February 2011 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's probably clear by now that it is going to take a miracle to overthrow League of Legends on the Personal Computer from the number one spot of the most played game of the month. There were times when I really didn't feel like playing the game though and that happened when I played with nasty, negative team members. I have learned to ignore rude comments while playing this game but when they happen repeatedly over consecutive games, the desire to continue playing the game is lessen. I still hope that I can complete a team full of good friends to play the game with eventually.

The renewed focus and determination I put forth for Guild Wars on the Personal Computer last month resulted in the game taking the second place slot. Sadly, it didn't last long enough and I ended up playing the game only for a period of nine days. I still have great interest in it but it's going to be hard to get back into the game now that I have started playing other role playing games like Two Worlds II, Sacred II, and even Neverwinter Nights 2 that I just reinstalled today!

The third place went to Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS. My hunger for role playing games last month got projected onto the handheld arena as well. At first, I was going to continue Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story but I then remembeted that I never completed Partners in Time. Not that they are chronological but I prefer that older game anyway in terms of overall fun. Both titles are the best role playing games for the system but I will probably take a break from the series after I completed Partners in Time before going back to Bowser's Inside Story because of the similarity in gameplay.

Best New Game of the Month:

Two Worlds II (Personal Computer)

Unexpectedly Forgotten New Game of the Month:

Dead Space 2 (PlayStation 3)

I Missed You, I Want You Game of the Month:

Radiant Historia (Nintendo DS)

Games Played 02/28/2011 - 03/06/2011

- 02/28/2011 -

Heroes of Newerth - PC

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - NDS

- 03/01/2011 -

League of Legends - PC

Two Worlds II - PC

- 03/02/2011 -

Crysys 2 Demo - PC

Heroes of Newerth - PC

League of Legends - PC

Torchlight - PC

Two Worlds II - PC

- 03/03/2011 -

League of Legends - PC

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - NDS

Two Worlds II - PC

- 03/04/2011 -

ArcaniA: Gothic 4 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - NDS

- 03/05/2011 -

ArcaniA: Gothic 4 - PC

League of Legends - PC

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - NDS

- 03/06/2011 -

ArcaniA: Gothic 4 - PC

Avencast: Rise of the Mage - PC

League of Legends - PC

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - NDS
Pokémon: SoulSilver Version - NDS

Risen - PC

Tropico 3 - PC

Two Worlds II - PC

The Witcher - PC

Testing Out ArcaniA: Gothic 4

After trying out the demo on Steam several days ago, I have finally decided to induct ArcaniA: Gothic 4 by Spellbound for the Personal Computer into my Game Library. My current love for Two Worlds II probably had a lot to do with my interest in ArcaniA - I am in a wild thirst for more role playing adventure games. I have only played just about an hour of the game but I have heard that a lot of Gothic fans really hated this latest entry into the series because of its linearity. It's hard to tell that where I am currently at in the game but linearity has its positives and negatives. I don't have too much of a preference between the two types of design philosophy as long as the adventure ends up being a great one and so far, I do like what I am playing.

Can you be trusted to tend to your flock of sheep?

After the game's weird, trippy prologue involving a possessed king, you found yourself taking the role of a shepherd who is trying to win the hand of his lover. There is no option to customize your hero's appearance but at least he looks cool enough. The battle system is action oriented where you have to press the input repeatedly to chain attack combos. It's simple but it's pretty solid. The graphics are nice - I love how the shepherd's entire village becomes shrouded in darkness when the sun is blocked by the surrounding mountains - but they are clearly not quite optimized since the frame rate can become rather erratic. There is a great amount of vegetation that covers the ground and the texture works on both the characters as well as the world they inhabit are complex and sharp. I am able to run the game well at 1920 x 1080 on my PC setup with all the graphical options maxed out but without post processing and the "Ultra" level shadows. There are weird frame hiccups that happen quite often but seeing how badly the game looks at lower native resolutions, I have to just settle with that.

"Going my way?"

Between this game and the recently made Two Worlds II, there is no doubt in my mind that the latter is infinitely better. There are a couple of really odd gameplay quirks that I have found thus far in the game, like the roleplay activities option being unchecked by default - enabling it will allow you to interact with more objects in the game - and the camera being too close to your character whenever you have your weapons sheathed. ArcaniA does have its own allure however thanks to its fun combat and beautiful vistas.

Sunset battles are so epic.

FIRST IMPRESSION: 4 out of 5

My First Fancy LoL Skin!

As I have mentioned many a times, League of Legends on the Personal Computer is a truly free to play game. All the contents that you need to pay for are completely optional, one being the ability to access specific alternate skins for the champions. Riot Games does have constant discounts for these skins and the really epic "Pharaoh" skin for Nidalee is finally on the rotation so I have decided to spend a little. I really, really love this skin for her because they even changed her look in the cougar form - now she transforms into an Egyptian cat... Yeah! It was less than $5 but that is the minimum that you have to pay for to get Riot Points in the game so it didn't cost too much. Still, with the never-ending amount of pleasure this game has given me, spending on alternate skins is the least one can do to support Riot Games for doing such an awesome job with LoL.

My two Nidalees...

A Day Without Live Gold

My X-Box Live Gold subscription officially expired sometime yesterday. I got an email in the evening from Microsoft confirming my separation from the service. So how does it feel to be without it? Well, it's only been a day but I must say that everything seems to be alright thus far. I certainly didn't feel a need to play any online game via the X-Box 360 yesterday. I spent most of my gaming time playing League of Legends and Two Worlds II for the Personal Computer. Not having access to Live Gold further solidify my feelings about access to online multiplayer content on the PlayStation 3. What are we really paying for with the X-Box Live Gold? Many would argue that the ability to cross game chat makes it worth it but I could easily hook up Skype or Ventrillo on my PC and chat cross games AND systems while playing a game on any system. If Live Gold didn't unlock online multiplayer, I doubt that anyone would subscribe to it. It's funny how Live online multiplayer on the PC is more robust, efficient, and most importantly, free! Microsoft knows that PC gamers will never pay for the service - they did try the subscription module but it utterly failed - and I suppose I am now a part of that statistic. So for the first time in my 360 life, I am now a Silver member. Let's hope that it will last.

Silver is... the color of my hair many years from now?