Return to the Revised Tribunal

When it comes to League of Legends for the Personal Computer, I have been behind on my Tribunal judgments and that's an understatement. It never takes too long before I am reminded to jump back on it though like when I got repeatedly matched with rude, nasty folks earlier this evening. When I went to the Tribunal page, things looked different. This is the first time that I have returned to the site ever since Riot Games removed the Influence Points reward for participating in the Tribunal. Now, you actually get to see your judgment being measured alongside other important statistics:

 

A good start and that "Justice Rating" sounds so dignified.

 

The best thing about the new Tribunal system is that when you are a part of the majority vote, you now get to see the cases in question and their outcomes. This is very cathartic and a lot more rewarding than collectiong measly IPs. When you participated in a majority vote that resulted in a permanent ban, that result will add a count to compliment your profile. I don't think I will ever abandon the Tribunal ever again. Let's clean up the LoL community together!

Update Note - 12/04/2012: Actually, you get to see the result of all of the cases you voted on, even if you ended up being in the minority and you can see the action taken for those cases. This is very intriguing.

Steam Big Picture Mode: Live!

Personal Computer gaming on the big screen is not a new concept. I have been doing it ever since I got my first 55" display during the peak of the PlayStation 2 era. Doing it comfortably however with an interface custom made for convenience and accessibility is something fresh and today, Steam's Big Picture mode is finally live after being in beta for quite some time. I am very surprised however by this release because the newer community features have not been implemented into this mode. Typical of Valve, the launch comes with a bunch of discounts for "controller-friendliest" games. What is that? You haven't hooked up your PC to your big screen yet? You don't know what you are missing, especially since those console games don't really support native 1080p, including the Wii U. Go give your display the workout it deserves!

 

Because your living room/Game Room deserves only the best!

Games Played 11/26/2012 - 12/02/2012

- 11/26/2012 -

4 Elements HD - iPad

The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut - PlayStation 3

Super Stardust HD - PlayStation 3

 

- 11/27/2012 -

Castle Crashers - PC

League of Legends - PC

Luxor: Amun Rising HD - PC

Street Fighter x Tekken - PC

 

- 11/28/2012 -
Jetpack Joyride - iPad

Nintendo Land - Wii U
Parsec - iPad
Punch Quest - iPad

Super Stardust HD - PlayStation 3

- 11/29/2012 -
Nintendo Land - Wii U

- 11/30/2012 -
League of Legends - PC
Nintendo Land - Wii U
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor - Wii
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars - Wii

- 12/01/2012 -
Analogue: A Hate Story - PC
Castle Crashers - PC
League of Legends - PC
Nano Assault - 3DS

- 12/02/2012 -
7 Wonders: Ancient Alien Makeover - PC
Eschatos - X-Box 360
League of Legends - PC
Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife - PC
Phoenix HD - iPad


Screenshot of the Week:

It's not built on my planet so that description is correct.

7 Wonders: Ancient Alien Makeover (Personal Computer)

Wii U Gamepad vs. SmartGlass

As I have mentioned in the previous post, the whole dual screen thing doesn't really work all that well with gaming on the big screen mostly because it's awkward to keep looking up and down between the two displays. So the Wii U Gamepad is not necessarily the most successful new innovative idea in gaming but of course that didn't stop Microsoft from attempting to steal Nintendo's thunder when they introduced the SmartGlass application for mobile devices. It was released in early November but I was never curious about it until I started using the Wii U Gamepad so today, I decided to give it a shot. Basically, the SmartGlass allows you to use your mobile devices, the iPad 2 specifically for me, as a second screen (rolls eyes) and a remote for your X-Box 360 console. The fact that this means you don't get real gaming buttons like what the Wii U Gamepad has made it unattractive to begin with yet, the fact that you get to use awesome, huge screens like the one on my iPad 2 redeems it somewhat.

 

Is the SmartGlass half empty or half full? More like empty in features and full of $#!t.

 

Just like the Wii U Gamepad, navigating what's on your screen using this thing is rather redundant and unnecessary. You can pretty much do everything you need without the assistance of a second screen. The SmartGlass can be turned into a remote and you get to access touch screen buttons as an input method which is as unsatisfying as it sounds. Also like the Wii U Gamepad, the SmartGlass is really only beneficial to access menus and inventory screens in-game but unlike the Wii U Gamepad, doing so will dictate that you have to get your hands off the actual controller which leads to more awkwardness. I don't have the games that support this app unfortunately to discover if the developers can get clever with its implementation. While playing Eschatos this morning, the SmartGlass showcased details about the game and I thought that was neat. You can access the game's information, achievements (rolls eyes), and related games without accessing the in-game dashboard. Then again, if you are looking at the SmartGlass anyway, why not just access the in-game dashboard on your big screen in the first place? We can all blame Nintendo for this incredibly silly second screen in gaming gimmick because we are all going to suffer for it.

 

I don't know if I should waste my iPad's battery power for something like this.

Nintendo: Awesome Digital Distribution

My experience with the recently acquired Wii U has been lackluster thus far. I think that the two dual-screen setup just doesn't work all that well with gaming on the big screen display. The Wii U Gamepad screen is awkward when there's only one video feed coming from of the Wii U, you can't completely turn off the screen of the Gamepad and this caused much redundancies. I can see how the second screen can be used for maps, menus, and inventory screens but then again, one can just access those things from the main display without much hassle. I do like being able to use the screen to interact with the Nintendo Network community while my display is set on my Personal Computer video input. I only have one game to play on the Wii U at the moment  and that is Nintendo Land so it is hard for me to judge the console's graphical prowess - so far, it looks like a high-definition version of the Wii with a little more shine - but I am thinking of getting a couple of games from the Nintendo eShop soon.

 

Nintendo is getting there...

 

The one thing that I am very impressed about with the Wii U is Nintendo's full support for digital distribution for the console. All the retail releases are also available in digital form! Amazing. Microsoft and Sony are very apprehensive about releasing new games on their online store with Sony easing up a bit on that very stupidity recently. If people are going to start downloading a lot of these games from the Nintendo eShop, I have a feeling that Nintendo will go full digital distribution. It's hard to judge if that is eventual however because one need to get an external hard drive, maybe 2TB even, to be able to download a lot of these games. I do plan to get one for the Wii U and as long as Nintendo fix the price point - $59.99 is just completely ridiculous - I will support Nintendo 100% with their digital distribution strategy. Thank you Nintendo for supporting the future of game distribution. Disbelievers of digital distribution, the end is near for you.