends for the Personal Computer over the last several days because I have been busy with believe it or not, Dead or Alive 5 on the PlayStation 3. It looks like today is a wonderful day to return because Riot Games have introduced the "Honor" system that rewards players who help make playing the game a positive experience. I myself have sent Riot Games a request to have this implemented quite a long time ago and I am just glad to see that it is finally available. Basically, in addition to the Tribunal that discourages negative behaviors, you can now report players you meet on both sides of the battle for good behaviors - in case you don't know what that means, it's things like not raging and staying calm and positive throughout the match, or staying humble during post-game chat when winning a match and graceful in defeat. I really love this and I sure hope that this will finally help the community improve so that I don't have to mute a player's chat on every single match I play. There always seem to be at least one or two of them per match these days - worse when you get matched with a pre-made. The one thing I realize about mostly playing support is that your lane partner usually loves to blame you for his or her bad performance. I will also tell you that supporting a jerk gives me a really disgusting, filthy feeling that cannot be scrubbed off for months or maybe even years. I do hope that this won't get abused because I have already seen people begging for "Honor" just because they supposedly "carried" the team. No, you don't get honor for playing well. You will get an honor from me when you can show me that you are a decent human being.

 

Who doesn't want honor right?

 

Your honor count can be accessed from your profile. Oh wow, got one already!

 

Update Note: 10/09/2012 - Who knew that an abuse counter-measure was indeed implemented with the system! Very impressive. Defend the game's honor and always bring nothing but positive attitude with you when you play the game.

Games Played 09/24/2012 - 09/30/2012

- 09/24/2012 -

FTL: Faster Than Light - PC

Guild Wars 2 - PC

Jet Set Radio - PC

Sonic Generations - PC

Street Fighter x Tekken - PC

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition - PC

 

- 09/25/2012 -

Jet Set Radio - PC

League of Legends - PC

Sonic Generations - PC

 

- 09/26/2012 -

Batman: Arkham City - PC

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends -PC

Runespell: Overture - PC

 

- 09/27/2012 -

Batman: Arkham City - PC

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

 

- 09/28/2012 -

Batman: Arkham City - PC

Ether Vapor Remaster - PC

Guild Wars 2 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Torchlight II - PC

 

- 09/29/2012 -

Dead or Alive 5 - PlayStation 3

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - PlayStation 3

 

- 09/30/2012 -

Dead or Alive 5 - PlayStation 3

Sleeping Dogs - PC

 

 

Screenshot of the Week:

 

Why can't those be my permanent shoulder armor?

Guild Wars 2 (Personal Computer)

And Then It Became GTX 670

Spouse: So what is this thing that you wrote about not wanting a Wii U? Are you trying to make it hard again for me to get a birthday gift for you?

 

L.G.: Well, I just know that Nintendo is going to release a better version of the Wii U sometime in 2013. I have a feeling that the screen on the special controller is going to get an HD bump.

 

Spouse: So you don't want the Wii U?

 

L.G.: I want it, but I am not in a hurry to get it.

 

Spouse: Oh. And how is the new computer?

 

L.G.: I love it. It's quite powerful. My newer games are running a lot better with it.

 

Spouse: That's nice. But you are saying that the graphics card is not good?

 

L.G.: The one that came pre-packaged with it is not. I am using the graphics card I have from my old computer. The performance of that card was bottle-necked before. Now, it's really running nicely.

 

Spouse: So you're saying that computer can do more with a better graphics card?

 

L.G.: Yeah. But this one should still be good for a long while.

 

Spouse: I'll pay half if you want to get a new graphics card.

 

L.G.: Uh, really?

 

Spouse: Sure, since I am not getting you a Wii U this November.

 

And thus they went to the store after a romantic sushi dinner and picked up a new Nvidia graphics card (the spouse got a fancy new wireless keyboard and mouse too) and they lived happily ever after.

That "FTW" stamp is corny but unlike the cake, it isn't a lie.

 

The longest graphics card I have ever seen in my life. For a second, I thought it wouldn't fit.

 

Guild Wars 2 at 1080p with maxed video settings and supersampling on at a steady 60fps? ✔